Chapter 5: The First Battle of the Newly Formed Army

  Chen Jifang continued: "In those years, the Japanese Kwantung Army in Northeast China was only 200,000 strong, while our Northeastern Army had 3 million. Yet we retreated without a fight, abandoning the beautiful rivers and mountains of Northeast China and millions of our compatriots to the Japanese. What shame! The shame of Chinese soldiers! Now our capital is lost, and the Chinese nation is on the brink of destruction. At this time, if we soldiers do not stand up, are we going to let unarmed civilians face those beastly Japanese devils?"

  "No! No!" Chen Jifan's words finally took effect, followed by a roar from below.

  "We are few in number, but we won't go head-on with the devils. Hmph, fighting the little devils doesn't necessarily mean forming a battle line and charging forward. We can blow up their arsenal today, ambush their transport team tomorrow, and pull out a few of their sentry posts the day after. In short, let the little devils not have a peaceful life on our Chinese land, and make them unable to sleep soundly."

  "Sir, I heard from my fellow villager that when they went to Jiangxi to fight the Communist bandits, the bandits used this very tactic. Later, they wiped out our entire regiment, and even the regiment commander was captured." A soldier couldn't help but interrupt.

  "This isn't guerrilla warfare as the Communist bandits said, we are regular troops." Another one also took over and said.

  Chen Jifan saw that his words were taking effect, and a smile appeared on his face. "Brothers, what I'm saying is a bit like guerrilla warfare, but it's even more fierce than that - it's called special warfare. Last night, it was just the few of us who snuck into the enemy's camp while they were sleeping and killed off an entire small squad of devils. If all of you brothers join in, next time it won't be a matter of killing dozens of little devils, but hundreds or thousands!"

  "Comrade Commander, I volunteer to fight the devils!"

  "I also want to fight the devils!"

  After Chen Jifan's speech, it finally worked, and the soldiers below expressed their opinions. Some who were hesitant also expressed their views under the influence of public opinion, and the effect was achieved. Chen Jifan glanced at Song Guantao with his eyes.

  Song Guanhu was secretly impressed, thinking that this official not only could fight against the Japanese devils but also had a silver tongue. He himself couldn't even handle his own affairs, yet others could resolve them with just a few words, making him feel ashamed. Clearing his throat, he said: "Alright, tonight we'll treat Officer Chen and the others to a good time! Let's disperse!"

  In the evening, the whole house was in a state of revelry, with everyone laughing and shouting. The few people from the 21st century had never seen such a scene before. Although they were not weak in drinking capacity, this was their first time drinking in a military camp, so they all looked serious and worried. However, Deng Fangshun and his men quickly adapted to the local customs and began to boast about how they killed Japanese devils with ease, drawing gasps of surprise from the people around them. Song Guantao came over with a wine cup and started chatting with Chen Jifan. He said he was from Northeast China, and after the Japanese occupied the Northeast, his family escaped to Jinzhou, but unexpectedly, the Japanese planes bombed Jinzhou, killing all his family members. With nowhere to go, he fled to Beiping and joined the army. Today, Chen Jifan's words touched his heart, and he told Chen that as long as it was about fighting the Japanese devils, he would be willing to charge into the flames of hell.

  The next day, Chen Jifang gathered everyone together for a pep talk, and then the team was reorganized. The "Chinese 'Divine Eagle' Anti-Japanese Special Operations Team" was reorganized into one platoon with 39 people, divided into seven small groups. Each group was led by several special warfare team members, including Zhong Dingcheng, Chen Jifang, Song Guantao and Deng Fangshun. After the reorganization, they immediately began to take stock of their weapons and supplies.

  Weapons are temporarily not in short supply, apart from those brought by Chen Jifang and others, there are:

  28 formal rifles, over 800 rounds of ammunition, 44 Type 38 rifles, over 3800 rounds of ammunition, 2 shotguns, 68 rounds of ammunition, 4 MP18 submachine guns, over 600 rounds of ammunition. 2 Czech-style light machine guns, 1200 rounds of ammunition, 2 "wai ba zi" light machine guns, 2000 rounds of ammunition, 220 wooden-handle hand grenades, 2 grenade launchers, 43 explosive grenades, 147 48-petal hand grenades. In addition to the few landmines and bombs in Zhao Jun's helmet. One military sword

  In terms of materials: one set of steel helmets, combat uniforms and military boots per person, two pairs of binoculars, two carts, one radio station, only a few bags of rice, dozens of cans of food and some candies.

