The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 432 I'm Suffering (Two Chapters Combined)

The next day, at exactly seven o'clock in the morning.

Standing atop the Da Dong Township Office building with a group of time travelers and several Nationalist generals, Hu Biao took a deep look at the numerous formations of varying sizes below, neatly arranged in regiments.

According to the latest report he received, the total number of people in all the formations in front of him was 19,530.

They were all the aid troops from Dadong Township, after deducting the casualties, leaving behind the supply troops to clean up the battlefield, and the artillery units.

Today, we will return to Nanning City with them, joining all forces in the final battle.

It's understandable that the others stayed behind, but why didn't Hu Biao and his men bring the artillery?

It's because the artillery had already fired their last shell in yesterday's battle; even if they returned to Nanning with them, they wouldn't be able to replenish their ammunition anytime soon, and would just become useless.

Therefore, it would be better for the main army to advance lightly than to return with these troops that slow down the march.

The artillery units can simply return slowly from behind; there's no need to worry about their safety.

Hu Biao carefully observed that a single night's rest was not enough for the brothers who had just fought a major battle to fully recover their physical strength.

But it doesn't matter, after just achieving a glorious victory.

Their spirits and morale were incredibly high, and every single one of them had a burning desire for battle in their eyes. This was more important than anything else and gave Hu Biao the greatest confidence.

Having made up his mind, Hu Biao no longer hesitated.

He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Let's go! Back to Nanning City, keep killing the Japanese devils until there isn't a single Japanese devil left alive in Guinan."

Under this order, the 1365 members of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, led by their warehouse manager, set off in neat marching formation.

These 1,300-plus men comprise all the remaining troops of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, excluding the wounded.

Compared to when they departed from Kunlun Pass a little over a week ago, there are now two thousand fewer people.

There was no other way! In both battles of besieging the enemy's stronghold and attacking reinforcements, they followed Commander Hu and his comrades, always participating in the fiercest battles and always charging at the forefront.

It played the most crucial role in the victory of the battle.

So letting them go first served two purposes: firstly, to act as the vanguard of this army, and secondly, to allow other units to express their respect in this way.

The warehouse manager took the lead and walked at the front. After walking twenty or thirty steps, he suddenly felt a strange itch in his throat.

He felt an urge to shout, to release the inexplicable, burning emotion within him; once he opened his mouth, he yelled at the top of his lungs:
"Have you not seen Zhong Jun of Han, who at the tender age bound the enemy and requested a long spear? Have you not seen Ban Dingyuan, whose light cavalry in the distant lands urged on the battle clouds? Sing~"

As soon as the warehouse manager uttered the word "sing," the more than 1,300 brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment began to sing loudly the song "Educated Youth Joining the Army."

Amidst their resounding singing, their already upright posture became even more ramrod straight, like a sharp bayonet.

Indeed! The continuous fierce fighting resulted in heavy casualties for them.

But it was like a great furnace, forging them into something extraordinary, and each of them became different, filled with an elite and fierce spirit.

The transmigrators include Hu Biao, Annie, Mo Shuiyan, Hei Xing, AT, Thug, Guard, and Xiao Cui.

As these brothers walked past him, he snapped to attention and saluted them with impeccable military posture.

Throughout this journey, I have always unconditionally trusted these people.

We salute our brothers who followed them and risked their lives with them time and time again, offering them our deepest respect.

Upon witnessing this scene, the brothers sang even louder; and they returned the salute with raised hands as they walked past their commander and officers.

They once again rushed to the next battlefield to participate in the final battle of the Battle of Guinan.

Without a doubt, the scene described above had a tremendous impact on the other Central Army and Guangxi Army soldiers present.

So much so that many years later, many of the officers and soldiers would still tirelessly tell those around them:
On that day at the township office in Dadong Township, Commander Hu and his comrades, who were just a group of lieutenant colonels and majors, were surrounded by a group of lieutenant generals and major generals as if they were the moon surrounded by stars.

