Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 280 Guests Arrive, Feast Begins

The Japanese were driven out again. Even until they left Taierzhuang, many of them were still terrified. Those sharp swords became their lingering nightmare.
Just when the Japanese were in a stalemate with the remaining soldiers in the city, a group of Northwestern men with swords raised high charged into the Japanese group.

They chopped down the Japanese whenever they saw them, and dog heads fell down wherever their swords passed. Some Japanese were so scared that they wet their pants on the spot.
When the remaining troops in Taierzhuang saw the reinforcements arriving, their morale instantly increased. They drew their swords one by one and rushed towards the Japanese with murderous intent.

The Japanese, who were already on the brink of collapse, were defeated in an instant and fled out of the city like a tide, regretting only that their parents had given them short legs.

The defenders took the opportunity to attack and killed the Japanese soldiers. The yellow bodies of the Japanese soldiers were scattered all over the ground. The 63rd Regiment was repelled again in its last attempt to win, leaving behind thousands of corpses.
This was the day when the Japanese attacked most fiercely and also the day with the heaviest casualties. That night, the Japanese rarely stopped.

The 31st Division used the few remaining wooden boats to build a floating bridge overnight, and hundreds of seriously wounded soldiers were sent across overnight;

Boxes of bullets and grenades were delivered, along with thousands of reinforcements that Commander Sun had pieced together. Although the number was small, it was undoubtedly a timely help to the 31st Division.

With these supplies and troops, the 31st Division will be able to continue to hold on and lure more Japanese invaders into Taierzhuang.

On the 28th, the Japanese invaded the northwest corner of Taierzhuang again and attempted to seize the west gate, intending to cut off the connection between the headquarters of the 31st Division of the defending army and the village.

The two sides fought each other again. Division Commander Chi ordered the heavy artillery regiment to fire fiercely at the Japanese outside the city to block their follow-up troops.
The defenders in the city fought a desperate battle with the invading Japanese invaders and annihilated them after suffering heavy casualties. The crisis in Taierzhuang was once again resolved.

At the Fifth War Zone Headquarters, Commander Li and General Bai still hadn't waited for another table of guests. The battle situation in Taierzhuang was becoming increasingly severe, and if they laid down bait again, they might be swallowed by the fish.
Commander Li, who had been staring at the map, seemed to have made up his mind and decided not to wait any longer. The battlefield was changing rapidly and it was impossible for everything to go his way. He immediately said to General Bai:
"Jiansheng, no more waiting! Since we can't invite them, let's set up a trap first, encircle and annihilate the Seya detachment, and force Seya to ask for help;
If the Sakamoto Detachment comes to rescue, then order the 20th Army to let them in and treat two tables of guests together.

If you don’t come, we’ll eat up the Seya Detachment first!”

Seeing that Commander Li had finally made up his mind, General Bai agreed:
“Duke De, the Japs have always been hard to invite, but they come when you fight them;

If the Seya Detachment is in danger of being surrounded and annihilated, the Sakamoto Detachment will definitely rescue them at the risk of their lives. They are different from many of us. They will always come to our aid whenever we need them!"

Seeing that General Bai also agreed with his decision, Commander Li began to make adjustments and immediately issued an order to the 20th Corps, requiring the Tang Corps to begin to close in.

That afternoon, after receiving the military order, Tang Keqin hesitated again and again, but finally decided to send Guan Linzheng's 52nd Army and Wang Zhonglian's 85th Army to launch an attack on the flanks of Zaozhuang and Yi County on the outside line.

On the 29th, the Seya detachment launched another fierce attack on Taierzhuang and occupied the eastern half. The defenders still fought desperately. A fierce street fight broke out between the two sides in the village, with casualties on both sides, and neither side could do anything to the other.

At this time, Commander Chi had already received a telegram from the headquarters. In order to keep the Japanese in the village, he did not launch a counterattack as usual, but instead fought the Japanese half and half.

At this time, Seya Kei was unaware of the danger and was still trying to wipe out all the defenders. The two sides fought in the city for another day, and both sides suffered casualties.

On the 31st, the outer troops of the Fifth War Zone completed the task of forming a pocket and completely surrounded the Seya Detachment that entered the Taierzhuang area;
It was only then that Seya Kei reacted, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately asked the division headquarters for tactical guidance.

At the 10th Division Headquarters, Lieutenant General Rensuke Isogai was completely dumbfounded after receiving the telegram from Major General Kei Seya asking for reinforcements. This was a huge blow to him.

