Chapter 341: Yichang! The Cannons Roar!

Jiang Anguo stands on the summit of Moji Shan, listening to the earth‑shaking war drums; the surge of blood‑pumping heat rises, but he forcefully suppresses it, replaced by the Commander's characteristic coldness.

He suddenly turns, roars at the already on‑stand artillery position: "Jiang Sanpao! Open fire for me! Bomb these Little Devils! We must not let the Little Devils approach the dock."

"Yes, Commander!"

Jiang Sanpao stands at attention and salutes, his voice booming.

Jiang Sanpao, independent 448th Regiment artillery battalion commander, trait: concentrated firepower.

Under his command, the artillery is no longer simple fire coverage, but a hammer that crushes all.

Jiang Sanpao and the artillery soldiers watch P38s dropping bombs from the sky; the warriors on the River Surface have already launched an attack on Yichang.

At this moment, the time finally comes for them to show their skill!

On Jiang Sanpao's artillery position, twelve German-made 150mm Howitzers line up in a row, their black mouths raised to the sky like a steel behemoth.

Each gun's angle has already been precisely calculated, locked onto the area 500 meters behind Yichang dock, waiting for the moment the general assault begins.

The loaders act skillfully and swiftly, heavy shells are pushed into the breeches, the breechblock emits a crisp metallic clank.

This sound, amid the war drums, is especially piercing, full of killing intent.

"Prepare—Fire!"

Dong! Dong!

Accompanied by two mountain‑shaking booms, the twelve heavy guns simultaneously spew an orange‑red muzzle storm.

The massive recoil makes the ground tremble once, several high‑explosive shells streak the sky with a sharp whistling, roaring toward the depths of the Japanese Army's defensive line, about to unleash another round of steel rain of destruction.

Several massive German-made 150mm Howitzer shells, bearing the death‑god's characteristic shriek, precisely smash the Japanese Army positions 500 meters behind Yichang dock.

That was a gathering place the Japanese Army commander considered a safe zone; originally it should have been busy dispatching troops to the dock for rescue, but now only destruction greets them.

First a suffocating void, then the earth violently shakes, as if a subterranean earth‑dragon is turning over.

Hong! Hong! Hong!

The huge explosions merge into one, instantly tearing the air. Each 150mm high‑explosive shell that lands raises a black‑red smoke cloud dozens of meters in diameter.

The terrifying shockwave, mixed with countless fragments, sweeps outward in a ring, raging wildly.

Those once‑solid field fortifications, before such caliber heavy guns, are as fragile as paper toys, instantly blown apart and shattered.

Several Japanese Army trucks that had just entered the area are lifted into the air by the blast wave, then torn by the violent explosions into burning scrap metal, parts scattering.

The Japanese soldiers in the trucks didn't even have time to scream; they turned to ash in the high temperature and storm.

Even more tragic are those at the explosion's core.

The ground is furrowed with deep scorched‑earth trenches; the Japanese Army reserve unit that had gathered there is instantly slaughtered. Some soldiers have their internal organs shattered by the shockwave, spitting blood as they collapse; others have limbs cut off by countless tiny fragments, arms and legs hanging on treetops or flung onto the ruins, a horror too terrible to watch.

Smoke and dust billow, obscuring the sky.

The once‑orderly Japanese Army positions in front of Yichang city have now become a complete hellscape.

Amid the sky‑filled fire and gunpowder smoke, wails, burning sounds and lingering explosions intertwine, sounding the dirge of this invading force's end. Jiang Sanpao's volley not only destroyed the positions but completely broke the Japanese Army's last spine of resistance.

Jiang Anguo stands at the front of the temporary command post on Moji Shan, the rocks beneath his feet trembling slightly from the artillery.

He does not look back, not even a blink; all sounds behind him become background noise.

His gaze is locked onto the burning city across the river, his voice thunders: "Keep firing for me!"