But everyone who saw it thought there was nothing wrong with it.

At that time, each of them was incredibly envious of the soldiers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment who were singing battle songs and saluting Commander Hu and his men...

4:35 PM on the 14th.

After two days of marching at a normal pace, the vanguard led by Hu Biao and others arrived at a place called Shizhuling, southwest of Nanning City.

This place is at least ten miles away from the front-line command post of the Guinan Campaign established by the National Army outside Nanning City.

However, when they arrived at this place, Hu Biao and his men were surprised to find that many people were already waiting there.

Bai Jiansheng, Chen Xiuzhi, Li Jisheng, and Zhang Fakui, four bigwigs, stood at the front with smiles on their faces, followed by many high-ranking officers from the Nationalist Army and the Central Army.

Further away, there were many wealthy gentry and villagers, probably numbering in the thousands.

Upon seeing them appear, Li Jisheng gestured to the villagers behind him.

Immediately, the band at the back of the crowd played festive tunes on various instruments such as gongs, drums, and suonas, and the dragon and lion began to dance joyfully.

At the same time, Commander Bai and others, along with several people of some status, walked quickly toward Hu Biao.

The attendants following behind them were either carrying an earthen bowl or holding some wine jars, which was the familiar toasting ritual to Hu Biao.

Fortunately, the bowls weren't very big, each only holding about two or three ounces, so they didn't look too scary.

Good heavens! If this scene were in ancient times, it would be like a general leading his army back in triumph, with high-ranking officials from the court coming out of the city to welcome him.

However, upon seeing this, Hu Biao and Annie, along with other time travelers, were taken aback.

Especially the more experienced time travelers, after instinctively exchanging glances, showed no emotion in their eyes, only indescribable helplessness and irony.

There's no other reason than that Hu Biao and his group have already traveled through time so many times.

He's no longer the clueless newbie who dared to say anything in front of his superiors and caused a lot of trouble back in the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield.

They also had a fairly clear understanding of these bigwigs from the Nationalist government or local factions.

I know that these people have very complex personalities, and their mentality will change with different situations.

To be more specific, in the past, they were either under immense pressure from the bald principal, or tempted by the prospect of reclaiming their home base, and of course, driven by a sense of patriotism.

They were willing to put aside all their ulterior motives and provide them with full support to fight the Japanese invaders.

After the two sieges and reinforcements were successfully completed, the recapture of Nanning was no longer in doubt.

At this point, they still harbored some patriotic sentiments; however, this did not prevent their thoughts from undergoing some new changes due to the interests of their own small groups.

They began to plan the distribution of spoils after the war, or the issue of territory, and each had their own ulterior motives.

Indeed, that was the case. Although the group of people were all smiles as they greeted Hu Biao and his group, they were thinking about other things.

For example, Bai Jiansheng, Commander Bai.

After receiving the telegram announcing the great victory in Dadong Township, and experiencing an initial burst of elation, he began to consider how to politely escort Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment out of the country after the battle.

Not only in Guangxi Province, but we can't let Hu Biao stay any longer.

Even neighboring western Guangdong regions like Yangjiang, Kaiping, and Maoming couldn't let Hu Biao stay put.

After all, Hu Biao was known for his fierce fighting skills, but he was even more ferocious in recruiting people, building up his team, and developing his territory.

He didn't want his stronghold to be occupied by someone else in a year or two, and then be so well-managed that it was like an impregnable fortress.

Chen Xiuzhi, or Commander Chen, was sent by the bald-headed principal to serve as the supervising officer and spokesperson for the Guinan battlefield.

He silently thought to himself that, based on his information channels, the bald principal had made up his mind to bring Hu Biao and his companions under his command.

On the one hand, Hu Biao and his comrades were really too good at fighting.

This time, he only led some defeated soldiers and used a motley collection of weapons. After a little training, he achieved such results. If he had been equipped with outstanding junior officers from the Whampoa Military Academy, elite veterans of the Central Army, and the best equipment available to him...

