Chapter 53 The Second Line of Defense

  Zhao Xiaofeng and Ma Zhanshan sat in the jeep, gazing at the troops advancing on the highway. Some wore single-layer clothing, while others wrapped themselves in a blanket. No one spoke. The wind lifted the tattered corners of their mud-stained clothes, and the cold air pierced through their garments. This was the season of entering winter, but the soldiers' cotton-padded jackets had not been resolved. Looking at the shabby troops before him, his heart felt sour. An hour ago, they were still brave warriors who fought to the death without regard for their lives. Now, they didn't even have basic warm clothing, and tomorrow or tonight, they might be thrown into an even more brutal battle.

  Ma Zhan Shan thought of Zhang Xueliang, who was far away in Beiping. Although he had sent commendations to the soldiers who were fighting to defend the country with their blood, he hadn't allocated a single penny. He knew that Zhang also had difficulties, and wondered if Chiang Kai-shek, who always hummed and hawed, would provide military pay and warm clothing due to his stubborn resistance against Japan? He glanced at his chief of staff, Xie Ke: "After we arrive at our quarters, we should inform the Central Party Department, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Vice-Commander, and various institutes, provinces, municipalities, party departments, governments, and newspapers of our stance. The telegram is..."

  Ma Zhan Shan repeatedly polished every sentence in the telegram and read it out to Xie Ke, asking him to add some words.

  The deputy wrote in the darkness with the faint light of the dashboard inside the jeep:

  After 9.18, the Japanese used various methods to collude with bandits and evil elements to plot against Northern Manchuria, using the name of Chinese autonomy to implement their invasion of land and political power. Jiang Province is far away from the border, doing its best to defend itself, but the Japanese have borrowed the excuse of repairing the Nenjiang River Bridge to use Japanese troops to cover up Zhang Haipeng's army crossing the river, pressing our defensive territory, and starting an attack. And in the past two days, the Japanese side has used dozens of planes and over 200 guns to launch a fierce encirclement attack, with the intention of directly attacking Jiang Province. Furthermore, the Nenjiang River Bridge belongs to our country, how can Japan intervene? The League of Nations already has a way to deal with this matter, insisting on avoiding conflict, but Japan disregards world peace and persists in its aggressive ambitions towards Manchuria. Jiang Province is forced into a position of self-defense, and for the sake of urgent defense, it has already engaged in armed combat. In the face of great danger, the country is on the verge of collapse, and all that can be done is to mobilize the troops under my command to resist to the death, with no sacrifice too great. I urge all parents across the nation to strive to rally together to save our country from peril, and I am filled with indignation.

  Acting Chairman of Heilongjiang Provincial Government Ma Zhanshan.

  Zhao Xiaofeng just lowered his head and remained silent, not raising any objections to Ma Zhan's telegram. He was very clear in his mind that at present, Ma Zhan was still a loyal subordinate of Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang, otherwise, Zhang Xueliang would not have appointed him as the vice chairman of Heilongjiang. Whether he could achieve his purpose this time depended on how he acted from now on. From the moment he entered Heilongjiang, Zhao Xiaofeng had been trying to change his image and give Ma Zhan, Xie Ke, and the soldiers and civilians of Heilongjiang a good impression.

  Why did Zhao Xiaofeng choose Heilongjiang? The reason is: Heilongjiang, as the northernmost province in China, has a treacherous terrain and climate, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Compared to his previous base, this place is unparalleled. As long as he focuses on dealing with the Japanese, he can do so without worrying about the Soviet Union, which is currently watching from the sidelines, waiting for the two sides to exhaust each other. Therefore, Heilongjiang is now the safest haven Zhao Xiaofeng could ask for.

  The Chinese army advances in the dark of night. The Chinese army enters the second line of defense.

  The Kwantung Army Commander-in-Chief Honjō Shigeru led his troops to occupy hundreds of large and small cities in southern Manchuria almost without any twists and turns, but unexpectedly suffered a setback at the hands of Ma Zhanshan, who was from the Green Forest, ruining his entire plan for invading northern Manchuria.

  Ben Zhuang angrily and hastily issued orders to replace several lower-level military officers who were not attacking effectively, and then grabbed the phone to order two regiments of the Changchun Zhangguo Brigade, two infantry and artillery regiments of the Jilin Tianye Brigade to be deployed to Taonan for another attack.

  On the railway line, military vehicles carrying cannons, soldiers and ammunition rushed to Taonan Line. For several days, passenger trains heading north to Manchuria had been suspended, all converted into troop trains heading north to participate in the Jiangqiao Battle. Honjō Shigeru also sent an urgent telegram to the Tokyo Army Ministry, requesting that four more divisions be dispatched from Japan to Northeast China.

