Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

in fact,

From the very first day that the Ximentang Vanguard Battalion began constructing defensive fortifications, they did not launch an attack on Shenyang Prefecture.

However, in order to put pressure on the Kwantung Army stationed there, Ximen Tang used long-range mortars to bombard the walls of Shenyang.

and,

The long-range mortars used some incendiary shells to fire at the defensive fortifications on the city wall.

Simultaneously,

The incendiary bombs were not entirely aimed at the city walls of Shenyang.

Some of these incendiary bombs were fired directly into the city of Shenyang, reaching a very long distance.

Once the incendiary bombs were launched and landed in Shenyang, they would explode violently and burst into flames.

Therefore,
Throughout Shenyang, many buildings were engulfed in flames, causing widespread panic.

The fact that the fire from the incendiary bombs wouldn't go out terrified the residents inside, causing them to run around in panic.

For a while,
Shenyang was in complete chaos, with people crowding the streets.

The soldiers of the Liaodong Prefecture in Northeast China, who were responsible for defending the city, were also filled with fear.

Although these soldiers had all defected to the Japanese, their families were still in Shenyang Prefecture.

After a fire broke out in Shenyang Prefecture, many of the soldiers were worried about their parents and families.

The Japanese didn't care about anything in Shenyang Prefecture, but the prefectural soldiers cared a lot about it.

When Ximen Tang attacked other cities, he rarely used incendiary bombs to enter the city.

Targeting houses within the city has always been strictly forbidden by Ximentang.

The reason is simple: for Ximentang, any city in the Great Qian Dynasty belonged to his territory, only it was managed by rebels and vassal kings.

The people in the city are all citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty.

therefore,

Given any other option, Simon would never target buildings inside the city with incendiary bombs.

but,

We are currently fighting in Liaodong, Northeast China, which is under occupation.

Shenyang had been under the control of the Japanese for several years and had long since become a base for the Kwantung Army.

The people inside had all gone through layers of screening and had completely submitted to the Japanese.

Any civilians who dared to resist the Japanese would have been killed long ago.

Therefore,
Some of the people in Shenyang Prefecture had migrated from the Eastern Empire, while others were people from the Great Qian Dynasty who knelt down and submitted.

to be frank,
The elite troops of Ximentang already regarded Liaodong as an occupied territory of the Kwantung Army.

They showed no regard for the people living in Shenyang Prefecture.

When firing incendiary bombs, they have no intention of showing any mercy.

Although Ximentang only attacked with incendiary bombs for a period of time, he stopped firing artillery very early on.

but,

The garrison in Shenyang Prefecture, however, could not calm down.

Because the fire from an incendiary bomb cannot be extinguished, it can only be allowed to burn out on its own.

in addition,

Takeuchi Hisakichi never really trusted the soldiers in Shenyang Prefecture.

He feared that someone might take advantage of the fire to start a disturbance from within, causing turmoil throughout Shenyang Prefecture.

therefore,

Takeuchi Hisakichi had no choice but to divert some of the Kwantung Army's elite troops to direct the civilians in fighting the fires while maintaining order in Shenyang Prefecture with an iron fist.

And so, they were busy until the next day, when the situation in Shenyang Prefecture finally stabilized somewhat.

Although some areas were still not extinguished by the incendiary bombs, and Simon Tang was launching a few incendiary bombs from time to time.

Overall, however, the situation in Shenyang Prefecture was brought under control.

After seeing that the situation had stabilized, Takeuchi Hisakichi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

but,

Before he could even catch his breath, the next day, Ximentang launched a full-scale attack.

This time,
The major legions of Ximentang launched a fierce attack.

Tanks and long-range mortars opened fire on the city walls.

Moreover, behind the attacking army, long-range artillery was used to precisely eliminate the Kwantung Army's artillery on the city walls.

Whether it's incendiary bombs, armor-piercing bombs, or high-explosive bombs, they are all much more powerful than the previous probing attacks.

