Chapter 27: Wounded and Resting

  A swift horse rushed to the front of Zhai Qin. A soldier jumped off the horse in front of Zhai Qin and said, "Report to the battalion commander, the 124th regiment that attacked Yanglin Township has returned and is rushing back to Xuan City."

  Dai Qin said: "Tell Captain Cheng to monitor the Japanese 116th Regiment."

  "Yes" The soldier rode his horse and rushed out of the city, Diqin thought that Cheng Shizhong was quite clever, knowing to use the captured enemy warhorse to deliver messages, which would be much faster. It seemed that he still needed to prepare more radios, otherwise it would be too slow. Information is the key to victory, and there's no reason for him not to know the importance of speed in delivering messages. It seemed that he had to go back and find Huan Zhengping to ask for men.

  He threw away the thoughts in his mind and said: "Ma Chun, send a telegram to the commander-in-chief, reporting that the Independent Regiment has occupied Xuanzhou. The Japanese 124th Brigade is withdrawing. It is suggested to concentrate forces to annihilate the 116th Brigade."

  Ma Chun hurried to send a telegram. At this time, the sky appeared with the roar of airplanes. Zhai Qin shouted that something was wrong, how could he forget about the devils' planes? It seems that Handa Shozo's withdrawal of troops was for this purpose, and he hastily shouted: "Zhai Gui, order the troops to retreat immediately to the outskirts of the city, in the direction of Green Leaf Mountain."

  "Huang finished shouting and shouted at Wang Biao: "Wang Biao, lead the troops to withdraw from the city."

  Zhang Min said: "Captain Wang led the logistics team to carry out their mission."

  Dai Qin only then remembered that he had forgotten to tell them, this time was not the last time, and they couldn't do it like that. But now everything was too late. Just as Dai Qin anxiously ordered the people beside him to pass on the order, the troops retreated from the west gate, the bomb finally fell down.

  Boom, a huge explosion kicked up clouds of dust and smoke everywhere. He Ling let out a startled cry and stood there trembling, although she had experienced aerial bombing before, but at such close range, it was her first time, and her face turned pale.

  Zhang Min and the others followed Qi Qin in, looking at the intense gunfire ahead with a eager-to-try expression, but seeing Qi Qin's cold face, they didn't dare to move rashly. At this time, they were already frightened and somewhat at a loss.

  "Get down, quickly, you idiot!"

  Just after shouting this sentence, the sky transmitted the sharp whistling sound of a bomb. Diqin instinctively pressed Zhang Juan and Zhu Hongxia down, covering them with his body. A bomb exploded not far away, and the huge impact force lifted up a vast amount of dust, almost burying the three people.

  Diqin felt like his head had been hit with a stick, and then he felt his strength being drained away. He forced himself to move and said: "Pass the order, the third squad is cut off, the whole team retreats to Green Leaf Mountain. Hurry..."

  Dai Qin fainted and fell down, scaring Zhu Hongxia and Zhang Juan who were sitting below him to tears: "Dai Qin, you can't die."

  Ma Chun finished sending the telegram and ran over, seeing this strong fellow also being shocked: "The clinic, hurry up, damn it, hurry up."

  Team medic Song Gang rushed over and pushed Zhu Hongxia and Zhang Juan to one side. A small soldier dared to do this to them, and Zhu Hongxia, who was already in a bad mood, became furious: "You're looking for death."

  Song Gang glared and cursed: "It's all because of you guys, nothing to brag about. If the squad leader has something to do with it, he won't let you off."

  "You..." Zhu Hongxia was about to get angry, but was stopped by Zhang Min. Ma Chun shouted: "Song Gang, look at the team leader, what are you doing?"

  Song had just started to examine Zhai Qin, and found that it was only a single piece of cloth wiped over the scalp, head injury, fainted. Wrapped up the wound for Zhai Qin and shouted: "Stretcher." Turned back to Ma Chun and said: "The battalion commander is shocked."

  At this time, Zhao Kai had already received the order from Di Gui and rushed back. He knew that Di Qin was injured and was a little flustered. He asked Ma Chun: "What did the captain say?"

  Ma Chun said: "The battalion commander sent a telegram to the commander-in-chief, suggesting that the 116th Regiment be eliminated."

  Zhang Juan's face still had tears as she said: "Before he fell unconscious, he said that after the third company was cut off, the troops retreated to Green Leaf Mountain."

  Looking at the planes rampaging in the sky. Zhao Kai said: "Pass on the order, the first squadron is in front, the third squadron cuts off the rear, and retreats to Green Leaf Mountain."

  The gunfire inside Xuan City gradually subsided, and the three young generals of Handong Province who were surrounded in the city center were still in a state of shock. Whose troops he already knew, it was Diqin's independent battalion again.

