The Japanese devils on the "Yūgure" destroyer were barely holding on after two rounds of heavy artillery bombardment.

The heavy artillery was mainly hitting below the waterline and the sides of the warship, Lin Fan intending to sink the entire vessel directly.

The mortars were only bombing the decks and superstructures of these warships.

Now, explosions were erupting everywhere on the deck of the "Yūgure" destroyer.

The infantry regiment's intense mortar bombardment was causing heavy casualties among the Japanese devils who were still stubbornly fighting back.

The two 127mm howitzers near Sergeant Yoneno Miki were already hit by mortar shells.

He could hear the wounded Japanese devils screaming and groaning.

But Yoneno Miki was too busy to pay attention, nervously adjusting the cannon.

The captain had ordered them to bombard the opposite artillery positions first.

Not far from Yoneno Miki's gun, four of the six 20mm cannons were now silent.

They had also been destroyed by mortar shells.

Captain Endo Juichi looked at the opposing National Revolutionary Army troops in despair.

They were clearly just infantry, yet they were firing so many shells.

And they kept coming like the rain in Jiangnan, never stopping.

He thought of how these destroyers were originally dragons of the sea, able to roam freely in any waters of the world.

He never imagined that today, sailing upstream to this place on the Yangtze River, they would be reduced to crouching tigers and coiled dragons.

The most crucial thing was that even though the "Yūgure" was now coiled, it could not escape its fate of sinking.

Wu Yuan, at this moment, was delighted.

Pointing at the three warships on the river, he loudly ordered, "Fire! Give it to them good!

The Japanese devils sent so many shells over. If we don't fire more back, how can we be worthy of those Japanese devils who risked their lives to deliver them?"

The shells they were currently using had just been unloaded from the train carriages.

This train had not only delivered a battalion of Japanese heads but also thirteen carriages full of ammunition.

Wu Yuan deeply felt that after joining the Special Operations Brigade, the whole world had become friendly to him and the 14th Regiment.

The Special Operations Brigade had not only replaced the 14th Regiment's weapons and equipment with a complete set.

They were also feeding the entire regiment with lavish meals every day and sending instructors over.

During the day, they taught the soldiers how to train, and at night, they gave the soldiers lessons, teaching them how to read.

Today, when Wu Yuan commanded, he felt that commanding these soldiers was as easy as moving his own limbs, unspeakably smooth.

The clever soldiers only needed a gesture to know what command he wanted to issue.

The Special Operations Brigade was friendly to his unit.

When stationed in Tianwangsi, the people were also very friendly to the 14th Regiment.

When Wu Yuan and his men walked out of the camp, the people greeted them with smiles.

This was very different from how they used to call them *qiūbā* (a derogatory term for soldiers).

Today, these Japanese devils were also delivering not only their lives but also so much ammunition.

The whole world was just too friendly to the 14th Regiment and to him.

Wu Yuan thought again, "Aim carefully when you fire! Let the Japanese devils see that we are not the 'Sick Men of East Asia.'"

Such opportunities were rare for the officers and soldiers of the 14th Regiment.

In reality, the hometown of these officers and soldiers of the 14th Regiment was Guangdong.

Coming all the way from Guangdong, they were arranged to defend the city as soon as they arrived in Nanjing.

When defending the city, they did not fight so smoothly or so happily.

At that time, the weapons they used were brought from Guangdong, and the ammunition they used was also brought from Guangdong.

When fighting the Japanese devils, their firepower was insufficient, and they were also bombed by Japanese planes.

Today was very different.

The Special Operations Brigade has always advocated for more training in peacetime, but constantly firing cannons like this was too extravagant.

Even these artillerymen of the 14th Regiment themselves were unwilling to waste like this.

Today was different.

Every shot fired had a target, this was real combat, and firing cannons was justified no matter how much they fired.

Moreover, these shells had only just been seized.

The artillerymen of the 14th Regiment were constantly adjusting the firing parameters of the mortars.

