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July 17, 1923. Liaoning Province, Fengshan County, Tangshan City.

The sound of the cannon roaring suddenly fell silent, and then there was an earth-shattering shout of killing.

Since yesterday morning, it has been pouring heavy rain in the area of Phoenix Mountain, and there is still no sign of stopping. In the muddy hills, the Wehrmacht infantry once again charged in the rain. Their target was Tangshan Castle, a small town on the branch line of the South Manchurian Railway, which was the headquarters of the 14th Division of the Japanese Army and the only stronghold of the Korean Army on the north bank of the Yalu River! The remnants of the Japanese 13th and 14th Divisions, less than 3,000 men, were entrenched in a trench around Tangshan Castle and were putting up desperate resistance.

Now commanding this remnant is Lieutenant General Takao Suzuki, commander of the 14th Division. The previous commander-in-chief, the commander of the 13th Division, Kitaro Inoue, and his division headquarters lost contact after the Chinese army raid began, and the gunfire in the area of Bianmen Town, where the 13th Division headquarters was located, also completely stopped on the night of July 13, and it is estimated that all the Japanese troops in that area have been shattered into gods!

And now, it's the turn of the 14th Utsunomiya Division, which was established at the end of the Russo-Japanese War, to shatter! Takao Suzuki sighed softly and raised his binoculars to look out of the headquarters. The Chinese soldiers were charging against the Japanese machine-gun fire, many of them were hit and fell into the muddy water, and the rest were still struggling forward, and the front ones had already rushed into the tattered forward positions of the Japanese army, and the bayonets were shining with cold light.

The counter-charge of the Japanese army also began. I saw a Japanese captain waving a saber and jumping out of the trench and rushing towards the Chinese army, and then more Japanese officers and soldiers also crawled out of the trench. That trench was the last barrier of Tangshan City. Once lost, Tangshan Town will be unable to hold on. As for the walls of Tangshan City, they have long been demolished by the heavy artillery of the Chinese army. The Japanese army is now desperately struggling, the soldiers who can move have been filled in, and the staff officers of the division and regimental headquarters have also gone to the front line. As for the artillery, it has long been gone, and the positions of the 13th Field Artillery Wing and the 14th Field Artillery Wing are not in Tangshan City, and they cannot be contacted in the early morning of the 13th, and I don't know if they were wiped out by the heavy artillery of the Chinese army. Or was it terminated by the Chinese infantry? In short, there is no zài, and now there are only a few mortars bombarding indiscriminately with one cannon and no artillery, which can be regarded as showing the preservation of Japanese artillery, right?

Without the support of artillery fire, the Japanese defense of Tangshan town could only be filled with human lives. At first, the remnants of the two divisions gathered around Tangshan Castle were more than 12,000 people, and after four days of hard fighting, more than 9,000 people have fallen on this mountain ground. Looking down from the heights of Tangshan Castle, the cyan mountains had been turned black. The mountains and valleys were full of corpses in khaki uniforms, most of which were the corpses of Japanese officers and soldiers!

A ragged Japanese communications soldier rushed into Suzuki's headquarters with a rolling belt, and he didn't know the military salute, so he reported it directly. "Your Excellency, Division Commander...... The China Army, the vanguard of the China Army, has crossed the Yalu River to occupy ...... Occupy Sinuiju! Moreover, they also fostered a provisional government of the Republic of Korea, and the tycoon of the Korean rebel Ji was appointed as the interim president of the Republic of Korea! ”

"What? Is there such a thing? Takao Suzuki was stunned. The eyebrows tightened. The breakthrough of the Chinese army on the Yalu River defense line was expected, and the 13th and 14th Divisions were shattered, leaving only two divisions of the entire Korean army, one of which was deployed on the Sino-Japanese (Korean) border near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. The other division was originally defending the middle of the Sino-Japanese (Korean) border, and in a hurry there was no time to move westward. Therefore, the border line in the lower reaches of the Yalu River is almost undefended, and it is normal for the Chinese army to take the opportunity to break through. But it is somewhat unexpected that the Chinese have set up a provisional government of the Republic of Korea!

"Your Excellency, Division Commander. It seems that the Chinese are going to fight the empire to the end! "It was Kita Issei Daisa, chief of staff of the 14th Division, who was originally fat-headed and big-eared Japanese devil who lost weight in a few days, and his military uniform felt a little loose on his body.

