The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 422 It's hot (Bonus chapter for the snake on the moon)

At 2:47 PM, with a whoosh.

The commander of the 18th Division, Seiichi Hisako, suddenly pulled on his warhorse and began to look around at everything with a rather complicated expression.

Because his current location is in front of the township office of Dadong Township.

This was the site where the entire Independent Mixed Brigade 19 was wiped out, except for the brigade commander.

Only a few days had passed since the last major battle. As he looked around, he couldn't see a single Chinese civilian. Apart from a few stray dogs roaming among the ruins of collapsed or crumbling buildings, there wasn't a soul in sight.

The ground was covered with dense craters from artillery shells, and there were also mottled bloodstains everywhere.

This shows how intense that bloody battle was.

If that were all, the Japanese lieutenant general wouldn't have looked at him with such complexity; since invading China, he had already witnessed many more bloody scenes.

The key reason was when they saw a crooked pomegranate tree with some dried bloodstains on its trunk in front of the township office.

A strange and intense sense of fear welled up within him, making him feel that a huge crisis was about to strike.

In that moment, he was about to shout, "Stop advancing! Defend in place!"

However, he forcibly swallowed the words back down his throat.

If it turns out that the fact that he brought the entire army to a halt because of a strange feeling was just an illusion, he would lose face terribly.

Unbeknownst to Kuzanagi Seiichi, his reluctance to give an order sealed the fate of the 18th Division...

Three minutes later, in a peach grove several miles away, Hu Biao, Annie, Lao Ma, and the thug took one last look at the assault team in front of them.

They looked at each face very carefully, as if they wanted to memorize them.

They formed a total of three assault teams this time. The other two assault teams, the second and third, are basically the same size and equipped as they are now.

At the very front were 15 T-26 tanks, arranged in three rows of five; each tank was filled with accompanying infantrymen, soldiers from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

The total number is around one hundred or so, and each one is an elite.

They either gripped the handles on the shell tightly with one hand or used ropes to connect their bodies to the hooks.

This way, even while the tank is moving, they can still fire their weapons; any Japanese soldier who tries to approach the tank will be instantly knocked to the ground.

Following closely behind were four German-made 'Hausch' armored vehicles.

This thing is actually an armored jeep with only 5 millimeters of side armor, which might not even be able to withstand bullets from the Japanese Type 38 rifle.

Fortunately, it is fast, maneuverable, and equipped with an MG13 machine gun.

It can be considered a fairly good assault firepower when coordinating with tank charges.

In the middle of the column were more than 600 cavalrymen; it was as if Hu Biao and his men had drawn cavalry from the entire battlefield, yet they still couldn't muster 2000 men.

There was no other way! The Guangxi Army was basically an infantry force, with virtually no organized cavalry units.

Among all the Central Army units, only Du Yuming's Fifth Army had a directly subordinate cavalry regiment; other units only had a small number of cavalry for reconnaissance and relaying orders.

At the very end were 25 modified Mercedes-Benz L3000 trucks.

The modifications to these trucks can be simply described as adding sandbags and steel plates to key areas to increase their protective capabilities.

A heavy machine gun was added to the roof as the core firepower, operated by a four-man team.

Meanwhile, a total of 20 soldiers from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were also on board the train.

In addition to light machine guns, rifles, and grenades, they often carried a rocket launcher or a grenade launcher captured from the Japanese.

They could fire from both sides of the carriage, inflicting more damage on the Japanese.

In short, each assault team had a total of more than 1300 men, and the three assault teams together had about 4000 men.

The most arduous task in this battle fell to them: to tear apart and divide the Japanese tortoise formation so that subsequent troops could annihilate them one by one.

It's unknown how many of these brothers will survive after World War I.

This is also the main reason why Hu Biao and his team looked at each face so carefully, hoping to remember every single one.

This situation continued until 2:53 PM, when, according to the plan, the shelling was scheduled to begin in 7 minutes, and the assault troops were to launch their attack.

Suddenly, a commotion came from behind them, interrupting Hu Biao and the others' observation.

Looking back, they saw seventy or eighty villagers who must have fled as early as the start of the Japanese landing, fearing harm from the Japanese, walking briskly towards them. One of them, an old man who could be either the village chief or the clan head, was leading the way.

A man next to him was holding a wine jar.

