Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 13: Great Victory at the Temple
The Fifth Army Headquarters was full of bigwigs, and everyone had a smile on their faces. The commander of the 88th Division, Yu Jishi, was grinning from ear to ear.

In the Miaohang battle, not only did the 88th Division play the leading role, but it also got the biggest piece of fat meat, showed off in front of the principal, and gave him a great gift for his comeback.

When the army commander, General Zhang Zhizhong, saw that everyone was present, he smiled and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the battle of Miaohang defeated the arrogant Ninth Division, annihilated more than 3 enemies, and killed hundreds of officers including the enemy's Seventh Regiment Commander Colonel Lin Daba and senior staff officer Lieutenant Colonel Kitahara. This dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the invaders and greatly inspired the enthusiasm of the army and civilians across the country to resist the war.
The principal also sent a congratulatory message! "

Everyone stood up and listened. This is also the tradition of the national army and what they are most proud of.

"…Since the battle of Miaoxing Town on the 22nd, the reputation of our country and our army has increased tenfold in the international community. Public opinion in all countries praises our army for its bravery and invincibility, while the reputation of the Japanese pirates has plummeted.

I hope you will encourage the officers and soldiers to work hard and reward them on my behalf."

After General Zhang finished reading the telegram, everyone started shouting slogans, which were nothing more than words of thanks to the principal for his kindness. This procedure was indispensable.

“Everyone, the 88th Division played a great role in this battle. Not only did you successfully defend Miaohang and withstand the attacks of the th Division, you also killed the commander of the th Regiment. This is the highest-ranking enemy officer killed by our troops since the start of the war. You have demonstrated the prestige of our country and our military!

The National Government has decided to award the 88th Division Commander General Yu Jishi the Blue Sky and White Sun Medal! "

Everyone applauded to express their congratulations, and Sun Yuanliang looked at him with envy and jealousy;
Since its establishment three years ago, the Blue Sky and White Sun Medal has been awarded to bigwigs like Zhang Xueliang. This is the first time that a Whampoa student has received one, and it was exclusively awarded to Yu Jishi. It shows that he is indeed doted on by his own family.

"Award Sun Yuanliang, Song Xilian and 13 others the Baoding Medal. Captain Yue Qianli, the third company commander of the first battalion of the 88th regiment of the 527th division, led his troops to kill the enemy's regiment commander, Colonel Lin Daba. In recognition of his military exploits, he is awarded the sixth-class Baoding Medal. The entire army will commend him and reward him 1 silver dollars!"

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but whisper. Yue Qianli killed a colonel and a lieutenant colonel of the enemy, so a reward was inevitable.

Since he had just been promoted from lieutenant platoon leader to captain company commander, it was already an exceptional promotion. It was impossible to promote him again this time, and he could only be awarded a medal.

The Baoding Medal awarded to lieutenants should be of the seventh to ninth grade, but this time he was awarded the sixth grade, which is only for colonels. This can be said to be an exceptional award. Even the bigwigs present were a little envious of such a great favor. This is also the glory of Yu Jishi, and the emperor's favor is on the rise.

"Everyone, in the battle of Miaohang, our Fifth Army also suffered more than 1 casualties. The commander of the 262nd Brigade, General Qian Lunti, and the deputy commander, General Chen Pumin, were both seriously injured. The casualties of officers above the platoon leader level reached 145, all of whom were our good men from Huangpu.

Given the bravery of our officers and soldiers in battle and the fierce sacrifices they made, this book must have been written with drops of blood..."

Kyoto, Imperial Palace, the roar of Emperor Showa almost shook the roof of the palace down. The disastrous defeat of the 9th Division at Temple Line made him lose all face, and he even cursed the national language. Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi could only listen with gritted teeth.

"Bakayalu, you are a bunch of rubbish. You have brought shame upon me and the empire!

Those Westerners are just waiting to see me make a fool of myself. The Shanghai Incident must be resolved as soon as possible.

