Lin Fan left with one hundred and seventy men, and returned with more than a thousand.

Before Xu Kang could be happy, he heard that they had returned to move, which was hardly something to celebrate.

"If that's the case, I'll only be happy! Of course, I'll protect you during the breakout.

"This kind of prepared withdrawal is definitely more stable than us taking action.

"But the commander believes in me, there won't be such an order from above.

"Even if there is, it will eventually be canceled.

"By the time the situation is irreparable, withdrawal will be impossible," Lin Fan said happily.

Commander Xu Kang's expression was grim. "I'll try to prepare twelve vehicles for you, but I still hope your prediction is wrong."

"I also hope my preparations won't be needed!" Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

He finally secured twelve vehicles.

The men of the Special Operations Detachment were assigned to the same camp they had left.

It was a bit crowded now, but the soldiers were used to it; no matter how crowded, it was still better than being on trains and ships.

In fact, Commander Xu Kang didn't tell Lin Fan one thing: the German-imported "Krupp" 150mm cannons on the Jiangyin Fortress had already been dismantled, sealed, and were waiting to be transferred to the rear.

Lin Fan didn't know about this. As soon as the thousand-plus men arrived and settled in the fortress,

they immediately began intensive training.

Lin Fan addressed everyone in the detachment, "We're here to fight the Japanese devils.

"How do we fight? We'll use the fortress's cannons and the rifles in our hands to fight the Japanese devils.

"Therefore, we must learn the ability to move the cannons in an emergency.

"And the ability to drive."

After the meeting, Lin Fan ordered the teams to practice dismantling and assembling the cannons.

Among the eight teams were soldiers who had previously learned how to disassemble and maintain these cannons. With experienced men leading the new recruits, the training was not difficult.

When the twelve vehicles drove into the Special Company's base, Lin Fan immediately arranged for Jia Chengbi, Pei Xueyi, and others who had trained to drive tanks to practice driving. He also had each of them take two apprentices.

He wanted to ensure that there were three drivers in each vehicle.

Jia Chengbi, Pei Xueyi, and others, who had barely learned to drive, were now considered veteran drivers in Lin Fan's team.

Today was November 17, 1937, and the situation on the front lines was worsening.

The entire Zha-Jia Line had fallen.

Soldiers from various battlefields were retreating to the rear in a panic.

Chiang Kai-shek and his entire headquarters were also urgently discussing countermeasures.

The war situation for the entire country was extremely grim:

In November alone, on November 3rd, Xin County fell.

On November 8th, Taiyuan fell.

On November 9th, Shanghai fell.

On November 15th, Jiaxing fell.

On the same day, Kunshan fell.

On November 16th, Wujiang fell.

The war situation was extremely difficult. At this time, voices advocating for peace talks grew louder within Chiang Kai-shek's government.

His deputy, the one who had written:

*Singing generously in the Yan market, facing imprisonment calmly.*

*Drawing the knife for a swift cut, living up to my youthful head.*

This was the very man who was now actively uniting with some internal opponents to prepare to seize power.

Vice President Wang Jingwei, seeing the dire war situation in the country these days,

had thoughts of peace talks. The Japanese also had an urgent desire for peace talks.

And the Japanese's biggest wish was: Chiang Kai-shek must step down.

This was a non-negotiable condition.

Of course, Chiang Kai-shek could not accept this condition, but it was what Wang Jingwei wanted most.

Therefore, he actively contacted the Japanese, while also colluding with his supporters, hoping to rise to power.

All these things combined gave Chiang Kai-shek a headache.

He could never give up his position. Never.

He had to fight the war. Now that the whole country was in high spirits for resistance, as long as he, as the leader of the country, firmly resisted, he could gain the support of the people.

No matter how Wang Jingwei and his gang schemed, they would eventually become sinners of history.

On this point, Chiang Kai-shek had a very clear mind.

But how did the war in front of him turn out like this?

Chiang Kai-shek did not understand.

Just today, Changshu, Fushan, and Suzhou on the front lines were in fierce battles.

The attacking Japanese forces suffered heavy casualties, and the National Revolutionary Army also suffered heavy losses. Wang Lingyun, the commander of the 70th Division, kept sending urgent requests for reinforcements to the rear.

Liao Lei received the order: "Fushan Town is an important national defense area and must not be lost. Commanders Liao and Luo are to coordinate and plan."

