Chapter 98: Battle of Shanghai (18)

Chen Zui is worthy of operating in Shanghai for many years. After learning about Chen Xiuwen's intentions, he found an employee of the Engineering Department of the Public Concession Bureau in less than half an hour.

"The brigade commander, his name is Wan Zhixiang. I arranged to join the Industrial Department Bureau back then, and I was responsible for the maintenance of municipal engineering in the public concession. He also brought the municipal management network map of the North District of the Public Concession you want."

"There are also municipal management network maps? That's great. Come on, come on, Mr. Wan helps find the pipeline maps in Hongkou Park and its nearby areas." Chen Xiuwen said in surprise.

"Okay, okay, I remember the pipeline network near Hongkou Park has just been renovated in the 22nd Republic of China, so I will find it for you now." After being drunk, Wan Zhixiang, holding a large bundle of drawings, nodded repeatedly and responded.

Wan Zhixiang is quite skilled in business, and not long after, he found out the underground municipal management network map in Hongkou Park.

"Sir, you see, these are all after the 128th Incident, because some of the pipeline networks were destroyed, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce re-transformed them, using large pipes with a diameter of one meter two meters."

Chen Xiuwen nodded while looking at the drawings carefully. Originally, the sewer with a diameter of one meter and two was enough to allow a fully armed soldier to march inside. But when he found the place in Hongkou Park, it was blank and there was no mark on the drawings.

"What's going on here? Why don't there be any pipeline maps in the entire Hongkou Park?" Chen Xiuwen couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"This is mainly because the pipeline network in Hongkou Park was not damaged at that time. Another is because it is the base of the Japanese Marine Corps Command. It involves confidentiality reasons. At that time, the pipeline was only arranged outside the wall of Hongkou Park and connected to the original pipeline inside. So we don't know the pipeline structure inside the park. Moreover, the pipeline maintenance and other things in the park were handled by the Japanese themselves." Wan Zhixiang said with embarrassment.

When Chen Xiuwen, who was originally full of hope, heard this, he immediately sat on the chair like a deflated ball.

"Wan Zhixiang, think about it carefully. There is no new drawing on this new drawing. Are there any original old drawings?" He was immersed and asked with a frown.

Wan Zhixiang replied helplessly: "Staff, the Hongkou area has always been the territory of the Japanese. The municipal pipeline network and roads here were built by them back then. Our Ministry of Industry and Technology would not have any old drawings in this regard. If it weren't for the last pipeline renovation, we would not even have drawings for the entire Hongkou area."

Wan Zhixiang said, asking with a careful look on his face: "I heard from the commander that he seems to be directly entering the park through the sewer, right?"

He glared at the intoxicated eyes and said without a good voice: "Is this what you should ask?"

"No, I'll be the leader." Wan Zhixiang waved his hand and explained: "I want to say that if the superior does have ideas in this regard, I can think of a way."

When Chen Xiuwen heard this, he jumped up from the chair, grabbed Wan Zhixiang and said anxiously: "Tell me quickly, what are you doing?"

"In fact, although there is no pipeline diagram inside Hongkou Park, the layout of this kind of sewer is basically the same. As long as you are familiar with the pipeline network layout in this area, there is probably no problem entering the park." Wan Zhixiang replied quickly.

"What about being able to enter the Neon Marine Corps Command through the sewer?" Chen Xiuwen asked immediately.

"The main pipe of the sewer is generally connected to the outside of the building, so it is unlikely to enter the inside of the building, and it is only possible to enter the yard recently." Wan Zhixiang said after thinking about it.

Chen Xiuwen considered it and once the attack started from the outside, the inside of the headquarters would definitely be very empty. If the spy company could smoothly enter the yard along the sewer, there would not be too much problem in attacking the building.

"Okay, you can enter the yard."

"However, is the sewer pipe diameter inside Hongkou Park enough? Can one person be allowed to pass through? In addition, can you find someone familiar with this pipeline network immediately now?" Qiao Zhen asked with a frown on the side.

"Oh, this is no problem. I once heard from the workers who renovated the pipeline network near the park that the sewer pipe diameter inside Hongkou Park is also very large, and it is probably ninety if it is not one meter." Wan Zhixiang said, lowered his head and thought for a while, gritted his teeth and said, "If the chief can trust me, I can lead the way."

