Chapter 1451 Assassination!

It was already June in a blink of an eye!

The sun was scorching, but the Japanese army was ready to move. The 40th Division of the Japanese Army on the north bank of the Han River had already prepared for battle.

The Sihang Regiment, which had been resting for nearly two months, received an order to move into the war zone and join the 67th Army to block it.

During May, Tang Dao had met with Commander Wu at his military headquarters in Baokang County. They went there in a second-generation assault jeep named "Dongfeng" by Tang Dao.

The convoy and horse team consisting of 8 jeeps and a cavalry company were mighty, and the high muzzles of 8 7mm heavy machine guns made everyone tremble.

"You are really too high-profile. If other army and division commanders see this, they may not say anything on the surface, but they may say behind your back that you are relying on the Rockefeller family to buy the latest equipment, not only to prepare for war against Japan, but also to fight against the superiors. The superior was extremely dissatisfied with you, and now the war has eased a little and the external pressure has decreased a little, so it is inevitable that he will do something to maintain his authority.

As for Commander Li, although you sent 5 jeeps over, your convoy is larger than his, and there is a fully armed cavalry company escorting you, which is more impressive than him." Commander Wu should have heard some rumors, so he advised Tang Dao to be more low-key.

From his point of view, this is understandable. Now it is a national war. In order to restore the country, the second-in-command of the Northeast Army is even willing to temporarily endure the anger of the soul of the Northeast Army being imprisoned by that person. Fighting under his command, naturally, he does not want to see Tang Dao openly sing against that person.

But he didn't know that Tang Dao did it on purpose, including the telegram sent to all the officers of the Four-line Regiment of the War Zone Command in early May refusing to attend the education class.

That was Tang Dao indirectly expressing his attitude towards the Jiangnan incident that broke out a month and a half ago.

The 80th Army's infantry army headquarters in Jiangnan and a detachment responsible for protection, with 9,000 people, were ambushed by the 80,000 troops of the direct line of the man, resulting in thousands of deaths.

That was obviously a premeditated act. Tang Dao actually issued a warning to the headquarters of the 80th Army through Brigade Commander Cheng more than half a year ago.

However, the 80th Army misjudged the man's cruelty and did not expect that the man could endure for so long, waiting until the Battle of Shipai was completely over before brazenly launching this despicable attack.

As soon as the news came out, the whole country was in an uproar!

The 80th Army expressed its extremely strong anger and organized two consecutive counterattacks against Japan on the battlefield in North China, annihilating nearly 20,000 Japanese troops and showing its muscles to the extremely tough man.

If it weren't for the national war plan, the angry 80th Army could even withdraw more than 200,000 troops from the North China battlefield to attack Shaanxi Province.

If those thousands of elite soldiers had not died at the hands of their own people, even if they were exchanged for one, they could have exchanged for the deaths of thousands of Japanese soldiers. Whenever he thought of this, Tang Dao, who was unable to change history, felt quite depressed.

Since he himself was not feeling well, why should he let the instigator feel well?

Of course, what Commander Wu said was reasonable. Tang Dao's "showing off" made his colleagues in the Fifth War Zone feel quite uncomfortable.

Tang Dao left 5 "Dongfeng" jeeps for Commander Wu as a gift, and drove three of them back.

On June 8, after receiving a secret telegram from the Operations Department of the War Zone Command's Staff Department asking Tang Dao to go to the War Zone Command in Xianrendu, Tang Dao, who was still the chief of the First Section of the War Zone Operations Department, set off on horseback with a guard squad.

On June 9, after arriving at the theater headquarters, the Lieutenant General Chief of Staff personally presided over the combat meeting, including the Chief of Staff of the 67th Army and one division commander, one division-level chief of staff, two brigade commanders, and one Lieutenant General Division Commander and two Major General Brigade Commanders of the 70th Army under the 32nd Army.

The level and scale of the meeting were not too big for a theater-level staff, but all those who could attend the meeting were major generals or above. The reason why Tang Dao, an army colonel, could sit in the front row of the conference table was obviously not because of his position as a regiment commander, but because of the title of Chief of the First Section of the Operations Department specially given to him by General Li.

