Sun Yi listened, mulling it over carefully, and realized there was actually some truth to it. Back when they had clashed with the Japanese at the Great Wall, the devils were the sort who wouldn't fight a battle without artillery.
Back in Nanjing, Instructor Zhang Zhijie had introduced them to the fundamental tactics the Japanese army used when pressing into the Northeast. In simple terms: "Infantry charges after the artillery shells; artillery blasts again after the infantry charges; if the infantry can't take the position, artillery shells enemy and friendly alike."
Infantry-artillery coordination and infantry-tank coordination were the frontline tactics most commonly used by the Japanese army. It sounded simple enough, but executing it required formidable military proficiency.
On the National Revolutionary Army's side, things were much simpler. For the Northwest Army, they had few artillery pieces, and tanks were out of the question. Under such conditions, being able to mount human wave assaults and elastic defenses was already good enough. If faced with a defense line short on manpower, they couldn't even manage human wave tactics.
"Say, Zhu Shiqing, that General Staff of yours really did teach you a few things after all."
Now that they had grown familiar, Sun Yi had dropped the formal title of "Staff Officer" and generally called Zhu Shiqing by name. "In all my years leading troops, this is the first time the higher-ups have sent me a genuine staff officer. A few came through before, but they couldn't even speak coherently—all they knew was talking nonsense all day."
Zhu Shiqing replied, "You flatter me, Regiment Commander. With your command ability, having a staff officer or not hardly makes a difference. We can only assist you in making decisions."
"No, it's not the same." Sun Yi gave a wry smile and waved his hand, casting a glance over at Xiang Chengyu. "Xiang Chengyu, do you remember that Lao Du from back when we fought at Xifengkou? That Staff Officer Du from division headquarters who was also assigned to our outfit?"
Xiang Chengyu looked as if he had recalled an unpleasant memory, shaking his head like a rattle-drum. "Lao Du was a decent fellow, but his competence was hopeless. Couldn't draw a topographic map to save his life, and the moment he stepped outside, he couldn't tell north from south. How could anyone fight a war like that...?"
"That's why, Brother Shiqing, if the day comes when you have to return to Nanjing, I certainly won't stand in the way of your prospects," Sun Yi cut in hastily. "But if any other unit in the 29th Army wants you, I sure as hell won't let you go."
"I'm not going anywhere. The 219th Regiment is my home. Once this tense period passes, I'll go recruit soldiers for you in person," Zhu Shiqing said with a grin.
Sun Yi nodded with satisfaction. Outside, heavy thudding footsteps sounded, and a messenger hurried breathlessly to the doorway, a rifle slung over each shoulder. He called out from outside, "Regiment Commander, here are the rifles you asked for."
Sun Yi quickly got up and took two steps in one to the doorway to receive them. Zhu Shiqing glanced over from the corner of his eye and saw a Zhongzheng rifle.
"A rare find! Where'd you get your hands on that, Regiment Commander?" Xiang Chengyu craned his neck to look, spotting the Zhongzheng rifle at once.
To his surprise, Sun Yi turned and walked in the opposite direction, heading straight for Zhu Shiqing. "Xiao Fang told me you prefer long rifles over sidearms. Everything we've got here is Hanyang rifles, so I specifically went to division headquarters to get you a Zhongzheng rifle. Take it."
Zhu Shiqing was momentarily stunned. Looking at the deep-black Zhongzheng rifle swaying before him, his eyes suddenly grew moist. Staring blankly for a second, he took the rifle and said loudly, "Thank you, Regiment Commander!"
Watching from across the room, Xiang Chengyu felt a tangle of mixed emotions. It was impossible not to feel envious; after all, the entire regiment could hardly scrape together five Zhongzheng rifles, and the rifling in the Hanyang rifles carried by many soldiers was worn almost smooth.
Yet who could complain when the man was a treasure? Xiang Chengyu sighed, slung his Mauser pistol over his shoulder, and headed outside to inspect the troops.
In recent days, more and more people had been arriving in Zhaojiazhuang. Following the incident in Guozhuang, villagers from across the surrounding countryside had spontaneously begun moving their households toward Zhaojiazhuang. In any case, Zhaojiazhuang had plenty of empty houses—more than enough for a room per person. The puppet troops were growing increasingly restless, and people simply wanted to live in peace.
