The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi, who were far away in Shanghai, soon learned of Long Fei's sacrifice.

After they left with the gold bars, the two discussed that since they wanted to establish an intelligence network to gather information and have the Jiaolong Commando Team wreak havoc on the Japanese, they had to go deep behind enemy lines.

Therefore, the two decided to first establish a foothold in Shanghai, and then set up the intelligence network and the Jiaolong Commando Team in the shortest possible time.

Next, with Shanghai as the center, they continued to expand and grow in the Japanese-occupied areas.

In order not to let down Long Fei's trust and expectations, the two worked day and night, and the work progressed quickly.

After the Dragon Flame Legion entered the Taihang Mountains, in just over a month, it not only established a powerful intelligence network in Shanghai, but also formed twenty Jiaolong Commando Teams.

A steady stream of intelligence gathered at Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi. After screening and verifying the information, they immediately sent the valuable intelligence to the Dragon Flame Legion.

In addition, in order to improve the operational capabilities of the Jiaolong Commando Team, Long Fei asked Xu Peng to select ten former special operations battalion soldiers.

They went to Shanghai to assist Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi in conducting special training for the members of the Jiaolong Commando Team.

After completing training, the Jiaolong Commando Team immediately began carrying out its mission, until Long Fei's accident.

These twenty Jiaolong Commando Units have not only assassinated hundreds of Japanese soldiers and puppet army officers in Shanghai and the surrounding areas, but also destroyed many Japanese facilities.

For a time, Hata Shunroku, the commander of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army in Shanghai, was in a state of utter chaos and could not sleep at night.

Left with no other option, Hata Shunroku could only instruct the Special Higher Police to intensify its investigation and manhunt efforts. However, despite the Special Higher Police's capabilities, they were hampered by limited manpower and made little progress.

On this day, Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi's intelligence agents obtained the news of Long Fei's sacrifice from the Central China Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Shanghai.

The two were immediately dumbfounded. To them, Long Fei was their everything, and with Long Fei's sacrifice, their world collapsed.

Holding the intelligence report, Zhao Jianzhi asked blankly, "Xiao'an, what should we do now?"

Song Xiaoan scratched his hair in anguish and said weakly, "Jianzhi, you're asking me? Who should I ask?"

"Hey……"

Their hearts sank to the bottom of the sea, and they sat there for a long time, their eyes dull and lifeless.

Suddenly, Song Xiaoan looked up sharply: "Jianzhi, do you think the Dragon Army Commander would be assassinated by the Japanese so easily?"

Zhao Jianzhi shook his head, saying with grief and indignation, "This intelligence was sent to Hata Shunroku by Yoshio Shinotsuka, the commander of the First Army in Shanxi. How could Yoshio Shinotsuka dare to speak recklessly if he wasn't 100% certain about such a big matter?"

Zhao Jianzhi's answer chilled Song Xiaoan even more. He lit a cigarette and took a few deep drags.

At this moment, Zhao Jianzhi suggested, "Didn't we secretly establish contact with Sixth Brother before? Why don't we ask for Sixth Brother's opinion?"

"Alright, contact Sixth Brother right away and see what he has to say."

Not long after, Sixth Brother called them back.

"I am currently verifying Long Fei's death. Do not panic. The Japanese dared to assassinate my brother. You must retaliate."

With Sixth Brother's instructions, Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi suddenly had a pillar of support.

So the two immediately decided to follow Sixth Brother's instructions and launch a retaliatory operation against the Japanese in Shanghai.

Over two days, twenty Jiaolong Commando teams launched operations simultaneously.

In total, they assassinated more than a dozen Japanese soldiers and several traitors.

Among them were Akagi Chikayuki, the deputy commissioner of the Shanghai International Settlement Police Department; Yamamoto Eiji, an advisor to the Japanese; and Yu Yefeng, a traitor who was in Shanghai specifically to procure military supplies for the Japanese.

Now, the Japanese soldiers and traitors in Shanghai were even more terrified and dared not go out easily.

However, the Special Higher Police and the Japanese military police also intensified patrols and searches in Shanghai.

Left with no other option, Song Xiaoan and Zhao Jianzhi could only order everyone to suspend operations, go into hiding, and await further orders.

Fearing that things might get complicated if he delayed, Yoshio Shinotsuka of Shanxi decided to achieve his goal in one decisive battle and wipe out the Dragon Flame Legion.

Therefore, he couldn't wait to order 200,000 troops of the Kwantung Army and the First Army to assemble at Maling Pass in the Taihang Mountains.

Yoshio Shinotsuka ordered the First Army to leave a small number of troops stationed in various locations.

He then led 100,000 troops plus 50,000 puppet troops, almost his entire force, out of the country.

Yoshio Shinotsuka decided to personally lead his troops to encircle and suppress the enemy because he wanted to avenge the arrow that struck Yuwang Mountain.

He wanted to see the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Dragon Flame Legion fall one by one before him. He believed that only in this way could he wash away the shame of his previous defeat and humiliating escape.

Shortly after Yoshio Shinotsuka led his troops out, he received an urgent telegram from a mainland advance team.

The telegram said that the Dragon Flame Legion seemed to be facing a huge internal problem, with its troops even fighting each other.

"What?! Internal strife?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka's first reaction was that with Ryufei dead, the Dragon Flame Legion would be leaderless, and they would fight each other for leadership.

"Yoshi... Soga, this is truly heaven's help! Order the troops to speed up their march."

Yoshio Shinotsuka couldn't wait any longer. He felt that now was the best time to eliminate the Dragon Flame Legion. This was an opportunity that should not be missed.

Not long after, Yamamoto Ichiki also sent a telegram, saying that he had discovered the headquarters of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army in the Songta area southwest of Yangquan.

However, the enemy's guard force consisted of a regiment, so he could only wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

Yoshio Shinotsuka sat in the car with a smug smile on his face.

"It seems that this time we can not only eliminate the Dragon Flame Legion, but also inflict heavy losses on the Eighth Route Army. A double victory, a double win, hahaha..."

"Order the troops remaining in Yangquan to maintain contact with Yamamoto Ichiki and be ready to provide support for the operation at any time."

A few days later, 200,000 Kwantung Army soldiers, along with the Japanese First Army, all arrived in the Xiyang and Shun areas.

It's very close to Maling Pass from here; you can get there in a day.

Yoshio Shinotsuka ordered the entire army to rest for one night and set off early the next morning, dividing his forces into ten routes to surround Maling Pass.

The next day, around 5 p.m., 300,000 Japanese troops entered the Taihang Mountains and formed a huge encirclement about five or six kilometers away from Maling Pass.

Seeing that the encirclement was successfully completed, Yoshio Shinotsuka stood on the mountaintop and picked up his binoculars to observe.

He discovered that the fighting in the Maling Pass area was fierce, with intense gunfire and thick smoke covering the entire Maling Pass.

"Hehehe, the Dragon Flame Legion is indeed killing each other. Order the troops to stay in place, maintain vigilance, and do not let a single Chinese escape. The attack will be launched promptly at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

The battle of the Dragon Flame Legion did not stop until after dark.

However, at 11 p.m., the sound of gunfire rang out again.

Yoshio Shinotsuka soon received a report that the troops south of Maling Pass had been suddenly attacked.

It was also said that the other side sent out many tanks and armored vehicles, broke through the encirclement, and then fled south.

"Baka! Order the troops south of Maling Pass to pursue immediately, and all other troops to launch an attack on Maling Pass immediately."