bookrandom Chapter 243: Our work this evening was not in vain, this defense is really awesome! 1-word chapter
Chapter 243: Our work this evening was not in vain, this defense is really awesome! 1-word chapter
Li Yunlong took the rivet he handed over, quickly put it aside to heat it, and then hammered it hard into the riveted joint! The sound of thumping continued. With the joint efforts of more than 2000 people, they worked until : in the morning to complete the assembly work.
"Old Li, we've been busy for most of the night and we're finally done. Now we just need to put the weapons away, let the soldiers eat, and take some time to rest, because we'll have another big battle with the Japanese in the daytime!" Lin Zhenhua said with a smile as he helped carry the ammunition and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Li Yunlong and a young soldier pushed a Maxim heavy machine gun into the fortifications, installed the ammunition belt, picked up a bowl of mung bean soup beside him and drank it, and replied with a smile: "College students, our hard work this night is really worth it. This is stronger than the fortifications we are going to build before, and the defense is really amazing!"
"What makes me feel more at ease is the design of your baffle. It means that the soldiers don't have to worry about stray bullets and shrapnel when transporting ammunition. This time, I want to see what tricks the Japanese can come up with to capture our positions. As long as the Japanese bombers can't drop shells on our positions tomorrow, I really have nothing to fear. With you commanding the artillery battalion, we can definitely fight back and forth with the Japanese artillery. I plan to fight the Japanese for a few days, and then launch a counterattack when the Japanese are exhausted, and then defeat them in one fell swoop!"
"We also have an armored company, which can be used during the counterattack. I heard that you used armored steel to build a ship that can be moved at any time, and you also specially got two Japanese trucks for modification. You boasted to me before that with this thing, our armored company can attack from the position at any time!"
Before Li Yunlong could continue, Lin Zhenhua replied with a smile: "Old Li, I know what you mean. It's just talk. You'll see whether this thing is useful or not in a few days. Let me keep you in suspense for now!"
"It's almost four o'clock now, so we can let the soldiers eat and take a rest. I estimate that even if the Japanese want to attack, they will have to wait until seven or eight o'clock, which is just right for the soldiers to take a nap. They have been busy all night and it's very tiring. It's still relatively cool now, so it's quite comfortable to have a good sleep!"
Li Yunlong did not object. The soldiers had already moved their weapons and ammunition to the battlefield, and the kitchen staff had already prepared meals. He hurriedly invited everyone to eat. After the meal, soldiers from two companies were left behind to be on guard, and the rest of the soldiers took the opportunity to have a good rest.
Heshang and Duan Peng had no rest that night. They fired several shells at the Japanese positions every half an hour, and the location was different each time. This made the Japanese restless all night. When they woke up the next day, they had thick dark circles under their eyes. It was really that the Japanese did not get a good rest in the past few days. They were either fighting or on the march. They also had to engage in high-intensity battles during the day, which took a great toll on their mental and physical strength.
Ichiro Katayama also knew that the soldiers under his command were almost reaching their limit. Fortunately, the reinforcements were about to arrive, and they were only two hours away. This made Ichiro Katayama's worries go away. With the reserve troops, he had no more worries when fighting.
Because they had been trying to catch Duan Peng and the monk who came to take a shower last night, and most of the independent regiment's fortifications were destroyed, the Japanese did not notice the movements on the front line of the independent regiment. Instead, they were attracted by Duan Peng and the monk's night harassment. After daytime, the Japanese routinely sent out a team of scouts to investigate the situation. They were shocked by the fortifications on the independent regiment's position. Team leader Masao Yoshimoto did not dare to delay and immediately reported the matter to Chief of Staff Junichiro Hatoyama.
Junichiro Hatoyama could not believe what he heard, and he personally led people to check it out. After confirming that the situation was indeed true, he hurried to the brigade headquarters and asked to see Brigade Commander Ichiro Katayama.
"Mr. Hatoyama, you are so anxious to see me early in the morning. Could it be that our reinforcements have arrived?" Katayama Ichiro asked curiously.
Junichiro Hatoyama wiped the sweat from his forehead. His eyebrows were already wet with sweat. He replied anxiously: "Your Excellency, the Chinese army built a complete defense in just one night. According to my observation, they all used thick steel plates. The rifle bullets and machine gun bullets in our hands have no way to penetrate them. Only heavy artillery and large-caliber bombs can destroy them. The situation is very unfavorable to us!"
Ichiro Katayama thought something big had happened. After listening to Junichiro Hatoyama's report, he didn't care. After all, he had seen the fortifications of the independent regiment's frontline yesterday. With the help of bombers, even if the independent regiment built faster, it would not be of much use. He waved his hand casually and was about to enlighten Junichiro Hatoyama when he heard cheers in the distance. It turned out that the Morita Battalion and the 726th Regiment had arrived at the camp, which made his previous worries disappear.
