Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

"Hai—!"

Oshima Yuutake stood at attention and said loudly.

There were indeed many uncertainties in ambushing the reinforcements from Nanjing at night.

Therefore,
The most urgent task is to take down Xu Xiaodao's 60,000 elite Ximen Hall troops as quickly as possible.

"in addition--!"

Da Shanyan ordered, "Once we launch a full-scale attack, Xu Xiaodao's army will have to fight to the death."

"It may not be possible to annihilate Ximentang's army within a day."

"On the outskirts of the Ximentang garrison, have people start digging trenches and building bunkers now to delay the arrival of the Nanjing reinforcements as much as possible."

An hour later.

The Kwantung Army launched a fierce attack on the military camp where Xu Xiaodao was stationed.

Boom—boom—!
The sounds of Japanese field guns and Maxim machine guns rose and fell.

Having finally managed to lure Xu Xiaodao's army out of Xianning Prefecture, the Kwantung Army naturally did not want to give up on annihilating them.

Dashanyan hoped to completely defeat Xu Xiaodao's army before the reinforcements from Jinling arrived.

Although he was unsure whether the reinforcements from Nanjing would be led by Chen Jie, according to the pre-battle plan, defeating them one by one was the wisest option.

Once the reinforcements from Jinling join forces with Xu Xiaodao's army.

With over 100,000 troops under Ximentang's command, coupled with the delivery of a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Kwantung Army.

In this battle, neither side had a way out!
With its high ground and trenches, Ximentang had all kinds of weapons laid out, making it like an impregnable fortress.

After the two sides exchanged fire, the fighting became extremely fierce.

to be frank,
Xu Xiaodao was somewhat surprised when the Kwantung Army suddenly launched a fierce attack at this time.

He stepped out of the defensive fortifications of the military camp's main tent and used binoculars to observe the distance.

After a while,

Zhu Feng, one of Xu Xiaodao's subordinates, came to his side and whispered a report to his superior:
"Brother Dao, the Japanese Allied Forces have surrounded us from three directions. Their firepower is extremely strong, and they are using large-caliber field artillery. They have at least 150,000 men."

"Looks like these bastards want to take us down as quickly as possible."

Zhu Feng was formerly an elite member of the Ximentang Special Operations Regiment.

As Xu Xiaodao was promoted, he was promoted in the same way and became Xu Xiaodao's right-hand man.

Xu Xiaodao took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and said calmly:

"The Japanese have launched a strong attack! This is a good thing!"

Zhu Feng was taken aback upon hearing this.

What do you mean?
"Brother Dao, how can this be a good thing—?"

Suddenly, it dawned on him, and he exclaimed, "Is reinforcements arriving soon? Who's leading the army this time?"

Chen Jie personally led reinforcements to Hanzhong; this was a highly confidential matter.

Only a handful of people in the entire Ximentang army knew this.

Although Zhu Feng was Xu Xiaodao's deputy, he only knew that reinforcements were coming, but he didn't know who was leading them.

The only explanation for the Japanese launching a sudden and fierce attack is that reinforcements are on their way.

Xu Xiaodao smiled calmly and said:

“Aman’s main force is in Xianning Prefecture, trapped by the Kwantung Army. Even if they wanted to provide support, it would definitely not be so quick.”

"Our lord has been in Jinling all this time, keeping a close eye on the battle situation."

"After the Japanese took Wuchang, they wanted to make Jiujiang the decisive battleground. How could our lord not know that?"

He paused for a moment.
He continued, "Think about it, if it weren't for reinforcements from Nanjing, how could the Japanese have launched a full-scale attack now?"

"The artillery fire is so fierce; it seems the Kwantung Army is determined to annihilate us."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Feng's eyes widened immediately.

Are reinforcements from Nanjing coming?
Therefore, as long as they can hold their ground, they can break through and escape once reinforcements from Nanjing arrive.

"Pass on my order: all divisions must hold their positions, especially on the east, south, and west sides, and not allow the Kwantung Army to get within three kilometers."

finished,

Xu Xiaodao shouted loudly, "Announce to the whole army that reinforcements from Nanjing are coming. Everyone must hold on!"

Upon hearing that reinforcements from Jinling were coming, everyone in Ximentang was filled with fighting spirit.

We absolutely cannot let our brothers in Jinling look down on us.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cannons of Ximentang began to unleash their power, firing down from their high vantage point with precise targeting at the Kwantung Army.

The Kwantung Army's repeated assaults were all thwarted by artillery fire three kilometers away, and they returned empty-handed.

Offense and defense are completely different.

Without bunkers for defense, the Kwantung Army was no match for Ximentang's artillery barrage.

Therefore,
The continuous assaults were repelled, the Kwantung Army suffered heavy casualties, and several divisions were completely broken down.

The sky gradually began to darken.

but,

The Kwantung Army, however, showed no intention of retreating and continued its fierce offensive.

Oshima Yutaka, relying on his superior numbers, rotated his elite troops and launched repeated offensives.

Ximentang's army dared not relax in the slightest, and the sounds of gunfire and cannon fire continued.

