Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Commander, do you mean we should ambush the Japanese in the village and wait for them to enter?!" Political Commissar Liu also understood Blind Cheng's intention.

“That’s right. When the Japanese see the first empty village, they will assume that the next one will also be empty. So we can send people into the village in advance to catch them off guard!” Blind Cheng said slowly.

“In this way, we can completely eliminate the vanguard of the Japanese army in a short time, while the Japanese are caught off guard.” Political Commissar Liu also strongly agreed with this plan.

“However, the main force of the Japanese army is only two or three miles away from the vanguard. Even if the mountain road is difficult to travel, it will only take them less than ten minutes to arrive. Therefore, we must take care of the vanguard of the Japanese army within five minutes to avoid being surrounded by the Japanese,” Blind Cheng continued.

The Japanese reinforcements he mentioned were from the front, but the Japanese would definitely also try to encircle them from both flanks. It would take at least twenty minutes for these two groups of Japanese to encircle them. Therefore, they needed to eliminate the vanguard of the Japanese within five minutes to give themselves time to retreat.

"Then we should also lay landmines along the retreat route. This will delay their pursuit and prevent us from being caught up. Besides that..."
"We also need to lay landmines along the way as the Japanese try to flank us from both sides, to buy them some time," Political Commissar Liu added.

“That’s right, that’s what I was thinking. Go and call the battalion commander over here.” Blind Cheng nodded and then instructed the messenger.

Before long, the battalion commander arrived.

"Commander, is there a combat mission?!" the battalion commander asked as soon as he arrived.

“That’s right, your mission is…” Blind Cheng explained the next steps.

"Understood! Mission accomplished." The battalion commander immediately assured him that it was just a matter of laying some landmines, a task that would be quite easy for him.

"Don't rush, I haven't finished yet. I need you to lead some men into the village to ambush the Japanese. You must take them out within five minutes."

"If we fail to kill them, we must retreat immediately and not linger! Otherwise, we'll be surrounded by the Japanese." Blind Cheng instructed, not wanting the First Battalion to be bogged down by the Japanese.

"Yes, sir!" the battalion commander replied, then asked, "Approximately how many men are in the vanguard of the Japanese army?!"

“A squadron, more than 180 people, what, are you under pressure?! If you can’t handle it, then I’ll find someone else,” said Blind Cheng.

"Yes, yes, yes, I can take them on, but can I use artillery?! There are nearly two hundred Japanese soldiers, and it will be quite difficult to take them out in such a short time with just guns." The battalion commander made the request. The task itself was not difficult, but if he couldn't use artillery, he felt that he couldn't take out so many Japanese soldiers in five minutes.

After all, the Japanese soldiers aren't wooden figures; they won't just stand there motionless. So, he needs enough firepower to cover them. In this way, he's 90% confident that he can take care of these Japanese soldiers within five minutes.

"Okay, I'll get you ten grenade launchers and three mortars. That should be enough, right?!" Blind Cheng said after hearing this.

He also knew that without sufficient firepower, it would be quite difficult to deal with so many Japanese soldiers, which is why he agreed.

However, he couldn't let the battalion commander allocate all the artillery pieces for use, otherwise they would run out of shells and face some trouble.

"That's enough, that's enough. With artillery support, that's all. Leave the rest to me. If I can't handle this advance force, I'm not coming back!" the battalion commander said with a serious expression.

"What utter nonsense! If you can't solve it, you can't solve it!" Blind Cheng cursed angrily after hearing this.

"Hehe, doesn't this make me seem more confident?" the battalion commander chuckled.

"Alright, alright, go and relay the orders to the soldiers. I still need to figure out which village would be the best place to ambush them." Blind Cheng waved his hand, dismissing the battalion commander. Then he took out a map and began to study it with Political Commissar Liu.

"Old Liu, which village do you think would be the best place to ambush us?" Blind Cheng asked casually, staring at the map, which marked the surrounding terrain and the locations of the villages.

“I think we should choose a village with suitable terrain for an ambush, such as one that is high up. If the Japanese want to enter the village, they will have to go uphill, and we can take advantage of the visual difference to catch them off guard.” Political Commissar Liu thought for a moment and then said his idea.

