Chapter 254: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 254 Zijin Mountain Hell

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Japanese troops attacking Zijin Mountain were none other than Gu Shoufu's Sixth Division, which had previously been beaten to near death.

The Sixth Division had suffered a major defeat at Jinshanwei and another at Taihu; apart from its artillery and logistics, only two infantry groups and one cavalry regiment remained.

With the addition of poison gas, the Sixth Division had grown bold again, advancing all the way, impatient to become the first force to enter Jinling and wash away its past shame.

On a small hill in eastern Zijin Mountain, behind the Japanese Sixth Division's attack position, at its command post.

Lieutenant General Gu Shoufu stood in an observation post on slightly higher ground, holding up binoculars.

In Gu Shoufu's view, his attacking forces were equipped with large quantities of poison gas shells and dispersal equipment; capturing Zijin Mountain, which had no permanent fortifications, and seizing the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum would be no pressure at all.

The Sixth Division's Chief of Staff flipped through the victory reports from the frontline and laughed: "All units are advancing quickly now; with poison gas support, the war is going very smoothly!"

The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum stands on Zijin Mountain, which is of great importance to Xia Guo. After my Sixth Division captures Zijin Mountain, I wonder how Xia Guo will feel? Hehehe!"

Gu Shoufu put down his binoculars, his face also beaming with joy, as if the capital Jinling was already within his grasp.

"It seems that Lv Muzhi, who spouted nonsense before reporters, and the Youth Army he relies on, are nothing special.

In the face of absolute power and determination, any trick and slogan is illusory!

Before sunset, I want to see the Sun Flag planted on the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum!"

Washing away the Sixth Division's shame happens today!

Less than ten minutes after Gu Shoufu finished speaking, the frontline telephone rang; the staff officer answered, listened for a few sentences, and his expression instantly turned extremely grim.

"Division Commander! Urgent report from the front!"

"Speak quickly!" Gu Shoufu stood with hands on his hips, ready to receive good news.

"The 23rd Regiment's main attack direction... has encountered fierce enemy artillery fire!

The shells are suspected to be special shells! After exploding, they produce large amounts of yellow-green smoke, highly similar to the characteristics of the Louis Gas used by our side!

The 23rd Regiment has suffered heavy combat casualties; soldiers report burning skin, difficulty breathing, and blurred vision after contacting the smoke..."

"What?!" Gu Shoufu snatched the phone: "Baka! Colonel Okamoto, did you see clearly?! Are you sure it's Louis Gas?! How could those Chinese have such a thing?!"

From the other end of the phone came background noise mixed with explosions and screams; Infantry 23rd Regiment Commander Okamoto Shigeomi confirmed: "Division Commander! Absolutely certain! It is Louis Gas; just touching the skin causes injury!

It takes effect extremely quickly; our gas masks offer insufficient protection against this high-concentration corrosive poison gas, and many soldiers are wearing only ordinary uniforms... casualties are increasing rapidly!

Request permission for troops to temporarily withdraw and leave the poison gas coverage area!"

Gu Shoufu's hand holding the receiver trembled slightly; the duck at his mouth had just flown away like that?

From the Xicheng Line to Zijin Mountain, Gu Shoufu's method of advancing with Louis Gas had never failed; unexpectedly he hit a wall here—could it be that the one buried at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum had shown his spirit?!

At this moment, in the attack area of the Japanese Infantry 23rd Regiment's First Battalion.

Five minutes ago, they were still, under the officers' urging, launching an assault on a highland held by the defenders after the poison gas had dissipated.

However, just as they climbed onto the highland, what was originally a company's position had only a few dozen corpses left behind; obviously, the Xia Guo people had already abandoned this highland.

But just as the Japanese troops climbed onto the highland, the sound of mortar shells tearing through the sky came from above.

The falling shells did not explode violently, but after bursting, they quickly billowed up thick clouds of yellow-green smoke.

The smoke clung to the ground, following the mountain slopes and gullies, spreading at an astonishing speed.

The devils of the Sixth Division were already very experienced with this stuff; one look and they knew it was Louis Gas, and they knew the terror of this weapon, scattering to flee the highland.

At first, the devils thought the Mortar Battalion had made a mistake, mistakenly delivering Louis Gas onto their own heads.

The battalion commander of the 23rd Regiment's First Battalion, seeing his soldiers being burned by the poison gas one by one, was instantly furious and sent a telegram to the Mortar Battalion, sternly questioning them.

Unexpectedly, he received a denial from the Japanese Mortar Battalion; the Mortar Battalion had not fired any poison gas shells during the corresponding time period.

Hearing this news, the devil battalion commander's heart thumped; if that were true, wasn't their poison gas advantage over the Xia Guo army greatly weakened?!

Wherever Louis Gas reached, all became hell.

"Ah—my eyes!!"

"Cough cough... can't breathe... my throat feels like it's burning!"

"Skin... it hurts so much! Something dripped on me!"

Among the retreating Japanese troops, screams, coughing, and terrified shouts never ceased.

The yellow-green smoke touching exposed skin quickly caused burning pain; skin began to redden and blister.

Those who inhaled the smoke felt their airways burning painfully, coughed violently, and even coughed up blood-tinged foam.

Eyes contacting the poison gas immediately stung unbearably, tears streamed down, and vision quickly blurred.

A devil soldier panicked and tried to pull off his somewhat stuffy gas mask, scratching his neck; as his hand touched his skin, he felt a wetness and sharp pain.

It turned out large blisters had already risen on the devil's neck; the devil soldier looked in terror at his own hands beginning to redden, swell, and rot, emitting a scream not like a human voice.

Many of these devils burned by the poison gas would die; for the devils, that counted as good news.

Most devils would continue to scrape by in this world, suffering various aftereffects; their skin would forever rot and fester, the risk of cancer would increase sharply, and the second half of their lives would be worse than death.

However, the Xia Guo army defending Zijin Mountain also suffered retaliation from Japanese poison gas shells; the entire Zijin Mountain seemed to have become a purgatory!

Those burned by the poison gas within it, every single one, no longer had human form......

"Where did Xia Guo get their Louis Gas?!"

"And it's so similar to ours—could it have been captured by the enemy? It must be; those careless and incompetent fools in the Mortar Battalion!"

"Even if it was captured, it wouldn't matter; but if the enemy has mastered a stable import channel, or even mass production methods, then we are in danger!!!"

The devils discussed the Louis Gas appearing on Zijin Mountain extensively, and the Japanese high command also took it seriously, launching an investigation and study of the incident.

Matsui Iwane flew into a rage: "Immediately inventory the Louis Gas shells delivered to the Xia Kingdom Battlefield; find out exactly which link went wrong, and why does Lv Muzhi also have this kind of weapon?!"

Shanghai Expeditionary Army Commander Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko speculated: "Could it really be leaking from our hands? That shouldn't be—the poison gas factory on Okunoshima Island is top secret, and the island's location has already been erased from the maps..."

Gu Shoufu said: "We also need to determine whether some country exported it to Xia Guo? Is it Mao Xiong State, or the United States, or even Hans State? This is very important to us!"