In the fields south of the Yangtze River, in the center of two hills, a bright bonfire burned brightly, illuminating the face of Colonel Sano Torata of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Brigade sitting on the ground around the bonfire.
As Ushijima Mitsuru's confidant general, Sano Torata knew the ambitions of his immediate superior. If that person could take over, although his position could not be raised for the time being, his voice in the division would definitely be greatly improved.
Therefore, he spared no effort in this battle to pursue the main force of the Chinese.
During the battle across the river in the afternoon, two infantry squadrons under his command were dispatched at one go. As a result, most of them were killed in the battle.
But, it doesn't matter.
Soldiers can be replenished if they are lost in battle. The important thing is to let Lord Ushijima Mitsuru know his loyalty.
Now, he is leading the 23rd Infantry Regiment at the forefront of the entire army, serving as the arrowhead for the entire army.
As long as he catches up with the Chinese, he will become the top commander of the first unit to fight the Chinese. He can also guarantee that the 23rd Infantry Regiment under his command will become the people that the brigade commander is most proud of.
However, when can we really catch up with the Chinese? Is it tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? Sano Torata has no idea.
Even though there were clear marks on the ground indicating the direction of the pursuit of the Chinese, they did not go the wrong way.
The weather should be very good tomorrow. Otherwise, why would the stars be so bright tonight?
I just don’t know if the imperial army was forced to stop marching in the dark night, and whether the pursued Chinese people also stopped. This is the real reason why the Japanese Army Colonel is so anxious that he has not yet fallen asleep.
Perhaps, the only thing that made the Japanese colonel feel at ease amid such anxiety was that the Chinese were fleeing like crazy, and this place had become the domain of the imperial army. Otherwise, how could he enjoy the warmth of the bonfire on this late autumn night?
Such bright bonfires are everywhere in the hills and wilderness. He personally ordered them, hoping to give the soldiers who had been running wildly all day a warm enough sleep and refresh themselves so that they can increase their pursuit speed again tomorrow.
Habitually tightening the collar of the military coat that tightly wrapped his body, the Japanese Army Colonel chose to leave the warm bonfire and walked out of the hill with a few guards.
This was Sano Tora's old habit. If he couldn't sleep, he would patrol the field camp in person, which not only allowed him to take a walk, but also improved his reputation in the regiment.
What a diligent Colonel-dono! Sano Torata enjoys this kind of looking up from the bottom.
Then, the Japanese Army Colonel, who originally suffered from anxiety, met someone who made him unhappy.
"Baga! Why don't you go out on patrol?" If Sano Torata didn't have a shred of sense, he would have drawn his sword and chopped him alive in front of the captain of the infantry squadron who was standing in front of him with his face red and smelling of alcohol.
As the captain of the Colonel's Wing, I am so anxious that I can't sleep during the war. Your army captain actually drinks and eats meat here?
Seeing half a hare roasted until golden brown and dripping with fat on the bonfire, Tora Sano was seeing a ghost if he didn't lose his mental balance at that moment.
"Hi!" The Japanese captain didn't dare to refute his captain, so he could only lower his head and get slapped in the mouth.
Seeing that his subordinates were still honest and respectful, Sano Torata felt a little relieved. He looked up at the dark wilderness around him and said, "Although the empire has basically won this battle, our army has not yet completely wiped out the pursuing enemy forces.
, it’s far from the time to toast to celebrate, so you mustn’t slack off because of this!”
"Hi!"
The Japanese captain continued to lower his head. If possible, he would rather bury his head in his crotch to prevent the anxious colonel from seeing his big face reddened by alcohol again.
Sano Tora no longer scolded the captain like a good boy, and turned around with his hands behind his back, preparing to walk to another place.
Behind him, his guard must have brought up the hare that was roasted until golden and fragrant. In the next three hours, he might be able to drink some sake with the rabbit meat.
