The Third Clash: The Protagonist Takes the Stage

  Several cars drove along the flat highway towards the foot of the mountain, Zhan Biao closed his eyes and sat in the van, saying several times: "Dongdong, drive slower, a bit slower... okay, stop the car!"

  Dai Yu got out of the car and looked around: "Biao Ge, how did you know this was the right place? This is exactly where Zhang Jie sacrificed himself."

  Zhan Biao got off the car and said, "The original road is gone, only by feeling can be found... Eleven new Fourth Army soldiers were also sacrificed here..." He said, facing the wind and sniffing hard: "Da Yue, no way, how come there's a smell of heavy machine gun ammunition?" After saying that, he shook his head too.

  Zhuo Biao nodded understandingly: "Uncle Biao's eyes must still be filled with the smoke of that day..."

  Zhan Biao gazed out at the mountain top and said in a low voice, "It hasn't changed, it's still the same mountain. The trees that were cut down by machine guns have all grown back."

  Matsuyama ordered the remaining Japanese soldiers of two companies to launch an attack, with over 100 Japanese soldiers scattered and using the terrain to climb up to the top of the mountain. Machine guns provided cover from below. Grenade dischargers were tried a few times but couldn't reach due to the high angle.

  Watching the Japanese army slowly approaching, Zhan Biao thought for a moment and hummed an order: "Kill a chicken with a cow knife! First use two heavy machine guns. The rest of you, use rifles and light machine guns to shoot targets." Because it was the new recruits' first real battle, Zhan Biao did not adopt close combat tactics, he could no longer underestimate the enemy, if there were unexpected situations the new recruits would not be able to cope. So after the Japanese entered effective range, he prepared to let the new recruits start live-fire training.

  Dai Yu first used two heavy machine guns, and in his excitement, he ripped off the camouflage of his 92-style gun. Zhan Biao had originally planned to use a Maxim gun, but seeing Dai Yu's enthusiasm, he let it go. Then he nodded at Qiangzi, who was guarding another Maxim gun, and Qiangzi quickly removed the camouflage from his machine gun. Zhan Biao said to everyone: "Everyone pay attention to Instructor Qiangzi's movements, switching between main shooter and deputy shooter... Ready... Fire!"

  Qiangzi and Dajue's two heavy machine guns suddenly opened fire, the protagonist finally made his debut! Immediately afterwards, light machine guns and rifles also joined in.

  The appearance of the heavy machine gun on the mountain caught the Japanese army off guard, and Songshan was shocked. Only to see rows of Japanese soldiers falling down on the hillside, those who were not dead were lying motionless on the hillside. Songshan secretly thought that it was fortunate that he didn't let the special forces go up first.

  More than 20 people in the anti-Japanese guerrilla squad fired at the front with more than 10 rifles, at the middle with four light machine guns, and sealed off the back with two heavy machine guns. Occasionally, they would throw a few rounds of hand grenades. Although the Japanese army was not lacking in brave warriors, under this calm and unrelenting firepower suppression, it seemed that the more than 100 Japanese soldiers who came up could no longer escape their fate.

  Zhan Biao called the small peak at the foot of the mountain: "You all hold your fire and don't move, a company of the New Fourth Army and the guerrilla team are surrounding you from Kao Shan Town. Your target is the special forces of Song Shan, wait for my order to attack again. How's your injury? Good, just rest a bit longer."

  Songshan's face turned increasingly grim as he listened to the sound of the 92-style heavy machine gun at the foot of the mountain, and it turned out they still had a "chicken neck"!

  "The Chicken Neck" is the nickname for the 92-style heavy machine gun, which resembles a chicken's neck due to its spiral heat dissipation device on the barrel and the "cluck cluck cluck" sound it makes when firing. In fact, the Type 92 also has another more elegant name: "French Lady's Kiss", depending on who is using it. For example, in this situation, it's a beautiful "French Lady's Kiss".

  Songshan recalled that last year, on the other side of this mountain, in a narrow valley, more than two companies of Imperial Warriors mysteriously died for no reason, and many 92-style heavy machine guns were lost. If the anti-Japanese army on the mountain is related to this matter, he has made great contributions. Thinking of this, he immediately let the officer carrying the radio come over and send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Yoshino, who was stationed in the county seat, ordering the standby company to quickly come to the foot of the mountain to reinforce, and to launch a counter-encirclement against the new Fourth Army coming from behind, bringing two 92-style infantry guns to wipe out the "Chicken Neck".

