The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 404 Siege and Unsuccessful Attack (Two-in-One Chapter)

"Good heavens! Those damn bastards, they're planning something big."

Looking at the contents of a note in his hand, Lao Yu couldn't help but mutter a complaint in a voice only he could hear.

Around 10 p.m., Lao Yu finally emerged from the maintenance committee.

By this time, the Japanese had already begun enforcing a curfew.

Specifically, checkpoints were set up at all key intersections, and patrol teams were dispatched to patrol the area. Residents of Nanning were not allowed to leave their homes.

Otherwise they would arrest them immediately, and might even shoot them.

Fortunately, thanks to his identity and credentials from the puppet regime, and even some military officers who actually knew Lao Yu and remembered him as a good friend who had taken photos for them and whose photos turned out quite well.

Old Yu returned to his two-story house without any problems.

After repeatedly confirming that no one was following or monitoring him, Lao Yu immediately closed the door, drew the bed curtains, and then lifted the bedding on a large carved bed in the bedroom.

After opening a makeshift hidden compartment on the bed frame, you'll find that some of the negatives that were originally inside are gone, replaced by a piece of letter paper.

Without a doubt, the negatives must have been taken by the sickle, and perhaps by then they had already been successfully smuggled out of the city.

The contents of the letter likely refer to the conversation about sickles that hadn't been completed in the private room of the hotel before being interrupted by the visitor.

Regarding Hu Biao and others, what arrangements need to be made for them, these undercover personnel and troops in Nanning City, in the coming period.

Old Yu's guess was correct; things did indeed turn out exactly as he predicted.

If there was anything that caught him off guard, it was the arrangements made for them by Hu Biao and the others.

After quickly reading the message, Lao Yu, feeling quite agitated, couldn't help but utter the sentence mentioned at the beginning.

The reason for this was that, in Lao Yu's original plan, since the Nationalist army was about to attack Nanning City.

Their missions as undercover agents basically involved creating chaos in the city by blowing up armories, assassinating Japanese officers, and attacking command posts and hospitals.

Alternatively, they could launch a pincer attack from both sides, taking the opportunity to tear a gap in the Japanese defense line and allow the Nationalist army to break through.

What was the result? The message only contained a few words: "Continue to lie low and await orders."

Based on Lao Yu's understanding of Hu Biao's transmigrator companions, these guys were clearly brewing a big move, planning to cause some big trouble.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of sufficient information, Lao Yu really had no clue what kind of major events these were.

After pondering for more than ten minutes, unable to figure out what Hu Biao and his men were planning to do, he decided to continue his undercover work as instructed.

With this thought in mind, he struck a tinderbox and lit the letter, burning it completely to ashes in an unused charcoal stove in the corner of the room.

Finally, they didn't forget to stir up the ashes in the charcoal stove to completely cover them up.

After doing all that, Lao Yu turned off the lights and went to bed.

But after lying in bed, he couldn't fall asleep immediately; many thoughts kept popping into his head, making him toss and turn and unable to sleep.

Firstly, during his meeting with Chairman Yang tonight, he heard the following news from him.

In order to raise more supplies to cope with the Nationalist army's siege and attack on Nanning in the coming period, the Japanese planned to invite the wealthy and powerful people in Nanning who had not escaped to a banquet to be held the day after tomorrow.

At that time, it will simply be a matter of making these wealthy gentry and rich families bleed money and donate all the hidden supplies.

Old Yu didn't care about that; the key was that Chairman Yang told him to prepare well so he could attend the banquet.

I took some photos to create material. Then I reported on it in the South China Daily, a newspaper that was published once a week and only took one large page.

They created the illusion that all sectors of Nanning were enthusiastically supporting the Japanese invaders.

This means that Ando Rikichi and Imamura Hitoshi, those two Japanese leaders, might also be attending the banquet that night; wouldn't it be great if we could take a group photo with them then?

However, Lao Yu also learned that the Nationalist army would appear outside Nanning City early the next morning.

They might launch a series of attacks after arriving.

Given the intense fighting situation, it was uncertain whether the banquet would be held on time; this situation left him somewhat frustrated.

Secondly, he always felt that Chairman Yang of the maintenance committee, that old man in his sixties, must have guessed some of his identity.

This made him wonder if the banquet the day after tomorrow night was a trap for him.

If I go with them, won't I be walking into a trap?

Thirdly, before the Japanese invaded, Nanning City reportedly had a population of over 120,000; even after some escaped, there are now at least 70,000 to 80,000 people remaining in the city.

Leaving aside Master Yang of the puppet regime, these guys who would stay on voluntarily because of whoever offered them benefits.

The vast majority of them were actually just unfortunate people who couldn't bear to part with their meager possessions! It was easy for them to escape back then, but how were they supposed to survive?

During these days, Lao Yu took the opportunity of the interview to wander around the city quite a bit.

Naturally, I have seen many of these compatriots living a miserable life under the iron heel of the Japanese invaders.

Putting aside everything else, just the fact that the Japanese captured more than 250 female compatriots and established a military district in Jinshi Lane to satisfy their lust is one example.

