The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 538 Rumors! Don't Worry (Bonus Chapter for reader 2018...0698)

At the same time, Hu Biao and his group, along with more than 5,000 soldiers from the Hunan Provincial Supplementary Regiment of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, plus more than 1,000 porters to help transport supplies, were also there.

They traveled downstream along the Fuyi River in a large number of wooden boats and bamboo rafts, heading towards Baoqing City.

At this point in time, the Japanese 3rd, 4th and 6th Divisions had successfully crossed the Miluo River and immediately moved eastward in an attempt to encircle the right flank of the Nationalist army on the south bank of the Miluo River.

In addition, the 40th Division advanced on Wengjiang via the mountains east of Guanwangqiao and Changlejie, passing through Sanzaoqiao.

Having learned from the experience of the previous Battle of C-Sha, where their forces were dispersed, the Japanese concentrated their forces for a fierce attack this time.

The Nationalist army's hastily organized defensive line along the Miluo River was already on the verge of collapse on the very first day of the war, and telegrams requesting reinforcements rained down on C Shacheng.

Faced with this situation, Xue Boling, the commander of the 9th War Zone, remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt a strong sense of foreboding.

Immediately, he sent a strongly worded telegram to his most capable troops, the 74th Army:

The 74th Army was ordered to immediately rush to the aid of C Sand City under cover of night and must arrive at the outer area of ​​C Sand City before dawn on the 26th; if it fails to arrive on time and misses the opportunity, all officers of the army will be severely punished.

Soon after, such a telegram reached the 74th Army, and was in the hands of its commander, Wang Yaowu.

After quickly reading the telegram, he stood in front of a map at the military headquarters, his expression quite helpless and solemn, and remained silent for a long time.

The staff officers in the other military units were also silent, shaking their heads as they looked at the military order.

Helpless! Of course, it wasn't that Wang was afraid of the Japanese and dared not go to C Sha City to fight them.

However, in the Battle of Shanggao not long ago, the 74th Army, as the main force, did achieve very impressive results and won a great victory.

However, beneath this impressive victory, the 74th Army also suffered considerable casualties.

Although the bald-headed principal and Xue Boling, the war zone commander, immediately replenished them with a large number of soldiers and equipment, and even the equipment was Russian equipment, which was better than the domestically produced equipment.

However, by now, the new recruits of the 74th Army have not even completed their initial systematic training; therefore, the combat effectiveness of the 74th Army is far inferior to that of the Shanggao Campaign.

This battle, once it starts, will probably not be easy to win.

The situation was serious! It was because Commander Xue's orders had left them with too little time to travel.

Their 74th Army was such a large force, and not only were they stationed in Jiangxi Province, which is next to Hunan Province, but their several divisions were not even stationed together.

The 57th Division was stationed in Shanggao, the 58th Division in Fenyi, and the 51st Division in Xinyu.

They are at least a hundred or two miles apart, and it would probably take two days just to gather all these troops together.

Furthermore, the Japanese now possess absolute air superiority, and their large-scale troop movements are quite noisy; based on past combat experience, to avoid being discovered by the Japanese, they can only march at night.

However, Shanggao, the closest city to C, is more than 500 miles away, making it impossible to arrive on time under normal circumstances.

Unfortunately, Xue Boling, the commander of the war zone, gave their 74th Army a death order, making things quite difficult.

After pondering for a moment, Wang Yaowu gritted his teeth and made a decision, ordering, "Reply to Commander Xue immediately. My unit will definitely arrive within the stipulated time. Please rest assured, Commander."

A separate telegram was sent to the 57th Division, instructing them to be the vanguard of the entire army and to set off first.

Send a telegram to the 58th Division, instructing them to be in the center; send a telegram to the 51st Division, instructing them to be at the rear.

Given the urgency of the current situation, all the above-mentioned units must complete all preparations for departure today and must depart early tomorrow morning. To ensure timely arrival, in addition to traveling at night, they will also need to continue marching during the day.

Upon hearing this order, the staff officers of the 74th Army wanted to object, but remembering Commander Xue's death order, they had no choice but to keep quiet.

They all got busy, formulating various marching and combat plans.

In this process, they were unaware that it was Wang Yaowu's orders that destined the 74th Army's expedition to suffer a crushing defeat...

*****
An hour later, in the command post of the Japanese 11th Army in Wuhan.

With a loud thud, Korechika Anami slammed his fist heavily on the table in front of him, his face beaming with excitement. After calming down a bit, he turned to a lieutenant colonel from the Special Higher Police and asked him a question:
"Hisada-san, can you confirm the authenticity of this information?"

"Commander, of course we can confirm the authenticity of the intelligence," Lieutenant Colonel Hisada replied confidently upon hearing this.

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Anami Yuichi almost jumped for joy.

What excited this old Japanese soldier so much was the Japanese soldiers' extreme vengefulness. Whenever they had ever been attacked by the Nationalist army, they would try every means to get revenge.

