Chapter 1

On the morning of July 31, 1938,

Shimizu Kiju, commander of the Japanese 116th Division, stood in the city of Jiujiang,

watching the endless Yangtze River flowing westward.

He wasn't worried about the two large battalions that had just been dispatched.

According to the fighting strength of the Imperial warriors, the strength of two large battalions

was enough to defeat a group army of the National Army.

Not to mention the support of twelve gunboats.

At this time, Commander Kiyoshi Hasegawa of the Japanese Third Fleet was in his official residence in Nanjing.

The three warships that were sent out last night

were completely wiped out this morning.

This was the biggest loss since the Battle of Jiangyin Fortress.

The key was that this time the warship was not sunk by the fortifications set up by the National Army on the Yangtze River.

This made him a little alarmed.

If it was a team of the National Army or a guerrilla force or something,

that could easily sink the Third Fleet's warship on the Yangtze River,

the long Yangtze River Basin would be the nightmare of the entire fleet in the future.

Maybe it encountered a naval mine while sailing at dawn!

Or maybe it encountered a torpedo boat of the National Army lurking somewhere.

But Commander Kiyoshi Hasegawa himself knew very well

that such a reason was untenable.

He comforted himself like this.

In order to see the situation clearly,

Commander Kiyoshi Hasegawa decided to send a squadron of warplanes to take a look.

The air distance of one hundred and thirty kilometers from Nanjing to Anqing,

for the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron,

this was originally a pleasant flight mission.

In the past few days,

in order to support the Xuzhou battle,

they often flew for more than ten hours every day.

During this period of time,

in order to support the Central China Expeditionary Army's attack on Wuhan,

the flight missions they had to perform every day had never stopped.

However, the mission of the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron was obviously not like this.

The specific tasks they had to perform were:

reconnoitering the situation of the Heixi freighter.

If the National Army or guerrillas in Anqing City could be attacked,

they would be attacked.

As a result, they continued to fly to the Huangmei area,

and supported the battle that was taking place there.

The entire flight squadron had only one goal:

the bombs and bullets carried on the plane did not need to be brought back.

"Hai!" Squadron Leader Uehara Tsuko responded loudly.

For these pilots,

as long as they did not enter the airspace of the Jurong base area,

the sky all over the world was no different to them now.

At this time, the seven and eight companies of the First Regiment had received Chen Sichuan's order:

"Complete the mission and retreat completely!"

Company Commander Gan Huaxing of the Seventh Company looked at the Japanese soldiers still floating on the river.

It was no longer possible to tell whether they were alive or dead on the river bank.

The gunfire from the shore

made the Japanese soldiers, who were originally as dense as ants on the river,

now as sparse as the sesame seeds on a sesame cake made by a profiteer.

It was only possible to see a silhouette of a Japanese soldier from a long distance away.

Those Japanese soldiers who had received the captain's order to abandon ship

initially swam towards the north bank.

They were a dark mass, like ducks driven out of their pens in the early morning.

They were attacked by the machine guns and rifles of the Seventh and Eighth Companies

before they fled in panic.

Gan Huaxing looked regretfully at the Japanese soldiers who had already drifted downstream

and were far away.

He spat,

and then ordered the team to retreat.

Now every company had a radio.

The regimental commander could give orders at any time.

It was much more convenient than sending messengers to run back and forth to deliver orders as before.

The team's reaction was also much faster.

Company Commander Jinnai Tsukasa was very cautious.

He and his fleet dropped off two infantry battalions five kilometers upstream of Anqing.

More than twenty iron-hulled ships were waiting here.

They had no combat power. The purpose of waiting here was only to wait until the infantry battalion of Rokkaku Yuemon and the infantry battalion of Yamamoto Taichi captured Anqing.

These iron-hulled ships could also enter Anqing City

and then wait for the next order.

It was highly probable that these iron-hulled ships would be required to go to Nanjing to transport some supplies.

The ammunition consumption at the front line was a bit high.

This was the most lacking.

The Japanese soldiers of the Rokkaku Yuemon Battalion were disembarking in an orderly manner.

The Yamamoto Taichi Battalion was not resting either.

For these infantrymen, of course, being down-to-earth was the most reassuring.

Chen Sichuan received a report from the Tenth Company Commander, who was stationed upstream as a sentry.

This time, it was a good opportunity to test the combat effectiveness of rockets against infantry in actual combat.

