Chapter 1937 December 13, One O'Clock in the Afternoon

Yang Daren looked at the many wrecked cars on the road, as well as the clothes and leather shoes on the bodies of the Japanese soldiers lying on the ground.

There was no way to collect these supplies today.

The two regiments of the Sixty-sixth Army came and went again.

They came to chop off horse legs!

Regiment Commander Liu Yong led more than a thousand soldiers to the initial battlefield and saw that the horse legs had already been chopped off, but large pieces of meat were still on the warhorses.

Regiment Commander Liu was very surprised: This is clearly a battlefield, so why can't a single soldier from the special company be seen?

Could it be that they want to make my regiment the rearguard?

The human heart is hard to fathom, especially since these are two newly acquainted units; one must be on guard!

Just then, the soldiers arranged by Yang Daren for sentry duty rushed out and asked loudly, "Brothers! Are you here to chop off horse legs?"

Regiment Commander Liu looked warily at the soldier running out from the hillside and nodded, "Yes!"

"There are freshly slaughtered warhorses ahead, go ahead!"

"These!..." Regiment Commander Liu Yong pointed to the warhorse corpses all over the ground.

"Chop off the legs of those over there first."

Regiment Commander Liu could only lead his soldiers to continue forward.

Turning around the mountain corner, they immediately saw the ground covered with warhorses, intact warhorses, as if they had been slaughtered and were waiting for them to divide.

There were also many soldiers on the battlefield, and it was clear at a glance that they were National Revolutionary Army soldiers.

The soldiers of the entire regiment were happy. When they rushed onto the battlefield, the soldiers who had arrived earlier reminded them: "The Japanese devils' leather shoes are comfortable; find a pair that fits and change into them.

The Japanese devils' bedding is good; find a clean one and carry it on your back.

The Japanese devils' belts are useful; the Japanese devils' helmets are useful."

The veterans of the special company enthusiastically introduced to these newly arrived soldiers how to maximize the use of these supplies sent by the Japanese devils.

When Regiment Commander Liu ordered his soldiers to start, the soldiers of his regiment swept away the fatigue of marching all night, and every soldier was very excited.

Even their socks were all replaced with those on the feet of the dead devils; wearing them really made a difference.

Regiment Commander Liu ordered loudly: "The brothers of the Sixty-sixth Army haven't eaten anything for a day. Brothers, get as much of this meat as possible.

There are more than ten thousand mouths to feed!"

Without needing to be reminded, the soldiers under Regiment Commander Liu had already found biscuits in the Japanese devils' carry-on food bags and started eating them.

Regiment Commander Liu Wan, who was following behind them, also brought his troops up. With two regiments and more than three thousand people, cleaning up this battlefield was naturally quick.

All the warhorses, including those on the previous battlefield, were skinned and butchered by the soldiers of these two regiments, and they only stopped when nothing but bare skeletons remained.

The soldiers of these two regiments came quickly and left quickly. They had to deliver the supplies back quickly, as the entire army was waiting to eat.

Now, looking at the scene before him, Regiment Commander Yang thought to himself: Just now, I was too hasty. I should have left a regiment of the Sixty-sixth Army behind. With their thousand-odd men, they would definitely be able to clean this place up.

With a face full of reluctance and heartache, he had no choice but to give the order: "Move out!"

Yang Daren strictly followed the original plan: his team walked at the very back, and the timid Fifth Squad left five minutes ahead of them.

You can still see the backs of the Fifth Squad soldiers now.

Now, their team is a mixed formation of cars and cavalry.

The cars towed infantry cannons and carried supplies, and the infantry carefully rode on warhorses. No matter what, the speed was much faster than when they were walking out of the city.

Most importantly, the soldiers could rest for a while.

Before the team continued on the road, Lin Fan had already assigned the entire marching formation: the First and Second Squads of the special company served as vanguards to clear the way.

The Third and Fourth Squads served as the vanguard reserve and followed behind these two squads.