Takao Suzuki's face is also not good-looking. If China and Japan want to fight to the end, it means that the truce will not come soon! Then there are less than 3,000 Japanese troops here in Tangshan City, and it will be impossible to escape death. Although Suzuki Takao has been hanging up on the gods and jade fragments every day in the past two days, he still hopes to save his life in his heart! It's a complete despair now.

He whispered, "Kita-kun, it seems that it is really hopeless. In recent years, the empire has implemented harsh rule in Korea, and more than 10 million Koreans are like a long-suppressed volcano, and now it is time for a full-scale eruption! We really shouldn't have crossed the Yalu River, Manchuria can't get it, and North Korea will be ruined...... It seems that we are all sinners of the empire, and we can't enter the Yasukuni Shrine even if we die, right? ”

At this moment, the earth-shattering cheers suddenly came to mind, and it was the sound of "Long live" shouted in Chinese. Takao Suzuki turned his head to look, and saw that a blue sky and white sky and red flag had been planted on the last trench outside Tangshan City! Chinese soldiers in khaki uniforms are pouring into this small mountain city by walking through the ruins of the walls of Tangshan City.

Takao Suzuki smiled bitterly and looked at Kita Kassei. "Kita-kun, our time is up, please help me make a mistake!"

On the evening of July 17, 1923, the remnants of the 13th Division and the 14th Division of the Japanese Korean Army were wiped out in Tangshan Town, Fengcheng County! On the same day, the 1st Division of the 1st Army of the Chinese National Defense Forces crossed the Yalu River and occupied Sinuiju on the Yalu River. The blue sky and the white sun are full of red flags and Taiji flags fluttering on the walls of Sinuiju at the same time!

……

At the same time, two British-made E-type submarines flying the flag of the Chinese Navy also quietly sailed out of the heavily guarded Qingdao Military Port in a misty drizzle.

Feng Yundong, who has attained the rank of major general and has become the commander of the submarine command of the Chinese Navy, is wearing a waterproof operation suit and standing on the bridge of the submarine, half of his body leaning outside, looking at the two R-class destroyers parked in the Lushun Military Port with a high-powered telescope.

Major Jiang Mosan, the new captain of submarine 001, climbed up from the submarine cabin at this time, and said to Feng Yundong with a smile: "Commander Feng." The radio had just received news that the 13th and 14th divisions of the Japanese army had been completely wiped out. The First Army of the Wehrmacht has already fought the Yalu River! ”

"Got it." Feng Yundong nodded expressionlessly, still concentrating on observing the two destroyers in the harbor.

Jiang Mosan looked in the direction pointed by Feng Yundong's telescope, and saw that the two warships were hidden in the heavy rain, very blurry. He frowned slightly. "How come there are two warships there?"

"It's two R-class destroyers!" Feng Yundong said.

"** and Pu slogan? When did they come to Qingdao? Jiang Mosan was stunned for a moment, took the telescope from Feng Yundong's hand and looked at the two warships, and sure enough, they were R-class destroyers.

"I guess I came last night, right?" Feng Yundong smiled and shook his head. "Seeing that a big battle is about to be fought at the mouth of the Yangtze River, they actually slipped to Qingdao, what is the Admiralty's plan......

Jiang Mosan had already put down the telescope at this time. "Yizhi. It's none of our business, so don't think about it. Let's take a good look at the sneak attack on the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Intelligence says there are hundreds of warships, and there are more than a dozen battleships and battlecruisers alone! If they are allowed to pour into the mouth of the Yangtze River, Shanghai will have to be blown into rubble! ”

Feng Yundong snorted, looked at Jiang Mosan, who was full of anxiety, and said with a smile: "Look, you're in a hurry, aren't you just buying a house in Shanghai, and not in Yangshupu and Pudong." The Japanese can't bombard your house. ”

Jiang Mosan gritted his teeth and said, "Can you not be in a hurry!" The newspapers have said that the housing prices in Shanghai are diving every day! Since the beginning of the war, it has fallen by fifty percent! Lao Tzu saved money and spent three years to scrape together enough money to buy a house with a down loan...... This time, it fell into negative equity! Lao Tzu is going bankrupt! ”

