The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 657 Code Name: Overlord (Part 1) (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The eleventh day of the first lunar month is known as Son-in-law Day, a day when the father-in-law hosts a banquet for his son-in-law to strengthen the bond between the two families.

Unfortunately, Hu Biao, who is now living in 1942, will never have the chance to visit his father-in-law's family in modern Shanghai and enjoy a delicious meal.

So early in the morning, he led fifty or sixty people to Shuangyang Lake to fish.

Similarly, Annie had no way to go back to her parents' home; she contacted the Military Intelligence Bureau early in the morning via radio, asking them to find a way to help purchase at least two thousand catties of liquor.

And before dawn, it was secretly delivered to the designated area.

There was no other way! Last night, a total of over 1,400 bandits from various mountain strongholds, along with soldiers from KL, came.

They were almost all grown men with an astonishing appetite; after one meal, they had consumed at least 70% of the ingredients prepared by Hu Biao and his men, and had drunk all the alcohol.

If we hadn't quickly restocked during the day, everyone would have gone hungry tonight.

By the way! Throughout the day, people continued to arrive at Lotus Mountain, although the number was far less than on the first day, totaling about 170 or 180 people.

They now had the strength of a reinforced company, which was quite a boost for Hu Biao and his men.

What surprised Hu Biao and his men even more was that despite all the activity they had done last night, with so many bonfires lit and their noises carried far, they hadn't been discovered.

I don't know whether to say they were lucky or that Lotus Mountain is just too remote.

Otherwise, Hu Biao and his men would have already made preparations for relocation...

The twelfth day of the first lunar month is the day of the rats' wedding, which is to celebrate the rats' marriage. According to old tradition, food should be placed in places where rats are found, in the hope of a bountiful harvest in the new year.

On this day, Van Gogh and 803 returned.

In addition to the supplies they had hidden beforehand, the two returned with 23 KL warriors.

These KL warriors all looked severely malnourished and extremely thin. In fact, each of them had injuries, and almost none of them had all ten toes, which were still intact.

But just by looking at the determined eyes of these people, Hu Biao and the others could tell one thing:
You can entrust them with any difficult, even impossible, task, and they will not let you down.

From this day on, the wizard and Mo Shuiyan, Uncle Bo, Shizi, Old K, Old Yu and Chaozi, and other transmigrators with good practical skills, began to gather.

With about a hundred skilled bearded men and KL warriors, they began crafting various DIY equipment.

These DIY equipment were crucial to their actions on the Lantern Festival, and could even be said to determine their success or failure.

Just after 3 a.m. that day, several gunshots instantly woke everyone up; don't be fooled by these bearded men and KL fighters who seemed to be fast asleep after drinking, their vigilance was frighteningly high.

At first, they thought the Japanese had attacked, and they all grabbed their guns and prepared to fight.

It was soon discovered that the two bearded men, along with the woodcutter who had been captured by Hu Biao and his gang some time ago, were planning to sneak away.

Without a doubt! All three of them were Japanese spies.

They were quite patient, waiting until tonight when they thought everyone had let their guard down before preparing to escape back and report.

Unfortunately, although Hu Biao and his group did not seem to have many sentries, they were actually in a state of being tight on the outside but loose on the inside, and were led by a group of experienced transmigrators.

Under the cover of night, the three Japanese spies failed to escape down the mountain. They were shot dead on the spot like rabbits by the warehouse keeper who was lying in wait at this spot.

This averted another crisis at the Lotus Mountain campsite; it remains safe here...

The thirteenth day of the first lunar month is the memorial day for Yang Gong, a sacrificial ceremony held to commemorate the Yang family generals, famous for their resistance against the Jin dynasty during the Southern Song dynasty.

Before dinner, Hu Biao set out a bowl of fish, a bowl of wolf meat, a bowl of wine, and three cigarettes on a wooden stump.

Leading everyone towards the direction inside the pass, they bowed respectfully three times in succession, thus completing such a sacrificial ceremony.

Well! These were the last three cigarettes he had, so this sacrificial ceremony was actually quite grand.

After completing the ceremony, Hu Biao was about to go and have dinner when he saw someone walking towards him with a thoughtful expression.

Seeing this, Hu Biao dared not be careless in the slightest and asked the person with great respect:

"Master Niu, is something the matter?"

It should be noted that the man who made Hu Biao act so politely, even respectfully, was actually the same man with makeup on who was working alongside Chuan Shanfeng, the big boss of the dock.

Initially, Hu Biao and the other modern time travelers felt nothing but disgust and had no respect whatsoever for this kind of scoundrel.

This situation continued until they heard some unexpected information from Zhang Da Erduo, a guy who looked big and burly but was actually a gossip.

This troupe leader, Niu Qiubai, was originally a perfectly normal man.

