Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 239: Destroy the Kwantung Army! A River of Blood

The storm has stopped!
As the Matsusaka Corps retreated, Zhang Changfeng arranged for the people in the city to go out and clean up the battlefield.

So many people died in the Kwantung Army and the Daqian "puppet army".

If the corpse is not handled in time, once it rots, it is easy to cause epidemics.

As for the Japanese weapons scattered everywhere, collect them all and hand them over.

These weapons can be taken to the Ximentang Arsenal for reprocessing and can still be used!
have to say,

In this battle against the Japanese, Ximen Tang won a great victory.

This was the first major victory of the Daqian Dynasty's army against the Japanese in all these years.

Moreover, they used a small force to defeat a larger one, and for the first time they defeated the Japanese and forced them to flee in panic.

of course,

Chen Jie also knew that this great victory was due to the right time, place and people.

Otherwise, if we fight head-on, even if we win, we will definitely suffer heavy losses.

This great victory not only boosted the morale of the Ximentang defenders, but also gave confidence to the people of Qingdao.

Noon.

Chen Jie summoned all the elite members of the Ximen Hall's "Eagle Division" to hold a meeting.

Among them were officials such as the prefect of Qingdao.

Chen Jie sat in the main seat in the meeting hall of the General's Mansion in Qingdao and said in a deep voice:
"In today's battle, we defeated the Kwantung Army's Matsusaka Corps. This is something worth celebrating!"

"But in the following period, we must not be careless."

"From the bodies collected at the scene, nearly half of them were from our Daqian army."

"Although the Matsusaka Corps temporarily withdrew, they did not leave Qingdao, but were stationed at the Qingdao dock."

"Tomorrow, the Japanese are likely to attack again!"

Everyone present nodded.

The Japanese Fifth Fleet did not leave.

Then,

In the future, they will definitely not give up.

Zhang Changfeng said confidently:

"Sir, we have plenty of artillery shells, grenades, and heavy machine gun bullets. There are still quite a few in the arsenal."

"We will kill as many Japanese as come!"

"No matter what kind of army they are, if they dare to attack our Ximen Hall, we will make sure they never return!"

The prefect beside him also nodded and said:
"I have arranged for the people to carry sandbags to the city wall."

"Drive more stakes on the walls on both sides of the city gate to form 'barricades'!"

"—"

At this moment, other people all expressed their opinions.

In view of the fierce attack that the Japanese might launch tomorrow, everyone was very cautious.

All of a sudden.

The whole meeting became very lively and the atmosphere was harmonious.

When everyone has expressed their opinions and is preparing for tomorrow's decisive battle.

Chen Jie stood up and said to everyone:

"Since the Japanese landed in the Northeast and occupied Liaodong, they have no longer concealed their evil ambitions."

"The last time they attacked Tangshan, their purpose was to intimidate the northern Russians!"

"Now, they have reached an agreement with the northern Russians, so they are continuously increasing their troops in the Northeast!"

"But they want to reoccupy Shandong, so they want to ask our Ximen Hall whether we agree or not."

"Tomorrow the Japanese will launch a general attack. Our first priority is to defend ourselves and hold back their main force."

"Our special operations company will leave the city tonight under cover of darkness, and when their base is empty tomorrow, we will directly destroy their retreat route!"

"In this battle, we must not only defeat the Matsusaka Army, but also capture Matsusaka Jiro alive!"

"Everyone, get a good rest tonight. Have the sentries step up their vigilance. A tough battle awaits us tomorrow."

finished,

Everyone stood up and nodded to Chen Jie, "Yes, sir!"

this moment,
Everyone around was full of confidence.

They could sense an invincible belief from Chen Jie's tone.

This invincible belief deeply affects everyone in the Eagle Tribe.

As Chen Jie's spiritual cultivation realm broke through to the 'Great Accomplishment of Inner Vision', his "Bible Spiritual Cultivation Technique" was able to influence Zhang Changfeng.

Everyone present here has the seed of faith deeply buried in their hearts.

Even civil servants such as the prefect felt their fighting spirit was high and they were so excited that they couldn't wait to pick up guns and kill the enemy.