For a while,
Not only were houses in Shenyang set on fire again.

Meanwhile, the number of casualties among the elite Kwantung Army troops stationed on the city walls continued to rise.

in addition,

Many of the soldiers in Shenyang Prefecture rebelled after the fire reignited.

The situation was chaotic, and arson and killing began to occur in Shenyang Prefecture.

but,

At this point, Takeuchi Hisakichi was completely oblivious to all of this.

Because Ximentang's offensive was too fierce, four legions besieged Shenyang Prefecture, launching a strong attack from four directions, with the offensive like a tidal wave.

Meanwhile, within 300 meters of the city wall, numerous snipers from the Ximen Hall were sniping at the Kwantung Army soldiers on the city wall, killing many of the Kwantung Army's junior commanders.

of course,

The artillery battalion of Ximentang suffered the most casualties.

The destructive power of long-range artillery was brought to its fullest potential in siege warfare.

Because each mortar was equipped with a scope, a number of Japanese soldiers would fall immediately after the grenades landed.

therefore,

The Ximentang bombing campaign employed this long-range tactic, resulting in very few casualties on its own, and was almost entirely a one-sided massacre.

Although the number of Kwantung Army soldiers was more than twice that of Saimon.

However, in terms of tactics, Ximen Tang's long-range bombing almost perfectly countered the Kwantung Army.

In fact, many soldiers in the Kwantung Army were used to winning games.

In almost all the battles they participated in, they suppressed their opponents with Japanese field artillery and heavy machine guns.

But now they're being dominated by Ximentang; they've never seen such a disadvantageous situation before.

After being bombarded by artillery and incendiary bombs, many Japanese were trembling with fear.

Some Japanese soldiers were so frightened that they simply started looting inside Shenyang, thinking they could grab some things and escape rather than continue defending the city.

Takeuchi Hisakichi, along with a group of Kwantung Army guards, directed the battle from all over the city walls.

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and as soon as he saw a hole that had been blown up, he immediately directed the others to fix it.

and,

To boost the morale of the Kwantung Army soldiers, he even took the lead and personally fired a heavy machine gun at the area outside the city.

It must be said that Takeuchi Hisakichi was indeed a trustworthy superior.

Under his leadership, the fighting spirit of the Kwantung Army did not decline, but instead became stronger and stronger.

Under the intense artillery fire from Ximentang, the morale of the Kwantung Army plummeted.

but,

Hisakichi Takeuchi personally led the charge to boost morale.

Soon, the Kwantung Army stabilized the situation and launched a fierce counterattack on the city wall, preventing Ximen Tang from continuing to approach the city wall.

If it were any other army, given Takeuchi Hisayoshi's tenacious fighting style, Shenyang Prefecture might have been impregnable.

but,

The technological gap in weaponry meant that the Kwantung Army could only hold out for a short time before being swiftly and decisively destroyed.

in addition,

At this time, it was not just a battle of attack and defense on the city walls; inside Shenyang Prefecture, the city was ablaze with the flames of incendiary bombs.

The ground was littered with the corpses of civilians and soldiers.

The fire raged and began to spread rapidly into the city.

The entire Shenyang Prefecture was in complete chaos.

The common people were running around the city in chaos, while the soldiers of the local government and the Kwantung Army began to stir up trouble, burning, killing, and looting.

For a while,
Inside Shenyang Prefecture, cries, screams, shouts, and roars created a chaotic mess.

In this situation,
How could those soldiers possibly be in the mood to fight?
Moments later, many of the soldiers began to turn their guns around, preparing to flee.

As a result, more and more gaps appeared in the defenses of the city gates of Shenyang Prefecture.

Takeuchi Hisakichi, his mouth bubbling with impatience, shouted loudly. *Boom!*
A loud explosion was heard from one corner of the city wall.

Several Kwantung Army artillerymen who were aiming their long-range cannons were blown to pieces.

They didn't even have time to scream before they were targeted and eliminated by artillery fire.

at the same time,

The city gate was finally breached by an armor-piercing shell.