One incompetent general can bring disaster to the entire army. This bastard Ueda is not worthy of this important task at all. Change the commander immediately!
What good candidates do you have in your base camp?"

Inukai Tsuyoshi thought for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty, Mr. Ueda's qualifications and abilities are indeed not enough for this important task. The Fifth Army of the Huaxia Government has already reinforced Shanghai, and the Imperial Army is no longer strong enough to cope with the war.
In order to resolve the Shanghai Incident as quickly as possible, the old minister suggested that more troops be sent to establish the Shanghai Expeditionary Force Headquarters, with General Yoshinori Shirakawa as the commander, to unify the command of the army and navy in the Shanghai area.

Yu Ren nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yoshi, Mr. Shirakawa's qualifications and prestige are enough to be trusted as the commander of the expeditionary force. Regarding the increase in troops, I would like to hear your headquarters' plan."

"Your Majesty, after overnight consultations, the headquarters suggested sending the 11th and 14th divisions to Shanghai for combat, and at the same time sending more than fighter planes to support the combat troops;

After the reinforcement, the total strength of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force will exceed 300 troops, more than 80 aircraft, hundreds of armored vehicles and tanks, and more than warships;

The total number of Shanghai's defenders is less than 40, with about fighter planes, and zero armored vehicles, tanks, and warships. The Imperial Army will have an absolute advantage in both manpower and weapons. The headquarters is confident that it can annihilate the Shanghai defenders within a week and end the Shanghai Incident. "

Yu Ren finally smiled. He was quite pleased with the headquarters' plan for increasing the number of troops, so he nodded with satisfaction and said:
"Yoshi, the headquarters' plan to increase troops is very good. I agree with it.

Tell Shirakawa-kun that he only cares about fighting well, and I only want Shanghai!"

Zhabei, the battle was fierce and murderous

Rows of Chinese men were ready to go. They were the 19th Route Army and Wang Yaqiao's National Salvation Army, forming a death squad. Their target was the Izumo armored cruiser anchored on the Huangpu River.
The ship is an armored cruiser with a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons. It belongs to the Izumo-class armored cruiser and was built by the British Armstrong Shipyard. It participated in World War I and the Russo-Japanese War, and served as the Emperor's flagship.

It is 121.92 meters long, 20.93 meters wide, has a speed of 20.75 knots, and a crew of 672.
装备203毫米炮4门，150毫米炮14门，12磅速射炮12门，2.5磅速射炮8门，450毫米鱼雷发射管4具。

After the incident broke out, the Izumo arrived in Shanghai as the vanguard of the invasion and launched fierce artillery attacks on the Shanghai military and civilians many times, causing heavy casualties and property losses.

The 19th Route Army's Brigade Commander Weng Zhaoyuan personally poured them a bowl of farewell wine, and then said loudly:

“Brothers, the Izumo has committed heinous crimes against our soldiers and civilians, and today we are going to blow it up!

The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold. Once the warrior leaves, he will never come back. Drink this bowl of wine. In the next life, we will fight the devils together!"

The members of the suicide squad raised the big bowls in their hands. This was destined to be a one-way feat, but each member's eyes were unusually determined, they had no intention of coming back.

"Brothers, fuck his mother!
The Japanese boasted that their Izumo was an unsinkable warship, but we Lingnan men just don't believe it, so let's do it! "

After the death squad leader, 19th Route Army Captain Tang Aiguo, finished speaking, he took the lead in gulping down a large bowl of liquor. His blood boiled, the veins on his neck bulged, and then he threw the bowl heavily into the sky with great pride.

"Fuck him! Do it!"

The members of the suicide squad drank the liquor in their hands in one gulp and smashed the bowls into pieces, indicating their determination to die.

Wang Yaqiao simply bowed to the suicide squad. It was he who proposed the operation to blow up the Izumo, and he himself wanted to act with the suicide squad.

General Weng held back the tears in his eyes and shouted:
"set off!"

(End of this chapter)