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

Xie Qiang ordered the artillery to accurately bombard all the city gates of Lingchuan, demanding that the city gates be blown open.

This requirement is a piece of cake for the Type 70 122mm self-propelled howitzer or the Type 66 152mm cannon howitzer.

After the artillerymen set up the cannons, they conducted a test firing and then calibrated them.

Immediately following was the second round of bombardment, and all four city gates of Lingchuan City were blown open amidst the intense explosions.

This caused panic among the militia in the city.

"Quickly report to the commander that the Eighth Route Army has large-caliber artillery and has already blown open the city gate."

Zhang Yinwu and Zhang Wenxiang have now returned to the militia headquarters.

Upon receiving the report, Zhang Wenxiang could no longer remain as calm as before.

The Boye Militia Special Service Battalion was run by him and the Second Regiment. If the Eighth Route Army was really here for revenge, they would definitely make him suffer after they captured Lingchuan.

Zhang Wenxiang just couldn't understand how the Eighth Route Army could have large-caliber artillery.

However, there's no time for Zhang Wenxiang to figure this out right now.

"Did you fucking see that clearly? They're really Eighth Route Army guerrillas. How many of them are there?"

"Reporting to Commander Zhang, we can't see very clearly, but we estimate that the enemy only has one or two thousand men, but they do have cannons."

At this moment, Zhang Yinwu was only thinking about how to block the Eighth Route Army and save his life, so he shouted loudly.

“We have 10,000 men in the city. Tell the brothers to hold them off. I will immediately order the other troops to come back and reinforce. As long as we hold out for one more day, my 30,000 troops will be able to annihilate the Eighth Route Army under the walls of Lingchuan.”

"Commander Zhang, go to the front line immediately to take command. I will transfer all the gasoline in the city to you. If the Eighth Route Army dares to attack through the city gate, burn them to death."

"Yes, Commander."

Xie Qiang's tactic worked as expected.

Zhang Yinwu immediately sent an urgent telegram to all units, ordering them to reinforce Lingchuan as quickly as possible.

In addition, Zhang Yinwu sent a telegram to the First War Zone and the Nationalist government, falsely accusing the Eighth Route Army of attacking his militia and provoking friction.

They demanded that the First War Zone and the Nationalist government put pressure on the Eighth Route Army to force them to withdraw their troops.

After arriving at the front line of the city defense, Zhang Wenxiang immediately made arrangements, distributing gasoline to the four city gates.

They were ordered to detonate the gasoline should the Eighth Route Army dare to attack.

As a result, after a long while, Zhang Wenxiang realized that the other side had not launched an attack.

"What are those Eighth Route Army guerrillas up to? The city gates have been blown open, why aren't they attacking?"

Zhang Wenxiang, of course, did not know Xie Qiang's intentions. Seeing that the other side did not launch an attack, he hurriedly ordered his men to take the opportunity to block the city gate.

To stabilize morale and boost spirits, Zhang Wenxiang announced that the reinforcements would arrive in less than a day, at which time not only would Lingchuan be out of danger, but they could also launch a pincer attack from both inside and outside, wiping out the Eighth Route Army outside the city in one fell swoop.

But an hour later, news that brought Zhang Yinwu despair arrived.

The Nationalist government and the First War Zone negotiated with the Eighth Route Army, demanding that it withdraw its troops.

The Eighth Route Army denied it outright, saying they had not caused any friction, let alone sent troops to attack Lingchuan.

The Nationalist government's intelligence department was not to be underestimated, and it quickly determined that the troops attacking Lingchuan were from the Dragon Flame Legion.

Zhang Yinwu was completely stunned when he received the call back.

He hurriedly summoned the three regimental commanders and Zhang Wenxiang, and told them that the troops attacking Lingchuan were from the Longyan Legion.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenxiang was utterly terrified.

The Dragon Flame Legion's reputation is known to everyone in Shanxi.

They could wipe out hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers in one battle, so the militia's small force would probably be no match for them.

Zhang Yinwu simply couldn't understand why his militia and the Dragon Flame Legion would launch an attack on him for no reason, since they had no connection whatsoever.

