Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 127: Furious Matsui Iwane
At the 527th Regiment Headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Tian Yuanxi, the deputy regiment commander, came in excitedly. He arrived before everyone else:
"Captain, good news! The first battalion has won a great victory!"

When Yue Qianli heard that it was a victory report, he instantly became interested. After taking the telegram and reading it through, he praised it:

"Well, Li Jie did a great job this time. Three victories in three battles, and annihilated a thousand enemies. This should give the Marines a hard time. They only have about 3 people in total."

The artillery battalion commander He Qizheng took over and said:
"It is said that when you beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. Now that we have crippled the black dog of the Marine Corps, they will definitely file a complaint with Matsui Iwane. Then we will have to dispatch the Army Field Division to help the Marine Corps clean up the mess, and our goal will be achieved."

After listening to this, Yue Qianli smiled and said:

"At present, Matsui Iwane's mind is not in the city. Even the division commanders under him have become picky and their eyes are fixed on the hundreds of thousands of national army main forces south of Suzhou River.

That is the real fat piece of meat. As long as they can defeat the main force of the National Army, not only will they gain enough military merit, but they can also pursue the victory and head straight to Nanjing, which is the place they have always dreamed of.

At this critical moment, who has the time to play with us?"

Tian Yuanxi agreed with this and took over the conversation and said:
"It's hard to disobey military orders. The Japs won't allow us to do anything behind their backs. We have to send a troop to clean up the mess.
But this troop is likely to be impatient and eager to finish the task immediately, which will create an opportunity for us to ambush them."

Yue Qianli praised:

"That's right. We will use the First Battalion and the Navy Headquarters Building to pin down the Japanese. When the Japanese's fighting spirit is almost exhausted, the Second and Third Battalions, which are scattered around and waiting, will be ready to take advantage of the situation and catch them!"

Tian Yuanxi suggested again:
"Captain, the key to encircling and annihilating the enemy's reinforcements is that the headquarters building cannot be breached. We should strengthen the guards inside the building. One machine gun company can deal with the Marines, but we still need to prepare more troops to deal with the enemy's field troops. What fish can we catch without bait?"

Yue Qianli nodded and said:

"Old Tian, ​​your suggestion is very good. Send a telegram to Li Jie and dispatch a main force company to reinforce the building. Tell them that the headquarters building may be their burial place. As long as they are in the position, we must keep the Japanese inside the headquarters building!"

Tian Yuanxi took the order and left. In order to strengthen the influence of the 527th Regiment and the Marine Corps Headquarters, Yue Qianli had to hurt the Japanese reinforcements.

In order to attract more of the Japanese's energy and create conditions for the Second and Third Battalions to wreak havoc in the urban area, the First Battalion and Li Jie will have to bear the greatest sacrifice.

At the East China Expeditionary Force Headquarters, Matsui Iwane had long been fed up with staying on the aircraft carrier. After all, this was the territory of the navy idiots and it was uncomfortable to stay there.

Unfortunately, there are still many remnant Chinese soldiers in the city. It will take some time for the Marine Corps to wipe out the remnants. Matsui Iwane said with a straight face:
"The Marine Corps has failed to live up to your majesty's trust. After two days, we have not even been able to wipe out a few stragglers. This is simply a waste of the empire's resources."

Chief of Staff Iinuma Mori saw the commander in the temple cursing bald men, which was not good for the navy idiots to hear, so he interrupted and said:

"Commander, there are two main groups of Chinese soldiers fleeing. The one occupying the Sihang Warehouse is a regiment of the 88th Division, claiming to have 800 people.
Since the Sihang Warehouse was backed by the Suzhou River and the International Settlement was on the south bank, in order to avoid causing diplomatic disputes, the Marines fought very restrainedly and did not even dare to use 75mm mountain artillery, so the progress was not very smooth.

Another group of scattered soldiers are hiding in the Marine Corps Headquarters building, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Iida-kun has sent out three battalions to attack it. The enemies outside have been cleared out, and it will probably take some time to capture the solid building. "

Matsui Iwane naturally knew these two places, especially the headquarters building. The Chinese mobilized a German-equipped division to attack for several days before taking it. It would take more than three to five days for the Marines to take it. Fortunately, he still had some patience. After thinking for a while, he said:
“Mr. Iinuma, the Chinese government has given the Sihang Warehouse great political significance. The League of Nations Conference will be held at the beginning of next month. Nanjing wants to make a fuss about this matter and hopes that Westerners will intervene.

Those Westerners are also waiting to see the empire's joke. Under the guidance of some people with ulterior motives, public opinion has fermented and has attracted some attention internationally, so it must be resolved as soon as possible!

As for the enemies in the headquarters building, we will storm them if we can, but if we can’t, we will use siege tactics and starve them to death in the building.”

At this moment, a senior staff officer hurried in with a very serious look and reported loudly:

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, an urgent message from the Marine Corps Headquarters!"

Iinuma Mamoru had a bad feeling in his heart. When he took the message and read it, his expression became serious. After sending away the senior staff, he reported the contents of the message to Matsui Iwane. Matsui Iwane was furious after hearing it. He didn't care that he was on the warship and cursed:
"Baka, these navy deer are just a bunch of rubbish!
More than 80% of the empire's resources are occupied by them. Is this how they repay your majesty's trust?"

Then all kinds of nasty words came out, almost scolding the navy to pieces. The aircraft carrier shook a few times and almost threw Matsui Iwane to the ground. Obviously, his words had caused dissatisfaction in the navy, and they were warning him in a special way that this was the navy's territory.

"Bagaya road!"

Matsui Iwane suffered a loss and could only let it go. He really didn't give the navy face, so he had to get down to business:
"Another German-equipped division! It seems that this is also a small move by Nanjing. It is nothing more than creating a certain public opinion in the international community to make others think that Shanghai has not fallen yet, playing word games!

The Imperial Army must not let the Chinese conspiracy succeed. The headquarters building, like the Sihang Warehouse, must be completely destroyed before the opening of the League of Nations Assembly.

The Marine Corps had only 3 men and had lost hundreds of men. It was unrealistic to expect them to annihilate two regiments of the German-equipped division. This was beyond their capabilities.
Send a telegram to Iida-kun, and give the task of retaking the headquarters to the 9th Division. They only need to focus on capturing the Sihang Warehouse.

Order the Ninth Division to form an encirclement and suppression team to wipe out the remaining Chinese soldiers in the Hongkou area without sparing a single one! "

Matsui Iwane finally changed his mind and mobilized the powerful 9th ​​Division to launch a heavy attack and make every effort to retake the headquarters building.

Dachang, 9th Division Defense Zone

Due to the heavy losses in the previous battle, the 9th Division is being ordered to repair. The lost troops and equipment have been replenished, and Yoshika Ryosuke's face is full of smiles.

The Chief of Staff, Colonel Nakahirokawa, walked in with a gloomy face, holding a telegram in his hand. After reading it, Yoshika Ryosuke immediately cursed:
"Bakayalu, what a bunch of rubbish! A disgrace to the empire. They are fiercer than anyone else when it comes to looting supplies, but each one is worse than the other when it comes to fighting!"

(End of this chapter)