Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 312 Killing the Japanese Lieutenant General Division Commander!
On the morning of May 5, Hengyang was hit by a rare heavy fog.

The entire Hengyang city was completely shrouded in fog, a vast expanse of white, as if floating in mid-air.

Li Guotao observed the surrounding situation and said with a smile: "God is really helping me!"

"With such a thick fog, the Japanese probably wouldn't dare to launch an attack rashly."

"Besides... maybe we can get some benefits by taking advantage of the heavy fog."

Li Guotao turned around and ordered, "Chen Jianghe, Song Weiguo."

"To!"

The two came over quickly.

Li Guotao ordered: "Select an infantry platoon, take those mortars, and go to the front line to take a look."

Hearing this, both of them had their eyes shining with excitement.

"Yes!"

Now they are serving as the reserve force. Given Li Guotao's personality, he will definitely not just sit there and wait. If he wants to fight, he has to fight for the opportunity himself.

Moreover, he only took a small force with him. Yang Ji and the regiment commander stayed behind with the main force. Even if the superiors had new combat tasks, it would not delay anything.

……

As the saying goes, some are happy while others are sad!

This foggy weather made Sakuma very angry, and he couldn't help but curse: "Bagayaka, this damn weather is terrible."

Colonel Sadazaburo Harada, the chief of staff of the 68th Division, said, "Don't worry, your Excellency the division commander. This fog will not last long and will surely dissipate before noon."

Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi frowned and said, "But this means we have wasted at least a few hours."

"Have the chemical troops been deployed?"

Harada Sadazaburo replied respectfully: "Everything has been deployed, and the special ammunition has been transported to the artillery position. As soon as the fog clears, we can launch an attack."

What is fog? It is actually tiny water droplets suspended in the air.

The Japanese poison gas will undergo hydrolysis when it comes into contact with water, producing non-toxic substances.

The Chinese military also uses this principle when they cover their mouths and noses with wet towels to avoid poisoning in the absence of gas masks.

Therefore, when using poison gas bombs in foggy weather, their power will be greatly weakened.

Moreover, the heavy fog would block the view and have a great impact on the artillery. The Japanese's poison gas bombs were also very precious and naturally could not be wasted.

As a result, heavy fog arose and the original early morning attack plan had to be temporarily canceled. All troops remained on standby, awaiting new instructions.

Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi couldn't wait any longer and said impatiently, "We can't just sit there and wait. Let's go to the front line first."

"Hayi~!"

Afterwards, accompanied by Sadazaburo Harada and others, Sakuma Hitoshi and others came to the Japanese front-line command post.

Brigade Commander Sadamasa Ota quickly welcomed the division commander into the command center and briefed him on the current situation in detail.

Ota Sadamasa said: "If it weren't for this damn fog, we would have launched the attack now."

"But the fog should dissipate soon."

Sakuma frowned and said, "Now that things have come to this, we can only wait."

The two were chatting when Colonel Sadazaburo Harada came over and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, I just went outside to take a look and the fog seems to be dissipating."

"Yoshi~!"

Sakuma was very excited. He quickly got up and walked outside to observe the surrounding situation. He found that the fog had dissipated a lot and the visibility had improved a lot.

"Yoshi~!"

Sakuma nodded with satisfaction and said, "According to this trend, it won't be long before the fog completely dissipates."

At this time, Sakuma saw that a small hill in front of him had gradually emerged, as if it was a hill floating in the clouds.

Sakuma said casually: "The mountain in front should be the highest point nearby."

"Hayi~!"

Ota Sadamasa responded respectfully: "This mountain is the commanding height closest to the front line of the Locust Army. It is currently completely controlled by the Locust Army."

Sakuma nodded slightly and said, "The view from the mountain should be better. Let's go over and take a look."

Ota Sadamasa said: "Your Excellency, the fog has not yet dissipated. Even at the top of the mountain, I am afraid I can't see the situation on the other side clearly."

Sakuma Hitoshi said, "But the fog is dissipating. Once we climb up, our vision will get better. Then we may be able to see the situation on the other side clearly."

"The general attack is imminent, and I also want to take a good look at the situation on the other side."

"Hayi~!"

Ota Sadamasa replied respectfully, "I will accompany the division commander."