Although he had this idea,

Chen Sichuan would definitely not wait until all the Japanese infantry had landed before bombing them. Da Feng Novel

He also didn't have the idea of attacking halfway across the river, which was not ethical in martial arts.

Fighting the Japanese! Any method was right.

As long as he could annihilate the Japanese soldiers, Chen Sichuan would not hold back in the slightest.

Chen Sichuan ordered: "Rockets! Everyone,

the target is the Japanese landing site upstream.

Fire!"

As the rocket company of the First Regiment,

they had been practicing on the training ground

for three months.

Yesterday was the first actual combat.

They had shown their power and achieved results.

But that was a freighter, and the Japanese soldiers were unable to fight back.

The artillery battle with the Japanese warship at dawn

was the real test for the rocket company of the First Regiment.

After this battle,

they could be considered to have truly rolled around on the bloody battlefield.

Although it was a battle at dawn,

no one in the rocket company was killed or injured. Not even a single person bled.

But just now, they had indeed been constantly firing amidst the Japanese warships' bombardment,

and had sunk three Japanese warships.

Now these soldiers were obviously more skilled in their movements.

When the rockets were fired, whether it was the First and Second Companies on the city wall,

or the Tenth Company lurking outside the city and guiding the bombing position,

they all stared intently at the busy Japanese soldiers.

The mission of the Tenth Company was to act as the eyes of the First Regiment upstream of Anqing,

discover the Japanese soldiers, report their positions, and then wait to bomb the Japanese soldiers.

Finally, of course, they would have to rush out to clean up the mess.

Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa was commanding the gunboats and iron-hulled ships to let the infantry disembark.

He was also unloading the heavy equipment they had brought from the ships.

Whether it was Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa or the two battalion commanders,

they were all somewhat prepared for being attacked.

The infantry of the two battalions

had already established a defensive line as soon as they landed.

Company Commander Ando Taiji was the first to step onto the muddy river bank.

He shouted loudly: "Quick! Get on board,

the earthen bag in front, the embankment on the left.

Set up the machine guns for me.

Mortars! Hide behind the embankment!"

When he was giving orders,

the Japanese soldiers of the entire company rushed towards the shore along the gangway.

Some Japanese soldiers who couldn't wait jumped directly into the water

and rushed towards the shore, wading through the water.

It was the end of July, and the temperature in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was not low.

Even by the river, it would definitely not be cold.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon walked down the iron-hulled ship.

Looking at the performance of his company commander,

a relaxed expression appeared on his face:

"With such a company commander and these warriors,

what kind of city can't be captured?"

The gun barrels of the twelve gunboats were also aimed at the shore.

The machine guns on the gunboats were also ready to fire at any time.

Such preparations could be considered foolproof.

The Japanese soldiers of the Yamamoto Taichi Battalion rushed down from the gunboats.

Their situation was similar.

All the company and platoon leaders were the first to rush off the gunboats

and then began to urge the Japanese soldiers to disembark quickly.

Under normal circumstances, this was the time when they were most vulnerable to attack.

Although these Japanese soldiers had carefully inspected when choosing a landing site:

it was safe here and there were no ambushes.

But the Japanese soldiers of the two battalions did not dare to relax.

They had long been used to treating peacetime as a battlefield.

Platoon Leader Koizumi Hyuga led his platoon.

They were the first team to rush ashore from the gunboat.

They were also the first to occupy a small protrusion in front

Platoon Leader Koizumi Hyuga knew his mission:

they were here to capture Anqing, just like on June 12th.

Therefore, after landing, he did not let his soldiers dig trenches.

There was no need to waste their energy.

In another twenty minutes at most, after the two battalions landed,

they would march towards Anqing.

The Koizumi Hyuga Platoon took the lead in landing,

occupied the high ground, and established a defense.

The actions of the Japanese soldiers who were still disembarking behind them were slower.

It wasn't intentional on their part.

It was just that some equipment could not be carried down by one person.

And when this equipment was dispatched,

it was also firmly fixed on the gunboats

to prevent them from swaying in the waves of the Yangtze River.

That would not only hurt the Japanese soldiers, but also damage the equipment.

Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi looked at the defensive circle established on the shore with satisfaction:

"Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon is still reliable.

The defenses of the two battalions on the shore are perfectly integrated,

fully ensuring that even if the National Army comes to attack at this time,

they can directly fight back."

