124: Chapter 124 The whole nation is in an uproar! Okamura is dumbfounded!
Handing over one-third of the captured spoils to Shen Wang was, in fact, a transaction plan previously discussed by The Chiefs; it could be considered Shen Wang using these weapons as his stake.
However, The Chiefs had previously worried that Shen Wang wouldn't agree, as this was essentially a blank check; who knew how much could be captured in the future?
But The Chiefs truly hadn't expected that he would just give it to them for free, and even owed them six battalions!
The Chief of Staff got carried away, gripping Shen Wang's hand and pouring out all sorts of gratitude and promises.
Shen Wang was amused; he didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it gladly!
So he had become an original shareholder?
And held a one-third stake?
Not bad at all!
For a time, both host and guest were delighted!
"Mr. Shen, you are straightforward!"
"Truly a man of talent!"
"In my opinion, you are a dragon among men!"
"To meet Mr. Shen today, we must drink a large cup!"
"Yes, yes, yes! It's just time for a meal, I want to have a few drinks with Mr. Shen!"
"Li Yunlong, bring out all the good wine you've been hoarding!"
"Let's go, let's go..."
The Chiefs crowded around Shen Wang, never ceasing their praises!
They were really laying it on thick for Shen Wang!
Only Li Yunlong pulled a long face, extremely reluctant.
Who was it that just said it wasn't time to celebrate yet and forbade drinking?
But in the end, he didn't have the guts to pick a fight with the Chief of Staff or the Division Commander!
...
Just as Shen Wang and the others were enjoying their drinks, media controlled by the Eighth Route Army across the country began spreading the news everywhere.
"Extra! Extra!!"
"Great Victory at He County! The Eighth Route Army repels 100,000 Japanese invaders!"
"Not just one regimental banner, but four in total!"
...
The voices of newsboys rang out through the streets and alleys. They waved newspapers still damp with ink, darting through cobblestone streets, alley entrances, and in front of teahouses, the headlines printed in shockingly large font.
In the teahouse, the previously noisy chatter suddenly fell silent, and everyone's gaze turned toward the newsboy at the door shouting "Extra!"
The shopkeeper, forgetting to even take off his apron, hurried forward to buy a copy, unfolded it, and his hands trembled slightly.
The tea drinkers nearby couldn't be bothered with their tea anymore and gathered around.
"Good heavens... repelled 100,000 devils? Is... is this for real?"
"It's written in black and white! And the spoils! Look here—'Killed, wounded, or captured over 35,000 of the enemy, destroyed four enemy heavy artillery regiments'!"
"Oh my god, four artillery regiments... just how many cannons is that!"
When they saw "Captured three more Japanese Army regimental banners," the entire teahouse completely erupted.
"Three more? Adding the one from before... that's four Japanese Army regimental banners in total!"
"What is a regimental banner?"
"Have you forgotten? Didn't they mention it over in Shancheng a while ago?"
"They said those flags are the lifeblood of the devils! The devils would rather die than lose them; any unit that loses its flag has its designation revoked!"
"Yes, yes, yes! I remember now! The newspapers were full of it at the time, and the radio talked about it every day, saying how important those flags were and how difficult it was to capture one!"
"Look, the newspaper says the devils gathered 100,000 troops to besiege He County just to take back that flag!"
"And in the end, not only did they fail to get the flag back, they lost three more?"
"Hahaha! That cracks me up! The Eighth Route Army did a great job!"
"So satisfying!"
"Long live the Eighth Route Army!"
...
Previously, the Shancheng side, in order to "draw fire" to the Eighth Route Army, had deliberately hyped up the importance of the regimental banner to the devils, shaping it into a symbol that was almost like a "military soul."
Yet now, when the Eighth Route Army captured three more regimental banners, that previous propaganda instead became the perfect background to highlight the Eighth Route Army's battle achievements!
One was already a "feat of heaven-shaking proportions," but what is the concept of four?
Everyone was stunned into numbness!
On the streets and in the alleys, in teahouses and taverns, in the fields... countless people ran to tell each other the news, weeping with joy!
This was not just the joy of a great victory, but a violent catharsis for years of accumulated national hatred and personal vendettas!
"We've waited for so many years, we finally waited for this day!"
"With the Eighth Route Army here, China will not fall!"
"Long live the Eighth Route Army!"
"Long live the Chinese nation!"
...
Similar scenes played out across the country in countless places where the Eighth Route Army had influence or where news could reach.
In front of a university bulletin board, teachers and students gathered around the posted victory report, enthusiastically discussing its tactical significance and international impact!
In the shantytowns where workers lived, literate workers read the newspaper aloud to their companions, drawing bursts of cheers and shouts of "Long live the Eighth Route Army!"
Even in the occupied areas, the news spread by word of mouth, quietly igniting the long-repressed hope in people's hearts.
In short, the news of the great victory at He County swept across the country!
It could even be described as the whole nation boiling with excitement!
...
However, just as the whole country was in jubilation, the atmosphere at the North China Army Headquarters in Beijing was completely different!
Inside the Commander's office, the lights had been on all night.
Okamura stood with his back to the door, facing the massive North China military map, his posture no longer as straight as before.
"baka... yaro!"
A low growl, suppressed to the extreme, as if squeezed out from between gritted teeth.
Okamura naturally had also received the news, and he was completely stunned!
In fact, he hadn't closed his eyes all night!
He had received the news of the defeat at He County long ago, but he had spent the whole night thinking and still couldn't figure out how the Eighth Route Army had managed to do it.
For the entire night, he had read over and over the vague yet terrifying report sent by Shinozuka Kazuo.
Shinozuka Kazuo stated in the report that there were at least a thousand heavy cannons of 105mm caliber or larger in He County!
Not only heavy artillery, but also hundreds of heavy tanks!
Okamura was numb on the spot!
What kind of joke was this?
A thousand heavy cannons? A hundred heavy tanks?
Never mind the Eighth Route Army, even their entire North China Army couldn't field such terrifying heavy firepower!
Never mind the North China Army, even the Central China Army where he was originally stationed couldn't field that!
Only the Kwantung Army, which had always been on guard against the Soviets, could field roughly that much heavy firepower!
A tiny He County, a mere speck of land, how could it possibly have such capability?
What chilled his spine even more was that he hadn't received a single piece of intelligence regarding the mobilization, assembly, and concealment of such large-scale heavy weaponry!
How did the Eighth Route Army manage it?
Could these weapons have just appeared out of thin air?
Okamura had thought about it all night and still couldn't understand!
However, before he could emerge from the shock, he received another explosive piece of news!
They had actually lost three more regimental banners!
A humiliation!
Before they could wipe away their shame, they had lost three more regimental banners!
This was no longer just a military defeat; this was taking the honor system and the symbol of military soul that their Imperial Japanese Army had built over a hundred years and trampling and rubbing them underfoot!
"Pfft—!"
Overcome with anxiety and the exhaustion of not sleeping all night, Okamura suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat, and a bloody taste surged up.
He forced it down, but his face was already as pale as paper.
"Meeting! Call everyone immediately, meeting!"
Soon, inside the Headquarters, a group of high-ranking Japanese officers gathered in the conference room.
The Japanese officers looked at each other; this scene... why did it feel so familiar?