"Hatoyama-kun, don't forget that we have the help of the air force. In order to help us capture the position of the independent regiment, the headquarters has spared no effort to support us this time, and specially replaced the fighter planes we lost yesterday. However, this is already the limit of what the headquarters can do at present. If there are more fighter planes lost, they will be powerless!"
"The headquarters has issued a death order to us, requiring us to capture the frontier position of the independent regiment tonight. Li Yunlong was too stupid to set up only one line of defense. As long as we can capture this only line of defense, it will only take two or three days to wipe out the remaining troops of the independent regiment and participate in the summer sweep operation!"
"The headquarters plans to carry out this large-scale sweep operation for two months. The sweep operations of various units have already started on time at midnight today. We are receiving good news one after another. We can't fall behind, otherwise we will be laughed at by our colleagues!"
Junichiro Hatoyama did not continue speaking. He knew how much pressure the brigade commander was under. Yesterday's battle record also calmed his anxious heart.
"Hatoyama, I have adjusted the order of the attack. After the air support arrives, we will launch an artillery attack on the Independent Regiment, and then send the infantry to attack. The time of the attack is set for nine o'clock this morning. The Chinese army harassed us all night last night, so it's a good opportunity for the soldiers to rest in front of the station and get enough energy. Today we must defeat the Independent Regiment in one fell swoop!"
"Hi! Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, I understand. I'll arrange it right away!" Junichiro Hatoyama bowed and said.
The newly arrived Morita Battalion and the 726th Regiment were directly placed under the command of Jun'ichiro Hatoyama, which meant that Jun'ichiro Hatoyama had three complete infantry battalions and a puppet legion under his command. His strength was not much weakened compared to yesterday.
Xue Changming was very reluctant this time, but the Japanese threatened him with a knife, so he had to be obedient. He knew that he would be used as cannon fodder by the Japanese today. These brothers under his command were his real capital. Once they were all consumed by the Japanese, he would not even have the right to bargain in front of them. This made Xue Changming fall into impotent rage.
"Brother, the Japanese have bad intentions. Are they trying to use us as cannon fodder? We brothers joined the Japanese, not to be cannon fodder. Besides, we made a promise to our brothers. If we send them to the battlefield to be cannon fodder, I think there will probably be a big chaos. Brother, you have to talk to the Japanese and see if you can leave a way for our brothers to survive?" Xue Xiaoliu suggested in a low voice.
Xue Changming suppressed his anger and frustration, and replied in a worried tone: "Xiao Liuzi, we have no backing from the Japanese now. Before, they were planning to carry out the Trojan Horse plan, and our 726th Regiment was still useful, but now the Japanese are planning to destroy the independent regiment, so we have become dispensable cannon fodder in the eyes of the Japanese. I told Morita Xiangtai about this when I came here, but he scolded me severely and let the Japanese soldiers beat me up, treating me like a dog who can be ordered around!"
"The Japanese don't take us seriously at all. Not to mention fulfilling their previous promise, they are now trying to take our lives. But we are at the mercy of others and we have no choice but to accept it. We, more than 2000 brothers, are no match for the Japanese. We can only let them use us as cannon fodder!"
Xue Xiaoliu refused on the spot when he heard this. Originally he was a farmhand of the Xue family. He had managed to get a position as a battalion commander with strong soldiers and horses under his command. He lived a very happy life. He had thought that he could live a good life following Xue Changming, but who would have thought that his life would be worse than before and now he might even lose his life. This made him furious and he immediately had other thoughts in his mind!
"Brother, I am going to say something taboo. We are following you with our lives at risk, not to be cannon fodder. The brothers under my command are no good-for-nothings. They are elite in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. They have been having a hard time these days, which has already made them very dissatisfied. Now you are sending them to the battlefield to be cannon fodder, these people will definitely not be willing. Even if there are the Japanese devils suppressing them, it will be of no use. They will definitely dare to fight the Japanese devils directly. For them, being able to stay alive is more important than anything else. Brother, you should think twice?" Xue Xiaoliu said threateningly.
Xue Changming didn't want to be the devil's dog forever. He just wanted to get back everything he lost through the devil. As a result, he couldn't even save his life now. All his ambitions disappeared. Xue Xiaoliu's words also made him shudder. He knew that this kid was definitely not scaring him. In the past two days, he also found that something was wrong with his brothers. He didn't want to be shot in the back by his brothers, so he had to reply sullenly: "Xiaoliu, I know you must have a plan. Big brother is very embarrassed about this matter. I will pretend that I don't know. We should use the tricks we should use as soon as possible. At worst, we can hide in the mountains for a while. It's impossible for more than 2000 people to starve to death in the mountains!"
After getting Xue Changming's approval, Xue Xiaoliu no longer concealed the plan and immediately revealed it to him. With Xue Changming's cooperation, the rebellion of the 726th Regiment was able to proceed more smoothly.
"Little Six, there is no time to lose, act now, or else there will be more trouble!"