The Japanese were burning the corpses with the gasoline they carried. Luo Ying could smell the stench from a distance. The Japanese were crying and howling while burning the corpses;
Luo Ying, who learned foreign languages from a female Japs in her previous life when she was on a mission in Takumiji, recognized that this was "Kimi no Dai".
"Batalion Commander, what are the Japanese howling?"
Ma Biao, the commander of the machine gun company, asked curiously.
Luo Ying smiled contemptuously and said:
"The Japanese are howling in mourning. They like to cry like this when they bury people."
Ma Biao suddenly realized:
"No wonder it sounds like the tune used when burying people in my hometown. Why don't we fire a few cannons at them? They are burying people, so we have to show some etiquette."
Luo Ying's heart moved for a moment, but he immediately gave up the idea. Fighting is not a matter of loyalty. He shook his head and said:
"You should give up the idea of using flying thunder cannons to bombard the Japs. The Japs are guarded by troops on both sides, and the range of the flying thunder cannons is simply out of reach. A forced attack will only kill dozens of Japs at most, which will expose our intentions.
Now the devils don't know our details at all. The more this happens, the more we must deter the devils. If we don't take action in a war, we will kill the opponent if we do!
The strength of our independent battalion is still too weak. Once the Japanese rebels form a group, we do not have the strength to surround and annihilate a large group of them. Taking action hastily will only expose ourselves;
Just be honest, if the Japanese don't divide their forces, they will have no choice but to let them go. "
Ma Biao thought about it carefully. It was not easy to fight thousands of Japs in a group, so he wisely chose to close his mouth and hold his breath. The reason was that it was too smelly.
After the Japanese released the "poison gas", they grabbed a few handfuls of ashes in pottery jars and collected them for the First Brigade;
Anyway, whose ancestors are being sent back as offerings, there is no need to make such a clear distinction.
After collecting the corpses, the Japanese did not stay any longer. Instead, the front team changed to the rear team, and they retreated under cover alternately. Several squadrons remained in a group and did not give the independent battalion another chance.
Luo Ying had no choice but to give up. The annihilation of the Japanese First Brigade was accidental. If the Japanese First Brigade had not been divided into several parts and rushed forward in a hurry, they would not have been able to annihilate this group of Japanese;
Just like now, if they want to force the Second Battalion to stay, it may become a war of attrition. Once the Japanese Second Battalion is stuck, and the main Japanese force comes in, the Independent Battalion will suffer a big loss. So I could only watch the Japanese leave.
In the 65th Regiment Headquarters, although Colonel Ryojiao was mentally prepared, after Major Umezawa brought back the bad news about the First Battalion, he was still so angry that he almost spit out blood;
He lost a brigade in one day, and he didn't know how to explain it to the division commander.
Major Umezawa said very intellectually:
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, the intelligence is wrong. The defenders are more than one battalion, at least one brigade - no, one division!
When the information was unclear, the First Battalion was besieged by enemies ten times their own. After a day of fierce fighting, more than 2,000 enemies were wiped out. In the end, they were outnumbered and all of them were loyal to the emperor. "
Colonel Liangjiao gritted his teeth and said:
"Yoshi, I want to accuse them to the division commander!
Due to the mistakes of the intelligence department, hundreds of warriors in our First Brigade were shattered. This responsibility must be borne by them;
Considering that the garrison's strength is more than ten times greater than we expected, our regiment will focus on defense for the time being, and we will make plans after I request tactical guidance from the division commander. "
Colonel Ryojiao knew that Major Umezawa had exaggerated the enemy's situation and was looking for excuses for his fear of the enemy, but Colonel Ryojiao did not want to expose him. After all, the Chinese could wipe out the First Brigade, and Umezawa's Brigade would not be able to fight them. will take advantage;
If Umezawa's brigade suffered heavy losses again, he wouldn't know how to explain it to the division commander.
After Colonel Liangjiao arranged the defense matters, he returned to the division headquarters in person to report the battle situation, and also went to apologize. It was not easy to get over the loss of a brigade.
At the 88th Division Headquarters, Division Commander Sun Yuanliang was feeling worried. He had just received a telegram from the Central Military Commission, General Zhu Yimin, commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army. The main force was about to withdraw to the south of the Suzhou River, but he was left behind. This was not Take his life.
"Chief of Staff Zhang, what do you think the Military Commission is thinking? If the Japanese army of 100,000 soldiers keeps one of our divisions until the beginning of next month, isn't this pushing the 88th Division into a pit of fire?
Even the Ninth Army could not stop a hundred thousand Japs, how could our 88th Division stop them? They really treat me like an iron man! "
Zhang Xianghao immediately echoed:
"Isn't that right? There is still a week before the beginning of next month. Once all the main forces withdraw to the south of the Suzhou River, our 88th Division will become a lonely army and there is a risk of the entire army being annihilated at any time;
There is no one in our 88th Division who is afraid of death, but there is no value in dying for the country like this. To be honest, I don’t understand the intention of the Military Commission. Could it be that Commander Zhu is falsely reporting——"
Sun Yuanliang shook his hand and said:
"Commander Zhu doesn't have the guts. After all, we are fellow villagers with him. We have no grudges in the past and have no grudges in the recent days. He won't push us into a pit of fire;
I won't hide it from you, my brother also has some spies above, this is what the principal meant.
