Chapter 1 The Counterattack

Captain Matsushita Yuta was quickly summoned back to headquarters, where he learned that both regimental commanders were seeking his advice on escape routes.

He immediately felt a surge of importance, his face, which had been downcast just moments before, now lit up.

"Regimental Commanders," Captain Matsushita Yuta said, "the situation outside is critical. We can no longer remain at headquarters. We must leave at once!"

Having said that, he promptly turned to leave, but before departing, he issued an order on behalf of Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi: "You men will immediately gather the maps and documents from headquarters and follow after us."

There were fewer than thirty Japanese soldiers in this escape party. Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi hesitated and asked, "Matsushita-kun, shouldn't we take a few more men?"

"Absolutely not! The Guominjun (National Revolutionary Army) are all around us, to the east, south, west, and north. If the escape party is too large, it will attract their attention, and they will send troops to hunt us down.

Gentlemen! Please remove all insignia that might identify you. We must attempt to break through as harmless, ordinary Japanese soldiers."

He looked at the command sword still held by Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi and reminded him, "Regimental Commander Murakami, that sword will easily give you away!"

Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi stroked the command sword. "This was personally presented to me by a prince. I cannot bear to discard it!"

After saying that, faced with the choice of saving his life or the sword, he ultimately chose life.

A party of thirty-odd Japanese soldiers, led by Captain Matsushita Yuta, did not escape toward Ruichang along the highway.

Instead, this group of Japanese soldiers headed southwest, crawling through the underbrush. One by one, they crept through the thicket for more than two hundred meters, avoiding the gaze of the Second Regiment soldiers who were charging not far away.

Finally, this group of Japanese soldiers crawled over the ridge and entered the opposite side. At that point, they all began a frantic escape.

After running for four or five *li* (approximately two kilometers), Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi said with joy, "Ono-kun! We've finally escaped!"

They had escaped, but Captain Nakatani Naoki, who was still struggling to organize his troops, suddenly discovered a large force of Guominjun soldiers charging out from behind.

These were soldiers from the Second and Fifteenth Regiments. After breaking through from the south and north, some of the soldiers charged into the Japanese headquarters, while others pounced on the remaining combatants in the east and west.

The Japanese soldiers, who were already struggling, were now attacked from both sides, and their lines instantly collapsed.

This time, Captain Nakatani Naoki had no chance to escape. Even at this point, he was unaware that Regimental Commander Ono Osamu had abandoned them.

Lin Fan received reports from Regimental Commander Liu and Regimental Commander Shangguan: "We have occupied the Japanese artillery position and captured forty-eight cannons of various calibers. The number of shells is still being counted."

Division Commander Chen of the Sixth Reserve Division had only witnessed the Special Operations Brigade annihilating the thirty-six enemy aircraft in the air and was unaware that the Special Operations Brigade had already retaken Xia'ao Village today.

Although the Special Operations Brigade now had six thousand soldiers here, they could not use the forty-eight cannons they had just captured.

It wasn't that the Special Operations Brigade soldiers didn't know how to use them, but that there weren't any new soldiers to operate them.

The six thousand soldiers currently present each had their own responsibilities and had undergone long-term, targeted training. Under normal circumstances, no adjustments were made.

With no other options, Lin Fan could only report to the Second War Area: "Chief of Staff Xue! During our brigade's recent attack on Xia'ao Village, we annihilated the Third Regiment of the Japanese Twenty-Seventh Infantry Division's Garrison Force.

We also discovered the artillery position of the Japanese Twenty-Seventh Mountain Artillery Regiment. We have now annihilated the Japanese artillery regiment and captured forty-eight cannons of various calibers. There are many shells, and we are currently counting them.

My brigade does not have sufficient manpower to operate so many cannons. Please send artillerymen to take them over."

Xue Yue listened to Lin Fan's report, his hand trembling on the telephone. "Are the captured cannons all usable?"

As soon as he asked the question, he immediately felt greedy. If the Special Operations Brigade could capture just a few usable cannons, it would give the Second War Area a great advantage in the upcoming battles.

