Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

"what?"

Commander Fang and others were extremely surprised when they heard this. They originally thought that it was lucky for the First Battalion to achieve a great victory with the strength of a reinforced company. They did not expect that they could win three consecutive victories in just one day. It was truly unbelievable.

Commander Fang was surprised and asked quickly, "Is the news accurate?"

The officer quickly replied: "According to the report from Captain Yang, they repelled the enemy's attacks three times. The first time, they killed more than 400 enemies. The second time, they wiped out a squadron of Japanese soldiers, killing nearly 200 of them. The third time, they repelled the Japanese's fierce attack again, killing about 400 of them."

"According to preliminary statistics, the total number of enemies killed should be around one thousand."

"Oh my God!"

Commander Fang exclaimed: "With only 200 soldiers, we killed 1,000 Japanese soldiers. This is simply unbelievable."

Sun Mingyu, the chief of staff of the 10th Army, said: "Based on my understanding of Yang Jihe, he would not dare to lie about his military achievements. Although this matter is a little unbelievable, since he reported it in this way, it is probably true."

Commander Fang nodded in agreement and said, "You are right. Others might lie about their military achievements, but Yang Jihe certainly won't."

"This battle was fought beautifully and boosted our military's morale. We will immediately send a telegram to commend Yang Ji and his troops and spread the victory news to the entire army."

"Yes!"

Sun Mingyu responded quickly.

At this time, the officer who reported the incident said, "Commander, in Captain Yang's battle report, he specifically commended one person."

"His name is Li Guotao!"

"Li Guotao?"

Commander Fang frowned slightly and looked at Sun Mingyu beside him inquiringly.

Sun Mingyu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know this Li Guotao either.

The officer went on to say, "According to Captain Yang's report, Li Guotao was originally a second lieutenant platoon leader in the 4th Army. After the 4th Army was defeated in Changsha, he fought his way out of the encirclement alone and rushed all the way to Quanxi."

"Just this morning, the Japanese plainclothes team mixed in with the local people and drove them as the vanguard to seize the Quanxi Wharf. They were discovered by Li Guotao, who killed more than 40 Japanese soldiers alone."

"Then..."

"what?"

Commander Fang couldn't help but interrupt him and asked, "He killed more than 40 Japanese soldiers by himself."

"Correct!"

The officer said, "Captain Yang reported that Platoon Leader Chen Jianghe of their first battalion saw Li Guotao fighting with the Japanese plainclothes team. The two sides fought in close combat, and more than 40 Japanese soldiers were killed. A group of them were ambushed by Li Guotao who mixed in with the refugees and took advantage of the chaos. All of them were killed in one shot. The rest were killed by Li Guotao with rifles and pistols, and a few were killed by grenades."

"One person killed more than forty Japanese devils. Is he still a human being?" Commander Fang opened his mouth in surprise.

The officer went on to say, "Then Li Guotao came to the first battalion and fought against the Japanese attack together with the first battalion. During the first attack, Li Guotao personally destroyed several enemy mortar positions with anti-tank guns and killed two Japanese officers, one of whom should be the captain of the Japanese battalion."

The more Commander Fang listened, the more surprised he became. He asked, "He used anti-tank guns to destroy several enemy mortars?"

"Yes!"

"We also shot and killed a captain of the Japanese."

"The initial judgment is that he was a captain of the Japanese army, but it cannot be verified for the time being. At that time, they found a group of Japanese officers holding binoculars on a high ground on the opposite bank to observe our army's position. Li Guotao fired two shots in succession from more than 500 meters away, killing two leading Japanese officers, one of whom should be their captain."

"Wait a minute?"

Commander Fang felt like his CPU was about to burn out. This battle report contained too much information, and each one was more shocking than the last.

"Two shots killed two Japanese officers from more than 500 meters away."

If he had hit one, it could be said that it was a fluke, but hitting two with two shots, it definitely couldn't have been a fluke.

"Yes!"

Sun Mingyu said in surprise: "Is this guy still human? He killed more than 40 Japanese soldiers in close combat, and he can use anti-tank guns and accurately kill Japanese officers from more than 500 meters away. His marksmanship and skills are simply... unbelievable."

"I am beginning to doubt Yang Jihe's character. Would this guy really lie about military intelligence?"

"That's too much boasting."

Commander Fang suddenly calmed down and asked, "Anything else?"