The blame is that our 88th Division fought so well. The League of Nations will hold a meeting early next month, and the government needs to maintain a military presence in the urban area north of Suzhou to let those ghost guys see that our government is still persisting. "
Zhang Xianghao immediately said angrily:
"Are the lives of the tens of thousands of soldiers of our 88th Division just to exchange for the worthless face of the government? This is too——"
"Brother Xianghao, be careful what you say, be careful that walls have ears!
As the saying goes, if the king asks the minister to die, the minister has to die. "
Chief of Staff Zhang said with a pale face:
"Is my heroic 88th Division going to become history like this?"
Sun Yuanliang sneered and said:
"Brother Xiang Hao, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. I believe that the national government will not be willing to see the brave and capable 88th Division wiped out;
Since it is for the sake of face, I don’t think it is necessary to set up a division. A regiment or even a battalion will be enough. "
Zhang Xianghao suddenly realized that he secretly thought that his teacher had a solution. As soon as he heard that the sacrifice would not be in vain, his mood instantly improved and he immediately asked for instructions:
"Master, which troop do you think is suitable to keep?"
Sun Yuanliang thought for a while and then said:
"This group must be able to fight, otherwise it will not last until the beginning of next month. Then we will not be able to explain to the striker. The government's face must be maintained, otherwise someone will come to our brothers to settle the accounts in the future."
Sun Yuanliang was about to say that the 254th Regiment should be left behind, when Lieutenant Colonel Hu Xiaoman, director of the secret code room, came in and reported:
"Master, good news for the Independent Battalion!"
Zhang Xianghao received the message and waved Hu Xiaoman away. After taking a look at it, he beamed with joy and loudly reported to Sun Yuanliang:
"The Independent Battalion fought fiercely for a day and severely damaged the first brigade of the invading 65th Regiment. They wiped out hundreds of enemies and captured mountains of weapons. The Japanese 65th Regiment saw the opportunity and retreated for several miles."
Sun Yuanliang took the telegram suspiciously, first read it quickly, then read it carefully from beginning to end, then thought deeply for a moment, and then laughed:
"This Luo Ying is really my blessed general. He gave us such a big victory when the 88th Division needed results most. Now we have a talisman for our retreat!"
I think we should let Luo Ying lead the independent battalion to stay. This guy is not only good at fighting, he is also a lucky general. He can always turn danger into safety and represent the 88th Division to stay in the city. There is no more suitable candidate than him. "
Zhang Xianghao hesitated to speak, and Sun Yuanliang said angrily:
"Brother Xianghao, just say what you have to say and don't hesitate. Is there anything else that we can't say between you and me?"
Zhang Xianghao then said:
"Captain Luo is indeed a good candidate. The Independent Battalion is also the most capable unit of our 88th Division. They have made great achievements in defending Luodian before, and this time they severely damaged a Japanese brigade. Even if they are not rewarded, they should not be retained. Come down-"
Zhang Xianghao stopped deliberately. There were some things he couldn't say clearly, and he still had to save some face for the master.
Sun Yuanliang laughed and said:
"Brother Xiang Hao wants to leave Luo Ying to die, right?
I originally planned to ask Deputy Commander Xie of the 254th Regiment to lead a battalion to stay, but then I thought, Deputy Commander Xie is too straightforward, and I was worried that he would not be able to complete this arduous task;
If Deputy Commander Xie leads a battalion, they may really be wiped out. But if it is Luo Ying, a person who does not play by the rules, maybe they can not only complete this impossible task, but also Bring out the independent battalion that can fight.
I have confidence in him. This kid is a lucky general. A mission like this with a narrow escape is to use a lucky general!
In this way, the 88th Division Independent Battalion was upgraded to an independent regiment, Luo Ying was promoted to regimental commander, and this promotion order was reported to the Military Commission together with the good news;
Since they want to keep me, the 88th Division, to defend the city, they have to give me this face. The 88th Division has one more regiment to defend such a large defense area south of the Suzhou River. "
Zhang Xianghao smiled bitterly in his heart and thought to himself, what kind of promotion is this? It's nothing more than asking someone to be promoted to the leader in advance before they die. Any bullshit general is just an excuse. It's just that Luo Ying can fight and is sure to last a few more years. sky.
At this critical moment, it is natural to die as a Taoist friend rather than as a poor Taoist...
Naturally, he would not say such a thing, because he could see the determination in Sun Yuanliang's expression, and it would be useless to talk more about what he had already made up his mind.
Thinking of this, he bowed to Sun Yuanliang and went to do what Sun Yuanliang told him.
