You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

At the Dawangzhuang stronghold, there was a small Japanese squad stationed, whose leader was named Tanaka.

This person is different from the other Japanese soldiers.

When the other Japanese soldiers heard the news, their faces turned pale; when he heard the news, his face turned red.

It wasn't fear, it was anger.

Tanaka stood atop the watchtower, holding a telescope, and gazed westward for a long time.

The wind blew his military overcoat, making it flutter loudly. His face was flushed red from the wind, but the light in his eyes was colder than the wind itself.

"Baka!"

Tanaka put down his binoculars, turned around, and looked at his soldiers.

More than a hundred Japanese soldiers stood in neat rows, their bayonets gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Anping stronghold is gone, and those in Liulin Town have fled, but we, Dawangzhuang, cannot run away!"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word sounded like it was carved from stone, hard and resonant, capable of creating a dent when it hit the ground.

"We are soldiers of the Empire, warriors of His Majesty the Emperor! Warriors may die, but they cannot run!"

Tanaka walked to the front of the line, his gaze sweeping from the first row to the last.

He drew his military knife, the blade flashing in the sunlight, illuminating half of his face—thin, hard, with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, like the cold glint of a blade.

"May the Great Japanese Empire enjoy lasting military fortune!"

"Banzai!" More than a hundred voices shouted in response.

Tanaka nodded and sheathed his sword.

"Take your positions. Wait for them to come."

The Eighth Route Army troops stopped three miles away from Dawangzhuang.

The scouts reported that landmines had been laid on the road ahead, trenches had been dug along the roadside, and machine gun muzzles were even protruding from the firing ports of the pillboxes.

Li Yunlong poked his head out of the command vehicle, glanced through the binoculars, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Not only did they not surrender, they even dared to resist!"

Zhang Dabiao glanced over as well: "Commander, a squad of over a hundred men. They've dug trenches and laid landmines outside, piled sandbags at the entrance, and set up two machine guns."

"Should we send infantry up and capture him alive?"

"Need not."

Li Yunlong waved his hand, his smile vanished instantly, and his eyes turned cold.

"This kind of madman isn't worth our brothers risking our lives for."

"clear!"

The order was quickly relayed.

Twelve 122mm self-propelled howitzers slowly drove out of the formation and came to a stop.

The gunners swiftly loaded shells and aimed at the target.

"Rapid sight 500! Direction straight ahead! One high-explosive round! Load!"

"Loading complete!"

"Target locked!"

"put!"

"boom!"

A deafening roar erupted, and a massive burst of flame shot from the cannon muzzle.

This time, the shell did not hit the wall of the pillbox, but precisely struck the center of the top of the pillbox.

The high-explosive bomb exploded inside the pillbox, and the resulting shockwave spread in all directions instantly.

The entire pillbox collapsed layer by layer from the top down, like building blocks.

Bricks, steel bars, wood, and even the corpses of Japanese soldiers were blown dozens of meters into the air.

The enormous explosion shook the earth and could be heard several kilometers away.

The smoke of battle slowly dissipated.

All that remained was a huge crater, more than ten meters in diameter and three meters deep.

Forget about a complete pillbox, you can't even find a single rock bigger than a fist.

That fanatical militarist Tanaka was completely wiped out, not even a trace remained.

His proud Bushido spirit appeared so laughable and fragile in the face of absolute power.

After the gunfire subsided, the whole world fell silent.

Li Yunlong dusted off his hands and said calmly, "Alright, that's settled. Let's move on."

The tank started up again, rolling over the still-smoking ground, and continued eastward.

The roar of engines resumed as tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery drove past the ruins of Dawangzhuang in turn.

No one cheered, no one stopped to take pictures, and no one gave it a second glance.

This watchtower is no different from the one before it, and the one before that.

The tracks rolled over the gravel, kicking up a cloud of dust that covered the Japanese flag that had fallen to the ground.

……

As dusk fell, the setting sun shone like blood.

The brigade commander, standing in the command vehicle, picked up the walkie-talkie and issued the order: "Attention all personnel! Rest in place for one hour! Eat, refuel the vehicles!"

At the command, the previously roaring torrent of steel instantly fell silent.

The soldiers jumped off the vehicle, found a clean spot to sit down, and skillfully took out their individual self-heating rations from their backpacks.

Tearing open the packaging, pulling open the heating pack, and pouring out the mineral water—the whole sequence of actions was fluid and effortless.

A few minutes later, a rich aroma of meat filled the entire camp, overpowering the smells of gasoline and gunpowder.

"Dinner's ready!"

Someone shouted, and the entire camp instantly became lively.

The soldiers opened their mess boxes, revealing steaming rice, large chunks of braised pork, glistening braised eggs, and refreshing stir-fried vegetables—a sight that made one's mouth water.

Everyone devoured the food, their mouths greasy with oil, not even wasting a drop of soup.

"The food Mr. Shen brought is still the best! It's a million times better than the cornbread we used to have!"

"Absolutely! Back in the day, when we were on the march, we were lucky to get a hot meal. Now, it's great that we can have this delicious braised pork anytime, anywhere!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not going to give me your braised eggs? I'll trade you my vegetables!"

"Get lost! If you want it, take it yourself!"

The soldiers chatted and laughed, joking around, and the fatigue of a day's march dissipated in the aroma of the food.

"How much does such a delicious meal cost?"

"I think it'll cost at least half a dollar!"

"Half a dollar? We eat half a dollar a day?"

"It can't be this expensive, can it?"

"That's enough to buy a bag of flour!"

"What do you think!"

……

The brigade commander shook his head upon hearing the soldiers' conversation.

Half a silver dollar?

It's worth noting that this luxurious ration was exported to Europe at a price equivalent to one gram of gold per serving.

If you convert it to silver dollars, it would cost about 5 yuan!

The brigade commander's lips twitched.

At first, I thought the weapons Mr. Shen brought were the most valuable.

But gradually we realized that compared to logistical supplies, weapons were actually a minor expense!

With a food allowance of 5 silver dollars per person per day, the monthly cost for these 10,000 people would be nearly two million silver dollars!

There is also fuel and ammunition.

The brigade commander turned to look at the other side, where hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, transport vehicles, and maintenance vehicles drove off the road one after another and lined up in neat rows on the open ground by the roadside.

The logistics convoy immediately followed, and the logistics soldiers, dressed in blue work clothes, carried fuel nozzles and quickly ran to each vehicle to refuel.

The fuel line was pulled off the vehicle and inserted into the tank's fuel tank opening. The fuel pump hummed as diesel fuel flowed into the line.

The soldier in charge of refueling wore canvas gloves, his eyes fixed on the fuel gauge, his hand holding the fuel nozzle, his posture as precise as if he were performing surgery.

A young soldier, who had just finished eating, squatted by the roadside, watching the tank refuel with curiosity.

Then he took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

He had just finished eating, and his stomach felt warm. He felt that having a cigarette at this moment would be like being in heaven.

The young soldier took out a match, ready to strike it.

"Sizzle—!"