Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

Time quickly came to the 20th, and all the regiments of the Eighth Route Army were ready for battle.

The 771st and 772nd Regiments did the same, and they moved even faster, just to make the Japanese think that the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment were still stationed at their posts.

Around 5:30 p.m., Blind Cheng personally led a company of soldiers to the woods several hundred meters away from the Japanese pillbox.

"Commander, the other companies probably haven't arrived at their designated positions yet. We need to wait a bit longer," said Political Commissar Li Wenying.

The pillbox they came to was relatively close, while the other troops went further away, which naturally took longer. However, the other troops had already been ordered to arrive at the designated time.

"Hmm, no rush. We'll start as soon as it gets dark. Let the soldiers eat first," Blind Cheng nodded and gave the order.

Although they started their operation earlier, it wasn't much earlier than other groups.

"Yes." Li Wenying turned around to convey the order, and then returned.

"Speaking of which, I remember Li Yunlong blew up the Japanese Qingyuan Bridge before, it should be rebuilt by now, right?!" Blind Cheng asked.

"Yes, Commander, are we going to blow up Qingyuan Bridge again?!" Li Wenying instantly understood what Blind Cheng was planning to do.

“Yes, that bridge was built by the Japanese to transport iron ore, and it happens to be within their attack range. After we take down these watchtowers tonight, we’ll head towards Qingyuan Bridge. In short, we can’t leave this bridge to the Japanese!” Blind Cheng said slowly.

The Japanese devils wanted to transport the iron ore out of the country via this bridge? No way! This is their country's property. How could they let the Japanese devils take it away so easily?

“That’s right. Those Japanese devils have robbed us of so many mineral resources. It’s time to teach them a lesson!” Li Wenying agreed.

Since the Japanese invaded China, they have sent people to explore mineral resources on their land. Once they find any, they immediately order people to mine them. The key point is that the people who mined the ore were actually Chinese civilians who were captured by the Japanese!
"Then we'll pay with our lives for what we have! And over at the mine, we'll wipe out the Japanese devils and puppet troops inside and rescue the civilians." Blind Cheng's face was full of murderous intent.

Those people have been bullied by the Japanese for too long, and it's time to rescue them. Moreover, the nearest mine was attacked by Li Yunlong before, and the Japanese probably started mining it again later. They also know the terrain there.

"Commander, I estimate we won't have many opportunities to act. If we make a move tonight, the Japanese will realize something's wrong and might even launch an attack on us."

Destroying the bridge is already our limit, and I estimate that the garrison at the mine is even larger than when Li Yunlong fought it before.

"We need more people to take over the mine, and don't forget, Li Jin was involved too, which is why we were able to take it over in such a short time!" Li Wenying explained the stakes involved.

The mine was easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Li Yunlong hadn't had Li Jin's help when he attacked the mine, he wouldn't have been able to take it down in such a short time.

Now that they don't have Li Jin's help, attacking the mine is much more difficult, and they might not even be able to take it down, and there's a high chance of something going wrong.

“You’re right. We just need to blow up the Japanese bridge first, and then we’ll see what the Japanese do next.” Blind Cheng agreed.

He was well aware of the 772nd Regiment's fighting strength; taking over the mine would be quite difficult, so it was best not to be reckless.

"Understood," Li Wenying replied. He was genuinely worried that if Blind Cheng chose to attack the mine, they would be in serious trouble.

"Send a telegram to Li Yunlong, telling him that we are ready to make our move at 10 p.m. tonight," Blind Cheng instructed.

We should tell Li Yunlong about this again, so that he won't feel uneasy.

"Yes!" Li Wenying replied without hesitation and went to send the telegram herself.

After everyone had dinner, Blind Cheng told the soldiers to rest first, and to wake them up half an hour before the operation.

.........

In the temporary command room on Mount Xuanming, Li Jin and his men were also waiting for news. Several regimental commanders were there.

"Brother Yunlong, when will your two regiments take action?" Chu Yunfei asked.

"Yunfei, don't worry, they should be ready by now. It won't delay anything important." Li Yunlong said calmly. He trusted Cheng the Blind in his work.