Commander Liao Lei ordered the 56th Division to send a portion of its forces to reinforce Fushan Town, preparing to take over the defense of the 76th Division.

The offensive and defensive battles between Fushan and Changshu these past few days had also frustrated Matsui Iwane:

He had sent all the heavy artillery regiments of each division to the front lines.

Over a hundred cannons, including more than thirty 150mm heavy cannons, bombarded the national defense positions of Fushan and Changshu.

Although these bombardments had some effect, they did not help the Japanese army capture these two strategic locations.

So he turned his attention to Xiejiabridge, located between the two places.

Xiejiabridge was located between Changshu and Fushan Town.

Matsui Iwane personally ordered the 103rd Brigade of the 13th Division to attack Xiejiabridge.

The 13th Division was a division that was hastily rebuilt after the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai.

The division commander, Ogisu Rippei, was promoted to major general in October 1933 and successively served under generals Terauchi Hisaichi, Yanagawa Heisuke, and Umezu Yoshijiro.

He was promoted to lieutenant general this March and was originally the assistant to Gangcun Ningci of the Kwantung Army: the deputy commander of the 2nd Division.

On September 10th, Japan decided to rebuild the 13th Division, and he became the division commander.

Now, in the entire Shanghai Expeditionary Army, Division Commander Ogisu Rippei was well-connected, with his old superiors everywhere.

In order to show his face in front of these old superiors, Division Commander Ogisu Rippei, upon receiving the order, immediately ordered the 103rd Brigade to strengthen its offensive against Xiejiabridge.

Brigade Commander Maemoto Taku did not dare to neglect, and immediately commanded an infantry battalion, plus a mountain artillery battalion, to attack Xiejiabridge.

At this time, the main force of the National Revolutionary Army was defending around Changshu, and only the Special Service Battalion of the 48th Army was defending Xiejiabridge.

The Japanese mountain artillery bombarded continuously, and the infantry also charged bravely. By noon, the Special Service Battalion had suffered heavy casualties and could no longer continue fighting.

Army Commander Wei Yunsong issued a death order to Battalion Commander Xia Yansheng, stating that if they retreated, they would be dealt with by military law.

Death! The entire battalion would die at Xiejiabridge and could not retreat half a step.

The offensive and defensive battle for Xiejiabridge continued, and Matsui Iwane personally inquired: "Have you captured it?"

Brigade Commander Maemoto Taku ordered the front-line troops: "General Matsui is watching you. Take Xiejiabridge in one go!"

The Japanese army attacking Xiejiabridge was greatly encouraged and finally stormed onto the Xiejiabridge position.

Battalion Commander Xia Yansheng fought to the death and refused to retreat. The entire Special Service Battalion was compressed by the Japanese devils into one corner of Xiejiabridge.

At this moment, just as the Japanese devils were about to completely occupy Xiejiabridge,

a regiment from the 166th Brigade of the 56th Division and a regiment from the 176th Division, drawn by Liao Lei, arrived.

The two regiments launched a fierce counterattack on Xiejiabridge at the same time.

Both sides had reasons to fight for it. Regiment Commander Cai Chaokun was killed in action.

In order to hold Xiejiabridge, the 48th Army also dispatched an engineering battalion to reinforce, concentrating artillery fire to bombard the Japanese army that had occupied most of the Xiejiabridge position.

Finally, the Japanese army was driven out of the western half of Xiejiabridge.

The two sides each occupied half, confronting each other across the Fushan Pond.

The offensive and defensive battles on the front lines were fierce. In order not to repeat the mistakes of the Battle of Shanghai, the National Revolutionary Army

had begun to transfer the front-line troops to the rear, preparing to retreat to the Xicheng Defense Line.

These flames of war had not yet affected Lin Fan and his Special Operations Detachment.

His team was undergoing training.

Lin Fan required each squad to switch the anti-aircraft guns from firing mode to traveling mode within five minutes.

He himself was carefully inspecting between Xiaoshan and Dongshan.

Eight cannons were on these two artillery positions, which were nearly three kilometers apart.

He wanted to be able to drag these eight cannons away with more than a thousand men when the main force collapsed.

Lin Fan also had to check the terrain around the entire fortress, planning the defense and retreat routes.

Li Xian went to Jiangyin Town to retrieve the forty watches he had ordered last time and to purchase meat.

