Chapter 431: Hard to Make a Move

Hearing this, Sun Zhen let out a long sigh: "Lao Chen, this matter really cannot be blamed on me!"

"Although Liu Zhangqing's Independent Brigade belongs to my 22nd Group Army, this unit is under the direct management of the Chuan-Kang Pacification Office. Sometimes when I want to issue commands, I still have to negotiate with Liu Zhangqing."

"This time, when the Independent Brigade headed to Anqing City, Adjutant Yu just mentioned it in passing. I thought they were only sending a small force; who knew the entire brigade would go and achieve such a massive victory."

"If you hadn't mentioned the great victory outside Anqing City, I wouldn't even have known about this news!"

As he spoke, Sun Zhen looked at everyone: "I was also unaware; we were all kept in the dark!"

Seeing Sun Zhen speak this way, and noting that Sun Zhen had previously appeared genuinely shocked, most people already believed Sun Zhen's explanation!

"Gentlemen!" Sun Zhen said again: "You all know that after our Sichuan Army troops left Sichuan, they have fought with incredible ferocity!"

At this moment, the first two battalions of the Japanese 6th Division and the Hada Detachment to rush to the aid of the airport had already entered the ambush circle of the Sichuan Army.

"I think the reinforcements must have tried to contact us via radio, but the radio malfunctioned, which prevented the reinforcements from notifying us."

"Looking at Lao Sun's happy expression, I think so too. This must be thousands of planes, otherwise Lao Sun wouldn't be keeping us in suspense."

"You all are just watching the fun and don't mind the chaos, cracking jokes. Let's just let Sun Zhen explain it simply."

Inaba Shiro pondered for a moment. Now that the Commander had ordered him to defend the airport, this order indeed caused Inaba Shiro great distress.

"Ah... this... our regiment's radio has a small malfunction; sometimes it can send messages, and sometimes it can receive them."

When Hata Shunroku's adjutant reported this news, Hata Shunroku kicked his desk over in a fit of rage.

Li Delin sighed: "These Japanese planes pose too great a threat to us. Being able to achieve such a great result with anti-aircraft fire is also due to the Sichuan Army's excellent tactical design."

"Hai!" Hirahara Daio nodded heavily, and then he turned and left.

Chu Ming smiled slightly: "I guess our reinforcements must have arrived!"

"Yoshi!" Inaba Shiro nodded, "I await your good news. When the 11th Squadron of the Third Fleet on the river departs, I will contact the Navy and have them support you."

Li Delin felt that after the meeting, he should go and talk to the Sichuan Army about this matter and consult with them!

Chen Cheng saw Sun Zhen explain the Sichuan Army's method. He thought about it, but it seemed a bit difficult to promote in his own troops, so he stopped pursuing it.

"With the Japanese moving a division's worth of force away this time, I suspect the airport must have been taken out by our brother units."

Among them were five hundred men from the Canglong Aircraft Carrier Special Forces and two battalions of the Navy Marine Corps, each battalion consisting of five hundred men.

Several Battalion Commanders were also a bit confused now: "Regimental Commander! The force the little devils moved this time is much larger than last time. The number of people leaving seems to be an entire division?"

As he spoke, Chu Ming walked to the map and used a pencil to circle the airport outside Anqing City: "Gentlemen, if I were the commander of the reinforcements!"

"I was quite puzzled at the time as to why the little devils' planes had become so few during the Taierzhuang Campaign. I thought it was my Guangxi Clique Air Force, combined with the 200th Division's anti-aircraft artillery battalion, that had scared the little devils' planes."

Chen Cheng stood up at this moment: "Alright... alright..."

"Boda, how about this: the garrison in the city is less than three thousand men. I will entrust the task of attacking Anqing City to your detachment. I hope you will not disappoint me!"

"Yoshi!" Hata Shunroku said coldly: "Order Okamura Yasuji immediately to dispatch the Yamamoto Tatsuyama Brigade to rush to the airport outside Anqing City and find the Republic of China Army for me, and deal them a powerful military blow."

Besieging Anqing City, the Japanese Army and Navy combined still had several times the strength of the Chu Ming Regiment, not to mention the sixty or seventy enemy ships on the river; the Navy's artillery strike capability was much stronger than the Army's.

"The devils' motorcycles and cars have opened up a distance; it's not easy for us to make a move."

Last time the Sichuan Army launched a night raid on Shanghai, they destroyed the Japanese airport in Shanghai. To this day, the Shanghai airport has not resumed operations. Even if the little devils work overtime to repair the airport, it will still take a month.

"My Sichuan Army destroyed one thousand Japanese planes in Shandong Province? Is that even possible? At the beginning of the war, the little devils only had about three thousand planes in total across the country?"

"As for the little devils' weaponry, food, and ammunition, whatever you manage to seize is yours. As long as you turn in one-third, the rest is yours. If you get a lot, I'm happy; if you get little, I'm not happy, and I'll curse you, or even dismiss you from your post for investigation."

