Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Yes, they should be facing a severe shortage of supplies. Even if they cooperated with that Northeast Army a few times, the supplies they received wouldn't be enough to support the consumption of so many people."
"Are they only concerned with recruiting people and not caring about their lives?!" The Japanese brigade commander couldn't understand it either.

In his understanding, it was impossible for the Eighth Route Army to have grown to such a large number of people, but now the news coming from various places was telling them that the Eighth Route Army was carrying out a large-scale operation.

The number of people involved is large, and it's nothing like the small-scale incidents of the past.

"Regardless, they have already made the first move, and we must respond accordingly. Notify all divisions to prepare for an attack!" Seishiro Itagaki said slowly.

Before they could even attack the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army turned around and attacked them instead, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Hey! What about the 6th Division?! Should we send them out to attack too?!" The Japanese brigade commander nodded and then asked.

“Of course, I will personally inform them. You should first inform the other divisions and prevent the Eighth Route Army from continuing to cause such destruction!” said Itagaki Seishiro.

If the Eighth Route Army continues to sabotage the railway like they did tonight, it probably won't be long before the Zhengtai Railway is completely destroyed by the enemy.

Although they could repair the railway, it would take a lot of time, so they couldn't let the enemy destroy their railways and roads so easily.

"Yes, sir!" The Japanese brigade commander then turned and left.

Seishiro Itagata took a deep breath and picked up the phone to call Ichiki Yamamoto.

"Division Commander." After a long while, Yamamoto Ichiki's yawning voice finally came through the phone.

"Yamamoto-kun, things are probably getting a bit complicated," Itagaki Seishiro said in a serious tone.

"What happened?!" Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Ichiki immediately woke up and asked. He had just been woken up and learned that it was Itagaki Seishiro on the phone, so he felt that something might have happened.

"The Eighth Route Army launched a large-scale attack on the Zhengtai Railway, destroying many sections of the railway. Moreover, the number of people involved in the battle is probably no less than 200,000!" Itagaki Seishiro revealed the details.

"What?! How dare they?! No, where did so many Eighth Route Army soldiers come from?! Could it be that the Jin-Sui Army is also involved?!" Yamamoto Ichiki was shocked and made a series of guesses.

"No, there's no movement from the Jin-Sui Army. This operation is only carried out by the Eighth Route Army!" Itagaki Seishiro replied.

"Baka! How could this be? How could they possibly have so many people?" Yamamoto Ichiki couldn't believe that the Eighth Route Army had so many people and had even sent them all out.

"Over the years, we've been completely unaware of the Eighth Route Army's development. Now that they've suddenly revealed themselves, it's actually a good thing."
"Otherwise, they'll just keep developing quietly, and then they might find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to us later," said Seishiro Itaga.

Although the number of Eighth Route Army soldiers exceeded his expectations, he still thought it was a good thing, at least it showed that their painstakingly implemented cage plan was working.

This made the Eighth Route Army uneasy, prompting them to launch a preemptive strike and expose their own strength.

"The division commander is right. What about the casualties last night?!" Yamamoto Ichiki nodded in agreement and then asked.

With such a large-scale operation, their casualties must be considerable!
"There weren't too many casualties, but the main problem was with the patrol team. In total, seven or eight hundred soldiers were killed."
"The casualties are even less than the number of soldiers killed by the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment!" Itagaki Seishiro explained the situation.

In contrast, the two regiments attacked by the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment suffered even greater casualties, totaling more than two thousand soldiers.

"What?! So, they really only damaged the railway?! They didn't attack anywhere else?!" Yamamoto Ichiki was somewhat surprised. He had thought the casualties would be significant, but it turned out there were only a few hundred people!
"It's not just the railway, but also the highway." Itagaki Seishiro corrected Yamamoto Ichiki. He wouldn't guess that there were more than 200,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers on the other side if only the railway was destroyed.

"So, the pillboxes, checkpoints, and patrol posts weren't attacked, right?!" Yamamoto Ichiki asked.

“Not bad.” Seishiro Itaga nodded.

