Film and Television World Life Record

When news of the victory in the defense of Linyi spread, it caused quite a stir. This was a small, elite division. The fact that it had fought the 40th Army to a standstill was already astonishing.

Unexpectedly, with the help of the 59th Army, they actually won the battle, and the Itagaki Division was defeated and fled.

When the news spread across the country through journalists' articles and newspapers, it sent a jolt through the spirits of people nationwide.

In the original Battle of Linyi, the Japanese suffered more than 2,000 casualties, which could be considered a minor victory; this time, under Li Mu's influence, and with the addition of those who died at his hands, the Japanese casualties reached as high as 7,000 to 8,000.

With such troop strength and firepower, they managed to achieve a one-for-one exchange, a rare sight on the domestic battlefield, no wonder the media rushed to report on it.

……

On the morning of the 13th, Li Mu also saw the news of the great victory in Linyi in the newspaper, and smiled slightly, thinking that he had done a good job.

However, if he remembered correctly, another brutal war was about to take place.

To block the southward advance of the Japanese Isogai Division, the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army held Tengxian for four days. All 3000 soldiers of the defending Sichuan Army, including Division Commander Wang Mingzhang, perished. The last 300 seriously wounded soldiers fought hand-to-hand with the Japanese to their deaths, or committed suicide with grenades. Not a single soldier was captured!

This fully demonstrated the spirit and momentum of the Sichuan Army.

This bought ample time for military deployment before the subsequent victory at Taierzhuang.

In his memoirs, Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone wrote: "Without the arduous defense of Tengxian, how could we have achieved the victory at Taierzhuang? It was truly the result of the martyrs of Tengxian."

In fact, before joining the Fifth War Zone, the Sichuan Army's path in the War of Resistance Against Japan was not smooth.

The sound of gunfire at the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 awakened the entire Chinese nation. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, the people of the whole country rose up to resist the enemy and defend against humiliation, and soldiers from all provinces volunteered to go to the front line of the war.

Meanwhile, the Sichuan Army, which served as the second reserve force, was reorganized into two columns, the 22nd and 23rd Army Groups, and officially set out from Sichuan to fight against the Japanese. Reserve forces were also being formed one after another.

The Sichuan Army during this period was an outright ragtag force with low troop quality and outdated weaponry. Its main weapons were the Sichuan-made Type 79 rifles, broadswords, and spears, and its only heavy weapons were homemade light and heavy machine guns and mortars.

When they left Sichuan, it was autumn and the soldiers' logistics were extremely rudimentary. They only had two sets of cloth uniforms, a pair of leggings, and two pairs of straw sandals, making them look exactly like beggars.

Then, upon hearing that the Japanese were invading Shanxi, the Sichuan Army went to their aid. However, by the time they arrived, Taiyuan had already fallen. Faced with the Japanese army's mobile and rapid-fire forces, the Sichuan Army, poorly equipped, crumbled at the first contact and fled in disarray. Passing by the Jin-Sui Army's armory, they broke down the doors and resupplyed without authorization. Upon hearing this, Yan Xishan cursed them, "A bandit army, more interested in harassing the people than fighting the Japanese!"

The report was submitted to the government, ordering the Sichuan army to be immediately withdrawn and sent as far away as possible. A telegram was also sent throughout the country.

Guo Fu called the commander of the First War Zone, wanting to transfer the Sichuan Army to the First War Zone, but Commander Cheng repeatedly refused: "If Yan Xishan doesn't want it, why don't you give it to me?"

In the early stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, all major war zones held this attitude towards the Sichuan Army, which was known for its low combat effectiveness and poor conduct.

The Sichuan Army couldn't find a place to take over, and even the principal slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Let them go back to Sichuan and rule as kings!"

Finally, when asked for the opinion of the Fifth War Zone, Commander Li immediately stood up and said, "Excellent! I need troops right now, so transfer the Sichuan Army to Xuzhou."

No one expected that such a poorly equipped, ragtag army, dressed in straw sandals and looking like beggars, would have such a strong will and fighting power.

