Chapter 1518 It’s All Torture! (At the End of the Month, Please Give Me some Monthly Tickets!)

As the supreme commander of more than 60,000 soldiers and civilians in Hengyang, Fang Xianjue, with a resolute face, knew that he should not be fragile. However, after the battle today, the iron-blooded general who was in charge of the command center and received the battle reports from all the troops in Hengyang City knew too well how fierce the battle would be for Hengyang City.

Before July 9, the total casualties of the defenders of Hengyang did not exceed 4,500, which was close to a quarter of the 24,000 defenders in Hengyang.

Although this loss was not small, considering the length of the battle and the huge force of tens of thousands of Japanese troops attacking in turns, such a loss was completely acceptable and even worthy of pride.

In particular, these losses were based on the killing of more than 20,000 Japanese troops.

But just on July 9, before he and the generals gathered together, the war report handed to him by the General Staff showed that the 10th Division had more than 1,300 casualties, the 3rd Division had more than 1,400 casualties, the 190th Division had more than 300 casualties, the Four-line Regiment had more than 160 casualties, the Hengyang Guard Regiment had more than 200 casualties, the reserve had more than 800 casualties, and the other units had more than 400 casualties in total.

In one day, the loss exceeded the total of the previous month.

The field hospital was already overcrowded, and the number of hundreds of medical staff was seriously insufficient. They had to select smart and clever people from the reserve to enter the field hospital as temporary nurses, but this still could not alleviate the dilemma of insufficient treatment.

Many wounded had to be temporarily bandaged and placed in deep trenches outside the field hospital to wait, and had to wait until tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow for treatment.

Although they knew that this would cause wound infection and a surge in mortality, the doctors and nurses in the field hospital were too busy to handle it even if they had three heads and six arms. They could only prioritize and give priority to treating soldiers with fatal injuries.

An extremely bad incident occurred in the evening. The commander of the 9th Company of the 28th Regiment of the 10th Division stationed in Wuguiling was seriously injured by shrapnel in the abdomen during the battle. After repelling the Japanese army, the unit quickly sent an infantry squad to send the captain to the field hospital in the city.

However, because all military doctors were in emergency surgery, the captain did not receive timely treatment. The sergeant squad leader who was responsible for carrying the army captain back to the city saw that his captain's breath was getting weaker and weaker. He even pulled out his gun and pointed it at the director of the field hospital, Tan Tai Mingyue, who was leading the team to check the level of the wounded and arranged the treatment batches, and demanded that his captain be treated immediately.

The army sergeant, who was greatly stimulated, may not have considered anything else. He just wanted to use his most trusted gun to force the highest commander of the field hospital, Tan Tai Mingyue, to save his superior.

But he did not think that Tan Tai Mingyue had another very important identity. She was Tang Dao's wife, and even Fang Xianjue was usually polite to her.

After all, among the defenders in Hengyang City, the Four-line Regiment was the most important support of the 10th Army, without a doubt.

Once this gun was taken out, it was terrible. For the personal safety of Tan Tai Mingyue, Tang Dao not only put his guard squad leader Shi Dakuan and 14 guards in the field hospital, but also transferred ace snipers like Yang Shoucheng into two shifts to guard the 200-meter area around Tan Tai Mingyue.

Just now, there were indeed too many wounded in the field hospital, and the sniper on duty could not take care of them. However, due to a few seconds of negligence, a soldier actually pointed his gun at Tan Tai Mingyue.

Shi Dakuan, who was not far away, went berserk on the spot, and immediately led the guard squad to surround the infantry squad in an anti-enemy battle formation, and even used a walkie-talkie to call a guard platoon from the Four-Line Regiment.

The 10th Division would naturally not show weakness. Upon seeing this situation, at least 30 wounded soldiers and more than 40 soldiers who sent the wounded chose to stand with their comrades, and the two sides almost exchanged fire in the field hospital.

It was still Tan Tai Mingyue who coldly ordered everyone not to use force, and gently comforted the sergeant squad leader who was already somewhat panicked after seeing the disaster, and promised that as long as the field hospital had an operating table vacated, the army captain who had fallen into a coma would be operated on immediately.

