Chapter 193

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

On the choppy outer sea of Hangzhou Bay, Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke, Commander of the Japanese Tenth Army, stood on the deck of the light cruiser Natori, the sea wind flapping the corners of his devil's woolen uniform.

Behind Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke stood Major General Gu Shoufu, Commander of the Sixth Division, Major General Sadao Nakajima, Commander of the Eighteenth Division, Major General Shigeharu Suematsu, Commander of the 114th Division, all three lieutenant generals about to participate in the landing operation, as well as Major General Noboru Guo Qi of the Guo Qi Detachment.

"Gentlemen," Yanagawa Heisuke turned around, his gaze sweeping over the four old devils, "the Emperor Chuo has organized the Tenth Army and invested unprecedented strength for one purpose only—to force a landing on the north bank of Hangzhou Bay, outflank and encircle the main force of the Xia army in the Shanghai region, and resolve the Songhu War in one stroke!"

Under Yanagawa Heisuke's command, the Tenth Army comprised the elite Sixth, Eighteenth, and 114th Divisions, as well as the Guo Qi Detachment expanded from the 9th Brigade of the 5th Division.

On the naval side, the Fourth Fleet dispatched over 150 vessels of various sizes to provide fire support and transport security.

At this moment, the Shanghai Main Battlefield was engaged in fierce fighting in the Dachang region, with both sides' tank units battling intensely in Dachang; in the Zhangjiabang area of Pudong, Wu Keren's 67th Army was on guard against the Shigetō Detachment crossing the Huangpu River.

Some of the devils in the Tenth Army were rather worried about the current situation.

Commander of the Eighteenth Division Sadao Nakajima stepped forward: "Commander Sir, forgive my bluntness, according to the original plan, the Shanghai Expeditionary Army should have tried to draw the enemy's main force away from the Hangzhou Bay region, facilitating our landing there to implement an outflanking tactic and wipe out the enemy on the Shanghai Main Battlefield!"

But according to the latest intelligence, the Shigetō Detachment on the Pudong side failed to draw out the enemy's main force. The main force of Zhang Fakuai's right-wing army, including that troublesome Youth Army Zhang Fei Brigade under his command, remained firmly pinned on the Hangzhou Bay defensive line.

Should we... wait for a more favorable opportunity? Or consider other landing locations?"

Commander of the 114th Division Shigeharu Suematsu also chimed in: "Commander of the Eighteenth Division is absolutely correct. Aerial reconnaissance shows that along the line from Caojing Town to Jinshanwei to Quan Gong Ting, the enemy has constructed dense anti-landing fortifications, especially the core area of Jinshanwei, the most suitable landing spot, which is defended by Youth Army troops under Lv Muzhi, whose firepower must surely far exceed that of other Xia Guo troops. A forced landing would likely exact a huge price."

"Hmph~" Commander of the Sixth Division Gu Shoufu snorted coldly, "The two division commanders speak lightly. Our Tenth Army can wait, but can Commander Matsui Iwane of the Shanghai Main Battlefield wait?!"

And the Navy is urging us to implement the flank landing quickly and eliminate the enemy on the Shanghai Main Battlefield, after all, as long as the enemy on the Shanghai Main Battlefield is not eliminated, the Navy's shells must keep firing—once the cannons roar, gold is worth ten thousand taels!"

Detachment Commander Noboru Guo Qi also said: "That's right, besides the Hangzhou Bay region, what location is more suitable for landing than Hangzhou Bay?"

Are we to land in mountainous Fujian? That place is entirely a place no strategist would contest.

Or go all the way to Liangguang? That would simply be a huge detour, unable to quickly threaten the political and economic core of Xia Guo!"

If landing north of the Yangtze River, we would again face the natural barrier of the Yangtze...

The Shanghai War has lasted over two months; Emperor Chuo's face and military expenditures do not allow us to delay any longer!"

Commander of the Sixth Division Gu Shoufu looked at Commander Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke: "Commander Sir! The main force of the Xia Guo Army has already been drawn to Dachang, engaging in a stalemate with Commander Matsui Iwane's troops—this is a heaven-sent opportunity!"

Even if the enemy in Hangzhou Bay has some defenses, under the devastating strikes of our naval guns and the death-defying charges of the Emperor Chuo warriors, any defensive line will be torn apart!"

