CHAPTER 16: FIRESTORM AT PENGZE (Part Five)

　　Mid-June, 1938. After activating the 9th War Zone, Chen Cheng placed all Yangtze River defenses—Madang, Hukou—under 19th Army Group Commander Luo Zhuoying. When Madang Fortress fell on June 26, Chen Cheng ordered Luo Zhuoying and Li Yunheng on June 27:

　　“Recapture and secure Madang Fortress and Xiangshan positions. These gateways to Anhui-Jiangxi hold immense strategic value. Commander Luo will oversee the 16th Army, 49th Army, 11th Division, and 16th Division. Prompt action required. Reward: 50,000 silver dollars per captured strongpoint. Failure or cowardice: court-martial.”

　　June 28, pre-dawn. The 49th Army’s 105th Division, 313th Brigade broke through Japanese positions southeast of Xiangshan. Xiangshan retaken. Japs retreated to Xiangkou. As the 49th advanced toward Xiangkou, the main force of the Hota Detachment landed. Boosted by air support and naval artillery, Xiangkou proved impossible to retake.

　　Meanwhile, frustrated by slow river advances, the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army and China Area Fleet deployed reinforcements:

　　106th Division → Guard key Yangtze points

　　111th Regiment → Support Hota Detachment’s drive toward Jiujiang

　　21st Torpedo Squadron, 2nd Gunboat Fleet, 15th Air Group → Reinforce 11th Sentai

　　June 29, dawn. The 11th Sentai demolition unit breached Madang’s river blockade. The Hota Detachment attacked Pengze with full force between Madang and Xiangkou. The 106th Division’s 111th Brigade trailed behind.

　　To spare civilians, Commander Li Yunheng had wisely ordered city-wide evacuation a day prior.

　　Dong Yaoting and Dong San-shao burst into the shack, breathless. After explaining the evacuation notice, Dong Yaoting pressed urgently: "Master, you must take Hanzhi and go. My family will shelter you—please."

　　Old Zhang tapped his pipe, embers glowing. "Your heart's gold, son. But these old eyes need to see how Jap devils take our Pengze!"

　　Dong Yaoting’s gaze softened toward Hanzhi. "She’s barely sixteen, Master. When cannons roar—"

　　Hanzhi whipped her braid like a sword. "Dong Yaoting! Don’t treat me like porcelain! In a fight? You’d be the one needing rescue!"

　　A smile tugged Dong San-shao’s lips— her spirit lighting something fierce in him. "Young Master, let’s stand our ground! Remember the opera? ‘Soldiers charge? We bar the road! Floods surge? We build the dam!’"

　　Dong Yaoting shook his head wryly. "Bar with what? Our stage props?" He gestured at the training dadao. "Blades against bullets?"

　　Zhang Facai kicked dust. " Dying here? A futile sacrifice! "

　　As tensions crackled—

　　Five Japanese gunboats pierced Fang Lake’s mist southwest of Pengze. The city was sealed in a steel noose.

　　Pengze’s defenders—the battered remnants of the 53rd and 167th Divisions—dug in. The 53rd, mauled at Huangshan-Xiangshan, could barely muster two weakened regiments. Meanwhile, Xue Weiying’s 167th Division met catastrophe at Fang Lake: Japanese gunboats blasted his retreating troops into bloody ruin. Of 10,000 men, half lay dead or maimed. Survivors stumbled into Pengze to join the 53rd.

　　Combined, their forces still numbered over 10,000 soldiers. Seeing these battle-scarred troops fortify the city, Pengze’s civilians refused point-blank to evacuate. Li Yunheng’s earlier Resistance Academy graduation had convinced them: Pengze would hold.

　　Unwittingly, Dong Yaoting’s group was drawn into the maelstrom. At 10:00 AM on June 30th—just as Dong Yaoting pleaded with Zhang Jinzhi to flee—artillery screamed.

　　Ten seconds of absolute silence.

　　Then—the earth heaved. Direct hits obliterated the Resistance Academy and Headquarters. Officers and guards inside were blown to oblivion—not even corpses remained.