Of course, the Japanese army commander who faced the darkness would not see that in the thick night, 500 meters away from here, a man wearing a camouflage suit of tree branches was watching him 'affectionately' through a telescope.
"He turned out to be a colonel! God is so shameless." Tang Dao was very disappointed and spit out the straw in his mouth.
Yes, for a super special forces soldier who took a huge risk to leave the headquarters and lurk into the area where the Japanese army was chasing. Not only did he not find the headquarters of the Japanese Tenth Army, he also failed to find the subordinate division headquarters and even the brigade.
The regiment headquarters was not found, so it can only be described as bad luck.
In fact, it was not that Tang Dao was unlucky, but that Yanagawa Heisuke once again believed in his intuition.
The top commander of the Japanese Tenth Army, who was deeply affected by Hisao Tani's assassination, placed his military headquarters south of the bridge. At the same time, he ordered his three divisions to follow the instructions before dawn.
He also stayed south of the bridge, and the brigade headquarters had to be downgraded and merged with the infantry regiment headquarters to prevent it from being taken advantage of by the Chinese cold gunmen lurking in the dark.
It was Yanagawa Heisuke's move that frustrated Tang Dao's ambition to inflict another fatal wound on the top of the Japanese army.
However, I couldn't eat any meat, so I finally drank some soup.
Tang Dao stared "affectionately" at the Japanese Army Colonel who was about to leave the bright bonfire and the several Japanese officers standing behind him, and then took out a "big guy" from behind him!
If Mr. Sano Tora's vision was good enough and he could see through the darkness of 500 meters, he would be blinded.
That guy is really not that big.
That is a Chinese 20-year-old 82MM mortar, produced by China's Jinling Arsenal.
It is the most heavily equipped heavy weapon in the Chinese army, and it is also the only one in this war that the Chinese front-line troops can compete with the 92 infantry cannon equipped by the Japanese brigade-level troops.
No matter in North China or Southeast China, when the Japanese army faced the Chinese army, all other weapons had the upper hand. Only when facing this unique caliber 82MM mortar, the Japanese army was beaten a lot.
This kind of gun is really too light. An artillery team can move it and fire it when it is put down. It is far more flexible than the Type 92 infantry gun which weighs 180 kilograms.
However, the so-called flexibility is relative to an artillery team with at least five people!
If you think about taking down a lieutenant general or a major general, of course you can't just rely on guns.
Not to mention that the Japanese army colonel who couldn't see this scene couldn't figure it out. He just watched Lu Sanjiang and Lu Sanjiang, who were carrying the 68-kilogram 82 Force on their backs, hung two artillery shells on their waists, and finally disappeared from their sight.
None of the five cavalrymen almost fell off their horses.
When they were ordered to carry this 68-kilogram mortar, did they never think that Commander Tang would use this big guy as a personal weapon?
The two soldiers who followed him also became his mobile ammunition depot.
In addition to the two rifles, Niu Er also carried three 4-kilogram artillery shells on his back. Xia Dayu originally carried three of them, but two of them were quickly placed on his waist by Tang Dao.
Tang Dao's weight reached a terrifying 70 kilograms, not counting the two knives stuck in his legs.
Of course, this is also the first time since Tang Dao came to this time and space to fully demonstrate his strength as a single soldier, after he completely controlled this body.
The strength contained in his young body is comparable to that of his peak years.
Tang Dao measured the distance with his hands, and after 20 seconds, he threw the shell into the barrel.
"Bang!"
"Captain Aoyama, please fulfill your duties as squadron leader!" Torata Sano gave the order in a rather pretentious manner, then cast his gaze into the distance in confusion.
The speed of the sound of 340 meters per second far exceeded the muzzle velocity of the mortar shell of 212 meters per second. The Japanese army commander seemed to hear the sound of the mortar being ejected from the barrel.
No, not as if, but definitely.
After a loud bang of 'Boom!'
The Japanese army commander who had already taken off on the spot thought so.