He was even imagining that all forty-eight cannons were usable. Truly, a man's greed is insatiable.

Happiness always comes unexpectedly. While Xue Yue was still examining his own thoughts,

Lin Fan nonchalantly replied over the phone, "Yes! I've inspected all forty-eight cannons. They're all in good condition! Half of them are even brand new."

Happiness came too suddenly. Xue Yue was almost afraid to believe it. He said repeatedly, "Brigade Commander Lin! You must guard those cannons carefully. Don't let the Japanese planes bomb them to pieces, and don't let the Japanese soldiers take them back.

I'll send men over immediately to pull the cannons back to the rear for protection and to transfer artillerymen from various units.

Forty-eight cannons! This will let the Japanese 106th Division have a good taste of their own medicine."

Xue Yue was already delirious with joy. After saying those words, it occurred to him that they had just shot down thirty-six Japanese planes. Not only were they unafraid of Japanese planes bombing them, but the Special Operations Brigade probably couldn't wait to lure all the Japanese planes over to shoot them down.

At that moment, Lin Fan spoke, "Rest assured, we will complete the mission! Chief of Staff Xue, I also have a matter I would like to ask for your help with."

"What is it? If I can help, I will certainly agree. Even if it's something the Second War Area can't do, I'll find a way to get someone to do it." Xue Yue agreed readily.

"Yesterday and today, my brigade has been in continuous combat..." Lin Fan hadn't finished speaking when

Xue Yue thought he understood: Lin Fan wanted to retreat and rest. He thought about how the Special Operations Brigade had only been here for two days, but they had not only stabilized the lines but also annihilated a Japanese infantry regiment and an artillery regiment.

Although the soldiers hadn't been fighting for long, the intensity of the fighting was actually very high. He was already preparing to agree to let the Special Operations Brigade retreat back to rest for a few days and then assign them a new mission.

But Lin Fan's next words had nothing to do with retreating: "My two continuous battles have consumed a lot of ammunition. For small arms, my brigade is using captured weapons, which we have replenished from the battlefield.

But the rockets and shells we are using are all produced by our own factory. I would like to have a batch of ammunition sent over from Jurong tonight. Please have the airport prepared.

And please send men to send the ammunition to the front lines. After all, we are at the front, and we can't return to the airport ourselves to transport these shells for the time being."

Hearing that Lin Fan's request was this, Chief of Staff Xue Yue immediately said, "Please rest assured, Brigade Commander Lin, the Second War Area will certainly do a good job of receiving the aircraft and will also send the ammunition to the front lines overnight."

Lin Fan was happy this time. "This time, I plan to send three thousand rockets and one thousand mortar shells, plus some other ammunition. I estimate it will take five thousand laborers to transport it all at once."

"Good! Tonight, I will prepare six thousand men, and I will also send some canned meat for you. I heard from Chief of Staff Li of the Fifth War Area that the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade all eat meat; they can't live without it."

Lin Fan was really happy this time. This Chief of Staff Xue was really good to the Special Operations Brigade.

He quickly expressed his gratitude!

Putting down the phone, Xue Yue looked at the staff officers around him, who were all looking at him strangely, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Chief of Staff! You were reluctant to give those canned meat to your own direct troops, how could you..."

Xue Yue sighed. "Let's not mention that they retook Qilinfeng and Jigongling yesterday, or that they have already shot down more than sixty Japanese planes, reducing the pressure on the entire Second War Area's southwestern defense line.

Let's just talk about how they just captured all forty-eight cannons and shells of the Japanese Twenty-Seventh Mountain Artillery Regiment.

The Special Operations Brigade deserves to have those canned meat sent to them. Also, find a way to get twenty pigs over here, slaughter them tonight, and send them over to them overnight.

This unit came from the Fifth War Area, and we haven't even given them a welcoming feast.

Next time I meet Brother Li, he'll laugh at me."

