Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 420: Retreat to Kuandian

The Japanese Army's 3rd Division, led by Katsura Taro, lined up in front of the Torayama position.

Osako Naotoshi led the 5th Brigade to occupy the high ground east of Hushan, and Tachimi Naofumi led the 10th Brigade to first occupy the Nakajiangtai Customs Office, and then crossed the river to the southwest of Hushan.

In this way, Hushan was surrounded by the Japanese army on three sides.

Qu Shaoyang's troops had more than 2,000 people, while Nie Shicheng's troops had only more than 700 people. Together with the 1,000 people from Ma Jinxu's troops guarding the back mountain pass, the total number was less than 4,000.

Faced with the fierce attack of the Japanese army that was six or seven times larger than theirs, the pressure was extremely great.

On the other side of the river, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the defenders of Hushan with 12-centimeter cannons. After the right wing of the Japanese army seized the high ground on the east side of Hushan, they fired at Hushan from the side.

Faced with this situation, the Hushan defenders did not retreat at all and fired more than a hundred rounds of rapid-fire artillery. On both sides of the Yalu River, the sound of artillery roared and the air was filled with smoke.

In Jiuliancheng, Song Qing saw that the war was urgent and ordered Song Desheng and Ma Yukun to lead more than 3,000 Yi troops to reinforce.

However, the reinforcements led by Song and Ma were blocked by the Japanese army and found it difficult to break through.

During the fierce battle, Ma Jinxu was shot more than ten times and his younger brother died while supervising the battle.

Nie Shicheng and Qu Shaoyang's troops also suffered heavy casualties. Qu Shaoyang was shot in the left arm and had several scratches on his body from shrapnel.

But everyone gritted their teeth, held their positions, launched several charges, fought fiercely with the enemy, and fought repeatedly, resulting in a tug-of-war.

Seeing that the defenders of Hushan were losing their strength, Xingye led 500 patrol teams with six cannons to the east side of Hushan and bombarded the high ground occupied by the Fifth Brigade.

The Japanese troops on the high ground were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties, which immediately reduced the pressure on the Hushan defenders.

However, the Japanese army was well-trained and quickly reorganized its troops and divided them into groups to attack the 500-man patrol team led by Xingye.

The Japanese army was a regular army that had received new training, and the patrol team was a militia. No matter how well-trained the patrol team was, it would be difficult for them to resist the offensive of the Japanese army.

There was no other choice but Xingye could only lead his men to retreat and use the terrain to deal with the enemy.

The Japanese army's combat effectiveness was indeed strong, and its troop strength was several times that of the Qing army.

Even in this situation, the defenders of Hushan gritted their teeth and persisted, confronting the Japanese army for several hours.

Of course, the Japanese army’s fate was not much better. At the foot of Tiger Mountain, corpses were everywhere, and their casualties were no less than those of the Qing army.

But the Japanese army is large in number, and even if the casualties are heavy, it will not affect its combat effectiveness.

The defenders on the mountain were in a bad condition. Seeing their numbers dwindling and their ammunition running out, Nie Shicheng and Qu Shaoyang became extremely anxious.

"Master Nie, what should we do now? Without reinforcements, we can't defend this place with just the people we have."

Qu Shaoyang was also getting anxious at this moment. They were holding their ground here but reinforcements were nowhere to be seen.

If this continues, the two thousand people he brought with him will be killed.

"Captain Qu, given the current situation, I'm afraid we can't hold Hushan anymore.

You and I have done our best, and we are worthy of the court and our conscience. It is better to retreat temporarily and retain our strength for the future. "Nie Shicheng was also desperate at this time.

The Japanese army is powerful, and the main force of the Qing army has nowhere to be seen. How can the defenders on the mountain alone compete with tens of thousands of Japanese troops?
If they continue fighting, they will really die in Tiger Mountain.

At this point, what can Qu Shaoyang say?
With great enthusiasm, he led his men to the front line, fighting to the death to kill the enemy and defend their country.

