Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"In short, it would be best if we could take down the Sixth Division's command post, but it's okay if we can't," Li Jin said.

Although he desperately wanted to kill the 6th Division Commander, Hisao Tani, to avenge the civilians who died in the massacre, this operation was not so simple, and he could not let his actions affect the overall situation.

"How many tear gas canisters have been manufactured so far?!" Li Jin asked Xu Qingfeng, wanting them to produce more tear gas canisters for other units to use.

It should be noted that many units do not have assault weapons; they do not have the firepower of the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment.

Of course, the first phase of the mission was mainly to destroy the Japanese railways and highways, and only later would they attack the Japanese pillboxes, checkpoints and other similar locations.

In such situations, tear gas becomes crucial. It forces the Japanese soldiers out of their bunkers, disabling their advantage and making it much easier to take down the bunkers, thus reducing casualties.

"We've manufactured about two thousand tear gas canisters, but we're still far from meeting the supply!" Xu Qingfeng replied. The manufacture of tear gas canisters is quite complex and not easy to produce. So, after so many days and the efforts of many comrades, we've only managed to manufacture about five thousand.

"That's pretty good. Two hundred per regiment is enough for more than ten regiments. We can just manufacture more later." Li Jin nodded with satisfaction.

The Japanese have built many strongholds, so this amount of tear gas is obviously not enough. Moreover, if they were to attack the checkpoints, they would need to deploy even more tear gas, so this amount is clearly insufficient.

Fortunately, the decisive battle will not begin until the second phase, so there is no rush now.

"Commander, when exactly is the operation scheduled?!" Xu Qingfeng asked, as they were still unsure of the exact time.

"I estimate it will be around the 10th or 20th of this month," Li Jin replied. He knew the specific time for the operation was the 20th, but since they hadn't been given a specific timeframe yet, he couldn't be too certain.

"There is still time. Should we send this batch of tear gas we're making to the brigade headquarters?" Xu Qingfeng asked.

"Send them over, it's good to let some groups have them in advance." Li Jin nodded.

“Okay, I’ll have someone set off to deliver the things in a bit,” Xu Qingfeng replied immediately.

"Send a telegram to the commander first to ask if we need it sent over. Don't forget Commander Xiao's side; they're relatively close to us, and their brigade is also relatively close. Let's see what the commander says." Li Jin told Xu Qingfeng to wait a moment; he hadn't forgotten the 129th Regiment, which had initially come here to cooperate.

The regimental commander, Xiao Yu, and the base area leader, Wu Meng, had, after all, dealt with them before.

"That's good. The commander should have produced tear gas by now, so we don't need to worry about the 386th Brigade." Xu Qingfeng nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which, Commander Xiao's mission is probably to sabotage the Zhengtai Railway. We might even fight the Japanese together sometime," Li Jin continued. Xiao Yu's regiment was located not far from the Zhengtai Railway, so their mission was definitely related to it.

"That's for sure." Xu Qingfeng nodded in agreement.

"Commander, the tear gas you made is indeed incredibly powerful. I tried it and couldn't withstand it at all. If I had to choose, I'd rather be shot by a bullet than be suffocated by tear gas," Zhao Ming said admiringly.

The thought of the pungent smell of tear gas made him feel suffocated, a feeling he found unbearable and extremely uncomfortable.

"Who told you to endure it for so long? Just try it once and that's it. The smoke from these tear gas can damage your body, it's not just a feeling of suffocation." Li Jin scolded him impatiently.

The thing the system gave him is far more powerful than ordinary tear gas. If you wear it on for too long, it will cause irreversible damage to your nasal cavity and throat. It's specifically designed to deal with the Japanese devils.

"I didn't last long, just a little while." Seeing that Li Jin was angry, Zhao Ming quickly explained that he actually didn't stay long before running out, although he also wanted to test his limits.

"You all need to remember this: if I create something new in the future, don't try it unless I tell you to, understand?" Li Jin said sternly.

"Understood." Everyone responded quickly upon hearing this. They knew that Li Jin was doing this for their own good, so they naturally didn't say anything more.

