Chapter 1 The Pursuit

Captain Yu of the Lunan Detachment's Aviation Brigade commanded his fighters to pursue and eliminate the scattered Japanese bombers in three directions.

However, he deliberately let the group of Japanese planes continuing south escape.

This group of Japanese bombers was the largest of the escaping aircraft, totaling nine, all flying towards their intended destination.

The Japanese pilots constantly heard the cries for help from their comrades being attacked through their headsets.

They also heard the screams of their comrades as they crashed, their dying shouts filled with despair and unwillingness. This made Captain Tanaka Jusan'o and his crew feel fortunate.

They were thankful they had made the right choice, continuing to fly forward when attacked, intending to complete their mission before flying to Xuzhou.

Captain Tanaka Jusan'o flew in the lead, with eight bombers following calmly behind. The squadron remained silent, as if afraid that radio communication would reveal their position to the attacking force.

After ten minutes, Captain Tanaka Jusan'o spotted a unit on the ground packing up artillery, preparing to retreat.

Next to the artillery unit, there was also a force of several thousand soldiers, which excited Captain Tanaka Jusan'o.

This artillery was Lin Fan's artillery battery set up on the battlefield, and the soldiers beside them were An Ping's Fifth Regiment and Qian Gui's Eleventh Regiment.

Commander An Ping didn't care about the enemy planes overhead. With the Brigade Commander present, there was no need to worry about Japanese aircraft.

Commander An Ping used to be an artillery platoon leader under Commander Feng Junya and had witnessed Lin Fan shooting down planes many times, so he wasn't flustered at all.

Tanaka Jusan'o and his squadron had sacrificed all their escorting fighters and abandoned so many bombers to finally reach the battlefield.

Flying closer, they saw a battlefield with an estimated ten thousand soldiers fighting in the distance, and planes that were clearly different from their own at low altitude.

This made Captain Tanaka Jusan'o both nervous and excited. He was nervous because bombers were sitting ducks in air combat, but excited because he found the enemy planes were flying too low.

This gave his nine bombers the best attack height and angle. Those planes were as tempting to Captain Tanaka Jusan'o as un-stored rice to a mouse, or a candle flame to a moth.

He couldn't control himself. Captain Tanaka Jusan'o couldn't help but break radio silence and asked, "Should we attack those planes below?"

Those planes hadn't discovered them yet. If they didn't attack and quietly slipped away, they might not be detected.

But once they were discovered, there was no way to escape.

The captains of the nine bombers knew this: "Charge! Take them down by surprise!"

Captain Hiyokuya spoke loudly, then analyzed: "We now have the advantage of timing and position. A sudden attack from above will surely shoot down at least nine planes.

After a few of the planes below are shot down, they will only be able to escape and won't dare to engage us. Then we can drop our bombs and help the Aso Regiment win a turning point, then fly to Xuzhou. Gentlemen, victory or defeat depends on this one gamble!"

Captain Hiyokuya spoke with great passion, swaying several captains. In fact, they also understood: "If we don't take the initiative to attack before the enemy discovers us, when they discover our bombers and come after us, we will really be unable to escape or fight back, it would be certain death."

After a brief exchange, the nine captains reached a consensus: Attack!

They began to spread out, each searching for a target, preparing to hunt!

Lin Fan had already received Yu Zhengyang's report that several bombers were flying in his direction.

He had been intentionally observing the northern sky. When the nine enemy planes first appeared as nine black dots on the horizon, Lin Fan had already spotted them. The artillery was already aimed in their direction, shells loaded, waiting for the final aiming and firing.

Watching the Japanese bombers suddenly scatter in the air, not charging towards the ground troops, but flying towards the ground-attack aircraft, Lin Fan immediately understood their intentions: "They really are audacious!"

It had to be said that these Japanese soldiers had courage and daring. They actually dared to use bombers to attack fighter planes.

Lin Fan didn't believe the Japanese could distinguish between fighter planes and ground-attack aircraft.

The Japanese were acting like a group of mice suddenly organizing to hunt a group of cats, which could only be described as outrageous.

The ground-attack pilots, Dongyang Hua and Ning Xinghuo, who were busy strafing the Aso Regiment, received a warning from Lin Fan:

"All ground-attack aircraft evacuate the current airspace, beware of debris from the exploding Japanese bombers at high altitude. Don't get hit by falling objects."

Lin Fan wasn't worried about them being attacked by Japanese bombers, but worried that they would be injured by falling debris from the exploding planes at low altitude.

Upon receiving the order, the twenty ground-attack aircraft maintained low-altitude flight, immediately turning left and right, preparing to leave the battlefield.

The nine Japanese bombers, following their experience, went to their planned ambush positions, suddenly discovering that the planes below were all turning.