The 74th Army, which suffered heavy losses in the recent Battle of Shanggao, is undoubtedly a prime example of this.

It can be said that as long as the 74th Army is severely damaged, they will have achieved at least half of their operational objectives in this offensive.

Having thought of this, Anami Yuichi instructed Lieutenant Colonel Hisada: "Starting tomorrow, order the Army Aviation Corps to deploy reconnaissance aircraft to conduct full-scale reconnaissance of the western Jiangxi region."

Once the 74th Army is discovered to be setting out, their movements must be thoroughly tracked. Then, a high-intensity air raid must be launched; I want them to suffer heavy losses en route. Upon reaching the battlefield, they must be completely surrounded and annihilated.

With a "Hai!" Lieutenant Colonel Hisada was about to leave to relay these orders.

Just before leaving, I remembered a piece of information that, although unconfirmed, was quite crucial, so I stopped to report it:

"Your Excellency Commander, we have also heard an unconfirmed rumor."

A small number of ordinary Chinese people have heard rumors that Hu Biao appeared in southwestern Hunan some time ago; I wonder if this news will have any impact on your battle plans?

Upon hearing this, Anami Yuichi's face turned solemn.

The main problem is that Hu Biao's destructive power is just too strong, or rather, he's a super troublemaker.

Putting everything else aside, in the Battle of Guinan more than a year ago, the Empire's early operations went smoothly, and it could be considered that victory was assured.

Even if Kunlun Pass is captured by the Nationalist army, there will be no problem in holding Nanning.

In this way, the Fifth Division completely achieved the headquarters' objective: to cut off the supply channels for China from the outside world.

The result? It was Hu Biao and his comrades who, with a hastily assembled Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and Guangxi Province Supplementary Regiment, gradually turned the tide of the war, leading to a crushing defeat for the Empire.

Therefore, if Hu Biao and his partners interfere again at a crucial moment, it will be a huge problem.

But soon after, Anami Yuichi realized something and put all his worries aside, because there had been too many rumors over the years about where Hu Biao had appeared and what he had done.

It wasn't that Hu Biao appeared somewhere and shot some traitor to death.

It was one of his companions who would appear somewhere to drink and make merry with people, or to recruit soldiers to fight the Japanese.

Often, these people can be in Shanghai one day and in Beijing the next, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, which cannot be explained by science.

However, the Special Higher Police eventually discovered that everything was a hoax, and that some people were just using Hu Biao's name to cause trouble.

Therefore, Anan Yuji judged that this time it would probably be a fake again, and there was no need to care at all.

"It's just a rumor! Don't worry," he said to his lieutenant colonel, appearing unusually confident...

Early on the morning of the 21st, the National Revolutionary Army's elite 74th Army set off as scheduled.

With three full-strength divisions in total, plus a large number of civilian laborers transporting ammunition and supplies, their march during the daytime was naturally a huge undertaking.

Around 3 p.m., Wang Yaowu, who was sitting in a car looking at blueprints, suddenly heard a huge commotion outside.

Looking up, he saw his men, who had been marching, frantically fleeing towards the roadside.

They were all shouting, "The Japanese planes are coming!"

Wang Yaowu quickly picked up his binoculars and looked up at the sky. Once he saw it clearly, he immediately started cursing: "What are you all panicking about? It's just a Japanese reconnaissance plane. It doesn't even have any weapons on it."

The soldiers' panic was significantly relieved by the shouts and curses.

Knowing that the 74th Army's whereabouts might have been exposed cast a shadow over Wang Yaowu's heart.

Seven hours later, it was almost midnight.

After a 26-27 hour journey downstream, the largest wharf in Baoqing, Beimen Wharf, came into view.

By this time, most of the people in Baoqing City had gone to sleep, but Xinhuo and some local officials were still waiting at the dock, looking very quiet.

There was no way around it! A large army of over six thousand soldiers crossing the border was bound to be discovered.

It's better to notify them in advance than to cause panic later.

The key point is that Hu Biao and they are from the same hometown, and they are willing to give the legendary Commander Hu some face; using the excuse that the telegraph machine is broken, they concealed the news of Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment's presence here from their superiors for a period of time.

As for the reward? It's definitely a favor and a personal connection from Commander Hu, which might come in handy sometime.

“Tell the brothers! They have rested enough on the ship these past two days. After we go ashore, we will set off tonight. From now on, we will march at night and rest during the day.”

He turned to Annie beside him and gave her a brief instruction.

Then, Hu Biao forced a friendly smile onto his face, and before the wooden boat that had just docked could be placed on the deck, he leaped onto the pier.

He walked over to the officials and dignitaries of Baoqing Prefecture and began another social gathering.

Trucks are out of the question, but if we could borrow some mules and horses, it would speed up the army's march...

(End of this chapter)