The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 383 No War at Gaofeng Pass (Part 1) [Two Chapters Combined]

...Guys! When your hairlines are receding dangerously, your bellies are getting bigger from beer and barbecue, and your backs are aching more and more every day...

Do you still remember those dreams you had as a child?
Have you realized all or even part of these dreams from the past?

Fortunately, one of my childhood dreams has finally come true; unfortunately, that dream came to me after watching an old movie:
When I grow up, I want to fight the Japanese invaders too...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's incoherent ramblings after he got drunk one time...

With the near disappearance of the Japanese air force, all artillery units were transferred away; even the limited number of infantry units left behind were placed in a state of surveillance and defense.

At Gaofeng Pass, Hu Biao and his fellow transmigrators, along with the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, finally had a precious period of rest.

After so many days of traveling through time, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the great battle between China and Japan, which was already imminent, would not be paused simply because Hu Biao and his group had quieted down.

On the contrary, it was Nanning City, and the key supply route it represented, that was of great importance to the National Government.

The Nationalist Army and the Japanese forces first engaged in a brief armed standoff. During this period, both sides, like hamsters facing an approaching winter, were working hard to organize their forces and stockpile weapons, ammunition, and other combat supplies.

Finally, after preparations were nearly complete, a major battle broke out between the two sides around Kunlun Pass.

During this process, quite a few noteworthy things happened...

Around 11:12 a.m. on December 8, a small number of people, but all of them were in high positions, gathered at the residence of Principal Shuangqing.

A meeting is being held, attended by the bald-headed principal and his confidants.

The meeting started a little after eight in the morning and has been going on for some time now; after continuous discussions, the relevant issues have reached a conclusion.

After taking a sip of the tea on the table in front of me, which had been refilled with hot water countless times.

The bald principal put down his cup and finally began his definitive statement on today's topic:

"Yanji, take notes, and then have the adjutant send a telegram to Bai Jiansheng at the Guilin headquarters, telling him to launch a counterattack immediately while the Japanese are still complacent in southern Guangxi."

This battle involves the most critical route for the import of overseas supplies, and it is absolutely crucial that it is not lost.

"Rhetoric: In a few days, you and Li Jisheng will go to the front lines to oversee the battle in my place. Any unit that disobeys orders, shows cowardice, or avoids combat, regardless of faction, will be severely punished."

Upon hearing this, Commander Chen, whom Hu Biao had severely offended on the Shanghai battlefield with his foul mouth, couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

Because he knew that while such an imperial envoy-like mission sounded impressive, things were never that simple once they reached the Guangxi Army's headquarters.

However, without the slightest hesitation, he agreed on the spot.

What do you mean? Based on his understanding of the bald principal, whether or not the task can be completed is a matter of ability; if he messes it up, he might get a few scoldings and be demoted for a while, but there's still a chance to salvage the situation in the future.

However, if you choose to shirk responsibility, that becomes a matter of attitude, which could mean spending your life on the sidelines.

After settling on one topic, the bald principal started talking about the second topic of the day, beginning with a classic swear word:

"Damn it! The Russians are clueless too."

"The Nationalist government is the only legitimate government of China, and we acquired the equipment through technology trade. Why are they insisting that the equipment for two divisions must be given to those peasants?"

This is the premise that led the bald-headed principal to utter such a curse.

By last night, the deal between Uncle Sam and the Russians regarding Hu Biao and others' use of rocket launchers and radar technology had been finalized.

Furthermore, all the relevant conditions, the specific transportation methods, and the need to cooperate with Hu Biao and his team during the process were agreed to.

Those two big shots, they made their decision so quickly and agreed so readily.

The most fundamental reason is that these two technologies are of great urgent need to them in the current tense situation.

On the other hand, and most importantly.

Hu Biao and his men got a relatively cheap price. The standard weapons and equipment for five active-duty infantry divisions, plus cash worth one million US dollars, were a huge sum of money for the poor Chinese nation.

For these two major dog-owning families, let alone Uncle Sam's family, which currently has the strongest industrial strength.

Even for the Russians, who have now completed two five-year industrial plans and gone through a century of industrial development compared to other foreign countries, this is not a big deal.

Of course! Hu Biao and his group have their own reasons for selling it so cheaply.

For example, when doing business with foreigners for the first time, don't ask for too high a price; let them have a taste of success first, and there will be plenty of opportunities to get it back later.

And these technologies, which are either soon to be developed or have already been developed but are being kept secret by one side, can be easily obtained by them after they travel back in time and organize them slightly.

I don't really think it's that valuable. I'll sell it cheaply, and it'll be fine. It's not like I'll run out of things later.

Another point to note is that it's unclear whether Lao San and the others misremembered, or whether the information they found online was incomplete.

Or perhaps it's just something those content creators made up.

These days, the principles of radar technology are no longer a secret.

Even Uncle Sam's family built a pulse radar as early as 36; however, its detection range was only 40 kilometers, which was quite limited in terms of practicality.

