The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

To be fair, the security regiment company commander in front of us did learn his lesson after being beaten, although he was still muttering to himself:

"A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him!"

He didn't dare utter a sound, immediately ordered his men to open the roadblocks, and ran into the city to report to the regimental commander.

The soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 55th Regiment swarmed into Wenzhou city.

What happened next was quite simple. The company commander of the security regiment, who usually led the troops, left his post to report to his superiors before heading into the city. At the forefront of the troops preparing to enter the city, Deputy Battalion Commander Wu Daogui reached into his pocket, pulled out a silver coin, and flicked it so loudly it made a "buzzing" sound. This confused the few soldiers in the security regiment who rarely received extra pay at the city gate sentry post. Confused and bewildered, they abandoned their posts and, clutching the silver coin tightly, led the Red Army away. However, the soldiers were quite at ease, because the officer who distributed the silver coin was a truly kind person; not only did he reward them, but he also specially assigned someone to stand guard for them—a truly good man!

According to the pre-established battle plan, the Third Battalion split into two groups. One group, led by a company commander, headed straight for the Zhejiang Army's division headquarters stationed in the city, while the other group, led by Battalion Commander Ding Defu, rapidly advanced towards the Wenzhou Security Regiment's barracks.

Along the way, Wu Daogui, the deputy battalion commander of the Third Battalion, kept chatting with the security regiment soldier leading the way. Unexpectedly, the other man was even more talkative, and in no time he had rambled on about everything that had happened in Wenzhou:

"The Zhejiang Army and the main force of the Provincial Garrison Division have all moved into the mountains of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangxi. The division headquarters only has a few dozen people plus a supply battalion."

"The police station doesn't have many people, only two or three hundred."

"The municipal government is right next to our regimental headquarters."

"The commander of the security regiment is not in the city."

"The commander of the security regiment also led his men into the mountains along with the Zhejiang troops."

"Inside the Zhejiang Army's supply battalion and police brigade, there is only one battalion of the security regiment and one standing brigade of the militia in the city, totaling about three hundred people."

As they walked, Battalion Commander Ding Defu silently pondered the situation. His regimental commander had told him that each militia in eastern Zhejiang had three standing battalions, each with 360 men, totaling 1008. Currently, there was only one standing battalion in the city, about 300 men. The security regiment also had a battalion of over 300 men, plus a supply battalion of 300-400 men from the Zhejiang Army garrison division, and the police station had over 300 men, bringing the total to over 1000. This meant that while Wenzhou might not be entirely deserted, the White Army, though numerous, wasn't part of a unified system. Therefore, his battalion, along with his reconnaissance and special operations battalions, was roughly equal in numbers to the enemy in the city, but certainly stronger. Overjoyed, Battalion Commander Ding silently gave the security regiment soldier leading the way another silver dollar.

Upon arriving at the militia's regular battalion's encampment, the power of the silver dollar became apparent; the security soldiers leading the way, taking advantage of their superior position, even dared to deploy sentries at the gate.

"Er Laizi, quickly report to your battalion commander that the commander of the 25th Division of the Central Army has arrived and wants you to assemble immediately and go with him to the division headquarters of the garrison division to help the commanders move munitions."

Before long, the more than 300 men of the militia's standing battalion, who had already assembled, surrendered their weapons without a word under the intimidation of several machine guns positioned around them. Even the previously talkative militiamen fell silent, trembling as they pulled out still-warm silver dollars and handed them to Wu Daogui, their faces showing deep reluctance. Only the militia's garrison commander remained silent, constantly shouting:

"Brothers, don't misunderstand. My brother-in-law is the garrison commander!"

Wu Daogui, the deputy battalion commander of the third battalion, also picked up the habit of being a chatterbox. He rushed forward, swung his rifle, and smashed the butt of it over the head of the militia's regular battalion commander, all the while making sarcastic remarks.

"We are the Central Army, and we're going to beat up those bastards in the Garrison Division!"

After dealing with the militia's regular battalion, Battalion Commander Ding Defu sent a platoon to guard the prisoners, while Deputy Battalion Commander Wu Daogui led his troops to seize the Security Command headquarters and take over the Security Regiment's battalion. He personally led his team to the Zhejiang Army Garrison Division headquarters, once again guided by that same "talkative" Security Regiment soldier. Just as they were about to arrive, intense gunfire suddenly erupted.

Comrades quickened their pace and sprinted toward the headquarters of the Zhejiang Army Garrison Division.

Just as the company commander and his men were about to infiltrate the headquarters of the Zhejiang Army Garrison Division, a Zhejiang Army officer shouted at them to stop. The soldiers, who had been on high alert, panicked and opened fire, and a melee ensued.

When Ding Defu arrived, the situation was chaotic. Two groups of soldiers, dressed in Central Army and Zhejiang Army uniforms, were exchanging fire, and neither could gain the upper hand. In his anxiety, he remembered something: this Zhejiang Army garrison division was a local force of the White Army, and its combat effectiveness was already weak. Furthermore, the headquarters had only left behind a supply battalion, further diminishing its fighting strength. He himself was a main force division of the Red Tenth Army Corps; he would try to intimidate them this time and see how it went.

Holding onto the hope of "giving it a shot, no matter what!" Ding Defu shouted loudly to the officers and soldiers of the Zhejiang Army's supply battalion:

"We are the 19th Division of the 10th Army Corps of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. I am Ding Defu from the 55th Regiment. Comrades on the scene, listen to my command and prepare to throw tear gas grenades!"

The unintentional act had serious consequences. Many of the Zhejiang soldiers remaining behind had some basic military knowledge and knew that tear gas was a chemical weapon. Upon hearing that the Red Army was about to use tear gas against them, the infamous reputation of chemical weapons cast a deep shadow over the Zhejiang soldiers! With a shout, one of the Guangxi-Zhejiang soldiers threw down his gun and sprinted away, shouting as he ran:

"The Red Army is coming! They're going to use chemical weapons!"

The demoralized Zhejiang army's supply battalion was quickly captured by the Third Battalion. After assigning guards, the reconnaissance battalion and special operations battalion, which were stationed outside the city, entered the city one after another. The reconnaissance battalion and special operations battalion then formed several small teams and acted separately, quickly occupying the city gate, the municipal government, the police station, and other places.

After all the prisoners in the city were gathered and imprisoned, Ding Defu, the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 55th Regiment, who was in charge of the overall command, sent Zhao Xiaotian to ride a captured warhorse to quickly find the main force of the division and report the mission completion status to the division commander.

After hearing Zhao Xiaotian's report, Xu Wenqing realized that he was already notorious in the Zhejiang Army Garrison Division. He gave a bitter laugh and then remembered what the great man had said: "Whatever the enemy opposes, we must support! Whatever the enemy supports, we must oppose!"

"Being liked by the enemy is not a good thing, and being disliked by the enemy is not a bad thing either!"

Xu Wenqing muttered to himself.

Enough of the small talk. As the sun was about to rise, the main force of the 19th Red Army Division, the 55th Regiment, entered Wenzhou City with a brisk pace, warmly welcomed by the 3rd Battalion. By this time, the reconnaissance battalion and the special service battalion had all withdrawn from Wenzhou City before dawn. Only the 3rd Battalion of the 55th Regiment of the 19th Red Army Division remained in the city.