As night fell, Regiment Commander Zhang, Battalion Commander Yu, Ouyang Feilong, and the brothers of the 3rd and 4th Battalions arrived at Tinglin Town.
"How's the construction of the fortifications going?" Commander Zhang asked Deputy Commander Han.”"Everything is ready," said Deputy Commander Han confidently."We're just waiting for the Japanese to attack.”"Very good!" Commander Zhang praised. Let's go take a look."
Regiment Commander Zhang walked in the trench that was taller than a person. He smiled and nodded at Regiment Commander Han beside him."Not bad! It was not easy for two battalions of soldiers to dig such a deep trench in just one day!”
" You are blocking the enemy at the front," Deputy Han said humbly." You may die at any time. How can we slack off at the rear?"”Regiment Commander Zhang ordered," Add a few more machine gunners to the first line of defense. In addition to rifles, everyone at the second line of defense should be equipped with a large sword. Be prepared for hand-to-hand combat at any time. Add more sentries at night to guard against the enemy's sneak attacks at night.”"Yes, Commander Han!"
Early in the morning of November 7th, 1937, the assembly horn sounded, and the officers and soldiers of the 367th Regiment lined up neatly to wait for Commander Zhang's inspection. Regiment Commander Zhang came to the front of the formation with a serious expression. Regiment Commander Han ran over and reported,""Regiment 367 has assembled. Please give us your orders!”"Get in line!" Commander Zhang said. "Yes!" said Deputy Han. He turned around and stood at the side.
"Brothers of Regiment 367, everyone has worked hard! From Zhangyan Town to Hougang Town, who made it difficult for the Japanese to move? It's our Xiang Army, all the officers and soldiers of the 367th Regiment of the 62nd Division. Our mission is to stop the Japanese army as much as possible and buy time for the evacuation of our allies and civilians. Life is precious. We don't have to fight to the death. We have to destroy the enemy while protecting ourselves. Of course, bullets on the battlefield are blind. We have to be mentally prepared. Even if we sacrifice ourselves, as long as we die for the country and the people, it's worth it. Today, our mission is to prevent the Japanese from crossing Tinglin Town. Tomorrow, we will follow the orders of the division headquarters and head to the Phoenix Mountain area to cover the safe evacuation of the friendly forces and refugees from Shanghai. The task was arduous and the mission was noble. We must not let down the trust and hope that the Party and the state have placed in us. The 1st and 2nd Battalions defended the first line of defense, while the 3rd and 4th Battalions defended the second line of defense. Everyone, split up!"
Gu Shoufu and his troops had a comfortable night's sleep in Hougang Town. On the morning of the 7th, they set off for Wangting Forest Town. Along the way, the wheels rolled and dust filled the sky. The Japanese infantrymen in yellow woolen uniforms sang military songs and walked briskly. They were intoxicated by the beautiful scenery of the foreign land and the pleasure of slaughtering the soldiers and civilians of China. They completely forgot the fear that they might die in a foreign land. Their minds were filled with the foolish loyalty to the emperor and the so-called fearless samurai spirit.
Shoufu Taniya and Mitsuya Ushishima each rode a horse and marched majestically in the middle of the team. Ushishima said truthfully,""Lieutenant General, to be honest, if we have the same weapons and equipment, our imperial army might not be able to defeat the Chinese army, don't you think so?”
Gu Shoufu said firmly,"You're right. The Chinese army is not so easy to deal with." We must make full use of our aircraft and artillery to inflict heavy losses on the enemy and then take advantage of the situation to destroy them. If everything goes well, we can take down Nanjing, their capital, and completely crush the resistance of the Chinese army and people. At that time, it will be our world, haha…"
"But, our Imperial Army headquarters has no plans to attack Nanking."”
"We'll take it one step at a time. We'll talk about it after we've eliminated the retreating Chinese army and ended the war in Shanghai.”Gu Shoufu explained.
Ushishima wanted to hear Shoufu Taniya's strategy for attacking Tinglin Town, so he continued,""Lieutenant General, the Chinese army has built strong fortifications in Tinglin Town. What should we do?”
Gu Shoufu said impatiently," I've already said it just now. We have to make use of our advantages and avoid our weaknesses to defeat the enemy. We have to use our brains in war!”
"Ha Yi!" he said obediently. Please give the commander of the 10th army, General Liu Chuan, a call and request the cooperation of the air force.”
Gu Shoufu smiled sinisterly." Okay, no problem. I was thinking of using our planes to blow up the Chinese army into a pile of meat paste. Let's see how they fight against our Japanese Imperial Army. Haha…"
After more than an hour, the Japanese army finally arrived at Tinglin Town, but they did not attack immediately. Instead, they set up camp and rested.
Regiment Commander Zhang Kongyi would personally go to the battlefield every time he fought, so all the soldiers in the regiment could bravely kill the enemy. Commander Zhang stood at the top of the trench and used binoculars to observe the enemy's situation. He found that the Japanese had reached the boundary of Tinglin Town, but they did not seem to have the intention of attacking immediately. He did not know what the enemy was up to. Commander Zhang quickly asked Deputy Han,""What do you mean by the Japanese not attacking?”
"I don't know either. Could it be that they are waiting for something?”Deputy Commander Han was also confused.
"Everything is ready except for the east wind!" Fei Long deliberately kept them in suspense.
"Stop keeping me in suspense. What exactly is the east wind?”Deputy Commander Han was getting impatient.
