Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Soon Li Guotao met Commander Fang and others. Yang Jihe brought Li Guotao with him. The two stood at attention and raised their hands to salute in a standard military salute.

"Commander!"

Commander Fang nodded slightly, and his eyes involuntarily fell on Li Guotao.

Yang Jihe quickly introduced: "Report to the commander, this is Li Guotao."

Commander Fang smiled and shook hands with Li Guotao, saying, "It is true that heroes emerge young!"

It was also the first time that General Fang met Li Guotao, and he had never seen Li Guotao take action, but he could clearly feel a murderous aura from Li Guotao, which was definitely something that only veterans who had been on the battlefield for a long time could possess. General Fang, who came from the military, did have this vision.

Li Guotao said politely: "You are too kind to praise me, General. I am ashamed to accept it."

Commander Fang smiled and said, "I heard that you performed well in this battle."

Li Guotao replied: "It is my duty to serve my country faithfully."

"it is good!"

Commander Fang said with admiration: "If all Chinese people can do this, why should we worry about not getting rid of the Japanese pirates?"

Afterwards, Yang Jihe told Commander Fang and others about the entire battle in detail. He did not deliberately exaggerate Li Guotao's achievements, and basically spoke truthfully.

However, even so, Li Guotao's performance still shocked everyone present. Even though they had known the general situation for a long time, after listening to Yang Jihe's story, they still felt a little unbelievable.

After all, the Japanese are not made of clay and are not so easy to deal with.

But Li Guotao fought these battles quite beautifully indeed.

Commander Fang, the Army Chief of Staff, Commander Rong and other officers asked for some more details.

After this conversation, Commander Fang had already confirmed Yang Jihe's statement and no longer had any doubts about it.

Commander Fang said to Li Guotao happily: "Li Guotao, you have made an extraordinary achievement this time. You are a hero of the country."

"I will personally ask the Military Commission for your contribution. I believe that with this achievement, you will have no problem getting a Baoding Medal."

Li Guotao said calmly, "Thank you, Commander. I just want to kill the enemy for my country. Other things are not that important."

Commander Fang nodded with satisfaction and said, "My little brother, you are so righteous. I admire you, but the country will not treat meritorious soldiers unfairly. You will get the rewards you deserve."

At this time, Yang Jihe said: "I would like to apply to promote Li Guotao to the deputy commander of our first battalion. I hope the commander will approve it."

"I think that now that the war is imminent, the country is in need of talents. Li Guotao is capable and has made military achievements, so he should be promoted as an exception."

"Deputy Battalion Commander?"

Commander Fang hesitated for a moment, then said, "I think the deputy battalion commander is totally inadequate. I will directly promote you to the major commander of the 568st Battalion of the th Regiment."

Yang Jihe couldn't help showing joy when he heard this, but suddenly he felt something was wrong. He was the battalion commander, so what should I do?

Commander Fang continued, "Yang Jihe has made outstanding contributions in defending the Leishui defense line. He is promoted to colonel commander of the 568th Regiment."

"Master Rong, do you have any objections?"

The last sentence was spoken to Commander Rong of the 190th Division who was standing next to him.

Division Commander Rong smiled and said, "Everything is up to the commander-in-chief. With Yang Jihe's military achievements, it is enough to be promoted to regimental commander."

"The commander of the 568th Regiment was originally the division chief of staff. Now that the chief of staff has been relieved of his concurrent duties, Yang Jihe will take over. That's not a big deal."

Commander Fang nodded slightly and said, "That's settled. The 568st Battalion of the th Regiment has held its ground, dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese invaders, and enhanced our military prestige. All of them will be promoted one level. I will give them a reward of silver dollars."

"Chief of Staff, ask the logistics department to prepare some wine and meat to reward the soldiers of the first battalion."

"Yes!"

"Thank you, Commander!"

Li Guotao was a little disappointed. To this world, he was just a passing traveler. Money and position were of no use to him. Instead, some reward of wine and meat would be more practical.

In fact, Li Guotao also revealed some delicious food and wine, all of which were stored in the system warehouse, but he just never had the chance to take them out.

Commander Fang turned his head and glanced eastward, saying, "The Japanese have already crossed the Leishui River, and will soon reach Wumaguicao."

Division Commander Rong said quickly: "Please rest assured, Commander, our 190th Division will do its best to defend Wumaguicao and stop the attack of the Japanese."

