Chapter 35: Recapture of Jingjiang (Part 1)

  Yue Weihan summoned several battalion commanders and deputy battalion commanders to discuss, but was immediately met with unanimous opposition.

  "Hey, Third Auntie, you can't go, if anyone should go it's me, Old Chi."

  "That's right." Niu Dageng also nodded in agreement, "I'll go too, anyway you can't go, Captain."

  Four deputy camps also nodded in agreement, to say that at the very beginning, these deputy camps were not very convinced of Yue Weihan in their hearts, especially Liao Yaoting and Huang Baicheng. The two could mix up to upper lieutenant colonel in the 36th Division and 87th Division, which was naturally a matter of course. Yue Weihan was so young, they didn't convince them.

  However, now they truly admire Yue Weihan. No kidding, to drive over a thousand defeated soldiers like ducks to the Yangtze River in the midst of heavy rain and severe winter is not an easy task. If it were them leading the troops, their men would have scattered all over the place. That's why they sincerely admire Yue Weihan.

  Cao Xinglong also advised: "Team leader, shouldn't this matter be reconsidered?"

  "Discuss?" Yue Weihan said, "Did I say I wanted to discuss it with you?"

  After saying this, Yue Weihan glared with his eyes and said sternly: "This is an order, I command..."

  Yue Wei Han's face sank, and several battalion commanders and deputy battalion commanders immediately dared not make another sound, quickly standing up straight.

  Yue Weihan pulled at his woolen military uniform and said coldly: "Cao Xinglong!"

  Cao Xinglong hastily stepped forward, stood up straight and said: "Yes."

  "Acting as the captain, organize the troops and prepare for crossing the river, just waiting for me to send a signal from the other side, and immediately cross the river."

  "Yes."

  "Chi Cheng Feng."

  "Yes."

  "Hand over the 2nd battalion to Deputy Liao, you come with me across the river."

  "Yes."

  "Hua Hanlin."

  "Yes."

  "You also crossed the river with me, and the guard company is temporarily commanded by Lieutenant Liu Xin."

  After saying this, Yue Weihan suddenly turned around and said to Liu Xin: "Captain Liu Xin, the guard company is now under your command."

  Liu Xinfang's heart was racing, she was a confidential secretary, when had she ever led troops? Just as she was about to make an excuse, she saw Yue Weihan's face suddenly turn gloomy, and she immediately felt a chill run down her spine. She hastily straightened up her chest and replied: "Yes."

  Yue Weihan then smiled silently and immediately said to Chi Chengfeng and Hua Hanlin, "Let's go, cross the river."

  Yue Wei Han took Chi Cheng Feng and Hua Hanlin away, Liu Xin pouted her small mouth to Cao Xing Long: "Brother, I won't be able to lead the troops, what can we do?"

  Last time at the Four Lines Warehouse, the two had already acknowledged each other as siblings. On this breakout journey, Cao Xinglong indeed treated Liu Xin like his own little sister and smiled: "Little sister, don't worry, just take care of your communications team, those kids from the Guard Company know what to do, hehe."

  "That's it, then I can rest assured." Liu Xin finally let out a sigh of relief.

  Yue Wei and Han found a fast boat and crossed the river in just over half an hour.

  The Yangtze River is wide, but the river surface in Jiangyin section is relatively narrow. Now it's also winter dry season, the narrowest point is less than a kilometer, so crossing the river is naturally faster.

  The ship had just docked and hadn't even stabilized when a loud rumbling sound of cannons came from the front.

  Chi Chengfeng listened for a moment and said: "The little devil's 81mm mortar, about ten miles away."

  "Telescope." Yue Weihan stretched out his hand and Hua Hanlin hastily took out the telescope from his bag and handed it over.

  Yu Weihan raised his binoculars and saw that the city of Jingjiang County in front of him had already risen with rolling black smoke, and it seemed that the devils' artillery fire had triggered a large fire.

  Chi Cheng-feng said: "Commander, it seems that the little devils are attacking the county seat of Jingjiang."

  Hua Hanlin also said: "The garrison in Jingjiang is the 668th Regiment of the Northeast Army. I don't know if they can hold on."

  "The 668th Regiment has collapsed." Yue Weihan put down his binoculars and said coldly, "The little devils have already fought their way past the county town."

  Chi Chengfeng disbelievingly said, "His grandma, this place is still separated from Jingjiang County by over ten li, the situation on that side can't be seen clearly at all, how do you know the 668th Regiment has collapsed?"

  "Listen! Your eyes can't see, you won't use your ears to listen?" Yue Weihan said this for a moment, and then said, "You hear the sound of the little devil's cannon, sometimes 'boom', sometimes 'boom boom', the rhythm is not right, this is free firing! If the 668th Regiment has not collapsed, it is still carrying out organized resistance, then the sound of the cannon should be 'boom boom boom', 'boom boom boom', only then is it correct."

  "His grandma." Chi Chengfeng scratched his head and said, "Team leader, now that you mention it, it seems to be true."

  "Let's go." Yue Weihan handed the telescope to Hua Hanlin, then pulled out a pistol and said, "Go take a look ahead."

  "No, Commander, this is too dangerous." Flower Hanlin hastily stopped him, "If the 668th Regiment has really collapsed, with just the three of us going wouldn't make a difference. Let's wait until the main force crosses the river before we do anything."

  "When the main force crosses the river, the Huanghuacai will be cold!" Yue Weihan said coldly, "Get out of the way."

  Hua Hanlin had no choice but to step aside, and Yue Weihan patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Don't worry, Hua, when has the General ever fought a battle he wasn't sure of winning?"

  "Tuan Zuo, are you sure?" asked Hua Hanlin incredulously, "But there are only three of us."

