Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 273 Annihilation! Not a single one spared.

The Sakata coalition forces assembled their troops and launched a general offensive against Matsue Prefecture.

According to the detailed operational plan drafted by the Kwantung Army Headquarters.

Dongmen Wulang led 20,000 troops to take the lead and draw the firepower of the Songjiang Prefecture garrison.

Sakata Takeo's remaining 80,000 troops were responsible for transporting heavy weapons and were expected to arrive a few hours later than Higashimon Goro.

Although the army led by Dongmen Wulang only numbered around 20,000.

but,

However, it brought together the elite of the Sakata coalition.

Among them were 2,000 armored soldiers and more than 500 artillerymen.

The heavy machine gunners and musketeers numbered over ten thousand, all of whom were battle-hardened elite troops.

Even in the army, they adopted the troop types of the Western Allied Forces, with a heavy cavalry regiment of 1,000 men specifically for charging into battle.

Major Fujita Tsuyoshi, who once attacked Qingdao, Shandong, and belonged to the Matsusaka Tsuyoshi's allied forces, is now under the command of Higashimon Goro.

The person in charge of the main attack was Major Fujita.

Do not underestimate the 20,000 troops led by Tomon Goro; their strength is no less than that of the Matsusaka Tsujio's allied forces last time.

In terms of combat strength and equipment.

The elite troops led by Higashimon Goro were stronger than the Matsusaka coalition.

Within the Kwantung Army, Goro Higashimon was always extremely arrogant and never took anyone seriously.

He was very confident about this attack on Songjiang Prefecture.

In his view, even without the 80,000 troops of the Sakata Army behind him, he was confident that he could take Matsue Prefecture.

Although Songjiang Prefecture was the eastern gateway of the Daqian Dynasty and a center of maritime trade.

but,

Due to war and the fragmentation of concessions, the roads and waterways here are interconnected, and there are no natural defenses to protect the surrounding area.

Therefore,
Strategically speaking, Songjiang Prefecture is a place that is easy to attack but difficult to defend.

Even if the Kwantung Army's attack on the city is unsuccessful, they will definitely not be blocked and their retreat route will not be cut off.

Dongmen Wulang rode a warhorse, leading 20,000 troops, and set off in a grand procession towards Songjiang Prefecture.

After entering Songjiang Prefecture from Nantong Prefecture, the Japanese army traveled for about ten kilometers.

at this time,

The weather was sunny and clear, with no clouds in the sky.

Fujita took out the map and examined it carefully for a moment.

He turned and told the young general Dongmen Wulang beside him that Songjiang Prefecture was less than 30 kilometers away.

Upon hearing this, Dongmen Wulang immediately nodded.

He ordered the army to rest and regroup, aiming to reach Songjiang Prefecture by the afternoon to launch a general offensive.

As the order was relayed to the entire Allied forces, all the Kwantung Army troops halted and began to rest.

The uniform discipline displayed during rest periods reveals that this is a highly effective fighting force.

Artillerymen, musketeers, infantrymen, machine gunners, logistics personnel—!
Everyone knew their responsibilities, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner, keeping the team perfectly organized.

Everyone knows that there will be a big battle this afternoon, so everyone is conserving their energy and getting back to peak condition.

Many people even took out their water bottles and ate dry rations to replenish their energy.

Dongmen Wulang dismounted from his warhorse and sat down on a large, sheltered rock.

He took the water bottle from the orderly next to him, tilted his head back, and took a sip.

Then,

The orderly next to him removed his armor.

To ensure his safety, Higashimon Goro wore a heavy armor weighing thirty kilograms.

This heavy armor was specially made for officers of major general rank and above by the Japanese military. It can withstand the attack of musket bullets within fifty meters.

Although Dongmen Wulang was a military general and a Japanese samurai, his martial arts skills had already broken through to the early stage of Yi Sui Hua Jin.

but,

He was wearing heavy armor weighing several tens of kilograms, which was quite uncomfortable.

During a break, he had someone take it off so he could relax.

He had just put down the water bottle, and hadn't even had time to take off his armor.

Cough cough—cough cough—!
The piercing whistling of bullets echoed throughout the surrounding area.

No one knows where the bullets came from, but in an instant, the surroundings were enveloped in bullets.

at the same time,

The piercing sound of artillery shells echoed through the air!
Mortar!
This is Simon's mortar!
Wow——!
The sudden attack caught everyone in the Kwantung Army off guard, throwing them into chaos.