The distance was 2,300 meters, and the target was large enough, a warship over 100 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Now, these artillerymen of the 14th Regiment felt that they could hit these warships no matter how they fired.

Lin Fan watched the three warships that had already begun to tilt.

He ordered the 9th Regiment to stop firing.

Two rounds of heavy artillery bombardment were enough to sink the three warships still struggling on the river.

Captain Onoda Kanade of the "Yūgen" cruiser already understood that the warship under his feet was destined to sink here.

He had to send a sorrowful farewell telegram to the 34th Fleet and the Central China Area Army Headquarters:

"Our fleet was ambushed by the National Revolutionary Army while sailing in the Moling to Dangtu section.

The 'Yūgure,' 'Yūren,' and 'Yūgen' have all been severely damaged.

They are no longer able to move. The entire fleet has decided to perish with the warships!"

The first telegram Captain Onoda Kanade had just sent had already informed the Central China Area Army Headquarters that the Sanjō Susumu battalion they had sent to support Wuhu had been ambushed.

They had originally placed high hopes on Onoda Kanade's fleet, hoping they could support Sanjō Susumu's battalion on the south bank and defeat the National Revolutionary Army force that dared to lay an ambush.

After all, the firepower of the three warships they had sent was powerful enough.

As a result, only a quarter of an hour had passed, and all three warships had sent back farewell telegrams.

What had they encountered?

Was that force in Jurong expanding its territory even further?

Now, the entire Central China Area Army Headquarters was silent.

The expression on every staff officer's face was as if they had lost their parents.

Only Commander Matsui Iwane was roaring, "Is it possible to annihilate that force entrenched in Jurong now?"

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed on Lieutenant General Tani Hisao, commander of the 6th Division.

Tani Hisao stammered guiltily,

"Reporting to the commander! My division suffered heavy losses during the attack on Nanjing.

We are now unable to complete this task alone.

All forces within the entire city of Nanjing are extremely unfriendly to the Empire.

My soldiers must strengthen the protection of Nanjing."

Commander Matsui Iwane knew that the people and foreigners in Nanjing were very angry about the bestialities of their troops.

Of course, as an occupier, he completely ignored this anger.

"If you have the ability! Come and hit me!" Matsui Iwane seemed to see that force that was now the Special Operations Brigade provoking them in this way.

But there were still many supplies in Nanjing that had not been completely plundered, and he could not even relax the control of Nanjing.

"The overall situation is the most important!" Matsui Iwane did ideological work for himself.

He could not transfer the two divisions in Nanjing, nor could he send them to attack Jurong.

And he had to give priority to replenishing the troops of the two divisions stationed in Nanjing.

Thinking of this, he sighed powerlessly and secretly made up his mind: wait until the main force of the National Revolutionary Army on the north bank was annihilated.

Then he would come back and deal with the Special Operations Brigade in Jurong.

Losing Wuhu was fine!

With such a resolution from the commander, the fate of those Japanese devils on the "Yūgure," "Yūren," and "Yūgen" warships could no longer be changed.

Sergeant Yoneno Miki, when firing his third shell, became the most eye-catching target on the "Yūgure" destroyer.

He was the only one operating a cannon that was still firing on the entire fleet.

The more dazzling his performance, the more violent the attacks he would face.

Yoneno Miki could no longer fire a fourth shell. At least five shells exploded around his gun position.

He and all the Japanese devils in his gun crew were blown away.

Captain Endo Juichi received reports that the entire ship had lost power, all weapons were destroyed, and there were already three large holes below the waterline of the entire destroyer.

River water was pouring in madly from the three large holes, completely impossible to plug.

The ship's sealed isolation doors were completely useless, and the entire destroyer was tilting rapidly, about to sink.

He finally gave the order to abandon ship.

This was only the order issued by the "Yūgure" destroyer.

At this time, the captains of the "Yūren" and "Yūgen" next to it gave the same order.

