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

The rumbling of machinery in the air broke the tranquility of the small town.

Dozens of fighter jets painted with the Rising Sun flag flew overhead, a dark mass that blotted out the sun.

A barrage of shells rained down from the sky, landing in streets, villages, bamboo forests, and river channels. Any place where people and equipment could possibly hide became a target for the Japanese.

The only thing overlooked was the vast cotton fields, not because they were ignored, but because they were not cost-effective.

The Japanese bombs were very valuable, and they focused their attacks on neighborhoods and villages, destroying a large number of houses and turning prosperous towns into ruins.

Qin Qingwu was very glad that he had withdrawn the main force from the position; otherwise, this round of bombing would have crippled the 109th Regiment.

"Commander, it seems that the guy surnamed Zhao still has some urine in his body."

Qin Qingwu coldly shouted:

"Deputy Regiment Commander Li, Regiment Commander Zhao is the benefactor of the 109th Regiment. I don't want to hear any disrespectful words towards him in the future."

As the deputy commander, you should set a good example.

"The commander is right. I just said it offhand and had no intention of disrespecting Commander Zhao in the slightest."

Qin Qingwu's expression softened slightly, and he said earnestly:

"Brother Yaowen, my 109th Regiment is under the command of the Security Regiment. The brothers below who are unaware of this have a lot of complaints."

At this time, we should pay more attention to these details, so that what is done above will be followed below.

"Commander, I know what to do."

Qin Qingwu turned his gaze to the distance. After the bombing ended, the Japanese ground offensive began as scheduled.

Since the main force of the security regiment had not yet arrived, the defense of the front-line positions was still mainly carried out by the 109th Regiment.

Qin Qingwu replaced the First Battalion, which had suffered more than half of its casualties, with the Third Battalion. The Second Battalion defended the main position, the Security Regiment was responsible for flank security, and the withdrawn First Battalion served as a reserve force.

Zhao Yunwen's defense was solid, the only change being that only one company was placed on the front line for guard duty, while the others were dispersed and concealed, which greatly reduced casualties.

The security regiment had an artillery battalion, so they weren't afraid of Japanese troops charging in groups.

The forward position remained the same area, except that at Zhao Yunwen's request, two more trenches and simple foxholes were dug.

Not far behind were cotton fields. The extra trenches not only increased the thickness of the defense line, but could also hide the other two companies of the Third Battalion.

To strengthen the firepower of the forward positions, Zhao Yunwen transferred two M1919 machine gun teams from the First Battalion to cooperate with them in combat, and deployed them in the third trench.

Each machine gun firing point was constructed using piles of mud bags, numbering over a dozen, to facilitate movement by the machine gunners.

In front of the first trench, in the open area, more than 100 Japanese soldiers came with murderous intent. Their skirmish lines were spread out, and their formation was neat, divided into two echelons.

Zhao Yunwen put down his binoculars and said to Battalion Commander Zhang Yi:

"Send a signal to the 109th Regiment: this is a probing attack by the Japanese. Don't reveal too much strength. Let the front-line positions handle it themselves. They must hold it."

Zhang Yi took on the role of chief of staff, transmitting orders to the 109th Regiment via signal flags. The two sides had agreed on a communication method beforehand, with signalmen and observers assigned to them.

The Japanese soldiers quickly advanced to the defenders' positions, and gunfire suddenly erupted. Japanese soldiers fell one after another, and the others lay prone on the ground. The two sides then began to compete in marksmanship.

The training of the Hunan Army was far inferior to that of the Ninth Division, and their marksmanship was far inferior to that of the Japanese. They only managed to hold off the enemy by relying on the advantage of the trenches.

Each platoon in the 109th Regiment had only one Czech-made light machine gun; the rest were Hanyang rifles and old-fashioned guns, plus a small number of Mauser pistols.

Three light machine guns kept firing at the Japanese soldiers, eliminating many of them, but also exposing their own positions.

A 70mm infantry shell came whistling through the air and exploded near the machine gunner on the left flank, sending the machine gunner and his gun flying.

The barrage of firepower dropped significantly in an instant. The assistant gunner bravely rushed out, rolled several times, and retrieved the machine gun.

Seeing that it was still usable, he lay down on the ground and opened fire on the Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese infantry guns and rapid-fire cannons seemed to have eyes; the assistant gunner only managed to empty one magazine before being killed by several shrapnel bullets.

Support fire from several Type 92 heavy machine guns kept the defenders pinned down, and Company Commander Qin Feng's eyes were practically spitting fire.

He was Qin Qingwu's cousin, a graduate of the Hunan Military Academy, and was entrusted with important responsibilities.

Seeing that he couldn't defeat the Japanese soldiers, Qin Feng roared:

"Brothers, cease fire!"

"Let the Japanese get close, then take them out with grenades!"

The position of the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion quickly fell silent, and the soldiers shrunk into the trenches, leaving only a few observation posts.