What the British gentlemen have been keeping strictly secret is actually the multi-cavity high-energy magnetron radar technology, which is the key to giving radar its powerful practical significance.

Fortunately, both Lao San and Bo Shu understood this technology, which ultimately allowed the deal to proceed...

Getting back to the main point, although just thinking about how two of the five divisions of equipment that the Russians traded this time will fall into the hands of our Party will only make them, this major threat, stronger.

The bald principal felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he had swallowed a fly.

The key issue is that without the help of the Russians, even the equipment for five divisions of Uncle Sam's army couldn't be transported in.

The temptation of having equipment for a total of eight divisions—no, it should be seven and a half divisions, because there's also half a division's worth of equipment from Uncle Sam's family, which will be sent to the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in Pingding County.

The bald-headed principal, suppressing his anger, made a decision and explained it to Boss Dai, who was present at the meeting:

“Send a telegram to the Russians, telling them that we are willing to accept this allocation plan and that they should transport the supplies as soon as possible; also tell Hu Biao that the batch of weapons and equipment they need at Gaofeng Pass will be supplied to them as soon as possible.”

Also, have our people double-check whether they're colluding with those peasants.

"Yes, Commander." Boss Dai stood up respectfully and accepted the order.

Before he could even sit down, the bald-headed principal casually asked, "What have Hu Biao and the others been doing at Gaofeng Pass all this time?"

Before attending the meeting, Boss Dai had already done his homework, so he spoke fluently and naturally:
"They have been recruiting and training soldiers recently. According to intelligence, Hu Biao is preparing to pull out a reinforced regiment of five battalions at Gaofeng Pass."

Their officially declared unit designation was: Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Supplementary Battalions.

Upon hearing Hu Biao's rather bizarre announcement of the code name, everyone present except for the bald-headed principal felt a strange and complex mix of emotions.

The main reason is that the true strength of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment has long surpassed that of some miscellaneous army-level units.

So logically speaking, Hu Biao should have been promoted to the rank and position of lieutenant general long ago, instead of being a lieutenant colonel and regimental commander.

Unfortunately, this guy often disobeys the bald principal's orders and has been deliberately suppressing his position and military unit designation.

Such an action might not have been a big deal in the past, but now Hu Biao has managed to procure equipment for seven and a half divisions for the National Army.

And judging from this situation, they can get even more equipment and supplies later. If the bald principal still doesn't contribute a single penny, it will be hard to believe.

Of course! They would never voice these concerns in front of the bald principal.

While the bald principal's command skills were somewhat lacking, his ability to infighting and political maneuvering was second to none; he could discern their thoughts from the slightest change in their expressions. After a moment's hesitation, he said:
"Regarding the commendation of Hu Biao, let's not rush into this! Let's wait and see how Hu Biao and his team perform after the battle in Guinan."

After saying that, he added with great heartache, "If he were even a little bit more sensible, I would have gone against all odds to make him a corps commander, and becoming an army group commander wouldn't have been difficult for him..."

Hu Biao was completely unaware of the bald principal's thoughts, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much.

Because he has more important things to do now, just as Boss Dai reported to the bald principal, he is currently busy recruiting.

At the same time, at the foot of the mountain north of Gaofeng Pass.

Originally, this was a wild area overgrown with shrubs, but after being cleared by the villagers, it has become the current base and training ground of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Standing on one side of the training ground, Hu Biao looked at the more than one hundred men in front of him, who were standing in formation and at a military posture that were far from standard, and who were looking at him expectantly.

He roared at the top of his lungs, like thunder: "Those under 17 years old and over 50 years old, step forward!"

After yelling, seeing the blank expressions on their faces, he explained with a wry smile:

"Step out of the line" means you are to come forward and stand aside; there is no joking in the army, the situation is the situation, don't try to fool me.

After understanding, more than twenty people immediately stepped forward and stood to one side.

The youngest among them is probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, while the oldest looks almost sixty.

Then, Hu Biao continued to shout: "Those who are only sons, step forward; those who are married but have no children, step forward; fathers and sons and brothers who came together, one person stays; everyone else, step forward."

This time, more than thirty people came out, reducing the original number of more than one hundred to only about ninety.

Even so, Hu Biao's shouts did not stop: "Those who have finished primary school, step forward! Oh, and you stand on the other side."

Three more people stepped forward and stood on the other side.

At this point, Hu Biao solemnly saluted the largest group of people who had stood up, and said:

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has come to join the army to fight the Japanese devils."

But guns and cannons have no eyes on the battlefield. What will happen to your families if you die? Will the orphans and widows just starve to death at home?

"Go to the canteen for a meal later, collect your one yuan for travel expenses, and then head back. We'll take care of fighting the Japanese."

After saying that, he ignored their pleas and remained resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Now, for Hu Biao and the other time travelers...

This time travel has only reached the first stage, and a series of great battles await them. Naturally, the more troops the better.

