Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Pengcheng, the underground command post of the Japanese 65th Division.

Division Commander Lieutenant General Yoneo Ota stood in front of the command table and reached out to brush the dust off the map.

His movements were slow and gentle, showing no sign of panic, but rather a kind of morbid excitement.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander."

Chief of Staff Colonel Kato pushed open the heavy iron door and walked in. The smell of gunpowder outside immediately flooded into the space, which was filled with the smell of mildew and tobacco.

"The Jiulishan defense line has been breached by the enemy."

Kato's voice trembled, but not from fear: "The garrison sent a final farewell telegram. The Chinese army's artillery fire was incredibly powerful. In just forty minutes, all the surface positions were razed to the ground."

"The remnants are retreating towards Xuzhou city and the Yunlong Mountain defense line according to the pre-arranged plan."

"Division Commander, we don't have much time left."

"Kato-kun, you're being too pessimistic."

Ota Yoneo held up two fingers and pointed them in the air: "How many troops have we deployed in Kuriyama? Only two battalions, a mere two thousand men!"

"And who is our opponent?"

"They are the elite troops of the Chinese army, the 31st Army Group, with tens of thousands of soldiers!"

Ota Yoneo slammed his fist on the table, splashing water from his teacup: "Two thousand men, relying on fortifications, managed to hold off tens of thousands of elite Chinese troops for eight whole days!"

Eight days!

Ota Yoneo's voice suddenly rose, echoing in the cramped bunker: "What does this mean?"

"This shows that apart from relying on American heavy artillery, the Chinese army's infantry combat capability is still extremely weak!"

Major Kato paused for a moment, then asked, "You mean..."

"Since the two thousand men on the outskirts can hold out for eight days, then we can rely on the more fortified buildings and the permanent fortifications of Yunlong Mountain in the city, along with the remaining ten thousand or so brave warriors from our brother country."

Yoneo Ota took a deep breath, his eyes filled with fervor: "We are fully capable of holding out for another half a month, or even longer!"

"As long as we can hold them back, Nanjing can organize a new line of defense, and the international situation may be reversed."

"Oh, I see. Your Excellency, perhaps we really can hold out until the international situation changes..."

"Pass down the order."

Meanwhile, in Jinling, a thousand kilometers away.

A chilling wind and bitter rain enveloped this ancient capital of six dynasties.

The former Nationalist government building was now adorned with the glaring Japanese flag, hanging limply in the gloom.

General Okamura Yasuji sat alone behind his large desk, holding a stack of newly compiled battle reports in his hand.

His face was as stiff as if cast in iron.

Those eyes, hidden behind round-framed glasses, were fixed on the huge battle map on the wall.

"Your Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief."

Chief of Staff He Bianzheng strode in, the sound of his leather boots striking the floor echoing crisply in the empty hall.

He held a newly translated naval telegram in his hand, his tone unusually relaxed: "Commander, the results of the coordination by General Headquarters are in."

He walked to the map, picked up the baton and pointed to Jiaozhou Bay: "Several destroyers of the Navy have arrived off the coast of Qingdao. Naval gun support can cover the coastline at any time. The Army Aviation Corps stationed in Dalian has also promised to provide air cover at all costs."

"Also, the Haizhou direction..."

He Bianzheng pointed his finger toward Lianyungang: "Although the transport fleet was attacked by air, as long as the weather improves, even if there is only a two-day window, the naval task force can arrive. At that time, it can provide continuous cover. In addition, with the tenacious resistance of the 65th Division in the Pengcheng direction, our withdrawal plan should not have any problems."

"And Pengcheng."

Kawabe Masazo handed over Ota Yoneo's telegram: "Ota-kun has sent a battle report. Although he lost Kuriyama, his confidence has increased. The Chinese army spent a full eight days breaking through the outer perimeter, which proves that their ability to attack fortified positions is not as terrible as rumored."

Okamura Neiji did not reach out to take the telegram.

He slowly took off his glasses, took out a piece of deerskin cloth from his pocket, and began to wipe it slowly and deliberately.

Okamura Neiji's voice was low and hoarse, revealing neither joy nor anger: "Kawabe-kun, do you believe in miracles?"

Kawabe Masazo was taken aback: "Your Excellency?"