"From this perspective, the Eighth Route Army that attacked the railway wasn't particularly strong in terms of overall strength. The key issue was that they lacked weapons for breaching fortifications."
So they dare not attack the watchtowers and checkpoints! That's a relief." Yamamoto Ichiki breathed a sigh of relief after analyzing the situation.

To be honest, he was a little worried when he learned that so many Eighth Route Army soldiers were involved in the battle, but now it seems that his worries were unnecessary.

As long as the railway is held, the Eighth Route Army's operations will slow down.

"This also shows that among the Eighth Route Army, the only truly formidable units are the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment; the others are insignificant," said Itagaki Seishiro. Only these two regiments dared to attack their pillboxes and checkpoints, and more importantly, they actually managed to capture them.

"Division Commander, I think this is also a very good opportunity. I'm pretty sure that Northeast Army unit is most likely still after the Sixth Division."

"As long as the Sixth Division attacks, that Northeast Army will definitely come looking for us. If I'm not mistaken, this attack by the Eighth Route Army is actually creating an opportunity for Mu Jin!" Yamamoto Ichiki's lips curled up. The Sixth Division's attack was perfectly reasonable.

In this way, even the most cautious Northeast Army would fall into the trap.

"Yamamoto-kun, it seems our plan is progressing smoothly," said Itagaki Seishiro. At this rate, the enemy's next move would likely be to locate the 6th Division's headquarters.

"We can't jump to conclusions too early. The main thing is to determine if they are with the New First Regiment. We need to be prepared to send troops to surround them at any time," Yamamoto Ichiki said.

Although he felt that the Northeast Army had a good chance of keeping an eye on the Sixth Division, he still needed to be careful. What if the enemy was with the New First Regiment? Wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?

"Alright, I'll inform them to guard against enemy ambushes during the attack." Seishiro Itagaki nodded in satisfaction.

As long as they can eliminate that Northeast Army, any cost will be worthwhile. Moreover, they also know the approximate strength of the Eighth Route Army, which will allow them to be more vigilant in their subsequent actions.

With their fighting strength, there's no need to worry too much about facing the Eighth Route Army.

"However, it won't be easy to wipe them out. Since they've already made their move, they must have been well-prepared," Yamamoto Ichiki added.

If it were him, he would definitely make all sorts of preparations before the battle, so their initiative in attacking might not necessarily lead to good results.

“I’ve thought of that too. The main thing is to stop them from continuing to damage the railway. Otherwise, the Zhengtai Railway will probably have to be rebuilt.” Itagaki Seishiro naturally understood this as well.

But they still have to take action, otherwise they will continue to be led by the nose by the enemy!
"It's clear that the commander over there is no ordinary person. He turned the tables and took the initiative in an instant. If we were to take the initiative and attack them, they would be very passive and might not even have a chance to fight back. Their commander is very capable." Yamamoto Ichiki couldn't help but praise.

Although they don't want to admit it, they have indeed lost the initiative. In the course of war, losing the initiative puts them at a significant disadvantage. It is only because their combat strength is relatively strong that they can make up for it; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"That's true. I have to admit that the threat from there is much greater than that from the Nationalist army!" said Itagaki Seishiro. He had never really taken the Jin-Sui Army seriously; only the Eighth Route Army had inflicted significant losses on them.

"I should have acted sooner!" said Seishiro Itaga.

"Actually, it's not too late now, and I'm very confident that I can wipe out that Northeast Army," Yamamoto Ichiki said confidently.

He felt that the Northeast Army was nothing special, and that Mu Jin would definitely fall for their trick if their special forces team remained undetected.

"I'm leaving everything to you." Itagaki Seishiro placed high hopes on Yamamoto Ichiki, believing that they would need Yamamoto Ichiki to eliminate the Northeast Army.

"Don't worry," Yamamoto Ichiki replied.

"By the way, Division Commander, the area damaged by the railway must be quite large, which will affect mineral transportation, right? We should notify those mines and have them stop transporting goods."

"If the transport train overturns, it will be even more troublesome," Yamamoto Ichiki warned. "The train is so long and it's carrying so much ore. If it overturns, it will require a lot more manpower and resources to fix."

"Okay, I understand. I'll call them in a bit and tell them the railway is suspended!" Itagaki Seishiro replied. If Yamamoto Ichiki hadn't reminded him, he would have almost forgotten.