With proper training and team cohesion over a period of time, their combat effectiveness will be phenomenal. They will undoubtedly become the sharpest weapon in our hands, the best firefighting team on the battlefield.

On the other hand, they were also able to obtain a large amount of equipment and supplies from the foreigners.

That alone was enough to make the bald principal decide to subdue them.

However, Hu Biao and his companions were all unruly and rebellious individuals.

For a moment, as the bald principal's representative in the Guinan region, Chen Xiuzhi really didn't know how to start a conversation with Hu Biao and his group and negotiate terms.

Li Jisheng and Zhang Fakui, on the other hand, were relatively calm.

Because they were indifferent to some matters, they were currently just watching the show; they were secretly wondering how the bald principal would reward Hu Biao and the other transmigrators.

In this Battle of Guinan, they and the Subei Independent Regiment undoubtedly made the greatest contributions.

First, when Nanning fell and the Guangxi army suffered a major defeat, they held the key point of Gaofeng Pass, creating a very favorable condition for the subsequent counter-offensive.

Then, within a single day, they captured Jieshou Mountain and Kunlun Pass, breaking the stalemate between the two sides on the battlefield.

Then, on the battlefield of Dadong Township, he led his army to successfully besiege the enemy's stronghold and attack reinforcements twice, annihilating the Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade No. 19 and the 18th Division respectively.

This effectively sealed the victory for the Nationalist army in the Battle of Guinan.

Considering all of the above, if they were in the bald principal's position, they would all be troubled by how to reward Hu Biao and his men after recapturing Nanning.

This matter is so significant that we cannot ignore the military achievements of Hu Biao and others as we did at Taierzhuang.

Finally, even the army commanders and division commanders of the Central Army and the Guangxi Army, these low-ranking military leaders, are secretly plotting something.

In summary, the main goal was to minimize casualties on our side during the final battle to recapture Nanning, while maximizing our rewards afterward.

Even if Hu Biao and his companions guessed what the others were thinking, they would just smile wryly to themselves and not pay much attention to it.

This is because this is an old problem for the Nationalist army; it's not the first time they've encountered it.

More importantly, they all had a premonition that after conquering Nanning City, it would be time to return to the modern world.

Once they return, all the territories and powers in this world will seem like a joke to them.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Hu Biao picked up a bowl of what was said to be the finest yellow wine, which was personally served by Commander Bai, and drank it all in one gulp.

After finishing the drink, he shouted "Good wine!" with a look of pure bliss.

Actually, it doesn't taste as good as the 'Guangxi Briefcase' brewed by the villagers in Gaofeng'ai back then...

******
That night, in a front-line command post that was made up of an ancestral hall.

Commander Bai hosted a lavish banquet to entertain and reward Hu Biao and his entourage, who had just returned victorious from Dadong Township, along with the military commanders of the participating units.

Even though Commander Bai made it clear before the banquet that there would be an important combat meeting afterward, so everyone could only drink tea instead of wine.

Despite the excitement of their consecutive victories, the banquet remained incredibly lively.

However, after the banquet, a large military conference began, and the atmosphere that had been so enthusiastic just a moment ago suddenly became somewhat dull.

The reason is simple, based on the estimates of the staff at the command post.

Although the Japanese troops in Nanning are currently in low morale, they still have five or six thousand fighting soldiers. In addition to the last line of defense built against the ancient city wall, there are also a large number of barricades and fortifications in the city.

Even when cornered, a beast will fight on, and it still possesses considerable fighting power.

Could they take it? The Nationalist army's morale soared after their great victory, so naturally they could take it within a few days.
The key issue is that the attacking forces will suffer heavy casualties in the process.

So when Commander Bai asked which units were willing to lead the main attack, no unit commander volunteered, due to various reasons such as preserving strength, not wanting to be taken advantage of, and the silence of their superiors.

Finally, they habitually turned their gaze to the two lieutenant colonels sitting to the left and right of the four big shots, namely Hu Biao and Annie.

