Chapter 59

  Honzō Shigenobu learned through Tōyama Kanken's spy organization that Ri Jin didn't go to Beiping, and he said disappointedly to Ishihara Kanji: "Ishihara-san, your linked plan is still missing a link. The empire's greatest internal threat hasn't gone to Beiping! It seems we can't get rid of this man after all!"

  "Hahaha!" Ishihara Kanji burst out laughing, "Don't worry, General Honjō! My plan is foolproof! Even if he doesn't go to Beiping, after we capture Jinzhou, Zhang Xueliang won't let him off the hook either!"

  This was within Shi Yiyin's expectations, as Zhang Xueliang could not tolerate dissent. After Zhang Zuolin's assassination, the Japanese cleverly manipulated events and used Zhang Xueliang to eliminate Yang Yuting and Chang Yin-hai, who posed the greatest threat to them. Only then could the Japanese launch the "gamble" of the September 18 Incident.

  January 18, 1932, a massive Japanese fleet arrived at Liaodong Bay. History was quietly altered by Li Bin, and this fleet, which should not have appeared here at this time, emerged. However, history has a strong tendency to return to its original course, and after circling around, it will still return to its original place. The appearance of this fleet is to restore the lost history where China lost Jinzhou and Japan ultimately controlled the entire Northeast.

  In the command post, Li Bin suddenly heard someone shouting loudly: "Quickly look! What's coming over there on the sea surface?"

  Hearing the soldiers' shouts, Li Bin crawled out of the command post and stood on top of the command department to look far away at the sea surface, only to see several black dots appearing at the intersection of the sea and sky.

  Li Bin hastily picked up the high-powered binoculars and looked into the distance, and he couldn't help but take a cold breath: "Good guy! The fleet is here! The devil's fleet is here!"

  Let's not mention anything else, just talk about the sixteen 41cm main guns on two Nagato-class battleships, plus forty 14cm secondary guns. Such powerful firepower would likely turn the entire position into ashes in just two rounds of shelling. Not to mention, there are also many large and small guns on Kongō-class battlecruisers and destroyers!

  After putting down the telescope, Li Bin immediately rushed into the command center, grabbed the phone and ordered each grassroots unit: "Now all units listen to my orders! Prepare to abandon the Daling River defense line! All troops retreat in sequence! Fall back to Jinzhou City!"

  Upon hearing Li Bin's order, all the warriors felt perplexed and many of them stepped forward to ask:

  "Then why don't you fight?"

  "Yes! Why give up position without a fight?"

  "Let me stay and fight it out with those little devils of the Japanese!"

  Li Bin made a gesture to signal everyone to quiet down, then he explained: "In fact, our purpose of holding Jinzhou has two points: first, to hold back the devils and protect Ma Zhanshan in Heilongjiang! Second, to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy's living forces! Now we have achieved both points! At this time, the devil's fleet has also arrived! To avoid unnecessary losses, I have decided to abandon the Daling River defense line, and we will retreat back to Jinzhou City for the final defense!"

  Under Li Bin's strong order, all the warriors had to leave this iron defense line that was built with great effort and blood. Li Bin left behind a small number of troops who retreated last to confuse the enemy, while the rest of the army quietly withdrew to Jinzhou City.

  Half an hour after the last troops withdrew from the defense line, the Japanese army began a fierce artillery bombardment of the Daling River defense line.

  The first salvo of the two battleships, Nagato and Mutsu, was dazzling. The sixteen 410mm heavy guns roared in unison, spewing out huge fireballs with a diameter of over thirty meters. The shells whizzed through the air with an ear-piercing whistle, pouncing fiercely on the Dalinhe position. Various secondary guns also shot out orange and crimson fireballs, adding to the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers' various shells that poured down on the position like a fiery rain of stars.

  As the Japanese fleet launched its bombardment, wave after wave of carrier bombers took off from their aircraft carriers and dived towards the Taehwa River defense line.

  The troops that had withdrawn in advance were already more than 20 miles away from the defense line, but they still felt the shock of the entire earth. The soldiers turned their heads to look back, and saw that the position behind them was instantly engulfed in a sea of flames. The shells of the giant warship fell to the ground, and huge fireballs rose from the ground one after another, turning all kinds of impregnable fortifications into powder.

  A deafening explosion sounded for dozens of miles, and the violently shaking ground made it impossible for soldiers who had already left the defense line to stand firm. At this time, they truly witnessed the powerful strength of the Japanese fleet, and the soldiers couldn't help but secretly admire Li Bin's correct decision!

  At this time, another dull roar of an airplane engine came from the sky, and a row of black dots appeared on the distant horizon.

  "Watch out! Enemy planes are coming! Take cover! Don't get caught!" Li Bin yelled loudly.

  The warriors all found places to hide, some hiding in the forest, some hiding in snowdrifts, and some hiding in ditches. Before long, a dull rumbling sound passed overhead.

  All I saw in the sky was a sea of Japanese planes with red circles painted on them, and judging from their formation, there were at least over a hundred!

  These planes apparently did not discover the Chinese soldiers hiding on the ground, they flew to the Daling River position for a crazy bombing, and then returned to the aircraft carrier with pride.

  After the Japanese planes left, Li Bin ordered: "Quickly, all units speed up and return to Jinzhou City as soon as possible!"

