Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 171 Yi Soldiers
Yongcheng.

Amid the ruins, Yu Xuezhong personally rushed to the front line to supervise the battle.

Dou Guangdian was standing by and said, "Sir, we have been defending for three days. When will the reinforcements arrive?"

Yu Xuezhong said to comfort them: "The 60th Army has already arrived outside the city. It won't be long before they can break through the defense line of the 9th Division."

"What are the casualties of the troops in the past few days?"

When asked this question, Dou Guangdian was speechless: "This line of defense is still stable. It shouldn't be a problem to hold on for a few more days."

Yu Xuezhong frowned: "I want specific numbers!"

Dou Guangdian sighed and told the truth: "Sir, to be honest, half of the six battalions under me have been wiped out."

"The situation of the other six battalions is not good either. We have suffered too many casualties!"

"The remaining brothers are all injured. If the reinforcements don't come into the city, I, the deputy commander, will have to carry a gun and go to fill the line myself."

Even though he had already anticipated this, Yu Xuezhong's heart still skipped a beat when he heard the words "more than half of the casualties."

Dou Guangdian begged: "Why don't you let our column withdraw and rest for a while? If we continue to fight like this, our Northeast Army will be exhausted."

"No!" Yu Xuezhong waved his hand, interrupting him, "You must not retreat. If any soldier escapes from the battlefield, I will hold you accountable!"

"If you dare to desert the battlefield, don't blame the military law for being ruthless and the bullets for being blind!"

Dou Guangdian reluctantly responded: "Yes!"

Yu Xuezhong looked around anxiously, "Where's Zhou Guanglie? How is he now?"

Dou Guangdian: "Commander Zhou is being treated in a field hospital. His condition has stabilized, but he is unable to continue commanding the battle."

According to convention, Zhou Guanglie should have accompanied Yu Xuezhong to inspect the frontline positions. However, during the battle yesterday, a 75mm grenade exploded next to the headquarters, the blast overturned the tent, and the shrapnel hit Zhou Guanglie's head. After eight hours of coma, his consciousness is still a little blurred.

Yu Xuezhong said with some regret: "I'll go see him, lead the way!"

Dou Guangdian responded and then moved aside.

Surrounded by guards, the group walked towards the field hospital.

The field hospital of the 7th Column was not large, with only more than 30 doctors and more than 100 nurses, most of whom were students who came from all over the country to provide support and graduates of the Changzhi Military Academy's Field Emergency Department.

"Quick! Bring me a board of painkillers!"

"Bandage! Bandage! And hemostats!"

"Doctor! Doctor, come quickly and save my brother!"

"I beg you, I kneel down for you!"

The hospital was noisy, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and the doctors and nurses were busy working.

A batch of wounded soldiers would be sent over from the front line almost every half hour, but the field hospital had limited beds and had long been unable to accommodate them.

There was really no other way but to clear the courtyard, set up simple stretchers on the spot, lay out wooden boards in rows on the mud ground, and pad them with the military uniforms of fallen soldiers and those pulled from the bodies of the Japanese devils, and cobble together hundreds of open-air beds.

The camp was filled with wounded soldiers and people were wailing everywhere. Yu Xuezhong couldn't bear to look at it, so he lowered his head and walked quickly into the house.

When the door curtain was pulled aside, the white cloth was covered with clotted blood, which had been soaked into a rusty red color.

Zhou Guanglie was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed. If Yu Xuezhong had not been able to see the rise and fall of his chest, he would have thought it was a corpse that was not yet completely cold.

The nurse who was accompanying the patient stood up and said, "Hello, sir!"

Yu Xuezhong waved his hand and said, "When will he wake up?"

Nurse: "Commander Zhou woke up once this morning, but his consciousness was very vague. Judging from his condition, it will take him three to five months to recover."

Yu Xuezhong's heart sank.

The injury is really too severe!
This is probably the most seriously injured senior officer since the war began.

"Alas, it's been eleven years." Yu Xuezhong looked at the blood-stained brief and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

Recalling more than ten years ago, when Zhou Guanglie was still serving as a soldier under Wu Peifu, he followed him. He showed great bravery in the Zhi-Feng War and was promoted directly from company commander to battalion commander.

