The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Molotov cocktails are powerful, but also very dangerous. Last night, while traveling, a soldier tripped and broke his Molotov cocktail. Flames shot up, but luckily they were by a stream, and the soldier quickly rolled into the water, preventing a major disaster!

Upon learning of this, Xu Wenqing immediately took measures to strictly prohibit soldiers from carrying Molotov cocktails without authorization.

Following Xu Wenqing's instructions, the soldiers layered six soaked, thick cotton quilts onto two side-by-side tables tied together, successfully creating a "makeshift tank." Several strong, skilled grenade throwers pushed this behemoth slowly towards the enemy-occupied hilltop. The terrified remaining enemy opened fire on the makeshift tank with several machine guns. The officers and soldiers present held their breath, fearing that the soldiers behind the tables might be injured.

The result was unexpected. The machine gun bullets hit the wet cotton blankets, producing only a dull "thud" sound, and had no other effect. The soldiers behind the earthen tank were unharmed and continued to advance.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the hilltop, the expert grenadiers carefully retrieved the Molotov cocktails wrapped in soft cloth, estimated the distance, and began throwing them. The remaining Zhejiang soldiers, mistaking them for grenades, frantically searched for cover. However, some skilled and daring individuals wielded rifles with such precision that they struck a Molotov cocktail with the butt of their rifle, as if hitting a baseball. Upon witnessing this, Xu Wenqing couldn't help but suspect that he had encountered a reincarnated individual, someone who must have been a baseball player in their previous life, and a rather skilled one at that.

Unexpectedly, the smug, supposedly resurrected individual's face was immediately splattered with a mixture of gasoline from a shattered Molotov cocktail, and small flames flickered and sputtered. Leaving aside his fate—it's too disgusting to mention—the other officers, terrified by the spontaneously combusting flames, dropped their weapons and scattered in all directions with screams and cries, while machine guns, poised all around, aimed at them and spat out tongues of fire.

The prisoners, gathered together, watched from afar, trembling with fear. Many of the more timid ones even fell to the ground. From then on, they all became well-behaved, no longer displaying the resentment they had when they were first captured.

The extinguishing of the flames on the hilltop signaled the end of the battle. The 73rd Division's supplementary regiment had been completely annihilated; enemy corpses were piled up haphazardly into a small hill. The entire battlefield was still burning, and gusts of scorching mountain wind, carrying the foul stench of blood, wafted around Wild Boar Ridge, making the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield parched, nauseous, and suffocating. Looking up, they saw, amidst the gray-blue smoke, the bright red military flags fluttering in the hot wind.

Except for a few stragglers who deserted, the entire 73rd Division's supplementary regiment was annihilated. After a final count, a total of more than 330 prisoners were captured alive.

The 58th Regiment of the 19th Division of the Red Army, also known as the Special Service Regiment, was undertaking its first major independent operation. It was also the first time these hungry tigers had officially come down from the mountain. Once they caught their prey, they left hardly any bones behind—they were truly ruthless! And that wasn't all; He Feng's real show was yet to come!

Not long after the battle ended, Political Commissar Zhao of the 58th Regiment, also known as the Special Service Regiment, arrived with the regimental supply company, escorted by the engineer battalion. Xu Wenqing went up to them and asked:

"Political Commissar Zhao, there's no need to rush with the supply company!"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Shijie stretched out his hands and said helplessly:

"The supply company commander, Hu Chuankui, kept nagging in my ear, 'Hurry up, hurry up! If you're late, you won't make it in time for anything.'"

"Even though we rushed, we're still too late!"

Hu Chuankui, the company commander of the 58th Regiment's supply company, said dejectedly and squatted on the ground listlessly.

Xu Wenqing kicked his buttocks with his foot:

"Don't be discouraged. Get up quickly and organize the troops to clean up the battlefield. Let the main force rest and prepare to depart."

"What, they also have combat missions?"

The engineer battalion commander jumped up in a panic:

"So our engineer battalion is just a supply unit? No way, this mission will be carried out by our engineer battalion!"

Political Commissar Zhao looked at Xu Wenqing with a questioning gaze, and Xu Wenqing nodded to him and said:

"Political Commissar Zhao, speed is of the essence in war! We can't guarantee there won't be any survivors in this battle, so I'm going to execute the original plan ahead of schedule without any rest!"

"Just in case, I agree to act immediately!"

Zhao Shijie, the political commissar of the 58th Regiment, also believed that this was a more prudent approach.

The battalion commander of the engineering battalion stood by like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pacing anxiously. Seeing that the two leaders didn't even look at him, he knew that he had no chance again, and went to sullenly to arrange for the troops to clean up the battlefield.

The battle was over, but the political officers in the division were busy again, leading the logistics department to inventory the damaged belongings of the villagers in the mountains, preparing to compensate them at cost, and also doing some propaganda work among the people. They greeted the villagers from afar, speaking kindly:

"Fellow villagers, we are the Red Army, dedicated to redressing grievances and avenging the poor. We will overthrow the White Army reactionaries, and the poor will rise up and become masters of their own destiny!"

Several villagers looked at the soldiers with disbelief. Although the Red Army had told them as soon as they entered the village that they would not touch a single tree or blade of grass and that they would be compensated for any damage, few of the villagers believed them. In recent years, there had been many wars and they had seen many different armies. Let alone paying compensation, even if they only robbed some things without beating or killing anyone, they were considered good soldiers!

When the villagers saw the silver dollars handed to them by the Red Army, they could hardly believe their eyes. It took them a long time to react, and they kept saying:

"Thank God, we've run into a group of bodhisattva soldiers!"

Facts speak louder than words. After receiving compensation, the people enthusiastically launched activities to support the army, such as boiling water, cooking eggs, and inviting the soldiers to their homes for a chat.

At nine o'clock in the evening, with the help of the local people, the engineering battalion finished cleaning up the battlefield. The battalion commander came over to report with a beaming smile, his earlier gloom gone.

"Reporting to the division commander, regimental commander, and political commissar, we've struck it rich this time! We've captured countless spoils! I never imagined a mere supplementary regiment could be so lucrative!"

"What good stuff did they seize?"

Political Commissar Zhao of the 58th Regiment asked with great interest.

Song Shuren, the political director of the 58th Regiment, who followed behind, also reported with a beaming smile:

"More than 800 rifles and pistols, 100,000 rounds of ammunition were seized; 54 light and heavy machine guns, and more than a dozen of them were damaged and unusable; more than 6,000 hand grenades; 6 mortars and 300 shells; one vehicle and a batch of other supplies."

The leaders of the 58th Regiment, who were receiving instructions for the next mission, immediately changed their expressions upon hearing about the large amount of spoils. This wasn't out of joy, but rather out of fear. If they hadn't properly concealed their positions and the artillery battalion hadn't arrived, even if they had defeated the enemy, their own regiment would have suffered heavy casualties, resulting in a lose-lose situation.