  Returning to Jinzhou City, what Li Bin was thinking at this time was that he wanted to do his best to hold back the Japanese fleet. At this time, it was January 18th, 1392, and there were still ten days before the January 28 Incident would erupt in Shanghai! And at this time, Japan only had a total of four aircraft carriers, with Li Bin holding back three of them here! After the January 28 Incident broke out, Japan would be left with only one Akagi aircraft carrier available for use, which was one fewer regular aircraft carrier than in the original historical account of the January 28 Incident. This would greatly constrain Japanese military strength and alleviate pressure on the Nineteenth Route Army in Shanghai. In fact, it wasn't necessary to hold out until the 28th; holding out until the 26th would be enough, as the Japanese aircraft carriers wouldn't have time to rush to Shanghai.

  After arriving in Jinzhou, Li Bin first came to Huang Xiansheng's command post and said: "Commander! The Japanese battleships and aircraft carriers have arrived! To avoid major losses, I abandoned the Daling River position and retreated back to Jinzhou City! Jinzhou City is relatively far from the deep water area, can be used to avoid being bombarded by the Japanese naval fleet! Neither the Young Marshal nor the National Government can come to help us! Now we can only rely on ourselves!"

  Huang Xiansheng said: "I am willing to share weal and woe with Jinzhou! As long as the city exists, I exist; when the city is destroyed, I will perish!"

  "Commander! Absolutely not! You must take the Righteous and Brave Army out of the city! We must preserve this precious anti-Japanese force! Chiang Kai-shek has retreated, General Shao has lost heart to resist, He Yingqin is preparing to surrender! Now only our army and Ma Zanshan's army are left! Commander, you must keep this army safe! As for defending the city, let me leave behind 5,000 brave warriors to hold off the enemy!" Li Bin advised Huang Xiansheng.

  "No! Brother! You are the country's pillar of talent! If someone should sacrifice, it should be me!" Huang Xiansheng did not want to see Li Bin, this military genius, sacrificed in the city.

  "Commander! In alley battles, I'm an expert! You staying here would only be a waste of sacrifice. And if I stay behind, I can inflict maximum damage on the enemy and maybe even escape unscathed! Commander, it's settled then! Let me stay behind! If you don't allow it, I, Li Bin, am willing to die right here and now!" Li Bin said with sorrow and indignation. After finishing speaking, he pulled out his pistol and aimed at his own temple.

  "Alright! Young brother! I'll take the troops away! You must be extra careful!" Huang Xian said with a choked voice, looking at Li Bin.

  Soon, Li Bin made the final arrangement: "The infantry regiment of the Righteous and Brave Army and the cavalry regiment, as well as the armored car team and the armored train, will all withdraw! The armored car team will follow the armored train to withdraw into the pass, and the infantry and cavalry will withdraw in a northwesterly direction! The special forces, snipers, and sharpshooters will follow the infantry to withdraw, and I and my entire third infantry regiment will stay with me! We will turn Jinzhou City into a graveyard for the devils!"

  This infantry third brigade, in fact, is a team pulled over by Xiao Bo from Zhang Haitian's side, now also under Li Bin's management. An experienced and intelligent Xiao Bo is far superior to other tactics in street fighting.

  "Big brother, I won't retreat, I'll fight alongside you!" said Hong Biao.

  "We won't retreat either! We also want to stay! I want to avenge my brother!" Wu Congyu and some snipers were also unwilling to withdraw.

  "Fall in! I won't retreat! I can't watch you guys fight the devils while we ourselves become turtles with our heads shrunk in! Let us go up!"

  "What are you doing! You must know this is a military order! I command you to retreat! You must retreat!" Li Bin roared, "You armored soldiers, snipers and special forces, are the nation's treasures! There will be plenty of opportunities for you to kill devils in the future! Today you must pull out of here! With me and Xiao Bai here, it's enough! Xiao Bai is a clever person, they will protect me until I escape safely! Too many people staying behind would not be good!"

  Military orders are like mountains, Hong Biao, Huang Hua, Wu Congyu, Ma Liqiang and Fang Juntian had to follow Li Bin's command, bring the troops, protect some old people who did not want to stay in Jinzhou as slaves of a dead country, and withdraw from Jinzhou City together.

  Refugees formed a long queue, crowded on the highway and retreated towards Shanhai Pass.

  At this time, a Japanese reconnaissance plane flew over and saw the Chinese troops on the ground. The reconnaissance plane hastily called out: "A large number of Chinese are fleeing Jinzhou! Immediately dispatch naval aircraft for bombing!"

  Six Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane fighters came roaring in, followed by twelve Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty" bombers. The Japanese bombers, brazen to the extreme, dived down towards the ground with abandon, their bombs falling from the sky and exploding among the crowds on the ground.

  Boom! The ground rose with a burst of flames, shrapnel flying everywhere, and innocent civilians fell in pools of blood.

  Three carrier-based fighter jets dived towards the ground, spewing out trails of toxic flames, and metal rain-like bullets poured into the crowd, with fleeing civilians falling down after being hit.

  A five-year-old girl stood in front of her parents' corpses, crying loudly. At this moment, a Type 3 fighter plane dived down from the sky with a fierce howl. Just as the little girl was about to be hit by bullets, a Northeast Army soldier jumped out and pushed her away with one hand. The whizzing bullets hit the soldier instead, covering his body with blood holes.