Chapter 1 A Deal That Can't Be Missed

Not a penny spent, yet gaining two heavy artillery regiments – something Chang Kai-shek couldn't pass up. Understanding dawned, and he knew what to do. "These two heavy artillery regiments can form a heavy artillery brigade. Select someone from the artillery school to serve as the major general brigade commander. Chief Xue, please submit the names of the candidates.

"Also, both regimental commanders will be chosen from the school. Select five hundred students from the artillery school to join them. Though they haven't graduated, they're still more skilled at operating cannons than ordinary soldiers!"

Chen Cheng added with a smile, "Let all the current students from the artillery school go. We're about to relocate anyway. The teachers will retreat to Chongqing first, and then we'll start recruiting again.

"That way, we'll have nearly two thousand soldiers joining the heavy artillery regiments. They're all the headmaster's students, so naturally, they'll be loyal to him."

Chang Kai-shek considered it and immediately agreed, "An excellent suggestion! Let's do it that way!"

Xue Yue was overjoyed to hear Chang Kai-shek's decision to establish a heavy artillery brigade and send two thousand artillery school students.

They were all seasoned veterans, and he understood the implications of Chang Kai-shek's actions. However, during this time of war, personal gains couldn't be fully considered.

Besides, it was a calculated move, and Xue Yue couldn't change it. Even so, Xue Yue was pleased. At least with two thousand artillery school students joining, the two heavy artillery regiments would be ready to participate in the upcoming Battle of Wanjiangling. That was the most important thing.

He wanted to annihilate a Japanese division here, so that the Japanese would be more cautious in future battles.

Regimental Commander Ning Hezhi and Regimental Commander Shi Yi watched as another battle ended in the distance. The battlefield they needed to clear had expanded considerably.

But instead of being discouraged, the two regimental commanders were too excited to calm down. They had already begun repairing the railway. Soldiers from the Sixty-sixth Army were relaid some of the rail tracks that could be salvaged.

In the distance, another artillery regiment had been captured. The soldiers of both regiments were ecstatic.

They hadn't rested since rushing out of the mountains to Mahuiling today, constantly transporting supplies.

And after running from Mahuiling to this place, they still hadn't stopped to rest. The soldiers of the Sixty-sixth Army felt no fatigue at all. They were bursting with energy.

The soldiers moved quickly, eagerly taking on any task. They were all racing to do everything.

Seeing the soldiers' happy expressions, Regimental Commander Ning Hezhi couldn't quite believe it. Could his regiment really have such high morale?

He had never seen such a thing before. This was truly a first.

While they were busy at the rear, Liaison Officer Magosaburo was still leading his troops in a desperate retreat.

Just when he thought they had escaped, he noticed a long section of railway tracks missing in the distance.

Liaison Officer Magosaburo rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Those tracks had been there when they arrived, hadn't they?

He opened his eyes again and looked. The tracks were indeed gone. Magosaburo's heart leaped into his throat.

"Could there be a Chinese ambush here?"

Just as the Japanese soldiers were wondering, they rounded a bend to find over a dozen heavy machine guns lined up on the railway.

Seeing the Japanese appear, Second Regiment Commander Liu Laopao shouted, "Open fire!"

The Japanese artillery regiment, completely unprepared, was thrown into chaos. They weren't infantry to begin with.

In their haste to escape, they had abandoned their cannons and even their rifles.

Most of these Japanese soldiers were unarmed. What could they do against so many heavy machine guns?

Run in all directions! Their previously organized retreat devolved into every man for himself.

Some Japanese soldiers immediately ran toward the hills, hoping to hide in the mountains and survive.

Others ran toward the hills on the other side, with the same idea. Still others, completely disoriented, turned and ran back, only to find pursuers coming from behind.

They then scattered toward the hills on either side. Liaison Officer Magosaburo fled toward the hills as well.

Just as they reached the base of the hills, Chinese soldiers on the hilltop opened fire with their machine guns, mowing down the leading Japanese soldiers with a dense barrage of bullets.

What were they to do?