It was just that after the captains' orders were issued, the Japanese devils on board faced a problem:

How could they rush to the deck and escape with their lives amidst the dense bombing?

This was a problem! Although the heavy artillery bombardment from the south bank had stopped.

But the mortar and Type 92 infantry gun bombardment had never stopped.

Whether it was Captain Endo Juichi, or Captain Doi Mizuki, or Captain Kori Kanade, all three of them were going to perish with the warships.

The three of them did not have the problem of how to escape.

But for ordinary Japanese devils like Yamakaze Junta, they still wanted to live, desperately wanted to live.

It was just that the bombing on the deck was too fierce.

Yamakaze Junta watched helplessly as a dozen Japanese devils rushed out of the cabin, wanting to jump into the Yangtze River to escape.

They had only rushed out less than three meters when they fell one by one. The most tenacious Japanese devil finally approached the ship's side but no longer had the strength to climb over it.

This situation was not accidental. The Japanese devils on the three warships in the river, whether dead or alive.

Were all trapped on the warships by Wu Yuan's soldiers.

Lin Fan stood on the hilltop watching the scenery: one after another, the three Japanese warships sank into the river.

Those Japanese devils who had managed to survive until the warships sank.

Finally felt it when the river water reached their ankles: the torrential bombardment of artillery fire had finally stopped.

These Japanese devils jumped into the river with all their might, trying to swim downstream.

Hui Jianming saw this scene through binoculars and said with some regret, "I didn't expect so many Japanese devils to be alive."

Wu Yuan was saying the same thing, "The Japanese devils are really lucky. After bombing for so long, there are still so many Japanese devils alive."

At this time, the Japanese devils around the three warships were as dense as ants.

They were trying hard to drift downstream.

Although the bodies of these Japanese devils were soaked to the bone by the flood, their hearts were still burning.

They were all specially trained naval soldiers. Drifting a dozen *li* (Chinese mile, approximately 0.5 kilometers) in an inland river like the Yangtze River and going ashore was not a problem for them at all.

Lin Fan was also watching those Japanese devils floating on the surface of the water, smiling and saying to Hui Jianming, "Those Japanese devils are dead. Even if the King of Heaven comes, he won't be able to save them."

When Hui Jianming heard the brigade commander say this, he thought Lin Fan was going to start bombing himself.

As a result, Lin Fan did nothing, just watched.

Hui Jianming asked, "Brigade commander! Aren't you going to fire?"

"Look carefully, there is a circle of whirlpools around those warships.

Has any Japanese devil swam out of that whirlpool?" Lin Fan explained.

At this time, Hui Jianming noticed that there was indeed a clear circle around the warships that had mostly sunk.

Many Japanese devils were paddling in the circle.

Yamakaze Junta had long been prepared to escape. When the artillery fire stopped.

He immediately jumped into the water and swam downstream with all his might.

Now he was trying hard to swim, feeling that his swimming speed was not slow.

Yamakaze Junta's heart was burning: he would be able to escape soon.

He was not the only Japanese devil doing this. More and more Japanese devils were coming up beside him.

Everyone was swimming fast, as if it were a race.

Feeling that he had swam far away, Yamakaze Junta looked back at the "Yūgure" destroyer where he had fought and worked.

He was so frightened that he suddenly lost all strength: the "Yūgure" destroyer was only ten meters away behind him.

He had been swimming so hard in the water for so long, but he had not swam out at all.

Yamakaze Junta suddenly thought, "Is it the 'Yūgure' destroyer that is holding me back, not wanting me to leave?"

At this time, he was not the only Japanese devil who had discovered the problem.

These increasingly crowded Japanese devils had all discovered this problem.

One Japanese devil said, "I heard that every time a ship is about to sink, it will pull the sailors into the water to serve as sailors for it in another world."

Hearing this, these Japanese devils soaking in the water all struggled hard.

At this time, if they did not work hard, they would have to go and sail a ghost ship and be a ghost sailor.

