Block the devils

  "Order the artillery units to fire special shells at the junction. If the enemy in front continues to pursue fiercely, I'll have the Segawa detachment hold them off for me, and we must pin down the enemy to gain time for the division's withdrawal."

  All staff officers understood that the division commander was going to use the Higuchi detachment as a scapegoat. However, no one could think of a better idea.

  Old Wang followed Nurse Lin to the back of the team to avoid unnecessary sacrifices. At this time, the devil's shells fell beside the two. Old Wang strangely found that the bomb did not explode, but instead emitted a burst of smoke and fog.

  "Gas bomb, get down."

  The nurse Lin scolded: "Get down, there's a ball to use. Quickly find water to soak the clothes and stuff them in your mouth."

  The battlefield was on fire everywhere, looking for a water zone. Nurse Lin held several dry towels and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Old Wang suddenly had an idea, pulled over the towels, put them on the ground, opened his pants and urinated on them. Nurse Lin's face turned red in an instant and said, "What are you doing?"

  Old Wang grabbed a cloth strip and pressed it tightly on Lin Nurse's nose, Lin Nurse struggled with all her might. Old Wang thought to himself: "These defeated women still argue about this small matter, so he took advantage of the situation and pushed Lin Nurse to the ground. He forced her head into the dirt. With one hand free, he could take care of himself. The other soldiers saw what Old Wang did and followed suit.

  After more than ten minutes, the toxic gas dissipated, and Old Wang lifted his head to find that he had a bit of a headache. He asked: "This is a neurotoxin! How did it give me a headache?"

  The forest ranger said irritably: "It's strange that you wouldn't get a headache from being smoked by that thing for so long."

  Old Wang joked: "This is a high-quality boy's urine, it can detoxify and cure all diseases?"

  The soldier next to him said in surprise: "Old Wang, you're still a kid! I said last time we went to the brothel, you were more cheerful than anyone else."

  Old Wang glanced at the soldier beside him, this guy also followed Old Hei from the Northeast Army. Every time he heard the charge bugle, he ran faster than anyone else, and when he could have shot the enemy dead with his gun, he insisted on going up to fight them with bayonets.

  Everyone gave him a nickname called "Desperate Sanlang".

  Old Wang scolded: "You must have been poisoned by the enemy's toxic gas and are talking nonsense."

  Pinming Sanlang is also a knowledgeable person, shrinking his neck as if he had never said anything. Old Wang thought that it was not easy to establish a positive image, and now it's all ruined.

  Just then a messenger ran up to Old Wang and whispered: "Commander Li has arrived at the front line and is summoning you to the command center to discuss military affairs."

  Old Wang saw a room full of generals and lieutenant generals as soon as he entered the temporary commanding department!

  Old Wang asked the guard: "What are these people doing?"

  The guard said: "You don't know yet! These people are the leaders of various legions nearby, Director Li is going to deploy the next phase of combat tasks."

  Li Zongren saw Old Wang come in and then retreat, so he signaled to Li Xianxun to call Old Wang in.

  "Hunan Army, come and introduce yourself to the situation you see."

  "Report to the commander, Zhangzi has been retaken by the Second Army Corps. Just now when I came down, the devils used poisonous gas shells to attack our army at the point of contact with the enemy." Old Wang saw what he said, and in history, the goal of annihilating the Matsumoto Division was not achieved.

  Li said with a wry smile, "That's right, the devils have even used poison gas shells. It seems they want to break contact with our army!" Old Wang nodded and said, "The devils are going to escape."

  Seeing Li Zongren silent, Old Wang asked: "Where is Tang Enbo now?"

  Li Zongren pointed at the map: "In a place ten kilometers east of Ze County."

  Old Wang laughed and said: "Isn't it just easy to seal the bag opening!"

  Li Zongren shook his head and said: "Now he is not moving towards Ze County but is staying there on standby."

  Old Wang flared up and scolded: "What is he waiting for? If he doesn't shut his mouth now, does he want the Japanese to run away?"

  "He's probably afraid of a decisive battle with the Fifth Division and wants to strike back hard. He's waiting for an opportunity to 'strike while crossing half'."

  Old Wang cursed: "Damn it, I'm going to send a telegram to Chongqing to impeach him."

  Li Zongren shook his head and said, "I advise you not to send it. He is the chairman's direct subordinate. Your boss, Dai Li, can't even handle him, so don't humiliate yourself. I have asked the chairman for a special sword, but it still can't move him."

  Old Wang thought changing history is really not easy!

  Li Zongren patted Lao Wang and said: "However, the devils have left the Shigeyuki branch to drive away the Second Army Corps that is chasing them."

  This is a duck that has been cooked and can't fly anymore.

  "Sir, I request to go to Tang Enbo's department. I will explain the situation of the Jiagu detachment's defeat to him. I estimate that as long as the situation is clear, Tang will still severely punish those who have fallen."

  "You take your people and go. But be careful, there are devils all along the way." Li Zongren cautioned.

  All the way, Old Wang was thinking about how to persuade Tang Enbo.

  The Tenth Division, excluding the Segawa Detachment, still had over 8,000 men. Heavy weapons were all gone, but there were still some light weapons such as grenade launchers and mortars.

  Tang Enbo did not dare to go out to battle because there was still Sakamoto's detachment of the 5th Division on his flank and rear.

  It's easy to form a situation where one is attacked from both front and back, so Tang Enbo remained still out of caution. Old Wang thought that with the intelligence in his hands, he should be able to persuade Tang Enbo to surrender.