-

Chen Jie held a meeting at the General's Mansion in Qingdao.

Matsusaka Jizo also held a military meeting in the temporary military camp.

All the majors and lieutenants under the Kwantung Army's Matsusaka Corps were present.

Including the remaining Daqian Dynasty's "fake army" generals, all attended the meeting.

First of all,

Matsusaka Jio expressed his appreciation and commendation to the generals who fought bravely today.

And he began to plan the general attack for tomorrow.

Due to the "fake army" of the Daqian Dynasty, the losses today were too great, with more than 3,000 people killed or injured.

If we launch a general offensive tomorrow, the 'puppet army' will continue to attack from the front and act as cannon fodder, and will most likely be wiped out!
Therefore,
The generals of Daqian's "fake army" began to complain to Matsusaka Jiro.

With the precedent of Liang Yunzhan being sacrificed, they did not dare to stand up against Matsusaka Jiro.

However, it is still necessary to complain and fight for your rights.

Matsusaka Jiro naturally knew what these Daqian "fake army" generals wanted to gain.

He promised that as long as Qingdao was successfully captured, the descendants of these "puppet army" generals would be allowed to be sent to Japan to settle down.

in fact,

Matsusaka Jio already had another plan in mind.

If Qingdao still cannot be captured tomorrow, the Matsusaka Corps will retreat completely and return to the Northeast on the troop transport ships of the Fifth Fleet.

of course,

In order not to affect the morale of the army, Matsusaka Jiro did not make the second plan public.

After the meeting.

Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi sat quietly in the conference room.

The atmosphere became solemn and depressing.

Fujita took a deep breath and said to Matsusaka Jiro:

"Colonel, will we be able to succeed in launching a general attack on Qingdao City tomorrow?"

Matsusaka Jiro shook his head and said with a serious expression:

"It's very difficult! Ximen Hall's defense is too strong. Their artillery is indeed more advanced and more powerful than that of the Westerners!"

"And they got a lot of heavy machine guns from the Westerners. The defense of Qingdao is now many times stronger than before. It's like a rock!"

"I now finally understand why the Hunter and Johnson coalitions were completely defeated by Simon Hall's army!"

"Tomorrow's general attack plan is that we will first attack the east gate with 2,000 people to attract their main defense force."

"Next, we will attack Qingdao's south gate."

"The South Gate is different from the East Gate. There is no trench, no chevaux de frise, and no water on the ground. Our charge speed can be doubled!"

"The only thing we need to worry about is the artillery at the south gate!"

"Also, I have decided that if we cannot capture Qingdao tomorrow, we will retreat completely and not fight any more!"

"The Fifth Fleet's troop transports, I'm ready to retreat at any time--!"

Fujita nodded and said, "Ha--!"

Although Teng Tiangang always felt uneasy about tomorrow's general attack plan.

but,

When he heard Matsusaka Jio say that if they failed to capture the city, they would retreat completely, he breathed a sigh of relief.

-

Early the next morning!

At the east gate of Qingdao, the accumulated water on the ground has decreased a lot, revealing the bumpy ground.

Boom—boom—!
The Matsusaka Legion was divided into two thousand soldiers, scattered over an area of several kilometers, and continuously fired at the city gate.

Make a sound in the east and attack in the west!

The place that Matsusaka Jio chose to launch the general attack today was the south gate of Qingdao.

at this time,

Only Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi were standing five kilometers away.

He looked towards the south gate of Qingdao City through a telescope, with white air coming out of his mouth.

Although it is already the third day of the second lunar month, the weather is still very cold.

Especially since it rained yesterday and the sea breeze made it feel bone-chillingly cold.

Matsusaka Jiro put down the telescope and said with a serious look:
"What's going on? Why has the defense of the south gate been strengthened?"

"Could it be that they knew we were going to attack the South Gate and transferred all the troops from the East Gate here?"

Fujita Tsuyoshi beside him thought for a moment and said, "No, it should be their mobile force that has moved to the south gate!"

"The defense of the south gate is weaker than that of the east gate—!"

Matsusaka Jizo heard this and without hesitation, he took a deep breath and said, "Start the attack!"

