Chapter 49

  Originally, the Japanese army should have launched an attack on the Daling River on December 25, 1931, but it was delayed until January 8, 1932, when the Japanese army finally assembled on the opposite bank of the Daling River.

  The Japanese Second Division, 20th Division, 3rd Brigade, Mixed Eighth Brigade, Independent Mixed Thirty-ninth Brigade and Independent Mixed Thirty-eighth Brigade have assembled together.

  Ishiwara Kanji followed the group of high-ranking military officers led by Honjō Shigeru to the opposite bank of the Taoling River, and then personally took a few staff officers to the front line to observe the defensive fortifications of the Chinese garrison on the other side.

  "Hah!" Ishihara Kanji put down his binoculars and said to the several staff officers beside him, "Those cunning Chinese! They've set up their positions far away from the riverbank! This way, if our infantry guns and field artillery want to suppress them with pinpoint firing, they'll have to cross the river first! That Chinese commander is no ordinary person!"

  In fact, without saying anything else, just talking about the crisscrossing trenches, the staggered and well-placed defensive fortifications, and the layered firepower settings all made Ishihara Kaito feel a sense of respect for this opponent.

  Ishihara Kanji was known as the "brain of the Kwantung Army", so he was a very calm and wise figure, full of cunning and good at thinking things through.

  After the assembly of tens of thousands of Japanese troops was completed, a high-level military meeting was convened by the Japanese army. At the meeting, Hatazo Adachi finally announced that except for himself as the commander-in-chief, Sakagaki Seishiro would be the chief of staff, Ishiwara Kanji would serve as a staff officer, Tomeno Jiro would be in charge of artillery command tasks, and Okada Kikusaburo would be in charge of bomber command tasks.

  However, when it came to selecting infantry command tasks, those high-ranking Japanese Kwantung Army officers were like kicking a ball, and no one dared to take over this hot potato.

  "Hahaha! A bunch of cowards! Who would have thought that the supposedly elite Kwantung Army was actually intimidated by a group of untrained Chinese!" Someone burst out laughing in the meeting room.

  Honjō Shigeru turned around and saw that the one who was laughing loudly was Lieutenant General Kajiwara Takejiro, who had come from the Korean Peninsula.

  "General Kashima, please focus! I am the commander-in-chief here! Even a lieutenant general must follow my orders." General Honjo glared at Lieutenant General Kashima's shoulder badge and barked. It was worth noting that there were several lieutenant generals present, and this small major general didn't count for much in General Honjo's eyes.

  "Hahaha!" Katamura Tatsujirō also stared at the shoulder badge of Honjō Shigeru, "Respected Lieutenant General, if your Kantō Army can't handle the task of infantry attack, then let our Chosen Army do it instead!"

  Motomura Shigeru wanted to say something, but Ishihara Kanji preempted him by saying: "Honorable General Kajiwara, since no one in our Kantō Army is suitable for commanding the infantry attack, why don't you command it yourself?"

  "Good!" General Kashimura stood up and slammed his fist on the table, "Then let me take command of the infantry! If we can't capture Daling River within three days, I, Kashimura Daisaburou, will apologize with my death!"

  "No, Lieutenant General Kajiwara, it's better not to say that too early. Let's wait and see what happens after the attack starts." General Shinda Masane from Korea patted Kajiwara on the shoulder, hinting him not to speak too soon.

  The Kwantung Army and the Korean Garrison had some contradictions, and Ishiwara Kanji said such words to facilitate reporting to the Ministry of War after Lieutenant General Kawabe lost. Because Ishiwara had long looked down on Kawabe's impulsive personality and was extremely dissatisfied with his arrogance.

  Kazumura Tatsujirō was assigned the task of commanding infantry during the attack on the Taedong River.

  On the Japanese shore, Li Bin was also making his final preparations before the war. What he was worried about were those one thousand newly recruited soldiers, because of the urgency of time, these hot-blooded young men had not even fired a gun, and were hastily sent to the battlefield.

  Li Bin ordered the captured Type 38 rifles to be distributed among these new recruits, with each man receiving one rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition. In addition, they were also equipped with four hand grenades per person.

  The Type 38 rifle is accurate, with a long sighting baseline and easy to grasp. For new recruits, this gun is much easier to handle than the Type 13 or Hanyang rifles. Training was not possible, nor were there enough bullets for them to practice. So Li Bin could only teach them simply: "Three points in a line, pull the trigger and it's done. Remember, when aiming at the target, your hand mustn't shake, try to hold the gun steady. Fortunately, you are shooting from trenches, with the rifle mounted on the ground. Also, since you're new recruits, remember to get close to the enemy before firing!

  In addition, Li Bin also taught them the method of using hand grenades: "Adding an iron shell to the outside of the hand grenade can increase its lethality. After pulling the string of the hand grenade, it should be left in the hand for two to three seconds before throwing it out, so as to avoid the enemy picking it up and throwing it back, and also to make it explode just above the enemy's head after flying twenty-five to thirty meters, increasing the lethal effect."

  These new recruits, although not strong in combat, each had a passion for resistance burning in their hearts. They were all passionate young people. In fact, Li Bin could predict that the future Daling River campaign would be extremely cruel, and in the most brutal close-range shooting, all training and equipment factors would be offset by willpower and endurance. At close range, it didn't require accurate marksmanship, and these soldiers who were united against a common enemy would play an extremely important role in future battles.

