Chapter 174: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 174: Still Have Experts?

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Major General Tianya saw Yamamuro Sōbu's urging telegram and hurried to the riverside to watch the navy's transport ships, and indeed found that the transport ships had all begun sailing downstream.

Only four destroyers remained anchored in the middle of the river on alert.

The Tianya Brigade's devils were all stunned; they had been fine when they came, but now they couldn't go back!

However, the devils would soon be even more shocked, for the whistling of shells came from the sky, and what the devils never expected was that these shells were not fired from Lv Muzhi's sector in the Hongkou area, but came from the Pudong area across the Huangpu River!

It was Zhang Fakui of the Eighth Group Army's right-wing force, bombarding Huishan Wharf across the Huangpu River with mountain guns.

Zhang Fakui's Eighth Group Army was assigned two mountain gun companies, and at the same time Lv Muzhi's confidant Zhang Fei had been helping Zhang Fakui defend Jinshanwei Beach south of Pudong; Zhang Fei's brigade had two regiments and also two mountain gun companies.

Lv Muzhi had long held back from attacking the devils at Huishan Wharf because he was waiting for the Eighth Group Army to open fire from the opposite bank, to give the devils a surprise, and then he would send Qiu Qingquan out from Hongkou to attack the Tianya Brigade from both sides.

Zhang Fakui stood on the artillery position, looking at his own two mountain gun companies, then at Zhang Fei's two mountain gun companies, and said with a smile: "Finally we get a chance to join the fun! Our right-wing force in the area from Pudong to Hangzhou Bay is seldom visited by the devils; we've been watching the show across the Huangpu River all along, and these cannons are about to rust!"

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Commander, rest assured. This time we won't just smash the Tianya Brigade on the opposite bank; we'll also draw some of the devils' attention to our Pudong area, so there won't be a shortage of fighting afterward."

"Good! Never mind that. Let's first feed the Tianya Brigade on the opposite bank with shells. With your Youth Army brigade here, my right-wing force's sector is quite secure!"

In the Pudong area, the mountain gun positions of each company were dispersed. Group Army Commander Zhang Fakui looked at the scene before him with a satisfied smile. "Target: the enemy warships on the Huishan Wharf waterway. All guns, five rounds rapid fire, fire!"

On the Pudong positions, cannon fire rumbled; 24 mountain guns spat out fierce flames, and shells tore through the darkness before dawn, flying across the Huangpu River and slamming hard into Huishan Wharf on the opposite bank.

The radio carried a report from the artillery observation post, correcting the fire of the artillery positions.

The devils' destroyers were anchored quietly in the middle of the river, never expecting to be shelled from the Pudong area. Zhang Fakui's guns were set up five li away, and it was the middle of the night, so the devils couldn't immediately figure out where the artillery positions on the opposite bank were.

But the devils' destroyers were solidly anchored near Huishan Wharf in the middle of the Huangpu River; there was only one waterway, the devils were exposed, and Zhang Fakui's artillery was in the dark.

At this moment, Qiu Qingquan's artillery also began bombarding the Huangpu River waterway, aiming to take advantage of the night to attack the enemy warships supporting the Tianya Brigade.

The devils' four destroyers were thrown into confusion by the shelling; every warship had been hit, and finally, helplessly, they sailed downstream to dodge the guns.

"Commander of the Tianya Brigade, please find the enemy's artillery positions for us; our destroyer squadron must head downstream to avoid the artillery fire!" The destroyer squadron commander tossed a sentence to Major General Tianya, then impatiently went downstream to dodge the guns.

The warships belonged to the navy itself; if they were damaged or sunk in the dark, there was no place to get them repaired.

At this moment, the devils of the Tianya Brigade on Huishan Wharf were panicking because the transport ships and warships were withdrawing, and they never expected the attack from the Pudong direction.

Qiu Qingquan and Zhang Fakui also shifted their targets, transferring the artillery fire onto the enemy army on the shore.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous explosions rang out densely on the wharf, instantly tearing apart the stacked supplies, the hastily built camps, and the soldiers exposed in the open.

Shrapnel flew in all directions, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the entire wharf fell into chaos.

