Chapter 114

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The President was fuming; the Americans had even called the Presidential Palace, demanding to know why Xia State Army torpedo boats were emerging from behind the Concession, and crucially, bursting out from behind American warships!

"Commander, if you don't give us an explanation, international mediation may not go as you wish!" The American Envoy threw down those words and hung up directly.

The President himself was completely baffled. The Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade organized by Lv Muzhi was clearly deployed around Jinling and Jiangyin, its main combat mission being to prevent Wang Jingwei Regime warships from passing through the estuary and sailing up the river to threaten the capital of Jinling.

So why were the torpedo boats sailing upstream from the Huangpu River?

Chen Cheng thought for a moment beside him and said: "The Jiangnan region has a dense network of waterways. Wei Yue has operated in Songhu for these years and must have long since cleared the channels. The torpedo boats are not large in tonnage; via the Grand Canal and other rivers, they can enter Taihu, then enter the Huangpu River, reach behind the Concession, and attack the Wang Jingwei Regime fleet from the flank."

The President paced with his hands behind his back, unable to sit still: "Isn't this ruining my big plans? Perhaps this war could have been avoided. My National Defense Division's training plan is not yet complete; how can I afford this?"

"Although our National Defense Division's training is not yet complete, Lv Weiyue is clearly already well prepared. He governs in the Southwest, training some eighty or ninety thousand reserves, who can one day fight the Wang Jingwei Regime;

The North China Incident has already occurred. If the enemy gains power in North China, they will surely advance south along the Pinghan Railway to attack Wuchang, which is very unfavorable to us;

Why not expand the Songhu fighting, forcing the Wang Jingwei Regime to fight on two fronts in North China and Songhu, pinning down and dispersing their forces?

Moreover, I have long heard that the Wang Jingwei Regime has already issued a mobilization order domestically. This war is hard to avoid. Since that is the case, why not strike first? According to the established policy, find a way to encircle and annihilate the devils' Marine Corps?"

After hearing Chen Cheng's words, the President paced a few more steps, finally came to his senses, and summoned his confidential secretary: "Cable Lv Weiyue. Since hostilities have begun, we must swiftly annihilate the Wang Jingwei Regime's land enemies!"

He then looked at Chen Cheng: "The devils' army units will likely land along the Liuhe to Wusongkou Line. I order you to organize the Fifteenth Group Army to defend the Liuhe to Wusongkou Line."

"Also order the Air Force Commander; fighters may take off to provide support as circumstances permit!"

The President's resolve to resist was finally firm. In the Songhu area, Lv Muzhi's offensive against the Wang Jingwei Regime was proceeding fiercely.

On the Huangpu River, the Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade's First Squadron Commander, Lieutenant Colonel An Bang, was leading his three companies of torpedo boats to attack the Yunhao cruiser and seven or eight destroyers and cannonboats moored at Huishan Wharf.

For this war, Lv Muzhi had secretly transferred Lieutenant Colonel An Bang's First Squadron sailors. Two nights ago, they entered Taihu via the river network, dispersed across the broad surface of Taihu, disguised as fishermen.

But these fishermen were clearly different from normal fishermen. Each was spirited, sporting crew cuts, with accents from south and north, all different.

The Huangpu River was now completely in an uproar.

Lieutenant Colonel An Bang's torpedo boat squadron, like wild horses breaking free of their reins, rushed in from the Taihu direction via the river network, catching the Wang Jingwei Regime's Third Fleet completely off guard.

Lieutenant Colonel An Bang cleverly used foreign ships on the river and the American USS Augusta cruiser as cover, charging straight for the Huishan Wharf anchorage.

The American sailors on the USS Augusta's deck were all dumbfounded. One had just taken a sip of cola, which sprayed directly out of his nostrils:

"Holy shit! Where did these Xia State torpedo boats come from?"

"Damn it! The Wang Jingwei Regime's armed motor boats and shallow-draft cannonboats are also approaching us!"