"Alright, that's enough for today's meeting. Go train the soldiers." Li Jin waved his hand, dismissing everyone.

Xu Qingfeng also went to the communications room and asked the telegraph operator to send a telegram to the leader.

.........

Operations room, 386th Brigade.

The commander stared at the map in front of him, studying it. It was a map showing the distribution of the Zhengtai Railway. The Japanese had a very long railway, and it was impossible to destroy it all, so they could only destroy it in sections.

And don't forget, the Japanese are an industrialized country with advanced technology, and they were able to repair the damaged railway within a certain timeframe.

"The Japanese are quite capable. Even if the railway is damaged, they can repair it quickly. It's unlikely that the Japanese will be unable to repair the railway," the commander remarked.

Unless they kept sending people to harass the Japanese while they were building the railway, slowing down their construction, but even that might not solve the problem.

Because once an attack is launched, the Japanese will be prepared, and may even set a trap, making it unlikely that they will launch another attack.

Therefore, if the Japanese wanted to repair the railway, they really didn't have any good way to stop them. However, if they could damage enough of the railway, they could still delay the Japanese for quite a while.

"Yes, although the Japanese devils are beasts, they are far more advanced than us in terms of technology. Our technology is far inferior to theirs." The political commissar next to him sighed, wondering when their technology would surpass that of the Japanese devils.

"Let's see if Li Jin's plan works. If it does, we can severely damage the Japanese Sixth Division, and then we can destroy even more railways!" the commander said.

Li Jin's plan was to attack the scattered forces of the 6th Division, thereby diverting the secret troops of the Japanese command headquarters. In this way, Li Jin would have the opportunity to destroy the 6th Division's command headquarters and then severely damage the 6th Division.

"Don't worry, Li Jin's plans haven't gone wrong in all this time. I'm sure he can pull it off," the political commissar replied.

"Hmm." The commander nodded.

"The troop rotation between the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment has been completed. Once Li Jin sends them a telegram, they can begin their operations," the political commissar said. The troop rotation was a crucial event for both regiments; without it, they couldn't deceive the Japanese.

If the Japanese find out that these two regiments have gone to meet up with Li Jin again, then Li Jin's plan might be in trouble, though that's not necessarily the case.

After all, Li Jin had already made contingency plans, and he wouldn't be so easily countered by the Japanese.

"That kid Li Yunlong should be getting close to the 772nd Regiment by now," the commander said. There was still some distance between the New First Regiment and the 772nd Regiment, and it would take two or three days to travel there.

"It's almost done. The specific timing of the operation is still under study by the higher-ups, and it should be released in the next couple of days. We don't know when they'll actually set it," the political commissar said, changing the subject.

This operation is quite important, so we need to set a specific time so that all units can act simultaneously to maximize the results.

"No rush, we'll wait patiently. The Japanese's 'cage plan' has affected many base areas. With the base areas blocked, the transportation of supplies is difficult. If it weren't for the walkie-talkies that Li Jin made, which allowed them to contact and support each other, it would have been very difficult," the commander said, expressing his admiration for Li Jin.

The invention of these walkie-talkies helped them solve many problems.

"While the Japanese plan put pressure on us, it also limited them. They built so many strongholds."
"It also dispersed their own forces. To be honest, if the Japanese hadn't sent several divisions to hold them off, they would have been in trouble too," the commander continued.

The Japanese established at least tens of thousands of strongholds, and there were countless watchtowers and checkpoints, which divided many of their bases into pieces.

However, if they launch a counterattack, the Japanese will also suffer.

"I reckon the Japanese probably never imagined we'd dare to counterattack them," the political commissar said with a smile.

"Hmph, in the eyes of the Japanese, our equipment is poor, our combat effectiveness is poor, and we don't have many troops that we can show off. Naturally, they don't think we have the guts to launch a counterattack."

But what they didn't know was that the Eighth Route Army was now completely different from what it used to be! This operation would definitely surprise the Japanese! The commander sneered.

"Of course, I'm actually looking forward to that day coming soon. Just thinking about how the Japanese will be terrified by our attack makes me want to laugh." The political commissar smiled.

