Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Forget it, let's wait for the regimental commander and the others to come back." Wu Meng shook his head, then opened the long wooden box containing the machine gun.

Inside were several Type 96 light machine guns, and the other boxes probably contained heavy machine guns as well.

"Move these weapons to the warehouse, and remember to do a count," Wu Meng instructed.

.........

Three days later, Xu Qingfeng returned to the base, and Li Jin went to pick him up as soon as he heard the news.

"Old Xu, the commander sent a telegram saying the operation time has been set for the 20th," Li Jin said.

"The 20th?! That's only a little over ten days away. Have you sent the regimental commander and the others off yet?! Don't delay them!" Xu Qingfeng said hurriedly upon hearing this, worried that the arrival of the regimental commander and the others would affect the plan.

"Don't worry, I sent them a telegram as soon as I received the message, telling them to meet up at Xuanming Mountain, just like the 358th Regiment," Li Jin said.

"That's good. It looks like we should set off in a few days." Xu Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and then said that it was only a few days' journey from here to Xuanming Mountain.

"So we need to prepare in the next few days. Leave some people at the base, and the rest will set off," Li Jin said.

This operation is still very important, but the base also needs to be guarded. After all, they have an arms factory here, and if something goes wrong, the losses will be huge.

"Mm." Xu Qingfeng nodded.

.........

Taiyuan, Japanese military camp.

When Itagaki Seishiro reviewed the documents recently submitted by various prefectures and saw that the progress in each prefecture was going smoothly, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. Finally, there was some good news.

Everything is proceeding as expected, and there shouldn't be any surprises in this operation.

Ring ring ring………

The telephone on the table suddenly rang, and Seishiro Itahira answered it casually.

"Moses Moses."

"Division Commander, this is Yamamoto Ichiki. I have already met up with Division Commander Tani Hisao." Yamamoto Ichiki's voice came from the phone.

He had set off a few days ago to find the commander of the 6th Division, Hisao Tani. He had no choice; he was worried that the enemy might launch a sudden attack, and if they weren't there, the plan would have failed before it even began.

"Alright, now that you're here, make sure you protect Division Commander Tani Hisao well. It's not time to launch an attack on the enemy yet. Study the map carefully over there and make sure you're familiar with the terrain," Seishiro Itaga instructed.

"Don't worry, Division Commander, I will," Yamamoto Ichiki replied. He wasn't stupid; he would definitely familiarize himself with the terrain.

Going to war without understanding the terrain is foolish.

"Yes, with you all here, I can rest assured." Itagaki Seishiro nodded.

"Division Commander, have the Eighth Route Army's New First Regiment and Independent Regiment made their arrangements?! We must stop these two regiments from joining up with that Northeast Army force!"

Otherwise, it would be troublesome for us. Although their combat strength is not as good as ours, with that Northeast Army there, the two of them working together could very well ruin our plans! "Yamamoto Ichiki asked.

He was worried that the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment would cooperate with the Northeast Army again. According to intelligence, the combined number of the two regiments was probably over 10,000, plus the number of the Northeast Army.

The number of people on both sides is estimated to be around 16,000 or 17,000. Considering the combat strength of that Northeast Army, these people are probably capable of fighting against a Class B division.

Therefore, we must not allow these two groups to cooperate again and disrupt their plans.

"Don't worry, I've sent a reinforced regiment to keep an eye on the New First Regiment. When the time comes to act, we'll launch an attack on their base."
"As for my Independent Regiment, I've also sent a regiment to keep an eye on it," said Seishiro Itaga.

The New First Regiment was relatively strong, so he sent a reinforced regiment with nearly 5,000 men, while the Independent Regiment was relatively weak, so he didn't need to send too many men.

Their most important task at present is to eliminate that Northeast Army and to preserve as many troops as possible that can be quickly mobilized.

"That's good. As long as that Northeast Army doesn't have outside support, if they dare to attack the command post, I will make sure they don't escape." Yamamoto Ichiki's voice carried a hint of amusement.

Without outside support, what good is the strength of that Northeast Army? Once surrounded, they have no chance of escape.

"Yamamoto-kun, all our hopes are pinned on you. Please don't let anything go wrong," Itagaki Seishiro urged.

