The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 365 A Great Victory in the First Battle (Two Chapters Combined)

"Hey, you three, you three take some men and keep chasing the Japanese. Remember, don't chase them any further than two miles."

Organize a defensive line on the spot to buy some time for the cleanup operation.

Attention everyone else, immediately clean up the battlefield, prioritizing the collection and transport of weapons and ammunition.

After throwing away the Japanese heads he had been carrying all the way like trash a long distance away, Hu Biao shouted at the top of his lungs and issued a series of orders.

The context of issuing this series of orders was that, just over ten seconds earlier, he had finally led his men into the starting position at the foot of Guizi Mountain.

By this time, the Japanese soldiers offered no resistance whatsoever.

The number of surviving Japanese soldiers was actually quite large at this point, including a company that had launched a feint attack on the two hilltop positions on the left and right flanks with minimal losses; now there were still more than four hundred of them.

Unfortunately, they were all terrified and were now fleeing in a chaotic and disorganized manner.

Driven by their survival instinct, these short-legged Japanese soldiers ran incredibly fast, making it seem impossible to completely annihilate this entire Japanese infantry battalion.

However, it doesn't matter, because Hu Biao and his men have already perfectly achieved their goal of capturing a large amount of weapons and equipment from the Japanese in this battle.

Sure enough! After issuing the first string of commands, Hu Biao...

He glanced at the Japanese soldier's corpse a few meters in front of him, a large knife stuck in his back, and he was completely dead. His face immediately showed an almost greedy look.

You think this is just a simple Japanese soldier's corpse? Of course not.

For the Subei Independent Regiment, which is now short of guns and ammunition and so poor that it's practically urinating blood, this should be a small mobile ammunition depot.

For example, the corpse of this Japanese private first class right in front of us.

He gripped a fine bayonet and a brand-new Type 38 rifle tightly in his hand; three hard leather ammunition pouches, filled with precious bullets, hung from his belt at his waist.

The two ammunition boxes in front of him were smaller, but each still contained six sets of five-round magazines, and one box contained 30 rounds of ammunition.

The ammunition box behind him was twice the size, capable of holding 60 bullets; that means that 120 bullets could be captured from just one Japanese soldier's corpse.

Our Party's army might not even have that many bullets in a single squad.

And the four Type 97 melon grenades that this Japanese soldier was carrying are now useless, as they have all been confiscated.

These weapons and ammunition alone make it a small, mobile ammunition depot.

If you add on a whole host of good stuff like helmets, gas masks, Type 38 entrenching tools, pork kidney lunchboxes, water bottles, and military blankets.

The corpse of this Japanese soldier could even be described as a small treasure trove.

Hu Biao only glanced at this small treasure trove of Japanese corpses; he didn't go up and strip the Japanese soldier clean.

Compared to these, Hu Biao set his sights on a much more impressive big guy.

The Type 92 infantry gun was destroyed because the Japanese artillerymen fled in haste.

Despite its small size, this thing can fire both straight and curved shots, with a range of approximately 2.8 kilometers. Its 70mm caliber also makes it quite powerful.

It might play a crucial role in the upcoming battles.

Hu Biao strode to a Type 92 infantry gun, lifted a large frame with a spade attached, and began dragging it toward the Gaofeng'ai position behind him.

On a dirt road going uphill, we had only dragged it for about 150 or 160 meters when the road surface became so bumpy and uneven that it became quite difficult to drag.

After stopping the dragging, Hu Biao shouted for a few brothers to help push it.

As a result, he thought about his overall physical fitness, which had been enhanced five times by that mysterious place. His physical strength and power had far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He immediately got carried away and did something that left the brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment quite dumbfounded.

After assuming a horse stance, he gripped each end of the cannon mount tightly with both hands, and then let out a loud "Up!"

He actually used brute force to lift the entire cannon onto his right shoulder.