Feng Yundong blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "I can't break the production, when the time comes to shoot torpedoes, aim a little bit, and sink a few more Japanese battleships?" A battleship is worth 100,000 Chinese dollars (bonus)! ”

"It's easy to say! The battleship was not a merchant ship, and the armor was thick. There are also waterproof compartments, which can't sink even a few torpedoes. ”

While the two were talking, they heard the voice of the communications officer coming from the submarine's cabin. "Commander Feng, captain, received a telegram. The warships of the French reported that four Japanese battlecruisers and eight destroyers had just passed through the Tsushima Strait in the direction of Shanghai! The current location is east longitude xx. Latitude xx north, speed 15 knots. ”

Feng Yundong patted Jiang Mosan's shoulder and said with a smile: "Mosan, do you see, the banknotes have been delivered to the door!" Let's go down and figure out where we can intercept them. ”

Jiang Mosan's arithmetic is excellent, and he already has the answer after a little mental arithmetic. "The Tsushima Strait is about 420 nautical miles from the mouth of the Yangtze River, and it can be reached in 28 hours at a speed of 15 knots. If you take the Z-shaped route, it's hard to say, it will take about 40 hours. ”

"It must be on a Z-shaped route." Feng Yundong thought for a moment and said. "We can also reach 15 knots on floating, and Qingdao is only more than 200 nautical miles from the mouth of the Yangtze River, so it seems that we can ambush it halfway. If you're lucky, you'll be able to take out a Japanese armored cruiser! ”

"Then it doesn't matter where the Yangtze River estuary?" Jiang Mosan asked rhetorically.

"It doesn't matter, there is a minefield to support it, and the Japanese will not be able to break through for a while." Feng Yundong paused, and then said: "And there are too many Japanese ships there, if our two submarines force their core, even if they sink the Japanese battleships, they won't be able to get out!" Lao Tzu can't do this kind of business, Lao Tzu's life has to be kept as the Minister of Naval Orders! ”

……

With a long whistle, a steam locomotive produced by China ** Industry Group dragged a few short carriages into Shanghai North Railway Station. Behind this train was a train full of heavy artillery, and between the two locomotives, one in front and one behind, were 36 flatbed cars, and on each flatbed was placed a huge cannon wrapped in a cannon jacket! Judging from the thickness of the barrels alone, the caliber of these huge cannons must have exceeded 200mm, and they should be the 1917 220mm heavy howitzers imported from France before the war, right?

The eyes of celebrities from all walks of life in Shanghai and senior officers of the National Defense Forces stationed in Shanghai who greeted Chang Ruiqing on the platform were all attracted by the huge cannons of this train, and only General Lu Yixuan, commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou garrison, stood there calmly and reservedly. Looking closely at his face, you can still see a hint of anxiety behind the apparent calm. The combined fleet of the Japanese army is pouring out! There are now as many as 15 battleships and battlecruisers that can be confirmed! Any one of them. None of this French 1917 model 220mm heavy howitzer was able to deal with! Although he has not studied the navy, he still understands the principles of armor protection that are currently common in the navies of various countries. Theoretically. The armor of battleships and battlecruisers had to be able to withstand the bombardment of their own main guns! The caliber of the main guns of the 15 Japanese battleships and battlecruisers was greater than 305mm! Although they may not be able to withstand the bombardment of 305mm caliber heavy guns, these 220mm heavy howitzers, as well as the 7-inch cannons of Gaoqiao Fort and Wusongkou Battery, 194mm powerful cannons, and even 240mm fortress guns are unable to sink or severely damage them. Once these Japanese battleships and battlecruisers were allowed to rush into the mouth of the Yangtze River, the prosperous Shanghai Tang would probably be in ruins! Alas, how is this Standing Chairman not in a hurry? There was still a jubilant look on his face, could it be that he really didn't know how powerful the Japanese Navy was?

