Chapter 18: The Dangers of Taihu

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  "Yoshee, the Chinese resistance is fierce! Give me a good thrashing, a good thrashing!" Kuroda Nobuta shouted loudly.

  "Commander, shall we charge in?" A company commander came over to ask Lieutenant Colonel Kurozu.

  "No, no, no! It's pitch black now. If we charge in, the enemy will definitely open fire with their machine guns and our great Imperial soldiers will suffer losses. I'm ordering you to suppress them with firepower, give it to me hard!"

  "Hi!"

  On this side, Kuroda Noboru was fighting enthusiastically. On the other side, after hearing the intense gunfire, the commander of the 10th Division's Watanabe Brigade, Watanabe Yoshio, shouted to his soldiers: "Our Imperial warriors, let the Chinese know how foolish it is to engage in a decisive battle with our Imperial heroes! Open fire in the direction of the dense gunfire, and bombard them heavily, killing these Chinese!"

  "Boom, boom, boom!" Shell after shell fell on the position of Kurose's unit. Kurose was shocked, "Hachi! The Chinese dare to fire at our Empire's brave warriors? Someone, come and return fire for me, return fire!"

  Hidetada Iida listened to the intense battle sounds, and his heart was filled with unspeakable joy. The besieged Chinese army could be said to be fighting like a cornered beast, desperately trying to break through the encirclement. Iida also knew that the Imperial Japanese Army surrounding this group of Chinese troops had concentrated most of the Guards Division's strength as well as three infantry regiments from the 10th Division, holding an absolute advantage in terms of troop numbers. The annihilation of this Chinese army was only a matter of time.

  "Give the order! Give me uninterrupted artillery fire, launch a general attack at dawn, and annihilate these damned Chinese in this village!" Hida issued his combat orders.

  "Take that, you bastards!" Kuroda Nobutaka yelled wildly. The machine gunner beside him was firing wildly into the village, the "Rat-a-tat" of the guns echoing through the cold winter air of Jiangnan.

  "Charge! These ignorant Chinese, their resistance is so fierce, let them know the power of my great self, Wada Taichō. Give me a machine gun and I'll show them who's boss, kill them all!"

  Both sides shot at each other and bombarded each other until dawn.

  "Attention, everyone! Charge for me and thoroughly eliminate these Chinese soldiers!" Kuroda Shinoda looked at the night battle and saw that many of his soldiers had fallen beside him. How could he not feel heartbroken? So as soon as dawn broke, he decided to take back the field, no matter what the cost, and kill all the resisting Chinese soldiers.

  "Charge! These Chinese pigs, we've been fighting all night and I've lost many men. My brave warriors, fix bayonets, let's go and fight those stubborn Chinese pigs with knives! Kill them for me!" Takada Yoshio shouted.

  "Kill!!""Slaughter~~"

  The soldiers of the Takeda and Kuroda armies finally clashed in the village, fighting fiercely throughout the night. Everyone's minds were muddled, completely unaware that they were fighting their own people. They stabbed each other with abandon, until the commanders of both sides rushed forward to stop them.

  "Hagane, Takeda-kun, what are you doing?! You're actually having your troops attack mine, have you gone mad?!" Kurogane shouted with a pale face.

  "Kurosawa-kun, I also don't understand why your troops fired at my troops? Why did you attack my troops?" Takada Yoshio asked indignantly.

  "Eight companies! You motley crew, how dare you fire at the Imperial Guard of our Emperor?! Are you looking to die?!" Kuroba's anger was blazing.

  "Kurosawa, what did you say?! We're a motley crew?! You're not even worthy!" Takada Yoshio took a step forward, grabbing Kurosawa's collar and bellowing loudly.

  "What are you doing! Are you looking for a fight? Who's afraid of who!" Kuroda Nobutaka was also furious, they had been fighting all night and lost many soldiers, but they hadn't even seen the shadow of a single Chinese person. Instead, they had ended up clashing with the Takeda army, it was possible that after fighting all night, they were still exchanging blows with those idiots from Takeda, their own people fighting each other, what a huge mess!

  "Eight pieces!" Wada, who was already at his wit's end, could no longer hold back and punched Kurosawa in the face. Kurosawa Shinoda also got angry and shouted: "Brothers, hit him for me!"

