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

Zhang Guoquan figured the battalion commander should have reached his destination by the time the Japanese launched their general offensive. There was no need to hide their strength any longer, so he excitedly roared:

"Brothers, beat them to a pulp!"

The defending forces unleashed their full firepower, especially the two artillery platoons, which no longer held back. The addition of six Browning medium machine guns and six 60mm mortars significantly increased the intensity of their firepower.

Captain Watanabe was dumbfounded. This firepower reminded him of the days when he was ravaged in Jurong, and his eyes were filled with fear.

"That smells so familiar," Captain Watanabe said, taking a deep breath.

"Baka yarou, it's the guerrilla detachment! It's definitely them!"

Then he roared at the top of his lungs:

"Stop the attack! Let the warriors retreat!"

The other Japanese soldiers were also dumbfounded. The psychological trauma inflicted on them by the guerrilla detachment had penetrated to their very bones, and they hurriedly sounded the horn to retreat.

The Japanese troops were already on the verge of collapse. Upon hearing the order to retreat, they turned and ran, which led to a complete collapse of their lines.

Zhang Guoquan roared:

"Bugler, blow the charge! Kill the Japanese devils!"

The loud bugle call rang out, and Zhang Guoquan, holding a Mauser pistol high, was the first to charge out. His soldiers followed, and they charged towards the Japanese like an overwhelming tide.

The first and second companies launched a full-scale counterattack. By this time, the Japanese soldiers had already fled in panic, scrambling to escape. Those who were slow to run were chased and killed.

At first, Captain Watanabe tried to restrain the fleeing soldiers, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the tide of fleeing soldiers. He himself was also swept away and ran down the mountain. Many Japanese soldiers lost their footing and fell off the cliff.

The Japanese army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Chinese pursued them relentlessly. The piercing bugle call sent chills down the spines of the Japanese soldiers. Captain Watanabe resigned himself to his fate and ran faster than the others.

Having finally escaped down the mountain and shaken off his pursuers, Captain Watanabe secretly rejoiced at having escaped with his life and vowed never to go back into the mountains to cause trouble again.

Just as the Japanese officers were gathering their remaining troops, a burst of gunfire erupted from the surrounding area. Captain Watanabe felt a pang of despair; there was indeed an ambush, and escaping under the guerrilla detachment's scheme would be too difficult!

Caught completely off guard, the Japanese soldiers were swept down in droves; the ambush was carried out by the main force of the First Battalion led by Qin Feng.

The 3rd Company, the artillery company, and the battalion headquarters together numbered nearly 400 men, while the remaining Japanese soldiers numbered only 120 or 130, most of whom were out of breath and had little ability to fight back.

The remaining Japanese soldiers scattered like wasps whose nest had been burned, fleeing in all directions without any thought of resistance, until they were swept to the ground.

Captain Watanabe, disheartened and knowing he was doomed, charged into the machine gun emplacement with his sword raised, only to be riddled with bullets and covered in blood.

The remaining Japanese soldiers were surrounded. No matter which direction they ran, there were deadly gun barrels. In the end, they were all wiped out, and not one of them escaped.

After the two groups joined forces, Qin Feng said in a deep voice:

"Hurry up and clean up the battlefield. These are just the vanguard of the 16th Division. More and more Japanese soldiers have poured into Tangshan."

We need to lure the Japanese soldiers towards Yangshan to prevent them from harming the people in the town.

Zhang Guoquan quickly asked:

"What should we do with all this loot?"

"Dump everything, only take the weapons and ammunition, and transport them by mules and horses. You and the first company will take the spoils and retreat first, while I will lead the main force to lure the enemy with light equipment."

Qin Feng made a decision quickly, and Zhang Guoquan accepted the order without saying a word.

Not long after, the first company, carrying the spoils and the wounded, retreated to Wangyang Mountain, where the main battlefield was.

Qin Feng watched Zhang Guoquan and the First Company leave before leading the main force to the town to fetch cattle.

By this time, the main force of the 16th Division had arrived one after another, numbering in the thousands, and was burning, killing, and looting in the town.

Qin Feng ordered the artillery company to set up cannons in the west of the town and bombard the main Japanese force, killing and wounding dozens of soldiers. This stirred up a hornet's nest, and thousands of Japanese soldiers came in pursuit. The battalion fought and retreated, leading the Japanese towards the main position at Yangshan.

