20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 829 The Great River [Part 1]

On the outskirts of Xinmin County, on the east bank of the Julu River.

Through the hazy binoculars, several Fengtian Army soldiers could be seen setting up high explosives on the frozen river.

After a while, everyone got everything in place for their section of the river. Then they raised their hands to signal the others, and quickly dragged the power line rollers back to the bank, lay down on the spot, and waited for the explosion.

Immediately, a piercing brass whistle rang out.

"Di-"

Not far from the riverbank, the engineering company immediately pressed the detonation device.

Immediately afterwards, a loud "boom" was heard, and the surrounding river embankment trembled slightly.

The frozen river surface suddenly burst open, and the shattered ice chunks, large and small, shot straight into the sky before falling back down.

When everything returned to calm, the Julu River began to flow again with a "whoosh".

Soon, river fish floated to the surface belly up, and the engineers on the bank rushed over to wade in and catch them.

Despite being the dry season, with the deepest waters not exceeding two meters and a large amount of floating ice drifting downstream, it still posed a considerable obstacle to marching and crossing the river.

Just then, a series of rustling footsteps came from behind.

Zhao Zhengbei put down his binoculars, turned around, and saw that it was his adjutant.

The two stood on a gentle slope 500 meters away from the riverbank, below which lay the front line of the Julu River, the last line of defense for the Fengtian Army to block Guo Degang's troops.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Zhengbei asked.

The adjutant walked up to him, saluted, and reported: "Commander, the latest telegram from headquarters!"

"speak!"

Zhao Zhengbei spoke succinctly, picked up the binoculars again, and turned to look across the Julu River.

Now he is used to his status and position, and his words and actions reveal the dignity and demeanor that a military officer should have.

The adjutant dared not delay and immediately took out the telegram, reporting truthfully: "The Commander-in-Chief has telegraphed our troops that all officers and generals who participate in the battle at the front will be promoted one rank from today and will also receive an additional two months' salary, all calculated in cash. He earnestly hopes that all units at the front will unite in hatred against the enemy, quell the rebellion of Guo, and protect the territory and the people."

"Cash settlement?"

Zhao Zhengbei was a little surprised. He turned around and asked, "Have the brothers all heard about it?"

"No!" the adjutant replied with a smile. "Commander, you should tell everyone this kind of news yourself; that way, the brothers will be more motivated!"

"Oh, that makes sense. What else did the telegram say?"

"The rest are supplies such as cotton-padded clothes, biscuits, canned food, cigarettes, and ammunition. They were just delivered to the position, and all the supplies have been checked and confirmed to be correct."

"You just said there was canned food too?"

Zhao Zhengbei almost doubted that he had misheard, so he quickly took the telegram and carefully verified it.

As expected, the headquarters actually distributed the canned meat to ordinary soldiers at the front.

It seems that Old Zhang has indeed gone to great lengths to quell the rebellion, even bringing out all the best things he usually keeps hidden away.

As an officer, Zhao Zhengbei naturally had no shortage of canned food, but he was happy for his brothers, so he continued reading the telegram. However, as he approached the end, he gradually frowned.

"Is our group also getting Japanese advisors?" he asked.

The adjutant nodded and said, "Yes, according to the latest news from headquarters, the Commander-in-Chief has hired Japanese advisors for all officers. Our regiment's translator has arrived and is waiting to report to you over at the position!"

"Hire?" Zhao Zhengbei muttered, "I'm afraid we have no choice but to hire him!"

"This……"

The adjutant didn't know what to say.

Zhao Zhengbei waved his hand, handed the telegram back to him, and said with a solemn expression, "Never mind, let's go check on the frontline defenses!"

With that, he strode toward the position.

……

The war between Guo Jun and Fengtian has now reached the decisive stage, but the outcome seems to have been completely decided even before the war has begun.

The effects of the Japanese intervention were immediate.

Yokohama Specie Bank and Korea Bank first provided Zhang with a large loan to reward the troops, purchase weapons and ammunition, and quickly stabilize the economic order of the provincial capital.

Immediately afterwards, the Japanese embassy made negotiations with Feng Jishan, promising him many benefits and persuading him to break the alliance and remain neutral, no longer participating in the anti-Fengtian war.