"Oh, God, are we going to open fire, Lieutenant?"

The duty officer's hand holding the binoculars was shaking. After holding it in for a long time, he cursed: "GOD! Stay on alert. Let them fire. Whoever dares to fire at us, we fire back at them!"

An Bang's torpedo squadron fired four torpedoes in the distance. The devils' Third Fleet fell into brief chaos, but after all, they were well-trained. Shrill alarm bells rang across the river surface, and sailors on all ships ran frantically to their battle stations.

"Torpedoes spotted to the left front! Four of them!" The lookout on the Yunhao shouted.

"Both engines, emergency reverse! Cannonboats and destroyers move forward to cover. All available guns, intercept the water surface on the port side! Quick!" Commander Gu Qingchuan ordered from the Yunhao flagship.

Although the Yunhao warship was at anchor, its combat-ready boilers still maintained pressure. The stokers shoveled coal into the boilers with all their might, and thick black smoke columns surged from the chimneys.

The first four torpedoes fired had already reached the vicinity of Huishan Wharf. A shallow-draft cannonboat of the devils moved forward to protect the flagship Yunhao and actually took a torpedo head-on!

With a boom, the cannonboat burst into fierce flames and belched black smoke.

As for the Yunhao cruiser, because its hull was too large, maneuvering within the Huangpu River was extremely inconvenient.

Boom!

A Type 450mm Torpedo slammed hard into below the waterline on the Yunhao's port side. This old armored cruiser, as if struck by a heavy punch, shook violently, and firelight and thick smoke shot into the sky.

"Port side hit!"

Gu Qingchuan was furious. Not long after entering the Huangpu River, his flagship Yunhao had been injured, and by enemy torpedo boats at that!

"All movable small boats, get after them! Entangle them! Destroyers, cannonboats, use your secondary guns and machine cannons to fire! Don't let them approach!"

On the wharf, led by the Yunhao, including three destroyers and five cannonboats, the Wang Jingwei Regime warships were frantically trying to weigh anchor and turn.

"Open fire! Open fire quickly!" The commanders of the Wang Jingwei Regime ships roared hoarsely, hastily organizing a fire net.

Several Wang Jingwei Regime armed motor boats tried to move forward and entangle, but the torpedo boats were extremely fast, darting nimbly across the river surface like dragonflies.

After modification, the torpedo boats were fitted with M2 Heavy Machine Guns. Each boat carried one torpedo on the port side and one on the starboard side.

The machine gunners operated the M2 Heavy Machine Guns, mercilessly strafing the devils' armed motor boats.

Over a dozen of the devils' armed motor boats were like a group of angered hornets, engines roaring as they charged toward the torpedo boat group.

The two sides went back and forth on the river surface, exchanging fire.

A Wakaba-class destroyer also adjusted its heading, facing the step-by-step advancing Xia State torpedo boats. The devil destroyer's 120mm Main Gun began to fire, and shells erupted in huge water columns around the torpedo boat formation.

"Take evasive action! The little devils are desperate!" An Bang clung tightly to the railing on Boat 101. River water blown up by shells whistled overhead, and the river water splashed down with a splash onto the torpedo boat.

An Bang grabbed the radio handset. Lv Muzhi had spent a fortune to build this torpedo boat brigade, and each squad was equipped with a radio.

"Third Squadron, entangle with the devils' small boats. Second Squadron, target the other destroyers and cannonboats. First Squadron, follow me. Look for an opportunity to attack the Yunhao!"

The torpedo boats, according to their division of labor, each sortied.

The torpedo boats of the three squadrons: every three torpedo boats formed a squad, and the torpedo boat equipped with a radio served as the command boat.

Each squad locked onto a target and launched an attack on the devils.

Relying on their petite size and a speed of up to 35 knots, the torpedo boats darted madly through the huge water columns from naval guns and the crisscrossing trajectories.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A brave torpedo boat quickly approached, number 81. As it neared a destroyer, it was hit repeatedly by the destroyer's 25mm Machine Cannon on its starboard side, and the boat burst into flames.