The smoke from the explosion had not yet dissipated.

A tank drove in through the gap in the city gate.

Boom—boom—!
Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second one.

Upon seeing this, the Kwantung Army soldiers responsible for guarding the city gate quickly came over to block the breach.

But it was too late; the tanks' heavy firepower was simply too much for the surrounding Kwantung Army defenders to handle.

Heavy machine guns and artillery fired continuously, clearing out the surrounding area.

As the tanks rolled into the city gates in a grand procession, the entire city gates of Shenyang Prefecture fell in an instant.

Following closely behind was Ximentang's special operations regiment, which used heavy firepower to suppress the Kwantung Army soldiers.

Takeuchi Hisakichi was completely dumbfounded when he saw this.

He quickly led the elite troops of the Kwantung Army to provide support, but he had just finished adjusting his troops.

Unexpectedly, without the support of Japanese long-range artillery, the city wall was quickly breached.

Several breaches were suddenly opened in Shenyang Prefecture, and Takeuchi Hisakichi was completely panicked.

He didn't know whether to go to support the city gate first or the guards on the city wall.

Just as he was struggling with his decision, he didn't expect that another city gate of Shenyang Prefecture would also be breached by Ximentang.

In less than ten minutes, two city gates were occupied by Ximentang.

The tanks had very thick armor, which could withstand artillery fire and blocked the Kwantung Army's counterattack.

Ximentang attacked the entire Shenyang Prefecture with unstoppable momentum.

The Kwantung Army responsible for guarding Shenyang Prefecture consisted of elite troops with formidable combat capabilities.

If it comes to close combat, Ximen Tang will find it difficult to gain the upper hand.

Therefore,
Yan Kuangtu's tactics always involved maintaining a distance of more than 30 meters from the enemy.

With the breaching of both city gates, the morale of the Kwantung Army was thrown into chaos, and they were routed by Ximen Tang's assault rifles.

More and more elite troops from the West Gate entered Shenyang Prefecture. They began clearing out the guards on the city walls while simultaneously organizing their forces to charge into the city.

The Kwantung Army had completely collapsed and was unable to withstand Ximen Tang's attack, so it could only retreat into the city.

This is,

Takeuchi Hisakichi's heart sank to the bottom. He knew that the situation was hopeless and Shenyang Prefecture was about to fall completely.

To know,
In Takeuchi Hisakichi's plan, he probably never considered engaging in street fighting with Nishimado.

With the firepower of the elite soldiers of Ximentang, even if the Kwantung Army wanted to fight street battles in the city, they would probably only be able to suffer tremors.

The two sides are not even in the same league; they simply cannot fight.

then,

Takeuchi Hisakichi decisively began his retreat, deciding to leave Shenyang Prefecture first.

He was a general in the Kwantung Army of the Japanese Empire, and if Shenyang fell, he would not be able to explain it to Emperor Meiji.

Therefore, even if they escaped from Shenyang, they would ultimately be severely punished and would not escape death.

but,

Takeuchi Hisakichi had one last way out: to flee Shenyang, go to Changchun to gather troops, and then return to fight again.

Even if we can't retake Shenyang, as long as we can win a battle, we can still report back.

Having made up his mind, Takeuchi Hisakichi led his elite troops and quickly retreated to his residence.

then,

He planned to rest briefly, pack up some valuables, and then lead his elite troops to retreat as quickly as possible.

but,

As soon as he arrived at his lodgings, he saw someone who stopped him and exclaimed, "General Takeuchi Hisakichi, we've finally waited for you!"

When Takeuchi Hisakichi looked up, he saw that it was Fujita Daio, a bodyguard under Emperor Meiji.

This Fujita Daio was no ordinary man; he was not only the captain of Emperor Meiji's guard, but also a disciple of Miyamoto Musashi.

Throughout the entire Eastern Empire, Fujita Daio wielded considerable power.

