Chapter 22: The Eve of the Breakout (Part 1)

  Four hundred meters west of the warehouse, the Japanese army's Sakae Brigade headquarters.

  "General, we can't keep fighting like this. If we continue, the Fengtian Guard Brigade will be wiped out." The commander of the Fengtian Guard Brigade, Yu Zishan, was complaining to General Ekita Teitaro, after a day of fierce battle, his brigade had suffered heavy casualties, with over 300 dead or wounded, despite being protected by "native tanks".

  The total number of people in the Imperial Guard Brigade is only more than 4,000, and they lost more than 300 in one day. Yu Zishan was naturally furious.

  "Bah!" Deputy Commander Kitajima Takeshi flew into a rage, and slapped Yu Zishan in the face. "You're not allowed to complain!"

  Okasaka Jiro waved his hand and asked Yu Zhishan with a smile: "Yu, since you think this battle can't go on like this, what's your good suggestion?"

  "Your Excellency, I think we shouldn't use infantry to launch a strong attack, but instead use heavy artillery! Although the four warehouses are reinforced concrete buildings, they can't withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery. Alternatively, I request that the air force drop two heavy bombs, which would also be enough to level this six-story building!"

  "Hah!" Kitajima Takeshi said in anger, "If we could use heavy artillery or heavy bombs, would the Imperial Japanese Army have allowed the Chinese army to be so arrogant until now?"

  "General, let's dig a tunnel and blow it up!"

  "Dig a tunnel? Blast?" Sakai Jirō furrowed his brow, "You mean dig a tunnel to get past and blow up the building?"

  "Right, right, just dig a tunnel to get past them and then bury the explosives." Yu Zishan nodded repeatedly, "This way, the Imperial Army can annihilate the opposing branch of the Japanese army without expending any effort."

  "Hakka Yarou." Just as Yuzan thought his plan had succeeded, Kitaōji Takeshi suddenly flew into a rage, "Do you think we're geographical idiots? This area is an alluvial plain, almost all of it is permeable sandy soil, if you dig forward a few meters it will collapse, are you trying to get the Imperial Army killed?"

  "No, no, no, I didn't mean that," Yu Zishan hastily said. "It's true that there is quicksand here and it will collapse, but there is one place that absolutely won't collapse."

  "Oh?" Wakisaka Jirō furrowed his brow and said, "Where?"

  "It's just underneath the street!" Yu Zishan said, "There are steel and concrete supporting it from above, it absolutely won't collapse."

  Kitaōji Kiyohiko's expression changed slightly, but ōsaka Taisa shook his head and said: "No way, how long would it take to dig a tunnel? But the commander of our regiment has only given us three days. If we can't occupy the Yonhe warehouse within three days, I'll commit seppuku to apologize to the Emperor, and you, Usami, won't be able to live either, got it?"

  "Yes, yes, yes." Sweat suddenly broke out on Yu Zishan's forehead as he repeatedly said, "Tomorrow I will personally supervise the battle, and no matter what, we must capture the Fourth Line Warehouse."

  As soon as the words fell, a dense gunfire suddenly rang out outside the command post.

  "What's going on?" Kitajima Takeshi thundered, "Why are you firing guns?"

  A devil officer rushed in, loudly reporting: "Sir, it's not us, it's the Chinese army on the opposite side that is attacking. Several Chinese soldiers tried to cross the bridge and were driven back by our machine gun fire."

  "Oh, and there's this matter?" Wakisaka Jirō's expression changed slightly at the words.

  "Does the Chinese army want to run away with their tails between their legs?" Kitajima Takeshi frowned in puzzlement, "Colonel, we've been facing off against this Chinese army for some time now. The enemy is brave and stubborn, they're the cream of the crop among the Chinese military, and their commander is a formidable opponent who doesn't seem like the type to flee."

  "It's definitely not a retreat." Sugasawa Jirō muttered, "The Chinese army must have some ulterior motive."

  Kitajima Takeshi furrowed his brow and said, "What could be the intentions of the Kushana army?"

  The man beside Captain Sakai, Lieutenant Commander Yuki, suddenly spoke up: "Captain Sakai, Lieutenant Commander, the enemy troops across from us are firing cold shots. They have two purposes in doing this. One is to harass our Imperial Army and not let them rest well. The other is to disrupt the vision and hearing of our Imperial Army, thereby covering their secret actions."

  "Harassment? Secret maneuver?" Kitajima Takeshi suddenly became alert and said to Wakisaka Jirō, "Colonel, the Chinese army across from us has previously launched a surprise attack on the advance base of the 3rd Division, killing General Teng Tian. Later, they even disguised themselves as Imperial Army soldiers and broke through our lines with impunity. We can't underestimate them."

  "Hmm." Ibukiyama Jirō nodded in agreement, "Order each battalion and company to strengthen their vigilance. Each intersection must be guarded not only by sentries but also by hidden guards. Patrol teams must repeat their inspections 24 hours a day without interruption! To prevent Chinese soldiers from infiltrating, the password must be changed every two hours. Each guard post must also raise its alertness, and anyone who is unfamiliar will be detained."

  "Ah!" Kita-jima Takeshi and Yu Zhishan suddenly bowed their heads in unison, responding loudly, and then immediately went to carry out the order.

  …………

  Public Concession, 8th Route Army Office.

  Yang Shaocheng, who had just returned, repeatedly urged Zhao Xinyi: "Comrade Zhao Xinyi, this matter must be done quickly."