The army sergeant got Tan Tai Mingyue's guarantee, took the initiative to drop his gun, and let the guard squad of the Four-Line Regiment rush up and press him down.

At that time, Chief of Staff Sun Mingyu and Director of the Political Department of the Four-line Regiment Ye Chenghuan, who received the news, arrived just in time. The two issued military orders to the two personnel who were still in a state of confrontation, which completely resolved the crisis caused by the anxiety and recklessness of a sergeant squad leader of the 10th Division of the Reserve.

Originally, Sun Mingyu planned to execute the sergeant squad leader of the 10th Division of the Reserve who almost made a big mistake in a moment of impulse on the spot, but the person involved, Tan Tai Mingyue, stopped the military order and chose to forgive.

"I am the director of the field hospital. I know best what the psychological state of the soldiers coming down from the battlefield is. The blood and flesh of the dead comrades are still on their bodies, and the living comrades are about to die in front of their eyes in a blink of an eye. Not going crazy is already tough enough for me, a Chinese soldier. He violated the military law and should be executed on the spot according to the military law, but as his comrade, I would rather he die on the battlefield rather than here, and I am willing to guarantee it with my military position." Tan Tai Mingyue's words moved all the officers and soldiers present.

The army sergeant who made a big mistake burst into tears on the spot. After watching his company commander being carried onto the operating table, he saluted Tan Tai Ming Yue and then led his infantry squad back to the Wuguiling position.

Ge Youcai hurried to the city from the headquarters of the 10th Reserve Division. Visiting the Storm Rocket Launcher was not the first priority. Apologizing to Tan Tai Ming Yue and Tang Dao was the first priority.

Although this accident was not enough to shake the unity of the various departments in the city, it ultimately reflected the huge difficulties faced by the Hengyang defenders.

As the highest commander in Hengyang, how could Fang Xianjue not be anxious?

However, the iron-blooded general in his early forties did not know that his temples had quietly been covered with a layer of white frost.

Including his closest subordinate Ge Youcai, no one knew that the highest commander of Hengyang, who stood on a high place overlooking the entire city of Hengyang and remained silent for a long time, looked at the bright moon on the Xiangjiang River, and at this moment, his mind was full of his wife's face.

Fang Xianjue remembered that more than ten years ago, when he had just become the battalion commander, he was stationed in Yueyang, and his newlywed wife came to visit. The two of them went boating on Dongting Lake under the moon, and toured Yueyang Tower at night with candlelight. The beautiful scenery was also like this. After so many years, it seemed like yesterday!

Speaking of his wife, Fang Xianjue once had a wife. When he was preparing to apply for Jinling No. 1 Industrial School, his parents had arranged a marriage for him. How could he accept a feudal arranged marriage after reading new books and accepting new ideas?

Fang Xianjue asked for leave to go home and said to his father: "I want to study first and then get married. Besides, the country is in danger. How can I have a family if the Huns are not destroyed?" His father locked him up at home and insisted that he get married before returning to school.

Fang Xianjue ran away from home and walked more than 90 miles back to school. Later, he was admitted to Central University, and then to Huangpu Military Academy to become an officer. During this period, he rarely went home. He hoped to tell his father with facts how he fulfilled his ideal.

It was not until 15 years ago in 1929 that he met Zhou Yunhua. The iron-blooded soldier finally understood what love at first sight was. The tough and restrained him even said affectionately while rafting: "If you don't marry me, I will never marry!"

However, after so many years of marriage, the two still spend less time together.

In the past, when he was a company commander, battalion commander, and regiment commander, the army did not allow him to bring his family. Finally, a few years ago, he became a division commander and could bring his family. However, the war was urgent, and he had to take his subordinates to fight the Japanese army.

It was not until he was promoted to army commander that his wife moved to Tanzhou with the whole family, and moved to Hengyang the year before last, so that they had more time to reunite.

After so many years in the army, Fang Xianjue devoted himself to the army, and relied on his wife for everything at home and outside. His wife was really a good wife. Not only did she manage the family in an orderly manner, but he also never complained that he did not save much money after becoming an official.

