Black Flag Army

At noon that day, the commander of the Tianjin Garrison Army, Sato Kojiro, invited two friends to drink. The two friends were from Tokyo, Japan. One was Neiji Tsunamura and the other was Seishirō Sakamoto. The guests included the director of the secret service department, Ishihara Zoi, and the deputy chief of the telecommunications department, Yukiko Koshiko. In the last leak case, the deputy chief of the telecommunications department, Kono Daisuke, was executed, and Yukiko Koshiko turned out to be a blessing in disguise and became the deputy chief.

Sato Kojiro held a copy of the Shuntian Daily and talked to his friends about the assassination of the commander of the Kwantung Army that happened not long ago. The Shuntian Daily detailed the assassination process, and Sato Kojiro sighed: "The bandits are too fierce. Commander Tachibana was assassinated in the Port Arthur headquarters. The bandits will definitely become the number one enemy of the empire in the future."

Sakamoto Seishirō said: "Fortunately, we also killed the cold-blooded devil this time. I heard of his notoriety in Tokyo. He is the second-in-command of the gangsters."

Tsunami Neiji said: "I really want to go to Beitang City to see why so many powerful Chinese people are gathered there? To the point where they formed a vicious Black Flag Army."

Xiaolu Xuezi picked up the newspaper and saw Leng Hanbing's horrible corpse at a glance. Her eyes suddenly became moist and tears flowed out of her eyes like beads from a broken string. She quickly reached out to take out a handkerchief and tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but all of this was seen by Sato Kojiro who was standing by.

Sato Kojiro looked puzzled and asked softly, "Ms. Yukiko, is there anyone you know in this newspaper? Why are you so sad and crying when you see the newspaper?"

Yukiko Odoka calmed herself down a little, took a deep breath and replied, "No, I saw the photo of Commander Tachibana in the newspaper. He looked very kind and friendly. I didn't expect that such a kind person would be brutally murdered by bandits. I really couldn't accept this fact, and I was so sad that I couldn't help but shed tears." When she said this, her voice was a little low, as if she was still immersed in sadness.

Of course she couldn't say that she was crying for Leng Hanbing, not Tachibana Shoichiro.

Neiji Tsunamura said, "Tachibana Shoichiro is not a kind person. He has killed at least 800 Chinese people, if not 1,000. Several second-generation officials in Tokyo have their eyes on his position. This is a good opportunity to make room for them. In order to compete for this position, I am afraid that another outbreak of infighting in the officialdom will occur."

The director of the Secret Service Department, Ishihara Zou said solemnly, "I strongly advise Mr. Tsunamura not to go to Beitang City. It is simply the graveyard of our Great Japanese Empire's agents! Do you know how many outstanding agents are buried in that city? Even your old classmate Ono Ryunosuke was not spared! Although that cold-blooded devil is dead, the Northern Gun King and the Southern Killer are still alive. These two guys are extremely dangerous characters. Their existence undoubtedly brings huge obstacles to our actions."

Neiji Tsunamura said, "If we can't go to Beitang City, we can always go to other places in Beihai Province, right? I have been to eighteen provinces in China, and I would not be willing to go to Beihai Province if I don't visit it once!"

In the evening, the sun was setting, and the afterglow was reflected in the sky, like a golden ocean. The plane that Di Xiong and Lan Jinping were riding on slowly landed on the runway of Saynshand Airport and finally stopped steadily.

The commander of the First Army, Wu Chunlei, and the deputy commander of the Third Army, Wu Guozhu, who had been waiting at the airport for a long time, came to greet them. They were dressed in neat military uniforms and looked serious and solemn.

Di Xiong and Lan Jinping got off the plane, and after a brief greeting with Wu Chunlei, Wu Guozhu and others, they hurried to the operations room of the headquarters. At this moment, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhu Anbang had already set up the sand table in the operations room. Seeing Di Xiong and others coming, Zhu Anbang immediately saluted in a standard military salute, and said in surprise: "Seeing the commander-in-chief and Chief of Staff Lan come in person, a big stone in my heart finally fell to the ground. With your leadership, we will definitely win this battle!"

Di Xiong raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, and said softly: "You are so confident in me? To be honest, I don't have much confidence myself. Maybe you are more confident in Chief of Staff Lan?"

Zhu Anbang looked at Di Xiong firmly and responded in a steady tone, "Both of you are crucial! The commander-in-chief's personal presence at the front will surely inspire the high morale of all officers and soldiers, and the morale will be high! And Chief of Staff Lan is a heroine with extraordinary wisdom, just like the modern Guiguzi, and she will definitely be able to plan a brilliant strategy to defeat the enemy."

