Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

"Baka yarou, what are you trying to do, you idiots?"

"Where did all these people come from!"

Zhao Yunwen's counterattack completely shut down Major General Sasaki's mental system. In his preconceived notion, offense was only for the Japanese, while China was all about pure defense.

After several days of fierce fighting, the 16th Division was exhausted and its last reserves were deployed. Where would the guerrilla detachment find the strength to counterattack?

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Kusaba Tatsumi was the first to react, grabbing Sasaki and running away; now was not the time to be dazed.

The Japanese troops have suffered a complete rout, and the guerrilla detachment is charging in like tigers descending from the mountain. Those who do not want to be taken prisoner should run for their lives. The 16th Division cannot afford to lose a major general.

The brigade headquarters deployed in the rear naturally ran fast, and the several regimental headquarters were not to be outdone. When disaster struck, they all fled for their own lives, preferring to die for their comrades rather than themselves.

The Japanese soldiers on the front lines were the same; they pushed and trampled each other, fleeing in panic. No one cared about supplies or wounded soldiers anymore, and no one was willing to cover the rear. Everyone was thinking about getting ahead of others.

The defeat was swift and decisive, and the Japanese were no exception. The guerrillas chased after them relentlessly, their soldiers as energetic as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

Japanese soldiers were constantly being caught and killed, and the remaining ones continued the pursuit, as if they wanted to kill all the Japanese soldiers.

Zhao Yunwen lowered his binoculars. The battle was no longer in doubt, and as the commander, he couldn't possibly pursue the Japanese. He turned to Xie Polu and said:

"The rest is up to you. I'm going to take a nap!"

After saying that, he fell asleep immediately. After directing operations for several days in a row, Zhao Yunwen was severely exhausted and could finally get a good night's sleep.

Xie Polu had someone bring a military blanket to cover Zhao Yunwen, while he himself remained at his post with bloodshot eyes.

The soldiers chased the Japanese for more than ten miles before stopping to clean up the mess.

They had only defeated the 16th Division, but the overall situation of the enemy being stronger and them being weaker had not changed. There were still hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops on the periphery, so they decided to stop while they were ahead and quickly clean up the battlefield.

Zhao Yunwen slept from a little after four in the afternoon until the sun was high in the sky the next day. When he woke up, he was full of energy, his tiger eyes gleaming with a sharp light, as if he had been fully revived.

When Xie Polu saw that Zhao Yunwen had woken up, he handed him a towel, saving him the trouble of brushing his teeth, as there weren't many formalities during wartime.

Zhao Yunwen hastily wiped his face, and Xie Polu reported to him:

"The results have been tallied: over 3,000 enemy soldiers were killed, 5 artillery pieces, more than 4,000 rifles and pistols were captured, and countless ammunition and supplies were seized. The Japanese retreated more than ten kilometers, and the crisis in Jurong has been temporarily averted."

While stretching his muscles, Zhao Yunwen used the mini-map to survey the area, and the situation was not optimistic.

Although they had dealt a heavy blow to the 16th Division, the overall situation was deteriorating. Due to the excessively long defensive line and the fact that the Nationalist army consisted of remnants who had retreated from Shanghai, command was ineffective, and it was truly remarkable that they had managed to hold out until now.

Xie Polu's information was severely delayed. The Japanese broke through the central and right flank defense lines one after another. Now, the northeastern front where the guerrilla detachment was located was exposed and would soon be attacked from the flank by the Ninth Division.

Meanwhile, the 16th Division has gathered its defeated troops and will return in no more than half a day, so there is no need to defend the Jurong defense line anymore.

Zhao Yunwen launched a counterattack in order to retreat. Having achieved his objective, he immediately said to Xie Polu:

"Order all regiments to abandon their current positions and retreat to Tangshan, with one regiment staying behind to cover the rear."

Xie Polu was somewhat confused. Why should they abandon the position after just winning a battle? However, he didn't ask and carried out the order without question.

Zhao Yunwen didn't offer much explanation. He often had to make the decisions unilaterally, and he wanted everyone in the army to adapt.

His orders were to be obeyed unconditionally; there were no "whys" to be asked.

