Chapter 66: Preparing for Battle (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks ~)

  Nanjing Street

  "Extra! Extra! The Japanese army is attacking Beiping! The 29th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, fearless and fierce, bravely fighting the enemy! Sun returned to China and fired for the first time, shooting down more than 40 enemy planes!"

  A rickshaw puller grabbed a small newspaper boy: "Give me one"

  The newspaper boy smiled and looked at Old Chen, who was driving a rickshaw: "Old Chen, you can't read, why buy newspapers?"

  Lao Chen's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth, saying: "The newspaper that defeated Little Japan must be bought!"

  The newsboy threw a newspaper to Old Chen: "I'm in high spirits today, no charge for you!" Before Old Chen could react, he shook off his hand and ran away shouting "Extra! Extra! National army kills over 600 Japanese soldiers, Sun Xiang shoots down over 40 Japanese planes!" The voice faded into the distance...

  Nanjing City, just a few streets away from the National Government, Lita carried a small package and walked out of the gate of a courtyard, the gate was very wide, an old building, a large mansion, on the plaque above the door were written two big characters 'Sun Mansion'. After Lita left the house, she looked around to get her bearings, then walked to the entrance of the alley, where many rickshaw drivers were waiting for customers. Lita got into one of them and said in stiff Chinese: "Master, go to Chicken Temple."

  This yellow rickshaw happened to be Old Chen's, and with a grunt, he slung his towel over his shoulder and started running, pulling the vehicle. The Temple of Chicken Crowing was the most prosperous temple in Nanjing, located near Gulou.

  Lao Chen saw that this pretty foreign girl looked a bit distracted and asked: "Miss, are you going to the Temple of the Rooster's Crow to burn incense?"

  "Rita replied laboriously: 'Yes, pray for my fiancé'"

  Lao Chen curiously asked: "Isn't your fiancé in Nanjing?"

  Lita shook her head: "He is fighting for his country, not in Nanjing"

  Lao Chen sighed: "In this chaotic world, when will it be over?" He turned to look at Rita and found the little girl looking at him in confusion. He continued: "What I mean is that this era is not good, we are living in a war."

  Lita nodded: "Yes, I'm afraid he'll drive the plane away and never come back."

  Lao Chen suddenly slammed on the brakes, startling Rita into a cry of "Oh, sir, you can't drive like that."

  Lao Chen excitedly took out the newspaper and asked: "Is your husband a pilot who participated in this battle?"

  Lita let out another scream, grabbed the newspaper, which was full of Chinese characters, and Lita's eyes widened in shock. The rickshaw stopped right in the middle of the road, very conspicuous, and a car behind it kept honking its horn.

  A burly man got out of the car and was about to move the rickshaw aside when he hesitated.

  "Miss Rita!!! What are you doing here?!!!" The big man was very excited.

  Lao Chen looked at the big man with a guarded expression.

  "Rita let out a loud shriek: "Oh my god, Lock, how did you end up in China?" As she said that, she excitedly hugged Lock. The person who had just arrived was none other than Andre Lock."

  Lao Chen relaxed his guard, clearly recognizing the two people.

  Andre scowled: "I was going to come find you after Steve finished flying, but there were too many people, so I started chasing you all the way from New York to Washington, then to Los Angeles, and finally to China. Oh my god, you guys completely forgot about me!"

  "Good Lord, didn't Steve tell you about our itinerary?" Rita's mouth formed an O.

  Roke: "......" Finally, Roke said something to the sedan driver and the car slowly drove away.

  "Finally found you guys," Luo Ke said, turning back to Lita. "No rush now, Miss Lita, where are you headed? Why is it just you alone?"

  Lita's face turned red with embarrassment: "I, I'm going to the Chicken Temple to pray for Steve's safety, so it's just me."

  Lock's expression was calm and composed, he glanced at Rita with a hint of mockery, then faithfully fulfilled his duty as her bodyguard, accompanying Rita to the temple to pray. After arriving at the temple, Old Chen refused to accept Rita's money, because her husband was helping the Chinese fight against the Japanese devils. In the end, Rita couldn't persuade Old Chen, so she gave him an address, telling him to come find her if he needed help.

