Chapter 123: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 122 The Other Side of the Sea

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Nanxiang, inside the Youth Army Headquarters, Lv Muzhi stood before the massive Songhu War Zone map, with Liao Yaoxiang, Chu Yunfei, Zhou Weiguo, Qiu Qingquan and other generals surrounding him.

"The devils hit a wall at the Liu River and Wusongkou; now it's surely Gongda Textile Mill's turn. This is the only land-based airfield the devils can use in early-stage Shanghai. Song Xilian's 36th Division is stationed there and destroying the airfield."

"On the Huangpu River, the wharf closest to Gongda Textile Mill is Qiujiang Wharf. The devils will surely choose to land here, then push south, straight for Gongda Textile Mill, to seize the airfield for the Army Air Force."

Qiu Qingquan nodded: "Qiujiang Wharf is deep enough to dock warships, and it's only three kilometers from Gongda Textile Mill. It's indeed the best choice."

Lv Muzhi drew a circle on the map with his command baton: "According to our plan of luring the devils onto land to fight them, we will not station heavy troops between Qiujiang Wharf and Gongda Textile Mill. This was the unanimous opinion of Commander Zhang Zhizhong and me. We will only destroy the infrastructure there that benefits the devils."

Lv Muzhi looked at Chu Yunfei: "To speed things up, Chu Yunfei's brigade will go assist Song Xilian's 36th Division in completely destroying the Gongda Textile Mill airfield. Dig deep craters in the runway, pile large stones to fill the runway, so the devils can never use it again."

"Besides that, on the Huangpu River, destroy every Japanese-owned wharf!"

Chu Yunfei snapped to attention and accepted the order: "Understood! I'll personally lead the men there and guarantee the devils get nothing but ruins."

Lv Muzhi then looked at Liao Yaoxiang: "Liao Yaoxiang's brigade must continue fortifying construction. Luodian and Dachang are important positions where we are locked in fierce battle with the devils. After completion, immediately advance to the Wunaozham line, which also needs complete fortifications. In Shanghai, we must prepare for the worst. Create depth in the fortifications, layer upon layer of blocking."

"Yes!" Liao Yaoxiang said confidently, "I guarantee the little devils will pay a bloody price for every step forward."

Zhou Weiguo's Armored Regiment was assigned a mobile mission. "Weiguo, your tanks must stand ready at all times. Without my order, do not approach the riverside. Wait until the devils land and advance inland, then find a chance to strike their flank hard."

Zhou Weiguo rubbed his hands together: "Understood!"

After the operational meeting ended, Lv Muzhi and Qiu Qingquan drove to Nanxiang Railway Station. A military train had just pulled in, and the platform was piled with wooden crates as soldiers hurriedly unloaded cargo.

"Right on time." Lv Muzhi looked satisfied at the mountain of ammunition crates.

Qiu Qingquan casually opened a wooden crate. Inside, rows of bright yellow bullets were neatly arranged. This train alone carried over a million rounds, including both light and heavy machine gun bullets, with many more bullets to follow by train to the battlefield.

The two men then walked to the rear carriages of the military train, which were loaded entirely with shells. The wooden crates were marked with different colors: black for 75mm mountain gun shells, yellow for 105mm howitzer shells, red for 150mm heavy artillery shells. Each shell was tightly wrapped in oiled paper.

The roar of aircraft came from the sky. Four BF-109 fighters circled and escorted above the military train, their silver-gray fuselages glinting in the sunlight.

"It seems the Air Force attaches great importance to this shipment." Qiu Qingquan remarked with feeling.

Lv Muzhi smiled: "Nonsense, how could they not? If anything happens to this ammunition, what will we use to fight the devils to the death?"

Qiu Qingquan then pointed to the several anti-aircraft guns mounted on top of the train, their barrels aimed at the sky, smiling: "Besides fighter escorts, they've even arranged anti-aircraft guns."

The head of the Youth Army's logistics department ran over to report: "Commander Lv, besides ammunition, the subsequent shipments include grain and medical supplies. Also... there are four more military trains on the way, expected to arrive the day after tomorrow or the day after."

Lv Muzhi nodded, looking at Qiu Qingquan: "Most of these supplies are sent from Sichuan Province, transferred from water to land transport. The President has also provided a lot. This railway line is our lifeline. The soldiers fighting on the Songhu Battlefield all rely on this railway for supplies. The Southwest Air Force must step up escort duties."

"By the way, send a telegram to the Southwest Air Force. Although defense is important, offense is also the best defense. I plan to have them organize an offensive together with friendly forces!"

As they left the station, Qiu Qingquan couldn't help but ask: "Brother Wei Yue, can such a massive supply be guaranteed going forward?"

Lv Muzhi gazed at the western sky: "Rest assured. Not only can our supplies keep up, but in terms of bullets, we can even supply friendly forces. There are plenty of bullets. The Yangtze River shipping is controlled by my father-in-law, so there definitely won't be any problems."

The Guangxi Army has already set out for Songhu, and Liu Xiang's Sichuan Army is also assembling. The little devils will soon learn that Songhu is a bottomless pit for them."

Above Gongda Textile Mill Airfield, Chu Yunfei jumped out of the car, and 36th Division Commander Song Xilian walked toward him.

After they saluted each other, Song Xilian pointed to the shell-pocked runway behind him and smiled: "Brigade Commander Chu arrives at a good time. Look at my handiwork."