The guerrilla detachment retreated very decisively. After receiving the order, Wang Guohua arranged for the Second Battalion to escort the wounded, supplies and spoils of war to leave first, followed by the isolated battalion, the First Battalion, the artillery company and the regimental headquarters.

The regiment quickly abandoned its northern positions, escorting the headquarters and artillery battalion to the central pass, while they themselves held the pass to cover the rear of the main force.

Zhao Yunwen pulled Zhang Yi aside and whispered his intentions:

"The defensive line of our friendly forces in the central region has been breached, and the main force has retreated twenty kilometers. The Ninth Division, the Eighteenth Division, and other units have advanced rapidly. One of them is heading towards Jurong and will arrive by noon tomorrow at the latest."

After the main force withdraws to Tangshan, it will take some time to stabilize the situation. Your task is to hold out until tomorrow morning, keep a close eye on the Japanese on the southern front, and make sure they don't get their rear outflanked. Understand?

Zhang Yi nodded emphatically and said:

"I guarantee the mission will be accomplished. I will send a reconnaissance company to keep an eye on the Japanese to the south, while the main force will hold the pass. We will not let the 16th Division cross the pass before noon tomorrow."

Zhao Yunwen waved his hand and said:

"No need for such rigidity. The bottom line is 9:00 AM tomorrow. After 9:00, you can decide for yourselves. I only have one request: bring the entire group back to Tangshan intact!"

"yes!"

Without uttering any further words, Zhang Yi watched Zhao Yunwen leave and then dispatched the regimental reconnaissance company. Their mission was not only to discover the enemy as quickly as possible, but also to seize the opportunity to eliminate any small groups of overconfident and reckless Japanese soldiers.

Next, they arranged the defenses. The positions were already in place with the Second Regiment, and the remaining nine bunkers were still usable. They had plenty of ammunition for the captured Type 92 heavy machine guns, so it wouldn't be too difficult to hold off the Japanese for a day.

After the mission was assigned, the Second and Third Battalions quickly restored their positions, while the First Battalion, the Artillery Company, and the Supply Company served as reserves, while also guarding the southern front.

At 2 p.m., the 16th Division launched another attack. They had received good news from the Central Route Army, and their morale had recovered considerably.

With Nakajima Kesago personally in charge, and the command center filled with veteran Japanese soldiers, Major General Sasaki and others felt that they were in charge again.

Nakajima Kesago said with great enthusiasm:

"The defeat of the Chinese is inevitable. In three days at most, the central army will be at the city gates. The 16th Division must not miss such a feast."

"Jurong is a tough nut to crack; do any of you have a strategy to defeat it?"

Major General Sasaki was the first to step forward and say:

"The Chinese are good at fighting when the wind is blowing in their favor. Times have changed. The Ninth Division has sent a part of the guerrilla detachment to flank the position. They are isolated and their morale is low. They have no desire to fight. The Imperial Army only needs one charge to break through their lines."

Please assign this task to my Sasaki Brigade!

Major General Caochang also volunteered for the battle; who doesn't know how to beat a dog when it's down?

Seeing that the troops' morale was good, Nakajima immediately made the decision:

"Alright, even a lion will fight a rabbit with all its might! The Sasaki Brigade will launch a main attack down the central route, while the Kusaba Brigade will flank the southern front. Break through the Jurong Pass before nightfall!"

The Japanese soldiers all stood up to accept the order. There were only a few hours left before nightfall, but no one doubted that they could complete the mission.

With 100,000 troops withdrawn from the outer defense line, they did not believe that the guerrilla detachment would still hold out to the death.

At 3 p.m., the attack began on time, with artillery preparation as usual. The 16th Division concentrated all its artillery and bombarded the central positions. The artillery company of the regiment then counterattacked, and the two sides exchanged fire, making for a very lively battle.

The 16th Division lost more than 80% of its artillery, greatly reducing its combat effectiveness. They have requested tactical guidance from the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, and Lieutenant General Asaka has provided them with a heavy artillery battalion, which is on its way.

The bombardment lasted for half an hour. Sasaki, seeing that the time was right, ordered a general offensive.

Thousands of Japanese soldiers swarmed towards the defending troops' positions like locusts, but Zhang Yi remained unmoved and coldly shouted:

"Open fire! Kill the Japanese devils!"