  Chen Jifan divided the combat team into smaller groups based on ammunition: Zhong Dingcheng's group was equipped with all machine guns, 8 personnel, 5 gunners, and 2 ammunition handlers; Zhao Jun's group was equipped with grenade launchers, 100 hand grenades, and Type 38 rifles, 6 personnel; Wen Chuanhao's group was equipped with medium-sized sniper rifles, 3 personnel; Luo Yugang's group was equipped with MP18s and Type 03 rifles, 5 personnel; Hu Yunfeng's group was equipped with medium-sized sniper rifles, 12 personnel; Gao Huanjie's group was equipped with Type 38 rifles, 12 personnel. Deng Fangshun was in charge of ammunition supply management, and Song Guantao was responsible for gathering intelligence.

  Since arriving at the mountain stronghold, Chen Jifan had always felt a sense of unease. The Japanese devils' small team died mysteriously, and it was unlikely they would remain unresponsive. It was very possible that they would pursue along the main road. If so, the "Divine Eagle" would face a tough battle as soon as it was established. Chen Jifan wasn't confident in his men's ability to fight, but he thought that to become an elite special forces unit, they had to dare to fight tough battles. Thinking of this, Chen Jifan decided to take the team out tomorrow. Rather than waiting for the little devils to find them, it was better to take the initiative and attack first.

  The training time was only one day, Chen Jifan gathered everyone to emphasize obedience to orders and discipline, and then it was pre-war mobilization. Upon hearing that there would be a battle, the "Divine Eagle" team members were all very excited.

  The bodies of the Japanese troops were discovered the next day. Captain Kawasaki was pale, and from the corpses it could be seen that all had been killed by cold weapons or bare hands, with only one having been shot in the forehead.

  "Yoda, aren't you going to give me a satisfactory explanation?" Kawasaki said coldly to the squadron leader, Yoda.

  "Report to Lieutenant Kawasaki, I believe the Shimizu squad has encountered Chinese militia." Lieutenant Itoda stood at attention.

  "What militia? What kind of militia has such formidable combat power that a single night can annihilate an entire Imperial Japanese Army field infantry squad?" Kawasaki was somewhat incredulous.

  "The Chinese people have a strong tradition of martial arts, especially in the mountainous regions where hunters are common. Look, this sergeant is the only one who was shot, and this caliber rifle doesn't exist in any branch of the Chinese military. It's highly likely that it's a modified hunting rifle made by the locals themselves."

  "In that case, you lead your troops to avenge them. Find those despicable Chinese and wipe them out." Kawasaki made a menacing gesture.

  The Inada unit is a Class-A field corps with a full strength of 248 men. After the Battle of Shanghai and Nanjing, they lost some personnel, and one platoon was wiped out, so now there are only 127 people left. They have 4 grenade launchers and 5 machine guns. The soldiers are all veterans who have undergone rigorous training and survived on the battlefield, with combat effectiveness equivalent to a regiment of the National Army.

  The next day after receiving the order, Yida set out with his troops. Since they were heading to a mountainous area, Yida's squad marched on foot, following the tire tracks left by "Shenying" all the way.

  The second day after the troops were reorganized, "Divine Eagle" set out under Chen Jifan's leadership with each person carrying three days' worth of dry rations and water. Each member of the "Divine Eagle" team carried 6 hand grenades (except for Zhao Jun's firepower group), 120 rounds of ammunition per rifle, 300 rounds of ammunition per machine gun, and 150 rounds of ammunition per submachine gun.

  All the way, Chen Jifan kept asking Song Guantou about the situation around him, including which villages were nearby and how they were doing. Song Guantou had only been here for two months and was not familiar with the place except for occasionally going down the mountain to extort food from the landlord. He only knew a few villages along the road. Chen Jifan decided to be on guard in these villages. The reason is simple, if the devils come out, they will definitely take it out on the common people.