Hearing Wan Zhixiang volunteered, Chen Zui asked unexpectedly: "Can you do it?"

Wan Zhixiang smiled and replied, "Stand, you have been working in the Works Department Office for several years. I am still familiar with the municipal management network in this area. It is probably not a big problem to find the yard of the Marine Corps Command through the sewer." After saying that, Wan Zhixiang thought for a while and added, "However, some parts of the sewer may be full of water, and those who go down must know how to water."

"This is no problem." Chen Xiuwen was truly relieved. Armed swimming was one of the basic subjects in the training subjects of the spy company.

At ten o'clock in the morning, a "buzzing" sound came from the western sky.

"Look, it's our plane." As a soldier in charge of the alert cheered loudly, everyone looked up. Nine planes passed by the Bazi Bridge's position, and the national emblem with blue sky and white sun was printed on the wings. Although Chen Xiuwen and his troops had been guarding Hongqiao Airport for more than half a year, this was the first time he had seen his own air force. A cheer suddenly sounded on the position. The group of aircraft circled around not far away, dived down one by one, and the explosion of anti-aircraft guns sounded not far away.

The plane skillfully avoided the anti-aircraft gun fire in the air, and a deafening explosion burst out as soon as it dived. At ten o'clock, as the Air Force attacked the Neon Army warships on the Huangpu River, the agreed time for the attack was up.

"Order the First Battalion to launch an attack." Chen Xiuwen calmly issued an attack order.

It was an hour since the spy company entered the sewer under the leadership of Wan Zhixiang. Chen Xiuwen was more concerned about when the spy company could start. This is the key to whether the Neon Marine Corps Command can be captured and eliminated more than 2,000 Japanese entrenched here.

"Dong, Dong, Dong" The second company of the machine gun battalion, which was attacked by the first battalion, and the twelve sixty mortars listed as the reserve team, lined up in one row, covering the fortifications of the Neon Army opposite the Bazi Bridge. The six m2 of the Second Company also began to carry out cover-fire strafing. More than 700 officers and soldiers of the First Battalion rushed to the Bazi Bridge and began to attack the Neon Army.

"Retract the defense line immediately and call for the naval gun support." When the Chinese national team started attacking again, Toshio Maeda roared loudly.

Since the last attack on Hongqiao Airport, Toshio Maeda has been removed from his post as commander of the Marine Corps in Shanghai and was replaced by the newly reinforced commander of the First Navy Contingent, Murata Eichi, who is now the corps leader of the First Regiment.

Although the First Regiment repelled the attack of the 264th Brigade with the support of the naval naval gun yesterday, the casualties were also very serious. Including the nearly 600 losses at Hongqiao Airport, Maeda Toshio's troops are now less than 2,000.

"Your Excellency, the Navy was attacked by Chinese aircraft on the Huangpu River and could not provide naval gun support." The new chief of staff hurriedly ran in and reported.

Listening to the direction of the Huangpu River, Maeda Toshio gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Order the chariot team to dispatch immediately and must drive Hua's offensive troops back."

The Marine Corps is equipped with four new light chariots of Type 95, commonly known as "bean chariots". It was fortunately preserved in yesterday's air raid due to concealment, which was also Maeda Toshio's last reliance. He knew that the previous connection between Hongkou Park and Jiangwan Town reinforcements of Marine Corps had been cut off, and now he can only stick to the support. Without naval gun support, he can only play his last trump card.

At this time, under the underground of Hongkou Park, more than 100 spies were following Wan Zhixiang in the dark, smelly, and very narrow sewer.

"I said Lao Wan, have you found an exit?" Peng Hui, who was crawling in front of him, patting Wan Zhixiang's leg and asked softly.

The gunshots, cannons and explosions on the ground were clearly heard in the pipes. Peng Hui knew that the attack on the outside had begun, and he was still crawling in the sewer, so he couldn't help but feel anxious.

