Chapter 266: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 266: Jiangnan and Jiangbei

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Bai Sha Ao area instantly boiled over, and the Japanese troops were shocked to discover they had fallen into an encirclement of tens of thousands of enemies! And they were elite troops from Xia Guo's Central Army.

"Division Commander! A large number of tanks have appeared to our side-rear; our retreat route is being cut off!"

"Enemy infantry is deploying on the hills to the left!"

"The enemy's firepower on the front is abnormally strong!"

Terrified shouts exploded within the Sixth Division's command system.

In Gu Shoufu's binocular view, a net of heaven and earth clearly unfolded before him!

"Hold steady! The 23rd Infantry Regiment will immediately construct a circular defensive line! The Cavalry Regiment will probe for a breakthrough on the flanks, seeking the enemy's seam! Bring all available guns into action to stop the enemy's tank cluster!"

Gu Shoufu forced himself to stay calm, never expecting the enemy to still have the strength and will to organize such a large-scale counterattack.

He had thought that after capturing the enemy's capital and losing an Army General, the Japanese troops would chase Xia Guo's army like hounds after rabbits.

Especially the Youth Army that had inflicted heavy losses on him; Zhang Fei's brigade always kept a not-too-far, not-too-near distance from him, constantly giving Gu Shoufu the illusion that they were about to catch up.

Facing the encirclement now, Gu Shoufu knew exactly what he had left: less than one and a half infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, some light mountain guns, fewer than ten tanks and armored vehicles accompanying the fight.

The smoke and gunfire rising all around indicated the enemy had committed at least five times his own strength.

Boom—!

Zhou Weiguo's Armored Tank Regiment struck first.

The long-barreled 50mm cannon of the Type 3 Tank let out a dull, angry roar, and the hastily erected Type 92 Infantry Gun positions of the Japanese troops in the distance instantly burst into a fireball.

The 20mm cannons of the Type 95 Light Tanks and Light Anti-Aircraft Vehicles swept across the Japanese troops coming to block them, while coaxial machine guns sprayed a rain of death bullets; soldiers in the Japanese frontline trenches fell like grass being cut.

"Tanks! We can't hold the front!"

"Set up the 25mm machine cannons and 37mm rapid-fire guns quickly!"

The shouts of the Japanese grassroots officers were drowned out by the explosions.

A Type 95 Light Tank attempted to move forward to intercept, but was penetrated through the front by a single shot from a Type 3 Tank; the exploding ammunition blew the turret several meters into the air.

Japanese infantry hastily set up 25mm machine cannons originally meant for anti-aircraft use, as well as 37mm rapid-fire guns, as their own anti-armor force.

But this was merely a drop in the bucket; the Sixth Division was already doomed.

On the left side of the Japanese line were the elites of the Central Training Corps.

These officers and men, burning with anger over the fall of Jinling, executed their tactical moves ruthlessly and decisively.

Compared to the firepower of the Youth Army on the front, the firepower intensity of the Training Corps was slightly inferior; the Japanese cavalry regiment had just failed to outflank behind the tanks, could not withstand the front firepower of the Youth Army, and thus chose to break out from the Training Corps positions on the left.

But the firepower of the Central Training Corps was actually very strong, and its main organizational structure was still intact; it was not something the Japanese cavalry could easily trifle with.

The defensive line formed by Maxim machine guns, Czech-style guns, and flower mechanisms—even for the mobile and flexible Japanese cavalry—was a joke.

The Japanese infantry battalion coming to support could not hold out either; the temporary defensive line built by the Japanese using rocks and shell craters was quickly breached.

"Retreat! Fall back to the second defensive line!" a Japanese battalion commander shouted while brandishing his sword; before his voice faded, a chorus of tragic cries rose from the flank.

An assault company of the Training Corps had already torn open the seam with grenades and bayonets, shouting like a mountain roaring and a sea surging, their anger surging to the heavens: "Avenge Commander Tang!!!"

On the northern front, the mountain guns accompanying the Youth Army launched an attack on the Japanese main position.

The 75mm mountain gun shells traced arcs and smashed into the Japanese assembly area.

The blast waves hurled Japanese soldiers into the air, and severed limbs and weapon parts scattered everywhere.

Gu Shoufu could clearly hear urgent reports coming from all directions in the temporary command post.

The telegram sent back by the cavalry regiment was even more desperate: "The left wing has encountered the solid positions and dense firepower of Xia Guo's Central Training Corps; in fact, there is no possibility of breaking out!"

"Eight gods... Youth Army, Training Corps, German-equipped Division, armored troops..." Gu Shoufu realized that he had not stumbled into a simple ambush; elite troops guarded every direction, coordinating skillfully, with firepower seamlessly linked.

"Division Commander, Your Excellency!" the Chief of Staff rushed in, his face covered in gunpowder smoke, "The artillery battalion position has been raided by enemy tanks, half the guns are destroyed! The First Battalion of the 23rd Regiment's defensive line has collapsed, the battalion commander has died an honorable death! We have been completely split!"

Gu Shoufu's world collapsed, "I'm truly stupid, really.

The elite Sixth Division is about to be buried by my own hands!"

Jinling, Original Leader's Residence.

General Matsui Iwane removed his military cap and slowly bowed before Tang Shengzhi's remains on the long table in the conference room.

After a moment, Matsui Iwane stood up and said to Asahiko beside him, "Prepare the remains with the honors due a general, and temporarily store them at Linggu Temple."

Asahiko nodded, his expression complex.

No one present felt the wild joy of capturing an enemy nation's capital; they would much rather receive news of Xia Guo's surrender, for only then could the Japanese troops from top to bottom feel truly at ease.

Hurried footsteps broke the solemnity, and the Communications Staff Officer stumbled into the room.

"Commander, Your Excellency! Urgent military situation! An emergency telegram from Major General Gu Shoufu of the Sixth Division!"

Matsui Iwane took the telegram and read it quickly; after only two lines, he clutched his chest and could not catch his breath.

"This idiot!" Matsui Iwane cursed loudly, punching the wall.

"Immediately order the Sixteenth Division and Eighteenth Division to each detach a regiment's worth of troops to rush toward Bai Sha Ao for relief! Order the air force: all available fighters to proceed to that area for support, suppress the enemy's artillery and tanks!"

Matsui Iwane spoke extremely fast, hoping to seize a glimmer of hope for the Sixth Division.

Prince Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko sighed; given the current situation, it was probably too late. Xia Guo's elites had already swallowed the Sixth Division whole—how could they easily let go?

Misfortunes never come singly. Just as Matsui Iwane's orders were issued, another communications soldier rushed in, face deathly pale, clutching another telegram.

"Emergency telegram from the north bank of the Yangtze River! The Shigetō Detachment was attacked by part of the enemy's Ninth Group Army east of Pukou Wharf! Their firepower is fierce, the detachment's defensive line has been breached in multiple places, casualties are rising sharply... Detachment Commander Major General Shigenaga Chishu requests emergency tactical guidance!"

Asahiko opened his mouth but made no sound.

Two thunderclaps out of a clear sky in succession, and Matsui Iwane froze completely on the spot.

The Sixth Division was deeply encircled, in imminent peril; on the North Bank, the Shigetō Detachment was again fiercely attacked by Lv Muzhi's main force, and seemed on the verge of collapse.

The Xia State Army fled Jinling in disarray; theoretically, shouldn't they be a defeated army?

Yet Lv Muzhi not only successfully broke out of Jinling, but also used the defeated army to simultaneously set up two killing zones on both banks of the Yangtze River!