They were accelerating away from the battlefield as if fleeing! This completely baffled Captain Tanaka Jusan'o and his squadron.

If the planes below had discovered them, shouldn't they have pulled up to fight them?

If the planes below hadn't discovered them, shouldn't they have continued to attack the Japanese below?

"What exactly is going on?" Captain Hiyokuya asked his final question.

As no one answered, a "rumbling" sound came from the belly of the plane, and the entire bomber fell apart in a shudder.

Lin Fan had fired. It wasn't just the bomber Captain Hiyokuya was piloting that was hit by artillery shells.

One after another, the nine Japanese bombers exploded in the air in succession, creating an effect like setting off fireworks.

Colonel Aso had long stopped paying attention to the sky, because he assumed the heavens belonged to the Lunan Detachment.

Now, hearing the loud explosions in the air, all the surviving Japanese soldiers looked up, watching the fireworks bloom in the sky.

One after another, bombers painted with the Rising Sun flag exploded above their heads. At this moment, Colonel Aso knew that another air squadron that had come to rescue him was finished.

Now he understood why the soldiers of Lieutenant General Koya had fought so hard, yet the North China Front Army had not sent a single plane to reinforce them.

Their opponent here had a secret weapon: it could simultaneously destroy all visible aircraft.

Colonel Aso discovered this secret. He couldn't take the secret, tested with a full infantry regiment and two air groups, to the grave with him.

Lieutenant General Inoue received the fourth telegram from Colonel Aso: "Aso Regiment's tearful report: As of this moment, Aso Battalion and Inukai Battalion have all honorably perished. Sakai and Uehara Battalions are fighting heroically.

Two air squadrons of bombers appeared in the sky, all suddenly destroyed by the enemy. The enemy has a secret air defense weapon, capable of destroying nine bombers at once."

This time, Colonel Aso didn't even write pleas for help, he was truly desperate.

He had given up hope, but Lieutenant General Inoue dared not give up so easily. If one of his regiments was annihilated, what would he rely on to advance to the rank of division commander?

A few days ago, he still wanted to compete with Yamaba for the position of commander of the Xuzhou Task Force. Although it was a foregone conclusion, there was nothing he could do. But he still wanted to struggle a bit, to accumulate more credit for promotion.

If the Aso Regiment was wiped out, the entire Third Independent Mixed Brigade's trip to Xuzhou would not only be without merit, but probably without even any hard work to show for it.

Less than ten minutes after Colonel Aso sent the fourth telegram, he received an encouraging telegram from Lieutenant General Inoue.

In the telegram, Lieutenant General Inoue encouraged him, urging him to hold out until tonight.

Because the Nakajima Infantry Regiment had already departed from Xuzhou with light equipment. He ordered the Nakajima Regiment to march overnight, making sure to reach Zhao Zhuang before dawn tomorrow.

A hundred *li* (Chinese mile, approximately 0.5 kilometers) of road was not a big problem for an infantry regiment to travel in a day and night.

Although there would definitely be many stragglers along the way, the main force could definitely arrive.

The previously despairing Colonel Aso was moved to tears upon receiving the latest telegram.

He looked at the force already entangled with the Lunan Detachment. At this moment, the planes overhead were finally gone.

The entire Aso Regiment was also entangled with the opposing National Revolutionary Army. It would not be easy to retreat to establish a line of defense and hold it.

Just as Colonel Aso ordered the Uehara and Sakai Battalions to contract their forces and establish a line of defense, the Lunan Detachment, which had surged up like a tide, retreated like a tide.

Just as the sea leaves many marine organisms on the beach when it rises and falls, the Lunan Detachment's ebb and flow left Japanese corpses all over the wilderness.

They even took the weapons of these dead devils. The Fourth and Tenth Regiments reluctantly retreated after receiving Lin Fan's order.

Because of this, they picked up all the weapons and ammunition carried by the Japanese soldiers as they retreated.

Back at the starting point, the Fourth and Tenth Regiments still surrounded the few remaining Japanese soldiers. Each company dispatched its political instructor and a platoon leader to hold a temporary meeting.

At this wartime meeting, Lin Fan showed the telegram that Commander Gu Xiuming had just sent to all the participants.

Then he said, "The Japanese have sent another infantry regiment out of Xuzhou City.

This time, they didn't even bring heavy weapons such as infantry guns and heavy machine guns. The entire force is marching in light gear. What do you all say they are doing leaving the city?"

"That goes without saying, they must be coming to rescue the Japanese who are surrounded here," Shan Chengfu stood up and blurted out.

He had just been arguing loudly with Lin Fan, saying that the bayonets were already at the Japanese throats, but then he was told to retreat. The entire Fourth Regiment couldn't understand it.

He also said that if the Brigade Commander didn't give them an explanation, he would organize the troops to charge up again and harvest those Japanese soldiers.