Commander Fang said: "I estimate that the enemy will continue to send troops to the south to encircle Hengyang. The east should not be their main attack direction."

"But we must also hold on to the defense line east of the Xiangjiang River as long as possible to delay time. It would be good if the positions east of the river can hold on for a while longer. If it is absolutely necessary, we can only retreat to Hengyang City."

Division Commander Rong said quickly: "Don't worry, Commander. We are sandwiched between the Xiangjiang River and the Leishui River. The terrain here is limited, and we can rely on some terrain advantages. The Japanese army cannot deploy its troops. We will have no problem holding on for a while."

"As long as we hold them off for a while, the Japanese will realize that they cannot win quickly and will inevitably shift their main force to other directions to launch a general attack."

Commander Fang sighed helplessly and said, "This battle will not be easy to fight. The main force of the Japanese will continue to rush over."

"It is too difficult to defend Hengyang with just our army. We can only hold on for as long as possible and wait for reinforcements."

Then Commander Fang said to Yang Jihe: "The 568nd and 2rd Battalions of your 3th Regiment were successively defeated by the Japs' Songshan Battalion. You didn't have many troops to begin with, and now you have even fewer."

"Integrate the remaining forces as soon as possible, and I will find a way to replenish your forces."

"For the time being, you should just serve as the reserve team!"

"Yes!"

Yang Jihe responded quickly.

The 568th Regiment was originally just a shell of itself. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were said to be one battalion, but in fact they only had the strength of a company. Now that they have suffered some losses, it is estimated that there are even fewer people left.

The only ones still capable of fighting were a battalion of less than 200 people.

But if all were put together, there should be more than 200 people.

As for the additional troops mentioned by Commander Fang, Yang Jihe didn't even dare to think about it, because at this moment, there were no additional troops at all.

So although Yang Jihe was promoted to regimental commander, he was not as good as the battalion commander of a reorganized battalion.

There is nothing that can be done about this. Even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

At this time, Li Guotao looked to the north and suddenly said, "Commander, I heard that the Xiangjiang Railway Bridge was bombed, why hasn't the airport been bombed yet?"

This airport in Hengyang is located northwest of Wumaguicao and east of the Xiangjiang River.

Upon hearing this, Commander Fang also looked towards the airport.

Li Guotao went on to say: "We have built a defense line at Wumaguicao. Relying on the favorable terrain, there is absolutely no problem in holding off the Japanese for a while."

"But the airport is definitely the enemy's main target. If they fail to capture Wu Ma Gui Cao, they will definitely go around from the northwest and head straight for the airport."

"I observed the terrain of the airport and found that there is no strategic location to defend. Once the Japanese attack the airport in large numbers, our army will be short of manpower and it will be difficult to ensure the safety of the airport."

"I just saw that there are no planes in the airport. If that's the case, we should blow it up as soon as possible and destroy the airport as much as possible."

"To prevent aid from the enemy!"

If the Japanese occupied the airport and sent planes to bomb Hengyang, it would be much easier. Commander Fang turned his head and glanced at Sun Mingyu, and asked, "What's going on with the airport? Why hasn't it been blown up yet? How many people are still inside?"

Sun Mingyu said: "According to my understanding, after the aircraft and technicians at the airport withdrew, only a garrison team that we detained was left, with a strength of about one reinforced company."

"We have already notified them to blow up the airport, but for some reason they have not yet done so."

"This garrison originally belonged to the Air Force. Now that we have detained them, they may have some complaints."

"Humph!"

Commander Fang snorted coldly and said, "I don't care what complaints they have. Military orders must be carried out. The airport must be completely destroyed as soon as possible to prevent it from falling into the hands of the devils."

"Yes!"

Sun Mingyu quickly said, "I'll take care of it right away."

"Wait!"

Commander Fang suddenly called out to Sun Mingyu, then turned around and waved to the staff officer next to him.

The staff officer came over immediately, Commander Fang opened the folder and quickly wrote a warrant.

As Commander Fang wrote, he said, "Yang Jihe, Li Guotao."

"To!"

"You two take my warrant and take over the airport immediately. There are about a hundred people guarding the airport!"

Sun Mingyu said: "Yes, there are indeed more than a hundred people, and they are well-equipped."

Commander Fang continued, "Then this unit will be incorporated into the battle sequence of your 568th Regiment and will be under your command for the time being."

At this time, the warrant was also written, and Commander Fang handed it directly to Yang Jihe.

