Chapter 1 The Japanese's Recruitment

This time, Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison organized all the Japanese doing business and working in Tianjia'an to join the Love-Mine Corps. This was an order issued to all Japanese, brooking no argument, and the most urgent conscription.

All these temporarily conscripted Japanese were added to the Love-Mine Corps.

Originally, Commander Shikata Donto only had one battalion of Japanese soldiers under his command, but suddenly more than two thousand assorted Japanese were added.

His Love-Mine Corps commander's unit was reorganized into three infantry battalions, and although their combat effectiveness was unknown, at least the number of soldiers had recovered somewhat.

He was organizing the Japanese to distribute weapons and ammunition to these newly joined Love-Mine Corps members. Thanks to the Japanese's decades of preparedness, all their ordinary citizens had to undergo military training.

Although these Japanese were conscripted indiscriminately this time, they still had basic combat skills. At least they knew how to fire a gun, and they could understand ordinary tactical commands.

This greatly reassured Commander Shikata Donto, and he was very satisfied, praising Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison for his wise command. In any case, having men under his command meant strength, and whether for self-preservation or escape, there were more opportunities.

The puppet army division commander, Bian Biao, had exhausted his soldiers and couldn't find good recruits in a hurry. Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison ordered all the mine guard teams managing the miners to be placed under Commander Bian Biao.

These members of the mine guard teams were different from the Japanese. They were just traitors who followed the Japanese and were particularly ruthless towards the miners.

If the Japanese punished miners who failed to complete their tasks with only three lashes, these traitors would double that to ten lashes.

Because of their awkward status, they could only use the cruelest means to suppress and exploit the workers in order to make their masters feel they were useful.

Now this group of traitors and foremen were all organized and assigned to the puppet army. However, the Japanese in Tianjia'an didn't have enough weapons to issue to these puppet soldiers.

Commander Ueno Yusuke ordered them to arm themselves with wooden sticks, spears, and whips, the weapons they used to deal with the miners, and prepare to use them against the attacking Special Operations Brigade.

To ensure that this group of puppet soldiers didn't desert like the puppet soldiers on the second line of defense, Commander Ueno Yusuke sent the military police to the puppet army to act as a supervisory team.

Commander Jiangyuan Zoutai of the military police happily accepted this order. For these military police, acting as a supervisory team was not stressful at all.

Commander Ueno Yusuke knew very well that these ragtag troops could only serve as cannon fodder. If he wanted to hold Tianjia'an, he still had to rely on his own Japanese soldiers.

He had a full infantry battalion under his command, as well as cavalry, tank, and artillery squadrons. His strength was still quite formidable.

Commander Ueno Yusuke felt that he could hold Tianjia'an until reinforcements arrived. The second batch of reinforcements had already set off from Xuzhou and would definitely arrive today.

Although Commander Ueno Yusuke didn't have much hope for the combat effectiveness of the reinforcements, it would be good to have two infantry battalions to make up the numbers!

The entire order of Tianjia'an was disrupted. All the workers came up from the mines, and all the coal was temporarily stopped from being loaded and sent out.

It wasn't that the Japanese wanted to stop work, but the entire management of Tianjia'an was in the hands of the Japanese and traitors, and now these people had all been conscripted into the army and went to fight.

The workers had no management at all and could not produce anything. Ueno Yusuke looked at the empty mining area and the deserted freight yard, thinking, "Fortunately, the workers' emotions are stable and they haven't launched a rebellion."

He had issued a ban early on: the entire Tianjia'an was under martial law, and no one was allowed to move around in the streets, mines, or freight yards. All the shops in Tianjia'an were closed.

Today, he wanted to shut down the entire Tianjia'an. Commander Ueno Yusuke wanted to put all his strength and energy into dealing with the Special Operations Brigade attacking from outside.

The Japanese defense didn't have much novelty. Lin Fan looked at the third line of defense: bunkers plus trenches.

The design was exactly the same as the first and second lines of defense. The only difference was that the bunkers were denser, and some sections of the trenches were not completely dug, leaving roads that were obviously left for tanks to charge through.

These Japanese were direct. Solid bunkers, complete trenches, and tank attack lines were all clearly laid out.

Lin Fan had carefully examined the first two lines of defense. These Japanese used above-ground bunkers and didn't set up any hidden bunkers.

In fact, it can't be blamed on Commander Ueno Yusuke for lacking vision or strategic insight.

When Ueno Yusuke designed these defenses, the enemy he was targeting was guerrillas, whether it was the Nationalists left behind to fight guerrillas or the guerrillas organized by the organization, they all had one thing in common: insufficient firepower, or none at all.

Teams with few machine guns were completely helpless against the Japanese bunkers, like tigers trying to bite hedgehogs.