Originally, General Li intended to let the two divisions of the 67th Army and the Four-line Regiment, totaling about 80,000 people, deal with the Japanese 40th Division, which was ready to move, but the general commander of the 32nd Army, which belonged to the Central Army System, insisted on getting involved.

In fact, the size of the Fifth War Zone has been reduced since 1939. It is basically composed of the group army controlled by the Guangxi clique, the Sichuan army group army, the Northwest Army, etc. However, in the Zaoyi Campaign in the middle of last year, the Fifth War Zone suffered huge losses in its independent fight against the Japanese 11th Army. The 32nd Army Group, which belongs to the Central Army Group, was transferred from other war zones to the Fifth War Zone. In name, it was to strengthen the strength of the Fifth War Zone, but the real reason was self-evident.

Moreover, the second-level general of the 32nd Army Group also served as the deputy commander of the Fifth War Zone. It was obviously used to clamp down on General Li.

Fortunately, the main forces such as the 33rd Army Group commanded by General Zhang of the Fifth War Zone, the 11th Army Group of the Guangxi clique, the 22nd Army Group and the 29th Army Group of the Sichuan clique, and the 67th Army of the Northeast Army Group have been fighting under General Li for a long time. They are very supportive of General Li in both public and private matters, and this Guangxi clique boss can also firmly grasp the military power.

It was just a small matter like the 70th Army, the main force of the 32nd Army, volunteered to fight. General Li naturally could not refuse the kindness of his deputy, so he also asked the 70th Army stationed in Zijin Mountain, Gucheng, to dispatch its main division, the 19th Division, to participate in this battle.

The combat meeting lasted for two days, deploying the enemy blocking areas of the three divisions that were about to participate in the battle and determining the secret codes for communication between the divisions.

Naturally, there were some disputes during the period, such as who was the main and who was the auxiliary, who was on the front battlefield, who was guarding the flank, and the supply of materials, etc., which were all normal things.

This time, Tang Dao played the main role of listening to advice, and did not say much in the combat meeting, but I am a brick of the revolution, and I will move wherever I am needed.

The 40th Division of the Japanese Army is just a second-line division. Although it has more than 20,000 troops, this war zone has mobilized two Type B divisions, one Type A division and a special regiment, with a total force of more than 40,000 troops, and it is also a blocking battle. The difficulty is the lowest since Tang Dao participated in the war.

Tang Dao knew that in this kind of small battlefield that was not painful, the Four-Line Regiment had no need to compete for the first merit. Since the Central Army wanted it, it would be fine. He could just focus on his auxiliary. If he really encountered the blind Japanese and gathered the main force to attack him as a flank defender, it would be their bad luck.

Sure enough, Tang Dao's inaction made the three generals of the 70th Army look at Tang Dao with a lot more favor.

Everything is normal!

However, when Tang Dao returned from the headquarters on June 11 and passed through a hilly area where Cihe Town was located after crossing the Han River, he was attacked.

This was obviously a well-planned ambush.

The attackers totaled about 200 people. They not only had extremely accurate shooting skills, but also had 6 heavy machine guns and 10 light machine guns, and even submachine guns such as MP28.

The terrible combination of long-range, medium-range and short-range firepower was extremely excellent, which made Tang Tuanzuo and the elite guard squad accompanying him completely at a disadvantage in firepower.

Furthermore, the attackers were extremely fierce. They seemed to know that Tang Dao had a field radio with him and could call for support. After completing the encirclement of 17 Chinese soldiers, they used long-range firepower to fully output and long-range precision sniping to suppress the Chinese soldiers in the encirclement, covering the attack of more than 150 attackers.

Their close-combat weapons and equipment were no worse than those of the guard squad. There were nearly 40 MP28 submachine guns alone, and there were also the Garand rifles, commonly known as the Big Eight Grains, which were semi-automatic rifles that the Chinese army had just imported from the United States before the New Year. There were less than a division of troops qualified to equip them with such rifles, and even the ace armies of the 71st and 74th had just begun to equip them.

But these attackers actually carried more than 50 rifles!