A group of generals joined in the commotion, none of them minding the chaos!!

Seeing this group of generals joking like this, Sun Zhen knew that everyone was just teasing him.

"Baka yaro!"

"Reinforcements?!"

"If the Japanese wanted to set up an ambush outside the city, they wouldn't need to mobilize so many troops at all!"

"What kind of medicine is in this devil's gourd?!"

Anti-aircraft fire was not only a source of confusion for the Republic of China Army, but also for all the countries participating in the entire Second World War. Throughout the history of the Second World War, there was never an instance where anti-aircraft fire achieved such excellent results!

The fact that the Sichuan Army could destroy so many Japanese planes in Shandong was also because the little devils' pilots were arrogant, and the Sichuan Army's tactics were well-calculated, allowing them to ambush the Japanese planes.

"You all... now that you hear the Japanese are temporarily suppressed by us, you're in a good mood and dare to crack jokes!"

"Hai!" Boda Chongyi nodded heavily, "Your Excellency Division Commander, please rest assured, I will definitely take Anqing City!"

"Adjutant Yu told me at the time that once we left Sichuan, we had to be given the right to operate independently, to seize opportunities and beat the little devils to death."

The airport outside Anqing City was the bridgehead established by the Central China Area Army for the Wuhan Strategy. Now that the Sichuan Army had destroyed the airport, and the fuel depot had also been blown up, the lost aviation fuel was enough to reduce the flight time of the Central China Area Army's planes by half a month.

"Speaking of which, the several great victories before Niangziguan were not commanded by me at all; they were all done by the people under my command."

"Lao Sun, you didn't wipe out the entire Japanese air fleet in Shandong, did you? That's what led to the planes being ineffective when the Japanese fought at Taierzhuang, allowing us to win the campaign and annihilate tens of thousands of little devils!"

"Stop keeping us in suspense, kid. The Sichuan Army fought a bloody battle at Teng County and destroyed Japanese planes in the Taierzhuang Campaign. Exactly how many planes did you shoot down?"

Seeing Sun Zhen speak this way, some of the generals nodded while others frowned. They were a bit uneasy about the Sichuan Army's practice of letting their subordinates act on their own, fearing that the troops might report false results.

The people in the conference room also nodded. During the civil war, the Sichuan Army was like a weakling and made quite a few jokes in front of the people of the country. However, after leaving Sichuan and winning a few great battles, they were like they had taken medicine; each one of them was fierce as hell!

"Take the Niangziguan Campaign as an example. At that time, Commander Deng and I were still in the rear, and the troops in the front were already fighting the little devils. The result was known to the whole country, and we only learned about it from the newspapers."

The devil soldiers on motorcycles were about a squadron!

"Regimental Commander!"

"Regimental Commander, since the reinforcements have arrived, why haven't they contacted us?"

This was the first time everyone had seen Sun Zhen mention the Sichuan Army destroying Japanese planes in the Taierzhuang Campaign. Now that Anqing City was temporarily safe, everyone's nervous tension vanished, and they began to focus their attention on Sun Zhen.

"If my Sichuan Army could destroy thousands of planes, the Japanese would go crazy! They would probably mobilize their entire national force to wipe out my Sichuan Province first."

After listening to Chu Ming's analysis, the several Battalion Commanders began to applaud one after another!

"Great!"

In addition, the Guangxi Clique Clique Army had entered the Anhui Province region, and Li Delin had also taken the position of Provincial Chairman of Anhui Province while he was the Commander of the Fifth War Zone!

Anhui Province was regarded by Li Delin and Li Bai as the second hometown of the Guangxi Clique Clique Army. Managing Anhui Province had to be like managing Guangxi Province, turning the entire Anhui Province into a base, becoming a sharp sword for the Guangxi Clique Clique Army to thrust into the Central Plains region!!

"Under normal circumstances, for our anti-aircraft fire to take down one Japanese Army plane, we have to lose at least three to five Anti-Aircraft Machine Guns."

Because the Central Army and the Sichuan Army are different; the situation here is very complicated!

The 1st Regiment of the Independent Brigade, as well as the Zhang Yungang Regiment, have now also moved into combat positions.

Anqing City!

The Japanese Army Navy Third Fleet has once again increased the strength of the 11th Squadron!

The Commander leading the team this time is Major General Kondo Injiro, possessing two Water Mine battalions, each Water Mine battalion having 6 speedboats and 9 gunboats.

"I also trust the soldiers under me, so I have delegated all authority. Anyway, I have one thing to say: when fighting the little devils, feel free to fight as you please. I don't look at the combat process, I only want the results."

Adding in other Naval Gun vessels, the little devils possess sixty or seventy warships on the river surface.

Hata Shunroku was so angry he shouted: "Adjutant, order Inaba Shiro to take the airport back for me; even if it means abandoning Anqing City, he must first protect the airport."