  At that moment, in this unknown village in Jiangnan, a ridiculous thing happened. Two Japanese army corps-level troops openly performed a martial arts show under the bright sky and clear air, claiming to be Japan's elite warriors, the Imperial Guard Division and the 10th Division. What a magnificent scene!

  "What's going on here?!" Hidetoshi slammed his hand on the table, though it hurt like hell, he didn't care and loudly questioned the two team captains who were fighting.

  "Report to General, it was Takeda who made the first move!" Kuroda Nobuyuki spoke up first.

  "General, I admit it was I who struck first, but the reason I did so was not because Lieutenant Colonel Kurozawa insulted me, but because he insulted the 10th Division! As a soldier of the Empire, I would rather die on the battlefield than be insulted, and especially by one of our own!" Wada Yoshio replied, although he was from the 10th Division, during this encirclement operation, since their division commander was not present, their troops were under the command of General Hanada Teiichi. Therefore, towards General Hanada, Wada Yoshio had to show respect.

  "Is that so? Hmph, I don't care what reasons you have for taking action, but today's events are simply a shame to us, the soldiers of the great Japanese Empire. Soldiers of the imperial army, acting like common street thugs, openly fighting in the village. Are you trying to make a mockery of me, and the Imperial Guard Division? Wakuda, by doing this, you're also tarnishing your division commander's reputation!" Hanada Teiko looked somewhat disappointed.

  "Hi!" "Hi!" Takeda Yoshio and Kurosawa Nobuyuki bowed their heads.

  "Tell me, has the Chinese army been annihilated? Has the commander of that unit been caught?" Ueda Teiichi was now most concerned about whether the 77th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which had become a thorn in the side of the Imperial Japanese Army, had been eliminated.

  "Reporting to General, no!" Kuroba stood up straight and said.

  "Hachi, isn't it? What are you people eating?" Inada Teiko shouted angrily.

  "Reporting to General, after last night's battle, I estimate that the enemy troops have been completely annihilated by our heavy artillery!" Kuroda stood at attention and replied.

  "Is that so?" Hidetada Iida asked suspiciously. At this time, the commander of the Sakata Regiment, Ryōhei ōta, walked up to Hidetada Iida and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander of the Division, we have discovered at the western entrance of the village that a small detachment of our regiment stationed there has been completely annihilated. I estimate that the enemy has already broken through from that position under cover of night! Furthermore, we have found many empty gasoline drums and a large quantity of firecrackers inside the village."

  "Bastards! Those Shinano people broke through last night, and you two idiots actually served as their cover unit. It's absolutely absurd!" Inada no Yoshifuku was truly enraged, he drew his sword and nearly slashed at Takeda no Yoshio and Kurosawa no Nobuzane, fortunately his subordinates held him back and dissuaded him, or else he would have cut down those two blunderers on the spot.

  "So many soldiers have died, and yet they were killed by their own people. They died unjustly! You two, lead your troops and find them for me. If you can't find them or if they've already broken through the outermost defense line and retreated to the area controlled by the Chinese, then you'll both commit seppuku to atone for your failure to the Emperor!" Raita said with a scowl.

  "Hi!" After Takeda Yoshio and Kurosawa Nobuta saluted, they immediately returned to their respective units. Once assembled, they began searching aimlessly along the canal.

  Liu Zhenfeng led his troops to shake off the pursuit of the Imperial Guard Division and advanced towards Taihu. The terrain in southern Jiangsu is mostly flat, with no obstacles to block their way. If these thousands of people marched openly during the day, they would soon be discovered by Japanese reconnaissance planes or fighter planes. Whatever plane it was, even if KFC spotted them, it wouldn't be good!

  "Jun zuo, just ahead is the border of Yixing. That's Lake Tai over there!" Ji Xingwen said to Liu Zhenfeng.

  "I know! We've already broken through the enemy's second encirclement, but we can't let our guard down yet. As long as we haven't completely broken through the enemy's third encirclement, it doesn't count as a success! Comrades, the revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work hard! Let's go all out!" Liu Zhenfeng said.

  That evening, they arrived at the shores of Taihu Lake. The beautiful Taihu Lake was especially enchanting as Spring Festival approached, but because of this damned war, the villages around Taihu Lake were almost empty, and what should have been a bustling scene of people preparing for the New Year's festivities had become a desolate landscape.

  "Hmm, why do I feel like I'm playing Silent Hill?" Liu Zhenfeng muttered to himself.

  "Let's head over to that village and take a break, everyone is exhausted!" Ji Xingwen said.

