Chapter 27: Sniping (Part 2) (Urgently Seeking Recommendation Tickets)

  Yue Weihan turned back to Liu Tiezhu and said: "Tiezhu, why haven't you left yet?"

  Liu Tiezhu stuck out his neck and said: "Barracks, I am your guard platoon leader, where you are, I am."

  Yue Weihan originally wanted to hurry Liu Tiezhu back, but seeing his determined expression, he gave up. Next to him, Hua Hanlin said: "Commander, what should we do now?"

  "Find a hidden location and hurry up with the construction of fortifications before dawn breaks."

  In less than half an hour, the three of them found a perfect sniping position on the other side of the hillock facing the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway. There was a mound with dense wormwood growing on it, and under the wormwood bushes were two depressions that could accommodate the snipers hiding in them. The two depressions were close to the edge of the mound, with an open view and good shooting range.

  Yue Weihan told Liu Tiezhu to go to a nearby village to gather dry rations and water, then come back after dark the next day.

  This sniper mission is a tough job, it's all about patience, in order to guard the target sometimes you have to squat for several days, if you don't prepare enough dry food and water beforehand, isn't that a joke?

  Then, Yue Weihan and Hua Hanlin began to camouflage the sniper point.

  Disguise is a technical job, but it's not difficult for Yue Weihan. In his previous life, he was a mercenary for over a decade and was a master of disguise. Whether in desert, jungle or hilly terrain, he could make fake look real, unless it was a top-notch scout, otherwise it would be hard to find any flaws.

  Disguise yourself well, the eastern sky has already faintly revealed a pale white color.

  Yue Weihan and Hua Hanlin carefully inspected the surroundings of the sniper's position several times, until they were certain that no traces had been left behind. The two then quietly slipped into the position and began their long and lonely vigil.

  …………

  Yue Weihan's judgment was very correct, and the one in front of him was indeed the temporary command post of Asaka Yasuhiko, the newly appointed commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army. Asaka Yasuhiko came from the Japanese imperial family and had a noble identity that could not be spoken of. The Asaka Palace was the palace number given to him by Emperor Hirohito. This little devil was one of the few professional soldiers in the Japanese imperial family.

  As the Japanese army's front line was rapidly advancing forward, the dispatch of the military command could also move forward at any time. Therefore, Chōshō Palace Torihiko did not set up his temporary command center inside Kunshan City, but instead set it up in a suitable open area next to the railway line, which ensured safety and convenience for advancement.

  A few days ago, the appointment order of the Japanese General Headquarters was just issued, and Chōshō-ji Yasuhiko formally took over from Matsui Iwane as the temporary commander-in-chief for the capture of Nanjing.

  Half an hour ago, Chōshō Palace's Kiyoshi received a telegram from Lieutenant General Tani Hisao, commander of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army. The 45th Infantry Brigade under the 6th Division had approached Nanjing City.

  The capital of China, Nanjing, has formally opened its arms to the Imperial Japanese Army.

  However, Asakayama Kōichi also faced not all uplifting news. Although the Imperial Japanese Army was invincible, it also faced many difficulties, with the biggest difficulty being a shortage of supplies and severe logistical shortages. While ammunition could be used sparingly, food shortages couldn't let the imperial soldiers starve, could they?

  Asaka Palace Komura said to the Shanghai Expeditionary Army Staff Officer Iinuma Mamoru Major General, "Iinuma, the grain stored in the Shanghai Concession has been depleted and it is impossible to transport military rations from home in a short period of time. Moreover, the imperial treasury is not affluent either. It seems that we can only order each division to procure food locally."

  "Your Highness," said General Inosuke Hanashiro with a frown, "if we do this, it will inevitably severely damage the image of the Imperial Army."

  Asaka-no-miya Kuniyoshi was not only of imperial descent but also had a claim to the throne, although he was not a shinnō (imperial prince), he was still denka.

  "Asuka no Miya said: 'Can't take care of that many things, can't let the Imperial Army's brave warriors fight on an empty stomach, right?'"

  "Your Highness, this would also be in serious conflict with the key points of the plan for attacking Nanjing that Lieutenant General Matsui has formulated. Shouldn't we first consult with Lieutenant General Matsui?"

  "What instructions?" said Chōshō no Miya Kiyoshi coldly. "What instructions? I am now the commander-in-chief of the attack on Nanjing!"