Torpedo Boat 81 lost power. Seeing it could no longer advance, the boat captain and crew, in their final moments of life, fired both torpedoes.

With a boom, the torpedo boat was struck by the Japanese destroyer's naval gunfire, and both sailors and torpedo boat sank into the Huangpu River.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two more dull thuds came from below the waterline of the Japanese destroyer; the ship quickly tilted, as if it had lost a leg, lost power, and half its hull sank into the water.

The battle between the armed motorboats and the torpedo boats was equally fierce.

Both sides used heavy machine guns, and even the sailors on the boats fired submachine guns at each other, at such close range they could almost see each other's expressions.

The captain of one torpedo boat seized the Browning heavy machine gun on deck and opened fire furiously on the Japanese motorboat charging head-on, riddling it with holes.

However, the torpedo boat flotilla's focus remained on the largest target—the Yunhao. Despite several warships and motorboats fighting to the death to cover it, the agile Xia State torpedo boats kept finding attack windows.

Boom! Boom!

Torpedo Boat No. 192 fired two torpedoes, at extremely close range firing two torpedoes at the Yunhao.

Two more torpedoes struck the Yunhao in succession; this once-mighty battleship tilted even more severely, its speed dropped sharply, and its deck was in utter disarray.

However, the machine cannons aboard the Yunhao also attacked the torpedo boats; inside the command cabin of Torpedo Boat No. 192 was a scene of mangled flesh.

With Torpedo Boat No. 192 as an example, other sailors followed one after another.

More and more torpedo boats fired torpedoes at the Yunhao, determined not to rest until they sank the Japanese flagship!

At extremely close range, nine torpedoes struck the Yunhao in succession.

But this also meant the torpedo boats making close attacks could not return; the Japanese battleship's machine cannons and heavy machine guns would not let any approaching torpedo boat go.

"Lieutenant Colonel An Bang, the Yunhao's hull is observed tilting! The sinking of the enemy flagship is irreversible!"

"Command Boat No. 192 of the Third Squadron cannot return! Please continue advancing!"

On the surface of the Huangpu River, Detachment Commander Lieutenant Colonel An Bang had just personally fired two torpedoes, hitting a cannonboat.

The river surface was already thick with gunpowder smoke; at some point, the roar of aircraft engines came from overhead—obviously, aircraft from both sides were fighting in the sky.

Lieutenant Colonel An Bang's First Detachment suffered heavy losses; a retreat order had to be given now.

"The enemy fleet has been severely crippled, our mission is complete; all boats, withdraw immediately along the original route, preserve our strength—the Yangtze River waterway still needs us to guard it!"

Aboard the Yunhao cruiser, Commander Gu Qingchuan had turned deathly pale with shock; the Yunhao was trembling and tilting, sinking was unavoidable.

In this battle, the flagship Yunhao heavy cruiser was written off; after one destroyer was sunk, two cannonboats were sunk, and even more warships and small boats were damaged!

Meanwhile, Xia State's torpedo boats lost a total of nine vessels in this surprise battle.

"Your Excellency Commander, the Yunhao is sinking—please leave by small boat at once!" the Yunhao's captain shouted.

"Your Excellency Commander, the Kamoi seaplane carrier has urgently launched two fighter squadrons, and the Kaga aircraft carrier has launched two fighter squadrons; they have already reached the skies above the Huangpu River!" a staff officer rushed to report.

Commander Gu Qingchuan looked up at the sky: "Not only have our fighters arrived, but the Xia State Air Force has arrived too!"

As he spoke, the Xia State Air Force began attacking the Third Fleet.

"Your Excellency Commander! Xia State has mobilized a brigade's worth of troops to attack the dock area at Yangshupu; my Third Fleet's two marine battalions are resisting, and it looks like the enemy wants to occupy our Huishan Wharf!"

