Chapter 356: Little Devils Dare Not Leave Baiyang Town

At noon, the 39th Division headquarters called: "Has Baiyang Town been taken?"

But no one answered Division Commander Sasaki Toichi.

Shanben Jianci knelt on the ground, staring at the corpses everywhere, his military saber hanging down.

He somehow survived, his eyes revealing terror.

The second battalion had over a thousand men, and with the regiment‑direct units, exceeded fifteen hundred, yet now standing— or rather captured by the Chinese army— not even a hundred remain.

Tajima Nobuo's remains were nowhere to be found; only a half‑burned military badge was recovered.

Sasaki Toichi, who had been waiting at the rear for a long time, finally received a reply from the 232nd Regiment.

It was Jiman Yixiong; trembling, he picked up the type‑92 field telephone, his voice shaking: "Report, the attack failed."

On the other end of the line, there was prolonged silence.

Putting down the telephone, Jiman Yixiong gazed at the battlefield smoke, closed his eyes, and whispered a prayer: "Shanben‑kun, Tajima‑kun… may your souls return beneath Hiroshima's cherry trees."

Jiman Yixiong thought his good friend Shanben Jianci had also perished in the attack.

But just after he believed he had survived by luck.

A submachine gun was pressed to his forehead: "Don't move, raise your hands."

The newcomer was indeed Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuanyi, having conferred, decided that since the Little Devil main force had been wiped out by their regiment, there was no point in holding Baiyang Town; they would charge straight out.

They had expected to still meet Japanese Army resistance, but the 232nd Regiment's 1st Battalion, upon seeing the Huaxia troops, laid down their Type 38 rifles.

They surrendered to Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuanyi.

This left the two of them staring at each other; so simply, they had defeated a Japanese regiment.

Jiman Yixiong, trembling with fear, raised his hands and stammered, "General… I surrender… I surrender…"

Guard Company's Zhang Yuanyi looked at Zhang Liang, a bit incredulous, and said, "Are Little Devils this spineless?"

Unfortunately, the 232nd Regiment's flag was not found and was destroyed directly under artillery fire.

But the 232nd Regiment now had only one battalion left at Zhijiang, no longer formidable.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuanyi captured a Japanese battalion; of course that battalion had already lost part of its strength on May 30, yet still numbered over six hundred.

After the battle, a tally showed the two had actually captured 708 Little Devils.

Good grief, Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuanyi's two companies together totaled only 320 men; adding Shi Xiaomao's artillery company on the opposite bank, 198 men, the total comes to just over five hundred.

After imprisoning so many soldiers, the Huaxia army immediately cleared the battlefield, taking away whatever could be carried, and swiftly retreated to the Baiyang Town positions.

Baiyang Town fell silent again!

【8】 Jiang Anguo, who was pursuing the Japanese 13th Division Headquarters, not only constantly monitored the front but also watched the system for any signs of combat.

Jiang Anguo, who is pursuing the Japanese Army's 13th 448th Regiment headquarters, not only constantly monitors the Front's activity, but also watches the system to see where there is battle.

In fact, it was that unit that suffered casualties.

Points surged wildly; it seemed fighting had broken out again.

From the casualties' roster, the direction was confirmed as Baiyang Town, but the war seemed to have ended a bit sooner— in less than an hour.

The battle was already over, and the system recorded nearly forty thousand points.

It seemed the Little Devils at Baiyang Town were getting impatient, but the casualty ratio was indeed huge: the Independent Regiment lost just over twenty men, while the Japanese side suffered fourteen hundred times as many.

The ratio reached seventyfold.

The Japanese are basically handing themselves battle records!

Jiang Anguo even thought of the two great powers on the European front.

"Little Devils are fighting so recklessly!" Jiang Anguo hadn't expected the Little Devils' charge to be so suicidal.

One must know that Yichang is already in our hands; these Little Devils, instead of retreating, continue advancing toward Xiaoting.

In fact, the Japanese information on the Central China front had briefly become chaotic.

