The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 544 The Second Phase is Secure (Bonus Chapter)

In the end, Zhi Xiang still fired the gun.

He knew that if he didn't open fire, it would lead to a large-scale desertion and a series of terrible chain reactions, or even a complete rout of the army.

All those brothers who died before, it's as if they died in vain.

With the entire army routed, if the Japanese were to launch a pursuit, who knows how many more people would die.

So Zhixiang bit his lip, his eyes red, and pulled the trigger. With a loud gunshot, a burst of blood erupted from the chest of the recruit named Shuya.

Perhaps it was the intense pain from being shot that brought him back to his senses instantly.

But by then, it was too late. As he felt his life force rapidly fading and collapsed into the rice paddy, his eyes were filled with regret.

I don't know whether I regret joining Commander Hu's army or regret deserting.

Frankly, even Zhixiang himself didn't know about the above-mentioned situations where people fell to the ground and regretted their actions.

But that didn't stop him from shouting with murderous intent, "Remember this, everyone: Shuya was unfortunately killed by Japanese bullets during the charge."

If they weren't killed by the supervisory team, then they wouldn't be considered deserters.

Afterwards, Shu Yazi's family will receive some compensation, and the county will also provide some support in the future; this is the only thing he can do for the brother who died at his hands.

Yes! Zhi Xiang even regarded Shu Ya Zi, this deserter, as his own brother.

This is mainly because he is still in the modern world and has not yet transitioned to this new understanding.

It is extremely cruel to throw a recruit who has only been in the army for less than a month into such a fierce battlefield and make him execute such crazy tactics.

If Shuya had received more training, or if the first battle hadn't been so intense, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

It was precisely because of this that, fueled by immense anger, he roared out:
"Hu Biao, no! You damn bastard, you didn't even have that part when you gave birth to your son!"

After finishing his tirade, Zhixiang rallied his men behind him, stomping through the blood-red mud in the rice paddies, and continued charging forward, one step at a time...

Hu Biao didn't hear the newbie's friendly greeting at all, but the Second Battalion Commander AT heard it clearly.

AT was originally the first to charge forward, leading the charge at the very front of the Second Battalion, but after stepping into the cold muddy water of the rice paddy, his left calf started to cramp.

This caused the speed to drop, which allowed them to hear the roar of the elephant.

However, he had two different reactions after hearing such a roar.

Firstly, I know that these newcomers haven't adapted to this damned era yet.

Sufficient training? How could that be? Facing the brutal Japanese soldiers, most of them were farmers just a few days ago, and then they were given a gun and driven to the battlefield.

During the fourteen-year-long war, this nation survived only because of the loss of countless lives.

Secondly, amidst the curses of Zhi Xiang, AT felt an indescribable sense of intimacy.

He was mainly reminded of the battle he had fought on the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield, where he was part of the 803rd Regiment of the Sichuan Army, and had launched the operation to recapture the territory occupied by Dunwu Temple, where he had also served as the supervising officer.

It was under similar circumstances that I sent a friendly greeting to the deadbeat.

As for whether the scene of the battle before him was a bit too cruel, he didn't think so.

You should know that when they charged towards the Japanese-occupied position at Dunwu Temple, they not only had to face the Japanese's frenzied firepower, but also endure their own artillery barrage.

In short, charge forward. As long as you successfully charge forward, you'll add another weight to the scales of victory.

******
Indeed! Hu Biao didn't hear Zhi Xiang's warm greeting, and even if he had, this scoundrel wouldn't have cared.

On the one hand, he and Annie had already discussed it, and they would only have daughters after they got married; daughters are not only sweet and caring, but they can also perfectly avoid these kinds of questions.

On the other hand, he had rushed within a hundred paces of the Japanese soldiers, and the time had finally come for him to open fire and retaliate.

After shouting "Fire!", he and hundreds of his brothers picked up their submachine guns and rifles and charged forward, pulling the triggers as they went.

Before the charge began, they deployed all their submachine guns to the front lines.

The sudden burst of firepower, coupled with the improved marksmanship of the new recruits after they reached this position, resulted in the immediate killing and wounding of many Japanese soldiers.

The remaining Japanese soldiers also fell to the ground under the intense fire, which reduced the amount of fire directed at them.

The only pity was that they only managed to rush forward about twenty paces before their submachine guns and rifles were almost out of ammunition.

While everyone was loading bullets, the Japanese fire intensified again, and one by one, the brothers were shot and fell in the rice paddies.

