Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Chapter 1218 Quite an appetite!

Zhou Zhengqing stood at the door, watching Terauchi Hisaichi's figure disappear at the end of the corridor before slowly closing the door.

The room fell silent again. He walked back to the sofa, but instead of sitting down, he strolled to the window.

Outside the window, night had completely fallen. The city of Beiping was shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered lights like will-o'-the-wisps. The outline of the Forbidden City lay silently in the night, like a sleeping giant beast, or a huge tomb.

In the distance, a few sporadic gunshots seemed to ring out, only to be swallowed up by the boundless darkness.

He raised his hand and gently pressed his brow.

The public execution of Wang Kemin was, of course, driven by political calculations. It was to silence the sycophants in Kyoto, protect Terauchi Hisaichi, deter the villains, and, more importantly, to wrest Kita Seiichi from Terauchi Hisaichi's grasp.

At the moment the shot was fired and blood splattered, he was not entirely unmoved.

That was a human life, the life of a traitor, but it was still a life.

The feeling of shooting someone with your own hands is something that only those who have experienced it can truly understand.

But he knew even better that in this cannibalistic world, in this game of chess, being soft-hearted and hesitant was a path to death.

If he doesn't kill Wang Kemin today, innocent people may die tomorrow because of Wang Kemin's greed and incompetence.

"Knock, knock, knock." A soft knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." Zhou Zhengqing didn't turn around.

The door was pushed open, and Qi walked in silently, closing the door behind her.

"Sir, General Kita Seiichi is outside, requesting to see you. Also, Chen Gongshu and the others have been taken to the military police's cells, and our men have been assigned to guard them," Qi reported in a low voice, his tone efficient.

Zhou Zhengqing turned around, the weariness and deep look on his face vanished, replaced by a calm, unfathomable expression.

"Let Kita Seiichi in." He paused, then added, "Also, inform Matsui Ryosuke to publicly execute Chen Gongshu and a few others, and then secretly bring Chen Gongshu here to me."

Qi was stunned upon hearing this... They wanted to execute him, yet secretly bring him here...

"Yes, I understand." Qi quickly realized. He came from the Sakura Group and had done this kind of thing before. It's just that the Sakura Group was more secretive in its actions, unlike Zhou Zhengqing, who was almost completely undisguised and acted recklessly.

But considering Zhou Zhengqing's status... well... publicly executing him is already giving others a lot of face.

Anyone who dares to fart even once more will be met with a rebuke.

If anyone dares to step forward and try, not only the general, but even I myself wouldn't mind personally killing him.

. . . . . . . . .

Zhou Zhengqing walked to the wine cabinet and poured himself another glass of wine. The amber liquid rippled in the glass, reflecting his deep eyes.

I raised my glass, faced the boundless darkness outside the window, and silently drank it all in one gulp.

The liquor slid down my throat, bringing a burning sensation that also suppressed the surging bloodlust and chill deep within my heart.

. . . . . . . .

After spending more than half a month in Beiping, Zhou Zhengqing gave Matsui Ryosuke many instructions and sorted out a series of matters concerning the Beiping Military Police.

At the end of February 1938, on the platform of Beiping Railway Station, the whistles of trains wailed and billowed white smoke.

A special train, led by an armored railcar and with two dedicated carriages attached, slowly started moving and departed from the ancient capital shrouded in cold and fear.

Inside the car, Zhou Zhengqing leaned back in the soft seat, staring at the bullet-riddled city walls and bare tree branches rushing past outside, his face expressionless.

The trip to Beiping was brief but bloody.

Wang Kemin's death is like a stone thrown into a mud pit, the ripples are spreading.

His private conversation with Terauchi Hisaichi was more like a tacit alliance and a division of interests.

The power structure of the puppet government is undergoing a new reshuffle, and within the North China Area Army, the fates of some individuals are subtly altered by his "care" for Kita Seiichi before his departure.

But he temporarily put these political maneuvering issues behind him.

At this moment, he held in his hand a top-secret war report that he had just received from Terauchi Hisaichi, still smelling of ink, and a densely marked military map of North China.

On the map, a thick red arrow stretches from Tianjin and Beiping, following the Jinpu Railway line like a greedy, blood-red python, heading south and south, pointing directly to the strategic location of Xuzhou.

The train sped across the desolate winter fields, the sound of its wheels hitting the rails monotonous and dull.

Zhou Zhengqing's gaze, however, seemed to pierce through the carriage wall and fall upon the land of southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu, which was being soaked in gunfire and blood on the map.

"General, tea." Masaki Yamaya quietly handed over a cup of hot tea.

Zhou Zhengqing took the cup but didn't drink it; he simply warmed his hands with the warmth of the cup.

His thoughts had already followed the blue arrows representing the Japanese army and the red defensive lines representing the Chinese army on the map, entering the center of the unprecedented vortex known as the "Battle of Xuzhou".

"Terauchi Hisaichi... he certainly has a big appetite," he muttered to himself, his finger tracing the map.

According to battle reports and information revealed by Terauchi Hisaichi, the North China Area Army's offensive against the Xuzhou area had already begun to take shape as early as December of last year, after the northern section of the Jinpu Railway was opened up.

However, the truly large-scale, multi-pronged offensive only began in full force this month.

Its strategic intent is very clear: to advance from both the north and south, open up the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, encircle and annihilate the main force of the Fifth War Zone of China in the Xuzhou area, thereby resolving the war in North China in one fell swoop and creating conditions for the next offensive against Wuhan.

General Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the North China Area Army, was stationed in Beiping (Beijing) and remotely controlled the overall situation.

The army group heading south was specifically commanded by the 2nd Army of the North China Area Army, under the command of Lieutenant General Nishio Toshizo. This general, known for his steadiness and tactical execution, had assembled the best of the Japanese army in North China under his command.

Zhou Zhengqing's gaze first fell on the front of the Jinpu Railway, which was the central assault route of the attack.

This was the main direction of the Japanese attack, the area under the greatest pressure and the bloodiest.

The sharpest spearhead was the 10th Division of Isogai Rensuke.

This division was a regular elite Class A division of the Japanese army, well-equipped and extremely arrogant. After capturing Jinan, they advanced south along the Jinpu Railway as if it were empty.

In early January, its vanguard, the Seya Detachment, based on the 33rd Brigade, advanced to the Yanzhou-Zouxian line and engaged in fierce fighting with the 22nd Group Army of the Chinese Army, which had retreated there.

"The 10th Division, the Seya Detachment, captured Zou County on January 4th and occupied Qufu on January 8th..."

As Zhou Zhengqing looked at the date on the battle report, he could almost hear the deafening gunfire echoing across that land.