Black Flag Army

Chapter 145 The Attack on Temple Street Begins

Di Xiong noticed that behind Mr. Jin, the two cooks pushing the food cart were both wearing black badges, which were the symbols of inspectors. It was obvious that the supervisory department was not at ease with the old man.

Mr. Jin said, "The commander-in-chief is too polite. It is an honor for an old man like me to serve you officers!"

Di Xiong said, "Come to think of it, I haven't apologized to the old man yet. I gave the wrong order at the beginning and kept you old men out. As a result, the old man got his head hurt. Is the wound healed?"

Old Master Jin said, "The wound is healed now. You can't blame the commander-in-chief. People are useless when they get old. This is human nature. When I opened an inn in Fengtian, I didn't want old men as waiters. But I'm different from others. I exercise every day and I'm very strong. Although I'm in my sixties, I'm no different from someone in his fifties."

While Mr. Jin was talking, his hands did not stop. He handed the food on the tray to Di Xiong and other commanders. Di Xiong, Jiang Hongyu, Wu Chunlei and others took the food and sat at the conference table to eat.

After breakfast, Di Xiong ordered the headquarters to be moved to Khabarovsk. Khabarovsk was the third largest city in Outer Northeast China. Its change of ownership not only shocked the various factions of China and Tsarist Russia, but also attracted great attention from the governments of Britain, the United States, and Japan. At the port of Vladivostok, the largest city in Outer Northeast China, a large number of American and Japanese transport ships were parked at the dock. Boxes of weapons and ammunition were unloaded from the ships and moved into the warehouses of the White Guards, as well as heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns. These things were originally delivered on a one-handed basis, but now, under the requirements of the superiors, they have been changed to be shipped on credit. There are also dozens of transport planes that transported a large number of weapons and ammunition to the second largest city, Miaojie City. Dozens of outstanding American and British military experts also flew to Miaojie. They want to do their best to help Alexander defend Miaojie.

As soon as Di Xiong entered the temporary headquarters in Birobidzhan, he received bad news that the attack on Vladivostok Airport had failed. The Vladivostok Intelligence Group provided the General Staff with the exact location of the Vladivostok Airport. The Black Flag Air Force dispatched a bomber squadron, covered by a fighter squadron, but was discovered by a Japanese patrol plane. The Japanese nearest airport was at Chongjin Airport in North Korea, but for some reason they patrolled over Vladivostok. After the Japanese planes gave warnings, more than 40 fighters at Vladivostok Airport took off to fight, and then more than 30 Japanese fighters flew from Chongjin, North Korea. In order to cover the retreat of the bombers, the Black Flag Fighter Second Squadron had to engage in a fierce battle with twice as many enemy planes. When Ping Zuyi led the First Fighter Squadron to reinforce, the Second Squadron had lost most of its troops, and the squadron leader Ping Zude also died heroically.

After the air battle, the Black Flag Army's planes retreated first. In this battle, the Black Flag Army lost 31 planes, the White Army lost 25, and the Japanese planes lost 4.

When the news reached the headquarters in Khabarovsk, the commanders were all shocked. Feng Anbang, who had just been promoted to deputy commander of the Second Army, asked: "Why are Japanese planes patrolling over Vladivostok? And why did Chongjin, North Korea, which is so close to Vladivostok, become a Japanese airport?"

Di Xiong said: "This shows that the armies of the two countries, which once fought to the death in the Russo-Japanese War in Northeast China, are now wearing the same pants. After the outbreak of the First World War, Japan and Russia were originally allies, but only on the surface. Now the Russian army in Outer Northeast China has reached the most dangerous time. Our opponent Alexander should have given up a lot of interests to the Japanese, so that the Japanese Air Force would help them fight. It is normal for Chongjin, Korea to become a Japanese airport. Since the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Korea has become a Japanese colony. The Japanese can station troops and build airports anywhere in Korea. Many Chinese people are sad when they mention the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and think that it has caused too much harm to China. In fact, there is a country that is worse than China, that is Korea. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 has actually caused them to perish. The Japanese troops stationed in Korea can burn, kill, loot, and harm women at will. Although their resistance has never stopped, even Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi was killed by them."

Jiang Hongyu said: "Vladivostok is too close to North Korea. The Japanese army will support the Russian army at any time. We are now facing the Japanese Air Force. Their army and navy may also join the war. Japan has a strong naval force, which will bring great trouble to retaking Vladivostok. Our previous battle plan was too optimistic. I think we should re-formulate the battle plan and take the Japanese army into account."

Wu Chunlei said: "According to intelligence, foreign powers' planes are transporting large quantities of weapons and equipment to Temple Street. Temple Street's defense capabilities are getting stronger and stronger. I suggest that we attack Temple Street immediately. Otherwise, the longer they prepare, the greater our losses will be."