Yamakaze Junta helplessly watched these struggling Japanese devils, their efforts completely wasted.

He floated in the water, effortlessly, and was on the same line as them.

When these Japanese devils understood that all the Japanese devils had to go into the water to be ghost sailors.

They all became depressed.

The entire crew on the three warships added up to eight hundred people.

At this time, there were at least three hundred Japanese devils struggling to survive in the water.

These Japanese devils were unwilling and used all their strength to struggle.

In the end, they were all pulled to the bottom of the river by the huge whirlpool formed when the warships sank, without exception.

Wu Yuan watched the three warships relievedly, without a single Japanese devil escaping, and was finally satisfied.

Now what they had to do was to transport away the seized supplies.

There were just too many of these supplies.

Watching the busy figures of the soldiers at the foot of the mountain, Lin Fan could only suppress his idea of continuing to advance towards Dangtu.

The Okuchi Akito battalion of Japanese devils, after receiving the news from the battalion commander that planes would come to help.

Each of them erupted with their last courage.

Trying to resist the attacks from all directions.

Now these Japanese devils are all concentrated in this small area in the center of Wuhu County.

The 4th Regiment and the 10th Regiment are concentrating all their forces here.

These Japanese devils are very tenacious. Xiao Dongbei and Li Zhize, the two regimental commanders, have already gotten together.

Li Zhize suggested, "Why don't we just flatten this area?"

Xiao Dongbei also had this idea.

The two regiments have a total of 126 cannons of various types.

So many cannons were used at the same time.

The Japanese devils of the Okuchi Akito battalion did not see the planes coming to support them after insisting for thirty minutes.

From Nanjing to Wuhu, such a short distance, the planes could have arrived on the battlefield long ago.

Could it be that Nanjing has abandoned this place! This idea, like a venomous snake, devoured Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito and his Japanese devils.

How high their morale had risen just now, how miserably it has now fallen.

Just when these Japanese devils had no intention of resisting.

Dense shells, like a torrential rain in June, fell from the sky.

Now it was not a question of whether these Japanese devils of the Okuchi Akito battalion wanted to resist or not.

It was simply that they were unable to resist!

When the rain of shells began to fall, Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito finally despaired:

If such a bombardment continued for three more minutes, his entire battalion would no longer have any combat power.

Hiding in his command post, Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito watched with his own eyes as those Japanese devils who could not squeeze in were blown up by shells outside.

Flesh, minced meat, and broken arms and legs flew everywhere.

He made his last call to the Central China Area Army Headquarters, "The Okuchi Battalion is holding on to the last moment.

Reinforcements have not arrived for a long time, and air support has been delayed!

This battalion commander has decided to lead the entire battalion to commit suicide to defend Wuhu."

The Japanese devil who answered his call could hear the constant explosions from the microphone.

This staff officer of the Central China Area Army Headquarters did not tell Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito the news he had just received.

He did not tell him that in order to save him, the entire Central China Area Army had paid the price of three warships and a battalion of Japanese devils.

Now, it would also have to add twelve planes.

Half an hour had already passed, and the Tendo Flying Squadron that had been sent out should have arrived on the battlefield long ago.

Since they had not arrived on the battlefield, then something must have happened to them on the way.

Now the Central China Area Army was encountering too many accidents!

These staff officers of the headquarters were no longer surprised.

Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito heard the other party on the phone tell him to hold on for another ten minutes, that reinforcements would arrive in just ten minutes.

He had seen too many of these battlefield tricks.

In the past, this trick was used by Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito on his company commanders and squad leaders.

Anyway, it was just when the team was about to be wiped out that they would tell the other party to hold on for the last ten minutes.

If they persevered, they would let them persevere for the last five minutes.

Anyway, they would just keep persevering like this. As for reinforcements?

Maybe there were! Maybe there weren't!

Those who persevered were, of course, due to the wise command of the superior commander.

Those who did not persevere were dead, and no one would say anything about it anymore.

Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito did not even notice when the bombardment stopped.

