Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 396: Take advantage of the enemy’s tactics and trick them again!
"Ah~!"

Duanwu roared and finally pulled the trigger.

"Bang~!"

A crisp gunshot rang out, and the bullet penetrated the enemy's forehead, blasting a big hole in the back of his head, and blood mixed with brain matter splattered out.

Looking at this bloody scene, Duanwu stared blankly at the corpse of the Japanese soldier who fell powerlessly to the ground. Suddenly, his stomach couldn't help but churn. He dropped his gun and ran to the side, holding onto a pillar and vomiting violently.

Qi Jiaming walked over, patted Duanwu on the back, and said, "Not bad! As long as you pass this level, you won't be afraid anymore."

“This is a step that all of us have to go through.”

……

Li Guotao came to the regiment headquarters, and at this moment Battalion Commander Yang and others also gathered in the regiment headquarters.

Captain Xie said: "This time, the Japanese even used poison gas. Fortunately, we were prepared in advance, and the brothers fought bravely and finally blocked the Japanese attack."

"But this will undoubtedly anger the Japanese, and they will surely launch a more fierce attack next."

"I called everyone here because I wanted to hear your opinions."

"What do you think the devils will do next?"

Everyone gathered in front of a sand table. The markings on the sand table were very simple, showing the terrain around the Sihang Warehouse.

Battalion Commander Yang pointed to the sand table and said, "According to what we know, the Zhabei area has now been completely occupied by the Japanese, and the main force is gradually withdrawing."

"The only thing left in our hands is the Sihang Warehouse. The Japanese will certainly attack it with all their might."

"These bastards are saving face. Now that the attack on the Sihang Warehouse has failed, it will only make them more angry."

"What I am worried about now is whether the angry Japanese will use heavy artillery."

"If the Japanese use heavy artillery, the whole building will collapse if a volley of shells hits us. How can we defend ourselves?"

In fact, this is also what everyone is most worried about. The Japanese are so cruel and crazy that they can do anything.

What if they really get mad and use heavy artillery? If that happens, no one will be able to defend against it.

Captain Xie couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

At this time, Li Guotao said: "In fact, I think everyone does not need to worry or consider this issue at all."

As soon as Li Guotao said this, everyone's eyes fell on Li Guotao.

Li Guotao quickly explained: "In my opinion, the Japanese still dare not use heavy artillery."

"The concession is just across the river. The Japanese dare not offend the foreign powers for now, lest there be any trouble."

"Besides, there's a huge gas tank over there. If we use heavy artillery and it blows up, the force will flatten half of the concession!"

"So the Japanese definitely wouldn't dare to take such a big risk. Why would they be willing to take such a big risk just for the death of a few hundred people?"

"The Japanese fought us for such a long time before, and they hardly used heavy artillery in the area adjacent to the concession!"

"So they definitely won't dare to do that this time."

"Another point is, if the Japanese really use heavy artillery, the whole building will collapse after a barrage of bombardment, and we will not be able to hold on."

"If that time really comes, there is basically nothing we can do except close our eyes and wait for death, so we don't even need to discuss whether the Japanese will use heavy artillery."

"Because there is no point in discussing this."

Captain Xie nodded slightly and said, "Brother Guotao is absolutely right. In that case, there is really no point in discussing this."

"So what do you think the Japs will do next?"

Li Guotao said: "The Japanese failed in their assault and are afraid to use heavy artillery, so they will probably think of a surprise attack."

"A sneak attack?" Captain Xie frowned slightly, and everyone looked at Li Guotao to listen to him continue.

Li Guotao continued, "Yes! Judging from the current situation, a sneak attack is undoubtedly the best option for the Japanese."

"The Japanese also value the lives of their soldiers, so they will naturally not send anyone else to die."

"So they might take advantage of our unprepared defense to launch a sneak attack, and then cooperate with the assault troops to take over the Sihang Warehouse in one fell swoop."

Captain Yang said thoughtfully: "Inside and outside cooperation, you mean, the Japanese might sneak into the warehouse, how do they get in?"

Li Guotao said: "The only way to enter the warehouse is the waterway."

"The waterway leads directly into the basement of the warehouse, and then we can sneak into the warehouse."