"Baka! It's artillery fire! From the east bank of the Huangpu River! Take cover quickly!" a devil major shouted hoarsely, but the next second, a shell exploded near him, and the blast wave hurled him directly into the air.

The shells landed precisely in the devil assembly area, making the Japanese troops cry for their fathers and mothers, thrown into utter disarray.

"Report to the brigade commander! We are under fierce artillery fire from the Pudong Chinese troops! Heavy casualties!"

Major General Tianya was panting heavily when, from the Hongkou direction to the north, came thunder-like cannon fire; Qiu Qingquan's two field artillery companies and four mountain gun companies also opened fire at the same time!

Whoosh! Boom!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—boom boom boom!

Shells from the north and south directions kept falling without cease; Huishan Wharf seemed to have become a great crucible. Explosive firelight rose and fell one after another, shrapnel flew everywhere, the Japanese troops had nowhere to hide, and were blown apart with blood and flesh flying, severed limbs and broken arms visible everywhere.

Blood and flesh were blown into the Huangpu River; the water surface by the shore was dyed a pale red, floating with all sorts of debris and corpses.

Major General Tianya hurriedly sent a telegram to the division commander: "The Tianya Brigade has suffered destructive artillery fire! The Chinese troops are shelling my forces from Pudong and Hongkou! Request emergency tactical guidance! Request naval gunfire support! Request the transport ships return!"

At the Japanese command post in Jiangwan Town, Yamamuro Sōbu and Ito Masanishi had not slept all night, waiting for the Tianya Brigade to launch its attack.

When Yamamuro Sōbu heard that the Tianya Brigade had sent a telegram, he was still quite happy, but the moment he saw the telegram's contents, he instantly felt that something was terribly wrong.

"How did the Eighth Group Army from Pudong also get involved? Zhang Fakui's army has been as if hidden in the area from Pudong to Hangzhou Bay since the war began, and now it pops up to strike us?!"

Ito Masanishi heard what Yamamuro Sōbu said and was also greatly shocked: "There are still experts on the opposite side? Hurry and have the navy come over to support!"

"I'm contacting them!"

In the vicinity of Huishan Wharf, a 75mm mountain gun shell from Pudong, as if it had grown eyes, directly hit the Tianya Brigade's command post.

Boom—!

Major General Tianya, his chief of staff, the signaller, and the radio were all instantly blown to pieces.

Major General Tianya was directly killed by the shell at his command position.

Several navy destroyers on the Huangpu River, unable to withstand the army's pressure, returned to check the situation, and several captains were very uneasy in their hearts.

Because it was pitch black at night, it was really hard to tell where the artillery in the Pudong area was hidden.

But there was only one waterway on the Huangpu River; Japanese warships sailing the Huangpu River waterway at night could easily be hit by Zhang Fakui in the dark.

Zhang Fakui indeed did just that. After the several artillery positions in the Pudong area had their fun bombarding Huishan Wharf, the artillery observation post in the reeds by the riverside discovered that the enemy warships and transport ships had returned, and hurriedly reported the situation.

As previously agreed, 24 mountain guns released a barrage on the enemy's necessary route, blocking a section of the Huangpu River waterway; the devils' destroyers either had to endure damage and gamble on luck to pass through, or stop at a distance and watch.

The destroyer captain chose the latter, not sailing into the barrage Zhang Fakui had prepared, but instead firing a few naval guns from their original position, as a gesture of respect for the army.

"Order the gunners to raise the muzzles a little and fire a few shots toward Huishan Wharf; that's also giving those idiots in the army their due! Be careful not to fire into the Concession!"

The Tianya Brigade waited bitterly, but never received the support they awaited.

Meanwhile, Qiu Qingquan's bombardment was even more fierce; nearly forty minutes of intense shelling plowed Huishan Wharf thoroughly.

The Tianya Brigade had not yet engaged the enemy head-on; though not necessarily over half were casualties, their morale had suffered a tremendous blow. Commander Major General Tianya was killed, and the soldiers were being shelled by artillery on both banks of the Huangpu River; even the most optimistic devils were beaten into having no spirit at all.

At this very moment, the two regiments of Chu Yunfei's brigade, long eager for action, like fierce tigers leaving their cages, launched an assault from the Hongkou direction toward the remaining Japanese troops of the Tianya Brigade on Huishan Wharf.