Thirty-one

  The military instinct of Hamazaki Hiroto was naturally keen, and when he received a call from Yamashita Kiyotaro, the highest commander stationed in Jingzhou, he understood that the prey he had been searching for all along had come to his already defended defense line as he had predicted.

  After many days of confrontation, Hama-saki Hiro-matsu understood and respected his opponent. He didn't hope to annihilate his opponent in one go and win overwhelmingly. Although the desire to meet with his opponent in person and have a conversation had grown stronger over the past few days! It even occupied all the sense of honor in his heart at this moment.

  Hamasaki Hiro is secretly delighted that all his previous judgments were accurate and flawless. He didn't let his own misjudgment affect the overall situation, thus thoroughly missing the opportunity to defend his military honor.

  Japanese search troops encountered the National Revolutionary Army's New Fourth Army led by Chen Yi in the eastern hills of Jingzhou City and exchanged fire. At the moment when they completely controlled the situation, they were suddenly attacked by a small group of unidentified troops with advanced European and American equipment! And in an instant, it dealt a huge blow to the Imperial Army! All signs indicate that their opponents have arrived here, which can be concluded.

  "Order Lieutenant General Kato to reinforce the scene of the incident immediately, no matter what the cost, and annihilate the enemy completely. Order all units on high alert at every dock and ferry terminal throughout Jingzhou to double their vigilance duties from now on, and take turns standing guard around the clock without any mistakes." Under the direct order of Okamura Yasuji himself, Hamazaki Hiroshi, who now has the right to mobilize troops in the entire Jingzhou area, gave orders to his staff officers, and the smile hanging at the corner of his mouth showed that he had already seen the dawn of victory.

  The Japanese army, having suffered a loss once, changed its strategy for the second attack and no longer concentrated its forces to make a breakthrough. Instead, it adopted a semi-encirclement formation, dispersing its forces to launch a large-scale pincer attack! Moreover, it significantly strengthened the coordination of artillery fire with infantry advances.

  "Captain Fu, please ensure that your troops hold the western defensive line. I'll take care of the eastern and frontal lines. Once the Japanese finish this round of attacks, if they can't reinforce in time, the battle will be over. So don't conserve ammunition too much, let the Japanese get too close and they'll have a chance to use their grenade launchers, which would be disastrous for our casualties!" Yan Wei said, nodded at Fu Daojun, then turned around to arrange the defense.

  Fu Daojun couldn't help but smile wryly and thought to himself, "Is this really just about saving bullets? Long-range suppression of the Japanese army can minimize casualties to the greatest extent. Do I need you to tell me that? I've been carrying a gun for years, how could I not know this logic? But can we do long-range suppression? We're following me, the battalion commander, on this mission, and we've selected the best troops. And yet, there are still many old rifles with worn-out rifling in the barrels! Can these guns even shoot far? The bullets will bury themselves in the ground if you don't lift the barrel two inches in advance!"

  "That good-for-nothing rifle can do that? My soldiers can hit a man at 100 meters, but they never get to participate in real combat drills. Bullets are as precious as silver here! Who would waste bullets on shooting practice unless it's a matter of life and death?"

  However, Fu Daojun still thinks that Yan Weiyang is reasonable. Now that we don't have the advantage of military strength or equipment, if we can't control the enemy's attack distance, what's the point of fighting a defensive battle? Just hold on to your head and try to save your life. When they attack, it will be a matter of life and death! Anyway, everything is precious here, but human lives are worthless! So he immediately ordered his men to clear the ammunition bags from the fallen comrades' bodies, gather all usable rifles, and engage in long-range fire against the Japanese army.

  The distance was under control, but this also gave the Japanese artillery a better opportunity to play. The infantry attack was unfavorable and could not get close to the enemy, so the artillery could recklessly fire shells at our position. Yan Wei had no choice but to shout to his subordinates to suspend the blocking action and try to cover themselves to avoid being injured by the Japanese artillery. But once the momentum of the blocking action weakened, the Japanese immediately rushed up. Even some infantrymen were already using grenade launchers to bombard Yan Wei's position!

  This can't go on like this! Even if the Japanese army doesn't send any more reinforcements, with this kind of fighting, these brothers who have been through life and death together will surely suffer heavy casualties here!

  "Qu Fei, He Lan!"

  The two heard Yan Wei shouting loudly at himself and understood that the team was being suppressed by the Japanese army's firepower. But now, the two were also suffering from their own difficulties and could only hide from the Japanese artillery fire. When they heard Yan Wei lose his temper, they wanted to expose their heads and shoot at the Japanese soldiers responsible for the machine gun and grenade launcher, but as soon as they slightly exposed their heads, they were forced back by a string of flying bullets.

