The sun never sets

"The enemy is escaping!"

Having fought for decades, Nogi Maresuke could not adapt to modern warfare, but he still had experience and vision. "The Chinese are trying to escape, just like before! We must catch up and destroy them on their way!"

Ijichi Yukisuke knew that General Nogi Maresuke was right, but... "I'm sorry, but we can't even spare a complete infantry battalion right now."

"Then use chaos to disrupt the enemy! Don't worry about the organization, just charge forward and attack wherever there are Chinese!"

Nogi Maresuke was not an uncultured man. On the contrary, he had a certain level of cultural literacy and could read and write Chinese, and even write poetry in Chinese. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he wrote a poem called "Conquering China", which reads: "The fat horses and broadswords have not yet been paid, and the emperor's grace has been in vain for several years. The bowl of the gourd is all drunken and the four hundred states of China are crushed!"

"Ijichi, we can't give the Chinese a chance to retreat and reorganize! If they return to Rajin, we will suffer all the same pain we suffered before! Tell the soldiers, we don't want any Chinese prisoners! I only want the dead, not the living!"

Ijichi Yukisuke thought of the corpses of Japanese soldiers scattered all over the ground outside, and couldn't help but shudder, "Your Excellency the Commander is right, I will issue the combat order right away!"

The Third Army had been shattered by the counterattack of the Provisional Tenth Division and was in a state of chaos. Many units had suffered heavy casualties and were simply unable to launch an attack. After Ijichi Yukisuke issued a new attack order, it immediately caused an uproar in the Third Army. The Japanese military had harsh military discipline, and they would beat people at will. Subordinates were not allowed to question the orders of their superiors, but Japanese soldiers were also human beings. After witnessing so many comrades die in battle and their own troops were on the verge of collapse, they could no longer endure it.

Someone shouted in anger: "We have been fighting hard for several days, but we only had one rice ball a day. We are so hungry that we can't even pull the bolt of the gun. How can we launch an attack?"

"Our squadron is almost wiped out!"

"Sir, we haven't seen military pay for half a year!"

Not only soldiers were making noises, but also sergeants, sergeants, and even some lieutenants joined in. Although the lieutenants did not express their opinions, their silence was indulging the soldiers in making trouble.

Ijichi Yukisuke was furious. "You are soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire, not cowardly Chinese! Are we fighting for military pay? Aren't we fighting to serve our country?"

Seeing that the army was showing signs of instability, Ijichi Yukisuke immediately dispatched troops directly under the army to suppress the situation. He shot more than 30 soldiers on the spot and incorporated all the troops showing signs of instability into the

Suicide Squad.

"There is only one path before you. If you move forward and defeat the enemy, you still have a chance of survival. If you retreat, you will all be shot!"

Ijichi Yukisuke deployed several machine guns at the starting position and announced that anyone who turned back would be regarded as an enemy and would be shot on the spot by the supervision team. Forced into a desperate situation, the Japanese soldiers could only march westward in twos and threes with their rifles. There were too many officers missing, their command chain was broken, and many troops were incomplete, so they seemed disorganized and their morale was low. Someone took two steps forward, then stopped and looked back. Ijichi Yukisuke mercilessly ordered the heavy machine guns to fire.

"grown ups!"

The heavy machine gunner's eyes were moist, and tears seemed to be about to roll down, but the desolate Outer Northeast did not believe in tears. The weather here was so cold that even blood and tears would solidify. Ijichi Yukisuke drew his pistol, "If you don't shoot, I will kill you now!"

".......Move forward!" The heavy machine gunner pulled the trigger, and bullets whizzed out, hitting the hard and cold ground and the Japanese soldiers. Amid the splattering blood, he shouted frantically, "Forward, forward!"

Seeing that the supervision team was serious, the Japanese soldiers who were incorporated into the attacking force did not dare to linger any longer. They staggered and launched a desperate charge towards the Chinese positions, choking and crying, "If there is an afterlife, I must not be born in Japan!"

