Chapter 2: A Small Test of Cow Knife

  The night fell, and the battlefield of Songhu, which had been fiercely fighting for days, finally quieted down temporarily.

  The residents of Baoshan City had fled back to their hometowns half a month ago, and now the city was completely empty.

  Several torches were inserted obliquely on the city wall, and the faint firelight illuminated the surrounding city walls, making them vaguely visible. In the midst of the sound of boots hitting the ground, Yue Weihan followed Yao Changqing up to the east gate city tower, standing at the top overlooking the surroundings, only to see the officers and soldiers of Yao's camp tightly digging trenches outside the city wall, setting up open and hidden firepower points.

  "Zhong Shuo, what do you think of my deployment of city defense works?"

  Yao Changqing suddenly asked a question, and Yue Weihan, who was standing behind Yao Changqing, was stunned for a moment before reacting. It turned out that Yao was talking to him, and "Zhongxu" was actually Yue Weihan's courtesy name, which he had seen in a letter from home that his old father had entrusted someone to bring from their hometown in Zhejiang. The letter began with the words "Letter to my son Zhongxu".

  Yue Weihan doesn't know much about his current identity, but judging from the name, Yue Weihan should be a descendant of a prestigious family. The Yue family in Zhejiang's Fenghua is likely to be a local notable clan; otherwise, his old father wouldn't have given him such a name - Zhongxu Weihan, whose literal meaning is not ordinary!

  The Master said: The way of the Master is merely in two words: loyalty and consideration.

  With the two characters Wei and Han as his name, it's not hard to see the wish of Yue Weihan's old father, which is to hope that Yue Weihan can maintain the rule of the Han family with the way of the husband. If it weren't for the book fragrance door of the poetry and book transmission family, such a name would never be taken, but Yue Weihan now really doesn't have much thought to ponder these things.

  Upon seeing Yao Changqing's inquiry, Yue Weihan immediately responded: "The city defense works arranged by the superior officer can be said to be perfect. Whether it is the connection of trenches and individual soldier holes, or the combination of light and heavy firepower and open and secret fortifications, they are all exemplary. No matter which direction the little devils attack from, they will suffer a head-on blow from our army. The firepower points at each location can also form a dense crossfire network, leaving no shooting blind spots. In my humble opinion, even if it were the German instructors of the Central Military Academy, they might not be able to do better than the superior officer...

  Although the current Yue Weihan is not the original Yue Weihan and has never attended any Central Military Academy, as a military history enthusiast, he still has some basic knowledge of military theory. Therefore, responding to Yao Changqing's topic should be no problem at all. Moreover, as one of the transmigrators, Yue Weihan has read many summaries and analyses of the Battle of Shanghai by later military strategists, from the overall battle to the defense of Baoshan County, Yue Weihan understands more than Yao Changqing!

  "Oh?"

  Yao Changqing still had his hands behind his back, but a hint of confident smile floated on his face as he said, "Does Zhongxiao think that the city defense works I set up have any loopholes or defects?"

  "No." Yue Weihan shook his head and said solemnly, "The city defense works arranged by the superior are indeed watertight, but I think that deploying the whole camp outside the city to fight a field battle with the enemy is unwise.

  Yao Changqing's smile on his face hesitated for a moment, and then he said, "Tell me your reason."

  Yue Weihan said: "If the garrison has a division of troops, then indeed they should deploy outside the city and engage in a field battle with the enemy. If not, nearly 10,000 people will gather within the small city walls, and the enemy only needs to fire one round of artillery, the defending army will have nowhere to dodge and hide, and there will be many deaths and injuries, then in an instant the military heart will disperse, and the earth will collapse."

  Yao Changqing nodded slightly at his words, which was indeed true.

  Yue Weihan continued, "But if the garrison only has one regiment, then the situation is vastly different. At this time, if we abandon the solid city walls and fortifications to deploy troops outside the city, it's hard to avoid dispersing our forces, giving the enemy opportunities to attack us piecemeal. It's better to concentrate our forces within the city and engage in close combat with the enemy, thus avoiding the enemy's artillery fire, preserving ourselves, and at the same time inflicting greater casualties on the enemy."

  "Otherwise," Yao Changqing shook his head lightly, "Zhongxiao only knows the first but not the second. If we suddenly abandon the construction work outside the city, the Japanese enemy will take advantage of the situation and surround our army on all sides within the city walls. At that time, contact with the outside world will be completely cut off by the Japanese enemy. What's more worrying is that after our army retreats to the city wall, we will not be able to launch a counterattack head-on, so our army will only have the fate of being beaten passively."

