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

At five o'clock in the morning, a murderous aura lingered in the morning mist on both sides of the Yunzaobang Bridge, where a large army had gathered.

The counterattack of the 174th Division of the 21st Army Group was about to begin. Thousands of soldiers stood at attention, wearing British-style Tony helmets, gray cloth uniforms with knee-length shorts, and self-woven straw sandals. Only a few officers wore cloth shoes. When they set off from Guangxi Province, it was still the height of summer, but by the time they arrived in Shanghai, it was late autumn. Shorts were not enough to keep out the cold, and many of them had purple lips from the cold, but their eyes were as hard as steel.

When a war correspondent asked where the winter uniforms were, the soldiers simply replied: "We never thought we'd live to see winter."

Wearing a canvas belt around his waist, he carried 60 to 80 rounds of ammunition on two bullet belts, fewer than the 120 rounds carried by the Central Army; he held a Belgian FN1924 rifle, of which 5 were procured before the war; he also carried 2 to 4 wooden-handled grenades and a 50-centimeter bayonet on his waist, specializing in close combat.

The 21st Group Army's directly subordinate artillery regiment was a makeshift unit: 12 M1919 Schneider 75mm mountain guns from the main force of the 7th Army, plus 13 artillery pieces sold by Zhao Yunwen as spoils of war, totaling more than 20 guns. This was the only heavy firepower that the Guangxi Army could muster.

The Yunzaobang River stretches east to west, is 20 to 30 meters wide, and has a deep and slow current. The only ways to cross the river are the bridge and Zhanghuabang. In this battle, the main attack is on the bridge, while the 174th Division sends a regiment to feign an attack on Zhanghuabang to draw Japanese fire.

Commander Wei Yunsong of the 48th Army raised his wrist to check his watch, his fingertips trembling slightly with excitement, before he raised his arm and roared:

"fire!"

More than twenty cannons roared in unison, shells whistling as they crashed into the Japanese positions, instantly shattering the field fortifications. The firelight illuminated the morning mist, and the soldiers' blood boiled with righteous indignation. The 13 cannons that Zhao Yunwen had sold were now in full force, and using the Japanese cannons to bombard the Japanese was especially satisfying.

Before the artillery fire had ceased, the assault battalion leaped out to charge; hundreds of soldiers simultaneously carried wooden boats toward the riverbank, attempting to cross the Yunzaobang River. Japanese bullets rained down, and soldiers in the front ranks fell one after another, only to be immediately replaced by those behind them, advancing wave after wave, never retreating an inch.

The "Steel Seventh Army," invincible during the Northern Expedition, once again displayed its prowess on the battlefield of the National War. Charging into a hail of bullets, even when falling, they faced the enemy lines.

The Japanese opened fire with full force, while the Guangxi army's artillery bombarded relentlessly, instantly turning the battlefield into a fierce battle. Zhao Yunwen stood on a distant hill, his heart pounding in his chest—though he was pessimistic about the success of this counterattack, he still hoped the Guangxi army could cross the river. He had made up his mind: if the fierce fighting did not end before dawn, he would intervene to help, determined not to let the Japanese planes wreak havoc.

"I've taken over the skies of Yunzaobang!"

Zhao Yunwen exuded domineering aura, no longer caring about system contribution points, and was willing to pay any price.

The 174th Division launched a fierce offensive, suffering heavy casualties, yet still managed to reach the riverbank. Wooden boats were pushed into the icy water, and soldiers boarded them, rowing with all their might using entrenching tools. The boats moved slowly, and the Japanese army fired both light and heavy fire, with soldiers on board constantly being hit and falling into the water, their blood staining the river red.

On the road leading to the bridge, frail figures piled up one after another; the seriously wounded crawled laboriously through the mud until their last drop of blood was shed, becoming a national monument. Zhao Yunwen's eyes welled up with tears—they were all the backbone of the nation!

The Japanese army was desperate, and the Guangxi army's counterattack was like stirring up a hornet's nest. Reinforcements kept pouring in, tightly entangled in the 174th Division. Most of the wooden boats on the river were lost, and of those who managed to land, only three out of ten survived. The Japanese army surrounded and killed them with heavy forces, their gray-green uniforms swallowed up by the yellow-brown crowd.