The officer reported: "According to Captain Yang's report, the enemy sent a squadron of troops to launch a sneak attack at night for the second time. It was Li Guotao who first discovered the situation, blocked the enemy in advance, and wiped out nearly 200 Japanese soldiers who attacked."

"The Japanese were so angry that they launched another strong attack. It was also Li Guotao who was in charge of the command. He successfully repelled the enemy's fierce attack and killed 400 enemies. Our army suffered only a small number of casualties."

"From this morning till now, the first battalion has suffered more than 6 casualties, including killed in action, seriously injured, and the rest slightly injured."

"In this battle, Li Guotao performed a great deed. Captain Yang reported and requested to promote Li Guotao to the position of captain and deputy battalion commander of the first battalion."

When Commander Fang heard this, he was silent for a moment and said, "If all this is true, Li Guotao has made great contributions, and any reward would not be excessive."

Now that the war is imminent and the enemy is approaching in large numbers, the 10th Army is under-strength and the people are in panic. They need a victory like this to stabilize the morale of the army, and they need to set up a role model like Li Guotao to boost morale.

Therefore, Commander Fang has made up his mind that if all this is true, he will reward Li Guotao handsomely.

Commander Fang asked, "Is Yang Jihe's battalion still in Quanxi?"

The officer replied: "They are still holding their positions on the west bank of the Quanxi Leishui River."

Commander Fang ordered, "Go to the Quanxi front immediately. I want to meet this Li Guotao in person. I want to see who he is and why he has such great abilities."

"If everything is true, I will personally take credit for Li Guotao."

Sun Mingyu said: "The front line is too dangerous, the commander-in-chief should not take risks easily."

Commander Fang said impatiently: "Why are you talking so much nonsense? Go immediately."

"Yes!"

Just as everyone was about to set off, an officer came running over.

"Report to the commander-in-chief. We have just received the latest battle report. A battalion of Japanese soldiers sneaked across the Leishui River from near Matouling, about ten miles south of Quanxi. The defending troops were out of manpower and were defeated by the Japanese soldiers. Now the Japanese soldiers have crossed the Leishui River."

Sun Mingyu said quickly: "Commander, if the Japanese cross the Leishui River, the entire Leishui defense line will collapse, because the troops we have deployed here are too few."

Due to insufficient troops, Commander Fang had no intention of defending the Leishui defense line to the death, so it was expected that the defense line would be breached.

During this period of time, Commander Fang has carefully studied the nearby terrain and knows the surrounding terrain like the back of his hand.

Commander Fang's face changed slightly, and he said, "The Japanese crossed the Leishui River from the Matouling area. If they go north along the Leishui River, Yang Jihe's first battalion may be cut off from behind. When they are attacked from both sides, how long can they hold out with their limited strength?"

Sun Mingyu nodded and said, "There is no need to continue defending Leishui now. In order to prevent the first battalion from being wiped out, we have to retreat." "I suggest that the defense forces along the Leishui coast retreat to Wumaguicao and continue to resist the attacks of the Japanese."

"The Five Horses are easy to defend but difficult to attack. We should be able to hold off the Japanese for a while if we concentrate our forces."

Commander Fang ordered: "Notify the first battalion immediately and retreat to Wumaguicao immediately. There must be no delay."

"Let's go to Wumaguicao now. By the way, tell Yang Jihe to retreat to Wumaguicao as soon as possible. I want to meet Li Guotao in person."

"Yes!"

……

Inside the Japanese headquarters, Shima Genkichi, who was so furious, had no intention of sleeping.

At this moment, he was sitting in a chair sulking. The Japanese soldiers present were so scared that they dared not breathe, for fear that they would accidentally become the general's punching bag.

At this time, a Japanese officer walked over quickly and said respectfully: "Report to your Excellency the General, we have just received the latest battle report. The Songshan Battalion has successfully crossed the Leishui River from the south and defeated the enemy in front of them."

"Yoshi~!"

When Shima Genkichi heard this, he immediately perked up and said excitedly, "Matsuyama-kun really didn't disappoint me."

"Notify Songshan-kun immediately and have them send a troop to attack northward along the west bank of the Leishui River, cooperate with the main force of the Locust Army, and destroy this enemy force in the west. I will tear them into pieces."

"Hai!"

The Japanese officer responded respectfully and turned to convey the order.

Li Guotao and his men defeated the Japanese several times, causing them heavy losses.