Wan Zhixiang, who was crawling in front of him, turned his head, and the light from the flashlight used for lighting in his hand shone on his face. His originally white face was now covered with mud. He smiled apologetically at Peng Hui and said, "Company Commander Peng, don't worry, our direction should be good now. We will probably reach the bottom of the yard of the Neon Marine Corps Command in another hundred meters.

"Okay, hurry up." Peng Hui nodded. He moved his hands and feet a little. Although the pipe that had just entered was not straight, he could still walk. However, when he turned to the old pipe below Hongkou Park, the pipe diameter did not have the diameter of 90 to 100 that Wan Zhixiang had previously judged. At most, it was only 70. People could only lie inside and climb slowly. Because these sewers were old, a thick layer of mud accumulated on the ground, which meant that half of a person's body was buried in the black and smelly mud. He had to hold his neck and not let his mouth sink into the mud. After climbing for more than half an hour, the spies were suffering from one another.

Under the cover of mortars and heavy machine guns, the first battalion's attack was very smooth. The Neon Army had basically abandoned the frontier position opposite the Bazi Bridge. The first battalion attacked Hongkou Park along Zhayin Road, and there were only sporadic resistance among the several damaged barricades along the way.

"The Japanese have contracted their defense. The defensive positions outside Hongkou Park are really tight, and even the shooting boundary is cleaned. Order the Second Company of the Machine Cannon Battalion to move forward immediately, and let the brothers be careful not to cause unnecessary casualties." Zhang Zhengjie, who is already the deputy commander of the 38th Regiment and the battalion commander of the first battalion, lay on the windowsill on the second floor of a building that had been blown off the roof, and observed the Neon Army defensive positions outside Hongkou Park with a telescope.

The front is nearly 200 meters away from the defensive position, and it was cleaned up by the Neon Army. If it attacks strongly, it will inevitably suffer great casualties and may not be able to break in. Zhang Zhengjie can only confront the Neon Army now, waiting for the spy company to launch a raid on the Neon Army Marine Corps Command from the sewer. He took advantage of the chaos to break through the outer defense line and go straight to the headquarters to meet with the spy company. By then, the entire regiment will launch an attack on the entire line and destroy the Neon Army in one fell swoop.

"Report, the first battalion has suddenly reached the outer position of Hongkou Park, and the attack has stopped at present." Chen Zui immediately reported to the brigade commander Chen Xiuwen after receiving the report from the first battalion.

"Oh? So, the Neon Army shrank its defense and gave up the surrounding barricades. This Neon Army commander is quite smart." Chen Xiuwen was a little surprised.

"After yesterday's battle, the Neon Army suffered heavy casualties. It is estimated that they are short of troops. Instead of breaking through, it is better to give up, so as to preserve the vitality and stand firm and wait for assistance." Chief of Staff Qiao Zhen took off his glasses and took out his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped it.

"It depends on the secret service company now. As long as they can suddenly launch an attack from the sewer and occupy their headquarters, we will be half successful." As he said that, Chen Xiuwen smiled and said to Chen: "Shuyi, you really have you. I didn't expect that you had installed intelligence personnel in the Ministry of Industry."

He also smiled and said, "This is not the reason why you asked me to pay more attention to the Japanese dynamics, so I arranged Wan Zhixiang to the Works Department of the Ministry of Industry. I didn't expect that I would really help this time."

"Airplane, the plane is coming again." Suddenly, a burst of soldiers screamed from outside the command post.

Chen Xiuwen and Qiao Zhen were both intoxicated and shocked: "No, the Neon Army plane has been dispatched."

The three of them ran out of the command post quickly and saw six fighter jets flying from the southeast. The big red dot at the tail of the aircraft looked particularly dazzling.

Amid the amazement of soldiers on the ground, six Chinese fighter jets attacking the Neon Warship on the water surface were facing the Neon War planes. The first air battle on the Songhu battlefield kicked off.

This is the first time Chen Xiuwen has witnessed a real air battle. He stood outside the cover and raised his head with Qiao Zhen, and clenched his fists tightly, cheering for his air force in his heart.

The six Hawk destroyers of the Chinese Air Force quickly climbed up. When the Neon Army saw that the Chinese Air Force took the initiative to fight, they immediately dispersed their formation. The sound of guns and cannons suddenly rang over the Huangpu River.
Chapter completed!