The Eighth and Ninth Squads, the two artillery squads, were with Lin Fan and also walked in the front.

At the same time, Li Zhi Ze’s newly re-equipped company now served as Lin Fan's guard, acting as the general reserve for this march, going wherever there was danger.

Behind Li Zhi Ze's company was the main force of the Sixty-sixth Army.

At the very rear were the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Squads of the special company as the rearguard.

These arrangements were made after discussions with the staff of the Sixty-sixth Army's headquarters.

Army Commander Ye Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief: the soldiers of his army all came out of the small roads on the various hills and gathered on the main road.

Although the future is uncertain, at least they won't get lost!

This was also the common sentiment of many junior officers in the Sixty-sixth Army.

Just last night and this morning, some people in their teams had already gotten lost.

If you don't have a compass, it's really not easy to find your way here in Tangshan and insist on walking in one direction.

The retreat of the special company here in Tangshan was well-organized. There were constantly soldiers riding warhorses on the road, wearing armbands with the words "Military Police" on their sleeves.

Maintaining order, in order to reduce the length of the team, the soldiers of the Sixty-sixth Army walked in rows of seven when walking, which could greatly reduce the length of the team's march.

Even so, the entire team here was as long as two kilometers.

The situation in Tangshan is critical!

The various Japanese troops of the China Expeditionary Army in Nanjing were also extremely busy: there was still sporadic resistance in the city, and the vast majority of the soldiers of the entire Nanjing Garrison were now concentrated at Xiaguan Wharf.

At least 40,000 soldiers were gathered here, and all of them were soldiers who could not board ships.

In the early morning of the 13th, the officers and soldiers on the Wulongshan Fort destroyed the cannons early and retreated to Jiangbei.

The torpedo squadron protected by the fort had no choice but to abandon the continued blockade of the Yangtze River. They retreated upstream along the Yangtze River.

At this time, the Japanese Sixth Division had occupied the area from Shuixi Gate up to Dashengguan.

The Sixth Division used artillery to block the Yangtze River, constantly shelling the National Revolutionary Army ships and soldiers who were crossing the river.

The torpedo speedboat unit wanted to go upstream along the Yangtze River and had to break through the Japanese artillery blockade. The officers and soldiers of the speedboat unit couldn't wait until dark to retreat.

Because the Japanese small gunboats had already begun to sail upstream along the Yangtze River. They discovered that the cannons of the Jiangning Fortress had not fired today, so they sent three small gunboats to test the waters.

Squadron Leader Masato Souta led three small gunboats to patrol in the dangerous area. The original intention of sending them to test the waters was very simple: small gunboats were flexible and mobile and not easy to hit.

There was also an unspoken reason: sinking a small gunboat was less of a loss than sinking a large ship.

Squadron Leader Masato Souta carefully sailed upstream along the Yangtze River and reached the area that was usually shelled, but no shells were fired.

Happy!

Squadron Leader Masato Souta knew that Nanjing had been captured by the army. If the Third Fleet could rush up, it could completely prevent the National Revolutionary Army from retreating.

This was a great achievement.

Squadron Leader Masato Souta cautiously tested the waters and then boldly charged upstream.

Something magical happened. He led three small gunboats through the former blockade line and reached Yanzi Rock outside Nanjing. The cannons of the Jiangning Fortress still did not fire.

This was a very good sign!

Here, he could already see many National Revolutionary Army soldiers floating down the river, mixed with many corpses.

Squadron Leader Masato Souta did not hesitate and ordered, "Continue forward!"

The three small gunboats rushed to Xiaguan. The scene before him made Squadron Leader Masato Souta ecstatic: on the river surface on the Jiangnan side, National Revolutionary Army soldiers were crowded in the water on the shore like ants.

Every wave that crashed down would bury some of the soldiers.

Without Squadron Leader Masato Souta giving the order, the Japanese soldiers on the three gunboats immediately opened fire on the National Revolutionary Army soldiers on the river.