Finally, everyone discussed and decided that since they couldn't win, they might as well send someone out of the city to negotiate with the other side, at least to find out what was going on.

If it's a misunderstanding, then explain it clearly. If that doesn't work, give them some money to avoid further trouble, as long as the Dragon Flame Legion withdraws its troops.

However, Zhang Wenxiang was definitely unwilling to be the negotiator. Given the current unclear situation, he was afraid that if he went, the other side would kill him directly.

Zhang Yinwu's troops stationed in Lingchuan consisted of his militia's best-equipped 1st, 3rd, and 7th regiments.

The commanders of these three regiments were also his closest confidants.

Seeing that no one volunteered to be the negotiator, Wu Jiamo, the commander of the Seventh Regiment, volunteered.

"Commander, I am so grateful for your support that I was able to become the commander of the Seventh Regiment. I am willing to share your burden and go out of the city to negotiate with the Dragon Flame Legion."

“Good brother, true friendship is revealed in times of trouble. I’ll trouble you to make the trip. You must find a way to persuade the other side to withdraw their troops.”

Zhang Yinwu was still moved by Wu Jiamo's actions, and hurriedly grasped his hands to give him serious instructions.

Xie Qiang received a report that a negotiating representative had been sent from the city. After glancing at Chen Yiding, he ordered the person to be brought in.

After entering Xie Qiang's command post, Wu Jiamo hurriedly saluted.

"Greetings, sir. I am Wu Jiamo, commander of the 7th Regiment of the Hebei Militia. I am here on orders from our Commander Zhang to negotiate with your army. May I ask your surname, sir?"

Xie Qiang replied expressionlessly, "Your Commander Zhang is really afraid of death, sending a regimental commander to negotiate with me. My name is Xie Qiang, and I am the deputy commander of the Dragon Flame Legion. Your rank is too low; you are not qualified to talk to me."

The moment they met, Xie Qiang made a show of force, and Wu Jiamo knew that Xie Qiang was a tough nut to crack and not easy to deal with.

However, Wu Jiamo was originally a seasoned soldier who was good at management and knew how to read people's expressions, which is why he was able to rise to the position of regimental commander.

"Oh, it's Vice Commander Xie! I've heard so much about you, my apologies for not recognizing you sooner..."

Xie Qiang felt like vomiting when he saw Wu Jiamo's fawning manner and immediately stopped him.

"I've only been the deputy legion commander for a short time, and many people in our Dragon Flame Legion don't even know it yet."

"What are you talking about, my foot! Stop your nonsense and get lost..."

Wu Jiamo is really shameless. Xie Qiang told him to get lost, but he still stood there without moving.

"Deputy Commander Xie, I can leave, but can you tell me what our militia has done to offend your Dragon Flame Legion that you're attacking us?"

"If it's a misunderstanding, I can go back and explain the situation to Commander Zhang. He will do his best to clear up the misunderstanding and resolve the past grievances."

Xie Qiang nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense, but I can tell you clearly that you should know very well what your militia has done."

"Go back and tell Commander Zhang that if you do not surrender with your troops before eight o'clock tomorrow morning, I will annihilate you all."

After saying that, Xie Qiang waved his hand impatiently, and two soldiers immediately pushed Wu Jiamo out.

After Wu Jiamo returned, he relayed Xie Qiang's words to Zhang Yinwu without missing a single one.

"What? You want me to surrender with my troops..."

Zhang Yinwu did not expect the other party's attitude to be so resolute, leaving no room for negotiation whatsoever.

This made him feel even more desperate.

Seeing Zhang Yinwu standing there in a daze, Wu Jiamo whispered again, "Commander, I secretly observed the situation when I left the city, and the enemy has no more than three thousand men at most."

"Although their weapons and equipment are quite good, if all our troops were in place, we would have ten times their strength."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yinwu suddenly looked up and asked in surprise.

"You mean you want me to fight them to the death?"

Wu Jiamo nodded: "That's right, the other side's Deputy Commander Xie is very arrogant and doesn't leave us any room to maneuver."

“Our militia is not to be trifled with either. I refuse to believe that 30,000 men can’t defeat 3,000.”

"Let me think about it..."

Zhang Yinwu paced back and forth in the room, pondering what to do.