Chapter 68: Charge Out! Seeking Recommendation Tickets!

  "Charge! It's our troops!"

  "Reinforcements have arrived!" some of the warriors cried out in a choked and shrill voice.

  "Hurray! It's our Blue Sky with a White Sun flag!" Zhao De Sheng exclaimed loudly.

  "Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived, don't let a single little devil escape! Kill for me!" Zhang Xinghan felt himself filled with fighting spirit in an instant, and immediately gave the stern order.

  "Kill! Don't let a single little devil escape!" The warriors' shouts shook the sky, brandishing their weapons and charging at the devils who had already begun to retreat.

  "Rat-a-tat-a-tat……… Boom-boom-boom……." Reinforcements arrived quickly under the personal leadership of General Peng Shan, with General Peng leading the charge, sleeves rolled up high, holding a Czech-style light machine gun and firing bravely at the enemy crowd.

  Under the dense gunfire of the Eleventh Division, the unprepared devils fell to the ground in batches.

  The officers and soldiers took advantage of the momentum to launch a counterattack. The devil's company commander saw that the situation was not good, and hastily ordered his troops to retreat. However, more than 100 devils were quickly overwhelmed by thousands of national army personnel.

  Comrade Commander Peng Shan, holding a machine gun, arrived beside Zhang Xinghan, looked at Zhang Xinghan and the surviving soldiers behind him, and immediately stood up straight and saluted: "Peng Shan, commander of the 11th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, has been ordered to come and reinforce, brothers, you have worked hard!"

  Zhang Xinghan and the dozen or so surviving officers and men behind him, although already exhausted at this time, still managed to muster their spirits and stood at attention in unison, saluting with a loud "Protecting our land and resisting the enemy is our duty, no hardship!"

  "Good! Well said, you are indeed the elite of our country's military. As long as all Chinese soldiers have your spirit, those Japanese pirates are nothing to be afraid of!" Commander Peng was instantly filled with admiration upon hearing this, and the dozen or so defeated soldiers in front of him gave him a great shock, both in terms of their mental state and their aura.

  "Captain Zhang Xinghan of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 1st Division of the National Revolutionary Army's Training Corps loudly declared: 'On behalf of myself and all the soldiers under my command, I would like to express our gratitude to Officer Peng!'"

  "Ah, Commander Zhang, no need to be polite, we are all Chinese soldiers and should join hands to fight the enemy! The Battle of Xifengkou made your name known throughout the land, and I had heard of you before. Today, seeing you in person, you indeed have a majestic demeanor and an extraordinary bearing!" What Peng said was sincere, not to mention Zhang Xinghan's performance at Xifengkou, but just today's bloody battle at Gongda Sichang, with only one company's strength, they fiercely resisted a Japanese battalion, holding out for two days and two nights, causing significant casualties to the enemy. Although it didn't have a huge impact on the overall situation, it was enough to boost the morale of our troops and inspire the nation's determination to resist Japan.

  "Commander Peng is overpraising." Zhang Xinghan smiled humbly and immediately spoke seriously: "Commander Peng, the Japanese army has been besieging our troops for a long time and is already at its last gasp. Please order the troops to take advantage of the situation and launch a counterattack, expand the results, and retake the lost position."

  "Hmm! This is natural." Peng Shan nodded and immediately turned his head to the deputy officer behind him: "Deputy Li, pass on the order, the troops will continue to attack, and we must retake the position our army lost two days ago before nightfall."

  "Yes!" The deputy officer with the surname Li responded with a smile and immediately turned around and quickly left.

  After giving the order, Peng Shan turned around and said with concern: "Commander Zhang, the 1st Battalion has already withdrawn to Nanjing for reorganization and replenishment. The entire Instruction Corps will be expanded into the 1st Instruction Division. This time, the Military Commission urgently formed the 15th Army Group to reinforce the Songhu Battlefront. You can rest assured and go for a break now. You've worked hard, let us take care of the frontline battles."

  "Hmm!" Zhang Xinghan turned his head to look at the dozen or so subordinates who were left behind, nodded and said. He knew that even if these dozen people stayed on the battlefield, they wouldn't be of much use. Moreover, the officers and soldiers had been fighting with the devils for many days, and were already exhausted, now was the time when they urgently needed to rest and regroup.

  "However, I have a request for you!" Zhang Xinghan suddenly remembered something and hastily said.

