Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Luxi, outside the east gate of Liaocheng.

At 3 p.m., the last group of civilians disappeared into the security zone controlled by the Nationalist army, and the countdown reached zero.

The world seemed to be muted, with only the whistling sound of the wind whipping up the yellow earth.

"time up."

Xue Jie stood on the high ground of the command post and lowered his binoculars.

Without any unnecessary words, he simply uttered a single word into the microphone: "Fight!"

"boom!!!"

At this command, the 8th Artillery Brigade, which had been poised for action for some time, along with the army group's artillery regiment, unleashed a roar from nearly three hundred artillery pieces of various calibers in the same second.

The orange-red muzzle flashes merged into one, and the dense trajectories intertwined in the air to form a deadly web.

With no civilians left in the city, the artillery units had nothing to worry about.

Chu Yunfei also used the artillery guidance skill twice, making the bombardment of shells more efficient.

The eastern city wall of Liaocheng was instantly engulfed in smoke and fire. The ancient bricks and stones crumbled and collapsed like biscuits under the hammer blows of 150mm and 105mm grenades.

The Japanese machine gun emplacements and observation posts set up on the city walls, along with the soldiers who attempted to defend the walls, were reduced to ashes in the first volley of fire.

"Armored brigade, attack!"

Yin Chongyue's calm yet murderous voice came through the radio.

The ground began to tremble.

It wasn't a chaotic vibration, but a rhythmic, breathtaking metallic pulsation.

Amidst billowing dust, dozens of M4A3 Sherman tanks formed a formidable wedge-shaped attack formation, roaring as they charged out of their positions.

Behind them were M3 half-track armored vehicles and infantry surging like a tide.

Xing Zhigang, the commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, a fierce general nicknamed "Iron Head Xing," was personally driving the lead vehicle at the forefront.

Instead of pulling his head back in, he wore goggles and stood outside the turret, holding a radio and shouting commands: "Tanker 01, attention, barricade ahead."

In Dongguan, Liaocheng, the Japanese army used sandbags, logs, and even bricks and stones from demolished houses to build thick barricades in order to block tanks.

But these civil engineering works appeared so vulnerable in the face of the Sherman tank's 75mm main gun.

"boom!"

A shell precisely pierced the firing port of the barricade, and the violent explosion sent the Japanese machine gun crew behind it flying into the air, along with their guns.

"Run them over! Don't stop!"

Xing Zhigang roared, "Those are our Chinese houses! Don't worry about damaging them. I'll build them new ones after the war!"

"Crush those Japanese devils inside!"

The thirty-ton steel monster crashed directly into the burning ruins, its tracks crushing rubble and corpses with a series of teeth-grinding cracks, carving a path through the rubble.

Upon entering the city, the battle instantly intensified.

The Japanese 8th Division was, after all, a veteran and formidable force. Even after losing its outer perimeter and suffering a blow to morale, the desperate fighting spirit they displayed in dire straits remained ferocious.

"Onboard!"

Suddenly, countless Japanese suicide squads, their bodies strapped with explosives, emerged from the windows of houses on both sides of the street and from under manhole covers.

They had no anti-tank guns, no poison gas shells, so they could only use their own bodies as weapons.

"Attention all vehicles! Flamethrower!"

Yin Chongyue's orders were delivered promptly.

This time, accompanying the Sherman tanks into the city were not only infantry, but also specially reinforced engineer flamethrower teams, and even several modified flamethrower tanks.

"call--!!!"

Several ferocious fire dragons instantly spewed out.

The flames seemed to have a life of their own, creeping in through windows, door cracks, and sewer openings.

The extremely high temperature of over a thousand degrees instantly drained the oxygen from the narrow space.

The shrill screams resounded through the sky.

The Japanese soldiers who were hiding in the shadows preparing to launch a sneak attack were turned into dancing firecrackers before they could even pull the fuse. They screamed and rolled out of their hiding places, writhing in agony in the streets until they became curled-up charred corpses.

In front of a stone bunker in the center of the city, the vanguard battalion was pinned down by the Japanese army's crossfire and could not raise their heads.

"This damn turtle's shell is too hard!"

The vanguard battalion commander wiped the soot off his face and yelled into the walkie-talkie, "Regimental Commander!"

"The heavy machine gun is mounted in the basement, with only a narrow opening; tank cannons can't get in!"

"Let the infantrymen go."

Xing Zhigang's voice rang out from behind.

Before long, two burly soldiers, carrying heavy Type 31 rocket launchers, used the ruins to quickly advance to a blind spot less than 50 meters from the bunker under the cover of machine gun fire.

"Where!"

