Blood-Red Front

Late at night, a newly promoted elite team of 25 people silently swam across the Wen River.

"From now on, everyone must speak the language of Xia."

The team was led by newly promoted Major Yamamoto, who had lived outside the Great Wall for many years and was very fluent in the Xia language.

The rest of the troops were all fluent in the Xia language.

"Hi!"

"Um?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Very good, everyone change your clothes immediately."

The squad members took out the weapons and Xia Jun's clothes from the waterproof bags and quickly changed into their new clothes.

As for the clothes they had changed out of, they stuffed them all back into waterproof bags, filled them with stones, and threw them into the river.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Yamamoto, with a C96 pistol slung across his shoulder, waved his hand: "Let's go!"

Xia Jun did indeed build a defensive line along the entire river, but there were inevitably some gaps between companies and battalions on the front lines.

These gaps are impassable for large groups, but small groups of 25 can sneak through in the dark.

Yamamoto led his team to specifically target junctions or areas with weak defenses, and quietly carried out infiltrations using terrain features such as ditches and forests.

An hour later, Yamamoto squatted in a cemetery, holding up binoculars to observe a house with lights on two or three hundred meters away.

After observing for a moment, Yamamoto put down his binoculars, turned around and waved, "Noguchi, Hase."

Two soldiers ran over, guns in hand: "Sir."

"The lights are still on this late. If it's not a command post, it must be an important unit. You two go and arrest someone who's been detained."

"Be extremely careful; it's better not to get caught than to expose yourself easily."

"yes!"

Putting down the cumbersome rifle, the two drew their bayonets and quietly left the cemetery.

A dozen minutes later, Noguchi and Hase returned, carrying a person with their hands tied behind their back and their mouth gagged.

The captured individuals were small in stature and appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Noguchi brought the boy to Yamamoto's side and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the boy to involuntarily kneel on the ground.

"I'll ask, you answer. Don't scream. Just cooperate, and I promise I won't kill you." Yamamoto said sternly, "Understood?"

The captured boy's face was full of terror as he nodded repeatedly.

Yamamoto gestured, and Noguchi pulled the rag out of the boy's mouth.

The boy was panting heavily.

"Who are you? What's your name?"

"Liu Chuan, from the stretcher team." Liu Chuan's voice trembled slightly.

"Very good." Yamamoto nodded. "We'll work together like this: you answer the questions, and I'll guarantee your safety."

"Yes, yes." Liu Chuan nodded hurriedly.

"Tell me, what's that lit area up ahead for?"

"I have no idea."

"Um?"

"I really didn't know," Liu Chuan quickly explained. "Our stretcher team is only responsible for transporting the wounded at the front line, and we operate together as a group, so there's no chance for us to wander around."

"So, you're no longer of any use?" Yamamoto's face darkened.

Because of the darkness, Liu Chuan couldn't see Yamamoto's expression, but he could understand what the other man meant from his voice, and hurriedly said:

"Although I don't know what that place is, it must be an important place. There are guards there, and quite a few officers come and go."

"Officers?" Yamamoto perked up. "Are there any generals among them?"

Liu Chuan thought about it carefully and shook his head. "It shouldn't be. Those officers aren't very old, so they're unlikely to be generals. At most, they'd be a few colonels."

"A colonel-level officer..." Yamamoto pondered for a moment, then said with some regret, "It seems most likely to be a regimental headquarters."

"Map." Yamamoto reached out and handed him a map.

Turning on the flashlight covered by a white cloth, Yamamoto found his location in the dim light.

"Judging from the map, this should be the defense zone of the 6th Regiment of the Xia Army. In other words, the command post in front is very likely the headquarters of the 6th Regiment."

Yamamoto then asked Liu Chuan a few more questions, and seeing that he really had no more information, he gestured to Noguchi.

Noguchi covered Liu Chuan's mouth from behind, and before he could react, a bayonet had already pierced his heart from behind.

Liu Chuan's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that Yamamoto would go back on his word.

At this moment, Yamamoto didn't even glance at Liu Chuan.

"Turn on the radio, report the coordinates to your superiors, and request artillery cover," Yamamoto Asahi ordered.

Although the infiltration team was composed entirely of elites, Yamamoto showed no intention of playing the hero.

He would never launch a direct attack unless there was another way.

The communications soldier immediately turned on his portable radio and began encoding and transmitting a message.

……

A dozen minutes later, the translated intelligence was delivered to Isai Masaru.

"The 6th Regiment of the Xia Army?"

"Division Commander, that's Xia Jun, the one opposite the 23rd Regiment," the chief of staff reported.

"Hehe, the arrangements of fate are so wonderful." Isi got up and went to the map.

Previously, the headquarters of the 68th Regiment was destroyed by two artillery shells from the 6th Regiment, and now the coordinates of the 6th Regiment headquarters have been placed in front of them again.

"Division Commander, should we order the mountain artillery regiment to advance and bombard the enemy command post?"

The mountain artillery regiment was equipped with mountain guns that could fire at 8300 meters, but the artillery positions were all in safe rear locations. To hit the Xia army command post, which was also in the rear, they had to advance further.

Ishi shook his head: "Yamamoto's squad only discovered the enemy command post, but they don't know what's inside."

"Was the enemy's operations room above ground or underground? Was the above-ground structure made of mud or brick?"

"Do you think a 75mm shell could wipe out the enemy command post?" Isi asked the chief of staff.

The situation where the 68th Regiment was wiped out by two 37mm high-explosive shells is extremely rare, even in the history of warfare worldwide. Ishi is not going to place his hopes on such an uncertain probability.

"Division Commander, but apart from the Type 94 mountain gun, we don't have any other stronger heavy firepower." The chief of staff said with some difficulty, "The Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment is currently fighting in the concession area and cannot be transferred here."

Xia Jun reinforced the frontal salient with two heavy artillery regiments, and even with naval support, Chu Sheng Jun would need a heavy artillery corps to reinforce it.

After all, the newly formed navy and army are not a single system, and coordinating artillery support is often done in hours, and there is no guarantee that support will be obtained.

If we really place our hopes on the navy, the ashes of the frontline troops will probably have been scattered several times over.

"I know heavy artillery is out of the question," said Masashi Ishii. "At this time, Commander Matsui cannot mobilize heavy artillery, and there is no time to do so."

"Coordinate with the navy for artillery fire; that might be even faster," Ishi affirmed.

"The Navy?" The chief of staff was taken aback.

"That's right." Ishi nodded. "The Izumo should still be at the mouth of the Ōe River."

The Izumo was equipped with four 203mm guns and fourteen 152mm guns.

The coordinates of the 6th Regiment reported by Yamamoto were 16 kilometers from Oeguchi, which was exactly within the effective range of the 203mm naval gun.

"But Division Commander, the navy's support will probably be very slow."

"I know, but I don't think Lieutenant General Hase will refuse," said Masato Ishii.

"Go send the telegram."

"Hi!"

……