In the old army, the division commander had independent management rights. How many division commanders did not "eat empty salaries and drink the blood of soldiers"?

An infantry division had a staff of more than 10,000 people. After a few battles, there were only a few thousand people left. They still reported the staff number and received the military salary according to that number. The extra military salary was easily over 100,000 silver dollars. This was a well-known secret in the army and a common unspoken rule.

But Fang Xianjue never did this. He was admitted to Huangpu Military Academy at the age of 19. There was a quartermaster in the military academy who embezzled food expenses. He and several classmates beat up the quartermaster severely. From then on, the young soldier set himself an iron rule for life: not to be greedy for military pay, not to drink the blood of soldiers!

In recent years, the 10th Army has fought in various places and fought many big and fierce battles. The number of soldiers has decreased a lot. There is a large amount of military pay. Fang Xianjue used this money to either subsidize those brave officers and soldiers who died in battle or to make new uniforms for everyone. Therefore, the 10th Army is extremely united and well-organized.

From soldiers to division commanders, the 10th Army calls him military commander and chief in front of people, but calls him "head of the family" behind people. He is the well-deserved head of the 30,000 people in the 10th Army.

However, at this moment, the highest commander of Hengyang, who can't have both family and country, looked at the bright moon in the sky and the river, and his eyes were finally full of crystal.

This may be the last time in his life that he thought of her so clearly.

He was worthy of his soldiers, worthy of his country and nation, but not her!

That night!

Several officers in Hengyang City drank a jar of "Huzi Wine" with a dried chicken and a few side dishes, and laughed about the strategy for tomorrow's enemy. No one mentioned the telegram sent by the Military Commission during the day that "reinforcements will arrive within a few days".

It is better to rely on yourself than to ask others for help. Several Chinese soldiers who had thrown life and death behind their minds since entering Hengyang City finally abandoned their unrealistic hopes.

After the unified thinking, Hengyang City has completely entered the mode of burning the boats and sinking the bridges. Facing the 60,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians who are about to fight hard, the Japanese 11th Army will truly enter the hell-level battlefield.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Guilin!

Since the fall of Tanzhou, many Guilin people have fled westwards, but more people have fled from Hunan Province in the east. In a blink of an eye, Guilin has become a huge military camp with a huge crowd of people, and there is chaos every day.

People are crowded in the streets filled with military music, and planes of the Chinese and American air forces are constantly flying in the sky. Guilin is like a balloon that has been blown up suddenly. The population has increased from 100,000 to more than 500,000 in an instant.

Most of the poor people set up camps around the railway station, while the rich people fill the small city of Guilin and make it impossible to get through.

In the past month, Guilin newspapers have repeatedly publicized the news of the great victory in Hengyang, and Fang Xianjue and the three division commanders and chief of staff Sun Mingyu of the 10th Army have been promoted as the "Five Tigers". Telegrams and letters of condolences to celebrate the victory have been circulated everywhere. People set off firecrackers and played military songs on the streets, and posted photos of Fang Xianjue and others everywhere on the streets.

Taishanjun and Fang Xianjue's personal reputations have reached their peak. In the future, they will be the top of the top.

But the woman standing in an apartment looking at her husband's photo on the street never had a smile on her face.

They all said that her husband was a famous anti-Japanese general and a national hero, but she just wanted her husband to have dinner with her, even if it was only porridge and steamed buns.

That night, the woman dreamed of her husband.

He had a scruffy beard and long hair, like a savage, with no blood on his face. His full moon-like face had become a little thin, his voice was hoarse and low, and his military uniform was covered with dust and blood stains. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot.

She dreamed that he looked at her, his eyes were red and bloodshot, his lips were tightly closed, as if he had a lot to say, but couldn't say anything.

The woman held her husband's hand tightly, and couldn't say a word. After a long time, she inexplicably said: "You have worked hard!" After saying this, the woman wanted to laugh a little, but wanted to cry more.

The husband, who used to be a very serious military man but looked a little sloppy in his dream, grinned, hugged the woman tightly, kissed the ends of her hair, touched her face, and whispered: "You have lost weight!"

The woman burst into tears instantly!

