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

Zhao Yunwen moved very quickly, retreating to Zijin Mountain before the 16th Division could react, where he met Lieutenant General Gui Yongqing, the commander-in-chief of the Zijin Mountain defense zone.

The guerrilla detachment's outstanding performance in Jurong and Tangshan won Gui Yongqing's approval. After a brief reminiscing, Commander Gui got straight to the point:

"Brother Yunwen, how much fighting strength does the 16th Division have left?"

"Around ten thousand people."

Zhao Yunwen's answer greatly shocked Gui Yongqing. Worried that Zhao Yunwen was exaggerating, he tentatively asked:

"As far as I know, the 16th Division has a full strength of 26,000 men. Can you verify the current troop strength of the Japanese?"

Zhao Yunwen could understand Captain Gui's doubts. From 26,000 to around 10,000, it was no longer a matter of crippling someone.

That's an exaggeration. If these words hadn't come from Zhao Yunwen, Captain Gui would have been furious, as this concerns the very survival of the Training Corps.

Zhao Yunwen said firmly:

"There's no mistake. Of these 10,000-plus soldiers, only 6,000 or 7,000 are combat personnel, more than 2,000 are seriously wounded, and the rest are non-combatants with low combat effectiveness."

Gui Yongqing now felt more confident. The Training Corps had just undergone an emergency expansion, with 20,000 new recruits added from Jiangxi Province, Hunan Province, and the local area. In addition, there were 4,000 to 5,000 veterans withdrawn from Shanghai and the remaining personnel, bringing the total strength to nearly 30,000.

The organization was expanded from the original 3 regiments to 3 brigades, 6 infantry regiments, and directly subordinate artillery, engineer, and cavalry regiments. On the surface, it was still a division, and even ordinary army commanders were not as extravagant as him.

Gui Yongqing overlooked the most important point: the vast majority of his troops were new recruits who had never experienced actual combat. Zhao Yunwen knew perfectly well how long they could hold out against the combined air and ground attacks of the Japanese.

Gui Yongqing seemed much more relaxed and continued to ask:

"How many men and guns does Brother Yunwen have left?"

Zhao Yunwen told the truth:

"Approximately 5 people."

It wasn't even two regiments from the Training Corps, but these were all elite soldiers who had survived countless battles. Commander Gui, being a commander himself, naturally knew this and immediately said:

"Brother Yunwen, this is 5 elite warriors. You are all experienced in combat. I would like to hear your opinion on the defense of Zijin Mountain."

Zhao Yunwen understood Gui Yongqing's ulterior motives. Although Gui Yongqing was nominally the commander-in-chief, the guerrilla detachment and the training corps were not subordinate to each other, and he was worried that he could not command Zhao Yunwen.

When two forces are operating in coordination, establishing command authority is paramount, and Gui Yongqing is still trying to gauge Zhao Yun's opinion.

Zhao Yunwen immediately stated:

"Commander Gui, you are the commander-in-chief. You decide how to fight. Our guerrilla detachment is new here, so we just need to follow orders."

Zhao Yunwen's attitude pleased Gui Yongqing, who smiled and said:

"Brother Yunwen, you're too kind. Let's discuss this together. This is the defense plan for Zijin Mountain. Please offer your valuable suggestions."

After Gui Yongqing finished speaking, he summoned his chief of staff, Colonel Qiu Qingquan, who spread out the defense map on the table and began to explain using the map:

"Look, senior, the first and second regiments are deployed in the Xiaolingwei, Xishan, and Lingyuan Xincun area, with a total strength of about 7 people."

The Tiger Cave and the main position on the Second Peak were defended by the Third Regiment under Li Xikai, with Tiger Cave serving as the outpost of the entire defensive line. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Regiments were deployed in the area around the main peak of Zijin Mountain (the First Peak), Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Linggu Temple, and Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. The directly subordinate artillery regiment was deployed on the reverse slope of Zijin Mountain and the Xiaolingwei line of positions…”

After Qiu Fengzi finished his introduction, Zhao Yunwen didn't hold back and went straight to the point:

"The overall defense is fine, but we lack a reserve force. Although the 16th Division was decimated, the Japanese have an efficient reserve system that can be easily replenished."

The Japanese have sufficient troops. If the 16th Division is no longer effective, they can replace it with the 9th Division, the 18th Division, or even the strongest 3rd Division. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a sufficient reserve force.

My suggestion is that the guerrilla detachment defend the Tiger Cave and Second Peak line, with the Third Regiment as a reserve force.

Gui Yongqing was deeply moved after hearing this, but still modestly declined:

"Brother Yunwen is absolutely right. This is something I didn't consider carefully. It is indeed necessary to leave a reserve team for emergencies."

