Chapter Five: The All-Out War of Resistance Has Begun

  "Marshal, I don't know why you want to transfer my division away from Wanping City?" Liu Zhenfeng didn't know what Song Zheyuan was thinking, and two days before the start of the July 7th Incident, he transferred him away from Wanping City and had him garrisoned in Beiping City.

  "Little Liu, I know that a big battle is imminent. Your division is the elite of my 29th Army, and I must take this into consideration. After the war begins, you will naturally be sent to the battlefield."

  "But General!" "Stop arguing and execute the order." Liu Zhenfeng helplessly hung up the phone.

  Thus, on July 5th, Liu Zhenfeng led his troops out of Wanping City and headed to Beiping City. As they departed, he intentionally left behind the 2nd ×× Regiment in Wanping City to defend against the Japanese army's attack.

  July 7, 1937, is a day that everyone cannot forget. On this day, the North China Military Region of the Japanese Army used the excuse of losing soldiers during military exercises to request entry into Wanping City for inspection, and after being refused by my Twenty-Ninth Army, they suddenly launched the long-planned Lugou Bridge Incident, and the full-scale Anti-Japanese War broke out.

  "Order the 2nd ×× Regiment to encircle and attack the enemy from behind, deal a heavy blow to the enemy!" Liu Zhenfeng issued the first combat order after the start of the war. At the same time, he disregarded any orders from the military department and directly ordered each brigade and regiment to assemble.

  After the troops had assembled, Liu Zhenfeng began to deliver a passionate and stirring call to battle:

  "Brothers, the Japanese have been bullying us for too long. As early as 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, they destroyed our Beiyang Fleet and killed all the people in Lushun. They also occupied Taiwan by force. Later, during the rule of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government, they forced China to sign the Twenty-One Demands that would lead to our country's destruction. In 1927, they created the Jinan Massacre; in 1928, they killed Zhang Zuolin, a warlord in Northeast China, by bombing him. What's more, in 1931, they launched the September 18th Incident, which led to the loss of over one hundred million square meters of our land and left tens of millions of people homeless. We all know what happened after that - Japan has been step-by-step invading our territory. Do we still want to let them occupy our ancient capital city of Beiping? Do we still want to let them continue their military expansion on Chinese soil? Tell me, what should we do?"

  "Let's fight those little devils! Kill the damn thing!" The shouts rose up.

  "Right! We'd rather be Chinese ghosts than slaves to a lost country! Brothers, our entire army only needs iron and blood to fight the Japanese to the end, we will not compromise! I give you all a military order with just one word: 'Kill'!" Liu Zhenfeng looked around at everyone and continued: "Whenever we encounter the Japanese army, we must kill them, no prisoners will be taken! Can you all do that?"

  "We can do it! Kill, kill, kill~~~" The crowd below is outraged.

  "Now I assign the combat mission. Commander He Jianguo of the 109th Brigade, you lead your Second and Third Regiments to Miyun, from there encircle the Japanese army's rear, strike their transportation team, remember, guerrilla tactics, do not have too many casualties, after completing the task, immediately return to the Lugou Bridge defense line, help friendly forces fight. The Second Brigade goes to Langfang, must hold Langfang for a month, the Third Brigade goes to Wanping, joins the Sixth Regiment, blocks the enemy. The First Regiment follows me, the division commander, to strike the enemy's headquarters, stab them in the heart!"

  After all the subordinates were arranged, Liu Zhenfeng called over the head of the guard battalion: "Director Zhou, you take a few brothers to protect Xu journalist and stay in Beiping City! If anything happens to Xu journalist, you'll be held responsible!"

  "Sir, I guarantee we will complete our mission!"

  "No way, I'm going with your squad!" Xu Meiting pouted and said stubbornly.

  "Nonsense!" Liu Zhenfeng roared: "This isn't a drill, this is war! We're going to fight the devils with real knives and guns. What are you doing bringing a young girl like her to the front lines? I won't allow it!"

  "You... you're bullying me! You clearly agreed with me, and we even made a pact of three chapters!" Xu Meiting said tearfully.

  "No way, no matter what, I won't let you take risks, Director Zhou, take good care of Reporter Xu. If I find out she's gone to the front line, whether she's safe or not, I'll hold you responsible!" Liu Zhenfeng said sternly. After that, he led his troops to the front line.