When the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade rushed into the command post of the Okuchi Akito battalion.

Battalion Commander Okuchi Akito pulled the pin on a large bundle of hand grenades, and the last dozen or so Japanese devils of the entire battalion were blown up in the command post together.

After completely occupying Wuhu, Chen Sichuan immediately began to establish defenses.

Wuhu is now mainly defended in two directions: one is the Japanese devils crossing the river from the Yuxikou direction.

The second is the Japanese devils coming along the railway line from Dangtu.

The 3rd Regiment was stationed outside Wuhu City, specifically to defend against the Japanese devils coming from the Dangtu direction.

The 1st Regiment was stationed in the north of Wuhu City.

The 10th Regiment and the 4th Regiment were busy cleaning up the battlefield at this time.

Jia Shusheng reported via radio: "Regimental Commander! We have discovered a large amount of food and ammunition in the freight yard of the railway station."

Chen Sichuan looked at the mountains of ammunition and food.

Thinking and saying, "Are the Japanese devils storing so many supplies here to prepare for a major battle?"

Lin Fan watched Wu Yuan command the 14th Regiment to work busily at the foot of the mountain.

The 9th Regiment could not retreat for the time being: to prevent the Japanese devils from continuing to send warships up.

He had just learned from Chen Sichuan's report that the Japanese devils had prepared a large amount of supplies.

Lin Fan was clear: the Japanese devils were planning to annihilate the main force of the National Revolutionary Army in Xuzhou.

At this time, only one company was left on standby on the hilltop by the 9th Regiment, and all the other eight companies went down the mountain to help.

According to Lin Fan's order: even those trains had to be moved away.

Those things were all steel, and the Special Operations Brigade needed them.

The steel plates of the carriages were good materials for making the armor plates for the homemade tanks.

After disassembling them like this, the entire roof would become a flat plate.

Lin Fan would not let them be disassembled.

He also had the soldiers straighten the train heads.

The Special Operations Brigade was going to run a local train between Dangtu and Wuhu.

Lin Fan was a very particular and never wasteful person.

He also educated the entire Special Operations Brigade in this way, from top to bottom.

Under Lin Fan's leadership, the entire Special Operations Brigade now had the good habit of thrift.

It was just that the supplies sent by the Japanese devils this time were too many, and Lin Fan had to send a signal soldier to send a letter to Regiment Commander Ding Zimin of Moling City.

Let him organize a large cart team to transport these supplies.

As for the supplies in the Wuhu direction, he had to arrange for people to transport them in time!

When Li Xian received Lin Fan's request to arrange for people to transport the supplies seized today, he immediately assigned this task to Qian Youcai.

The Special Operations Brigade now intended to establish a supply regiment, and Qian Youcai was the regiment commander under consideration.

Qian Youcai had been very happy these days.

Although in the days of the Special Operations Brigade, he could no longer receive money paid tribute by others.

But every time he heard the news that the Special Operations Brigade had annihilated how many Japanese devils.

The pride and satisfaction in his heart were even greater than receiving money.

This was his vision, the team he had joined.

In particular, the old man had also agreed with his choice this time. This was the first time since he was a child that he had received affirmation from the old man.

On the 16th, Jia Shusheng and Li Zhize received orders: to have their two regiments advance towards Dangtu.

The distance between Wuhu and Dangtu was thirty-five kilometers, and the troops could arrive in one day's march.

The two regiments that received the order immediately sent out reconnaissance teams to check the situation ahead.

The main force then set off.

The 1st Regiment and the 4th Regiment were to rest in place in Wuhu.

According to Lin Fan's idea, after the Special Operations Brigade recovered Dangtu, it would temporarily rest for a period of time as a whole brigade.

For a month, all the officers and soldiers of the brigade had been fighting continuously. In fact, these soldiers were already exhausted.

The scouts of Jia Shusheng's 3rd Regiment and Li Zhize's 10th Regiment scouted all the way into Dangtu Railway Station without finding a single Japanese devil.