Shima Genkichi also hated the opposing army so much that he wished to tear them all into pieces.

The old devil quickly walked to the front of the map, stared at it and said, "As long as the Songshan Battalion successfully cuts off the enemy's retreat, they will be unable to escape."

"This enemy has completely humiliated the Locust Army. We must make them pay the price this time to wash away the shame of the Locust Army."

"Immediately order the troops to prepare for a strong attack and cooperate with the Songshan Battalion to completely wipe out the enemy on the other side."

"Hayi~!"

……

At the same time, Yang Jihe also received an order from the military. Yang Jihe did not dare to delay and immediately ordered the troops to prepare to retreat to Wumaguicao.

Li Guotao rushed to the battalion headquarters and asked, "What happened? Why did we retreat so suddenly?"

Yang Jihe said: "The Japanese have crossed the Leishui River from the south. The Leishui defense line is gone. If the Japanese attack northward and bypass us, we will be attacked from both sides and cannot retreat even if we want to."

"The military has ordered us to retreat to Wumaguicao immediately."

Li Guotao pretended to be shocked. In fact, he had already known about this situation in advance. Li Guotao had also reminded Yang Jihe before that the Japanese might cross the river from the south, and asked him to alert the brother troops.

However, due to insufficient manpower in the south, the Japanese still broke through the defense line.

Just now, Li Guotao was outside with the soldiers and placed some dummies on the battlefield. In fact, he was also preparing for retreat.

Li Guotao frowned and said, "We really can't defend this place. We only have so few troops. If we are surrounded by the Japanese, I'm afraid no one will be able to escape."

"Since there is no point in defending here, let's retreat quickly!"

"The Japs are moving very fast. We must hurry up."

"Captain, you lead the main force to retreat first, and I will lead the first platoon to cover your retreat."

Yang Jihe nodded instinctively and said, "Okay!"

But on second thought, something is not right.

I am the battalion commander, okay!

Why does it act like you're ordering me around?

Shouldn't you have said, "Captain, you guys retreat first. I'll lead a platoon to cover you."

The situation was urgent and Li Guotao had no time to care about these things.

In fact, Yang Jihe was not a pretentious person. It was just that he had the final say in the First Battalion. Now that Li Guotao suddenly appeared, Yang Jihe was somewhat uncomfortable with the situation.

However, he had seen Li Guotao's abilities. As long as he could kill more Japanese devils, it didn't matter if he was really made the battalion commander.

So when Li Guotao spoke just now, Yang Jihe nodded and agreed almost instinctively. This was because Yang Jihe admired Li Guotao from the bottom of his heart.

"Oh! There is one more thing. The commander wants to see you."

"what?"

Li Guotao was slightly surprised.

Yang Jihe explained: "The commander heard about your military achievements and was amazed. He insisted on seeing you."

"My dear brother! The country is in need of talents, and the commander-in-chief has always been fond of talents. You are going to be successful this time."

Li Guotao didn't take it too seriously. If he wanted to get promoted or make money, he wouldn't have come here.

Li Guotao waved his hand and said, "We can't care about these things now. Let's retreat safely to Wuma Guicao first."

The situation of Li Guotao and his men was indeed critical now, because the place they were guarding happened to have a U-shape through the Leishui River, and their position was at the bottom of the U, which was a very prominent position.

The Songshan Battalion had already crossed the Leishui River in the south. As long as they headed north, they could cut off their retreat and seal the U-shaped mouth, thus completely surrounding them.

After Li Guotao finished speaking, he ran out in a hurry.

After receiving the order to retreat, the brothers of the first battalion did not dare to delay. They immediately packed up all their things and quickly retreated to Wumaguicao.

Wuma Guicao, where several mountain roads converge into a pass, has a dangerous terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and has always been an important place for the defense of the Xiangjiang River.

The 10th Army's main defensive position east of the Xiangjiang River was located here.

Although Commander Fang has ordered the bombing of the Xiangjiang River Highway-Railway Bridge, there are still blocking troops in Jiangdong. If they retreat to Hengyang City in the future, they can still use the old bridge. If that doesn't work, they can also take a boat across the river.

The troops currently deployed east of the Xiangjiang River are the 190th Division. In fact, only the 570th Regiment of this division is relatively complete. The 568th and 569th Regiments are just a skeleton and do not have many troops.

The position of the 570th Regiment was set up at Wumaguicao. (End of this chapter)