The gunboats charged straight at the small boats, and the small wooden boats capsized when hit by the gunboats.

Those National Revolutionary Army soldiers who stubbornly swam to the center of the river while holding onto wooden planks were run over by the gunboats and pressed into the river, never to resurface.

Of the 150,000 soldiers deployed by the National Revolutionary Army to defend Nanjing, only the two divisions of the Second Army and the Thirty-sixth Division retreated completely.

In addition, only the Sixty-sixth Army and the Eighty-third Army rushed out of Taiping Gate according to orders.

The remaining three brigades of the Central Training Corps; the Eighty-seventh Division of the Seventy-first Army;

The Eighty-eighth Division of the Seventy-second Army;

The two divisions of the Seventy-fourth Army, the Fifty-first Division and the Fifty-eighth Division;

The two divisions of the Eighty-third Army, the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Division and the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Division;

The two divisions of the Jiangfang Defense Army, the One Hundred and Third Division and the One Hundred and Twelfth Division;

Plus the main force of the military police, a total of ten divisions, a force of more than 100,000, were all crowded in Xiaguan.

Although some officers and soldiers were lucky enough to cross the river and leave, more than half remained at Xiaguan Wharf.

Among these soldiers, the vast majority were veterans who had retreated from the Battle of Songhu and were absolutely elite troops.

The general is the soul of the soldier, and the soldier is the courage of the general!

But now, these elite soldiers no longer had generals to command them, and all the soldiers stayed on the wharf in despair.

They watched sadly as the ships crossing the river were sunk one by one by Japanese gunboats, and the soldiers swimming in the river were also directly rammed by Japanese gunboats.

The deaths of those soldiers did not arouse the desperate struggle of the soldiers on the shore.

They were just more panicked. Some soldiers threw away their guns and fled back to Nanjing.

They went to the international refugee centers set up by other countries in Nanjing to hide.

Now that Japanese gunboats had appeared on the Yangtze River, it meant that retreat from the Yangtze River was no longer possible.

Faced with the situation of tens of thousands of National Revolutionary Army troops being trapped in Xiaguan, the various divisions of the entire China Expeditionary Army were unwilling to let go of such an opportunity.

Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke of the Ninth Division,

Division Commander Nakajima Kesago of the Sixteenth Division,

Division Commander Hatori Takehei of the Thirteenth Division,

Brigade Commander Amagu Naotsugu of the Tenth Brigade,

Division Commander Tani Hisao of the Sixth Division,

Division Commander Suematsu Morishige of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Division,

Division Commander Ushijima Sadayu of the Eighteenth Division,

Brigade Commander Kunisaki Noboru of the Ninth Brigade,

After sending out cavalry regiments and motor vehicle units to rescue Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the battle to annihilate these last National Revolutionary Army troops.

Now, the officers and soldiers of these divisions were not only arresting the officers and soldiers on Xiaguan Wharf, but they were also arresting the scattered National Revolutionary Army soldiers in Nanjing.

How to deal with so many prisoners of war? This was a difficult problem!

The telegram requesting instructions on how to deal with tens of thousands of National Revolutionary Army prisoners of war reached Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

At this time, he had just escaped from Tangshan to Jurong and was still in shock.

Seeing such a request, he had only one requirement: "Do not take prisoners!"

When these four words reached the ears of Division Commander Tani Hisao, he thought of the scene a few days ago when his troops were repeatedly defeated by the National Revolutionary Army, and he himself was almost forced to commit seppuku.

Division Commander Tani Hisao immediately understood Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's intention: kill all the prisoners of war, leaving none alive.

The order was immediately passed down. The Yagishita Squadron and Yamamoto Squadron on the front of the Matsuda Battalion were the first to enter the city from Shuixi Gate at the same time.

They were not the first teams to rush into Nanjing from Shuixi Gate.

The two squadrons rushed into the city and couldn't find any targets to kill.

