bullyxtreme Chapter 1113 Two Years Have Passed, and the Situation Has Changed
Chapter 1113 Two Years Have Passed, and the Situation Has Changed
While Wang Ai was guarding Chongqing, A Xing and his family stayed in Shanghai, where he became the bishop of the Tiantong Cathedral.
During the day, he dressed in proper clerical robes and received believers displaced by the war in the church.
At night, he would change into black clothes, transforming into the Grim Reaper who roamed the darkness, sweeping away lone Japanese soldiers, traitors, and spies.
During this period, although most of the Chinese army had withdrawn, a small force remained to hold key positions and provide cover. They were required to hold out until the end of an international conference in order to condemn the Japanese aggression and garner international attention and support.
This small unit fought a very difficult and tragic battle, and Ah Xing also provided assistance to them many times.
While this small force was fighting a hard battle, the Japanese pirate army had already moved at full speed, pursuing them westward and northward, and was unstoppable, breaking through several lines of defense and pointing its sword directly at the capital.
When the Chinese army retreated, it set up three lines of defense. The day after the Japanese pirates broke through the second line of defense, Chiang Kai-shek announced that the capital would be moved to Chongqing and the original capital would be abandoned.
At this critical juncture, a general insisted on holding the position to the death and fighting the enemy to the end. Chiang Kai-shek immediately appointed him as the commander to guard the area.
This commander was a disciple of the Tantric Buddhist master Jingyuan, nicknamed the Buddhist General. He had once commanded the Hunan Army and was the superior of Zhang Qishan, also known as Zhang Dafoye.
This time, after volunteering, he immediately made a public declaration: "As long as I live, the city will stand; if the city falls, I will die."
At this critical juncture, Wang Ai led a large fleet of ships through the area under the pretext of transporting supplies.
Normally, cargo ships would reload with supplies locally before returning, but this time, Wang Ai's fleet returned empty. When passing through the area, he sold tickets for one cent in the name of the Tiantong Church, intending to take a large number of people away from the area.
This was something Zhang Zhiwei had arranged for him before he went to his meditation retreat. Wang Ai had been preparing for it for a long time, and in addition to this fleet, there were several other fleets on their way.
This place originally had a million residents. During this period, many people felt a sense of impending doom, especially after the capital was moved away. A large number of people began to move to other places. Over the past few months, hundreds of thousands of people have moved away.
Of these hundreds of thousands of people, nearly 100,000 are public officials and their families. The rest are students and teachers of universities and colleges, business owners, wealthy citizens, intellectuals, and other groups with economic means and access to resources. This is the main force of the civilian evacuation.
Of the remaining hundreds of thousands, most were ordinary citizens at the time, such as rickshaw pullers, porters, small vendors, workers, and the poor. Most of them barely made ends meet with their daily wages and had no savings to support their long-distance migration.
The large number of cargo ships brought by Wang Ai, with almost free tickets, gave these people an opportunity. A large number of ordinary people boarded these cargo ships and left the city.
However, these cargo ships did not take everyone with them. Firstly, there were simply too many people, and the cargo ships had limited capacity, so they needed to be taken away in multiple batches.
Secondly, not everyone is willing to leave. Many middle-class citizens who own shops, workshops, and properties have their life savings here. How can they bear to abandon their businesses and move far away to live a life of wandering?
Moreover, during this period, foreign nationals established safe zones and were protected by international law, leading many to believe that the situation might not be so bad.
Two days after the first batch of cargo ships left, the second batch arrived, again charging only one cent for tickets, and carrying away a large number of people.
But when the third batch of cargo ships arrived, the rules changed.
To demonstrate his determination to defend the Yangtze River to the death, the Buddhist general adopted a "do-or-die" strategy, deciding to blockade the ferry crossings and cut off his own retreat. He ordered the confiscation and destruction of most of the ferries on the Yangtze River, intending to fight a "do-or-die" battle. The third batch of cargo ships arrived just in time for this order and were immediately taken away.
Wang Ai went to persuade them in person, but was met with a rebuff and had no effect whatsoever.
At that very moment, Liu Mang was leading his army in a fierce battle against the main force of the Japanese pirates on the west bank of Taihu Lake, in the area where Anhui and Zhejiang provinces meet, engaging in a desperate resistance.
Although Liu Mang's army had been reinforced, even after the reinforcements, there was still a significant gap in equipment compared to the Japanese pirates. Moreover, these Japanese pirates were the elite of the elite, having been trained for many years, making the battle very difficult.
Even so, they still annihilated thousands of Japanese pirates, buying precious time for the relocation of the capital.
Wang Ai rushed over because Liu Mang was ambushed by several enemy ninjas while commanding the battle. Even though he used a forbidden technique that burned his life force to kill all the attacking ninjas, he was still seriously injured and coughed up blood.
Wang Ai immediately shifted his attention to Liu Mang. He had a healing talisman given to him by Zhang Zhiwei, and he wanted to save Liu Mang.