However, the government troops were incompetent, the main force had no rescue efforts, and there were only a few reinforcements, all of which were in vain, so that the opportunity to annihilate the enemy was missed.

Now they have fought to the death for several hours and killed countless enemies, which is quite considerate. They can't really stay here and lose their lives in vain, right?
This imperial court is really not worth Qu Shaoyang and his men risking their lives for.

“I thought that Qu’s reinforcement would help the battle situation, but alas, in the end, it ended up like this.

Lord Nie, I'm sorry." Qu Shaoyang had no choice but to accept the reality.

"Captain Qu, please don't say that. I am already very grateful that you can lead your troops to reinforce us.

I will remember your support today. If we have the chance in the future, we will talk about our friendship again."

Nie Shicheng knew in his heart that if Qu Shaoyang had not come to reinforce, the Hushan position would have been lost long ago.

After all, they have persisted for so long and killed many enemies, so today they can be considered to have avenged their previous defeat.

It is not shameful to withdraw now, and we can fight again when we have the chance in the future.

The situation was urgent, so the two men were not in a position to say much. Since they had decided to retreat, they should do it quickly and without further delay.

So, the two of them led their troops respectively, fighting and retreating, and gradually withdrew from the Hushan position.

On the other hand, Ma Jinxu originally intended to defend Hushan to the death, but was finally dissuaded by his subordinates and led the remaining troops to break out.

While Nie, Qu and Ma were leading their troops in a fierce battle with the Japanese army, the various troops in Jiulian City were already preparing to escape.

As soon as we withdrew from the Hushan position, the troops on the other side fled.

Song Qing, who commanded all the troops, could only lead a few hundred of his personal soldiers, together with Nie Shicheng's troops, to abandon Jiuliancheng and retreat to Fenghuang City in the west.

However, Qu Shaoyang did not want to go with them, so he led his troops to break out to the east and take a detour to meet up with Xingye and others.

When everyone gathered together and counted the number of people, they found that more than a hundred people from the patrol team were killed in the battle and three to four hundred were injured.

It can be said that this is the first time that the patrol team has suffered such a big loss since its establishment.

"Sir, where are we going now?" Xingye asked.

"Let's go to Kuandian and find my second brother. We need to rest there and then discuss what to do later."

In this battle, the patrol team suffered many casualties and their ammunition was almost used up. Now they needed to find a place to stay and regroup.

Naturally, everyone agreed with Qu Shaoyang's proposal.

At the beginning of the Si hour, Qu Shaoyang led his troops to Hushan for reinforcement, and they held out on Hushan for several hours.

By the time they withdrew from their position and reunited with Xingye, it was almost dusk.

Everyone was tired and hungry, and many were injured, but given the current situation, they did not dare to stop to rest. They could only take care of the wounded while heading towards Kuandian City.

After walking about forty or fifty miles, it was already very late when suddenly a group of people came towards them. There seemed to be more than a thousand people.

As he was unsure of the visitor's identity, Qu Shaoyang immediately ordered everyone to be on alert.

When the people from the opposite side came closer and they shouted to each other, it was then that they realized that it was the brothers Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan who led their troops.

"Big brother, second brother, why are you here? No, big brother, when did you go back to Kuandian?"

Qu Shaoyang was a little surprised to see the Chen brothers, especially Chen Yunzhe. Shouldn't he be in Fengtian City at this moment? When did he run to Kuandian?

"Oh, I got another batch of guns and ammunition from Fengtian and Yingkou.

I had thought that I could take the opportunity of transporting the guns to go back to my hometown to worship my ancestors, and maybe even go to Maoer Mountain to visit my parents.

I didn't expect that as soon as I arrived in Kuandian yesterday, I heard that you and your men were stationed at the mouth of Anping River.

Today, your second brother and I were planning to go to Anping River Mouth to meet you, but halfway on the way, we received news that the Japanese army was crossing the river to attack Hushan, and you were leading your troops to reinforce them.