Feng Anbang said: "We have just finished fighting in Boli City. According to the usual practice, we should rest for a few days."

Wu Chunlei said: "We only used three divisions to attack Boli City. We have twelve divisions. Let these three divisions rest while the other troops attack. We can't waste time. Wasting time is a crime against the soldiers on the front line."

Di Xiong asked Jiang Hongyu: "What does the Chief of General Staff mean?"

Jiang Hongyu said: "I agree to attack! But we must be prepared for failure. It is impossible to trap and kill the enemy commander in Temple Street. This means that this is a tough battle!"

Di Xiong asked for other people's opinions. Liu Zhendong, deputy commander of the First Army, and Leng Hanbing, chief of staff of the Second Army, both expressed their support for Wu Chunlei's view that it could not be delayed any longer. So Di Xiong ordered that at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, eight divisions of troops would be dispatched to advance to Miaojie, and the Air Force would dispatch two fighter squadrons to cover the march.

When the news of the recovery of Boli reached Beihai Province, Beitang City and other places naturally cheered. The local people, of course, did not know the danger ahead, and held celebrations. Hu Lin, who accompanied Zhang Shaozeng and his party, also had a drink with Zhang Shaozeng and others at the Lanji Hotel to celebrate. Halfway through the drink, they unexpectedly saw Xian Yuji coming, and they were all very happy.

Zhang Shaozeng asked, "Director Xian no longer needs to worry about publicity matters?"

Xian Yuji said, "Basically, I've finished my work. The next step is to carry out the execution. I don't need to go there in person. I've neglected you all these days. I'll offer you three glasses of wine as an apology!"

Although Xian Yuji was a woman, she was very generous when it came to drinking. She poured three glasses of white wine into a large glass and drank all three glasses in a row. Everyone cheered and admired her very much.

Xian Yuji asked: "What places have you visited in the past few days?"

Zhang Shaozeng smiled and said, "Zhengqing School, Zhengqing Commercial Company, Justice Daily, Beihai Gun Factory, and Simon Gun Factory. Mayor Hu wanted to take us to visit the Justice Party Supervisory Office Building, but Wang Fangting and the two reporters were afraid, so they didn't go."

Zhang Bingfu said, "I'm not afraid, but the Supervisory Office is not like other places. If I go there, I will definitely be questioned. It will be very troublesome to go through a set of procedures. In order not to cause trouble to the Supervisory Office, I will not go there."

Shao Fengping said, "I'm not like Zhang Bingfu who cares about face so much. I admit that I'm afraid. I've been in the Beiyang government's prison. It was not a life for a human being. I'm worried that after visiting the Supervisory Office and smelling the blood, I won't be able to eat when I come back. And I've heard the nursery rhyme of Gu Xingzhi, the section chief of the Supervisory Office, on the street: When you smell Gu Xingzhi, the crying of children stops; when you see a hooked nose, you suspect it's Gu Xingzhi. I'm even more afraid to go."

Xian Yuji took advantage of the wine and said, "Guan Tian and Gu Xingzhi, there are two more jokes. Do you want to hear them?"

Everyone said they wanted to hear it, so Xian Yuji said, "One day, it was time to get out of school at Zhengqing Primary School. The first-grade students in Chi Baimei's class hadn't finished their homework yet, so one student wanted to run out. Chi Baimei grabbed his ear and dragged him back to his seat, ordering him to finish his homework before going home. The student burst into tears, and the other students followed suit. The crying was so loud that Chi Baimei shouted until her throat was hoarse, but no one listened. Then she suddenly had an idea, and shouted, 'Gu Xingzhi is here!' Suddenly, the classroom fell silent!"

Wang Fangting asked, "Is the effect so good? First-year students are only a few years old. It's impossible for them to have seen Gu Xingzhi before. How could they be afraid?"

Zhang Shaozeng said: "People may not be afraid of people or things they have never seen before. For example, no one has ever seen a ghost, but they are afraid of it. Although the student is only a few years old, he must have heard his parents talk about Gu Xingzhi in fear, so he is afraid!"

Xian Yuji said: "General Zhang is indeed the wise man that Di Juzi praised. He hit the nail on the head."

Zhang Bingfu asked, "What about the other joke?"

Xian Yuji said, "Last month, Beihai Cosmetics Factory launched a new whitening cream, which is very effective in whitening women's skin. It caused a rush as soon as it was launched on the market. Our publicity department has a publicity team leader named Le Hongmei who also went to buy it. She saw that the cosmetics counter of Zhengqing Commercial Society was crowded with women. The mall security guard asked everyone to line up, but no one paid attention to her. Le Hongmei was squeezed to the back and didn't know how long she had to wait. She shouted, "Gu Xingzhi is here." As a result, hundreds of women in front of her quickly disappeared. Le Hongmei successfully bought the whitening cream. When the salesperson handed the whitening cream to her, her face turned pale and her hands were shaking. She thought the salesperson had misunderstood her as Gu Xingzhi, and was about to explain, but suddenly she felt something was wrong. The salesperson's eyes were looking at the back of her. She hurriedly turned back and was scared to death. Guess what she saw?"