……
Meanwhile, another major battle began, with 200,000 Japanese pirates attacking from three directions, engaging in fierce fighting with the defending forces.
The Japanese invaders concentrated heavy artillery and aircraft to bombard the positions, turning them into scorched earth. A large number of defenders bravely fought back and refused to retreat. Many brigade and regimental commanders led the charge, preferring to sacrifice themselves rather than retreat. The most elite training corps at the time fought to the death and was almost completely wiped out.
Seeing that the battle situation was unfavorable, the headquarters convened a meeting of generals and issued a verbal order to retreat, requiring them to break through the encirclement.
That night, the Buddhist general, who had previously telegraphed the entire country that "the city exists as long as we live, and the city dies as we die," arrived at the riverbank with a troop of guards.
On the vast river, only a small steamboat was moored.
"General, are you really leaving?"
"A person's life is as fleeting as a plant's in autumn; its flourishing and withering are ordained by Heaven."
"Have you ever thought that if you leave, you will be condemned for all eternity?"
"The water... is too cold!"
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The Buddhist general left, but the retreat turned into a disaster. The desperate measures taken before the battle, such as destroying the ferries, demonstrated his determination, but in the retreat, they cut off the lives of most people.
Not long after, the city fell!
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Meanwhile, at Jiangcheng General Hospital, when Wang Ai learned of this news, she plopped down in the hospital corridor, her eyes wide open and bloodshot, speechless for a long time.
"Senior Brother Zhang, it seems like this matter has been botched!" he muttered to himself.
In the ward next door lay Liu Mang. He had arrived too late, even though he had a healing talisman that Zhang Zhiwei had used to seal the power of the Red Hand.
But Liu Mang's biggest problem now is not his injuries, but the fact that he used a life-threatening technique similar to the tortoise-fly technique in order to kill the enemy. He is already exhausted and will not last long even if his injuries are healed.
During this time, Liu Mang was actively making arrangements for his affairs after his death, including the fate of his troops and his last words:
—"Fight to the end, never wavering, until the enemy withdraws from our borders, the Sichuan Army will never return home!"
Shortly after Liu Mang's death, the Japanese pirates pressed their advantage, capturing several important towns in succession, aiming to open up the northern and southern battlefields, and began their attack on Pengcheng.
Thus began the Battle of Pengcheng. The Japanese pirates attacked Pengcheng from the south and north.
They marched north, but were blocked by our army. Using the Huai River and mountains, they resisted step by step, engaging in repeated back-and-forth battles, keeping them south of the Huai River and preventing them from marching north to join forces.
Another route headed south, and the main force of this route split into two, aiming to strike directly at the gateway to Pengcheng.
One group of Japanese pirates launched a fierce attack on Langya, attempting to join forces with another group at the First Manor Under Heaven, and then besiege Pengcheng.
The Langya garrison fought fiercely and was almost completely wiped out. At this time, General Zhang, who had a grudge against the Langya garrison during the Central Plains War, put aside his grudge and led a large army on a 180-mile march in one day and night, arriving ahead of time far beyond the expectations of the Japanese pirates and catching them off guard.
Faced with national enmity, the two generals put aside their differences with a smile, launched a pincer attack from within and without, severely damaged the Japanese pirates, severed one arm of the southward-bound pirates, and left the other pirates isolated.
Meanwhile, in order to cover the defense of the No. 1 Manor in the world, the Sichuan Army, which had gone out of Sichuan to fight, fought a bloody battle in Teng County for three days and three nights. The division commander was killed in action, and the entire division was almost wiped out.
Subsequently, the Japanese pirates stormed into the number one village in the world, beginning a brutal and protracted war of attrition. In the end, this isolated force of Japanese pirates was routed and fled in panic, leaving behind more than 10,000 corpses, as well as a large number of tanks, artillery, and vehicles...
This battle was also the first major victory on the main battlefield, which greatly boosted morale after a series of defeats.
This crushing defeat enraged the Japanese pirates, who immediately and frantically reinforced their troops, amassing an army of 300,000 and advancing from the north and south to encircle them from all sides.
Upon seeing this, our commander made a decisive decision to abandon Pengcheng and break out of the encirclement to preserve our strength.
Thus, the Battle of Pengcheng came to an end.
After occupying Pengcheng, the almost frenzied Japanese pirates wanted to take Lücheng directly and then take Jiangcheng along the railway.
In an effort to delay this progress, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the breaching of the dike. At that time, it was the flood season, and the Yellow River was surging southward, trapping the Japanese tanks, cars, and heavy artillery in the silt. This forced the Japanese to abandon their plan and buy them about three precious months to deploy defenses around Wuhan.
But the consequences were disastrous; three provinces were turned into a swamp, and millions of people were left homeless and without food. It was a major strategic failure.
After the disaster, the Tian Tong Church began to allocate a large amount of its resources to disaster relief.
Meanwhile, the Battle of Jiangcheng began.
Jiangcheng was the center of China at that time, with a large number of factories and resources located there. It would take time to move them to Chongqing.