Squadron Leader Yagishita complained to Squadron Leader Yamamoto, "The division commander ordered us to kill all the prisoners of war, but we came in late and didn't encounter a single prisoner of war.

How are we going to report to the division commander?"

Squadron Leader Yamamoto said with a smile, "There are so many people in Nanjing, are you afraid there's no one to kill?

I have a suggestion: let's start killing people from now on and see who kills more people."

Squadron Leader Yagishita laughed, "When I was in the country, I didn't even kill chickens. But today, there's a military order, so I have to kill.

Let's compete then, who's afraid of who? How do you want to compete?"

Squadron Leader Yamamoto pointed to the street in front of him and said, "Let's start from here and advance towards Zhongshan Gate. Whoever kills more people will win.

To be fair, how about we set a bet?"

"Okay! The loser will be the host and treat the winner to dinner."

"Okay! That's settled. I came up with the method, you choose the left or right side."

"I'll walk on the left side of the street, and you'll walk on the right side. When we reach Zhongshan Gate, we'll look back and see who killed more people."

The officers and soldiers of the two squadrons who heard this competition method clapped and cheered.

The two men walked forward together, and seeing that there was no one on the main street, they turned into a small alley. As soon as they entered a small alley, they saw a young man in his twenties walking out.

Squadron Leader Yagishita rushed up in one stride, scaring the young man into taking a step back.

Just as the young man stood still, Squadron Leader Yagishita's broadsword had already come down, and the blood spurting from his neck shot far away.

Squadron Leader Yagishita, fearing that he was not dead, stabbed him twice in the chest.

An old man rushed out from the open door not far away and ran away with the young man's body in his arms.

Squadron Leader Yagishita laughed and chased after him, slashing a few more times: "Two!" he said proudly, showing off to Squadron Leader Yamamoto.

His knife was stained with blood. Squadron Leader Yagishita wiped it on the old man's body. An old woman ran out of the house, crying as she ran.

She kept saying something, and Squadron Leader Yagishita knew it must not be good words. Without saying a word, he raised his knife and slashed.

"Three!" he said smugly, looking at Yamamoto.

At this time, Yamamoto also slashed at a young man dragging a cart, knocking him down with just one blow.

There was also a family opening the door on the right, and a middle-aged man was sweeping the floor inside. Squadron Leader Yamamoto was happy and rushed in, raising his knife and slashing.

With just one blow, the man fell into a pool of blood.

On this day, the entire city of Nanjing was full of such scenes of murder.

The number of soldiers who actually died in battle in the entire Nanjing defense battle was less than the number of prisoners of war captured by the Japanese army during the retreat.

At this time, Chen Sichuan and Liu Laopao had already chased to Xintang. The Japanese troops here only put up a slight resistance before starting to retreat again.

Liu Laopao was a little worried, "Lao Chen, the Japanese devils are collapsing with just a touch. Could they be plotting something bad?"

"A feint?" Chen Sichuan asked.

"Yes! It's a feint." Liu Laopao said with some worry.

"Even if the Japanese devils have set up an inescapable net in front of us, we have to break through. Now we have more than ten thousand people behind us, and so many cars.

But Lao Liu! Don't be afraid, even if the Japanese devils are ruthless, I'm even more ruthless than them.

Besides, we're just lone wolves now. Are we afraid that we can't beat them if we fight to the death?

Not to mention that we still have the company commander's cannons; the Japanese devils can't stop us no matter what."

Liu Laopao thought for a while, "We only have this one road now. If we really take the small roads, wouldn't that be like going back to the Four-Banks Warehouse overnight?"

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was staying in Jurong at this time. When he learned that the Third Fleet had sent out 1,500 naval marines, he was happy for a while.

Then he received the news that the entire transport aircraft group had been destroyed, with no survivors.

After that, bad news came one after another: the teams that each division sent out to support him disappeared one by one.

After the high-altitude reconnaissance plane searched along the section from Nanjing to Tangshan and Jurong, it sent him even more disturbing news.

