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

"You bastards! This is outrageous! We can't let them get away with this!"

The sight of the surrounded Japanese soldiers brought tears to Colonel Yamamoto's eyes. More than 2,000 men chased them into the valley, but even the wounded couldn't be gathered together to form 600 men. The 30th Infantry Regiment had been decimated.

Like a rabbit mourning the death of a fox, Colonel Iseki was also furious and ordered his troops to continue the pursuit, only to be led astray by Zhao Yunwen.

The two sides quickly clashed in the mountains, suffering casualties on both sides. The Japanese soldiers became increasingly engrossed in the fighting, completely forgetting that there was still a county town to capture, which disrupted the overall deployment of the 16th Division.

The cavalry regiment has retreated to the plains and is being used as a mobile force.

The 323rd Brigade fought and retreated, keeping the 3rd Mixed Brigade firmly pinned down in the mountains leading to Yangguji. The two sides were evenly matched, and neither had the strength to kill the other in one blow.

Zhao Yunwen has achieved his goal of containing the 3rd Mixed Brigade, greatly relieving the pressure on Qi County. Now it's up to Xue Boling.

In Twin Towers, the town was once again engulfed in a deafening barrage of gunfire.

The Sakai Detachment of the 14th Division suddenly advanced westward to attack Shuangtaji, while a part of it attacked Yangguji from the north. Kenji Doihara finally couldn't resist and decided to break out.

The 686th Regiment was already on high alert, relying on its earthworks to stubbornly resist the Japanese, and the battle between the two sides quickly escalated to a fever pitch.

The Japanese troops made a breakthrough in the east of the town, with hundreds of men charging into the position. The soldiers of the isolated battalion met them with bayonets, and a brutal hand-to-hand battle ensued.

Yang Guai, wielding his rifle, took down two Japanese soldiers in quick succession, finally encountering an evenly matched opponent. Captain Nakamura unleashed a series of powerful and heavy slashes, each aimed straight for vital organs.

Yang Guai calmly responded to the attack, countering each move with a flawless defense, and then unexpectedly thrust out a knife, forcing Captain Nakamura to retreat.

Captain Nakamura was a master swordsman, trained by a renowned school. Few could withstand more than a few moves from him. Yang Guai's tenacity ignited his competitive spirit, and he drew his sword even faster.

The offensive continued relentlessly, with over a dozen slashes delivered in one fluid motion. Yang Guai was in grave danger, but always fell just short.

"You idiot! Are you a mouse? All you do is hide!"

Captain Nakamura was somewhat agitated. Yang Guai was still as slippery as an eel, engaging in hit-and-run tactics with the Japanese soldiers, always holding back his strength to wear down his opponents.

Worried about losing the position, Shangguan Zhibiao led the reserve 3rd Company to reinforce the position. He carried a Mauser pistol in each hand and charged to the front, firing a burst of bullets at any Japanese soldier he saw.

The addition of fresh troops disrupted the balance of the game, and the Japanese gradually showed signs of weakness.

Captain Nakamura glanced around anxiously. In that moment of distraction, Yang Guai suddenly exerted his strength, stabbing Nakamura several times, forcing the old Japanese soldier into a panic and creating openings in his defenses.

Yang Guai, not one to back down, thrust forward with lightning speed, piercing through Captain Nakamura's body.

Captain Nakamura's ancestral katana fell to the ground. He tried to grab the gun with both hands, but Yang Guai forcefully pulled out the bayonet, and Captain Nakamura collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

"You idiot, die!"

Two bayonets came straight at Yang Guai from the upper left and lower right. Just when he thought he was going to die on the battlefield, two shots rang out in succession, and the Japanese soldiers fell to the ground almost at the same time. The one who saved him was Battalion Commander Shangguan Zhibiao.

Having narrowly escaped death, Yang Guai collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

By this time, the Japanese soldiers had been driven out of the position, and the soldiers were chasing after them. The arrival of the reserve force greatly demoralized the Japanese soldiers, and they were on the verge of collapse.

The incident in Zhendong triggered a chain reaction. The Japanese troops, who were on the verge of collapse, were completely overwhelmed. The 686th Regiment took the opportunity to overwhelm them, leaving behind many short-legged Japanese soldiers, and the positions were completely restored.

Major General Takashi Sakai was so angry that he cursed loudly:

"You bunch of good-for-nothings!"

"Fire! Kill the Chinese!"

Enraged, Takashi Sakai tried to retaliate with cannons, but this only provoked a counterattack from the defending artillery and he gained no advantage.

Sakai Takashi's face was extremely grim; Shuangtaji and Yangguji were far more difficult to fight than he had imagined.

Although the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade still had dozens of heavy artillery pieces, they were all tied down by the main force of the Yudong Corps. The 71st Army under Song Yingguo, the 74th Army under Wang Yaowu, and the 156th Division of the 64th Army were besieging the headquarters of the 14th Division. If it weren't for the heavy artillery support, they would have been defeated long ago.

