Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Commander, did Mu Jin really tell you the plan?!" Fang Ligong asked. He was still somewhat skeptical, feeling that the commander was just saying this to dispel everyone's doubts.

After all, it was their 358th Regiment that was cooperating with Mu Jin and his men. But if even Chu Yunfei didn't know about the plan, the officers below would definitely harbor resentment, and some unnecessary trouble might occur.

"Of course I know, but I can't tell you, otherwise it would be unfair to the others. Do you think I only trust you and not them?!" Chu Yunfei said with certainty.

He naturally didn't know Mu Jin's specific plan, but he just wanted to prevent Fang Ligong from asking any further questions.

"It's good that the regimental commander knows Mu Jin's plan. Otherwise, this cooperation would indeed have some problems. Although our combat strength is indeed not as good as Mu Jin's troops, we shouldn't be able to be ordered around by Mu Jin." Upon hearing this, Fang Ligong did not ask any more questions.

As long as it's confirmed that Chu Yunfei knows the specific plan, nothing else matters.

"Brother Ligong, when we meet up with Mu Jin and the others, I promise I will tell you the plan," Chu Yunfei said earnestly.

"Okay, Commander, to be honest, I think that based on this incident, there's a high chance that Mu Jin will join the Eighth Route Army." Fang Ligong changed the subject.

The fact that the Eighth Route Army told Mu Jin the detailed plan for such an important operation shows that they trusted him immensely, and that Mu Jin had no doubts about the plan.

This shows that the two sides trust each other. He really doesn't believe that Mu Jin had no intention of joining the Eighth Route Army.

Not joining now doesn't mean you won't join later!
"What are you trying to say?!" Chu Yunfei retorted.

“What I mean is, if one day the Japanese are driven out of China, then we and Mu Jin will eventually become enemies,” Fang Ligong said.

"Hmm, that's quite possible. Hopefully, he'll consider our past relationship and show us some leniency," Chu Yunfei couldn't help but sigh.

He was indeed not confident of defeating Mu Jin. In fact, deep down he felt that he could never be Mu Jin's opponent, as the two were not on the same level.

Mu Jin could defeat the Japanese as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, while for them, it required paying a heavy price, and a slight mistake could lead to the annihilation of their entire army.

This shows just how big the gap is between the two sides, so once they become enemies, there is really no chance of victory for either of them.

"Yes, Mu Jin and his men are too formidable. It makes me wonder if they're even human. How can such a strong force exist?" Fang Ligong nodded in response. The thought of possibly having to face such people as opponents in the future still made him feel immense pressure, even more so than when facing the Japanese.

"Alright, alright, let's talk about these things later." Chu Yunfei waved his hand, not wanting to discuss the matter. As long as it hadn't happened yet, he and Mu Jin would still be good friends.

"Commander, I'll be going now." Fang Ligong turned and left!

Chu Yunfei got up and went to the window, where the afterglow of the setting sun fell on him.

Actually, Mu Jin wanted to tell him the plan while they were in the car, but he felt a little guilty when he remembered that Mu Jin had told him the details of the plan last time, but he had kept it from everyone else.

So, after learning that the plan was only for him to know, he chose to simply not listen. Since he couldn't tell anyone, he figured he might as well not listen, since everyone would find out eventually anyway.

As for whether he will become Mu Jin's rival in the future, we'll talk about that later.

.........

"Chief of Staff, did the regimental commander tell you about the plan?!" As soon as Fang Ligong stepped out of the conference room, Qian Bojun walked up to him and asked directly.

"No." Fang Ligong shook his head.

"Chief of Staff, don't lie to me! Didn't the regimental commander tell you the plan?!" Qian Bojun was clearly somewhat disbelieving. The reason Fang Ligong stayed behind must have been to ask about the specific plan.

And since the regimental commander usually has a good relationship with Fang Ligong, he might say it.

"He really didn't say. I'd like to know what the plan is, but the regimental commander didn't tell me." Fang Ligong said helplessly. He had told the truth, but Qian Bojun still didn't quite believe him.

"Alright then." Seeing this, Qian Bojun didn't ask any more questions. He couldn't very well point a gun at Fang Ligong's head and force him to talk, could he? He'd be asking for trouble.