However, because he is the head of a folk opera troupe, he often dresses up as a woman to perform in order to achieve a better performance effect.

And because of his lifelike appearance, he was very popular with the audience.

Life was tough for artists during the Republic of China era, and it became even harder after the Japanese occupied Northeast China; however, the Niu Family Troupe was already quite famous in the Harbin and surrounding areas, so they managed to make ends meet.

One evening, the Niu family troupe went to the home of a big shot in the puppet state of Manchukuo, supposedly to put on a good show for an important Japanese guest.

No one knows exactly what happened that night in the inner quarters of that important figure.

However, of the dozen or so members of the Niu family troupe, only the troupe leader, Niu Qiubai, was carried out alive from the gate early the next morning.

From that day on, the Niu Family Troupe and Niu Qiubai ceased to exist, and instead, there was an old lady named Niu, who acted like a rabbit god.

After some time, the reason why Master Niu stayed by Chuanshanfeng's side was simply because Chuanshanfeng had agreed to some conditions for him.

Hu Biao and his team could guess exactly what it was.

In short, in the eyes of Hu Biao and other time travelers, Master Niu was no ordinary man, but merely a pitiful figure who had suffered greatly for revenge, sacrificing everything and going mad with rage.

After learning about the situation, they sighed and felt no more disdain than respect, and their address changed to Master Niu.

Faced with Hu Biao's question, Master Niu asked somewhat awkwardly:
"Commander Hu, we've been living the life of feasting on fish and meat and drinking the finest liquor every day for a few days now; I wonder when you plan to take action against the Japanese, and what your specific plan is?"
"Rest assured, although we are not good people, we are all men of our word and will follow you to the death."

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao realized that the bandits from various mountain strongholds were getting restless.

"Master Niu, please eat and drink without worry. The time to make our move will be soon; we'll have our plans then," Hu Biao said with a smile.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. Preparations for the Lantern Festival activities that will take place the following day are underway, and in some places, people will start viewing the lanterns tonight.

It was after dinner that day that Hu Biao summoned all the leaders of the mountain strongholds and the heads of various KL units together to begin making arrangements for the operation the next day.

Under the bright light of the bonfire, Annie's voice rang out repeatedly in the ears of more than a hundred people:
"By nightfall, not counting the members of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, a total of 2013 brothers had gathered here at Lianhua Mountain."

Considering that everyone who was willing to come has come, this should be the total number of troops we have participated in this operation.

Among them were 1683 heroes from various mountain strongholds and 330 comrades from KL; 122 of the heroes from the various strongholds rode mules and horses, and these men could be considered a cavalry force..."

"According to the intelligence gathered and passed on by the agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau in Changchun over the past few days."

For this victory celebration, the Japanese probably mobilized the 112th Division of the Kwantung Army, the Iron Stone Unit of the puppet Manchukuo regime, local garrison troops, the South Manchuria Railway Guard, and the Black Dogs in the city.

Adding all of the above together, the total force should be between 40,000 and 45,000 men…

"The Japanese had set up barricades and machine guns at almost every intersection, and also set up high-ground firing positions on the rooftops of some buildings..."

At the very beginning of the meeting, when they learned that they would be taking action the next day, and that they actually had more than two thousand men.

The group of bandits and officers from KL present were filled with excitement; their eyes were even shining, eager to pull off a heist right away.

But as Annie explained more and more details, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head.

He had only one thought in his mind: "This is bad! The Japanese have surrounded Changchun like an iron barrel. I'm afraid we won't be able to get General Zhao's head and the body of Commander Hu's comrade even if we break our teeth."

Even so, no one showed any intention of quitting.

In the following days, Hu Biao and the others finally revealed their plan, which they had kept hidden from everyone for several days, and divided up the specific tasks for each hilltop or unit.

Their eyes suddenly lit up uncontrollably.

He was amazed, thinking to himself that the boasting was not just empty talk, and the success was not achieved by pushing a train. It was no wonder that Commander Hu and his team had made such a great reputation over the years; they were indeed extraordinary people.

The methods and tactics they employed were things they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

At first glance, it may seem incredibly crazy; but upon closer examination, it does have a considerable chance of success.

Even if success is contingent on many people dying in Changchun, as Commander Hu said, so what? They're dead, they'll be heroes again in eighteen years, as long as the Japanese won't have an easy time.

The pre-battle meeting lasted until a little after 1 a.m. before everything was clarified and resolved.

After letting out a big yawn, he asked, "Does anyone have any questions? If so, ask them now. If not, go to sleep. We can still sleep for half the night while it's still light."

Under these circumstances, the cross-shaped opening was proposed:

“Death? No! Commander Hu, since the Japanese have chosen a code name like ‘Tiger Killer,’ let’s also give this operation a code name.”

