The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

"Commander Deng, I'm entrusting Fengshan to you. We still have the 55th Regiment as a reserve force. If your forces are insufficient, I can consider having the 55th Regiment send reinforcements to support you."

Xu Wenqing provoked him over the phone.

"No need! The enemy we are facing is only a company of Zhejiang soldiers; the rest are local militia."

Commander Deng answered loudly:

"Our regimental political commissar has led a battalion to Mengshan to support the 57th Regiment. I guarantee that we will use two battalions to pin the enemy down at the foot of Fengshan!"

Unwilling to accept defeat, the Zhejiang Garrison Division launched several small-scale attacks after a short rest, but all were repelled by the 19th Red Army Division. Winter days are short and darkness falls quickly, providing both sides with a brief opportunity to rest and adjust their troop deployments.

Under the dim moonlight, Xu Wenqing began his patrol of the position. The night was quiet, save for the howling wind whistling through the treetops. Soldiers lay casually on the ground in their fortifications and bunkers, fast asleep with their rifles clutched to their chests. Years of combat experience had instilled in the troops a habit: when the enemy attacked, they would fight fiercely; once the enemy retreated, the soldiers would collapse into their fortifications and take a nap. If the enemy attacked again, they would wake immediately, refreshed and ready to strike again. When Xu Wenqing met with the company commanders, he always carefully instructed them to strengthen all preparations for battle.

Upon reaching the concealed location of the mortar battalion behind the mountain, Battalion Commander Wang Guijun immediately began to complain. Xu Wenqing, annoyed, interrupted him and retorted:

"How much of an effect can your hundred or so shells have?"

Wang Guijun smiled smugly and said:

"I brought all the shells of different calibers that I captured last time. In case we capture another enemy mortar, we might have some suitable ones. It's better to be prepared!"

Looking at Battalion Commander Wang's smug smile, Xu Wenqing recalled a comment from a netizen while reading a book review on Qidian:

"It doesn't matter if the caliber of the mortar shell is wrong; it has a great effect. First, it can be used as a landmine, and second, it can be used as a hand grenade, with considerable power!"

Inspired, Xu Wenqing beckoned Battalion Commander Wang over and explained the plan to him in detail. The two discussed it for a long time before stopping. Battalion Commander Wang happily called his men and, under the cover of night, went to carry out the ingenious idea assigned by his division commander.

Xu Wenqing, accompanied by his guards and communications officer, continued to patrol the position.

As Xu Wenqing approached the field hospital, he suddenly heard several wounded soldiers arguing, with a medic squatting nearby trying to reason with them. He went over to see what was going on and learned that most of the wounded soldiers had head and upper limb injuries, and their injuries were quite serious. The hospital was going to move them away first, but they disagreed.

Xu Wenqing looked at the wounded soldiers, thinking about how to persuade them to agree to evacuate first. Suddenly, his gaze fell on one of them: a young soldier with thick bandages wrapped around his head and arms, wearing Xu Wenqing's cotton overcoat. The medic told He Feng that in addition to his head wound, he was also seriously injured in the arm. Due to excessive blood loss, his face was as yellow as paper, his breathing was very weak, and his lips kept moving as he spoke in a low voice.

Xu Wenqing walked to his side, lowered his head and put his mouth close to his mouth, asking:

"Young comrade, what are you trying to say?"

The wounded soldier mustered his strength, grabbed Xu Wenqing's hand, and struggled to speak in a slightly trembling voice:

"Commander, I killed two enemies today, avenging my old sergeant!"

Xu Wenqing turned and looked at the others with questioning eyes. Another wounded soldier explained:

"This fellow's squad leader sacrificed himself during the Battle of Tanjiaqiao, protecting his fellow. He has never forgotten how to avenge his squad leader!"

"Once I recover from my injuries, I can kill more enemies and avenge more poor people."

Xu Wenqing said loudly to him:

"For revenge, for the sake of the troops, let's move to the rear now, shall we?"

The little boy, tears streaming down his face, nodded heavily, loosened his tightly clenched right hand, revealing a golden bullet in his palm. Between breaths, he said:

"Give it to my comrades, so they can kill one more enemy for me."

Xu Wenqing gripped the bullet that was handed to him tightly, turned to the guard, and ordered:

"Have the stretcher team carry the wounded and transfer them immediately. Notify Commander Chen and have him send a platoon to escort them along the way."

After waving goodbye to the departing wounded troops, Xu Wenqing returned to the temporary command post. Looking up at the sky, he could see nothing but a few cold stars in the dim moonlight, though he could only make out a few indistinct stars. Yet, he knew that in this pitch-black night, a large number of enemies were frantically rushing towards Wenzhou, and tomorrow's battle would be even more brutal and intense!

In the headquarters of the Zhejiang Army's Eastern Zhejiang Garrison Division, set up in a marching tent, Wang Bin stood quietly in front of the map with a gloomy face, not uttering a word. Everyone in the division held their breath as they came in and out, moving in and out like ghosts, afraid that they might accidentally make a noise and become the punching bag for the division commander to vent his bad mood.

The bespectacled division chief of staff knew the reason for Wang Bin's irritability; Gu Zhutong had just called and reprimanded Wang Bin:

"Big head and no brains, clearly the main force of the Red Army, but they insisted that it was a small rear guard unit of the Red Army that had fled. They were determined to annihilate the enemy, but their attacks in all directions failed!"

Seeing the division commander in a bad mood, I didn't know what to say to cheer him up. Helpless, I could only stand there with him without moving.

After a long silence, the commander, who had been deep in thought for a long time, finally spoke:

"Commander-in-Chief Gu may be right. The enemy is the main force of the Red Army's 10th Army Corps, and it is very likely that it is our division's nemesis, the 19th Division!"

The chief of staff, with a shrewd and calculating air, stroked his few remaining hairs on his chin and said:

"Let's try again tomorrow. If it's the main force of the Red Army, we can drive them away. If it's Red Army prisoners, we'll go around them, surround them, and wipe them all out!"

"We will launch a full-scale attack on Mengshan tomorrow, and victory will surely be ours!"

Wang Bin felt a little better after hearing this and was filled with hope for tomorrow, but then he began to worry about the lack of firepower during the attack.

The chief of staff pointed to the sky, reminding Wang Bin:

"Commander, we can ask Commander-in-Chief Gu to send planes to assist in the battle."

In the order issued by Gu Zhutong, the 1st Regiment of the Zhejiang Army Security Division was ordered to attack the Red Army under the command of Wang Bin. After receiving the order, the regimental commander Ling Hexi, eager to make a contribution, immediately led the entire regiment to Wenzhou and finally met up with Wang Bin's division that night.

Wang Bin convened a meeting at the division headquarters with the commanders of all regiments and the heads of the militia assisting in the battle to discuss the battle plan for the next day. It's no wonder Wang Bin didn't issue direct orders; the troops under his command were in disarray. His own Zhejiang East Garrison Division had lost three battalions to the Red Army in the past few days, leaving only two regiments. Furthermore, the Independent Regiment of the headquarters, the First Regiment of the Security Division that had just arrived, and the militia of Quanzhou were not his direct subordinates and were not very obedient, making them somewhat difficult to command. Therefore, he was discussing the matter at hand.