As expected, the defecting general quickly broke the alliance.

Originally, the anti-Fengtian alliance consisted of three warlords: Guo Guizi, Feng Jishan, and Li Jianxian.

As a result, Feng Jishan not only did not send troops to support him, but instead turned his guns on Li Jianxian and charged directly at him.

This Li Jianxian was also from the Fengtian clique.

But he had little interest in rebelling against Fengtian. He only wanted to be the military governor of Zhili. When he saw Feng Jishan coming to seize his territory, he had no time to send troops to rebel against Fengtian.
Moreover, Li Jianxian was a famously filial son. When his mother, who was in Fengtian, heard that her beloved son had rebelled, she hurriedly wrote a letter, earnestly advising him not to do something so ungrateful.

As a result, the anti-Fengtian alliance collapsed immediately.

Subsequently, the Japanese sent a fleet into the Bohai Bay to guard the Yuguan Railway and cut off Guo's army's supply lines, leaving them with nowhere to retreat. Once they reached the outside of the pass, they became trapped like turtles in a jar.

According to the original battle plan, after Guo Jun captured Jinzhou, he should have split his forces into two routes, one heading south from Xinmin and the other heading north from Yingkou, to launch a pincer attack from the north and south.

However, upon hearing the news, the Kwantung Army reinforced its troops and quickly moved into Yingkou, demarcating a military restricted area, which completely disrupted Guo's offensive plans.

By this point, Guo Jun was already isolated and helpless. His army was short of food and ammunition, and many soldiers did not even have a decent cotton-padded coat. He could only hope for a quick victory, to break through the Julu River defense line as soon as possible and occupy Fengtian City. Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the slimmer the chances of victory would become.

The problem is that even if Guo Jun successfully breaks through the Julu River defense line and wants to enter Fengtian City, he still cannot bypass the Nantie Affiliated Territory.

Unless Guo dares to engage in direct combat with the real Japanese, everything else is just empty talk.

Even if Guo Guizi really dared to open fire, how could he possibly capture Fengtian with only his isolated army, without food or supplies or reinforcements?

Moreover, the Kwantung Army has temporarily moved its headquarters to Fengtian, with General Yoshinori Shirakawa personally overseeing the operation. All of Japan's elite troops have been deployed, leaving Guo's army with absolutely no hope.

The outcome is already decided; this is a stalemate!

The Julu River is just a shallow pool of water, while the Nantie Affiliated Land is the insurmountable barrier that Guo Jun cannot overcome.

In contrast, the Fengtian Army appeared much more composed.

Despite the setbacks in the early stages of the battle, including the loss of the Lianshan defense line and the important town of Jinzhou, the Fengtian Army was able to regroup under Zhang Fuchen's strategic planning. They withdrew to the east bank of the Julu River ahead of schedule and deployed troops. The Japanese provided railway transport for the troops, and within just a few days, Zhang Fuchen and Wu Dashetou personally led reinforcements from the two provinces to the front line to provide assistance.

The outskirts of Xinmin County are only fifty or sixty kilometers away from the Fengtian Provincial Government. The supply line is extremely short, and various military supplies can be delivered almost immediately upon request.

Old Zhang declared that as long as Guo's rebellion could be quelled, he would give all the soldiers whatever they wanted, except for his wife, without any hesitation.

Moreover, all rewards are implemented immediately, without delay or perfunctory treatment.

If you ask for money, Old Zhang will allocate funds from the "Imperial Treasury," distributing them all in cash. If you say you don't have enough guns and cannons, the Fengtian Arsenal will go all out to produce them, and if you make a request in the morning, it will be delivered in the afternoon. If you say you are short of supplies, grain, canned goods, cigarettes, and clothing will be transported to the front line immediately.

At this time, Guo Degang was still making empty promises on the other side of the river! He was just making empty promises, saying things like who would be the military governor, who would be the garrison commander, and who would be the chief of staff after the capture of Fengtian.