  The car arrived at Tang Enbo's 20th Army headquarters, and Old Wang cursed in his heart!

  Tang Enbo is really a coward, he built a circular fortification, this guy must have made a plan for the whole army to turn around, he is afraid that Sakamoto's detachment will come and stab him in the back.

  The car stopped at the headquarters of the legion, and Old Wang ordered the guard to report. Old Wang thought to himself: As a central pure-blooded person, he and he were from the same root, how could he avoid seeing him?

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, after a short while, a deputy officer came out and invited Old Wang in.

  Tang Enbo has a round face, plump and honest-looking. It's really hard to associate it with his actions.

  "Commander Tang Jun, I am Wang Xiangjun, the director of the Military Affairs Bureau in Xuzhou. I have come to pass on some intelligence to you."

  Tang Enbo pointed to the sofa and gestured for Old Wang to sit down and said.

  "The Sakamoto detachment on your right flank has retreated towards Linyi, and the 10th Division in front of you has abandoned all its heavy equipment and is fleeing northward."

  As soon as Tang Enbo heard Lao Wang's opening remarks, he understood the purpose of Lao Wang's visit. Tang stood up and poured a glass of water for Lao Wang, saying: "Wang Xiangjun, right?"

  Old Wang nodded.

  Tang said, "I heard that your guard squad is from the 88th Division, we're considered to be our own people! To tell you the truth, did you come this time to persuade me to block off Ze County?"

  Old Wang nodded calmly, thinking that Tang was indeed one of Chiang's four major direct descendants, very cunning and unfathomable!

  Tang smiled and said, "Xiang Jun, we are all doing things for the principal. I won't hide it from you. What will happen if I block Matsumoto Koji in Ze County?"

  "The best would be to annihilate the 10th Division and capture Iwane Matsui alive. To achieve a complete victory in the Battle of Tai'erzhuang."

  "What then?" asked Tang Enbo again.

  Old Wang said: "Then it was a great encouragement to our confidence in resisting Japan and the national sentiment of resistance against Japan rose high."

  Tang Enbo burst out laughing and said, "You only told part of the story. First of all, based on my understanding of the Japanese army, as long as I cut off Matsumoto's retreat route, the 5th Division will definitely come to rescue him at all costs. At that time, whether or not we can annihilate Matsumoto's division is another matter. My losses will be huge. The 20th Army Corps has three divisions, but only one of them is my old subordinate, as familiar as an arm. What if this force is wiped out? What will I do?"

  Old Wang angrily said: "This is an unadulterated military mindset, and the troops are not yours alone."

  Tang Enbo glared and said, "Alright, I'll tell you another thing. Do you still remember Nanjing and Shanghai? It was because we inflicted huge casualties on the Japanese that they ended up killing our people after we lost Nanjing! The 88th Division of the German-equipped army couldn't even defend Nanjing, let alone this precarious Xuzhou!"

  Tang Enbo also felt that his tone was a bit heavy, so he slowed down and said: "At the time of Nan Kou, I was like you, a raging youth who thought killing one Japanese soldier would be enough to make up for our losses, but killing two would be a profit. What happened? My troops were all crippled, and even now there are still serious vacancies."

  Old Wang sneered: "Then let's just hand over the whole of China to the Japanese. That way, the people won't be killed and we'll also be spared."

  Tang Enbo seemed to think that Old Wang still didn't understand, so he helplessly picked up the phone and said: "The phone here is a direct line to Chongqing. You can call your boss right now and ask him why I'm not sending in troops. This isn't a decision made by just one person."

  Old Wang thought: If you're a traitor, don't make excuses. I'll report the situation of Tang Enbo's suspicious movements to Chongqing.

  Lao Wang dialed the phone in Dai Li's office.

  "Hey, who are you looking for?"

  A gloomy voice came from the phone, Dai Li's voice. Old Wang shivered and thought it might be his own heart feeling.

  "Boss, I'm Wang Xiangjun. Now in Fengzhen District, Commander Li ordered me to urge Tang Enbo to send troops. Tang asked me to call you and said that you understand why he won't send troops."

  Dai Li laughed on the phone and said: "I understand the situation at your front line, Lao Wang. Tang's refusal to send troops was ordered by the Chairman."

  Old Wang almost exclaimed: "Why!"

  Dai Li said in a low voice, "Think about it. If this meeting has such great results, the credit will all go to Li Zongren's name, and at that time, Li Zongren's power within the party will soar. The chairman does not want to see this situation."

  Old Wang suddenly became crystal clear.

  "Damn it, that damned politics again." Old Wang cursed.

  Tang Enbo saw Lao Wang put down the phone and comforted him: "It's not all politics, I also have military considerations. You say whether Xuzhou can be defended."

  Lao Wang had learned this lesson in history. He said, "The Xuzhou area is a flat plain for one horse to run on, and this time the enemy is underestimating us. When the enemy regains their composure, Xuzhou will surely be lost."

  Tang Enbo nodded and said: "Then let's do it your way."

  Old Wang said: "Turn towards Wuhan direction, prepare for the next step of the devils' possible attack on Wuhan."

  Tang Enbo said: "What you said is right, the devils are going to attack Wuhan after taking Xuzhou. So do you think that if we annihilate a division of devils here, what will the people think? Do you think that at that time, the principal will be forced by public opinion to ask us to fight an urban defense battle under the city of Xuzhou?"

  Old Wang's back was instantly covered in cold sweat when he heard this.

  "If the hundreds of thousands of troops in the five war zones were all annihilated by the devils, then the process of resisting Japan would undoubtedly be many times more difficult."