We quickly turned back to Kuandian to gather our forces, intending to go to Hushan to reinforce and help you, but we didn't expect to meet you on the way. "Chen Yunzhe hurriedly explained. Qu Shaoyang finally understood that the two uncles were planning to go to Hushan with a large group of people to help.

"No need to go. The Tiger Mountain position has been lost. I withdrew from there."

Qu Shaoyang sighed and briefly told his two uncles what happened before and after the battle of Hushan.

After hearing this, the Chen brothers were also indignant, but as the war had come to this point, there was no point in saying more.

"Come on, come back to Kuandian with us first, rest and recuperate, and then find another solution."

The two teams met up. The Chen brothers had brought a lot of dry food and medicine with them, so they quickly took it out and distributed it to the patrol team members, to at least give them a bite to eat and to simply bandage their wounds.

Although Qu Shaoyang was shot in the left arm, the injury was not serious and the bullet did not remain in his body. The other parts of his body were also slightly injured. After applying some medicine and bandaging them, his movements would not be delayed.

Everyone rested for a while and then continued on their journey. It was not until midnight that they arrived at a place called Chenjiabaozi, twenty miles outside Kuandian City.

Since the Qing Dynasty and Japan declared war, the situation along the Yalu River has become tense. Chen Yunhan gathered all the militiamen, both openly and covertly, and trained them day and night.

There were too many militia members to accommodate them all in the city, so they were arranged to stay in Chenjiabaozi.

The person in charge of Chenjiabaozi is also surnamed Chen, and his family has several young descendants working under Chen Yunhan.

That year, Chen Yunzhe passed the imperial examination and the head of Chenjiabao went to congratulate him and happened to meet Doctor Chen.

Upon closer questioning, it turned out that the ancestors of the two families should have some connection, so they were connected as a clan.

Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan call the current head of Chenjiabaozi "uncle".

When the people in Chenjiabao heard that Qu Shaoyang was the brother-in-law of the Chen brothers and that he had led his men to fight the Japanese army in Hushan and retreated,

No matter how late it was, the whole village went out to try to find a way to settle Qu Shaoyang and his group of 2,000 people.

He also mobilized the women in the village to get up overnight to cook and entertain everyone.

At this point, Qu Shaoyang led his troops to settle down in Chenjiabuzi and surrounding villages to rest and recuperate.

They also sent people to Fengcheng and other places to look for Zhang Xiulan's whereabouts.

On the other side, after Qu Shaoyang and others withdrew from the Hushan position, the Japanese army completely occupied Hushan.

Furthermore, they occupied positions near Liziyuan, Weizigou and on both sides of the Ai River.

On the morning of September 28, the Japanese troops set out in formation, and three armies surrounded Jiuliancheng in a fan shape.

Due to the thick fog, the Japanese army could not see the situation in Jiuliancheng clearly, so they fired artillery into Jiuliancheng, but there was no response from inside the city.

The Japanese army sent people to climb over the wall and found that there was no Qing army left in the city. The Ming army guarding Jiuliancheng had already abandoned the city.

At 9:00 p.m., Aritomo Yamagata entered Jiulian City, with the old Customs Bureau as his headquarters and the 5th Division stationed in the city.

In Jiuliancheng, the Japanese army obtained abundant supplies.

There were seventy-four cannons, more than thirty thousand artillery shells, forty-four hundred Mauser rifles, more than four million rounds of ammunition, several thousand marching tents, and more than five thousand stones of military rations.

There is probably no business in the world that can make money faster than this one. The Japanese army was simply going crazy with joy.

With abundant supplies and a well-defended stronghold like Jiuliancheng, the Japanese army could advance boldly.

So the Japanese army rushed non-stop to Andong City, more than 20 miles away.

Originally, there were 6,000 Sheng troops defending the city of Andong, but the Sheng troops withdrew early in the night, leaving behind an empty city.

The Japanese army entered the city of Andong without firing a single shot.