Someone immediately took note of his orders and prepared to leave. One person asked, "The Special Operations Brigade completely captured all the cannons and shells of a Japanese regiment. How did they do it? Are the Japanese they are fighting not the same as the ones we are fighting?"

The question made everyone in the headquarters laugh. They all knew that the Japanese Twenty-Seventh Division was by no means a weak force.

This division was now a main force elite division of the Japanese army. The Special Operations Brigade was able to annihilate the Japanese Twenty-Seventh Mountain Artillery Regiment and also bring back all the cannons intact, which could only mean that the Special Operations Brigade's combat strength was too strong.

One staff officer suggested, "Chief of Staff! The Special Operations Brigade's combat strength is so strong, could we let them cut through the Japanese 106th Division's rear and attack the remaining troops of the 106th Division in Mahuiling?"

Xue Yue looked at the distance between the two locations on the map and remained silent for a long time before saying, "It's over a hundred *li* (approximately fifty kilometers) from Xia'ao to Mahuiling, and it's all mountains and ridges in between. The Japanese 106th Division was confused by these mountains. We can't do that."

"But there aren't many Japanese soldiers in Mahuiling now, it's very suitable for the Special Operations Brigade to attack," the staff officer persisted.

"We have cleared the fields and villages. The Japanese should not be able to find guides in the mountains; they have no advantage of terrain.

But we are different; we have locals as guides, and our troops have been stationed in this area for nearly half a year. We are very familiar with both the main roads and the small paths.

Send a few more guides to each company of the Special Operations Brigade. I noticed when they got off the plane last time that there are more than two hundred men in one of their companies. Calculated according to six platoons, we can assign six to ten guides to each company. This will definitely allow them to complete the mission well."

Although Xue Yue rejected this proposal, he also felt that if the Special Operations Brigade could raid the Japanese rear, it could really give the 106th Division a heavy blow.

If he hadn't sent the Special Operations Brigade to the southwestern defense line in the first place, it would have been fine, but now the two places are too far apart.

He didn't want to think about this problem for the time being. What Xue Yue needed to think about was how to temporarily form a heavy artillery regiment.

This required skilled gunners and soldiers. The cannons were still placed in front. Although the Special Operations Brigade's combat strength was strong, putting forty-eight cannons in front was like putting a meat bun in front of a dog's mouth. The Japanese would definitely spare no effort to seize them.

Although the Second War Area had more than 200,000 troops, he didn't know if they could transfer thousands of people who knew how to operate cannons in a short amount of time.

Xue Yue immediately called Wuhan and asked the General Headquarters to coordinate several hundred artillerymen to come over.

As the commander of the Second War Area, if he asked for cannons, the General Headquarters wouldn't have any.

If he wanted some infantry replacements, the General Headquarters wouldn't be surprised. But artillerymen were technical soldiers, so it was strange.

After asking in detail, it turned out that the Special Operations Brigade had seized all the cannons and ammunition from the Japanese 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment today.

This news spread through unofficial channels to Chang Kaishen's ears. He smiled for once. "This Special Operations Brigade is just like Sun Sikong! Why do they have to rob everything they see? Last time they robbed planes, this time they robbed cannons. What will they want to rob next time?"

As he spoke, his expression was clearly very happy. Xue Yue's request was of course granted.

The Guominjun were short of cannons at this time, and they were overjoyed to suddenly have a heavy artillery regiment.

Artillerymen were being quickly transferred from various units, but the cannons had to be transported first.

Just as Xue Yue put down the phone, the Second War Area's organized transportation team had already set off. It was still morning, and they had to drag those cannons away tonight.

Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro only knew that the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment was finished. He didn't know that the cannons were undamaged and had all been seized by the Guominjun.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi and his party finally made their way to Zhujia Village, winding through the mountains. It was thirty *li* (approximately fifteen kilometers) away from Ruichang and was where the 20th Infantry Division of the Japanese Army was stationed.

Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro listened to the reports of Regimental Commanders Ono Osamu and Murakami Seiichi. Only now did he learn that all the cannons of the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment were completely undamaged.

This was practically handing the cannons over to the Guominjun for their use! Like Okamura Neiji, he was so angry that he vomited blood and passed out on the spot.

The unconscious Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro could only escape for a moment, not for eternity.

Regimental Commander Ono Osamu shouted loudly for a doctor to come and rescue the division commander. He had seen clearly that the division commander had been angered to death by Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi's report, so it had nothing to do with him.

When the doctor rushed in, Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro had already stood up. He was slapping Regimental Commanders Ono Osamu and Murakami Seiichi across the face.

The sound of the slaps was very clear, and each one was followed by a crisp "Hai!" It was very straightforward.

As Regimental Commander Murakami Seiichi was slapped, he didn't feel much humiliation. He was extremely fortunate to have escaped from the battlefield with his life today.

Compared to his little life, he felt that it was worthwhile to be slapped dozens of times.

Regimental Commander Ono Osamu also thought so. He just didn't expect that he would receive the most slaps.

What Ochiai Kanekuro hated was that Ono Osamu had not only sent away all of the 3rd Garrison Regiment, but also sent away a battalion each from the 1st and 2nd Garrison Regiments. In particular, the two thousand replacements had not survived twenty-four hours on the battlefield.

The two thousand replacement troops that had arrived in Xia'ao yesterday afternoon had all been destroyed by this morning. The news had already spread throughout the division headquarters, and many replacement troops who had been assigned at the same time were trembling.

These Japanese soldiers had more or less interacted with each other on the way here, and they were now inquiring with each other.

They were both congratulating themselves for not being assigned to Xia'ao, and burning paper money for those who had been assigned to Xia'ao, while worrying about their own fate.

This defeat at Xia'ao dealt a great blow to the morale of the Japanese 27th Infantry Division. Whether they were old Japanese soldiers or replacement troops, who now numbered only a thousand, they were all somewhat uneasy.

The faces of the two regimental commanders had been slapped from red to purple, and Ochiai Kanekuro's palms were also faintly painful.

At this point, he stopped, sat back down, and panted. The anger in his heart had not subsided. "He believed that the excellent momentum of the 27th Division had been interrupted by these two fools."

After this period of time, Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro had stopped vomiting blood, but his eyes were terribly red, as if they were about to drip blood.

The light emanating from his eyes was blood-colored and extremely frightening. The Japanese doctor cautiously advised Ochiai Kanekuro to suppress his emotions and calm down, otherwise his eyes would bleed due to too much pressure, which could lead to blindness.

How could Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro calm down now? The anger in his heart had not dissipated at all.

It was now 4:53 PM. Thinking that Xia'ao was eighty *li* (approximately forty kilometers) away from here, he had an idea: "Night raid on Xia'ao, recapture the cannons."

As soon as this idea sprouted, it grew rapidly like weeds in the spring, constantly growing in his heart.

Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro was going to formulate an attack plan. These two pig-headed regimental commanders were still useful.

Thus, two pig-headed men were added to the Japanese 27th Division's command post map.

Regimental Commander Yago Magojiro of the 1st Garrison Regiment, Regimental Commander Sakurani Kokichiro of the 2nd Garrison Regiment, Regimental Commander Harada Tomio of the 27th Transport Regiment, and Regimental Commander Hashimoto Tokio of the 20th Engineer Regiment attended the meeting.

There was only one theme for this meeting: How to recapture the lost forty-eight cannons.

The military meeting ended in less than half an hour, with only one result: "March overnight and strive to launch an attack on the Guominjun who occupied Xia'ao by tomorrow morning.

After a successful attack, the Transport Regiment and the Engineer Regiment will transport the cannons back to Ruichang, waiting for the next batch of replacement troops to come over and rebuild the artillery regiment.

The three battalions participating in the raid will slowly retreat back to Ruichang, waiting for the next step of action."