Brigade Commander Xia Guozhang of the 522nd Brigade slammed his fist into a sandbag, breaking his knuckles—there weren't enough ferries, and reinforcements couldn't keep up; the first batch of soldiers to cross the river were outnumbered and all died heroically. His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and roared:

"Let's go again!"

Across the bridge, two Type 92 heavy machine guns formed a crossfire, creating an insurmountable line of fire between life and death. Corpses piled on the bridge, and the river was filled with the remains of fallen soldiers. The Japanese machine gunners' faces were contorted, resembling demons.

"Boom boom boom!"

A volley of mortar shells rained down, striking the left-wing machine gun position with pinpoint accuracy. The arrogant gunfire ceased abruptly, and the Japanese machine gunners were either killed or wounded. Xia Guozhang pumped his fist in wild joy:

"Well done! Bomb them to death!"

With one less heavy machine gun suppressing the enemy, the Japanese firepower was greatly reduced, and the assault troops charged onto the bridge again, advancing by clinging to the corpses of their comrades. The remaining Japanese machine guns continued to fire wildly, and the assault battalion was almost wiped out. Xia Guozhang immediately dispatched a reinforcement battalion, launching a desperate attack.

As dawn broke and visibility improved, time was running out for the 174th Division. The Guangxi Army was known for its bravery and tenacity; despite heavy casualties, they continued their desperate charge. Although the Japanese army had superior firepower and individual strength, its numbers were far inferior to those of the 174th Division.

One by one, the firing points were eliminated, and the Japanese army was overwhelmed, with the left flank defense collapsing first. Dozens of Guangxi soldiers jumped ashore, first throwing a volley of grenades, then charging with bayonets, firing from a distance and stabbing at close range. Some even detonated grenades to take the enemy down with them, tearing open a gap in the defense.

The soldiers on the south bank couldn't wait for the ferry and jumped directly into the icy river to swim and reinforce. The Guangxi army was skilled in mountain warfare but not accustomed to waterways, though many were good swimmers. They gritted their teeth and swam across the twenty-meter stretch of river. In this life-or-death situation, no one cared about contracting disease—they hadn't planned to live to see the sunrise.

The Japanese battalion commander hastily mobilized his last reserves, and hand-to-hand combat erupted once again. The soldiers who swam ashore were shivering with cold, yet they still charged at the Japanese, using bayonets, fists, and teeth, employing every means to fight for their lives.

The South Bank commander raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers, charge with me!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already leaped into the river, and his soldiers followed suit, some of whom, even those who couldn't swim, sank directly to the bottom. After the regimental commander reached the shore, he fired a burst of pistol shots, killing three Japanese soldiers. When the magazine was empty, he smashed his gun, picked up a Type 38 rifle, and continued fighting.

The reinforcements secured the beachhead, scattering the Japanese forces on the front, while the troops near the bridge broke through and surged onto the north bank. Seeing the defensive line breached, Xia Guozhang immediately ordered a general offensive: "The entire brigade must advance, fight to the death!"

"Finally, a breakthrough!"

Zhao Yunwen's anxiety subsided; the situation was improving. He immediately suggested to Liao Lei, commander of the 21st Army Group:

"Commander Liao, it's almost dawn. Japanese planes will arrive in two hours at most, and the main force of the 11th Division will also launch a counterattack. The troops that have crossed the river should withdraw while they are ahead, build defenses and repair fortifications on the spot, stabilize their position, and be wary of a Japanese counterattack."

The 174th Division broke through the defense line, and the morale of the Guangxi Army was greatly boosted. Everyone felt that the Japanese army was nothing special. If the Security Corps could defeat the 6th Brigade, how could the "Steel 7th Army" lag behind? The brigade commanders of each division volunteered to fight, wanting to go straight to Luodian and join forces with the 15th Army Group.

Liao Lei, persuaded by the generals, waved his hand and said:

"The energy can be inflated, but not deflated. Don't rush to contract it; let's observe first."