Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

In the trenches, soldiers from the Fifth Army of the Northeastern Army, the 176th Division of the Fourth Army, and the First Battalion of the 119th Regiment, one by one, raised their rifles and machine guns and launched a counterattack against an infantry company of the Fuso Xianghe Division that had once again launched an attack on the position.

These days, they have become accustomed to the offensive rhythm of the Fuso side. First, the artillery units launched indiscriminate bombing of the positions, and then a large number of infantry launched a charge when their own side suffered heavy casualties.

The artillery regiment of the Xianghe Division completely crushed the artillery regiment of the 176th Division both in terms of the quality and quantity of its artillery. After a series of confrontations, the artillery positions of the 176th Division suffered from the enemy's heavy artillery baptism and had almost completely lost their combat effectiveness. Without any artillery units to provide long-range fire support, the 176th Division was completely in a passive situation.

After five consecutive days of high-intensity fighting, three battalions of the 119th Regiment, which was responsible for guarding the area, were completely destroyed. The second and third battalions were in name only, and the remaining battalion was temporarily formed by lightly wounded soldiers and a small number of remaining infantry.

The deputy commander of the 119th Regiment lost both legs in the explosion, his staff officer died in battle, and even their commander Li Erhu was blinded in one eye by shrapnel. The Northeastern man who originally had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a strong build and a strong waist has now become a one-eyed dragon.

On the battlefield, countless bullets whizzed past ears, and from time to time a soldier lying on the edge of the trench was hit by a bullet and his body slid to the side.

On the Fuso side, not only were the infantry gradually advancing, but a large number of Fuso soldiers were also using the 60MM mortars they carried with them to continuously launch fire attacks on the soldiers of the 119th Regiment in the trenches.

Xu Jiacheng was originally a student at Fengtian University. If there had been no war, his future might have been to study abroad and contribute to the development of his hometown after returning. After the outbreak of the war, he resolutely joined the Northeast Army like countless classmates and became a member of the reserve force. After less than a week of training, he set foot on the front battlefield and became an ordinary soldier blocking the Fuso army on the front line.

Fortunately, when the Sixth Army was almost wiped out, Xu Jiacheng, who was slightly injured, successfully evacuated from the Linzhou front line. Just after he recovered from his injuries, he was transferred to the 119th Regiment again and became a soldier in the logistics platoon.

When the 119th Regiment suffered more than % casualties, Xu Jiacheng, a logistics soldier, also shouldered his rifle and stepped into the trench with a nervous mood.

Seeing his comrades falling one after another, this college student, who had transformed from a flower in a greenhouse into a frontline soldier in just one month, was also aroused by the bloodiness of the Chinese people in his bones. At this time, the bullet hole on his left shoulder was still bleeding, his face was covered in dirt, and the entire left half of his body was almost stained red with blood, but he still gritted his teeth and helped the machine gunner beside him to change the bullet belt.

Finally, after two hours of fighting, they once again miraculously repelled the attack of the enemy infantry squadron.

Inside the trench, the soldiers of the First Battalion, with less than fifty men left, all had solemn expressions as they looked at the bodies of their comrades lying in the trench with their tender faces and blood staining every inch of the trench.

The war has reached this point, even the female medical soldiers who were responsible for taking care of the wounded have gone to the front line of the battlefield, and no one has collected the bodies of their comrades. Many years later, perhaps no one will be able to remember these people's names, but their heroic spirits will forever linger on this land.

"Zhu Zi, after the war is over and the Fuso people are driven out of the Northeast, what do you want to do?"

Xu Jiacheng pushed the pillar beside him for some unknown reason, but the pillar lowered its head, lying on the edge of the trench, still holding the machine gun, without moving.

Xu Jiacheng used up his last bit of strength and barely lifted up Zhu. However, he saw an extremely glaring bullet hole on Zhu's chest, with blood constantly flowing out. The man had died not long ago, but his body still retained a trace of warmth.

Xu Jiacheng's hands were shaking and tears filled his eyes unconsciously. He slowly laid Zhuzi's body flat in the middle of the trench and used his rough right hand, which was covered in blood and dirt, to help Zhuzi close his eyes.

"Eat something and drink some water. The enemy's next charge will come soon, and we have not received any orders from our superiors to retreat. We must hold on to our position."

He Fei, deputy battalion commander of the first battalion, held two old broken wooden barrels, limped into the trench, and greeted the dozens of surviving soldiers.

In one wooden barrel, there were about a dozen sweet potatoes that were roasted over charcoal fire and gave off a slightly burnt smell. They were scattered at the bottom of the barrel. In another barrel, there was only half a barrel of clear water left, with a lot of mud and sediment in it.

He Fei dragged his injured leg that was soaked in blood, his voice so hoarse that he could hardly speak.

The surviving soldiers, including Xu Jiacheng, crawled over one after another at He Fei's repeated urging, wolfed down the sweet potatoes, and drank the clear water mixed with dust in the bucket with a ladle.

Everyone knew that this might be their last meal in this world.

In this desperate situation, no one wanted to escape. They all had deep feelings for this land in their hearts, which invisibly urged them to stay in their positions even though they knew they would face a dead end.

Xu Jiacheng, who had recovered his strength, did not say anything. He took a final glance at his comrades, as if he wanted to engrave their voices, smiles and appearances deep in his heart. Then he returned to his previous position in silence and took over the role of Zhuzi machine gunner.

The Fuso Infantry Squadron launched another charge half an hour later, but this time, Xu Jiacheng and other soldiers led by the first battalion failed to create another miracle with their passion. Under the fierce attack of Fuso, Xu Jiacheng did his best to strangle the larynx of a Fuso soldier who jumped into the trench, and then he closed his eyes forever with a smile on his face.

And this is just a true portrayal of a corner of the front line on the Northeast battlefield.

Five days later, all the defensive positions outside the entire Bajiao City were broken through by the Fuso army. Next, Jiang Yanlin, who was in Bajiao City, would lead the soldiers of the entire Fifth Army with the determination to die, and launch a final desperate battle with Fuso.

In Yong'an City of Linzhou in the northwest, while the Han and Zhao factions concentrated their forces to defend the capital city, the two sides launched a bloody and fierce tug-of-war between offense and defense.

Under the continuous advancement of the Northwest Revolutionary Army, the Zhao and Han factions seemed to have reached the end of the road, and the reinforcements from Jiangbei that they had been longing for were nowhere to be seen.

At this point, they had no way of retreat. Even if they surrendered, Su Zhengyang would not hesitate to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, making the Han and Zhao families pay a very painful price.

When the morale of the entire Zhao and Han factions was low, Yan Shuangying, the director of the Northwest Intelligence Bureau, also began his own rebellion plan, preparing to take advantage of the panic of the two warlord forces and completely disintegrate them from within.