Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

The valley was lined with dense thickets of trees on both sides. The Japanese soldiers of the 63rd Infantry Regiment stopped at the entrance of the valley. The suspicious senior staff officer tried to dissuade Colonel Fukuei Shinpei:

"Commander, I have a feeling something's not right here. Avoid entering any valleys!"

Colonel Fu Rong, a seasoned veteran who had seen it all, was not intimidated by the senior staff officer's alarmist talk. Instead, he coldly asked:

"How do you know? This time, we took a detour to attack the mall from the side, using mountain paths and avoiding valleys. So, we didn't have to fight. The area is full of valleys along the way."

The senior staff officer continued, as if showing off:

"It's just too quiet. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms says that anything unusual is bound to be an ambush. It's better to be cautious."

"You idiot! You're trying to teach me how to fight like you're reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Don't you think that's ridiculous?!"

There was only the 31st Division on Yanjia Mountain, with 6,000 men. After several days of attrition, it would be a miracle if 3,000 men were still left.

A whole division was attacking from the front; where would the Chinese find the strength to defend their flanks? Surely Chi Fengcheng couldn't conjure soldiers out of thin air!

The senior staff officer thought about it and agreed. Both sides' troop strengths were on full display. Although the 13th Division was somewhat useless, it was still an infantry division, and it wouldn't be difficult for it to tie down the 31st Division.

Thinking of this, he still suggested:

"Better safe than sorry. It's better to send a large detachment ahead to clear the way while the main force stands by."

This time, Colonel Fu Rong did not reject the proposal but agreed to it, only sending the First Battalion into the valley to probe first, while the main force would provide support outside the valley at any time.

The Japanese soldiers' subtle actions did not escape the eyes of the supplementary regiment. Zhou Shiyuan, a veteran of many battles, made his decision after only a brief moment of consideration:

"Send the vanguard forward, then attack the main force behind them!"

Chief of Staff Wang Chao said with concern:

"The advance force numbers over a thousand. Wouldn't letting them pass endanger the safety of the mall? That's where the headquarters are located."

Zhou Shiyuan said confidently:

"They can't cause any trouble. Not to mention the 182nd Regiment and cavalry company guarding the south side of the mall, there's also an infantry division next to the headquarters, which participated in the fierce battle of Taierzhuang. Protecting the headquarters won't be difficult."

Seeing that the regimental commander had made up his mind, Wang Chao said no more and patiently waited for the main force of the Japanese army to arrive.

The valley winds westward for a short distance, only a little over a kilometer, and the vanguard brigade quickly and safely passed through, which reassured Colonel Fu Rong.

Colonel Fu Rong, wearing white gloves, slashed forward fiercely. The main force of the Japanese army sneaked into the valley under the moonlight and implemented strict blackout control.

The main force of the 63rd Regiment was divided into three echelons, forming three columns, and passed through the valley in a long snake formation. The baggage train and the regimental headquarters were protected in the middle by two infantry battalions.

The supplementary regiment had only a little over 1800 men, organized into three infantry battalions of 500 men each, an artillery company, a machine gun company, and the regimental headquarters.

The entire unit was ambushed on the northern ridge, with the machine gun company's eight Type 92 heavy machine guns lined up on the central ridge, their dark muzzles pointing directly into the valley.

The three infantry battalions were arranged from west to east, with the regimental headquarters located on the central hill.

Ambushing two infantry battalions with 1800 men was quite risky, but fortunately Zhou Shiyuan did not intend to annihilate the Japanese, but only to severely damage them.

After all the Japanese soldiers had entered the valley, Zhou Shiyuan drew his gun and fired three red signal flares into the sky in quick succession. Colonel Fu Rong's face changed drastically, and he screamed in terror:

"There's an ambush!"

"Thump thump thump..."

Four flares were fired simultaneously into the valley, illuminating the entire valley as if it were daytime. The Japanese soldiers were blinded by the sudden light and could not open their eyes, suffering temporary blindness.

The Japanese soldiers' movements were all exposed to the ambush troops. Officers at all levels ordered the grenades to be thrown. Rows of Japanese-made lemon grenades crashed into the valley, and the thousands of fragments produced by the explosions became a nightmare for the Japanese soldiers.

At the same time, the explosion ignited the weeds in the valley, and the firelight illuminated the shadowy figures of the Japanese soldiers.

The machine gun company's eight Type 92 heavy machine guns opened fire almost simultaneously, spraying countless bullets at the Japanese soldiers, causing chaos and destruction in the valley.

The long, single-line formation was cut into countless pieces. The startled Japanese soldiers were in complete chaos. Some fled in panic, some fired their guns indiscriminately, and many more were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

After each rifleman threw three grenades, they grabbed their rifles and continued firing, while the machine gun company continued to spray bullets, creating even greater chaos.

The artillery battery had been upgraded to use high-explosive shells, firing from the side and rear, fully utilizing the advantages of flanking firepower. Each round of artillery fire dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese.

The Japanese heavy machine guns and infantry guns were in a state of marching and could not be used for a short time. The defending army's artillery group fired indiscriminately, causing the Japanese to flee in disarray.