Nogi Maresuke and Ijichi Yukisuke both thought that the People's Army's counterattack was for retreat. They guessed right, but only half right. The Provisional 10th Division was transporting the wounded and had already withdrawn the heavy howitzer company. Several regiments with heavy casualties were also preparing their luggage, but the main force did not withdraw. The Japanese army attacked without any rules, and the soldiers of the People's Army immediately gave them a head-on blow. There were not many shells left, so it was just right to use them up to save trouble. There were not many heavy machine gun bullets, but there were still enough rifle bullets.

During the Franco-Prussian War, many riflemen did not even finish firing 70 rounds of ammunition. In modern warfare, infantrymen fire more than twice as many rounds, but compared to machine guns, that is nothing. Amid the crisp sound of gunfire, Japanese soldiers fell one after another on the cold ground.

Without a complete chain of command, the Japanese army was no different from a mob. Some wanted to charge, some lay still, and some hid behind snowdrifts, shivering and completely losing their desire to fight. Some Japanese officers stood up straight, shouted loudly, and wanted to command the soldiers to attack. However, these brave officers were most likely to be shot by rifles, and the People's Army snipers first targeted them. With the officers being shot, the morale of the Japanese army further collapsed.

Chapter 337 Stone

"call!"

Li Chengxi exhaled a breath of white air, shivering all over, and the palm holding the rifle also trembled. The weather these days is better than before, at least the sun can be seen. But the temperature does not seem to rise. The newspaper said something like "the ice and snow melted and absorbed the heat, so it will be colder." Isn't this nonsense? How can it be colder when the sun is out? But it does seem to be colder...

A shadow was shaking on the ground in the distance. Li Chengxi moved the muzzle of the gun slightly to the right and pulled the trigger. "Bang!" The shadow in the distance suddenly fell down. The observer holding the telescope took out a pencil and drew the word "positive" on the notebook, saying, "Is this the seventeenth one?"

Li Chengxi pulled the bolt, ejected the shell, and fired another shot, "The eighteenth!"

The observer hurriedly picked up the telescope and looked, but did not find any Japanese soldiers who were shot and killed. "This doesn't count. I didn't see it."

"Oh," Li Chengxi said indifferently, "Then it doesn't count."

The observer blew a few breaths of hot air onto his right hand and wrote it down. "It doesn't count now. It may be counted when we take inventory after the battle."

Fighting a war requires not only good training and good weapons and equipment, but also statistics on military achievements and results, so as to stimulate morale. As long as the number of troops is large, statistics on the results of the battle will become a problem. The commander-in-chief and generals can only see a limited area, and they must rely on data collected by others to reward and punish. The People's Army has undergone several changes in the recognition of the results of the battle, and is still continuing to explore. This matter is very important, not only related to the morale of the army, but also to tactics. Lin Yongchang has learned a lot from the experience of later generations, but still feels that it has not reached perfection.

In addition to Li Chengxi, there were many snipers and special shooters active on the front line. They changed positions after firing a shot. Although they were also frozen and had clear noses running, they were still better than the Japanese lying on the snow. In the camp behind, there were steaming hot meals. If they couldn't stand it any longer, they could retreat to warm up. But the Japanese couldn't do that. They had machine guns behind them. If they turned back, they would die. But if they moved forward, they would also die. Even if they didn't get killed by the Chinese's cold guns, they would freeze to death lying in the snow.

I don't know when someone started crying. The crying seemed to be contagious, and soon, thousands of people on the snow were crying loudly together.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

"Woka Asan (Mom)!"

Li Chengxi squatted behind the ice and snow barrier, rubbed his red and stinging fingers, tilted his head and listened for a while, then asked:

What are the enemies shouting?"

The old soldier squatting behind the same section of the wall said tremblingly: "She's calling for her mother."

"Ah? Japanese people also have mothers?"

"Hey, why don't the Japanese have mothers? Could it be that they popped out from cracks in the rocks?" The old soldier wanted to laugh, but the weather was too cold and he couldn't laugh. He could only continue to hold his palms under his armpits to keep warm.