This was the question on the minds of all the soldiers in the 106th Field Artillery Regiment. Of the thousand-plus Japanese soldiers, fewer than a hundred had rifles. They were surrounded by heavily armed Chinese soldiers.

They couldn't fight, and they couldn't escape. Surrender? Liaison Officer Magosaburo didn't dare.

Liu Laopao now realized the Japanese soldiers' situation: they were unarmed!

There was no room for hesitation. "Sound the charge! Let's finish this quickly!" Liu Laopao knew that the Special Operations Brigade was also nearing the end of its strength.

The entire brigade of six thousand soldiers had departed from Xiao'ao yesterday afternoon, marched rapidly to Mahuiling, and stormed Mahuiling.

They had then marched rapidly to this place, where they had already fought the third wave of Japanese soldiers.

Counting the battle in the mountains, the Special Operations Brigade had fought five battles today. Although the soldiers' morale was high and their fighting spirit was strong, their bodies hadn't had any rest, and they couldn't maintain their peak condition indefinitely.

The Second Regiment sounded the charge, and the Fifteenth Regiment couldn't be left behind. All ten companies of the Fifteenth Regiment had now arrived on the battlefield, with Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen leading the charge.

Company Commander Jing Chengxuan and his men charged down from the hilltop, while Company Commander Lu Jiagui pursued from behind. The Second Regiment attacked the Japanese from two other directions.

Liaison Officer Magosaburo, trapped in the middle, had truly reached the end of the line.

The key was that they didn't even have the means to resist. Most of the Japanese soldiers trapped in the middle were unarmed.

Seeing the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade, like fierce tigers emerging from the forest, rushing toward them from all directions, the soldiers of the 106th Field Artillery Regiment even picked up stones from the ground, attempting to continue their resistance.

The First to Fifth Companies of the Fifteenth Regiment, led by Jing Chengxuan, were closest to the Japanese soldiers. They charged down from the hilltop, while the remaining soldiers of the First Battalion of the 106th Artillery Regiment, led by Captain Saijiki Naohide, also charged toward the hilltop.

Captain Saijiki Naohide had originally planned to escape into the mountains from here, avoiding the Special Operations Brigade. He hadn't expected Chinese soldiers to charge out from the hilltop.

The two sides collided in less than a minute. The soldiers of Saijiki Naohide's battalion were largely unable to resist, and they could only turn and flee again.

Those who were slow to escape were overtaken and, facing the gleaming bayonets, were unable to parry or resist. They could only scream and fall to the ground, quickly losing their breath.

Captain Saijiki Naohide still had some backbone. He was unwilling to continue running and escaping like this. The main reason was that he had already realized: there was no escape.

He drew his pistol and ended his own life decisively. With the captain dead, his battalion was even more disorganized.

Liaison Officer Magosaburo was following behind the First Battalion. When he saw Chinese soldiers charging down from the hilltop, he was the first to turn and flee in the other direction.

He didn't see Captain Saijiki Naohide's suicide, and he couldn't worry about it now.

Captain Kobyashi Hiroshi was the commander of the entire regiment's Second Battalion. Originally, his battalion had twelve Type 38 75mm field guns.

In the recent battle, he had directed his entire battalion to level part of the artillery position. If he had been given another half-hour, he could have deployed several cannons to open fire.

However, all of this had been shattered by the Special Operations Brigade's proactive attack and Liaison Officer Magosaburo's orders. Only about two hundred soldiers from the entire battalion were now fleeing in disarray.

They couldn't escape from the western hillside, so they could only turn and run east. Liaison Officer Magosaburo had just rushed onto the railway when the Japanese soldiers to the east were also turning back. On the hillside, a large number of Chinese soldiers were still charging down the mountain.

With black masses of Chinese soldiers rapidly charging from all directions, Liaison Officer Magosaburo finally despaired. He drew his issued pistol, preparing to commit suicide.

High-ranking officers like him would never personally charge into battle. The pistols they carried weren't meant for combat. They served only one purpose: to be used for suicide when the situation on the battlefield turned dire.

Now was the time for this pistol to fulfill its purpose. He thought of how he had carefully cleaned and polished this gun with great care on the train just a moment ago. He hadn't expected to use it so soon.

