Chapter 354: The 232nd Regiment Stalled

Baiyang Town.

The front of the position was dead silent.

No gunfire, no battle cries, not even any bird song could be heard.

First Battalion, Second Company Commander Zhang Liang lay behind the shelter, holding a telescope, his brows tightly knit.

"Is this Little Devil (Japanese soldier) too cowardly?" he muttered low, "Logically, the 39th Division's 232nd Regiment should have surged forward long ago. Yet from last night until now, not a single one has moved."

Everyone knows the fighting toward the Yichang direction is intense, yet the Little Devil units supporting Yichang show no activity.

The unit closest to Yichang, namely the Japanese Army's 39th Division, is stationed at Zhijiang's 232nd Regiment.

But for an entire night, there was not a hint of movement.

This left the Second Company guarding Baiyang Town and the Guard Company's Second Company unable to rest well all night.

All feared that the Japanese Army might take advantage of the night to attack Baiyang Town.

Guard Company's Second Company Commander Zhang Yuan crouched nearby, spat, and crushed his cigarette butt on the mud: "Isn't that right? The positions have been built all the way to grandma's house, three layers of sandbags, five rows of barbed wire, machine‑gun nests hidden deeper than rats... And the result? A turtle pulling its head in!"

The two exchanged a glance, both sensing something odd.

It should be noted that the Japanese Army's 39th Division was the first to launch a counter‑offensive against the Independent Regiment and the 150th Division's landing site.

Two days earlier, they used the 232nd Regiment as the vanguard, night‑time assaulting Baiyang Town. Fortunately, the whole corps had foresight; at the moment of landing, they dispatched Second Company under Zhang Liang to garrison west of Baiyang Town, holding off the Japanese Army's advance.

Behind that, the Japanese Army assumed the Chinese forces before them were easy to crush, but Jiman Yixiong's carelessness caused his First Battalion—after losing most of its troops—to have to withdraw from Baiyang Town.

It was also Jiang Anguo who, upon hearing the enemy Japanese Army's attack across the river, immediately ordered Shi Xiaomao's Artillery Company to use 105 mm howitzers for a counter‑strike, directly forcing Jiman Yixiong to flee in panic.

Otherwise Baiyang Town would likely have fallen long ago, since the Japanese Army's numbers far exceeded those on Zhang Liang's side.

But since that night, the 232nd Regiment vanished as if evaporated; on May 31, Xiaoting was already in battle, yet the 232nd Regiment showed no sign of activity and did not launch an attack.

"Something's off," Zhang Yuan squinted, "Little Devil never backs down, unless …"

"Unless they were scared by being hit," Zhang Liang replied, a flash of insight crossing his eyes.

What they didn't know is that, three kilometers away at the Japanese Army's position, the 232nd Regiment's First Battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jiman Yixiong, was curled up in a gun‑emplacement bunker, hands clasped, murmuring prayers to a crumpled Amaterasu talisman.

The artillery fire that night had already shattered his soul.

The 105 mm howitzer barrage continued bombarding Baiyang Town, directly blowing his spirit away.

It wasn't a few stray shots, but a carpet‑style saturation—three shells per square meter, flames merging into a sheet, the ground churning like boiling water. Of his two companies, nearly four hundred men, fewer than forty survived.

Some were blown to pieces, some were deafened and mute, and many more suffered mental collapse, clutching their rifles and crying "Mama."

Yet he, Jiman Yixiong, miraculously emerged completely unscathed.

One shrapnel fragment sliced off his cap, another flipped a tree he was standing by, yet it somehow missed his body.

"It's Amaterasu's protection!" he wept on his knees, "The great deity wants me to live!"

But alive, he no longer had the courage to fight.

Afterwards, the Division Commander and the Regiment Commander called in succession, urging: "Attack Baiyang Town immediately! Coordinate with the Yichang direction!"

He replied with only one sentence: "The Chinese army's firepower is fierce; the First Battalion suffered heavy losses and cannot advance."

In fact, he didn't even dare to peek out and observe.

These past two days, whether day or night, any wind rustling through the trench made him think it was shells whistling; any distant flash of fire he assumed a P‑38 was attacking.

Fear had seeped into his bones.

"Company Commander Zhang, shall we fire a few shells?" Zhang Liang suddenly rubbed his hands, a cunning glint in his eyes, "Test the Little Devil's reaction."

Zhang Yuan paused briefly, then nodded: "Alright. But remember, our mission is to hold Baiyang Town, not to seek battle. If the Little Devil doesn't move, we won't charge forward either."

Both fully understood that their task was to defend Baiyang Town, not to rush forward with two companies against an unknown number of Japanese troops.

"Understood!" Zhang Liang grinned, turning to shout: "Bring the Type‑94 mountain gun up!"

The two Type‑94 75 mm mountain guns that had just been delivered from the landing point were swiftly pushed to the front. The artillery crew moved deftly, ranging, adjusting elevation, loading—everything in one smooth motion.

"Fire!"

Boom!

The first shell whistled out, landing a bit short, exploding fifty meters in front of the Japanese Army's position, sending earth skyward.

"Adjust! Increase elevation by two!"

Boom!

The second shell landed precisely in the center of the enemy formation.

In an instant, a strange scene unfolded.

Not a single soul in the Japanese Army's position returned fire!

Instead, vague silhouettes could be seen fleeing in panic, the sandbag fortifications abandoned like worn‑out shoes!

"What's going on?" Zhang Liang was stunned, "Did we fire into empty air?"

"Not…" Zhang Yuan raised his telescope, pupils contracting sharply, "They're retreating! Actively retreating!"

If it weren't for a mountain gun outside Baiyang Town, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Liang would not have positioned their defensive works here, nor would there be the shell‑crater from Shi Xiaomao's howitzer yesterday that could serve as a fortification.

Otherwise, at that distance, Zhang Yuan couldn't even see what the Little Devil was doing!

Why not build that fortification all the way to Japan?

It truly proves: the higher you stand, the farther you see!

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes the entire Japanese Army front line was empty. Only torn flags, discarded mess kits, and even an unworn army boot remained.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuan stared at each other, both shocked and doubtful.

Little did they know, Jiman Yixiong had ordered his entire unit to fall back the moment the first shot rang.

"Amaterasu saved me yesterday, and today warns me again!" he trembled to his subordinates, "This is a divine decree; we must not fight the Chinese army! Those who defy it shall die!"

Thus, before the second shell landed, the First Battalion had already slipped silently into the rear forest.

Subsequently, Zhang Liang ordered the company to fire six shells, all striking the empty position and raising clouds of dust.

The only thing that could answer them was the wind, and a bone‑chilling silence.

"This battle… is really unconventional," Zhang Yuan murmured.

They still thought artillery could achieve miraculous results, but clearly the Little Devil ran faster than a rabbit.

"Not unconventional." Zhang Liang laughed, putting away his telescope. "It's our artillery that bombarded the devils' courage away. I reckon the 105 mm howitzer across the river the day before yesterday scared the Little Devil's spirit out of them."

At the Artillery position on the South Bank, Shi Xiaomao also lifted his telescope to observe, and after learning that the Japanese Army had not attacked, he inquired about the situation on the North Bank.

It turned out to be a probing bombardment, which let the troops below relax.

When the news of Yichang's victory spread to every unit that took part in the battle,

the soldiers of the Huaxia army in Baiyang Town let out a victor's cheer, "Victory!"

"We have won."

Fortunately, everyone knew this was still the Front line, not a direct exit from the Trench.