Then, with a pace that was neither fast nor slow, he walked step by step up the hilltop position.

Although the Type 92 infantry gun was known for its lightness throughout World War II, the gun barrel still weighed 212 kilograms, which is more than 400 kilograms.

The sight of him carrying it by brute force was truly frightening, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

After Hu Biao had carried the load for fifteen or sixteen steps, one of the brothers finally reacted and shouted "Good!"

Soon after, cheers resounded across the battlefield, and the already high morale of every brother in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment soared even higher after their great victory.

Indeed! In this era where guns and cannons have become the norm, individual bravery no longer seems capable of changing the outcome of a battle.

However, the fact that our own Commander Hu is in such a powerful state is really inspiring.

Under such circumstances, they quickly cleared the battlefield and sent all usable weapons to the position before the Japanese reinforcements arrived.

After looting all the weapons and ammunition, they started collecting helmets and gas masks.

Seeing these scenes, both new and old time travelers, including Uncle Bo, the warehouse manager, Little Henan, Lao San, the thug, Lao K, the guard, and Lao Qian, were filled with indescribable envy.

What man doesn't want to be more powerful?

Mina, after seemingly pondering something, gave Annie a careful look and then, with a hint of jealousy, uttered a sarcastic remark:
"Is my brother-in-law that strong? I told you, you look so healthy lately."

"What are you thinking! Hu Biao and I haven't gotten to that point. We just hold hands all the time." Annie tapped Mina lightly on the head, muttering this remark...

******
A few minutes later, AT raised his hand and fired a shot, easily knocking down a running Japanese soldier from behind, just like shooting a rabbit.

Although there were still 320 or 330 Japanese soldiers fleeing ahead of them, it seemed that if they chased them for another mile or two, they could kill another hundred or so of them.

It's a pity they didn't get that chance.

Several miles away, large clouds of dust were already rising.

It's easy to guess that the other Japanese soldiers from the Taiwanese mixed brigade were rushing over to provide support after hearing the gunfire erupting here.

If we don't prepare now, it will be too late.

AT quickly turned his head left and right, exchanged glances with his teammates Black Star and Old Yu, and the three of them reached a consensus:
Snipe these Japanese soldiers for a while to buy Hu Biao and his men some time to clean up the battlefield.

Then, they called out to their brothers: "Stop! Stop chasing! Find obstacles on the spot and prepare to block the Japanese!"

The only difference was that, as AT quickly glanced around, he noticed an oval-shaped pond, about ten acres in size, about thirty or forty meters to his left.

In the very center of the pond, there is a mound about ten meters high, which is considered the best vantage point in the vicinity.

He immediately turned to Tan Li, the Marine Corps lieutenant beside him who refused to join the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment but was willing to fight to the death against the Japanese, and gave him this instruction:
"Lieutenant Tan, take a few men and a light machine gun, swim over to that hill and set up a firing point."

The words had barely left his lips when Tan Li's expression became incredibly complex. After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Xie Tong, Yang Min, Zhao Shun, and Jin Daniu, the four of you come with me."

If that's the case, then it's nothing. Although Tan Li hesitated for a moment when faced with the order, he still began to carry it out without any hesitation, and there was no question of punishment.

It took at most two or three minutes for AT to remove the back covers from the four wooden-handled grenades he was carrying, pull out the fuses, and place them one by one in the most convenient place within Black Star's reach.

I'm going to let this veteran teammate show off his bomb-throwing skills later, his ability to throw bombs anywhere within 70 meters, like a human cannon.

Suddenly, a panicked voice came from the side behind me:

"Quick, quick, quick, loosen Commander Tan's collar, put his stomach against your knees, and make him vomit all the water out of his stomach."

Looking back, they found Tan Li, soaking wet, being dragged out of the pond by two of his men; he was clearly in a state of severe drowning.