"If the Japanese sneak in at night while we are resting and launch an attack, deliberately creating chaos, and then the main force of the Japanese launches a strong attack from the outside, it will become much easier to capture the Sihang Warehouse."

Battalion Commander Yang frowned upon hearing this and said, "You forgot about the waterway. I think we should just block the waterway completely and lower the sluice gate. In this way, the Japanese won't be able to get in through the waterway."

"Correct!"

The commander of the first company was the first to agree, saying: "The waterway is useless to us anyway, so we might as well block it completely to prevent the Japanese from sneaking in."

"Correct!"

Most others also agreed.

Li Guotao said, "I think it is not necessary to block the waterway right now."

"We can also do the same as last time, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and then close the door and attack them. It will be easy to eliminate the Japanese who sneaked in from the waterway."

The company commander frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "That's premised on you knowing the time of the Japanese attack."

Li Guotao said: "Since it is a sneak attack, they will naturally choose to attack when our defense is the most lax."

Captain Xie asked, "You mean, they will launch a sneak attack at night?"

Li Guotao nodded and said, "And it will probably be in the second half of the night, when most of us are asleep, so as to avoid being discovered."

"As long as we prepare in advance, it won't be difficult for us to trick the Japanese."

Captain Xie hesitated for a moment and said, "What do you think?"

Captain Yang said, "I think it's okay. Let's stay here and try to hold out for a while longer."

"Secondly, we have to kill as many Japanese as possible. It would be good to take a few more of them with us before we die."

"So I think Li Guotao's plan is feasible. We just need to prepare in advance. If they really dare to attack from the water, we will make sure they never return."

Captain Xie nodded approvingly and said, "It's settled then. You two should work on the specific plan."

"Brother Li just said that the enemy will definitely cooperate with the frontal attack."

"We need to consider everything comprehensively and not make any mistakes. We must not make things worse." Captain Yang said with a chuckle, "Don't worry, Commander. I guarantee there won't be any mistakes."

……

Fang Xingwen is a newspaper reporter on the surface, but in reality he is an intelligence dealer who moves between various forces and makes a fortune by selling intelligence.

In order to make money, he could sell intelligence to anyone, even the Japanese.

To Fang Xingwen, this war seemed to have nothing to do with them, and all he had eyes for was money.

At this moment, Fang Xingwen was sitting in a car, slowly passing through a messy neighborhood.

From time to time, a large number of Japanese devils passed by on the streets, and in some places there were Japanese camps with a large number of Japanese soldiers stationed there.

When passing by a Japanese camp, Fang Xingwen turned his head and saw several wooden stakes erected by the Japanese on an open ground. There was a prisoner tied to each of the wooden stakes, and a Japanese soldier was standing in front of each of them, practicing with a bayonet.

The sharp bayonet stabbed into the prisoner's body again and again. The prisoner had already died, and only blood continued to drip from his pierced body.

Fang Xingwen was accustomed to this. These Japanese soldiers often used prisoners of war to train new recruits in bayonet fighting. The Battle of Shanghai had been going on for so long, and Fang Xingwen had been moving among various forces. This was not the first time he had come to the Japanese military camp, and naturally it was not the first time he had seen this situation.

Soon the car arrived at a Japanese command post, and Fang Xingwen followed the middleman into the Japanese command post.

"Your Excellency, Captain, Mr. Fang is here."

The Imperial Guards Colonel ordered, "Please ask Mr. Fang to come in!"

"Hayi~!"

"Hello, Mr. Fang!"

"Hello, sir!"

Jin Wei Xun smiled and said, "I think Mr. Fang already knows that we asked you to come here for only one purpose, which is to understand the situation of the Sihang Warehouse."

Fang Xingwen said: "The Sihang Warehouse was originally the headquarters of the 88th Division."

Jinweixun frowned slightly and said, "We know all this. I just want to know what kind of troops are guarding the Sihang Warehouse now?"

Fang Xingwen replied: "As far as I know, the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division is guarding the warehouse now."

"Deputy regiment commander Xie Jinyuan will lead the team to defend the Sihang Warehouse."