Previously, they were looking forward to taking Taierzhuang, marching to Xuzhou, and grabbing the first merit, but they didn't expect to fall into Commander Li's trap. The Seya Detachment was in danger of being wiped out. They immediately cursed:
"Bakayaro, how did that bastard Seya Kei fight?
The small town of Taierzhuang has not been captured after half a month of attack. He has brought shame to the empire!

If we could have taken Taierzhuang earlier, why would we have fallen into such a dangerous situation?"

Isogai habitually put the blame on Seya Kei. He could not be wrong anyway. It was all the fault of the pig-like Seya Kei and the fox-like Commander Li. It was not that the Imperial Army was incompetent, but that the Chinese were too cunning!

Seeing the urgent military situation, Chief of Staff Di Bujiagui had no choice but to bite the bullet and remind him:

"Your Excellency, the division commander, there are at least a dozen divisions of the National Army appearing around the Seya Detachment, and there are also elite Central Army troops such as the 20th Corps;

Reinforcements are needed to put out fires. Now is not the time to hold Seya-kun responsible. We must find a way to support the Seya Detachment."

Lieutenant General Isotani snorted coldly and said:
"Speak directly!"

"At the moment, the only unit that can support Seya-kun is the Sakamoto Detachment of the Fifth Division. The other units are like distant water that cannot quench immediate thirst."

Lieutenant General Isotani naturally knew it, but he was too embarrassed to do it, so he asked Colonel Tsutsumi Fukata to say it out loud. He still had some dignity to maintain.

Since Di Bujiagui had said it, he said bluntly:

"Then why are you just standing there? Send a telegram to Commander Nishi Sushi and ask for tactical guidance.

Hurry up! "

The old devil Isogai finally couldn't pretend anymore. He couldn't bear the responsibility for the annihilation of the Seya Detachment.

Lieutenant General Toshizo Nishio, commander of the Second Army, was also shocked after receiving the 10th Division's request for help, and immediately ordered the Sakamoto Detachment of the Fifth Division to rush to the rescue of the besieged Seya Detachment.

At this time, the Sakamoto Detachment was confronting the 59th Army and the 40th Army in Linyi. After receiving the order from Nishio Toshizo, it immediately left two battalions to continue to contain the Linyi defenders.
He personally led four infantry battalions and two field artillery battalions to rush to Taierzhuang for support, arriving at Xiangcheng and Aiqu areas and attacking the 4th Corps from the flank.

In order to put on a full show, Tang Keqin ordered the 52nd and 75th Armies to stop the Sakamoto Detachment step by step, inflicting heavy casualties on it, then pretending to be exhausted, and opened a gap to let them in;
This was the second table of guests that Commander Li and others were waiting for. Inspired by Yue Qianli's brilliant achievements on the southern front, Commander Li, who did not dare to let the Sakamoto Detachment enter from another time and space, prepared to invite two tables of guests together.

Tang Keqin also showed rare courage. He couldn't lose to a junior from Huangpu. At this point, the Battle of Taierzhuang had some deviations. Risks and opportunities coexisted.
In another time and space, the main force of the Fifth War Zone had to use all its might to encircle and annihilate the Seya Detachment. Now with the addition of the Sakamoto Detachment, it is hard to say whether this will be a half-baked meal.

The results achieved by Yue Qianduo and the guerrilla column on the southern front gave a lot of stimulation to the Fifth War Zone. People have to have dignity.
At an internal meeting of the 20th Corps, Guan Linzheng, commander of the 52nd Army, agreed to allow the Sakamoto Detachment to enter, and said to Wang Zhonglian of the 85th Army:
"Brother Jieren, our junior from the sixth term dared to challenge the Third Division with only 4 men. Are you and I, the seniors from the first term, afraid of the Sakamoto detachment?"

Wang Zhonglian nodded heavily and said:
"Brother Yudong, I also agree to let the Sakamoto detachment into the pocket. Even if it takes all our capital, we must eat up the arrogant Sakamoto detachment."

After Wang Zhonglian finished speaking, he looked at Commander Tang provocatively. These two brothers were putting him on the fire.
There were three armies in total, and both army commanders had expressed their opinions. With Commander Li's strict order, Old Tang could only be tough and snorted coldly:

"I'm still his instructor - follow his orders!"

When Major General Sakamoto saw that he had finally torn a hole, he was delighted and dove into the pocket like a bull.

After knowing this, Commander Li and General Bai smiled at each other, and the second table of guests finally arrived...

(End of this chapter)