The combined fire of bullets and artillery shells killed hundreds of people instantly.

Fortunately, the surrounding terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the artillery was blocked by the branches and leaves of the trees, which greatly reduced its firepower.

Moreover, most of those stationed on the periphery were "puppet troops" of the Daqian Dynasty responsible for logistics and serving as cannon fodder, while the elite of the Kwantung Army were inside.

Therefore,
After a round of artillery fire and gunfire, the Kwantung Army's elite troops suffered few casualties.

In addition, the elite troops of the Kwantung Army began to emulate the Ximengtang Army, wearing steel helmets to increase their survival rate on the battlefield.

but,

The Kwantung Army was thrown into chaos by this fierce attack.

Fortunately, these Kwantung Army troops were elite units that had been battle-tested and had even fought several major battles against the Russian army.

In addition to the Kwantung Army were the Daqian "puppet troops" transferred from Northeast China.

Therefore,
Although the shelling caused a brief commotion among the troops,

But order was quickly restored within minutes, and almost all the soldiers lay prone on the ground, finding cover to hide behind.

Cough cough—cough cough—!
Gunfire continued unabated!
The Kwantung Army launched a fierce counterattack, even setting up heavy machine guns and firing fiercely into the distance.

Swish-!
Generals such as Dongmen Wulang and Fujita Tsuyoshi quickly used their binoculars to look into the distance.

Five hundred meters away, several hundred Daqian soldiers dressed in camouflage uniforms were constantly adjusting the direction of their artillery.

They seemed to realize that the woods were not suitable for mortar attacks and began to adjust their tactics.

Some soldiers in camouflage uniforms lay on the ground and began aiming their muskets, continuously shooting down the Daqian Dynasty's 'puppet troops' on the periphery!
Because all the Daqian "puppet troops" were wearing the uniforms of the Kwantung Army logistics soldiers.

Therefore,
At such a distance, no one could tell whether they were 'puppet troops' or elite Kwantung Army soldiers.

Da da—da da—!
The Kwantung Army finally set up their heavy machine guns and opened fire wildly into the distance.

The Daqian army, dressed in camouflage uniforms, immediately retreated upon seeing the Kwantung Army begin to retaliate with heavy machine guns, without lingering for battle.

"Baka!—Only a few hundred people dare to attack the Sakata Alliance!?"

Dongmen Wulang was furious.

The Kwantung Army came from Japan to Daqian and swept across the land, easily taking over the Northeast.

They have fought in many wars and have almost never lost.

Especially in tough battles, they are not even afraid of the British Empire's army, so why would they be afraid of the Daqian army?
"Catch them! We must kill them all!"

Dongmen Wulang's personality was originally extremely violent, so how could he tolerate being ambushed by hundreds of people?

Therefore,
We must capture these Daqian troops and make an example of them.

Cut off their heads and hang them on the city wall of Songjiang Prefecture when we attack it.

The commander of the Daqian "puppet army" on the outskirts of the Kwantung Army was named Li Yutian.

He was originally a military commander stationed in Dalian, Northeast China, for the Great Qian Dynasty. He was also a member of a branch of the royal Li family and had lived in Northeast China since childhood.

Of course, they have been branches for many generations and have little to do with the royal family of the Great Qian Dynasty.

He was also the first Daqian army to be incorporated into the Kwantung Army after it landed in Lushun.

When the Kwantung Army marched directly into Liaodong, Li Yutian led his troops to not resist, thus gaining the Kwantung Army's favor.

Although in the following period, when the Kwantung Army swept across Northeast China, Li Yutian's troops were used as cannon fodder.

but,

He used the powerful weapons of the Kwantung Army to help them win one victory after another.

After each victory, the elite of the Kwantung Army would feast on meat, and after burning, killing, and looting, they would always leave some scraps for Li Yutian's troops to enjoy.

After committing acts of arson, murder, and looting several times, it's easy for people to lose their temper.

then,

Li Yutian feels great now and has adapted to his role.

He had even come to regard himself as a Japanese, and had a sense of superiority.

but,

Today, we were suddenly attacked by artillery and muskets, and hundreds of people died instantly.

Li Yutian was very unhappy.

