For more than ten years of the Patriotic War, from east to west, from south to north, there were wolf smoke on the land of China, and there were beacons everywhere, blood and sacrifice were the norm.

However, it is rare to find a location where you are qualified to build a monument to the War of Resistance Against Japan after the war.

At the intersection of a mountain stream and a river in the upper reaches of Yiling, there is such a monument 8.15 meters high. It quietly looks at the surging river flowing eastward, reminding people of future generations not to forget that in this steep mountain ridge, countless martyrs once shed their blood here.

The famous Shipai Defense War is an existence that no one who studies the history of China's Patriotic War can ignore.

Tang Dao naturally knew very well. He knew that there were actually two battles for Shipai defense. One was not long after the New Year of 1941. The Japanese army that had occupied Yiling launched an attack on this gateway to the Chinese accompanying capital city but failed to retreat. The second was in May two years later, when the Japanese army gathered two divisions and another brigade to launch a fierce attack on this place again, causing 14,000 Chinese officers and soldiers to die in the battlefield.

A Chinese soldier from a reorganized division died in a battlefield with an area of ​​no more than 3 square kilometers, which shows how cruel this battle is.

You should know that in the future, the Battle of Five Sacred Mountains, which defeated the will of the American people, in a battle on the snowfield, the entire mountain was blown down by 2 meters in 43 days, and the Chinese soldiers only lost 11,500, of which nearly 5,000 were killed in battle, and the losses were far lower than this battle.

Tang Dao also knew that this battle belonged to the glory of the 18th Army in the Third War Zone. It was also after this battle that the lieutenant general of the 11th Division of the 18th Army, who guarded the central axis, rose straight and became the famous general under his command who could compete with the commander in the 10th War Zone.

But the ruts of history turned a corner here. The Four-Road Regiment, who was waiting for news of the transport ship outside the mountain city, received a telegram from the Fifth War Zone Command, ordering Tang Dao to lead the Four-Road Regiment to arrive at Shipai Fortress within 20 days at the latest, and to fight against the powerful enemy with the 18th Army belonging to the Third War Zone.

It turned out that after capturing Yiling, the Japanese army still did not stop. The 11th Japanese army operating in Hunan Province actually dispatched two divisions to advance towards Yiling, which would result in 170,000 Japanese troops in western Hubei.

What do the Japanese want to do? The answer is that it is about to come out.

Not to mention that the bosses of the Military and Political Department were frightened by the Japanese's madness and sweating, even Tang Dao was very surprised.

I don’t know if it was because the Japanese were frustrated on the Hunan Provincial Defense Line, or because they suffered huge losses in the last mountain city bombing, they were greatly stimulated and actually took out the routine that they had once been in time and space in advance.

The strategic purpose of the Japanese launching the Zaoyi Battle was actually very simple, but they were just to occupy Yiling and obtain a bridgehead to the mountain city, and then conquer the mountain city with this, completely solve China's highest resistance force, and make it happen once and for all.

But conquering Yiling is only the first step. To attack the mountain city, the Yangtze River channel must be kept open, and the Chinese defenders along the Yangtze River must be eliminated.

The stone fortress stuck on the right bank of Xiling Gorge is a must-have place!

The Yangtze River turned a 110-degree bend here, and six 190-mm caliber fortress cannons were deployed in the fortress. Not to mention transport ships, even cruisers could not resist such big guys.

Of course, the mountains and rivers here are high and deep, and there is no road. If you just want to attack from the front, you will have to pay a price. The purpose of the Japanese army to join the heavy army is to surround them on all sides, conduct a strong attack and breakthrough on the front, and continuously attack the rear of the two wings of the Shipai Fortress.

For this reason, in addition to the periphery of the fifth war zone defense line in western Hubei, the Japanese army invested more than 60,000 people to attack. On the battlefield belonging to Shipai Fortress, they also invested two divisions and another brigade, totaling more than 50,000 people.

The 18th Army had a force of about 30,000, and the Japanese army had 50,000 to 30,000. Its troops were superior and its heavy firepower had an absolute advantage. The only advantage that China could have was the terrain. The key to whether it could win in the end depends on its will to fight.

But this time, the 11th Army transferred two more divisions into western Hubei, with a total force of up to 170,000, and the pressure on the Shipai defense line was greater than in time and space.