Perfect cooperation! This was Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon's evaluation of the cooperation between the two battalions.

Like two peas in a pod—a perfect match.

The two battalions were now as united and cooperative as one battalion.

It was under such circumstances that:

a group of dark objects suddenly flew in the air,

and a sharp whistling sound of heavy objects cutting through the air came from their ears.

The sudden falling shells

stunned all the busy Japanese soldiers.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon only had time to shout:

"Lie down!"

What was going on?

Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa looked around blankly.

The first round of rocket bombardment

caused at least ten ships in his fleet to be lost.

Even if the shells did not directly hit the gunboats,

the fragments that flew out when the shells exploded

also splashed onto the gunboats,

causing large numbers of infantrymen who were busy on the gunboats to fall down.

The Japanese soldiers of the gunboat squadron

were also unable to escape. They were also knocked down by these fragments.

The fragments of the shells hitting the body

were much more terrifying than being hit by bullets.

In this area where the entire fleet was located,

the air suddenly became filled with smoke and the smell of blood was so strong that the Japanese soldiers couldn't breathe.

It was as if half of every breath of air was blood mist.

Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa could not care about the fate of the infantry on the shore.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa shouted loudly.

The only thing Jinnai Tsukasa could care about now was his twelve gunboats.

Oh! No, now there were only nine left!

The other three gunboats had been hit directly by shells.

Some had capsized, because a large hole had been blown out on the side;

some had become much shorter, because a large hole had been opened at the bottom of the gunboat;

these were all taking on water.

Jinnai Tsukasa was nervous, very nervous!

He nervously ordered the entire fleet to retreat.

He could no longer care about the infantry now.

Let them die!

However, it was easy to issue the order,

but it was a bit difficult for the gunboats to move.

The shell bombardment just now had caused heavy casualties to the Japanese soldiers of the gunboat squadron.

Many of the Japanese soldiers in the posts had already gone to see Amaterasu.

Now they needed to find other Japanese soldiers to replace them.

Even if the squadron commander had given the order,

those Japanese soldiers who were still immersed in terror were still terrified.

The energy they had during normal training was long gone.

Tokugawa Katsu was a gunboat driver.

He was a diligent person.

After the infantry disembarked, he parked the gunboat properly.

He even ran over to help untie the ropes that bound the infantry guns.

His kindness saved his life.

Those Japanese soldiers who stayed in their original positions,

quietly waiting for the infantry to disembark before preparing to move,

died in the bombardment just now.

Tokugawa Katsu squatted down to untie the ropes.

These covers on the gunboat

blocked the fatal fragments.

He only heard a clanging sound.

The Japanese soldiers who were standing kept falling down.

When Tokugawa Katsu stood up,

the Japanese soldiers around him had all fallen.

At this time, Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa's order came down:

Retreat! Retreat!

Now he couldn't retreat a single step.

His whole body was as if he had been subjected to a body-fixing technique.

He was so stiff that he couldn't even move his eyeballs.

There was not just one Japanese soldier like this,

but quite a few.

This made the execution of Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa's order very difficult.

Chen Sichuan, who was standing on the city tower watching the scenery, was not relaxed either.

He knew that gunboats were very mobile.

If he wasn't careful, they could start to escape.

Therefore, Chen Sichuan was very nervous about the second round of rocket launches.

After all, each rocket launcher needed to be loaded with twelve rockets.

Each rocket weighed a full seventy-five pounds.

This was physical work, but also a technical skill.

This required time.

Fortunately, the officers and soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade were not afraid of hardship and fatigue.

These people had meat and rice every day.

They had training every day.

Whatever was the most difficult, they would focus on training that.

This was the experience left by their predecessors.

The predecessors of the Special Operations Brigade,

of course, referred to Chen Sichuan and the others who had joined the Special Operations Brigade for more than half a year.

If they trained more in peacetime,

they would not be easily defeated at this time.

The second round of rockets flew out again.

At this time, Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa was still urging the gunboats to retreat.

Six of the nine gunboats had been started,

or were in the process of being started.

Two were already reversing recklessly.

Behind them were the iron-hulled ships that had just been bombed

and were drifting downstream unmanned,

blocking their way.

At this time, Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa just wanted to curse.

As for the gangways that were still attached to the gunboats and the infantry on the gangways,

sorry! There was no time to pay attention to you.