.........

Two days later, Li Jin also met Liu Changshun and the others on his way back to the base.

"Commander, how's it going on your end?! Has the Jin-Sui Army agreed to cooperate?!" Liu Changshun asked immediately.

He was quite curious about this; would the Jin-Sui Army cooperate?

"Of course, I personally took charge, how could there be anything I couldn't handle?" Li Jin replied calmly, as if everything was under control.

"Great job, you're truly worthy of being the team leader! Tell me how you got them to cooperate, so I can learn from you." Liu Changshun first praised them, then pressed for details.

"It's nothing..." Li Jin simply recounted the process.

"So, the Jin-Sui Army will send someone over to determine whether the battle is viable before they take action?!" Liu Changshun said, stunned.

He thought the regimental commander would use his silver tongue or the same threats he had used before to get the Jin-Sui Army to cooperate. He never expected that this time the initiative would be in the hands of the Jin-Sui Army, and whether or not to fight would be up to them.

“Yes, the Jin-Sui Army will also be deploying a lot of people for this operation, so it’s understandable that Commander Yan is being cautious,” Li Jin nodded and said.

“That’s true, but I don’t think their participation or not will have a big impact. It’s enough that the 358th Regiment is coming to cooperate with us,” Liu Changshun said.

He felt that with the 358th Regiment coming, they were comparable to other units of the Jin-Sui Army. In the end, they had a better relationship with the 358th Regiment and had cooperated many times, so they knew the 358th Regiment well.

"That's not entirely true. If the Jin-Sui Army were to send troops, they would still be able to kill more Japanese soldiers," Li Jin said.

"I'm afraid they won't even be able to break through the Japanese's weak points, that would be ridiculous," Liu Changshun responded.

"How did it go when I sent you to the brigade headquarters to deliver the supplies?!" Li Jin asked, changing the subject.

"That was a perfect success, Commander! The tear gas you made is really powerful. The bandits we used for the experiment almost choked to death in the solitary confinement!" Liu Changshun said excitedly as he mentioned it.
Although tear gas doesn't explode and kill people like hand grenades, he felt its power was even greater; at the very least, a normal person probably wouldn't last long. "I told you long ago, tear gas is a good thing," Li Jin said with a smile. At the time, Liu Changshun thought tear gas wouldn't be very effective, but now he had completely changed his mind.

"Speaking of which, you didn't secretly use it on the way, did you?!" Li Jin changed the subject and asked.

"How could that be? I delivered both tear gas canisters to the brigade headquarters. They weren't used beforehand!" Liu Changshun quickly said. He had indeed considered trying them out, but he managed to hold back. Otherwise, if the regimental commander had known, he would have been scolded.

"Don't be nervous, I was just asking. Even if you used it beforehand, I won't say anything," Li Jin replied.

"Commander, you should have said so earlier! I didn't even dare to try it back then." Liu Changshun immediately felt he had missed out; he had never had the chance to use this thing.

"So it seems you didn't use it beforehand, which is good," Li Jin said abruptly.

Upon hearing this, Liu Changshun was stunned for a moment, nervously swallowed, and said, "Commander, you're going to blow me up?!"

"I was just teasing you, who knew you'd blurt it out yourself." Li Jin waved his hand, looking quite helpless.

Liu Changshun felt a chill run down his spine, but thankfully he didn't actually use tear gas on the road.

.........

Five days later, Taiyuan Railway Station.

Trains carrying soldiers arrived here, and many Japanese soldiers disembarked.

Among them, the commander of the 6th Division, Hisao Tani, and the commander of the 25th Combined Division, Ichiro Nagakawa, got off the train under the escort of a group of soldiers.

The person in charge of receiving them was a Japanese brigade commander.

"Your Excellencies, the vehicles are ready for you. Please follow me," the Japanese brigade commander said respectfully.

"Okay, lead the way." Tani Hisao nodded expressionlessly.

Led by the Japanese brigade commander, the two left the train station and boarded a military vehicle, which was protected by a convoy of vehicles in front and behind them.

"Mr. Gu, this battle will probably be more difficult than any of our previous battles," said Nagayoshi Ichiro, sitting in the car, with a sigh.

