"you sure?"

Kobayashi Asaburo and Iida Sadugu's faces were full of shock. The former asked with big eyes.

"Hey Yi!" The major staff officer felt a little proud, a great achievement had been achieved.

"I have checked and found out that Colonel Yano does not exist at all. In all likelihood, the Independent Brigade robbed the train and changed our clothes to impersonate him."

Iida Sadagu took a deep breath, nodded towards the major staff officer, and then looked solemnly at Asaburo Kobayashi.

Kobayashi Asaburo knew what the Lieutenant General meant, and he immediately said:

“I’ll personally call and go to Tengxian Railway Station to ask!”

"Um."

Iida Sadagu suppressed the excitement in his heart and turned around to stare at the huge battle map on the wall.

"Hey, pick me up at the Tengxian Railway Station and have the officer stationed on duty come and answer the phone in person!"

Kobayashi Asaburo said to the operator.

"Ding ding ding..."

At Tengxian Railway Station, the phone in the second lieutenant's room suddenly rang.

"Hey, this is Tengxian Railway Station!"

"I am the Chief of Staff of the Twelfth Army, Asaburo Kobayashi!"

Upon hearing this, the second lieutenant stood up at attention and said loudly:

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, what are your instructions?"

"Did a train pass by your train station this morning? The person on the train called himself Colonel Yano!"

The second lieutenant was delighted and hurriedly replied:

"Hi, Colonel Yano did leave from us. After Colonel Yano left, I called the stations along the line to ask them to ensure your safety. Has Colonel Colonel already arrived in Jinan?"

"Yeah." Asaburo Kobayashi said noncommittally, "You're doing a great job, keep up the hard work."

"Hiyi!"

The second lieutenant's heart was beating loudly. After hanging up the phone, he sat on his chair and laughed stupidly.

‘It seems that the Colonel is a very trustworthy person. It must be because he said good things about me in front of the Lieutenant General that the Chief of Staff called me personally.’

The second lieutenant touched his swollen face, as if it was an honor to be slapped by the colonel.

He was thinking about the moment of promotion, and at the same time he hoped to be transferred to the front line to make contributions and contribute to His Majesty the Emperor's holy war.

On the other end of the phone, Asaburo Kobayashi's face was also full of joy.

He called various train stations north of Teng County and inquired in detail about the situation when the trains passed by.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the news has been confirmed." Kobayashi Asaburo reported excitedly to Iida Sadagu,

"The so-called Colonel Yano is indeed a fake, and it is basically certain that he is the Northern Anhui Independent Brigade. Although the other party claimed that there was only one escort group, someone found that the train was packed to the brim, with at least 5,000 people in it."

"Yo Xi!" Iida Sadagu couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart any longer. The Northern Anhui Independent Brigade was the most deadly enemy of the imperial army. As long as this army could be annihilated, the blame for the destruction of the coal mine could be easily overturned.

His dark face turned red unconsciously, "Have you figured it out? Where is the train now?"

Asaburo Kobayashi stepped forward and pointed to a location on the map:

"We passed here an hour ago, and now we may be arriving in Qufu. Do we want someone to stop the train and catch them off guard?"

Iida Sadagu looked at the map for a while, his eyes kept moving. After half a minute, he slowly shook his head.

"No! Most of the imperial troops around Qufu have been transferred to the south. They should still be lingering in Zaozhuang now. The imperial troops in this area are empty. The independent brigade has at least five or six thousand people, and its combat power is comparable to that of the imperial army.

The army is not weak at all and cannot fight in Qufu, otherwise this army will slip away again."

Kobayashi Asaburo nodded solemnly. He was indeed a little anxious just now.

"Then what your Excellency Lieutenant General means is..."

Iida Sadagu didn't answer. He pressed his finger on the location of the Jinpu railway line on the map, and then moved slowly from Qufu to Jinan.

"What do you think the purpose of Koto taking the train to go north is?" Iida Sadagu asked.

Kobayashi Asaburo was stunned. He really had not thought about this problem. He hesitated for a while and said:

"Kangdong is a man who behaves strangely and is daring. He should have only two purposes for going north. The first is to go to North China to join up with the Communist guerrillas who are making trouble there, and then try to attack the military base of the Empire of Japan.

