The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 362 If You Dare to Trick Me, I Will Trick You

In the command post of the Banbishan Garrison Command, He Wei was standing in front of a large-scale map, staring in the direction of Fuchikou with a worried look on his face. The telephone in the command post rang one after another. The sound of gunfire on the west bank of Fuchi lasted almost all night last night, and it could be heard clearly in Banbishan. The sudden sound of gunfire from the direction of Fuchikou made He Wei alert.

Therefore, after the gunfire gradually stopped in the early morning, He Wei immediately contacted the command post of the 18th Division through the wired telephone communication network that had been set up earlier, hoping to find out the situation there as soon as possible. However, He Wei made one call after another, but although the line was connected, no one answered.

Such a strange situation made He Wei a little confused for a while. He didn't know what the commander of the 18th Division, Li Fangbin, was up to, and he became more and more worried about the situation near Fuchikou.

Afterwards, Li Yannian, commander of the 11th Corps who was commanding in Tianjia Town on the opposite bank, also called He Wei urgently to inquire about the situation near Fuchikou.

He Wei himself didn't understand the situation clearly, so how could he explain it clearly to Li Yannian? He could only tell Li Yannian that he would figure it out as soon as possible. He then continued to contact the 18th Division via wired telephone and radio station, but it was still the same. The phone was not connected and the radio station did not respond. It seemed as if the entire 18th Division had blocked communications with He Wei.

He Wei was now anxious, and when all wired and wireless communications failed, he decided to send troops to search in the direction of Fuchikou. He immediately ordered the special forces company directly under the assault corps and the first infantry battalion of the assault corps deployed on Banbi Mountain to assemble urgently, preparing to use this fresh force as a forward search force to conduct reconnaissance operations in the direction of Fuchikou.

Now the situation between the 18th Division in Banbishan and Fuchikou is very strange. In fact, the communication is not interrupted. The phone is not unreachable and the telegram is not unsent. It's just that no one answers the call and no one replies. Such a strange situation, coupled with the fact that the commander of the 18th Division is Li Fangbin, such a weird teammate, He Wei inexplicably has a chilling feeling. He just hopes that Li Fangbin will not do anything that will endanger the overall battle situation.

"Captain, the troops have assembled and are ready to go!"

He Wei responded and turned around, only to see Yang Biao, the company commander of the special agent company directly under the assault corps, and Fu Chen, the commander of the first infantry battalion, running into the command post. He Wei's solemn expression eased a little, and he nodded and said in a gentle voice: "I won't say more. You two should have heard the gunfire from Fuchikou last night. Now my unit can't contact the 18th Division, so we can only send troops to search the Fuchikou defense zone where the 18th Division is located, and establish contact with it while scouting the situation. You two must be careful and the troops must deploy according to the standards of combat search. After finding out the situation of the 18th Division, you must report to me as soon as possible."

Fu Chen nodded: "Understood!"

Yang Biao also said: "Captain, make sure the mission is completed."

He Wei nodded and added, "Let's set off immediately. The 18th Division has always been unreliable. I'm worried that they will do something unpredictable, or even cause our army to lose control of the situation in Banbi Mountain and Tianjia Town. Remember, we must be quick and careful."

After completing the task, Fu Chen and Yang Biao were about to leave.

At this moment, the chief of staff of the assault corps, Wang Yuanling, ran over with a look of shock and anger, called out to Fu Chen and Yang Biao, and then, while He Wei was looking puzzled, told them a piece of news that shocked everyone in the command post.

"Captain, something has happened. The 18th Division has lost its position on the west bank of the Fuchi River."

He Wei was shocked and said, "What? You said the west bank of Fuchi River has been lost!"

Wang Yuanling added, "Captain, the position on the west bank of the Fuchi River has indeed been lost. The call was from Zhao Zhanhai, the chief of the combat training section of my staff office. The situation at the 18th Division is very complicated. Zhao Zhanhai said there is an emergency and he must speak to you in person."

Earlier, after the Japanese fleet attacked Fuchikou and destroyed the Fuchikou fortress with artillery fire, the commander of the 18th Division, Li Fangbin, urgently asked He Wei for help, and He Wei also sent Zhao Zhanhai to lead the Navy Mine Team to rush to the 18th Division for emergency assistance, and appointed Zhao Zhanhai as the liaison officer to communicate the coordination matters between the two sides. Now that Zhao Zhanhai called, He Wei finally found a breakthrough to establish effective communication with the 18th Division.