The cries of the Japanese soldiers reached the positions of the People's Army and also reached the departure positions of the Japanese army. Ichichi Yukisuke's face turned pale and he shouted angrily: "Shame! Shame! This is a shame for the Imperial Army! They are not worthy of being soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire!"

He rushed out of the command post and shouted, "Order the supervision team to move forward. Anyone who is afraid to move forward will be shot on the spot!"

Without waiting for the Japanese army to react, Wu Peifu had already ordered the demolition of several weak barriers and launched another attack. He had enough troops, and the infantry and cavalry cooperated with each other to use a short assault to eliminate the demoralized Japanese troops. Many Japanese soldiers did not even resist, just waiting for the Chinese to come and capture prisoners.

After nightfall, Wu Peifu received a report from his subordinates, "We have captured more than 2,000 prisoners? Has the morale of the Japanese army dropped to this level?"

"It is said that they have already killed horses to fill their stomachs, so it is normal that morale is low."

"Perhaps we don't need to retreat. We can completely eliminate the Japanese here."

The division chief of staff had similar thoughts. The Japanese army's morale was so low that if they could launch an attack decisively, it would not be difficult to defeat the Japanese army in front of them. He reached closer to the flames to get more heat, "You can call Luo Jin and tell him about the situation on the front line."

Lin Yongchang has always attached great importance to the opinions of frontline officers and soldiers. Many small tricks and experiences in the army were "invented" by him, and more were the wisdom of soldiers and commanders.

Wu Peifu picked up the phone and answered the call. After waiting for a minute, the bald man's voice came from the phone. "I am Lin Yongchang. Commander Wu, please go ahead."

"Yes, Marshal, we have captured more than 2,000 prisoners... I think we can launch a counterattack now... Okay... Got it!"

"How about it?"

Wu Peifu said with some regret: "Marshal should let us retreat to Laolongshan as planned, which is the planned location for the decisive battle."

The chief of staff turned his palm over and pointed the other side at the fire. "The marshal should have more considerations. There may be some information we don't know. Since the headquarters insists on the previous plan, let's retreat in batches."

Wu Peifu put down the microphone and came over to warm himself by the fire. "Okay, you take the artillery regiment and go first. I will go with the second batch of the division headquarters. Guo Songling's regiment will stay at the end."

Guo Songling's regiment was a reinforced regiment. It was called a regiment, but in fact, it had almost as much troops as a brigade. Wu Peifu regarded this unit as a trump card, using it to lead the charge during counterattacks and to cover the rear during retreats. The best troops should be used where they are needed most. What is the main force? For Wu Peifu, the ones who do the hard work are the main force!

The Japanese army did not know that the People's Army was preparing for a decisive battle near Laolong Mountain. They thought that Kraskino was the last line of defense leading to the city of Rajin.

"The Chinese are very powerful, but they can't afford to lose people, and they are not as hardworking as our army. Their defense relies on the existing towns. Behind Kraskino is Rajin. If we take Rajin, the combined fleet can deliver supplies!"

Oyama Iwao rushed to the headquarters of the Third Army and said to Nogi Maresuke, Ijichi Yukisuke and others, "It's just a little distance away!" He stretched out the thumb and index finger of his right hand and gestured, "That's all! Gentlemen, please keep working hard!"

Nogi Maresuke remained silent and just nodded. However, Ijichi Kosuke said loudly: "Marshal, we need more artillery shells and infantry!"

Oyama Iwao said without hesitation: "The reserve infantry brigade, field artillery regiment and other troops rushing over are all given to your Third Army. You must capture Rajin City!"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

Chapter 338 Bombardment

Oyama Iwao and other Japanese generals thought they were only one step away from escaping, and never thought they would encounter a more intense battle at Laolong Mountain. While the Japanese Army was struggling on the snow, the Combined Fleet had separated several battleships and some auxiliary ships to cover the huge transport fleet, which was hovering on the sea surface of Rajin Port.