The 18th Army is already the strongest elite in the third war zone. At present, the fifth war zone is currently engaged in entanglement with the 100,000 Japanese troops. It is too late to transfer troops from the ninth war zone. The Four Regiment, who had just arrived in the mountain city, naturally became the first choice for the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Fifth War Zone.

The military order was like a mountain. Even though the battle situation was beyond Tang Dao's expectations, Tang Dao also took the military order readily.

Although a 20-day deadline was given, the transportation of a heavy-duty regiment of thousands of people could not be completed overnight. The Ministry of Military Affairs has tried its best to summon all kinds of ships, and even medium-sized fishing boats that can only carry one infantry squad have been requisitioned.

The Yangtze River at this time is not the Yangtze River that will build China's largest reservoir in the future. In addition to its beautiful scenery, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River also has a surging river with turbulent water and dangerous shoals.

In addition to the sinister natural factors, there may be Japanese planes strafing and bombing in the sky.

Tang Dao didn't want his officers and soldiers to die on the battlefield of fighting against Japan, but on the way to the battlefield. He personally drove to the Ministry of Military Affairs and met Minister He again, requesting high salaries to recruit rich and experienced boatmen, and asked the Air Force to dispatch the fleet to escort the fleet.

If it were someone else, the little regiment leader Tang Dao might have been kicked out of the door long ago. It is easy to hire an experienced boatman. At most, it would cost more money, but if the Air Force uses precious fighter jets to escort it, who do you think you are?

"I can't guarantee that the stone tablet can be kept, but I can guarantee that the lives of my Tang Dao and all the officers and soldiers of the Four-Levels regiment will be with the Shipai. All the officers and soldiers of the Four-Levels regiment will shed the last drop of blood on the Shipai battlefield. If Tang Dao can come back alive to see you, it must be that the stone tablet is still in the hands of my Chinese soldiers." Tang Dao stood in the office of the boss, making a promise that was deafening.

Not only did the colonel and director in the outer secretary's room burst into tears, but Minister He, who had experienced countless ups and downs, had his eyes shining. After scrutinizing Tang Dao for a long time, he finally said in a deep voice: "Okay! I will do my best!"

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content below! Everyone can speak generously, but there are not many people like Tang Dao who resolutely bet on the fate of the entire regiment of officers and soldiers!

Moreover, Tang Dao's eyes and voice made the general who held great power believe that he would do what he said.

With Minister He's promise and deployment, Tang Dao received a notice the next morning that the work of transporting ships and recruiting ship workers was handled by Lu Kuixian, the general manager of Minsheng Company, and Tang Dao and he was handled by him.

The Air Force, because of Minister He's face, has agreed to send a flight squadron stationed in Jiulongpo to escort the transport fleet and agree to establish a radio station direct to the Air Force Command. Once an enemy situation is encountered, they can be notified immediately, and the combat aircraft formation on duty will also arrive at the battlefield within half an hour.

There is no favor of Tang Dao and the Four-Ship Regiment here. Even if you arrive in the mountain city, the number claimed by the Four-Ship Regiment is still the infantry brigade in the 10th War Zone. At most, the Air Force will know that it is just a force to reinforce Shipai.

Tang Dao met Lu Kuixian, who had just successfully organized the Yiling evacuation in the seemingly simple office of Minsheng Company that afternoon.

A middle-aged man in a suit was already arranging work with his subordinates. When Tang Dao, in military uniform, walked over under the leadership of his secretary, he hurriedly came up to meet him.

"Hello, Manager Lu!" Tang Dao took the lead in reaching out.

This patriotic businessman who used all his company's ships and successfully retreated tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of tons of supplies at the expense of the Japanese army, deserves anyone's respect.

"Minister He has personally called me. I will try my best to meet any needs of your army. However, before that, I need to know how many personnel and heavy equipment your army needs to be transported so that I can calculate how many ships you use. I hope your army can understand that during the previous evacuation, all the ships in our company were seriously damaged..." After shaking hands with Tang Dao with courtesy, he did not ask about the name of Tang Dao's position, and this person went straight to the point and showed his decisive personality.

The fifth war zone gave Tang Dao a 20-day deadline, and the Ministry of Military Affairs also gave this prescribed deadline. The general manager, who knew that military orders were as important as a mountain, might not have time to make too many courtesy against a colonel-level deputy chief officer.