Gu Qingchuan looked toward the northwest, where artillery fire blazed: "We can't hold it! The marine corps command headquarters in Hongkou District is finished too! The remnants of my Third Fleet are withdrawing from the Huangpu River; additionally, I request the airmen overhead to give full cover for the fleet's withdrawal!"

"This battle will have to be cleaned up by the army!"

After speaking, Gu Qingchuan wiped away tears, boarded a small boat, and left the sinking flagship Yunhao in dejection.

Over the Huangpu River, Lv Muzhi's Southwest Air Force dispatched two fighter squadrons; the fighters had taken off and were dogfighting with the Japanese fighters.

Fighting alongside the Southwest Air Force was also the Guofu Air Force.

Just now, the Torpedo Battalion attacked the Japanese Third Fleet on the Huangpu River; had it not been for the fighters covering from above, the Torpedo Battalion would have been attacked and pursued by Japanese airmen.

In the sky, Southwest Air Force Colonel Squadron Leader and First Battalion Battalion Commander Gao Zhihang was at this moment piloting his BF-109 Fighter, leading two squadrons totaling twenty-four fighters to meet head-on the aircraft group of the Japanese Navy Air Force.

The Japanese aircraft group was mainly composed of Type 96 Carrier Fighters, attempting to pursue the retreating Xia State torpedo boats and the Xia State Army attacking onshore.

Gao Zhihang calmly observed the enemy aircraft formation through the cockpit glass.

As battalion commander, Gao Zhihang had started learning to fly in 1924 and had once been a lieutenant colonel at the Northeast Aviation Office.

Through Zhang Shaoshuai's introduction, Lv Muzhi brought Gao Zhihang into the Southwest Aviation Group to train and command the other pilots in the air force group.

At this moment, Gao Zhihang raised his arm and made a hand gesture to a fighter beside him.

The squadron leader of the Second Squadron immediately understood; the BF-109 fighter group split into two and began dogfighting with the Japanese fighters.

The BF109 is an energy fighter, possessing high maximum speed and high climb rate.

Based on this characteristic, Gao Zhihang's air force group formulated corresponding combat methods.

The BF-109 formation maintained altitude at high altitude, flying steadily above the heads of the Japanese fighters.

Gao Zhihang shoved the control stick hard, diving in to cut into the flank of the Type 96 formation.

After steadily locking onto one Type 96, two 7.92mm MG17 machine guns spat tongues of fire, and two Type 96s immediately trailed black smoke as they fell downward.

Immediately afterward he pulled up to escape the altitude where the Japanese fighters were; one Japanese Type 96 fighter, seeing this, flew into a rage and forcibly raised its nose to pursue Gao Zhihang.

But Gao Zhihang's BF109 fighter pulled up extremely fast, while the Type 96 fighter on his tail was in a slow nose-up state, exposing its greatest weakness.

Gao Zhihang's wingman, seeing this, seized the opportunity, opened fire with the aircraft machine gun, and shot down the Japanese Type 96 fighter that was in a slow nose-up state pursuing Gao Zhihang.

Thus the air battle instantly became white-hot; the BF-109, relying on its excellent climb speed and maneuverability, gained the upper hand in dogfights with the Type 96.

The Southwest Aviation Group, relying on the excellent performance of its fighters, often flew above the heads of Japanese planes, occasionally diving to suppress the low-altitude Type 96 fighters, firing one round and then running, immediately pulling up to regain altitude.

If the Japanese dared to pull up in pursuit, they would be in a slow nose-up state, at which point they would be seized upon and shot down by Xia State Air Force wingmen or other flight formations.

It was just like a hawk catching chicks; as long as they maintained altitude above the Type 96 fighters to suppress them, the chicks had no room to survive at all.

Additionally, upon receiving the President's directive, the Guofu Air Force Commander also dispatched aircraft for combat.

Fierce air battles unfolded over the Huangpu River, with fighters trailing thick smoke and crashing from time to time.

After Gao Zhihang shot down a second enemy aircraft, he spotted a Type 96 biting onto the tail of a friendly Hawk III fighter, so he immediately dove down and precisely fired short bursts, hitting that Type 96's engine.