In this way, they would directly occupy advantageous terrain. With the high ground above them, the Japanese would likely suffer heavy casualties in a single encounter. It would certainly not be a problem to take out the vanguard of the Japanese army within five minutes.

“Your suggestion is excellent. Moreover, the area below needs to be open space, without any cover, otherwise the Japanese will have a chance to counterattack. It is also suitable for artillery to perform its duties.” Blind Cheng nodded and added.

“In that case, the most suitable village for an ambush is Zhangjia Village,” Political Commissar Liu said, pointing to Lijia Village on the map.

“Okay, Zhangjia Village is a good choice, let’s do it!” After hearing this, Blind Cheng agreed decisively.

Lijia Village was quite a distance from the Japanese, so they had plenty of time to prepare. The key point was that the Japanese would have to pass through two more villages on their way.

Both villages were naturally deserted, and if nothing unexpected happened, the Japanese would burn them down.

The two then began to predict the routes the Japanese might take in their flanking maneuvers, and finally finalized the plan.

"That's the plan then." Blind Cheng nodded and had someone call over the battalion commander.

"Commander, has the plan been finalized?! Where should we ambush them?!" The battalion commander quickly came over and immediately asked.

"Well, you guys are in charge of setting up an ambush in Zhangjia Village..." Blind Cheng explained the complete plan.

"Commander, why do we have to choose Zhangjia Village? The Japanese aren't far from the next village. Are we going to let them burn down the village again?!" The battalion commander hesitated for a moment before speaking.

He thought the regimental commander would choose to ambush the Japanese when they passed through a village.

"There's no other way. We can't just fight the Japanese head-on for an empty village. Besides, letting the Japanese burn down houses in a couple more villages will lower their guard."
"That way, when the Japanese devils arrive at Zhangjia Village, they won't be so cautious, and your ambush will be much more effective," Blind Cheng explained.

It would be unwise to fight the Japanese in an empty village, so stability was paramount. As for the burned-down villages, they could only help rebuild them later.

Now everything must be done with the overall situation in mind. Other units are still carrying out the mission of sabotaging the railway, and their mission is equally challenging.

"Understood! I'll take some men to prepare right away." The battalion commander left quickly.

"Although I didn't see the Japanese burning down the village, it's still quite painful to think about. Those were houses where the villagers had lived for many years." Political Commissar Liu sighed. If he could, he would naturally hope that these villages wouldn't have been burned down.

But the Japanese devils were a bunch of beasts and didn't care about such things at all. Not to mention burning down houses, if the villagers were still alive, the Japanese devils might have killed them as well. Massacring villages was a common occurrence for the Japanese devils.

"No rush, let's collect some interest first," said Blind Cheng. He wouldn't let the Japanese burn down so many villages so easily! As long as we take care of the vanguard of the Japanese this time, they will have to be extra cautious when they encounter villages later, and they will need to spend more time checking for dangers.

"Yes." Political Commissar Liu nodded.

.........

Around 5:30 p.m., the vanguard of the Japanese army had burned down three villages in succession. At first, they were indeed very vigilant when they entered the villages, worried that there might be enemy ambushes. However, when they found no danger in the three villages in succession, the vanguard of the Japanese army also lowered their vigilance.

"To be honest, the higher-ups are being too cautious. These villages are basically deserted; how could there be an ambush?" the Japanese sergeant said as they walked.

"It's best not to be too careless. If there really is an enemy, we'll be in trouble," the Japanese lieutenant replied.

"The lieutenant is right," the Japanese sergeant replied. The lieutenant's words were just polite; in reality, the other side thought the same thing.

At this point, they were less than three miles away from Zhangjia Village.

There was a large Japanese force following behind.

The Japanese brigade commander was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. His physical strength was somewhat lacking. Since becoming a brigade commander, he hadn't had much time to train, so his stamina was somewhat insufficient.

"Brigade Commander, do you want to take a break?!" The Japanese regimental commander noticed this and quickly said.