Machine guns and rifles couldn't cause any damage to those bunkers. But this time, Commander Ueno Yusuke encountered the Special Operations Brigade and Lin Fan, a commander who believed in the power of firepower.

This immediately made him the nemesis of Ueno Yusuke's defenses, not only rendering those bunkers completely useless, but also turning them into the Japanese's coffins, with entire teams of Japanese being suffocated to death inside.

And the Special Operations Brigade's actions were fast and ruthless. No Japanese survived to run away, and the Japanese in the rear didn't know how the front lines had died. The battle was already over.

This time was different. Shikata Donto and Bian Biao, the two commanders on the second line of defense, had personally witnessed how their bunkers were broken.

The two of them were now in Commander Ueno Yusuke's headquarters, pointing to the bunkers on the third line of defense on the sand table, earnestly persuading Commander Ueno Yusuke to abandon these bunkers and not fall for the Special Operations Brigade's tricks.

Before Commander Ueno Yusuke could speak, Infantry Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro of the Independent Mixed 10th Brigade, who had come to reinforce from Xuzhou, couldn't help but speak:

"If we don't use the existing bunkers and trenches, are we supposed to let our brave warriors fight the enemy in the open?"

Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro led the Nakatsumori Yusuke Infantry Battalion, the Haneta Taro Infantry Battalion, and the Ueda Haruo Artillery Battalion, coming from Xuzhou in high spirits.

Originally, he wanted to sweep across the battlefield and point his sword at Hefei.

The plan was very beautiful, but now it was too cruel: his team was completely defeated by the Special Operations Brigade in less than two hours. The total number of stragglers gathered back was less than a thousand.

His team was bombed by the Special Operations Brigade's heavy artillery and strafed by the Special Operations Brigade's planes in the open field.

What made Suikone Ichiro even more angry was that if the two commanders on the second line of defense could have held on for ten more minutes, his team would have rushed into the trenches on the second line of defense.

Everything would have been very different, but there was never an "if" in this world, and "if" things never come true.

Thinking of how the Nakatsumori Yusuke Infantry Battalion struggled to survive under the artillery bombardment, Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro's heart ached so much that he couldn't breathe. He was speechless.

This made the Japanese present feel a sense of heaviness. Commander Ueno Yusuke had originally respected and admired this regimental commander who had come overnight from Xuzhou and put his team on the front line without rest.

But now, he was just a fool who had buried three thousand brave warriors in two hours.

At this moment, Commander Ueno Yusuke thought, "Is it because Suikone Ichiro was incompetent that he couldn't wait to send his team to the front line as soon as he arrived in Tianjia'an?"

There was no point in pursuing this any further. What Commander Ueno Yusuke needed to decide was whether to let his elite infantry enter the bunkers.

Before this, if any Japanese said not to let the soldiers enter the bunkers, Commander Ueno Yusuke would probably immediately ask Commander Jiangyuan Zoutai of the military police to investigate the person's background and ask what their intentions were.

Now, two commanders on the second line of defense were simultaneously opposing letting the soldiers enter the bunkers. If he listened to them, how would they defend the third line of defense?

Commander Shikata Donto quickly said, "Deploy all the soldiers in the trenches to fight the Special Operations Brigade."

"Yes! Yes! Deploy all the soldiers in the trenches to fight the Special Operations Brigade," Division Commander Bian Biao quickly echoed.

"On the second line of defense, Commander Bian's men were all in the trenches. How long did you defend?" Commander Ueno Yusuke was definitely not a fool. He knew the basic situation on the battlefield.

Don't hit a man in the face, and don't expose a man's shortcomings! Commander Ueno Yusuke's words embarrassed Division Commander Bian Biao.

His puppet soldiers started retreating and running away as soon as they saw the bunkers being shattered by artillery shells.

How long did they hold out? They didn't even last a minute. That was because the puppet soldiers were too slow to react. If they had been faster, they would have escaped even faster.

Commander Ueno Yusuke wasn't exposing his shortcomings. He was just reminding the two commanders that trench defense didn't seem very reliable either.

But if trench defense couldn't be used either, what could they do?

Commander Ueno Yusuke said, "Attack! We must take the initiative to attack. The best defense is offense."

His tone was very domineering and powerful, which greatly encouraged the Japanese present. But what was the target of the attack?

The Special Operations Brigade had planes in the air to provide them with targets and directions, but these Japanese didn't have a single plane to help them.

Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro had some complaints about this. In the past, when they were fighting, as long as they requested the air force to bomb or scout, the air force would quickly appear on the battlefield. Today, it was strange. He had made a request, but there was no response.

Not only Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro didn't understand this, but Commander Ueno Yusuke also didn't understand. Requesting air force guidance was a common occurrence in Japanese operations.

Tianjia'an was such an important resource center. Since the Special Operations Brigade attacked, he had applied twice for the air force to come and bomb it.

