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

At the 68th Regiment headquarters, shells rained down, causing heavy casualties among the Japanese soldiers.

Takamori forcefully pushed Major Yamamoto off him, spitting out his two knocked-out front teeth, and cursed through gritted teeth:

"You damned Chinese!"

"Yamamoto-kun, quickly...Yamamoto-kun!"

When Takamori got closer, he saw that Major Yamamoto was already dead, with several shrapnel bullets in his back, leaving him a bloody mess.

Takamori secretly rejoiced that he had Yamamoto the devil as a human shield; otherwise, he would have lost not just two teeth, but his life.

The 68th Regiment headquarters suffered devastating damage, and artillery fire began to shift. Ying Xiaosen quickly understood the Chinese intentions and suddenly realized:

"Baka yarou, the Chinese are trying to break through!"

Inside Baoshan City, Battalion Commander Yao Zhiqing finally believed the liaison's words, and the Second Security Regiment actually launched an attack on the 68th Regiment.

Shells were raining down on the main Japanese force returning to reinforce the artillery positions. Outside the city, chaos reigned. The company commander of the 2nd Company of the 3rd Battalion exclaimed excitedly:

"Battalion Commander Yao, make a decision quickly!"

"Battalion Commander Zhou and his men are approaching from the outside. They have already engaged the Japanese in battle. This is the best time to break out."

Battalion Commander Yao was still hesitating. He had not received orders from his superiors to break out of the encirclement, but there were only a little over 100 men left in the entire battalion. If they continued to hold out, they would only face certain death.

"Battalion Commander Yao, our brothers risked their lives to help you break through the encirclement. We can't let their blood be shed in vain!"

The second company commander's words finally made Yao Zhiqing make up his mind. The opportunity was fleeting, and he decisively gave the order:

"Bring along the wounded brothers, the Second and Third Companies, follow me to kill the Japanese devils!"

The morale of Yao's troops soared, and they followed Battalion Commander Yao as they charged toward the direction where the gunfire was most intense.

The Japanese battalion commander, Eiji Taniguchi, had a face so dark it could drip water. The artillery position was under attack, and explosions were coming from the direction of the regimental headquarters. Before he could make a decision, more shells were raining down on them.

It's like it has eyes!

The Gukou Brigade was in complete chaos, fighting independently, with gunfire echoing everywhere in the darkness. No one knew how many Chinese soldiers had arrived.

The adjutant said anxiously:

"Taniguchi-kun, the artillery positions have been lost, and a large number of infantry have appeared."

"Rescue the regimental headquarters first! The regimental commander's safety is more important than anything else!"

Major Taniguchi believed that the artillery positions were equally important, but he was currently tied up and had to abandon one.

"Baka yarou! Go reinforce the regimental commander!"

Just as Major Taniguchi finished giving the order, gunfire, like popping beans, rang out again from the direction of Baoshan City behind them—the garrison of Baoshan City had broken out.

The Taniguchi Battalion was now caught in a pincer movement, which strengthened his resolve to reinforce the flank headquarters.

He can no longer control the garrison in Baoshan City. Their breakout might not be a bad thing for the 68th Regiment, at least they can take over Baoshan City without bloodshed.

Yingxue gained the upper hand, and the main force of the Gukou Brigade broke through towards the regimental headquarters.

Seeing that the Japanese were about to flee, Zhou Tiancheng, in order to muddy the waters, immediately ordered a platoon to stay behind to support Yao's battalion, while the main force chased after the valley entrance brigade and attacked fiercely, killing and wounding many Japanese soldiers.

At this moment, the two outer detachments were also alarmed. They did not know what had happened and could only rush to Baoshan City to provide reinforcements.

Similarly, the 98th Division, which was confronting them, did not stand idly by and joined the battle under the command of its commander.

Now the main Japanese force dared not return to reinforce, and switched to defense, engaging in fierce fighting with the pursuing troops of the 98th Division.

Gunfire erupted everywhere, and more and more troops were drawn in, turning the place into a chaotic mess.

