Chapter 43: The Japanese Army Reinforces and Heavy Artillery Bombardment

  Zhang Damao and all the officers and soldiers who were clenching their fists and rubbing their palms on the battlefield had been anxiously waiting for nearly 2 days, but still didn't see any sign of the little devils. Everyone felt suffocated, but fortunately, there was Zhang 'Mi' Long, this actor, as long as nothing happened, he would twist his butt on the battlefield and sing those popular and easy-to-understand, yet somewhat "meaty" Northeastern two-person turns, often making everyone laugh loudly.

  "If one day I die in battle, you just sing that tune three times in front of my grave, and it'll be like chanting scriptures for me!" Just two days ago, the Northeastern soldier who had been beaten to death by Zhang "Misty" Dragon was now buddies with him. He threw a handful of dirt at Zhang "Misty" Dragon, who had just turned around from the trench, and said with a smile.

  "What the heck are you saying, you damned rascal?! My braised pork with vermicelli is still waiting to be paired with your chicken and mushroom stew on the table!" Zhang Mí Lóng dodged the clod of earth thrown by the Northeastern soldier he called "Big Mouth", and said with a displeased face, before running over to engage in a playful scuffle.

  This was already the second day after Dong Dajun and his men came up, but the "Japanese" army had not made a move. On this day, Guo Jinan arrived, bringing several boxes of landmines with him. Zhang Damao buried all the landmines on the road that the devils must pass through. Unless they don't come up, it's impossible to blow off their ten or so "legs". It won't be easy for them to get through this minefield either.

  At this time, Zhang Damao and Guo Jinan did not know that while they were laying landmines, the Japanese reinforcements had already arrived, but it was not one squadron, but two. The squadron that came later was even a reinforced Japanese squadron. Counting the more than 50 people in the defeated Japanese squadron that was fleeing with their tails between their legs, there were over 200 Japanese soldiers facing them, almost equivalent to half of a Japanese brigade, which had over 500 men.

  The Japanese army originally planned to deploy only one mountain warfare squadron from the south, but because a lieutenant who had just been promoted to squadron leader got dizzy and reported that the squadron had lost over 100 men, when in fact they had already lost 70-80 men. The original squadron was now reduced to a small team. While scolding the dizzy lieutenant, the Japanese commander also knew that their opponent's combat strength was not ordinary, so he hastily deployed another reinforced squadron from nearby, hoping to take down the Chinese squadron with superior forces. This was because the main force of the Japanese army was about to arrive soon and they needed to clear the obstacles set up by the Chinese squadron along the way. The lieutenant who had been acting as squadron leader for only one day was demoted back to leading a small team of over 50 defeated soldiers after receiving several slaps from his superior officer.

  Until the fourth day, the "Japanese" army finally appeared in front of the Chinese troops. The Chinese soldiers who had been clenching their fists for several days were all lying on the trench edge, looking out, but the "Japanese" army was still far away from the position, and it was impossible to see clearly with the naked eye. Zhang Da-mao called out many times to enter the bunker, but except for a few older soldiers who entered the bunker, many people were still lying on the trench edge, opening their eyes wide, wanting to get a clearer look at the "Japanese" army's mountain warfare elite troops that their superiors had mentioned, wondering if they really had three heads and six arms. It wasn't until Li Lian-sheng and Dong Da-jun arrived at their side and kicked them in with one foot each that they reluctantly entered the bunker, which had already been dug to accommodate one or two people.

  After several battles, these new recruits who used to tremble at the sound of gunfire have now become fearless towards the so-called "elite" troops on the other side. Perhaps they had seen too many dead bodies, including their own comrades and Japanese devils. Or perhaps it was Zhang Damao who ignited their fierce fighting spirit by ordering them to bayonet those Japanese soldiers who were no longer able to fight back. At this moment, none of the over 200 men were afraid, not even Wu Fayun, who was kicked down from the trench by Li Lianying and was still shouting loudly. If it had been the first few days, Wu Fayun would have probably hidden in a bunker, closing his eyes and trembling with fear without needing Li Lianying to chase him.

  "Boom, boom, boom, boom..." Just as Li Liansheng and Dong Dajun had just returned to Zhang Damang's so-called company command post from the front line, the Japanese army's artillery bombardment began.

  "Today's bombardment by the devils seems to be louder than before?" The three of them were squeezed in a connected anti-artillery cave not far from Zhao Zhibang. The first shell landed on the front half of the mountain, shaking the cave where Zhang Damao and the others were, making it seem like it was swaying along with them.

  "Yes, yes... I reckon the largest caliber the devils fired in recent days was 75mm howitzer, but this one is at least over 90mm..." Zhang Damao patted his chest and swallowed a mouthful of saliva before saying.

  "Just now that cannon should be 105 caliber..." Dong Dajun, who was standing between the two men, said after Zhang Damang finished speaking.

  "No wonder, the dog day's, making such a big fuss, I don't know if the position can hold up or not." Zhang Damao had just finished speaking, when another shell landed about five or six meters in front of them. The force of the explosion blew off the circular wooden cover on top of their trench, and the thick logs were tossed several meters into the air before crashing down into the trench in front of the three men.

  "Zhao Zhibang, Zhao Zhibang!!" Zhang Damao shouted loudly at the tree trunk in front of them. Just now, a burst of gunfire from the Japanese army came, and the sound of shells exploding filled the air after they landed on the ground. He didn't know if any shells had landed near Zhao Zhibang's head just a few meters away from him. But the enemy's artillery fire was too loud, even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, Zhao Zhibang couldn't hear him.

  Seeing Zhao Zhibang didn't respond, Zhang Damao became more anxious. He cursed the Japanese army loudly while taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up. Li Liansheng saw him shivering while striking the match and knew that Zhang Damao was worried about Zhao Zhibang's safety at this moment. He pulled Zhang Damao's sleeve and nodded to comfort him.

  For over 40 minutes, the Japanese army poured down several tons of explosives on a mountain where a company of the Chinese troops was stationed, which was extremely rare in the entire anti-Japanese war.

  "Zhao Zhibang, Zhao Zhibang... You damned dog, haven't you been deafened by the devils' cannons again?!" As soon as the cannon fire stopped, Zhang Damao's first question was to Zhao Zhibang.

  "Even if I'm hit, nothing will happen to me...I'll just listen to you and open my mouth wide..." This was what Zhao Zhibang told Zhang Damao after being stunned by the enemy's 92-type cannon for the first time.

  "Haha... Dog's day..." Hearing Zhao Zhibang's response, Zhang Daman's hanging heart finally put down.