  Li Bin also brought over Xiao Bo, Liu Linhua and 500 soldiers from "Old North Wind" Zhang Haitian's side. These people were all experienced old "beards", their combat effectiveness far exceeded that of new recruits, and they had a spirit of not being afraid to die. At the time, mixing these old soldiers among the new recruits could play a role in suppressing the enemy.

  In addition, Li Bin was also worried about the problem of detonating explosives buried under the ice layer. He was concerned that the Japanese artillery fire would destroy the electrical wires connecting the river to the detonator. As a result, the Japanese army had made sufficient preparations and expected a more intense firepower attack this time, and the telephone lines between his command center and various grassroots combat units were also likely to be cut off. Therefore, Li Bin came up with a method, in case the telephone line was cut off, to use smoke signals for communication, which could avoid the situation where the order could not be delivered to each grassroots combat unit after the transmission soldier was injured or killed. At the same time, in order to successfully detonate the explosives buried under the ice layer, Li Bin also ordered the organization of mobile howitzer groups to stand by at all times, and if the detonation wires were cut off, they would use artillery fire on the ice surface to detonate the explosive tubes and cause a violent explosion that would destroy the ice surface. At the same time, in order to prevent any unexpected situation, Li Bin arranged for a group of dare-to-die soldiers, and if the detonator and howitzer were unable to detonate, they would wait until nightfall and use the dare-to-die team to blow up the ice surface.

  History has been disrupted by Li Bin, and this time he is not likely to estimate like a god when the devils will launch an attack. What will happen next, Li Bin's heart is already uncertain.

  So, since the devils have been gathering on the opposite bank of the Daling River, Li Bin has been staying in the forward command post every day, not daring to take a step away.

  On January 10th at 6:00 in the morning, the devils finally launched a large-scale attack.

  The garrison's position was suddenly shaken by a deafening explosion, breaking the tranquility of dawn. After the explosion, the whistling sound of shells piercing the air could be heard. Those were heavy artillery shells flying faster than the speed of sound, and after landing, they immediately erupted into a cluster of orange flames.

  The shells fired by the Japanese army flew to the defender's position like a meteor shower, exploding into countless pillars of fire on the ground, and the shockwave swept the snow in the air, quickly turning into a storm of rain pouring down on the ground. The fresh morning air was soon replaced by the pungent smell of gunpowder.

  One by one, the shells fell to the ground and exploded, instantly leaving craters on the surface like those found in a lunar ring mountain. Some of the shells landed in trenches, burying them under the mud that was blown up. Others landed on carefully hidden individual bunkers, exploding and sending flames flashing, the entire bunker flying into the air, leaving only a deep crater resembling a skull on the ground.

  The warriors hiding in the underground tunnels heard the continuous explosions outside, and the whole earth was shaking. Every explosion caused dust to fall from the top and walls of the tunnel, covering the warriors' bodies with dust.

  Those old soldiers who had been through many battles were all right, but the thousand new recruits who had just been enlisted were all feeling extremely nervous and frightened.

  Wearing a Zhongxue military uniform and a woolen coat, Li Bin walked back and forth in the trenches to inspect. When he arrived at the new recruits' camp, he saw those new soldiers shivering all over, and with great confidence, he smiled and said to the soldiers: "Brothers! The devils and we are the same! Aren't they also carrying a head on two shoulders? When two armies meet, the brave win! Now let's see whose patriotism is stronger, ours or their samurai spirit!"

  After finishing, Li Bin led the singing, and under his infection, the entire tunnel responded with majestic and tragic sounds. Every soldier forgot their fear, adrenaline surged in their bodies, and hot blood boiled throughout.

  The ghost child's cost-free bombardment lasted for about an hour, making Lieutenant General Ka Village scold: "Damn it! The empire was originally short of steel, and now you're wasting artillery shells like this!"

  The second trench, battered by artillery fire, was filled with thick smoke. The flames had heated the frozen Da Ling River until it felt like a hot summer day. Amidst the drifting gunpowder smoke, a pile of dirt moved slightly.

  "Ptoo!" A man emerged from the earth pile, spitting out a mouthful of mud and sand. He ignored the pain all over his body and stuck his head out of the trench to take a look at the opposite bank.

  "Ah! The devils are launching an attack!" At a glance, a large group of devils wearing khaki uniforms on the opposite bank were walking step by step towards the frozen Daling River.

  The sentry pulled a string behind him, and immediately the sound of bells echoed through the trench. The soldiers who heard the sound also pulled other bells, and soon the entire trench was filled with the sound of clanging bells.

  "The Japanese are attacking! Everyone get ready to fight!" Li Bin shouted loudly.

  He was the first to emerge from the tunnel, braving the hail of bullets to walk into the command center, where he picked up a pair of binoculars and took a look at the enemy on the other side.

  After putting down the telescope, Li Bin cursed: "Damn it! This time they came so many at once! I reckon the whole independent brigade has rushed up!"

  Warriors emerged one after another from the trenches, rushing to their positions through the communication trenches. At this moment, the dull roar of bombers' engines sounded in the sky.