As a result, his request sank like a stone and there was no response at all. Why?

Why didn't the air force come? These regimental commanders didn't know, and even the division commander didn't know.

Only the corps commander, the commander of the North China Front Army, and the commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army knew: the reason was very simple. The air force was unwilling to appear in places where the Special Operations Brigade appeared.

Wherever the Special Operations Brigade appeared, the air force would never return. This had been proven countless times.

Therefore, they had designated many no-fly zones, and unfortunately, Tianjia'an was now included.

Of course, as a part of the imperial army, it was shameful that some places were afraid of death and dared not fight. The air force never said such embarrassing things, whether actively or passively.

They only kept it internal and never made it public.

Therefore, when they encountered requests like the one from Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro today, they would see that it was the Tianjia'an airspace, the area where the Special Operations Brigade was operating, and they would neither send planes nor reply, just putting the request telegram aside, ignoring it, not replying, and not sending planes.

A three-no policy! This made Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro very hurt, and his words no longer carried weight.

Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison didn't even ask for his opinion and had already completed the deployment of all the defense forces in Tianjia'an. At this time, the only thing that hadn't been determined was which strategy to use: holding the line or attacking.

Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison finally decided to send out the Suimi Munemasa Cavalry Squadron first to scout where the Special Operations Brigade's team was.

To prepare for the next active attack. At the same time, he once again sent the reorganized puppet army and Love-Mine Corps into the bunkers and trenches.

What was different this time was that there was the Jiangyuan Zoutai Military Police Team behind this line of defense as a supervisory team.

Ueno Yusuke fully trusted the execution ability of Military Police Captain Jiangyuan Zoutai. If he was told to shoot any Japanese or puppet soldiers who dared to retreat a step, he would definitely not wait until the Japanese retreated a second step before taking action.

Both Love-Mine Corps Commander Shikata Donto and Puppet Army Division Commander Bian Biao were aware of this, and what made them very uncomfortable was that Commander Ueno Yusuke specifically pointed out when giving the order: any Japanese on the front line.

Military Police Captain Jiangyuan Zoutai immediately responded: "Understood! We will also enforce battlefield discipline if Commander Shikata Donto and Division Commander Bian Biao retreat a step."

Although Commander Ueno Yusuke didn't speak, his gratified and encouraging expression already showed his attitude.

The faces of the two commanders, Shikata Donto and Bian Biao, changed instantly. They were certainly aware that this Captain Jiangyuan Zoutai never recognized anyone and never showed any sympathy.

If they had followed Commander Ueno Yusuke's orders, they, the two commanders of the second line of defense, would have already died on the battlefield.

If they didn't escape, they would definitely be killed by the Special Operations Brigade on the second line of defense. If they escaped, they would be killed by the supervisory team. Fortunately, there was no supervisory team at that time.

But now there was a supervisory team. On the third line of defense, they would have no way to retreat.

What else could the two commanders say here? Could they say now: we can't hold it! We can't beat them! We just want to run away and live to fight another day?

Commander Ueno Yusuke of the garrison didn't understand the suffering of the front-line commanders! Seeing this situation, Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro finally smiled: a man without an official position is carefree. His team had no combat strength.

The supervisory team couldn't control him. He looked at the Nakatsumori Yusuke Battalion Commander, Haneta Taro Battalion Commander, and Ueda Haruo Battalion Commander, who also had gloating expressions.

The three battalion commanders probably felt the same way: fortunately, they had sent all their Japanese soldiers to their deaths. Otherwise, they would really have to be fixed on the front line and sent to their deaths.

For this group of Japanese from Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro, they were few in number and had poor combat effectiveness. Commander Ueno Yusuke really didn't know how to place them.

Fortunately, he thought that two more infantry battalions from the Independent Mixed 10th Brigade were about to arrive, and the train station needed forces to guard it.

So he sent Regiment Commander Suikone Ichiro and his men to the train station to protect the station's safety and meet the two infantry battalions that were about to arrive.

Captain Suimi Munemasa of the cavalry squadron, who had accepted the reconnaissance mission, immediately began to arrange tasks. His cavalry squadron had a total of three platoons, plus a squadron headquarters.

Now he sent out the first platoon. Platoon Leader Maeda Nakao divided the entire platoon of fifty-four Japanese cavalry soldiers into groups of nine. He sent out a total of six cavalry reconnaissance squads.

The First Battalion, which was cleaning up the battlefield, quickly discovered the Japanese cavalry squad with the forces placed on alert on the front line.

Seeing the Japanese cavalry run past in groups of nine, right in front of them. First Platoon Leader I Seigyo of the First Company was very tempted, but the Japanese cavalry was very cunning. They ran past three hundred meters in front of them.

They didn't stop at all, which made the soldiers of the First Platoon unable to do anything about it.

