under fire

It wasn't until the second cowardly Imperial Army soldier who was retreating jumped onto the ferry that the situation continued.

Behind the sandbags at the machine gun emplacement on the right side of the ferry, the tense-looking light machine gunner suddenly noticed that the returning warrior's face seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

Composing myself from the shock of the explosion on the shore, I took a closer look.

The two warriors who retreated each carried a pistol in their right hand and a backpack tucked under their left arm.

"No... explosive charge! Enemy attack!" The machine gunner seemed to understand something and quickly adjusted the light machine gun in front of him.

Bang bang... bang bang...

The retreating comrade's pistol flashed repeatedly as he fired rhythmic double bursts!

The instant he leaped onto the ferry, Li Laosi, with a dynamite pack tucked under his left arm, fired four shots in quick succession with his right pistol, the arrogant bullets evenly distributed to the machine gunners less than five meters away.

bang bang bang
He landed firmly on the bow of the ferry, and quickly pointed his gun at the sergeant beside him, who was still in a daze, holding his sword...

bang bang bang
Behind Li Laosi, the muzzle of the pistol held by the soldier following closely behind bounced rhythmically.

Two groups of four bullets lashed out at the chests and abdomens of two Japanese soldiers in a machine gun corps positioned behind sandbags on the port side of the ferry…

At this time, there were still eight Japanese soldiers on the ferry.

There were two grenade throwing teams with four Japanese soldiers at the stern.

The ferry captain is also the helmsman, there is one mechanic on board, and two sailors responsible for docking the ferry...

The Japanese grenadier seemed to realize the perilous situation he was facing. After a moment's hesitation, he quickly put down his grenade launcher and lunged at Li Laosi with his bare hands...

bang bang
The other side of the river.

The Japanese observer, holding up his binoculars, watched as the elite Imperial Army soldiers on the ferry appeared to be embroiled in infighting.
One by one, the Imperial Army soldiers left on the ferry fell down.

Several people who were on the edge of the ferry fell into the river.

Elites are elites; they quickly came to their senses and made a judgment: those two Imperial Army soldiers rushing out of the smoke must be Eighth Route Army soldiers in disguise!

He immediately started making a series of strange noises.

Even at a distance of over eighty meters, one can see the situation on the other side of the river without binoculars.

The Japanese infantrymen, not far from the observation post, quickly pointed their guns at the ferry.

Suddenly, they discovered that the two Imperial Army soldiers who had retreated to the ferry had also fallen into the river. At that moment, there was no Imperial Army soldier standing on the ferry anymore.
Nearly a squad of elite Imperial Army soldiers vanished in the smoke of battle, along with the two Imperial Army soldiers who fell into the river and disappeared; there was no one else to be seen.

The Japanese soldiers stared at each other, enduring the pain for another minute, hoping the smoke from the battle on the other side would dissipate.

We look forward to seeing the elite Imperial Army forces, amidst the smoke of battle, establish positions on the opposite bank.

Perhaps due to the high temperature generated by the explosion, smoke continued to rise into the sky, and soon, the result appeared before the eyes of all the Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese observer was dumbfounded, the Japanese machine gunner providing cover was dumbfounded, and the Japanese riflemen were dumbfounded.
On the riverbank, the bodies of Imperial Army soldiers lay scattered about.

Finally, some Japanese soldiers seemed to understand something, and in their shock, they opened fire on the Imperial Army soldiers who had fallen into the river and were floating on the surface, slowly moving away from the ferry.

The poor corpse was immediately covered by a hail of angry bullets from its comrades on the east bank.

Kujo Masao was dumbfounded and somewhat bewildered.

A squad of elite Imperial Army soldiers!
Despite the heavy artillery and machine gun support, they were unable to capture the West Bank docks!

Things seem to be in some trouble.

Because the ferry is on the west bank.
Hopefully, the two fake Imperial Army elites who retreated to the ferry didn't throw explosives into the ferry's wheelhouse and engine room.

Suddenly, the ferry bounced on the river, creating a large splash.

immediately
Boom! Boom!
There were two deafening bangs.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, no longer needing to anxiously wonder if the Imperial Army soldier who jumped into the river was actually an Eighth Route Army soldier in disguise.

The ferry exploded.

Some people thought to themselves that it wasn't so bad that there was no ferry now; at least they didn't have to worry about being attacked while crossing the river.
Time passes slowly.

Elites will always be elites.

Such difficulties were no match for the well-trained elite of the Imperial Army.

Because almost none of the Imperial Army's elite soldiers couldn't swim.