"Qingdao is stable, Haizhou is saved, and Pengcheng can hold out for another half month." Okamura Yasuji put his glasses back on, a cold glint flashing behind the lenses. "Don't you think all of this is going too smoothly?"

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the continuous rain outside.

"I've fought Chu Yunfei more than once."

Okamura Neiji stood with his hands behind his back, his fingers turning slightly white from the force: "That person is a ravenous wolf that never lets go."

"Since he has deployed such a large force in Jinan, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops, and even sending all his heavy artillery and air force units,..."

"Will he allow us to delay in Pengcheng?"

"Will he just stand by and watch us withdraw our forces from Haizhou?"

Kawabe Masazo hesitated for a moment, then whispered in defense, "But intelligence shows that there is serious infighting within the Chinese army."

"In episode 31, the Chinese army was passively avoiding battle in order to preserve its strength. Li Yannian's troops also had their own selfish motives, and Han Deqin's troops were a mixed bag with low combat effectiveness. Perhaps this is the reason why the Chinese army's attack was slow?"

"The enemy may have assumed that we still have some reserves or that we can draw troops from other places to provide reinforcements."

Okamura Neiji shook his head, his finger pointing heavily at the red dot on Pengcheng, his fingertip trembling slightly: "Like the calm before the storm, what he wants is to annihilate all our North China forces in one battle."

An unprecedented feeling of suffocation welled up in Okamura Yasuji's heart.

Looking at the seemingly "improving" battle lines on the map, he saw not hope, but a giant bear trap slowly closing in.

The more Okamura Neiji thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

If we follow this line of thinking, then everything will make sense.

"If I were Chu Yunfei," Okamura Neiji muttered to himself, "I would use this time to gather even more terrifying firepower to deliver the final blow to Pengcheng, and then use this time difference to prepare a funeral for the retreating troops of my brother country in Haizhou, and personally extinguish all our hopes."

Kawabe Masazo's expression changed slightly: "Should we remind Ota-kun?"

What's the point of a reminder?

Okamura Neiji sighed deeply, slumped into his chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Does the current dispatched army still have even one battalion of reserves?"

"Nothing."

"The Kwantung Army was blocked north of the Yellow River, while the Southern Army was still struggling in the quagmire."

“Even if I realized it was a trap, I could only watch as Ota-kun jumped in and the soldiers of Haizhou squeezed onto the ship.”

The room fell into a deathly silence, with only the ticking of the wall clock, as if it were counting down the final days for the army that was about to be wiped out.

After a moment, Kawabe Masazo spoke up again, suggesting, "Perhaps we could ask them to use civilian ships to transport the goods to the nearshore area, and then have the navy dispatch transport ships to pick them up. That would improve efficiency."

Okamura Yasuji waved his hand: "The Navy has already done so because they are worried that getting too close will result in being shelled, so they refused to dock."

Just as Kawabe Masazo was about to say something, he saw Okamura Neiji close his eyes and wave his hand as if in despair: "Wait."

"There's nothing we can do right now."

"Hay."

At this moment, Kawabe Masazo began to doubt whether the headquarters' decision was correct.

Was Okamura Yasuji truly capable of serving as the commander of the expeditionary force?

Why do I always feel that since Okamura Yasuji took office in North China, they have suffered defeat after defeat and retreated again and again?
Perhaps one day.

Kawabe Masazo really wanted to ask the enemy commander, Chu Yunfei, in person to get the answer he wanted.
Xiao County is located at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces.

The sky had a sickly grayish-yellow hue, as if the smoke and dust of the past few days had covered the land with an indelible shroud.

Inside the compound of the 31st Army Group Headquarters, several crows landed on the bare branches of locust trees, cawing incessantly.

Wang Zhonglian paced back and forth in the operations room with his hands behind his back. His leather boots clattered on the blue brick floor, making a dull, rapid sound. His neck was covered in sweat, and his bloodshot eyes occasionally glanced at the doorway, as if waiting for something, or perhaps fearing something.

"Commander, they've arrived!"

The chief of staff strode into the room, his voice low but filled with barely concealed tension: "The convoy has passed the checkpoint. There are only two jeeps ahead, and the truck following behind is full of military police wearing 'North China Joint Command' armbands."

Wang Zhonglian's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Only military police?" He subconsciously straightened his collar, his brows furrowing deeply. "No other entourage. What exactly is Chief of Staff Lin up to?"