  On the night of the 6th, just as Zhao Xiaofeng made a decisive order to withdraw from all fronts, Ben Zhuangfan's reinforcement troops had set out for the south bank of the Jiang Bridge, under the unified command of Gu Duomen, the division commander.

  Duō Mén increased his troops, and in a few days, he shook off the gloomy expression on his face. He declared that on the 7th, he would invest all his strength to annihilate Ma Zhanshan's garrison at Daxing Station, transport all heavy artillery to the front line, and have cavalry units stand by on the first line.

  On the 7th, at dawn, the commander of the Binbontai unit, who had been defeated by the Maizishan defenders, led 8 units under intense artillery cover, advancing towards the Daxing Railway Station defensive position with their heads bowed.

  The Daxing Railway Station was quiet, and the Japanese army unexpectedly did not encounter any resistance from the defending troops. After three days of fierce fighting, the Hibino Regiment had been decimated, and its commander had been reprimanded by General Doihara, to the point where now whenever he mentioned Ma Zhanshan's troops, he would tremble with fear, having been intimidated. He saw that the front line of the defending army was empty, with no signs of life, only a scorched earth that still hadn't cooled down.

  Binmoto knew that once he fell into the Chinese army's ambush, he would not win at all. The Chinese garrison didn't want his head, and that bastard Maodou would also make his head move to a new home and find another place to eat. How dare he act rashly?

  Hamamoto ordered his troops to halt the attack and sent out a small reconnaissance force to probe into the defensive positions of the garrison. The scouting party had barely taken a few steps when they were blown up by landmines, and some bewildered Japanese soldiers immediately began firing wildly.

  Hanamoto was also startled, thinking that the Chinese army was right in front of him, but soon he found out that not a single shot or bullet was fired at him.

  Bin immediately became bold and ordered the dispatch of more than a dozen small teams to search forward, except for hundreds of people being blown up, the Chinese army didn't even leave a single hair behind!

  Binmoto's heart was filled with a burst of joy, and he immediately became arrogant and proud. The iron ring on his head that had been threatening to take his life also suddenly disappeared. Last night, the cold-faced Commander Tadokoro glared at him: "I'll give you three more regiments, lead them to capture Daqing Station, this is your last chance."

  At the beginning of the war with China, Bin was boastfully telling his classmates that the Battle of Jiangqiao would prove him to be Japan's greatest commander. China was undoubtedly a good place for Japanese soldiers to show off their wisdom and ability, although the achievements of the soldiers were written in blood and flesh by the soldiers themselves.

  Before the Battle of Jiangqiao, he would not have thought that even if he had thought of a thousand possibilities, he would still be defeated by the Heilongjiang garrison and lose face. Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek ordered his tens of millions of Northeastern Army troops to raise their hands in surrender without resistance under the attack of less than 50,000 Japanese troops. From this point on, he respected Ma Zhanshan but looked down on Chiang Kai-shek.

  Although he hated Ma Zanshan so much that his teeth itched, and he couldn't wait to grab him and cut off his head with a knife to make up for the prestige of sweeping the floor. Thinking about it, he still liked Chiang Kai-shek, who gave him opportunities for promotion and possibility, and he thought that just like in South Manchuria, he could easily swallow Heilongjiang Province and pin the general's rank on his chest that he had been dreaming of. Alas, extreme joy begets sorrow, and he no longer dared to underestimate the Chinese soldiers of Heilongjiang Province.

  Binben rode into the Great Wall array on a tall horse, dismounted in front of an ancient temple that had been bombed with hundreds of holes, and let his entourage spread out the map. His eyes followed the direction of Ma Zhan's retreat, his hand pressed on the map, apparently the Chinese army entered the second line of defense, Sanjianfang.

  "Commander! I have led my troops to occupy the Daxing Railway Station. The Heilongjiang defenders could not withstand our powerful attack and fled in disarray towards Sanjianfang."

  Takada was overjoyed and loudly ordered Hinomoto: "You! Immediately pursue the Chinese garrison, and annihilate Ma Zhanshan's troops in one fell swoop!"

  "Hey!" Hamamoto replied with a deep breath: "Absolutely no Chinese garrison will be allowed to escape."

  Hanamoto knew in his heart that he would only dare to answer the officer's orders so straightforwardly and without hesitation on an empty guard post.

