Chapter 48: Prince Asaka Takahiko Arrives
Su Yaoyang was right; the impact of the battle at St. Paul’s Church is rapidly expanding and has already alarmed the high-level officials of both China and Japan.
In front of the former Nanjing government building
Today, within a one-kilometer radius of the government building, security is extremely tight, with sentries every five steps and guards every ten steps; no vehicles or personnel are allowed to pass within one thousand meters.
In the evening, a convoy consisting of three sedans and two troop transport trucks drove up from afar. When the convoy reached the government gate, it stopped, and a captain jumped off the vehicle and opened the car door.
As the car door opened, a middle-aged man wearing the rank of lieutenant general slowly got out of the car and walked toward the government building.
The group that had been waiting early also came forward to greet him. The current commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Matsui Iwane, who was thin and looked ill, took the lead in saluting him. “Your Highness, you’ve finally arrived. I and the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force have been waiting for you for a long time.”
This lieutenant general who had just gotten out of the car was none other than Prince Asaka Yasuhiko. This time, he was sent by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to take over for Matsui Iwane, who was bedridden due to high fever and a chronic tuberculosis flare-up and unable to command military affairs.
It is worth mentioning that in 1923, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko suffered a comminuted fracture in one leg due to a car accident, so if observed carefully, one would notice that Prince Asaka Yasuhiko walks a bit unnaturally.
Of course, this is a taboo topic for Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, and generally no one dares to mention it in front of him.
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko looked at Matsui Iwane, who had a sickly face, and said in a deep voice: “Matsui-kun, before I came, His Majesty the Emperor specially summoned me and asked for my views on the Nanjing campaign.
My answer was that as the capital of China and also the spiritual symbol of the Chinese people, Nanjing must be occupied, no matter how much cost the Imperial Army pays; this goal must never change.
The Shanghai Expeditionary Force has done extremely well in this regard, and His Majesty the Emperor is very pleased about it. He ordered me to convey his condolences to all of you who have labored and achieved merit.”
Hearing this, all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, including Matsui Iwane, showed smiles.
A relieved smile appeared on Matsui Iwane’s sickly face, and he waved his right hand: “Your Highness, you have come a long way and must be exhausted. Please come inside to rest.”
“Mm!”
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko nodded and took the lead walking inside, with Matsui Iwane and the others following closely behind.
The group arrived at Matsui Iwane’s office. After orderlies brought tea, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko took the lead in asking: “Matsui-kun, how is the cleanup work in Nanjing progressing currently?”
Matsui Iwane said: “Currently, most of Nanjing City has basically fallen into the hands of the Imperial Army. There is only small-scale resistance in some places, which I believe will be quelled soon, so please do not worry.”
“Is that so?” Prince Asaka Yasuhiko picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said indifferently: “But I heard that the XiaGuan ferry and the Yangtze River shoreline are still in the hands of the Chinese. Is that the case?”
“Yes.” Matsui Iwane did not conceal this at all. “Since the troops only entered Nanjing City yesterday, the main forces are busy clearing the resistance forces inside the city, so there is no spare capacity to occupy the XiaGuan ferry.
But as I said, it’s just a matter of time.”
“Is that so?”
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko smiled noncommittally, then swept his sinister gaze around the office. “Matsui-kun, next I will read the order from the Imperial General Headquarters. Are all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force present?”
Matsui Iwane turned his gaze to Major General Iinuma Takeji, the chief of staff standing behind him.
Iinuma Takeji quickly stepped forward and answered: “Your Highness, almost all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force in Nanjing are present, except for Major General Kunizaki Nobufusa of the Kunizaki Detachment.”
“Kunizaki Nobufusa?”
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was slightly stunned, a flash of displeasure crossing his face, then he pretended to be relaxed and said: “It seems this Major General Kunizaki Nobufusa is very busy.”
Matsui Iwane’s heart tightened. Others might not know, but he knew that this prince was notoriously vindictive and narrow-minded. If ignored, Kunizaki Nobufusa would likely soon be in trouble.
He quickly turned his head and gave Iinuma Takeji a look. The latter understood, nodded, and hurried out.
“Alright, now let’s read the document first.”
A few minutes later, after Prince Asaka Yasuhiko finished reading the appointment and dismissal document, Iinuma Takeji also returned. He hurriedly walked to Matsui Iwane’s side and whispered a few words.
“What… How could such a thing happen?”
Perhaps because he was too agitated, Matsui Iwane’s voice was a bit loud, causing Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, who was drinking tea, to cast his gaze over and ask indifferently.
“Matsui-kun, what happened?”
“This…” Matsui Iwane hesitated for a moment, but soon looked up at Prince Asaka Yasuhiko with a somewhat heavy expression. “Your Highness, something has indeed happened. The Kunizaki Detachment has run into trouble. Let Chief of Staff Iinuma report the details to you.”
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko’s face slowly darkened: “Speak!”
“Hai!”
Iinuma Takeji slightly bowed and said respectfully: “Your Highness, I just received intelligence.
While the Kunizaki Detachment was clearing out the remaining Chinese resistance forces, they encountered stubborn resistance from Chinese defenders at St. Paul’s Cathedral, resulting in very heavy losses.”
At this point, he couldn’t help swallowing. “As of now, the Kunizaki Detachment has lost one regiment, and the deputy detachment commander and the 11th Regiment commander have both gone missing.”
“What!”
For a moment, the entire office was filled with gasps of cold air, and many people even stood up in shock.
One must know that since the July 7 Incident and the full-scale invasion of China, the Japanese army had always been advancing triumphantly with few defeats, let alone losing an entire regiment at once, with even the deputy detachment commander and regiment commander missing.
If such a thing really happened, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Imperial General Headquarters and the Emperor.
“How could this be?” Sixth Division Commander Tani Hisao stood up on the spot. “I had warned Kunizaki-kun long ago. How could he still make such a mistake?”
“Mm…”
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko’s gloomy gaze turned to Tani Hisao. He naturally recognized this sixth division commander, known as one of the twin pillars of the Japanese Army.
He said in a deep voice: “Tani-kun, do you know what happened?”
“Yes.”
Tani Hisao said somewhat bitterly: “I have a close personal friendship with Kunizaki-kun. Yesterday, I even had tea with him.
It is said that to prepare for the victory entry ceremony, headquarters ordered Kunizaki-kun to recruit some Chinese women to celebrate together. Kunizaki-kun then entrusted this task to Deputy Detachment Commander Hasegawa.
Hasegawa heard that there were quite a few female students in a church, so he took a team there, but unexpectedly encountered resistance from Chinese troops. Then Kunizaki-kun sent a regiment to reinforce, and unexpectedly such a thing happened.”