Now, seeing this telegram, he still didn't understand: "The Japanese are sending reinforcements, shouldn't we quickly annihilate the Japanese surrounded here?

Lest they cooperate from the inside and outside and catch us off guard."

Lin Fan smiled and asked, "If we annihilate the Japanese here, will those Japanese who just left the city still come?"

Shan Chengfu scratched his head: "Probably not! After all, they didn't even bring heavy weapons."

"So! That's why I told you to temporarily let the Japanese go, let them live an extra day.

When the Japanese reinforcements come, wouldn't it be better for us to eliminate more Japanese soldiers like we did just now?"

This time, not only Commander Shan Chengfu understood, but all the more than one hundred cadres and soldiers present understood.

Lin Fan ordered: "After you go back, convey the recognition and analysis from today's meeting to every soldier.

Make sure every soldier understands that our emergency braking on the battlefield just now was not to spare the Japanese, but to leave these Japanese dogs alive.

To lure more Japanese to their deaths! At the same time, each regiment must immediately send a team to advance two kilometers to find a new ambush site.

This time, judging from the telegram sent by Commander Gu, the Japanese are moving quickly, so they won't be as careful as the surrounded troops were when they marched.

We can also make good use of our specialties."

The officers present immediately knew that directional mines could be prepared for the Japanese who were still marching.

The cadres of the Fourth and Tenth Regiments, who had been aggressive just now, all laughed.

As long as they could kill more Japanese, they were willing to make some sacrifices.

After the wartime meeting, the cadres of the six regiments went back and conveyed the spirit of the meeting to their troops.

The soldiers had been critical of the sudden halt to the battle when they could have annihilated all the Japanese soldiers.

Now, hearing that the Brigade Commander's plan was to use these few remaining Japanese soldiers as bait, waiting for more Japanese to come to die,

the soldiers' moods suddenly changed, especially when they heard that the Japanese had just left Xuzhou City and were rushing here at a rapid pace.

They all laughed: How much fighting power could a force that had marched a hundred *li* have?

Happiness came so suddenly that the soldiers couldn't quite accept it:

Another five thousand Japanese soldiers were coming to die. Who among these soldiers wasn't happy!

Annihilating a Japanese regiment in one day, these days couldn't be better!

The little bit of confusion just now had completely disappeared. These soldiers were all happily smiling.

Although this meant they couldn't rest yet, and needed to move their positions to set up new ambush positions in front.

Here, they also needed to dig new trenches, set up new fortifications, and completely surround the Japanese in the middle.

But what did that matter? As long as they could kill more Japanese, the soldiers would be happy to do anything.

The soldiers of the Fourth and Tenth Regiments had already begun digging trenches and fortifications. The mortars and rocket launchers of each regiment were returning to their units.

Each of the Third, Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Regiments left a company to clean up the battlefield.

The remaining companies all ran forward, set up new ambush circles in front, and patiently waited for the arrival of the Japanese reinforcements.

Commander An Ping was smiling happily this time: In the battle this morning, his regiment had only killed a little over a hundred Japanese soldiers.

Not even a fraction of what the Third Regiment had killed, and not comparable to the newly transferred Ninth Regiment.

The Ninth Regiment had also annihilated over a thousand Japanese soldiers, okay!

Commander Tian Huacai of the Ninth Regiment was still modest: It was all thanks to the help of the brother regiments that we had such a result.

The Ninth Regiment had just annihilated the Aso Battalion, and he had no use for the captured weapons and equipment. What needed to be replenished had already been replenished. He only replenished some ammunition. The rest of the heavy machine guns, rifles, etc., were piled together, waiting to be sent to the rear.

Now, it was good that the Fourth and Tenth Regiments stayed in place, surrounding the remaining Japanese soldiers, and he could go to set up an ambush in front.

Commander Gu had said that there was a whole regiment of Japanese soldiers, five thousand Japanese soldiers! This time the Fifth Regiment would also get a piece of the pie.

Commander An Ping couldn't wipe the smile off his face when he thought that five thousand Japanese soldiers were coming, even if they were split evenly, his regiment could get more than a thousand Japanese soldiers.

The smiles on their faces couldn't be erased. All the soldiers of the entire Lunan Detachment were the same.

They had just annihilated four thousand Japanese soldiers, of course they were happy. And there were five thousand Japanese soldiers on their way to die. These soldiers were even happier!

For safety, Lin Fan ordered the barbed wire that the Lunan Detachment had transported to Huangtuling to be sent here immediately. He wanted to make a cage for the Aso Regiment, to lock them up and not let them escape.

Commander Shan Chengfu pointed to the front of the newly dug trench and said, "Brigade Commander! Don't worry! I have buried directional mines in front and set up alarms. Whether the Japanese hold their ground or break out, they won't get out."