The runway was covered with shell craters of all sizes, and engineers were using explosives to enlarge the holes.

The airport's original terminal had been completely torn down, with twisted rebar exposed.

Chu Yunfei waved his hand and smiled: "Division Commander Song acted fast. I've also prepared a big gift for the little devils."

Over a dozen trucks drove into Gongda Textile Mill Airfield from outside and began dumping huge stones onto the runway. The large ones were comparable to millstones, and even the small ones were the size of washbasins.

Song Xilian patted the side of a truck: "Good. Lv Wei Yue has prepared thoroughly. After the little devils arrive, they'll be stunned. I never expected the airfield to become like this."

Chu Yunfei found a bucket of paint and wrote on the broken wall: "Chu Yunfei was here."

Seeing this, Song Xilian also imitated him, writing "Song Xilian was here," and drew an arrow on the wall indicating continued advance, pointing to the wharf area upstream on the Huangpu River: "Killing the heart! Brigade Commander Chu!"

Chu Yunfei looked at his field telephone: "The airfield is taken care of. We still need to destroy the wharves along the Huangpu River, especially the Japanese-owned wharves, to limit the little devils' logistics delivery capability."

When the two men moved to the wharves along the coast, the destruction work was nearing completion. The cranes on the wharf had been toppled into the water. Large amounts of sand and stone were dumped into the berths. Civilian ships that the devils couldn't transfer in time were all scuttled in the wharf. The warehouses were all demolished. Supplies inside were moved if possible, and all that couldn't be moved were destroyed. Even the mooring piles on the wharf were blown up.

After the destruction work was finished, a signalman ran over: "Commanders, a large force of devils has landed at Qiujiang Wharf!"

"Withdraw!" the two said in unison.

Not long after the two withdrew, the Tianlong Cruiser of the Wang Jingwei Regime's Third Fleet, leading nine warships, sailed into the Huangpu River near Qiujiang Wharf. The ship's guns bombarded the deserted wharf indiscriminately. This time, the little devils truly spared no effort, not caring at all about gun barrel life. The entire wharf was a sea of fire.

"No trace of the enemy found. The Chinese army has fled!" a lookout on the Tianlong's bridge reported loudly.

Tanikawa Kiyoshi smugly stroked his beard: "It seems they also know the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Send a telegram to Commander Matsui Iwane saying Gongda Textile Mill will fall soon, and have the Army Air Force's Type 96 Land Attack Bombers immediately relocate."

The landing went surprisingly smoothly.

Two thousand Japanese marines encountered no resistance in occupying Qiujiang Wharf, then the entire unit advanced toward Gongda Textile Mill. Along the way, they saw only destroyed bridges and burned houses, not a single Xia Guo soldier.

"As expected, the Chinese army fled at the sight of the wind," the marine commander said contemptuously. "Full speed ahead. Today we must raise the military flag at Gongda Textile Mill Airfield!"

However, when the vanguard reached Gongda Textile Mill, everyone was stunned.

The runway had become a gravel field. The terminal had become a pile of rubble. The hangar was still emitting black smoke. Most despairing of all, the craters the engineers had blown in the runway were bottomless, and they were filled with sewage.

"Ba... baka..." the colonel leading them said with trembling lips. "How... how is this to be repaired?"

"Report! Situation!" a Japanese soldier shouted.

The devils rushed over and saw the large characters "Was here" left by Chu Yunfei and Song Xilian, along with an arrow pointing to the wharf area upstream.

"Despicable Chinese, simply a great disgrace!"

The Japanese marines followed the arrow and continued advancing, only to discover that the wharf they had painstakingly developed had been completely destroyed!

When the news reached the Tianlong Cruiser, Tanikawa Kiyoshi was daydreaming about the bright future after the land-based air force was stationed there.

When the staff officer finished reporting the grim state of Gongda Textile Mill, Gu Qingchuan was stunned: "The airfield is gone? The wharf is also gone?"

"Hai!"

"Useless! All useless!" Gu Qingchuan swept the chart off the table with one hand, flying into a rage.

Just then the signaller brought a telegram from the Army Air Force on the mainland: "Informed that Gongda Textile Mill has been taken, the first batch of twenty-four Type 96 Land Attack Bombers will take off immediately, expected to arrive before nightfall; please prepare for guidance."

Tanikawa Kiyoshi looked at the telegram, then thought of that gravel field, and suddenly felt dizzy.

"General... General?" the Staff Officer asked anxiously.

"Send a reply..." Tanikawa Kiyoshi waved his hand weakly, "Just say... just say the airfield needs emergency repairs, and the relocation plan is temporarily suspended."

The Longmen Battleship was drifting on the sea surface east of Songhu.

Matsui Iwane received Gu Qingchuan's telegram aboard ship. "Eight Gua! What is this Gu Qingchuan up to? One moment he wants the air force to come, the next he tells them to go back—he's making a monkey out of me!"

"General, don't be angry; we still have the Army, after all."

Clang clang clang clang~

The ship's alarm bell rang. Matsui Iwane threw down the telegram and walked quickly to the captain's cabin: "What's the situation?"

The captain of the Longmen Battleship pointed northwest: "Suspicious target spotted ahead!"

Matsui Iwane raised his binoculars and saw only some black spots: "What's he up to again? Over there on the sea, what in the world is it!"