  At this point, according to the regular army's combat concept, it should be time to withdraw from the position. But not now, every moment we can hold on here means more time for the children's safety.

  Yan Wei looked down at his watch, and this damned watch seemed to be running slower than usual! It had only been a little over 20 minutes since Wu Hanhuai led the children to evacuate! With the children's legs, if they were ordered to retreat now, they wouldn't be able to run freely. That would be equivalent to leading the way for the Japanese army upfront.

  He turned his head to look at Fu Daojun's side, which was also shrouded in smoke and suppressed by the Japanese army's firepower. At this moment, Yan Wei suddenly felt an intense longing for the MG-34 general-purpose machine guns of his own troops! If he had a fully equipped weapon in his hands at this moment, with just this amount of firepower from the Japanese army, his three machine guns could instantly suppress them!

  Just as Yan Wei, this seasoned commander, couldn't come up with any effective measures for the time being and could only watch as his troops' casualties continued to mount, a loud bugle call suddenly rang out amidst the symphony of gunfire and artillery! Like a burst of crystal clear spring water shooting up from the ground, it instantly dispersed the thick smoke-filled sky! And the countless sweet dews that followed were like stimulating spiritual elixirs, instantly making people's spirits shake with renewed confidence!

  This bugle call was not unfamiliar to Yan Wei, it was the Communist Army's charge. In his many years of fighting against the Communist Army, Yan Wei had heard this melody many times before. But every time he heard this sound, Yan Wei would shake his head in silence as he faced the surging spiritual warriors, and then close his eyes in resignation, ordering his soldiers to seize the opportunity to extinguish the fierce flames of those who had completely exposed themselves to their own gunfire. But today, at this moment, upon hearing this familiar melody again, Yan Wei's entire nervous system was deeply infected, and for a time, he felt a surge of courage and excitement!

  The black and yellow smoke billowed, shrouding the entire battlefield, making it difficult to discern where the horn sound came from. It seemed to come from the edge of the sky, as if the gods at the end of the world were summoning their warriors for a holy war! Or maybe it was just nearby, swirling in every inch of air above this bullet-ridden battlefield! But Yan Wei soon calmed down and distinguished that the horn sound came from the northwest direction. With his quick thinking, Yan Wei understood that this was absolutely great news for himself! Because judging by the sound, this was definitely not Fu Daujun's army on the west side going crazy and making a stupid decision that could lead to their entire army being wiped out! It could only represent that Fu Daujun's reinforcements had finally arrived!

  At the same time, Yan Wei's soldiers who also heard this extremely stimulating sound in their central nervous system looked up and gazed at Yan Wei, trying to get his latest instructions at this moment.

  "The whole army holds its ground, covering itself to make effective shots at the enemy! Yan Wei wished he could pull out his vocal cords and throw them high into the air! Taking advantage of the height, he shouted loudly in the air to convey his orders to every soldier! He was afraid that his soldiers would also be summoned by this devilish sound, losing their minds and rushing out of the trenches for a final moment of glory!"

  Yan Wei's worst fears had come true, Fu Daojun stood up and shouted loudly, but his angry roar was already indistinguishable as he rushed out! That tall and robust man should be the highest commander on the Communist army's position at this moment.

  Yan Wei immediately used all his strength to throw his voice into the air again, shouting: "The whole army stops firing and immediately cooperates with the Communist Army's charge, providing auxiliary thrust cover for them! Accurate shooting must be carried out, and friendly forces must not be misinjured!"

  Under such circumstances, the Communist army clearly abandoned its position. And facing the mixed cavalry and infantry of both sides in an instant, Yan Wei's unit could no longer shoot at the crowd below from their position! The direction of the bugle call was still pouring in with soldiers, shouting a voice that would shock even wild beasts, holding rifles already loaded with bayonets, charging down like a tidal wave!

  "Comrades! The battalion commander has personally charged down to fight the devils! We are united as one and fear no sacrifice, we will definitely fight side by side with the battalion commander! We will win this battle in the end!" A communist army officer standing on a high ground behind him, holding up his rifle and stirring up morale, after shouting out this passionate mobilization speech, surprisingly also took an arrow step and charged down towards the crowd of people below!

  "Director Wang!" A young man who looked like a guard, shouted anxiously and immediately rushed towards Director Wang like an arrow off the string!

  "It turned out that he was the political commissar of this branch of the Communist army, which means he was the top leader within the party! It seems that the Communist commander's bravery in battle is not just a rumor!" Yan Wei thought to himself with admiration.

  Such a battle was not unfamiliar to Yan Wei himself, but at this moment, as an ally, he still felt it for the first time!