This raid would be carried out by the three battalions of the 1st Garrison Regiment, because the Japanese soldiers of Yago Magojiro's regiment were now stationed in Zhuzhuang, only forty *li* (approximately twenty kilometers) away from Xia'ao.

The army would advance along the Ruining Highway, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting lost even at night.

The three battalion commanders of the Yago Magojiro regiment received the order: "Assemble at 8:30 PM, depart at 9:00 PM, and proceed to Xia'ao overnight. Arrive at Xia'ao at 3:00 AM, and launch an attack at 4:00 AM."

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this order. In order to prevent the Yago Magojiro regiment from being seen when they set off, exposing their marching direction, Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro specifically set the departure time after nightfall.

It was now 5:30 PM, and he still had to give the three battalions some time to prepare. The plan was perfect.

When the Japanese soldiers of the three battalions learned that they were going to Xia'ao overnight, the old Japanese soldiers who had come from the north didn't feel anything.

Only the Japanese soldiers who had been replaced yesterday began to fear. This afternoon, they had heard rumors that the two thousand Japanese soldiers who had been replaced in Xia'ao had all died.

Was it their turn so soon? These newly replaced Japanese soldiers had changed from extreme confidence when they first arrived to extreme doubt.

They believed that the road they were taking tonight must be the division's road to hell.

This kind of thinking was dangerous. As the vanguard of the team departing today, Battalion Commander Kobayashi Ryunosuke could only slap those Japanese soldiers who were constantly making pessimistic remarks.

Nozawa Kyusuke, who had just been slapped three times, had not yet learned to stand at attention when being beaten. After being hit on the left face, he had to extend his right face, so that the commander could slap him more conveniently.

This made Battalion Commander Kobayashi Ryunosuke uncomfortable when he was slapping. He looked at this Japanese soldier who had just been slapped three times, his face was flushed red, and his tears and snot were all flowing out, sticking to his hand.

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Ryunosuke wiped his palm disgustedly on the Japanese soldier's clothes before kicking him away. "Get out!"

Nozawa Kyusuke was only sixteen years old this year. Ten days ago, he was still a top student in the ninth grade of Yokohama National Middle School in the Empire.

His classmates and teachers at the school all believed that he would definitely be able to enter a national university and become a great scientist.

He and Sakai Noriko got along very well at school. Everything was originally so beautiful.

Sakai Noriko and several other beautiful female classmates in the class formed a sister group. One afternoon, five girls walked into the Japanese recruiting office to sign up.

The next day, these female classmates suddenly regretted it and didn't want to go anymore. Their regrets were of no use at all, and Sakai Noriko and the others quickly disappeared from the school.

Nozawa Kyusuke heard that the beautiful female classmates had all joined the Women's Volunteer Corps and came here to contribute to the Empire's hegemony.

So he also walked into the recruiting office, hoping to cross the sea to find Sakai Noriko and continue to be friends with her.

What he didn't expect was that he had never seen those female classmates again after signing up.

But Nozawa Kyusuke received a letter from Sakai Noriko while he was in intensive training.

In the letter, Sakai Noriko said that after joining, she and several classmates had taken a plane for the first time in their lives, flew over the sea, and came to the continent.

Now, several uncles took care of them every day. They drank endless fine wine, ate endless delicious food, wore many beautiful clothes, and danced endless dances. She told Nozawa Kyusuke to study hard and not worry about her.

When the war was over, she would come back and continue to be his friend.

Nozawa Kyusuke, who had participated in five days of military training, could no longer return to school, although the teachers at the school were all regretting it for him.

But no matter what the teachers said at the beginning, they couldn't dissuade him. Now that he wanted to leave, he was not allowed to do so.

These days had been like hell for him, with training and training every day.

After finally finishing the training, he was loaded onto a boat like a pig and transported here. Where was the plane that Sakai Noriko said? Where was the fine wine she said, the endless fine wine?

Nozawa Kyusuke hadn't even drunk a drop of wine until now, he had only seen it on the officers' tables.