He Wei immediately ran over with Wang Yuanling, answered the phone, and said anxiously: "Hello, hello, this is He Wei, Zhao Zhanhai, what is the situation in the 18th Division?"

Then, Zhao Zhanhai's nervous voice came from the other end of the phone: "Captain, the Japanese army suddenly landed on the west bank of the Fuchi River last night. After landing, the Japanese troops immediately attacked the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division guarding the west bank of the Fuchi River. The brigade collapsed overnight and was beaten to pieces. Now they are being accommodated. The two regiments of the 54th Brigade are estimated to be able to accommodate only people. They lost almost people, and the positions of the two regiments were all lost."

"In just one night, both regiments collapsed?"

"Yes, Captain. The entire brigade was defeated. The commander of the 54th Brigade and the two regiment commanders under him escaped with their lives. They swam back to the east bank of Fuchi with only a few guards. They lost almost all their weapons and ammunition. They only brought back some rifles and light machine guns."

When the news that the positions on the west side of the Fuchi River were lost overnight was confirmed, He Wei was indeed shocked. An entire infantry brigade and two infantry regiments were all defeated in just one night. This was indeed beyond his lower limit of understanding of the combat effectiveness of a unit.

However, after the shock, He Wei did not panic. His focus was on why he had contacted the 18th Division many times but had not received a response.

"Then why didn't the 18th Division inform me of the enemy situation and answer my calls even though I called them so many times and sent telegrams?"

Zhao Zhanhai's voice suddenly rose, and he said angrily: "Captain, this is what I want to say. Li Fangbin is planning to lie about military intelligence and conceal the loss of the position on the west bank of the Fuchi River. Whether it is a call or a telegram from Banbi Mountain, the command post of the 18th Division is now cold, not answering the phone or replying the telegram. If Li Yannian, the commander of the 11th Corps in Tianjia Town, sends a telegram to inquire, the 18th Division will directly lie about the military intelligence and the battle situation. In short, they are pretending to be dead to the friendly forces in Banbi Mountain and lying to the superiors in Tianjia Town."

He Wei immediately flew into a rage upon hearing this, and shouted, "Li Fangbin, you bastard! Zhan Hai, tell me everything you know about the situation and the causes and consequences. I want to see what this Li Fangbin is going to do."

Then He Wei learned about the series of strange behaviors of the 18th Division.

It turned out that the Japanese army suddenly landed on the west bank of Fuchikou last night and defeated the 18th Brigade of the 54th Division stationed there in just one night. After learning that the positions had been lost and the troops had been dispersed, the commander of the 18th Division, Li Fangbin, actually planned to conceal the fact that all the positions had been lost. If questioned by his superiors, he should have reported that the positions had not been lost and that a fierce battle was being fought with the Japanese army.

While concealing the truth, Li Fangbin also planned to mobilize the 18th Division to launch a counterattack on the lost west bank positions, creating the appearance that the two sides were fighting fiercely, in order to further cover up the fact that the west bank positions had been lost! Moreover, Li Fangbin even planned to win a reward for defending the positions if the counterattack was successful and the positions taken by the Japanese were recaptured!

When He Wei learned from Zhao Zhanhai about Li Fangbin's series of outrageous actions, He Wei was speechless. Originally, He Wei was very angry at this guy for lying about military intelligence, but after learning the details of Li Fangbin's outrageous actions, He Wei almost laughed at this idiot.

Putting aside the issue of concealing military intelligence, even though the west bank positions had already been lost, he was still thinking of sending his own troops to launch a counterattack on the west bank positions.

Li Fangbin had such a plan. He Wei could only say that this guy had lost the basic understanding of the combat effectiveness of his own troops. The 18th Division, an infantry division mainly composed of new recruits, lacking in training, and messed up by Li Fangbin, launched a counterattack against the Japanese army that had already established a foothold on the west bank. Apart from giving away lives and suffering casualties in vain, He Wei really couldn't think of any other result.

What is even more speechless is that, not only was Li Fangbin determined to lie about military intelligence, but he actually discussed the matter in public at the command post. As a result, Li Fangbin's entire plan and even every word were overheard by Zhao Zhanhai who happened to be in the 18th Division command post.

Then, just as the plan of falsely reporting military intelligence was completed, Zhao Zhanhai leaked it to He Wei. He Wei now knew everything about Li Fangbin's deployment and the orders he gave to his brigade commanders and regiment commanders, as well as the conflicts and quarrels between Li Fangbin and the deputy commander of the 18th Division, Luo Guangwen, and even their general conversation.

He Wei really didn't know what to say to Li Fangbin.

