Chapter 103: Entering The Village
“Enough… stop arguing!”
Looking at the several battalion commanders quarreling below, Su Yaoyang felt gratified but also a sense of helplessness.
It’s said that eagerness for battle is an important criterion for measuring whether an army is excellent, but subordinates being too battle-hungry is also a happy worry.
After pondering for a moment, he slowly stood up and said loudly: “I order!”
“Whoosh!”
All the officers below stood up.
“Tonight, I will personally lead the 1st Battalion, 3rd Battalion and 6th Battalion, Guard Company, Communications Company, and Tank Company into the town to prepare for tomorrow’s counterattack.
Huang Guantao will lead the remaining troops to stay on the south bank of the Yunhe River as the reserve force, ready to reinforce inside the town at any time. At 7 a.m. tomorrow, launch the counterattack on Taierzhuang on time.
I’ll say the ugly words upfront here: in this battle, advance without retreat, with me here there is no enemy. If anyone dares to flee or retreat without fighting, don’t blame me, Su, for enforcing battlefield discipline!” By the end, Su Yaoyang’s voice already carried a chilling killing intent.
Seeing Su Yaoyang full of killing intent, everyone felt a chill in their hearts, no one dared to doubt Su Yaoyang’s determination, and they all responded in unison: “Yes!”
The night was as dark as ink, and the pontoon bridge under the faint moonlight only showed a blurry outline.
The creaking of wooden planks mixed with the soldiers’ rapid breathing, German-made military boots splashing fine water droplets as they stepped over.
In the crowd, someone carefully walked while low-voiced cursing the slippery bridge surface, fingers tightly gripping the rifle strap.
From hundreds of meters away from the pontoon bridge came the muffled sound of engines, several pontoon vehicles crushing over the gravel beach startled a few night birds, their flapping black shadows skimming over the water.
The river wind carrying the smell of gunpowder pierced into the nostrils, the leading officer suddenly raised his hand, and the entire team instantly froze into shadowy silhouettes.
There was flickering firelight on the opposite shore, his Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed saliva, the eyes under the steel helmet stared fixedly at that gleam until confirming it was just remnant flames like will-o’-the-wisps.
The pontoon vehicles had unfolded their steel frames, the metallic clanging especially harsh in the silence.
In the busyness, a soldier suddenly staggered, his steel helmet knocking on his comrade’s shoulder with a dull thud, immediately drawing a fierce glare from the squad leader. He bit his lower lip, forcibly swallowing back the cry of pain that reached his mouth, and rubbed the sweat on his palms against his trouser seam.
By the time a crab-shell blue appeared on the eastern horizon, the team on the pontoon bridge had thinned out considerably.
As the last few engineers were piling sandbags at the bridgehead, sudden cheers erupted from the pontoon vehicle side. Someone took off his hat and waved it, but sheepishly stopped upon seeing the officer’s gloomy face.
The moment the pontoon bridge was completed, low rumbles sounded from the south bank. Nine Xiafei tanks’ tracks crushed over the steel plates, emitting muffled creaks, startling a few water birds in the reeds by the shore. The river surface gleamed lead-gray, reflecting the blurry shadows of the steel behemoths.
At the same time, a chaotic sound of footsteps suddenly came from the opposite side of the pontoon bridge. The officers and soldiers of the 31st Division, who had just completed the relief with the security regiment, were coming out of the town. Upon suddenly seeing the steel monsters approaching, everyone was startled.
The leading officer abruptly raised his hand, and the team came to a halt. His pupils contracted sharply, his right hand instinctively pressing on the holster.
In front of him, more than ten massive objects were crushing through the morning mist toward them, their elevated gun barrels like venomous snakes emitting a cold chill pointed at them.
The soldiers in the front row reflexively retreated and collided with those behind, causing a chorus of curses.
Some soldiers showed despair in their eyes, others began unfastening the grenades at their waists, until the morning sun pierced the clouds, illuminating the blue sky white sun emblem on the tank hatch brightly.
“It’s our own tanks!” someone shouted in joy.
Accompanied by the rumbling tank noise, these steel monsters drove up to them and stopped, and the two teams suddenly met like this.
Under everyone’s gaze, a brown-haired, blue-eyed foreigner climbed out from the turret and yelled loudly in Mandarin with a stiff accent: “Get out of the way quickly, we still have a mission to enter the town. If you delay the battle, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”
“Holy shit…”
Seeing the foreigner who suddenly appeared, the soldiers of the 31st Division were startled again, but those who came to their senses soon felt a surge of anger.
Everyone was a soldier, who the hell is afraid of whom? Why should we give way?
Just as everyone was in a standoff, a voice rang out from behind: “What the hell are you all looking at… Didn’t you hear what he said? Make way quickly!”
Everyone looked back and saw Division Commander Chi Fengcheng, Deputy Division Commander Kang Faru, and the chief of staff appearing behind them. He wiped his face, the blood on his palm dragging a dark red mark on his cheekbone, and said in a low voice: “Make way!”
Upon hearing his order, the soldiers of the 31st Division stood against the bridge railing, watching the steel torrent pass by one by one.
After the nine Xiafei tanks passed, following closely were four M3 troop carriers and dozens of trucks loaded with supplies rumbling past.
Looking at the vehicles rumbling away, Chief of Staff Qu Shen’s eyes showed envy as he sighed: “If only our division had equipment like this, how great it would be?”
Deputy Division Commander Kang Faru smiled bitterly: “Last night during the relief with them, although it was too dark and I couldn’t see clearly, I could already feel that this Nanjing security regiment’s equipment was really too good.
But only now do I understand, it’s like the difference between a beggar and the Dragon King.”
Qu Shen said somewhat unconvinced: “What’s the big deal? If we had equipment like this, I’d dare to order our division to launch a full counterattack on the 10th Division.”
“Enough!” Chi Fengcheng shook his head. “No matter what, they are our friendly forces. If such sour words spread, it’ll just bring shame.
Besides, I see that Brother Su is a magnanimous man. Getting on good terms with him will be beneficial for us in the future.”
Hearing this, Qu Shen’s eyes lit up.
Right, from the security regiment’s equipment, it’s clear Su Yaoyang has his own channels. Otherwise, how could he be equipped with a full set of American gear? That’s unique in the national army.
If we get on good terms with him, not to mention anything else, getting a batch of submachine guns, or machine guns, mortars, and such shouldn’t be a problem, right?
While Chi Fengcheng, Qu Shen, and others were leading the remnants of the 31st Division across the Yunhe River to withdraw to the south bank, in the Second Army Group headquarters dozens of li away from Shijiazhuang, Li Zongren, Sun Lianzhong, and others sat in the command post, all silent, quietly drinking tea.
Sun Lianzhong raised his wrist to check his watch and looked at Li Zongren: “Commander Li, one more minute until 7 o’clock.
I’m quite curious to see if that kid Su Yaoyang can fulfill his promise and retake the lost ground in Taierzhuang.”
Li Zongren chuckled: “My expectations aren’t high. As long as he can retake half of Taierzhuang’s positions, I’ll be more than satisfied.”
As he spoke, a thunderous rumble suddenly sounded in the distance.
A staff officer excitedly shouted: “It’s starting… the security regiment has begun the counterattack!”
