The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 337 Execution by Cannon (Combined Chapter)

What's comforting is that the scene Xiao Henan saw before he fainted—the Japanese defense line finally being breached—was not a near-death hallucination, nor was it a case of nearsightedness causing him to see things incorrectly.

With the resounding bugle call, the Japanese army's last line of defense was finally breached.

The key reason for this was their rudimentary tank tactics, which proved quite effective.

At least a large number of the brothers from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment charged all the way to within 20 or 30 meters of the Japanese position; although these brothers were all knocked to the ground and seriously wounded.

But when the bugle sounded, they didn't know where the strength came from.

Or perhaps, stimulated by the bugle call, a magical power inherent in their blood was unleashed.

This allowed them not only to struggle to their feet and stagger to continue their charge; crucially, it was from such a position that they were unleashing bullets from their submachine guns.

There were also wooden-handled grenades raining down, causing huge casualties to the Japanese soldiers on the defensive line.

They temporarily suppressed their originally terrifying firepower.

In addition to the two or three thousand brothers who were originally separated by a firebreak and were exchanging fire with the Japanese, there were also some villagers who helped transport ammunition and the wounded.

To the rousing strains of the bugle call, they all roared "Kill the Japanese devils!" and charged forward; those in front were killed, and those behind continued the charge.

They managed to tear open the Japanese defenses, destroying one machine gun emplacement after another.

In a very short time, this last line of Japanese defense was completely destroyed.

Because so many people rushed up at once, the Japanese soldiers on the defensive line were not enough to handle them; surrounded and ganged up on by the dense crowd, many of them couldn't find an opponent for a while.

Under such circumstances, these people rushed towards the last stronghold of the Japanese.

There were still more than a hundred garrison troops left, and five or six hundred seriously wounded soldiers entrenched in the county government.

Without any further instructions from the officers, the men used cluster grenades to blast open the gate and create several breaches in the wall, then swarmed in.

At this point, the Japanese soldiers hiding inside finally managed to send out the order in plain text that Pingding County had completely fallen.

Before they could even begin to sabotage the other radio stations and various confidential documents, countless people stormed in; having already exhausted all their resources, they finally collapsed completely at this moment.

A Japanese private, in a state of mental collapse, threw away his Type 38 rifle, raised his hands high, his face filled with terror, and shouted repeatedly:
"Private killing, private killing, surrendering (don't kill me, I am willing to surrender)."

This action inspired other surviving Japanese soldiers to follow suit; even the numerous wounded soldiers in the county government, some lying down and some sitting, did the same.

For a time, the entire county government and surrounding areas were filled with the sounds of Japanese soldiers begging for mercy.

In addition, there were more than twenty people dressed as landlords and wealthy merchants in the county government building; they were all kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

However, because the Japanese soldiers were so loud, it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

Apart from them, there were hardly any other Chinese people in the entire city.

Even the few remaining puppet troops were all killed after their weapons were confiscated, because the Japanese were worried that they would turn against them.

Even though most of the soldiers present couldn't understand the Japanese language, they could tell what the Japanese meant just by looking at their actions.

These Japanese devils, who were said to be vicious and never willing to surrender, are now actually clamoring to surrender; their numbers are still the same, and if you include the wounded, there may be as many as eight or nine hundred of them.
However, upon closer examination, it seems to be a logical and reasonable thing to do.

Even if the Japanese soldiers are as fierce as wild beasts, they can still be tamed if you beat them hard enough, terrify them completely, and instill the greatest fear in their hearts.

In the previous fierce battles, these Japanese soldiers were thoroughly frightened and deeply hurt, which naturally led to such a large-scale surrender.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, one of the brothers seemed to remember something, and his eyes suddenly reddened.

He pulled back the bolt, loading a new bullet into his Hanyang rifle, while shouting:
"Now you're thinking of surrendering to save your lives? So many of our brothers died, and so many innocent villagers were killed by you. How are we going to settle these debts?"