Then the group walked towards the hill together. The two old Japanese soldiers, Ota Sadamasa and Sakuma Hitoshi, supported each other and climbed to the top of the mountain with difficulty.

Standing on the top of the mountain and looking into the distance, several small hills are vaguely visible on the defense line of the 10th Army opposite.

Sakuma was holding a telescope to observe the situation in the distance, and asked casually: "How far is this place from the enemy's position?"

Ota Sadamasa replied: "It's more than a thousand meters. Our front line is over there. The hills opposite are the enemy's defensive positions."

Sakuma frowned and said, "This area is hilly and the enemy has built complete fortifications on these hills. If we use conventional tactics, it will be difficult to capture Hengyang. A strong attack will inevitably cost heavy casualties."

"I have to say, Fang Xianjue is truly a rare military talent."

Ota Sadamasa nodded and said, "Your Excellency the division commander is right. This guy is indeed a worthy opponent."

"But the Locust Army has special bullets, so it will be much easier to capture Hengyang."

Sakuma Renren said, "Fang Xianjue has always been a major threat to the Locust Army. Commander Yokoyama has repeatedly told us that we must not let this bastard get away this time. We must capture Hengyang and get rid of this major threat."

Ota Sadamasa said: "They have been surrounded. Now these enemies can't escape even if they have wings."

……

At the same time, Li Guotao and his brothers also arrived at the front line.

Li Guotao stood on the top of a mountain, observing the situation in the distance. Due to the fog, even with a telescope, he could not see the specific situation on the opposite side of the Japanese position.

But Li Guotao was a man with cheats after all, and he quickly discovered a situation through the system's small map.

That is, on the ridge of Dingjia Mountain opposite, a group of Japanese devils suddenly appeared and gathered together.

Originally, there were only about twenty Japanese soldiers on the mountain, occupying the strategic point on the top of the mountain. The sudden appearance of this group of Japanese soldiers caught Li Guotao's attention.

This group of Japanese gathered together, and preliminary judgment showed that the place where they gathered should be facing them, the area with the widest view.

Li Guotao frowned slightly. It seemed that some Japanese soldiers came to scout the situation. Moreover, with so many people, they were definitely not Japanese scouts.

Only the high-ranking generals of the Japanese army would come together to scout the situation with such a large group of people.

Thinking of this, Li Guotao was overjoyed and made a preliminary estimate of the distance, which was about 60 meters. This distance was completely within the range of the mortar. Even a mortar could just hit the top of the opposite mountain. Moreover, Li Guotao and his men also had a -type mortar, which had a range of more than meters, which was more than enough to hit the top of the opposite mountain.

A sneer appeared on Li Guotao's lips.

"Humph! Since you guys are looking for death, I will grant your wish."

"Song Weiguo!"

"To!"

Li Guotao ordered: "On the top of Dingjia Mountain opposite, there is a group of Japanese officers conducting reconnaissance. Bring up all the mortars and kill them."

Song Weiguo looked up into the distance, but the fog was so thick that he couldn't see anyone at all.

"Captain, are you sure there's someone over there?"

Li Guotao's face turned serious and he said angrily, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? If I tell you to go, you should go immediately. If you let the devils escape, can you bear the responsibility?"

Seeing that Li Guotao didn't seem to be joking, Song Weiguo didn't ask any more questions and hurried to convey the order.

Soon, several mortars were moved to the mountain, and Li Guotao personally adjusted the firing parameters of the mortars because he knew that they only had one chance and it was impossible to conduct a test firing.

It is necessary to ensure that the target can be hit with one shot, so several cannons are aimed at a rough area, which will increase the chance of hitting the target.

The rest depends entirely on luck, but Li Guotao also believes that with his own strength, he should be able to hit the target.

At this time, Song Weiguo, who was lying on the edge of the cliff and observing the opposite side with a telescope, suddenly said excitedly: "It seems that there are really people on the opposite mountain, and there are more than one, but we can't see clearly."

It turned out that after this delay, the fog dissipated a little and the visibility improved a little. Song Weiguo vaguely saw a human figure on the opposite mountain through the telescope.

Song Weiguo asked doubtfully: "Captain, how did you discover the enemy just now?"

