Chapter 15: The Blood Flag Dances in the Sky (Part 2) Page 1

  When Wen Songyuan's troops arrived, it was the most intense attack by the Japanese on Xing Yusheng's division. Xing Yusheng's division had already retreated to two large courtyards that were not connected to each other under the pressure of the Japanese army and was fighting a desperate battle. If it weren't for the fact that the houses in Taierzhuang were all made of thick stone slabs, which were very conducive to defense, Xing Yusheng's troops would have been defeated by the Japanese long ago.

  After entering the village, Wen Songyuan did not stay in the position of the 31st Division for long. He only let a deputy officer of his team go to report the situation to the headquarters of the 31st Division. Wen Songyuan led a large group of people directly under the guidance of the small messenger sent by Xing Yusheng, and rushed towards the place where Xing Yusheng's troops were besieged.

  The Japanese were fully besieging Xing Yusheng's unit, and had no time to spare for others. Wen Songyuan led his troops in a rapid charge across the open area that had caused heavy casualties among Xing Yusheng's unit. By the time the Japanese artillery reacted, the 200th Regiment's troops had largely broken through the killing zone. The belated Japanese artillery fire only managed to graze the tail of Wen Songyuan's unit, merely knocking out the rearguard platoon.

  At this time, two Japanese battalions were surrounding the position where Xiang Yusheng was located. The Japanese troops had already rushed to within eighty meters of the mortar company's position. The mortar gunners in Xiang Yusheng's unit had raised the angle of their mortars to almost ninety degrees when firing shells. If they were not careful, the shells would fly over their own heads. The situation was extremely critical. Cong Rong saw this and waved a large flag, leading a regiment behind him to launch a fierce counterattack against the Japanese.

  The two Japanese battalions had been fighting in the village for several days, and just now they had another fierce battle with Xing Yusheng's troops, resulting in some casualties. Xing Yusheng's other troops were nothing to worry about, but that mortar company was really making the Japanese suffer heavy losses. It was because of this reason that the commander of the Japanese regiment, Nagano Yoshio, finally made up his mind and used two battalions to attack the besieged troops of the 199th Division, including Xing Yusheng and the mortar company.

  Two Japanese troops that had been severely depleted after several days of bloody battles, hastily blocked the charge of the 200th regiment led by Wen Songyuan, who was like a fierce tiger coming down the mountain. The two sides fought fiercely for less than ten minutes, and the Japanese abandoned five or six dozen corpses and retreated completely. It seems that the Japanese are not stupid after all, their IQ is still above thirty, and they do not retreat as their government claims, but know when to escape!

  Wen Songyu stopped the officers who were eager to pursue the victory of the first battle, and then took Ma Siyuan and several guards into the courtyard where Xing Yusheng was. As soon as they entered the gate, Ma Siyuan saw his old superior officer Xing Yusheng. (When he was in the 7th Regiment of the 3rd War Zone, Xing Yusheng was his superior officer. Now, this majestic lieutenant colonel and deputy regiment commander looked really unpresentable. His military cap had long been blown away, one of his boots was missing, and there were several bloodstains on his face. He didn't look like a military officer at all, but rather like a beggar on the streets of Xuzhou.) Wen Songyu and Ma Siyuan were still dissatisfied with Xing Yusheng's failure to launch an attack in the previous battle, forming a pincer movement. Seeing Xing Yusheng's wretched appearance, they couldn't help but feel angry. The two men could only rush forward to comfort him in a gentle voice.

  "Bin Jun (Xing Yusheng's courtesy name) elder brother, you and your brothers are late, making me suffer." Wen Songyuan said apologetically. He and Xing Yusheng generally got along quite well. Xing Yusheng was an old slicker, naturally flattering Wen Songyuan, the trusted brother of the traveling seat. And Wen Songyuan, who had always been straightforward, was also relatively polite to Xing Yusheng, this old hand.

  "Wenfu (Wensongyuan's courtesy name) and Chu San (Masiyuan's courtesy name), my two younger brothers, thank you so much. This lifesaving favor I will definitely repay in the future. However, for now, please ask your troops to launch another attack and first rescue those trapped brothers of mine."