“Indeed, the commander even agreed to let us act as bait to lure that Northeast Army into making a move,” Tani Hisao said with a serious expression.

In fact, when he first learned that he was to be used as bait, he was firmly against it. After all, he was the commander of a Class A division. How could he risk his life? If something happened to him, wouldn't it be a major loss for the empire?

It was only later, after their commander personally persuaded them, that they agreed to be the bait.

"Gu Shoujun, do you think that Northeast Army is really that powerful?! They actually caused us to lose two division commanders of Class A divisions in succession." Nagayoshi Ichiro was quite curious about this.

After all, he had never fought against the other party, and even had some doubts about whether Seishiro Itagaki's Fourth Division was too weak. In fact, the Fourth Division was not a Class A division at all, but a Class B division.

"Where did two Class A division commanders go?! Wasn't it just Nakajima-kun?!" Tani Hisao asked in confusion.

"Have you forgotten that the Northeast Army went to Changsha and crippled Inaya-kun, ultimately causing him to commit suicide because he couldn't accept it? That's two Class A division commanders in total," Nagayoshi Ichiro explained.

“If you put it that way, you’re right. I really want to try my luck against this Northeast Army.” Tani Hisao nodded. He was actually looking forward to fighting this unit. He had never encountered a force stronger than their Class A division before.

"Judging from Ban Hengjun's recent losses, this Northeast Army is indeed not simple. Its combat strength is definitely strong, and it is likely that it is several times stronger than the soldiers of our Class A division. Therefore, we should not be careless," said Nagayoshi Ichiro with a serious expression.

"Of course, didn't you say before that you didn't think this unit was necessarily stronger than ours? How come you changed your mind in the blink of an eye?" Tani Hisao said irritably.

"That's not to say we can't lose our momentum. Besides, there are so many examples right in front of us. If I'm not careful, I might become the next Nakajima-kun!" Nagayoshi Ichiro replied. He wasn't stupid. As Class A divisions, the difference in combat strength between them wasn't actually that great.

Even the Osaka Division, which claimed to only like doing business and not fighting, was not weak in combat.

"Gu Shoujun, you were one of the main culprits back then. That Northeast Army will definitely target you. You'd better be careful. Although Commander Shinotsuka said he would send people to protect you..."

But who knows if his men are reliable? I heard he spent a lot of money sending many people to Germany for training. If he not only fails to eliminate that Northeast Army, but is instead eliminated by them, then Commander Shinotsuka will lose face big time.” Nagakawa Ichiro couldn’t help but smile as he finished speaking.

He wasn't really optimistic about Commander Shinotsuka's decision to spend so much money training only a couple of thousand men.

It would be better to use so many resources on one or two thousand people instead of on others, so that more people can be trained.

“That’s hard to say, but I don’t think it’s as you say. I heard that Commander Shinotsuka’s unit was composed of the elite of the elite. Even if they didn’t learn anything particularly impressive in Germany, they are still definitely a bit stronger than our soldiers.” Tani Hisao, however, didn’t think so.

If this training were useless, Commander Shinotsuka wouldn't be so foolish as to waste so many resources. Therefore, he believed that this Yamamoto Special Attack Corps must be extraordinary.

"That's hard to say. We'll see in a bit whether the soldiers in this unit are really that good," said Nagakawa Ichiro.

“Okay.” Tani Hisao nodded quickly. He was quite interested in this unit and wanted to see just how strong the soldiers that Commander Shinotsuka had spent so much on resources to send abroad for training were.

.........

Downstairs in the military camp's office building, Itagaki Seishiro, along with Yamamoto Ichiki, two division commanders, and brigade commanders, waited there.

Since the arriving officer was a Class A division commander, Itagaki Seishiro dared not ask for permission and had to personally go downstairs to receive him. Otherwise, if Tani Hisao were to feel that he was disrespectful and refused to cooperate with them during the battle, it would be a huge problem.

"Division Commander, the Sixth Division and the 25th Combined Division have also arrived. It seems that once they adapt to the environment here, we can launch a preemptive strike!" Yamamoto Ichiki was also somewhat excited.

After waiting for so long, these two divisions are finally arriving, and he is eager to engage the enemy as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)