He Wei then asked, "Zhan Hai, I understand the situation, but you just said that the 18th Division has already started the cold treatment of our Banbishan communications, so how did you make this call?"

Zhao Zhanhai's laughter came over the phone. "Captain, I was in Li Fangbin's command post when he and his men were discussing how to lie about military intelligence. I slipped out right after he arranged everything. Before he ordered the communication silence in Banbi Mountain, I took people to the 18th Division's communication battalion and stole a phone and a wired telephone exchange. That's why I called you. We also kidnapped a telephone soldier and a communications platoon leader from a squad of the 18th Division."

"Well, Zhan Hai, you did a good job and handled it very well. I already know the situation of the 18th Division. You also have to be careful. I will make a decision soon. You must protect yourselves first to prevent Li Fangbin from doing anything bad to you. Also, you can kidnap people, but you can't hurt the people of the 18th Division." "Captain, I know, I will be careful."

He Wei hung up the phone in a hurry. Wang Yuanling, Yang Biao, Fu Chen and others all focused their attention on He Wei. Wang Yuanling stepped forward and asked He Wei, "Captain, what's the situation? Are the First Battalion and the Special Agent Company going to attack as usual?"

He Wei thought for a moment, sneered and said, "The Special Agent Company and the First Battalion will stay on standby and postpone the attack. There are some problems that must be solved before the attack. Brother Yuan Ling, get me through to Tianjia Town as soon as possible. I have urgent military information to report to Corps Commander Li Yannian."

"Okay, I'll ask the signalman to pick it up right away!"

He Wei walked to the observation post of the command post with a gloomy face, breathing the fresh air blowing from the river, looking in the direction of Fuchikou, his eyes full of hostility.

Li Fangbin, commander of the 18th Division, had been indifferent to He Wei before the Japanese reached Fuchikou. He had always ignored He Wei's invitation to cooperate in the battle and had never even met He Wei once. It was not until the Japanese attacked Fuchikou that he sat down obediently and cooperated with He Wei in the battle. He was completely flattering to He Wei.

Even though He Wei had many dissatisfactions with Li Fangbin, he could consider the overall situation, and because Li Fangbin was a senior from the second term of Whampoa Military Academy, He Wei always treated him with tolerance, cooperation and help. He always felt that although Li Fangbin was a mediocre person, he was facing a powerful enemy after all, and he thought that he would cooperate with him honestly no matter what.

During He Wei's many communications with Li Yannian, commander of the 11th Corps, although Li Yannian hinted to He Wei many times that he hoped the two of them would work together to get rid of Li Fangbin, commander of the 18th Division, He Wei still ignored Li Yannian's hints out of consideration for unity and the overall situation.

But now it seems that He Wei feels that his previous thoughts were really wrong. He gave Li Fangbin a lot of help and tolerance, and even saved his life to some extent.

However, what Li Fangbin reported to He Wei was not honest cooperation in combat, but lies about military intelligence and deceiving superiors. He also silenced communications and concealed military intelligence from friendly forces on the same front, completely ignoring the possible adverse effects that concealing military intelligence might have on the friendly forces in Banbishan and even the overall battle situation.

He Wei thought that he had done his best, but Li Fangbin repaid He Wei with ingratitude and backstabbed him. If Zhao Zhanhai had not acted decisively and informed He Wei of the situation of the 18th Division, He Wei would still be kept in the dark and would be completely in the dark about the loss of the positions on the west bank of the Difuchi River. He would have lost control of the most basic situation on the battlefield. The consequences would be simply unimaginable!

In short, since Li Fangbin can do it on the first day, don’t blame He Wei for doing it on the fifteenth.

A few hours later, in the command post of the 18th Division, after making all his arrangements, Li Fangbin was no longer panicked, but stayed obediently in the command post, waiting for reports from his subordinates.

According to his plan, after preparing the telegram about false military intelligence and his own speech for responding to Li Yannian's questioning, he would organize the entire division to launch a counterattack against the Japanese troops on the west bank after the 54th Brigade that was defeated on the west bank was fully reorganized.

Now, he was waiting for the report from the commander of the 54th Brigade that the reception was complete. As soon as the reception was completed, Li Fangbin would personally lead the troops to attack and launch a "vigorous" counterattack to build momentum and endorse the military intelligence he had fabricated.

Not far from him, Luo Guangwen, deputy commander of the 18th Division, had his back to Li Fangbin, smoking and sulking. After Luo Guangwen refused to follow Li Fangbin's orders, he was immediately deprived of all command and control rights over the troops. Except for his own service soldiers, Luo Guangwen could not command a single soldier. Apart from sitting in the command post, Luo Guangwen could do nothing else.