Liaison Officer Magosaburo's face was as white as snow, and his hand trembled slightly. He was being forced to die. Until now, no Japanese liaison officer had ever been captured alive.

He didn't dare to set that precedent, so he had to die. Even if the Chinese found his body, it would only prove his bravery.

But Magosaburo was truly afraid of death! He didn't want to die!

Captain Kobyashi Hiroshi clearly saw the liaison officer's hesitation. He reached out his right hand. "Magosaburo-kun! Please allow me to assist you!"

Magosaburo sighed and handed his pistol to Kobyashi Hiroshi. "Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and a bullet hole appeared in the center of Magosaburo's forehead. He was dead.

"Bang!" Another gunshot rang out, and Captain Kobyashi Hiroshi shot himself as well. He was also dead.

Captain Komoto Shoji of the Third Battalion was directly facing the Second Regiment's encirclement. His battalion still had dozens of rifles.

They were still preparing to resist. Captain Komoto Shoji, with several hundred soldiers, dared to confront the thousands of soldiers from the Second Regiment who were already charging forward, relying on the dozens of rifles they had.

Sergeant Nakajima Rintaro was originally a gunner operating a Type 38 105mm field gun. When he fled, he grabbed a rifle and hadn't been willing to discard it along the way.

Now, this rifle could finally be put to use. Although Sergeant Nakajima Rintaro had forgotten to grab an ammunition belt when he took the gun, having five bullets in the chamber was better than nothing.

He was now lying prone on the ground, trying to carefully aim at the Chinese soldiers charging toward him.

But all along, these Japanese soldiers who operated field guns had never seen the enemy.

They always aimed and fired at distant targets, slowly adjusting according to the impact points. They had never seen the enemy charging toward them, shouting, like they were now.

This firsthand visual experience made Sergeant Nakajima Rintaro's heart race and his hands tremble. He couldn't aim at all.

He was afraid! Although Nakajima Rintaro himself wouldn't admit it, he was indeed afraid.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out. He didn't even know where he had fired. Most likely, he had shot at the air!

After firing the first shot, Sergeant Nakajima Rintaro felt like a raw recruit on the battlefield, completely unsuited to infantry combat.

He still wanted to return to his gun position, follow the commander's orders, adjust the parameters, and just fire the gun. He didn't need to aim nervously like this.

"Bang!" He fired a second shot, not knowing where the bullet had gone.

But he could no longer hesitate. The Chinese soldiers charging forward were less than forty meters away from the Japanese soldiers.

"Bang!" Nakajima Rintaro fired two shots in quick succession, his hands trembling even more violently.

Because the Chinese soldiers were getting closer and closer, he had two bullets left in his gun. Nakajima Rintaro mustered his courage and fired two random shots, using up all the bullets.

He was now preparing to engage in bayonet combat with the Chinese soldiers charging toward him. He had a rifle, so he could still put up a fight. But many of the Japanese soldiers around him could only grab a rock, preparing to use it to throw?

The Fifth Company, pushing heavy machine guns forward, opened fire on the dozens of Japanese soldiers in Captain Komoto Shoji's battalion who were resisting with rifles.

The six heavy machine guns opened fire, immediately suppressing all of the Japanese soldiers' rifles.

At a distance of only a few dozen meters, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Companies of the Second Assault Regiment had already broken through Captain Komoto Shoji's hastily erected defenses.

"Grenades!" someone shouted, and a wave of dark grenades was immediately thrown over.

The Japanese soldiers who were grabbing rocks to throw could only lie prone on the ground. Throwing rocks would have the same effect no matter when they were thrown.

Grenades were different. If they didn't lie down quickly, they would lose their lives.

Captain Komoto Shoji's hastily erected defenses were blown apart in an instant.

By the time they reacted, the soldiers of the Second Regiment had already rushed into their ranks.

These Japanese soldiers who had prepared to fight with stones didn't even have a chance to stand up.

They lay prone on the ground, trampled on by the soldiers of the Second Regiment, and then had bayonets thrust into their throats, without any chance to resist.