Shao Fengping smiled and said, "Who else could it be? Of course it was Gu Xingzhi."

Xian Yuji said, "Reporter Shao is very smart and guessed it right. Gu Xingzhi asked her coldly why she wanted to use this method to intimidate others for fun? Le Hongmei was originally an opera singer from Shaanxi. She had been in the Propaganda Department for a few days. When she was questioned by Gu Xingzhi, she knelt down on the spot, admitted her mistake and begged for mercy, saying that she would never dare to do it again. However, Gu Xingzhi knew this famous Qinqiang opera actress, so he did not embarrass her. He bought a whitening cream and left."

Shao Fengping said: "It seems that Gu Xingzhi is not as cruel as the legend says. He will arrest anyone who makes a mistake."

Xian Yuji said: "Of course the rumors are more exaggerated than the facts, but the current Supervisory Office really cannot do without Gu Xingzhi. With Gu Xingzhi, the crime rate has dropped a lot, and it has become much more difficult for Japanese agents to bribe informants in Beihai Province. Some people even took the initiative to report. The former Supervisory Office Director Leng Hanbing had a great influence, but after he left, the new director's personality became much softer, and the influence is all due to Gu Xingzhi."

In the meeting room of the White Army Headquarters in Miaojie City, sitting at the first seat was Alexander. The acting commander-in-chief Alexander, who was in his thirties, had no beard and had shaved his head like his brother, looking very young and handsome!

The long table in the conference room was filled with officers on both sides, including the direct officers such as Division Commander Pavlov and Division Commander Romanov, as well as the leaders of the miscellaneous troops who had defected to the city such as Ivanov, Grigory, and Semenov, and several American and British military advisers.

Alexander said to Pavlov, "The bandits' attack on Temple Street is about to begin. Have we arranged our outer defense line?"

Pavlov said, "The American and British advisers have guided us in the layout. The first layer is a minefield, the second layer has three barbed wire fences, and there are three trenches behind it. Finally, there are more than 300 light and dark bunkers. The light and heavy artillery positions are also equipped with sufficient artillery shells. If the black bandits attack, there will definitely be a river of blood and a mountain of corpses in front of the position."

Alexander said to Romanov, "What about the air force? We were ambushed by them last time and lost a lot of planes. We may not have enough planes."

Romanov said: "I have already transferred some of the planes from Shuangchengzi and Vladivostok. Now the number has been restored to more than 50. Shuangchengzi and Vladivostok are protected by the Japanese Air Force, so they don't need so many planes. Even if the number of planes is insufficient, we don't have to worry. The Americans have supported us with hundreds of anti-aircraft guns, which can offset the number of the enemy's air force."

American advisor Ike said, "Your Excellency the Commander, don't worry. The Black Flag Air Force attacked Vladivostok Airport the day before yesterday, but encountered a stubborn resistance from our allies, the Japanese aircraft, and suffered heavy losses. There should not be many aircraft participating in the attack on Temple Street."

British advisor David said: "The Black Flag Army is a respectable army, but the troops are too few. They have only eight divisions that have reached the south of Temple Street, and only four divisions in Hailanpao. If they lose more than half of their troops in the Battle of Temple Street, they will no longer pose a threat to the White Army's headquarters."

At the Black Flag Army position south of Temple Street, Cui Yuxiang, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division, observed through a telescope for a long time, sighed, and said to his regiment commander Zhang Lingyun: "This battle is not easy to fight! The enemy's defense is too tight. If we attack head-on, our brigade will lose at least half of its soldiers. These are all very brave and loyal young men. It would be a pity to waste them in vain."

Cui Yuxiang, like Zhang Lingyun and Chen Wanqing, was a company commander when he followed his superior Wu Chunlei to join Di Xiong three years ago. During the first attack on Suwu City, Chen Wanqing and Zhang Lingyun were shot and wounded one after another and were sent to the rear for treatment, losing the opportunity for promotion. Cui Yuxiang was lucky not to be injured and became a battalion commander after the war. In the past few years in Suwu City, he made meritorious contributions in suppressing bandits and rebellions many times and was promoted to regiment commander. In the battle to recapture the northern part of Beihai Lake, he killed another enemy brigade commander. After the army was expanded, he became a brigade commander. Zhang Lingyun was not as lucky as him, but he was less injured, was discharged from the hospital early, and participated in more battles than Chen Wanqing. Now he has finally become a regiment commander, while Chen Wanqing is only a deputy regiment commander.

Zhang Lingyun was about to speak when he suddenly heard a loud "bang". A shell exploded on the enemy's barbed wire, and the battle to attack Temple Street began.