Chapter 207

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"I heard the Navy encountered extensive mines in the Baimaokou area; a destroyer of the Third Fleet was sunk by a mine, and a light cruiser was hit by shore defense batteries..." said the Chief of Staff of the 101st Division.

Division Commander Ito Masanishi was very dissatisfied: "Nonsense, I've already sent a battalion to clear out the Baimaokou shore defense batteries from land. How many mines can the enemy have? Can they really stop the Third Fleet?"

The Chief of Staff smiled awkwardly: "Your Excellency, please calm down, I'll urge them again..."

On the Wufu Defensive Line, the devils could be said to be hitting walls everywhere.

Of the six divisions of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, three were assembling to attack Suzhou, which was defended by the Ninth Group Army; two were going to attack Changshu; one remained in the rear for mobile use.

The devils' offensive against Suzhou was still being prepared, while the fortifications against Changshu had already been deployed.

The 101st Division attacked the Changshu urban area; the 11th Division attacked eastern Changshu, near Haiyu Town by the Yangtze River.

These places were all in the defense zone of Liu Xiang's 23rd Group Army of the Sichuan Army; Lv Muzhi had built a large number of permanent fortifications along this line.

The 23rd Group Army had been in the Wufu Line for over a week, and had already arranged all kinds of light and heavy firepower, entering machine gun bunkers for defense.

The little devils found it strange; they had always heard the Sichuan Army was a local army, so how could their firepower be so fierce?

In the 23rd Group Army command headquarters, Liu Xiang wore a greatcoat and was looking at the combat map on the wall.

"An hour ago, the devils used ten tanks to attack the Twenty-First Army's defense line. How is the situation?"

Facing Liu Xiang's inquiry, the Chief of Staff explained unhurriedly: "Don't worry, Commander, there's no problem. Every one of our divisions has an anti-tank gun company; dealing with the little devils' tanks is easy; some division commanders who have a good relationship with Lu Commander also ordered some 20mm cannons through his channels in the past two years. The little devils want to get past our Sichuan Army—it's not that easy!"

Liu Xiang then put his mind at ease. Besides worrying about the devils' navy, what he worried about most was the devils' Iron Turtles. After all, this was different from his days as a small warlord fighting small battles in West Sichuan; the devils' equipment was very complete.

"That's good. Fortunately, Wei Yue helped us find some connections; we also have a group of foreign officers assisting us in training our troops. Otherwise, it really wouldn't be easy to compete with the little devils!"

"Report, Commander! Suddenly seven or eight fast boats appeared on the Wangyu River behind us. It looks like they want to enter the Yangtze River!" a signalman came in to report.

Liu Xiang and the Chief of Staff exchanged a glance: "Let's go take a look!"

On the Wangyu River, seven torpedo boats were currently stopped.

The Wangyu River flows from Taihu Lake in the west to the Yangtze River in the east, behind Liu Xiang's 23rd Group Army.

"Captain An, this is our 23rd Group Army's Commander Liu."

The visitor was Colonel An Bang of the Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade. Ordered by Commander of the Yangtze River Defense Lv Muzhi, he was preparing to wait until dark on the Wangyu River before attacking the devils' minesweeping force.

"Report, Commander. I've figured it out. This is the Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade under Lu Commander."

Liu Xiang looked carefully, stepped forward and smiled: "Oh, I know him. Little Captain An. His torpedo boats have even been to Chongqing; we've met before!"

An Bang saluted: "Report, Commander Liu. The Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade is executing a mission, passing through the 23rd Group Army's defense zone!"

"I have to say, your troops are quite vigilant. You directly stopped me."

Liu Xiang nodded with a smile, then put on a serious expression: "Has Lv Wei Yue lost his mind? If you were passing through, why didn't you send a telegram to notify me? What if the mission was delayed? Let them pass quickly!"

An Bang waved his hand: "It's nothing. It's not time yet. We have to wait until dark before entering the Yangtze River. Right now we're making preparations in your defense zone."