The fact that he was slapped by an officer the second day he arrived here made Nozawa Kyusuke realize that reality was completely different from legend.

What scared him the most was the rumor that the Japanese soldiers who had arrived here with them on the boat yesterday had all died in Xia'ao.

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Ryunosuke walked back to his command post and sighed to his chief of staff, "Are such replacement soldiers even soldiers? They cried tears and snot after being slapped once.

Are those Japanese soldiers in the rear all idiots? Can such Japanese soldiers fight when they are sent to the front lines? I don't think they can even feed the horses."

Chief of Staff Kitakore Ryota said with a smile, "This doesn't matter. Our battalion has three hundred replacements. As long as we fight a few battles, those who are not suitable for the battlefield will die, and the rest will be elites.

It's not that those Japanese soldiers in the rear don't know that they are sending us cannon fodder; they want us to pick out some Japanese soldiers who can fight on the battlefield from this cannon fodder."

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Ryunosuke was a little angry. "Isn't this a waste? So many Japanese soldiers are sent here from thousands of miles away, and two thousand Japanese soldiers die overnight.

The cost of transporting them alone is not small, not to mention that their deaths have seriously affected the morale of the army."

Chief of Staff Kitakore Ryota said in an unchanged tone, "This is still because Regimental Commander Ono Osamu is incompetent. With two thousand replacement troops, he should be able to select four or five hundred elites."

Nozawa Kyusuke was alone in the corner, sobbing. No Japanese soldier dared to pay attention to him. The Japanese soldiers who had been punished by the battalion commander had already been marked as outcasts, and he was doomed tonight.

After occupying the Japanese artillery position, Regimental Commanders Liu Laopao and Shangguan Zhiwen issued the same order: "Each company will send out a reconnaissance team to scout towards Ruichang along the Ruiwu Highway."

Shortly after their orders were issued, Lin Fan's orders also came down: "The personnel sent by the Second War Area to take over the cannons will not arrive until tonight.

For the time being, the Special Operations Brigade still needs to guard these cannons well. The Fifteenth Regiment will establish a defense line on the spot, and the Second Regiment will retreat back to rest."

Receiving this order at once, Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen was very happy: The brigade commander still attached great importance to the Fifteenth Regiment. This kind of treatment was fair now.

Yesterday, the Second Regiment began to attack as soon as they arrived, and the Fifteenth Regiment rested in the rear.

Therefore, the Fifteenth Regiment was assigned to defend the cannons today, and the Second Regiment was sent to the rear to rest.

What could Liu Laopao say? He could only lead the entire regiment back to Jigongling and Baishuijie to set up camp.

Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen deployed the regiment's defense line 1,500 meters in front of the artillery position.

According to the Japanese army's habits, if there were any Japanese soldiers coming to attack in the afternoon, they would definitely come along the main road.

Therefore, the Fifteenth Regiment deployed a full thousand meters of directional mines along the highway. The First and Second Companies were defending on both sides of the highway.

There were also two hills around the artillery position. The Fifth and Sixth Companies each guarded one hill, and the Third and Fourth Companies were guarding the artillery position.

The remaining four infantry companies were kept as reserves. The anti-aircraft machine gun company was deployed at the artillery position to prevent Japanese planes from bombing. The rocket launcher company was deployed behind the artillery position and had already test-fired a few rockets to test the firing parameters of various pre-set battlefields.

The Fifteenth Regiment had been busy preparing to deal with the upcoming attack. From noon to nightfall, not a single Japanese soldier came.

This did not allow Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen to take it lightly. He ordered the entire regiment to prepare for a Japanese surprise attack at night.

A few days ago, he and the Tenth and Fourteenth Regiments had raided the Japanese Ishizushan Airport at night.

He could raid the Japanese army, so of course he had to be prepared to be raided by the Japanese army. While Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen was deploying his defense line, Lin Fan was also sending a telegram to Li Xian in Jurong.

He sent the number of ammunition supplies needed by the two regiments here, and asked him to send these supplies tonight.