But people are all made of flesh and blood. Their bosses and relatives have been so generous in supporting them, so they should at least think about them.

After all, even the National Revolutionary Army's "Conscription Law" stipulated that "one out of three able-bodied men should be conscripted, two out of five able-bodied men should be conscripted, and only sons should not be conscripted," although it was not strictly enforced at all.

This explains the saying that a family has only one son who has no children after marriage, and that there is only one father, son, or brother.

As for those who had attended primary school, they were also to be selected initially to see whether they were more suitable to work in Mo Shuiyan's arsenal or to stay and fight.

In any case, these kinds of intellectuals are all poised to be given important positions.

Fortunately, even when Hu Biao and his men were recruiting soldiers, they would reject some unsuitable candidates.

However, thanks to the achievements of the Subei Independent Regiment at Gaofeng Pass in the previous period, which were spread by people with ulterior motives in the surrounding area, they were still able to replenish one or two hundred men every day.

Adding to the surviving brothers, pulling out a reinforced regiment would be absolutely no problem...

******
At 9 p.m. on the 15th, in the largest operations conference room of the Nationalist Army Guilin Headquarters in Qianjiang, Guangxi Province.

Under the watchful eyes of Chen Xiuzhi and Li Jishen, the two bald-headed principals who were sent to supervise the battle, and Zhang Fakui, the commander of the Fourth War Zone.

Bai Jiansheng, who was in full command of the Battle of Guinan, shouted, "I give the order."

In that short sentence, all the brigade commanders, division commanders, and army commanders present stood up from their seats.

With dozens of them, the glittering stars in the huge conference room were almost dazzling.

All of this is because, by now, all the participating troops in this operation have arrived at their designated positions.

More than 100,000 Nationalist troops have gathered in the area north of Kunlun Pass alone, which means that this battle can finally begin.

With a serious expression, Bai Jiansheng issued the complete order: "I order the immediate execution of the first counter-offensive plan. The Fifth Army will be responsible for attacking Kunlun Pass..."

About twenty minutes later, the pre-battle meeting came to a complete end.

The officers from the participating units quickly left their camps, eager to return to their units and carry out the missions they had just received.

They can either launch a main attack, a flanking attack, a diversionary tactic, or serve as a reserve force.

However, the main force of this operation, the Fifth Army, had walked a distance and were now alone when they were the only ones left.

Commander Zheng of the First Honorary Division asked with some doubt:
"How could Commander Bai devise such a flawed battle plan?"
Even some newly formed units of the Guangxi Army were assigned combat missions this time; however, the Subei Independent Regiment, with its formidable fighting strength and its control of the strategically important Gaofeng Pass, wasn't even mentioned once.

Upon hearing this, Commander Dai of the 200th Division also chimed in.

"Yes! Although I have never met Commander Hu, I have absolute faith in his character and the fighting strength of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment."

"Such a fierce general, and such a powerful army, yet they didn't deploy him—Commander Bai truly has a difficult question to answer."

Only Qiu Fengzi, the commander of the newly formed 22nd Division, said disdainfully, "Without Zhang the butcher, are we only allowed to eat meat with hair on it?"
I admit that Hu Biao and his partners are indeed quite capable, but we can still fight this battle even without them.

"Then we'll see how my newly formed 22nd Division's tank units teach the Japanese a lesson."

As he said this, Qiu Fengzi had a crooked mouth and a disdainful expression on his face.

He has that expression because he was hit by a car before, and he has a long scar on his lip, so his mouth is crooked.

No matter the occasion, his expression always looks a bit strange.

Secondly, he was extremely arrogant by nature and did not really take Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment seriously, and even harbored some rebellious thoughts.

As for the commander of the Fifth Army, he was Du Yuming, who became famous in later generations.

Seeing that his subordinates were about to argue about this matter, he said, "Stop arguing. The principal and Commander Bai have their own arrangements for this."

Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders; we should just do our own job well.

After hearing this, Zheng, Dai, Qiu, and the other two fell silent and did not continue to discuss the topic.

Although no one spoke of it aloud, including Du Yuming, they couldn't help but think about this: What is Hu Biao doing now? With his personality, is he willing to be a spectator in such a big battle?
"No! Hu Biao is an extraordinary man; he would never stay obediently at Gaofeng Pass. He must be plotting something right now." That was their conclusion.

Similar speculations arose in the minds of all the officers present.

Even after the meeting ended, Zhang Fakui hesitated for a moment before making a suggestion: "Jiansheng, Xiuci, if it's inconvenient for you to go see Hu Biao, how about I go instead?"

"I will go, but the time is not right yet," Commander Bai said calmly after hearing this.

At the same time, Chen Xiuzhi and Chen Xiuzhi coincidentally recalled the loose-lipped junior officer they had met on the Shanghai battlefield more than two years ago, who had now become a figure that neither of them could completely ignore.

Suddenly, a complex mix of emotions welled up within me...

(End of this chapter)