Kujo Masao's facial muscles twitched, and he quickly made a new arrangement, ordering his men to spread out and spread north and south along the ferry crossing, dispersing to cross the river upstream and downstream of Donggu Town!

For a time, the east bank was filled with the sounds of ghostly screams.

Hu Yi rolled over and lay down in a sand pit behind the west bank of the river.

He knew what he was about to face, having faced it countless times before.

Therefore, he did not retreat immediately after blowing up the enemy's ferry. As for Li Laosi, it was their good fortune to survive.

If they die in the ferry explosion, that's their fate.

Hu Yi felt that once you're on a battlefield where it's a matter of life and death, it wouldn't be surprising if anyone died at any time.

No one is immune to the fear of death, and he was no exception.

But who isn't afraid of death?

Therefore, he constantly reminded himself to stay away from death as much as possible.

However, after entering the plains, they hardly had a peaceful day.

The Japanese soldier wanted to cross the river, and with that woman on the west side, he felt he had to do it.

Stop the Japanese soldiers from crossing the river!
Give her more time.

The Japanese soldiers wanted to cross the river to the west, so they clearly wouldn't give her any more time.

Since that's the case, the Japanese soldiers must accept the consequences of being attacked while crossing the river.

A large number of Japanese soldiers left the Dongdu Ferry and spread out in a grand manner in the north and south directions along the east bank of the canal.

We stopped about a kilometer away from the Donggu ferry crossing.

Mortars, light and heavy machine guns, and light firearms were used to establish positions.

Logistics and supply troops continuously delivered grenade launchers and boxes of ammunition from the vehicles to the firing positions.

Large numbers of Japanese infantrymen began to remove their uniforms and wrap their rifle ammunition pouches with waterproof tarpaulins in preparation for an armed swim.

On the watchtower.

Tang Dagou kept circling and tugging at the rifle sling with his fingers.

Commander Hu acted too quickly, so much so that before he could figure out whether to engage the Japanese artillery, light and heavy machine gun teams, or the Japanese commander firing from the shadows, the ferry had already been sunk by Li Laosi.

He lay prone behind the firing pin on the top of the pillbox, his eyes half-closed, his gun barrel locked tightly on the Japanese commander.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers on the riverbank, the observer whispered, "Big Dog, the Japanese will definitely start shelling before they cross the river. Should we take them out with a shot?"

Upon hearing this question, the puppet soldiers standing on the top of the pillbox immediately held their breath.

Big Dog thought for a moment before answering: "Damn it, wait until the Japanese officer turns around and then fire. Shoot him in the head. Listen up, the bullet must enter through his forehead. If you don't find an opportunity, nobody the hell should fire."

"I understand what you mean; you're afraid the enemy will discover later that someone fired from their backs."

"I think it's a terrible idea for us to stay on the east bank. We're not even brave enough to engage in sniping. It would be better to let those rookies in the division guard the pillboxes."

"That's right, the Japanese have now dispersed, and we've lost three important targets: their artillery, grenadiers, and light and heavy machine gun teams."

"Don't worry, the battalion commander and his men can repel the first wave of enemy crossing the river! They will definitely spread out to both banks and annihilate the enemy who swim across the river."

"Yeah, let's just enjoy the show this time, it'll save us a lot of trouble."

A group of spectators watched intently from the pillbox as the Japanese soldiers practiced their river-crossing tactics.
boom.
The cannonball fired.
Shells and bullets came like a gust of wind, pounding against the ridgeline of the west bank of the river.

The two sides of the strait are not far apart.

Four mortars and countless grenade launchers rained down on the west bank of the canal with high-arc trajectory shells.

Throwing dust.

Flying stones.

Sandblasting.

The smoke billowed.

The explosions were deafening.

The echoes reverberate endlessly across the canal.

*Puff puff puff*
The light and heavy machine guns began firing to provide cover for the swimming infantry as they crossed the river.

The Japanese assault team rushed from the riverbank into the water.

On the riverbank behind them, the Japanese officer in charge of directing the crossing waved his saber and shouted loudly as he killed a few chickens.

As a result, a large number of Japanese infantrymen lying on the east bank immediately stood ready for battle. Their mission was to precisely hunt down the Eighth Route Army soldiers who were also emerging on the west bank!

The Japanese infantrymen crossing the river quickly entered the canal, causing ripples to spread across the surface like ducks entering the water, and slowly pushed westward.

Each ripple creates a reflection in the sunlight, and as the reflection increases, it eventually connects the river surface into a continuous expanse.

Under the cover of suppressive fire from light and heavy machine guns, the Japanese launched their first wave of river-crossing attack... (End of Chapter)