Jinweixun frowned and said, "The 88th Division is a German-equipped division. It made the Locust Army suffer a lot in Zhabei before."

"But after a series of fierce battles, they have suffered heavy losses. I want to know how many troops the 524th Regiment has left."

"Or to put it simply, how many defenders are there in the Sihang Warehouse?"

Fang Xingwen replied: "What the commander said is very true. During this period of time, the 88th Division suffered heavy losses and casualties due to the fierce fighting for several days."

"But as far as I know, the 88th Division has been replenished with troops five times, mainly from security groups in Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang and other places."

"So we don't have exact information about the exact strength of the 524th Regiment yet, and we don't know how many troops they left to garrison the Sihang Warehouse."

"But one thing is certain, they have stored a large amount of ammunition in the warehouse, and the warehouse also originally stored a large amount of supplies, including a large amount of food and other daily necessities, as well as a batch of medicines."

"Plus, the Sihang Warehouse is a solid building, so they should be planning to hold on for a long time."

Konoe Xun said coldly: "Humph! That's just wishful thinking on their part."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fang!"

"You can go and collect your reward now."

"Mr. Fang, this way please!"

Fang Xingwen bowed slightly, then followed the middleman out of the Japanese command center.

After the two men left, a Japanese officer nearby couldn't help but ask, "Can you trust what he said?"

Konoe Xun said helplessly: "After all, they are all insignificant things."

"From him, we only got the enemy's specific numbers and their commanders."

"And it is currently impossible to tell whether it is real or fake."

"But this is similar to our previous judgment. There is only one regiment of soldiers in it."

The Japanese officer next to him said respectfully: "If there really is a regiment of enemies among them, it will be very difficult to take over this warehouse."

"Most importantly, it's too close to the concession for us to use our heavy artillery."

"If we were in another place, we could raze this building to the ground in an instant."

Konoe-kun frowned and said, "It's no use talking about this. Has Hasegawa-kun arrived yet?"

"Reporting to His Excellency the Captain, I am waiting outside for your summons."

"Let him in."

"Hai!"

Soon, Major Hasegawa walked into the headquarters quickly. After seeing the Imperial Guards, Major Hasegawa said respectfully, "Your Excellency, the Commander of the Regiment..."

The Imperial Guard looked at Major Hasegawa with a gloomy look and said in a cold voice: "Hasegawa-kun, it is a small warehouse like Sihang, but we failed in two attacks and suffered heavy casualties. This is really unreasonable."

"Hai!"

Major Hasegawa said respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander, please calm down. I deserve to die."

The Guards said angrily: "You really deserve to die. The other side of the Sihang Warehouse is the concession, and you are so bold as to use poison gas to attack."

"The poison gas has spread to the concessions. There are reporters from various countries there. Tomorrow morning, newspapers from all over the world will report this incident. This will have a very bad impact on the empire."

"What's even worse is that you even used poison gas. You idiots haven't even taken over the Sihang Warehouse yet. You lost so many troops in vain! You idiots have completely disgraced the Locust Army."

Major Hasegawa lowered his head in shame, not knowing how to answer for a moment. This guy also realized that he had caused a big disaster this time.

Konoe-kun waved his hands and said, "Logically, an idiot like you should commit seppuku to apologize."

"Hayi~!"

Major Hasegawa seemed to have accepted his fate and did not even make any excuses. Of course, he actually understood his own commander well and knew that since he was still scolding him like that, it meant that he had no intention of really killing him. If he really wanted him to commit seppuku to apologize, he would not have let him come at all. He would have just notified him to commit seppuku directly. Why bother? So at this time, any excuses from Hasegawa were just shirking responsibility and were useless. It would be better for him to say nothing and just admit his mistake.

Konoe-kun was very satisfied with Major Hasegawa's attitude of admitting his mistakes, and continued, "But the Empire is in need of people right now, and I am giving you a chance to redeem myself and make meritorious contributions despite the pressure from the division commander."

"Tell me, how can we quickly take over the Sihang Warehouse next?"

Major Hasegawa said respectfully: "Haiyi, before coming here, I have already formulated a new tactic. This time we will definitely be able to capture the Sihang Warehouse."

(End of this chapter)