  The infantry battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshino, was also a graduate of the Japanese Army Military Academy, and his cunning was not inferior to that of Matsuyama. The 15th Division he belonged to was an A-class division of the Japanese army, with approximately 1,215 officers and men in each infantry regiment (battalion), divided into four infantry companies (companies) and one heavy machine gun company. Each infantry company had 250 people, divided into three platoons, with about 54-70 people in each platoon. The heavy machine gun company had 174 people, divided into three machine gun platoons and one ammunition platoon, with four heavy machine guns in each machine gun platoon, for a total of 12 Type 92 heavy machine guns.

  Yoshino, in the county town, stood with his ears perked up listening to the intense machine gun fire and explosions that had been going on for half a day. He felt something was off, as if Songshan had encountered an enemy, so he didn't wait for Songshan's request for aid and had already dispatched a battalion on foot to provide support. Because there were not enough troop transport trucks, only 20 trucks carrying an infantry battalion and a heavy machine gun battalion were left in hand. When Songshan sent out a telegram requesting aid, Yoshino also learned that his most trusted battalion commander had been killed, and upon hearing the sound of heavy machine guns, he became enraged and personally led the troops, ordering an infantry battalion to board the trucks. After thinking for a moment, he decided to bring along the heavy machine gun battalion as well, and also brought two artillery squads with four infantry cannons. All 20 trucks were mobilized.

  In 1938, the Japanese army was very arrogant, and the soldiers were eager to move out, plundering and raping at will. From the commander's point of view, they could also exaggerate their losses and demand more supplies. Kijino seemed to attach great importance to this battle, but in fact, he had a condescending attitude towards the enemy, just like his subordinates, who were thinking of a leisurely excursion. The motorcade caught up with the infantry battalion that had set out earlier, and he ordered them to wait at Liangshantown as a reserve force and form a blockade line to guard against the remaining anti-Japanese troops. Kijino's cunning move unexpectedly became a lifesaving move.

  Songshan's request for reinforcements turned into three companies, plus Songshan's original company and special troops, making a total of over 1,200 Japanese soldiers that Zhang Biao had to face.

  Gui's underground intelligence system was in play, and the information was sent out at the same time as the Japanese army's departure on foot. As can be imagined, the fastest speed of intelligence transmission in that era could not have been very fast. When the informant spat blood and reported to Secretary Gui, Tan Yinglong, Shan Que and Zhan Biao on the mountain saw the rolling dust raised by the long line of cars coming from the south of Kao Town at the same time.

  The squad leader firmly disagreed with retreating in this situation, and he said to Captain Tan: "If we retreat now, it's equivalent to running away with our tails between our legs, and putting all the pressure on Captain Zhang. They just lifted the siege for us, and now a powerful enemy has arrived. We can't just run away with our hands up, that's not how the Red Army does things."

  Tan Yingchang nodded in agreement, observing the newly arrived Japanese troops: "That's the way it is, but it seems that there are not only one or two companies of devils coming from the county town in the south. If Songshan at the foot of the northern mountain counterattacks again, our hundred or so brothers will be trapped in Pingchuan with no place to hide, and we'll have no choice but to die."

  The two men looked at Secretary Gui waiting for his opinion. Secretary Gui also looked helpless, and he asked Captain Tan: "Didn't you have two more companies rushing here?"

  Tan Yingchang looked even more anxious: "We usually pay attention not to have a hard collision with the Japanese army, they have at least 180 people in one squadron, and we only have more than 120 people in one regiment. The whole regiment, plus your guerrilla troops, is less than 400 people. More importantly, our soldiers only have guns for half of them, and those who have guns have less than 10 rounds of ammunition per person. Others only have a big knife and two hand grenades. Fortunately, we picked up more than 30 Type 38 rifles just now... So..."