"Why did we withdraw from Hougang Town?”Fei Long had to remind him.
"We completed our mission, so of course we'll retreat!”Deputy Commander Han still didn't understand.
"There's another reason, something like a dragonfly.”Fei Long reminded.
When Deputy Commander Han heard this, he exchanged glances with Fei Long and smiled knowingly. They said in unison,""Airplane!"
Regiment Commander Zhang said with a serious face," Yes, the Japanese are waiting for the plane. They think that once the plane explodes, we will retreat automatically. This time, we have to crush the Japanese's plot and do a good job of hiding when the enemy bombs. After giving the order, the entire regiment went into hiding the moment they discovered enemy planes.”"Yes, Commander Han!" Then, he took big strides and prepared to go down to inform them.
"Wait a minute!" Regiment Commander Zhang seemed to have something to say, and Regiment Commander Han immediately stopped. Regiment Commander Zhang continued," Arrange for a few machine gunners to hide well and fire at the planes in the sky. We can't just passively wait to be bombed.”"Yes!" Deputy Commander Han replied crisply.”
The sky was clear and cloudless. Large black dragonflies were flying in the sky above Tinglin Town, blocking out the clouds. These " dragonflies " released " eggs " that floated down leisurely from the sky, and then rose into a cloud of black smoke. Tinglin Town was like a calm lake that suddenly became turbulent and was drowned by the fire and red waves.
The machine gunners hidden in the woods kept shooting at the enemy planes. The machine gunners on the enemy planes were also shooting at the ground. Instantly, the sounds of explosions and machine guns mixed together, forming a noisy music. Due to the enemy's high flying speed and distance from the ground, it was difficult to hit. The ground Machine Gunners would be easily exposed if they fired, so a few of the ground Machine Gunners were sacrificed one after another. However, the remaining Machine Gunners did not give up and continued to fire at the risk of death. Finally, it hit a plane at the end. The tail of the enemy plane that was hit was smoking. It lost control and crashed forward without a target. With a loud sound, it crashed.
The enemy finally finished laying its eggs and left proudly. The brothers of the 367th Regiment hiding in the trenches wanted to raise their heads. Commander Zhang saw this and shouted,"Don't move! The Japanese are about to start firing!" Therefore, everyone continued to hide in the trenches and endure. Deputy Han couldn't help but curse," F * cking Japanese! What other tricks do you have? Just use them! We'll be waiting!"”
The bombardment from the enemy planes and the bombardment from the mortars had left the exposed ground of Tinglin Town full of potholes. Those who did not know better would think that they were on the moon!
The Japanese infantry swarmed toward our position. Regiment Commander Zhang pushed aside the thick layer of soil buried in his body and fired a shot forward. He shouted,"Brothers, prepare for battle!" Machine Gunners and Snipers quickly entered their battle positions.
Although dozens of brothers had been killed by the bombing and mortar attacks, their basic combat effectiveness had not been affected. Some of the soldiers who had suffered minor injuries insisted on staying and fighting when they saw their regiment commander standing on the front line.
The enemy's frenzied attack did not succeed. After leaving behind a hundred corpses, they were forced to retreat. Our side had lost dozens of soldiers. War was a war of attrition. Both sides had casualties, but sometimes more and sometimes less. The Japanese army charged a few more times, but they were all killed by the brothers of the 367th Regiment.
It was already noon, and the battle had been suspended for lunch.
In the trenches on our side, Regiment Commander Han, Fei Long, Battalion Commander Yu, and Battalion Commander Xie each handed out a basket of steamed buns to their brothers. Everyone was chewing on the buns and talking and laughing. Battalion Commander Xie smiled and said,""The Japanese Imperial Army claimed to be invincible, but weren't they still defeated by our little Xiang Army?! What are they so arrogant about?" Battalion Commander Yu also said in a disdainful tone,""This is all the Japanese have. Bombs, artillery, infantry, charge. As long as we don't retreat, there's no battle we can't win!”
Deputy Han said worriedly," Everyone, don't be happy too early. In terms of strength, to be honest, we are indeed inferior to them. However, in terms of tenacious fighting spirit, we will definitely not lose to the Japanese. We don't have much ammunition left. We'll run out of ammunition if we resist the enemy's charge. It'll take a few days to get the ammunition from the higher-ups. I'm afraid we won't have enough time.”
Ouyang Feilong suggested," Without bullets, we can fight the Japanese with our bayonet. That would be fun!"”
Commander Zhang praised," Brother Fei Long, your courage is commendable. If the entire regiment had Fei Long's courage, would we still be afraid of the Japanese?" Brothers, after lunch, sharpen the bayonet. Those who have broadswords must carry them on their backs. Use bullets sparingly. If you can use the bayonet to eliminate the devils, you will never use bullets. In the afternoon, we will give the Japanese a hand-to-hand battle. Do you have the confidence?”The brothers shouted in unison,"Yes!”Commander Zhang nodded his head in satisfaction.
The cruel hand-to-hand battle had repelled the Japanese army's three attacks, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The afterglow of the setting sun was particularly dazzling on the mountain of corpses. It was already five or six o'clock in the afternoon. The heroic battle of the 367th Regiment made it difficult for the Japanese army to move. Commander Zhang thought that the task of stopping the enemy had been completed. He decisively issued the order to retreat and set off for the next stop, Phoenix Mountain, overnight.
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