  "Alright, comrades, sneak into the village quietly, don't fire your guns, whatever you do, don't alarm the villagers!" Liu Zhenfeng ordered his troops.

  After our troops entered the village, they dispersed and sat down at the corner of the wall, resting under the eaves. Everyone had been marching continuously and was exhausted. As soon as they sat down, they quickly fell asleep. I sent out a sentinel to patrol around the village, and once there was any movement, they would immediately enter combat readiness.

  "Report to General's seat, there is a fellow countryman who wants to see you!" A guard reported to Liu Zhenfeng.

  "Let him come over!" I said.

  The guard brought a man in his thirties with a pockmarked face before him, but no matter how he looked at the man, he felt that something was not quite right, yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

  "Officer, officer, you've worked hard. I'm Wang Er Ma Zi, the local security chief here. Are your troops going to rest in our village? Let me arrange for someone to serve tea and water."

  "Oh, no need, fellow villager, you go ahead with your business, we have our own water and dry rations!" Liu Zhenfeng said to him.

  "No trouble, no trouble. I'll arrange for you to go right away," said Wang Er Mazi.

  "By the way, fellow countryman, where are the people around here?" Liu Zhenfeng asked.

  "Ah, the devils came and it was all burning, killing, looting, many people were killed, some escaped, of course there were also those who didn't want to leave their homes, I heard another troop is coming, they're so scared that they're hiding in Taihu Lake. So, sir, you see a village without people." Wang Ermao sighed endlessly.

  "Oh, I see, you can go now!" Liu Zhenfeng waved his hand.

  After seeing Wang Ermao, Liu Zhenfeng's mind was always restless and uneasy. He didn't know why, but he felt that there was something wrong with Wang Ermao, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

  The sky had already turned completely dark, Liu Zhenfeng found an empty room, spread out the battle map, and studied the next breakout route with Ji Xingwen and the division chief of staff.

  "Boom, boom, boom." "Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat." Suddenly, bursts of gunfire came from the direction of the village entrance. Liu Zhenfeng and Ji Xingwen were both startled, it was clear that their troops had been ambushed.

  "Enter combat state immediately!" Ji Xingwen shouted loudly, letting his troops enter combat immediately.

  The sound of gunfire grew louder and closer, and soon a communication soldier came to report: "Commander, a large number of Japanese troops have been discovered surrounding us, estimated to be no less than a division in strength.

  "How come the little devil's nose is so keen?" Liu Zhenfeng was not only a bit suspicious, but they had just gotten rid of those devils by the canal, it was impossible for them to find their trail so quickly! Wait a minute, something didn't feel right. Ah yes, it was that Wang Er Mazi who came here earlier, the problem must be with him. How could he have overlooked such an obvious character? Those traitors on TV were exactly like Wang Er Mazi. What a stupid mistake!

  "Order the troops, this time we are going to have a head-on encounter with the little devils, don't worry about anything else, just kill your way out and open up a bloody path, break through the enemy's encirclement!" Liu Zhenfeng loudly commanded his subordinates.

  The battle ahead was extremely fierce, this time they were suddenly attacked by the devils, and the devil soldiers who attacked us were the Kito Brigade of the enemy's 55th Division, whose combat effectiveness was very strong. This hard fight made the 109th Division suffer heavy losses, originally there were still 9,000 people in the army, after this battle, the casualties were severe, only half of the people broke out of the siege, and 4,500 soldiers died in this unnamed village.

  Ji Xingwen shed tears, wailing in unbearable grief. A man of iron blood like him would normally swallow his tears even if he was wounded severely, but this time, his own troops had lost two-thirds of their men after the battles to defend Nanjing and break through the siege. His elite AK squad was said to have been completely annihilated. How could he not be heartbroken? His veteran soldiers had given their all on this battlefield in Jiangnan.

  Liu Zhenfeng came to Ji Xingwen's side, patted his shoulder and said: "Old Ji, cheer up! In war, there must be sacrifices. Our troops are all good men, not a single one is afraid of the enemy soldiers. As long as our military spirit remains, after reorganizing the troops, we will still be a powerful and majestic army!"

  "Yes, Commander! I won't be sad anymore. The blood of my brothers will not be shed in vain. We'll make the Japanese devils pay for their debt in blood!" Ji Xingwen wiped away his tears and said firmly.

  "Alright, Old Ji, come on, let's plan our next breakout strategy."