Chapter 34: The Arrogant Japanese Devils

Sun Ming trotted quickly to the front of Chu Yunfei’s horse, his face etched with gravity. "Regimental Commander, something has happened!"

"The sky isn't falling yet. Speak slowly," Chu Yunfei replied calmly, pulling on his horse's reins. "Has Yuanping fallen?"

Sun Ming nodded, then continued, "Regimental Commander, Yuanping has been lost and is now occupied. Brigade Commander Jiang... he... he!"

"What about him?" Chu Yunfei’s brows furrowed slightly as he tilted his head toward him.

Sun Ming could not bear to speak, his voice choking with emotion. "The Japanese cut off Brigade Commander Jiang’s head. The guards from the special duty platoon only managed to retrieve his body..."

"What?" Chu Yunfei was shocked. "Where is Brigade Commander Jiang’s head?"

"We don't know yet..."

Chu Yunfei took a deep breath to steady himself. "Order the troops to increase their marching speed!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, the 358th Regiment, with the exception of the vanguard, had seen all its battalions reassemble. On the road to Yuanping Town, they formed four long columns, marching toward Yuanping at top speed.

...

Inside Yuanping City, the collapsed Li family courtyard had once served as the headquarters for the 196th Brigade. Outside the courtyard, the Japanese were repairing a newly erected wooden shed. Beyond the shed, the ground was pitted with shell craters. This was now the headquarters of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, the commander of the enemy forces in Yuanping has been killed by our army." Brigade Commander Seiichiro Shinohara’s adjutant, Yosuke Morinaga, reported the Imperial Army’s "glorious achievements" with excitement. "The warriors of the Empire cut off his head and hung it upon the city wall... to strike fear into the hearts of the Chinese so that they would dare not harbor any thoughts of defiance."

The battle for Yuanping had cost Shinohara’s 15th Independent Mixed Brigade over a thousand elite infantrymen—more than six hundred killed and over five hundred permanently incapacitated. It was the greatest loss the Japanese had suffered since the start of the war, excluding the Suzuki Brigade. Now that the humiliation had been washed away, Shinohara was naturally in high spirits.

Before he could offer words of encouragement, a series of gunshots and explosions erupted outside the city. Shinohara’s freshly relaxed brow knit together again. "Has the 7th Infantry Battalion not yet cleared out the remnants of the enemy?"

Morinaga was puzzled. "I shall verify it. Please wait, Brigade Commander."

After turning to leave, Morinaga wore a look of impatience. He stepped toward the city gate, intending to find someone to ask what was happening.

...

Outside Yuanping City, Ma Keying and his cavalrymen were galloping at full speed.

"Take down those straggling Japanese!"

*Bang!*

The marksmanship of the cavalry company’s soldiers was quite good; it took only three or four shots to drop a target. As for their raised sabers, each swing claimed the life of a Japanese soldier.

*Slash!*

After their necks were severed, the arterial blood pumped out by the Japanese soldiers sprayed over ten meters, staining the horses’ coats red.

Ma Keying laughed heartily. "Kill them all!"

Outside the city, most of the Japanese soldiers realized what was happening and quickly organized a counterattack. However, the speed of the cavalry company was such that many of the Japanese had no time to react before being sent to hell.

*Rat-tat-tat!*

Japanese machine gunners pulled their triggers in the direction of the cavalry’s charge. Bullets tore into the bodies of the horses, and several soldiers tumbled to the ground.

"Hey!" The Japanese let out guttural cries, thrusting their bayonets as they charged at the fallen soldiers.

By then, the cavalry company had completed their first charge, wheeled their horses around, and launched a counter-strike.

*Boom!*

The Japanese tanks opened fire, and their light and heavy machine guns swept the area. The casualties of the cavalry company continued to mount.

"Company Commander, the main force of the Japanese has mobilized. We must retreat!"

"Go!"

Ma Keying gestured, and the cavalrymen pulled the fallen soldiers onto their horses, quickly withdrawing from the battlefield outside the city. The cavalry company had arrived and departed like the wind, killing over thirty Japanese soldiers while successfully making their escape.

Yosuke Morinaga felt his face burning, as if he had been slapped. Only ten minutes ago, they had hung the enemy commander’s head on the wall, and now a organized cavalry unit had launched an attack on them.

"Baka yaro..."

Though furious, Morinaga suppressed his emotions and hurried back to the brigade headquarters to report the situation. Could an organized cavalry unit be reinforcements for the Chinese army?

...

But the fighting was essentially over; what was the point of reinforcements arriving at this time?

Seiichiro Shinohara was equally baffled. The commander of the 5th Division, Seishiro Itagaki, had ordered him to continue toward the Xinkou line after taking Yuanping. But this sudden attack made him uneasy.

"Brigade Commander, could it be that the Chinese army has not yet completed its defensive deployment at Xinkou, and that is why they dispatched such a small unit to harass and stall our advance?"

Shinohara nodded, agreeing with this view. A single cavalry company posed no threat to his 15th Independent Mixed Brigade. It would be better to seize this opportunity to continue the attack south toward Xinkou. If he could rout the Chinese defenses while they were still finding their footing, he, Seiichiro Shinohara, would achieve a great victory!

At this moment, Shinohara was not only commanding his own 15th Independent Mixed Brigade but was also in charge of coordinating and planning operations for the front-line units toward Xinkou. In the terminology of the Nationalist government, he was essentially the Commander-in-Chief of the front. Whether or not to attack Xinkou ultimately depended on his own judgment.

The 15th Independent Mixed Brigade was formed from the remnants of the Japanese 2nd Division, which had participated in the September 18th Incident. Built upon the core of the 2nd Division’s 15th Brigade, its combat effectiveness was extremely formidable. The 196th Brigade, an elite Class-A brigade, had held Yuanping for ten days and had only inflicted fewer than 1,500 casualties on the Japanese. In other words, the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade still retained its full combat capability.

Weighing the casualties of various units and the stability of their logistics, Shinohara finally made up his mind: continue the attack!

This time, they did not pause their advance, adjust their tempo, or stop to digest their gains as they had before. Instead, fueled by the momentum of their victory, they pushed rapidly toward the Xinkou line!

The Japanese arrogance made Ma Keying and his soldiers grit their teeth.

"Company Commander, these damned Japanese don't think much of us."

"That's not right. I feel like the Japanese are trying to lure us into attacking..."

Ma Keying was conflicted. His decision to attack had been driven by indignation, but essentially, it was meant to harass the Japanese, delay their advance, and wait for the arrival of the main regiment. But now, the Japanese had chosen to continue south. A single cavalry company... trying to block a massive Japanese main force—it was an impossible mission.

Just as Ma Keying hesitated, the vanguard of the 3rd Battalion arrived.