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

The counterattack by the Security Corps confused even its own people, let alone the Japanese. They were the ones attacking, but the Chinese ended up attacking instead.

The commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment, Toshio Muraji, was in a daze, frantically seeking reinforcements, which infuriated him so much that he cursed:

"Baka yarou, hold the line!"

"Even without reinforcements, we'll die on the battlefield!"

"Useless, a bunch of useless trash!"

Major Hatano forced himself to persuade him:

"The Chinese offensive is too fierce; they have already crossed the river. For your safety, it is best to retreat!"

"You idiot, you're not a true warrior—"

"Boom boom boom..."

A volley of shells exploded around the area, only 300 meters from the regimental headquarters, shattering Toshio Muraji's last shred of defiance.

"Retreat!"

Although Toshio Murakami was stubborn, his actions spoke louder than anyone else's; he took off running.

The 22nd Infantry Regiment was inexplicably defeated. Although the number of troops lost was not significant, all of its supplies and heavy weapons were lost to the Security Regiment.

Lu Ping had not expected that the Japanese troops on the other side of the river were just a paper tiger, with a meager force of no more than 2000 men.

The main force of the 11th Division had long been transferred to the Luodian direction, leaving only an understrength 22nd Infantry Regiment.

The Japanese army's empty city ploy could not be hidden from Zhao Yunwen. He had sharp eyes and would not let the Japanese army's clever trick succeed.

The Security Corps' counterattack caught the 22nd Infantry Regiment off guard and relieved the pressure on the 21st Army Group on the northern front.

When the communications staff officer of the Security Regiment delivered the good news, no one in the command post could believe their ears. Wang Zanbing, the chief of staff of the 21st Group Army, frowned and said:

"General Zhao, this is not the time for jokes."

Liao Lei also stared at Zhao Yunwen with an unfriendly expression; he needed a reasonable explanation.

Zhao Yunwen smiled faintly and said:

"Chief of Staff Wang, there's no joking in the military. Do you think I'm such an unreliable person?!"

The troops on the north bank of Yunzaobang had long been withdrawn, but we were kept in the dark. This battle revealed the truth; the Japanese only had a maximum of two thousand men.

Liao Lei was overjoyed and asked with wide eyes:

"You mean the Japanese are using the 'empty city stratagem'?"

Zhao Yunwen said firmly:

"That's right. The Japanese forces north of Yunzaobang were already short-handed. When they realized they couldn't break through the 174th Division's defenses, they resorted to tricks and withdrew their main force."

Liao Lei suddenly realized that he really wanted to ask Zhao Yunwen how he knew, but he swallowed the words back.

Everyone has their own secrets. Since Zhao Yunwen didn't bring it up, asking him would be pointless; his emotional intelligence isn't that low.

The process wasn't important; he only cared about the result. He then asked:

"What are your plans for the next step?"

All good things must come to an end. With the Battle of Dachang nearing its end, Zhao Yunwen was already planning a retreat for the Security Corps.

He can't keep getting entangled with the 21st Army Group forever; otherwise, he might get swallowed up.

Of course, this couldn't be said to their faces; the reason had already been prepared:

"Commander Liao, our left flank cannot always be held back by the Japanese with a short knife. After the Security Corps defeats them, it should remain on the north bank to protect the flank of the 21st Army Group."

To avoid fighting on two fronts and reduce the defensive pressure on the army group.

Liao Lei nodded and said:

"Very good, I trust Brother Yunwen to do things right. The safety of the left wing can be entirely entrusted to the Security Corps."

Zhao Yunwen patted his chest and said:

"Commander, rest assured, with the Security Corps here, we will never allow a single Japanese soldier to get close to the Yunzaobang River."

The battle situation has become clear: the 21st Army Group will continue to hold Dachang, with the Security Regiment on the left and three Hunan Army divisions on the left and right, supporting each other.

The situation is significantly better than before. The defensive pressure on the 21st Group Army has been greatly reduced. Even if something unexpected happens, they can retreat calmly to the south of the Suzhou River.

Liao Lei is a shrewd person; he had already seen that Zhao Yunwen was going to part ways with the 21st Group Army.

When Zhao Yunwen proposed to go north of Yunzaobang to stabilize the situation, Liao Lei readily agreed, hoping for an amicable separation.

After Zhao Yunwen left, Wang Zanbing approached Liao Lei and said:

"Commander, it seems this kid is trying to run away?"

Liao Lei smiled meaningfully and said:

"With the battle raging to this point, there's no need for Zhao Yunwen to stay here any longer."

Brother Yunwen is a man of principle. He will continue to guard the left flank of the 21st Army Group until my troops retreat to the Suzhou River.