Following the order, the elite troops of the Kwantung Army came out, and in front of them were rows of fine steel shields, which were specially used to block heavy machine guns.

Just like when we attacked the east gate before, we kept charging forward.

Behind the shield are the elite Japanese soldiers in armor from all over the server.

Armored soldier!
That’s right, this time Matsusaka Jio dispatched the elite of the Kwantung Army - the armored soldiers!

A steel shield can protect more than 20 people as they advance forward.

When launching a general attack, the Matsusaka Army naturally would not hide anything anymore and directly used all 3,000 "armored soldiers".

and,

Behind the shield, there will be a cannon every few shield carts!
This is the latest field gun equipped by the Japanese Kwantung Army, a replica of the Krupp infantry gun.

——Oriental field artillery!

Based on the Krupp infantry gun, the Japanese made a lot of improvements to this artillery.

The caliber is 75mm, and the gun is mounted on a cart with a single leg, which can adjust the firing direction at any time.

and,

The effective range of this field gun is six kilometers.

The most terrifying thing is that it uses a semi-automatic breech block structure, which is not only easy to operate but also very reliable.

The firing rate can reach 12 rounds per minute.

One hundred Japanese field guns!
Around each cannon, there are artillerymen, armored soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, etc.

The terrain of the South Gate is different from that of the East Gate, and the terrain in front is flat.

Therefore,
The Japanese advanced very quickly. In less than fifteen minutes, they had advanced to within three kilometers of the city gate.

Boom, boom, boom——!
Once within the artillery range, the Japanese field artillery began firing fiercely.

Although in terms of power, the Japanese field artillery cannot compare to Ximen Tang’s mortar.

This is determined by the power of gunpowder.

but,

At this time, the Matsusaka Corps opened fire first, unlike yesterday when they were covered by Ximen Hall's artillery, which boosted the morale of the Kwantung Army.

On the city wall.

Chen Jie and Zhang Changfeng had already received the news, and moved to the south gate with their mobile troops.

All the elite backbones of Ximen Hall were deployed in the defensive fortifications of the south gate.

Boom, boom, boom——!
After the Japanese opened fire, how could Ximen Tang not fire back?
At this time, there were a total of 250 mortars and eight heavy machine guns at the south gate.

Part of the troops from the East Gate and West Gate were transferred to the South Gate.

Because the accuracy of Ximentang artillery is several levels higher than that of Japanese field artillery.

Therefore,
The artillery began to eliminate the enemy's artillery at targeted locations.

As the artillery of the Ximentang Artillery Battalion launched its attack, the Japanese field artillery was quickly suppressed.

Hunk—hunk—!
When the elite troops of the Kwantung Army approached the city wall and entered the range of the heavy machine guns.

The heavy machine guns placed on the city wall opened fire fiercely.

Due to the protection of the stainless steel shield, the heavy machine gun's attack effect is not strong.

therefore,

Many musketeers on the city wall began to focus on attacking the carts under the steel shields.

Once the cart is damaged, the steel shield will be difficult to move.

Unfortunately, armor-piercing bullets have not yet been mass-produced.

Otherwise, facing these steel shields, bombarding them with armor-piercing shells would quickly tear the shield formation apart.

Generally speaking,
The shield's defensive capabilities are indeed very strong. It can not only block bullet attacks, but also weaken the shock waves of artillery shells.

but,

The steel shield is too heavy.

If there is no mobile vehicle and only manpower is used, even if one is a master of Ming Jin, more than six people are needed to move the vehicle.

In several corners of the fortifications on the city wall.

Fifty mortars, aiming precisely.

The shield formation has a weakness, which is that there will be gaps when charging.

If it is a bullet from a heavy machine gun, even if it hits the gap, it is unlikely to hurt anyone.

but,

As long as the shells hit the gap, all the people inside the shield formation can be wiped out in an instant.

That's right,

When the shells enter the shield array through the gap, the lethality will be doubled.

It has to be said that Ximen Tang's elite artillerymen have been trained to the point where they can hit whatever they point at, with the error controlled to within 50 centimeters.

As long as there is a gap in the shield formation, it will soon be covered by artillery.