  Looking at the continuous arrival of large troops, Yan Wei obviously did not understand why the Communist army would abandon its advantageous position and engage in a desperate battle with the enemy, when they had the upper hand in numbers.

  Maybe this is a kind of spiritual power.

  This torrent-like, heroic power is enough to shock the hearts and lungs of all their opponents! Causing them to be frightened out of their wits and collapse in spirit! Even relying on this mountain flood-like momentum, they can defeat the enemy without a fight and gain the upper hand!

  It was obviously not Yan Wei's battle, but in that era, a war led by the true proletariat, composed of people from the lowest level of the laborious masses social class, a people's army with absolute justice nature, where millions of people united as one, forgetting life and death to fight against their common enemy!

  Defend the home and country, defend the territory, for this, for the nation, for the tens of millions of people! Such a war Wei Department has not fought less! But it's not in this way, nor is it such a form of expression!

  This is a kind of ideological form in which a large group of people who have been suffering and oppressed all their lives, with a lifetime of accumulated grievances and humiliation in their hearts, finally express their anger in a volcanic eruption!

  While Yan Wei was born into a relatively wealthy family, his father's death at a young age and the subsequent decline of the family fortune led to years of hardship and struggle. Despite this, he still had a relatively easy time after joining the military and even excelled under the leadership of Guan Linzheng. However, he failed to understand the explosive power of the oppressed masses who had been subjected to humiliation and suffering for generations. He did not comprehend that the Communist Party was a powerful force that awakened and unleashed the last vestiges of dignity in the hearts of the people. The power generated by the collective dignity of the working class was enough to destroy an entire galaxy, and this power was invincible.

  Yan Wei's eyes rolled wildly, and he slapped his own right cheek twice with his right hand. He wanted to wake himself up immediately from the almost overwhelming frenzy. As the highest military officer of a unit, one impulsive move could doom the entire unit! Not to mention this kind of fervor that even the Buddha couldn't hold back!

  When Yan Wei looked at the entire battlefield again, he was shocked to discover that this seemingly crazy and stupid move also had its own miraculous effect. At least in the face of this enemy-friendly situation, the artillery in the Japanese army's rear could no longer fire all silenced! And facing the swarming soldiers who had already been dyed red with humiliation, the Japanese attacking troops obviously had no strength to make effective resistance! Or it can be said that they were almost scared to death! Perhaps this is the reason why the brave win when two armies meet. Perhaps this is the best interpretation of the invincibility of the brave. Yan Wei began to blame himself for his previous contempt for the Communist Army's crazy combat method, began to appreciate another manifestation of courage, and began to appreciate the power of the Communist Army, the people's power!

  It's all nonsense to say which country's army is powerful, or whose army is powerful! Whoever is driven by the thrill of killing and brings out the most primitive human instinct is the one who is really powerful!

  Humans are carnivores! The primitive nature of a carnivorous animal is cruel and bloodthirsty! After years of civilized packaging, using the Four Books and Five Classics, Confucianism, Taoism, and the Bible to disguise themselves, once they have killed someone and seen blood, they are no different from wild beasts in essence! And when they have killed many people, once that most primitive nature is awakened within them, even wolves and tigers must retreat! Open up history books and we can easily find the answer. Even the cruelest of beasts only kill with a single bite, whereas humans have created the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty, which are far more enjoyable and satisfying! Not to mention the bizarre and terrifying punishments created by emperors throughout history, which are countless!

  Fortunately, the soldiers of Yan Wei's unit were still able to strictly follow their officers' orders and calmly handle the battle situation in an orderly manner. They basically took down one enemy soldier at a time with maximum effect, trying to end the fight as soon as possible! However, many Communist soldiers who had been fiercely fighting the Japanese army became numb after their opponents were shot dead by Yan Wei's unit. They still refused to let go of their opponents' bodies, using their unarmed hands to tightly grip the already lifeless necks. With eyes wide open and filled with rage that could burn down the entire Huazhong region, they stared at their opponents' closed eyes. Finally, they opened their mouths, revealing rows of white teeth, and bit down on their opponents' necks! In an instant, a burst of blood splattered everywhere, covering their faces in a terrifying sight. Their stiff, lifeless eyes seemed eerily sinister.

  The balance of victory and defeat has already shifted rapidly in our favor! But at this moment, no one feels the joy of victory! There is only hatred, only killing! Perhaps this hatred is not simply a national hatred for the Japanese army, but it is indeed a release of hatred! They hate everything! Even their own miserable life and fate! And the Japanese army in front of them now is the ultimate sacrifice of this hatred!

  Everyone's ultimate humiliation suppressed in their hearts is fully released, and the sky is a deep crimson!