Blood-Red Front

At the 6th Regiment's position, Wang Xiaoliu was brought before Ji Qiu.

"Commander, this is a communications soldier sent by friendly forces."

Ji Qiu Chaochu fired two shots and retreated back into the trenches.

While loading ammunition, Ji Qiu asked, "I am Ji Qiu, the commander of the 6th Regiment. What can I do for you?"

"Commander Lu, I am from the Independent Battalion of the 8th Army. Our battalion commander plans to launch a bayonet charge and is asking if your unit is willing to act in tandem."

Because it was a state of war, Wang Xiaoliu did not salute, but instead reported Lin Zhiyuan's words directly to Ji Qiu.

"Independent Battalion? When did our army have such a unit?" Ji Qiu was completely confused when he heard the designation of the Independent Battalion.

"This unit was just established today."

"Alright, I'd like to first express my gratitude to the Independent Battalion for their support." Ji Qiu nodded and said, "The position belongs to the 6th Regiment. If the Independent Battalion dared to launch a bayonet charge, we will naturally follow suit."

As he spoke, Ji Qiu shouted to the side, "Get the signal gun!"

Ji Qiu didn't feel embarrassed that Lin Zhiyuan, a battalion commander, was in charge of him, a regimental commander. On the contrary, he was very grateful to Lin Zhiyuan for helping him at the most critical moment.

If the Independent Battalion hadn't arrived at the crucial moment, the 6th Regiment would probably have collapsed.

Seeing that the 6th Regiment's white signal flare had already taken off, Lin Zhiyuan also raised his signal gun and pulled the trigger, sending a red signal flare soaring into the sky.

Looking at the signal flare hanging in the air, Ma Daxi took off the large sword from his back and spat on the ground.

"The battalion commander has given the signal!"

"Damn it, sound the charge! Follow me and charge! Kill that bastard!"

"Kill that son of a bitch!"

Sun Yu took a rifle from a soldier beside him. "Brothers! The time for revenge has come! Follow me and kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

"kill!"……

The newly risen soldiers, who were firing from the ground, saw the Xia army begin their charge and leaped up, bayonets in hand, to meet the attack head-on.

Nishimura drew his sword and shouted, "Gentlemen! For Her Majesty the Empress! Charge!"

"Long live Her Majesty the Empress!"...

The two sides charged into battle with lightning speed.

The nascent assassination techniques originated from the Bonaparte Empire, and the gun-drawing movements are similar to the power generation and footwork of Western boxing.

Compared to the newly promoted army, the Shu army's close combat was completely unorthodox, lacking both tactical principles and rules. They would stop at nothing to win against their opponents.

Therefore, in close combat, the soldiers of the Independent Battalion did not adhere to the principle of swords going in and out; given the opportunity, their first choice was to fire their guns.

The fierce hand-to-hand combat lasted only a dozen minutes before the ground was littered with the corpses of both sides.

Caught between two attacks and outnumbered, the rising army gradually could not hold on and began to retreat.

"Chase after them! Chase after them!" Ji Qiu shouted as he fired.

Now is the time to strike while the enemy is down. We must not allow the enemy to create distance, otherwise the enemy forces on the other side may use artillery fire to create a barrage.

At that time, these enemy troops who have crossed the river can rebuild their positions with their backs to the riverbank.

Faced with relentless pursuit, the initial retreat of the Rising Army eventually turned into a rout, at which point even Bushido was of no use.

On the opposite bank of the river, watching the pursued troops, the commander of the 68th Regiment of the newly promoted army, Tanikawa, ordered: "Pass on my order, the artillery positions immediately open fire to suppress the Great Xia army and support the remaining troops in their withdrawal."

The infantry regiment of the newly promoted army was organized at the regimental level, but in terms of both manpower and firepower, it was much larger than the infantry regiment of the Xia army.

初升军每个步兵联队都有一个炮兵中队和一个速射炮中队，下辖4门41式75毫米山炮和4门37毫米战防炮。

If you add the two Type 92 70mm infantry guns under each infantry battalion, a regiment would have 14 artillery pieces, making its firepower extremely powerful.