"Ah! That was close!" the Hawk III pilot waved to Gao Zhihang in greeting.

The air battle lasted about two hours, from the torpedo boats' fierce battle with the Japanese fleet until the Third Fleet withdrew from the Huangpu River; the Japanese aircraft group began retreating after losing eleven fighters.

The Southwest Air Force and Guofu Air Force fighters, with fuel and ammunition running low, did not pursue.

The Southwest Aviation Group suffered no losses in this battle, while the Guofu Air Force lost two fighters.

Gao Zhihang looked down; on the Huangpu River, half of the Yunhao had already tilted into the water, with several Japanese Navy ships sinking or burning.

In the direction of Yangshupu on the shore, the Chu Yunfei Brigade's offensive momentum was fierce.

Gao Zhihang nodded in satisfaction and signaled the formation to regroup and return.

"East and West Artillery Groups! Concentrate fire, hit his first defensive position!" Chu Yunfei commanded loudly over the radio.

To strengthen troop firepower, mountain guns were assigned to the regiment level.

At this moment, the Japanese fleet fled the Huangpu River, and their planes gained no advantage in the air; Chu Yunfei fought more smoothly as it went on, and under the cover of accompanying artillery, one regiment attacked the west side of Yangshupu while another attacked the north side.

In the Yangshupu Dock Area, two battalions of the Japanese Navy Marine Corps fell into unprecedented panic.

The remnants of the Third Fleet were withdrawing from the Huangpu River, and naval gun support had been cut off. Although sporadic air battles still occurred overhead, air superiority was clearly no longer in Japanese hands.

These two Marine Corps battalions had come with the Third Fleet, responsible for defending the Yangshupu Dock Area; they came together, but when the Third Fleet fled, it did not take them along!

Commander Gu Qingchuan had long since taken a small boat, not daring to board a warship, and fled the Huangpu River like the wind; how could he still care about the Japanese Marine Corps soldiers left on the dock?

Chu Yunfei stood at the frontline command post, raising binoculars to observe the Japanese defensive line. He ordered over the radio: "All regiments concentrate fire, mountain guns continue shelling from behind, commandos prepare to charge, push the 75mm infantry guns forward to directly bombard Japanese fortifications; my Second Brigade will have dinner at Huishan Wharf!"

Orders were swiftly relayed, and the Youth Army soldiers surged forward like a tide.

The 75mm infantry guns were pushed by artillerymen over the ruins, advancing to within less than five hundred meters of the Japanese positions.

"Fire!"

Shells screamed into the hastily built Japanese street barricades. Sandbags, timber, and the limbs of Japanese soldiers were blown flying in all directions, and the Japanese line began to waver.

"Advance!" Battalion and company commanders waved pistols, leaping out of cover first.

Soldiers carried Zhongzheng rifles with bayonets fixed, following officers in a forward charge.

The MG34 General Purpose Machine Gun teams quickly seized the high ground, using dense fire to suppress the remaining Japanese resistance.

The Japanese commander strained his voice trying to organize a counterattack, but the morale of the Marine Corps soldiers, deprived of naval gun support, had already collapsed, and their firepower was inferior to Lv Muzhi's Youth Army; over a hundred remaining Japanese soldiers began to retreat involuntarily.

"Close the gate! Close the gate quickly!" Seeing the Xia State Army was unstoppable, the Japanese commander ordered the heavy iron gate of the Dock Area closed.

Chu Yunfei came to the front line personally, looking at the tightly closed iron gate and sneering: "Push the cannons up, a golden-rimmed chamber pot, don't bombard the iron gate, bombard the wall!"

Four 75mm infantry guns were pushed to within two hundred meters of the iron gate, and the gunners quickly loaded and aimed.

The 37mm anti-tank guns were also brought up and joined the bombardment.

Although the iron gate was heavy, the wall was just an ordinary wall, because the Yangshupu Dock Area was not originally a military facility.