  "Roger that." Lieutenant General Iwane Matsui could only nod and bow, then turned around to pass on the orders to each division. To be honest, Lieutenant General Iwane Matsui did not agree with this approach, but as Prince Asaka said, he was now the commander of the attack on Nanjing, and everything went according to his words, and Iwane could only follow orders.

  …………

  The latent period is always so long and unbearable, but no matter how long and unbearable it is, it has to be endured.

  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, then rises again in the east after setting in the west, and before you know it, two days and nights have passed. The weather has also suddenly turned cold, with the temperature dropping by several degrees compared to two days ago. This person is lying in a sniper position, feeling as if he's lying in an ice cellar, so cold that he's shivering all over. Fortunately, there's a northwest wind, otherwise it would be easy to get exposed.

  Yue Weihan and Hua Hanlin lay quietly in their respective sniper positions, hardly moving for the past two days.

  Vision is the sniper's life, before the target appears, the sniper absolutely cannot over-consume precious vision, especially on such a cold day, long-term focus on observing the surrounding environment, it is easy to appear ghosting, if so, that would seriously affect the sniper's shooting accuracy.

  So Liu Tiejun temporarily acted as an observer for both of them.

  Time slowly passes in a suffocating silence.

  At that moment, Yue Weihan suddenly opened his eyes from meditation, and an inexplicable cold flame flashed in his eyes. Liu Tiezhu, who was lying beside Yue Weihan, seemed to have noticed something and quickly raised the binoculars in his hand. Because of the slightly larger movement, the dried grass camouflage covering their bodies also shook lightly.

  "It's happening!" Liu Tiezhu's extremely suppressed voice suddenly rang out, "The little devils are on the move!"

  Yue Weihan slightly moved his stiffened fingers and asked: "How many little devils?"

  "It's a huge formation!" Liu Tiezhu's voice was slightly trembling. "A huge array, led by an armored vehicle, followed by more than a dozen trucks, and many three-wheeled vehicles in between, with another armored vehicle in the middle, and on both sides of the road, there were many Japanese infantrymen running to keep up, and at the end, it's not just one armored vehicle!"

  "Zhùzi, what's wrong?" asked Huahanlin, who was lying nearby.

  "The devils have sent out many vanguard troops!" Liu Tiezhu swallowed hard, saying in a low voice, "Damn it, my eyes were blurry just now and I didn't see that the little devils' vanguard troops had already occupied all the high points on both sides of the main road within several hundred meters, and what's more, there are still devil soldiers moving towards even farther high points..."

  "Shh, be quiet!" Liu Tiezhu's words were cut off before he could finish, as Yue Weihan forcibly interrupted him.

  Liu Tiezhu's words that had almost reached his lips were suddenly swallowed back into his stomach, and he perked up his ears to listen. Sure enough, he heard a rustling sound of footsteps, and the sound was getting louder and clearer. Obviously, a group of Japanese soldiers were approaching the mound where they were hiding. Liu Tiezhu's heart began to beat wildly. Had they been discovered by the enemy?

  He glanced at Yue Weihan out of the corner of his eye again, only to find that the camp was still quietly lying on the ground.

  At this moment, Liu Tiezhu's heart also calmed down. Looking out through the binoculars again, he saw that a column of armored trains had slowly come from east to west on the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway. The high chimney on the locomotive head spewed out one stock after another of thick black smoke towards the sky, and then there was a loud whistle blowing.

  Soon, the huge ghost car team stopped at the intersection of the highway and the Shanghai-Nanjing railway. More than a hundred neatly dressed ghost infantrymen jumped down from more than a dozen cards and immediately stood in line like javelins on both sides of the intersection.

  In the blink of an eye, Liu Tiezhu's heart was suspended, because he saw that the doors of two armored vehicles opened at the same time, and more than a dozen Japanese officers quickly got out of the car and ran to the door of the last armored vehicle. As soon as the armored vehicle door opened, a Japanese officer first bent over and drilled out, then quickly turned his head and stood sideways.

  Liu Tiezhu's side, Yue Weihan's right eye suddenly narrowed, his right hand index finger had already quietly tightened the trigger.

  Almost at the same time, Hua Hanlin, who was also lying in ambush at another sniping position, had already cocked his rifle and was holding his breath.