Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 542 This land does not welcome them.
"What's going on?!" Luo Ping slammed his fist on the table.

"From the central government to the field headquarters, there were repeated orders not to fire the cannons, so why did they still fire them?!"

"Qin Sheng! You can't escape responsibility from the start!"

"Political Commissar, don't fire. Our casualties will be too high," Qin Sheng explained.

"Is that a reason?!"

"If the troops open fire, it will immediately disrupt the field headquarters' entire battle plan!"

"In order to catch the rats in this porcelain shop in Shanghai, the East China Field Army sacrificed a total of 8,000 men in the outer battles!"

"If we fire now, wouldn't those eight thousand men have died for nothing?"

The plan to attack Wusongkou was to lure the Kuomintang army out of Shanghai and prevent Shanghai from being destroyed.

If artillery is used at this last moment, then there was no need to fight to the death on the periphery beforehand.

With the current strength of the East China Field Army, if they were to unleash their full firepower, Tang Keqin would definitely not be able to hold out, but that would mean Shanghai would be razed to the ground.

Shanghai is an international metropolis with too many 'foreign eyes' watching it. If an accident occurs, it could easily cause an international dispute.

Moreover, this is China's economic center. After the liberation of the whole country, rapid development was inseparable from Shanghai.

"Commander, we've even crossed the Yangtze River, but now we're being blocked by this little ditch. The soldiers just can't understand it!"

"High-rise buildings lined up on the other side of the river, and there were bridgeheads. The water and the bridge surface were completely blocked. Without artillery, the soldiers could only be sitting ducks to be shot at."

"Commander, just let us fire a few shots. Just a few shots will open a gap at Chuan'an Bridge. Once we cross the bridge, all the way to the other side is the Guo Army's Garrison Command."

"Commander, fire!"

"We cannot sacrifice the lives of the proletariat for the sake of bourgeois buildings!"

Everyone volunteered.

"Shut up, all of you!" Chen Chengxing stood up.

The detachment leaders immediately shut their mouths.

"You ask me why I don't fire the cannons, you ask me whether I want the bourgeois buildings or the lives of the proletariat."

"Now I'll ask you guys too."

"If your wife, children, and parents live in the house next door, what would be the consequences if a shell fell on them?"

"Qin Sheng, do you dare to give the order to fire?"

The population density in Shanghai's urban area is extremely high; once a shell is fired, no one knows what kind of accident might occur.

Qin Sheng remained silent. He knew that if the cannons could be fired, the commander-in-chief would definitely do so.

After all, when it comes to the courage to disobey orders, he considered himself inferior to the captain.

"And who said the building is bourgeois? Tomorrow it will be proletarian!"

"All of you, look down and see what's written on your hearts?"

"The People's Liberation Army is for liberating the people!"

"The four million fellow citizens, brothers and sisters of Shanghai are all our family!"

"I reiterate once more: firing is strictly prohibited! Otherwise, don't blame military law for being merciless!"

"Yes!"

"However, not being able to fire artillery doesn't mean we have to launch a frontal assault," Chen Chengxing added. "You need to use your brains and change your tactics!"

"Does the main force have to be the main attacker?"

"Why don't you launch a feint attack with your main force, and then send out a small elite force to cross the river from the side after dark to outflank the enemy?"

"If you stab the enemy in the back, how can they withstand a frontal attack?"

"Go back and think it over carefully." Chen Chengxing waved his hand. "If there's nothing else, then go. I didn't prepare lunch for you."

"yes!".
After everyone left, Chen Chengxing thought for a moment and then ordered, "Bring Wei Dayong here."

A few minutes later, Wei Dayong rushed over.

"Monk, have the special operations team members returned?"

"The Kuomintang troops in Pudong have been wiped out, and most of the special forces members have returned."

"Okay, now I'll give you a task."

"Take the special forces team and scout along the Jingbo River to see if you can sneak into the city and then provide support for the main force."

"Yes!"

Infiltration behind enemy lines is a specialty of special operations teams.

After leaving the headquarters, Wei Dayong immediately divided the special operations team into smaller squads.

Before the official operation, they need to conduct reconnaissance and then swim across the river with a specific purpose.

After nightfall, Wei Dayong led a special operations squadron and a fire support unit to quietly appear on the banks of the Jingbo River.

During daytime reconnaissance, the reconnaissance team discovered a sewer in the area.

Water is flowing from this sewer, which means someone is using it.

They just didn't know where it led.

However, Wei Dayong couldn't worry about that now and decided to go in first.

After packing their weapons and spare clothes, the group of over thirty men quietly slipped into the water as soon as the searchlight swept across the surface.

A moment later, the group entered the sewer one by one.

Taking out pre-prepared tarpaulin-covered flashlights from their waterproof bags, the special forces team moved forward silently.

After moving slowly forward for more than ten minutes, Wei Dayong finally discovered a branch passage that the soldiers could crawl into.

Wei Dayong immediately signaled the soldiers of the two assault teams to go forward and scout.

A few minutes later, the two returned and whispered, "Captain, there's a KMT command post up there, with quite a few people."

"To avoid causing a riot, we did not arrest anyone."

“Very good.” Wei Dayong nodded.

For Wei Dayong, as long as he could get into the heart of the territory, he didn't really care about the location.

Of course, it would be even better if this were an important enemy command post.

