Chapter 475: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 485: Type 3 Flame Tank!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

With Lv Muzhi's order, the long-poised Youth Expeditionary Army burst forth like tigers from their cage, kicking up dust across the sky.

The great army split into two routes, launching a pincer movement straight for the heart of French Indochina—Hanoi.

The twenty thousand men of the Youth Expeditionary Army were divided into two division designations, forming two offensive routes.

The Western Route Army took the Youth Army's 13th Division as its main force, commanded by Division Commander Xie Jinyuan, advancing west to east along the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway with its spearhead aimed at Lao Cai, pushing east toward Hanoi.

The Eastern Route Army took the Youth Army's 14th Division as its main force, commanded by Expeditionary Force Commander Sun Liren, advancing north to south along the Guangxi-Vietnam Railway, mainly attacking Lang Son, pushing south toward Hanoi.

The two great armies had only one target: to rendezvous beneath the walls of Hanoi, completely uproot this nail of the Japanese Fifth Division, and open the transportation lines of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and the Guangxi-Vietnam Railway.

On a nameless hilltop on the border of Lao Cai Province in northern Vietnam, Ruan Linqing, regimental commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Zhongbei Zongdui of the Zhongnan Yixin Society, knelt on one knee in the bushes.

He held up a pair of brand-new binoculars, aid from the Youth Army.

Through the binoculars, Regimental Commander Ruan Linqing saw mechanized troops for the first time in his life.

"Regimental Commander, they're here! They're really here!" a company commander beside him said excitedly.

The train rumbled along the tracks, and on the road near the tracks, the Youth Army's tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycles advanced simultaneously.

In the sky, several reconnaissance aircraft bearing pale-blue markings skimmed low, their engine sounds startling flocks of birds from the mountains and forests.

Ruan Linqing put away the binoculars and took a deep breath:

"Quick! Release red smoke grenades! Show our friendly identity!"

"Semaphore soldier, move out immediately! Signal the Xia Guo Youth Army!"

Thick red smoke rose at the mountainside.

Ruan Linqing reiterated to his subordinates one last time:

"Highest instruction! Xia Guo is our brother in hardship, likewise bullied by imperialism!"

"They came south this time to help us wipe out the Japanese bandits and French robbers; treat them as brothers!"

The battalion and company commanders below nodded repeatedly; this instruction had been issued nearly a month ago, and everyone could recite it.

In the marching column of the Youth Army in the distance, Xie Jinyuan, division commander of the Youth Army's 13th Division under the Expeditionary Force, sat in a jeep, intently studying the military map in his hands.

A messenger carrying a radio ran over quickly.

"Report, Division Commander! The reconnaissance aircraft reports that a friendly red smoke signal was spotted five kilometers ahead, at Grid Area 54, Highland 139!"

Xie Jinyuan found the friendly force's exact position on the map, and a reconnaissance company commander came to report: "Report! The vanguard search team discovered semaphore signals from the friendly force; the other side identifies itself as the Fifth Regiment of the Zhenbei Zongdui and requests contact!"

Xie Jinyuan stood up: "Pass the order down: the entire army must strictly observe military discipline. In this foreign land, we must not disgrace the Youth Army!"

The troops of both sides made formal contact fifteen minutes later.

Ruan Linqing of the Zhongnan Yixin Society walked out of the jungle with several capable cadres, a warm smile on his face.

In Xie Jinyuan's eyes, although this force's uniforms were somewhat worn, their clothes either washed white or patched, the soldiers' spirit was still not bad.

The two shook hands firmly by the roadside and exchanged their unit designations and commanders' names.

Ruan Linqing spoke in halting but fluent Chinese: "Division Commander Xie, we've finally awaited you! On behalf of the Zhenbei Zongdui of the Zhongnan Yixin Society, I salute you!"

Xie Jinyuan was slightly surprised: "Regimental Commander Ruan, your Chinese has a Guangdong accent; are you Chinese?"

Ruan Linqing smiled knowingly: "My father is from Guangdong, my mother is a local from northern Vietnam, and doing business at home inevitably requires speaking some Chinese."

Xie Jinyuan felt a sense of closeness: "I'm also from Guangdong, wow; we're old fellows. For this operation, we'll rely on you, this old fellow, to lead the way!"