What do you think of "Havoc in Heaven"? Does it represent causing a great disturbance in Changchun?

Because I'm used to calling him "that bastard," I almost blurted out the word "ten" when I opened my mouth; luckily, I remembered that I had to save face for him in this situation, so I quickly changed my tune.

Of course, this matter was not important at all, and the other time travelers didn't care either.

On the contrary, they were quite interested in giving this operation a code name. The sound of the cross had barely faded when Xiao Cui objected: "No way! It was satisfying when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in Heaven, but he was ultimately suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain. Giving it such a code name is bad luck."

Since we're in Northeast China, let's choose something with local flavor, like 'What are you looking at?'

After that, everyone started arguing about the code name.

Although not all of the more than one hundred people present joined in, at least fifty or sixty people argued about this trivial matter. For a moment, it was as if a flock of ducks were quacking in his ears, making Hu Biao dizzy and confused.

Therefore, he shouted: "Alright! The code name will be 'Overlord,' meaning to force the enemy to their deaths and make them suffer a lot."

"What a terrible code name! Isn't this just using the code name 'Operation Overlord' for the soldiers ahead of time?"

Black Star, standing nearby, muttered this comment in a voice only a few people in the vicinity could hear; however, he also had to admit that the code name was quite fitting.

This pre-war meeting has now come to a complete end.

Some were yawning, while others were in high spirits, and they went to their own huts to rest, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep before the operation at dawn and to recover some energy and strength.

During this process, Dai Guanglu and the young master Dai seemed to have thought of something and opened their mouths as if they were about to ask Hu Biao to say something.

However, he ultimately shook his head and decided to keep quiet.

Unbeknownst to him, Hu Biao, who was now walking with others towards the shack, was also telling the others about something closely related to him:

"In the original history, Dai Guanglu survived the War of Resistance against Japan and left a lineage for the Dai family."

Therefore, our arrival cannot change this outcome; so tomorrow everyone should take good care of him. It doesn't matter if we die, he must survive.

With a "Okay," the group of transmigrators nodded in agreement.

After that, apart from the few people who needed to keep watch, everyone else took the time to rest, preparing to be in the best condition for the operation.

As for the details of the 'Overlord' operation that they discussed and planned all night, what were they specifically about?
This will become clear based on how things unfold the next day...

******
The next day, at 1:05 pm on the Lantern Festival.

Several kilometers west of Xinjingcheng, in the temporary command post of the 246th Infantry Regiment of the 112th Division of the Kwantung Army.

Colonel Ikeda, the regimental commander, looked at the "Tiger Killing" plan in his hand, his expression quite depressed, even irritable.

The reason for this colonel's reaction is actually quite simple.

According to the arrangement of Iwasa Rokuro, the commander of the Kwantung Army Military Police and the person in charge of the "Tiger Killing" plan, two regiments of the Kwantung Army's 112th Division and one regiment of the puppet army's Tetsushi Unit will serve as reserves.

These three reserve forces are stationed in Xinjing and will only be deployed in the most urgent situations.

This included Colonel Ikeda, whose 246th Infantry Regiment was under his command.

To be honest, Colonel Ikeda felt there was absolutely no problem with Iwasa Rokuro's arrangement to keep some powerful troops at hand to deal with various emergencies.

The key question is, why leave their 246th Regiment behind?

In the eyes of Colonel Ikeda, even if Hu Biao and his men, who were touted as incredibly powerful, were formidable, the number of people they could mobilize, including the remnants of KL and the Kuomintang agents, was only a mere three or four hundred.

Facing a city that has been set up like an impregnable fortress, both openly and secretly.

Various targeted arrangements have been made, making it impossible to create panic or allow people to take advantage of the situation.

No matter what methods Hu Biao and his men use, it will be like an egg hitting a rock; they will be completely wiped out without even needing to deploy their reserve forces.

Just thinking about this made Colonel Ikeda feel quite depressed, as if he had lost hundreds of millions.

The main reason was that Hu Biao was too famous. Not only was he a household name in China, but even people in Japan knew that there was a guy nicknamed the Tiger of Shanghai who was a major threat to the empire.

Over the years, they had killed several Imperial generals and annihilated many elite army units; they were just a hair's breadth away from completely sinking their aircraft carrier, the Gah.

It even enjoys a great reputation internationally, and is regarded by those white devils as a banner of China's uncompromising resistance against empire.

Therefore, to the Japanese soldiers, Hu Biao and his men were a walking gift of merit.

Anyone who successfully eliminates him and his partners, or even those involved in the process, will receive substantial credit.

Unfortunately, Ikeda's 246th Regiment could only serve as a reserve force. Even if he could get some credit, it would only be a small amount, far less than what he could achieve by personally leading the team to kill enemies.