They asked the local people, and the Japanese devils had all retreated last night.

It turned out that Lieutenant Colonel Kondō Yamari of Yuxikou saw that Wuhu had fallen.

He also received news from the Central China Area Army that the flying squadron, fleet, and Sanjō Susumu infantry battalion supporting Wuhu had been wiped out.

Combining these messages, Lieutenant Colonel Kondō Yamari knew that Dangtu could no longer be defended.

Under the cover of night, he sent a cargo ship to evacuate the remaining squad of Japanese devils in Dangtu to the north bank.

At this point, the entire operation to recover Wuhu was successfully concluded.

Hui Jianming's 9th Regiment returned to Jurong.

Wu Yuan's 14th Regiment went to Tianwangsi.

Li Zhize's 10th Regiment returned to Liyang.

Xiao Dongbei's 4th Regiment was stationed in Ma'anshan.

After receiving the battle reports from the Special Operations Brigade on the recovery of Xuancheng, Wuhu, and Dangtu.

Commander Li Zongren, who had moved the headquarters to Xuzhou at this time, said with satisfaction:

"With the Special Operations Brigade blocking the middle around Nanjing, our pressure will be much less."

After receiving the Special Operations Brigade's battle report forwarded by Li Zongren, Chiang Kai-shek finally affirmed the Special Operations Brigade's achievements to some extent:

"This Lin Fan is quite good at fighting Japanese devils."

When the Jiangyin Fortress was still lost, he already knew that if he did not agree to the Japanese devils' conditions, they would go up the Yangtze River and continue to attack Wuhan.

In order to protect the safety of Jiujiang and Wuhan.

During these days, Chiang Kai-shek was using the strength of the whole country to design a new river defense fortress at Madang, Jiangxi.

This time, the fortress was still designed by German military advisors.

Sinking ships in the river, building artificial reefs, and laying torpedoes.

Building a river-blocking line.

At the same time, gun emplacements and bunkers were set up on the dangerous peaks on both sides of the river.

But the construction of these facilities took time, and now the entire National Revolutionary Army's War of Resistance needed time.

Today, Lin Fan led the Special Operations Brigade to liberate Wuhu and Dangtu.

These two places were both on the banks of the Yangtze River, which could block the passage of Japanese warships.

It could also provide some time for the construction of the Madang Fortress.

This was what Chiang Kai-shek was most satisfied with.

Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was happy, Chen Cheng immediately suggested:

"Principal! The Special Operations Brigade is now organized as a brigade, but it already has the strength of an army.

And they still have airplanes and cannons.

It can be said that their strength is strong.

They are now deploying heavy troops around Nanjing.

Should we order them to attack Nanjing?"

Chiang Kai-shek shook his head and said, "This Lin Fan is not a person willing to obey orders.

The last time we asked him to recapture Hangzhou.

You also saw the list of supplies he gave.

That list was obviously extortion.

We, 150,000 soldiers, were unable to defend the capital,

Letting the Special Operations Brigade attack, first, they definitely do not have this strength.

Second, if the attack fails, it will give outsiders the illusion that I, Chiang, intend to打击异己 (dǎjī yìjǐ, attack dissidents).

It is better not to care about him and let him live or die on his own!"

"But! Now Li Zongren attaches great importance to this team.

I heard that the Fifth War Zone has sent transport planes several times to help the Special Operations Brigade transport supplies and personnel."

Chiang Kai-shek pondered for a while:

"Lin Fan has insufficient political sensitivity, but he still has a way of fighting.

His use of transport planes to parachute into Jianqiao is a combat method that is very worthy of study.

If we suddenly parachute a force of elite soldiers behind the Japanese devils on the battlefield.

It can indeed play a surprise role."

Chen Cheng did not know how to respond: when I was optimistic about Lin Fan, you did not like him.

Now I am following your thoughts and unifying my pace.