Lin Fan looked carefully at the front of the position. There were actually several rows of seemingly messy thin lines, strung with iron bells.

He couldn't help but smile and praised, "Well done! This way, if any Japanese soldiers try to sneak up at night, these bells will make a sound.

This is a good design, but we can't be careless. The soldiers must remain vigilant at night.

We must arrange for them to take turns resting well in the afternoon. What we want to do is surround the point and strike at the reinforcements. We don't want to fail to catch the dog and get bitten instead."

"Brigade Commander, don't worry! I will personally guard it at night!" Commander Shan Chengfu patted his chest and guaranteed.

Looking inside from here, you could also see the Japanese were busy: they were busy rescuing the wounded and digging trenches.

Colonel Aso didn't understand why the other side, despite having a complete advantage, suddenly retreated at the last moment.

In any case, the retreat of the Lunan Detachment allowed his remaining seven hundred Japanese soldiers to eke out an existence. This was a good thing.

Colonel Aso immediately contracted the lines, dividing the seven hundred Japanese soldiers into four companies, each guarding a direction.

The two battalion commanders each commanded two companies, guarding two directions. At the same time, he sent the Japanese soldiers from the regimental headquarters to gather the wounded.

During the fierce fighting just now, Colonel Aso didn't have time to care about these wounded soldiers. They didn't have the ability to take these wounded soldiers with them when they broke through.

Therefore, they had ignored them all. Now that they couldn't break through and were holding their ground, Colonel Aso immediately discovered the value of these wounded soldiers.

Many of the Japanese soldiers with injured hands and feet could still hold their ground in the trenches and fire their guns, and could be considered a combat member.

Therefore, Colonel Aso paid special attention to first rescuing the lightly wounded soldiers. All the medicines and bandages were given to the lightly wounded soldiers first, and the rest were used for the seriously wounded soldiers.

None of the Japanese soldiers felt that there was anything wrong with this order. The lightly wounded soldiers were moved to tears after being treated.

They all thought they had been abandoned when the entire regiment broke through, but now they were suddenly back in the ranks, receiving medicine and bandaging. How could they not be moved?

Hearing the regimental commander say that the force was surrounded here, holding out for reinforcements, and that there were not enough troops, these wounded soldiers volunteered to go to the front lines.

They all said that although they were injured, their eyes could still see, and their hands could still pull the trigger, and they could still fight. *Da Feng Novel*

This was exactly what Colonel Aso had hoped for, and these wounded soldiers had taken the initiative to say it.

The regimental commander was very pleased!

Now his force, plus the wounded who could fight, was close to a thousand Japanese soldiers.

Although it couldn't compare to the five thousand Japanese soldiers when they set out, it was already good.

Colonel Aso, in an excited mood, sent another telegram to Lieutenant General Inoue, reporting this good news.

Hearing that the Aso Regiment was establishing a line of defense, and the Lunan Detachment had stopped attacking, Lieutenant General Inoue's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally relaxed a bit.

Now he could safely board the train to Xuzhou.

His two infantry regiments had all been sent to the front line. What was being sent now were the tank unit, cavalry unit, engineer unit, and logistics unit.

But after the joint efforts of Commander Yamaba and Commander Terauchi, the train station finally increased the number of trains for the Xuzhou Task Force.

Accompanying Lieutenant General Inoue was a Matsutake unit from the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade.

Lieutenant General Saito, commander of the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade, was afraid that his unit would be snatched away after arriving in Xuzhou.

He also set off with his advance troops. The remaining Izumi unit would continue to be transported to Xuzhou tomorrow.

The Japanese soldiers of the Nakajima unit, after getting off the train, were originally scheduled to rest in place for a day before setting off.

As a result, the Japanese soldiers had not even rested for three hours after getting off the train. Their heavy weapons were still on the train and had not been unloaded.

The entire unit of Japanese soldiers received the order: "Advance with light equipment! Rapid march to Zhao Zhuang."

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese soldiers could only immediately assemble, rush out of the camp in a panic, and run towards the north of Xuzhou.

Several thousand Japanese soldiers running forward was still very imposing, especially since these Japanese soldiers were marching very quickly, even somewhat panicked.

Japanese soldiers were leaving for the north of the city every day, attracting the attention of many people in Xuzhou City.

Curiosity was human nature, especially for those idlers sitting in teahouses.

They had plenty of time, but lacked topics of conversation. Yesterday, someone with good connections had already said the reason why the Japanese soldiers were leaving the city.

But what was the reason for these Japanese soldiers leaving the city today?

This time, even the person with good connections who had exchanged information for a few cups of rice wine yesterday didn't know the reason.

But this didn't stop people from unleashing their imagination and starting endless speculation.

...