He did not hate his master, the Kwantung Army, but instead hated Ximen Tang's army to the core.

When he received orders from Dongmen Wulang to pursue the Daqian army.

Without uttering a single wasted word, Li Yutian led his elite troops in pursuit of the Daqian army that had launched a surprise attack from the outside.

"Damn it—!"

"You ambushed and killed so many of my men. If I don't wipe you all out today, I'm not Li Yutian!"

He secretly made a vow in his heart, his killing intent surging.

but,

When Ximentang's army saw Li Yutian leading his men in pursuit,

Immediately afterwards, everyone began to retreat without stopping.

Seemingly frightened, it ran deeper into the woods. Whoosh—!
The elite troops of the Kwantung Army wanted to follow the Daqian "puppet army" in pursuit.

but,

Dongmen Wulang suddenly shouted a halt, ordering all the elite troops to stop their pursuit.

The Daqian army that launched the surprise attack only had a few hundred men; why would they need to mobilize all 20,000?

Let Li Yutian's army go ahead and pursue them first, to see how things go.

in addition,

Dongmen Wulang suddenly had a bad feeling.

If we leave the woods, the dense tree branches overhead will no longer provide cover, making it very dangerous for artillery!
Therefore,
At this point, it is actually quite safe to defend oneself under the trees and in the surrounding terrain.

Under the orders of Goro Higashimon, the elite Kwantung Army troops in the surrounding area dared not make any rash moves.

this moment,
Everyone watched as Li Yutian led more than two thousand Daqian "puppet troops" in pursuit of the Daqian soldiers dressed in camouflage uniforms.

In less than ten minutes,

Li Yutian led his troops into the forest. He was not reckless, but cautious, and told everyone to slow down.

to be frank,
He felt a little scared after being separated from the elite forces of the Kwantung Army.

but,

When they saw the Daqian army, which appeared to be fleeing in panic, a few hundred meters away.

He was seething with anger.

"Damn it—trying to run away!"

Without any hesitation, he ordered his men to give chase.

Da da—da da—!
The sound of heavy machine guns rang out, accompanied by explosions.

It was only a few days after the Qingming Festival, and the barren trees had come back to life, with birds singing and flowers blooming everywhere.

but,

The forest was very dense; it was a forest located on the border of Songjiang Prefecture and Nantong Prefecture, and was usually sparsely populated by humans and home to many wild animals.

therefore,

After more than two thousand soldiers rushed into the woods, they quickly disappeared.
All that could be heard were intense gunfire and explosions coming from deep within the woods.

Li Yutian felt a little panicked and quickly retreated with his personal guards.

He didn't know whether his own army had won or been defeated by the enemy in the woods.

Anyway, the woods were in complete chaos, with gunfire erupting constantly.

What terrified Li Yutian was that he heard the rhythmic sound of heavy machine guns, and it sounded like there was more than one heavy machine gun.

His troops all used 'firearms' issued by the Japanese and were not equipped with heavy machine guns at all.

After a few minutes.

Silence quickly fell over the surroundings.

"what's the situation?"

Li Yutian felt his head buzzing.

He listened carefully for a moment and found that there seemed to be no movement in the depths of the woods.

If my two thousand men go in, won't they all be wiped out?
impossible!
How could the enemy, with fewer than five hundred men, have wiped out his entire army so quickly?

Li Yutian took a deep breath to calm himself down.

He listened more carefully, but finally couldn't hold back any longer and led his personal guards into the woods.

Half an hour later.

There was no sound from the woods, and the atmosphere was eerie.

Dongmen Wulang narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but take out the map to examine it carefully.

Although Li Yutian considered the Daqian "puppet army" under his command as nothing more than cannon fodder.

Even if they all died, he wouldn't have any regrets.

but,

This time, in the attack on Songjiang Prefecture, Li Yutian's Daqian "puppet army" will be needed to act as "cannon fodder assault team" to draw the firepower of Ximentang.

If they were wiped out on the way, it would be a huge blow to the Sakata coalition.

"Baka—what on earth is going on?"

"You, take some men to meet Li Yutian and see what he's up to."

Dongmen Wulang addressed another 'puppet army' general of the Daqian Dynasty, instructing him to go and meet Li Yutian.

Just as this "puppet army" received orders to march into the woods...

Li Yutian returned with his personal guard!