After shouting, he was about to open fire on a seriously wounded Japanese soldier in front of him.

Just as he was about to fire, an arm reached out and grabbed the rifle. As the muzzle was raised, someone quickly said:
"Stop! You mustn't fire!"

Upon hearing this, not only the soldier, but also the surrounding brothers and some villagers glared angrily at the person who had stopped the shooting.

This man is named Liu Peng. He is not only a major battalion adjutant in the First Battalion, but also an officer from the Central Army.

The soldier who was about to fire shouted back, "Commander Hu said long ago that there would be no prisoners in this battle, so why are you not allowed to fire?"

Liu Peng explained with a wry smile: "I did this to prevent you from taking action, all for the sake of Commander Hu."

With the military achievements our regimental commander has made, he could easily attain the rank and position of lieutenant colonel regimental commander, let alone lieutenant general division commander or army commander.

Why hasn't he been promoted? Firstly, our Commander Hu is an upright person who has often disobeyed military orders from above, which has led to suppression from some high-ranking officials in the Nationalist government.

Secondly, by killing all the Japanese prisoners of war in places like Taierzhuang, he ultimately managed to balance out his merits and demerits.

You don't want to see so many of our brothers in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment still only have the designation of a Class B regiment.

"Commander Hu and the other officers, with such great abilities and numerous achievements, only hold the ranks of lieutenant colonel and major, don't they?"

The fact that their unit's designation and the rank of their officers were too low was a matter of great private complaint among the brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

After hearing Liu Peng's explanation, although he wanted to kill all these damned Japanese devils, he had to suppress his emotions and decided to tie them up first.

Most of the Japanese soldiers present couldn't understand the conversation, but the content and outcome were easy to guess.

Seeing these murderous Chinese soldiers turn their guns down, they felt a surge of humiliation mixed with an instinctive sense of relief, knowing they would finally survive.

But soon they realized it was all too late, because the terrifying Tiger of Shanghai, Hu Biao, had appeared.

Hu Biao didn't appear here immediately; he only arrived after he saw the Japanese's last line of defense breached and the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.

He immediately rushed towards Zhao Zheng, who was already seriously injured and unconscious, behind him.

After an examination and emergency treatment, it was discovered that Zhao Zheng's injuries, while frightening in appearance, consisted of several broken ribs. Once his life was out of danger, the worries were put to rest.

He called over two villagers carrying a stretcher and told them to be careful on their way to the field hospital outside the city for Deputy Chief of Staff Zhao.

They then headed towards the county government, arriving somewhat late.

After laboriously climbing over a pile of sandbags to make himself visible to as many people as possible.

Hu Biao shouted at the top of his lungs, "Military rank and position are nothing to me, Hu Biao. They are completely unimportant!"

If I really cared about these things, you should all be calling me Commander Hu.

Just because I, Hu Biao, am not a general, division commander, or army commander, does that mean my brothers and fellow villagers won't follow me to fight the Japanese devils?

The important point is that the Japanese soldiers of the Independent Mixed Ninth Brigade, since they dared to slaughter the villagers of Lijiazhuang, should pay a sufficient price for it.

Let all the Japanese devils know that even in war, they must have basic humanity and not take their anger out on innocent civilians.

If anyone is inhuman and dares to kill indiscriminately, our Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, our Chinese soldiers, will make them pay with their lives; therefore, everyone continue to execute the previous orders: we will not take prisoners in this battle.”

After the words fell, the brothers and villagers looked at Hu Biao with indescribable respect.

The thought that "I will risk my life to follow Commander Hu" grew stronger and stronger.

Tell me! Who wouldn't want to follow a commander who can lead them into battle against the Japanese, win victories, and not be greedy for rank and position?

Even if you eat coarse food and die in the process, it's still quite exhilarating.

Just as everyone was filled with emotion and respect and was preparing to continue killing the Japanese, another voice spoke up in opposition, but it was in broken Chinese.