Tang Dao frowned slightly. Although he knew that what this person said was fine, the staffing and equipment were military secrets. Once it was leaked, the Japanese would definitely know what unit it was through analysis. Even if they didn't guess that he was the Four Corps, they would definitely strengthen their defenses.

I was still wondering how to answer him, but I saw the famous patriotic businessman in the history of the Republic of China suddenly staring at him. After a while, I waved my hand to ask the secretary to withdraw from the office and close the door. Then I asked hesitantly: "Are you Captain Tang?"

"General Manager Lu knows me?" Tang Dao's thoughts were so vivid that he did not deny it.

"Haha! It's true that he is Captain Tang. Lu was a little anxious just now, but he didn't know the honor of Captain Tang. Please don't blame him." Lu Kuixian's face was full of smiles.

"But I remember, it was probably the first time I met General Manager Lu." Tang Dao couldn't think of any place he had socialized with.

"It's the first time that Captain Tang and I have met, but if it weren't for you, Captain Tang, my little brother would never be able to return to his hometown again. My mother has told me a lot that if I have the chance to see you in the future, I must thank you for her." Lu Kuixian said with a smile.

It turned out that Lu Kuixian's hometown was in Hechuan County, Shancheng. Lu Kuixian joined the Tongmenghui in his early years and was determined to save the country through revolution. However, with the failure of the revolution, warlords in Sichuan fought again. They felt that they could not save China by relying solely on publicity and education, and they had to "save the country through industry". So they "abandoned school and went to business" and started with the borrowed 8,000 oceans. After 12 years of development, by the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, they had become China's largest national shipping enterprise, with 46 ships, a total tonnage of tens of thousands of tons and more than 4,000 employees.

If it weren't for such a large-scale shipping company, it might not have been able to complete the Yiling retreat comparable to the "Dunkirk".

After pain and hardship, Lu Kui first embarked on another path he chose to save the country. Under his influence, his third brother was also determined to save the country, but his younger brother, who was more than teenager younger than him, chose his own path.

He chose to join the army, and when the War of Resistance began, he was the company commander of a company of the 26th Division of the 43rd Army.

"Captain Lu is actually a member of the Lu family?" Tang Dao knew who he was almost without Lu Kui saying his third brother's name first.

That was the company commander with Tang Dao, who was brave in combat. On that day, the 26th Division and the Japanese army fought bloody battles in Dachang Town. The company commander surnamed Lu and the officers and soldiers of the company were on the same line. He fought for three days and was wearing dozens of wounds without taking a step back. Later, he was besieged by the Japanese army to counterattack a position. Tang Dao, who was still the sergeant squad leader, led two infantry squads out of the siege and rescued him and sent him to the rear ambulance for treatment.

However, Tang Dao was injured by heavy artillery in Japan and was sent to a field hospital and was eventually abandoned in the ruins by the field hospital. The two have never met again since.

However, even Tang Dao did not expect that the company commander who bravely fought and looked home to death had such a wealthy family background and a famous elder brother.

If you think Lu Kuixian was just a big businessman, then you obviously underestimate him. You should know that in the 1930s, this person served as the director of the Department of Construction and the deputy director of the Ministry of Transport in Sichuan Province. Later, he received the Jade Collection Medal because of this retreat, which was the only one in the world.

"Yes! My younger brother was seriously injured and only returned home to visit relatives for more than a year. During this period, he talked about Captain Tang's life-saving grace countless times. My mother felt sorry for me, and she was deeply moved by you. If you have any news about you, I would cherish it. If not, I really can't recognize you. However, you are more handsome than in the photo. No wonder my younger brother said that you are not a thing in the pool, and you will surely soar into the sky in the future!" Lu Kuixian looked at the young Tang Dao and sighed in great emotion.

Since the two of them have such a connection, they are naturally much more casual than before.

"I would like to ask Brother Lu to understand more. I hope that the equipment and personnel will be kept as confidential as possible. If the Japanese army knows it, my brothers under my command will pay an unknown price for it." Tang Dao also spoke out his concerns straight to the point.