"Ten o'clock! Bunker firing port!"

"emission!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Two plumes of white smoke flashed past as the rocket, trailing a fiery exhaust, crashed into the bunker.

"Boom——"

A muffled thud, like a muffled thunderclap exploding underground.

The bunker's roof was ripped open by a huge blast of air, billowing out thick smoke, and the machine gun fire inside abruptly ceased.

……

Japanese Army's underground command post in Liaocheng.

As muffled explosions continued to resound overhead, dust fell in clumps, settling on the pale face of Major General Yokoyama, the brigade commander.

"Brigade Commander! The East Gate has fallen! The South Gate has fallen! Chinese tanks have broken into the city center!"

"The 17th Regiment has been completely wiped out! Only two companies remain in the 31st Regiment, desperately defending the county government building!"

The chief of staff's voice was choked with despair: "We've run out of anti-tank mines!"

"Cluster grenades are useless against their new armored vehicles! We need artillery support!"

"This is the end for me!"

Shizuo Yokoyama drew his sword and looked at his own desperate face reflected in the blade.

He remembered the ultimatum issued by the Chinese delegation leader yesterday.

Do not be the first to use poison gas.

How ironic!
The Chinese kept their promise and crushed them with conventional weapons.

Even if they wanted to break their promises, they didn't even have the means to do so.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the door to the command post was blasted open by a bomb.

Amidst the smoke and dust, the massive cannon of a Sherman tank pierced straight in, followed by countless Chinese soldiers armed with submachine guns.

"Why are there Japanese soldiers committing seppuku here? Could it be some high-ranking official?"

A veteran squad leader seemed to take this for granted: "Who cares? Just report it."

The next day, noon.

A tattered but vibrant blue-sky-white-sun-red-field flag of the People's Liberation Army slowly rose atop the tallest clock tower in Liaocheng.

The main force of the Japanese 8th Division, an elite unit that had committed countless crimes in Northeast and North China, was annihilated today in Liaocheng.

……

Beiping, Tieshizi Hutong, North China Area Army Headquarters. The cool night breeze couldn't dispel the heavy, deathly atmosphere in the operations room.

Okamura Yasuji sat blankly in his chair, clutching the telegram in his hand that stated that the 8th Division had been annihilated except for the division headquarters and a few scattered combat units.

He looked as if he had aged ten years.

"The Eighth Division is finished."

"Including the previous peripheral operations and preparatory operations, an elite Class A combat division only lasted less than half a month on the battlefield."

"The fighting power of the Chinese army today is truly formidable."

Chief of Staff Major General Shinichi Kitajima stood to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

"Commander, now is not the time for grief."

Shinichi Kitajima, steeling himself, reminded him: "With the fall of Liaocheng, the gateway to western Shandong is wide open."

On the southern front, the 5th and 31st Chinese Armies are also launching a fierce offensive. If we don't retreat soon…

"retreat?"

Okamura Neiji slowly raised his head, a sinister glint flashing in his cloudy eyes, interrupting Kitajima Shinichi's words.

"Where to retreat?"

"If we abandon Jinan, abandon the Jinpu Railway, and retreat to Dezhou, Cangzhou, or even Beiping."

Okamura Neiji, supporting himself on the edge of the table, stood up shakily and walked to the huge battle map.

His finger traced across the flat North China Plain: "Kikujima-kun, don't you understand yet?"

"With the loss of Liaocheng, the gates of western Shandong were wide open."

"That boundless plain is Chu Yunfei's armored forces' natural hunting ground!"

"The Chinese tank tracks can advance at a speed far exceeding that of our infantry on two legs on the plains."

"Retreating under the pursuit of enemy bombers and tanks will only lead to an uncontrollable rout!"

Okamura Neiji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart and regaining his rationality as the commander of the army group.

He picked up his baton and struck it heavily in the center of the Shandong map—where there was a dark brown area representing the continuous mountain range.

"Shandong's terrain is low in the west and high in the east, with a central uplift."

"Western Shandong is a plain, which is advantageous for attack but disadvantageous for defense."

"But it's different in central Shandong!"

The baton swept south along the Taishan Mountains, passing through the Yimeng Mountains, and reaching the border of northern Jiangsu.

"Here you'll find Mount Tai, Mount Lu, and Mount Yimeng, with towering peaks and complex terrain."

"The Chinese tanks can't move here, and their heavy artillery is difficult to deploy. This is our only chance of survival!"

Okamura Neiji's eyes gradually turned crazed and resolute: "We can't run, the faster we run, the faster we'll die."

"We must hold our ground!"

"Order all main forces of the 12th Army, the 59th Division, and all available independent mixed brigades to immediately consolidate their defensive lines!"