"Don't be a coward, keep charging!" Hu Biao shouted as he took out the empty magazine.

They were now only sixty or seventy paces away from the Japanese, and both sides could unleash their maximum firepower; it could be said that this battle had reached its bloodiest and most critical moment.

Everything depends on which side can withstand such massive casualties. In any case, Hu Biao is prepared to fight to the death as long as he has a breath left.

To his surprise, no sooner had he finished speaking than seven or eight guards waded through the splashing mud and water, passing him and blocking his way.

They had only rushed forward about ten steps when two or three of them were shot and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Hu Biao immediately shouted, "Make way, make way quickly, and spread out a bit."

Upon hearing this, the remaining people remained unmoved, except for one of them who turned around and shouted, "Commander, any of us can die here, but you can't."

"I'm entrusting my parents and children to you."

The sentence above was not fully explained in a hurry, but Hu Biao was able to understand it.

To put it bluntly, these brothers haven't been in the army for long, have received very limited education on new ideas, and don't understand much about profound principles.

To make them act as they see it is simply to see themselves as the old-fashioned Hunan Army, like the guerrillas around the commander-in-chief.

Even at the cost of their own lives, they were determined to protect the safety of their commander, Hu Biao.

As long as Hu Biao is alive, their families can still be taken care of to some extent; if Hu Biao dies, then no one will care for their families anymore.

Similar situations also occurred to many other people, including Annie, Chen Tang, Mina, Huang Adi, and Huang Yizhi.

Anne stood out in particular, surrounded by a group of men who were very protective of her.

The reason was that after Hu Biao finished worshipping his ancestors at the Hu family ancestral hall, more than fifty members of the Hu family immediately stood up and wanted to follow Hu Tuanzuo.

In the words of the clan elders, in a very serious tone:
"Hu Biao risked his life to build such a large business as the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment. We should have the Hu family help keep an eye on it to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of it."

Hu Biao naturally scoffed at such a statement.

However, I also know that it's pointless to reason with these old fogies. They might even tear off the new page I just started on the family tree.

We might as well take them all in and assign them to the guard battalion. If they are truly capable, we won't hesitate to promote them in the future.

After the start of this battle, these people were basically assigned to protect Annie.

Under such circumstances, they risked their lives to protect Annie from bullets, after all, she was a member of the Hu family.

'Huan's Clan'! They're already in the family genealogy, how could there be any mistake...

When only two guards remained to stand in front of them, Hu Biao and his men were no more than forty paces away from the hastily organized and incomplete defensive line of the Japanese.

At this point, Hu Biao breathed a sigh of relief:

Knowing that the second phase of this ambush operation was basically a sure thing.

Why do I say that? Of course, the most difficult period of charging under Japanese fire is over; they now have some ways to easily cover the remaining distance.

And sure enough! At that moment, almost all the veterans shouted in unison: "Grenade!"

Immediately, the thousands of people who rushed to the front all took out a wooden-handled grenade from a grenade pouch behind them.

He pulled the fuse, swung his arm, and threw it out.

One, two, three, and even the last smoke grenade was thrown out.

After throwing, they continued to charge towards the Japanese soldiers, while the other brothers who had just arrived behind them also began a round of throwing.

Immediately afterwards, the people who rushed in did the same thing.

In a very short time, ten or twenty thousand hand grenades were thrown at the Japanese soldiers.

Even among these grenades of varying quality, some failed to detonate after being thrown to the ground due to poor manufacturing processes; others, due to the use of black powder, split in two upon detonation, resulting in insufficient power.

These grenades, raining down like raindrops, still caused the Japanese to suffer heavy losses instantly.

Meanwhile, the brothers who charged alongside Hu Biao drew their long knives, ready to engage the Japanese in hand-to-hand combat.

Hand-to-hand combat, of course, is still necessary, but only after getting hit by one of their spittle first.

You should know! The shamans didn't waste the smoothbore guns, homemade guns, and homemade cannons left behind by the Xiang Army in Xinning.

They shortened the stock and barrel, and added several sleeve-like iron hoops to the remaining barrel section to increase its strength.

In this way, these weapons could be loaded with a large number of steel balls, which could be used to attack the Japanese soldiers when they were about ten meters away.

In terms of power, it was definitely slightly less powerful than a proper shotgun; however, with over two thousand of them, it could still give the Japanese a huge surprise...

(End of this chapter)