　　Commander Li Yunheng and the 16th Army Headquarters had already evacuated Pengze. Zhou Qiduo's 53rd Division occupied defensive positions northeast of the city, while Xue Weiying’s battered 167th Division held the southwestern perimeter.

　　The Hota Detachment, initially formed under Japanese colonial rule as the Taiwan Army, traced its origins to 1895. After crushing Taiwan’s uprising at the cost of 10,000 casualties, Japan established the Taiwan Garrison. Over time, regular Japanese troops withdrew, replaced by conscripted ethnic Taiwanese (ethnic Chinese soldiers) under exclusive Japanese command.

　　This brigade-sized force (~11,000 troops) spearheaded Japan's Wuhan offensive with ruthless efficiency. Its structure included:

　　1st Regiment (2,800 troops): Deployed northeast against the 53rd Division

　　2nd Regiment (2,800 troops): Positioned southwest flanking the 167th Division

　　Heavy Artillery Regiment (1,900 troops)

　　13th Field Gas Company (300 troops, minus one platoon)

　　Major General Hota Shigeichi coordinated the assault:

　　Artillery’s primary target: Obliterate the Resistance Military Academy (intelligence provided by 106th Division Commander Matsuura Junkurō)

　　Strategic deployments:

　　1st Regiment: 30°55'N 116°35'E (northeast pressure point)

　　2nd Regiment: 30°52'N 116°32'E (southwest pincer)

　　Heavy artillery batteries aimed at Pengze’s city center (29°51'N 116°33'E)

　　Colonial forces pressed the attack – ethnic Taiwanese conscripts advancing against their Chinese brethren while Japanese officers directed the carnage. The bitter irony resonated silently beneath thunderous artillery fire.

　　The ground shook violently. Zhang Hanzhi clutched Dong San-shao's arm tightly, her whole body trembling. Dong Yaoting shouted: "San-shao! Zhang Facai! That explosion came from the county government building—must've taken a direct hit!"

　　Zhang Facai spat on the ground. "Goddamn Jap bastards! How'd they advance so damn fast? Now we're trapped like rats!"

　　Dong Yaoting fixed him with an intense stare. "You think any guns survived in there?"

　　Zhang Facai's eyes widened in realization. "You planning to scavenge weapons from the ruins?"

　　"You rather sit here waiting to die?" Dong Yaoting shot back. "Guns mean fighting spirit! Move before the Japs overrun us!" He sprinted toward the ruins without waiting for agreement.

　　Dong San-shao desperately pulled free from Hanzhi's grip, chasing after him. "Stay put! We'll be back soon!" he yelled over his shoulder. Zhang Facai cursed under his breath but followed.

　　Old Zhang Jinzhi watched them disappear into the dust. "See that, girl? Soldiers always understand—fighting devils requires real weapons." He patted his dadao. "Blades alone won't win wars."

　　Hanzhi stared intently at the distant rubble, ignoring her grandfather.

　　

　　Ten minutes later: The Resistance Academy lay in utter ruins—collapsed walls, splintered beams. Injured officials crawled through debris. Dong Yaoting helped lift a heavy rafter crushing a bleeding man. "Was there an armory here? Underground?"

　　The wounded man gasped, clutching his head. "Basement arsenal... But stealing state weapons is treason! Execution offense!"

　　"Find the entrance! Now!" Dong Yaoting barked at his companions. He turned to the official, eyes blazing. "Know why their artillery hit dead center? Traitors sold the coordinates! Let Japs capture these guns to massacre more Chinese?"

　　The clerk paused, then pointed. "Basement entrance is there. But you’re soldiers—why loot here instead of defending the walls?"

　　Dong Yaoting ignored him, striding toward the rubble. "San-shao! Zhang Facai! To the basement—now! Seconds count!"

　　They heaved aside fallen beams and stone slabs blocking the entrance. Just as they cleared it—

　　"HALT! Identify yourselves!"

　　An NRA major stood behind them, twenty rifle muzzles aimed at their chests.

　　"Sir! NRA troops!" Dong Yaoting snapped to attention. "Securing weapons to fight Japs!"

　　The major stepped forward, eyes drilling into Dong Yaoting. "Unit designation? Why here? One lie—summary execution!"

　　Beside him, Dong San-shao’s calf muscles trembled visibly.