No imperial troops were found on the entire road, only National Revolutionary Army troops were found marching from Tangshan towards Jurong, a force of at least ten thousand men.

And there were heavy cannons in the middle of the force!

Upon receiving this intelligence, Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko had to seriously consider it: he had originally wanted to annihilate this force that dared to attack him here.

Now, thinking that the enemy had tens of thousands of men, if he didn't have a regiment-sized force in his hands, Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko really wouldn't dare to stop them.

Now, he had three options before him: defend; enter Nanjing along the road from Jurong to Tuqiao Chunhua and join the main force of the Tenth Army;

Or retreat from Jurong along the road to Tennoji.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko rejected the option of retreating to Tennoji first.

Now, only two choices remained: in the end, Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko chose to defend a little, and retreat if he couldn't hold on.

Why defend a little? This was because Jurong was now the Tenth Army's supply transfer station.

Now, Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's guard had five hundred men, and the two battalions that had been with him had another fifteen hundred men who had retreated.

The wounded soldiers' camp in Jurong had organized three thousand lightly wounded soldiers who could go to the battlefield.

There were also two thousand seriously wounded soldiers who could do some logistical support work. These seriously wounded soldiers were just more seriously injured.

They had all requested to go to the front line when they heard that it was to protect Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

There was also a hospital set up here by the Tenth Army. These doctors and nurses numbered three hundred, and there were also more than two thousand transport vehicle team members.

All these forces added up to nearly ten thousand men.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko believed that every person in the empire was an excellent warrior, and they would be able to stop this force that was chasing after them.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko also believed that as long as he could hold on here for one day, reinforcements from the Shanghai Expeditionary Force would definitely arrive.

At that time, it would be time for him to take revenge: no prisoners, definitely not leave a single prisoner.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's order was immediately conveyed, and all the Japanese troops in the entire town of Jurong were gathered together.

He looked at the military map hanging up and began to issue orders:

Arrangements for each squad of the Shiba Kiyota Battalion:

Company Commander Kaneshiro Osamu will command the Sakisaki Masato Squad on the front line, adding one thousand lightly wounded soldiers to form a battalion.

Deploy at Xiejiatang, the first line of defense from Tangshan, with the main task of intercepting the National Revolutionary Army force coming from the highway.

The Uchiyamada Haruka Squad will add one thousand lightly wounded soldiers and deploy at Shangzhuang.

The main task is to assist Company Commander Kaneshiro Osamu in defending Xiejiazhuang, and also to prevent the National Revolutionary Army from Tangshan from breaking through on the flank when they cannot attack head-on.

The Kuroo Taro Squad will add one thousand lightly wounded soldiers and deploy at Zhangjiazhuang.

The main task is to support the Kaneshiro Osamu Company in front and establish a second line of defense.

Squad Leader Hata Hiroki will add one thousand transport team soldiers and deploy at Zhijiejia Bian, as the third line of defense to intercept the National Revolutionary Army coming from Tangshan.

The Raishima Ryosuke Squad of the Iwataki Tatsuya Company will add one thousand transport team members and deploy at Miaogang, with the main task of supporting Shangzhuang and Zhangjiazhuang on the flank.

The Kamayama Takumi Squad will add eight hundred medical personnel to serve as a reserve team.

The Tsujido Naoya Squad will add one thousand seriously wounded soldiers and deploy at Wangxuzhuang. If the National Revolutionary Army coming from Tangshan attacks here, their task is to fight to the death.

The Horinaka Kotaro Squad will add one thousand seriously wounded soldiers and deploy at Huangjiawan, with the same task as above.

The Mae Sonozo Tatsuya Battalion and the Prince Asaka Yasuhiko Guard will guard the headquarters.

With the order issued, the entire Jurong became busy, and teams of Japanese soldiers began to move to their respective destinations.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was very satisfied with his organizational ability: to be able to organize such a force in such a short period of time.