"I think it would be better if you were to serve as the reserve force, since the guerrilla detachment has just gone through a fierce battle and urgently needs rest."

Gui Yongqing gave Zhao Yunwen a lot of face, so when the battle became more intense and reinforcements were needed, Zhao Yunwen couldn't refuse anymore.

But Zhao Yunwen didn't seem to appreciate it, shaking his head and saying:

"The guerrilla detachment has rich combat experience and is more suitable for fighting outpost battles. The training brigade has too many new recruits and needs an adaptation period."

My suggestion is to select some key personnel from each regiment to fight in outpost battles with the guerrilla detachment, accumulate experience, and then return to their units after that.

If the Japanese fail to capture the outposts, they will employ flanking maneuvers to attack other positions, allowing each unit to gain experience in mountain defense.

Chief of Staff Qiu Fengzi continued, saying:

"I agree with Senior Zhao's plan. Although the core members of the Training Corps have participated in the Battle of Shanghai, that was on flat terrain, and they are unfamiliar with mountain warfare. Sending core members to learn with the troops is a good method and can effectively improve the combat effectiveness of the troops."

Gui Yongqing naturally had no objections; he simply needed the chief of staff to take over for him. It would be best if the guerrilla detachment could fight the initial battles, allowing the Third Regiment to preserve its strength and support other units in combat at critical moments.

Having thought this through, he no longer declined and immediately made the decision:

"In that case, proceed according to Commander Zhao's plan. The military situation is urgent; complete the handover of the position immediately!"

"Brother Yunwen, the outpost is now in your hands."

Zhao Yunwen straightened up and said:

"No problem, as long as the guerrilla detachment is still there, the position will remain."

The two sides then agreed on a method of communication, and Zhao Yunwen led his team to take over the position. As compensation, Gui Yongqing transferred 1000 new recruits from the Training Corps to the guerrilla detachment.

At the same time, 500 key personnel were selected from each regiment to fight alongside the guerrilla detachment and learn mountain warfare experience in actual combat.

Zhao Yunwen distributed the new recruits evenly among the Second and Third Regiments, using experienced soldiers to mentor the new recruits, thus increasing their strength to 2000 and 1800 men respectively.

The Training Corps had already built existing fortifications at Tiger Mountain and Second Peak, and the guerrilla detachment only needed to reinforce them after taking over.

Zhao Yunwen assigned Tiger Cave and the Second Peak to the Second Regiment for defense, with the artillery battalion cooperating in the operation. The Third Regiment served as the reserve force, with its command post located on the west side of the Second Peak, namely Xiaomaoshan. 500 core members of the Training Corps fought alongside the Second Regiment.

He pointed to the map and said to Wang Guohua, the second regimental commander:

"The Zijin Mountain defense line, from east to west, consists of Tiger Cave, the second peak Xiaomaoshan, the first peak Toutuo Ridge, and Taiping Gate of Jinling City. The terrain is lower in the east and higher in the west. Our troops are defending Tiger Cave and Xiaomaoshan. Between the two is a saddle-shaped groove, about 400 meters long from east to west."

The Tiger Cave position is about 200 meters wide from north to south and about 300 meters long from east to west. It has three main bunkers and three auxiliary bunkers on the outside. It is reinforced with concrete and connected by trenches. It is enough to house a battalion.

The Training Corps did not pay enough attention to Dongmayao, only setting up a few foxholes. This place connects to the second peak, linking the upper and lower sections, and can be used as a reinforcement trench. It is more than 400 meters deep and can accommodate a battalion. We need to dig more horizontal trenches and vertical communication trenches, anti-artillery bunkers, etc.

Zhao Yunwen activated micromanagement mode, meticulously planning the construction of each machine gun position. The reason for this emphasis was that in another timeline, when Nanjing fell, the Zijin Mountain defense line was still fighting. In other words, this was the guerrilla detachment's place of refuge, so no amount of attention was too much.

After sending the Second Regiment away, Zhao Yunwen hoped that the Third Regiment would strengthen the fortifications of the Second Peak. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and dug trenches, tunnels, communication trenches, and anti-artillery bunkers. He wanted to hold the Second Peak before the city fell, while the defense of Tiger Cave was to buy time for reinforcing the Second Peak defense line.

Construction had barely begun when Chief of Staff Xie Polu came to report:

"Commander, the Japanese have broken through Qilin Gate and Xianhe Gate, and their vanguard is heading straight for Zijin Mountain!"

Zhao Yunwen coldly shouted:

"Those bastards came fast! Prepare for battle!"