Later, he led his troops to join Zhang Zuolin of the Fengtian Army, and Zhou Guanglie was also promoted to the battalion commander of the 20th Army Guard Battalion.

He can be considered as the direct descendant who was supported by him.

After so many years of friendship, the relationship between the two has long gone beyond superiors and subordinates and has become brothers who are willing to die for each other.

As the atmosphere became heavy, Chief of Staff Zhang Wei rushed in: "Sir, the 60th Army has entered the city!"

Yu Xuezhong turned his head sharply: "Where is it?"

"Which unit is entering the city?"

Zhang Wei: "The vanguard regiment of the 184th Division!"

"The troops entered the city from the west gate and were only two or three kilometers away from the Eighth Column."

Yu Xuezhong slapped his thigh happily: "Great! Finally, reinforcements are coming to the city!"

The Northeast Army and the Yunnan Army were too far away, so he had never heard of the name of the 184th Division, and even heard of the th Army for the first time.

But the arrival of reinforcements in the city did bring him some hope.

Yu Xuezhong: "How much ammunition do we have left?"

Zhang Wei said without hesitation: "Not much left. I guess I can only hold out for two or three days!"

"But the General Staff sent us a message a few days ago that the 60th Army brought a large amount of ammunition supplies specifically to support us."

"As long as we can reunite with friendly forces, I think there shouldn't be any problems."

Yu Xuezhong: "Immediately order the 184th Column to move closer to the friendly th Division and break through the Japanese encirclement."

Zhang Wei responded: "Yes!"

--------

West of the city.

Lu Han put down the telescope, looking anxious: "What's the situation in the city now?"

Zhang Chong stood aside and said: "One of my regiments has already rushed in! Sir, let the brothers go together!"

The commander of the 183rd Division, Gao Yinhuai, stroked his beard and said, "The enemy situation is still unclear. If we rush into the city rashly, it will be a fight to the death. If we are surrounded by the Japanese, we won't be able to find a way out even if we want to retreat!"

Seeing someone refuting him, Zhang Chong wanted to step forward and argue with him, but when he saw it was Gao Yinhuai, he took a step back.

Forget it, I won’t bother with the old man!
Lu Han frowned and asked, "How many troops are there in the city?"

When talking about this, he complained bitterly, but there was nothing he could do.

Chief of Staff Zhao kept saying that the situation on the front line had stabilized, but it was a little tense in the past few days.

Finally, I arrived at the scene and took a look.

This was no longer a question of whether there was enough food or not. Two Type A main divisions of the Japanese Army joined forces to besiege a small county town.

Fortunately, he arrived early. If he had delayed a little longer on the road, the friendly forces would probably have been wiped out.

The 184th Division was the first to contact Yu Xuezhong. Zhang Chong knew the situation in the city best: "The friendly forces are running out of ammunition and supplies, and more than half of their troops have been lost. If we don't enter the city, it will be too late!"

Hearing this, Lu Han was somewhat moved.

The 60th Army traveled thousands of miles to arrive at the Fifth War Zone to fight the Japanese.

Now that our friendly forces are surrounded, how can we just stand by and watch?
Zhang Chong was still persuading: "Sir, give the order to enter the city quickly! If we don't fight in, my regiment will be wiped out."

"Send the order!" Lu Han made up his mind, "The 182nd and 183rd Divisions will block the Japanese troops outside the city, and the 184th Division will enter the city to rescue!"

Gao Yinhuai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that his troops did not enter the city.

It’s not that he had any ulterior motives and didn’t want to rescue his friendly forces.

But the situation is too critical.

In Gao Yinhuai's opinion, the current Yongcheng is like a huge meat grinder. No matter how many troops are put in, they will not be able to get out in the end.

Yesterday, the 183rd Division acted as the vanguard and only encountered the Japanese army on the periphery. In less than half an hour, it lost a battalion.

If the battalion can’t defeat them, then send in the brigade!
A brigade of troops was sent up, but they held out for less than four hours before voluntarily withdrawing.