  Xing Yusheng's mind was still on the two companies of remnants trapped not far away. This time, he brought two battalions into Zhuangzi, and in less than half a day, they had already lost more than half. If he didn't rescue the remnants of the two companies, he would have even less face to see his superiors and colleagues.

  "Big Brother Benjun, those two regiments can only rely on themselves now." Ma Siyuan's words made Xing Yusen's face turn extremely ugly.

  "General Jingjun, our intention is not to abandon you to die, but my troops are about to launch a surprise attack on the north gate of Zhuangzi. Whether your two companies can take advantage of this opportunity to escape is up to them."

  Xing Yusheng's face changed greatly, and Ma Siyuan quickly explained with a very embarrassed expression.

  "Ah!" This time, Xing Yusheng was truly shocked. To think that the area north of Zhuangzi, which was the first place occupied by the Japanese, had become the Japanese army's headquarters in Zhuangzi. With just a few hundred men from the 200th regiment in Zhuangzi, Wen Songyuan dared to lead his troops to charge towards there?

  No need to say, Wen Congyuan's move was indeed a bit of a sword-walking-on-the-peak style. Xing Yusheng didn't expect it, and the Japanese were even more unexpected. In the eyes of Lieutenant General Nagano Yoshio, the highest commander of the 40th Regiment in Tai'erzhuang at that time, after Wen Congyuan's troops took over a part of Xing Yusheng's forces, the next step for this newly arrived Chinese army could only be one of three possible combat actions.

  First, regardless of the survival of the troops still surrounded by the Japanese army, they would forcibly pass through that open area with Xing Yusheng's rescued troops and retreat to the Guandi Temple area in the south of the city, which was still under Chinese control. If this were done, the Japanese would be overjoyed. They had already prepared two artillery battalions to focus on that open area, ready to launch a concentrated barrage at any time. As soon as the Chinese troops passed through there, the Japanese artillery fire would surely leave more than half of the Chinese army on that open area, which was already stained with blood.

  Second, attack west to rescue the two companies of Chinese troops surrounded in that circle. If so, although it would be troublesome for the Japanese, as long as the Japanese troops surrounding those two companies could hold out for fifteen minutes, other Japanese units could surround and annihilate this newly arrived Chinese force. Even if this Chinese force managed to successfully rescue their comrades and retreat, the Japanese could inflict heavy casualties on them, then continue to pursue and attack until they seized the enemy's starting position.

  Third, the Chinese army did not retreat or get surrounded, but instead stuck to their current positions and defended them to the death. This was what the Japanese military feared most. The various units of the Japanese 10th Division had been engaged in a fierce battle with the Chinese army on the Tai'erzhuang front for over ten days, and since the start of the campaign in Teng County, they had not received any significant reinforcements to make up for their losses. At this point, the troops were severely depleted. Moreover, being isolated and deep in enemy territory made it impossible to fight a quick battle, which was a major taboo in warfare. The Chinese army's defense on the top of Tai'erzhuang was simply too strong. It wasn't that the Japanese military didn't want to end the war quickly; they just couldn't. Dragging it out would be unfavorable for the Japanese no matter how you looked at it.

  The Japanese had thought of everything. The only thing they hadn't thought of was what to do if the Chinese army launched a surprise attack on the rear of the Japanese military line。 This was because since the outbreak of war in July, the Chinese army had always been on the defensive and rarely took the initiative to launch an attack。 At least the 10th Division had never encountered a Chinese army that initiated an attack, and the arrogant Japanese army didn't even think about what to do if the Chinese army launched a surprise attack on them。 Since the Japanese hadn't thought of the possibility that the Chinese army would leave their defensive positions to launch a desperate charge against the Japanese, it was inevitable that they would suffer a setback when they encountered Wen Songyuan's bold and daring tactics.

  At 10:48, the troops of the 200th Division in Zhuangli, led by Wen Songyuan himself, launched a deep penetration into the Japanese army, catching the Japanese off guard.

  Firstly, a small team of ours was defeated by Wen Congyuan's troops in just a few minutes. This can't be blamed on the Japanese being too incompetent, Wen Congyuan...