Before the chief of staff could reply, the sharp sound of car brakes could be heard outside the compound.

Wang Zhonglian took a deep breath, his face quickly contorting with a mixture of weariness and determination from years of battle, and strode out to meet them.

The car door opened, and a pair of long military trousers stepped out.

Lin Wei was dressed in a crisp lieutenant general's uniform. Although he was travel-worn and his leather shoes were covered in mud, the sharpness he exuded was like a drawn sword, making people afraid to look him in the eye.

"Senior, what brings you here?"

Wang Zhonglian took two quick steps, saluted, and then swiftly extended his hands to shake hands and exchange pleasantries: "The front lines are in chaos. If I had known you were coming, I would have sent an armored vehicle to meet you ten miles away!"

Lin Wei did not extend his hand, but simply raised his hand in return with a standard military salute, his expression calm to the point of being indifferent: "Brother Jieren, military affairs are urgent, so let's skip the formalities."

Lin Wei's voice wasn't loud, but her attitude spoke volumes.

He took off his white gloves, walked straight past Wang Zhonglian, and strode toward the operations room, as if he were the master of the place.

Wang Zhonglian's hand froze in mid-air, his smile stiffened slightly, then quickly disappeared, replaced by obsequiousness, and he hurried after him.

Inside the operations room, smoke filled the air.

Lin Wei stood before the massive Pengcheng defense map, his gaze sharp as he swept across the red and blue lines of defense.

The accompanying operations staff quickly opened their folders and began to verify the troop deployment against the map. Their movements were efficient and silent, and the atmosphere in the entire operations room instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"Brother Jieren."

Lin Wei did not turn around, but gently tapped the Pengcheng (Xuzhou) position with his riding whip: "The Chairman gave you seven days, but Your Excellency thinks that is too long."

Wang Zhonglian's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward to complain, "Chief, you have no idea! That Ota Yoneo is simply a madman."

"Jiuli Mountain has been captured."

Lin Wei turned around abruptly, interrupting him. Her eyes were fixed on Wang Zhonglian, as if trying to see through his little scheme to preserve his strength: "I came here today on the orders of the Chairman. I am not here to listen to your complaints about difficulties."

"The few mechanized artillery units were assigned to you. The 14th Air Force spent half its time supporting the Pengcheng front, which even delayed the plan to bomb Haizhou."

"Our air force also focused on supporting the Pengcheng area. Under these circumstances, there can only be one reason why the 31st Group Army is not performing well."

Lin Wei didn't say it aloud, but everyone understood.

The only possible reason is that he, as the commander, was scheming, or rather, incompetent and ineffective in combat.

Whether it's the former or the latter.

According to wartime management regulations, the minimum sentence would be ten years imprisonment or execution.

Wang Zhonglian naturally dared not have any other thoughts, and quickly stood at attention and promised: "Please rest assured, Commander, I swear to lead my valiant generals to take Pengcheng as scheduled."

"Alright, I'm here to oversee the battle on the orders of the Chairman."

The moment the words "supervise the battle" were uttered, the air in the room seemed to freeze. Lin Wei stepped forward, staring intently at Wang Zhonglian: "I need to personally confirm whether your battle plan is reasonable, whether your main force has truly been committed, and whether you really intend to annihilate this Japanese force within the window of opportunity!"

Wang Zhonglian's forehead broke out in a cold sweat: "Yes."

"The Air Force will provide maximum cover at dawn tomorrow."

Lin Wei's voice turned sinister, "Brother Jie Ren, if you still hold onto the mindset of 'even if we don't win, we won't suffer a major defeat,' then this battle may well be your final one."

Looking into Lin Wei's cold eyes, Wang Zhonglian's last shred of hope vanished completely.

He understood that this time it wasn't just the mountain city that was putting pressure on him; the chief advisor who held considerable military power and controlled the entire North China war situation had also lost patience with him.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency!"

Wang Zhonglian suddenly stood at attention, gritted his teeth, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes: "I, Wang Zhonglian, will now stake everything I have!"

"Tonight I will go to the front line to personally command and supervise the battle. At dawn tomorrow, we will launch a full-scale offensive!"

"If I can't take Pengcheng, I'll offer my head in retribution!"

Seeing Wang Zhonglian's statement, Lin Wei finally smiled and said, "Then I'll wait for Brother Jieren's good news."