With more than 10 times the number of troops, their weapons and equipment, and the combat quality of their personnel were no worse than those of the guard squad of the Fourth Line Regiment. The pressure faced by Tang Dao and the 15 guard squad soldiers can be imagined.

However, it was extremely strange that the attack occurred at 2 pm, and there was an infantry company stationed less than 15 miles away from the scene. Even if the fierce gunfire could not reach them, the surrounding mountain people could hear it and report it to that infantry company.

Even if they had to crawl, they could have climbed over in 2 hours, but the result was that the cavalry battalion of the Fourth Line Regiment arrived at the scene across a full 40 kilometers of mountain roads, and the infantry company did not see a single person.

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It seemed as if this fierce battle that lasted for more than two hours was in another time and space.

Yes, even though the attackers had gained an overall advantage, it took two hours from the ambush to the last cessation of gunfire.

The Chinese soldiers in the encirclement burst out with unprecedented energy, making it impossible for the enemy, who was 10 times larger than them, to break through the temporary position composed entirely of natural shelters.

However, in the face of absolute strength, they ultimately failed.

"Tang Dao was attacked. After holding out for two hours, they broke through the encirclement and retreated into the mountains. Their current life and death is unknown!"

"Tang Dao was attacked. 13 people in the guard squad died on the spot. The rest of the casualties are unknown!"

"More than 300 cavalrymen from the cavalry battalion of the Four-line Regiment arrived at the attack site!"

"About 500 people from the reconnaissance company and mountain infantry company of the Four-line Regiment arrived at the attack site. One of them surrounded the infantry company of the 109th Division of the 32nd Army, which was undergoing a long-distance march training. The two sides are about to meet with swords and guns!"

"The first, second, third, artillery and air defense battalions of the Four-line Regiment have already set out. They are currently hiding in the mountains and their whereabouts are unknown!"

"This is going to be a big deal!" Holding the secret reports continuously sent by the theater intelligence department, the lieutenant general chief of staff felt as if a beehive was stuffed into his head. Except for the buzzing sound, he could no longer hear any sound.

The attack on Tang Dao in the theater-controlled area itself was terrifying and angry.

Anyone who is not a fool knows that there must be something wrong here, otherwise how could he seize such a good opportunity, just when Tang Dao returned from the war zone headquarters after the combat meeting?

Regardless of whether the attacker is Chinese or Japanese, there must be a traitor, perhaps inside the war zone headquarters.

The fierce reaction of the Four-Line Regiment made the chief of staff of the war zone pale.

That was a heroic regiment that once fought against 20,000 Japanese troops. Once they went crazy, who in the entire war zone could stop them?

Commander Wu of the 67th Army and Tang Dao are friends regardless of age, and the friendship was established during the bloody battle of Songjiang for four days and nights. It is rumored that when the Four-Line Regiment was first established, many elite soldiers of the 67th Army joined the Four-Line Regiment. It is good that he does not accompany them to go crazy, and you still expect him to send a soldier?

The 22nd Army Group is a Sichuan Army system. Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment were once infantry regiments directly under their group army headquarters. After three years of the War of Resistance, the Sichuan people were extremely united. Expecting them to fight among themselves? That is a no-brainer.

Not to mention the 33rd Army Group, when General Zhang, who died in the battle to protect the soul of Tang Dao, returned to the mountain city, everyone in the 33rd Army Group was filled with gratitude.

And the Lieutenant General Chief of Staff felt heartbroken when he had to let his own 11th Army of the Guangxi clique restrain this beast that was about to go crazy. How many elite soldiers would have to die?

"As long as Tang Dao is not dead, the Four-Line Regiment will not really go crazy. As long as he hides in the mountains, with his ability, the possibility of survival is higher than 90%.

Tie up all the members of the infantry company of the 70th Army for me, and let the military police of the war zone check who ordered them and when the order was conveyed.

Tell them that this is the order of the war zone headquarters. Anyone who dares to resist will be executed on the spot by military law!

Send the war zone security division to find those attackers for me. I want them alive or dead, and no one can be left behind. I want to give an explanation to Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment.

Also, I want to go to the scene to see who is so capable of sneaking into my 5th War Zone to attack and kill my first brave general." General Li's face was as cold as frost, and he punched the small table fiercely.