Liu Xiang looked at the seven torpedo boats led by An Bang and nodded: "When Wei Yue bought these torpedo boats, I wondered how this thing could fight the little devils' big ships. So it's used in places like this!"

Night fell, and the Yangtze River surface was pitch black.

In the Baimaokou waters, several minesweepers of the Japanese Third Fleet were operating slowly, with two cannonboats and one destroyer on guard nearby.

"Really, having to come out to sweep mines late at night." A sailor on a minesweeper yawned and complained.

Another sailor, operating equipment while chiming in: "Who let the Army urge us so urgently? I heard the 101st Division hit a snag in Changshu, and the 11th Division is also constantly urging us. They insist we open the waterway as soon as possible to provide artillery support."

"That bunch of idiots in the Army. All they know is urge, urge, urge! Why don't they come try clearing mines in the river themselves?"

"Be careful. That mine we just hauled up wasn't small. If it explodes, we're all finished."

Just as the sailors on the minesweeper were complaining to each other, no one noticed seven black shadows quietly approaching from upstream.

Colonel An Bang stood in the cabin of the lead torpedo boat, observing the searchlights used for illumination on the Japanese minesweeping vessels, as well as the bright navigation lights on the destroyer and cannonboats. Finally, he picked up the signal caller.

"Attention. Three Japanese minesweepers, two cannonboats, one destroyer, and several small boats spotted ahead. Now distributing attack missions!"

Seven S-type torpedo boats scattered like ghosts on the river surface, their engines keeping a low roar. Each boat was loaded with two 450mm torpedoes, and a M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun was mounted at the bow.

"Boat One, Boat Two, target the minesweeper on the left. Boat Three, Boat Four, target the minesweeper on the right. Boat Five handles the one in the middle. Boat Six and Boat Seven, follow me to deal with that destroyer!"

The orders were quickly relayed via radio. The torpedo boats accelerated at full power, engines wide open, carving seven white wakes in the darkness.

"What's that sound?" A lookout post on a Japanese cannonboat seemed to notice something unusual, and the searchlight shone wildly across the Yangtze River surface.

Before he could react, An Bang had already issued the attack order: "Fire!"

Seven torpedo boats fired their torpedoes in succession. Fourteen torpedoes, like sharp swords, sliced through the water surface and headed straight for the targets.

Seven Torpedo Boats fired their Torpedoes in succession, fourteen Torpedoes slicing through the Water Surface like Swords, straight at the Target.

"Torpedoes! Torpedoes!"

Sharp alarm sounds immediately rang out on the Japanese warships.

The sky was dim, and the torpedo trails were not easy to spot.

Consecutive huge explosions rang out on the river surface. Three minesweepers were instantly blown to pieces, and the destroyer on guard was hit on the starboard side by two torpedoes and began to sink rapidly.

Jiao Jie's enormous Explosion sounds rang out on Jiangmian, three Minesweepers instantly blown into Debris, the Destroyer on Alert hit on its Starboard by two Torpedoes, beginning to sink rapidly.

"Open fire! All ships open fire!"

However, after An Bang's torpedo boat squadron fired their torpedoes, they immediately left in high spirits.

The two surviving cannonboats hurriedly opened fire, shells exploding into water columns on the river surface. The torpedo boats, relying on their small size and high-speed maneuverability, nimbly weaved through the hail of bullets.

On the Wangyu River, Liu Xiang had specifically waited late into the night for An Bang's torpedo boat squadron to return.

"Look, Colonel An Bang and the others are back!"

"Look, Colonel An Bang and the others are back!"

An Bang's torpedo boat slowly stopped at the small dock by the river side. He went ashore and saluted Liu Xiang: "Commander Liu, rest assured. I can't guarantee anything during the day, but at night, don't even think about the little devils sweeping mines in peace! After midnight, I'll send another small squad over to harass them!"

Liu Xiang felt much more relieved now. The slower the devils' navy moved, the safer his rd Group Army would be.