Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Li Weizhuo's finger was already on the trigger, and the cold light of the bayonet flickered in the setting sun.

He took a deep breath and prepared to issue the final charge order. Six against sixty, this was a hand-to-hand combat destined to end in death.

At this moment, a rapid and strange horn sounded from afar.

The Japanese soldiers who were charging suddenly stopped and showed an expression of disbelief on their faces.

Immediately afterwards, an even sharper whistle sounded, and the Japanese squadron began to retreat, completely disregarding the victory that was about to be achieved.

"Company commander, they are retreating!" Xiao Chen shouted in surprise, still holding the rifle tightly in his hand.

Li Weizhuo frowned. Through the telescope, he saw that the Japanese troops were quickly disengaging from the battlefield, and they didn't even have time to take away the bodies of the wounded and the dead.

This abnormal behavior made him alert.

"Everyone take cover! It might be a trap!" He immediately gave the order, and the soldiers quickly hid in the bunkers, watching the Japanese army's unusual retreat vigilantly.

The same strange scene was happening not only in the Hongkou position where they were, but on the entire Songhu front.

From Zhabei to Jiangwan, from Yangshupu to Pudong, all attacking Japanese troops received urgent orders to retreat and break off contact with the Chinese defenders.

Half an hour ago...

Vice Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa, commander of the Third Fleet, stood in front of the battle map with a grim expression.

"Are all the naval guns and air forces ready?" he asked the staff officer beside him.

"Reporting to the Commander, all ships including the Izumo and Sendai have entered their designated bombardment positions. The aircraft carriers Ryujo and Hosho have completed their bombing and are ready to take off.

The military police sent a message asking us to be careful of the 6th Independent Aviation Squadron of the Army Aviation, as they might take off and intercept us."

Hasegawa Qing nodded, a cold flash in his eyes: "Humph, Lu Hang's idiots are just a bunch of trash, you go tell our warriors, let Lu Hang's idiots see the power of the navy aviation force, as long as they dare to take off, shoot them all down!

This is a feast for our navy, tell the boys, eat with confidence!

Inform all captains of the ships to promptly execute the "Iron Storm" plan and conduct indiscriminate fire.

Orders were transmitted to every warship and air force via radio waves.

Japanese warships in the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River estuary began to adjust the angle of their guns, and ammunition elevators sent heavy shells into the gun barrels.

On the aircraft carrier, the engines of the Type 96 carrier-based attack aircraft roared, and they took off one after another carrying 250-kilogram bombs.

Just when Li Weizhuo was still wondering why the Japanese army retreated in such a hurry, at 4:17 pm, the first 203mm naval gun shell streaked through the sky and landed in front of the previous battle position.

The huge explosion was deafening and raised dirt and rubble several meters high.

Immediately afterwards, more shells fell like raindrops.

Not only Japanese naval guns, but also bombers taking off from aircraft carriers joined in the massacre.

The entire front line was instantly engulfed in smoke and flames.

Li Weizhuo and the soldiers huddled in the bunker, feeling the violent shaking of the earth.

The explosions were so frequent that they formed a continuous roar that hurt people's eardrums.

"Damn it, this is indiscriminate shelling!" Li Weizhuo roared, finally understanding why the Japanese army suddenly retreated.

Through the observation hole of the bunker, he saw a horrifying scene. The Japanese troops who failed to retreat in time were also struggling in the artillery fire.

A group of Japanese soldiers were trapped in an open area and ran around for cover, but were engulfed by a series of explosions.

A 250-kilogram bomb directly hit the area where a Japanese squadron was assembled.

A huge fireball rose into the sky, and human debris and weapons and equipment were thrown dozens of meters into the air.

Blood and viscera spilled on the scorched earth, creating a bloody hellscape.

Even more terrifying was the salvo of naval guns.

Every salvo fired by the Izumo's 203mm main guns brought an earth-shaking shock.

A shell happened to fall near a Japanese field hospital, and the makeshift tents and wounded were instantly torn to pieces.

The Red Cross flag was reduced to ashes in the explosion, and none of the medical staff or wounded were spared.

"Oh my God, they even beat their own people!" Xiao Chen looked at the tragic scene outside in horror, his face pale.

Li Weizhou gritted his teeth and said, "In the eyes of the navy, both we and their army are expendable pawns."

The bombardment became more and more intense, and the entire front line turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The shock wave from the explosion uprooted trees and collapsed buildings in large sections.

The water in Suzhou River was stirred up into waves several meters high, and many ships that did not have time to evacuate were directly sunk.

In the Yangshupu Industrial Zone, Japanese artillery fire hit the warehouse of a textile factory where hundreds of civilians were hiding.

The huge explosion ignited the cotton textiles in the warehouse, instantly forming a sea of ​​fire.

The shrill screams even drowned out the sound of gunfire. Many people rushed out of the warehouse covered in flames, but fell to the ground after running a few steps.

At the border of the International Settlement, a group of civilians trying to escape into a safe zone came under artillery fire.

Women, children, the elderly, no one was spared in this storm of steel.

A mother hugged her baby tightly and both fell in a pool of blood after being hit by shrapnel.

Several children ran in panic, but were completely engulfed by the second explosion.

On the edge of the French Concession, the bell tower of the Sacre-Coeur Church was directly hit by a naval gun shell. The fifty-year-old building collapsed and nearly a hundred refugees hiding inside were buried under the rubble.

Priests and nuns dug with their bare hands in an attempt to rescue the buried people, but to no avail.

The bombardment lasted for three full hours, and the front line was completely distorted.

The scorched earth was littered with broken limbs and fragments of weapons and equipment.

Countless corpses floated on the surface of Suzhou River, the river water was dyed light red, and some unexploded shells were stuck in the muddy river bank, threatening any life that tried to move.

Inside the Shanghai Expeditionary Force headquarters, General Matsui Iwane listened to reports from the frontline with a grim expression.

When he learned that the navy had indiscriminately bombarded the entire front line, including many Japanese troops who had failed to evacuate in time, he was furious.

"Hasegawa Kiyoshi, that bastard!" Matsui Iwane slammed his fist on the desk, shaking the teacup. "How dare he do that! Those are the Empire's elite troops!"

Chief of Staff Major General Mamoru Iizawa stood nearby, his expression equally grim. "Commander, according to preliminary reports, the attacking forces have all suffered varying degrees of bombing. One battalion of the 9th Division has lost over two-thirds of its personnel. Even the Marines themselves have suffered heavy losses in several squadrons."

Matsui Iwane paced frantically around the room. "Those idiots in the navy! They clearly knew where our troops were, yet they still launched indiscriminate shelling! This is murder! A blatant provocation to the army!"

He stopped abruptly and yelled to the communications officer, "Connect me to the Third Fleet Headquarters! I want to speak to Hasegawa Kiyoshi in person!"

The communications officer hesitated. "Commander, the Third Fleet has severed our direct line of communication."

Matsui Iwane's face turned from green to red, and he was almost spitting fire: "What? How dare they do this!"