"Fire!"

After several loud bangs, the wall was breached in multiple places and finally collapsed with a crash.

"Charge!" The soldiers attacked from the breaches, with mortars covering from the rear; on the dock rang the clatter of military leather boots on the ground, appearing imposing and majestic.

MG34 General Purpose Machine Gunners dragged the machine gun mount with one hand and held the machine gun with the other, sweeping fire while advancing; MP28 submachine gunners moved nimbly among the cargo piles, mopping up the remaining enemies.

In terms of manpower, Chu Yunfei's Brigade had nearly eight thousand men in two regiments, encircling and annihilating these two battalions of fewer than one thousand Marine Corps soldiers.

In terms of firepower, needless to say, after the Third Fleet withdrew, Chu Yunfei was fearless!

Japanese resistance grew weaker and weaker; the remaining twenty-something Japanese were compressed to the edge of the Huangpu River, with the slowly sinking Yunhao cruiser behind them. These Japanese soldiers had their backs to the river water, faces showing despair; the thing they regretted most in their lives was stepping onto the land of Songhu.

On the distant American cruiser Augusta, American sailors raised binoculars, feeling incredulous.

"The Xia State Army actually succeeded? There are hardly any Japanese troops left in Yangshupu!"

"Hmm, Jack! I bet five dollars these Japanese troops will surrender!"

"No, they'll fight with bayonets, and then be stabbed to death by the Xia State Army."

Chu Yunfei came under the escort of the Guard Company, looked at these remnants in the distance, then at the half-sunken Yunhao in the river, and said in fluent Japanese: "Jump into the river and swim; I guarantee, I will not pursue."

The Japanese soldiers looked at each other, and some wavered. A sergeant suddenly shouted: "Don't believe the Chinese!"

Several Japanese raised bayonets and charged forward.

Rat-tat-tat

The fighters had long been on guard; they opened fire, turning the sergeant and several Japanese who followed the charge into sieves.

The remaining ten-plus Japanese soldiers looked at their comrades' corpses, then at the surging river water; finally someone threw down his gun and plunged into the river with a splash, and others followed suit.

Chu Yunfei watched the Japanese soldiers struggling in the river water, coldly raised his Zhongzheng Rifle, and aimed at the nearest target.

"Haha, I tricked you, fire at me!"

Gunshots echoed across the river surface......

"Report to Commander Lu and Commander Qiu, the Yangshupu Dock Area has been taken, the enemy facing us has been cleared!"

In the Bazi Bridge area, First Division Commander Qiu Qingquan was leading First Brigade troops safely across.

After being bombarded by Lv Muzhi's Heavy Artillery Regiment, the area opposite Bazi Bridge was a scene of collapsed houses; the Youth Army surged forward, and the remaining Japanese immediately retreated in defeat.

They were intercepted by the First Company of the Armored Infantry Regiment flanking from the side; as regimental commander, Zhou Weiguo attached great importance to the tank company's first combat operation and personally participated in the battle.

The First Company of the Armored Infantry Regiment was equipped with light tanks; Lv Muzhi cooperated with Czechoslovakia to promote the development of the 38T tank.

Czechoslovakia was scheduled to officially equip it next year, but Lv Muzhi had already introduced the production line first; after that, he also provided technical data, called in American engineers to improve it together, planning to produce and develop various 38T improved models.

Czechoslovakia strongly opposed this, and the president also felt he could not save face, feeling it damaged the prestige of a great power, but Lv Muzhi did not care at all, because this small Western European country was about to perish.

The 38T tank was very famous among light tanks; exaggerating a bit, it could be considered the tank model most suitable for Xia Guo, being maneuverable and flexible, adapting to Xia Guo's poor road conditions.

Moreover, it had huge modification potential, was much cheaper than medium and heavy tanks, and could spawn various modified tanks; introducing the 38T tank chassis allowed it to be used as a light tank or modified into a tank destroyer.