Even so,

this group of gunboats was still hit by the second round of rockets.

Rockets were not precision strike weapons in the first place.

They were a kind of area strike weapon.

This time, the forty-eight rockets

were the same as last time.

The parameters had not changed,

but the number of gunboats hit was much higher.

Of the nine gunboats that were still holding on,

the two that had been started and were reversing,

plus those that were being started,

were all hit by a rocket.

Squadron Commander Jinnai Tsukasa also died in this round of bombing.

The infantry battalion that he did not have time to observe

was in a much better situation.

At least many of their infantry had landed.

Although there were also shells exploding on the shore,

they did not directly wipe out the infantry battalion.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon issued an evacuation order

during the first round of rocket bombardment.

However, feet could not run faster than shells after all.

When the second round of bombing arrived,

those Japanese soldiers who ran the most joyfully had only run less than two hundred meters

and were still within the bombing range.

It wasn't that the infantry company didn't know how to run,

it was just that the ground for the beach landing

was not suitable for running or charging at all.

After two bombardments,

the number of soldiers in the two infantry battalions was sharply reduced,

but it was much better than those warships floating on the river that were attracting fire.

Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi predicted with professional eyes:

When the third round of bombing came,

the last three remaining gunboats would definitely die.

The entire gunboat squadron would be completely wiped out.

At this time, looking at the infantry of the two continents again,

there were at least four to five companies left!

If there was no comparison with the gunboat squadron,

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon would be in pain,

and might even lose his mind.

After all, his battalion had been reduced by half in just two rounds of bombing.

But after having a comparison,

his sense of happiness came,

and his mentality became much more balanced.

The last three gunboats of the gunboat squadron

were pushed ashore by the huge waves caused by the rockets exploding in the water.

Those three gunboats were now aground.

Not only them, but also the iron-hulled ships were the same.

They were originally light and weak.

The huge waves blown up by the rockets, or the huge waves blown up at close range,

were like giant hands that could slap several iron-hulled ships onto the shore

or flip them over with one slap.

Whatever you think of comes true!

The third round of bombing did not disappoint Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi.

Not only did it hit the gunboats on the river,

but it also bombed these infantry on the shore.

However, even if the gunboats that had been aground were hit,

they would not sink again!

On the other hand, the two infantry battalions on the shore

finally had Japanese soldiers who escaped the rocket bombardment circle.

They were no longer affected.

The number of these Japanese soldiers was less than a hundred.

There were still more Japanese soldiers struggling on the smoke-filled landing site.

Chen Sichuan had no choice now.

It wasn't that he didn't want to bomb these Japanese soldiers,

but that the Japanese soldiers were too close to the Tenth Company.

Rockets could no longer be fired.

There was another reason.

A group of black dots flew in the sky.

The twelve planes of the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron were flying from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Their first goal was very clear:

First, see if the aground Heixi was still salvageable.

As for the three warships that arrived yesterday,

they did not find any clues along the way.

"Heixi!"

Nakadai Tatsuya, who was flying in the front, shouted excitedly.

With his reminder, the pilots behind him all saw the freighter parked obliquely to the north.

"I'll go down and take a look!"

Nakadai Tatsuya swooped down, as if crashing.

He fell directly towards the river.

Chen Sichuan watched the Japanese planes approach

and loudly ordered: "Anti-aircraft machine guns, prepare!

Rockets, prepare! Mortars, prepare!

Infantry guns, prepare!

Target: enemy aircraft!"

For Chen Sichuan, he had personally seen the brigade commander use mortars to hit planes.

Now that the brigade commander was not here,

he could only pull out all the weapons in the team that could hit enemy aircraft.

After thinking about it, he ordered again: "Heavy machine guns and light machine guns, free fire in the air!"

This was the first time he had commanded the team to compete with the Japanese Air Force.

Chen Sichuan was willing to use all the weapons he could use.

If grenades could blow up enemy planes,

he wouldn't mind using them either.

The First and Second Companies watched Nakadai Tatsuya's plane crash.

Everyone was still cheering excitedly,

but when the enemy plane was approaching the river, it pulled up sharply

and flew flat at a height of a dozen meters above the river.

The soldiers of the First Regiment on the city wall of Anqing, although they were not from the air force,

also knew that this kind of flying skill was very awesome.

Chen Sichuan said lightly:

"No matter how well it flies,

we'll just shoot it down."