Although Nakajima Rintaro was prepared, tightly gripping his rifle and suppressing the fear in his heart, when a Chinese soldier charging toward him thrust his bayonet,

Nakajima Rintaro saw clearly that the bayonet was aimed at his chest. He should have used his gun to deflect the bayonet and then counterattack.

His mind understood, but his hands and feet seemed to belong to someone else, and he didn't move at all. To outsiders,

Nakajima Rintaro seemed to be actively sticking out his chest to meet the gleaming bayonet.

The bayonet entered his chest, and Nakajima Rintaro's rifle immediately fell to the ground. He no longer had to complain that his mind and body were not in sync.

When had the Japanese artillerymen ever received bayonet training? They didn't know how to do this at all. The dozens of Japanese soldiers with rifles were like Nakajima Rintaro, putting up no resistance at all.

These Japanese soldiers were slaughtered like lambs by the several companies of the Second Regiment. Captain Komoto Shoji was also stabbed and killed while mixed in with the Japanese soldiers, falling into the dust.

Captain Kamio Tatsuya's battalion was equipped with cannons that weighed nearly ten thousand pounds. These cannons couldn't be used on the battlefield today.

From the start to the end of the battle, the soldiers of this battalion were like onlookers, but when the bombs fell, they were the ones who suffered.

When the entire regiment was being wiped out, the soldiers of Kamio Tatsuya's battalion were all stunned. They usually operated heavy cannons, and their cannons could fire ten kilometers away.

They had never fought against Chinese soldiers face to face, eye to eye. Besides, they didn't have any weapons. How could they fight this kind of battle?

Captain Kamio Tatsuya charged left and right on the battlefield for a while, but he was always charging among the Japanese soldiers, trying to find a place to settle down.

To his disappointment, no matter how he charged, he couldn't find a place in this area to settle his body.

The desperate Captain Kamio Tatsuya could only draw his gun and commit suicide. This time, he didn't have to search. He could settle his body down.

The entire battlefield was silent, and only the figures of the soldiers busily clearing the battlefield could be seen.

Lin Fan ordered, "The Second Regiment should set up a defensive line at the final location where the Japanese soldiers were annihilated, preparing to hold their ground."

According to the orders of Commander Xue Yue of the Second War Zone, the Special Operations Brigade was to hold this position for twenty-four hours until the supplies and cannons could be transported away.

The Special Operations Brigade was professional at dismantling railway tracks, and they were equally professional at relaid the tracks.

The Second Regiment was nervously digging trenches and setting up directional mines in front of them. According to Regiment Commander Liu's plan, he was going to dismantle all the railway tracks within three kilometers of the front line and use them to lay tracks behind them.

Lin Fan strongly approved of this plan. At the same time, Lin Fan also suggested to Regiment Commander Ning, "Transport all the destroyed trains back to the rear as well.

"So many train cars and four locomotives. They're worth a lot of money just as scrap iron."

If it weren't for the fact that shipping couldn't travel from Wuhan to Nanjing, Lin Fan would have wanted the Special Operations Brigade to tow all the locomotives and train cars back.

Li Xian was engaged in large-scale construction in the Jurong base area. He wanted to build railways and highways to every county.

In the Jurong base area, every county had wartime airports built to facilitate the landing of Special Operations Brigade aircraft at any time.

The highways had also been expanded. Now it was time to build railways. Li Xian was carrying out infrastructure construction in a grand manner and also paying close attention to the education of the people in the base area.

Literacy classes were constantly being held, and propaganda promoting the virtues of the Special Operations Brigade was everywhere. Everyone who had resided in Jurong for more than three months had to participate in military training. Li Xian promoted the idea that Jurong was surrounded by Japanese soldiers on three sides, and everyone was responsible for defending their homeland.

The appearance of Jurong was now many times better than it had been a year ago. The ordinary people in the base area had indeed enjoyed the benefits brought by the Special Operations Brigade.

They certainly didn't want their good life to be taken away by the Japanese soldiers. People enthusiastically participated in military training, and Li Xian's expansion plan was being implemented.