The entire hilltop was almost flattened by the bombing, and smoke filled the air.

Seeing the Kwantung Army's relentless and relentless attacks, day and night, with fearless courage, Xu Xiaodao suddenly had a bad feeling.

Although Ximentang occupied the high ground and fired heavily with mortars to block the approach of the Kwantung Army.

but,

The Kwantung Army's heavy field artillery was quite powerful, and as the artillery battle between the two sides began, Ximentang inevitably suffered casualties.

In particular, the more than twenty artillery pieces launched by the Kwantung Army from the east were clearly heavy artillery pieces with a caliber exceeding 180mm, causing very heavy casualties to Ximentang.

These heavy artillery pieces were clearly the latest field guns deployed by the Kwantung Army, having just been transported from Japan.

It has two large wheels underneath, requiring five horses to pull it.

Seeing his brothers getting injured in the explosions, Xu Xiaodao's anger flared up instantly.

but,

He knew very well that he needed to stay calm at this moment.

Once they lose their composure, given the Kwantung Army's reckless fighting style, their troops will be decimated by the time reinforcements arrive in Nanjing tomorrow night.

obviously,
The Kwantung Army was willing to pay any price to annihilate its own army.

They were acting like madmen, completely reckless.

Even before the charge, everyone took drugs to put their brains in a state of absolute excitement.

boom!
Just then, a bright firework burst into bloom in the sky.

Signal flare!
This is Ximentang's signal flare.

The signal flares from Ximentang are very special; after exploding in the air, they split into a striking large character '乾'!
In an instant, the sky was illuminated.

Xu Xiaodao was stunned when he saw the traffic lights in the sky.

Who fired the signal flare at this time?
Next,
He realized that the signal flare was coming from the riverside of Jiujiang City, at least fifty miles away.

The vanguard of reinforcements has arrived!

boom--!
Immediately afterwards, another firework displaying the character "乾" (qian) bloomed in the sky.

Wow——!
All the elite soldiers of Ximen Hall realized that reinforcements from Jinling had arrived!

too fast?

Didn't they say we wouldn't arrive until tomorrow evening?
How come you arrived a day early?
At this moment, all the elite soldiers of Ximen Hall couldn't help but cheer with joy.

Even many of the wounded soldiers realized what was happening and joined in the shouting.

Next, everyone in the Ximen Hall became incredibly excited and opened fire fiercely on the Japanese army.

Seeing that Nishimondo's counterattack was becoming increasingly fierce, Oshima Yuutake decisively ordered a retreat.

He knew very well that Ximentang's morale was very high at this moment, and continuing to launch a strong attack would only increase casualties.

As for signal flares, he didn't even consider them a threat.

Even if the reinforcements departing from Nanjing arrive as quickly as possible, they will not arrive until tomorrow evening.

This signal flare was merely a pre-war warning for the vanguard, a vanguard of no more than fifty people, and would have no impact on the battle.

but,

As darkness fell completely, visibility was impaired. Launching a full-scale attack at this point would not yield any advantage for the Kwantung Army.

Therefore,
Oshima Yuutake ordered a retreat to a location ten kilometers away for rest and reorganization.

Early the next morning.

As dawn broke, Oyama Iwao arrived at the military camp and personally led the Kwantung Army in another offensive.

Xu Xiaodao originally thought that the Kwantung Army had a maximum of 150,000 men, but he did not expect that this time 300,000 men were mobilized.

The location of Ximentang's residence was very well chosen.

The roads leading to the position on all four sides were narrow, making it impossible to deploy a large number of troops for an assault.

Therefore,
Dashanyan could only concentrate its forces and bombard the area from the east repeatedly.

Xu Xiaodao had no choice but to deploy his elite troops to block the eastern side of the position.

As a result, the artillery battle between the two sides became even more intense than the previous night.

As the Kwantung Army's offensive grew increasingly fierce, Xu Xiaodao was so anxious in the military camp's main tent that blisters appeared on his lips.

He knew very well that Jinling was more than a thousand miles from Jiujiang Prefecture, and it would take several days even by water.

Although the reinforcements from Nanjing set off the day before yesterday, even if they move at a fast pace, they are not expected to arrive until evening.

Given the Kwantung Army's reckless fighting style, by noon, Xu Xiaodao's 60,000-strong army would have suffered extremely heavy casualties.

"Report! Hill No. 3 on the east side has fallen, and the entire 13th Company of the defending troops has been wiped out!"

Upon hearing that Hill 3 had fallen, Xu Xiaodao was taken aback.

Damn it——!
Why did the Japanese offensive suddenly become so fierce?
The loss of the eastern position meant that the Kwantung Army would be able to advance unimpeded and directly attack the garrison camp.

then,

He shouted, "Zhang Hao!"

A middle-aged man entered the military camp tent, stood at attention, and said, "Reporting to the general, your subordinate is here!"

"Take a battalion and retake Hill 3 on the east side!"

Zhang Hao said, "Yes! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

After saying that, he turned around and hurriedly ran outside.

Xu Xiaodao held up his binoculars and looked towards Hill 3 in the east.

