Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Chapter 967 A Telegram

First telegram: January 26, 06:30

Telegraph operator Kobayashi Shin and his crew skillfully adjusted the frequency and pressed the telegraph key.

The ticking sound was exceptionally clear inside the silent bunker.

Matsui Iwane recounted the events, his tone still retaining a hint of feigned composure:

"Lord Army Minister Sugiyama Gen, our army is currently in a critical situation."

The city was facing shortages of ammunition and food, a surge in wounded, and poor communication between different units.

We earnestly request that reinforcements be dispatched immediately, along with tactical guidance.

Commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, Matsui Iwane.

The telegram maintained the restraint of a professional soldier, but words like "crisis" and "scarcity" revealed a great deal of unease.

Kobayashi noticed that the commander's fingers were trembling slightly as he dictated.

Second telegram: January 26, 09:15

Three hours passed, and Kyoto remained silent.

The artillery fire outside the city intensified.

Matsui Iwane began pacing anxiously in the cramped space.

He dictated the second telegram, his tone noticeably hurried:

"Minister Sugiyama, where are the reinforcements? The rebel offensive is fierce, our troops have suffered heavy casualties, and our core positions have been breached repeatedly."

Naval guns also participated in the bombardment, and the Xiaguan Wharf was destroyed.

The situation is extremely critical; a swift decision is urgently needed! Matsui.

The use of the phrase "extremely critical" indicates a sudden increase in his psychological pressure.

Third telegram, January 26, 11:50

Bad news arrived: the 14th Division of the North China Area Army had completed its deployment along the Tangshan-Chunhua Town line, completely cutting off the breakout routes of the 18th and 114th Divisions.

Matsui Iwane, his face ashen, rushed toward the transmitter, practically forcing the words out of his throat:

"Sugiyama-kun! The situation has changed drastically! The North China Area Army has defected and is now engaged in direct combat with our troops!"

The 18th and 114th Divisions have no way to retreat! The rebels have joined forces, and our army is attacked from both sides, in imminent danger!

Request immediate intervention!

"For the sake of our shared alma mater, please give me a hand! Matsui."

For the first time, he used a personal address, "Sugiyama-kun," and pleaded, "For the sake of... our friendship," attempting to move the other party with their shared school days.

Dignity began to crumble.

Fourth telegram, January 26, 14:20

There was still no response.

Matsui Iwane's eyes were even more bloodshot as he stared intently at the map, as if he wanted to burn it through.

The fourth telegram was filled with desperate questions.

"Why haven't you replied? Has Kyoto abandoned the Central China Expeditionary Army? The rebels are powerful because we've been ignoring them! If no reinforcements arrive, Nanjing will fall soon, and tens of thousands of soldiers will shed their blood in the city!!"

If a tiger or rhinoceros escapes from its cage, or a tortoise or jade is destroyed in its box, whose fault is it?

The question, "Whose fault is it?" already carries a strong sense of resentment and a desire to shirk responsibility.

Fifth telegram, January 26, 16:45

Matsui Iwane made an extremely difficult decision: to seek help directly from the Emperor. This was extremely rare in the hierarchical Japanese army, signifying that he had completely lost hope in the army system.

He straightened his appearance and began to speak in the most respectful tone:

"Your Majesty, I have disturbed your ears and deserve to die."

However, the perilous situation in Central China is beyond my control.

The rebel army was surging like a tidal wave, beset by internal and external troubles, and the soldiers were losing their morale.

The fate of Nanjing hangs in the balance. We humbly beseech Your Majesty to make a wise decision and avert this imminent disaster.

Your subject, Matsui Iwane, submits this memorial with tears streaming down his face.

The telegram, written in classical Chinese and extremely humble, indicates a significant rift in its psychological defenses.

The sixth to ninth telegrams, from the night of January 26th to the early morning of January 27th.

As night fell, the encirclement tightened further.

Gunshots seemed to echo in their ears as the four telegrams were sent at increasingly shorter intervals, their contents becoming more chaotic and emotional.