Entrusted with a critical mission, the exhausted army held out to the death in Teng County, fighting to the last man until the entire army was wiped out.

After this battle, no one dared to underestimate the Sichuan Army again.

……

According to Li Mu's memory, the Battle of Tengxian seems to have started on the 14th, which is tomorrow.

This also gave him time to gather intelligence and observe the terrain.

The Isogai Division, this old and elite division, has become Li Mu's next target. The defense of Tengxian may have a different outcome.

However, before that, the Japanese soldiers besieged in Ju County also needed to come up with a way to completely resolve the situation.

Despite the 5th Division's current disheveled state and encirclement, its fighting strength is by no means weak. The 59th and 40th Armies can besiege them for a few days, but annihilating them completely is basically impossible.

Li Mu, however, did not intend to let it go so easily, after all, it had already been blown up several times.

His goal wasn't the gain or loss of a single city or the victory or defeat of a particular battle. His primary objective was to cripple the Japanese forces. If enough died, conquering more cities or winning more battles would be futile!

Like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, once the number of spies in China drops to a certain level, the backlash will naturally follow. How they were fed up will be how they'll spit it out later!

Continuing to bomb the Japanese in Ju County is one option, but Ju County is not small. If the Japanese are hiding in houses, how many bombs would it take to bomb the entire city?

Such a waste!

Li Mu quickly came up with another idea after a moment's thought. He drew a model of a plastic bucket and ordered a batch of very large plastic buckets, the kind that could hold a ton of gasoline.

This barrel can not only hold gasoline, but it also has a concave section inward, just big enough to hold a 25-kilogram bomb; its position and size fit perfectly.

Ju County fell into the hands of the Japanese before the Battle of Linyi, and all the people in the city had fled, so it was practically a dead city.

That's good too. Bombs plus gasoline—if tens of tons of gasoline were poured down, the scene would be absolutely spectacular.

Chapter 431 Becoming a Martyr

For the next two days, the weather was gloomy and visibility was very low at night, making it impossible to carry out bombing missions.

While handling some affairs in Nanyang, Li Mu also gathered various intelligence and ascertained the deployment of the "Little Notebook" in Teng County.

This needs to be clarified in advance; otherwise, with only twenty-odd minutes of combat time, relying on flying a plane with binoculars to search for notebooks and observe their troop deployments from the sky would be a huge waste of time.

Besides the Japanese troops in Tengxian, the remnants of the Banheng Division, which were besieged by the 40th and 59th Armies in Juxian, were also Li Mu's targets.

Despite being a remnant force, the Banheng Division still had over 10,000 men, except for a detachment of cavalry that escaped. Although they lost a lot of heavy weapons, their fighting strength should not be underestimated.

Now, these 10,000-plus men are entrenched in Ju County and will soon break through the encirclement, join forces with the supporting troops, escape danger, and even launch a counterattack against the 40th and 59th Armies.

Although the 40th and 59th Armies had surrounded the enemy, they lacked the strength to annihilate them, but they were also afraid of letting them escape and allowing the tiger to return to the mountains. For a time, they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

This is actually a good thing. More than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, besieged and entrenched in a county town, provide a perfect opportunity to inflict casualties on the Japanese forces.

In Li Mu's view, eliminating these 10,000-plus people would weaken the Japanese army as much as winning several small battles.

……

On the night of the 15th, the weather improved, with stars and a moon, and the time to make a move finally arrived.

He had already prepared hundreds of custom-made plastic buckets beforehand. These buckets were quite large, each capable of holding about a ton of gasoline.

In addition, as per Li Mu's request, these gasoline drums also had a recessed groove that could hold a 25-kilogram aerial bomb.

Li Mu has plenty of gasoline now. He'll find someone to fill these 100 plastic buckets with gasoline and place the aerial bombs in the grooves of the buckets.

At one o'clock in the morning, Li Mu opened his eyes, quickly washed up, and went to the runway, where the ground crew had already made preparations.