In this great battle, our side assembled a million-strong army, thirty warships, and two hundred aircraft—this was our entire strength.
The Japanese invaders amassed 350,000 men, 4 aircraft carriers, over 500 planes, and countless heavy artillery and tanks, having staked their entire fortune.
They planned to advance from both the north and south, along the Yangtze River waterway and land routes on both banks, attempting to encircle and annihilate this main force of one million in the Jiangcheng area.
Our army's strategy was to trade space for time. Instead of holding Jiangcheng, we built multi-layered defenses in the vast surrounding area, resisting step by step to wear down and delay the Japanese invaders to the greatest extent possible, thus buying time for the transfer of supplies.
This battle was extremely brutal. The four battlefields formed a Great Wall of flesh and blood, with every inch of land being stained with blood. The Japanese pirates paid a heavy price. In one battle, an entire Japanese division was wiped out, with over 10,000 enemy soldiers killed.
Meanwhile, the troops of Hua Zhanghuaiyi, Tian Jinzhong and others launched an offensive, bombing railways, attacking strongholds and ambushing enemy forces everywhere, forcing the Japanese pirates who originally planned to go south to reinforce Jiangcheng to return to defend their city. Nearly 200,000 Japanese pirates were tied down.
When the Japanese pirates in Jiangcheng failed to capture the city, they turned around and launched a surprise attack on Yangcheng. The fall of Yangcheng cut off the last overseas arms supply line, leaving Jiangcheng an isolated city. Continuing to defend it would only lead to mutual destruction.
Left with no other choice, the commander ordered the abandonment of Jiangcheng, the preservation of the main force, and the westward retreat of the entire army to Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, and other regions.
This evacuation was an orderly retreat, without any collapse. More than 150 million tons of supplies and hundreds of factories had already been moved in advance, and hundreds of thousands of technical personnel had also been relocated to the rear areas of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan to preserve the vital lifeline, leaving only an empty city behind.
Thus, the Battle of Jiangcheng came to an end, marking the conclusion of the four major battles.
The Chinese military suffered approximately 400,000 casualties.
The Japanese pirates suffered 257,000 casualties, and their financial and military resources were exhausted, making it impossible for them to launch another war of national annihilation.
However, the million-strong army of China was not annihilated; instead, they all retreated to the southwest rear area, and industry and personnel all moved west to Chongqing.
At this point, the war entered a strategic stalemate phase.
The Japanese pirates began to hold their occupied territories, sweep behind enemy lines, and provoke incidents in certain areas.
China, on the other hand, traded space for time, stubbornly defending several core areas and wearing down the enemy in the long run.
After that, several more major battles broke out, but most of them ended in defeat, until the Battle of Changjun broke out.
A Japanese pirate army of 100,000 attacked Changjun. The commander in charge of defending Changjun in this battle was General Xue, who had wiped out a Japanese pirate division in the previous Battle of Jiangcheng. Zhang Qishan, the defense officer of Changjun, was one of his subordinates.
Over the years, Zhang Qishan had been stationed in Changjun. Seeing the flames of war approaching, he reorganized his army and summoned all the people of the Nine Gates, as well as various extraordinary people from different regions, to come and help. Even Chen Yulou, who had cooperated with him in previous years, brought people from the Unloading Ridge Gate to help.
With all forces united and working together, coupled with the commander's skillful command, the unique "Heavenly Furnace Strategy" was used to meet the enemy head-on. The enemy was resisted step by step, lured into a trap, and their supplies were cut off. Finally, a full-scale counterattack was launched, resulting in a crushing defeat for the Japanese pirates, with tens of thousands of casualties, and a disastrous retreat.
Time flows on, but the flames of war never cease.
During this period, Zhang Zhiwei stayed at the top of Tianmen Peak in Longhu Mountain, immersing himself in his own little world of the human body and entering a deep state of meditation.
In the past two years, he seemed to have truly turned into a lifeless stone statue, remaining completely still.
His breathing became extremely weak, sometimes only fluctuating slightly every ten days or so.
His heartbeat also slowed down to an extremely slow pace, as if he had entered some kind of deep hibernation.
The flames of war from the outside world engulfed most of China, and countless heroes and heroines sacrificed their lives in this bloody battle for the survival of the nation.
On the Loess Plateau in northwestern Shanxi, Zhang Huaiyi led the soldiers of the New First Regiment, defeating the Japanese pirates with such ferocity that they trembled in fear. He had already become the company commander of a reconnaissance company.
Actually, Zhang Huaiyi didn't want to be promoted; he just wanted to be a squad leader, or even a private. But what could he do when he had a seemingly reckless but actually shrewd regimental commander?
The regimental commander kept a close eye on him and eventually managed to get him into the position of reconnaissance company commander, which he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.
The regimental commander often commented on him: "Huaiyi, you're not bad as a company commander, let alone a reconnaissance company commander. You could be a battalion commander, but you can't be a regimental commander. Only Old Li can be a regimental commander." (End of Chapter)