Chang Ruiqing had already come down from the special train with a ticket attaché at this time, and saw him wearing a straight military uniform of the Marshal of the National Defense Army. There was also a gold Blue Sky and White Sun medal hanging on his chest, and his face was full of smiles that could not be concealed. He shouted at the crowd that came to greet him: "Good news for everyone!" Just today, our invincible Wehrmacht Army has achieved four more victories! The 13th and 14th Divisions of the Japanese Korean Army and the 19th and 20th Divisions of the Japanese Far East Army have been completely annihilated! Now our Second Army has crossed the Yalu River and planted the banner of blue sky and white sun and red ground on the head of Sinuiju! The five armies of our Fifth Army and the First Army are fiercely pursuing the remnants of the four divisions of the Japanese Far East Army, and it is estimated that they will soon be able to wipe them all out! ”

"Long live the Wehrmacht!" "Long live the Standing Chairman!" On the platform, a vote of Shanghai celebrities and gentry are all like people, Chang Ruiqing's voice fell, and some people began to take the lead in shouting Long live! Chang Ruiqing waved his hand to these people with a very leaderly demeanor. Then he strode up to Lu Yixuan. Lu Yixuan saluted him, and Chang Ruiqing took the hand of his henchman with a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Zixiu, the battle of Shanghai should be the last big battle in this war!" Now the Japanese were defeated in Manchuria, the Far East and Korea. As long as Shanghai defeats them again, we can beat Japan! ”

After speaking, he and Lu Yixuan walked side by side towards a VIP passage that had been arranged. The officers and men of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Headquarters and the Shanghai Military Police Headquarters were heavily armed there, except for Chang Ruiqing and Lu Yixuan. There are also their attachés, no one is allowed to pass guò.

After entering the VIP passage, Lu Yixuan sighed, and his worried expression could no longer be hidden. Chang Ruiqing smiled and said, "Zixiu, don't worry. Four more 220 heavy artillery regiments and five 155 cannon regiments will arrive in Shanghai today and tomorrow. Plus the heavy artillery of the Gaoqiao Fortress and the Wusongkou Fortress. Our firepower is no weaker than that of the Japanese Combined Fleet! ”

Lu Yixuan heard Chang Ruiqing's words, and said with a wry smile: "Chairman." You're wrong this time! The firepower of the Japanese Combined Fleet is much stronger than ours! Our firepower is enough to bully the Japanese Army, but we really can't deal with other people's navy! We don't have super-large caliber heavy guns above 300mm! ”

Chang Ruiqing laughed: "Brother Zixiu, don't worry, the mouth of the Yangtze River has been blocked with sunken ships and mines, and there are still our submarine activities in the East China Sea, and the Japanese can't get in." ”

Lu Yixuan smiled bitterly: "It's a matter of time." There will always be a time when the mines will be cleared, and the sunken ships will be picked up by the Japanese sooner or later. When the time comes, as long as they spare a few old-fashioned battleships and battle cruisers, they will be able to destroy our Gaoqiao and Wusongkou fortresses. At that time, I am afraid that this big Shanghai will be reduced to rubble. ”

"Zixiu, how much time are you sure to keep? Will it make it to September? Chang Ruiqing asked.

"September?" Lu Yixuan frowned, he didn't know what special meaning this time had? Could it be that in September, the Japanese had to go home before they entered the Yangtze River?

"Can you stay until September?" Chang Ruiqing asked again.

"It's not a big problem, it's almost late July now, and I can always hold it for more than ten days a month." Lu Yixuan made a silent calculation in his heart. "It will take time to clear mines, salvage sunken ships, and fight for the three islands of Chongming, Changxing, and Hengsha."

Chang Ruiqing nodded, and asked again: "How is the situation of Wusongkou Fortress and Gaoqiao Fortress?" Is it sturdy enough? Can it withstand the shelling of Japanese battleships? ”

"Of course, that's impossible, the main fortifications of these two fortresses can only defend against 305mm caliber naval guns at close range at most, and if it is a 356mm naval gun, it can still carry a few rounds at a distance of 20 kilometers." Lu Yixuan said. "But their Nagato-class is armed with 410mm guns, and the range is up to 30 kilometers! If the Japanese really let go out and use the Nagato-class to break through the defense, the fortresses of Wusongkou and Takahashi would not be able to withstand a few cannons at all. ”

Chang Ruiqing still looked confident. "They are reluctant, how difficult is it for Little Japan to save a Nagato-class? Elementary school students across the country have donated their pocket money. If you casually let our mines and torpedo boats sink them, you want the commander of their combined fleet to give us an explanation? ”