The company commander leading the attack could only order the advance to continue.

The Japanese soldiers crept forward furtively, one hundred meters... eighty meters... sixty meters!

The defending troops' positions remained eerily quiet. The company commander slashed his saber fiercely into the air and shouted in his hoarse voice:

"Warriors—Charge! Charge!"

Almost simultaneously, hundreds of grenades were thrown from the defending troops' positions, forming a dark mass. By the time they landed, the Japanese soldiers were exactly thirty meters away.

The continuous explosions quickly engulfed the Japanese soldiers, taking down thirty or forty of them, while the rest scrambled back.

The Japanese regimental commander was so angry that he yelled and ordered the artillery to fire.

The 4th Regiment's four mountain guns blasted the forward positions, venting their anger.

The defenders silently endured the attack from their trenches, with men falling in pools of blood from time to time.

The Japanese artillery bombardment lasted for half an hour, completely destroying the Third Battalion's position before launching a ground attack.

The Japanese soldiers practically surged towards the Third Battalion's position right on the artillery emplacements, numbering several hundred men, and their momentum was overwhelming.

Before they could get close, Qin Feng shouted:

"Brothers, we can't hold on any longer—run!"

The 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion collapsed in a chaotic retreat, dragging down the 2nd and 3rd Companies. Only two machine gun teams from the security regiment were able to frantically fire at the Japanese, covering the 3rd Battalion's escape.

Seeing the defending troops routed, the Japanese battalion commander was overjoyed and ordered his attack group to pursue and kill the fleeing soldiers.

Although the two Browning medium machine guns swept away many Japanese soldiers, they could not change the overall trend of the war.

After the main force of the Third Battalion fled into the cotton field, the machine gun crew also abandoned their guns and ran away.

Escape is the priority; who would carry a 20-kilogram machine gun?

"A bunch of spendthrifts, those are all contribution points!"

This scene was witnessed by Zhao Yunwen. Although he was cursing fiercely, there was no anger in his eyes, and he even had a playful smile on his face.

Zhang Yi came to report:

"The brothers of the 109th Regiment have already disappeared into the depths of the cotton fields. A large number of Japanese soldiers are chasing after them and will soon enter the cotton fields."

The mortar corps is ready, and all of them have been replaced with incendiary shells.

Zhao Yunwen's smile vanished, and he coldly gave the order:

"Once all the Japanese devils have chased into the cotton fields, we'll open fire and set them ablaze! We're going to burn down their entire camp!"

Zhang Yi excitedly accepted the order and left. Zhao Yunwen continued to look at the cotton field, adjusted his posture, and prepared to enjoy the spectacular scene of roasting the Japanese devils. It was absolutely wonderful.

The Japanese soldiers of Watanabe's battalion were completely unaware of the danger. The Chinese had suffered a complete rout, abandoning their armor and weapons, and even throwing away their imported M1919 Browning machine guns.

A bunch of useless trash!

What's there to worry about?

The Japanese soldiers swarmed into the cotton field, but within minutes they were met with fierce resistance from more than a dozen machine guns, suffering heavy casualties.

The others had no choice but to lie prone in the cotton field and fire. Sure enough, the defending machine gunners ran away again, and the Japanese soldiers got up and gave chase.

Suddenly they heard the sound of artillery shells whistling through the air, and they were so frightened that they all lay down to avoid the shells.

At first, they didn't take it seriously. They thought that as long as they lay down, they could hide in the cotton fields and not many people would die.

A barrage of shells rained down from the sky, landing in the cotton field. The incendiary bombs quickly ignited the ripe cotton, and fires broke out everywhere.

Rows of incendiary bombs fell, setting fires everywhere. Dry cotton stalks ignited easily, not to mention the incendiary bombs that aided combustion.

The fire spread rapidly, and in a short time, flames engulfed the Japanese soldiers trapped inside, their screams echoing like wails from hell.

The air was filled with a strong, acrid smell that made people want to vomit.

Zhao Yunwen watched with great interest, and couldn't help but take a deep breath, praising:

"It smells so good!"

Zhang Yi, suppressing his discomfort, praised:

"The commander has quite the refined taste!"

"Wow!"

Zhang Yi felt a churning in his stomach and vomited all over the floor.

Zhao Yunwen said sarcastically:

"With your meager skills, you dare to boast about drinking the blood of the Japanese invaders—I despise you!"

Zhang Yi could only give a thumbs up. Commander Zhao was truly ruthless beyond belief. He was impressed!

The fire in the cotton field was still burning, and the smoke filled the sky. This fire not only burned away the invading Japanese invaders, but also gave the arrogant Ninth Division a warning.

How will the Japanese invaders launch a fierce counterattack? What ruthless schemes will Zhao Yunwen devise? Click to add to your bookshelf and follow the story as Commander Zhao fights his way through the Japanese invaders to protect our land!