Lin Fan had been thinking about this since he set off from Xuzhou. The last thing you fight for in a war is logistics.

The Special Operations Brigade was a 6,000-man unit that had come to southern Jiangxi alone. The types of ammunition they needed were completely different from those of the Guominjun. He certainly couldn't carry much ammunition himself.

Supplies could only be sent from Jurong. Fortunately, the route from Jurong to De'an was full of mountains and the traffic was very inconvenient. The Japanese military presence in these places was very weak, so even daytime flights were not blocked by planes.

Jurong now needed to supply three defense lines at the same time. Li Xian was extremely busy, but Lin Fan's location was ranked first among all supplies, which was unquestionable.

Li Xian not only had to prepare the supplies according to the supply list sent by Lin Fan, but also plan the flight route, and also plan whether the round-trip fuel was sufficient.

These problems were no longer Lin Fan's concern. He wanted to concentrate on the battlefield here and put himself in the roles of Okamura Neiji, Ochiai Kanekuro, and Matsuura Junroku to find out how they thought about this battle.

First of all, Xue Yue must have ignored the Wanjialing section when he contracted the defense line, which gave the Japanese 106th Division an opportunity to take advantage of.

Now, a division of Japanese soldiers had entered the mountainous area of Wanjialing. By operating in such mountains and forests, the Japanese army had abandoned its advantages in mobility and heavy firepower in order to gain surprise and unexpectedness.

From the moment the 106th Division was discovered, the two goals the Japanese army wanted to achieve had failed.

Now the situation was that the Second War Area was willing to contract the defense line again in order to annihilate this isolated Japanese army.

For this purpose, Chief of Staff Xue Yue had already begun to defy orders. He forcibly retained the Guominjun's main elite troops, completely ignoring Chang Kaishen's order to transfer the 74th Army back to rest.

He also did not allow Ye Zhao's 66th Army to transfer its entire force to Guangzhou. Xue Yue did this to retain more troops for himself so that he could use them at critical moments.

Of course, Lin Fan didn't know these situations. He only focused his attention on the area between Ruichang, Wuning, De'an, and Mahuiling.

The Japanese army not only had the 21st Infantry Division in Ruijing, but also the 9th Division, and the 101st Infantry Division in Jiujiang.

It was obviously appropriate for the Special Operations Brigade to attack Ruichang now. Even if they defended here, if the Japanese army was really determined to break through here at all costs, the Special Operations Brigade would have to give way.

Lin Fan simply set up a simple sand table on the ground, and found two guides sent by the Second War Area to mark the place names and distances on the simple sand table.

Looking at the fact that Ruichang was only eighty *li* (approximately forty kilometers) away from Xia'ao, and Xia'ao was also eighty *li* (approximately forty kilometers) away from Mahuiling, but Ruichang to Xia'ao was all highways, while Xia'ao to Mahuiling was all mountain roads.

De'an and Wuning were defended by the Second War Area. Obviously, Mahuiling was now the weakest point of the Japanese army. It was even weaker than the 106th Division trapped in Wanjialing.

What interested Lin Fan was that there was also a train station here. He believed that all the supplies for the Japanese 106th Division were transshipped from here.

However, precisely because there was a train station here, Jiujiang was only less than sixty *li* (approximately thirty kilometers) away from Mahuiling.

If Mahuiling was attacked, reinforcements from Jiujiang could arrive in less than half an hour.

No wonder the Second War Area knew that the Japanese defense in Mahuiling was weak, but they did not dare to attack.

But the Special Operations Brigade was the best at fighting this kind of battle. Looking at the fact that there was a straight-line distance of eighty *li* (approximately forty kilometers) from Xia'ao to Mahuiling, and if they took the mountain road, it would increase by half, which was a distance of one hundred and eighty *li* (approximately ninety kilometers).