That's enough. Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately.

At the venue, Brother Yunwen helped us a lot.

Wang Zanbing said no more. He was actually very grateful to Zhao Yunwen, but as the chief of staff of the 21st Group Army, he really wanted to annex the Security Corps.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yunwen was as slippery as an eel, taking advantage of the counterattack to escape ahead of time. The 21st Army Group had no choice but to let the several thousand elite soldiers of the Security Corps pass north of Yunzaobang.

The fierce battle in Dachang continued, but it was no longer relevant to Zhao Yunwen.

Thanks to his efforts, although the 21st Group Army suffered heavy casualties, its main force was still intact, and it could hold out for a few more days.

The fear is that the Xiang Army will not be able to hold out and will suffer a crushing defeat. The Security Corps is carrying a large amount of heavy equipment and supplies, which is not a good thing.

After Zhao Yunwen led the regimental headquarters and the Fourth Battalion across the river, they quickly joined up with the main force at Liuxing Town. Lu Ping excitedly said:

"Commander-in-Chief, it's great to see you! I was worried they wouldn't release them!"

Zhao Yunwen waved his hand and said:

"No, they won't stop me once you've crossed the river safely."

"With over a thousand mouths to feed, including myself and the Fourth Battalion, Commander Liao can't possibly leave us to waste food!"

After hearing this, everyone laughed. With their leader back, everything was easy to talk about.

Now we got down to business. Lupin first reported on the battle situation after crossing the river:

"Commander-in-Chief, in the counterattack north of Yunzaobang, a total of 517 Japanese soldiers were killed, and 3 Type 41 mountain guns, 2 37mm rapid-fire guns, 2 Type 92 infantry guns, more than 300 rifles, and a certain amount of ammunition and supplies were captured."

The number of Japanese soldiers eliminated this time was not large, but the amount of supplies captured was substantial, especially food and ammunition, enough for a regiment to operate for a month.

Zhao Yunwen nodded and said:

"Very good, you've done a good job. For the next few days, all we need to do is hold Liuxing Town."

The Third Battalion advanced to Gucun, the First Regiment defended to the north, and the Fourth Battalion, the Artillery Battalion, and the Regimental Headquarters remained to garrison Liuxing Town.

Liuxing Town is located right between Dachang and Luodian, backed by the Hengli River. This was also the line of confrontation between the main force of the Nationalist army and the Japanese in the future.

Although Zhao Yunwen pinned his hopes on the Guangxi clique to persuade the Military Commission to withdraw troops ahead of schedule, he lacked confidence in Chiang Kai-shek, who was known for his one-man rule and had the most faith in his Western masters.

Therefore, he had to prepare for both possibilities, with the primary task being to protect the Security Corps.

Just as Zhao Yunwen finished adjusting his deployment, problems arose in Dachang. The Hunan Army, despite its best efforts, ultimately could not withstand the Japanese onslaught, and almost all three divisions were wiped out.

With the right flank breached, the 21st Army's flank was exposed to the advance of the 9th Division.

Subsequently, the 13th Division launched a frontal assault. The 171st and 173rd Divisions fought with all their might but could not stop the Japanese. They had no choice but to abandon Dachang and retreat south of Hengli River.

Inside the headquarters of the Security Corps, the atmosphere was unusually oppressive. Zhao Yunwen was briefing the troops on the current situation:

"In the central region, after the fall of Dachang, the Ninth Army abandoned key points such as Beizhan, Jiangwan, and Miaohang, and the main force retreated to the south of the Suzhou River, leaving only one battalion to defend Sihang Warehouse."

"On the northern front, Commander Chen's left-wing army organized defenses north and west of Jiading, Liuhe, and Nanxiang."

Zhang Xianghua's right-wing army on the southern front was positioned along the banks of Pudong, Fengxian, Nanhui, and Jinshanwei, and its forces were weak; its main force had been transferred to the Suzhou Creek.

"A unit of Japanese troops is advancing from east to west towards Liuxing Town. The Third Battalion is ordered to withdraw from Gucun and lie in wait."

The Security Corps has already broken out to the outside; to successfully retreat west of the Hengli River, we must defeat this reckless Japanese force!

Battalion Commander Zhang Yi was the first to express his opinion:

"The Japanese devils are really outrageous. They dare to drive straight in with only a few hundred men. We must kill them."

"Commander-in-Chief, just tell me how to fight!"

Others also volunteered, and morale was high.

Zhao Yunwen, who also wanted to give the Japanese a hard time, said loudly:

"The main Japanese force in the central region is busy taking over the city. I'm preparing to concentrate all my troops to annihilate the Japanese!"

The specific deployment is as follows...