That's what he said, but he didn't order to fire.

Chen Sichuan was waiting. He was waiting for the Japanese plane to rush towards the city wall.

Pilot Nakadai Tatsuya saw the inclined hull of the Heixi

and the empty deck and cabins of the ship.

The top of the captain's room was gone.

He reported on the radio: "There is no one on the Heixi.

It has run aground and the captain's room has been hit and destroyed."

He did not see the shadow of the warship,

although that was also one of their goals.

But what could they do if they couldn't see it?

Squadron Leader Uehara Tsuko pointed to the more distant battlefield that was still filled with smoke:

"Go over there and take a look first!"

They completely disdained the officers and soldiers who were waiting in battle on the city wall of Anqing.

A few miles of journey, the plane swept past.

The Japanese soldiers of the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron saw the wreckage of those ships on the river

and were immediately filled with righteous indignation.

There was not a single intact ship on the river.

They were either aground or capsizing.

This section of the river was already red.

It must have been dyed red by the blood of the warriors.

Nakadai Tatsuya guessed.

Many corpses were still floating on the river.

There were also many Japanese soldiers struggling and calling for help.

The corpses lying on the shore,

just a rough glance, there were at least a thousand.

The battle here was more intense than anything their squadron had seen anywhere during this period of time.

Even at the Madang Fortress,

when the National Army troops tried to retake it regardless of the cost,

the corpses left in front of the fortress were not as dense as they saw here today.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon and Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi were moved to tears when they saw planes coming in the air.

Unfortunately, they were unable to communicate with the planes in the air.

They had run too fast just now and many equipment had not been taken care of.

The two battalion commanders looked at the planes flying upstream

and were filled with melancholy: "They need air force guidance the most now!"

Despite this, the two company commanders still took advantage of this rare free time

to collect the remaining infantry.

The National Army did not bomb again,

so they were able to send Japanese soldiers to rescue those who had just been injured.

Some things were like this. When you didn't have any expectations,

happiness came like this.

The group of planes that had just flown past actually made a turn

and turned back towards Anqing City.

"Attack! Attack Anqing!" At this time,

the two battalion commanders were excited.

They no longer cared about those unlucky wounded

but wanted to take advantage of the plane's bombing to capture Anqing.

After all, this was their business.

As for the wounded, it wouldn't hurt them to stay on the beach for a few more hours.

If they were going to die, they would die even if they were rescued now.

They couldn't let the wounded delay the pace and opportunity of the attack.

The two battalions combined together now had less than five hundred Japanese soldiers.

But they didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

After all, compared to the gunboat squadron that sent them over,

these two infantry battalions still had one-fifth of their strength.

Now it was time for them to take revenge.

This was what both battalion commanders and the group of Japanese soldiers under their command thought.

Coincidentally, Company Commander He Feiyu of the Tenth Company and his 170 men also thought the same way.

Last night, they were here busily annihilating the Japanese soldiers who came down from upstream.

But it was obvious that they were not satisfied.

This company of theirs had been training for half a year

and had not been in actual combat.

The soldiers had long been impatient.

The young men ate well and trained hard every day,

but they had no place to use their skills.

Especially since Chen Sichuan and Li Xian gave all the soldiers lessons every night.

The content of the classes did not need to be selected.

They could just read out the reports from various domestic newspapers

to maximize the soldiers' hatred.

When they saw this group of Japanese soldiers coming down from upstream just now,

the soldiers were ready to rush up and open fire.

Company Commander He Feiyu of course knew how foolish it was for a company to face twelve gunboats and more than two thousand Japanese infantry soldiers.

He only reported the location of the Japanese landing site to the regimental commander

and then led the entire company to lie in ambush quietly.

More than one hundred soldiers of the entire company watched the Japanese gunboats sink,

watched the Japanese battalion be finished,

all the soldiers suppressed their excitement,

resisted the urge to jump up and cheer,

they were all waiting for the company commander's order to attack.

Now they had waited:

Although there were still more than four hundred Japanese soldiers,

although the morale of the Japanese soldiers was still very high,

the morale of the soldiers of the Tenth Company was even higher.

Company Commander He Feiyu had been familiar with this place for more than ten hours.

They had come yesterday afternoon

and had arranged everything that should be arranged.

They were just waiting for the Japanese soldiers to take the bait.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon and Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi were in the center of the long-term command.

