Chapter 45: Burning the Boats

  Zhang Xun's proposal made Fang Zida feel embarrassed, and he looked at the mahjong tiles with a mixture of laughter and tears. He was about to refuse, but then swallowed his words and instead spoke vaguely about going back to discuss it. Zhang Xun didn't get angry, and smiled as he said "alright".

  "It's just this matter, haha, what do you think?" Back in the teacher's office, he told Zhao Hengru, Wang Xiaozong and Huang Kaiyuan who were waiting for news, Fang Zida couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Who would have thought that Wang Xiaozhuang, sitting on the other side, was first stunned and then nodded his head in agreement, agreeing to accept the terms of the literary wager and martial wager, and gamble with Zhang Xun.

  "Deputy Commander Fang, my 8th Division and the Braid Army have been fighting fiercely for several days. Although we still hold our position, many of our brothers at the front line have been injured or killed! Since there's a better way to resolve this, why must we risk our brothers' lives? Who isn't born to parents? Human life is as precious as heaven! I think this game of cards is not bad. It doesn't hurt harmony and doesn't resort to arms. We can solve the problem with just laughter and conversation over a game of cards. It's a win-win situation, why not do it?"

  Huang Kaiyuan also had this intention in mind, just wanting to echo Wang Xiaozhong's words, but as soon as he saw Fang Zida's face pulled long, he immediately changed the words that were about to come out of his mouth: "Yong Gong, isn't this a bit inappropriate? You and I are both revolutionary soldiers, deciding victory or defeat by gambling, is this not somewhat..."

  "What's so strange about it? Brother Baochang, this doesn't sound like something you'd say! The two armies have been competing in formation for ages, what's so unusual about it? Moreover, if we can resolve the current predicament without exerting ourselves, why not give it a try?" Wang Xiaozhong said disapprovingly.

  "What if I lose?" Huang Kaiyuan retorted.

  "Can the Eighth Route Army win for sure if we keep fighting like this? Moreover, even if we win this battle, I'm afraid there won't be many people left in the Eighth Route Army. The Beiyang government has always been eyeing Jiangsu and the Eighth Route Army, once the Eighth Route Army suffers a great loss, the consequences are predictable!"

  "You... you have no revolutionary spirit at all!" Huang Kaiyuan was extremely critical, with a very firm and resolute revolutionary demeanor. Except for himself knowing that he was speaking on behalf of Fang Zida, the others thought that Huang Kaiyuan's awareness had been heightened.

  "That's enough! What a racket you're making!" Zhao Heng, the teacher, scolded them with displeasure.

  "Right! This matter still has to be listened to by the seniors and Vice Master Fang. Master, you say something, what to do?" Huang Kaiyuan's eyes rolled around, letting Zhao Heng also speak.

  "This……" Zhao Heng seemed reluctant to speak, but whether it was Wang Xiaozong, Huang Kaiyuan or Fang Zida, they all cast their eyes on him. After all, he was the nominal commander of the Eighth Division, and his opinion on whether to agree to Zhang Xun's suggestion was extremely important.

  "This is a difficult situation!" Zhao Heng sighed and shook his head, "Brother Baochang said it well earlier. My 8th Division is made up of revolutionary soldiers from top to bottom, and the 8th Division is one of the strongest armies of the KMT, defending Jiangsu and protecting Nanjing is our responsibility. Although we have suffered heavy casualties in the recent battles, the morale of my officers and men remains high, and we are still fighting back against the enemy with all our might. But as they say, there's no battle without casualties, and I've seen many brothers fall in these past few days... thinking about the camaraderie we shared in the past, it really pains me to see this as their commander... sometimes I also think that if there was a better way to repel the enemy, that would be a good thing..."

  Zhao Heng beat around the bush for half a day, whether it was east or west, it didn't matter, he just spouted a bunch of nonsense. The people present all secretly cursed this old fox, who basically said nothing and had no ideas to offer.

  In the end, all eyes were on Fang Zidao, and this idea still had to be taken by Fang Zidao. Fang Zidao was so angry that he couldn't help but laugh, and after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to refuse Zhang Xun's "kindness".

  That night, Fang Zidao sent someone to deliver a letter to Zhang Xun, expressing his refusal to make a bet and that the 8th Division would fight Zhang Xun to the end. Upon receiving the letter, Zhang Xun was stunned at first, then became enraged and smashed his cup. He gnashed his teeth and scolded Fang Zidao for being shameless, daring to compete with him on the battlefield, and not putting his dignity as a general in his eyes.

  On the second day, Zhang Xun's troops changed their previous tactics and launched a fierce attack on the Eighth Division's position with concentrated artillery fire and elite soldiers. The attack was extremely intense, and by noon, the temporary 33rd Regiment had suffered heavy casualties. The Qing troops broke through three positions in succession, and both sides engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat, resulting in a river of blood.

  "Deputy commander Fang, frontline Commander Li urgently requests reinforcements!" The staff officer hastily reported. Fang Zida quickly inquired about the situation on the front line. After fighting for so many days, Li Shimao had never proactively requested reinforcements before. It seemed that he really couldn't hold on anymore.

  Fang Zidao immediately ordered Zhang Huafu's 30th Regiment to support the temporary 33rd Regiment in its retreat, while Li Jun's 29th Regiment assisted in cutting off the enemy's pursuit. The entire force withdrew into the second line of defense. At the same time, he ordered the artillery regiment to prepare for a counterattack. Several hours later, the battered temporary 33rd Regiment finally retreated, and the front-line position fell back into Zhang Xun's hands. Having learned a lesson from their previous defeat, Zhang Xun's troops did not launch a pursuit this time, but instead steadily occupied the position, gradually advancing their rear lines until the artillery was in place before continuing to attack the second line of defense.