Because the person who spoke was Fujioka Takekuma, the Japanese major general and brigade commander.

After the merciless bombardment that afternoon, this guy had suffered horrific internal injuries. He struggled back here and lay in a corner like a dead dog. The medic tried to treat him, but aside from giving him some medicine, he couldn't offer any effective treatment.

What was destroyed by the terrifying bombing seemed to include all of this bastard's courage.

So now, not only did Fujioka Takeo not have the courage to commit seppuku, but he also begged for mercy at the crucial moment: "Hu-san, you can't kill me."

Because I am Fujioka Takekuma, you can use me even more if you keep me alive; just think about it, capturing a living major general of the Empire, what a huge achievement and honor that would be.

Oh, right! You can kill this guy; he claims to be the young master of the Li family.

It was he who informed on us, enabling us to find those villagers; and the entire massacre of those villagers was also his suggestion.

The words had barely left his lips when Young Master Li immediately launched into a frantic rebuttal:
"You little devil, you're talking nonsense. When did I ever give you such advice?"

"Commander Hu, Grandpa Hu, please spare me! I was confused for a moment, misled by the Japanese devils, and committed such a grave mistake. I will never dare to do it again!"

Judging from the traitor's current gnashing-teeth appearance, if he hadn't been kneeling for so long and couldn't get up anytime soon, he probably would have run over and started fighting with Fujioka Takekumura on the spot.

Good heavens! To save their own lives, the Japanese leaders and their traitors are fighting like dogs.

Unfortunately, the two of them were utterly devastated the next second.

Because Hu Biao quite enjoyed watching the two of them fighting like dogs, he uttered a command that made them wish they were dead:

"Second Battalion, bring up your Italian cannon and the remaining two shells."

Fujioka Takeo is a hateful old Japanese devil, and Young Master Li is no better than a traitorous dog. We can't just shoot them all.

"In a moment, we'll tie them to a spot a dozen meters in front of the cannon and deliver them a legendary cannon execution."

Hu Biao had never forgotten the 75mm Italian cannon that Lao Yu and the warehouse manager had obtained after taking down the Japanese transport team.

Even after attacking the last line of defense of the Japanese, they deliberately had someone pull up and fire a shell; one shot destroyed a Japanese heavy machine gun, which was quite effective.

However, the Japanese had at least a dozen light and heavy machine guns on each defensive line, as well as many grenade launchers, which did not solve the key problem at all.

So the remaining two shells were left unused, but unexpectedly they came in handy at this moment.

As for why they fired from a distance of more than ten meters instead of just tying the two guys to the muzzle, it was because Hu Biao was worried about the barrel exploding and damaging the only proper cannon in their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

On the contrary, the shells are simple; the Zhangjiayu Arsenal has already mastered the reloading technology for these...

*******
In the time that followed, the Japanese prisoners begged for mercy, cursed, and screamed in agony.

Apart from Fujioka Takekumura, all the other Japanese prisoners were killed one by one with bayonets, broadswords, and even some farm tools and stones.

Then, with two loud cannon shots, Fujioka Takeoma and Young Master Li were turned into mincemeat.

It should be noted that the two men who were tied to a pillar before the cannon was fired were both so terrified that they wet themselves, and the smell was quite strong even from a distance.

However, the chaos in Pingding County did not subside afterward; instead, everyone became even more flustered.

First, in the very first instance.

Everyone began to rescue their own wounded, using all kinds of medical supplies they carried as if they were free, just to save as many brothers' lives as possible.

Under these circumstances, Lao Ma, Xiao Cui, and Xiao Henan, the three newcomers to the time travel, all survived.

Although Little Henan is only barely hanging on by a thread.

While treating the wounded, everyone also took the opportunity to clean up the battlefield in the city, collecting all the useful supplies such as the Japanese soldiers' weapons, ammunition, and equipment.

