Zhejiang, Ningbo Port, the front of the position of the 12th Army of the Fifth Front Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

Not long ago, the breakout and blocking battles that lasted for several days finally ended in a complete victory for the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The Kuomintang troops in Ningbo, who attempted to rescue Chiang Kai-shek's hometown of Fenghua County, were not only unable to tear through the Red Army's blockade, but instead consumed a large amount of ammunition and life, and suffered further blows.

At this moment, the former residence of Chiang Kai-shek in Fenghua had been planted with a red flag, and the main force of the Red Army attacking the surrounding counties had once again assembled outside the city of Ningbo, dividing and surrounding more than 20,000 stubborn enemies in Beilun Port, Zhenhai Port District, and several isolated strongholds in the urban area of Ningbo, and initially laid a victory.

But at the moment, Yu Jishi, who was stubbornly defending Ningbo, was still gritting his teeth, because this was already the easternmost point of the Zhejiang mainland, and if he retreated, he would have to go to the sea - and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was gearing up to launch a general offensive to drive all this stubborn enemy into the sea to feed the fish.

In the middle of the night, the smoke cleared, the moon had set, and the enemy positions in the distance were hidden in the darkness, and gradually became invisible. Hordes of Red Army soldiers came out of the trenches and sat down in company shifts on the open ground, ready to receive supplies, eat and rest—there were many people, but no fires were lit, only a few men carried clothed flashlights, pushed carts and boxes with great difficulty, and ran through the passages reserved in the crowd.

“…… Twenty...... Eight! "By a faint glimmer of light, one can see a soldier holding a magazine in his arms, and his clumsy hands are struggling to work on it." …… Twenty...... Nine! He let out a sigh of relief and handed the magazine to the people beside him. Monitor! The magazine is loaded! ”

“…… Well. All right. The squad leader answered, took the magazine, and casually took out another bullet from a cardboard box in front of him. Clicked into the magazine. “…… It's about to be a big battle. Thirty grains must be filled, just in case, and the compression spring will let it press. After a pause, he said, "I said that the dog is leftover, you can't play this technique, you still have to practice hard." ”

Reprimand for the squad leader. The little warrior named Gou Yu scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled hesitantly, "...... That one...... Monitor. I don't have a submachine gun. If you don't talk to the company commander and give me a handful, I will practice every day to ensure that I am well trained. ”

“…… It's so beautiful. Wait for you to be a soldier for two or three years. Let's talk again when you become a squad leader. The squad leader said as he inserted the magazine into his breast pocket. His military uniform had six long pockets for magazines. Five of them have already been loaded into magazines.

“…… Two or three years? I don't think it will take two or three years for this revolution to win. Gou Yu picked up the carton with bullets from the ground and handed it to the squad leader. …… After this battle is over and the whole of Zhejiang is liberated, I will take the squad leader home to eat haode. Our rice wine in Shaoxing is fragrant! ”

The squad leader put the bullet box into his satchel, took out two wooden-handled grenades from a basket next to him, and handed one to the dog. “…… Shaoxing rice wine? It's a famous souvenir! I've heard that it takes decades to be buried in a cellar before it tastes, right? ”

The little warrior Dog Remnant suddenly laughed. “…… How can it be so exaggerated, these years are in chaos. It's not easy to be able to cellar for three or five years. He unscrewed the moisture-proof cap of the grenade and threw it back into the basket, and carefully inserted the grenade into the bag around his waist. …… I have a jar of old wine that has been stored for three years at home, and the sake lees fish from the Taibai Restaurant in our town is delicious! When the time comes, you will be satisfied! ”

“…… Then go xiexie first! The squad leader nodded, "...... Later, when the Red Army hits my hometown in Henan, I will invite you to eat Henan cuisine! ”

“…… Oh? Squad leader, are you from Henan? The little warrior asked with some surprise.