Moreover, the troops in Jurong were now fully equipped with new weapons: submachine guns, machine guns, heavy machine guns, and anti-aircraft machine guns designed by Lin Fan.

The regimental commanders of each regiment were all eager to fight, just waiting for the Japanese soldiers to come and attack.

As Lin Fan had told Li Xian, Jurong would definitely have to fight a major battle with the Japanese soldiers. If they didn't thoroughly beat the Japanese soldiers, they wouldn't let it go.

However, this battle would only be fought after the Japanese soldiers ended the Battle of Wuhan, because the Japanese soldiers didn't have enough troops to fight on several fronts at the same time.

The Jurong base area had been preparing for war, ready to annihilate any Japanese soldiers who dared to invade.

Regiment Commander Ning was a receptive person. He felt that Lin Fan's words made sense, but there wasn't enough time to do these things for the time being.

The task of clearing the battlefield hadn't been completed yet. Clearing the area of the Japanese 106th Artillery Regiment had only just begun.

They had to thank Liaison Officer Magosaburo for this. Most of the cannons in his regiment hadn't even been unloaded from the trains, which saved the soldiers a lot of effort.

Now, they just needed to reload the Type 38 75mm field guns onto the trains and secure them.

As for the six Type 92 70mm infantry guns, Regiment Commander Ning Hezhi and Regiment Commander Shi Yi directly divided them up, with each regiment taking three.

They had already obtained a batch of Japanese machine guns and heavy machine guns when they were in Mahuiling, and the two regiments were saturated with mortars.

It wasn't that the more weapons they had, the better. They needed to be equipped according to the number of troops.

On the other hand, the two regimental commanders took a lot of shells. One of the biggest problems for the National Army was that they didn't have enough logistical supplies. Often, they had cannons but no shells.

If this wasn't the front line, the two regimental commanders would have wanted to keep ten thousand shells for themselves before they would be satisfied.

They cleared the battlefield, completely following the standards of the Special Operations Brigade: nothing could be left on the bodies of the Japanese soldiers. They came naked and they left naked.

The bodies of these Japanese soldiers were buried in deep pits dug in the ground. This was standard practice for the Special Operations Brigade.

By the time they finished doing all this, it was already dark! October 1st, the busy day passed, and countless National Army soldiers were still working hard on the railway line from Mahuiling to Dean.

They were working hard to repair the railway line tonight and restore traffic. A heavy artillery regiment's cannons were waiting to be transported back from Mahuiling.

While the battle on the south bank of the Yangtze River was fierce, the battle on the south bank of another major river in this country was also raging.

After Lin Fan personally went to the south bank of the Yangtze River, the battle of the Lunan Detachment didn't end. The attacks on the railway stations and county towns along the railway continued.

Gu Xiuming had already departed from Xuzhou and was traveling toward Jinan by train.

This time, the Lunan Detachment had a full sixty regiments participating in the attack. Their strength was sufficient, so they no longer destroyed the railway but kept it for their own use.

The Lunan Detachment attacked north of Xuzhou, while the Jiangbei Detachment attacked along the railway line toward the Yangtze River.

This made the Japanese North China Area Army and the Central China Expeditionary Army's lives difficult.

Commander Mutō Akira of the Central China Expeditionary Army was roaring in his headquarters. "They didn't believe me when I said not to attack Wuhan! Now it's too late, and we can't clean up the mess."

Mutō Akira was firmly opposed to expanding the war immediately. When he took office, he had sent a special envoy back to the Imperial General Headquarters to suggest canceling the operation against Wuhan.

His idea was to force the National Army to sign a treaty of surrender, or just maintain the status quo. After the Japanese spent three to five years establishing control over the occupied areas,

and these occupied areas were stabilized, they could provide assistance for the Japanese's next operations, and then they could begin the next stage of encroachment.

His suggestion wasn't accepted, so he had always had reservations about the Wuhan operation. Now, while the struggle for Wuhan was still ongoing, a large number of resistance forces had appeared in the rear of Central China and North China.

In the past, these resistance forces only operated in remote areas far from railways and highways.