  Liu Zhenfeng led his troops to launch a surprise attack overnight, heading towards the Japanese North China General Headquarters. Along the way, they encountered a small group of Japanese soldiers. My regiment is indeed the elite of our division, and it only took a few moves to take down these sons of bitches.

  On July 9th, they arrived at Chengde, the location of the Japanese North China General Headquarters. These little devils are actually hiding in the city, and it's not easy to attack them.

  "Director Qi, come here!" Liu Zhenfeng called Director Qi over.

  "Master, what are your orders?" Qi Liao Dong ran up in front of me.

  "Dispatch scouts and get me a reconnaissance of the Japanese command center. Dammit, this time even if we can't destroy his command system, we won't let him be at peace!"

  "Yes! Master!"

  After 2 hours, the scouts learned from comrades in the city that the Japanese North China Garrison Headquarters was located in the ××× area of the city. Liu Zhenfeng organized a team of brave soldiers to infiltrate the city and assassinate Lieutenant General Taida Kichirō, commander of the Japanese North China Garrison. However, they were soon discovered by the Japanese and had no choice but to retreat.

  This time, the Japanese North China Garrison Headquarters was attacked. Although it did not succeed, the blow to the Japanese North China Front Army was very great. The originally poor physical condition of the North China Garrison Commander, Tashiro Kawahara, received a fright after this incident and soon passed away on July 15th.

  Next, Japan used its usual tactics to engage in a war of attrition with the Chinese authorities in Rehe and Chahar, attempting to delay time through negotiations to give itself enough time to gather troops. This dangerous signal was unknown to others, but Liu Zhenfeng knew it clearly. Therefore, Liu Zhenfeng often dispatched several main force regiments from time to time to attack the Japanese army, but this small-scale skirmish did not have a significant effect.

  On July 28, after the Japanese army completed its mobilization of troops, it launched a general offensive towards Beiping and Tianjin. Liu Zhenfeng led his troops in a desperate resistance at Nanyuan, but unfortunately, the Japanese attack was too fierce, with planes in the sky and tanks on the ground. Our army felt like it was being beaten passively even though we were fighting with all our might!

  "Commander, the enemy's firepower is too intense, our brothers can't charge forward!" said Dai Feng, commander of ××× regiment, as he rushed to Liu Zhenfeng's side amidst the artillery fire.

  "Be careful and stay hidden, the enemy's artillery attack is very fierce now, we don't want to have a head-on collision with them!" Liu Zhenfeng said.

  "Commander, it's bad! Deputy Commander Tong has died for his country!" said Fang Lei, the deputy commander of the 3rd Regiment, as he ran over.

  "What!" Liu Zhenfeng exclaimed in shock. Although he knew from history textbooks that Tong Lin Ge was the first high-ranking general to sacrifice himself after China's full-scale war began, hearing the news suddenly made it impossible for him to accept. Liu Zhenfeng's rapid promotion was not only due to his military achievements but also because he had gained the appreciation of General Tong, who strongly recommended him, allowing him to rise from battalion commander to division commander in just one year. Now, with General Tong's death on the battlefield, it was a heartbreaking loss.

  "Brothers, fix bayonets! As soon as the enemy's artillery stops, let them come over and we'll engage in close combat. Remember, everyone must draw blood with their bayonet, even if it means dying to take down a few more of those little devils. We're avenging Deputy Tong's death! Remember, a sharp sword must see blood when drawn from its scabbard. Let's go all out against the little devils!" Liu Zhenfeng roared.

  It is said that Tong Jun, the deputy commander, died for his country, and everyone in the whole division was grief-stricken. Everyone's eyes were blazing with anger, and they couldn't wait to charge forward and engage in a fierce battle with the little devils.

