Chapter 45: Besieging a Point to Reinforce and Attack! The RPG Makes Its Debut!

The Deputy Commander’s gaze was sharp as lightning as he looked at the Chief of Staff. "Are those eight hundred expert marksmen in position?"

The Chief of Staff nodded. "They have already been distributed to various units."

Within the Eighth Route Army, gathering eight hundred master artillerymen might have been a stretch, but finding eight hundred marksmen capable of hitting the flame of an incense stick from a hundred meters away was not difficult at all.

Yet the marksmen the Deputy Commander referred to were no ordinary sharpshooters.

They were the kind who carried an RPG in every pair of hands!

When the headquarters later learned that Lin Ran had not only brought two hundred 107mm rocket launchers but also eight hundred single-shot rocket-propelled grenade launchers, everyone was ecstatic.

The combat plan was completely reshaped and pushed to its absolute limit in a very short time.

In fact, the headquarters' strategy was extremely simple, boiling down to four words: "Besiege the stronghold, strike the reinforcements!"

Using the 36th Division as bait—injuring it without killing it, surrounding it without annihilating it!

Yoshio Shinozuka, that old devil entrenched in the First Army of Shanxi Province, had a total force of three divisions under his command, and he would never dare sit idly by and watch an entire division be completely wiped out!

As long as he dared to make a move and send reinforcements... Heh heh!

The RPGs would immediately greet them.

The Deputy Commander took a deep breath. "Order all units to intercept and block the enemy reinforcements!"

"Yes!"

***

At the same time.

At the headquarters of the New 1st Regiment, the Brigade Commander was also issuing orders.

"Pass down my command: All forces attack! The 771st Regiment will attack Huxian, the 772st Regiment will attack Guanxian, the 28th Regiment will attack Luxian, and the Independent Regiment will rendezvous with Li Yunlong's forces to attack Zhicheng."

The Brigade Commander glared with wide eyes. "Tell them for me that this is a feint! Without my order, no one is allowed to storm into the city!"

"Especially that stubborn mule Li Yunlong—if he dares to enter the city, I'll execute him!"

"Yes!"

***

Zhicheng, Headquarters of the 36th Division.

Maitian Nan was completely bewildered.

Truly bewildered!

His face was stained with the dark soot of artillery fire, and his eyes were filled with shock and dazed incomprehension.

This old devil had been thoroughly bombed into a daze!

What the hell kind of weapon was that?

Shells that could shoot fire out of their tails?

He had fought in wars for half his life, from Manchuria to North China, and had never witnessed such a bizarre and terrifying weapon!

Let alone seeing one, he had never even heard of it.

Many soldiers had been torn to shreds by the terrifying explosions even in their sleep, without managing to utter a single groan.

They died with absolute tenacity.

The entire garrison area of the 36th Division had already been reduced to a wasteland.

The military structure was crippled, and morale had completely collapsed!

Fortunately, however, his headquarters had miraculously managed to evade every single incoming shell.

Maitian Nan thanked the Emperor and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu profusely.

Then, he hurriedly dispatched messengers to send an urgent telegram for help to Yoshio Shinozuka.

If reinforcements didn't arrive soon, his 36th Division—both the men and the military designation—would cease to exist!

***

Taiyuan, Headquarters of the Japanese First Army.

Yoshio Shinozuka was jolted awake from his sleep by the communications officer.

"Your Excellency, Commander! Urgent military intelligence! An urgent telegram from Divisional Commander Maitian!"

"Baka!"

Rudely awakened, Yoshio Shinozuka felt a surge of vicious anger rush straight to his head.

The communications staff officer trembled like a shivering sieve, holding a decoded telegram dispatch in both hands.

"Haii! Your Excellency, Commander, Maitian-kun has sent an urgent telegram!"

Impatiently, Yoshio Shinozuka snatched the message from his hands.

The telegram was brief, consisting of a single line.

"The 36th Division is on the verge of annihilation. I implore Your Excellency to dispatch troops immediately to reinforce us! Maitian Nan"

"Nani?!"

Yoshio Shinozuka was struck as if by a thunderbolt; all sleepiness vanished instantly, and he sprang up from the tatami mat.

The 36th Division was about to be finished?

What was going on here?

He only had a total of three divisions and four independent mixed brigades under his command.

Sato's brigade had yet to be avenged, and now the 36th Division was sending out a cry for help?

What on earth was happening in Shanxi Province?

However, Yoshio Shinozuka had no time to dwell on it further and rapidly issued his orders:

"Order! The 37th Division, alongside the 3rd and 4th Independent Mixed Brigades, are to march at full speed to reinforce the direction of Zhicheng! At all costs! You must rescue the 36th Division!"

The headquarters instantly plunged into utter chaos; the ringing of telephones, the roars of messengers, and the shouts of officers blended into a single cacophony.

Yoshio Shinozuka stood before the map, staring fixedly at the location of Zhicheng, as an unprecedented chill crept up his spine.