Fortunately, the commander came over at that time and instructed them that if they couldn't handle the Northeast Army, they should attack the Eighth Route Army, at least to severely damage the Eighth Route Army!
“Understood!” Yamamoto Ichiki replied.

"By the way, is there any movement from the New First Regiment?! They won't be rotating troops or anything, will they?!" Yamamoto Ichiki asked again.

Previously, the new regiment had a situation where they changed shifts to confuse their people. Although it was expected at the time, they still fell for it.

“The intelligence personnel did not find any trace of movement over there, which means there is no activity there,” said Seishiro Itaga.

"That's good, Division Commander. Wait for my good news." Yamamoto Ichiki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment joined forces with that Northeast Army, he wasn't afraid. However, with these two regiments present, it would be very difficult for them to annihilate that Northeast Army, and they might not even be able to inflict too many casualties on it.

"Then you go ahead and do your thing." Seishiro Itagaki hung up the phone.

Things are proceeding according to plan so far, but I still feel a little uneasy. Could something unexpected really happen?

"It shouldn't be. We've already considered all the possible outcomes and made contingency plans. There's no way anything could go wrong." Seishiro Itagaki shook his head. The worst-case scenario was that the enemy wouldn't attack the command post as expected.

Anyway, they have contingency plans, so no matter what, they can remain invincible!

.........

A week later, Li Jin also led his special operations regiment toward Xuanming Mountain.

On the 18th, the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army was the first to arrive at Xuanming Mountain.

"Commander, we still haven't seen Mu Jin and the others. Are they playing a trick on us?" Qian Bojun couldn't help but say. They had all arrived, but Mu Jin and the others were nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry, they might still have a long way to go. Let's wait a little longer," Chu Yunfei comforted them, then looked at Fang Ligong, "Brother Ligong, go and send a telegram to Mu Jin to ask when they will arrive."

"Okay." Fang Ligong nodded and immediately sent a telegram. "Commander, Mu Jin sent us here, but he arrived late. That's a bit much. We should know that we are cooperating with them, not the other way around," Qian Bojun continued.

"Don't worry too much about these little things. Maybe it's just that Mu Jin's arrival was a bit complicated, which caused the delay. Besides, Mu Jin already said he would be a little late," Chu Yunfei said, not taking it too seriously.

"When did he say that?!" Qian Bojun asked in confusion.

"He sent a telegram a couple of days ago, but I forgot to tell you about it. It's about my problem," Chu Yunfei quickly said, feeling that it was unnecessary for everyone to know about such a small matter.

"Oh, is that so? No problem." Upon hearing this, Qian Bojun immediately lost his temper. After all, the other party had said in advance that they would be late, so there was nothing more to say.

If someone is late and doesn't inform you beforehand, that's really going too far.

"Commander, Mu Jin has replied with a telegram, saying he will arrive tonight. Furthermore, Mu Jin also said that the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment will arrive around noon or afternoon." Fang Ligong relayed the contents of the telegram.

"Okay, I understand, Commander. I'll send a telegram to the Commander to let him know we've arrived!" Chu Yunfei looked at Commander Zhang, asking for his opinion. For now, they still had to follow Commander Zhang's orders.

"Then hurry up and go." Commander Zhang waved his hand, then lit a cigarette. After traveling for so many days, he was also a little exhausted.

His physical condition is not as good as it used to be.

"Okay." Chu Yunfei nodded and gestured for Fang Ligong to send a telegram.

"The New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment should be arriving soon. I'll take this opportunity to check on these two units. I've never had a chance to see them properly before, so I really don't know how strong their combat capabilities are," Commander Zhang said.

Although they had cooperated with the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment before, they had never had the opportunity to take a close look at these two units. This time, they finally had the chance.

"Commander, the strongest of these two regiments is Li Yunlong's New First Regiment, followed by Kong Jie's Independent Regiment," Chu Yunfei said. He didn't have much interaction with the Independent Regiment, but mainly had more contact with the New First Regiment.

"So, which do you think is more powerful, the 358th Regiment or the New 1st Regiment?!" Commander Zhang asked.

Chu Yunfei was quite familiar with the New First Regiment and had the authority to comment on its combat capabilities.