The one who rushed to the front to clear the way was the Ando Taiji Company.

Saying it was a company, there were only about a hundred Japanese soldiers now.

This was because this company landed the earliest.

After hearing Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon's evacuation order,

Company Commander Ando Taiji commanded properly.

Only then did this company preserve so many Japanese soldiers.

This was also the most intact company in the two battalions.

More importantly, although this company only had more than one hundred Japanese soldiers,

they still had two heavy machine guns

and three grenade launchers.

This was already the last heavy firepower of the two battalions.

He Feiyu watched the Japanese soldiers step by step enter the trap set by the Tenth Company,

patiently watching the Japanese soldiers walk towards the road to the netherworld step by step.

He did not order to pull the string. He Feiyu wanted to let the Japanese soldiers get closer.

The company commander was not in a hurry, but the soldiers of the Tenth Company were anxious.

The Japanese soldiers had already entered the ambush circle, why didn't he give the order yet?

Military orders were like mountains!

If the company commander didn't give the order, the soldiers could only endure it even if they were anxious.

Chen Sichuan watched the enemy planes fly over

and immediately ordered the anti-aircraft artillery to change direction.

The enemy planes were still in sight,

and they could not relax for a moment.

The enemy planes flew back from a distance again.

This time, it was obvious that they were coming for Anqing City.

To be precise, they were coming for them, the defenders standing on the city wall.

Chen Sichuan estimated the distance: four thousand meters!

The enemy planes were already decreasing in altitude.

Three thousand meters!

The enemy planes flew over the position where a tall bamboo pole was erected in the distance.

Two thousand five hundred meters!

All the firepower of the First Regiment on the city wall was still silent.

In fact, at this time, the anti-aircraft machine guns could already fire for sniping.

Without the regimental commander's order, not a single soldier dared to fire.

One thousand five hundred meters!

It could already be seen that the Japanese machine guns were firing.

Of course, machine gun bullets could not hit them at this distance.

But they could hit them soon.

The Japanese soldiers used a lead.

The Japanese soldiers flew even lower,

no more than one hundred meters above the ground.

One thousand meters, the hearts of the soldiers of the First Regiment on the city wall were all clenched.

The Japanese soldiers were about to be overhead.

...

Tension!

The soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade on the city wall all became nervous.

They held their breath. They trusted the regimental commander! They believed that the regimental commander would definitely give the order in the next moment.

Now they had to listen carefully and fight seriously!

At a distance of five hundred meters, they could already see the hateful appearance of the Japanese pilots.

"Fire!" Chen Sichuan's order was only one word.

The various weapons that had been prepared on the city wall were all firing.

Even the soldiers who were using Type 38 rifles

were firing at the planes.

These rifles of theirs did not need to be aimed now.

They could only fire based on their feeling.

Machine guns, heavy machine guns, mortars, infantry guns, rockets, and anti-aircraft machine guns were all firing.

A new city wall suddenly rose above Anqing City.

A steel city wall built with countless bullets and the courage of the soldiers of the First Regiment.

Pilot Nakadai Tatsuya had thought about it:

He had thought that he would encounter resistance from the defenders.

Squadron Leader Uehara Tsuko had also thought about it:

He had also thought that the National Army might have some meaningless resistance.

But they were not afraid!

Every one of these pilots had flown freely in the National Army's anti-aircraft fire.

Braving the National Army's anti-aircraft fire and accurately bombing the target

was their favorite game! In fact, after flying within a range of two thousand meters,

and not encountering anti-aircraft fire,

the pilots in this squadron of twelve planes

had been discussing whether this team had anti-aircraft weapons.

The conclusion of course was: no! If they had them, they could have opened fire at a distance of two thousand meters.

When they entered a distance of one thousand meters

and still had not encountered artillery fire,

these Japanese pilots already believed that:

the team below had prepared to be bombed.

They had no anti-aircraft weapons and could only resist.

This was also the situation of many National Army teams.

There was nothing to be surprised about.

What Nakadai Tatsuya did not expect was that:

when he entered the short-range combat with the defenders,

when he could be considered to be fighting with bayonets,

he would encounter such a fierce attack.

This was not a hail of bullets at all.

This was a wall, a steel city wall that these Japanese soldiers could not cross.

Nakadai Tatsuya, who was flying in the front, did not know how many bullets his plane had been hit by,

nor did he know what kind of bullets had hit him.

