Chapter 101: Critical Moment
By the time he came out of the headquarters, it was already evening. Looking at the bustling crowds of civilians on the streets, Su Yaoyang had a moment of daze. Was this the big city of the 1930s or 1940s?
Interestingly, although Su Yaoyang had been in this time and space for several months, this was the first time he felt the charm of a big city in this era.
The setting sun dyed the concrete road on the street orange-red. Female students in blue cloth shirts stepped over puddles, their stiffly washed white skirts brushing against the gray walls plastered with slogans. The four ink-wet words “Return Our Rivers and Mountains” faintly gleamed behind her.
Two boys wearing round-framed glasses were standing on stools giving speeches, their Adam’s apples bobbing up and down with their passionate tones. They even cracked their voices at the exciting parts. Not far away, the song from the Pine Flower River drifted over《.
Looking at this scene before him, Su Yaoyang suddenly had the urge to pull Song Mei and Little Lu over for a photo. If he could take a picture in this era, by the 21st century, this photo might become a witness to history.
“Sir… the car is here!” Xu Dapeng’s voice rang in his ear.
He turned his head and glanced at Xu Dapeng. Originally, he wanted to promote him to battalion commander, but this kid had limited ability in leading troops. Being a company commander was already the limit, so after asking his opinion, he simply transferred him to his side as his guard company commander.
“Let’s go…” He scanned the surroundings once more, then Su Yaoyang turned and got into the Willys Jeep, leaving the city under the escort of a truck loaded with soldiers…
What Su Yaoyang didn’t know was that after he left, a staff officer hurriedly ran over and whispered a few words in Li Zongren’s ear.
Upon hearing the staff officer’s words, Li Zongren’s expression changed slightly. He waved his hand: “Let’s go… take a look…”
………..
On October 23, 1938, Japanese General Isogai Rensuke’s 10th Division organized powerful firepower and, under the cover of aircraft, tanks, and artillery, launched a massive attack toward Taierzhuang via Liu Family Lake.
Taierzhuang forward positions
Gunpowder smoke mixed with the smell of blood rolled through the ruined walls of Taierzhuang. Regiment Commander Wang Guanwu of the 181st Regiment, struggling to crawl up from the ground, clutched his empty Thompson submachine gun and leaned against a half-collapsed wall, gasping for breath.
After resting for a while and recovering some strength, he kicked away the slanted sandbags and leaped onto the position. Hot debris suddenly exploded from the bricks under his feet… A bullet from a Type 38 rifle had just drilled into the spot where he had been standing.
“Fuck his mother’s little Japs!”
Wang Guanwu, who had luckily saved his life, scared burst out a curse.
Looking up, he saw the Rising Sun flag on the opposite side of the moat flickering in the machine gun fire. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and roared hoarsely from his throat: “Machine gun company, suppress the eastern breach!”
Before the words fell, a grenade launcher shell collapsed the half of the bell and drum tower behind him. In the shower of flying rubble, a rookie recruit clutched his bleeding ears and huddled trembling in a corner of a section.
Wang Guanwu grabbed the kid’s collar and pulled him into the trench, cursing as he dragged: “Kid, are you tired of living? You don’t even know to dodge when you see shells!”
Facing Wang Guanwu’s angry scolding, the rookie whose eardrums were burst by the shockwave couldn’t hear anything and just stared blankly at him.
“Eh…” Wang Guanwu shook his head helplessly, turned to look around, and found that his two guards had already fallen in pools of blood.
He searched alone in the ruined trench for a long time before finding Battalion Commander Gao Hongli, who was responsible for this sector.
He shouted loudly: “First Battalion Commander, what’s the casualty situation here?”
Gao Hongli, holding a Thompson submachine gun in his left hand, wiped the blood from his face and replied: “Regiment seat, over 300 of our battalion’s more than 500 brothers have been casualties. If we keep fighting like this, we can hold till tomorrow at best. You’d better call the division seat quickly and ask him to send reinforcements, even artillery support would be good.”
“Let me tell you, Gao Hongli, all positions are short on troops right now, no reinforcements. For artillery support, I’ll call the division seat later and see if we can get a barrage from the artillery company.
But I tell you, you must hold here. No withdrawal without orders from above.
Commander Sun（Sun Lianzhong）has already said, in this battle, advance or die: reward for advancing, kill for retreating. I don’t want to see you taken away by the military police, understand?”
“Yes!”
Gao Hongli snapped his legs together: “Please rest assured, regiment seat. Even if I die, I’ll die on the position, not get shot by the military police.”
“Good!”
After a few more instructions, Wang Guanwu returned to the 181st Regiment headquarters.
Back at regiment HQ, Wang Guanwu dialed the division headquarters: “Division seat, this is Wang Guanwu.
Our regiment’s situation is very bad now, heavy casualties, but the Japs’ offensive is getting fiercer. Send us some reinforcements, even one battalion would do.”
“Reinforcements… I have only eight men here total. How about I go to you, and you come command here?” Chi Fengcheng’s roar came from the phone: “I tell you, even if you die, hold the position for me!”
After hanging up, Chi Fengcheng stood dazed for a while, then turned to ask Deputy Division Commander Kang Faru beside him: “How many brothers in the whole division can still hold a gun now?”
Kang Faru’s expression darkened: “Division seat… Now there are fewer than 3,000 men in the whole division who can still hold a gun.
And multiple forward positions have fallen. If this continues, I’m afraid…”
A trace of pain flashed across Chi Fengcheng’s face. Before the battle, after replenishment, the 31st Division had over 8,000 officers and men. In less than a week, they had lost over 5,000. This battle was truly too brutal.
After hesitating, Chi Fengcheng walked to the table and picked up the black phone: “Hello… connect me to Commander Sun… Commander Sun?
This is Chi Fengcheng. Our division now… What… hold on?
Commander Sun, I beg you, let our division withdraw first?”
“What… you want to retreat?” Sun Lianzhong thundered on the phone: “Then bring your head to see me, I’ll bring my head to see Commander Li!”
“Commander Sun, let us withdraw to the south bank of the Yunhe to catch our breath!”
“Shut up! Absolutely not!” Accompanied by Sun Lianzhong’s furious roar, the phone was hung up.
Chi Fengcheng gripped the receiver, Sun Lianzhong’s angry rebuke still echoing in his ears…
“If Taierzhuang falls, bring your head to see me!”
He slowly put down the phone, a sweet metallic taste rising in his throat. He coughed violently a few times, and blood appeared in his palm. The adjutant hurriedly offered a canteen, but he waved it away.
“Division seat, you need to rest…”
Chi Fengcheng shook his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the operations map. Two-thirds of Taierzhuang urban area was marked red—that was the area occupied by the Japanese. His 31st Division had suffered over half casualties, some companies reduced to just over a dozen men, yet the Japanese still surged forward like tides.
