Chapter 17: Tactical Genius (Part 2) (Early Rise Seeking Recommendation Votes)

  Inside the four-line warehouse corridor.

  Yue Weihan was escorted by Liu Tiezhu and the guard squad to the ground floor, where Chi Chengfeng was leading his brothers from the second company to throw out the bodies of the little devils. Seeing Yue Weihan, Chi Chengfeng immediately came up with a smile, saying: "This battle is really too enjoyable."

  "Is it satisfying?" Yue Weihan said with a sly smile, "The more satisfying part is yet to come."

  "His grandma, how can you be sure the little devils will only send up a small squad?" Chi Chengfeng suddenly asked again, "What if the little devils send up a company or even a battalion? If that's the case, things will get troublesome."

  "So I'm saying you're not using your brain," Yue Weihan scolded, "You've fought with the little devils many times before, can't you figure out their habits? When have you ever seen them launch a massive charge with an entire company or even battalion at once?"

  "Ah-ha! I remember now!" Chi Chengfeng slapped his forehead, "Now that you mention it, every time the little devils launched an attack, whether in Baoshan or in Weihaiwei, they would only deploy half a squad at first. What's the reason for this?"

  "Why?" Yue Weihan said coldly, "The little devils are doing this to explore the firepower configuration and troop deployment of our army at the smallest cost, to give their artillery a target for shooting, and then it will be a large-scale artillery coverage. First, they will turn our permanent fortifications and light and heavy firepower points upside down, and only then will they launch a large-scale infantry attack. From September 18th to August 13th, from the four eastern provinces to Songhu, this trick of the little devils has been tried and proven effective!"

  A soldier beside him suddenly said: "Battalion commander, does this mean those little devils are going to start shelling again?"

  Yue Weihan turned his head and looked at the soldier, seemingly smiling but actually asking: "What do you think?"

  Chi Chengfeng slapped the soldier's forehead with a loud slap, scolding: "You numbskull! Our firepower is set up inside the building, and the machine guns on the rooftop have already retreated to the sixth floor after finishing their job. How could those little devils possibly determine the coordinates for artillery fire? Without determining the coordinates, how can they launch an artillery attack?"

  "Company Commander, you hit me again." The soldier covered his head unhappily.

  "Uh..." Chi Chengfeng was suddenly at a loss for words, and then awkwardly said, "Sorry, sir."

  Yue Weihan couldn't help but shake his head and smile, then turned to Chi Chengfeng and said: "It seems you're not completely brainless after all. So tell me, what do you think the little devil will do next?"

  Chi Chengfeng rubbed his head, somewhat annoyed: "What's the big deal, we're not some kind of tapeworm in their belly, how are we supposed to know what they'll do next?"

  "Use your brain, you fool!" Yue Weihan scolded with a frown. "Suppose the little devil in front of you is under your command. Now that the initial attack has been repelled, you can't even figure out the enemy's firepower configuration or their specific troop deployment. If you were the commander, what would you do next?"

  Chi Chengfeng thought for a moment and suddenly said, "If I were the commander of those little devils, I would simply order them to disembowel themselves collectively, and that would be the end of it."

  Hahaha...

  Chi Chengfeng's words fell, and the soldiers in the lower hall suddenly burst into laughter. Yue Weihan could only smile wryly and shake his head. It seemed that teaching Chi Chengfeng to use his brain was as difficult as forcing Zhang Fei to learn embroidery.

  Among the laughter, Cao Xinglong suddenly said: "Commander, if I were the commander of the little devils, I wouldn't choose to continue the strong attack. After all, the lives of the little devils are also precious. Under the premise that we can't figure out the enemy's firepower configuration and troop deployment, sending a small team to launch a probing attack is just stupid."

  "Hmm." Yueshan nodded in approval and asked, "So what will you do then?"

  "Blow it up!" Cao Xinglong said resolutely, "Find a way to blow open the walls on both sides of the warehouse building, so that our firepower is completely exposed to the enemy's artillery... Ah..." As he spoke, Cao Xinglong suddenly took in a breath of cold air, and then his face lit up with excitement as he said, "I get it! I finally understand why the battalion commander had the shooting holes on both sides of the walls camouflaged. It turns out that the battalion commander had already anticipated that after the enemy's attack was repelled, they would send demolition experts to blow open the walls! The battalion commander is setting a trap for the enemy to fall into, haha!"

  "Great dragon, good style." Yue Weihan patted Cao Xinglong's shoulder with great approval and said, "Don't look at the little devils' rigorous training and fine equipment, their arrogance is even more fierce, but as long as you carefully analyze their tactics, you will definitely find their weaknesses, and defeating them won't be difficult."

  "Yes, let's set up camp!" Cao Xinglong exclaimed excitedly.

  …………

  Outside the four-line warehouse.

  Contrary to Yue Weihan's expectations, the Japanese commander changed tactics, first using grenade launchers to seal off the rooftops of the four warehouses, then concentrating four Type 92 heavy machine guns to desperately control the National Army's street barricades between the warehouses and the Suzhou River embankment, before more than a dozen demolition teams rushed up with explosive packs.

