Chapter 60: Li Yunlong Marches South to Reinforce the Capital, Su Changqing Dies for His Country?-Guerra de Resistência: Estrela de Huangpu, Subjugando Li Yunlong no Início(As coisas mudaram, e as pessoas também não são mais as mesmas.)

"Battalion Commander, these cat-ear foxholes are truly remarkable, no matter how fiercely the Japanese devils shell us."

"They simply can't blow us up!"

Thanks to the ingenious design of the cat-ear foxholes, the frantic bombardment by the Japanese Fifth Mixed Brigade—

Though it looked terrifyingly spectacular—did not inflict heavy casualties upon the German-equipped 87th Division hunkered inside them.

"I've long heard that General Su, a graduate of the fourth class of Whampoa, is peerless in defensive warfare."

"Damn it!"

"These foxholes look simple, but their effectiveness is astonishing."

"He truly lives up to his reputation as a master strategist!"

Zhou Weiguo was also a fierce and formidable young commander. A graduate of the Berlin Military Academy, he was a fellow disciple of the lunatic Qiu from the second class of Whampoa.

While Qiu the Lunatic bowed to neither heaven nor earth,

There was only one person for whom he held the utmost respect.

That person was none other than Su Changqing, a graduate of Whampoa's fourth class.

It was during that period that Zhou Weiguo first heard the name Su Changqing.

Consequently, upon meeting Su Changqing for the first time,

Zhou Weiguo had reacted like a starstruck fan encountering his ultimate idol.

Now, judging by the defensive efficacy of the cat-ear foxholes,

The man most admired by his senior brother Qiu the Lunatic was indeed possessed of extraordinary talent.

"I heard that this General Su was once personally designated to command the very first German-equipped division."

"Yet he simply refused the post and walked right out."

"A division commander... If I could ever become the commander of a German-equipped division in this lifetime, I'd die a happy man."

*Slap!* Zhou Weiguo cuffed his bodyguard right across the head.

"Damn it, look at your pathetic ambitions."

"Just the position of a division commander has you daydreaming like this?"

Just as the artillery fire from the Japanese Fifth Mixed Brigade subsided, a signalman rushed swiftly through the trenches.

"Battalion Commander Zhou, orders from the division commander!"

"Your unit is to immediately launch a counter-assault against the enemy Fifth Mixed Brigade's artillery forces."

"Destroy the enemy artillery positions to the greatest extent possible."

"Make your contribution to the 87th Division's defense of our lines."

"Understood!"

Upon receiving the order, a sharp gleam flashed in Zhou Weiguo's eyes.

Counter-assault operations!

This was precisely Zhou Weiguo's favorite type of tactic.

Defense?

That was merely hiding to evade enemy strikes.

Counterattacking from a defensive stance was the only way to deliver a fatal blow to the arrogant Japanese devils.

"Deputy Battalion Commander!"

"Present!"

"Take over my command."

"Understood!"

"First Platoon, First Company, Third Battalion, listen up!"

"Follow me."

"Understood!"

***

Having donned Japanese military uniforms, Zhou Weiguo and his soldiers strolled leisurely as if taking a casual walk in a garden.

They infiltrated and wove their way deep into the Japanese positions.

Because Zhou Weiguo spoke fluent, flawless Tokyo dialect, coupled with his junior officer's rank,

The Japanese devils naturally harbored no suspicion regarding his identity.

Amidst their stealthy infiltration,

Zhou Weiguo sauntered right up to a Japanese sentry post and swiftly eliminated the garrisoning guards.

Using ropes, a large contingent of Nationalist German-equipped soldiers scaled the rooftops,

Successfully penetrating the rear flank of the Japanese artillery positions.

The door flew open!

Zhou Weiguo, holding a submachine gun, unleashed a torrent of fire directly at the Japanese soldiers.

The other soldiers similarly made clean work of eliminating the remaining enemies.

By this point,

One of the Japanese artillery positions had been completely cleared.

"All artillery pieces, skip the sighting shots."

"Aim at the other Japanese artillery positions and their infantry lines."

"Empty every last shell we have!"

"Understood!"