A few minutes later, the fighter jets plunged into the night and flew towards Ju County.

More than an hour later, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters above Ju County, Li Mu opened the hatch, took out his binoculars, and circled the county town while observing the situation below.

The Japanese had clearly made some preparations for the bombing. Not only was the entire county town dark, but apart from the troops on guard duty, the rest were scattered in various residential areas.

If bombs are used, the county town is so big, and there are houses blocking the way, the amount needed would be too large, and the effect might not be that good.

However, the Japanese only thought about defending against aerial bombs, but didn't think about fire prevention.

Looking down at the county town below, Li Mu sighed. After tonight, this county town might cease to exist.

However, it was worth it to have more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers buried with us.

Thinking of this, a hand reached out of the cabin. More than seven meters away, a huge plastic barrel containing a ton of gasoline appeared out of thin air, with a 25-kilogram aerial bomb embedded in its body.

The next moment, the plastic gasoline drum, along with the aerial bomb, hurtled towards the county town.

A moment later, a loud explosion was heard. A ton of gasoline, under the effect of a 25-kilogram bomb, turned into sparks that flew hundreds of meters into the air, igniting countless houses and turning the area within a hundred meters into a sea of ​​fire.

Countless figures could be faintly seen screaming inside, and countless Japanese soldiers rushed out of the flames to hide elsewhere.

However, soon, a second gasoline drum strapped with a bomb fell and exploded with a bang, turning the area within a radius of hundreds of meters into a sea of ​​fire once again.

Another scene of screams and Japanese soldiers running and hiding everywhere.

Li Mu remained unmoved, and soon came the third, the fourth, the fifth…

The plane circled back and forth over Ju County, and as oil drums fell one by one, wherever they landed, a sea of ​​fire engulfed everything.

Within minutes, Li Mu threw down more than sixty oil drums, equivalent to more than sixty tons of gasoline. The houses were completely ignited, and the entire county town was turned into a huge sea of ​​fire. Japanese soldiers screamed and ran around, searching for areas that had not yet been affected.

Moreover, in many areas that the oil drums had not previously reached, the Japanese began to retaliate with anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons.

Unfortunately, Li Mu's fighter jet remained at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, so the anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons were of little use.

The Japanese soldiers understood this principle as well, and naturally they were unwilling to give up, so they set their attack target on the gasoline drums that had been thrown down.

This method worked well; some gasoline cans were smashed, and gasoline splattered everywhere in the air, splashing onto the ground and becoming new fuel.

Some gasoline drums were ignited by bullets high in the air. After a loud explosion, gasoline splashed everywhere and turned into sparks, covering the entire county like rain.

Now, many outlying and unburned houses, which were not originally covered or set on fire, were also set ablaze with the help of the Japanese.

Soon, the fire spread to all the houses in the county town, turning into a huge raging fire that burned everything!

More than eighty gasoline barrels, totaling more than eighty tons of gasoline, were thrown in, igniting everything flammable in the entire county and turning the place into a sea of ​​fire.

Li Mu circled the county town several times. Many Japanese soldiers, in order to save their lives, abandoned their armor and weapons and ran directly out of the city gates; some were forced by the fire and even jumped off the city walls.

Li Mu watched silently, without the slightest pity.

A few minutes later, seeing that they were running low on fuel, they decided to return to port.

The 40th and 59th Armies stationed outside the city were startled and jumped up immediately when Ju County was bombed, staring at the horrifying scene before them.

After they surrounded the county town layer by layer, the entire city had turned into a sea of ​​fire. Many of the small-time guerrillas even escaped without a care in the world, which allowed them to capture quite a few prisoners.

Looking at the raging fire before them, the officers and soldiers of both armies were shocked and somewhat bewildered. More than 10,000 Japanese soldiers had been wiped out so simply.

Their defensive mission was accomplished, and even exceeded expectations. Except for a few cavalrymen who escaped, the Banheng Division was almost completely wiped out.

……