Lin Fan was already thinking about how to raid Mahuiling. If they took the mountain road all the way from Xia'ao, they wouldn't have to worry about being discovered by the Japanese army even during the day. Da Feng Novel

The only thing to consider was not getting lost in the mountains. This was not a problem for Lin Fan, knowing his current location and knowing the location of his target.

He wouldn't go wrong in the general direction, and he still needed to adjust in the small direction. He needed guides, a group of guides who were familiar with the road between Xia'ao and Mahuiling.

In the afternoon, Xue Yue received the first batch of artillerymen who had come to report to the command post, a total of five hundred. These were sent to him by the General Headquarters in Wuhan.

Many of these artillerymen had retreated from the Jiangyin Fortress and the Madang Fortress, and were originally undergoing review.

This time, the front lines needed them urgently, so all officers and soldiers below the regimental level ended the review and were urgently sent to the Second War Area.

Xue Yue smiled so hard that the flowers on his face bloomed. These soldiers must be very strong. The artillerymen on the fortresses had all been trained at Guominjun schools and had participated in actual combat. They were all good soldiers!

He also knew that the heavy artillery regiment that was formed this time would rely on these soldiers as the main force.

Just at this time, Lin Fan's phone call came.

The phone call was made to the command post. Lin Fan requested to speak to Chief of Staff Xue Yue. If any other brigade commander dared to speak like this, the staff officer answering the phone would have scolded him long ago.

But this was Brigade Commander Lin Fan of the Special Operations Brigade. The staff officer quickly agreed and asked Lin Fan not to hang up the phone. He would go and invite Chief of Staff Xue Yue right away.

Xue Yue, who had answered the phone, listened to Lin Fan's plan, and the expression on his face changed constantly.

Lin Fan's plan was exactly the same as the plan made by a staff officer in the morning. The only difference was that this time it was proposed by Lin Fan and would be carried out by the Special Operations Brigade.

Chief of Staff Xue Yue said to Lin Fan, "Brigade Commander Lin! Your proposal is very good, but all of this must be done after we have taken away the cannons.

Your brigade's defense line will be immediately transferred to the Sixth Reserve Division.

Then you will set off. As for the guides, I will send ten soldiers who are familiar with the terrain to each of your companies.

Since your mission here has not been completed, these guides will follow you at all times."

"Chief of Staff Xue! Why don't you just transfer all these eleven soldiers to the Special Operations Brigade to strengthen our forces?" This was the first time Lin Fan had used honorifics.

Xue Yue didn't hesitate. "Okay! These are all elites of my Second War Area. Brigade Commander Lin must treat them well."

"Please rest assured, Chief of Staff. The Special Operations Brigade has always been equal between officers and soldiers. I guarantee that I will treat them as my own brothers." On the other end of the phone, Lin Fan's excitement could be heard through the phone.

Putting down the phone, Xue Yue ordered, "Immediately assemble the guide company!"

Although Xue Yue had not agreed to the plan to raid Mahuiling in the morning, he had already been carrying out preparations for the Special Operations Brigade's guides.

This was a group of elites he had selected from the reconnaissance teams of the various divisions that had been defending in this area.

Commander Xue Yue personally gave a speech to these soldiers who were about to join the Special Operations Brigade. "Everyone! You are going to a team that has just arrived here.

Its name is the Special Operations Brigade. If you haven't heard of this name yet,

then let me tell you, they landed at the airport the day before yesterday.

It was this 6,000-man team that marched overnight to Qilinfeng and captured Qilinfeng in one fell swoop yesterday morning, recapturing Baishuijie and capturing Jigongling.

They killed more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers and destroyed 27 enemy planes.

Today, they attacked Xia'ao, annihilating the Japanese 27th Division's 3rd Garrison Regiment and the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment, destroying 36 enemy planes, and recapturing 48 cannons.

They now need guides, and you are going to this team as guides. I hope that in the Special Operations Brigade, you will fight the Japanese soldiers bravely as you have been doing during this period, leading them to kill more Japanese soldiers."

Today, the guides found by the Second War Area were all soldiers who were doing reconnaissance on the