Before the words finish, another volley erupts with a roar.

Spectacular?

Damn it, spectacular!

In fact, Jiang Anguo didn't need to command the artillery; Jiang Sanpao had already deployed all the guns.

Twelve 150mm Howitzers and 75mm mountain guns line up along the southern slope of Moji Shan, their muzzles spitting crimson flames like a roaring beast.

Tons of steel howl, cutting the night sky, dragging a dazzling tail as they crash into Yichang's southwest corner—where the Japanese Army's 13th Division main force gathers.

Explosions follow one after another.

Not a few isolated blasts, but a continuous thunderous roar. The earth trembles, the river water rises in waves several feet high. Fire shoots up, the Japanese Army's shelters, machine‑gun nests, temporary barracks collapse like paper under the tearing of high‑explosive shells.

Severed limbs and broken arms mixed with mud and splintered wood are thrown into the air, then fall down in a rain of blood.

"Little Devil, taste this!" a artillery Squad leader wipes the ash from his face, grins, and quickly loads another shell.

Yet the Japanese Army does not sit idle.

"Baka! Counterattack! Immediate counterattack!" Nei Shan Ying Tai Lang roars in the command post, his eyes blood‑shot. He pushes aside the staff officer blocking him, grabs a field telephone himself: "Order the artillery regiment, shift all fire toward Moji Shan! Hit those China artillery!"

The order is transmitted swiftly.

But reality is cruel; the Japanese 13th Division, though equipped with 75mm Type 41 mountain guns and Type 94 rapid‑fire guns, has limited numbers, most deployed on the northern city heights to guard against attacks from Shipa direction. Moreover, the field heavy artillery 14th Regiment's dozen 150mm heavy Howitzers cannot be redeployed in time.

Now the enemy's sudden raid on the south bank leaves the artillery unable to complete a large‑scale relocation.

The few remaining guns pointing southwest hurriedly swing their muzzles to return fire. Yet after two rounds, they are locked onto by Huaxia's front observation post coordinates.

"Bearing 215, distance 1500, three rapid shots!"

"Fire!"

Hong! Hong! Hong!

Three rapid fire shells precisely cover the Japanese gun positions. Immediately after, a whole artillery Company's volley comes down like a torrential rain. That Japanese artillery position is instantly engulfed in fire, a mountain gun and its crew are flipped into the shell crater, never to be heard again.

The Japanese "scattered" counterattack has become a joke.

This is the elite Type‑A 13th Division of the Japanese Army, yet its counterattack is so feeble.

More deadly is that Huaxia's artillery is not only fierce but precise. The German-made SFH18 150mm Howitzer, short‑range, powerful, highly accurate, combined with front observers using signal shells to mark targets, almost hits wherever pointed.

Nei Shan Ying Tai Lang's position has already shifted to the observation hatch of an underground bunker, watching helplessly as his painstakingly built defensive line crumbles under artillery fire.

Communication lines break one after another, each regiment reports like snowflakes: "Tertiary Battalion lost contact!" "West Gate warehouse on fire!" "River defense post all shattered!"

"Relay to all units," Nei Shan Ying Tai Lang's voice is hoarse yet firm, "shrink the defensive line, hold the city walls. Abandon all non‑essential outposts, concentrate forces at the South Gate, West Gate and river defense batteries. Also… order Lieutenant Zu Ku Jun's 65th Regiment to burn the regiment flag, it must not fall into China forces' hands."

"Hai yi!"

PS: Someone asked why we keep using the P38 Lightning fighter; this Major is that the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi group's round‑trip distance from Changde to Quzhou is insufficient for the P40, but the P38 is a good fighter, you can just use the eggplant search function to look it up, the only drawback is that it is too expensive, a P38 costs about 110,000 US Dollars, a P40 costs about 30,000 US Dollars, roughly a one‑to‑four ratio, and for a national war, one will definitely choose the fighter with higher cost‑performance for development.