  It's a wonderful thing to see familiar faces in distant China, and upon returning to the courtyard, I found Shirley standing at the gate, Rita gave Shirley an apologetic smile.

  When Locke arrived in China, Shirley was also very happy. The master chef who was invited for dinner made a table of very authentic dishes, and Locke ate with great relish. Locke formally settled down at the Sun Mansion in Nanjing City to take charge of the safety of the two girls.

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  On July 9, the Japanese side reached a ceasefire agreement with the Hebei-Chahar authorities, but this was just a delaying tactic for the Japanese. On the same day, the Japanese military mobilized more than 20,000 troops from Northeast China and Korea, as well as over 150 aircraft, demonstrating their determination to launch an all-out invasion of China!

  Sun Xiang sat in the Taiyuan base listening to the radio, and when he heard that both sides had reached a compromise, he couldn't help but curse, "This idiot, can't they see the determination of the Japanese? The ambition to swallow China is clear, and yet they still want to rely on political negotiations to resolve it, how ridiculous!"

  Xun Xiang sent a telegram to Zhang Zizhong with only eight words: Beware of the Japanese army, peace talks are deceitful.

  After sending it out, Sun Xiang was still worried and sent a telegram to Old Chiang and the Yan'an government.

  The entire Chinese society protested against the Japanese army's invasion, but at this time, no matter how they protested, it was useless. The ruthless and crazy Japanese devils decided to fight a decisive battle in China, and the highest commander of the Japanese military department and Emperor Hirohito of Japan shouted out the slogan of destroying China in three months.

  The voice of resistance against Japan rose across China!

  The aircraft of the Nanchang base were gradually transferred to Taiyuan and Shanghai Hongqiao bases, while the Soviet-supported bombers flew to Lanzhou Airport for handover, where Gao Zhihang led his team to receive the planes.

  The Japanese reinforcements arrived quickly, but history had already undergone some subtle changes. As the commander of the 29th Army, Song Zheyuan was recuperating in his hometown in Shandong and believed that this would also be a local war, so he did not return to Beiping to command the war. The command of the 29th Army fell into the hands of Generals Zhang Zizhong and Feng Zhian. After receiving Sun Xiang's telegram, General Zhang deeply trusted him, as the previous "exercise" had fully demonstrated Sun's foresight. Therefore, after receiving the telegram, Zhang immediately replied to Sun: "Zhang will definitely do his best to resist the enemy." He also requested that Sun provide support to the 29th Army at all times. Later, he sent a telegram to Commander Song Zheyuan, but Song maintained his original views. General Zhang had no choice but to take up the banner of the 29th Army himself.

  Zhang Zizhong was once labeled as a "pro-peace faction" at the beginning of the war, only one step away from being called a "traitor", but these misunderstandings have dissipated in this life. Due to Sun Xiang's influence and the decisive blow of the 7·8 North Ping air battle, Old Chiang did not have his original passive plan, so he did not issue some negative orders.

  Zhang Zizhong, despite his illness, held an emergency meeting with the commanders of the 37th Division, Feng Zhi'an and the 132nd Division, Zhao Dengyu. The three men had an urgent discussion, actively preparing for battle. Zhao Dengyu, together with Feng Zhi'an, defended Fengtai, while Zhang Zizhong led the 38th Division to prepare to reinforce or attack Tianjin as needed. Meanwhile, Liu Ruming, commander of the 143rd Division, deployed his troops in Zhangjiakou.

  At this time, the 18th Army commander Luo Zhuoying led the 11th Division, division commander Huang Wei; The 14th Division, division commander Huo Kuiyong; The 67th Division, division commander Li Shusen; The 94th Division, division commander Zhu Huaibing, were stationed in Baoding. At this time, the two armies had a total of 8 divisions preparing for battle, with more than 170,000 troops.