Chapter 191: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 191 Casting Alluring Glances at a Blind Man

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

At the same time, Takahashi Regiment on the north bank had completed its attack preparations.

"Colonel Excellency, the artillery is in position!"

"The Engineer Detachment is ready to set up the bridging equipment!"

"The First Battalion is ready to force the crossing!"

Takahashi Regiment Commander looked at the map and ordered: "Artillery Squadron, conduct a ten-minute fire barrage on the enemy positions on the south bank! Engineer Detachment, under artillery cover, erect two floating bridges in Area Three! First Battalion, once the floating bridges are completed, immediately force a crossing of Zhangjiabang!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Japanese Type 91 75mm Mountain Guns and Type 92 Infantry Guns began pouring shells onto the south bank positions, explosions kicking up clouds of dust and smoke along the riverbank.

Inside the south bank positions, Northeast Army soldiers huddled in the fortifications, letting dirt and debris fall on them.

"Damn it, the little devils' artillery is pretty accurate!" a Northeast Army veteran spat out a mouthful of dirt-tinged saliva.

"Hold steady! Wait until the devils cross the river to fire!" the officers shouted along the trenches.

The artillery fire began to creep forward, and Japanese engineers, braving the gun smoke, carried bridging materials to the riverside and began nervously erecting the floating bridges.

"Spotted Japanese engineers! They're bridging!"

"Machine gunners in position! Aim at the river surface!"

"Notify the Mountain Gun Company, target the river bridging point, blast them to hell for me!"

Wu Keren watched the movements on the opposite bank from the Frontline Command Post and sneered: "Want to cross the river? Asked the things in my hands first? Order the Mountain Gun Company, aim at the Japanese bridging point, blast them to death for me!"

The two Mountain Gun Companies under the 67th Army quickly adjusted their firing data, and twelve 75mm mountain guns roared.

"Whoosh—Boom!"

The shells landed precisely on the river surface, and the Japanese engineers building the bridge were instantly blown topsy-turvy, with bridge materials scattering everywhere.

"Eight-gaga! The Xia army has artillery!" Takahashi saw this scene through his binoculars, both shocked and angry; a Xia army equipped with artillery definitely counted as elite troops.

"Order our artillery to suppress the enemy artillery! Second Squadron, cross the river by swimming from the flank to contain them!"

Japanese artillery began searching for the 67th Army's artillery positions, while a squad of Japanese soldiers went directly into the water, attempting to swim across at a shallower part of the river.

"Report to the Ji Jun Zhang, Japanese soldiers attempting to swim across discovered in front of the 108th Division's position in the western sector!"

"Tell the 108th Division, wait until they're close before firing! Get all light and heavy machine guns ready for me!"

When the swimming Japanese soldiers struggled to the middle of the river, gunfire suddenly erupted on the south bank.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"

Dozens of Maxim Heavy Machine Guns opened fire simultaneously, the dense hail of bullets sweeping across the river like sickles; the river water was instantly dyed red, and the swimming Japanese soldiers screamed as they were hit and sank into the water.

"Good shooting!" Wu Keren held up his binoculars, looking very excited: "The new equipment is indeed effective, just keep firing like this! Tell the brothers, don't let a single devil go!"

Takahashi Regiment's first wave of attack completely failed under the 67th Army's fierce firepower, with nearly a hundred Japanese corpses and shattered bridging materials floating on the river surface.

"Colonel Excellency, the Xia army's firepower is too fierce! Especially their machine guns, the density far exceeds expectations!"

"Their artillery is also very accurate; our engineers simply cannot approach the riverbank!"

Takahashi's face turned dark, he hadn't expected this unit that had just rotated in to have such formidable combat power.

He gritted his teeth: "Request artillery support from the Detachment! At the same time report to Detachment Commander Shigenaga, the enemy has deployed heavy troops at the Zhangjiabang defensive line with strong combat power, requesting tactical guidance!"

The signal soldier had just left when the 67th Army's artillery on the south bank began another round of bombardment, this time shells landing directly on Takahashi Regiment's departure position.

"Damn it, so satisfying!" Wu Keren watched the Japanese on the opposite bank scrambling with their heads in their arms and laughed heartily, "Let the little devils taste what it's like to be bombed! Notify all units, heighten alert, prevent Japanese sneak attacks!"

However, Takahashi Regiment did not organize another attack, because after Detachment Commander Shigenaga Chishu heard the frontline report, he understood that his plot to lure the tiger away from the mountain would not succeed.

After probing, Wu Keren's Sixty-Seventh Army had formidable combat power; if they were to forcibly launch an operation, Shigenaga Detachment would have to pay a considerable price.

Moreover, compared with Zhang Faku's Right Wing Army, his Shigenaga Detachment's forces were still too thin; even if they broke through Zhangjiabang, Zhang Faku might still not commit the main forces of Hangzhou Bay, and other Xia collateral units would come to block them, at which point the losses would be enormous.

Meanwhile, the Japanese main forces at this time encountered a problem at the Shanghai Main Battlefield and had no mind to play any lure-the-tiger-away-from-the-mountain tricks, leaving the trouble for the Tenth Army that was about to land at Hangzhou Bay; Matsui Ine and others had more important things to do.

On the Shanghai Main Battlefield, both the Left Wing Army and the Center Army began to retreat at this moment, and places like Luodian and Yanghang were actively given up by the Xia Guo Army.

"Huh? How could this be? I originally thought the enemy's fighting will would be very tenacious, unexpectedly they couldn't hold out for even a few days under my Navy's fierce bombardment!" Navy Commander Gu Qingchuan looked very pleased with himself.

Army Commander Matsui Ine, however, noticed a problem: the Xia Guo Army was retreating, so shouldn't he be advancing, yet the Navy's warships were still in their original positions; currently naval gunfire could still provide support, but if the enemy kept retreating, the naval guns would eventually be unable to support.

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko noticed Matsui Ine's oddity and smiled: "No need to worry, at least we can take most of Shanghai City, and the Tenth Army will also land at Hangzhou Bay under Commander Yanagawa Heisuke's leadership, then the situation can be reversed."

Matsui Ine said somewhat discouraged: "But, Your Highness, our lure-the-tiger-away-from-the-mountain plan did not succeed; Zhang Faku's main forces are still defending to the death in the Hangzhou Bay region. To put it in an old Xia saying, Shigenaga Detachment is casting alluring glances at a blind man—Zhang Faku has no interest in him at all."

"It doesn't matter. After observing these past few days, I've found that as long as the Navy and Army join forces, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. Look at the Shanghai Main Battlefield: wherever the naval guns point, the Army advances irresistibly; the enemy fled in panic at Luodian, Yanghang, and other places;

even if Zhang Faku has deployed heavy troops to defend Hangzhou Bay, don't forget our naval power—it will certainly help the Army land successfully."

"So what should we do now at the Shanghai Main Battlefield?" Matsui Ine asked. A great general like him was now directly asking a mere Army Lieutenant General like Prince Asaka Yasuhiko for his opinion, mainly because he no longer felt confident in his own heart.

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was not polite either, directly exercising Commander Matsui Ine's authority: "Of course, advance step by step, move forward, and under naval gunfire support, gradually clear out the enemy's defensive zones until the Tenth Army successfully lands at Hangzhou Bay!

Before the Tenth Army successfully lands, our main operational target is the Dachang area; occupying Dachang will sever the connection between the enemy's Center Army and Left Wing Army!"