  "As we walk and talk." Yue Weihan said, turning around to leave. When Chi Chengfeng and Hua Hanlin caught up with him, he continued, "The regular army corps of the little devils have an artillery platoon or company in each infantry battalion, equipped with two to four Type 92 infantry guns. But that group of little devils up ahead only has an 81mm light mortar, so at most it's just an infantry battalion or a local defense battalion, and their combat effectiveness is quite ordinary."

  "His grandma's!" Chi Chengfeng spat out a thick wad of phlegm and cursed, "Those 668 troops are really useless, a whole regiment was actually defeated by a hundred or so little devils?"

  "These Northeastern people are really good at running away." Hua Hanlin said coldly, "From Fengtian to Rehe, from Rehe to Chahar, and then from Chahar to Suiyuan, which time didn't the Northeast Army run away with their tails between their legs when they saw the little devils? I heard that in Chengde, a dozen or so Japanese cavalrymen chased away an entire division of Northeastern cavalry. It's really infuriating."

  "Hanlin, shut up! There's a reason for that." Yue Weihan said coldly, "I'm telling you, the brothers of the Northeast Army are all good guys, they're all real men. The one who's really afraid of death and ran away is General Zhang!"

  As they spoke, the three of them had already reached the riverbank.

  About three or four miles away from the riverbank, there was a small stone bridge. As soon as the three of them reached the east end of the bridge, a group of Northeastern Army defeated soldiers rushed over from the opposite side in disarray. Yue Weihan stood with his legs apart in the middle of the bridge, raised his pistol case towards the sky and fired two shots. The defeated soldiers heard the gunfire and saw a senior colonel wearing a woolen military uniform blocking their way, and instinctively stopped in their tracks.

  Yue Weihan said with a menacing tone: "Which department are you from?"

  "Sir, we are from the 668 Regiment of the 112 Division." A Northeastern soldier, over two meters tall, gasped for breath and said anxiously, "The little devils have broken into Jingjiang County, our brothers can't hold on, let's run quickly!"

  "Where is your captain?" Yue Weihan asked sternly, "Where is your captain?"

  "We're done for." The big Northeasterner said in a fluster, "The little devils' first round of artillery fire took out our battalion headquarters. The battalion commander, deputy commander and chief of staff were all blown to death."

  Just then, another group of fleeing soldiers rushed over, led by a burly captain with his sleeves rolled up high. He kicked and shoved the soldiers blocking the bridge, and in no time at all he forced his way to Yue Weihan's side, still bellowing angrily: "You bunch of good-for-nothings, who told you to stop?"

  "I!" Yue Weihan coldly swept a glance at the lieutenant colonel and said sternly, "It was I who made them stop."

  "Who are you?" The lieutenant colonel glanced at Yue Weihan with a slanted eye, sneered and said, "What kind of monster are you? Get out of the way, don't block Grandpa's path, or I'll kill you!"

  Yue Weihan's pistol suddenly rose and fired at the captain's brow.

  With just a crisp crack, the lieutenant colonel of the Northeast Army fell to the ground, and the group of Northeastern soldiers next to him were immediately stunned.

  Yue Weihan flashed to the side of the bridge again, turned his head and roared at the fleeing soldiers: "Run? You'd better keep running! From Fengtian to Rehe, from Rehe to Chahar, and then from Chahar to Suiyuan, you've almost run across half of China. Are you tired? Are you annoyed? When do you want to stop running?"

  The Northeastern troops immediately hung their heads in shame, without resistance and abandoned the four provinces of the Northeast, which had become an indelible shadow in their hearts and would forever be a shame in their military careers.

  "Do you know what this means?" Yue Weihan raised his right thumb high, then suddenly turned it upside down, with the tip pointing downwards. "Bastards! You're all bastards! You're all seven-foot-tall men, but can't even protect your wives and children, can't even defend your hometown in Northeast China from being occupied by the Japanese. Do you still not know what shame is? Shame!"

  "Shame!!!" Yue Weihan's words pierced their hearts, "You are the shame of Chinese soldiers!"

  The northeastern fleeing soldiers all showed expressions of grief and indignation on their faces, but what Yue Weihan said was the truth, they had nothing to say in rebuttal.

  "Are you not ashamed?" Yue Weihan slapped the lieutenant platoon leader beside him to the ground with one palm, and then roared in anger, "Look at your bear-like appearance, do you still have the demeanor of a soldier? A first-class regiment of over 2,000 people was defeated by a Japanese infantry company of just over 100 men, and you still dare to escape? Why don't you go buy a block of tofu and knock yourself dead?"

  "What's in your hands?" Yue Weihan snatched a standard rifle from another fleeing soldier, looked up at the sky and roared with anger, "Guns! This is a standard rifle, not a firewood stick! What are you all still stunned for? Fix bayonets, kill those little Japanese devils who are eager to surrender, if they don't die today, you will!"

  "Crack!"

  Yu Wei Han shouted twice, "Good bayonet, bayonet good!" Then he held his rifle in his left hand and slapped the heads of the fleeing soldiers one by one with his right hand, shouting: "Good bayonet, bayonet good! Good bayonet, bayonet good..."

  "Come on, you bunch of cowards!" Chi Chengfeng snatched a rifle from someone and charged forward with Yue Weihan, bayonet fixed.

  Hua Hanlin followed closely behind, shouting loudly: "You northeastern guys, what are you still stunned for, kill!"

  "Kill!" The over two-meter-tall Northeastern big soldier suddenly let out a wild boar-like roar, immediately loading his bayonet and staring with bright red eyes, then chased after Hua Hanlin's butt. Soon, another two faces turned bright red, as if they were drunk, the Northeastern fleeing soldiers followed suit.

  ……

  P.S: Everyone, don't bother me for votes, no choice, some readers have poor memory, I won't ask him but he always forgets to vote, sweating...