Chapter 25, Tongzhajian (Part 1)
Nagoya City, Atsuta Shrine
According to legend, this shrine was first established in the third century AD and enshrines one of Japan's three most sacred artifacts, the Amancongyun Sword. The famous Japanese Warring States Overlord Oda Nobunaga was a hereditary priest of Atsuta Shrine. The entire building covers an area of 190,000 square meters. The roof ridge is covered with copper plates, and everything is luxurious and exquisite.
But by this moment, the war had almost burned down the ancient buildings of Atsuta Shrine, and the courtyard had been plowed with large and small craters. The trees were burned until only their bare trunks were left, and even their roots were dug up by the shells and scattered among the ruins. The priests and witches who originally stayed in the temple to serve the gods were either recruited into the army and medical teams, or were evacuated to the countryside carrying magical weapons.
However, after the original headquarters was blown up by a giant "Goblet" aerial bomb, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki chose to transfer the headquarters here. In the courtyard of Atsuta Shrine, there is a large underground air raid shelter that can accommodate his entire headquarters team.
However, the defensive battle in Nagoya has reached this stage, and Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki actually has nothing to command: the entire urban area has been burned to ashes, and his 65th Division has been completely dispersed. All telephone lines contacting various strongholds were blown up and burned out. We could only rely on intermittent radio to maintain contact with some peripheral guerrilla forces and obtain sporadic intelligence and information.
The entire division headquarters is actually unable to grasp the battle situation on the front line, and it is difficult to effectively mobilize the various units, leaving them to fight independently.
Although the soldiers in the tunnels are still resisting and the guerrillas in the suburbs are still attacking the US military, this has nothing to do with the command of the headquarters.
Of course, unlike those Nanyang troops who were trapped on a small island in the Pacific, once the Imperial Navy fleet retreated, they could only be beaten to pieces by the US military's indiscriminate bombing. The 65th Division was stationed in Nagoya. The city is located on the mainland and can be retreated when the war situation is unfavorable.
And Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki does have a place to retreat at the moment: the Japanese Communist Party, which has just established the "Echizen Soviet Republic" in Kanazawa City, has sent envoys to sneak into Nagoya City, persuading him to lead the remnants of his troops to go north and join the Japanese Communist Party in the Hida Mountains. The Red Guards continued to organize local decisive battles.
However, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki no longer wanted to leave.
Regarding the battle in Nagoya under his command, he thought that the battle was interesting enough. The famous generals in ancient times were probably no more than that.
With just an under-staffed division and a large group of hastily assembled rabble, without complete fortifications and extremely inadequate preparations, they were able to withstand the crazy onslaught of 100,000 U.S. troops for a week, even if the enemy There are planes like dark clouds and shells like heavy rain...
Moreover, this battle was his last song: on the way to the Atsuta Shrine air-raid shelter, his car was overturned by a bomb dropped by an enemy plane. The adjutant and driver died on the spot, while Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki was killed. Both legs were blown off at knee level. Although he was not dead for a while, he became a cripple.
Just when he was about to reach desperation, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki received news about Marshal MacArthur's latest whereabouts.
"...The enemy chief MacArthur is actually in the barrel? Could this be...the so-called divine will in the dark?"
In the tunnel fortifications five meters underground, under a flickering kerosene lamp, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki, who looked pale due to serious injury and blood loss, smiled bitterly and said to Major General Tsuji Masanobu who came to report the matter, "...It's a pity. , I can’t be Nobunaga! Tsuji-kun, the task of obtaining the enemy chief’s head will be left to you. ! The 65th Division has been dispersed, and I don’t know how many people are left. There are still 300 reserves at Atsuta Shrine, but Lieutenant Colonel Matsuo, who led the team, was unfortunately killed by a stray bullet. Major General Tsuji, it’s up to you to take them to Okehazama for the final counterattack!”
"...Yes, thank you Lieutenant General for your trust! However, in this case, the division headquarters will have no garrison strength, right?"
Major General Tsuji Masanobu bowed slightly, and at the same time looked around and found that several low-level staff officers and clerks were burning documents, smashing generators and cipher machines, and at the same time packing bags and boxes, "... Lieutenant General, you are planning to evacuate Nagoya , moved to Kanazawa or Hidasan?”
"...Well, yes, it is certain that Nagoya cannot be defended anymore, and our officers and soldiers have fulfilled their obligations to the country. Before the US military has surrounded this place, the remaining people in the headquarters will be dispersed After breaking through, it is up to them to choose their own path.”
Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki nodded, but then shook his head, "...However, I have no intention of escaping again."
After hearing this, Major General Tsuji Masanobu was stunned for a moment and seemed to have no reaction. But the next moment, he saw two orderlies coming one after another, carrying white cloths, samurai swords, towels and iron buckets filled with water... Everything suddenly became clear to him.
"...Your Majesty Lieutenant General...why are you doing this? In the Battle of Nagoya, you have done your best, and the whole country has seen it, why do you still..."
"...No need to say more! Major General Tsuji, I have made up my mind!" Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki stretched out his palm and waved it, "...I am already a cripple. Even if I go to the Red Elements, I will just linger on. . Instead of relying on others, accept it. It is better to face the fate of death like a samurai! As a soldier who has sworn allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor, he should die for the Emperor! Nagoya is my burial place!"
While Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki was speaking, two orderlies helped him take off his military uniform, briefly wiped his body with a towel dipped in water, combed his hair, and then put on a clean robe. He also brought a back chair so that Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki, whose legs were broken, could sit up.
Next, two orderlies and Major General Tsuji Masanobu worked together to lift Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki on the chair out of the tunnel and to the ground full of bomb craters.
At this time, there were very few gunfire sounds outside. Perhaps the American soldiers were tired from fighting and wanted to rest for half a day. Perhaps the enemy's strategic air force bombers are preparing for a large-scale bombing, and in order to avoid accidental damage, the ground forward troops must be disengaged. Anyway, the Nagoya battlefield is temporarily quiet.
Although everyone knows that such silence will not last long, but now that the victory or defeat has been decided, everything does not matter.
According to the Lieutenant General's final order, all remaining personnel of the 65th Division Headquarters have been gathered here, with a total of about 600 people. Not all of them are soldiers, but also many volunteer citizens, as well as female high school students who serve as military nurses: these are the only people who can come now.
Amid the smoke and dust, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki stood up on his chair and gave his final instructions to his subordinates:
"...Gentlemen, you have fought hard and gloriously in the past few days. Our fight in Nagoya is worthy of the name of the bravery of the Yamato nation. Now is the last moment. This is Major General Tsuji Masanobu, You may have made extraordinary achievements in the battlefields of Southeast Asia and Australia in the past few years. I have also seen his achievements in the newspapers. In the next battle, he will lead you to continue to fight to the death with the American devils and strive to repeat the performance of Nobunaga's victory over Yoshihiro Imagawa in Ozazama! I can go to heaven to become a god with peace of mind and report my duties to His Majesty the Emperor!”
After hearing this, everyone suddenly became agitated, some shed tears, and some expressed that they wanted to die here together, but Mori Shigeshu stopped him with a stern voice: "...I am already disabled and useless, but you still have to keep your usefulness. , continue to work hard for the country! Although the emperor and the government are no longer here, the Japanese nation is still there. As long as we show the spirit of the whole nation and continue to fight, there is still hope for our country and nation! ”
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Next, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki ordered the telegraph operators to issue final orders to the Japanese troops trapped in isolated positions and wandering in the wilderness before smashing the heavy radio. Although at this moment, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki I don’t know who else can receive his message:
"... Due to the brave fighting of the entire army for seven days, all of you have fulfilled your duties and lived up to the reputation of Yamato's brave men... But at present, our swords and arrows are all broken, the entire army is in danger, and the communication between the troops is basically cut off. Commander Department is no longer able to Command. Fortunately, the entire Japanese archipelago has not yet fallen, and there are still loyal warriors on all sides who dare to fight. Now we order the entire army to disband on the spot, each looking for a way out, and continue to deal with the enemy's thieves. I hope you will have long-term military luck..."
Next, a lieutenant brought a bottle of sake and two shallow saucer-shaped wine cups. After filling them respectively, they handed them to Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki and Major General Tsuji Masanobu. Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki raised his wine cup and gave a slight greeting to Tsuji Masanobu, "...Major General Tsuji, let me take the first step here and wish you a long military career! I am like this now, and I can't use my hands very well. I will commit seppuku later." I might make a fool of myself, could you please explain me?”
Although this was not the first time he had encountered such a request, Tsuji Masanobu still didn't know what to say, so he could only nod silently.
Seeing this, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki couldn't help but smile with relief, drank the sake in the cup, and then sang "Atsheng" in a low voice.
——Although this song was originally composed in the earlier Genpei War era, it was Oda Nobunaga, the top overlord of the Warring States Period, who really made it a household name in Japan. On the eve of that fateful Battle of Okehazama, Oda Nobunaga embarked on his journey singing "Atsumori".
The Atsuta Shrine was the starting point when Oda Nobunaga galloped his horse and drew his bow to capture Imagawa Yoshimoto, the No. 1 figure in Tokaido.
Although it is impossible to see the success or failure of Major General Tsuji Masanobu's desperate assault, Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki still hopes that he can succeed in one battle like Nobunaga.
"...Fifty years in the human world, the transformation of the sky is the same as the sky, the dream is the same as the dream. Once the life is enjoyed, the destruction is the same.るべきか．
(Translation: Fifty years in the human world are nothing compared to heaven and earth. Looking at the world, dreams are like water, and one life is allowed to happen. After entering and passing away, this is the seed of Bodhi. The feeling of annoyance fills the heart... )
After singing the song "Atsun", Mori Shigeki wrapped the handle of the knife with a white cloth with the help of the orderly. He concentrated on his luck and stabbed the sharp blade into his belly. Suddenly a large amount of dirty blood flowed out, and the painful feeling was like an electric current. The earth spreads throughout the body. His hand with protruding veins began to tremble violently, and he felt large drops of sweat dripping down his face, but he could no longer continue stabbing, so he had to look up at Tsuji Masanobu as if begging. So, Major General Tsuji Masanobu sighed, pulled out the saber from his waist, and chopped off the head of Lieutenant General Mori Shigeki...