Someone asked, "Can we not talk about who's the warlord for now? I just want two pairs of cotton trousers. Do you have any or not?"
Ugh! You unlucky kid, you have no ambition, why bring up the one thing you don't want to talk about!
The warlord can discuss it, but we really don't have any cotton-padded trousers!
Anyone who dares to utter another word of nonsense will be considered to be disrupting morale and will be executed on the spot.

As a result, Guo Jun's morale plummeted, and it has now hit rock bottom.

Guo Guizi was impatient for quick success and short-sighted, and was also naturally petty and narrow-minded. By this time, he had gradually lost the support of the people.

He used the name of the young marshal to oppose the old marshal, thus offending the Fengtian clique veterans and the princelings. He also lured and killed Jiang Chaoliu in Luanzhou, thus incurring personal hatred with the Fengtian clique officer faction and cutting off his own escape route. Now, he is at his last gasp and has no room to maneuver. It is probably due to his nature and he has brought this upon himself.

When the two are compared, one rises and the other falls.

On the opposite bank of the river, the Fengtian Army had 80,000 troops deployed along the Juliu River in three lines of defense.

The central army, commanded by Han Linchun, was responsible for blocking Guo's army from crossing the river. The northern army, commanded by Wu Dashe, was deployed from Tieling to Faku, using the mobility of cavalry to occupy the flanks and harass Guo's army's attack. The southern army, commanded by Zhang Fuchen, was tasked with blocking the Liuhe ferry crossing to prevent Guo's army from advancing south to encircle them.

Old Zhang had a plan, so he made Xiao Liuzi nominally serve as the front-line commander.

If the rebellion of Guo is quelled, this is called completing the task and atoneing for one's sins, preparing a pretext for exonerating oneself in the future; if the rebellion is quelled... failure means the downfall of the Feng-Zhang group, and then it will not be so important who will bear the blame for raising a tiger that will become a threat and for poor personnel management.

A father's concern for his son is truly commendable.

The elders of the Fengtian clique were all Xiao Liuzi's uncles and elders. They saw through his actions but kept quiet, unwilling to pursue his crimes any further.

……

Back to position.

Zhao Zhengbei's troops were located on the north side of the central army, near the Heilongjiang Cavalry Brigade, covering both ends. Their main responsibility was to provide corresponding fire support on the front when the Heilongjiang Cavalry launched an attack.

Therefore, the position had ample ammunition. In addition to the original machine guns, the command specially approved two heavy machine guns as an extra supplement.

When Zhao Zhengbei returned to the position, he happened to arrive just as the soldiers were taking their lunch break.

Everyone changed into their brand-new winter clothes, gathered in the trenches to smoke and chat, waiting for the cooks to start cooking. When they saw the regimental commander coming to inspect, they all stood up and saluted.

Zhao Zhengbei waved his hand and said with a smile, "Heh, you just got your winter clothes, and you're already changing into them?"

Everyone chuckled and said, hugging the trenches, "Commander, we have to change them! In this freezing weather, we've been sitting by the river from morning till night, and the brothers are getting so cold they need to pee all the time. In a few more days, these trenches will probably turn into outhouses."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone else eagerly said, "Commander, we all saw it just now. The supplies brought from the city aren't just winter clothes. I heard there's also canned food. Will the brothers be able to eat something today?"

"Look at you, so pathetic!" Zhao Zhengbei laughed and scolded. "The canned food has already been distributed, why aren't you eating it? Eat it! Eat it today, eat it now!"

As he was speaking, he turned to his adjutant and ordered, "Go tell the cooks to prepare some hearty dishes and fish soup for lunch today, so the brothers can have a good meal!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately applauded in celebration.

In fact, everyone knows very well that even if canned food is distributed to the front lines, ordinary soldiers may not be able to get any, since there have been quite a few non-commissioned officers who have resold military supplies over the years.

However, Zhao Zhengbei had the Jiang family as his backer, and his elder brother and sister-in-law were rich and powerful. He himself was also very proud and arrogant, and disdained such filth and despicable things. It was really not worth it for him to steal chickens and dogs for a pittance.

This is why he and his soldiers were like brothers, and their camaraderie was deeply rooted.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Zhengbei relayed the other contents of the telegram to his brothers.