A Marine almost drowned in such a short time?
Such an absurd situation caused even the usually taciturn Lao Yu, in his indescribable frustration, to finally utter a curse:
"That Tan Li, is he another nepotism hire? He can't even swim, yet he dares to join the Marine Corps? Can he even be called the Chinese Navy?" Before AT and Black Star could join in the cursing, a Marine Corps sergeant said with a bitter expression:

"Let the three officers know that nowadays, not to mention the Marines, even many of our sailors can't swim anymore."

But can we really blame ourselves for this?

Almost every naval veteran who could swim died in countless battles that were fundamentally unfair.

Besides! So what if we can't swim? We'll still fight the Japanese to the death here, living up to the name of the Chinese Navy.

As the sergeant's voice trembled with tears, AT, Black Star, and Old Yu were all deeply ashamed.

At that moment, information and images from later generations uncontrollably flooded their minds:

During the Battle of Shanghai, the total tonnage of the National Revolutionary Army Navy was less than 6 tons, and the largest ship was only over 4000 tons, an old cruiser named Haiqi that had been launched more than 40 years ago.

The total tonnage of the Japanese fleet exceeded 115 million tons, including aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers.
Even so, when the naval brothers had warships, they relied on fortresses to fight the Japanese fleet to the death; they even sank their precious warships to prevent the Japanese fleet from penetrating deep into the Yangtze River channel.

When there were no warships, they would drive small boats, carrying mines, to ram the Japanese warships.

After they ran out of mines, these sailors went ashore, took up their rifles, and fought the Japanese to the death in the trenches like infantrymen.

When they were finally able to receive some second-hand warships from Uncle Sam, a large portion of the sailors turned out to be unable to swim.

There's no other reason than that many veterans have already died in battle, and these sailors who can't swim are all newly recruited soldiers.

With a loud 'smack,' Old Yu slapped himself hard across the back of his head, the kind of slap that looked incredibly painful.

After finishing his drink, he solemnly addressed the group of Marine Corps brothers, saying, "The Navy brothers are all excellent; it was I, Old Yu, who was too superficial."

I apologize to my brothers here. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely treat you to a drink to make amends.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a convoy of Japanese trucks stop about a mile away, and many Japanese soldiers jumped off.

He roared again, "Everyone, prepare for battle..."

A dozen minutes later, a 70mm shell landed about twenty meters in front of him, sending mud and sand flying everywhere.

Black Star took a deep breath and threw out the last three grenades in front of him in a very short time, blowing up some Japanese soldiers who were rushing up.

Then, he uttered a completely new command: "Retreat, retreat immediately."

Although in less than twenty minutes, it is unlikely that the rear battlefield could be completely cleaned up, it is believed that the most important equipment and supplies have now been successfully brought to the front.

Therefore, it was not very meaningful to try to stop the Japanese in an area where there were no fortifications at all.

Under this order, the more than one hundred-strong blocking force immediately began to withdraw.

During the retreat, Black Star, AT, and Lao Yu each led about ten elite men, taking turns firing to cover the rear and prevent the Japanese from quickly pursuing them.

When they retreated to the foot of the mountain, a large number of heavy machine guns suddenly roared from the position, taking down as many as thirty or forty Japanese soldiers who followed.

Immediately, the Japanese soldiers dared not pursue any further, allowing Black Star and his men to successfully retreat back to their positions.

After hastily retreating into their positions, before Black Star and the other two could even ask about the outcome of the battle, one look at Dead Puji's wide grin that stretched almost to the back of his head told them that their first battle at Gaofeng Pass must have been a huge success.

In the time that followed, the remaining troops of Watanabe's regiment...

Two infantry battalions and some regimental units, totaling more than 2,000 men, appeared several miles down the mountain, but did not immediately launch an attack.

The main reason was that after they gathered some of the defeated soldiers, they realized that the garrison at Gaofeng Pass was not a remnant force, but the legendary Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

These Japanese immigrants from Taiwan, though brutal, still had some sense of justice.