.........

On the other side, Blind Cheng had already led one company to join up with the other two companies.

"Regimental Commander, Political Commissar." The two company commanders immediately saluted the two men.

"Are there many casualties on your side?!" Blind Cheng asked as soon as he opened his mouth.

"We lost seventeen men and had five seriously wounded..."

"Our company lost fourteen men, and three were seriously wounded..."

The first and second company commanders reported the battle situation one after the other.

"Hmm, very good. The casualties aren't too high. Have all the wounded been sent back?" Blind Cheng nodded in satisfaction. When he took down the pillbox, he had guessed that the casualties of the other units shouldn't be too high either.

"They've all been sent back, Commander. These tear gas canisters are really powerful. I threw in two, and within minutes, the Japanese soldiers couldn't take it anymore and ran out of the pillbox, only to run right into my gun." The company commander was quite excited as he recounted the incident.

This was truly the first time in their lives that they had been able to take down a watchtower so quickly, with such minimal casualties.

"Yes, yes, I also think these tear gas grenades are useful, but we only got too few. It would be great if we had more." The second company commander chimed in.

Without the help of tear gas, although they could have taken down the pillbox with their strength, it would have taken a lot of time and resulted in heavy casualties, far more than what they have now.

"Don't worry, there will be more to come. Besides, the Japanese are probably preparing to launch an attack on us."
"After all, we've taken the initiative to attack the Japanese, which has definitely angered them. We need to be prepared in the next few days," said Blind Cheng.

They had to prepare for an attack by the Japanese, but fortunately they had already evacuated the civilians, so they didn't have to worry too much.

As the saying goes, if you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both; if you save the people but lose the land, you will save both. As long as the people are still alive, there is no need to worry about not having land.

"Understood!" The two company commanders nodded.

"Commander, other regiments have probably damaged quite a few railways and highways, haven't they?!" the company commander said at this moment.

Although they didn't sabotage the railway, attacking the watchtowers and checkpoints was clearly more difficult than destroying the railway and highway.

"Of course. Many regiments participated in this operation, with at least several hundred thousand people involved. If they couldn't sabotage the railway, it would be a huge failure," Blind Cheng replied, still quite confident in the other regiments.

Although other units may not be as strong as them, sabotaging the railway has little to do with combat effectiveness. As long as they find a good position and time their patrols correctly, they can find an opportunity to sabotage it.

"Commander, what are we going to do now?!" the second company commander asked in confusion. He had only come to meet the regimental commander after receiving the message from the battalion commander that they were to regroup, and he still didn't know what they were going to do next.

"Let's blow up Qingyuan Bridge! The Japanese have repaired it again, we have to destroy it again," Blind Cheng stated the plan directly.

“That’s a good idea!” The two company commanders nodded in agreement. Qingyuan Bridge was not just a simple bridge; there was a railway on it as well. Destroying the bridge would also damage the railway.

"Once this bridge is blown up, the Japanese mines will have to shut down, and they won't be able to transport the ore they've mined out," the company commander laughed.

“Those ores belong to our country. They think they can just easily transport them away? It won’t be that simple!” the second company commander said.

The Japanese devils have mined countless mineral resources on their territory, and these resources all belong to their country.

The group then sped up and headed towards Qingyuan Bridge.

Since the Japanese regimental commander had been focusing his defenses on the New First Regiment and there had been no recent attacks, he did not deploy many men to defend Qingyuan Bridge; only two small squads were assigned.

Around four o'clock in the morning, Blind Cheng and his men finally arrived near Qingyuan Bridge. Without much hesitation, they launched a fierce attack on the Japanese barracks not far from the bridgehead, even using grenade launchers and mortars.

Boom boom boom......

Shells rained down from the roof and into the Japanese soldiers' barracks, causing massive explosions that killed many Japanese soldiers instantly and seriously injured many others.

Faced with the sudden attack, the Japanese commander hurriedly ordered a counterattack, but the Japanese firepower was not as strong as Cheng Xiazi and his men.

In less than ten minutes, they were suppressed and their defenses were breached, and a group of soldiers began to fight the Japanese soldiers in close combat.

(End of this chapter)