Upon hearing that the Commander-in-Chief would reward them with two months' salary, to be paid in cash, everyone cheered and their morale soared.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhao Zhengbei said, "The commander-in-chief has treated us well. He's given us guns, money, and we've all been fed and watered. Now we have to work like our lives depend on it. Do you understand?"

The crowd shouted in unison, "Suppress the traitor Guo and protect the territory and its people!"

Zhao Zhengbei smiled, intending to say a few more words, but then he saw a figure hurrying towards him from not far ahead. The figure looked unfamiliar and did not appear to be a soldier from his unit.

The man was of medium height and looked to be in his twenties. Although he was a soldier, he wore a pair of round, black-rimmed glasses. Whether the glasses were too heavy or his nose was too flat, he would push up the frames with his fingers every few steps, looking somewhat uneasy.

People like him, regardless of their rank, are easily bullied in the military because of their cautious and timid demeanor.

When the adjutant saw him coming, he quickly whispered a reminder: "Commander, this is the translator that the higher-ups sent to us."

Zhao Zhengbei nodded and waited for the other party to come over.

The man walked up to him, stood at attention, saluted, and said, "Reporting to the lord, Second Lieutenant Chang Nianci of the Military Affairs Confidential Office is reporting for duty. This is my transfer order!"

Someone in the trench chuckled because his salute wasn't quite standard; it looked like a woman's.

Zhao Zhengbei took the transfer order, glanced at it briefly, then turned and walked towards the military tents behind the position, asking as he went, "Have you studied abroad?"

Chang Nianci hurriedly followed and said politely, "Yes, three years in Japan."

How many years did you serve in the military?

"It will also take three years."

Have you ever carried a gun?

"Of course, although we are civilian staff, we still need to do daily drills. Sir, don't let my nearsightedness fool you, I've won some marks at the shooting range before..."

"I'm asking about the battlefield, not the shooting range!" Zhao Zhengbei stopped and turned around to ask, "Have you ever killed anyone with a gun?"

Chang Nianci was taken aback, shook his head and said, "No, I have been working in the confidential office for the past three years, responsible for translating Japanese military textbooks and weapons manuals and the like."

Zhao Zhengbei sighed, then suddenly patted the other person on the shoulder and asked, "Can you do me a favor?"

Chang Nianci nodded and said, "Please speak, sir!"

Zhao Zhengbei said, "Guo the devil has already entered Xinmin County. I estimate he will order a full-scale attack tonight. When the battle begins, please make sure to stay away from me."

"Huh?" Chang Nianci frowned in response, seemingly quite puzzled. "But... my task is to be your personal translator. If the Japanese have any suggestions during the war, I'll be responsible for translating them for you!"

Zhao Zhengbei waved his hand and said, "I have to live first before I can listen to any bullshit advice from the Japanese."

Chang Nianci remained silent.

He had long heard that soldiers fighting on the front lines looked down on scholars and often ostracized new recruits; but he didn't know that it wasn't the veterans who ostracized the new recruits, but rather the new recruits who often caused the veterans to suffer.

In the eyes of veterans, a new recruit is far more dangerous than ten enemies.

Therefore, whenever they saw new recruits, they would avoid them as if they were plague gods.

Zhao Zhengbei was too lazy to explain to him, and then asked, "When are the Japanese coming?"

Chang Nianci replied, "Sir, the Japanese advisor has arrived and is waiting for you in the main tent!"

"What?" Zhao Zhengbei's face darkened, and he hurriedly walked towards the main tent. "This is outrageous! That's my command post, full of telegrams and official documents. How can they just walk in like that? The Japanese are here to be our advisors, not to be our commanders!"

Chang Nianci hurriedly followed and said, "Sir, the headquarters has already communicated with them. The Japanese do have the right to participate in the formulation of the battle plan, and there is no problem with them going in."

He was telling the truth, and Zhao Zhengbei didn't argue with him, but simply continued to quicken his pace.

When they reached the command tent, they lifted the curtain and saw several Japanese soldiers whispering among themselves inside, holding the Fengtian Army's telegram, acting as if they had taken over someone else's place.

There were guards outside, but they didn't stop them or seem to find anything wrong with it, letting the Japanese whisper among themselves inside the tent...

(End of this chapter)