After annihilating an entire Japanese independent mixed brigade, the Northern Jiangsu Independence Army has become very powerful.

Leaving aside the weapons and equipment, among the captured classified documents that the Japanese hadn't had time to burn, there were valuable items such as their codebooks.

This refers to the Japanese independent mixed brigade, which had no regimental structure under its command, only some independent infantry battalions.

Otherwise, we might have been able to capture one or two more regimental flags this time.

More importantly, Hu Biao dispatched a number of personnel to the surrounding areas to see where the Japanese reinforcements were and what their next move would be.

It would be best if they withdrew spontaneously; if they continued to advance, then it would be necessary to quickly lead everyone to relocate. After a fierce battle, the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was also exhausted.

Fortunately, not long after, Hu Biao received some good news:

Upon receiving the telegram sent in plain text by the garrison of Pingding County, the Japanese reinforcements, who were already exhausted and suffering heavy casualties from a full day of fighting, immediately halted their advance.

Then they immediately turned around, the rear group became the front group, and quickly retreated back the way they came.

Secondly, although the Japanese reinforcements withdrew, Hu Biao did not intend to stay in Pingding County any longer, and even began preparing for the evacuation overnight.

On the one hand, the Japanese had suffered such a huge loss, so they were not going to swallow their anger easily.

They could not spare enough troops to send a large army to quell the rebellion in the short term; however, a massive bombing raid on Pingding County, turning it into a wasteland, was an inevitable event.

Perhaps tomorrow morning, the Japanese air force transferred from other regions will appear over Pingding County.

Why stay in the city? Are they trying to die fast enough?

On the other hand, Hu Biao had a strange intuition: their time-traveling journey should be coming to an end soon.

At the latest before dawn, maybe in an hour or two, these people will have to return to the modern world again.

Before they leave, we must make sure to arrange everything for their departure so that nothing goes wrong.

Therefore, for a period of time afterward, Hu Biao was so busy that he didn't even have time to treat his many wounds.

Having finally captured a county town, everything in the town except for the spoils of war from the Japanese side is now ownerless.

Even the impoverished Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was a treasure, so naturally they couldn't let anything go.

All valuables, food, clothing, iron, tools, and anything else that could be used were moved overnight.

In order to move as many things as possible before the Japanese planes arrived, Hu Biao mobilized more villagers to help move them out of the city and hide them in a secluded place outside the city.

After arranging the above tasks, Hu Biao began writing a series of secret letters.

Some of the messages were addressed to the great man, explaining that due to reasons that could not be disclosed, they would be leaving for a period of time, and during this period, all the work of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment would be entrusted to Zhao Zheng.

In addition, there are some suggestions on how to deal with the Japanese sweeps.

There was a letter for Zhao Zheng, in which he said that the drinking session between the two of them would have to be postponed for now, and that he would definitely prepare some Shandong specialties and treat Zhao Zheng to drinks and good wine when he had the chance in the future.

Oh, right! He was also given full authority to handle the regimental flag of the Japanese 10th Infantry Regiment.

In addition to the above, there were also mid- to high-ranking officers in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment who were not transmigrators.

This was to tell them that he and his partners were leaving temporarily for some personal reasons, and that everyone must follow Zhao Zhenggan closely from now on.

They were to fully support whatever Zhao Zheng did, and that Zhao Zheng's orders were equivalent to their own.

This solemn explanation was to prevent trouble from arising in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment after they left.

After writing the above secret letter, Hu Biao was thinking about whether he should also send a letter to the bald principal and Yan Laoxi.

But at that moment, a sudden realization dawned on him: in fifteen minutes, the survivors would be immediately teleported back to the modern world.

Immediately, they found Xiao Cui, Lao Ma, and Xiao Henan, and made an excuse that they had something important to discuss and went into hiding. They didn't have time to leave a message for the bald principal and Yan Laoxi...

(End of this chapter)