Chapter 242: Tacit Understanding
Taiyuan, headquarters of the First Army of the North China Area Army.
The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like water could be wrung from it.
Shinozuka Gion was currently sitting behind his desk, his face ashen.
On his desk, the telegram that had just arrived from the front lines, detailing the defeat of the 24th Division and the flight of its remnants led by Division Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu, was like a merciless slap to his face.
In less than a day, an Otsu-class division had been routed like this?
Disgrace! This was the most humiliating disgrace he had ever experienced on the North China battlefield since taking command of the First Army!
His chest heaved violently, his anger and humiliation almost burning his reason to ashes.
He had already issued orders for the Independent Mixed Second and Fourth Brigades, as well as the 20th Division, which was being rapidly transported, to encircle Xinxian at all costs!
He would wash away this shame with the blood of those “Shanxi Militia” soldiers! He would crush that Chinese commander named Su Yaoyang, along with his troops, beneath the walls of Xinxian!
Just as he was contemplating how to set a vast net to annihilate the Shanxi Militia, a communications staff officer, holding a newly deciphered telegram, rushed in with a peculiar expression of disbelief mixed with surprise and confusion.
“Your Excellency… urgent intelligence!”
Shinozuka Gion, his eyes bloodshot, impatiently took the telegram.
However, upon just one glance, he froze.
The content of the telegram was simple: according to reports from infiltrators and confirmation from aerial reconnaissance, the main force of the Shanxi Militia occupying Xinxian was… retreating.
Not only had they not pursued the remnants of the 24th Division, but they had also abandoned the strategically vital county town, which they had just captured with blood, and the main force was rapidly moving south!
“Nani?”
Shinozuka Gion almost thought he had misread. After reading the telegram several times and confirming its accuracy, he was plunged into immense confusion.
What in the world was this operation?
What was Su Yaoyang thinking? After all the effort to defeat the 24th Division, was it just for a day trip in Xinxian?
Had he been so terrified by the approaching Imperial Army that he chose to flee voluntarily?
This sudden news had completely disrupted all of Shinozuka Gion’s previous deployments and plans. He felt a moment of exasperated amusement, like a boxer who had thrown a powerful punch only to hit empty air.
Before he could recover from this “surprise,” the office door was once again violently pushed open.
This time, it was the Chief of Staff, Major General Kusuyama Hideyoshi, who had only recently been transferred to the First Army.
At this moment, Kusuyama Hideyoshi’s face could no longer be described as confused; it was a look of utter horror, as if he had seen a ghost!
“Your Excellency… bad news! Bad news!” Major General Miyaeno, forgetting even to salute, rushed to the map and jabbed it fiercely with a trembling finger!
“After abandoning Xinxian, the Shanxi Militia… the Shanxi Militia did not return to Wutai Mountain.
They… their tens of thousands of troops suddenly turned, like a sharp blade, and headed straight for… straight for Meng County!”
“Buzz…”
This news exploded in Shinozuka Gion’s mind like a heavy bomb!
His vision went black, his mind went blank, as if all his blood had rushed to his head!
Xinxian… Meng County… retreat… turn…
These seemingly unrelated words spun and collided madly in his mind, finally piecing together a terrifyingly clear intention that sent chills down his spine!
That scoundrel… that guy named Su Yaoyang… he wasn’t running!
He was using the abandonment of Xinxian as “bait” to gain the “real profit” of attacking Meng County!
He was telling himself: Your lifeline, the Tongpu Railway, I have no interest in it, I’ll give it back to you. But your southern warehouses and coal mines, I will gladly accept them with a smile!
This… this is not war!
This is naked, barbarian, robber-like strategic blackmail, right in front of the entire North China Area Army!
“Pfft…”
Shinozuka Gion could no longer suppress it, feeling a sweetness in his throat, and almost spat out a mouthful of blood!
He felt the greatest insult, that he, the dignified Commander of the First Army, had been insulted by the enemy with such ridiculous contempt.
“Baka yarō…”
A roar, distorted with rage, echoed throughout the entire First Army headquarters.
…………
Su Yaoyang, of course, had no intention or time to pay attention to Shinozuka Gion, who was far away in Taiyuan and likely at this moment on the verge of a stroke from anger.
To him, Shinozuka Gion’s fury was merely the insignificant background music of a powerless rage that would inevitably accompany the success of his plan.
His gaze had already moved past the map, settling on the true target… Meng County.
Meng County, South City Gate.