"

"Secondly, Jiangdong currently has five to six thousand men, while the imperial army defending Jinan only has more than 4,000 men. He may have the idea of ​​attacking the provincial capital."

Iida Sadagu nodded and shook his head. It was somewhat believable that Koto wanted to go to North China.

As for attacking Jinan, Iida Sadagu thought it was unlikely.

I have to admit that Jiangdong is an excellent commander, even better than most imperial soldiers.

Such a person would not risk his own body parts easily.

Moreover, Jinan's city walls are tall and its defenses are strong. No matter how strong the independent brigade's combat effectiveness is, it is impossible to break through a city defended by 4,000 imperial warriors in a short period of time.

If the battle continues for a long time, the offense and defense will be out of position.

Although he had figured this out, Iida Sadagu's brows were still furrowed.

More and more staff officers gathered towards them. Iida Sadagu couldn't figure out the purpose of Koto's operation, so he had to ask the staff officers.

Upon hearing the news of the establishment of an independent brigade, everyone in the headquarters jumped for joy, while the staff officers expressed their opinions one by one.

Iida Sadagu listened for a while and found that there was nothing useful, so he waved his hands and asked the staff to leave.

"Jiangdong has 6,000 soldiers?" he asked.

"Hey, it should be around 6,000!" Asaburo Kobayashi replied.

"How many imperial troops are around Jinan?" he asked again in a calm tone.

Asaburo Kobayashi looked at the map and said:

"There are 4,000 in Jinan, 1,000 in Tai'an, and more than 1,000 in Yucheng on the north bank of the Yellow River."

"Of course, there are also the Chichai regiment and Rong Ziheng's troops who are staying in Zaozhuang. They have more than 10,000 people in total."

"Yo Xi!" Iida Sadagu showed a sinister smile at the corner of his mouth,

"Immediately call Chichai Yaezo and ask him to lead the team north by train. At the same time, the garrison of Yucheng will also be transferred over."

"Hey!" Kobayashi Asaburo looked at Iida Sadago who exuded confidence and majesty.

"What are your plans, Lieutenant General?"

"There is an idiom in China called "catching a turtle in a urn." A cunning flash appeared in Iida Sadagu's eyes.

"In previous battles with the Independent Brigade, we were always led by Jiangdong. This time we have the final say! Come and see."

Kobayashi Asaburo hurriedly approached.

"Regardless of the purpose of Jiangdong's journey, he is on the train now and must go along the railway. Therefore, we can place a big bag in front of the railway and wait for him to get in by himself."

Kobayashi Asaburo nodded in admiration, "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, is wise!"

"Considering the speed of the train and the time it takes for us to assemble our troops, I decided to put my pockets in Zhangxia. It is relatively close to Jinan and we have enough time to assemble our troops and arrange our positions."

"After Jiangdong's train passed through Tai'an, the Tai'an garrison followed quietly. There were four to five thousand imperial warriors in the north, and in the south, in addition to the Tai'an garrison, there were Chichai Regiment and Rong Ziheng. As long as the independent brigade jumped into our

Even if Jiang Dong had wings, he wouldn't be able to fly out."

"Yo West, Yo West!" Asaburo Kobayashi almost clapped his hands in excitement.

"Tell all the train stations along the line to let Jiangdong's train pass, and everyone must remain as they are and treat him as a real imperial army commander. There must be no mistakes for Jiangdong to notice."

"Hey Yi! I will personally explain this matter!"

"Yeah!" Iida stood with his hands behind his hands, as if a big victory was just around the corner.

The big battle plan has been announced by the Lieutenant General, and other small aspects such as gathering troops are left to the many staff officers in the headquarters.

The dejection and frustration of the entire headquarters was swept away, and everyone was in a hurry, busy with their own affairs with smiles on their faces.

A war is brewing against Jiangdong and the Independence Brigade.

.

Jiangdong knew nothing about the actions of the Japanese army, and the train was still traveling on the Jinpu railway line in a confident manner.

Arrival station ahead, Qufu.

Like the train stations we passed before, Qufu Railway Station also received the notice.

But the difference is that this train station received two notifications.

One is from the Second Lieutenant of Teng County, and the other is from the Jinan Command.

Needless to say, the content of Second Lieutenant Fuji Prefecture's notice was to ensure the safety of Colonel-General.

As for the headquarters, they are required to do their best to explore the strength of the independent brigade without exposing it.
To be continued...