Ruan Linqing nodded and pointed to the southeast: "The Japanese Sasaki Regiment is deployed at Phu Luong Town thirty li away; your current position is within the actual control area of our Zhongnan Yixin Society."

Xie Jinyuan looked at the map and nodded: "Good! Then let your people lead the way, and we'll go meet this Sasaki Regiment together."

"Regimental Commander Ruan, let your soldiers get on the vehicles!"

Thus, ten thousand Youth Army soldiers and over one thousand Zhongnan Yixin Society guerrillas formally rendezvoused.

On the turret top of the imposing Sanhao Tank were packed Yixin Society fighters carrying rifles or Siden Submachine Guns.

The guerrillas touched the tank's cold armor, their eyes full of excitement.

The Youth Army infantry held M1 Carbines and M1 Garand Rifles, with M1919A4 Browning Machine Guns slung over their shoulders, making the guerrillas very curious.

American equipment was a rare commodity on this land.

They looked at their own Siden Submachine Guns; good fellow, now the more they looked, the more they resembled "Niu Furen"!

Two hours later, the vanguard advanced to outside Phu Luong Town.

Xie Jinyuan stood on a highland, had set up an Artillery Observation Mirror to observe the terrain of Phu Luong Town, with Regimental Commander Ruan Linqing and several local old fellows standing beside him.

The old fellow waved his hands, repeatedly pointing toward distant Phu Luong Town, saying something to Ruan Linqing with an angry face.

Ruan Linqing said to Xie Jinyuan: "The Japanese came here two months ago, forcing local villagers to build fortifications, working many to death. Half a month after finishing the fortifications, they made the villagers leave with nothing, abandoning Phu Luong Town."

After listening, Xie Jinyuan stood with hands on his hips, looking toward Phu Luong Town and cursing:

"These little devils, wherever they go, they act like this!"

"When I wasn't here, you pack of wild dogs were very arrogant!"

"Rocket Artillery Battalion, first greet the devils, tell them we've arrived!"

Swish swish swish—!

The rocket artillery let out a death god's shrill whistle.

Countless fire dragons soared into the sky, exploding into a sea of fire over the Japanese positions at Phu Luong Town.

The shockwave of the explosions flung the Japanese earth-and-wood forts into the sky like paper.

The Sasaki Regiment garrisoning Phu Luong Town had just suppressed an uprising when it was greeted by the Youth Army's rocket artillery.

When the Japanese soldiers in the trenches and bunkers saw the Sanhao Tank appear again, some veteran devils were thrown into an uproar.

I've already fled abroad, so why is the Youth Army still hunting me down!

105 artillery, 75 mountain guns, and rocket artillery took turns firing, giving the devils a pot of steel meat soup.

After hearing the news, the surrounding guerrillas came down from the mountains one after another to beat the dog in the water, cutting off the devils' retreat.

Several guerrilla fighters charged alongside the Youth Army's tanks, the whole person caught in an inexplicable shock, completely unlike the tactical infiltration they played with.

A Type 3 Assault Gun pressed directly against the devils' Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun, leading the infantry, firing 75mm high-explosive shells as it advanced.

The devils' machine gun fire struck the thick frontal armor of the assault gun, splashing a string of useless sparks, completely useless.

Even the devils' anti-tank guns could do nothing to this Type 3 Assault Gun.

"This tank... is much more imposing than the French Renault tank!" a guerrilla fighter shouted.

Ruan Linqing observed everything through the artillery observation mirror, his understanding overturned in this battle.

His own emphasis on infiltration was art, but the Youth Army fought only with straightforward crushing!

In his field of view, a reinforced concrete bunker of the Japanese Army spat tongues of flame, suppressing several infantrymen outflanking on the flank.

A Type 3 Tank of the Youth Army with a slightly different appearance slowly drove out of the column, its main gun caliber looking somewhat strange.

It only slightly adjusted the turret angle, the black gun barrel steadily aimed at the bunker.

Boom—!

A huge fire dragon tens of meters long surged from the cannon muzzle, like an angry red dragon instantly devouring the bunker.

Miserable screams came from that iron-cage-like bunker, accompanied by rolling black smoke and the smell of charred flesh.

This tank can actually breathe fire?!