Zhou Tiancheng only chased for a few hundred meters before stopping; their main mission was to provide cover for Yao Ying.

When they retreated back to their starting position, the third platoon of the second company had already come to Yao's camp to provide support. In the dark, the two sides almost came to blows.

After receiving Yao Ying, they assembled towards the artillery position, where the reconnaissance company was also located.

After the two sides met, Zhou Tiancheng took over command and ordered all howitzers to be destroyed, while he broke through the encirclement with only four infantry guns.

Yao Zhiqing said with a pained expression:

"Battalion Commander Zhou, what excellent cannons! And we have mules and horses ready to go. It's such a waste to blow them up. Let's take them back!"

Zhou Tiancheng said with a firm expression:

"It's too late. These heavy cannons will take a lot of time to dismantle."

"We're surrounded by Japanese soldiers; it's not safe to bring artillery, especially since we have many wounded."

"The reconnaissance platoon will stay behind to destroy artillery shells and cover the rear; the rest of you will retreat with me!"

Seeing that Zhou Tiancheng had made up his mind, Yao Zhiqing didn't say anything more and followed the Third Battalion to break through towards Lujiazhai.

This time they forced their way out. Two companies from the Third Battalion were responsible for clearing the way, while Yao's battalion followed closely behind with the wounded, and the reconnaissance company that destroyed eight howitzers covered the rear.

Although the Japanese had two battalions on the outskirts, their organization was already in disarray and they were tied down by various units of the 98th Division, so they did not cause too much trouble for the breakout force.

The two companies of the Third Battalion were like two sharp swords, defeating small groups of Japanese soldiers wherever they went. Under the cover of night, they successfully broke through the encirclement with almost no casualties.

Of course, not many Japanese soldiers were killed along the way. Although the fighting was intense, the casualties were not actually that high.

Gunfire continued until dawn. The 98th Division retreated to its defensive zone, and the main force of the Japanese army also retreated towards Baoshan City.

After taking command of the troops, Takamori felt like dying after taking stock of the losses.

The biggest loss was naturally to the directly subordinate artillery battalion, which was completely annihilated by the Chinese, and an additional reinforced escort squad was also lost.

Secondly, the regimental headquarters suffered heavy casualties, and together with the losses of other units, a total of 437 people were killed, including 3 majors and 7 junior officers.

Eight 75mm howitzers were destroyed, four infantry guns were lost, one radio was lost, and more than 300 soldiers were wounded, some seriously and some lightly.

Enraged, Takamori slapped Major Taniguchi so hard his head turned into a pig's head before he felt a little better.

But this doesn't solve the problem. With such heavy losses, he has to report back to Division Commander Fujita Susumu.

Exhausted from the fight, Takamori snorted coldly:

"Are they all mute? How are we supposed to report to the division commander?"

The battalion commanders exchanged glances, and finally, Major Taniguchi, enduring the pain, spoke:

"Commander, although the Imperial Army suffered heavy losses, it captured the strategic stronghold of Baoshan City, annihilated 2,000 defenders, and achieved a great victory at Baoshan."

Ying Xiaosen nodded in satisfaction and said:

"It's not just two thousand; the Chinese also sent a large number of reinforcements, bringing the total to at least three thousand."

Immediately send a telegram to the division commander, reporting that our unit has captured Baoshan City, annihilated 3,000 enemy soldiers, and suffered several hundred casualties.

The Japanese soldiers understood immediately, and Major Taniguchi even suggested:

"Commander, we can enter the city now. Bring a few reporters over to take photos, so the world can witness the Empire's military prosperity!"

"Taniguchi-kun, I'm leaving this matter to you. I'll spread the news of my capture of Treasure Mountain throughout the Empire."

Major Taniguchi turned and left happily, having overcome this hurdle; the rest was unimportant.

At the Lu family residence, Zhao Yunwen finally met the renowned "Yao Camp," and indeed, they were formidable warriors. Thus, he conceived the idea of ​​poaching them.