Chapter 49: The Eve of Battle

  Unlike Dong Tianhao, who was worried about the military equipment and combat effectiveness of his troops, Gao Yongtai's biggest headache was not how to arrange defensive fortifications, but how to deal with Lin Yurui, a young lady who kept asking him for tasks. The entire 259th Brigade knew about the relationship between this young lady and You Fei. You Fei had handed over a message through Lin Yurui and pushed her onto Gao Yongtai, who silently cursed You Fei tens of times in his heart.

  Lin Yuru had been pestering Gao Yongtai all day, and now she was still pressing her thin lips together, urging Gao Yongtai to give her an explanation as soon as possible. Gao Yongtai's hands were clasped behind his head, fantasizing that he could hang Lin Yuru on a anti-aircraft gun and launch her away. Of course, this was just a fleeting thought, and when he returned to reality, he could only put on a bitter face and beg for mercy from Lin Yuru: "I say, Miss Lin, please spare me, I really can't find anything for you to do, why don't you go take a stroll around and see if there's anything that interests you?" Gao Yongtai almost blurted out the words "Just stop causing trouble for me!"

  Lin Yuru's face turned iron-green, and she hummed angrily: "After all, you stinky men look down on us women. I won't disturb you anymore, Captain Gao, Officer Gao. I'll go find something to do myself." After finishing speaking, Lin Yuru stormed out in a rage.

  Gao Yongtai sighed and said in a low voice, "Ah, journey, you have caused me so much suffering!"

  On the other hand, before Yufei and Jiang Huaizi felt the gravel beach, Ozawa Takeo led the Japanese army to arrive at the forefront of the gravel beach line.

  At this time, the egg yolk-like sunset had already jumped into the mountains after the peaks and ridges. Ozawa Takeo held a telescope to gaze at the defensive fortifications of the 137th Regiment in front of him. Although the 137th Regiment had only arrived at Shishi Tan for less than three days, their defensive fortifications were already complete and well-organized. The stone forts built with large stones on the ground were rough but gave off a strong sense of solidity that seemed indestructible. The two mountain cannons belonging to the brigade headquarters had been allocated to the Fujihara Detachment attacking Jingzi Ridge. Ozawa Takeo's unit only had a large number of mortars, but he wondered how much damage these mortars could cause to the enemy's stone fortifications. He couldn't help but draw a big question mark in his mind. The fierce and powerful cavalry detachment was usually Ozawa Takeo's trump card, but on the Shishi Tan stretching over a kilometer in front of him, those sharp stones pointing upwards were absolutely a nightmare for all cavalry units. Ozawa Takeo could not imagine how far the cavalry detachment could charge forward before falling down en masse, even if they had iron hooves, it was impossible to quickly pass through those thorny-like stone blocks blocking their way. Moreover, Ozawa Takeo discovered that these stones seemed to have been manipulated by someone, as most of them were triangular and sharp, with the pointed ends all facing upwards.

  Damn Chinese! Kozue Takeru shouted in his heart, and surprisingly, he was able to spend so much time and energy arranging the stones on the gravel beach in detail. After being shocked and angry, Kozue Takeru couldn't help but feel that the opponent in front of him might be a quite difficult enemy to deal with.

  The sky will soon be completely dark, and Ozawa Takeo understood that the 137th Regiment across from him would be like a vengeful spirit under the cover of night, making it impossible to rest easy. The darkness could erase the difference in equipment, and nighttime had always been the best choice for surprise attacks and raids.

  Koizumi Takehiro was also not slack, two infantry regiments formed a horn-shaped formation at the forefront, and the camp was set up in small units, with a machine gun point every ten steps. He also arranged three shifts, each with ten small teams of patrol troops moving between camps. The distance between the two armies' camps was only one mile, so it was necessary to defend against real knives and guns. He also required all soldiers not to take off their military uniforms while sleeping, not to cover themselves with quilts, and to lie down facing outwards with their guns in hand, so that they could hear any sound if someone came to attack.

  The cavalry regiment, although it was the last to arrive, did not idle. They took on the task of defending the left and right flanks and rear of the guard, but the war horses were also inconvenient for galloping at night, after all, it was pitch black all around. The cavalry regiment that never dismounted had no choice but to temporarily dismount, like infantry, relying on their feet to patrol the defensive line they were responsible for.