  "Speak up! If Peng can do it, I'll definitely help." said Peng Shandao.

  "I'm afraid we've suffered heavy casualties in this battle, many of our brothers have fallen. After we retreat, please ask Officer Peng to help collect the bodies of our fallen brothers and let them rest in peace, so they won't be left exposed on the battlefield." Zhang Xinghan turned his head to look at the brutal battlefield behind him, with corpses scattered all over, and said with a gloomy face.

  "Zhang Lianchang, rest assured, this Peng will definitely get it done!" Peng Shan replied with a smile.

  "Thank you." Zhang Xinghan stood at attention and saluted with a loud "bang", then immediately turned his head and shouted: "Withdraw!"

  "Hmm!" Peng Shan also returned a courtesy, immediately stepped aside to make way, and said loudly: "Guard company, attention! Salute for the heroes' departure!"

  More than 100 National Army soldiers with live ammunition around "brush" suddenly snapped to attention and saluted, seeing off Zhang Xinghan and the officers and men of the company as they left.

  …………

  Coming down from the battlefield, Zhang Xinghan and his party stood out particularly, except for some civilians and students who voluntarily formed a stretcher team to shuttle back and forth, the rest of the National Army soldiers were all rushing forward to charge.

  After this battle, the entire company had only 17 soldiers left. Three platoon leaders Li Si Hai were killed in action, several artillerymen and grenadiers were all killed in action, eight of the nine squad leaders were killed, deputy company commander Zhou Wei, first platoon leader Sun Si Wei, second platoon leader Zhao De Sheng, company commander Zhang Xing Han and other officers and soldiers were injured to varying degrees.

  Zhang Xinghan and a dozen or so officers and soldiers supported each other, retreating northward one after another. In the south, the sound of cannons was loud, guns were shaking violently, and the fierce battle was in full swing.

  At the same time, the 68th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army's 3rd Division Headquarters.

  The 68th Infantry Regiment Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Takaoki Hagino, was furious and slapped the commander of the 2nd Battalion in the face. The 2nd Battalion had besieged the Gongda Cotton Mill for two days and nights but not only failed to annihilate the defenders, it also suffered heavy casualties itself, with over 500 Imperial soldiers killed or wounded, including more than 200 deaths.

  Finally, due to the timely arrival of the National Army reinforcements and their swift counterattack against the 3rd Division, the 2nd Infantry Battalion was also hastily deployed but ultimately outnumbered and forced to retreat.

  Takaashi Hayashi continuously hit the second infantry captain Inoue Shirō, making him shake his head left and right, repeatedly saying "hai" in a daze, before finally stopping the beating.

  "What the...! What a joke! A thousand Imperial warriors, and we can't even take down less than a hundred of those Chinese troops?! It's humiliating! Kurai, you're responsible for the impact this has on our morale!" Takaoki yelled furiously.

  "Hai! I am willing to accept any punishment from the Brigade Commander and Regimental Commander!" Sōrō Kurai responded loudly, bowing his head.

  Takaoki looked at Shiro Kurai, his old subordinate who had been following him for many years. The two were not only superior and subordinate but also fellow classmates from the Army Academy. He sighed and said: "Kurai, my Fifth Regiment's comprehensive defeat in this attack has alarmed the Division Commander. Five minutes ago, the Division Commander sent an urgent telegram to our unit, requiring us to retake the Kōdainoma Factory area at all costs and ultimately work with the Sixth Infantry Brigade to drive the Chinese out of the Wazuka and Rashon areas."

  Kawashima's words made Sōjirō Kurai break out in a cold sweat, and he hastily straightened his back, bowed his head and said: "Commander-in-Chief, please give me one more chance. I am willing to lead all the brave soldiers of the Imperial Army to launch a desperate attack on the Chinese army, vow to capture the Gongda Textile Mill at the cost of our lives, and make up for my mistake."

  "Ah!" Takashi Takaeda nodded in satisfaction and said, "Kurai, a tank squadron from the artillery battalion and the division's direct-affiliation armored regiment will be assigned to support your unit. Please don't let the Division Commander and Brigade Commander down again, I'm counting on you!"

  "Hai! General, please be at ease! I will definitely retake the Kowloon Walled City for the Empire and defeat the Chinese troops in front of us." Sōtarō Kurai bowed his head again, then turned around, buckled his sword and left with big strides.

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