In the first round of charge by the Kwantung Army, more than ten shield formations were completely destroyed by artillery fire, and flesh and blood splattered everywhere.

More than twenty Japanese field artillery pieces were destroyed at once.

but,

In terms of the effectiveness of the bombardment, this round of bombardment was much worse than yesterday.

Although one round of artillery fire stopped the Kwantung Army's charge, the number of enemies killed was much less than yesterday.

Only more than a thousand ordinary soldiers died.

Less than two hundred of the Kwantung Army's most elite armored soldiers were killed in the artillery attack.

But all this was within Chen Jie's expectations.

this moment,
He urgently wanted the "armor-piercing bullet" to be produced quickly.

Armor-piercing shells can not only penetrate the armor of ships, but also directly destroy the "steel shields" that appear on the battlefield!
in fact,

The steel shields of these carts, plus the field guns behind the shields, are the predecessors of the 'tanks'!

If armor-piercing bullets are used, these steel shields will be useless.

at this time,

Chen Jie continued to order artillery attacks while preparing grenades.

Although it is difficult for bullets to penetrate the steel shield, they can slow down the marching speed of the shield formation.

Because the terrain of the South Gate was flat, and all the fortifications near the city gate were flattened and cleared by artillery fire.

Therefore,
The armored soldiers of the Kwantung Army began their second charge at a faster pace.

Matsusaka Jiro knew very well that only by getting close to the city wall could he enter the blind spot of the artillery.

Therefore,
After the second round of artillery fire.

The Kwantung Army's shield team has approached within a hundred meters of the city wall.

The closer the distance, the more powerful the heavy machine gun!
At the same time, the power of the musket is much more terrifying than at a long distance.

When the Japanese elite troops came within the 100-meter range.

The musketeers on the city wall began to fire with their muskets.

Hunk—hunk—hunk!

Heavy machine guns and muskets fired at the same time, and the sound of gunfire rang out rhythmically.

In the Kwantung Army's charging team, many elite soldiers and "fake soldiers" who served as cannon fodder fell down in large numbers.

Although Ximentang's imitation AK47 automatic rifle has been deployed, it is usually deployed to elite special operations companies.

The other soldiers, in addition to artillery, basically still used muskets.

There were more than two thousand muskets surrounding the entire city wall's fortifications.

Chen Jie divided the musket firing into three rounds. After the first round, he immediately stepped back and let the second round begin.

When the third round is fired, the bullets of the first round have just been replaced and the firing cycle can be continued.

This type of saturation volley can maximize the power of the musket.

With the fire suppression of muskets, artillery and heavy machine guns, the casualties of the Kwantung Army became increasingly heavy.

The key is,
This was not even close to the city gate, and the final grenade attack had not yet begun.

Matsusaka Jiro was at the back, and his heart was bleeding when he saw this scene through the telescope.

"Baga——Why is Ximentang's firepower so strong?"

"How come they have so many shells and bullets?"

The casualties are too great!
Matsusaka Jio's heart sank.

but,

Today's battle situation is much better than yesterday.

Although the casualties were still heavy, the armored soldiers and artillery entered the blind spot of Ximentang’s artillery.

As long as the artillery formation can be stabilized, the city gate can be blasted open with artillery immediately.

What Matsusaka Jiro is thinking now is that as long as the city gate is blasted open, all the elite troops of the Kwantung Army can directly charge into the city.

From the defense of the South Gate, he had secretly calculated that the number of people stationed at the South Gate by Ximen Hall would not exceed three thousand.

Once he rushed into the city gate, he was confident that he could wipe out the entire Simon Tang army.

but,

The subsequent battle situation did not develop at all according to Matsusaka Jiro's plan.

As the Kwantung Army approached the city walls, the pressure they faced became increasingly greater.

Ximen Tang's attack became more and more fierce.

Grenades were thrown down one after another as if they were free, and the heavy machine guns never stopped.

The eight heavy machine guns were like a wall, blocking the elite troops of the Matsusaka Legion.

Over time,
In front of the south gate, the bodies of the elite Kwantung Army and the "puppet army" were piled up like a mountain!
The ground had not yet dried after yesterday's rain and was now covered in blood!

A river of blood——!
(End of this chapter)