  Who is this Diqin? I've never heard of him, and yet his independent battalion has such formidable combat strength. He received a report that there were over 2,000 troops in the city, but only over 1,000 returned to defend the central area, suffering casualties of nearly half their number in such a short time.

  Facing the attack of machine guns and hand grenades, the Imperial Army barely withstood the attack. Handa Shinsuke, who had some command ability, sent a telegram to the division commander, Nakajima Sadao, requesting that planes conduct combat guidance.

  Xuancheng was attacked, and the 35th Brigade may be surrounded and annihilated by Xue Yue. Nakajima Teiichi immediately asked for instructions, and Matsui Isao ordered planes to take off and bomb the Chinese army attacking the city.

  Diqin was not a military man after all, and he could think of it before the battle, but once the battle started, he would forget many things. Wang Biao and Zhang Meng were executing his previous orders, Diqin wanted to hold back the devils, recall the 124th regiment, and give Zhang Tongye an opportunity to destroy the 116th regiment. However, the appearance of Japanese planes made him realize that if he was late, he might be surrounded by the returning 124th regiment and the devils in the city, so he ordered a retreat, but he was injured and fainted.

  Fortunately, Zhang Juan heard a sentence later, and Zhao Kai did not suspect anything, immediately ordering the retreat.

  When he learned that Zhang Jin had retreated, Shandao Province San Shao came again with his ability, and Xuan City was almost occupied, with nearly a thousand casualties. How could he explain? He immediately ordered the concentration of the remaining troops to pursue at the west gate, and gave orders to Xiao Fangzhong, the commander of the 124th Brigade, to intercept Zhang Jin's independent division from the side.

  However, the third company that was cut off was Li Le's unit. They did not use the blocking position to block the enemy but instead launched a counterattack. Under the counterattack of machine guns and grenades, the Japanese army could not pursue them at all. After all, they were logistics supply units.

  Diaoqin's independent regiment moved too fast, they had no baggage, no heavy weapons, and retreated very quickly. When the 124th Regiment caught up from the side and the troops pursuing from the city met, it was already dark, and the independent regiment that had been fighting and retreating suffered some casualties, retreating into the forest of Green Leaf Mountain.

  In a small square frame, Commander Xiao orders the troops to surround the outer perimeter of the mountainous area and wait for tomorrow's aerial bombing to attack Qingye Mountain and annihilate the damned Zhaiqin Independent Brigade.

  But he had just given the order when he received a telegram from the commander of the 116th Division, which was surrounded by two Chinese armies and was being reinforced by the Chinese 39th Army's 56th Division under Liu Shangzhi, who was rushing to Ningguo with the intention of annihilating the 116th Division.

  Nakajima Teishō Lieutenant General thought he was deceived by Xue Yue, and urgently ordered Handa Shozo Major General to rescue the 116th Brigade, and the troops retreated to the Xuancheng defense line to prevent Xue Yue from cutting off the Wuhan-Huzhou defense line. Affecting the upcoming Battle of Xuzhou. Upon receiving the order, Kōji Hata Minoru led two brigades to attack towards Yanglin Township to respond to the surrounded 116th Brigade.

  Without being surrounded by the Japanese army, Zhao Kai led the Independent Regiment in a retreat to Ningguo through mountain paths.

  The headquarters of the Tunxi General Command was settled, and Xue Yue frowned at the map on the wall. Without turning his head, he asked: "How is Zhai Qin?"

  Xu Supu said: "According to Zhao Kai's report, Zhai Qin was injured in the head and is recuperating in Ningguo. This kid has a big nerve, with just one battalion of 700 men daring to attack the 2,100-strong Japanese garrison in Xuancheng."

  Xue Yue shook his head and said, "Take a look at their report. It's not just that he has guts, but also brains. His bravery is not just about commanding battles. Have you seen the orders from the Military Department?"

  Xu Supu certainly knew that Zhai Qin took away several bomb-like characters. Among the five girls, Wei Xiaohui and Zhang Juan were nothing, but Zhang Min and Zhu Hongxia were heavyweight characters. If there was any slip-up on the battlefield, even Xue Yue would have a hard time explaining it. The Military Command Department had already ordered the Independent Battalion to retreat and regroup before the battle was over, what did that mean?

  Although Zhaiqin brought trouble to Xue Yue, the 35th Brigade of the Japanese army was severely damaged in the Ningguo campaign, bringing a victorious message to the depressed anti-Japanese battlefield. Upon receiving Zhaiqin's telegram, Xue Yue was startled and attacked again into Xuancheng?

  Xue Yue was somewhat skeptical, wondering whether the Japanese were off guard or if Diqin had some special ability. Although Xuan Cheng was a logistics unit, it was still a division headquarters of the Japanese army with over 2,000 soldiers, so how could Diqin have easily attacked and entered the city?