“…… Yes, I used to be in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area. The squad leader said as he put another grenade in his waist pocket. …… If you want to talk about our Henan cuisine, then count the stewed noodles. Top haode noodles, to use mutton broth. The mutton bones and chicken bones were boiled thoroughly in the pot, and I watched the oil stars get up, and boiled until the soup was white, and then the mutton. Then, below, under the vermicelli, fungus, daylily, boiled until rotten. Put more mutton fat and chili peppers. He looked up with some nostalgia, "...... Ah! The one is oily, the face is soft and the one is slippery. The soup is fragrant. You can smell it a few streets away......"

Listening to the description of the squad leader, in fact, the dog leftover, who had never eaten good things a few times since he was a child, suddenly couldn't help but suck his saliva.

At this moment, they all smelled the aroma of food from far and near. It seems that someone has come over with a few foreign tin buckets. Then, someone was heard shouting in a low voice: "...... It's time to eat! It's time to eat! Comrades, hurry up and eat! ”

The hungry dog quickly got up, quickly took out his lunch box and held it to his chest, waiting for the cook to bring him food. There was only a clanging sound, and then there was a bang, and a large lump of fragrant rice fell into his lunch box, making the little soldier can't help but put his nose up and smell it, "...... Hey, don't come up, watch your nose! After a while, the lunch box added a few more weights, and a strong smell of meat came to the face.

- The tempting aroma of meat mixed with the aroma of spices and the spicy taste of chili peppers made the little warrior stick out his tongue and lick it, it was not soup, but oil and water. A salty, spicy flavor is his favorite taste.

“…… Yo, here's ...... Umeboshi stew! It's not the kind of deceitful dough, it's real pork belly! ”

In the face of this delicious food, the little soldier Gou Yu immediately barked happily - when he was fooled into the ranks of the Red Army before, the recruiting aunt patted her chest and said that after becoming a Red Army, she would definitely be able to eat enough and have meat every day. But after joining the army, the dog leftovers who have eaten the last meal all the year round are very entangled and find that after becoming a Red Army, it is true that they can eat enough, but the problem is ...... As long as you taste it, you will know that the kind of "ham sausage" that is distributed as meat is not real meat at all!

——The inferior ham sausages of small local factories in China in later generations were basically made with starch, soy protein, low-quality animal fat and scraps discarded from various slaughterhouses, and then added a large number of flavorings and preservatives. You can only deceive your mouth and stomach.

Although the Red Army soldiers of this era were generally hard-working and hard-working, it was common to gnaw bark and wild vegetables. But they are not stupid, and if they eat too much, they will know what this ham sausage is...... Of course. Even the fine starch was already a high-end food in this sad age, so most of the warriors made do with eating it as meat - but that didn't mean they didn't crave and look forward to real meat.

Therefore, the stew of plum vegetables before launching a general attack on Ningbo really made the soldiers overjoyed and demoralized.

“…… Don't eat too quickly, there's hot soup over there, as well as boiled sweet potatoes. If it's not enough, take it yourself. All-you-can-eat! The cook continued. But no one said anything more, everyone was burying their heads in hard work, and only heard a piece of Ding Zero. Mixed with gulps of sucking and chirping.

- Like a storm and clouds, the dog quickly consumed his own oily meal. Next, he wiped his mouth and picked up his teapot. I picked up the squad leader's teapot again. The cat ran over to make hot soup and put a few sweet potatoes in his pocket before returning.

The soup seems to be filled with seaweed and shrimp skin, and it is so hot that the whole body feels comfortable after one bite. The dog finished the sweet potato with the soup, raised his head and drank the soup, and finally burped comfortably. Just as he was about to get up, he was stopped by the squad leader.