During this period, Nanjing sent numerous telegrams to the 29th Army, though none concerned military matters. The general intent was urging the 29th Army to promptly carry out the southward evacuation of Beiping's cultural relics.
The telegrams stated that "the treasures of our ancestors must never fall into enemy hands." Qin Dechun reported the matter to Song Zheyuan, who was biding his time in Shandong. Song Zheyuan had only one response:
"The cultural relics can move south, but can every blade of grass, every tree, every brick, every tile, and the common folk of these North China provinces move south? No moving! Seal them all up, and nobody touches a thing!"
By this point, the authorities in Nanjing were deeply on edge. After receiving Zhu Shiqing's telegram, Ming Quan had sent intelligence operatives to keep constant watch on the Kwantung Army's movements. Lately, reports of the Kwantung Army moving south arrived one after another, and Ming Quan had already formed a grim conviction in his heart: war was about to break out in Beiping and Tianjin!
To that end, following the recommendation in Zhu Shiqing's telegram, Nanjing urgently redeployed the 26th Army near the Ping-Han Railway to advance toward Baoding, and ordered all generals attending the Summer Training Corps at Mount Lu to descend the mountain early and return to their respective units.
Evidently, Nanjing had already braced itself mentally for battle.
Lugou Bridge was originally built in the twenty-ninth year of the Dading reign of the Jin dynasty (1189). Whether that regnal year eerily foreshadowed the fate of the 29th Army or not, this magnificent stone bridge spanning the Yongding River was destined to shoulder an elegy of the era.
July 6, Fengtai Station.
A drizzle fell from the sky, heat rising from the muddy roads, filling the air with the scent of earth. Through the misty rain, Chinese and Japanese soldiers stared each other down, each able to glimpse the murderous intent in the other's eyes.
What happened this morning was just like when Zhu Shiqing had first arrived: the Japanese troops wanted to pass through Fengtai Station for an exercise, Gu Chuanning refused to allow it, and the two sides reached a stalemate.
In truth, the 29th Army had no authority to interfere with Japanese exercises, and the Japanese could easily have bypassed the station; no one would have stopped them even if they had marched around the flank. Yet right now, they insisted on marching over the very ground beneath the Chinese soldiers' feet.
Starting on the fourth, Japanese troops showed up every morning to stand there. Gu Chuanning would not grant passage, so the Japanese simply stood their ground, and the two sides remained locked in a stare-down.
This standoff had regimental headquarters on edge as well. Sun Yi had originally thought that with July arriving, he could use the time to go recruit some fresh soldiers, but this turn of events ruined those plans entirely.
Zhu Shiqing felt constantly anxious during this time as well. Unable to sit still at regimental headquarters, he left Fang Wenjian by Sun Yi's side, packed his things, and headed off to the 3rd Battalion's post to eat and sleep alongside Battalion Commander Tan Hai.
Behind Fengtai Station, in a makeshift battalion command post constructed from several tents, Tan Hai scraped at a bit of broken rice in his tin mess kit, cursing incessantly under his breath:
"Dog-fucking little devils, stalling with me like this day in and day out! I can't even eat a meal in peace."
Just then, Zhu Shiqing returned from the front of the station, droplets of water clinging to the brim of his cap. Slipping quickly into the command post, he said, "There are even more Japanese troops today. A company commander arrived across from us, and I saw a few more machine guns too."
With that, he sat down on a small bamboo chair by the table, grabbed his portion of food, and began wolfing it down.
Swallowing a mouthful of rice, Tan Hai spat, "Machine guns, my ass! If the little Japanese really wanted to fight, they wouldn't let us see them. They don't have the guts to attack us—they're just doing this every single day to disgust us."
Zhu Shiqing nodded as he ate. Tan Hai had a point: if the Japanese truly intended to attack Fengtai, why would they openly expose their reinforcements? If they wanted to launch a surprise attack, they should have moved in secret.
And yet, Tan Hai's words unexpectedly hit the mark.
On the morning of the seventh, apart from a few scattered Japanese troops guarding key points, the rest of the Japanese forces that had been entrenched across from Fengtai conducting exercises completely vanished!
Chapter 45