Li Guotao said casually: "I have good eyesight, so I can naturally spot them in advance."

When Song Weiguo heard this, he didn't think much about it.

"Captain, I really can't see clearly, is he really a Japanese officer?"

Li Guotao said: "A group of little devils gathered there, are they here to watch the sunrise?"

"If they were ordinary Japanese scouts, they would never appear in groups."

Song Weiguo nodded and said, "That makes sense."

At this time, Li Guotao quickly adjusted the firing parameters of each gun and immediately ordered: "Three rounds of rapid fire, no need for test firing, just kill those little devils for me."

As Li Guotao spoke, he picked up a Type 97 mortar shell and stuffed it into the barrel. Other gunners also stuffed their shells in.

"Dong dong dong~!"

A dull burst of artillery fire was heard, and several mortars fired at the same time, and three rounds were fired rapidly. For these skilled shooters, it only took about six seconds to fire three shells.

"Chirp chirp chirp~!"

A sharp whistling sound was heard, and one shell after another flew quickly towards the top of Dingjia Mountain opposite.

Three rounds of artillery shells hit the top of Dingjia Mountain in succession.

Sakuma said proudly, "According to the situation, the fog will completely dissipate in two hours at most, and we can launch the attack."

"These hateful enemies have killed so many Locust Army warriors. Today they must pay with blood."

Ota Sadamasa said excitedly: "Don't worry, Your Excellency the Division Commander, with the special bullets, the Locust Army can easily destroy the enemy on the opposite side."

"Their death has come."

At this moment, the old Japanese soldier has not yet realized that their death has actually come.

At this time, a sharp whistling sound was heard in the air, and many Japanese soldiers couldn't help but change their faces.

"Not good~!"

"It's a mortar shell~!"

"Get down quickly~!"

The Japanese soldiers were in chaos, but it was too late.

Shells fell one after another, and one of them landed right in the crowd of Japanese devils.

"Boom~!"

A violent explosion was heard, and the Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces before they had even time to lie down.

Some of the Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot in the explosion, while others were injured and fell to the ground, wailing in pain.

Soon another round of artillery shells flew over, and violent explosions continued to sound.

Then another round of artillery shells flew in, and a series of violent explosions sounded, and the surrounding area was completely covered in gunfire and smoke.

Colonel Sadazaburo Harada, chief of staff of the 68th Division, was hit by a shell and killed on the spot.

[Ding Dong~! Congratulations to the host for successfully killing a Japanese colonel, and the mountain artillery group's artillery fire preparation card is released. ]

[Mountain Artillery Regiment Artillery Preparation Card: Use this card to mobilize a mountain artillery regiment to conduct artillery preparation in a designated area for 10 minutes.]

……

A series of crisp system prompts sounded, and Li Guotao killed several Japanese soldiers with one shot, most of whom were officers, including a colonel.

A special prop card was also revealed, which made Li Guotao very excited.

Not bad!

Li Guotao was very excited, but after firing three rapid shots, in order to prevent enemy artillery retaliation, Li Guotao hurriedly ordered: "Retreat immediately, retreat to the hillside behind."

"Yes~!"

The brothers did not delay and quickly left the scene carrying the cannon.

Killing a Japanese colonel had already made Li Guotao quite satisfied, but his gains this time were far more than that.

After the explosion ended, a dozen Japanese soldiers on the mountain immediately surrounded them.

At this time, the Japanese soldiers discovered that the bombed area was littered with broken limbs and arms, but there were seven or eight Japanese soldiers who were still intact. However, they were all lying on the ground, and some of them were still twitching, obviously not dead yet.

The Japanese soldiers began to rescue people in panic.

"General, are you okay?"

"Quick! Send the general down."

The commander of the 68th Division, Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi, had shrapnel piercing his abdomen. Blood was all over the floor and his intestines were spilling out. However, the old Japanese soldier was just unconscious at the moment and had not completely died.

The Japanese soldiers quickly stopped his bleeding and then carried him down the mountain.

The brigade commander, Major General Sadamasa Ota, was also seriously injured in the explosion and was dying. A few Japanese soldiers simply treated his wounds and hurriedly sent him away.

However, Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi was too seriously injured and died before he was carried down the mountain.

(End of this chapter)