……

Dawn the next day.

Northwest of Xuzhou City, at the foot of Yunlong Mountain.

Before the thick morning fog had even dissipated, the earth trembled, breaking the tranquility of dawn.

"Boom——! Boom——! Boom——!"

That was the sound of the American-made M1 155mm "Long-Legged Tom" howitzer.

Each high-explosive bomb, weighing over forty kilograms, that falls will trigger a small earthquake on the ground.

On the front line of the 68th Regiment of the 23rd Division of the 85th Army, Regiment Commander Ye Chengzheng lay on the edge of the trench, holding a Zeiss telescope with some paint chips in his hand and an unlit cigarette in his mouth, ignoring the mud falling from the sky.

Five hundred meters ahead, the Japanese outer defense line at the foot of Yunlong Mountain had been turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Those reinforced concrete bunkers, which the Japanese army had relied on as a Great Wall, were destroyed by heavy artillery fire, like eggs smashed by a hammer, their steel skeletons exposed in a pitiful state.

Limbs and severed arms were mixed in with rubble and debris, thrown high into the air by the blast wave, and then fell heavily back down.

"That's fucking awesome!"

Ye Cheng exhaled the smoke from his mouth, his eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light: "In the past, when we tackled these tough challenges, we paid with the lives of our brothers!"

"During the attack on Jiuli Mountain, it was fortunate that our regiment wasn't drawn, otherwise, who knows how many brothers would have died."

"Now that's great, Commander Chu has brought us cannons, and this battle is finally going to be much more comfortable!"

Behind him, the brothers of the First Battalion were already fully equipped and ready to go.

This elite Central Army unit was fairly well-equipped. Their uniform American-style steel helmets gleamed with a cold, bluish light in the morning sun. They carried either brand-new Type 24 rifles or at the very least, Hanyang rifles. In addition, each of them had a bunch of hand grenades hanging from their chests, resembling cantaloupes.

Even more noticeable were the several burly men from the assault team.

He was carrying a Type 31 rocket launcher that had been airlifted from North China, his eyes gleaming with eager excitement.

"Captain!"

"The artillery fire has spread!"

The battalion commander crouched down and ran over, his face smeared with soot, only his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Blow the charge!"

Ye Cheng drew his pistol from his waist and brandished it sharply: "Brothers! The Commander-in-Chief has given a strict order: we're having mutton soup in Xuzhou City for lunch today!"

"Anyone who tries to pull a fast one on me, I'll kill them! Kill them!!"

"Beep beep beep—!!!"

The piercing and resounding bugle call suddenly tore the battlefield apart.

"Kill them all!!!"

Thousands of Nationalist soldiers shouted as they leaped out of their trenches and surged toward the smoke-filled Japanese positions.

At the foot of Yunlong Mountain, a battalion command post of the Japanese 65th Division.

Major Yamamoto, the battalion commander, crawled out of the ruins with his face covered in blood. His left ear had been deafened, and he could only see the soldiers around him roaring with their mouths wide open, but he could not hear any sound.

"The Chinese are coming up!"

"Shoot! Shoot!"

Yamamoto brandished his sword, attempting to regroup the remaining firepower.

Amid the ruins, several surviving Type 92 heavy machine guns spat fire, and a crossfire network instantly covered the open area.

The Nationalist soldiers at the forefront fell in a row like wheat being harvested, their blood instantly staining the scorched earth red.

But this time, the Nationalist army did not retreat as it had done in the past.

"Rocket launcher! Take out that firing point for me!"

At the front line, a company commander roared with red eyes.

Two soldiers carrying Type 31 rifles quickly set up their weapons behind a shell crater, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

A plume of white smoke streaked past, precisely entering the firing port of the Japanese machine gun bunker.

After a muffled explosion, the roaring heavy machine gun fell silent instantly, and thick smoke billowed from the bunker.

"Go! Go! Don't stop!"

Taking advantage of the lull in the firepower, the subsequent assault teams charged forward despite the hail of bullets.

Several soldiers carrying flamethrowers rushed to perihelion and pulled the triggers on the trenches that were still putting up a fight.

"call--!!!"

Two fire dragons erupted, instantly engulfing everything in the trench.

"what--!!"