But this time, the Lunan Detachment had actually occupied Xuzhou and Hefei, and was still constantly expanding its territory. They were attacking the areas controlled by the Central China Expeditionary Army and the North China Area Army so brazenly, and these two armies were unable to resist.

The Central China Expeditionary Army hadn't yet sent out a force larger than a battalion to fight, so the losses were still small.

The North China Area Army had already increased the size of the forces it had actually sent to the division level, but it had still failed.

Commander Terauchi Hisaichi of the North China Area Army was now very worried. He didn't know what to do with the Lunan Detachment.

In just half a month, Xuzhou was lost, and hundreds of counties around Xuzhou were all lost. Countless Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded, countless Japanese expatriates who had migrated from Japan were killed or wounded, and countless Japanese businessmen were killed or wounded.

This information was all being sent back by their spies who were lurking in various places.

According to the reports from these spies, the Lunan Detachment didn't leave any Japanese soldiers alive. They didn't take prisoners.

Because of this, Terauchi Hisaichi had also issued a statement in the newspaper, denouncing the Lunan Detachment for being too cruel.

Li Xian was the professional when it came to this kind of verbal sparring. He responded in the name of the Lunan Detachment: Our detachment also wants to capture prisoners from your army, but all of your Japanese soldiers have been taught by your army's doctrine of "rather die than be captured."

On the battlefield, after they were defeated, they would rather shoot themselves or commit ritual suicide than surrender.

The entire article was full of helplessness, as if the Lunan Detachment wanted to capture the Japanese soldiers alive, but the Japanese soldiers were unwilling.

The article concluded by saying: "Seeking death is the path that all Japanese soldiers have chosen for themselves! Our detachment is powerless to intervene, and we are unwilling to intervene. At the same time, we are happy to see all Japanese soldiers go to their deaths."

The article was also accompanied by a large number of photos of Japanese officers and soldiers committing suicide, including several photos of Japanese liaison officers.

To everyone's surprise, these photos also included photos of the Japanese using poison gas, but the words "poison gas" weren't mentioned.

The next day, Terauchi Hisaichi published an article in the newspaper about the large-scale slaughter of Japanese expatriates in the Lunan base area. In the article, he said with great pain, "There has never been such a cruel and inhumane force in the world."

Li Xian used this sentence as the headline in red letters on the front page of the newspaper, accompanied by photos of the Japanese devils killing more than a hundred ordinary people that the Japanese had published in their own newspapers.

These photos were all published by the Japanese newspapers themselves. The war of words in the newspapers was in full swing. Commander Terauchi Hisaichi couldn't win the battle, and when he tried to condemn them in the newspaper, he was slapped in the face again.

His anger had nowhere to vent! He was no longer thinking about counterattacking Xuzhou. He had urgently gathered a regiment and a half to station in Jinan.

Before the end of the Battle of Wuhan, he had to hold Jinan.

Just when the North China Area Army was in a state of turmoil and anxiety, the Japanese 11th Army was also in a state of chaos.

Commander Okamura Neji had now ordered the field hospitals of each division to move to the south bank of the Yangtze River.

All the logistical forces were moving to the other side of the river. They were now unable to determine whether the Chinese army's counterattack from Mahuiling was just a local breakthrough or a full-scale counteroffensive.

If the Chinese army was launching a full-scale counteroffensive, then all the hospitals and logistics personnel in Jiujiang City would be unable to escape.

In order to protect Jiujiang, he had ordered the 9th Division to immediately return to Jiujiang, and had also ordered the 6th Division to send an infantry regiment across the river to reinforce Jiujiang.

At the same time, he was also secretly inquiring from high-ranking Chinese officials who had ties to the Japanese army whether the Second War Zone had any plans for a full-scale counteroffensive.

His question was quickly answered: "There is no counteroffensive plan!"

This traitor didn't even know that the Second War Zone had sent troops to fight at Mahuiling.

This made Okamura Neji suspect the authenticity of the news. The Japanese army had already lost tens of thousands of soldiers in that remote corner of Mahuiling.

And you, as a high-ranking Chinese official, don't even know about it?