  Commander, if our troops deploy outside the city, then each company's scattered infantry lines and painstakingly constructed firepower points will be directly exposed to the enemy planes, heavy artillery, and various light and heavy firepower strikes. I'm afraid they may not be able to play their due role.

  "I certainly know that." Yao Changqing pulled the hem of his military uniform and said solemnly, "But retreating to the city walls will also result in casualties from enemy planes and artillery, and as soldiers, our duty is to obey orders. Since our superiors have ordered us to defend the outer perimeter of Baoshan to the death, we cannot retreat an inch, and we must resolutely carry out this order without any compromise."

  "Sir, if we save the land but lose the people, then both the land and the people will be lost. But if we save the people but lose the land, then both the land and the people can still be preserved!"

  "If the land is lost and the people are preserved, then both the land and the people will be preserved; but if the people are lost and the land is preserved, then both the land and the people will be lost?" Yao Changqing savored these words for a moment, then turned to Yue Weihan and said, "You've worked hard all day, and it's getting late. You should hurry up and get some rest. Tomorrow will definitely be a fierce battle, and you'll need your strength. It's better to conserve your energy for now."

  Yue Weihan had no choice but to salute Yao Changqing and then turned around and left the city tower. If he said it three times, it would be dull and tasteless, and if he said it four times, he would have annoyed Yao Changqing. Fortunately, Bao Shan would not fall for another seven or eight days, so Yue Weihan still had time to persuade Yao Changqing. For now, the most important thing was to make preparations for tomorrow's fierce battle!

  …………

  The sky was faintly bright, and the busy Yao camp soldiers were having a meal and resting for most of the night, trying to recover their strength as much as possible to cope with the impending fierce battle.

  Camp commander Yao Changqing, however, had no appetite at all. At this time, he was facing the map in deep thought. Although Yao Changqing was only a small camp commander, as an officer from the Whampoa Military Academy, his vision would not be limited to just Baoshan County. While managing the defense of Baoshan City well, he was also concerned about the overall enemy situation on the Songhu Battlefront.

  Yue Weihan was busy flattening the bullet head and then scratching out a cross pattern on it.

  Although this thing is not a real dumpling in the true sense, its power is absolutely not to be underestimated.

  Several little warriors in the guard squad found it curious and gathered around, with a soldier plucking up the courage to ask: "Officer, what are you doing?"

  Yue Weihan waved the processed dumplings in his hand and said, "This thing can make those little devils suffer."

  The soldier asked again: "Officer, isn't this just an extra ten-character pattern? What other differences can there be?"

  "The difference will be big, wait till the little devils come and you'll know." Yue Weihan smiled faintly, without further explanation.

  Just as they were talking, a shrill whistling sound echoed through the sky. The veteran soldiers knew at once that it was the screeching sound of shells flying overhead, and the impact point was not far away. In an instant, some veterans jumped up and shouted loudly: "The devils have started shelling, quick, brothers, find a place to hide..."

  "Sir!" Yue Weihan also jumped up and said to Yao Changqing, "Quickly enter the underground cellar."

  Before the words were finished, a shell had already fallen into the courtyard and exploded with a loud noise. Two soldiers of the guard squad were immediately knocked to the ground by the huge air wave. The temporary command center in the big yard also shook violently for a moment, and a large amount of dust fell from the beams. Yao Changqing and Yue Weihan were suddenly covered in dust.

  "What's the panic!?" Yao Changqing glared at Yue Weihan with a cold gaze, then stretched out his hand to brush off the dust on his body, and hummed, "Have you forgotten what our ancestors' military strategy said? As an officer, one should be fearless in the face of danger and remain calm in the midst of change!"

  "Yes." Yue Weihan said with a blush, "Unafraid in the face of danger, unflappable in the midst of change."

  Yao Changqing pulled his uniform straight and walked down into the cellar with composure.

  The Japanese artillery preparation lasted for nearly half an hour, until the sky was completely bright, and the whistling sounds in the air and the explosions on the ground gradually became sparse. As soon as Yao Changqing returned to the command post on the ground, he immediately ordered each company at the front line to report their casualties immediately.

  The casualty situation of each company was quickly reported to the regimental headquarters by phone.