Yamada Shinsuke, the company commander of the Japanese garrison in the county town, was leisurely picking his teeth with a toothpick, leaning against the parapet of the city tower, lazily basking in the afternoon sun.
The sound of artillery fire from the direction of Xinxian had stopped a long time ago.
In his opinion, it was just the seniors of the 24th Division engaged in their routine “mopping up” of those suicidal Chinese guerrillas.
As for Meng County, it was in the rear, as peaceful as the homeland. Apart from occasionally dealing with disloyal puppet troops, his days were going incredibly smoothly.
However, just as he was dozing off, the ground suddenly began to vibrate with a subtle, rhythmic tremor.
“Hmm?”
Yamada Shinsuke frowned in confusion. He pressed his ear against the cold bricks of the city wall; the vibration became clearer, accompanied by a low roar, like countless wild beasts howling.
“Is it an earthquake?” he muttered, straightening up and looking towards the official road outside the city.
With just one glance, the leisure and contentment on his face instantly froze.
In the distance, on the horizon, dust billowed, obscuring the sky! And within that massive cloud of dust, a dozen ferocious Sherman tanks, like green-painted steel behemoths, were advancing in an attack formation, charging towards the walls of Meng County with irresistible momentum!
What was that?!
Yamada Shinsuke’s pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks!
He had been a soldier for many years, yet he had never seen such a massive and terrifying… war machine!
“Enemy attack… enemy attack…”
With all his might, he let out a shrill scream, his voice cracking!
The Japanese soldiers and puppet troops on the city wall, startled by the sudden alarm, descended into chaos. They scrambled to their posts, trying to confront the rapidly approaching steel torrent with their Type 38 rifles and Type 96 light machine guns.
But it was all too late.
The Shanxi Militia’s First Armored Regiment, serving as the vanguard, didn’t even give them a moment to breathe.
As the command tank carrying John approached within eight hundred meters of the city gate, he was too lazy to even use his machine gun to clear the living targets on the city wall. Instead, he issued a simple, crude order over the radio.
“All tanks! Target the city gate tower! Three rapid shots! Blow it to hell for me!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!!”
The turrets of more than a dozen Sherman tanks turned towards the pathetic, ancient city gate tower almost simultaneously.
The next second, more than a dozen 75mm tank guns roared deafeningly!
More than a dozen high-explosive shells, trailing piercing shrieks, struck the Meng County city gate tower like a dozen merciless hammers!
The violent explosions instantly blew the relatively sturdy brick and stone structure to pieces! Debris, splinters, and mangled human remains were hurled dozens of meters into the air by the massive shockwave, then rained down with a pitter-patter.
Captain Yamada Shinsuke, who had just been screaming, along with his squad of soldiers, didn’t even have time to let out their final screams before being pulverized into flying bits of flesh by the first volley of artillery fire.
The defenders on the city wall were completely stunned by this hellish scene.
Before they could recover from the shock of the artillery bombardment, the tanks’ fire shifted to the city wall itself. Shell after shell landed precisely on the wall, taking out machine gun nests and the soldiers manning them, one by one.
After just over ten minutes of shelling, the south city wall of Meng County was riddled with holes, and any effective resistance could no longer be organized.
“Clang…”
A tank directly rammed the crumbling city gate, which was already on the verge of collapse, and was the first to charge into the city.
Following closely behind were countless soldiers of the Shanxi Militia, holding M1 Garand rifles and Thompson submachine guns, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
Some Japanese soldiers attempted to resist, but were met with a hail of gunfire.
Even more so, a squad of Japanese soldiers, led by their sergeant major, occupied a courtyard, intending to use it for defense and inflict casualties on the attacking Shanxi Militia soldiers.
Unfortunately, their intentions were good, but the actual results were beyond their expectations.
The Chinese simply didn’t engage them in a firefight. Instead, they sent several tanks to approach and directly leveled the entire courtyard with their tank cannons.
After a few 75mm high-explosive shells, there was no longer any sound of resistance from the courtyard.
From the very beginning, the battle was a one-sided slaughter.
This small county town, garrisoned by only one company of Japanese soldiers and one battalion of puppet troops, was as fragile as a paper lantern in the face of the Shanxi Militia’s almost luxurious iron fist of tanks and automatic weapons.
Less than two hours.
When Su Yaoyang’s command vehicle slowly drove into Meng County town, the battle was completely over.
A brand new flag of the Republic of China was already fluttering in the wind on the roof of the former county government building.