He had really wronged the traitor who had provided the news this time. The actions of the Special Operations Brigade were never publicized within the National Army.

This wasn't Chang Kai-shek's protection of the Special Operations Brigade, it was just that he didn't want more people to know about the Special Operations Brigade's achievements.

After all, if such a valiant force was never rewarded, it would dishearten the local warlords who knew the truth.

It was precisely because of this that many high-ranking officials in the National Army didn't know about the Special Operations Brigade's actions in Mahuiling.

Not to mention others, even Commander Li Zongren of the Fifth War Zone didn't know about this, and he was nominally the direct commander of the Special Operations Brigade.

Unsure whether the Second War Zone had any plans for a full-scale counteroffensive, Okamura Neji could only maintain the greatest vigilance, and speculate on Xue Yue's next plan from the worst possible angle.

He even wondered if Xue Yue would disregard everything and concentrate his forces, advancing directly to Jiujiang City along the railway.

After all, his own idiots had just sponsored the Chinese army with two heavy artillery regiments. Just the firepower of these two heavy artillery regiments would be enough to give the Japanese soldiers in Jiujiang City a hard time.

Even the 27th Division, which had just suffered heavy losses, had received orders to return to Jiujiang!

Lin Fan wasn't aware of all of this. He had only moved his anti-aircraft artillery positions forward by two hills.

The transportation team assigned to the Special Operations Brigade by the Second War Zone had also arrived from Mahuiling. The Special Operations Brigade had replenished its ammunition this time. Only the rocket launchers, after being used up, couldn't be resupplied for the time being.

This wasn't a problem for now! If a large group of Japanese soldiers came to attack at this time, Lin Fan would be very happy.

Of the six thousand soldiers in the Second and Fifteenth Regiments, at least three thousand could operate cannons. In the past, the Special Operations Brigade had required everyone to be able to operate the cannons, tanks, and vehicles equipped by the Special Operations Brigade.

The speed at which the troops were expanding was too fast, and these requirements could no longer be fully implemented throughout the brigade.

Lin Fan was also clear about this: specialization was the key. It was impossible to train everyone in the entire troop to be all-rounders.

Seeing the performance of the Japanese artillerymen today after the infantry had approached them, Lin Fan asked Feng Junya, "Regiment Commander Feng! What are your thoughts?"

Feng Junya immediately said, "Our Eighth Regiment still has bayonet training every day, and we also have live ammunition training. Our regiment can fight in close quarters and also attack from a distance.

"These Japanese soldiers can't compare."

Lin Fan nodded. "The situation on the battlefield is always changing rapidly. No one knows what will happen in the next moment.

"What we need to do is to try to think of more difficulties during peacetime training and train harder, so that we can bleed less and get injured less on the battlefield."

"These Japanese artillerymen, they probably only know how to fire cannons. When I saw them fighting with bayonets, not a single one of them could parry for even one round," Feng Junya said with a smile.

"These Japanese artillerymen probably never imagined that one day they would need to fight with bayonets!" Lin Fan also said with a smile.

Lin Fan temporarily had six thousand soldiers from the two regiments of the Special Operations Brigade, and six thousand soldiers from the four regiments of the Sixty-sixth Army, plus three thousand soldiers from the transportation team.

A force of fifteen thousand soldiers was already a very powerful force. Of the four regiments of the Sixty-sixth Army, two regiments were now stationed in Mahuiling. For insurance, Lin Fan had ordered the Fifteenth Regiment to return to Mahuiling, so that they could be contacted and commanded nearby in case of an emergency.

Behind the Second Regiment, Lin Fan had also had the two regiments of the Sixty-sixth Army level two artillery positions on either side of the railway as a backup.

The Japanese 106th Field Artillery Regiment had already leveled part of these two artillery positions.

Lin Fan had only reworked them and then deployed twelve Type 96 150mm howitzers.

Regiment Commander Ning Hezhi asked Division Commander Shi in surprise, "What are you doing with these cannons? Can you even use them?"

Division Commander Shi said proudly, "When our brigade was at the Jiangyin Fortress, we were called the Special Operations Company. At that time, the entire company of over a thousand people could use these cannons.