  "Don't worry, Secretary Yang," Zhao Xinyi said, "I'll go directly to the United Hospital later, and Uncle Ma will definitely help."

  Yang Shaocheng said: "After finishing over there, go directly to find Mr. Du, he will help send the oxygen cylinder over."

  "Hmm." Zhao Xinyi responded with a murmur, then suddenly asked, "Secretary Yang, did you see Colonel Yue at the Fourth Line warehouse?"

  Yang Shaosheng smiled and said: "I've been stuck in the warehouse for almost ten days, can't you see that?"

  Zhao Xinyi's beautiful eyes rolled around and asked: "Secretary Yang, what kind of person is that Commander Yue?"

  Yang Shaosheng smiled and looked at Zhao Xinyi, saying: "As for this Yue Weihan battalion commander, he is indeed dignified in appearance, tall and handsome, with high prestige among the officers and soldiers. The only drawback is that he often uses foul language."

  "Yue Weihan?" Zhao Xinyi's pretty face suddenly floated up with a hint of weirdness, "He's called Yue Weihan?"

  "What?" Yang Shaocheng asked in surprise, "Do you know Colonel Yue Weihan?"

  "Oh, no, I don't know him." Zhao Xinyi hastily shook her head and said, "I do know a rascal who is notorious for bullying men and women, and oppressing the local people. His name is Yue Weihan, but he's not a national army officer. However, his four brothers all joined the national army one after another, unfortunately, they all died in battle."

  "It's like that." Yang Shaocheng said, "Then hurry up and go to United Hospital."

  After Zhao Xinyi walked away, Yang Shaochen turned to another young man and said: "Xiao Zhou, you immediately send this tape recorder to Song Gongguan, Vice President Song is probably already waiting anxiously. Then take these negatives to the photo studio for development. After developing, mail them out along with these letters and dollars according to the addresses on them."

  …………

  The next night, a truck broke through the Japanese blockade again and forced its way across Xinzhao Bridge.

  Before the Japanese army sent infantry to intercept, the truck had already stopped outside the gate of the Fourth Warehouse. Immediately, the soldiers of the Baoshan Camp moved down a dozen large steel cylinders filled with oxygen from the carriage.

  In the lower hall, Yue Weihan grasped Yang Shaocheng's hands tightly: "Director Yang, thank you so much! This time you really helped us Baoshan Camp a lot."

  Yang Shaosheng smiled and said: "Commander Yue is being polite."

  "This is no courtesy," said Yue Weihan solemnly. "If our Baoshan camp can really break out this time, you, Director Yang, will be our greatest benefactor!"

  "Break through?" Yang Shaoceng said in surprise, "You want to use this oxygen to break through?"

  Yue Weihan didn't say much, and directly led Yang Shaosheng to the bunker hidden by sandbags in the southwest corner of the basement. Yang Shaosheng saw at a glance the dark entrance dug out on the ground, as well as the soldiers with bare chests and backs carrying basket after basket of mud from inside. Yang Shaosheng suddenly lost his voice: "Tunnel!?"

  Yu Wei Han smiled and said: "Not bad, genuine."

  "Alas." Yang Shaoceng's expression changed slightly, and he shook his head and sighed, "Commander Yue, this tunnel is too short to break through the Japanese army's blockade line. If it's too long, I'm afraid we won't have enough time. Moreover, the soil quality here is not suitable for digging tunnels, and as the distance increases, it's easy to have cave-ins."

  "Director Yang misunderstood." Yue Weihan smiled and waved his hand, "We're not going to dig a tunnel to escape directly, but just want to dig under the Japanese command center, then bury tens of thousands of pounds of explosives... boom! Hehe, as long as the little devils' commanders and their command system go up in smoke, we'll have a great chance to break out."

  "So that's how it is!" Yang Shaoceng suddenly realized.

  At this time, the warriors of the guard squad had already moved the oxygen cylinders in and were transporting them into the tunnel. Yue Weihan said again: "Originally, the tunnel was too stuffy, and the brothers were almost unable to hold on. Now that we have these oxygen cylinders, the speed of digging will definitely be greatly accelerated. I won't need a few more days, and I'll be able to dig under the Japanese army command post."

  ……

  By the way, just say a few words, it's not like a statement or anything.

  To be honest, the protagonist joining the Communist Party is inevitable. Perhaps everyone can't accept it emotionally, but when Sword Guest wrote this book, there was a red line, which is "major historical events related to the party" that cannot be changed. Therefore, joining the Communist Party is inevitable, otherwise this book would have been banned and Sword Guest would have gone to drink tea in a small black house.

  As for what happens after joining the Communist Party, whether it will be like everyone's worries, only staying in the Taihang Mountains to make small moves, this can be flexible. My framework currently only writes up to the end of the Wuhan Battle, and I haven't thought about the plot afterwards yet.

  However, some readers' opinions are very good, and I also tend to agree with this opinion. After the Battle of Wuhan, the protagonist secretly joins the party, but the troops do not change their flag. They first fight in the Taihang Mountains for a period of time, conveniently collecting and dealing with traitors like Shi Youyuan, tempering an elite army, and then, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, they march to expedition in India and Burma, and develop in Southeast Asia.

  As for what will happen after the Anti-Japanese War is over, this book does not say. This book ends with the end of the war against Japan.

  That's all, if some readers still feel unacceptable emotionally, then there is nothing that can be done.