Suddenly, there was a burst of dense footsteps outside the command post. Li Fangbin immediately jumped up from his chair, thinking that the commander of the 54th Brigade had already gathered the scattered 54th Brigade and came to report, so he immediately ran to the door of the command post with a smile.

However, when he ran to the door of the command post, the smile on Li Fangbin's face suddenly froze and his face turned pale in an instant.

The person standing outside the command post and staring coldly at Li Fangbin was not the brigade commander who came to report, but an officer with the rank of lieutenant general and wearing black-framed glasses. He was Li Yannian, the commander of the 11th Corps.

There were many officers following behind Li Yannian. Li Fangbin felt that the eyes of one lieutenant colonel among them were particularly sharp, like a sword, which made Li Fangbin feel creepy.

Around the command post, there were many armed soldiers wearing helmets and vest-type equipment, holding submachine guns and rifles and surrounding the command post of the 18th Division.

"Captain Li, why are you here?"

Li Fangbin said with a trembling voice.

Li Yannian snorted coldly and said, "Captain Li, I heard that the Japanese launched a surprise attack on your division's position on the west bank of the Fuchi River. It is said that your division's officers and soldiers are fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese on the west bank. You are also organizing your troops to launch a counterattack against the Japanese on the west bank. Tsk tsk, your division's battle is really big."

After Li Yannian said this, Li Fangbin knew that his plan to lie about military intelligence had been completely exposed, so he could no longer say another word and could only lower his head dejectedly.

Li Yannian snorted coldly and was too lazy to talk nonsense with Li Fangbin. Just now, He Wei called Tianjia Town and told Li Yannian everything about the battle situation on the west bank of Fuchi River last night and Li Fangbin's plan to lie about military intelligence.

After Li Yannian learned about what Li Fangbin had done, he felt mixed feelings of anger and joy. He was angry that Li Fangbin dared to lie about military intelligence, but he was happy because he had always wanted to deal with Li Fangbin but had no idea where to start. Now that Li Fangbin had lied about military intelligence, he had taken the initiative to give him a reason to deal with him.

Now that he had caught Li Fangbin, Li Yannian would naturally not let him go. After receiving the notification report from He Wei, he crossed the river with a group of accompanying officers. After meeting He Wei at Banbi Mountain, Li Yannian ordered He Wei to lead the special forces company of the assault corps to attack the command post of the 18th Division.

So, there was this meeting that made Li Fangbin extremely terrified.

"Adjutant, read the order to Master Li."

Li Yannian said to the adjutant beside him.

"Yes!"

The adjutant immediately stepped forward, walked in front of Li Fangbin, took out a piece of order, and read it out with full energy: "In the early morning of today, the Japanese army suddenly attacked the 18th Division's position on the west side of Fuchikou. The 18th Brigade of the 54th Division guarding the place retreated without putting up a strong resistance. In just one night, the positions on the west side of Fuchikou were completely lost, and the troops suffered heavy losses. However, the commander of the 18th Division, Li Fangbin, deliberately concealed the situation of the defeat and lied about the military situation. He is guilty of death. Now, according to the order of Commander Li of this Corps, the commander of the 18th Division, Li Fangbin, attempted to lie about the military situation and was immediately dismissed. The commander of the 54th Brigade, Liu Gang, and the second commanders of his subordinates, Yuan Nansan and Xie Shiqing, failed to defend the western position effectively and abandoned the troops and absconded. They are immediately dismissed, detained, and arrested, and reported to the Military Commission for their fate."

"The 18th Division's deputy commander Luo Guangwen is well aware of the greater good and refuses to collude with Li Fangbin. He is now ordered to serve as the acting commander of the 18th Division, taking over all command responsibilities from the original commander Li Fangbin and commanding the 18th Division's operations."

After the adjutant finished reading the order, Li Fangbin's face was already dejected. He leaned dejectedly on the sandbag trench outside the command post and remained silent.

Seeing Li Fangbin like this, Li Yannian smiled contemptuously, then looked at the lieutenant colonel standing behind him and said, "He Wei, this time thanks to your timely notification, otherwise I would still be kept in the dark by this guy. You commanded the battle a few days ago well, and now the 18th Division has just been defeated, and the battle situation in Fuchikou is also deteriorating. From now on, you have to communicate more with Division Commander Luo Dai and improve the defense. Your Banbishan Garrison Command of this division must also be responsible!"

(End of this chapter)