This caused the 11th Division Commander A Naganuma, who knew the 13th Division had already withdrawn from Yichang, to feel astonished yet fail to relay the information promptly to the 39th Division in Jingzhou, to Division Commander Sasaki Toichi.

Sasaki Toichi received orders that were still the previous directive from A Naganuma, ordering him to make a desperate attack on Xiaoting to support Yichang.

At noon, sunlight pierced the clouds as twelve P-38 "Lightning" fighters circled like silver eagles, their wings glinting cold, sharp light.

It was the Ghost First Battalion led by William, which had just flown over Baiyang Town; he had intended to support the ground fight, but as his aircraft reached Baiyang Town's airspace, the ground troops radioed him that the battle was already over, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless.

He hadn't even fired a shot, merely skimming low to show goodwill!

The next second, the twelve aircraft split into several small squadrons in a fan shape, searching for remnants of the 39th Division.

Sure enough, shortly after, a battle report from the front at Xiaoting arrived.

"Young Master, here's the report from Xiaoting," Xiao Si handed the report to Jiang Anguo.

Jiang Anguo examined it carefully, also seizing the air‑raid window to give himself a brief rest.

"Did Zhang Liang and Zhang Yuanyi get a little too aggressive, taking two companies and wiping out two battalions?" Even Jiang Anguo found it hard to believe.

But he quickly understood; the Little Devils were charging recklessly.

Yet the only thing he couldn't grasp was whether the firepower that night at Baiyang Town failed to make the Little Devils realize what they were up against.

They were just handing themselves over as corpses.

The key is that they also captured 708 Little Devils; my god, that's almost half a battalion's worth, and they were taken by us.

Hu Lian's 11th Division had already linked up with Jiang Anguo's Independent Regiment, jointly pursuing the Japanese remnants.

"Anguo, is your Independent Regiment's combat power really that terrifying?" Hu Lian asked, somewhat incredulous.

Unless someone in the Independent Regiment falsified their achievements, but their regiment commander was right before Hu Lian, so such a situation shouldn't arise.

Jiang Anguo stood up and said, "I set up a mortar position on Baiyang Town's south bank, so the Japanese, unaware, may have been caught off guard by my troops."

Shi Xiaomao's mortar company, which Jiang Anguo had left on Baiyang Town's south bank, still possessed strong lethality.

Nick's Ghost Second Battalion dispersed early toward Jingzhou, while twenty‑four P-38 fighters, part of them, flew toward Changsha to verify whether Xue Yue needed air support.

The 39th Division in Jingzhou was also helpless; having left Jingzhou only briefly, it was targeted by the Chinese air force above, and Japanese soldiers, like startled birds, abandoned their gear and scrambled back into the city.

The 39th Division could only retreat to Jingzhou.

Sasaki stood on the city wall, looking at the sky, and thought in alarm: "The Chinese army… actually has such aerial power?"

Earlier he only knew that the Chinese army had air‑raided the airports in Central China, but he had not seen Chinese aircraft over Jingzhou.

Regiment Commander Sasaki arrived, still worrying that the Chinese army would bomb Jingzhou, but it was clear he was wrong.

However, Nick observed from high altitude for a long time, saw the Japanese Army had withdrawn into the city, and decisively ordered: "All units, attention—cancel the attack plan. Return and stand by."

The co‑pilot was puzzled: "Sir, they're inside the city; a single 500‑pound bomb could…"

Nick shook his head, his voice steady: "Commander has a strict order; without permission, no city may be bombed. The city houses civilians; it is not a firing range."

He recalled Jiang Anguo's words before departure: "We fight to reclaim our homeland, not to create ruins."

Thus, the P‑38 formation lifted its noses, flew over Jingzhou's sky, leaving a silent warning, then vanished into the clouds.

The great victory at Baiyang Town not only held the flank but also completely cut off any possibility of the Japanese Army coordinating east‑west.

The 39th Division, seeing the Huaxia Air Force, did not dare to leave Jingzhou lightly.