Every time he passed by this place, Lao Yu had to use his strongest willpower to control himself from rushing in and killing every single Japanese soldier inside.

Once the Nationalist army arrives tomorrow and completely surrounds Nanning,

At that time, not only would more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers be surrounded in the city, but also 70,000 to 80,000 of our compatriots would be surrounded inside.

Given the Japanese soldiers' madness, when they were on the verge of total annihilation, would they commit massacres?

The key point is that this battle in Nanning City never actually happened in the original history.

If the tragedy in Nanning was caused by the arrival of these time travelers, then every single one of them would have no face to face their countrymen.

However, Nanning City is crucial to China's most important supply line at present, and we must take it at all costs.

This is what troubles Lao Yu the most; it keeps echoing in his mind, and he hasn't been able to come up with a reliable solution for a long time.

"Forget it! As long as we can take a group photo of Ando Rikichi and Imamura Hitoshi, even if it's a trap, it's worth going."

As for the safety of our compatriots in the city, that depends on Hu Biao and his men's arrangements; they've already been informed.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, Lao Yu drifted off to sleep, telling himself this with a touch of self-deprecation...

*****
After Lao Yu fell asleep, the Chinese troops participating in the battle naturally did not stop their operations.

Under the orders of the Guilin Headquarters and inspired by the great victory at Kunlun Pass, large numbers of Nationalist and Guangxi troops are making every effort to converge on Nanning.

Just after 1 a.m., the 1st Honorary Division of the 5th Army achieved another good result.

They breached a Japanese defensive line at Ertang, and of the Japanese garrison, only a little over a hundred men escaped back to Nanning.

This was also the last line of defense that the Japanese had set up to the north of Nanning.

After breaking through this defensive line, the Nationalist troops behind Nanning City faced no further obstacles, and tens of thousands of troops surged into the Nanning Basin overnight...

At 3:25, after half an hour of fighting, the 170th and 175th Divisions of the Guangxi Army annihilated two Japanese garrison companies.

They stormed into Yongning Airport outside Nanning City, the very airport from which all the Japanese planes that had bombed Hu Biao and his men had taken off.

Unfortunately, the Japanese planes had already moved during the day to Weizhou Airport on Weizhou Island in Beihai.

Fortunately, even so, this is still a very encouraging result.

First, Weizhou Island is nearly 200 kilometers away from Nanning City as the crow flies. Even if Japanese fighter planes were to fly over to join the battle, it would be much more troublesome. In addition to the necessary fuel consumption for the round trip, their loiter time on the battlefield would also be greatly reduced.

Secondly, the Guangxi Army captured a lot of Japanese troops at the airport that they hadn't had time to transport away, as well as destroyed fuel, machine gun bullets, and aerial bombs.

The Japanese soldiers had already suffered heavy losses in this regard during previous battles.

Now that a batch of aircraft has been captured at the airport, there will be a shortage of fuel and ammunition, meaning that the Japanese planes will definitely not be able to operate as recklessly as before...

At 6:07, before it was even fully light.

The National Revolutionary Army's 5th Army, part of the 36th Army, the Guangxi Army's 170th, 175th, and 179th Divisions, the newly formed 19th Division, and two local security regiments, among many other troops.

When all of them were combined, the army numbered fifty to sixty thousand, completely surrounding the entire city of Nanning, except for the southwest.

The reason why the southwest direction was not completely surrounded is mainly because that area is bordered by the largest river in the region: the Yong River.

The narrowest section of the Yongjiang River is 300 meters wide, and the deepest crevice is 23 meters deep.

With so many Japanese soldiers, even if they saw the situation was bad and wanted to evacuate, they couldn't do it in a short time.

Furthermore, the 131st and 135th Divisions of the Guangxi Army are currently on a forced march toward the south bank of the Yong River, and are said to arrive no later than 3 p.m. today.

The 131st and 135th Divisions were the main forces of the Guangxi Army. With them stationed there, they could definitely block the last escape route for the Japanese.

The numerous Nationalist and Guangxi Army units listed above do not represent all the Chinese forces that participated in this battle.

Besides Hu Biao's Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, which is currently resting and reorganizing at Kunlun Pass, several other units are moving towards the battlefield in Nanning.

If all are included, the military strength could reach as many as 15, which is quite abundant...

At 6:20 a.m., the Nationalist and Guangxi armies launched a 10-minute artillery barrage against the outer defenses of Nanning.

After the shelling ended, except for the southwest direction, tens of thousands of troops from multiple units launched a full-scale attack on Nanning City.

At that moment, the sun rose from the horizon, and under its golden light, four bigwigs—Bai Jiansheng, Chen Cheng, Li Jisheng, and Zhang Fakui—stood together.

He led a large group of high-ranking officers to watch the battle from a small hill a few miles outside the city, their faces filled with indescribable smugness.

There was no other way! During the first half of this campaign in southern Guangxi, they were extremely frustrated due to the unfavorable situation.

There are even private rumors that the bald principal has privately called them "good-for-nothings" countless times.

They also planned to demote Bai and Chen, both first-class generals, to second-class generals after this battle, and to punish everyone else accordingly.