The Japanese reconnaissance squad swept past from a distance, running around the periphery of Tianjia'an like a fleeting glimpse. Platoon Leader Maeda Nakao collected the information seen by the six reconnaissance squads.

He began to report to Captain Suimi Munemasa: there were traces of Special Operations Brigade activity in the southwest direction of Tianjia'an. There were not many soldiers, about a company, still near the second line of defense.

In the due south direction, the Special Operations Brigade's soldiers were less than five li away from Tianjia'an. From a distance, they could see them dragging the abandoned cannons of the Ueda Haruo Artillery Battalion to the rear.

Because the Special Operations Brigade's heavy troops were guarding this area, the reconnaissance soldiers didn't dare to get too close and could only observe from a distance.

After receiving the intelligence, Commander Ueno Yusuke immediately issued a combat order: "The First and Second Infantry Companies, cooperating with the Tank Squadron, set off immediately to retrieve the abandoned cannons of the Ueda Haruo Artillery Battalion.

The Suimi Munemasa Cavalry Squadron will also cooperate in the operation."

In the orders just issued, the Love-Mine Corps and the puppet soldiers had already entered the bunkers and trenches one after another. The six infantry companies under Ueno Yusuke were waiting behind this line of defense.

Now it was time for them to attack!

Captain Yamada Musashi of the First Japanese Infantry Company and Captain Mizuno Kazuo of the Second Company immediately led their teams to set off.

They were on the front line, unlike the Goto Yuma Tank Squadron, which was still some distance behind.

Calculating from the departure position of the two infantry companies, it was only less than ten li away. Captain Yamada Musashi could reach the combat area in less than an hour.

Captain Goto Yuma didn't delay at all and set off immediately after receiving the order.

Their speed was not as fast as the Suimi Munemasa Cavalry Squadron. The cavalry squadron was already in a combat state. After receiving the order, the captain immediately led his team out.

When Captain Suimi Munemasa of the cavalry squadron rushed to the battlefield and looked at the busy Special Operations Brigade soldiers from a distance, he hesitated for a moment.

Should he charge? That was the question!

The two infantry companies and a tank squadron behind him had not arrived yet. Charging at this time was the cavalry squadron's isolated battle.

Another thought floated into his mind: the plains were originally the battlefield where the cavalry was king. Retrieving some of the artillery battalion's abandoned cannons independently would be a great achievement.

In the end, the desire for promotion overcame the plan of prudence. Captain Suimi Munemasa of the cavalry squadron only thought about making a tentative charge. If the defense on the opposite side was tight, he would lead his team back. If the defense on the opposite side was broken with one charge, he would change the tentative charge into a real attack.

After thinking about the plan, Captain Suimi Munemasa pointed to the cannons in the distance and ordered, "Charge!"

His determination to issue the order also came from those cannons, which were all in a state of transportation and could not be fired at all.

This gave him great confidence!

Company Commander Wu Long of the Second Company finally waited for the Japanese cavalry to launch a charge, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face anymore.

He ordered his three platoon leaders, "Fight well. Whether we can have a feast at noon today depends on you."

Fighting warhorses and eating horse meat had become a regular program for the Special Operations Brigade. Now that more than a hundred warhorses were charging over, they were piles of walking hard dishes in the eyes of the soldiers of the Second Company.

Lin Fan didn't deploy many troops on the front line because he was afraid of scaring the Japanese. He deliberately transferred the Japanese's abandoned cannons to the rear slowly, in order to attract the Japanese to come and snatch them back.

For the Special Operations Brigade, letting the Japanese come out on their own was much easier to fight than blocking them at home.

After all, in field battles, directional mines were deployed, making it impossible for the Japanese to defend against. Not to mention that the Eighth Regiment's heavy artillery was sitting in the rear to support this time.

Platoon Leader Ma Xuesong of the First Platoon led his team to ambush on both sides of the highway. He had already laid a three-hundred-meter-long directional mine ambush zone on this road.

On his left was the directional mine ambush zone laid by Platoon Leader Yong Wenbin of the Second Platoon, and on the right was the directional mine ambush zone laid by Platoon Leader Guo Fei of the Third Platoon.

"Report, Regimental Commander! A Japanese cavalry team is charging towards my company's defense line. Please advise!" Company Commander Wu Long's tone of requesting instructions on the walkie-talkie could not suppress his excitement.

Chen Sichuan smiled and said, "Hit one for every one that comes, and don't let any of them run away! Don't get cocky, kid. Be careful of capsizing in a ditch and letting the Japanese run away."

He knew that Wu Long was showing off to the other company commanders. Among so many companies guarding such a long defense line, the Second Company had gotten the first move.

Wu Long quickly said, "Regimental Commander, don't worry! Please report to the brigade commander that the Second Company will treat everyone to fried horse lungs at noon today!"