Chapter 179

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"The enemy is coming! Army troops entering the wharf, deploy immediately!"

"Stop it, you idiots! Get into defensive positions immediately!"

The voice of the captain of the Japanese destroyer Kiku echoed through the megaphone in the rain, his face a mix of anxiety and anger, not knowing what medicine the army had taken today—wasn't it just that support hadn't been in place last night!

However, the wharf was already out of control.

The retreating army soldiers bumped around like headless flies, venting all their resentment on the naval infantrymen and sailors trying to maintain order.

"Why should we listen to you! You cowards hiding on warships!"

"What were you doing while we were bleeding up front?!"

Rainwater mixed with mud and bloodstains, and several sailors who came down from the warships to break up the fight were immediately surrounded by red-eyed army soldiers, took a few punches, and fled back to the ships in a sorry state.

"Baka! Are these idiots crazy?!", the captain of the Kiku destroyer burned with rage on the bridge.

The captain of the Kui destroyer also shouted into the microphone: "Calm down! Everyone calm down! Establish a defensive line! The enemy is coming up!"

Division Commanders Yamamuro Sōbu and Ito Masanishi watched this completely out-of-control scene, completely stunned; this really wasn't the result they wanted.

They originally just wanted to use the navy's turf to take shelter, and incidentally apply pressure with some trash talk, never expecting the situation to devolve into a large-scale brawl.

"Stop it! All of you stop! I am Division Commander of the Eleventh Division, Yamamuro Sōbu!" Yamamuro tried to suppress them with his status, but his voice seemed trivial amidst the chaos.

"Division Commander Ito is here! Stop fighting! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Ito Masanishi also shouted hoarsely, even drawing his command sword to try to intimidate them, but the chaotic soldiers paid no attention at all.

The two lieutenant general division commanders now seemed like bare-pole commanders, surrounded only by a few staff officers, their orders completely ignored.

"It's over... we've caused a huge disaster..." Yamamuro Sōbu muttered; if Qiujiang Wharf fell, both he and Ito Masanishi would face a military tribunal.

The two scrambled and crawled, under the desperate cover of guards, and in a sorry state boarded the nearest Kiku destroyer.

As soon as they stepped onto the deck, the captain roared at them with a dark face: "Look at the fine mess you've made! Division Commander Yamamuro! Division Commander Ito! You've drawn the enemy here and even tolerated your subordinates attacking friendlies! This is simply a disgrace to the Imperial Army! Xia State Army fights the army, and the army turns around to fight the navy—is there anything more absurd in the world?!"

Normally, Army Lieutenant General Yamamuro Sōbu wouldn't be intimidated by a naval destroyer captain's aide, but now he was a tiger fallen to flatlands, and could only try to explain: "This was an accident, we just wanted to..."

"It's too late to say anything now! Look into the distance! The mist is so thick, who can tell whether those are your routed army troops or the Xia soldiers?!"

Rain and mist filled the air, visibility extremely low.

Distant figures were indistinct, friend and foe impossible to distinguish.

The voice of the squadron leader of the Naval Eleventh Squadron came through the radio: "All captains, the wharf is out of control! An effective defensive line cannot be established! Hesitate any longer and we're all finished!"

"I suggest immediately implementing indiscriminate firepower coverage on the outer perimeter of the wharf! Prevent any unit from approaching Qiujiang Wharf!"

Yamamuro Sōbu and Ito Masanishi found it hard to accept: "No, this will injure our own men; I still have many soldiers who haven't withdrawn!"

A naval captain said: "Rejected! Unless the army immediately constructs a defensive line at the outer perimeter and identifies the identities of those outside the wharf themselves, otherwise the navy can only use artillery strikes to protect Qiujiang Wharf! This is the best wharf we actually control on the Huangpu River; it cannot be easily lost!"

Division Commander Yamamuro Sōbu's lips turned pale; looking at Ito Masanishi, he discovered Ito Masanishi was already using a megaphone to shout at the soldiers still fighting on the wharf: "Immediately go out to repel the enemy"

Yamamuro Sōbu also shook his hands on the deck of the warship: "All of you stop!" His voice went hoarse, and he drew his pistol, firing continuously into the sky.

However, the navy obviously had no patience; if the enemy was too close, the naval guns would be limited by angle and unable to function.

With a boom, the Kiku destroyer fired the first shot at the indistinct figures in the distance at the wharf.

Immediately after, as if receiving a signal, the other warships at the wharf also began firing at the moving figures in the distance at the wharf.

Whether enemy or friend, they were absolutely not allowed to enter the wharf again.

For a time, the outer perimeter area of Qiujiang Wharf was covered by dense explosions and firelight; shrapnel swept over like a metal storm, tearing apart any object caught within.

One kilometer southwest of Qiujiang Wharf, a large group of routed Japanese troops were marching at speed.

"Hurry! Hurry into the wharf! The division commander has already gone in; the navy will protect us!" a sergeant major of the 101st Division shouted to the routed troops behind him.

The Japanese had just shaken off the pursuit of the German-equipped division, thinking they saw hope for survival.

Suddenly, a piercing whistling sound came down from the sky.

"Boom! Rumble!"

A huge explosion sounded just dozens of meters ahead of the Japanese; scorching air waves mixed with shrapnel and rubble hit them head-on, and several soldiers at the front were thrown into the air instantly.

"Baka! It's an artillery strike! The Xia army's artillery again! Has the enemy caught up?!"

"No! These shells are coming from the direction of the wharf!" another sharp-eyed sergeant pointed in terror at the ship shadows on the Huangpu River spewing firelight.

"It's the navy! The navy is firing at us!"

"Why?! We're our own people!"

Desperate curses rose among the routed Japanese troops; they watched in disbelief as the fleet that should have provided shelter was now pouring deadly artillery fire down on them.

The Japanese scattered like a disturbed ant nest, but the coverage of the naval guns was too wide; people were constantly swallowed by explosions, and mangled limbs mixed with muddy water splashed about.

Not only the Japanese army was hit by the naval guns; some units of the pursuing German-equipped division were also struck by the Japanese fleet's guns.

A captain company commander of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division was leading his company in pursuit of about a squad of routed Japanese troops, almost catching up.

"Third platoon, outflank to the left! Block their retreat! Machine gun team, stop and suppress!" Shangguan Zhibola commanded hoarsely; the Japanese ran desperately all the way, and he chased desperately all the way, with the soldiers bravely assaulting forward.

Just then, a dense and terrifying whistling sound came from the sky.

"Get down!" Shangguan Zhibola knew upon hearing the noise that it was large-caliber shells.

Boom boom boom boom—!

A series of violent explosions erupted ahead of them and on their flanks; the Japanese squad that had been holding out was instantly swallowed by firelight and thick smoke, their screams cut short.

The fierce air waves even made the soldiers of Shangguan Zhibola's company feel suffocated; the soldiers at the front were even injured by the shells.

"Damn it! Which bastard fired the cannon?! Can't you see we're mixed up with the Japanese?!"

Shangguan Zhibiao crawled up from the ground, his face and hair covered in dust, and cursed at the people beside him, "Damn it, almost hit our own people—do the artillerymen have no eyes?!"

The little devils' naval guns continued to fly overhead, beginning extension fire, and Shangguan Zhibiao's company came under naval gunfire.

Shangguan Zhibiao finally realized that these were shells fired from Qiujiang Wharf; the little devils were turning on their own!

"Quick Withdraw! The little devils have gone mad, they've chased us this far—we can't keep charging forward!"