"Baka yarou, retaliate!"

"Don't run! Hold them off!"

"Coward, die!"

The officers tried to restrain the soldiers so they could organize a counterattack, but the camp had already been overrun, and the fear compounded by the darkness made it impossible for even a miracle to succeed.

Major Shirakawa, the battalion commander, managed to gather more than a hundred people. Amidst the chaos, he found Colonel Fukuei, who ordered them to immediately launch a counterattack and seize the high ground.

Major Shirakawa advised him:

"The Chinese firepower is too fierce. Even if we seize the high ground, we cannot repel them."

"Why don't we turn southwest? The Aoki Battalion is still there."

Colonel Fu Rong then remembered there was still a vanguard battalion, and as if grasping at a straw, he excitedly said:

"They will definitely return when they hear the gunfire, and then counterattack after regrouping with them."

Due to limited manpower, the supplementary regiment only had ambushes on the northern mountain ridge. The southern mountain ridge was open, and climbing it would allow them to escape. However, during this process, they had to expose their backs to the ambush, and how many people survived depended on luck.

After being suddenly attacked, the Japanese soldiers fled to the east and west along the flat ground of the valley, crowding each other and being killed or wounded in the pushing and shoving.

Surrounded by hundreds of Japanese soldiers, Colonel Fukuei stumbled and crawled up the ridge to the south, with people constantly being shot down by machine gun fire.

Another wave of flares lit up the night sky. By this time, most of the Japanese soldiers in the encirclement had been killed or wounded, and the remaining soldiers fled for their lives following the flow of people.

The entire regiment's machine guns and rifles fired fiercely at the Japanese soldiers' backs. They didn't really need to aim; they just fired at the crowd and were sure to hit one or two unlucky guys.

From the southwest of the valley, the Japanese soldiers who had been let go earlier returned. Major Aoki, who was leading the team, was very cunning. Instead of reinforcing along the valley, he took advantage of the night to sneak towards the northern mountain ridge, where they planned to ambush the enemy from the side.

Zhou Shiyuan had taken this into account when he let them pass, and left an infantry company on the mountaintop in the northwest.

When the Japanese soldiers stumbled and trudged up the hillside, the company commander decisively ordered them to open fire. Several Type 96 machine guns and hundreds of rifles suddenly opened fire on the Japanese soldiers, instantly killing dozens of them.

Then a barrage of grenades was dropped from the mountaintop, causing chaos among the Japanese soldiers and frightening Major Aoki.

The mountain road was steep, making it impossible for troops to deploy effectively. They were ambushed from higher ground, and every step forward required a heavy price.

Most importantly, Major Aoki didn't know how many soldiers were in the ambush. Just a few machine guns blocked the way up the mountain. Zhou Shiyuan, who was free to deal with the situation, sent two more companies to reinforce the area, completely extinguishing the Japanese's hopes of capturing the northern high ground.

At this time, most of the remaining Japanese soldiers had fled to the southern mountain ridge, facing the ambush troops across the valley. The Japanese had some ability to fight back, but the disparity was still significant.

The Japanese artillery and heavy machine guns were mostly left in the valley, and the light weapons they had were no match for the reinforcement regiment.

At this moment, the artillery and machine gun companies also turned their firepower to the southern mountain ridge, scaring the Japanese soldiers into fleeing to the northwest.

Major Aoki's remaining troops had fled towards Nanling and were no longer willing to fight. They fought and retreated to rejoin the main force.

Seeing that the Japanese soldiers had lost their will to fight, Zhou Shiyuan decisively decided to pursue them, and roared:

"Brothers, charge! Kill the Japanese devils!"

A loud bugle call rang out, and the entire regiment shouted slogans as they charged down the valley. The shouts of battle echoed through the valley, as if there were countless ambushes.

The artillery company also took the opportunity to fire into the depths where the Japanese troops were fleeing, boosting the morale of the infantry.

The defeat was swift and devastating; the Japanese soldiers were so terrified that they could no longer distinguish how many ambushes were hidden.

Colonel Fu Rong shouted that he wanted to fight back, but was carried away by several staff officers to escape, which angered him so much that he cursed:

"You bastards, you cowards, you wimps, the shame of the Imperial Army! You're trying to bring me to justice!"

"Put me down! I want to fight the Chinese!"

"Baka yarou!"

"Boom boom boom..."

A volley of shells landed on their side and rear, killing many Japanese soldiers and silencing Colonel Fukuei.

Escaping is the priority; just pretending is enough.

The soldiers of the replenishment regiment did not pursue them too far. In the pitch black, they could not see the road. They just kept shouting and fighting, and occasionally fired a few shots to boost morale.

The Japanese soldiers had long lost their will to fight. They always felt that someone was chasing them, so they stumbled and fled for their lives. Many of them fell and suffered head injuries, which increased the casualties.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Zhou Shiyuan loudly gave the order:

"The First Battalion will remain on guard at Nanling. The rest of you, hurry up and clean up the battlefield."