If the 36th Division were finished, then he, as the commander of the First Army...

Yoshio Shinozuka did not dare to think any further.

***

Dawn broke.

For many, this night was destined to be sleepless.

Outside the walls of Zhicheng, the smoke and dust had yet to settle.

Kong Jie led the Independent Regiment, travel-worn and weary, arriving to rendezvous with Li Yunlong’s forces, who were already standing by in strict formation.

"Yo-yo-yo, isn't this Acting Detachment Commander Li? I heard your boy has been getting promotions and making fortunes lately, and even hitched yourself to a wealthy benefactor, did ya, dammit?"

Before he had even arrived, Kong Jie’s signature booming voice reached them first.

You don't mind your brothers suffering hardship, but you hate seeing your brothers driving a luxury car.

Just yesterday they were regimental commanders of equal standing, but overnight the other fellow had transformed into an acting detachment commander, commanding several thousand men, with equipment upgraded from inferior muskets to top-tier gear. Who wouldn't feel a little bitter bitterness welling up inside?

Li Yunlong waved his hand dismissively. "Go on, go on, stop talking your bullsh*t, you Kong Erlengzi. If you're jealous of us old Li, just say it straight!"

Kong Jie curled his lip. "Me, jealous of you? Why don't you take a piss and look at your own virtue in the reflection?"

"Hehehehe..."

Li Yunlong grinned from ear to ear, his eyes narrowing into slits. The more sour his old comrade sounded, the sweeter he felt inside, feeling even more comfortable than if he had drunk sweet potato liquor.

Kong Jie knocked the ash out of his pipe and said with a serious expression, "All right, enough nonsense. Let's talk business. Later on, leave the main assault mission to my Independent Regiment. You can just stand by the side, cover your brother's flank, and watch the fun!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's eyes instantly widened wider than copper bells. "Well, you Kong Erlengzi, trying to harvest the peaches right off old Li's tree?"

He had already done the hard work of slaughtering the pig and was just waiting to serve the dishes to the table, and now Kong Jie wanted the seat of honor? Not a chance in hell!

"Hey! Then what do you propose?" Kong Jie grew anxious as well. "How about this, to be fair! You take responsibility for the southeast gates, and I'll take the northwest ones. Let's each rely on our own abilities!"

"Bullshit! Don't even think about it!" Li Yunlong stiffened his neck, refusing to yield an inch.

The two old comrades engaged in a cordial and friendly discussion regarding the operational tactics.

From time to time, they would exchange pleasantries regarding each other's ancestors.

Although it was technically a feint, both Li Yunlong and Kong Jie knew very well that sooner or later, they would have to fight their way into the city.

Finally, Li Yunlong declared, "Your Independent Regiment only has around a thousand men, while my side commands over three thousand!"

"I think you should just take responsibility for the North Gate, and I'll take all the remaining three gates!"

Kong Jie narrowed his eyes and took a fierce drag from his pipe. "Fine! The North Gate it is! But, Li Yunlong, you have to promise me one condition!"

"What condition? Spit it out!"

"That son of a bitch bastard Nobutaka Sakada!" Kong Jie gnashed his teeth so hard they clicked. "You must leave him to me! I'm going to hack him to pieces with my own hands to avenge the brothers who sacrificed their lives at Yangcun!"

Li Yunlong chuckled. "No problem!"

He also knew that old Kong held a deep grudge against Sakada.

With the strategic deployment finalized, the two old comrades wasted no time.

Their troops rapidly deployed, searching for advantageous positions.

Although it was a feint, there was no such thing as child's play on the battlefield.

One always had to be cautious, cautious, and even more cautious.

***

atop the city walls of Zhicheng, a self-deprecating smile hung at the corners of Maitian Nan's mouth.

Once upon a time, five regiments had garrisoned this very city, a full fifteen thousand imperial warriors! How majestic they had been!

Yet now... His gaze swept across the sparse, dust-covered, and injured soldiers below, who were barely managing to stay on their feet...

A profound sense of desolation surged into his heart.

Counting those who could still pick up a rifle and fight, when added up, they barely numbered less than two thousand!

Overnight, a Class-A division had been nearly annihilated!

Maitian Nan's gaze shifted outward beyond the city walls.

Those Eighth Route Army soldiers clad in gray cloth uniforms relied on rudimentary fortifications. Although their offensive seemed fierce with the sounds of gunfire shaking the heavens, they consistently lingered just outside the effective range of the city walls' firepower, never launching a truly fatal, massed infantry charge.

How could he fail to understand now?

The fact that his headquarters had miraculously survived that devastating blow was not some divine protection from the Sun Goddess!

He was merely a piece of bait deliberately left behind by the enemy!

Besiege the stronghold, strike the reinforcements!

A strategic ploy that was not overly sophisticated, yet practically insoluble.

A cold smile tugged once more at the corners of Maitian Nan's mouth.

"Arrogant Chinese... do you truly possess the capability... to strike our reinforcements..."