  After the Japanese artillery bombardment ended, they paused for a moment before launching an attack. Looking at the little Japanese devils charging towards our position, Liu Zhenfeng shouted: "Brothers, the time to dedicate ourselves to the party and country has arrived, everyone follow me in a charge!" After finishing speaking, he was the first to raise his rifle with bayonet attached and charged out of the position. Next, the officers and soldiers of the 37th Division all charged towards the Japanese like fierce tigers descending a mountain, yelling loudly as they went. This batch of charging Japanese had at least an entire brigade, their officers and soldiers all raised their guns and stabbed fiercely into the bodies of the Japanese devils. Each soldier carried national hatred and family enmity, and when facing the enemy in battle they did not retreat one step, even if they were out of strength and only had their last breath left, they still used the bayonets in their hands to stab a few enemies to death. The entire battlefield was extremely brutal.

  Liu Zhenfeng held his gun, facing off against a Japanese lieutenant. "Come on, you son of a bitch, rabbit's bastard, let me show you who the ancestor of close combat is and how to wipe your bayonet." Liu Zhenfeng shouted at this Japanese lieutenant.

  "Hachi gura!" The Japanese lieutenant didn't understand what Liu Zhenfeng was shouting, but he knew it couldn't be good. He raised his Japanese command sword and slashed fiercely at Liu Zhenfeng.

  "My god, you're really playing for real!" Liu Zhenfeng exclaimed with wide eyes.

  With a loud crash, Liu Zhenfeng's gun and the Japanese lieutenant's sword clashed together. "I'll let you chop, I'll let you chop!" Liu Zhenfeng stepped forward step by step, each shot passing by, this Japanese lieutenant really had some ability, and was actually able to neutralize each one.

  "With a bang, the Japanese lieutenant's eyes widened and he spoke in stiff Chinese: "You're a sneaky Zhina ren! Too despicable, you actually shot from the shadows. You have violated the spirit of Bushido!" After finishing speaking, he died with great reluctance."

  Liu Zhenfeng spat on the corpse of the Japanese lieutenant and said disdainfully, "Fool, what kind of place is this? This is a battlefield. As long as we can win, no matter what means are used, it doesn't matter. You're talking about bushido spirit here with me, have you gone crazy?" After finishing speaking, he turned around and charged at the next enemy.

  By nightfall, they finally held their ground, but at this time, the military command issued a withdrawal order. Liu Zhenfeng looked at the withdrawal order in his hand with great frustration. To be honest, he didn't want to withdraw. He wanted to have a fierce battle with the Japanese. Withdrawing like this made him feel resentful!

  "Order the 109th Brigade to retreat and leave the 110th Brigade behind to continue resisting Japan!" Liu Zhenfeng issued what he thought was a withdrawal order.

  "Commander, the Military Department requires a full retreat. Are you sure about this?" Deputy Commander Feng Zhi'an said with concern.

  "We will fight to the end, if I die for the country, this division will be handed over to you. Remember, our division is the Wild Wolf Division, even if we are starving, we cannot eat dung, we must eat meat, and eat the flesh of the little Japanese!" Liu Zhenfeng ordered.

  "Master, I..." Feng Zhi'an didn't know what to say.

  "Old Feng, I know that since I became the commander of this division, I have been unfair to you. Originally, this division was yours, but Old Feng, you must understand that national crisis is at hand and national interests are above everything! However, although you are the deputy commander, to be honest, becoming the commander is only a matter of time. I hope that if I die for the country, you will take good care of the 37th Division!" Liu Zhenfeng said with deep feeling.

  "General, don't worry! I'll lead the 109th Brigade to retreat first, but you must also withdraw safely!" Feng Zhi'an said with tears in his eyes.

  "Alright!" Liu Zhenfeng patted his shoulder and said.

  That night, Feng Zhi'an led the 109th Brigade to retreat first, and I led the 110th Brigade to secretly enter Beiping City.

  On July 29, Japanese troops entered Beiping City, and Beiping fell. However, things didn't end that quickly.

  "With a loud crash, in a corner of the northwest part of Beiping City, the 110th Brigade began to attack the Japanese troops entering the city. Then, in every corner of the city, there were continuous gunshots. Liu Zhenfeng's task for the 110th Brigade was to engage in mobile warfare, hit and run, annihilate the enemy's effective strength while on the move, and last for about a week to ensure the withdrawal of friendly forces."

  "Everyone be careful, absolutely do not get stuck with the little Japanese devils. The current situation is that the enemy is strong and we are weak, we cannot fight them head-on, and Beiping has already fallen. Now we're just fighting a losing battle, do you understand?" Liu Zhenfeng gave orders to his subordinates.