  The casualties among the troops in each row were not great, but the outer fortifications and light and heavy firepower points that had been painstakingly built overnight were almost flattened by the Japanese artillery fire. Yue Weihan was mentally prepared for this, and it only took one night to hastily build the earthworks. If they could withstand the Japanese artillery fire, it would be a miracle.

  To know that among the nine Japanese army main forces participating in the Battle of Shanghai, seven were the most elite regular divisions!

  The firepower configuration of those regular divisions of the Japanese army was far inferior to that of the German and Soviet armies, which emphasized artillery at the time. However, compared with the National Army, which severely lacked heavy artillery, it was much stronger! At that time, only the most elite Central Military Academy's Instructional Corps (division-level organization) had an artillery regiment, while other National Army units, even the most elite 87th and 88th Divisions, did not have artillery regiments.

  In addition, the Shanghai battlefield is close to the coastline, and the Japanese infantry can get fire support from the combined fleet's naval guns. To know that at that time, the little devil's navy was the third in the world, second only to Britain and the United States in terms of total tonnage, and even surpassing the Americans in terms of overall quality of naval officers and soldiers, second only to the British Empire!

  Moreover, the caliber of warship guns is generally over 150mm, and the main gun caliber is even more generally over 300mm!

  Such a giant warship's heavy artillery, if it were to take a direct hit, not to mention the hastily constructed earthworks, even the carefully constructed reinforced concrete fortifications could be easily destroyed!

  However, Yao Changqing was apparently unprepared for this psychologically, which is not surprising. After all, he was fighting the Japanese army head-on for the first time. Before that, Yao Changqing had faced either the Northern Warlord Army with scattered morale or the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army with poor equipment, similar to beggars. How could they have experienced such intense artillery fire?

  Yao Changqing could no longer sit still and immediately said to Yue Weihan: "Let's go, go to the front line observation post."

  Two men immediately brought the guard troops to the front observation post set up at the North Gate. Yao Changqing picked up the telescope and took a look outside, his face suddenly becoming extremely solemn. At this time, the Japanese artillery preparation had already ended, with only a small amount of curved fire still extending towards the Baoshan urban area. The Japanese army dispatched about two reinforced companies of infantry, under the guidance of two light tanks, simultaneously launching a probing attack on the outer defenses of the North Gate of Baoshan from the northwest and northeast directions.

  "Damn it! This little devil is too cunning!" Yao Changqing put down the binoculars and couldn't help but curse.

  Yue Weihan was silent, and the little devil was indeed cunning. The direction of the main attack was also very tricky. Because Yao Ying's defensive deployment was four infantry regiments averaging defense, each direction had a regiment, so when the Japanese army launched an attack from the northwest and northeast directions, it happened to hit the combined part of Yao Ying's various regimental defenses. If the two routes of the Japanese attack could penetrate deep, they would be able to form a pincer movement against the 4th Regiment outside the North Gate. Once the two Japanese armies merged, the 4th Regiment's retreat route would be cut off, and it would become an isolated army that had broken through the front lines, and being swallowed up by the Japanese army was inevitable!

  The little devil's troops had only two small teams of over a hundred people, but their firepower was significantly strengthened.

  The little devils' offensive was extremely fierce, and the scattered soldiers in the four consecutive positions and nearby trenches were basically unable to lift their heads under the firepower network woven by the Japanese light and heavy machine guns. When the fourth company and adjacent positions organized light and heavy firepower to implement counter-suppression, they would immediately be met with crazy retaliation from Japanese tanks and rocket launchers, especially the little devils' rocket launchers, which had a terrifying hit rate. The National Army's light and heavy machine gunners often couldn't even fire half a magazine before being taken out by the little devils' rocket launchers.

  The two mortars directly under Yao's command fired back desperately, but the firepower of just two mortars was too weak to suppress the enemy. The delay in the Japanese attack was extremely limited. The Japanese troops in the northwest advanced rapidly due to the favorable terrain and pushed forward 400-500 meters in less than half an hour, threatening to cut off the rear route of the Fourth Company.

  "Company Commander, quickly give the order to retreat! If not, the 4th Company will be annihilated!" Deputy Company Commander Zhao Dahai could no longer sit still.

  "It can't be withdrawn." Yao Changqing shook his head decisively, "If we withdraw at this critical moment, the troops will be scattered and the outer defenses will not be able to hold. Who knows, the Japanese might even take advantage of it and break into the city! The little devils would love for us to do that, but we can't fulfill their wishes, Yue Weihan!"