From the direction of Qixian, the main force of the 16th Division arrived one after another. They took over the mission of the 3rd Mixed Brigade, and the easy days of the defending troops came to an end. They once again fought the Japanese.

At the 323rd Brigade's field command post, Zhao Yunwen was leading Qiu Fengzi and others in studying the battle situation. The simple sand table was covered with small blue and white triangular flags, arranged in a jagged pattern.

The Battle of Lanfeng had reached its most critical mid-game disruption phase. The arrival of 4 Japanese reinforcements disrupted the balance of power, and the Yudong Corps' numerical advantage was no longer obvious, but it still held the initiative on the battlefield.

The current situation is far better than in the other timeline. The 3rd Mixed Brigade, a troublemaker, has been bogged down by the 323rd Brigade, suffering more than half of its casualties and its strength has been greatly reduced.

The 16th Division could only clean up the mess left by the 3rd Mixed Brigade, and the 14th Division had not yet captured Lanfeng, so Kaifeng was as secure as a rock.

Zhao Yunwen pointed to the location of the 14th Division headquarters and said:

"The key to the battle lies here: the Sakai Detachment advancing westward has only one regiment, while the other regiment is entangled with the main force of the Yudong Corps, protecting the division headquarters."

The 2nd Infantry Regiment is currently launching a strong offensive against Lanfong. The 322nd and 324th Brigades are not under significant pressure at the moment, but we must be prepared for the entire 14th Division to advance south.

Qiu Fengzi took a deep breath and said:

"If the entire Doihara Division moves south, my 107th Division's positions will be the first to be hit, and Lanfeng, Yangguji, and Shuangtaji will be under tremendous pressure."

Three infantry regiments, plus the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade and divisional support units, totaling nearly 20,000 men—could Deputy Division Commander Lu and his troops hold them off?

Zhao Yunwen said with a firm expression:

"We have to hold on, even if we can't. The mission of the 323rd Brigade is to hold off the 3rd Mixed Brigade. Commander Xue is determined to drive the Japanese to the Lanfeng-Yangguji line. I had anticipated this situation. Now we just need to see if we can annihilate the main force of the 14th Division."

Qiu Fengzi said no more. Zhao Yunwen had deployed the most capable 322nd and 324th Brigades to the front lines, while the cavalry regiment, independent regiment, and artillery regiment (lacking a mountain artillery battalion) were on standby. The 107th Division still had spare strength. All of these were intended to deal with Kenji Doihara's southward advance.

North of Lanfeng City, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was attacking the city. The 647th Regiment, relying on the city's fortifications, was inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment had previously been severely damaged by the 322nd Brigade. Although it had been reinforced with nearly 2,000 men, its combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and its strength had been depleted several times, leaving it with less than 3,000 men.

Yokoyama Shizuo had lost patience. Kenji Doihara had given them a death order: they must capture Lanfeng before nightfall. There were only a few hours left.

After two probing attacks, Yokoyama Shizuo made a tough decision and deployed two thousand troops to attack from the northeast, north, and northwest. As far as the eye could see, there were Japanese soldiers everywhere, filling the entire front.

Regimental Commander Qin Qingwu looked at the Japanese soldiers who were approaching with murderous intent, his face calm and composed. From Shanghai to Pengcheng, what kind of big scene hadn't he seen?

"Chief of Staff Mao, since the Japanese have brought out all their possessions, we can't be stingy."

Signal the artillery to fire! Give them a good beating!

Chief of Staff Mao Qi excitedly accepted the order and left. Regiment Commander Qin had been holding back the artillery fire, but now it would finally come in handy. He was going to give the Japanese a big surprise.

Qin Qingwu gathered all the 20mm mortars, mountain guns, and infantry guns of his regiment, a total of 18, and hid them in the newly dug tunnels in the camp, ready to be pulled out when needed.

The Japanese skirmishers advanced rapidly, stretching as far as the eye could see, when suddenly the booming sound of artillery fire came from the city.

Eighteen shells flew out of the city and rained down on the enemy lines, instantly engulfing a large number of Japanese soldiers. Every shell had a harvest, exploding a large area.

Yokoyama Shizuo's expression changed drastically, and his lips trembled as round after round of shells rained down:

"Baka yarou, how come the Chinese have so many cannons produced by the Empire?"

"Quickly, fire the cannons to stop them!"

Contrary to its usual behavior, the artillery in the city continued to fire relentlessly, completely ignoring the shells whizzing overhead, and relentlessly bombarded the Japanese infantry.

The Japanese soldiers suffered heavy casualties and finally managed to reach the city's fortifications. Battalion Commander Qin Feng roared:

"Brothers, beat them to a pulp!"