The old politician who never showed his emotions revealed his inner emotions.

This anger was not just about the attack on Tang Dao. When two countries were at war, assassination and attack were all part of the tactics.

Since the war began, China has carried out at least hundreds of assassination attacks on senior Japanese generals and middle-ranking officers. The assassination of traitors who defected to the Japanese army happened almost every day.

However, Tang Dao had just expressed his dissatisfaction with the reward for military merits, and he encountered such a strong attack in his own war zone. Does that mean that anyone who opposes him will be assassinated?

What made the commander even more angry was that the person who planned it behind the scenes actually put the blame on him, Li.

Because Tang Dao was ordered to attend the high-level military meeting organized by his war zone headquarters, and that’s when it happened.

It would be strange if the thousands of officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment who broke camp and disappeared without a trace before knowing the truth didn’t turn their anger against him, the commander of the war zone.

When General Li arrived at the scene, it was around 7pm, and the scene had already been surrounded by 300 officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment with firepower points.

A guard battalion and the staff department, the military police department and other departments that arrived at the theater command were all outside and could not enter the attack site.

The captain who led the Four-Line Regiment did not give any explanation. No matter whether it was a major general or a colonel, if anyone dared to go forward, there would be countless guns pointed at him.

The extremely cold face and angry eyes made them feel that those soldiers would really shoot.

Several officers of the theater intelligence department who arrived at the scene first were detained, with more or less scars on their faces, and they were a little embarrassed. That was the response they got after explaining.

The officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment, who were already on the verge of madness, regarded everyone as a suspect, especially the theater command that sent the secret telegram.

"I promise you, I will give you a satisfactory explanation! No matter who is involved in this matter, I will investigate it to the end." General Li gave this reply in the face of the cold-faced captain's cold eyes.

After a long silence, the cold-faced captain made way.

However, he did not salute.

This was the greatest restraint that Gu Xishui could show.

On the way to the meeting, they were attacked, but the local garrison did not come to help. The attackers used the best firearms that the national army could currently equip. Even if all the attackers were Japanese, they could not wash away the suspicion of internal culprits.

The scene was extremely tragic!

The 13 bodies were collected and laid flat on the hillside. The least bullet-hit ones had more than 10 bullet holes, and two of them were pieced together manually.

From the torn wounds, it was obvious that they were seriously injured and then pulled the grenade and died with the enemy.

After standing in front of the remains of the 13 soldiers of the guard squad of the Sihang Regiment who died in the battle for a full five minutes, General Li went to the battle area between the two sides.

There were more than 160 bodies of the attackers, all of whom were stripped of their clothes, revealing their once strong bodies.

The dents on the shoulders caused by the impact of the butt of the gun for a long time, as well as the strong arms and calluses on the knuckles, all prove that these people are veterans who have received more than 3 years of firearms shooting training.

"These Japanese are very strong! The bullet in the chest of a famous brother in my guard squad was shot from at least 350 meters away. In the absence of a scope, not many people in our regiment can hit the vital part of the human body with one shot at such a long distance." Gu Xishui, who followed the general surnamed Li silently, finally spoke.

"How do you determine that they are all Japanese?" As soon as the general surnamed Li asked, he saw the cold-faced captain looking at the toes of the corpse.

It was clear immediately!

There is a very subtle difference between the toes of Japanese and Chinese people. It is not the structure and shape that are different, but the width between the big toe and the second toe is different. That is caused by wearing clogs all year round, and it will not change because of how many years of military service.

"Such elite soldiers, who can organize so many people, must be qualified by a very high-level organization. And these people want to sneak into our war zone quietly, without the cover of insiders, it is impossible to do so." Gu Xishui continued.

"We have found their campsite. According to the freshness of the feces buried in the soil, they stayed here for 3 days."

Admiral Li narrowed his eyes.

On the 3rd, it was the eve of Tang Dao's arrival at the war zone headquarters.

That means that one day after the war zone staff sent a secret telegram asking Tang Dao to come to the headquarters for a combat meeting, those people had already arrived here.

They even calculated the road that Tang Dao must take on his return journey!