Creating a decent battle plan gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato never imagined that he would be promoted directly from a squad leader commanding fifty-four soldiers to a battalion commander commanding one thousand men.

This honor made him determined: never retreat!

Sergeant Takayama Haruto was sent to Jurong for treatment after being injured while attacking Tangshan.

He was only shot in the foot, and although he had been treated these days, his injury had not fundamentally improved.

Today, when he learned that Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was trapped in Tangshan, he strongly requested to go to the rescue. Although the team had not had time to set off, Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko had already retreated to Jurong.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto was very moved to be able to see Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko safe and sound.

Many wounded soldiers had the same feeling as him. When they learned that National Revolutionary Army soldiers were advancing towards Jurong, all the wounded soldiers strongly requested to go to the front line.

They wanted to fight to protect Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko!

Now, their requests had all been fulfilled, and Sergeant Takayama Haruto, as a lightly wounded soldier, had been assigned to the first line of defense.

This made him feel infinitely honored. Sergeant Takayama Haruto was so happy that he was about to die.

However, the section of road from Jurong Town to Xiejiatang made him suffer.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto, who had originally injured his leg, felt pain in his heart with every step he took, but this did not stop his determination to go and stop the enemy.

In the entire marching team, all that could be seen were soldiers with bandages wrapped around their bodies, just like Sergeant Takayama Haruto.

These soldiers could no longer be fully armed like normal soldiers.

They only carried a rifle and one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto only saw three people carrying light machine guns.

It wasn't that Jurong didn't have weapons; in fact, there were plenty of weapons and ammunition in Jurong Town.

It was just that there were not many of these wounded soldiers who could carry those weapons.

Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato, now he should accurately be called Battalion Commander Sakisaki Masato.

Looking at this team full of wounded and disabled soldiers, his heart was filled with great pride: these soldiers were true warriors, and they were going to the battlefield for a common goal.

There wasn't a single coward among these soldiers; at least at this moment, not a single soldier would retreat half a step.

Although these soldiers' faces always showed the twisted faces when they were enduring pain when they moved.

Wuhan Garrison Headquarters, Chiang Kai-shek was raging in his office. This time, he didn't know who to scold.

But the Nanjing Garrison abandoning tens of thousands of elite troops at Xiaguan Wharf was really too unexpected.

Most of those soldiers were veterans who had survived hundreds of battles!

These veterans were the true strength of an army. Now, so many elites had been abandoned in Xiaguan and become prisoners of the Japanese army.

"This is aiding the enemy! It's simply aiding the enemy."

When Soong Mei-ling walked in, Chiang Kai-shek was alone in the office, cursing loudly.

Seeing his wife enter, he stopped.

Chiang Kai-shek was a particular man and didn't want to swear in front of his wife.

Soong Mei-ling劝 said, "Darling! The situation is already like this, don't hurt your body over this matter anymore.

If Nanjing didn't fight well, we still have Wuhan, Changsha, and Xuzhou.

The Japanese devils will encounter more and more resistance on our land."

Chiang Kai-shek sighed, "Now, the UK and the US are still unwilling to get involved, and Germany's mediation has failed again.

Our road of resistance will be even more difficult.

The Japanese devils' combat power is particularly strong now. Nanjing, a city defended by 150,000 men, couldn't even hold off the Japanese devils for three days.

This is the most worrying thing; I'm afraid the people's hearts will be unstable!"

Soong Mei-ling smiled, "No matter what kind of battlefield, there will always be heroes appearing. We just need to promote those shining points.

That's what the Propaganda Department does, let them dig up some shining points from the Nanjing Defense War. These days, we only promote the heroic deeds of our soldiers.

Use point-to-surface publicity to let the masses know that we have achieved phased results in our resistance."

Chiang Kai-shek was still a little hesitant, "But we really lost. I didn't interfere at all in this retreat, but Tang Shengzhi and the others made it even more embarrassing than the retreat from Shanghai.