  But shortly after receiving the telegram from Zhaiqin, the 37th Independent Brigade reported that the 124th Regiment, which was attacking the Yanglin Township flank position, suddenly stopped its attack and retreated towards Xuancheng City.

  Chen De-fa brigade commander suggested to pursue the Japanese 124th regiment. Xue Yue looked at the telegram in his hand, this kid still has some military brains, and said to the chief of staff: "Su Pu, order Chen De-fa brigade commander to immediately carry out a pincer movement on the 116th regiment that is attacking our front line position. Order Zhang Tong-yi to concentrate his forces and cooperate with the 37th brigade in counterattacking and annihilating the 116th regiment."

  When receiving the report from the independent regiment again, I knew that Zhai Qin was injured and the independent regiment had withdrawn to Ningguo via Green Leaf Mountain.

  Xue Yue was disappointed that the 124th Division returned too quickly, and the heavily damaged Temporary 12th Brigade failed to encircle the 116th Division in time, allowing Lieutenant Colonel Kataoka to successfully break through the 37th Brigade's defenses and withdraw with the 124th Division to Xuancheng.

  Although Xue Yue was not very satisfied, the Ningguo campaign, combined with Di Qin's performance in Xuancheng, resulted in the annihilation of over 3,000 Japanese troops. This was the largest number of enemy troops annihilated in a local battle, and most importantly, their own casualties were very small.

  However, the 12th Division suffered slightly more casualties. After comprehensive calculations, both sides' losses were roughly equal, and overall, the National Army's casualties were still slightly higher. But compared to the Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou battles, this was already a huge victory, known as the Ningguo Great Victory. The Wuhan-Chongqing area of the Nationalist-controlled territory erupted in cheers of triumph.

  Xue Yue's name appeared in the newspaper, along with Xue Yue, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy command, another name became a well-known hero, that is Zhai Qin, he was the first to win this victory, and the Independent Regiment appeared on the front page for the first time.

  The devilish Akatsuki was never mentioned again, and the Japanese statement was met with nothing but scorn from the Chinese people. The order from the Military Affairs Department had also reached Xue Yue's desk. He handed the order to Xu Supu and said: "Order the Independent Brigade to enter Xiuning for rest and reorganization, and replenish its forces."

  Xu Supu said: "What about Minister Chen's request?"

  Xue Yue shook his head helplessly: "Let them figure it out themselves after explaining the situation, I'm not a nanny."

  Xu Supu had no choice but to report the situation to Wuhan. At a time when Xue Yue was having a headache, Zhai Qin in Ningguo received an order that the independent regiment suffered heavy casualties and retreated to Xiuning for replenishment and reorganization.

  Dai Qin was enjoying the gentle service of Zhang Juan and Zhu Hongxia, two older sisters, while frowning with a heartache.

  He didn't come to until the second day after returning to Ningguo. When he was feeling a bit better, he saw the report Zhao Kei had given him and almost jumped up in shock. His unit of over 700 men had suffered more than 300 casualties in Ningguo, nearly half of them, mostly due to being bombed by planes.

  The independent battalion's air defense awareness was still not strong, and it was in the midst of withdrawal and attack. After the entire battalion retreated to Ningguo, only half of the soldiers were intact. The loss of half of the troops in one battle made Zhai Qincheng heartbroken.

  Even the two elder sisters, out of gratitude for saving their lives, put aside their pride and personally served Diqin, but couldn't make him happy. This was his own family's foundation, having just eliminated over a thousand devils, only half of the people were left.

  Looking at Diqin's appearance, Zhang Min said: "Don't worry, I'll tell my uncle to ask the chairman to add more men for you and then settle accounts with the devils."

  Diao Qin understood that with their current tactics, they were still not strong enough in terms of weaponry. Where could they get some good equipment? Huang Bingjie had rummaged through the entire armory of the military supplies department, but couldn't find a sniper rifle with a scope.

  Dai Qin didn't understand, with so many TV dramas, snipers are everywhere, how can there not be a single sniper rifle? After hearing Zhang Min's words, he said: "Alright, big and little wives, you've seen it, I'm under pressure to bring you here, now that you're all independent team members, shouldn't you get me some good stuff?"

  The girls were already used to Dai Qin's nonsense. Zhang Min said, "No problem, after we arrive in Xiuning, we'll go to Wuhan, whatever you want I'll get for you."

  Dai Gan suddenly came to his senses, now all the troops were in Chongqing, but Director Chiang's headquarters was in Wuhan, and the good things were also there. With these few people helping, he had to make a big move once, taking the opportunity to expand the troops. He must find Nakajima Sadao to take revenge. Suddenly sitting up, he said: "Quickly, pass on the order, the Independent Regiment will head to Xiuning."