Therefore,
Although Takeuchi Hisakichi was extremely anxious, he calmed himself down and asked in a composed voice, "Fujita-kun, is there something you need? We can talk about it later. The situation is urgent right now; Shenyang Prefecture is about to be captured—!"

Before he could finish speaking, Fujita Daio interrupted him.

"Lord Takeuchi Hisayoshi, I don't care about the current situation in Shenyang Prefecture, just give me 10,000 soldiers now."

“We have a lot of silver stored in the treasury of Shenyang Prefecture, and it must be transported away.”

"This batch of silver is very important to our Eastern Empire."

Upon hearing this, Takeuchi Hisakichi felt extremely agitated.

He originally intended to give them a perfunctory answer, but when he heard that the other party was going to allocate 10,000 soldiers to him...

Is this some kind of joke?
then,

He looked up at Fujita Daio and said, "I'm sorry, Fujita-kun, I don't have any extra people around me!"

"Let's retreat quickly, or it will be too late!"

finished,

He led his elite troops in a hasty retreat, too lazy to bother with the other side.

Just as they were leaving the street towards the East Gate, they saw that the army of the West Gate had already stormed into the main street of Shenyang Prefecture.

Fortunately, Takeuchi Hisakichi escaped in time, leading more than 50,000 elite troops to break through the encirclement, leave Shenyang Prefecture, and flee towards Changchun.

When Fujita Daio saw Takeuchi Hisakichi fleeing in such a panic, he couldn't help but frown.

But soon, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely:

"Damn it! Takeuchi Hisakichi, you bastard, when we get back to Kyoto I will definitely report this to the Emperor!"

He has been in the Great Qian Empire for half a year and is in charge of the treasury.

Although a large amount of silver has been transported back to the Eastern Empire, there is still a considerable amount left in the treasury.

Just as Fujita Daio was gritting his teeth.

Bang! A loud crash.

Suddenly, a gunshot struck his shoulder blade from behind.

Pfft!
Fujita Daio suddenly fell to the ground, feeling that his entire arm had lost all feeling.

As a master of the Tongmai Gangjin realm, he had never suffered such a loss before.

Swish!
He drew his katana from his waist and roared:

"Damn it, who fired the shot?!"

Bang, bang, bang—!
No sooner had he finished speaking than gunshots rang out from all directions.

Saturation potential focused fire!
In an instant, his legs, ribs, arms and other parts of his body were hit by concentrated fire from assault rifles.

He lay on the ground, severely injured.

At this moment, he realized that his spiritual senses seemed to be suppressed, and he was unable to sense the danger.

hiss--!
He took a deep breath and looked up at the group of men who had just opened fire.

An elderly man, who was leading the group, walked over unhurriedly.

He was neither dressed as a soldier nor as a general.

Just as Fujita Daio felt excruciating pain all over his body and lost feeling in his hands and feet.

The elderly man leading the group approached him and said, "So it's Fujita Daio of the Emperor's Guard. It seems Takeuchi Hisakichi has already retreated and fled!"

Fujita Daio was stunned by these words, his head buzzing. He took a deep breath and said, "You bastard, who are you?"

The old man smiled calmly and replied, "Gongsun Ze of the Imperial Household Department of the Great Qian Dynasty! Men, tie him up and send him to the military camp for treatment!"

Ximentang easily captured Shenyang, achieving his first major victory in the campaign against Northeast China.

In this battle to attack Shenyang, Ximentang annihilated more than 90,000 enemy troops and captured nearly 130,000!

The others opened the city gates and fled in disarray, including tens of thousands of elite troops remaining under Takeuchi Hisakichi.

The casualties at Ximentang were not low, approaching 10,000.

Siege warfare is inherently an extremely brutal and arduous battle, especially since the Kwantung Army was equipped with long-range artillery from the East.

Therefore,
Casualties were inevitable, but at least we managed to capture Shenyang.

Now we just have to wait and see whether the main force of the Kwantung Army will retreat from Northeast China or launch a counter-offensive! (End of Chapter)