"Commander, although I hate to admit it, the combat strength of the new 1st Regiment is indeed stronger than that of the 358th Regiment," Chu Yunfei said helplessly.

"Oh?! The 358th Regiment's firepower isn't weak now, is it? Could it be inferior to the new 1st Regiment?!" Commander Zhang frowned upon hearing this. He was clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

In his view, the 358th Regiment should definitely be stronger than the New 1st Regiment.

"The 358th Regiment's firepower is indeed not weak, but the 1st Regiment's firepower is no worse than ours, and that's even with the machine guns brought by the division commander."

The new regiment has more men and stronger firepower than us, and at least half of their men have combat experience.
"Although the 358th Regiment has quite a few soldiers with combat experience, they are still inferior to them." Chu Yunfei began to analyze the situation.

After listening, Commander Zhang fell silent. He really didn't know that the New First Regiment was so strong.

"Commander, to be honest, this new First Regiment isn't recognized at all."

"They're not even qualified to receive military pay; they're just a ragtag unit," Qian Bojun said at this moment.

"What's the point of talking about this now? The previous conflict has strained relations, and they're not getting their pay anymore," Commander Zhang said irritably.

Talking about whether or not we'll receive our military pay is completely meaningless right now.

"Yes." Qian Bojun immediately shut his mouth and dared not say anything more.

.........

On the other side, Li Yunlong had already met up with Kong Jie; in fact, it was Li Yunlong who was waiting for Kong Jie.

"Old Kong, you're a bit slow, you made me wait quite a while," Li Yunlong said with a laugh.

"That's because you're closer, that's why you're faster than us," Kong Jie retorted.

"Let's not talk about that. The 358th Regiment has arrived at Xuanming Mountain. Tell the officers below not to call Li Jin by the wrong name. He is now Regiment Commander Mu." Li Yunlong instructed with a serious expression.

If Chu Yunfei finds out Li Jin's real name, he might discover something, and Li Jin would be exposed.

"Old Li, do you think I'm stupid?! I already gave them instructions before they came here, and they even signed a pledge that anyone who leaks the information will be punished according to military law!" Kong Jie replied, knowing full well that he couldn't casually reveal Li Jin's real name.

"I didn't expect you to be so quick-witted. That puts my mind at ease," Li Yunlong said with a smile.

"Stop talking about me, what about you? Have you finished explaining things?!" Kong Jie retorted.

"Of course, we've already explained everything," Li Yunlong said. They had dealt with the 358th Regiment several times before, so they naturally wouldn't expose Li Jin's identity.

Moreover, the two sides will try to avoid contact as much as possible outside of battles.

"Well, let's not talk about it anymore and get going. Li Jin won't arrive until tonight. That guy could have arrived earlier, but he insists on coming later." Kong Jie shook his head helplessly as he finished speaking.

"That's because he didn't want Chu Yunfei to guess the direction of their base. Li Jin had to be wary not only of the Japanese, but also of the Jin-Sui Army," Li Yunlong explained.

Li Jin's current strength has made the Jin-Sui Army dare not ignore him. Therefore, if the people there discover the general direction of Li Jin's base, they will definitely send people to investigate.

If it gets discovered, they might leak the information to the Japanese, and then Li Jin will be in trouble.

The base that Li Jin established took a lot of effort. Putting aside everything else, just the arsenal alone took Li Jin a considerable amount of time to set up.

Therefore, the location of this base must never be revealed.

“That’s true. The Jin-Sui Army captured a Japanese spy before, who knows if there might be others.” Kong Jie nodded. He hadn’t thought of that before, and he wouldn’t have thought of it if Li Yunlong hadn’t mentioned it!

"In short, Li Jin prioritizes safety in all his actions, so don't try to guess what he's thinking," Li Yunlong said.

"What do you mean?! Do you think I'm brainless?!" Kong Jie said. Li Yunlong's words sounded like he was indirectly calling him brainless.

"Old Kong, I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that," Li Yunlong said sternly.

"Damn it!" Kong Jie immediately cursed, almost ready to fight Li Yunlong, but was stopped by Political Commissar Li Wenying, otherwise they would have really started fighting.

(End of this chapter)