“…… There is a big war about to be fought, and life and death are up to the sky. I still have a little good stuff hidden here, so there's no need to keep it. ”

The squad leader gathered the entire squad of fighters. Then he took out a small round can from his bosom and mysteriously showed off, saying, "...... This is the canned red sausage I brought from Shanghai, which is much stronger than those ham sausages that can't taste meaty, so let's use them for comrades today! ”

- I have to say that the can treasured by the squad leader is really extraordinary, as soon as it is opened with a bayonet, there is immediately a strong smell of meat wafting out, mixed with the smoky fragrance of fruit wood. There are four small red sausages in the can, and the casing is uniformly jujube red. After cutting, the lean meat is fiery red, the fat meat is snow-white, and the aroma of meat and oil is mixed with the aroma of garlic, which makes people's mouth water. Due to the large number of people and the lack of meat, each person was only given a slice of red sausage, some people chopped up the red sausage and mixed it into rice, and some people took the red sausage in their mouths and refused to swallow it for a long time.

Just as the dog was holding a small piece of red sausage in his mouth and was about to go to the starting position to assemble and stand by, the squad leader suddenly called out to him.

“…… Li dog leftover! What is our role this time? ”

“…… Report to the squad leader, we are an assault group this time! Gou Yu quickly swallowed the red sausage in his mouth and replied.

“…… And what is the task of the assault group? ”

“…… Destroy three enemy bunkers that were used as fire support points. We must ensure that the enemy is cleared and the passage is opened for the attack of the large army! ”

“…… Dog leftovers, who do you listen to? ”

“…… I listen to the class leader. ”

“…… If the squad leader is gone, who do you listen to? ”

Gou Yu hesitated slightly, "...... Listen, listen to the deputy squad leader. ”

“…… The deputy squad leader is gone? ”

“…… Listen to the group leader. ”

“…… Very good, dog leftovers, you have to remember one, no matter which one is gone, we have to rush forward. Be sure to complete the mission! ”

“…… Be! Mission completion guaranteed! ”

The dog gave a solemn military salute and turned to the position, determined to be at the forefront when the trumpet sounded tonight.

However, he was destined to never hear the trumpet blow again tonight.

- Because, he had only walked a few steps, and with a scream that tore through the air, a huge flame suddenly exploded in front of him, and a scorching storm swept across the land in an instant...... A moment later, the dull sound of cannon came from the distant sea.

Immediately afterwards, one shell after another fell on the northern outskirts of Ningbo, and the fierce artillery fire turned the sky into daylight. Every bombardment of heavy artillery was like a sledgehammer hammering into the hearts of the soldiers. It seems that the sky is full of smoke and flames, and the waves of fire are dancing wildly...... The next moment, a certain ammunition hoarding point on the attack position was hit, and countless ammunition exploded one after another, causing a cluster of fire trees and silver flowers to light up in the night. The Red Army soldiers, who had a large number of recruits and were caught off guard, were now like beetles on a hot iron plate, scurrying around with explosions, completely losing their basic order.

In this case, the dog's remaining assault group was naturally blown up - after a flurry of explosions, they were surrounded by charred craters with smoke. At the edge of the crater where the dirt and vegetation have been rolled over. Scattered were countless pieces of cloth, gun parts, and human stumps. Several survivors sat blankly on the scorched earth next to the crater, staring distractedly at the direction in which the shells were flying, and for a moment they were simply overwhelmed.

In the midst of chaos. Comrade Li Gouyu, who was dazed, suddenly noticed that the squad leader seemed to be talking something beside him, but his ears were buzzing so loudly that he couldn't hear anything. It was only by the flickering light of the fire that he could barely see the shape of the squad leader's mouth:

“…… Retreat! Take cover! ”

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“…… Left rudder 30, speed 12 knots. ”

“…… The navigation beacon lights set up by the Chinese government forces have been discovered, which are the first correction points for the shelling of the fleet on the opposite shore. ”

“…… Left rudder 50. The main turret is ready to shoot and reload with high-explosive shells! ”

The sailors in the fully enclosed turret adjusted the fuse and fed the shells into the 356 mm diameter breech. Then the bolt was closed with a click.

“…… Artillery bombardment preparations for each turret are complete! ”

“…… Continue to stand by and wait for the next instructions! ”

On the bridge of the American battleship "Pennsylvania", the white-haired Frank Brown, the commander-in-chief of the American Asian Fleet in his sixties. Admiral Upperm. Holding a pair of military binoculars. Frowning at the hazy coastline at night—that was Ningbo's Zhenhai District.