General! Please give the order!"

Yanagawa Heisuke listened to his subordinates' argument, his gaze once again falling on the faintly visible coastline in the distance, took a deep breath, and decisively said:

"I understand everyone's concerns. We must implement the landing operation in Hangzhou Bay!"

I order! The Guo Qi Detachment as the First Echelon, under full cover of naval guns, shall land first in the Jinshanwei region to open a breakthrough! The Sixth follows closely behind; the Eighteenth and 114th Divisions follow in turn, landing at Caojing Town and Quan Gong Ting!"

After landing, quickly advance north, interspersing toward Jiading and Kunshan to cut off all retreat routes of the Xia army in the Shanghai region!"

Tell the Navy I want their artillery to plow the beachhead of Jinshanwei! Even if it's Lv Muzhi's Youth Army opposite, blast them to smithereens! The rise and prosperity of Emperor Chuo's nation rests on this one stroke!"

"Hai!"

The anti-landing positions in Hangzhou Bay mainly consisted of three: Caojing Town, Jinshanwei, and Quan Gong Ting.

The construction standards of the three anti-landing positions were consistent, among which the anti-landing position of Jinshanwei was garrisoned by the Youth Army's Zhang Fei Brigade.

The core position of Jinshanwei had a nickname within the Youth Army, called the Little Maginot Line of the East; Youth Army Brigade Commander Zhang Fei was making his final pre-battle inspection.

Permanent fortifications poured from concrete were embedded like bedrock behind the coastline, with crisscrossing communication trenches connecting a series of half-buried machine gun bunkers and artillery emplacements.

Several cooks carried large buckets, delivering meals along the sturdy concrete tunnels to each position; Youth Army Brigade Commander Zhang Fei followed the cooks together, heading to Position Number One on Jinshanwei Beach.

"Chow time! Chow time! Today's braised pork stewed with potatoes, plenty of rice!" the Cooking Squad Leader shouted.

"Stand at attention!" An eagle-eyed Company Commander, seeing Youth Army Brigade Commander Zhang Fei following behind a cook, immediately had everyone on the position stand at attention and salute.

Zhang Fei walked over, lifted the bucket lid, and a rich meat aroma wafted out. "Hoh! The chow isn't bad! Much better than when I was a raw recruit!"

The young Company Commander smiled: "This is all thanks to you and Commander Lv caring for the brothers. Rest assured, on this Jinshanwei Beach, the brothers won't let a single devil go!"

Zhang Fei nodded with satisfaction, looking at a particularly large fellow whose bowl of rice was piled up like a small hill: "Brother, good appetite. Where are you from? What's your name?"

The large fellow stood up and wiped his mouth: "Reporting, sir, I'm from Zhejiang Province, my name is Zhang Lanbo, currently serving as an MG34 Machine Gunner!"

"Good name! Take me to see your heavy machine gun."

"Yes!"

Zhang Fei followed the soldiers into a forward heavy machine gun bunker, inside which an MG34 General Purpose Machine Gun was mounted, with a Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun beside it.

Zhang Fei stepped forward and skillfully disassembled the MG34 Machine Gun. After checking it, he smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad, well maintained. Zhang Lanbo, right? You must use this machine gun to give those little devils a good beating!"

Machine Gunner Zhang Lanbo raised his head and grinned: "Sir, rest assured. If the devils dare to charge the beach, I'll make sure they eat dumplings!"

"And next to me, Old Wang's M2 Heavy Machine Gun, 12.7mm caliber, is no joke with the devils!"

Next, Zhang Fei came to a carefully camouflaged sniper position, where a soldier was carefully wiping a Mauser 98K Rifle equipped with sights using a soft cloth.

Although Zhongzheng Rifles were the main standard rifles in Lv Muzhi's troops, a batch of 98K Rifles had also been procured, all selected from the production line, suitable for use as sniper rifles, and a batch of sniper sights had also been procured.

To prevent any little devils from slipping through under the machine guns, Zhang Fei specifically had the snipers transferred over, specially used to search out and snipe enemies escaping on certain parts of the beach.

And there were dozens of such sniper positions on Jinshanwei Beach.