Anyway, the plane he was driving exploded at a height of less than one hundred meters above the ground.

The splashed fragments filled the entire sky.

In the sky of the entire Uehara Air Navigation Squadron,

there was a mobile steel city wall blocking them.

The speed at which this wall moved was very fast,

and it was still increasing in thickness and density.

Every time a plane of the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron exploded,

it would increase the density of this steel city wall,

making these fighters and bombers of the Uehara Air Navigation Squadron, which were in attack formation,

have nowhere to escape.

In this battle, the First Regiment did not have no losses either.

At least ten soldiers were scratched by the fragments of the exploded planes.

Fortunately, none of them had their hands or feet broken.

None of the twelve planes that flew in from the air escaped.

This was something that the entire First Regiment had not expected.

The people in Anqing City

and those people outside the city all saw this battle that ended in less than a minute.

They only saw the Japanese planes rushing towards Anqing.

A net flew up on the city wall.

All the Japanese planes were like fish in the net.

One after another, they exploded.

Later,

several planes exploded at the same time.

This scene

was more beautiful than the fireworks set off by the landlord's family during the New Year for the people in Anqing City.

It was really extremely beautiful, beautiful beyond measure.

Around the entire city of Anqing,

if there was anyone who did not see this air battle,

it was He Feiyu's Tenth Company.

Not a single soldier in his company could be distracted.

They were all attentively watching the Japanese soldiers in front of them.

It just so happened that at this time,

whether it was the Ando Taiji Company rushing in the front,

or Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon in the middle of the Japanese army,

or Battalion Commander Yamamoto Taichi who was with him,

they were all excitedly watching the aircraft team flying in a V-formation.

Watching them attack Anqing, which was close at hand.

These Japanese soldiers were ready for cheers and applause,

just waiting for the first bomb to fall into Anqing City.

Then they saw an unforgettable scene:

a steel Great Wall suddenly rose from the city wall of Anqing

and then pressed towards the Japanese aircraft fleet.

The twelve aircrafts were slapped to death like flies.

After slapping twelve aircrafts to death,

the steel Great Wall continued to advance for a long distance

before gradually disappearing into the air.

At this time,

the bewildered Japanese infantry battalion

heard a rumbling explosion near their ears.

The sound of the explosion when the aircraft exploded was still in their ears,

but the current explosion seemed to be ringing in their hearts.

Their bodies were trembling.

They felt that the earth was churning.

Company Commander Ando Taiji, who was walking in the front of the team, saw a steel Great Wall crushing towards this direction in front of him.

He thought it was an illusion!

This was impossible!

This time his cry only rang in his heart.

The flying iron bullets passed through his open mouth,

penetrated his hindbrain,

More iron bullets

pressed towards the entire Japanese army.

Company Commander He Feiyu of the Tenth Company had just heard the explosion from the direction of Anqing.

He knew that the regimental commander had taken action.

The Japanese soldiers were all standing there blankly.

If he didn't take action at this time,

Company Commander He Feiyu was afraid that the Japanese soldiers would be scared away.

At that time, he also issued an order: "Pull!"

The order was only one word.

The reaction it caused was the response of more than a dozen directional landmines in the front.

Then Company Commander He Feiyu issued the second order:

"Charge!"

"Charge!" The officers and soldiers of the Tenth Company, who had long been filled with power,

all jumped out of their ambush positions at this time

and rushed towards the smoke-filled battlefield.

The front was smoke-filled and hazy,

and some could not see clearly.

But this did not affect the charge of the soldiers of the Tenth Company at all.

The bayonet skills that they had been training every day

were useful again!

This was a very happy thing.

Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon watched the imperial planes

be easily slapped to death by the other party like flies.

His mouth opened wide, completely unable to accept this reality.

If the defenders shot down one, no! Even if they shot down two planes,

he could believe that this was true.

Twelve planes were captured by the defenders with one net,

he felt like he was dreaming.

This was a nightmare, a nightmare that he would never wake up from! Then, Battalion Commander Rokkaku Yuemon dreamed that all the Japanese soldiers in the entire battalion fell down.

The net-like thing had now trapped two infantry battalions.

Of the four hundred or so Japanese soldiers who survived by chance from the two infantry battalions,

this time, at most, one in ten would survive by chance.

Only forty or so were left.

This made it possible to accept reality.