In summary, a force of only 150,000 men actually abandoned a third of the force in one place, Xiaguan.

How can our propaganda department promote this?"

"As long as your instructions go down, the Propaganda Department will have a way. You have to believe that there are always more solutions than problems in this world," Soong Mei-ling advised.

"Darling! When you say that, I finally feel relieved.

Yes: now is not the time to investigate responsibility.

It's time to appease the people and prepare for another battle.

Japanese devils! I will never coexist with you."

While Chiang Kai-shek was furious, the whole world was in an uproar. No country could believe that the capital of a major country could be captured in just two days.

Chen Sichuan and Liu Laopao's team had now rushed to the front of Xiejiatang. They could see a lot of Japanese troops in front, and many Japanese troops were staying on the positions.

Liu Laopao asked strangely, "Is the team on the opposite side a puppet army?"

Chen Sichuan said definitively, "Judging from the uniforms, they are Japanese devils! But they have many wounded."

Liu Laopao said doubtfully, "That's strange. If they are Japanese devils, they shouldn't be defending without even digging trenches!"

Chen Sichuan pointed to the soldiers who were all bandaged, "Look at what they look like! Are they people who can dig fortifications and build trenches?"

When Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato led a team of more than one thousand people to their destination, he ordered the soldiers to dig fortifications and prepare for battle.

Only then did he discover the difference between wounded soldiers and normal soldiers: although he had many soldiers in his hands now, there were actually not many soldiers who could dig trenches.

It wasn't that these soldiers didn't want to dig fortifications, but they were so injured that they couldn't exert any strength at all.

And these soldiers had used up their enthusiasm and patience from walking from Jurong Town to here.

Perhaps they had left Jurong Town and no longer had Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's suppression, so these wounded soldiers were not as obedient to the arrangements as they were in front of Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato was only the lowest-ranking officer, and there were many wounded soldiers who were higher-ranking than him, several squad leaders and company commanders.

Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato said that he couldn't arrange anything at all.

Fortunately, although these wounded soldiers had opinions, none of them wanted to go back.

Perhaps they had used up all their strength to walk to Xiejiatang, and now they had no strength to walk back.

When they could see the National Revolutionary Army appearing in the distance, without Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato speaking, these soldiers immediately entered combat mode.

Seeing that the Japanese devils on the opposite side didn't even have the most basic fortifications, and all of them were relying on naturally formed terrain to use as cover,

Chen Sichuan didn't hesitate and immediately ordered, "Tanks charge in front, heavy machine guns protect both sides."

Just now, he had carefully observed that he didn't see a single cannon from the Japanese devils within sight, which was good news.

As long as the captured tank wasn't hit by a cannon, it was the best shield. The special company's own makeshift armored vehicles were the same.

The battle of Xiejiatang became a one-sided massacre from the beginning.

In Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato's team of more than one thousand men, including the machine gun from his former squad, there were only five light machine guns in total.

The rest were all rifles. Not to mention infantry cannons, no one even brought a single mortar.

It was still the same situation: these wounded soldiers had used all their strength to walk to Xiejiatang.

They had used their wounded bodies to carry rifles and ammunition, which was already a steely will.

Now was the time to truly test their will.

The Ninth Squad's 92 infantry cannons and mortars didn't stop firing just because the Japanese devils on the opposite side didn't have cannons.

On the contrary, the Ninth Squad's infantry cannons were even more rampant because the Japanese devils on the opposite side didn't have artillery and didn't even have a recoil buffer.

The eight soldiers operating the infantry cannons were very arrogant.

Dai Tiancheng, Wu Zhizhi, Kong Heze, Ge Chengze, Zou Feichi, Shi Chengxuan, Zhao Siyuan, and Peng Jianyi, these eight soldiers pushed the two 92 infantry cannons all the way to a place 400 meters away from the position.

Such a direct-fire method was too easy to deal with Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato's team, which originally only had five light machine guns.