The key issue is that not only was their regimental commander, Watanabe Yoshinobu, killed, but his body also fell into the hands of the enemy.

Therefore, the news of Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment's presence here was reported to the authorities immediately, requesting operational guidance.

From this moment on, news of Hu Biao's reappearance spread far and wide, triggering a variety of interesting reactions from all sides...

It was a little past ten in the morning, at Huangshan Villa in the southern suburbs of Shuangqing, the official residence of this bald-headed principal.

Hu Biao appeared at Gaofeng Pass outside Nanning City and, in a very short time, used various means to assemble a full-strength regiment.

Even in the very first battle, they killed a Japanese colonel and nearly wiped out an entire battalion.

The bald principal had a very complicated expression on his face. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Hu Biao is truly a tiger general!"

But fate played a cruel trick on me; in the end, he refused to be completely at my disposal.

That's right! After the incident that happened in northwestern Shanxi almost a year ago, Baldy's feelings towards Hu Biao became increasingly complicated.

On the one hand, in order not to force Yan Laoxi to rebel and cause irreparable consequences, Hu Biao was actually willing to leave Pingding County with all his companions without any regrets.

This shows that this guy has a good sense of the big picture and gave him face, which moved him somewhat.

On the other hand, such a gesture of respect is not thorough enough.

Because Hu Biao only left with his comrades, not the entire Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, to the Zhongtiao Mountains for reorganization and to completely bring it under his control.

According to intelligence, although Hu Biao was no longer leading the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, its development speed was not as fast as before.

However, after a year of development, it still controls a large rural area in Pingding County and several surrounding counties.

Although it's called a regiment, its regular troops alone have the strength of a full-strength division; its equipment is mainly Japanese-made, and it already has considerable military production capacity.

They are already considered a force to be reckoned with in enemy-occupied areas.

As a result, this force now listens to no one except Hu Biao's orders, which is quite frustrating for the bald principal; the only thing that makes him feel fortunate is that Yan Xishan failed to win him over and did not join our party.

What the bald principal was even more concerned about was what happened more than two months ago when World War II officially broke out.

The penicillin mass production technology in Hu Biao's hands is especially valuable and terrifying; yet, he can't gain any benefit from such a gold mine.

All of the above combined, the bald principal naturally had extremely complicated feelings towards Hu Biao and his companions.

Under these circumstances, Boss Dai, who had just delivered the battle report, finally spoke after thinking for a moment:

"Commander! The liaison group secretly dispatched by Uncle Sam, as well as the Russian liaison group in Shuangqing, recently made the same request."

We hope to send one or two people to southern Guangxi to observe the battle between the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and the Japanese.

Upon hearing this, the bald principal's expression became even more solemn.

Uncle Sam's family, the former, has been trying to secure large-scale aid, otherwise, given their current near-extinct situation, they really wouldn't be able to continue fighting.

The latter, Russia, has provided a considerable amount of equipment and supplies since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

Even in the defense of Nanjing and Wuhan, the Russian volunteer air force played a huge role.

Then the question arises: Why did these two groups suddenly want to go to Hu Biao's place to watch the battle? Could it be that they have their eyes on the penicillin technology in this kid's possession and want to reach some kind of agreement in private?
After a moment's thought, the bald principal offered his opinion:
"Agree to their request, but you can only send one person at most. In addition, you should send a capable person to act as a translator and intervene in their transaction if necessary."

Even if they reached a private agreement, the Nationalist government would have to take the lion's share of the profits; Hu Biao was probably aware of this rule.

As he stood at attention and received his orders, Boss Dai began to select from among his subordinates.

Silently choosing which subordinate could shoulder such a difficult task.

Soon after, a colonel named Shen Zui, who was currently the head of the Inspection Department of the Dongting Lake Garrison Command, was deemed suitable as a subordinate; the plan was to send him out disguised as a translator...

(End of this chapter)