Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 882 Boss: Li Yunlong is a powerful general

At the 16th Brigade headquarters in Shangqiu City, everyone had a smile on their face and their voices were a little higher.

The reason was simple. The Kwantung Army was so famous that everyone felt a heavy burden on their hearts. This battle was really a boost to their morale and excited the officers and soldiers of the 16th Brigade.

Because of concerns that the Japanese army might launch a surprise attack at night, Li Yunlong deliberately moved up the dinner time so that the soldiers of the 16th Brigade had dinner before dark.

"Tie Bing, after you finish your meal, go talk to the logistics department and ask them to add more oil to the food in the future. Don't be reluctant!"

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, then added: "Including the militiamen under the Shangqiu Prefectural Committee, their food must be provided. Don't treat them differently!"

"Brigade Commander, with our current military reserves in Shangqiu, there is enough food to feed 20,000 people for a month, but if we eat meat, eggs and other foods to our heart's content, they can only last for a week!" Xin Tiebing replied.

Li Yunlong glared and said, "Just follow my orders. Not many people will die tomorrow!"

"Today is just an appetizer. The Japanese army is not familiar with our situation, so they let us take advantage. As the chief of staff, you must always stay awake and don't let the temporary victory go to your head!"

"Yes!" Xin Tiebing replied.

Yucheng, headquarters of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column.

"Commander, there's a call from the 16th Brigade!" Yang Bo walked in with a telegram.

Zhou Weihan glanced at the time, it was 6:15 pm. He didn't rush to take the telegram, but looked around at everyone: "What do you think, is this telegram from Li Yunlong seeking credit or complaining?"

Luo Benzhong looked at Zhou Weihan's confident expression and had some guesses in his mind: "I have been working with Lao Li for quite some time, so I know him a little bit!"

"Today is the first day of the match between the two sides. According to Lao Li's personality, even if he suffered a big loss, he would swallow it, so he is definitely not here to complain!"

"You really understand Li Yunlong's thoughts!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile, and Yang Bo nodded.

"In our first encounter with the enemy, our troops successfully destroyed the enemy's howitzer positions, blew up 37 tanks, and killed more than a thousand infantrymen."

Since the communication was via telegram, the content was extremely brief, but the battle records reported lifted everyone's spirits.

Zhou Weihan thought for a moment and said, "Reply to the 16th Brigade. Your victory in the first battle is worth celebrating, but you must continue to remain calm and composed. You must not blindly counterattack because of a temporary victory!"

"If we can separate the Japanese attacking forces from the air defense forces in future battles, we can call for air support at any time!"

At present, all strategic deployments are centered around Shangqiu. Whether the 16th Brigade can hold its ground in Shangqiu is the key, so Zhou Weihan had to give a few more instructions.

"Commander, will there be any setbacks in the surprise attack by the 13th and 14th Brigades tonight?" Chief of Staff Zhao Bingzhang reminded.

"Do you think today's confrontation in Shangqiu will alert the Japanese army and strengthen their defenses?"

Zhou Weihan lit a cigarette for himself. He had indeed not thought of this just now. The Japanese army was not a puppet army. Even if they were attacked by surprise, they would not collapse at the first blow. The battle would most likely fall into a stalemate.

With heavy troops on both sides, obtaining battlefield information was of utmost importance. Why did Yamashita Tomoyu suffer a loss? Although he had heard many times that the Jiluyu Column was extraordinary, he still thought that the Eighth Route Army was a country bumpkin. He knew that the Eighth Route Army had an organized artillery, but he still looked down on the Eighth Route Army's use of artillery, thinking that the Eighth Route Army's artillery units were not up to standard, and he eventually suffered a loss.

At present, the Japanese army has regained control of the railway line from Shangqiu to Xuzhou. During the day, the Eighth Route Army can use aircraft to scout the movement of Japanese troops, but once dark, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to figure out the movements of the Japanese army.

The lives and property of tens of thousands of soldiers and the future of the entire Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area are in Zhou Weihan's hands. He has no choice but to consider it carefully. Everyone is waiting for Zhou Weihan to make a decision.

When the cigarette burned out, the burning pain from his fingers woke Zhou Weihan from his chaotic thoughts: "The arrow has been put on the string and must be shot. Not only the head of the headquarters, but also the heads of Yanzhou are paying attention to the direction of this battle!"

"Don't change the attack order. Send another telegram to the 16th Brigade, instructing them to use artillery to bombard the Japanese positions after dark. We don't ask for heavy casualties, but we must create momentum!"

"In a word, we must not let the main force of the Japanese army move in from Shangqiu. We must buy time for the 13th and 14th Brigades to annihilate the Japanese army's scattered divisions!"

"Yes!"

The battle report of the 16th Brigade's initial victory was reported step by step and soon reached the Eighth Route Army Headquarters. Coincidentally, the brigade commander came to the headquarters to report on his work.

A group of people were having dinner when the head of the telecommunications department of the headquarters ran in excitedly, shouting, "Boss, good news! A telegram from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region!"

Just as Zhou Weihan said, all forces inside and outside the party were paying attention to this battle. The Longhai Campaign was the support point for the Eighth Route Army's future counterattack. Although many leaders of the headquarters and Yanzhou did not go to the battlefield in person, they were under equally great pressure.

The boss put down his bowl and chopsticks, took the telegram, and after reading the contents of the telegram, he immediately smiled and praised: "Good, good, Li Yunlong fought well, look at it!"

"Chen Geng, you brought out a brave general!"

The brigade commander felt jealous when he heard this, thinking back to when both Li Yunlong's New 386st Regiment and Zhou Weihan's New nd Regiment had risen from behind and become the face of the th Brigade thanks to their own development.

With these two main regiments, the brigade commander didn't have to worry about anything and could obtain a batch of weapons and equipment from time to time. However, the good days did not last long. Not only was the New Second Regiment separated from the 386th Brigade, but even Li Yunlong's New First Regiment was abducted.

Of course, this is the inevitable result of the continuous growth of the Eighth Route Army.

The brigade commander smiled and said, "Boss, you can't praise him too early. Li Yunlong has many tricks in fighting, but he also has many problems. Sometimes when you praise him a few times, he will make trouble soon!"

"That's because you, Brigade Commander Chen, love your subordinates so much that you always indulge their bad habits!"

"Hey, I should have gone home earlier today. I'll be leaving soon after dinner!"

Everyone who saw this scene burst into laughter.

"The grand drama in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area has already begun, and other base areas cannot lag behind. Chen Geng, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders!"

"The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army took the initiative to move south, seemingly intending to recapture Yuncheng. This is a rare opportunity for your Taiyue Military Region. Although the two sides did not fight together, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army will tie down some of the Japanese troops anyway!

"It would be great if your troops could achieve something in Zhongtiao Mountain. Of course, the Central Army in Changjin area will not remain indifferent either. You must be more cautious!"

"I understand!" The brigade commander nodded. He came to the headquarters this time to report the matter in person.