"Action!" Wei Dayong immediately flashed his flashlight a few times behind him, a pre-arranged signal. As part of the assault team, several soldiers immediately entered the passage and crept forward.

"Da da da".
Gunshots rang out overhead very quickly.

Half a minute later, someone shouted from above: "Safe!"

"on!"

Wei Dayong led the remaining men and climbed up through the passage as quickly as possible.

"Battle formation! Sweep layer by layer!"

"Fire support team, control the entrances and exits!"

"attack!".
Upon hearing the sudden burst of gunfire from the command post, Miao Xu, the commander of the new army of the 51st Army of the Guo Army, was greatly alarmed.

"How did the G Army end up at our command post? What are the outer guard units doing?!"

"Commander, this is not the time for that. You need to leave this place immediately!" the chief of staff said urgently.

The command center has been infiltrated. If we wait any longer, who knows what will happen?
"Bullshit! A small unit of the G Army scared me away?"

"What are the people in command doing?!"

"Pass on my order! Everyone take up arms and fight back! I want to see how a few dozen G soldiers can take over my command post!"

"Yes!"

"Also, notify the guard battalion and the 821st Regiment to surround the command building. None of these G troops will escape!"

Miao Xu believed that there were still more than two hundred people in his command post, enough to stop the G army's sneak attack.

Even if civilian personnel aren't that strong in combat, they're still enough to hold out until the outside troops invade, at which point they'll be trapped like turtles in a jar.

However, a scene that shocked Miao Xu occurred.

The main force outside couldn't break through no matter what they tried.

If it weren't for the fact that the guard battalion and the 821st Regiment were already dead, Miao Xu would have thought this was all an act.

His two hundred-plus men were even more incompetent, no match for the G army at all.

They often only need to show their faces before being shot down by guns that seem to appear out of nowhere.

Moreover, the special forces are also very skilled with grenades. Whenever they encounter a room with heavy firepower, they can quickly send a grenade in with a countdown timer.

The grenades would often explode as soon as they landed, before the Kuomintang soldiers could even react.

A single grenade is enough to wipe out the entire room.

Just twenty minutes later, Miao Xu, who had retreated to the top floor of the command building, had lost all his previous confidence.

"Commander, the G army has already reached the fourth floor." The chief of staff was almost in tears.

The troops outside can't get in without artillery, but if they do use artillery, they'll die too.

The personnel within the military headquarters were no match for this small G Army unit, and it seemed that their only option was to die.

Previously, they could jump from the second floor, but now the G army has forced them to the sixth floor. Even if they jump, they will die, or suffer a fate worse than death.

"This is outrageous!" Miao Xu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "This is all because the G Army forced me to do this!"

"Commander, please don't!"

"Chief of staff, relay my order: surrender!"

"Huh?" The chief of staff was stunned.

Seeing Miao Xu's gritted teeth earlier, he thought he was going to die together with the G army.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Go contact the G Army immediately!"

"The battle has come to this point, I can't let any more brothers die!"

"Yes, yes!" The chief of staff nodded repeatedly, willing to surrender if possible.

With Miao Xu's surrender, the commanders of the two divisions under the 51st Army also gave up resistance.
Although some soldiers still wanted to be loyal to the Party and the country, they could no longer cause any trouble.

If the Nationalist army's defenses were breached even once, it would be enough for the Second Division to break through and tear apart the Nationalist army's entire defense system.

By noon, the main force of the Second General had entered the core urban area and occupied nearly a quarter of Shanghai.

Upon seeing this, Liu Changhong immediately contacted the underground Communist Party in Shanghai and expressed his willingness to revolt on the battlefield.

The next morning, the people who had kept their doors tightly shut the night before, worried about being caught in the war, were unexpectedly greeted with a long-awaited peace.

When people boldly opened their windows and doors, they found the damp roadside filled with people sleeping.

Rows of soldiers rested against the wall or sat on the ground.

They were resting quietly on the side of the street, weapons in their arms.

"This"

Shanghai has been plagued by wars since the late Qing Dynasty, but the people have never seen troops with guns and cannons sleeping on the streets.

Inside, they even saw quite a few wounded.

Having already retreated to Shanghai, Situ Lei opened his window early in the morning and immediately saw the situation outside.

Then he turned to look at his assistant.

"I have spent most of my life in China."

"Over the past few decades, I have experienced countless disasters and seen countless different kinds of troops, but this is the first time I have ever seen a troop like this."

"For you Chinese, perhaps a new era is truly on the horizon."

On the street, Rong Yi stood there motionless. He had originally planned to move his family from Shanghai to Hangcheng, but now he had changed his mind.

After the G army's victory, 100,000 soldiers slept on the streets, a stark contrast to the arrogance and domineering attitude of the army after the victory in the War of Resistance.

After a few minutes of thought, he decided to stay and participate in the construction of the new China.
Mr. Song, who had persevered in Shanghai despite numerous difficulties, also walked through the alleys and around the street corners to reach the main street.

What she saw before her also greatly surprised her.

A city that had just experienced the ravages of war was surprisingly peaceful, instead of being chaotic.

At that moment, she, like the four million people in Shanghai, understood why Guo Jun had suffered such a crushing defeat.

At the same time, she also knew that no matter how much the Guo army resisted, or how much imperial support they received, they would never be able to return.

This land no longer welcomes them.

(End of this chapter)