The 16th Division's attack direction was also Yangshan and Kongshan, and finally they reached Zijin Mountain to besiege Nanjing. So they chased the First Battalion to the foot of Yangshan.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce fighting. The sound of gunfire attracted more and more Japanese soldiers, who focused their attention on the guerrilla detachment and no longer had any intention of searching for civilians.

Kong Shan and Zhao Yunwen were fully prepared, commanding the Third Regiment to defend against the enemy at Yangshan.

Yangshan is the outpost of Kongshan, dotted with numerous limestone caves, a typical karst landscape, making it very suitable for defense.

The Third Regiment built three lines of defense in Yangshan. The first line was the forward position, which was only two hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain. The mountain protruded outward, shaped like a millstone, and was right at the throat of the main road in the valley.

If the main Japanese force wanted to take the main road straight down to Nanjing, they had to capture Yangshan and Kongshan, otherwise their supplies would not be able to get through.

The heavy artillery battalion sent by headquarters to reinforce the 16th Division had arrived, and Major General Sasaki stood up straight again.

Colonel Noda, commander of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, volunteered for the mission:

"General, please allow me to lead my troops to capture Yangshan and open the passage to Jinling City."

Major General Sasaki said in a deep voice:

"I know of Noda's martial prowess. According to intelligence, the enemy defending Yangshan is a guerrilla detachment. The 33rd Regiment suffered too many casualties before, so let the 38th Regiment meet Zhao Yunwen."

When Noda Kengo heard that it was a guerrilla detachment, he felt inexplicably frightened and did not insist any further.

Of the several infantry regiments in the 16th Division, only the 38th Infantry Regiment was the most intact, with few casualties and still numbering three thousand.

When the regimental commander saw that the brigade commander had chosen his general, Regimental Commander Shizuji Kawakami immediately stepped forward to volunteer for battle:

"General, our 38th Regiment is willing to be the vanguard and do everything in our power to capture Yangshan!"

"Alright, Yangshan is in your hands now. The heavy artillery battalion and the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment will cooperate with you. Thank you!"

After speaking, Major General Sasaki bowed deeply to Colonel Sukegawa, who returned the bow, slung his sword over his shoulder, and strode away.

Not long after, a company of Japanese soldiers launched an attack on the front lines of Yangshan. The old Japanese soldier, Sukekawa, was very shrewd; this was clearly a probing attack.

The 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment was defending the forward positions. Battalion Commander Li Musheng, seeing that the Japanese had only sent about a hundred men, snorted coldly:

"The Japanese are just putting on a show. Don't expose your heavy firepower; use light weapons to repel them!"

The forward position is about 300 to 400 meters wide from north to south and more than 100 meters deep. The terrain is steep, especially the central salient, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Li Musheng placed a company on each of the left and right flanks, with the first company and artillery company in the middle, and the supply platoon and battalion headquarters as reserves.

The Japanese soldiers climbed up the hillside and quickly entered the range of light firepower. As soon as the battalion headquarters fired the signal gun, each company opened fire on the Japanese soldiers, using only platoon-level firepower.

A hail of bullets rained down on the Japanese soldiers, and in a short time, dozens of corpses and wounded fell on the hillside. The rest hurriedly lay prone on the slope and returned fire.

Colonel Sukegawa was mentally prepared, but he was not shocked by the intensity of the defenders' firepower; there were twenty or thirty machine guns alone.

The senior staff officer of the regiment requested instructions:

"The Chinese have exposed their firepower, can we open fire now?"

Colonel Sukekawa nodded and said:

"Yosh! Order the field artillery company and infantry gun company to open fire on the defending positions and blow them to bits!"

The senior staff officer acknowledged the order and left. Unlike the 9th Division, the 16th Division's regimental artillery consisted of 75mm howitzers and 92mm infantry guns, for a total of 8 guns.

Colonel Sukegawa did not use any heavy weapons; in his view, the regimental artillery was sufficient.

Before long, shells rained down on the position of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment. The soldiers took cover in the tunnels near the mountain, where the shells did not harm them.

These tunnels were dug using natural caves, without much effort. They were mainly used to hide people, and if there weren't enough, people would hide in the cat-ear tunnels.

The Japanese artillery bombardment lasted for half an hour, repeatedly bombarding the exposed firing positions of the 2nd Battalion. Only then did Colonel Sukekawa give the order with satisfaction:

"Send the order to the First Battalion: they can attack now! Take the defending position in one fell swoop!"