You are praising Lin Fan again. The direction is uncertain, making it difficult for those who follow to grasp it.

After thinking it over and over, Chen Cheng finally said, "Shall we just wait and see?"

"Yes! This person is still determined to resist the war, and the country needs such people." Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was now very cautious and could not take any excessive actions against the local warlords.

This was because Han Fuqu, the highest military and political officer in Shandong, led his troops to join Chiang Kai-shek in 1929.

He had always held heavy troops and only listened to Chiang Kai-shek's orders that were beneficial to him, and did not listen to those that were not.

Since the War of Resistance, his enthusiasm for resisting the war had not been high, and he had been vacillating between the Japanese devils and the National Revolutionary Army.

Han Fuqu believed that no matter what the final outcome of the war between the National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese devils was.

Only having strength himself was the most important thing.

His territory was in Shandong, which was now the forefront of the War of Resistance.

Han Fuqu's territory was very different from that of the King of Sichuan, Liu Xiang.

Sichuan was deep inland, and the Japanese devils could not attack it for a while.

As a result, Liu Xiang, the King of Sichuan, who was thousands of miles away from the battlefield with the Japanese devils, actively resisted the war, and 300,000 Sichuan soldiers had already left Sichuan within three months.

The attitudes of the two sides towards the War of Resistance were in obvious contrast.

Commander Li Zongren of the Fifth War Zone was also a warlord of the Gui clique, and he had been a competitor of Chiang Kai-shek before the War of Resistance.

Since the National War of Resistance, he had also actively responded to the War of Resistance, leading troops to resist the war.

Although Han Fuqu's attitude towards resisting the war was not firm, Chiang Kai-shek appointed him as the Deputy Commander of the Fifth War Zone and the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Group Army in order to appease him.

Defending the northern section of the Jinpu Railway.

As soon as the Japanese devils' 10th Division crossed the Yellow River, Han Fuqu's troops began to retreat south.

The Japanese devils advanced one step, and he retreated one step.

He handed over the entire Shandong to the Japanese devils step by step.

On January 11, Chiang Kai-shek convened a meeting of senior military officers of the First and Fifth War Zones.

At the meeting, Han Fuqu was dismissed from his post for investigation, and the trial began in military court on the 19th.

It was precisely because of the arrest of Han Fuqu that Chiang Kai-shek could not take any excessive actions against the local warlords, at least on the surface at this time.

Just at this time, Yan Xishan, the King of Shanxi, called to complain:

"The 22nd Group Army has no military discipline, harasses the local people, and forcibly seizes military equipment."

He strongly demanded that the 22nd Group Army be transferred out of Shanxi.

Hearing that this team was so不堪 (bùkān, unbearable), Chiang Kai-shek was angry.

Before the War of Resistance, he had always looked down on the Sichuan Army.

Yang Sen's 20th Army showed the底气 (dǐqì, true colors) of the Sichuan Army on the Battle of Songhu.

This made him change his view of the Sichuan Army.

The Sichuan Army in the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Sidet were not the same team as the current 22nd Group Army.

They were only nominally under the jurisdiction of Liu Xiang, and were actually all small warlords.

Their combat effectiveness and military quality might be completely different.

Chiang Kai-shek thought so.

Now hearing that the military discipline of the Sichuan Army was so bad, Chiang Kai-shek was prepared to send the 22nd Group Army back to Sichuan.

At this time, Li Zongren took the initiative to request that the 22nd Group Army be sent to his Fifth War Zone after hearing the news.

Since someone was taking over, Chiang Kai-shek went along with the flow.

In fact, he was not very willing to send these Sichuan soldiers back.

Because these warlords were rootless duckweed once they went to the battlefield, and he could deploy them at will.

If these Sichuan soldiers really returned to their hometown, they would take root again.

This was very detrimental to Chiang Kai-shek's great cause of centralization.

Since the War of Resistance, countless local warlords across the country had been actively demanding to resist the war.

Those local warlords who had not moved their nests for many years had come out of their hometowns.