With Tanikawa's order, the artillery positions of the 68th Regiment began to bombard the opposite bank of the Wen River.

The shells landed on the ground, exploding into clouds of black smoke and sending dirt flying several meters into the air.

However, to Tanikawa's surprise, the Xia army on the other side of the river showed no sign of stopping despite the fierce artillery bombardment.

Although the artillery fire temporarily obscured the trailing troops, the soldiers entangled with the fleeing troops of the Rising Army continued to fight.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, not only cannons but even guns couldn't be fired indiscriminately, or one might end up killing someone.

Tanikawa, on the other side of the river, could only watch helplessly as the two sides engaged in a bloody hand-to-hand combat.

A dozen minutes later, Tanikawa put away his binoculars, raised his hand, and shouted, "Cease fire!"

The chief of staff standing nearby reported, "Regimental Commander, the entire Nishimura Company has been wiped out."

Tanikawa's expression was somewhat grim: "I've already seen it."

"Although the entire Nishimura Company was killed in action, their success can be replicated. As long as the follow-up troops can keep up, they can tear a gap in the Xia army's position."

The successful crossing by the Nishimura Squadron was completely unexpected.

The 6th Regiment was caught off guard, as was the 68th Regiment.

Subsequently, no troops from the 68th Regiment followed up to breach the 6th Regiment's defensive line.

By the time Tanikawa reacted and mobilized troops in this direction, Lin Zhiyuan had already arrived with his men, and a wave of melee attacks drove the Nishimura Company into the water.

This failed attempt to cross the river left Tanikawa somewhat disappointed, but he also saw hope in it.

Warfare is inherently a back-and-forth affair. Since we succeeded this time, shifting our forces in this direction will naturally lead to another success.

Upon hearing Tanikawa's words, the chief of staff immediately said, "I will adjust the formation immediately and reorganize the attack."

Looking up at the sky, Tanikawa hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "It's getting late. Those naval idiots should stop bombing by now. Even if the crossing is successful, the troops crossing the river will likely be surrounded by the Xia army in a night battle."

"We'll adjust our forces tonight, and begin the attack tomorrow morning once the air force arrives."

"These damned naval idiots! It was the Marines who lost the concession positions, but now they're dragging their feet on providing support. If the Navy had sent battleships into the mouth of the Yangtze River, our army would have taken Binxi long ago," the chief of staff cursed.

There has always been a long-standing feud between the army and navy of the newly established nation.

The two sides are not exactly irreconcilable enemies, but they are certainly at odds, and the situation has even escalated to the point where the army is building warships and the navy is building tanks.

The newly formed navy now has more than 130 ships assembled in the East China Sea, including 6 battleships, but only the Third Fleet, which is permanently stationed in Xia Kingdom, is actually participating in the war, with a total of no more than 30 warships.

Moreover, apart from the flagship Izumo, which was an armored cruiser, the others were either destroyers or small gunboats.

Although the Third Fleet provided artillery support far exceeding that of the Army's 75mm mountain artillery wing, the Army was still very dissatisfied.

"Hmph! That's how stupid the Navy is." Tanikawa was already used to the Navy's lack of cooperation, so he didn't have much hope.

In his view, as long as the Army Air Force helps with the bombing tomorrow, the 68th Regiment can seize another position on the west bank of the Wen River, and the rest of the 68th Regiment can be completed by itself.

"Commander, I'm just furious!" the chief of staff said. "The peninsula was occupied by our army, and the area outside the Great Wall was also captured by our army. Their navy is taking what they already have and still wants to take more!"

"Alright, let's not talk about these spoilsport." Tanikawa waved his hand.

"According to the plan, the Xia Kingdom should be destroyed within three months. Once we occupy this vast land, the navy's influence will be reduced to a minimum."

"Go, and complete the troop deployment adjustment as soon as possible."

"Hi!"

……