  This was the most intense day of fighting since the start of the war. After Zhang Xun's troops occupied the first line of defense, they continued to attack, and the 29th and 30th regiments defending the second line of defense also suffered casualties. The battle lasted from dawn till dusk, and even after dark, Zhang Xun's queue army launched several more attacks before retreating.

  When the casualty report was handed over, Fang Zida's hands holding the report were slightly trembling. Today's casualties were more than the total of the previous few days, especially the temporary 33rd regiment which was almost annihilated, and even the 29th and 30th regiments had casualties numbering over a battalion.

  Such a heavy casualty, the Eighth Division can't afford it at all. If we fight another two battles like this, I'm afraid the entire Eighth Division will be empty-handed. At this time, Fang Zidao even regretted refusing Zhang Xun's suggestion of replacing fighting with gambling, perhaps one gamble would have decided the outcome and wouldn't have killed so many people.

  "Deputy Commander Fang, our Eighth Division has suffered such heavy casualties. Zhang Xun's forces on the other side won't be doing much better either." Seeing Fang Zidao's pale face, Huang Kaiyuan comforted him from the side.

  Fang Zidacheng's spirit was lifted, and Huang Kaiyuan was right. The Eighth Division suffered such heavy casualties; could Zhang Xun's queue army have escaped lightly? Although Zhang Xun's troops were extremely powerful in combat and better equipped than the Eighth Division, after all, the Eighth Division was on defense, while Zhang Xun was on offense. Even if they exchanged one for one, it would be difficult for Zhang Xun to withstand it. Calming down, Fang Zidacheng understood that this battle had to continue like this; he had to let Zhang Xun, the Beiyang Army, Yuan Shikai, Sun Wen's Revolutionary Party, and even the people of the whole country know the true strength of the Eighth Division. Only by truly defeating Zhang Xun on the battlefield, cutting off his hand that stretched into Jiangsu, would Song Jiaoren and the KMT be stable in their central position.

  Fang Zidong made emergency arrangements overnight, even deploying a battalion of the previously unused He Suo 32 to the second line of defense in preparation for another major battle tomorrow.

  As expected, at the time of sunrise, Zhang Yun's troops once again launched an attack on the Eighth Division's position. Like the previous day, this difficult day saw both sides fighting fiercely, with the position changing hands several times, and wounded or killed soldiers being carried to the rear one after another, leaving Fang Zidao feeling as if his heart was being cut by a knife.

  "Report! Battalion Commander Zhang of the 30th battalion is seriously injured, and there are signs of collapse at the front line!"

  "What! Zhang Huafu is seriously injured?! Quick! Let He Sui bring the 32nd Regiment to support us! Tell He Sui that he must hold the position, if we lose it, I'll take his head!" The report from the staff officer shocked Fang Zidong. In the continuous battles of recent days, several battalion and company-level officers of the 8th Division had been killed or wounded, but Zhang Huafu was the first regimental-level officer to be injured. It can be imagined how intense the fighting at the front line was. Helplessly, Fang Zidong hastily mobilized the remaining troops of the 32nd Regiment and gave He Sui a death order. If this defensive line is also lost, the 8th Division will only have the division's direct forces and cavalry regiment left. If it really gets to that point, Nanjing and the 8th Division will be in danger.

  Upon receiving the order, He Sui led the 32nd Regiment to rush over and desperately counterattack. With great difficulty, they managed to stabilize their position and hold onto the ground. By this point, nearly all of the Eighth Division's forces had been deployed into battle, barely withstanding Zhang Xun's frenzied assault.

  The long day has finally passed, the second line of defense is desolate, corpses are scattered all over the bloody puddles, even the mud has been dyed black and red.

  That night, the news of Zhang Hua's fatal injury spread to the division headquarters, adding a heavy burden to Fang Zidao's already anxious mood. This was the first regimental commander of the 8th Division to die in battle since the war began, and no one knew who would be next. Counting the remaining troops, Fang Zidao realized that he had few units left to commit to battle, and he even doubted whether the 8th Division could still hold off Zhang Xun's forces like it did today when the sun rose tomorrow.

  "Should we call back the 31st Regiment?" Wang Xiaozhong's hand holding the cigarette was also trembling, and he couldn't help but make a suggestion.

  "Impossible!" Fang Zida refused the proposal without hesitation. The importance of the 31st Regiment in Shanghai was no less than that in Nanjing, and even if they were to transfer the 31st Regiment from Shanghai to the north now, it would be too late.

  "What's going on tomorrow?" Huang Kaiyuan asked anxiously, everyone looked at each other in dismay, their eyes filled with helplessness and a hint of terror.

  "Fight! We must keep fighting, even if the 8th Division is wiped out!" Fang Zidah's eyes were red, like a gambler who had lost everything, he knew that at this moment, no matter what, they had to hold on. If they gave up now, not only would the 8th Division be finished, but so would he himself.

  "Pass on my orders! Have the cavalry regiment temporarily change to infantry, all officers, staff, military police, duty soldiers and logistics personnel of the division headquarters are ready, form a shock team, I will lead the team personally to prepare for tomorrow's battle!"

  Fang Zida was determined to break the cauldron and sink the boat, wanting to decide the outcome with Zhang Xun. Zhao Heng opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed and didn't say anything.

  Time passed day by day, and another day finally arrived. Fang Zidao, who had not closed his eyes for a whole night, was fully armed, holding a rifle in his hand, anxiously and nervously waiting for the arrival of a new battle. But who would have thought that just as the Eighth Division was ready to make a final stand, there was no movement on the enemy's position, eerily quiet.