Ma Shouxin had been wandering around the villages and towns in the Jiangyin countryside for the past ten days.

It must be said that during these days, he had used the herbs he carried with him to cure some minor ailments for some people.

He had already gained some fame in the Jiangyin countryside and was now moving from the countryside to the town.

No matter how he wandered around the villages and towns in the countryside, he was always active around the entire Jiangyin Fortress.

Sometimes, he would pretend to be curious and ask a question or two about the situation inside the fortress.

There would always be enthusiastic villagers competing with each other to talk about the work they had done in the fortress.

Ma Shouxin kept all these discussions in his heart.

Today, he was going to enter the city.

Even in the countryside, he knew that the Japanese army was advancing smoothly and was about to attack the Jiangyin Fortress.

Ma Shouxin didn't know that Major Fujiwara Yuzhen was no longer on this line at this time, but had run to Jiaxing to track down that mysterious team.

After entering Jiaxing City, Major Fujiwara Yuzhen immediately began looking for people who could provide him with assistance.

This time, he deliberately focused his search on the staff in the Jiaxing County Government.

So these personnel in the county government were in trouble.

Major Fujiwara Yuzhen had only one question: Where is that special secret team?

This was a difficult problem!

When the 128th Division entered the city, the county magistrate took three people to hand over the keys to the national defense fortifications.

Even the county magistrate only met Commander Gu Jiaqi once and left.

Not to mention these ordinary staff. The county magistrate ran away and never came back.

These ordinary staff members originally thought that there was nothing for them to do, but they did not expect to encounter Major Fujiwara Yuzhen.

The thirteen staff members knew nothing and could say nothing.

No matter how Major Fujiwara Yuzhen tortured and interrogated them, these people always gave irrelevant answers.

This completely angered Major Fujiwara Yuzhen. He ordered: "Machine gun fire!"

Thirteen Jiaxing staff members were shot dead by the Japanese devils.

The 13th Division of Ushijima Sadayo entered Jiaxing City. In these two days,

the ordinary people saw that the war had stopped

and began to bring their families back.

This gave the 13th Division material for entertainment. They did not dare to rob and kill easily,

but rape and murder were commonplace.

Fujiwara Yuzhen could no longer find where that mysterious team had run off to.

He had no choice but to lead his team to rest temporarily in Jiaxing.

On the 18th, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue: "The Suzhou, Changshu, and Fushan lines must be firmly defended. No retreat is allowed without orders."

At this time, Xue Yue was already making two preparations.

Although the war on the front lines was urgent, with fierce battles against the Japanese devils everywhere, and the strict order from President Chiang not to retreat,

he was still defending on one hand, and continuing to transfer the remnants of the various group army units on the Wu-Fu Line to the Xi-Cheng Line on the other.

This time, he learned from the lessons of the rout from the Shanghai battlefield.

Generals abroad may disobey the emperor's orders!

Therefore, no matter how stern President Chiang was on the phone, Xue Yue had his own arrangements.

He had already seen that the current positions could not be held. Even if they defended at all costs like they did on the Shanghai battlefield, they would still not be able to hold them.

Now, Xue Yue had realized that in order to defeat the Japanese, they could only rely on the vast hinterland to drag the Japanese devils into the mountains

and fight a protracted war with the Japanese devils by relying on the terrain.

He was already preparing the defensive positions on the Xi-Cheng Line.

In these days, the Japanese army mainly attacked the northern section of the Wu-Fu Line. Therefore, the National Revolutionary Army troops defending the southern section of the Wu-Fu Line had been constantly withdrawing to the rear.

It was precisely because only the 53rd Division and the 57th Division were defending the outer line of the Suzhou defense line,

and the 58th Division was defending Suzhou City,

that their mission was to delay the Japanese army's advance.

The large number of troops being withdrawn to the rear seriously affected the morale of the defending troops. On the 18th, Yoshizumi Ryosuke, the commander of the 9th Division of the Japanese army, discovered the movement of the National Revolutionary Army's main force.

He ordered the 6th Brigade under his command to strengthen its attack. At 5:00 a.m., the 1st Battalion of the 35th Regiment broke into Zhenyi Town, and the 3rd Battalion occupied Beitiandu at 6:30 a.m.

Then, they continued their attack. The 53rd and 57th Divisions used a small number of troops to defend relying on bunkers, buying time for the main force to retreat.