The sixth telegram reads: "Ammunition is running out; soldiers are using bayonets to defend themselves. Food is scarce, so they are killing horses for food. The wounded have no medicine, and cries of agony fill the fields. Quick reinforcements! Quick reinforcements!"

Seventh telegram: "The naval air force has once again dropped surrender leaflets, morale is low, and desertions are increasing daily. Sugiyama Gen! Do you want to see our army annihilated?"

The eighth telegram, addressed to the Chief of the General Staff, Prince Kan'in Kotohito: "Your Highness! For the sake of the Imperial Army's honor, please stop this insane infighting! This is not a fault of the war effort, but a man-made disaster!"

Ninth telegram: "Our unit's coordinates... are under heavy artillery fire... communications facilities damaged... requesting air support or... permission to retreat to the Xiaguan Riverbank..." The telegram was fragmented and filled with terror.

The tenth and eleventh telegrams: February 27th, afternoon to evening

Last hope was dashed.

Reports indicate that Kyoto has tacitly accepted the status quo.

Matsui Iwane was on the verge of a mental breakdown, sometimes smashing things in a fit of rage, and sometimes sitting blankly and weeping.

The tenth and eleventh telegrams were incoherent:

The tenth telegram read: "Why treat me like this? I have rendered great service to the Empire... I captured Nanjing! Once the birds are gone, the good bow is put away..." It was a mix of self-pity and resentment.

Eleventh telegram: "You guys are so cold-blooded..."

Twelfth telegram: Late night, December 27

This is the final, most desperate cry.

Matsui Iwane, disheveled and with a vacant look in his eyes, practically crawled to the transmitter, snatched the telegraph key from Kobayashi's hand, and dictated it himself, his voice hoarse and distorted, like a ghost:

"Sugiyama Gen! You bastard! You stood by and watched me die! You're just as guilty as I am!"

We're all stained with blood! Haha... Hahaha... For the sake of being classmates at Lu Da, just give me a quick death!

Help me out!

"Out of ammunition! Out of food! All the soldiers have deserted! The navy is bombing! The Kwantung Army tanks are outside, I can hear them, they're coming! If I don't get out soon, I'll have to commit seppuku..."

The telegram ended abruptly there, leaving only the meaningless electrical noise of the transmitter and Matsui Iwane's suppressed whimpers, like those of a wounded beast.

Shinichi Kobayashi and the others in the bunker watched in horror as their once-revered commander collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, utterly broken.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The atmosphere inside the Kyoto Army Ministry building remained somber throughout those two long days.

Telegrams from Matsui Iwane arrived like snowflakes, each one more urgent and more desperate than the last.

The staff delivered the translated telegram to Minister Sugiyama, whose face turned ashen.

"Minister, Commander Matsui is calling again..."

"Still the same old stuff?" Sugiyama Gen interrupted the staff officer, rubbing his temples wearily. "The military is discussing it, telling him to hold his ground and wait for reinforcements."

The replies are always the same cold, bureaucratic script.

The debate continued in the meeting room.

Hardliners advocated suppressing the "rebels" at all costs, while realists believed that the situation was beyond saving.

But no matter how much they argued, a consensus gradually formed: for the sake of greater strategic interests and to avoid a full-scale civil war, the Central China Expeditionary Army and Matsui Iwane had become pawns to be abandoned.

Therefore, Kyoto remained silent in the face of Matsui Iwane's desperate pleas for help.

This silence was more despairing for Matsui Iwane than the enemy's artillery fire outside the city.

It means that he has been completely abandoned by the system he served, and his struggles, his sins, and his last shred of dignity are no longer of any importance in the eyes of the bigwigs in Kyoto.

The twelve telegrams, like twelve steps, clearly record the entire process of a warlord commander in absolute predicament, from clinging to illusions to losing hope, from maintaining dignity to losing all respectability, from rationally seeking help to completely collapsing mentally.

This is not only a personal tragedy for Matsui Iwane, but also a true reflection of the brutal infighting and ruthless indifference within the Japanese militarist machine.