Chapter 43: The Wind Rises in Ji Nan (6)
As the ambush battle began, the third battalion attacking Zengjiazhuang also suddenly increased its attack intensity. The original sporadic and accurate artillery fire turned into a fierce group bombardment. Under the intense shelling of numerous mortar shells, many sections of the second wall were blasted down. As the cannon fire extended, soldiers from battalions one and two charged onto the second wall. Bandits who had been hiding in shelters and hadn't been killed or injured by the artillery began to rush out and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the soldiers. These bandits were no match for the security troops, and were quickly subdued by a small group of security soldiers from the 351st division. A few were stabbed to death, while most chose to surrender.
The security troops who broke through the second line of defense continued to attack the mountain top along the mountain road. At this time, intense and dense submachine gun fire and grenade explosions suddenly came from the top of the mountain. It turned out that two squads of the special forces had climbed up from the back of the mountain, focusing on shooting at the bandits below. Under the cover of more than 70 submachine guns, most of the bandits on the mountain were killed, and Liu Yu was also shot dead in the chaos. The remaining bandits surrendered one after another when they saw Liu Yu being shot dead. The bandits below were sandwiched between the two sides of the mountain, except for those who were shot dead, all surrendered.
Subsequently, the special forces searched Liu Yuru's residence and found two large boxes of gold bars and more than 700,000 yuan. In a cave behind Liu Yuru's residence, they also found several hundred ammunition boxes filled with gold, silver, jade, ancient books, paintings, and other treasures. This was what Liu Yuru had disguised as ammunition when she came here again to avoid detection.
Upon receiving the news, Song Zhe-wu immediately ordered Ye Chang-gui to escort the treasure back to Liyuan with his two squadrons while other troops sped up their mopping-up operation on the battlefield.
Standing on a small high ground in front of Zengjiashan, Song Zhe-wu, who was observing the cleanup of the battlefield by the 1st and 3rd battalions, suddenly heard a series of dull cannon sounds coming from the mountain pass. From the sound of the cannons, he could tell that it was the sound of 75mm mountain guns firing in unison. Because the 1st and 3rd battalions, whether it was the 3rd battalion attacking Zengjiashan or the 1st battalion ambushing, due to the narrow terrain, the mountain guns were almost impossible to use, not to mention they also had dozens of 82mm recoilless guns. Therefore, the mountain guns of the two battalions were all handed over to the 2nd battalion for unified command according to plan. Although the caliber was not very large, the total of 36 mountain guns from the three battalions was a powerful artillery force that was even stronger than an artillery regiment in the country. The series of cannon sounds were indeed the sound of the 36 mountain guns firing.
The Second Division, together with the 4 mountain artillery regiments of the First and Third Divisions, had nearly 9,000 men, and with such powerful firepower, he was not worried about blocking the attack. Therefore, he did not rush back to the division headquarters, but after receiving Zhang Yafei's report: "Han Fuqu's 55th Division, stationed in Linzhou, has arrived at the mountain pass and begun to attack", he told the chief of staff who came to report: "All combat orders are issued by himself, no need to ask for instructions, just report back to the chief of staff in time". He himself took the new deputy officer Huang Bin and his bodyguards to inspect the battlefield.
He did this because neither the Song Zhe Wu of his past life nor the current one had any actual combat experience. All their understanding of war was just theoretical, and they wanted to fulfill their dreams and desires by personally experiencing the battlefield. In his past life, he had read many web novels where people who crossed over became gods of war overnight, but now he deeply felt that those were all nonsense. At least he wasn't a god of war right now, and his combat experience and command art couldn't compare to people like Xiao Guodong or Zhang Yafei, not even some of his students in the security forces. He believed commanding wars was an art form, a very profound one that required great talent. Even the art of war in the early 20th century was far more profound than the chemical knowledge he had mastered in his past life.
As he was inspecting the battlefield and pondering the gains and losses of the battle, he didn't notice that a company had already assembled and set out to support the second company's blocking battle at the mountain pass, nor did he notice that the artillery fire from the direction of the mountain pass had long since ceased.
The commander of the 2nd Regiment, Xu Fang, and the deputy commander of the 1st Division, Xu Zheng, were biological brothers. Since they were assigned to this blocking mission, Xu Fang had been in a bad mood, unable to shake off the feeling that he was not going to be able to ambush the 26th Brigade's battle. It would be better if he could go and fight at Zengjiashan! However, all he got was one blocking mission that might not even become a reality. Even if Han Fuguang's 55th Division really came to Linzhou, as long as they came slowly, the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the 26th Brigade would come rushing over without hesitation to get a share of the spoils. The more Xu Fang thought about it, the more depressed he became. After setting up the blocking position, he stayed in the command center, sighing and groaning.
All the officers of the Security Regiment were young people, and a prominent feature of young people is that they dare to fight and strive, and are not willing to be left behind. This was especially evident in the Security Regiment. Song Zhiwu's series of measures during training and assessment greatly boosted this atmosphere.
The chief of staff, Meng Xi, saw through Xu Fang's thoughts. Meng Xi was from Tianjin and had studied at Nankai University in his early years. However, after his father, a rickshaw driver, was killed by the Japanese, he couldn't bear to see his mother suffer and struggle to support him, so he joined the security regiment. He had only one thought: to become a general who could lead troops into battle and avenge his family's death and the country's humiliation.
Actually, since seeing this battle plan, he had different thoughts. He believed that the plan formulated by the operations department was too conservative. With the strength of their first division, it wasn't just a matter of defeating the 26th Brigade and the 55th Division separately; they could easily wipe them out together. He understood the intention behind the battle plan - to let the people see that the troops from Henan had arrived in Hebei, and that the security army was defending itself.
However, he believed it wasn't necessary at all. Whether or not the troops from Henan, whether it was Shi Yousan's or Han Fuquang's division, came to Hebei was their decision to make. In simpler terms, it was a case of "giving someone a title and then finding fault with them." There was no need for such elaborate tactics.
Regarding this blocking action, he also didn't think much of it. The second regiment had four 75mm mountain artillery companies attached to the first and third regiments. In terms of firepower, the four divisions of the Northwestern Army were no match. What's more, if he were to formulate a battle plan, he would not just block Han Fuquang's 55th Division; he would annihilate it along with the 55th Division.
Meng Xi smiled and said, "Captain, don't be unhappy. Our blocking mission may not be worse than others." Seeing Xu Fang's puzzled expression, Meng Xi explained with a smile: "The 55th Division of Linzhou, led by Han Fuguang, is his main force division, with six main regiments, two supplementary regiments, and an artillery battalion, totaling over 10,000 people." Xu Fang snorted in disdain, saying, "Over 10,000 people! Our regiment, combined with the first and third regiments' four artillery companies, has a total strength of over 9,000 people. Don't mention that this 55th Division only has over 10,000 people, even if they have 20,000 people, they will absolutely not be able to break through our defense line. As long as they dare to come, I guarantee they will get their heads broken and blood flowing." Meng Xi saw Xu Fang didn't understand his meaning, so he dryly laughed a few times and said: "That's right, with our regiment's firepower, we're not afraid of one 55th Division, or even three or four divisions." Then he changed the subject, saying: "But there's only one 55th Division nearby, which isn't enough for us to practice on."
Xu Fang looked at Meng Xi, who had a mischievous grin on her face, and his heart skipped a beat. He grabbed Meng Xi's hand and asked eagerly, "Are you saying that we should take the initiative to attack and eliminate the 55th Division?"