"No need." The Japanese brigade commander shook his head; he couldn't afford to lose face in front of his men.

"How far is it from the headquarters of the New First Regiment?!" The Japanese brigade commander changed the subject. In fact, they had also figured out the location of the New First Regiment's headquarters, but they had never had the opportunity to take action.

"About fifty li away." The Japanese regimental commander took out a map and glanced at it. The location of the New First Regiment's headquarters was not too far from them. If they didn't have to walk through the mountains, they wouldn't need that much time.

Although it's only fifty li, it will take them at least until tomorrow afternoon to get there.

"Hmm, it seems they might be waiting to ambush us at the regimental headquarters, or perhaps they've really left," the Japanese brigade commander nodded and said.

"If they really leave, then we've made a wasted trip!" said the Japanese regimental commander.

"It's not like we made a wasted trip. At least we got back alive, which is a good thing! Besides, if they really did withdraw, it means that the Northeast Army isn't here, so the higher-ups don't need to change the battle plan."
"This way, the higher-ups can annihilate that Northeast Army unit, which is a double blessing," the Japanese brigade commander said slowly.

Actually, he really hoped that the enemy had left, so that they wouldn't have to risk their lives to determine if the enemy was still there. He hoped they could survive.

"That's right, then hopefully they're not here." The Japanese regimental commander also realized this and quickly began to pray.

"By the way, how far is the next village from here?!" the Japanese brigade commander asked.

"It's about six li (about 3 kilometers) away," the Japanese regimental commander replied.

"Hmm." The Japanese brigade commander grunted in response and said no more; the troops continued their advance.

The vanguard of the Japanese army was getting closer and closer to Zhangjia Village.

At this time, the battalion commander of Zhangjia Village had already dug trenches at the entrance of the village as instructed by the regimental commander. The entrance to the village required going uphill, so it could be said that this village was the type that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

"Battalion Commander, why don't we lay landmines uphill? Wouldn't that kill more Japanese soldiers?!" a soldier asked, puzzled.

All they've done so far is dig trenches; they haven't made any other preparations.

"You don't understand, do you? To lay landmines, you need to dig holes and turn over the soil. If it's not done properly, it will be very conspicuous. Once the Japanese notice something is wrong, they might not come up. Then it will be difficult for us to take out the vanguard of the Japanese in a short time," the battalion commander explained patiently.

This mission is actually quite difficult, and there can be no mistakes. Although not burying landmines here does seem to reduce their power, we can use hand grenades to make up for it.

From their elevated position, they could throw grenades much farther, definitely enough to give the Japanese a hard time. Besides, they also had artillery support, which was more than enough.

"I see." The soldier looked as if he had just realized something.

"You need to observe and learn more, and ask questions if you don't understand. You must grow up quickly and lead more new recruits," the battalion commander earnestly instructed.

"Understood!" The soldier nodded earnestly.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The vanguard of the Japanese army was less than a few hundred meters away from Zhangjia Village.

The Japanese lieutenant took out his binoculars and looked at the village in the distance.

"Look at this village, it's easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we defend here, it will definitely not be an easy task to take it up," the Japanese lieutenant said.

“Indeed, it would take a considerable price to take this position,” the Japanese sergeant agreed with the Japanese lieutenant.

"Why didn't the New First Regiment choose this location as its headquarters?" The Japanese lieutenant felt it was a pity. If the New First Regiment's headquarters were here, they wouldn't have to travel such a long distance.

“It’s normal that they didn’t choose it. They didn’t plan to fight the Japanese head-on, so naturally they wouldn’t choose a location close to the county town,” the Japanese sergeant replied. If it were him, he probably wouldn’t have chosen this place either.

Of course, the terrain of this village is indeed quite good. It could be used as a battalion-level base, but not as a regimental headquarters.

"Never mind all that, let's hurry up and burn this village down too." The Japanese lieutenant shook his head, too lazy to say more, and led his troops to continue advancing.

At this moment, the soldiers in the trenches were also somewhat nervous. They didn't even dare to peek out, fearing that the Japanese would discover the ambush, and then the plan would be ruined. (End of this chapter)