Volume 1: Blood War in Shanghai Chapter 5: Rotten (Part 2)

  Hirano Ichiro nodded slightly and said: "So, how many troops do you think are left in the Chinese army within Pao Shan Castle?"

  Captain Kono replied, "Judging from the intensity of the Chinese army's firepower and the ferocity of their counterattack, their troop strength is at least no less than 200 people, and at most no more than 300 people!"

  "Less than three hundred people?" Hirano Ichiro thought for a moment, then asked again, "Kawano, if we launch a fierce attack at all costs, how many casualties will it take to wipe out the Chinese troops in the city?"

  "At least...” Captain Kawano muttered to himself for a moment before responding, “At least one more company will be lost!”

  "Hmph!" Ito Hiro flatly changed color and scolded, "Kawano-kun, don't you think that's a bit of an ominous remark?"

  Captain Kawano nodded and immediately said, "Sir, in the narrow alleys, most of the troops can't even deploy. Moreover, the Chinese army has already retreated to the core area of the main street. Even if the Imperial Army launches a strong attack with the entire regiment, only one or two small teams will be in direct contact with the Chinese army, and they won't be able to take advantage of their superior numbers."

  Hirano Ichiro disagreed: "The Imperial Army can use artillery to flatten the main streets of Pao Shan Cheng!"

  "Sir, the Chinese army has built a strong fortress group with several brick and stone buildings. Our small-caliber howitzers and grenade launchers can get close to the target, but they cannot pose a substantial threat to these fortifications. The large-caliber heavy artillery cannot enter the city, and firing from outside the city is restricted by the city walls, making it difficult to accurately hit the target."

  Commander Matsui suddenly said, "If the Imperial Army had large-scale engineering machinery, it would be possible to clear away the broken walls and parapets at the breach overnight, and then bring in heavy artillery. In that case, the Chinese army's fortifications wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, we don't have such large-scale engineering machinery, and manual clearing is unlikely to be accomplished in a short period of time."

  Hirano Ichiro's face twitched twice before he growled, "In that case, we have no choice but to use chemical weapons!"

  …………

  Inside Baoshan City, Yao Ying's Command Center.

  It was another silent and dark night, under the dim horse lamp, the medical soldier was cleaning Yao Changqing's wound.

  Yue Weihan and Cao Xinglong were like two javelins, straight and upright, stuck at the head of Yao Changqing's bed. Yao Changqing's injuries were severe, with a horizontal gash over half a foot long in his lower abdomen, but fortunately, it did not cut through his intestines. Otherwise, under the city's primitive medical conditions, it would have been impossible to save Yao Changqing's life.

  Yao Changqing looked very painful, but he endured it without making a sound.

  To divert Yao Changqing's attention, Yue Weihan said with a pretended ease: "Yao Zhang, the little devils' attack has been repelled by our brothers again. Under the current situation, we can definitely hold on for another half month. Just wait for the order from the superior to launch a counterattack, and we'll give those little devils a crushing blow, haha."

  Yue Weihan is of course talking nonsense, the decline of the Chinese army in the Battle of Shanghai is absolutely irreversible. Although the Japanese military's advance seems a bit slow, once they gain a foothold, it will be basically impossible for the National Army to retake the position. Therefore, the isolated defense of Bao Shan by Yao's troops will never wait for the National Army's counterattack!

  "Da Long just told me," Yao Changqing nodded slightly and said, "Zhong Shuo, you're not bad at this, better than me."

  "Ah, come on, look at what you're saying, how can I compare to you?" Yue Weihan humbly said, "I just took advantage of the little devils' arrogance and carelessness, and set a trap for them, hehe."

  Yao Changqing weakly waved his hand and said: "However, you can't be careless either. Be extremely careful about the little devils' night raid."

  Yue Weihan nodded and said, "The camp commander's reminder is right, but I have already set up several hidden sentry posts around the camp. If those little devils dare to sneak in at night, they will surely not return."

  "I'm relieved then." Yao Changqing seemed a bit tired and closed his eyes again after speaking.

  Yue Weihan and Cao Xinglong immediately withdrew from the room, and in the command post, they casually grabbed a few benches and lined them up to sleep disorderly. Just before dawn, Yue Weihan was suddenly awakened by the sharp whistling of artillery shells. Cao Xinglong, who was lying beside Yue Weihan, also sat up abruptly.

  "Huh, this sound is not right." Cao Xinglong listened for a moment, then said in confusion, "It seems to be the 92-style infantry gun firing a grenade, but it doesn't quite sound like it, strange..."

  As soon as Cao Xinglong's voice fell, a loud and stern voice suddenly came from outside the command post, like thunder: "He's gone mad, isn't he? How come all his shots are duds? What kind of nonsense is this?"

  Yue Weihan suddenly seemed to have realized something, and quickly sat up and rushed out of the door at the fastest speed. When he looked carefully, he saw that two shells had already fallen in the courtyard, with dark brown ** splashing out from the shell body. These ** quickly turned into light brown gas after splashing out, and then rapidly expanded in all directions...

  "What the hell is this crap?" A soldier stepped forward two steps curiously, trying to take a closer look.

  "Halt, don't go forward!" Yue Weihan was suddenly shocked and immediately shouted loudly, "This is the little devil's poisonous gas bomb! Everyone use a wet towel to cover their mouth and nose, at once!"

  "Cao Xinglong, tell the brothers to move into the tunnel immediately, and don't forget to block the entrance with a wet blanket!"

  "Chi Chengfeng, what the hell are you standing there for? This is mustard gas, highly toxic, inhaling this stuff will kill you!"

  Yue Weihan gave orders while quickly pouring water from a military canteen to wet the towel wrapped around his wrist, then swiftly covered his face with the damp towel. Only after doing so did Yue Weihan feel slightly at ease. Mustard gas is a vesicant poison that can be fatal even in small doses, but it decomposes into harmless chemical components when exposed to water.

  Yue Weihan's loud shout awakened the soldiers of the guard squad, and they immediately opened their canteens to wet their towels with clear water, then rushed to cover their faces. Unfortunately, two soldiers were too close to the poisonous gas bomb and reacted a bit slower. When Yue Weihan shouted to remind them, they had already inhaled excessive toxic gas and fell to the ground, starting to convulse.

  Chi Chengfeng had never received a poisonous gas bomb from the little devil, and he was still somewhat skeptical. But after seeing this scene, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, hastily covering his mouth and nose with a wet towel, then rushed into the backyard and hid in the tunnel. Although this guy was brave and fierce when killing enemies on the battlefield, like a black diamond, but when it came to escaping for his life, he didn't hesitate either.

  Yue Weihan rushed out of the command center like a bird in flight, charging towards the military camp near the big courtyard, but his heart was already hanging in suspense.

  The command post and the guard platoon were alerted in time by Yue Weihan, so there were not many casualties. However, the situation at other military camps might be less optimistic. After all, most of the National Army soldiers were illiterate and could hardly recognize a few Chinese characters. Unless they had previously suffered from Japanese toxic gas bombs, it was impossible for them to react correctly in time!

  At this moment, there was only one thought in Yue Weihan's mind: could this be the legendary butterfly effect?

  According to the war history records, it seems that the Little Devils did not use poison gas bombs in the battle for Bao Shan. Could it be that my arrival has changed history? At this moment, Yue Weihan could only pray in his heart, praying that the Little Devils' poison gas bombs would not hit too accurately, and if the other garrison compounds were also like the command center, directly falling into the courtyard, then trouble would be big!