roccoschili Chapter 44 Intelligence: Preparing for a surprise attack on the Japanese 6th Division
Chapter 44 Intelligence: Preparing for a surprise attack on the Japanese 6th Division
Whether it was Zhu Chi, Hua Pinzhang, or Han Xianyuan, they all subconsciously swallowed.
They were really hungry. They only ate one meal a day, and just building trenches and fortifications used up most of their energy.
Seeing the gleam in their eyes as they stared intently at the can of food in his hand, Li Jianghe knew these men must be starving.
"How about... you eat first?"
Li Jianghe handed over the canned food.
Zhu Chi took it, then turned to Han Xianyuan and Hua Pinzhang and said:
"Assemble the troops, time to eat!"
The two answered in unison and turned to run towards the military camp.
Looking at the can of beef in his hand, Zhu Chi saluted Li Jianghe again and said:
"Commander Li, thank you so much! Once we overcome this challenge, our 262nd Brigade will repay you with the greatest gratitude!"
He knew all too well how important these ammunition and food supplies were to them.
Compared to ammunition, weapons, and medicine, food is relatively cheap within the system.
Killing a Japanese soldier earns you merit points, which can be exchanged for 1000 kilograms of rice or flour.
The canned food that was delivered this time wasn't too expensive; we could get it by killing a few more Japanese soldiers.
The soldiers of the 262nd Brigade quickly assembled and lined up to receive canned food and compressed biscuits.
They had never seen these compressed biscuits before; they felt like a brick in their hands.
Han Xianyuan walked over, holding the compressed biscuit, and said:
"Commander Li, what is this? I've never seen it before. Is it food?"
When Li Jianghe saw it, he thought to himself, "No wonder. This thing is as hard as a brick, making it hard to associate with food."
He opened a package of compressed biscuits, then forcefully broke off a corner and handed it to Han Xianyuan, saying:
"Brother Han, have a taste."
Han Xianyuan was skeptical, but he put the compressed biscuit into his mouth and began to chew it.
It's a bit dry and hard, but the more you chew, the more you feel a rich aroma filling your mouth.
"These are... cookies?"
Han Xianyuan suddenly realized.
"That's right, but these are compressed biscuits. Just this small piece is enough to make a meal."
Li Jianghe said with a smile.
Actually, you can redeem various foods within his system, but compressed biscuits, canned goods, and basic grains offer the best value for money.
Li Jianghe doesn't have many merit points right now, after all, just feeding and drinking these 5,000 people every day is a huge drain on resources.
After the food and ammunition were distributed, Zhu Chi took out the can of beef again, scooped out a piece of beef, and chewed it slowly.
Through the donation of ammunition and food, the two units quickly established a strong camaraderie.
As for Zhu Chi, Hua Pinzhang, and the others, they originally had some stereotypes about the ragtag army, but when they heard that Li Jianghe was fighting alongside Xie Jinyuan at the Sihang Warehouse, they naturally put aside their superficial prejudices.
With the ammunition and supplies practically given away for free, these guys now wish they could just become sworn brothers with Li Jianghe.
Before long, several motorcycles approached, humming as they drove towards them.
The person who arrived was none other than Lin Yongzhi, who had gone ahead to scout.
Before arriving at Yuhuatai, Li Jianghe had no intention of waiting patiently for the main force of the Japanese army to attack. Instead, he asked Chief of Staff Xiao Shen for the right to act according to circumstances.
For Li Jianghe, the most important thing right now is to fight the Japanese.
We need to fight the Japanese to capture more ammunition and supplies; we can't just sit around and do nothing.
"Commander, we've completed the reconnaissance. We've discovered a Japanese supply camp on the west side of Niushou Mountain, with at most a company of Japanese soldiers and an artillery position, but it's protected by Japanese infantry positions on both sides."
Lin Yongzhi, a man of broad build, stood in front of Li Jianghe to report to his superiors.
Having just finished a can of beef and feeling refreshed, Zhu Chi's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"What, is there some action?"
Before Li Jianghe's troops arrived here, he had already received orders from Chief of Staff Xiao Shen to cooperate with Li Jianghe in combat. In other words, the two were not in a superior-subordinate relationship.
Of course, in terms of troop strength, Li Jianghe's more than 3,000 men even outnumbered Zhu Chi's 262nd Brigade.
Li Jianghe didn't intend to hide anything and said directly:
"Yes, isn't the Japanese 6th Division launching a fierce attack on Niushou Mountain? I want to make some moves."
"Niushou Mountain? There is indeed a lot of fighting there now, but the Japanese 6th Division is a first-class division, and it has just landed in Hangzhou Bay. It is full of vigor at this time."
As the brigade commander of the 88th Division, Zhu Chi mainly fought against Japanese first-class divisions in the Zhabei area.
As one of the most elite troops in China at the time, Zhu Chi could clearly feel the strength of the Japanese army when he was fighting in the Zhabei area.
Not only in terms of weaponry and equipment, but also in terms of the quality of its soldiers, they were in no way inferior to the elite soldiers of the 88th Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
In contemporary China, the only well-equipped and highly trained units similar to the 88th Division are the Central Army Training Corps, the Tax Police Corps, and six German-trained divisions.
It is easy to imagine that launching a surprise attack on the Sixth Division now would be extremely risky.
Li Jianghe could understand Zhu Chi's concerns. In addition, their orders were to hold Yuhuatai, and launching an attack now would indeed be very risky.
"Don't worry, Commander Zhu, I'm quite confident that we can win this battle quickly and decisively. We won't be bogged down by the Japanese."
Li Jianghe said with great confidence.
Xu Dingguo, the commander of the Fifth Regiment, who was standing to the side, also said:
"Brigade Commander Zhu, you may not know this, but Regiment Commander Li is best at blitzkrieg. Before the Japanese can even react, the battle on our side is already over."
"Blitzkrieg?"
Zhu Chi was somewhat surprised, but upon further reflection, with so many trucks and motorcycles, Li Jianghe's troops certainly deserved the title "lightning" in terms of mobility.
At this moment, Hua Pinzhang leaned over and said:
"Sir, how about we...?"
Zhu Chi replied:
"Well... we need to inform the division headquarters first."
Zhu Chi also wanted to go, but he didn't have the authority to act arbitrarily like Li Jianghe; he had to report to the division headquarters first.
Li Jianghe could understand Zhu Chi's predicament. Unlike himself, Zhu Chi was not unrestrained and could fight however he wanted.
"It's alright, it's not dark yet, there's still time. If Brigade Commander Zhu wants to come along, then this surprise attack will be three times more successful."
"Okay, I will give Commander Li a definite answer as soon as possible."
After Zhu Chi finished speaking, he returned to the brigade headquarters, intending to make an application to Sun Yuanliang, the commander of the 88th Division.
As for Li Jianghe, he also began to work with Xu Dingguo and others to formulate relevant battle plans.
Li Jianghe decided to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese 6th Division mainly due to three factors.