Moreover, the other side had already sent a telegram informing them of their battle plan, and the 772nd Regiment would be taking action today.

Not only the 772nd Regiment, but also the 771st Regiment will be involved. In addition to these two regiments, other units will also be involved, specifically to sabotage the Japanese railways and highways.

"That's good. Speaking of which, you guys had already done the rotation of troops a while ago, right?" Chu Yunfei asked.

"Of course. In order not to arouse suspicion from the Japanese, the troop rotation lasted for more than ten days before it was completed. So, the Japanese had no idea that the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment had rotated their troops," Li Yunlong replied. There was no point in hiding it!
"Brother Yunlong, I suddenly have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask it." Chu Yunfei's face showed some hesitation.

“Just say it directly, there’s no need for all this beating around the bush,” Li Yunlong replied, also wondering what Chu Yunfei wanted to say.

"Is it true that these two regiments would directly attack the Japanese pillboxes and checkpoints?!" Chu Yunfei asked.

The other regiments were tasked with sabotaging the Japanese railways and highways, but these two regiments chose to attack the Japanese pillboxes and checkpoints.

"Yes, that's right, and then what?!" Li Yunlong nodded in agreement, then asked in return.

"The firepower of those two regiments must be significantly weaker than that of the New First Regiment. I reckon they don't have any assault weapons."
This makes it no easy task for them to capture the pillboxes and checkpoints. The key issue is that without assault weapons, the Japanese will definitely realize something is wrong.

Because the Japanese probably know your firepower, they'll be suspicious of you now that your firepower has been reduced so much!
"If the Japanese discover that these two regiments aren't yours, they might guess our current plan, and that would be quite troublesome," Chu Yunfei voiced his concerns.

With the capabilities of the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment, capturing the Japanese pillboxes and checkpoints would have been an easy task, but it would have been impossible for the 772nd Regiment and the 771st Regiment.

If the two regiments struggle to take down the pillbox, the Japanese might realize something is wrong. This is what Chu Yunfei is worried about.

"What?! So, the plan might be exposed?!" Commander Zhang was shocked upon hearing this. "What's wrong with you all? Didn't you even consider this detail?! We shouldn't have come!" Fang Ligong immediately began to berate him.

"Commander, I only said it's possible!" Chu Yunfei responded, remaining relatively calm and without any accusation.

"Then why fight! Let's go." Upon hearing this, Commander Zhang quickly got up and tried to lead his men away.

He agreed to stay only because the Japanese were unaware of their plan and the success rate was very high.

Now, the Japanese might discover that the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment are missing through the attacks of these two regiments.

The Japanese would definitely adjust their plans, making their operation pointless because the risks were too great. Commander Zhang didn't want to take such a risk, especially since the Japanese had a powerful secret force.

"Commander Zhang, don't be in such a hurry. Let me finish speaking before you leave." Li Yunlong quickly said to stop them. He didn't want the 358th Regiment to leave like this, otherwise their plan would be difficult to carry out.

It's not that it can't be done, but the idea of ​​attacking the 6th Division headquarters is out of the question. The only option is to eliminate one brigade of the 6th Division, which is essentially a choice between two options.

"Alright, I'll listen to what you have to say. If you can't convince me, I'll still leave." Commander Zhang then sat down, realizing that leaving directly was somewhat inappropriate.

"Commander Zhang, you don't think we wouldn't have considered this, do you? So, when we rotated the troops, our commander allocated quite a few weapons to the 771st and 772nd Regiments."
Because I was worried that their firepower was insufficient, I left behind a batch of machine guns, mortar grenade launchers, and even a Type 92 infantry gun!
Therefore, their current firepower is in no way inferior to the New First Regiment! So how could the Japanese judge that these two regiments are not ours based on firepower alone?! Li Yunlong slowly explained the situation.

The commander had already considered the issue of insufficient firepower in the two regiments, but what Li Yunlong didn't expect was that Chu Yunfei had taken this detail into account.