At this time, Lan Jinping couldn't help but smile and teased, "Zhu Anbang didn't seem to be so eloquent before. Since he was promoted to deputy chief of staff, his eloquence has become more and more powerful." These words caused everyone to laugh, and the tense atmosphere was instantly eased a lot.

Wu Chunlei frowned and said in a serious tone: "According to my observation, the enemy only mobilized one division in this attack. They kept attacking the defense line, but the other nine divisions stood idly by. When the casualties of this division exceeded one-third, the enemy retreated like a tide. This makes me wonder, is it possible that the enemy did not go all out? Perhaps, this attack is just a feint, and the real main attack direction may be on the Darannaza side." He analyzed the battle situation while falling into deep thought.

Di Xiong smiled at Wu Chunlei and said, "You confused me when you said that. The Chief of Staff said that the attack in Daranza was a feint. Sister Lan and I just came here. You can't ask us to go to Daranza again!"

Lan Jinping said: "It is impossible to deploy ten divisions for a feint attack. There must be some internal problems. This is a good opportunity for us to defeat the enemy. I suggest launching a counterattack tonight, sending out tank troops as the vanguard, and not giving the enemy a chance to regroup."

Wu Chunlei asked, "Sister Lan, what do you think is wrong with the enemy?"

Lan Jinping said: "Although the enemy commander-in-chief this time is Cao Zhongshan, he is stationed in Tianjin and has not moved at all. The commander-in-chief of the front line is his younger brother Cao Qirui, and the deputy commanders are Peng Shouxin and Wang Chengbin. Cao Zhongshan is nepotism, and Cao Qirui's ability is far inferior to Peng Shouxin and Wang Chengbin. These two people must be dissatisfied, and their division commanders and brigade commanders must also be dissatisfied. Because of their great resentment, this strange phenomenon today has occurred. The division that attacked today is most likely Cao Qirui's direct division. Cao Qirui will be furious, but this situation will not last long. Once Cao Zhongshan's order arrives, the nine divisions will definitely attack. But integration takes time, and we can't give them time."

Wu Chunlei, Zhu Anbang, and Wu Guozhu all thought that Lan Jinping's judgment was correct. Di Xiong said, "I also think that Sister Lan's analysis makes sense. Since everyone agrees, let's attack tonight and make a quick decision. First, defeat Cao Qirui's group, and then deal with Wang Huaiqing and Fan Guozhang's group in the east. Launch the general attack at twelve o'clock in the night. Once the artillery fire stops, the more than 80 tanks of the tank regiment will charge head-on, followed by Chen Wanqing's division. The two divisions of the First Army will attack from the left wing, and the two divisions of the Third Army will attack from the right wing. The security division will serve as the reserve."

Wu Chunlei said: "That idiot Cao Qirui certainly didn't expect us to suddenly counterattack and catch him off guard. It would be best if we could capture him alive."

The commander of the tank regiment is Zhang Wei. When Chen Wanqing led the new recruits to recapture Tangnu Uriankhai, he was the deputy battalion commander. Now Chen Wanqing is the division commander. Because of bad luck and too few achievements, he only became the regiment commander. However, the commander of the tank regiment enjoys the level of deputy brigade commander and has the military rank of colonel.

Late at night, the clock pointed to midnight. The night sky was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if foreshadowing that a fierce battle was about to break out. At this time, the Black Flag Army quietly moved out like a ghost in the dark night.

Under the cover of the pitch-black night, the Black Flag Army's bombers swooped down like birds of prey and headed straight for the Zhili Army camp. These mysterious and powerful fighters carried deadly bombs and rockets and launched a fierce bombing attack with thunderous force. The soldiers of the Zhili Army were completely unprepared for this sudden attack and fell into chaos.

However, the Zhili Army was not powerless. When they realized they were under air attack, they quickly organized their own air force and tried to fight back. American-made planes took off urgently, but unfortunately, they had missed the best time. The Black Flag Army's bombers had already safely evacuated the battlefield under the cover of fighters, leaving behind a mess and ruins.

Then, the artillery division commander Wang Shitou personally commanded the artillery unit to launch a massive bombardment on the Zhili Army positions. Dense shells rained down on the enemy, and each round of bombardment brought a devastating blow. The Zhili Army was blown to pieces by the shells, and it was a horrible sight. The battlefield was filled with thick smoke and the smell of death, which was suffocating.