In this short period of time, it seems that they have made it a habit to seek help from Commander Hu if they encounter any difficulties.

Faced with these gazes, Hu Biao yawned widely and, too lazy to waste any more time, spoke directly: "Can't you use this time to go back and get some sleep?"

Hu Biao said solemnly, "Let our Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment rest for another day tomorrow. We guarantee that we will completely break through the Japanese north gate defense line and enter the city within two hours at eight o'clock on the morning of the 16th."

But you can't expect a mere thousand or so of us to take Nanning, can you?

After hearing that Hu Biao, leading the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, could break through the Japanese defenses and storm into the city in just two hours, they were shocked to learn that Hu Biao had led the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

The attitudes of the military commanders at the scene immediately changed noticeably, and they all volunteered to fight. This astonishing change left the four bigwigs somewhat stunned.

Seeing this, Commander Bai silently shook his head, becoming even more determined to send this guy away after the war.

We'll give you money, guns, or people if you want them, as long as he replenishes his supplies and leaves with his men to cause trouble for Long Yun in Yunnan Province, or for anyone else, as long as they don't continue to cause him harm.

In the following days, the plan for the all-out attack on Nanning City on the 16th was quickly finalized.

By the time everything was settled, it was already past 11 p.m.

"Zhang Yishou, have you made contact with Lao Tai and Uncle Bo?"

After returning to the temporary base of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, Hu Biao asked Lao San, a novice who had just transmigrated and whose modern-day counterpart was a rural banquet chef, a question.

Upon hearing the nickname "Zhang Yishou," especially thinking of his unfortunate buddy Lao K, he was reminded of the "Heavenly Crippled and Earthly Defected" nickname combination they had earned.

The third brother suddenly felt a sharp pain in his testicles.

The initial good mood of finally reuniting with the main group turned into a rather depressed feeling.

For a moment, I genuinely felt that these veterans were great in every way, except for their incredibly sharp tongues.

So, after the siege and reinforcement tactics were successfully implemented, the third brother led the supply company to garrison at Kunlun Pass, and the tactic of deceiving the Japanese was no longer necessary.

So they arrived outside Nanning a day earlier and set up camp, and today they finally rejoined the main force.

After they reunited, before taking Annie to attend Commander Bai's banquet, Hu Biao gave Lao San a task: to have him use the radio to continuously call Lao Tai and Uncle Bo in the city until they made contact.

Because after Shen Zui took action, he helped obtain a radio from the Kuomintang's agents infiltrating Nanning as a means of communication with the outside world.

They were worried that the Japanese would detect the signal and expose their identities, so they often only used it once every few days.

However, the army's return from Dadong Township today was quite a commotion, and Lao Tai and the others in the city must have heard it too. They will probably find an opportunity to turn on the radio tonight.

In this way, the third brother could inform them of some important arrangements via radio.

That's why, although it was quite a headache, the third brother didn't dare to dawdle after realizing that the important matter was at hand, and immediately answered:

"I got in touch a little after 10 a.m. and told him that the army would launch a final assault on Nanning City within the next day or two."

So around 1 a.m., they'll keep the radio on to confirm the exact attack time and what else they need to do.

All of these situations were within Hu Biao's expectations, so he naturally didn't find them strange.

The key point is that the third brother then added, "Old Tai and the others said that the silent fellow is probably not dead yet; he's still holding on."

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao gasped in shock.
He had known about Lao Yu's capture by the Japanese and his failure to commit suicide beforehand, thanks to his previous contact with Lao Tai and the others.

He ended up in the hands of the Japanese. He hadn't died after so many days, and it goes without saying how much torture he had endured.

"This time travel must have been incredibly tough for him! When we get back to the modern world, we'll have to treat him to a good meal and some fine wine."

Finally, Hu Biao said this with some emotion.

The other transmigrators nodded vigorously, strongly agreeing...

(End of this chapter)