Just thinking about this made Colonel Ikeda feel extremely depressed.

He harbored deep resentment towards Iwasa Rokuro, the person in charge of the operation.

Fortunately, it seemed that Colonel Ikeda was having a pretty good day. Just as he was feeling rather depressed, one of his captains dashed into the command post.

With a joyful expression, he quickly saluted him and said:
"Reporting to the regimental commander, our patrol has discovered an armed force of fifty or sixty men moving towards the new capital from two or three miles to the left of our camp."

Preliminary analysis suggests this is a team composed of remnants of KL, and Hu Biao might even be among them.

Even if Hu Biao wasn't in this team, he should have several of his experienced teammates leading the team.

Upon hearing this, Colonel Ikeda immediately perked up, his face beaming with the delight of having credit delivered to his doorstep.

Although eliminating several of Hu Biao's senior associates was not as remarkable as Hu Biao himself, the empire's high regard for these individuals was still enough for him to be promoted.

Without the slightest hesitation, he made his decision in his heart.

He quickly issued a series of orders: "You immediately lead two squads, no! Take an reinforced company, get in the trucks and chase after them. Make sure you catch them."

With a shout of "Hai!", the Japanese captain gladly accepted the order.

It is clear that Hu Biao and his men were as tempting as Tang Monk's flesh in the eyes of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and everyone from top to bottom had their eyes on them.

Soon after, a total of 250 or 260 Japanese soldiers set off in more than a dozen trucks; every Japanese soldier in the truck was filled with an excited, almost adrenaline-fueled, expression.

In light of this, it can only be said that the Japanese Kwantung Army suffered far too few losses at the hands of Hu Biao and his men…

At 2:11 p.m., Colonel Ikeda was thinking about how to bypass Iwasa Rokuro and go directly to the Kwantung Army headquarters to report his latest battle results.

That's right! After sending out a reinforced squadron of his men, he never considered the reasons for the failure.

Because in his preconceived notion, the most troublesome thing about these KL remnants was that they often hid in the long, old forests, making it impossible for them to find any trace of them.

In a direct confrontation, their combat strength was actually not strong; a reinforced company of personnel would be more than enough to annihilate them.

Twenty minutes earlier, he had faintly heard a burst of gunfire.

This means that his men have caught up with the enemy and a battle has broken out; in that case, they might receive the rest of the news soon.

And believe it or not! Colonel Ikeda's premonition was pretty accurate; five or six minutes later, news actually came through.

Unfortunately, of the convoy that originally consisted of more than a dozen trucks, only one truck with its windshield shattered drove back alone.

The driver, pale-faced and unable to walk steadily, was carried by two guards to Colonel Ikeda.

Without even asking, the driver cried out, his voice trembling with tears, "Commander, something terrible has happened! We've been ambushed by the enemy!"

As we drove our truck, just as we were about to catch up with the small group, they immediately sped off into the wilderness by the roadside. Captain Sasaki immediately ordered everyone except the driver to get out of the truck.

The warriors had just gotten off the bus when a large number of people suddenly appeared on the roadside.

They numbered at least three hundred men, armed with multiple machine guns, submachine guns, pistols, and other rapid-fire weapons, and even included over a hundred cavalrymen.

Under intense firepower and a cavalry charge, I was the only one who escaped.

"Immediately order the Watanabe Battalion and Matsumoto Battalion to assemble and capture and kill all of these people to avenge the Sasaki Company."

Meanwhile, the Jiuchi Brigade will remain on standby to report this information to the 'Tiger Killing' Operation Command; note that the report does not need to be immediate, wait half an hour.

Without the slightest hesitation, Colonel Ikeda issued the above order, which required the mobilization of most of the regiment.

They seemed completely unconcerned about the fact that if the city needed reinforcements, their reserve force would be unable to spare any more troops to provide support.

That's true; Colonel Ikeda didn't think the city needed any more reinforcements.

According to Iwasa Rokuro's assessment, Hu Biao and his group could only muster a total of three to four hundred men this time.

This means that their main force is right in front of them, and Hu Biao himself must be among them; as long as they are all wiped out, there will be no fighting in the city, so there will be no need for reinforcements.

It was almost by accident that the greatest credit had fallen on his head.

That's why, when issuing the orders, Colonel Ikeda's expression looked extremely angry, as if he was heartbroken by the annihilation of Sasaki's squadron.

In truth, the Japanese colonel was overjoyed, practically jumping for joy.

Unfortunately, he had no idea what a huge and grand surprise Hu Biao had prepared for them.

In war, the key is to strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard.

Since the Japanese have reserved their most elite troops as reserves, intending to strike them deadly at the most critical moment, then we should eliminate their reserves first.

I'm sure the Japanese commander would never have imagined this...

(End of this chapter)