Chapter 378: The Cunning Japanese Guard Commander

The sky grew dim.

Whoosh!

A flare was fired toward Jingzhou in the sky, instantly lighting the ground with a flash.

"Baka, get up quickly, the Chinese army is about to attack," a Japanese Army officer shouted.

The Japanese Army officers were berating the soldiers below, ordering them to raise their weapons and stand up from behind the wall.

The Little Devil (Japanese soldier) trembled as he stuck his head out; in that hour, who knows what they had endured.

Since entering Huaxia, the 39th Division had been chasing the Chinese army from behind, but now the Chinese army's tanks pressed them down so they could barely lift their heads.

In fact, Japanese Army officers of all ranks did not believe the Chinese army would fight at night, because they knew night combat suited them better.

The Chinese army, lacking nutrition, was mostly night‑blind, making them unsuitable for night fighting.

But they were wrong; Jiang Anguo was merely ordering the tank regiment to rotate for rest.

The artillery barrels also needed rest.

Then a more desperate development occurred for the Japanese Army: the Chinese tank column outside the city had withdrawn, yet the bombardment continued.

"Nani, why does it sound like a Type 94 mountain gun?" Commander Sasaki noted that the sound of the bombardment outside the city had changed.

At first he thought his side was launching a counterattack.

But the Messenger reported that, surprisingly, the opposing Chinese army was bombarding Jingzhou City.

"Your—has the Chinese army started an attack or not?" Sasaki asked.

The Messenger shook his head, "Regiment Commander, the Chinese army shows no sign of attacking; they have only used flares and then mountain guns against the city wall."

"Strange, far too strange," Chief of Staff Zhuan Tian Shengshou said, very puzzled.

"Does the Chinese army intend to blow the city wall down?" Regiment Commander Sasaki said.

Zhuan Tian Shengshou showed a cold glint, "Regiment Commander, it seems the opposing Chinese army, relying on its artillery advantage, truly wants to blow Jingzhou's city wall down. In that case, we can order the Chinese civilians inside the city to rebuild the shattered wall."

"Yo, Zhuan Tian, you're right. We'll have the Chinese civilians fill the gaps for us," Sasaki sneered.

Obviously both men knew that the Chinese air force had not attacked Jingzhou, and likewise the Chinese tanks had not fired shells into the city.

Clearly the opponent had reservations, and those reservations were the Chinese civilians.

Zhuan Tian Shengshou had thought of that, which is why he employed this tactic.

Soon, Sasaki ordered the city's civilians out of their houses; the Jingzhou residents, anxious after hearing the prolonged bombardment, hid inside and dared not emerge.

But even so, the Little Devil (Japanese soldier) with a Type 38 rifle forced them all out.

Repairing the city wall on short notice, finding tools and materials was not easy.

However, to the Japanese Army, every house inside the city was material; the houses near the north city wall, under the threat of Japanese bayonets, became the fill for the breach.

The civilians, under the Japanese Army's prolonged oppression, dared not resist; even the few who did were shot dead by Type 38 rifles.

Gradually, the civilians' unrest subsided, because they could not know whether the next bullet would hit them.

On the 11th Division's position, the Frontline Commander immediately halted the artillery order.

He lifted his binoculars toward Jingzhou and saw Japanese soldiers brandishing rifles, directing Jingzhou civilians to repair the wall blown down by tanks.

What a hatred burned inside!

The Little Devil is truly insidious.

"Go quickly and tell the rear division commander and Regiment Commander Jiang."

"Yes," the Messenger said.

"Cease fire," Zhang Bing ordered his tank regiment's soldiers to stop the bombardment, and the tanks withdrew.

Now they must be even more cautious of the Japanese Army's counterattack.

Tank drivers began to reverse, awaiting orders from behind.

In fact, Jiang Anguo, Hu Lian, and Xu Guozhang had all seen the frontline; from a height north of the city, they observed the Japanese using civilians to mend the broken wall.

Hu Lian felt urgent, "Anguo, let my 34th Regiment launch a charge; if the Japanese finish repairing the wall, it will be hard to fight."

Jiang Anguo shook his head, "No need. Jingzhou's city wall stretches over three kilometers; if the Japanese defend a single breach, I'll bombard ten. Continue as ordered, and wait for my Guard Company to reach the designated spot."

Jiang Anguo now had only a Squad of Guard Company soldiers beside him, along with Xiao Si.

The Guard Company's soldiers seemed to have vanished as they approached Jingzhou.

Jiang Anguo dispatched them on a secret mission; if successful, it would shorten the time to assault Jingzhou's citadel.

Sure enough, after the Japanese saw the Chinese army's positions cease fire, the Japanese artillery inside Jingzhou also began to counterattack.

Boom.

The artillery roared.

Obviously, even a Type B division's Japanese artillery was limited, let alone the Japanese forces split between Jingmen and Zhijiang.

In firepower, the gap between them and Jiang Anguo's side was clearly more than one tier.

Fortunately, Zhang Bing had anticipated this and ordered the tanks to retreat; otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous. Even if the Japanese Type 92 Infantry Cannon hit a tank, beyond the damage to the vehicle it would cause severe internal injuries to the crew, possibly death.

"The Little Devil really doesn't want to live, Commander Hu Lian, I'm assigning you a battery of 105mm howitzers, ordering your artillery to keep bombarding the wall. This long stretch of wall—let's see if the Little Devil can defend it," Jiang Anguo shouted.

He also ordered, "Shift Zhang Bing's tank regiment's attack positions and disperse, so the Japanese artillery inside the city cannot hit them."

Hu Lian was puzzled about where the 105mm howitzers came from, but soon saw them emerge from the darkness, their long barrels pointing toward Jingzhou.

The 34th Regiment Artillery, excited as ever, this was a real beast.

In fact, in Yichang some were captured, but hauling Japanese howitzers during a pursuit proved cumbersome.

A full twelve 105mm howitzers, yet Hu Lian's side lacked enough crew trained to operate them.

That was another point Jiang Anguo hadn't considered; he immediately arranged an exchange for an Artillery Company, letting specialists take over while Hu Lian's 34th Regiment soldiers assisted.

The 105mm howitzer shells were heavy; operating them required serious physical labor.

Jiang Anguo stood on the heights, gazing toward Jingzhou.

"Tonight, the artillery must not stop." His voice was low, yet resolute, "Do the devils think they can get a breather from the civilians? Dream on."

Two kilometers away, the 11th Division Artillery Battalion and the Independent Regiment Artillery Company were urgently setting up 105mm howitzers.

"Fire!"

The gun carriage slammed into the loose earth, the gun pit sank deep, the gunners were drenched in sweat, their movements precise.

They knew that every shell would land on the Japanese Army's heads.