The piercing screams of Japanese soldiers echoed through the sky. Several "fire men," their bodies engulfed in flames, tumbled out of the trenches, struggled a few times, and then lay still. A nauseating stench of burning filled the air.

This is a head-on clash with no frills.

As the Nationalist army stormed into the outer urban area of ​​Xuzhou, the battle immediately turned into a brutal street fight.

Narrow streets, dilapidated houses, and behind every window, a dark gun barrel might be sticking out.

Ye Cheng's regiment had advanced to the vicinity of the old Xuzhou Railway Station. This was a key defensive stronghold of Ota Yoneo, where the Japanese army had constructed a dense crossfire, relying on the sturdy station buildings and several armored train carriages parked on the tracks.

"Da da da da——"

A burst of machine gun bullets struck the wall next to Ye Cheng, sending fragments of brick flying and grazing his cheek.

"Damn it, these little devils are like turtles, they're really tough!"

Ye Cheng shrank back into the corner, wiped the blood from his face, and looked at the Third Company, who were pinned down at the entrance of an alley and unable to move, feeling extremely anxious.

A low rumble suddenly came from the sky.

"Look in the sky! Our planes!"

The soldiers cheered.

Four P-40 fighter jets painted with shark mouths roared low overhead, their massive engines sending shivers down one's spine.

They did not hesitate for a moment, nor did they care where the friendly forces' attack was.

After all, their mission was to dive down onto the train station's position.

"All, all, all—"

Large-caliber aircraft machine guns swept across the ground, kicking up plumes of dust.

Immediately afterwards, the 500-pound aerial bomb under the fuselage detached and fell.

"Boom! Boom!"

The massive explosion ripped off the roof of the train station, and the armored train carriage that served as a fixed gun emplacement was directly overturned by the blast wave next to the tracks, sending the Japanese machine gunner inside flying into the air along with his parts.

"Now's the time! Charge with me!"

The third company commander seized the opportunity, grabbed his Thompson submachine gun, and was the first to rush out.

"Onboard!"

Amidst the ruins, a group of Japanese soldiers with white cloth strips wrapped around their heads charged out, bayonets in hand, attempting a final charge of suicide.

The two torrents collided violently on the narrow platform.

This is a battle of blood and flesh.

A Nationalist soldier's squad leader was stabbed through the shoulder by a Japanese bayonet. He roared, threw down his rifle, and grabbed the Japanese soldier's throat tightly. The two of them rolled off the platform together.

On the other side, several young Nationalist soldiers stood back to back, their bayonets like a forest of Chiang Kai-shek rifles, fighting fiercely against the Japanese soldiers who surrounded them.

"Pfft!"

The cold bayonet pierced the warm body, and when it was pulled out, it brought out a spray of blood.

No one cares about life or death, no one cares about pain.

Behind the 31st Army Group were the cold muzzles of the supervisory team's guns, Lin Wei's hawk-like eyes, and their last vestige of dignity as elite Central Army soldiers.

They cannot retreat, nor dare they retreat.

Inside the command post, Lin Wei put down his binoculars and listened to the deafening shouts of battle coming from the walkie-talkie. His tense lips finally relaxed slightly.

"Brother Jieren."

He turned around and looked at Wang Zhonglian, who was sweating profusely and directing operations. His tone was still calm, but less chilling than before: "See, that's right."

"As long as we stop hiding our strength, with the combat power of the 31st Army Group and our fire support, even if Ota Yoneo's defenses are made of iron, they won't be able to withstand this attack."

Wang Zhonglian coldly watched as the blue arrow representing the 68th Regiment on the map had deeply penetrated the core area of ​​Xuzhou City, and the heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.

"Send the order!"

Wang Zhonglian grabbed the phone, his voice hoarse but carrying a long-lost air of heroism: "All divisions and regiments must not stop! Don't worry about casualties!"

"Before nightfall, I want to see the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag planted atop Yunlong Mountain!"

"Kill! Kill all these Japanese devils!"

On the battlefield, the sounds of explosions, gunfire, and battle cries intertwined to create a grand symphony.
The setting sun, like blood, dyed the dilapidated city walls of Xuzhou crimson.

On that ruin.

The flag of the National Revolutionary Army was being raised with difficulty but unwavering determination amidst the smoke of battle, proclaiming that this strategically important town would soon return to the embrace of the motherland after being baptized by the flames of war. (End of Chapter)