Such a smooth operation left the soldiers of the Third Battalion, German-equipped Division, wildly excited and thrilled.

Using the devils' own cannons to blast the devils—

It felt absolutely exhilarating.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

*Boom, boom, boom!* The fierce artillery barrage instantly stunned the Japanese, who had just been arrogantly shelling the positions of the 87th Division.

Artillery pieces of various calibers

Roared into life, tearing the caught-off-guard Japanese to shreds in the sudden deluge of fire.

Having completed their mission, Zhou Weiguo did not linger.

After setting a series of booby traps on the spot, the small detachment quickly withdrew, carrying two mortars with them.

The dazed Japanese finally snapped back to their senses.

"Baka Yaro!"

"Those artillery sounds came from our own gun emplacements. Why on earth are those blockheads firing on our own troops?"

Furious to the extreme, the Japanese junior officer immediately ordered his subordinates to investigate.

When this party of investigators reached the artillery position, they triggered the booby traps.

Another series of violent explosions tore through the area, completely obliterating the Japanese artillery emplacement.

Dozens of Japanese soldiers perished right along with it.

Zhou Weiguo's infiltration and counter-assault operation had yielded monumental results.

Hearing the explosions, Inoue Murashu, commander of the Japanese Fifth Mixed Brigade, immediately rushed to the scene with his security company.

Seeing severed limbs and scattered remains littering the ground, Inoue Murashu's face turned livid.

"Baka Yaro!"

"China pigs, cunning China pigs!"

"Kill them!"

" Slaughter every last one of those China pigs!"

"Hai! "

Zhou Weiguo's infiltration operation felt like a stinging slap across the face of Japanese Fifth Mixed Brigade Commander Inoue Murashu.

With a face dark as thunder, Inoue Murashu went so far as to specially dispatch a large number of mini tanks.

Relying on the mini tanks, artillery support,

And air cover from fighter squadrons,

The Japanese launched a near-frantic assault against the German-equipped 87th Division guarding the Hutou, Hongkou, and Yangshupu sectors.

"Damn it, these Japanese devils have truly been hurt this time."

"Look at this offensive—each wave is fiercer than the last!" Wang Xuezhang gazed through his binoculars toward the distant battlefield.

"It seems that fellow Zhou Weiguo really poked a sore spot for the Japanese."

"The devils have truly gone mad this time."

Su Changqing also frowned as he watched the distant battlefield.

Wave after wave of elite Japanese troops launched a nearly fanatical banzai charge.

Shielded by mini tanks, the Japanese continuously breached the lines of the Nationalist German-equipped division.

From artillery duels and gunfights to close-quarters bayonet combat,

The intensity of the warfare escalated rapidly.

Suddenly, a Japanese fighter plane circling and screaming overhead dropped an aerial bomb.

By sheer coincidence, that aerial bomb landed squarely upon the headquarters of the 87th Division.

"Division Commander, hit the deck!"

"Staff Officer Su, get out of the way!"

*Boom!*

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, a billowing cloud of dust and smoke rose from the command post of the 87th Division.

After the aerial bomb detonated,

The fates of Wang Xuezhang and Su Changqing remained completely unknown.

***

As massive contingents of the Japanese Marine Corps and Imperial Army landed in the Songhu region,

The Battle of Songhu erupted in its entirety.

The aggressively advancing Japanese army even boasted grandly that they would conquer the Chinese nation within three months.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist government poured virtually all of its military forces, including elite German-equipped divisions,

Into the Songhu theater.

They attempted to halt the Japanese advance on Songhu while simultaneously evacuating countless factories and industrial equipment to the interior.

Naturally, this time around,

The fervor for national salvation and resistance was exceptionally high; alongside the Nationalist direct-rule units,

Various regional warlord armies arrived successively toward the capital.

As for the Eighth Route Army based in the Wutai Mountain stronghold, they became the first batch of troops to receive newly re-equipped gear.

Led by figures like Li Yunlong, Long Wenzhang, and Li Chashui, nearly twenty thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers also began marching from the Wutai Mountain base toward the capital and the Songhu frontlines.