Admirals such as Togo Heihachiro, Akiyama Saneyuki (younger brother of Akiyama Yoshifuru), and Misu Sotaro disagreed on what to do next. Some generals thought that they should approach the coast immediately, bombard Rajin City to pieces, and then send sailors to occupy the port; others thought that they should send people to contact the army and seize Rajin by sea and land. None of these naval generals worried about being counterattacked, because the Chinese navy was blocked in the ports of Lushun and Qingdao. Although Rajin was an ice-free port, it was just a small port, the kind that almost no one cared about on weekdays, so there was no coastal defense fortress. As long as two warships were sent to fire a few shots, Rajin Port could be captured.

What they were worried about was whether the Chinese would set fire to the port after being attacked. If that happened, the port of Rajin would be completely useless.

The army can only attack Seoul... Considering that Kuroki Tameshige and Okubo have been asking the headquarters for guidance, Seoul is probably not safe either. Should we send another squadron to bombard Seoul?

"We can't count on the army!" Togo Heihachiro, who was sitting at the head of the group, said, "The navy must act decisively!"

The Japanese navy was the same as the army, with many generals being butchers. They were like the British, drinking milk and eating bread, but they were actually the same kind of people. When fighting with the Russian navy, when the Russian army raised the white flag, Togo Heihachiro refused to accept it and ordered the cannons to continue firing until most of the Russian navy soldiers were killed. There was still no intention of surrendering, and other officers nearby could not stand it anymore and persuaded him hard, so Togo Heihachiro finally ordered to stop firing.

After listening to the generals' arguments for a while, Togo Heihachiro made a decision to use naval guns to blow Rajin Castle into pieces first, and then send sailors ashore. It didn't matter if the port was burned, the worst that could happen was to let the army build a simple dock in the sea water close to zero degrees. The army had a lot of people, so wouldn't it be easy to send a few thousand people?

The conflict between the army and the navy has a long history. Admirals such as Akiyama Saneyuki believe that the conflict between the army and the navy should be eliminated, but how is this possible? The army and the navy are competing for resources and interests, which is the root cause of the conflict between the army and the navy, not the so-called "fighting of wills". How can you make the opponent spit out the fat in his mouth? Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing his parents.

Since Admiral Togo had made the decision, the naval commanders below naturally had no other opinions. They sent the battleships "Izumo" and "Asama" and several destroyers to the seaside. After testing a few shells, they bombarded the city of Rajin. The power of the battleship's main guns was not comparable to the army's 150 small water pipes. Every salvo of the main guns was like a thunderclap on the sea. The shells fell into the city of Rajin, creating one big pit after another. The houses were soon collapsed and shattered. In less than half an hour, there was no intact house in the city of Rajin.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"boom!"

The air was trembling, as if the sky was burning. Lin Yongchang had always insisted on "land first, then sea", believing that what China needed most now was a strong army. Even after seeing the power of the battleship salvo, he did not change his mind. However, seeing such powerful firepower, one cannot help but have some ideas. The people's government must have its own navy. Now there is no such condition, and in the future, a strong navy must be established.

Luojin City is too close to the sea, and the main guns of the battleships can reach it. Marshal Lin naturally cannot leave his troops in the city and let the Japanese bomb them. The troops and houses are all placed in the snow several miles north of the city. At this time, the effective range of battleships is only about 10,000 meters. The Japanese warships are outdated. A 3% hit rate at a distance of 7,000 to 8,000 meters is considered well-trained.

The shells exploded with a rumble, causing the snow on some nearby mountains to slide down and form an avalanche. "Tsk tsk, the combined fleet still has some capital." Lin Yongchang put down the telescope and said, "The Japanese warships are getting closer, and the artillery can work."

The warships "Izumo" and "Asama" were a little cautious at first, and kept a distance from the coast. However, the accuracy of their artillery fire was not good enough when they were too far away, and seeing that there was no force in Rajin City to fight back, they moved closer. The two old battleships were better, their gun barrels were thick and long enough, and although they were not so accurate, they could still hit. The guns on the destroyers were not good enough, and in order to be able to fire shells into Rajin City, they had to get as close to the coast as possible. After crashing into some floating ice, several destroyers were almost on the shore.