As an experienced admiral, Admiral Upham certainly knew very well that for his battlefleet, it would be better to carry out artillery bombardment on the opposite shore during the day than at night, and at least he could send out seaplanes to observe the results of the battle and correct the shooting data, so that the accuracy rate was higher.

However, the Chinese army stationed in Ningbo was now incompetent, and had been beaten to the brink of disintegration by the Chinese Bolsheviks, who, according to the plea of the commander of the defenders, could not be supported by the American fleet. His troops may not be able to resist even this night.

So, Admiral Upham had to lead his fleet out overnight. Long-range artillery bombardment of the Red Army positions besieging Ningbo – fortunately, the Bolsheviks in China had no navy at all and could not pose any threat to the American fleet as they sailed across the ocean – as long as they were careful not to deviate from the safe course and cause the battleships to run aground or run aground, then the safety of the fleet would never be in question...... Think of it as a night target training!

Sure enough, as the order to attack was issued, all the officers and men of the US Navy, who had not fought for a long time, cheered and were so excited that they seemed to be drunk - although the one-sided shelling of the opposite shore was not as exciting as the fleet war, after all, they could boast that they had fought a war, and it was also a safe shortcut to merit: in any case, in the circle of soldiers, the difference between having fought and not having fought is simply a world of wonders.

“…… Twelve thousand five hundred meters from the target location, enter the predetermined launch distance, and prepare—"

Accompanied by the loud announcement of the bridge staff, Admiral Upperm turned around and grabbed the intercom, and calmly issued the order: "Fire!"

In the next moment, the 32,000-ton battleship "Pennsylvania" shook violently, and the twelve giant cannons of 356 mm caliber on the ship roared in unison, spewing out long dazzling flames and spitting out deadly steel projectiles...... Then, the battleships "Nevada" and "Oklahoma" that followed behind also opened fire one after another, firing a salvo from the opposite shore - shells weighing half a ton made an arc in the air, and fell on the distant land with a roar, and immediately burst into flames. It was almost a minute before the rumbling explosions reached the ears of the officers and men of the fleet.

At this time, the temporary artillery observation station set up on the high ground by the members of the US Marine Corps, who had infiltrated the pre-landing and infiltration, had already detected the deviation of the battleship's projectile impact point with the assistance of Kuomintang personnel, and immediately reported the latest data to the flagship "Pennsylvania" by radio. So, after the third row of artillery had been fired, Admiral Upperm simply ordered the guns: "...... The parameters were not corrected, and each cannon fired twenty rounds rapidly. Open fire!"

As a result, the U.S. fleet sailed slowly, pouring steel and gunpowder into the western Chinese mainland, and the rumbling of cannon echoed across the sea, just as it had been during the Opium Wars and the Sino-French Wars of the last century...... At the end of this arc-shaped trajectory, brilliant fires rose one after another, and then the orange-red flames were even more connected, and the blazing flames reflected the earth and the sky red. In this continuous sea of fire, there are also flashes of snowy explosions from time to time, and countless bright fire points are splashed into the air, like fireworks set off at a New Year's party......

Seeing such an exciting and magnificent scene, the American sailors on each warship all waved their hats and cheered loudly.

As the fleet continued to move, the distance between the battleships and the targets on the shore was constantly reduced, so the secondary guns of the three American battleships on the side also engaged in this carnival of fire, followed by the cruisers participating in the operation, and even some destroyers...... Countless high-explosive and incendiary bombs whizzed towards the enemy line, burrowing into the sea of blazing fire, making the fire even more intense.

At the same time, along with the smooth progress of this round of shelling on the opposite shore, loud military music was heard from the loudspeakers everywhere on the ship, which inspired the sailors to fight more energetically. Admiral Upham stroked his beard with satisfaction, revealing a slight smug smile. (To be continued......)