His face turned deathly pale, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

His bodyguards were supporting him; although they were not injured, they looked to be in poor spirits.

Kill them all!

More than two thousand people entered the forest, and they were all killed in less than ten minutes!

Leave no one behind!
The key point is that when he finally went in with his personal guards, he didn't see any of the Ximentang soldiers in camouflage uniforms.

Puff-!
Upon seeing Dongmen Wulang, Li Yutian's spirit collapsed. He knelt on the ground and wailed loudly:

"General, all my troops are dead! They charged into the woods and were wiped out by the Daqian army!"

"They were all dead within minutes—wait—they were all killed!"

Upon hearing this, Dongmen Wulang frowned slightly.

He never expected that Li Yutian's more than two thousand "puppet troops" would be wiped out in one fell swoop!

Wow, that was fast!
"How many of Ximen Tang's troops are lying in ambush in the woods?"

Dongmen Wulang asked in a cold voice.

The situation is not good; it seems we need to leave the woods as soon as possible.

Li Yutian's mental state seemed to have been greatly affected.

He answered blankly, "I don't know, I don't know! I didn't see any enemies!"

Dongmen Wulang snorted coldly and said in a deep voice:
"Baka—what did you say? You didn't see any enemies?"

"We didn't even know how many enemies there were, and we were completely wiped out?"

Li Yutian shook his head, rubbing his head, and said:

"I don't know how many people there are, but there should be five hundred, no, eight hundred, definitely more than eight hundred!"

He couldn't help but take a deep breath and looked up to see Dongmen Wulang's murderous eyes.

all of a sudden,

Li Yutian realized what was happening and shuddered.

He took a deep breath and kowtowed to Dongmen Wulang, saying:
"General, I don't know how many people there are. I only heard gunshots and explosions. I don't know how many Daqian troops there are."

Wow——!
Many people around couldn't help but laugh after hearing Li Yutian's words.

Damn it——!
His own troops, numbering over two thousand, charged into the woods to pursue and kill the enemy.

Unexpectedly, they were completely wiped out by the enemy, and they didn't even know how many enemies there were, or even see a shadow of them.

Isn't this funny?

Everyone originally thought that Dongmen Wulang would definitely fly into a rage, and might even shoot Li Yutian directly.

Dongmen Wulang has always had a very volatile temper.

but,

To everyone's surprise, Dongmen Wulang suddenly fell silent.

He took out the map and began to compare and examine it repeatedly.

Although Dongmen Wulang has a terrible personality, he is definitely not a reckless person.

Moreover, he is an Eastern samurai at the level of Yi Sui Hua Jin, possessing an unbreakable 'Bushido will'!
Although Dongmen Wulang has always been arrogant and never paid attention to others.

but,

He was able to gain the trust of Oyama Iwao, the commander of the Kwantung Army, and be appointed as a major general, which shows that he was not an incompetent person.

Dongmen Wulang knew very well that Li Yutian was cautious, timid, and afraid of death!

Although the Daqian "puppet army" under his command was not strong in combat, after being equipped with Japanese firearms, its combat power was definitely much greater than that of the troops of the Daqian Dynasty's Ministry of War.

but,

In just over ten minutes, more than two thousand people rushed into the forest and were wiped out!

This shows that the force that attacked the Kwantung Army must have been Ximen Tang's elite troops!
Only the elite of Ximen Hall could possess such terrifying combat power!
this moment,
Dongmen Wulang secretly became more vigilant.

He said in a deep voice:
"Go ahead and speak! Don't be nervous, I won't blame you!"

"If I'm not mistaken, the army that just appeared should be Ximentang's elite troops!"

"I originally thought that Ximentang's army should be in Songjiang Prefecture, waiting for us to attack the city."

"I didn't expect them to take the initiative and try to intercept us halfway!"

"Very good! Haha—I want to see who can withstand our Kwantung Army in a field battle!"

call--!
finished,

Dongmen Wulang took a deep breath to calm himself down.

He looked up at Li Yutian and said:

"Tell me in detail what just happened. I need to know exactly what happened!"

Li Yutian took a deep breath and calmed down.

He saw that Dongmen Wulang did not blame him, nor did he directly pull out a gun and kill him.

For a while,
He breathed a sigh of relief and gave a detailed account of what had just happened!
(End of this chapter)