"I understand that I will arrange this matter myself, and I will not pretend to be anyone. Except for me, no one will know the number of people transported by my fleet and the total tonnage. In addition, those heavy equipment will be arranged at night when they board the ship. Except for those I absolutely trust, they will not be present. After boarding the ship, all heavy equipment will be covered with canvas. Even if you are interested in spying on it, you will not know what equipment it is." After hearing Tang Dao's request, Lu Kui made a promise to Tang Dao first.

Tang Dao knew that this undoubtedly added to this person's workload, and his gratitude was beyond words, so he could only salute and express his gratitude as soon as he left.

With Lu Kui's help, Minsheng Company, which had just suffered a major loss, has taken out all its assets this time.

Even ships that had not yet been repaired were put into transportation. In less than 3 days, 43 boats of all sizes were gathered on the river, including 4 iron-shelled ships that could carry 500-ton cargo, 12 merchant ships of 200-ton class, 6 150-ton class, and 12 30-ton class to 50-ton class. The rest were larger fishing boats collected from the public under 30-ton class.

The carrying capacity this time was far beyond the accident of this shipping tycoon. He originally thought of an infantry regiment, with only two or three thousand guns and several guns. But he knew that the Four Rangers not only had more than 5,000 personnel, but also dozens of guns with a wide range of various types.

Especially after boarding a large iron-shelled ship, it is mounted on the bow and stern for air defense, and it can reach two tons per one. Just transporting such a big guy requires two iron-shelled ships.

It's fine with the artillery, but there are jeeps and tanks. General Manager Lu, who personally went to the port to supervise the boarding ship in the night, looked at the tanks that were rumbling on the ship, and was stunned at the time when he saw the tanks that were rumbling on the rear.

At that moment, he realized that his younger brother said that Tang Dao would soar into the sky was not because of his life-saving grace, but because of his true sincerity. Just because of these equipment and the achievements that Tang Dao led the Four Corps over the years, he firmly believed that the Japanese would be on the stone card and the cliff would be full of his head.

It took another 3 days before the four team members and horses were all loaded onto the ship.

The reason why it took so long was that, for the sake of keeping it confidential, all heavy equipment would only arrive at the port to load ship after sunset; for the other hand, for the waiting time, the old ship workers predicted that there would be heavy fog in three days based on astronomical observations. Although it would have an impact on the sailing, it would seem insignificant for the air strikes that might be encountered.

The fog on the river is the best protection for the fleet.

However, Tang Dao is still a habit and will never put his life in the hands of others. The four large iron-shelled ships are basically loaded with anti-aircraft anti-aircraft guns and mountain cannons, tanks and other heavy equipment. Two anti-aircraft guns are placed on the bow and stern of each iron-shelled ship. Some unnecessary buildings in the middle of the ship are directly demolished and anti-aircraft guns are also placed on them.

When sailing, all 12 40mm Bofos anti-aircraft guns are in wartime. As long as the canvas covered on them are pulled off, the high black holes will be exposed.

Two ships took the lead and two ships waved their tails to protect the entire fleet in the middle!

That's not all. On those 200-ton merchant ships, the 20mm machine guns and quad-mounted anti-aircraft machine guns were also selected by the officers and soldiers of the anti-aircraft machine gun squad. All infantry squads with MG42 were also ordered to use machine guns to be put into air combat if necessary.

The first thing the soldiers did after boarding the ship was to make air combat spaces for their machine guns in their squad, while carrying sandbags to create a temporary shelter for themselves.

However, that is not just for blocking bullets, but also for shooting.

What's wrong with the rifle? Thousands of rifles are firing into the air together. Maybe the bullet can hit Japanese planes flying over the fleet with machine guns!

I would rather die in the battle throne than bleed and sacrifice! This is also a tradition of the Four-Entertainment Group.

Whenever a Japanese plane attacks, the entire fleet will become a porcupine covered with thorns. However, the thorns are made of metal bullets, and they will either be injured or die if they are injured!

The total number of ship workers involved in the transportation of 43 ships was more than 500, all of which were reviewed by the team leader who was responsible for his safety when Tang Dao came to Shancheng last time.

After completing such a huge workload in less than 4 days, he almost vomited blood from the person. However, because Tang Dao thoughtfully sent a big yellow croaker, he still finished working overtime.

During this week, Tang Dao completed another technological upgrade for the entire group with the assistance of Laura.
Chapter completed!