Chapter 285: Crossing the Yangtze to Assault Xiaoting

Amid the chaos, Quan Zong strode forward.

He looked around; those cracked hands, empty rations, tearful eyes… a sour feeling rose in his heart.

The villagers' lives aren't easy either!

The Little Devils implement the Three Alls Policy at the drop of a hat!

Quan Zong halted abruptly, his voice like a bell echoing through the streets: "Soldiers of the Independent Regiment, all listen! Leave everything edible on your person to the villagers! Compressed Biscuit, canned food, dry rations… all of it, leave it!"

The crowd was stunned.

"Battalion Captain? This…" a soldier hesitated.

The First Battalion only carried three days of combat rations; they still had to attack Xiaoting and Yichang, and they worried their food wouldn't be enough.

"Execute the order!" Quan Zong's gaze burned. "We fight the Little Devils with guns and artillery, not the villagers' food! Their saving a bite of rice shows they trust we can win! Rest assured, the Commander has already prepared supplies for us on the riverbank!"

"Yes!"

The First Battalion soldiers answered in unison, quickly unstrapped their packs and neatly piled the scant combat rations onto the street's stone slab.

The old man stared at the pile of military rations, his eyes moist, lips trembling: "This… how is this… used…?"

Quan Zong stepped forward, gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "Sir, after we capture Xiaoting, we'll come back and share a bowl of rice wine with you, okay?"

The elder nodded heavily, tears sliding over his wrinkles: "Alright… alright! I… I'll keep it for you!"

The old man's tears flowed freely as he murmured, "With an army like this… China cannot perish."

In the distance, the Yangtze River surged like fury.

The troops reformed and set off toward the North Gate on the Yangtze Riverbank.

Behind them, the civilians lingered, watching the soldiers' silhouettes merge into the morning light.

"All Battalion Captain, should we cross the river now?" Xie Boluan stood on the river embankment, hand on a willow, gazing toward the north bank, his tone a bit urgent.

Quan Zong looked at the sky; he understood that just now, William, the commander of the Ghost Battalion, had bombed Yidu in a final wave.

At this moment, Quan Zong also hoped that Nick of the Ghost Second Squad would appear in time.

He earnestly hoped the P-38 fighter aircraft in the sky could provide air cover.

However, he saw that on the riverbank, three silver‑gray LCI landing craft had silently come ashore, their decks bearing 20mm machine guns glinting coldly in the sunrise.

Those ship guns were enough for the Little Devils to drink a pot of liquor.

Quan Zong raised his hand, glanced at his watch, estimated the time; it was about when the second wave of aircraft took off over Changde, yet there was no sign of movement.

Nevertheless, he wasn't worried; intelligence from the first bombing indicated the Little Devils' defensive positions were mainly to the northwest, defending the Upper River Huaxia Army, so Quan Zong's pressure was greatly reduced.

The first bombing also baptized most bunkers, machine gun nests, and artillery positions.

Any sane Japanese Army commander at this point should be rearranging heavy weapons, not staying put waiting for another Huaxia Air Force bombing.

"No more waiting." Quan Zong suddenly turned, his gaze iron, "If Nick's Ghost Second Squad arrives, it'll be a flourish; if not, we'll press on."

He thrust his hand: "Messenger, the First Battalion board the left craft, the 448th Regiment board the center and right two crafts! In five minutes, forcefully cross the Yangtze! Target: Xiaoting beachhead, the small red‑marked zone!"

"Yes!" the Messenger sprinted away.

Xie Boluan grinned, patted the shell‑casing gun at his waist: "It should have been like this all along! My Sichuan kid can't wait to finish off the Little Devils!"

The landing craft engines low‑growled as they started.

Boom!

Boom!

It was Quan Zong's first amphibious assault, and he feared the Little Devils had artillery set up on the opposite bank.

He ordered the 448th Regiment's mountain gun battery to begin bombarding the landing point toward Shakou Bay.

Since ammunition was scarce, they could only fire in batches at the opposite shore.

In fact, Jiang Anguo was aboard the landing craft, stockpiling a brand‑new 94‑type mountain gun and its shells.

Quan Zong's worries were clearly unnecessary; the Little Devils indeed had a squad near Shakou Bay, about fifty‑odd men, a normal patrol.

That day's bombing also filled the squad's leader, Nakagawa, with extreme dread.

Their squad could usually bully Huaxia civilians, but when faced with aircraft and tanks, they might not fare well.

With only a few grenade launchers, Nakagawa didn't think he could shoot at the planes above.

When he saw the ships appear on the river surface, his first move was to report upward.

At the same time, he ordered the grenade launchers to fire.

"Grenade launcher, prepare." Nakagawa raised his hand.

Nakagawa looked up; something seemed to be flying down—was it a bird?

Boom!

An explosion rang out over the north bank, followed by several 94‑type mountain gun shells soaring toward them.

A few unlucky Little Devils were flipped onto the ground by the blast fragments.

Nakagawa crouched awkwardly on the ground, fully aware that the Huaxia forces opposite were about to launch an attack.

Originally Xiaoting had warships and transport vessels, but they were redeployed last night, leaving the 104th Regiment unable to reinforce Yidu.

And the four‑hour battle at Yidu fell into Huaxia hands.

Nakagawa looked toward the distant river, the three transport ships drawing nearer; he knew they were certainly not Great Japan Empire warships.

"Fire." Nakagawa ordered.

The grenade launcher fired toward the distant landing craft.

Fortunately, the Little Devils' grenade launcher missed the landing craft.

Mielong watched a shell arc through the sky, feeling he had almost perished; if that Little Devil shell had landed on his boat, it would have been a live target.

What Nakagawa regretted might have been his order to fire.

"Machine Gunner, Machine Cannonner, return fire quickly!" Mielong, seated on the left landing craft, rapidly issued the counter‑attack command.

At this moment, we must take the enemy's fire at any cost.

Clack clack clack!

The MG42's tearing sound shot toward the distant Japanese Army positions.

The five 20mm Erlich cannons on the landing craft roared simultaneously, covering the landing craft as it crossed the Yangtze River.

Like a fire snake, devouring everything ahead.

"Nani!" Nakamura could not believe it, wondering when the Huaxia Army's firepower became so ferocious.

Just a brief encounter, and Nakamura's squad's firepower was completely suppressed; the most unlucky were the few Grenade Launcher soldiers, the first to receive artillery baptism and meet the Emperor!

The landing craft's captain began to turn, fearing the position would face heavy enemy fire, and therefore decided to execute the landing north of the Yangtze River, slightly east.

South of the Yangtze River toward Yidu, the regiment held binoculars, watching the turning landing craft in the distance; however, the Little Devil's firepower did not seem strong, likely there were few troops or horses.

Since it turned, it's merely a few extra steps; safety is most important.

With so many landing points, there's no need to waste lives fighting the Little Devil at any single one.