The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Xu Wenqing personally supervised everyone to enter the position and camouflage themselves, demanding that the target be absolutely not exposed before the battle began:

“Veterans and new recruits were paired up, one-on-one, with the veterans keeping an eye on the new recruits. We couldn’t let the loss at Tanjiaqiao go unpunished. Anyone who accidentally caused trouble would be fired from the Red Army and could go home and farm.”

The soldiers of the 57th Regiment, hidden on the hills beside the highway, quietly lay down on the slope with their guns in their arms and closed their eyes to rest. The 3rd Company, responsible for guarding the area, remained on high alert all night and dared not relax their vigilance.

As soon as the sun rose into the sky, the commanders and soldiers of the 57th Regiment, who were concealed in their positions, saw the dust billowing in the distance, and the commanders of each unit ordered their soldiers to prepare.

The roar of car engines grew louder as the convoy approached from afar, the dust kicked up by the convoy growing ever closer. The Zhejiang army's transport convoy slowly made its way from north to south, like a long, winding snake.

The battle was imminent, yet the area around the ambush site was eerily silent, save for a few eagles circling overhead. The noise from the supply convoy startled them away, and Xu Wenqing only noticed as the enemy drew near that they had formed a strange formation:

The packhorse-drawn carts were at the very back; six trucks were in the middle of the procession; to avoid the dust kicked up by the vehicles, an entire battalion of Zhejiang soldiers escorting the supply train walked in front of the trucks, each wearing their hats askew, carrying their rifles at an angle, humming local tunes with glee, and leisurely walking towards the Red Army's ambush position.

At the back of the column, the enemy battalion commander sat arrogantly in the driver's seat of a car, while the pockmarked driver grinned and sneered, looking utterly servile.

"Commander, you certainly had a wonderful time last night at the Jade Pavilion!"

The enemy battalion commander laughed heartily and pointed at the pockmarked driver:

"Not everyone can enjoy the blessing of romance."

The pockmarked driver said ingratiatingly:

"That's it, that's it!"

The enemy battalion commander, overjoyed, leaned halfway out and said to the soldiers in front of the car:

"Brothers, cheer up! As long as we deliver this batch of supplies safely to Yueqing County, you can eat and play to your heart's content!"

The pockmarked driver came over again to fawn over him:

"Commander, does Yueqing County have as many opium dens and pretty girls as Taizhou City?"

Just as the enemy battalion commander was about to spout more boastful words, Regiment Commander Chen Hong, who was lying in ambush behind the earthen embankment, opened his eyes wide and roared, "Fire!" At the same time, his pistol spewed out flames.

The two mortars that participated in the battle fired several shells first, which landed accurately on the car and exploded. With a huge explosion, the car burst into flames, and the road was immediately covered with shrapnel and thick smoke. The Zhejiang soldiers were hit by bullets one after another, and their screams were constant.

The Red Army's light and heavy machine guns opened fire simultaneously, and one machine gunner cursed under his breath:

"You sons of bitches, come on! I'll make sure you never leave alive!"

Roars and cannon fire mingled together, echoing through the air as more than twenty machine guns from the 1st Battalion of the 57th Regiment unleashed a fierce barrage from both sides of the high slopes at the Zhejiang troops who were hiding and fleeing on the highway.

The enemy battalion commander, who had narrowly escaped death, was the first to jump out of the car. He then nimbly crawled under it, but because his buttocks were raised too high, he had to crawl in several times before finally getting in. However, as the saying goes:

"Good people don't live long, but evil people live forever!"

Many soldiers fired at him, but to no avail; they failed to kill him.

A young soldier, seeing the enemy battalion commander's appearance, couldn't help but burst into laughter. Forgetting to conceal himself, he stood up high and shouted:

"Brothers of Zhejiang Army, quickly surrender your weapons! We, the Red Army, will treat prisoners of war well!"

Just then, a vicious bullet struck him, and the young, brave soldier fell to the ground, sacrificing his life gloriously.

"Avenge our fallen comrades!"

The young soldier's sacrifice filled his comrades with grief and indignation. The soldiers fired their guns and shouted as they went.

The battalion commander climbed to the high ground and shouted loudly:

"Comrades, avenge our fallen comrades! Charge!"

As the bugle sounded loudly, the soldiers rushed towards the road with lightning speed, charging into the chaotic enemy ranks. In an instant, the sounds of charging, gunfire, and the howling of the cold wind intertwined, creating a deafening roar that shattered the enemy's courage.

Upon hearing the bugle call to charge, the enemy battalion commander, hiding under the vehicle, shouted:

"Damn it, the Red Army is really elusive. They were supposed to be wiped out, so how did they suddenly reappear in Taizhou? Brothers, hold them off!"

The soldiers were in complete disarray, ignoring their officers' shouts and fleeing in disarray. By then, more than a hundred enemy corpses lay scattered on the ground.

Under the fierce attack of the Third Battalion, the enemy scattered like ducks that had fallen over their perches. The enemy battalion commander, seeing himself left without an army, hastily crawled out from under his vehicle and, following his chaotic troops, desperately fled along the highway towards Taizhou City.

Under the pursuit of the Third Battalion, the Zhejiang Army's supply convoy was completely routed, and the remnants prepared to flee towards Taizhou along the highway.

In a desperate struggle for survival, the soldiers surged forward, running towards the road and the surrounding hillsides. Some had dropped their backpacks, some carried their guns backwards, some used their guns to carry backpacks and grenades, and some wounded soldiers even used their guns as crutches, limping forward in a very disheveled manner.

The unusual formation of the Zhejiang army before the ambush—soldiers at the front and porters at the rear—facilitated the infiltration of the First Battalion. As soon as the battle began, the porters at the back of the escorting column panicked. Coupled with the thick dust and smoke, the Red Army soldiers stealthily made their way onto the road, shouting incessantly:

"The main force of the Red Army is here!"

"Run! Once you get to Taizhou, you'll be safe!"

"Throw away your guns! The Red Army doesn't shoot those who are empty-handed!"

Hearing the shouts, the enemy, who were running around in disarray, seemed to have found their anchor. Many of them actually threw down their guns and, eager to get back into the city before the Red Army caught up with them, unconsciously quickened their pace of escape. The ranks became even more chaotic, as crowded and noisy as when a movie theater was closing.

Battalion Commander Niu Baiye led his soldiers in shouting slogans from various locations, trying to demoralize the defeated Zhejiang troops. Just then, an enemy soldier carrying a machine gun was about to run past Commander Niu. He swiftly stepped forward and seized the machine gun from the enemy. The machine gunner was heard asking:

How did you take my gun?

Before he could finish speaking, Battalion Commander Ma interrupted, saying, "Let's switch." The already panicked enemy, thinking it was an acquaintance taking their gun for them, said nothing more and started running again, leaving Battalion Commander Ma several meters behind.

The soldiers all thought it was a good idea and sprang into action. As soon as they saw someone carrying a machine gun, several men would rush over and snatch it away. The enemy would often only have time to utter a sound before being pushed far away by the chaotic crowd.

The Taizhou City Wall, also known as the Great Wall of Jiangnan or the Badaling of Jiangnan, is over 6000 meters long. It starts from Lansheng Gate in the east, meanders along the ridge of Beigu Mountain to Yanxia Pavilion, and reaches the east bank of Lingjiang River amidst steep cliffs, extending to the western foot of Jinshan Mountain. It follows the contours of the mountain and overlooks the Yangtze River, with the northern part being the most precipitous.