The Japanese Army Navy 11th Squadron has 1,500 devil soldiers capable of going ashore to fight, which is the strength of one Japanese Army battalion.

Everyone was also very excited; after all, it is better to live a miserable life than to die, and no one wants to die!

"Intelligence Officer!" Hata Shunroku shouted, and Hirahara Daio immediately stepped forward: "Commander, sir."

Otherwise, his own official hat would not be secure; he had only been serving as Commander of the Central China Area Army for less than half a year.

Immediately, Sun Zhen recounted how the Shandong Province Sichuan Army used fake artillery groups to lure Japanese Army planes into bombing, then assembled the entire army's anti-aircraft fire to take down more than thirty Japanese Army planes; at the same time, the unit's anti-aircraft fire also suffered more than half losses, and the army group's anti-aircraft strength was wiped out directly.

Li Delin widened his eyes: "Taierzhuang Campaign, your Sichuan Army took down Japanese Army planes? Why didn't you report this to me? This is a military merit!"

"Old Sun!"

"If you can catch the army that launched the Night Raid on the airport, have the 6th Division and the Hada Detachment annihilate them for me. To dare to provoke the Imperial Army, they must be made to pay the price."

The news of the Sichuan Army taking down the Japanese Army airport outside Anqing City was also delivered to the hands of Central China Area Army Commander Hata Shunroku.

"How shall we fight next?"

However, Li Delin, who was attending the meeting, had some thoughts regarding what Sun Zhen said; he felt that his Guangxi Clique Army could imitate the Sichuan Army's approach.

In Anqing City, after Inaba Shiro and Boda Chongyi received the order from the Commander, the two of them also looked at each other.

"It's just... just... let us open our eyes!"

Although the Hada Detachment had two battalions transferred away to support the airport, Boda Chongyi still had one Infantry Regiment, one battalion, and other branches of service in his hands, with a force of 10,000 men.

Xue Laohu grinned and said: "Old Sun, your Sichuan Army really has opened my eyes. This time you took down a Japanese Army airport, and last time you launched a Night Raid on Shanghai and took down another Japanese Army airport; it seems your Sichuan Army has locked horns with the devil's planes!"

After the Japanese Army took the Anqing City airport, Hata Shunroku had transferred all the planes for the first phase of the Wuhan strategy to that airport; now these planes were all blown up, and even the airport was engulfed in continuous fire, so how could Hata Shunroku not be angry.

Once the superiors investigated, this would be a command error; the transfer of the First Army Commander of the Pingjin Area Army and several division commanders made Hata Shunroku have to carefully deal with any changes on the front line.

Hirahara Daio came to the map: "Commander, sir, the vanguard of the 11th Army, the Shanyuan Dashan Independent Mixed Brigade, is now camping here."

"Reinforcements have finally arrived, we are saved!"

"Division Commander, sir, how should this matter be handled?" Boda Chongyi asked.

"Facing Anqing City being surrounded on three sides, the best way to resolve the siege of Anqing City is to hit this airport."

After Inaba Shiro made the arrangements, he took the men of the 6th Division and withdrew from Anqing City!

The mobilization of a division's men also attracted the attention of the Sichuan Army; Chu Ming received the report from the scouts in the city again, and his first thought was that reinforcements might have arrived.

"You bet!" Sun Zhen laughed: "During the Xuzhou Battle, our Sichuan Army also fought the little devil's planes. During the Taierzhuang Campaign, the number of Japanese Army plane sorties decreased, which was because my Sichuan Army had taken down the little devil's planes again!"

First of all, the Guangxi Clique Army is an iron plate and is not easily infiltrated; the Guangxi Army only listens to the orders of Li Delin and Bai Zhuge, and it is somewhat difficult for generals of other units to command the Guangxi Clique Army by skipping levels.

Lin Zhizhong saw the Japanese Army's motorcycles leading the charge, with over fifty motorcycles in front; motorcycles run faster on mountain roads than cars, so the little devils' motorcycles and cars had opened up a distance.

"After fighting for so long, we have finally seen hope for survival!"

Regarding Li Delin's words, the current generals also nodded; Japanese Army planes are the biggest threat to the Republic of China Army in the entire battle, and without Air Superiority, no matter what the Republic of China Army does, they must be careful of Japanese Army planes.

More than two thousand little devils are driving along the highway, coming in the direction of the airport; the Japanese Army's marching speed is very fast, and they did not conduct fire reconnaissance.

"It is in this kind of atmosphere that our Sichuan Army units have been able to defeat the Japanese Army many times and achieve great victories!!"

"Where has the vanguard of Okamura Yasuji's 11th Army reached?"

"This forced the devils to mobilize troops back to protect the airport!"

The 1st Battalion Commander beside Lin Zhizhong asked.

"That's easy!" Lin Zhizhong waved his hand, "Don't you worry, kid."

(End of this chapter)