"Brother Yunlong, you should have told me about this sooner! I was worried for nothing," Chu Yunfei said with a smile. He had been worried that Li Yunlong and the others hadn't thought of these things.

"I thought it was a small matter, but Brother Yunfei, you seem to be distrusting us a bit. Sigh... it's really hurtful." Li Yunlong sighed deliberately as he finished speaking.

"Brother Yunlong, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have doubted these things!" Chu Yunfei quickly apologized.

"Never mind, it's all a small matter. Commander Zhang, can you stay now?!" Li Yunlong said, looking at Commander Zhang again.

"I was just joking. Actually, I knew you would notice these things. I was just trying to scare you." Commander Zhang explained awkwardly, as if he really was joking.

"Commander Zhang's joke was so realistic, I almost believed it!" Li Jin laughed. At this point, he could only play along; he couldn't very well undermine the other party.

"There's nothing I can do. It's all because Commander Li didn't tell us about this earlier, and we had to ask our people. You can't blame me for making such a joke, right?" Commander Zhang immediately shifted the blame to Li Yunlong!
"Yes, yes, yes, it's my problem, it's my problem." Li Yunlong almost laughed out of anger, but still agreed.

"Then let's just let this matter rest, and no one is allowed to mention it again!" Commander Zhang showed great magnanimity.

"Hmm." Li Yunlong nodded helplessly.

"But I didn't expect your brigade to have so many supplies, enough to provide so many weapons. Your regiment is even richer, with Type 92 infantry guns. That's impressive!" Commander Zhang quickly changed the subject.

What he said was truly from the heart. It was astonishing that the New First Regiment still had such fierce firepower after sending out so many weapons.

"This is nothing. When I attacked the Japanese transit stations before, I even captured howitzers!" Li Yunlong couldn't help but boast.

"What?! You even have howitzers?!" Chu Yunfei was shocked. Just how much good stuff did Li Yunlong manage to get from the Japanese?

"No." Li Yunlong shook his head.

"But didn't you say you had seized them?!" Chu Yunfei asked, looking puzzled.

"We did capture them, but we couldn't take them with us, so we had to blow them up, just like when we fought the Japanese 20th New Division's howitzers."
"It broke my heart at the time. I've been fighting for so many years and I've never been this close to such a weapon!" Li Yunlong felt so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe whenever he thought about it.

Such good weapons, and they couldn't even take them with them, what a huge loss! If they had howitzers, they would have let the Japanese taste the same pain.

"That's a real pity," Commander Zhang chimed in. He had been a little worried when Li Yunlong said they had captured a howitzer, but now he was relieved.

"That's right! But sooner or later, I'll get my hands on the Japanese howitzers!" Li Yunlong was full of confidence, thinking that it was just howitzers, and they would have them sooner or later.

“That’s right, we can’t rush these things. What’s meant to happen will happen,” Commander Zhang said.

Just then, a telegraph operator walked in.

"Commander, telegrams have arrived from the 771st and 772nd Regiments," the telegraph operator said to Li Yunlong.

"Just read it aloud, it's all audible," Li Yunlong instructed.

"Yes! They said they are ready and will launch an attack on the Japanese as soon as the time comes!" The telegraph operator read the contents of the telegram aloud.

"Look, they're all ready, just waiting to make their move. I'm sure we'll hear good news tonight," Li Yunlong said with a smile.

He wasn't worried at all about the two regiments attacking the Japanese pillboxes and checkpoints. Especially the Japanese pillboxes; both regiments had tear gas. As long as they threw it into the pillboxes, the Japanese soldiers inside wouldn't be able to stay there. They would have no choice but to run out and die. Taking down the pillboxes would be a piece of cake.

As for checkpoints, there's not much to worry about; they're easier to take down than fortified towers.

"Hmm, it seems we'll have to stay up all night tonight." Commander Zhang nodded.

"It's almost time, everyone go eat first, and come back to the command center in an hour." Li Jin glanced at the time; it was nearly six o'clock.

"Alright." Commander Zhang stood up and led Chu Yunfei and the others away.

(End of this chapter)