"Abandon all unnecessary strongholds in the plains and concentrate all forces on the mountain passes along the Jinpu Railway and on both sides."

"Relying on the Taishan mountain range, we will build a deep defense system!"

"Even if we have to hollow out the mountains, even if we have to turn Jinan into ruins, we will stop the armored torrent of the Chinese west of the Jinpu Railway!"

Shinichi Kitajima stared at the map, cold sweat pouring down his back: "But Commander, this leaves us with no room for maneuver. Once the defenses are breached, we will..."

"No buts!"

Okamura Yasuji roared, interrupting the chief of staff's concerns: "If we don't hold the Jinpu Railway, the connection between Central China and North China will be severed!"

"The southern gate of Manchuria has been completely opened!"

"in addition."

Okamura Neiji turned around and looked towards the northeast on the map.

That was where the main force of the Kwantung Army was located, and where his last hope lay.

"Send another telegram to headquarters, using the strongest and most urgent language!"

"Tell Prime Minister Tojo that reinforcements of just two divisions are not enough, far from enough!"

"The firepower density of the Chinese army has surpassed that of the Soviet army back then!"

"If we don't want the entire North China Area Army to be wiped out, and if we don't want the flames of war to reach the Yangtze River, we must transfer the main force of the Kwantung Army into the pass!"

"I need tank divisions, I need heavy artillery, and I need airplanes!"

"It would be best if you could bring over all the assets of the Kwantung Army!"

"Otherwise, we'll all be doomed!"
-
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, at the Imperial Palace Library.

Inside the deep underground bunker, Emperor Hirohito sat alone in his study; it was late at night.

Minister of the Interior Kido Koichi entered quietly, carrying a newly translated top-secret telegram.

"Your Majesty, an urgent telegram from North China."

Hirohito put down the book in his hand, slowly raised his head, his slightly pale face expressionless: "Read."

"Liaocheng has fallen. The main force of the 8th Division has been confirmed annihilated under the attack of the 88th episode of the China Elite."

Koichi Kido's voice trembled: "The Chinese army has used a large number of advanced American equipment, including heavy tanks and napalm bombs. General Yasuji Okamura reported that the situation in North China has reached a critical point of 'extinction'."

"He requested the General Headquarters to once again mobilize a large number of Kwantung Army troops into the pass and to rely on the Shandong mountains for the final decisive battle."

Hirohito remained silent.

A deathly silence permeated the study.

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh, took off his glasses, and rubbed his tired brow.

"The 8th Division, an elite force."

Hirohito's voice was low and hollow: "Just half a month ago, I thought Shandong was impregnable."

"Now, is even the so-called 'steel defense line' as fragile as paper in front of that Chinese army?"

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Tojo has rushed to the Ministry of the Army to convene an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures."

"Countermeasures?"

Hirohito gave a bitter laugh and put his glasses back on: "What other solutions are there? Just robbing Peter to pay Paul."

"If the Kwantung Army is emptied out, what if the Soviets attack?"
He stood up and paced a few steps in the cramped basement, his back view appearing particularly desolate.

"Kido."

"The minister is here."

"Lately, I've been thinking a lot about whether this war was a wrong move from the very beginning?"

If these words were spoken by someone else, it would be a capital offense.

But the words coming from Tianhuang startled Kido Koichi, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and immediately kneel down, too afraid to utter a word.

Hirohito ignored his ministers' fear and simply continued speaking to himself:
"In the Pacific, the Combined Fleet suffered repeated defeats; on the mainland battlefield, the Chinese army grew stronger with each battle."

"Domestic resources are scarce, manpower is depleted, and riots occur frequently."

"I hope that Prime Minister Tojo will use whatever means necessary, whether it is drawing troops from the Kwantung Army or filling in the reserves in the country, to stabilize the front line in North China."

Hirohito then changed the subject: "But at the same time, we must also begin to prepare for the worst-case scenario."

"The positions held by members of the Locust Clan in the military must be cleared up as soon as possible."

“Especially those princes who are still serving as commanders on the front lines, let’s find a reason to let them retire gracefully due to illness and return home.”

"We cannot let the locust tribe bear the ultimate infamy in this battle that we are destined to lose."

"In addition, we should urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to step up its efforts, even if it's through that so-called 'peace channel,' to see if we can sound out the sentiments of the people of Yamashiro and the Americans."

Hirohito gazed at the map on the wall, his eyes landing on the "China" territory surrounded by red arrows. His voice was barely audible: "If Manchuria truly cannot be preserved, then at least, the national system must be preserved." (End of Chapter)