The sound of the artillery gradually stopped, and the entire battlefield fell into a brief silence. At this moment, Di Xiong stood on a high place, holding a loud speaker, and his voice was clearly and firmly heard throughout the battlefield: "Brothers of the Justice Army! Now is the time for us to kill the enemy and make merit! Let us stand up and move forward bravely!"

His shout inspired every soldier like a drum, stirring up their fighting spirit and courage. Soldiers of the Justice Army responded to the call, marching towards the Zhili Army with firm steps. With a firm light in their eyes, they were determined to fight for justice and dedicate everything to the Black Flag Army.

At Zhang Wei's command, 84 tanks turned on their headlights and rushed towards the chaotic Zhili Army camp. The tank guns kept firing, and the machine guns on the tanks kept firing. The Zhili Army who were hit screamed and fell down. There were also brave Zhili Army soldiers who rushed over with a bundle of grenades, trying to blow up the tanks, but when they were still dozens of meters away from the tanks, they were knocked to the ground by snipers or machine gunners in the tanks.

Commander-in-Chief Cao Qirui was awakened from his sleep and heard explosions everywhere. The head of the guard regiment rushed in and said in panic: "Seventh Marshal, run! The Black Flag Army is rushing in."

Cao Qirui roared in anger: "Why are you running? We have ten divisions, a total of 120,000 troops! How many bandits can there be? Notify the division commanders immediately and organize troops to launch a counterattack! When the bandits were holding their ground, we really couldn't do anything to them, but now they have taken the initiative to attack. Doesn't this give us a great opportunity? We can take advantage of this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

The head of the guard regiment said with a bitter face: "We can't fight back at all! The Black Flag Army is faced with extremely sturdy armored vehicles. Our bullets have no effect on them, and even grenades can't hurt them at all! And the enemy's machine gun firepower is extremely fierce. As soon as they open fire, our brothers fall down in large numbers. We really can't resist it!" His voice was full of helplessness and grief, as if he had witnessed with his own eyes the tragic situation of his comrades struggling to survive in the hail of bullets but being powerless.

Cao Qirui said: "Where are our cannons? Order the artillery division to fire with cannons!"

The head of the guard regiment said: "The artillery position's cannon was just blown up by a Black Flag Army plane."

Cao Qirui rushed out of the command center and stood on the high platform. Seeing the officers and soldiers of the Zhili Army completely collapsed and fled not far away, he couldn't help but burst into tears: "My 120,000 troops!"

The next morning, the battle was completely over. The Black Flag Army wiped out more than 50,000 Zhili troops at the cost of less than 1,000 casualties, including more than 30,000 prisoners. Di Xiong and Lan Jinping stood on the high platform of the former Zhili Army headquarters, looking at the captives and the piles of spoils below: weapons, ammunition, food, and supplies, and they were in a very good mood. The highest-ranking Zhili general captured was the deputy commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Wang Chengbin. When Wang Chengbin was tied up and escorted to Di Xiong, Di Xiong immediately scolded the soldiers escorting him: "How can you be rude to General Wang? Untie him!"

The soldiers immediately untied the ropes, and Di Xiong ordered someone to bring a chair and said, "General Wang, please sit down!"

Wang Chengbin sat down and said, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief Di!"

He had seen Di Xiong's photo in the newspaper.

Di Xiong said, "General Wang's defeat was unfair! An incompetent general can lead to the death of thousands of soldiers. This is exactly what we are talking about in a battle like this! If you were the commander-in-chief, how could we lose so miserably? I feel sorry for the general."

Wang Chengbin said, "Commander-in-Chief Di, you are too kind. Your army has a very tight defense and fierce attack, and you have tanks, which are powerful weapons. If I were the commander-in-chief, I would still fail. This battle should not have been fought at all. But Marshal Cao wants to fight, and we have no choice."

Lan Jinping said, "There are three reasons why your Zhili Army was defeated this time. First, the commander-in-chief was arrogant and thought that he could defeat us with his large numbers. He underestimated the enemy. Second, there was discord between the generals and commanders. There were serious internal conflicts. Nine out of ten divisions did not obey orders. Third, the defense was too weak and the intelligence failed. They were completely unprepared for our counterattack and had no idea about our tanks. With these three reasons, how could they not be defeated?"

Wang Chengbin was shocked and asked Di Xiong, "Excuse me, who is this female general?"

Di Xiong said: "My chief of staff Lan Jinping!"

Wang Chengbin sighed and said, "So she is the female Guiguzi. Seeing her today, I can see that she is indeed worthy of her reputation. Commander-in-Chief Di is a wise and brave general, and with the help of Chief of Staff Lan, how can our army have any chance of winning? I am convinced that we have been defeated by the two of you!"