  "Commander, the 210th Regiment has been discovered by the little devils and is now in fierce battle. Shall we provide reinforcements?" A communications soldier approached Liu Zhenfeng, asking if he should assist the 210th Regiment.

  "If Zhang Tuanzhang can't even solve these things, then he shouldn't be a Tuanzhang!" Liu Zhenfeng disagreed with going to rescue them, but this didn't mean he had any opinion about the regiment. The current situation was best suited for small-scale surprise attacks by individual companies rather than large-scale troop gatherings.

  Due to the scattered deployment of various regiments in the 110th Brigade, the Japanese army was unable to concentrate its forces for a decisive battle. As a result, they engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the Japanese in Beiping (Northern Peace) for as long as 10 days. Later, when the Japanese began to assemble their forces in Beiping and prepare to encircle the 110th Brigade, Liu Zhenfeng ordered all officers and men of the brigade to immediately withdraw from Beiping City.

  After withdrawing from Beiping, Liu Zhenfeng led the 110th Brigade to Baoding and merged with the 109th Brigade defending Baoding. Then, he ordered the entire division to spread out in a big net along the Pingjin line in units of regiments, conducting guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare, and maximizing the elimination of the enemy's effective strength.

  As a result, the entire North China Expeditionary Army of Japan was completely bogged down in the guerrilla warfare of the 37th Division, causing its entire army to slow down and unable to advance rapidly.

  In mid-August, after the August 13 Shanghai Incident, the Japanese army began to dispatch troops from North China and Northeast China to the Songhu Battlefront, and the main attack direction of the North China Japanese army also shifted to Shanxi, thus greatly reducing the pressure on the 29th Army.

  "Congratulations, General Liu. This is the appointment from the Commander-in-Chief: The 29th Army of the National Revolutionary Army has been upgraded to the First Army Group, with General Song Zheyuan as the commander of the First Army Group. Your 37th and 132nd Divisions have been merged and upgraded to the 77th Army, and you, General Liu, are now the commander of the 77th Army, with the rank of Lieutenant General. Your deputy, General Feng Zhi'an, has been appointed as the commander of the 59th Army, which was expanded from the original 38th Division." The chief of staff of the 29th Army said to Liu Zhenfeng with a smile.

  "It doesn't matter whether I'm a teacher or a soldier, as long as we can drive the little Japanese out of China, it's all the same!" Liu Zhenfeng also said with a smile.

  The Chief of Staff chatted with Liu Zhenfeng for a while and then said: "General Liu, the troops have been expanded, basically allowing you to have three divisions. Your division numbers are the 101st Division, the 102nd Division, and the 109th Division. Each division has a full strength of 15,000 people. That's all I have to say. I'll head back to headquarters first. You can report after determining your division commanders."

  After bidding farewell to the Chief of Staff, Liu Zhenfeng listed the names of division-level and above officers: The deputy commander hoped that General Zhang Zizhong would take over. However, due to his non-resistance in Northern Ping, he handed over Northern Ping to the Japanese, which made the people of North China mistakenly believe that it was a traitorous act, causing General Zhang Zizhong to almost commit suicide. The commander of the 101st Division was He Jikun, the commander of the 102nd Division was Wang Zhicai, and the commander of the 109th Division was Ji Xingwen.

  After Liu Zhenfeng reported the list, a document was quickly issued, appointing Zhang Zizhong as Deputy Commander of the 77th Army, Xu Zhongqiang as Chief of Staff of the 77th Army, He Jishan as Commander of the 101st Division of the 77th Army; Wang Zhibang as Commander of the 102nd Division of the 77th Army, and Ji Xingwen as Colonel and Commander of the 109th Division of the 77th Army.

  Liu Zhenfeng's division was transferred to the Zhengzhou area in September 1937, and at the same time, the Fifty-Ninth Army and Sixty-Eighth Army were also stationed near Zhengzhou.

  From the beginning of the anti-Japanese war, the plot is basically different from history. After all, it's a YY work, just using the anti-Japanese war as the background to carry out an iron-blooded battle. It's not written well, so I hope everyone can make do with reading it.