"Sir." At that moment, a telegraph operator rushed in.

"Is this a telegram from the special operations regiment?!" the commander asked directly.

"Yes." The telegraph operator nodded and handed the telegram to the commander for review.

"What did that kid Li Jin say?!" the political commissar asked.

"He made more than two thousand tear gas canisters and asked if we wanted them delivered now, or if we should send some to the 129th Regiment first," the commander said, recounting the contents of the telegram.

"What?! They actually produced so many tear gas canisters! That's incredibly efficient!" The political commissar was somewhat surprised; the brigade headquarters had only produced a little over a thousand tear gas canisters so far.

"This isn't normal; Li Jin has plenty of talented people on his side." The commander didn't see anything wrong with it!
"Should we take this batch of tear gas?! Or should we give it to them first?!" the political commissar asked.

"We can't possibly give all two thousand tear gas canisters over there. A thousand will do, and the rest can be sent to the brigade headquarters," the commander said after thinking for a moment.

They only have a little over a thousand on their side right now, so naturally they won't let the 129th Regiment have too many; other units still need to allocate them.

"Go and send a telegram back to Li Jin right away." The commander took out paper and pen, wrote down the contents of the telegram, and handed it to the telegraph operator.

Soon, the telegraph operator took the paper and left the operations room.

"Speaking of which, the 129th Regiment is quite close to Li Jin. Maybe we can get the 129th Regiment to operate together with Li Jin in the future," the political commissar said.

“If it’s just about sabotaging the railway, then the operation is fine, but if we’re going to fight the Sixth Division with Li Jin, then let’s forget about it,” the commander said.

Although the 129th Regiment is quite capable, it is still far inferior to the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment. If they were to act alongside Li Jin, they might not be of much help and could even cause problems.

“That’s true. The Sixth Division is a top-tier division, after all. It’s normal for ordinary troops to face a lot of pressure when fighting against them,” the political commissar nodded and said.

If any unit could fight against a top-tier Japanese division, they wouldn't be having such a difficult time.

"Moreover, letting them follow along wouldn't be good for the 129th Regiment either; it would result in considerable casualties. Let them sabotage the railway and attack the Japanese pillboxes; let Li Jin handle the rest. After all, Li Jin is best at fighting these kinds of tough battles," the commander said.

Not letting the 129th Regiment go with Li Jin to fight the 6th Division was also for the good of the enemy, so as not to wipe out the enemy's hard-won troops in one fell swoop.

.........

In front of the military camp office building in Fucheng.

Chu Yunfei and the battalion-level officers of the regiment were waiting here because Division Commander Zhang was coming. Although he was a few days late, it didn't make much difference.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, several military vehicles drove in and stopped in front of the office building.

Chu Yunfei stepped forward, just as Commander Zhang got out of the car.

"Commander!" Chu Yunfei raised his hand in salute!

Fang Ligong and the others also raised their hands in salute.

"Yunfei, I'm sorry I'm a few days late. I have a lot of things to hand over to my subordinates. In case I accidentally pass away, the commander won't be without someone he can trust to do things." Commander Zhang explained the reason for his lateness.

He knew that this mission was quite risky, so he had to make sure everything was explained properly, which caused him to be delayed for a while.

"Commander, you'll definitely be alright. Since Mu Jin has arranged for people to protect you, you're absolutely safe!" Chu Yunfei said with a serious expression.

He still trusted Mu Jin a lot. If the division commander still got into trouble even with Mu Jin's people protecting him, then there was nothing he could do.

Because the warriors of Mu Jin were far stronger than their own.

"Who can say for sure? In any case, it's better to be prepared," Commander Zhang said, though he was actually still reluctant to come.

After all, he rarely participated in such dangerous missions anymore, but since the commander had spoken, he naturally had to come.

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunfei opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again, because he didn't know what to say.

"Yunfei, is everything prepared?!" Commander Zhang changed the subject.

"Everything is ready." Chu Yunfei nodded quickly.

"I'm really hungry, let's eat something quickly," Commander Zhang said.

(End of this chapter)