More than two-thirds of the brigade's troops were killed, and their organization was directly crippled.

The combat effectiveness of the Japanese Army's Type A Division is no joke.

The battle outside was already like this, not to mention the battle inside the city.

I really don't know how the friendly forces in Yongcheng managed to deal with the Japanese 3rd and 9th Divisions for so long.

After receiving the order, Zhang Chong did not hesitate any longer. He put on his hat and quickly left the military headquarters.

He was not stupid, so he naturally knew that the city was extremely dangerous.

It's easy to get in, but hard to get out!
But he also knew that on the battlefield, some dangers should not be taken, while some dangers must be taken.

Staying outside the city to block the Japanese army, although we can move forward and backward freely, if the situation is not right, we can turn around and retreat. Even if we are surrounded, it will be easier to break out.

But in this way, we won't gain any advantage in fighting the Japanese army.

Yongcheng is surrounded by plains.

The Japanese army's tanks and armored vehicles could gallop freely, there were planes in the sky, and heavy artillery further away.

There is no way we can be the opponent.

The battle last night has proved this. If we lose a brigade in four hours, a division may not last more than a day. In this case, it is better to enter the city and fight the Japanese.

------

After half an hour.

Yongcheng front.

The 184th Division attacked the city, and Zhang Chong, as the division commander, also followed in.

The Yunnan Army was located in the southwestern border, and many of its officers and soldiers were from ethnic minorities such as the Yi and Miao ethnic groups.

Zhang Chong is a member of the Yi ethnic group.

These people were called "Manbu" or "Hongmiao" in ancient books.

It was once recorded that the "Red Miao" people, regardless of gender, could walk across the mountains at such a fast pace that even horses could not catch up with them, and ordinary thorny and poisonous turtles could not hurt them at all.

Compared with the steep cliffs of the Yunnan-Guizhou mountains, the ruins in the city are nothing.

Zhang Chong was right. Outside the city, the Yunnan Army suffered losses while the Japanese Army gained the upper hand. However, inside the city, it was hard to say who was stronger and who was weaker.

In a private house.

Chief of Staff Yang Jikuan came over and said, "Sir, we have been discovered. There are already two battalions of Japanese soldiers attacking us from the left and right wings."

Zhang Chong calmed down and cursed in a low voice: "This thing belongs to a dog! It reacts so damn fast!"

"Where is the 7th Brigade?"

Yang Jikuan pointed to a point on the map: "On our right, deploy defenses along this main road."

Zhang Chong: "Let the 7th Brigade allocate half of its forces to strengthen the left side's defense. The 9th Brigade will continue to attack forward and reunite with the friendly forces as soon as possible!"

Yang Jikuan hesitated: "One brigade defends both the left and right wings?"

"Sir, this."

Zhang Chong waved his hand: "That's it, pass the order on!"

Seeing that he was determined to do so, Yang Jikuan could not say anything more: "Yes!"

On the front battlefield.

The 9th Brigade had encountered defending Japanese forces.

"Attack! Attack!" Brigade Commander Zhu Baitao shouted, "If one more battalion goes up, you'll all have eaten for nothing?"

"Report sir!"

A messenger ran into the house.

Zhu Baitao turned his head and said, "If you have something to say, please tell me now!"

"The Chief of Staff called. Our right wing was attacked by the Japanese army and suffered heavy losses. We have now retreated 500 meters!"

Zhu Baitao's eyes widened: "Damn those little Jap devils! They're really good!"

This battle was the first large-scale confrontation between the Yunnan Army and the Japanese Army.

As early as during the training in Wuhan, he had heard other troops talk about how powerful the Japanese army was and that in a battle, a hundred men could chase a thousand men.

I was a little skeptical at first.

How is it possible to launch a pursuit with a force ten times smaller than theirs?

Even if Zhuge Kongming were still alive, he would not be able to achieve such a record.

But it turned out that what those generals said was right.

"Have you contacted the friendly forces?" Zhu Baitao looked at the staff officer who had just walked in and asked impatiently, "How far are they from us?"