They also brought out elite troops to participate in the great cause of the War of Resistance.

This gave Chiang Kai-shek a very good opportunity to收权 (shōu quán, seize power).

In fact, these local warlords also knew: for the sake of the War of Resistance! After leaving their own acre of land.

When they came back, these territories would no longer be theirs.

But many local warlords still stood up to fight the Japanese devils without hesitation.

Liu Xiang was like this. For decades, Chiang Kai-shek had long wanted to invite him to Sichuan for a meeting.

But Liu Xiang used excuses to postpone it every time.

This time, in the National War of Resistance, Liu Xiang personally went to Nanjing to command the Sichuan Army.

He died of illness in Wuhan. Even so, he left a will when he was dying:

"Resist the war to the end, never change, even if the enemy army does not withdraw from the territory of the country for one day, the Sichuan Army will never return home for one day!"

As the Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Army, his will had taken root in the hearts of every Sichuan soldier.

Deng Xihou, the commander of the Sichuan Army, complained to Li Zongren:

"Commander Li! We came all the way from Sichuan to resist the war.

There is no supply along the way.

How much food can we bring out?

It has long been eaten and used up.

When the 22nd Army left, they were still wearing single clothes and straw sandals.

When they arrived in Shanxi, it was a world of ice and snow.

There was not a single thread of supply.

Yan Xishan did not give us food and clothing supplies at all.

If the soldiers do not think of some ways themselves, are they really just going to starve and freeze to death like this?

I admit that our equipment is poor.

We do not admit that our military discipline is poor.

Without supplies, what can the soldiers do?"

Li Zongren understood the reason why the Sichuan Army harassed the local people.

He immediately said, "Harassing the local people is of course wrong. Since there is a reason for it.

From now on, your supplies will be provided by the Fifth War Zone.

Now that the supplies have arrived, you can no longer harass the local people."

Deng Xihou said immediately, "As long as the soldiers can eat one meal a day, if there are still Sichuan soldiers harassing the local people. Commander Li, you can take my head."

Li Zongren nodded and asked, "Are there any other problems that you need my help with?"

Deng Xihou pointed out that the weapons and equipment of the Sichuan Army were too poor and needed to be replenished.

The Fifth War Zone did not have any to spare, so it could only apply to Chiang Kai-shek.

In the end, 250 rifles were replenished for each army.

This was completely a drop in the bucket for a team of more than 10,000 people in an army.

The last ten days of January 1938 were very difficult for Li Zongren.

Too many things happened in these ten days.

It made him feel that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier, and his difficulties were getting bigger and bigger.

Those good news brought by the Special Operations Brigade some time ago had also been diluted by one bad news after another.

Li Zongren never thought that his days in the coming months would be even more difficult.

Now Chiang Kai-shek had given him the most arduous task, serving as the Commander of the Fifth War Zone.

But he only gave him the mixed troops.

It seemed that he wanted to throw all the mixed troops to him and let his Fifth War Zone consume these mixed troops on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the defense area of ​​the Fifth War Zone was still large, and now his Fifth War Zone was facing simultaneous attacks from the Central China and North China Front Armies of the Japanese devils.

Not only Li Zongren was uneasy these days, but even the officers and soldiers of the entire Fifth War Zone were uneasy.

In order to appease the soldiers, Li Zongren dressed neatly every day and rode his war horse around Xuzhou City.

With a confident smile on his face, so that all the soldiers could see a confident image.

After recovering Dangtu, the various regiments of the Special Operations Brigade began a large-scale military training and martial arts exercise on January 20.

The entire brigade was temporarily in a period of rest.

Lin Fan had been inspecting Ma'anshan for three days.

The Aoshan Mining Area here was mined from 1917. It was originally a mountain with an altitude of 180 meters.

When Lin Fan visited here in his previous life, this mining area had become an artificial lake with a depth of 240 meters.

After the iron ore here was excavated, the Yangtze River water was introduced