"Later, when we went to Nanjing and then to Jurong, all the veterans could use them."

It was now evening, and Second Regiment Commander Liu Laopao had sent out sentries to quietly scout ahead.

Nothing happened overnight. After dawn, Lin Fan had people raise the artillery regiment's observation balloon, and the 150mm cannons began to test-fire at the positions where the Japanese soldiers might appear in the distance.

The "boom boom boom" of the cannons firing surprised the soldiers of the Sixty-sixth Army. They were shocked that these infantrymen of the Special Operations Brigade could also fire cannons.

Regiment Commander Ning Hezhi and Regiment Commander Shi Yi saw from the observation balloon, from the actions of firing a shell from the cannon and then adjusting the angle and direction, that the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade really knew how to fire cannons.

They were now hoping that some Japanese soldiers would come over and test the power of these cannons.

Although the engineers of the Second War Zone had worked hard all night, they still hadn't been able to completely repair the railway that night.

Commander Xue Yue was very anxious. He was afraid that the Japanese soldiers would send reinforcements from Jiujiang and that the Special Operations Brigade wouldn't be able to hold the line.

He had already asked about the situation on the Special Operations Brigade's side when it was dawn. He didn't understand when he learned that the front line was very quiet.

A night had passed. If the Japanese soldiers wanted to send troops from Jiujiang, they could have made several round trips.

What was wrong with the Japanese soldiers?

He stopped thinking about things he couldn't understand and continued to move his troops to Wanjiangling.

On this day, the Japanese 106th Division, still in Wanjiangling, successfully got lost in the mountains of Wanjiangling after yesterday's efforts.

This was very frustrating news for Matsuura Shinroku. They were lost in the mountains, and the mountains were shrouded in fog. The Japanese planes couldn't find them either.

On this day, the various regiments of the 106th Division had contact with Chinese troops. The Chinese troops would fight for a while and then run away.

Sometimes they were in front of the troops, sometimes they were behind the troops, coming and going like the wind, like dragons without seeing their heads or tails.

Although they didn't cause much damage to the various regiments, they made it impossible for the various regiments to send out small reconnaissance teams to find the way.

In this situation, Division Commander Matsuura Shinroku could only order the entire division to rest in place for a day.

October 2nd was a rare quiet day on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The Japanese soldiers didn't take the initiative to attack, and the Chinese army didn't launch attacks from various places.

Everyone felt like a storm was about to break, and it was quiet before the storm.

There was nothing within ten kilometers of the newly established defense line of the Second Regiment of the Special Operations Brigade. If the reconnaissance team went any further, they could enter Jiujiang County.

Since there was nothing happening on the front line, the six thousand soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade could take the opportunity to rest.

At four o'clock in the afternoon on the second, the railway from Dean to Mahuiling was finally repaired. As soon as the railway was opened, Commander Okamura Neji knew about it. There were always some traitors secretly informing the Japanese army.

However, even though Commander Okamura Neji knew about this information, there was nothing he could do. In his heart, he wanted to blow up the railway.

But he didn't dare to send planes to do it. If he wanted to take action now, he could only send ground troops.

At this time, he still had to do everything he could to defend against a full-scale counteroffensive by the Second War Zone. He was afraid that there weren't enough Japanese soldiers in Jiujiang, so how could he be willing to send troops out?

Now, he could only respond to all changes with no change!

Although the railway was open, the Special Operations Brigade couldn't retreat immediately. There were many supplies in Mahuiling that needed to be transported back.

The railway line between Mahuiling and Dean suddenly became busy. Trains were running back and forth all night.

Xue Yue watched the trains transport the supplies back one after another, and his mouth couldn't close from smiling. Now that he had the supplies seized from the Japanese army, the entire Second War Zone was much easier to supply.

The supplies that Okamura Neji had stored in Mahuiling were originally meant to be used to supply more than one hundred thousand Japanese soldiers. Now, even if they were used to supply the more than two hundred thousand troops in the Second War Zone, it wouldn't make much of a difference.