  The night grew deeper, from Lieutenant General Kohei Ozaki down to the ordinary soldiers, not a single one was not extremely vigilant against possible invasion. However, it was strangely quiet, except for the occasional cry of a crow in the sky, no ghostly figures were seen, nor were there any signs of the 137th Regiment's soldiers coming to launch a surprise attack or harassment.

  Koizumi Takehiro was perplexed, originally he thought the 137th Regiment would not let go of such a good opportunity, but everything was beyond his expectations, and all the defensive measures he had taken suddenly seemed superfluous. The person who made Koizumi Takehiro lose his calculation was none other than Xu Zhiyuan, the leader of the 137th Regiment.

  The staff of the Travel Department did not fail to suggest to Xu Zhiyuan that under the cover of night, they would launch a surprise attack, but in fact, they would harass and exhaust the Japanese soldiers, consuming their morale. However, the arrogant Xu Zhiyuan had never thought of doing so, on the contrary, he required all the soldiers of the 137th Regiment to rest early.

  Compared to the tense atmosphere of the Japanese army's position, the 137th Regiment was eerily quiet. The entire camp was dark except for the faint yellow light from the coal oil lamp inside Commander Xu Zhiwei's tent. Xu Zhiwei sat casually in a chair, with three low-ranking staff officers standing before him.

  Xu Zhiwei cast a slanted glance at the three of them. If it weren't for the fact that these three were under He Tianhao's command, Xu Zhiwei would have probably pulled out his gun and executed the three chattering men on the spot. The three junior officials were also nervous and apprehensive. They had the responsibility of strategizing and advising, yet they feared Xu Zhiwei, who was as explosive as a fire qilin. They didn't doubt for a moment that Xu Zhiwei, whose eyes were blazing with anger as he stared at them, would execute the three of them.

  Xu Zhiwei snorted, bellowing: "You three don't need to say anything more, my mind is made up. Tonight, I absolutely won't go and disturb them. Men should charge forward head-on, what kind of hero sneaks around? Tomorrow, I'll wait for those bastards to come out and fight me head-on, let's see who's tougher! Guards, send these three great strategists back to their tents to rest."

  The three advisors did not dare to say anything else and had to leave the tent of Xu Zhiyuan with their heads hung low, led by the guards.

  Xu Zhiwei hated the most was these people who kept saying something about being cautious and prudent, in his opinion, fighting was just a matter of who was more ruthless, who was less afraid of death. As the ancients said, when two armies meet, the brave win, so the only belief in his heart was that if you were not ruthless enough for him, then you were not his opponent.

  Xu Zhiwei leisurely sipped a mouthful of clear tea, moistening his dry throat. At that moment, the guards who were originally going to send off three small participants suddenly turned back and loudly reported to Xu Zhiwei: "Captain, the brigade commander has sent an urgent document via a communication soldier."

  "What the heck, you're just standing there like a fool, what's the point of that? I'm illiterate, you don't know that, hurry up and read it to me. Big brother is really something, asking someone to pass on a message is one thing, why do they always have to write a letter, can't even write themselves, have to get someone else to ghostwrite, what a hassle." Xu Zhiyuan muttered.

  The guard's legs trembled, and he hastily opened the letter with a shaking hand, reading aloud: "Benign Potato Xu Zhigui..."

  "Damn it, are you tired of living!!!!!!" Xu Zhiwei's face turned red with rage as he glared at the guard and bellowed.

  The little guard was so frightened that he shook violently all over, his throat as dry as if it had been set on fire. The little guard replied with a bitter face: "Team... Team leader, this is not what I said, it's the brigade commander, the brigade commander's original words, I just read them out."

  Xu Zhiwei responded with an "oh", and only then did he realize that these were You Fei's words. His tense nerves relaxed slightly, and after coughing a few times, he waved his hand and said: "Continue reading!"

  The guard continued to read in a trembling voice: "I can arrive at Shishi Beach before sunset tomorrow, you useless thing, get the spear ready for me, don't be rash, if something goes wrong, I'll cut off your head!"

  Xu Zhiwei muttered to himself, but it was unclear what he was saying. He waved his hand to signal that the guards could leave, and they quickly ran off. When Xu Zhiwei heard that You Fei was coming, he became tense all over. As long as You Fei was around, he always felt restricted in everything he did. It seemed that he had to make a big move tomorrow or else he wouldn't be able to do things his own way once his older brother arrived. Xu Zhiwei secretly made up his mind.