She woke up suddenly, but found that it was just a dream, but the pillowcase had been soaked with tears, and the moon was bright outside the window.

The moonlight shone on the face of the two-year-old girl. I wonder if the sleeping little girl also dreamed of her father who she had not seen for a long time, and her mouth was full of smiles.

The woman had tears in her eyes, but she put her head close to her daughter. The little girl, who felt the gentle breath of her mother, put her little hand on her mother's face and fell into a deeper sleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The battle on July 9 was a torment for both China and Japan on and off the battlefield.

The Chinese lost nearly 5,000 people in one day, with more than 2,800 wounded soldiers alone, most of whom were injured by shell shock and shrapnel, which were difficult to heal.

The Japanese 11th Army suffered even more terrible losses, reaching nearly 10,000 people. Just four rounds of volleys from the Storm Rocket Launcher alone resulted in more than 3,000 terrible casualties. The dead were fine, but the surviving wounded were a big problem.

Seventy percent of the wounded were burned. The phosphorus aluminum incendiary bombs fired by the Storm Rocket Launcher were too overbearing. Even if they survived, their bodies were burned over a large area, and their skin and flesh were burned apart. The pain was simply unbearable for ordinary people.

The wailing of Japanese wounded soldiers echoed throughout the night. Even veterans who had experienced many wars could not help but feel their scalps numb when they heard such sounds, not to mention the new recruits who had just been supplemented by the supplementary division.

The 116th Division was about to be defeated, but now, after 20 days of rest and just recovering some morale, it was trampled into the dust by a wave of Chinese attacks, and even the newly arrived 27th Division was stunned.

This is Hengyang. If they had known this, they would have stayed in the periphery and fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Chinese side. At least that's what Lieutenant General Ochiai Jinjiro thought.

After seeing the power of the Storm Rocket Launcher, this old opponent of the Four-Line Regiment was completely convinced. After not seeing it for a few years, the Four-Line Regiment was more powerful than before. He even suspected that the Four-Line Regiment had not taken out any new equipment.

The angry roar of Yokoyama Yong, who received the news that the four major divisions on the front line paid the price of tens of thousands of people but did not move forward, continued to echo in Yuelu Mountain.

But this was only a setback for the Japanese Army on July 9, and even greater setbacks were waiting for them.

Kyoto, Japan!

Tojo Inji, who served as Prime Minister, Minister of the Army and Chief of Staff, sat in his office with a haggard face and dull eyes.

At this moment, Tojo, like the man in the Chinese mountain city, urgently needs a hearty victory to ease the crisis of his political and military career.

In the past few months, the Japanese army has been defeated in the vast Pacific Ocean, the Japanese navy has been in a slump, and the American B-29 long-range bombers have frequently taken off from southern China, leaving gaps in the Japanese mainland, and the entire Japanese people are in panic.

In the Southeast Asian battlefield, the Japanese Army completely lost to the British Empire in the Battle of Imphal.

And in the Chinese battlefield where Japan is most confident, a Chinese army that will never exceed 30,000 people actually beat the 11th Army, the most powerful field army of the Japanese Army in China, with heavy casualties. After 40 days, they haven't even seen the walls of that small town.

The continuous heavy hammers have made this person who constantly encouraged the whole of Japan to start a war realize that the building will collapse.

Three days ago, the Japanese Army finally decided to stop the Battle of Imphal, admit defeat, and retreat to Burma in full, but they still have to face hundreds of thousands of Allied troops.

Two days ago, Saipan, a strategic location of the Japanese Navy in the Pacific, was occupied by the Americans.

Today, under the city of Hengyang, China, the second round of the 11th Army's general offensive failed again, which completely became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

On the morning of July 10, Tojo, who held all the military and political power in Japan, felt powerless in the face of the enemy on all sides and had to announce his resignation and dissolve the cabinet.

Tojo's resignation was a huge blow to both the Japanese navy and the army, but the Japanese headquarters issued a military order to the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters on this day to "decisive battle in Hengyang".

General Tian Junroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, personally flew to Tanzhou on the morning of the 10th to supervise the battle in Hengyang!