The staff officer handed over a telegram: "After crossing this street and advancing another 500 to 600 meters, we will encounter the vanguard of the friendly forces."

Zhu Baitao immediately looked at the battle map.

"Pull out a few anti-tank guns and place them on the street. We cannot retreat at this time!"

The staff officer responded, “Yes!”

In the streets and alleys.

French helmets were moving one after another, and the soldiers were crouching, holding their guns in one hand and moving quickly across the street.

(The Yunnan Army's unique individual uniform)

"Let the Japs fight first! When they rush over, concentrate your fire with light and heavy machine guns and mortars!"

The captain is organizing the defense.

Normally speaking, the 184th Division entering the city should be the attacking side.

But not long after the two sides came into contact, the Japanese army launched a counterattack, mobilizing the strength of an entire regiment in an attempt to wipe out an entire full-strength division in one go.

"Da da da--!"

The Yunnan Army soldiers hid behind bunkers and allowed the Japanese soldiers to fire bullets crazily.

"Get the grenades ready, the Japs are coming!" The captain leaned his head out slightly, and as soon as he finished speaking, a bullet hit him right between the eyebrows.

Then his body fell backwards and he lost consciousness in an instant.

"Company commander!"

The soldier hiding nearby shouted and wanted to rush forward to check the situation, but as soon as he leaned out, Japanese bullets swept over.

"The Japs are coming around from behind!"

"Defense! Defense!"

Then the other soldiers began to shout, but their voices were drowned out by the sound of gunfire. After a long while, the company's defense line was reorganized.

"boom--!"

In street fighting, the Japanese army also had a set of "three tricks".

Using grenade launchers and mortars instead of field artillery and firing a round before charging had surprisingly good results.

"Kill him!"

"Onboard!"

The Japanese troops in the front began to charge, and the moment of real desperate fighting had just arrived.

"Fuck! Come on, brothers!"

"Fuck the Japs! Avenge the company commander!"

The Yunnan Army soldiers were not afraid at all. They raised their rifles and rushed forward, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 60th Army was expanded on the basis of the original six brigades, with only some new recruits added, while experienced veterans still accounted for the majority.

"kill!"

Soldiers from both armies engaged in a melee, with white knives thrust in and red knives withdrawn. The blood stimulated their nerves, and both sides became blood-thirsty.

As the saying goes: Those who live in dangerous places are fond of killing.

The Miao and Yi people have lived in the southwest for a long time. They either bully others or are bullied by others. Over time, all the people have become soldiers, and they have a ruthlessness in their bones.

He fought with the Japanese soldiers without any fear.

More and more soldiers fell down. Seeing that the enemy was difficult to deal with and a tough nut to crack, the Japanese soldiers retreated in time to preserve their strength.

"Charge!" the officer shouted from behind, "Don't let the Japs get away, seize the position!"

The soldiers who received the order took action immediately, raised their bayonets, and chased after the Japanese.

"idiot!"

"Bold Dizhi that man!"

The Japanese soldiers were a little annoyed when they saw this. The war had been going on for so long, from Nanjing to Yongcheng, and they had captured cities and conquered thousands of kilometers of territory.

I've never encountered this situation before.

"If you don't eat the toast, you will be punished with alcohol!"

The Japanese soldiers changed their formation and rushed forward again.

Soldiers on both sides understood that this was a life-and-death battle, and from the moment the charge was launched, only one side could survive.

------

The fighting continued into the night.

The two sides fought for seven or eight hours over a distance of just five or six hundred meters. A house changed hands four or five times. The streets were filled with corpses. The soldiers who continued to fight could only step on the bodies of their fallen brothers.

The 184th Division paid a heavy price before finally joining up with the garrison.

Inside the command post.

Zhang Chong walked up with a smile and held out his hand: "Hello, sir!"

Yu Xuezhong also smiled apologetically: "Thank you for your hard work! The brothers of the Yunnan Army are truly brave and unparalleled. I wonder what your name is, what your courtesy name is, and what your background is?"

"Zhang Chong, courtesy name Huainan, is from the outlaw family!" When asked about the details, Zhang Chong blurted out without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)