After 10:00 p.m., this small number of troops completed their mission and took the initiative to withdraw.

On the 19th, the main force of the National Revolutionary Army continued to retreat, and the Japanese 35th Regiment continued to retreat.

From insisting on not retreating on the Shanghai battlefield to now fleeing at the first sign of trouble, this was just the National Revolutionary Army from top to bottom being beaten by the Japanese devils and losing morale.

Now, it was already rumored within the entire National Revolutionary Army that the Japanese headquarters had drawn a line for the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, prohibiting the Japanese army from crossing the Xi-Cheng Line to pursue them.

This was why the National Revolutionary Army suddenly began to abandon their positions.

This was also why Chiang Kai-shek strictly forbade them from abandoning Changshu, Suzhou, and other places.

He did not want to negotiate with the Japanese.

Negotiating with the Japanese would not only mean ceding territory and humiliating the country, affecting his reputation, but also affecting his rule.

The commanders on the front lines now understood the gap between the two armies and wanted to stop and regroup for a comeback.

However, what Xue Yue did not expect was that Yoshizumi Ryosuke, the commander of the 9th Division of the Japanese army, simply did not take the orders of the headquarters and the Shanghai Expeditionary Army seriously.

After easily entering Suzhou City, he continued to advance along the railway line.

He was blocked by the 46th Division of the National Revolutionary Army.

This dragged the entire Japanese army toward Nanjing.

At this time, Lin Fan was conducting emergency training for the soldiers of the entire Special Operations Detachment.

He wanted to make every soldier familiar with the disassembly of the cannons and also formulated a plan for the entire team's march in an emergency.

This plan was formulated with the participation of all eight squad leaders.

On the 19th, the entire Wu-Fu Line collapsed. This time, the defending troops retreated in an orderly manner.

Throughout the day, the entire Jiangyin City was filled with the sight of National Revolutionary Army troops retreating.

The four divisions of the Jiangyin Army Group had all entered the outer defensive line of the Jiangyin Fortress.

That night, Xu Kang received an order from Chiang Kai-shek: "Install new cannons, firmly defend Jiangyin, and prevent the enemy from penetrating deep."

Xu Kang's head immediately broke out in sweat.

It was a cold winter. That night, the officers and soldiers on the Jiangyin Fortress took urgent action to recast and install the foundations that had been destroyed.

The four 150mm cannons that had been crated were unpacked again.

The Japanese army advanced all the way, unstoppable, and they were now preparing to attack Nanjing.

On the 21st, the Japanese navy and air force finally mustered their courage again and launched an attack on the Jiangyin Fortress.

This time, they still used the old method, first bombing with aircraft.

Again, hundreds of aircraft rushed toward Jiangyin County and Jiangyin Fortress.

Niu Dongxing and his thirty-nine men had received the watches issued by Li Xian, and it was impossible for them not to be happy.

During these ten days, the soldiers of the Special Company, although they had traveled nearly a thousand miles back and forth and fought continuously,

had also been training every day for the past four days since their return.

With these four days of rest, everyone's bodies and spirits had been nourished.

Not only them, but even the more than a thousand soldiers who had newly joined from the 128th Division had obviously improved their complexions under the constant feeding of large portions of meat in the Special Operations Detachment.

Especially Niu Dongxing and his forty men, under Lin Fan's guiding ideology that combat effectiveness was equal to eating ability, ate large portions of meat every day.

Under the pressure of the overload-like training volume, everyone could clearly see that their bodies had become much healthier.

At least Niu Dongxing felt that his strength had increased by at least fifty pounds.

Now, when he sparred with Chen Sichuan, he would no longer be pushed back by the squad leader with a single touch.

The same was true for everyone who came with him. During this period, they had not only learned how to operate and use the 88mm anti-aircraft guns here,

but also learned how to use the 82mm mortars.

The soldiers who came over from the 128th Division were very formidable when they grabbed their broadswords.

Bayonet fighting was another new skill.

These past two mornings, the sound of bayonet practice on the Xiaoshan Fort was even louder.

But now, the most important task that Lin Fan gave to the entire team was: learn to drive, learn to operate the cannons, and be familiar with the disassembly and assembly of guns and cannons.

Today, they finally saw the Japanese devils' planes arriving again.

It was impossible to say that they weren't happy to see so many enemy planes flying over.

Lin Fan wished that the Japanese devils would bring all their planes to Jiangyin.