Chapter 355: Jingzhou 39th Division

Five li north of Baiyang Town, on the muddy official road.

Colonel Tian Dao Xinfu stood beside a Type‑94 truck stuck in a mud pit; the heavy rain of the previous two days made marching on this rutted mud road exceptionally difficult.

232nd Regiment, Regimental Commander Colonel Tian Dao Xinfu.

Tian Dao Xinfu had just received a death order from the division headquarters: "Before noon today, we must capture Baiyang Town and open the north‑withdrawal route! Otherwise, we will be court‑martialed for delaying the operation!"

But when he rode his horse to the front, what he saw was…

The First Battalion's position was deserted, sandbags toppled, the machine‑gun nest abandoned, not even a single Sun flag left.

Not a single corpse was in sight.

"Baka!" Tian Dao Xinfu roared, grabbing Jiman Yixiong by the collar. "Your… coward… don't!"

Before the words finished, a loud slap landed hard on Jiman's face.

"Hai!" Jiman Yixiong stood rigidly, his head bent down ninety degrees.

He felt no humiliation at all; as long as they didn't attack, being hit a hundred times was worth it.

That night, the roar of the 105mm Mortar reduced his "samurai soul" to ash. Amaterasu kept him alive not to send him to his death, but to… go home.

"Your… will be tried by a military court!" Tian Dao Xinfu shouted, turning to issue orders to the troops behind him, "Second Battalion! All units! Follow me to attack the Chinese positions!"

Tian Dao Xinfu did not believe the First Battalion still had the courage to attack the Chinese positions!

The troops quickly formed ranks.

Captain Shanben Jianci of the Second Battalion rode forward, his expression stern. He and Jiman Yixiong were both from Hiroshima, had enlisted together as youths, fought side‑by‑side in the Zao‑Yi battle, and were very close.

"Jiman‑kun," Shanben whispered, his voice almost inaudible, "you have greatly disappointed the Regimental Commander."

Jiman Yixiong was startled, then gave a wry smile: "I know. Shanben‑kun, be careful of the Chinese ahead; their firepower is extremely strong."

Shanben said nothing further, merely giving his shoulder a light pat.

Jiman Yixiong silently fell back, directing the remnants of the First Battalion to withdraw.

The survivors included some deaf, some lame, some with vacant eyes.

"Amaterasu is protecting us…" an old soldier murmured, "letting us escape this disaster."

Jiman did not intervene.

He knew these people were no longer warriors; they only wanted to live and go home.

Before departing, he could not help but look back and whisper to Regimental Commander Tian Dao Xinfu, "Regimental Commander… the Chinese army has a heavy artillery group on the southern bank, with extremely fierce firepower and many heavy machine guns. Please be very careful!"

Tian Dao Xinfu gave him a cold glance, saying nothing.

Jiman sighed, turned, and left.

He had fulfilled his duty as a comrade; the rest was left to fate.

At 11 a. m., the attack began.

"Kill the chicken, give give!" Shanben Jianci stood on uneven ground, brandishing his command sword.

Shanben Jianci led the Second Battalion in a dispersed formation, advancing with a Grenade Launcher squad every fifty meters, flanked by machine‑gun cover; the tactics were as textbook‑precise. They had used this formation to capture Zao Yang, Fan City, and sweep across northern Xiang, never failing.

But today, Baiyang Town was eerily quiet.

Three meters… two hundred meters… one hundred fifty meters…

Suddenly—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flames from the southern bank positions shot up to the sky!

Eight 105mm Mortars lined up in a row!

The shells struck the heads of the Little Devils, the violent explosions radiating through the squad, the fragments instantly cutting down the Japanese soldiers' lives.

The event happened so suddenly that both Shanben Jianci and Tian Dao Xinfu thought the Chinese artillery across the river was at most 75mm caliber.

"Nani!" Tian Dao Xinfu exclaimed, watching the shells slash the sky and finally land within the 232nd Regiment's attack formation.

Such caliber mortars annihilated every living thing before them.

Baiyang Town, Second Company position.

"Hit them, you Little Devils dare such a reckless charge!" Second Company Commander Zhang Liang gestured with a big swing.

The hidden MG42 General Machine Gun, its gunner lifted the oil‑cloth covering it, and the 'Demon's Chainsaw' was instantly revealed.

The Second Company's machine‑gun allocation was fifteen MG42 General Machine Guns, while Guard Company's Zhang Yuan carried a full twenty.

"Prone!" Shanben roared.

But it was already too late.

Clack clack clack!

That distinctive, fabric‑ripping "zzzz" sound.

The muzzle spat a half‑meter‑long tongue of flame, the metal belt feeding the rounds into the chamber wildly, the dense bullets like deadly scythes sweeping fan‑shaped death zones across the ground.

Those reckless Japanese who charged forward fell in sheets like wheat being cut, limbs and arms flung into the air. Before they could even hit the ground, a 105mm Mortar likely greeted them.

In an instant they were blown apart, their bodies barely able to be reassembled.

They thought their shouts could drive back the Huaxia forces.

"Ha ha, good, that's it, hit them!" Zhang Liang looked at the Little Devils fallen before the position, feeling satisfied.

But he did not stop; he immediately organized a second wave of firepower.

"Mortar!" Zhang Liang shouted again toward the rear.

Each mortar squad had long adjusted its parameters and measured the distance before the Japanese attack.

"Fire."

Dong dong dong.

60mm shells, mixed with 80mm shells, fell one by one into the charging Japanese squads.

Blooms of blood flowers erupted.

Shanben Jianci and Tian Dao Xinfu only then recalled what Jiman Yixiong had just said: beware of China's heavy artillery.

On the far south bank of the Yangtze River, at Shi Xiaomao's artillery position, the second wave of attack arrived again; Shi Xiaomao is also very strict with his subordinates, demanding that eight shells be fired within one minute.

Whether they hit the target no longer matters.

The Japanese Army's second battalion, together with the 232nd Regiment's direct units brought by Tian Dao Xinfu, were stationed there in such numbers that they took no cover and charged straight at Baiyang Town.

Completely exposed under the Independent Regiment's artillery.

Of course, during Shi Xiaomao's first‑wave attack, Zhang Liang on the Baiyang Town position had already spotted the Japanese Grenade Launcher and mortar positions; he immediately called Shi Xiaomao and gave precise coordinates.

In a single wave the Japanese Grenade Launcher squad was taken away, all blown apart.

The Japanese Army originally thought a desperate charge would scare off the Chinese forces, but they didn't expect so many MG42 machine guns to appear on the opposite position, which instantly cut down the charging Japanese soldiers like cutting chives.

Alas, the chives keep growing!

The Little Devil's life is just a single one.

Unfortunately, Tian Dao Xinfu was directly hit by a 105mm howitzer shell during the Tertiary wave of artillery.

He didn't even leave any last words.

"Regimental Commander, Sir!!!" Shanben Jianci's eyes seemed to burst, drawing his sword, "Charge! Avenge the Regimental Commander!"

But the soldiers were already trembling with fear.

Some crouched on the ground unmoving, some turned and fled in panic, and many more looked around in bewilderment; this was not a battle, but a massacre.

Shanben Jianci swung his sword, cutting down a deserter, and roared, "Long live the Emperor! May the jade shatter here!"

The only response was a few scattered "bang" sounds, and the Huaxia army's even fiercer artillery fire.