"Take my warrant and take over the airport immediately and blow it up as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Yang Jihe was overjoyed. He didn't expect that he could get more than a hundred reinforcements. If these hundred people were added, they could barely form a battalion.

Yang Jihe solemnly took the warrant, saluted, turned and left.

After the two men left, Sun Mingyu said, "Those guys are very arrogant. Will Yang Jihe be unable to control them?"

Commander Fang said nonchalantly: "Do they dare to disobey orders? If Yang Jihe can't even handle this, then he is not a good commander."

At this time, a staff officer walked over quickly and handed several documents to Sun Mingyu.

After Sun Mingyu looked at it carefully, he smiled and said, "Good news."

"Commander, the main two regiments of the Third Division have arrived in Hengyang, and another regiment is on the way to Hengyang."

"Great!"

Commander Fang smiled and said, "Among the four divisions we have now, only the Third Division is still intact and has the strongest combat power. I will feel relieved when they arrive."

Commander Fang had been worried before. If the Third Division could not arrive in time, the battle situation would inevitably become more unfavorable.

Sun Mingyu said: "There is another good news. The artillery battalion is back, bringing back six brand new 75mm American mountain cannons and more than rounds of ammunition."

"Great!"

"Although there are only six mountain cannons, it's better than nothing."

Commander Fang was overjoyed. Originally, this artillery battalion of the 10th Army was going to Guilin to receive American equipment. Due to various reasons, it was delayed and failed to return to Hengyang in time.

Hengyang was already in danger, and Commander Fang urged several times, and the artillery battalion finally returned to Hengyang in time.

With these American mountain cannons, the strength of the defenders can be improved to some extent.

In order to defend Hengyang, Commander Fang tried every possible means and allocated troops to defend Hengyang.

What was most lacking was artillery. At that time, the artillery battalion of the 10th Army was stranded in Guilin and did not return for a while.

Commander Fang pieced together what he had and transferred a mountain artillery company from the 46th Army equipped with four Schneider mountain cannons, and a field artillery company from the 74th Army equipped with four Type field guns.

Now with the addition of the six American mountain cannons of the artillery battalion, the 6th Army now has a total of fourteen mountain and field artillery. These fourteen guns are already their strongest firepower.

This firepower is equivalent to that of an artillery battalion of the Japanese, and the strength gap is huge.

But there is no way, it is better to have something than nothing.

Sun Mingyu continued, "However, we have discovered a small group of enemy scouts in the south of the city, and several small-scale battles have taken place there."

"I'm afraid the Japanese army will soon circle back to the south of the city and cut off our retreat route from the south."

"In this case, it will be difficult for our army to get reinforcements."

Commander Fang frowned and said, "The situation is like this, we can only go all out."

"I believe our army can definitely hold Hengyang."

"Let's go! Go back to Hengyang! Go meet Lao Zhou and get the Third Division into the defensive position as soon as possible and make full preparations for battle."

"Yes!"

Commander Fang handed over all the defense east of the Xiangjiang River to the 190th Division, and instructed them to hold their positions as long as possible and delay the Japanese in the east, and then hurried back to Hengyang.

The war is imminent, and as the supreme commander of Hengyang, there are many things waiting for him to deal with.

Li Guotao and Yang Jihe received new military uniforms at the division headquarters. Yang Jihe said, "This mission is not that simple. We are all soldiers. Who would be willing to accept being taken over by another army?"

"Besides, I heard that these guys are all arrogant."

"So changing into a new outfit first may help a little."

Li Guotao changed into his military uniform, which was quite suitable for him. He smiled and said, "This school officer's uniform is really nice."

Now that Li Guotao is a major battalion commander, he can naturally wear a major's uniform.

"But if you wear this in a war, you'll easily become a target for the enemy."

Yang Jihe said: "We'll change it when the time comes. Let's take over the airport first."

"If we can successfully subdue these one hundred people, our strength will be greatly enhanced."

"The second and third battalions can no longer be relied upon. I just sent someone to check the situation. Each battalion only has about one platoon of soldiers left."

"I have decided to organize all the troops, including the more than 100 people in the airport garrison, into a battalion and put it under your command. This will be more convenient."

Li Guotao asked curiously, "Are the battalion and company commanders of the Second and Third Battalions willing to do so?"

Yang Jihe said: "It is not up to them. If they are willing, they can stay in the regiment as staff officers, as reserve officers. If they have any objections, I can let them go to the division headquarters as staff officers." (End of this chapter)