  "This time, Yue Weihan quickly reacted and stood up straight in front of Yao Changqing."

  "The little Japan's appetite is not small, relying on these two small teams to want to eat away my four rows?" Yao Changqing sneered coldly, then turned his head to Yue Weihan and said: "You bring the guard company to be responsible for protecting the flank of the fourth row. You must block the Japanese army in the northwest direction. Without my order, no one is allowed to retreat half a step, otherwise, military law will not tolerate!"

  "Yes!" Yue Weihan responded loudly, then turned his head and shouted to the soldiers in the guard squad behind him, "Guard squad, follow me up!"

  Yu Weihan had just led the guard company out of the city when the Japanese vanguard commander quickly adjusted his tactics. Before the guard company could build simple fortifications, bullets from the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun, Type 11 light machine gun (wāi bǎ zi) and tank-mounted flat-shooting machine guns came pouring in from the northwest like a gust of wind. Yu Weihan and more than 40 soldiers of the guard company were instantly pinned down in several large shell craters, barely able to lift their heads.

  What's more fatal is that the Baoshan City faces northwest, where there is a vast open space, and not even any cover for concealment can be found. The Japanese chose this direction as the breakthrough point, probably because they took advantage of the terrain here. In just a moment, the Japanese army advanced nearly 100 meters forward again, and the distance to the several large craters where the guard squad was hiding was less than 100 meters.

  The situation was critical, but Yue Weihan felt a numbness on his scalp, and his thinking almost came to a standstill.

  Although he graduated from university in his previous life and worked as a mercenary abroad for over a decade, the battles Yue Weihan had experienced were all low-intensity skirmishes on a small scale. This kind of high-intensity war was his first experience, so naturally, he needed time to adapt psychologically. However, the situation was critical, and there was no time for Yue Weihan to slowly adjust.

  Taking a deep breath, Yue Weihan made every effort to calm himself down and turned back to the guard squad leader Cao Xinglong behind him: "As soon as the enemy's machine gun in front stops, immediately organize firepower to suppress it, and then pass on the order. Each soldier will specifically target the Japanese machine gunner and grenadier, while the infantry will be dealt with by light and heavy machine guns. As for the little devil's tank, organize a dare-to-die team to blow it up!"

  "This is no good." Cao Xinglong hastily said, "But we are being suppressed by the Japanese army's firepower here, and can't even lift our heads."

  "Don't worry about this," Yue Weihan said, taking a deep breath. His entire mind suddenly became extremely focused, and with his keen sense of hearing, the Japanese army's firepower network woven from one Type 92 heavy machine gun and two light machine guns instantly formed a rough three-dimensional position map in Yue Weihan's mind. The tank machine gun that was firing most fiercely was estimated to have turned its head to suppress the machine gun fire on the front line of the Fourth Company.

  The next moment, Yue Weihan suddenly stood up, raised his hand and fired a shot, then pulled the bolt with lightning speed to fire two more shots.

  The three light and heavy machine guns on the Japanese army's position that were used to suppress the guard squad suddenly stopped working, and the guard squad's only one Maxim heavy machine gun and two Czech-style light machine guns took advantage of the situation to lift their heads and formed a firepower suppression against the Japanese infantry. The infantry quickly divided into two groups, one group rushed to repair the machine gun bunker, and the other group consisted of skilled shooters who specialized in shooting at the Japanese machine gunners and grenade throwers.

  The 98th Division was a central army of the direct system, except for the lack of heavy firepower, light weapons and individual soldier quality were completely not inferior to the regular divisions of the Japanese army. The guard platoon launched an attack, immediately forming a dense crossfire with the four-line position in front, and the Japanese army's offensive momentum in the northwest direction was severely frustrated, and the situation was temporarily stabilized.

  The Japanese army saw that the situation was unfavorable, and the Type 95 Ha-Go tank that had been leading the way immediately began to slowly turn its turret, and the coaxial machine gun in front of the turret also quickly turned its barrel, crazily sweeping the National Army's machine gun position which had not yet been repaired. However, relying on just one machine gun was clearly unable to suppress the National Army's machine gun fire, but the Japanese tank's 37mm main cannon posed a significant threat.

  Cao Xinglong immediately shouted: "Who will go and blow this iron tortoise to pieces for me? I'll reward you with 50 silver dollars!"

  "Give me fifty big oceans!? Father Sun, I'm going!" A Shaanxi-born coolie responded loudly and rushed towards the Japanese tank with a package.