Now, the entire Sakisaki Masato Squad had 92 infantry cannons bombing the front of the battlefield, and mortar shells bombing the slightly later area.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto, with full enthusiasm, took the initiative to join the battle to protect Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

Except for the unfriendly process of marching, everything went smoothly after arriving at the battlefield, at least his injured foot didn't hurt so much.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto's foot was injured, but his hand was still intact.

Now that the National Revolutionary Army on the opposite side was charging over, it was time for him to show his power.

Facing the tanks charging over, and the small carts like coffins beside the tanks,

Sergeant Takayama Haruto didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. He could see the bullets being fired, hitting the coffin-like cart.

Then nothing happened. The coffin-like cart continued to push forward as if it didn't feel anything.

The rain of bullets fired from the barrel in the middle mercilessly hit their position.

Sergeant Takayama Haruto had already seen many soldiers lying in pools of blood beside him, completely lying flat.

Now, Sergeant Takayama Haruto was a little regretful: he should have endured the pain and dug a little just now.

You really can't be careless when fighting a war: look at these people lying in pools of blood around him, all of them are wounded soldiers without trenches or fortifications.

At this time, Sergeant Takayama Haruto hated those dozens of soldiers hiding in the trenches again.

Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato couldn't order the one thousand newly added wounded soldiers, but he could still order the fifty-odd soldiers who were originally under him.

Therefore, while the one thousand people were resting, the fifty-odd soldiers under him were busy digging trenches.

Now, the soldiers of the Sakisaki Masato Squad were hiding in the trenches and counterattacking.

However, facing the charging tanks, the light weapons in the hands of these soldiers were simply useless.

The bullets hit the front armor of the tank, only splashing a little sparks without any movement.

Desperate, Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato finally realized at this time that there were no explosive packs for blowing up tanks in his team.

Even if there were still fifty-odd able-bodied soldiers under him, he didn't have any explosives to blow them up.

After all, these one thousand soldiers were all wounded. How much equipment could you expect them to carry?

Faced with a desperate situation, Squad Leader Sakisaki Masato only sent Sergeant Tsubokura Sora to Shangzhuang to ask Squad Leader Uchiyamada Haruka for help.

He himself had long been determined to die.

He would defend here.

Shimoori Ryo was originally a company commander in the Obatake Rin Battalion of the 47th Regiment of the 6th Division.

He was sent to the rear for treatment after being shot in the leg while attacking the Yuhuatai position.

As a dignified company commander, he was already a little dissatisfied with being subordinate to a squad leader and accepting his leadership.

Company Commander Shimoori Ryo tolerated it because everyone was protecting Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

Company Commander Shimoori Ryo didn't find any problems when they set off, and he didn't find any problems when they entered the position.

When two tanks charged out of the National Revolutionary Army team on the opposite side, Company Commander Shimoori Ryo finally discovered a big problem:

There were no heavy weapons in the entire team of more than one thousand men.

This was an unforgivable mistake.

This was a defect in a squad leader's ability.

After all, this was only a battle commanded by a squad leader.

Company Commander Shimoori Ryo thought helplessly. Now, he could only send someone to rush up and blow up the tanks.

He had seen this kind of tactic many times when fighting the National Revolutionary Army.

Those National Revolutionary Army soldiers had no way to deal with the empire's tank offensives, so they could only send out team after team of suicide squads, using human lives to pile up, using explosive packs and hand grenades to blow them up.

At those times, how proud he was to watch those most elite soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army, the bravest warriors, die on the road to the tanks.

Today, this situation would be reversed, which was truly the empire's sorrow! Company Commander Shimoori Ryo was sad for no more than five minutes before suddenly discovering a fact: not a single soldier had rushed out to blow up the tanks!

Of course, he knew that people like him could not rush out. Only the soldiers of the Sakisaki Masato Squad with all their limbs could rush out.

But until the National Revolutionary Army's attacking tanks rushed onto their