Being too close to the shore gave the People's Army an opportunity. The heavy artillery regiment ambushed on the nearby hilltop immediately took action after receiving the call. The soldiers pushed away the bunkers made of branches and ice and snow, uncovered the gun covers on the cannons, and aimed the black muzzles at the destroyers on the shore. The heavy howitzers were only 150 caliber, and it was difficult to penetrate the armor of the Japanese battleships, so the targets of the attack were all Japanese destroyers and auxiliary ships. The People's Army purchased several fortress guns from Britain, all of which were modified with the British scrapped gun barrels. It was possible to penetrate the armor of the Japanese battleships, but they were not pulled over. In this kind of freezing weather, it was good to be able to pull out a 150mm caliber cannon. Cannons with a caliber of more than 300mm were really too heavy. In the absence of railways, it would take several months to transport them by human and animal power.

Therefore, the goal of the heavy artillery regiment was very clear. Don't worry about the battleships, just pick the light ships and auxiliary ships to attack. It is better to break one finger than to hurt ten fingers. It is better to sink a few auxiliary ships than to damage the Japanese capital ships. The financial situation of the Japanese is ten times worse than that of the people's government. They are on the verge of bankruptcy. Inflicting more losses on them means pushing the Meiji government one step closer to the edge of destruction.

The Japanese army bombarded the port while using transport ships to carry out amphibious landings in Rajin Harbor. Their main goal was to capture the port and provide supplies to the army. Destroying Rajin City was a secondary goal. The battleship stopped after bombarding more than a dozen rounds. The barrels of large-caliber naval guns are very expensive and have a short lifespan. Generally, the rifling will be worn out after firing 400 rounds. In addition, large-caliber shells are also very expensive. Japan is already bankrupt.

The navy is not rich, so we should save as much as possible.

Togo Heihachiro ordered the battleships to stop firing, and only the destroyers and light cruisers continued to fire. Then, he received news that Chinese artillery positions were found nearby and the armored cruiser "Asama" was hit.

Chapter 339: Cleaning the Ground

The armored cruiser "Asama" was not the target of the heavy artillery regiment. Obviously, it was hit because it missed the target. It was normal to miss the target without correction. "Asama" was just unlucky. A 150mm howitzer hit the front deck, destroyed a secondary gun, and killed and injured several naval soldiers. Apart from that, there were no other problems.

After being attacked, the Japanese warships used the ship's secondary main guns, secondary guns, mortars and other weapons to fight back. The shells blasted out black marks on the snow, but they were of little use. Even though the Japanese suppressed several artillery positions, there was no way to improve the environment they were in. The sailors who were landing had no cover and no ability to fight back. In the bombardment of the People's Army, the transport ships were either hit and caught fire, or collided with the ships next to them. The Russian landing in Huludao was a disaster, but the Japanese landing was not a disaster because not many of them went ashore, and not many people would die here.

The Japanese soldiers who came ashore lay on the ground in a daze. Many of them did not even have rifles. They could neither attack nor defend. They could only watch the battleship spewing flames.

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat! What are you still doing there?"

Under the command of the officers, the Japanese soldiers who had landed swam towards the transport ship. The sea water may be close to zero degrees, or it may be below zero. Who knows? When the electrolyte concentration and air pressure change, the freezing point of water will also change. But whether it is below zero or not, wading in the freezing cold sea water will not be a fun experience. There were explosions everywhere. The transport ship was fleeing to the distant sea. Some sailors endured the pain and climbed onto the ship. More people quickly lost heat in the cold sea water, their limbs became stiff, and they slowly sank to the bottom of the sea in despair.

Footsteps sounded on the deck of the battleship, and a sergeant rushed in and reported loudly: "General, the enemy's artillery has withdrawn!"