Hu Biao had encountered similar situations many times before at Gaofeng Pass.

It seems that these villagers, who were hoping to drive out the Japanese invaders and return home as soon as possible, wanted to express their feelings by toasting each other.

So don't be too polite or delay, just drink it and kill a few more Japanese devils.

And that was indeed the case. After the old man approached, he said, "Commander Hu and other officers, I heard that you are about to set off on an expedition. Please have a bowl of wine to cheer you up."

However, to Hu Biao's surprise, when the jar of wine was poured out, it was orange-yellow; so much so that Hu Biao hesitated to take a sip after receiving the bowl.

Seeing this, the old man explained with a smug look on his face:

"Let Commander Hu know that this is our famous gecko wine from Guangxi Province; in addition to gecko, it also contains a variety of high-quality medicinal herbs such as ginseng and wolfberry."

It can nourish the kidneys and replenish essence, strengthen muscles and bones; it offers numerous benefits for men.

"Actually, I don't drink this stuff and I'm perfectly healthy." After explaining this earnestly, Hu Biao finished the three or so ounces of medicinal wine in the bowl in one gulp.

Aside from Annie and Old Ma, all the officers around him, including Qiu Qingquan, drank it all.

Qiu Qingquan, a lieutenant general and commander of the newly formed 22nd Division, was not originally required to participate in such an extremely dangerous combat mission as the assault team.

However, after seeing that Hu Biao and his partners had all joined the commando team, he also took the initiative to join in.

That's why, after finishing his drink, he glanced at his watch and reminded him, "Brother Yitong, it's almost 3 o'clock, let's get ready to leave."

Such a reminder is quite normal. What is abnormal is that perhaps the thought that if Hu Biao and Annie were to serve as accompanying infantrymen on the tank, they would be far less safe than if they were inside the tank.

Qiu Qingquan then turned to Annie and Hu Biao and asked them enthusiastically:
"Chief of Staff An, I heard you can fly planes, so I imagine you can drive tanks too. How about you drive the tank later, and Brother Yitong can be the gunner, and I can be the tank commander? The three of us can form a tank crew, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Annie immediately agreed, looking quite eager to try.

Hu Biao covered his forehead with one hand, looking quite troubled.

What a disaster! He still vividly remembers the time he went to Mr. Nanze's hometown with Annie and how wildly she drove.

If Annie drives a minivan this wildly, wouldn't she be flying if she switched to a tank?
But then Annie asked, "What's wrong, Commander Hu? Does that expression mean you're unwilling?"

"No! I just have a bit of a toothache." Hu Biao forced a smile as he answered.

Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Start the machines! Everyone get on the vehicles and horses, get ready to go!"

After saying that, he walked towards the first tank.

Old Ma mounted a warhorse; having already acquired considerable riding skills during his previous journey, he would serve as the cavalry commander of the assault team.

The thug, carrying a Czech-made light machine gun, walked towards the passenger seat of a truck. The command of these modified trucks fell on the shoulders of this 19-year-old.

Annie, whose heart was set on driving tanks, had to follow in her husband's footsteps.

However, just as we were about to set off, I noticed that there seemed to be some gecko wine left in that jar.

He immediately put his finger to his lips, signaling the old man to be quiet, then quickly emptied the boiled water from a Type 94 water bottle on his person, and then poured in the gecko wine.

I plan to take a sip every now and then while driving the tank; I believe it will enhance the driving experience.

To be honest, Annie and Mina are truly cousins; even at a time like this, they didn't forget to have a couple of bites.

If there's any difference, it's that compared to Mina's "Guangxi Briefcase" drink, Annie's gecko wine is stronger and comes in a larger quantity.

And look! After the one-liter kettle was filled, Annie was surprised to find that there was still more than half a pound left at the bottom.

He simply picked up the wine jar and gulped it down in one go.

Then, under the influence of alcohol of at least 40 degrees and the strong stimulation of the drug, Annie's ears turned completely red.

At the same time, I felt my mental state suddenly become incredibly excited.

In this situation, she rushed toward the tank that Hu Biao was climbing.

After inadvertently noticing Annie's flushed face, despite being worried about her upcoming ride, I still asked her with concern:
"Why is the proprietress's face so red? Is she alright?"

"It's nothing! It's just hot," Annie replied without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)