  "What's next? Let the next step go to hell!" Binh thought, Shugun was not a defeated soldier, his troops followed Shugun's troops and could not withstand fierce resistance. Now it is more important to execute orders, he issued another attack order: "Advance to Sanjiefang!"

  The Japanese army's frontal attacks on the defenders of Jiangqiao and Daxing railway stations over several days were all repelled, although they also crossed the river, but their troops were almost completely annihilated, and most of the soldiers now are newly reinforced.

  After all, General Du Yuming was not a mediocre general. He had participated in the Battle of Dalian Bay against Russia and had rich combat experience. While he continued to attack the defender's defense line with Binben Zhengmian, he put his main cavalry rapid reaction force on the defender's flank, letting the cavalry attack the Sanjianfang area from Da Guantun and Xiao Xintun. If this trick succeeded, then Ma Zhanshan would be blocked behind. In other words, if Sanjianfang was blocked, it would be equivalent to grasping the throat of Heilongjiang Province.

  At this time, Ben Zhuang Fan was gathering troops on the Taoerhe Railway line, and the Japanese army had increased to more than 50,000 people. The pseudo-army Zhang Haipeng's department also exceeded 5,000 people, moving towards Sanjianfang, Mogu Creek, and Hongqiyingzi's defensive position.

  The Japanese army's strength had already exceeded twice that of the Heilongjiang garrison troops.

  The reconnaissance unit of Heilongjiang discovered the Japanese army's plot. Zhao Xiaofeng retreated to Sanjianfang and immediately made preparations to meet the enemy, first sending a telegram to Hailar, urgently calling for the 2nd Cavalry Brigade led by Cheng Zhiyuan to rush to Sanjianfang, and then ordering each county to quickly send trained militia to Heilongjiang to supplement the front-line troops. Then he personally inspected the traps and hidden forts set up by the anti-Japanese army in the surrounding area of Sanjianfang.

  Sanjianfang Village was originally a village in the remote suburbs of Heilongjiang, 70 li north of Heilongjiang. Since the construction of the Taoao Railway and Binzhou Railway, it has become an important transportation hub in northern Manchuria.

  Inside Sanjiefang Station, the railways crisscrossed, and most of the trains coming from the south and going to the north reversed direction here. Sanjiefang was also the last line of defense for defending the provincial city. Without Sanjiefang, the provincial city would have no defenses left to guard.

  After abandoning the Jiangqiao position, Zhao Xiaofeng immediately ordered his troops to repair their fortifications and sent all the wounded to Qiqihar for treatment. Even a fool knows that after the Japanese army occupied the meaningless Daxing Station, they would definitely follow up on the retreating defenders.

  In the three-room band, Zhao Xiaofeng set up a decisive battle with Japan:

  The 3rd Infantry Regiment of Li Qing-shan Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Regiment of Wu De-lin Brigade took over the original defensive area of Wu Songlin's Cavalry Brigade in Daxing.

  Wu Songlin's troops moved eastward to cover the left flank of the three-room house, blocking the Japanese army from attacking from Da Guan Tun and Xiao Xin Tun.

  Zhang Dian's nine-step journey was placed in the right wing of the three rooms, responding to the front guard team.

  Wang Deqing's tank battalion, along with the three A7V combat tanks and two T-28 tanks, were all buried on both sides of the enemy's path, but no one could discover their tracks unless they dug up the earth. For this entire month, Wang Deqing's mission was to hide the tanks, so he chose to bury them in a depression and then cover them with a layer of soil, making it impossible for anyone to find these massive objects!

  Wang Zhengyang's machine gun battalion, the more than 100 remaining machine guns and more than 200 machine gunners are now all ambushing in the hidden soldier caves behind the tanks.

  The howitzer battalion led by Huang Yuhai consisted of more than 100 howitzers and over 50 large-caliber "Krupp" guns, with nearly 500 gunners hiding in caves on the mountain and between mountains. The 150 black muzzles were facing the sky and ground outside. Now that the troops' ammunition was running low, Zhao Xiaofeng asked Huang Yuhai to remain calm and not reveal their position unless absolutely necessary.

  His own reinforcement troops now only had 261 people left, Shi Li, Cao Fei and Shan Mao closely followed him.

  Just as everything was in place, the ten Japanese planes that had just arrived to provide support roared towards the three houses, and the outer guard posts were immediately engulfed in flames and smoke. The civilian houses were reduced to ruins in an instant, and the Japanese pilots flew back to refuel and reload after admiring their handiwork from the air.

  Zhao Xiaofeng did not order the soldiers to take action because he knew it was not time yet, he wanted to lure all the enemies over and then annihilate them.