166: Chapter 166 Tianjia Town Fortress

"National Salvation Army? Cooperating with us?"

In the rear of the Hankou Three Towns, a group of National Government generals frowned upon hearing this news.

Where on earth did this National Salvation Army spring from?

They were basically aware of all the local warlords and armed forces of any significant scale across the country.

But as for this National Salvation Army, they had no idea where it had come from.

It appeared out of nowhere with a scale of hundreds of thousands of men.

What kind of power could afford to maintain such a force?

Even for the National Government, maintaining an army of such size was a severe financial strain.

The million-strong army for this battle included many local provincial forces.

The core units of the National Revolutionary Army were not that numerous.

Just maintaining their core units put a huge strain on their finances.

Of course, if not for Commissioner Smith, they could certainly afford it.

"Everyone, what do you think of this National Salvation Army?" From the head seat, the Chairman looked at his core generals and asked for their thoughts.

"Chairman, based on our contact, this National Salvation Army seems to come with goodwill; our common enemy is the Japanese Army. Therefore, we can assign them the defense of some important positions to reduce our own casualties," a middle-aged general spoke up.

"Important positions? We aren't even clear on the strength of this National Salvation Army. How can we easily hand over important positions to them? What if they fail to hold them? What then?" another general immediately retorted.

"True, although this National Salvation Army is very likely acting in good faith, how can we leave our backs exposed to them?"

"Gentlemen, this 'important position' is not that 'important position'," the middle-aged general spoke again.

His words stopped the other generals who were still arguing; they all looked at him, wanting to see what he meant.

"Take a look at this town," the middle-aged general said, picking up a black stick and pointing to the map.

The generals looked over and saw the town he was pointing to was located to the southwest of the Three Towns.

That area was the front line for the Japs' offensive against the Three Towns.

It was the throat of the Yangtze River defense line.

They had originally deployed heavy troops to defend this area.

However, they felt it wasn't secure enough.

Unfortunately, they had no extra troops to station there.

Since a National Salvation Army had suddenly appeared, they could be assigned there.

They weren't afraid of the National Salvation Army having ill intentions.

Right now, the whole country was united in the war of resistance; with a great enemy at the gates, anyone who dared to obstruct the resistance would be an enemy of the entire nation.

Besides, once on the battlefield, the Japs wouldn't care who you were.

"In that case, let's arrange it this way."

...

On the other side, General Huang Wei and the others received the defense orders.

Proceed to Tianjia Town and assist the garrison in its defense.

Seeing this order, they did not hesitate.

The army immediately set out for Tianjia Town.

"The location of Tianjia Town is vital. If the Japs want to attack the Three Towns, they must take this area."

"They've assigned us the hardest place to defend," General Huang Wei said with a faint smile while looking at the map.

Beside him, Adjutant Chen nodded upon hearing his words and said:

"It seems they don't trust us."

"It's normal. After all, we appeared out of thin air," General Huang Wei chuckled.

He could understand their thinking.

An army of two hundred thousand would be a major warlord force anywhere.

In ancient times, one could even declare themselves king.

"We'll go to Tianjia Town first; we can talk about the rest later."

General Huang Wei and his men were some distance from Tianjia Town.

However, General Huang Wei only sent one brigade.

Tianjia Town wasn't large; sending one brigade to support was more than enough.

Any more wouldn't fit; it was completely unnecessary.

The reason for contacting the National Revolutionary Army was simply to make an appearance.

To express goodwill.

As for cooperation, General Huang Wei couldn't possibly follow their orders blindly; providing some support was enough.

After all, if they used the National Salvation Army as cannon fodder, they couldn't actually go and die, could they?

Even though they wouldn't truly die, their equipment would be lost.

This was the wealth they had accumulated over six months; if it was all wiped out, the game might as well be restarted.

Only their First Army came to provide support this time.

As for the troops from the other military districts, two were working as laborers, and one had headed to the Southwest.

Because they needed to open up a supply transport corridor.

Two thousand miles through the Southwest, there was a seaport.

Supplies could be continuously transported into the interior from there.

They didn't lack machinery now; they lacked raw materials.

Especially ores and such.

To be self-sufficient, raw materials were vital.

Relying on their own prospecting and mining wasn't as convenient as importing from abroad.

A few days passed, and the 111th Brigade sent by General Huang Wei arrived at Tianjia Town.

By this time, the Tianjia Town garrison had already engaged in combat with the Japs.

The six thousand men of the 111th Brigade reached the outskirts of the battlefield.

Just as they arrived, they heard the deafening sound of bombardment coming from the distance.

Listening to the distant bombardment, Brigade Commander Zhang Yang immediately sent men to scout.

Half a day later, the scouting team returned and reported on the situation of the battlefield.

Japanese warships had entered the Yangtze River.

The Tianjia Town Fortress was located on a cliff by the river.

The Japs' naval guns were continuously shelling the fortress.

Not only that, there were Japanese bombers in the sky conducting wave after wave of bombardment.

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Yang immediately realized the difficulty of the situation on the battlefield.

He then sent men to brave the shelling to contact the garrison of the Tianjia Town Fortress.

Night fell on the positions of the Tianjia Town Fortress.

At the 57th Division headquarters, Division Commander Shi looked at the map before him, his brow furrowed.

The Japs' offensive today was exceptionally fierce.

In just the first day, they had suffered heavy casualties.

And his orders from above were to hold the Tianjia Town Fortress at all costs.

Even if they fought down to the last man.

In addition, he had received a telegram from his superiors a few days ago saying there would be reinforcements from the National Salvation Army.

Initially, he was very confused.

What kind of force was this National Salvation Army?

But since it was reinforcements, having them was certainly better than not.

However, the fighting had already started, so why hadn't the National Salvation Army reinforcements arrived yet?

Just as he was pacing back and forth anxiously, a soldier suddenly ran in from outside.

"What's the matter, why the panic?"

The adjutant scolded the soldier upon seeing his flustered appearance.

"Di... Division Commander, the people from the National Salvation Army are here," the soldier said, panting for breath.

Before he could finish, Division Commander Shi immediately turned around and asked in a voice of disbelief, "What did you say? The National Salvation Army people are here?"

He had originally given up hope, but now they had actually come.

"Where are the National Salvation Army people?"

"Division Commander, they're outside."

"Outside? Then what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and invite them in!" Division Commander Shi urged quickly.

Soon, two soldiers wearing dark green military uniforms walked in from outside.

They were the soldiers Zhang Yang had sent to contact the garrison.

A total of one squad of soldiers had been sent, and all of them had entered the position.

Seeing these two soldiers whose uniforms were clearly different from his own, Division Commander Shi was extremely surprised.