After modification, even facing Japan's late-war Type 97 Kai, it could put up a fight, let alone the fact that the Japanese tanks on the Songhu Battlefield were still small fry.

What the Marine Corps could deploy on the Songhu Battlefield, besides armored vehicles, was the Type 94 Tankette (small fry); when the Army arrived, there would be Type 95 Light Tanks and Type 89 Medium Tanks.

These tanks, encountering the 38T's 37mm tank gun, were a one-shot kill.

Of course, the Armored Infantry Regiment was also equipped with medium tanks, but they were not needed yet to deal with the Marine Corps.

Zhou Weiguo led the 38T tank company, and under the coordinated operation of two infantry companies, cut the retreating Japanese from Bazi Bridge into two segments; the Japanese lost their artillery at Bazi Bridge and could only be encircled and annihilated by Zhou Weiguo's armored forces.

After crossing Bazi Bridge, the Japanese Navy Marine Corps Command Headquarters was already less than one kilometer away.

The Southwest Air Force took off again, flying over the Japanese command headquarters, circling around this five-story sturdy building.

First Division First Brigade Captain Reconnaissance Company Commander Lv Ziqing volunteered, "Commander Qiu, after the artillery opens fire, let my company serve as the assault company; I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Qiu Qingquan hesitated somewhat; Lv Ziqing was a clansman of Lv Muzhi, Lv Muzhi's eldest nephew, and after graduating from the Military Academy served as a captain company commander.

Because of his special relationship with Lv Muzhi, Qiu Qingquan had always kept Lv Ziqing by his side.

"If you're gone, how do I explain to Lu Commander? No, no, you stay in the rear as reserve; in a moment the artillery will still need your reconnaissance company to correct fire."

Unexpectedly Lv Ziqing used soft words and hard persistence, and together with the soldiers of the reconnaissance company also came to petition to assault the Japanese Marine Corps Command Headquarters.

Qiu Qingquan did not want to dampen everyone's fighting enthusiasm, and ordered Lv Ziqing's company to assault at the end of the first echelon after the artillery strike.

As frontline commander, Qiu Qingquan also needed to call Lv Muzhi for heavy artillery support again.

The Marine Corps Command Headquarters, for years something Lv Muzhi and others dreamed of; for today's offensive, Lv Muzhi had rehearsed no fewer than a hundred times in his mind and on the map!

Seizing early air superiority, already completed!

Expelling the Wang Jingwei Regime fleet on the Huangpu River, already completed!

Occupying the Yangshupu Dock Area, already completed!

Just waiting to strike the Marine Corps Command Headquarters with heavy artillery right now, take the Marine Corps Command Headquarters, and the Xia State Army can wholeheartedly commit to anti-landing operations!

A heaven-sent opportunity!

At this moment, it could finally be realized tonight!

"Wei Yue, the President's hand seal, no attack tonight!" Zhang Zhizhong came to the Nanxiang artillery position and delivered the President's emergency order.

"Why can't your phone get through? The Americans protested, saying you used their warships as cover to raid Japan's Third Fleet; Japan protested to the United States, the United States protested to the President, and negotiations are currently underway!" Zhang Zhizhong panted as he explained, clearly having come all the way here.

Lv Muzhi had long ago pulled out the telephone line; unexpectedly the President directly air-dropped Zhang Zhizhong to his own frontline.

The fighter plane passed in a flash.

"Mr. Wenbai? Do you still remember the disgrace of Songhu five years ago?"

Five years ago in the Resistance War, Zhang Zhizhong failed to take the Japanese Marine Corps; this time, don't tell me he's about to repeat past mistakes?

Zhang Zhizhong remained silent, clearly not wanting this either, but he did not dare disobey orders.

Lv Muzhi looked at Zhang Zhizhong: "I'll treat it as if you never came; go back, afterward I'll give Mr. Luo an explanation, and I'll give the President an explanation too."

"Heavy Artillery Regiment! All present! Target, enemy Marine Corps Command Headquarters! One ranging shot!"