The situation is alright, it's not that bad.

Although Hill 3 on the east side has fallen, the Kwantung Army is relatively far away and is advancing upwards, so it has not yet completely captured Hill 3.

With Zhang Hao's swift support, Hill 3, which had been defeated, was quickly recaptured, and the Kwantung Army was driven back.

Although the battle situation was stabilized and the position was regained.

but,

Xu Xiaodao, however, could not feel happy at all.

The Kwantung Army's offensive is getting fiercer and fiercer. Will we be able to hold out by evening today?

"Brother Knife!"

Zhu Feng came to Xu Xiaodao's side and said, "The Japanese attack is too fierce. They're like madmen, they're not afraid of death at all!"

"Damn it, I've never seen anyone charge forward carrying a cannon before."

"The cannon barrel was burning red-hot, and that bastard's skin was scalded, but he didn't feel any pain at all, and he was carrying the cannon and howling!"

Many of the Japanese soldiers had taken drugs.

Therefore,
They were fearless and felt no pain at all.

Xu Xiaodao gritted his teeth and shouted:
"No matter how fierce the Japanese offensive is, we must hold them off until 6 p.m.!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Feng was immediately delighted and asked:

"Does that mean the reinforcements from Jinling will arrive by 6 PM? You still haven't said who's leading them?"

Xu Xiaodao took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"Our lord has personally led an army of 50,000 here. Last night, the vanguard fired a signal flare, indicating that the landing point by water has been confirmed."

"Our lord will surely arrive to support us this evening."

He no longer cared about hiding Chen Jie's whereabouts.

We must stabilize morale and boost the troops' spirits.

If they didn't boost morale, Xu Xiaodao worried that if they continued fighting like this, the camp would be completely overrun by the Kwantung Army.

According to intelligence, Chen Jie's army will arrive in the evening.

Therefore,
No matter how difficult it is, we must stop the fierce attack of the Kwantung Army before reinforcements arrive.

Four p.m!

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

After a day and a night of fierce fighting, both sides had exhausted a great deal of artillery shells.

but,

The Kwantung Army launched a massive attack with 300,000 troops, but failed to breach Ximentang's defensive positions.

Although both sides suffered casualties, the Kwantung Army's casualties were more than ten times that of Nishimado.

Looking at the battlefield through his binoculars, Daisan Iwa had no choice but to sound the retreat and slow down the attack.

The Kwantung Army's garrison.

Da Shanyan's expression was not good as he quietly looked at the military map on the table in the military tent.

At this time,

Inside the military camp tent, two rows of Kwantung Army officers stood.

The atmosphere became incredibly heavy, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Today's battle is the most brutal battle fought by the Kwantung Army since entering the Hanzhong area.

Three hundred thousand troops besieged Ximentang's sixty thousand troops, but the battle turned out like this.

The hearts of all the Japanese commanders became very heavy.

of course,

Everyone knew that General Oyama was in a bad mood, so everyone kept silent to avoid offending him.

Yutaka Oshima walked in from outside to attend the military meeting.

He looked up at everyone around him and walked straight to Da Shan Yan's side.

Oyama Iwao frowned, glanced up at Oshima Yuutake, and asked in a low voice, "Where are the Ximen Hall reinforcements? Have they landed in Jiujiang Prefecture yet?"

Yuutake Oshima nodded, took a deep breath, and said:
"We got ashore two hours ago and expect to get here in about an hour!"

Looking at the map, Da Shanyan sighed inwardly:

"As expected of the elite army of the Great Qian Dynasty, they arrived several hours ahead of schedule."

Oshima Yuuto whispered:
"General, Ximen Tang's reinforcements will arrive on the battlefield before nightfall. Should we continue our assault?"

Da Shan Yan fell silent.

After a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "What were our casualties in this assault?"

"The casualties numbered 46,000, of which more than 20,000 were elite troops of the Kwantung Army, and the rest were soldiers of the Daqian government and the Northwest Army."

"However, one thing is certain: although Ximentang suffered fewer casualties than us, their losses were absolutely heavy."

"Our heavy artillery has destroyed their positions many times."

Although he was somewhat prepared, he still couldn't accept the fact that, despite having a significant numerical advantage, 300,000 men had besieged an enemy force of 60,000 and suffered 46,000 casualties.

He couldn't help but sigh and ask, "How is our morale now?"

He was considering whether to continue the attack.

Oshima Yuutake remained silent for a moment before answering truthfully:
"Casualties exceeded expectations, and morale was extremely low, including among the elite units of the Kwantung Army."

Next,
He asked tentatively in a low voice, "General, perhaps we should retreat?"

From the moment the attack was launched, Oyama Iwao was already mentally prepared for heavy casualties.

of course,

He also considered that if the casualties were too great, morale would definitely be low.

Boosting morale is of utmost importance right now.

Da Shanyan said in a deep voice, "Retreating at this time will deal a fatal blow to morale and will affect the situation in the entire Hanzhong region."

"Gather all commanders, beat the drums, fire the cannons!"

"Launch a final all-out attack before Ximentang's reinforcements arrive—!" (End of Chapter)