Togo Heihachiro said "hmm", waved his hand to let the captain retreat, and then said: "The Chinese artillery has only withdrawn, not been destroyed. They are still hiding in places we can't see, ready to attack us at any time."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "We need to send someone to contact the army. Without the guidance of an observer, the warships are just wasting shells by firing."

No one said anything about sending sailors to capture ports and cities. It was obvious that the Chinese would not fight them with artillery. The army's small water pipes could not sink battleships. But if the Japanese army began to land, the Chinese would greet them with artillery. The combined fleet was very strong, but the navy's sailors were not very good at fighting on land, and the warships could not sail to the shore. Unless the Japanese learned the skill of "land sailing".

The landing operation was a complete failure. The loss of hundreds of soldiers was fine, but the sinking of two transport ships and the damage to a destroyer were the painful things for Togo Heihachiro. The economy of the Meiji government of Japan had deteriorated sharply in the past two years. The army needed to expand and the navy needed to build up, and both of these required money. The resources available to the navy were getting less and less. As for the damage to a secondary gun of the armored cruiser "Asama" and the minor damage to another destroyer, those were not big problems and could be solved with a little money.

"We have to wait here for the Army to arrive."

Togo Heihachiro finally said: "Then work with the army to defeat the despicable Chinese!"

The army that Admiral Heihachiro Togo had been talking about had already reached the vicinity of Laolong Mountain, and could no longer advance. The People's Army built a larger defense line near Laolong Mountain, deployed more troops, more machine guns, and brought in more artillery, including mountain artillery, field artillery, and heavy howitzers. The retreating 7th Division and the Provisional 10th Division were deployed behind the defense line as a reserve force ready to be deployed to the battlefield at any time.

The Japanese reconnaissance troops did not expect to encounter the Chinese defense line here. When they climbed to the top of the hill, they were stunned when they saw the continuous defense line and countless barracks, artillery positions and other facilities built with ice and snow. Private Urameshi grabbed his hair in pain and groaned, "How could this happen? Why are there so many enemies here?"

The companion lamented: "No matter how the enemy appeared here, what we have to do now is to pass the message back. The adults above will naturally make a decision."

Urameshi pounded the ground and said angrily: "What can the higher-ups do? They want us to attack? So many people have died..."

"So many people have died," Nogi Maresuke said expressionlessly, "How can we stop here?" He looked at Ijichi Yukisuke and said in a cold tone, "Select a squadron from each brigade to form a suicide squad."

Ijichi Yukisuke whispered: "The morale of the army is low. If we continue to form a suicide squad, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Nogi Maresuke

A cold smile appeared on his face. "If necessary, tie a bomb to me! I will personally lead the suicide squad to charge!"

"........I see!"

Soon, one after another, the broken squadrons were picked out. Just like the previous suicide squads, those who participated in the death assault were given sake and rice balls. However, there was only one rice ball, and there was nothing in it. The sake was as bland as water, and there was no taste at all.

Urameshi and his three companions knelt on the cold snow, stuffed cold rice balls into their mouths, and then drank cold water... sake. "I don't want to die!" He looked at the ground and whispered, "Yingzi is still waiting for me at home."

Several companions beside him were motionless, seemingly listening to the lecture of Chief of Staff Ijichi Yukisuke, or just frozen. Urameshi's voice became louder, "I don't want to die! Kuwabara, you guys should escape with me later!"

Kuwabara and Urameshi were both from Kanazawa, and from the same village, as were the other two people next to them. Most of the dozen people from their village died in the battle, leaving only the four of them. Kuwabara's body moved, and his voice came over, "Stupid Urameshi! Do you want to be shot for speaking so loudly?"

Urameshi lowered his voice, "You guys should follow me later, don't rush too fast."

Another short companion said, "It's useless. Even if we fall behind, we will be killed by our own machine guns." He didn't move, his lips opened and closed quickly, "That's how the Togu brothers died! I saw their bodies were broken!"

Senior Soldier Urahime whispered: "We can hide first, or pretend to be dead..."