  "The little devil is coming again..."

  "Brothers of the National Army on the opposite side, the little devils are coming again!"

  "Be careful, Bao, you've got a little devil in your arms this time..."

  The crowd on the other side erupted in a frenzy of shouting and cheering, with gongs clanging and drums beating, while writing warnings on blackboards to alert the National Army brothers in the warehouse across the way about the movements of the little devils. But their worries were completely unnecessary, for before the little devils' dozen or so demolition teams had even approached within 50 meters, two rows of firing holes suddenly appeared on the west wall of the four-row warehouse, and over a dozen machine guns instantly protruded from the dark openings.

  In an instant, scorching bullets poured down on those dozen or so Japanese demolition teams like a splash of water.

  The ending was without any suspense, under the dense firepower of more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns of the National Army, more than a dozen Japanese explosive squads were all knocked down, nearly 40 little devils were all knocked down, seeing the little devils falling one after another, struggling and wailing in the blood pool, the crowd on the other side suddenly cheered again like a landslide.

  At this time, the sky gradually darkened, but the crowd gathered on the south bank of Suzhou River was reluctant to leave for a long time. Until the sky was completely dark, the citizens dispersed one after another. This night, Shanghai was sleepless. The heroic feat of the National Army's desperate resistance in the Sihang Warehouse and the killing of nearly 100 Japanese devils spread like wind throughout Shanghai.

  The next day, major newspapers such as Nanjing Central Daily, Shanghai Shun Pao, Minguo Daily and Damer Evening News reported or reprinted the heroic resistance of the Baoshan Garrison at the Sihang Warehouse. The Nanjing Central Daily even used Chairman Chiang's handwritten title "One inch of mountain and river, one inch of blood" as the headline on the front page. Even the London News Chronicle published an article saying: The achievements of Chinese troops in resisting Japanese troops in Shanghai are among the most courageous pages in the history of any country!

  In less than half a month, the Warehouse Four's War of Resistance swept across China like a whirlwind, and even overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and beyond were moved to donate money and materials, doing their utmost to support the motherland's resistance. At that time, the entire Chinese nation erupted with an unprecedented unity due to the Warehouse Four's War of Resistance!

  Of course, these are all afterwords. At this time, the Japanese military commander who was in charge of attacking the Sihang Warehouse, Shibasaki Keikō, was furious because the attack did not go smoothly.

  Wakisaka Jirō was the commander of the 36th Infantry Brigade in the Imperial Japanese Army's 9th Division.

  After the main force of the National Army retreated to the west of Shanghai, the main force of the Japanese army also quickly pursued it. The 36th Infantry Regiment was the only Japanese regiment left in Zhabei, and its purpose was to eliminate the Four Banks Warehouse, a thorn in the side!

  Matsui Ishizuka, this old devil is cruel, but his eyes are still good. He knows that if the nail of the Shihe Warehouse is not removed, the consequences will be severe. So, he ordered Shibata Shirō to take down the Shihe Warehouse at all costs, and even specially equipped the 36th Infantry Regiment with a Type 92 infantry gun company and an armored vehicle platoon.

  Wakisaka Jirō thought for a moment, then turned to his deputy commander Kita Isamu and said: "Kita, have you noticed that the Chinese army commander opposite us seems to be very familiar with the tactics of the Imperial Japanese Army? Unexpectedly, he built firepower points in the corridors, resulting in our vanguard squad being completely annihilated."

  Kitajima Kōshirō nodded in agreement, "Moreover, the Chinese army had already dug shooting holes on the west wall of the lower level, but they still camouflaged them. The Imperial Army's dozen or so demolition teams were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. It seems that the Chinese commander opposite us had anticipated that we would send demolition teams to blow up the walls."

  "Yes." Wakisaka Jirō sighed, "The commander of the Chinese army opposite us is a master strategist."

  "Colonel, the four warehouses are structurally sound and our infantry guns can't blast them open. The Chinese army is also very cunning. If the Imperial Army chooses to launch a full-scale attack, the casualties will be too great. Why not send a telegram to the division headquarters to request heavy artillery support? Or ask the naval aviation to drop some heavy bombs?"

  "It won't do." Isogai Jirō shook his head, "Kita Island doesn't know this, but the south bank of Suzhou River is a concession territory. If we request artillery support from the Heavy Artillery Regiment or bombing by the air force, it's inevitable that the concession will be mistakenly bombed, and it will definitely lead to international disputes. Our great Japanese Empire is powerful, but not enough to confront the entire Western world."

  Kitajima Kō thought for a moment and then said: "Colonel, why don't we launch a surprise attack under the cover of night?"

  "Bei Dao Jun, you just said it yourself, the commander of the enemy's vanguard is clearly a tactical genius. Do you think he would give us an opportunity to launch a sneak attack? It's possible that we'll fall into his trap again!" Saka Jiro said with a pause, "Against such an opponent, there's no room for clever tricks. We can only rely on absolute strength to crush him head-on! As soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, we'll lead the way with our tank squad, followed by infantry, starting from the warehouse basement and clearing out all remaining enemies who dare to resist!"