  The troops set out from the morning and walked until the afternoon, all the National Army soldiers were tired and sweating, Chen Jifan found a hidden place to order everyone to rest in place, then let Zhao Jun and Song Guantao go out to scout.

  Song Guanhu's physical condition was not bad, and he had been trained in the national army, so after walking for a whole day, he could still barely keep up with Zhao Jun's pace. He was amazed that Zhao Jun, who was so young, had such physical strength, but Zhao Jun told him that this was just an ordinary march, and if they were to carry 30 kilograms of heavy loads and trek 10 kilometers in the wilderness, he estimated that Song Guanhu wouldn't even have the energy to speak.

  "Carry a 30-kilogram load and run up 10 kilometers?" Song Guantou's mouth was wide open.

  According to Chen Jifang's instructions, the two of them scouted along the small road in the direction where they attacked the Japanese army yesterday. They walked for about two hours, and Zhao Jun drew on paper while walking, making detailed marks on the terrain along the way. Song Guantao was reluctant to speak because of physical reasons until later.

  Two men chose a mountain bag about 400-500 meters away from the road as their resting place. Just as they were drinking water, a large group of birds suddenly flew up in the distance. "Something's happening! The devils are coming!" Zhao Jun pushed Song Guantao once.

  It just so happened that the Itō squad, a field squadron, ran to the wilderness to find someone to take revenge on. Lieutenant Colonel Itō thought it was shameful, but the Japanese soldiers below didn't think so. This battle mission had no risk at all, just like tourism. The flower girls in Shina were not bad either. As soon as they thought of the flower girls, these soldiers' feet had endless energy. So the 127 devils marched at a speed that was not slow at all.

  Zhao Jun carefully observed the Japanese troops through his binoculars, looking down on their marching formation. He couldn't believe that such a large troop movement wouldn't send out scouts for reconnaissance, it seemed they didn't take the Chinese seriously. After figuring out the number of Japanese troops and their equipment situation, Zhao Jun ordered Song Guantao to hurry back and report.

  After Song Guanhu left, Zhao Jun quickly slipped to the front 2 kilometers away and started setting up landmines on the side of the road. As a demolition expert in the special forces, if he didn't show off his skills to the little devils, it would be too much. Zhao Jun only wanted to teach the devils a lesson, so he used only one of the landmines he brought with him, which was the most advanced anti-infantry mine in the country, with a killing radius of 5-6 meters. After burying the landmine, he stood a large stone on top of it and wrote in Japanese with charcoal: "The Emperor is a stupid pig." Then he walked away triumphantly.

  When the team led by Yoda arrived here, they found this stone monument as expected. The result is predictable. How high is the status of the Japanese Emperor in the minds of the Japanese people? Can he be insulted casually? Yoda didn't think much about it and quickly ordered someone to erase the words on the stone. Of course, the landmine was successfully detonated, killing two people on the spot and seriously injuring four others.

  "Damn Chinese pigs!" Iida yelled at the four wounded and two dead bodies on the stretcher, but wait, how could the Chinese speak Japanese? And this explosive landmine, its power was enormous, when did the Chinese have such a terrifying weapon? Captain Iida thought about it over and over again, but couldn't get a good explanation, so he had no choice but to order the troops to proceed with caution, which slowed down their marching speed.

  Zhao Jun rushed back just in time to meet "Divine Eagle" hurrying over, and when he heard Zhao Jun's report of his masterpiece, everyone else burst out laughing. Only Chen Jifan scowled: "Undisciplined and unorganized, wait till the battle is over and I'll deal with you."

  "Alright, now listen up, all you 'Eagles'! The little devils are right ahead of us. These little devils are well-trained veterans with extremely strong combat capabilities. So I must stress: First, obey orders; Second, absolutely obey orders. Did you hear me?"

  "Got it."

  "Speak louder, I can't hear!"

  "Did you hear that?!" A loud roar followed.

  "Alright, everyone is here! Follow me to the front to ambush." Chen Jifan commanded.