  Tan Yingchang, also a veteran of the Long March, shouted loudly to the surrounding company and regimental cadres: "Comrades, now the devils are coming up from the south to reinforce, our situation is very dangerous, but on the northern mountain are our compatriots. Now we must go all out to attack the devils at the foot of the mountain together with the National Army on the mountain, and then we will also rush up the mountain and fight shoulder to shoulder with them. Has everyone heard clearly?" This was Tan Yingchang's only correct choice at this time, to break through to the north and join forces with Zhang Zuobao in Songshan.

  Before everyone could respond, a dense burst of machine gun fire suddenly came from the Japanese camp at the foot of the mountain. It sounded like over ten machine guns, merging with the heavy machine gun fire on the mountain. Then, four groups of National Army soldiers rushed down from the mountain, each carrying machine guns. In an instant, more than 50 Japanese soldiers were driven out of the mountain foot and retreated downhill to the New Fourth Army. It's estimated that nearly a hundred or so Japanese who didn't escape became ghosts under the machine gun fire.

  Tan Yingchang was overjoyed at the sight and saw that Zhang Biao and his men had made the first move. He waved his pistol: "Get down, shoot! Don't let these devils escape!"

  The New Fourth Army and guerrilla forces fired their guns, but they were unable to withstand the firepower of the advancing Japanese army. The six Type 96 machine guns of the Japanese special forces tore through the New Fourth Army's defenses, and more than a dozen soldiers were shot down. Finally, more than 30 agile special troops covered several officers and charged out. Moreover, this group of fierce devils did not go far before turning back to launch a counterattack. At this time, a convoy of trucks had arrived, stopping beside the Japanese army, and groups of Japanese soldiers jumped off.

  Seven National Army soldiers with machine guns chased from the foot of the mountain, and Xiaofeng rushed over with a white bandage under his helmet, shouting: "Secretary Gui, Captain Shan, hurry up the mountain. Squad leader Zhān ordered us to escort you up the mountain!" Then he lay down on the ground and fired at the Japanese army to cover the New Fourth Army's ascent up the mountain.

  Yu Guo had already seen the situation clearly on the mountain, with 20 trucks lined up. At least two Japanese battalions had arrived in this county town, and they were heading straight to the foot of the mountain via Kao Shan Town. The New Fourth Army and guerrilla forces below were in a precarious position of being sandwiched. It was necessary to immediately resolve the Japanese army in front of them and get them up the mountain.

  Zhang Biao received a phone call at the foot of the mountain, ordering Xiao Feng to lead the seven machine guns below to attack. If they couldn't annihilate them, they had to drive the devils away. At this time, more than 100 Japanese soldiers who were attacking the mountain had been knocked down by half, and Songshan also saw that reinforcements were arriving soon, so he ordered the remaining 30 or so Japanese soldiers to withdraw from the mountain, adding to the remnants of a small team, there were still 70 or 80 soldiers. He wanted to wait for the reinforcements to arrive before organizing a new attack. Looking at the hundreds of New Fourth Army and guerrilla troops who were hesitating, he secretly laughed in his heart. Although the company he led had more than half casualties, if he could eliminate this company of the New Fourth Army, it would be considered a fair exchange. Just as he was slightly relieved, unexpectedly, almost next to them, a group of machine gunners emerged from underground and opened fire on them, catching them off guard again. Large numbers of Imperial Japanese troops were mowed down, and those who tried to run up the mountain were killed by four machine guns that came down from the top. Only Songshan's special forces reacted quickly and resisted stubbornly, saving him and several lieutenant officers. Moreover, if there hadn't been a New Fourth Army blocking in front, the National Army would have stopped firing for fear of mistakenly injuring the New Fourth Army, and Songshan's losses would have been even greater.

  Songshan's mood had turned sour, his two beloved German Shepherds had died, and the nearly three hundred men he brought with him were now reduced to just over thirty special forces soldiers and a few lieutenants. He himself had narrowly escaped death. It took him a while to notice Lieutenant Colonel Yoshino saluting him, pointing at the New Fourth Army guerrilla troops climbing up the mountain. Songshan gritted his teeth, unable to speak for half a day. Yoshino helped him into the car to rest, then waved his hand towards the heavy machine gun squad and artillery platoon behind them.

  Zhang Biao's heavy machine gun was destined to engage in a fierce duel with the Japanese army's heavy machine gun.