Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 321: Kenji Doihara, a Gambling Addict

When Major Kurokawa and his men found the "artillery position" of the reconnaissance battalion by feel, they did not see any Japanese soldiers, let alone cannons. There was no sign of any heavy artillery units being there, which made him suspect that he had found the wrong place.

"Bakayaloo, damn it! Judging from the noise when they fired at the same time, it must be at least a heavy artillery battalion, which is a strategic-level force in China. Even an army cannot produce so many heavy artillery.

It doesn’t look like a heavy artillery position at all…”

Major Kurokawa muttered to himself, and the infantry squadron leader Hanai Taro kindly reminded him:
"Kurokawa-kun, have we come to the wrong place? There is not enough space here to accommodate a heavy artillery battalion. Besides, more than a dozen heavy artillery pieces will definitely leave some traces, such as wheel tracks, packhorse footprints, shell casings, etc."

This was also what Major Kurokawa was puzzled about. It would take them at most 20 minutes to get here, and it was impossible for more than a dozen heavy artillery to be moved so quickly.
Even if he acted quickly, it was impossible to eliminate all traces calmly. He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out. He had to give up and go back to report. He was bound to be scolded.

By the time they rushed back to the regiment headquarters covered in dust and dirt, the Japanese attack had temporarily stopped. Not only was their morale low, but most importantly, the Japanese were also worried that the defenders' heavy artillery would fire at their infantry, causing them to suffer no casualties.

Kurokawa did not bring back the result that Colonel Itanishi expected, but he did not slap him again. On the one hand, it was because his hand hurt, and on the other hand, it was because he had calmed down and knew that beating and scolding subordinates would not solve the problem, but would offend people.

Colonel Itanishi's face turned very ugly. Without the heavy artillery, the attack on Lanfeng City would become more difficult. Now they were only on the periphery and hadn't even touched the edge of Lanfeng City.

Major Kurokawa seemed to have guessed what Colonel Itanishi was worried about, and he bowed and said:

"Your Excellency, the military situation is urgent. Only by occupying Lanfeng City can we break the deadlock. I suggest you ask your Excellency, the division commander, for tactical guidance and send air warriors to support us."

Colonel Itanishi thought that this was the only way, so he asked Major Kurokawa to ask the division commander for tactical guidance immediately so as not to delay the important matter.

Lieutenant General Kenji Doihara was also furious after receiving the message from Colonel Itanishi. He cursed Colonel Itanishi's ancestors for eighteen generations before requesting air support from the North China Front Army Headquarters.

At the same time, 59 additional soldiers and one battalion of reinforcements were allocated to the 1th Regiment, which expanded Colonel Itanishi's force to more than 1 people. The only requirement was to occupy Lanfeng City within 5 hours.

After Doihara Kenji had adjusted the deployment, Chief of Staff Tadayoshi Sano said sternly:
“Your Excellency, Division Commander, we can now confirm that Yue Qianli’s main force is in Lanfeng City, with no less than 15000 men, and a very strong force;
It is very difficult to recapture Lanfeng City in a short period of time, so it is better to change the strategy——"

Doihara Kenji raised his hand to stop him from saying the following words. He had always been addicted to gambling and would not admit defeat easily.

Ever since the attack on the Northeast Army's main camp outside the Great Wall, he has been relying on his incredible luck in gambling to advance in career and has risen to the position of Lieutenant General and Division Commander. It is impossible to expect him to admit defeat and break out in disgrace, so it is better to kill him.

He said with a cold face:

"Sano-kun, stop talking, the Imperial Army will not give up easily!
I don't even take Xue Boling's hundreds of thousands of elite Central Army troops seriously, so why would I be afraid of a small guerrilla column?

If the troops are not enough, add another battalion. If the firepower is not enough, send more air warriors to Lanfeng City. The rise and fall of the Utsunomiya Division (14th Division) depends on this battle. We have no way out.

Tell Banxi-kun that I only want Lan Fengcheng!"

When Colonel Sano saw the godlike Kenji Doihara start to go all in again, he recalled his previous glorious record and his blood boiled instantly;

He bowed excitedly to the old devil Doihara, then turned around and left with high morale, without noticing the trance in his eyes.

This was a performance of lack of confidence, which would have been absolutely impossible in the past. Kenji Doihara himself didn't know why it was like this; although he said it very casually and didn't take Yue Qianli and the guerrilla column seriously, in fact he was already scared.

On the one hand, it was because Yue Qianli's reputation was too great, and on the other hand, it was because Xue Boling's army of more than 100,000 put enough pressure on him;
He was confident that he could defeat Yue Qianli, but he was not completely sure that he could defeat the guerrilla column before Xue Boling's army surrounded them. If the Chinese attacked immediately, it would be troublesome.

"Yoshi, Doihara-kun, you must believe in yourself, and even more so in the warriors of the empire. With the assistance of the warriors in the air, they will surely defeat the guerrilla column!

Just defeat them!"

Kenji Doihara was silently cheering himself up, but he didn't know that the more he did so, the more it showed that he was unsure;
He was unaware of this because he did not know the true face of Mount Lu because he was already inside the mountain. Everyone caught in the gambling game firmly believed that he would win.

In the outer positions of Lanfeng City, Major Itanishi, who received new "chips" support, became confident again. Under the strict order of the division commander, he was also ready to bet all his "chips" - all in!

Now everything is ready, except for the east wind. Once the east wind comes, he will go all in and gamble on this life-and-death game with the defenders.

"Sir, the wind is picking up!"

Major Kurokawa and Colonel Itanishi are totally on different sides of the same coin. Their heads are filled with shit, not paste!
Is this the time to joke?

"Bagaya road!"

Colonel Itanishi really wanted to slap him, but suddenly he heard a rumbling sound. He was stunned at first, then his face lit up with joy - the wind really was blowing.

Suddenly his smile faded. The fleet was coming from the northeast this time. He was waiting for the southeast wind. The luck was too bad.

This cast a thick cloud over the heart of Colonel Itanishi, who had always been superstitious. He always had an ominous premonition that God did not seem to be on their side.

On the defenders' position, the shrill anti-aircraft whistles were heard, and one after another, the khaki figures disappeared into the simple anti-artillery holes, and the rest was left to God.

Fortunately, this is still the sky of China, but the devil's aircraft still have the final say. They dropped a string of bombs on the defenders' positions, and in an instant the positions were engulfed by a series of explosions, along with a large number of defenders' soldiers...

The Japanese's indiscriminate bombing lasted for two hours, with wave after wave of planes coming, as if they were going to wipe out the defenders' positions. In order to help Kenji Doihara, the Japanese planes also fought hard.

The 1st Battalion's position was bombed by at least 100 aircraft sorties, most of the fortifications were destroyed, and hundreds of soldiers were buried in the loose soil.

Some have already sacrificed their lives and shed their blood on the fertile soil;
Some were seriously injured and dying;
Some were buried alive in the soil and were struggling, but no one chose to retreat.

Colonel Itanishi was obviously very satisfied with the effect of the bombing and shouted:
“Warriors, charge forward and kill all the Chinese;

Your Majesty, the Emperor, is awesome!

(End of this chapter)