Countless Chinese people are even cursing them for their poor leadership, calling them traitors to the country.

Fortunately, Kunlun Pass was completely captured by Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in half a day and half a night.

Even better, spurred by this great victory, the morale of his Nationalist and Guangxi troops soared, and their performance improved dramatically in the past few days.

They annihilated and severely damaged many Japanese units, demonstrating high morale and formidable combat effectiveness.

Under such circumstances, we should be able to capture Nanning City smoothly.

At that time, the bald principal will not only not punish them, but will also reward them handsomely, thus gaining a good reputation among the people.

However, their smug expressions and smug thoughts quickly vanished, and their faces turned extremely ugly.

Through the telescope, it was clear that the troops launching the full-scale attack had suffered heavy casualties and had not achieved any significant breakthrough.

This even included the Nationalist Fifth Army, which they had placed high hopes on beforehand.

It's important to know that the Fifth Army deployed the newly formed 22nd Division, which not only had a large number of tanks but was also equipped with 20 Type 1 rocket launchers.

These were powerful weapons they acquired from Hu Biao at great cost.

The key reason was that the Japanese had mobilized the city's residents with bayonets and built a fairly comprehensive defense network in the preceding period.

There were several anti-tank ditches alone, making it impossible for Qiu Fengzi's T-26 tanks to even get close to the position.

Then the Japanese used the direct fire of their Type 92 infantry guns to destroy several of them.

That loss was painful not only for Qiu Fengzi, the division commander, but also for bigwigs like Bai, Chen, Li, and Zhang; after all, the National Revolutionary Army only had a handful of tanks at the moment.

With another loud bang, a T-26 tank was hit by a shell and instantly turned into a burning inferno.

After Bai Jiansheng sighed, he seemed to age two or three years in an instant.

He knew that continuing the fight would only result in greater casualties and a drop in the army's precious morale, and that there was no way he could capture Nanning.

After all, they've been fighting for almost an hour, so the Japanese air force should be arriving by now.

With air support, the Japanese army's fighting power will only increase.

He said to the people around him, "Pass on my order: cancel the planned battle, all troops immediately withdraw and cease the attack, and prepare for an air raid."

Furthermore! Notify all division-level units and their respective military commanders to attend a military meeting at the frontline command to discuss the upcoming battle.

Upon hearing this, his men turned around to carry out the order.

After realizing something, Commander Bai quickly added, "Send a telegram to Hu Biao of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, asking him and his chief of staff to come to the meeting as well..."

Ten minutes later, at 7:35 a.m.

Hu Biao was squatting outside the temporary regimental headquarters, eating his breakfast of the day: rice dumplings one after another.

Thanks to their brilliant victory, the local people from Guangxi have been sending them all sorts of delicious food every day; not just Lao You Fen (a type of rice noodle soup), lemon duck, and taro with braised pork, but also many other things worth trying.

For example, these rice dumplings are made with cooked rice flour dough, and the fillings are mostly pork, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc., with a chewy and smooth texture; when dipped in chili oil, they are very much to the liking of Hu Biao, a native of Hunan Province.

While I was enjoying my meal, I glanced up and saw a regimental headquarters clerk rushing towards me in a flustered manner.

However, just by seeing this commotion, Hu Biao knew what had happened.

When the other person ran up to him, before he could even report, Hu Biao asked in a confident tone:
"The offensive on Nanning City has begun, right? And then the attacking troops ran into a tough nut to crack and suffered a considerable loss. So, Commander Bai called me over for a meeting, right?"

"Yes! Principal Hu, you're amazing!"

The confidential clerk, who was also a graduate of the first training course at Gaofeng'ai, first flattered his own regimental commander.

Then he continued, "An hour ago, the Nationalist Army and the Guangxi Army launched a full-scale attack on Nanning City according to the pre-arranged plan."

However, after only an hour of fighting, the attacking troops suffered numerous casualties and had to halt their offensive.

Given that the Japanese forces in Nanning are far beyond our anticipated defensive capabilities, Commander Bai orders Regiment Commander Hu and Chief of Staff An to immediately proceed to the frontline command post in Ertang to participate in the army-wide operational meeting.

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao, forgetting to finish his dumplings, started shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Boss lady, boss lady! Come with me to the front-line command post for the army-wide operational meeting. Remember to bring the things we prepared."

When he shouted, this guy's voice was quite excited.

Because Lao Yu guessed correctly, they were certainly prepared to cause some big trouble in this battle for Nanning City, and had already made some corresponding plans and preparations.

The only pity is that no matter how powerful Hu Biao or Hu Tuanzuo were, he was just a regimental commander with only a little over three thousand men under his command.

It would be more convincing to present this only after the Nationalist army had suffered some losses; therefore, the failure of this morning's attack was entirely within their expectations.

It's not that they didn't want to explain beforehand, nor that they wanted to see friendly forces suffer losses; in reality, it would have been pointless to explain anyway.

In the time that followed, Annie, carrying several rolled-up blueprints, traveled with Hu Biao in a truck, escorted by the guard company, towards the front-line command post...

(End of this chapter)