In Andong City, the Japanese army established the first civil affairs office outside of Japan.

This was the first county-level civil administrative agency established by Japan on the mainland, symbolizing that the Japanese, who had long been fishing on islands, finally had a county on the mainland.

After the telegram was sent back to Japan, the Japanese people celebrated warmly and no one opposed the war anymore.

After occupying Andong City, the Japanese army continued to advance northward and captured Fenghuang City on September 30th.

This was originally Song Qing's retreat. Song Qing wanted to gather his troops here and hold this place to fight against the Japanese army.

However, the defeated soldiers did not give Song Qing this opportunity. They colluded with the "bearded men" and set a fire outside the south gate of Fenghuang City, shouting, "The Japanese army has arrived."

Then, they took the opportunity to rob the people in the city and continued to escape after the robbery.

Song Qing had no choice but to lead his men and retreat westward again.

In just three days, the defense lines that the Qing government had spent a lot of effort to build collapsed completely, and the Japanese army was unstoppable and quickly occupied many places.

Therefore, Aritomo Yamagata was so inspired that he wrote a poem and recited it in the wind by the Yalu River.

He believed that the next major task would be to count the spoils of war during the march, as the Qing army would always be vulnerable.

Aritomo Yamagata ordered the Fifth Division to continue the attack, capture Kuandian, and attack the Motianling line on the east road of Fengtian.

The Third Division captured Dagushan, Xiuyan, Ximucheng, Haicheng and other places.

On the sixth day of October, the Japanese army entered Kuandian. Upon hearing the news, Kuandian County Magistrate Liu Jixun abandoned his post and fled.

Qu Shaoyang and others who were recuperating in Chenjiabaozi, as well as the Chen brothers, immediately deployed troops around Kuandian City after learning the news, guarded various passes, and prepared to meet the enemy.

At the same time, everyone was recruiting troops and training militiamen in various places in Kuandian, actively preparing for war.

Fortunately, the main force of the Japanese army, the 10th Brigade of the 5th Division, was blocked by Nie Shicheng and Yiktang'a in the Motianling and Saimaji areas.

Only a small force entered Kuandian and did not go deep.

In mid-to-late October, deputy provincial governor Zhang Xiulan, Fenghuang Hall co-magistrate Zhang Yue, garrison commander Youshan, Andong magistrate Rong Xi and others gathered in Kuandian one after another.

When Qu Shaoyang learned the news, he led the Chen brothers to pay a visit to Zhang Xiulan.

Zhang Xiulan had already learned of Qu Shaoyang's heroic actions at the mouth of the Anping River and Hushan, and commended Qu Shaoyang and his troops.

At the same time, Zhang Xiulan learned that Chen Yunzhe was the runner-up in this year's provincial examination, but rushed back to Kuandian from Fengtian to guard his homeland, and he praised him repeatedly.

Qu Shaoyang also learned from Zhang Xiulan, Zhang Yue and others that Yilin, the former governor of the Eastern Circuit, was dismissed on the spot because of his poor performance in defending the city.

Zhang Xiulan is now a candidate for provincial governor. It is estimated that the official appointment from the court will not be made until the war subsides.

A group of local officials gathered in Kuandian because the city was lost. In order to avoid being dismissed from their posts by the court and punished by the Ministry of Justice, they decided to kill the enemy and gain merit.

With the support of the alternate provincial governor Zhang Xiluan, Qu Shaoyang and the Chen brothers proposed to establish a militia association in the "Baohechang" distillery compound in Changlingzi Village.

Chen Yunhan was appointed as the head of the militia, Chen Yunzhe as the assistant, and the heads of all township associations fully supported them.

The Cross Group of Benevolence, Justice, Propriety, Wisdom, Trustworthiness, Kindness, Courtesy, Frugality and Moderation was soon established.

Each regiment made flags of different colors, and some had more than 2,000 people, while others had only a few hundred, and they trained day and night.

(End of this chapter)