Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

After considering it for a moment, the Japanese brigade commander ordered his men to meet up with the puppet troops flanking from both sides. As it stands, they should be safe from any danger.

So sending someone to meet them wouldn't be a problem. Besides, the puppet troops are, after all, their people, so they should at least show some concern.

Of course, if they sensed real danger, they would probably choose to retreat.

A few minutes later, an explosion also came from the direction of the puppet army responsible for flanking from the right. It was also a landmine exploding, and then there was silence.

"Now we can be pretty sure there's no danger." The Japanese brigade commander nodded. If there were any danger, we wouldn't just hear the sound of landmines exploding on the puppet army's side, but also the sound of gunfire. He didn't believe that the enemy's landmines could kill so many puppet soldiers in one go.

"Brigade Commander, I'll have these fallen soldiers gathered together and cremated," said the Japanese regimental commander.

The ashes of these soldiers who died for their country will eventually be transported back home.

"Hmm." The Japanese brigade commander nodded.

A dozen minutes later, the puppet troops from both directions arrived and joined forces.

"Sir, the enemy is too cunning. They planted landmines on the road leading to our encirclement. More than a dozen of my soldiers were killed by the landmines, and many more were injured," the puppet army captain said as he approached.

"You've worked hard. Remember to give the families of those fallen puppet soldiers a pension." The Japanese brigade commander looked very considerate of his subordinates. If they died in battle and no pension was given, it would be difficult to win over the hearts of the people.

Not to mention that these puppet troops actually serve the empire, unlike those locally recruited soldiers who only know how to freeload.

"Thank you very much, sir." The puppet army captain quickly expressed his gratitude.

"No need to be polite, we're all on the same side," the Japanese brigade commander said slowly.

"I am willing to serve the Imperial Army," the puppet army captain quickly expressed his loyalty.

"By the way, sir, where are the enemies?! Did they escape?!" The puppet army captain changed the subject, his gaze also turning to a group of Japanese soldiers who were piling up firewood not far away.

"The enemy is cunning; they tricked us, causing our vanguard to be completely wiped out," the Japanese brigade commander responded.

"What?! These enemies are so despicable! Sir, if I ever encounter them, I will never let them go!" The puppet army captain said angrily, as if the dead were his own family members!
"Good thing you think that way. Then we'll choose the vanguard from among you." The Japanese brigade commander nodded in satisfaction and then said.

"Huh?! Us?!" The puppet army captain was stunned when he heard that he was to send men as the vanguard. He really didn't expect that flattery would put them in danger.

"What?! You're unwilling to send men?!" The Japanese brigade commander frowned, seemingly somewhat angry.

"No, no, I'm willing, I'm willing." The puppet army captain was startled and quickly replied, fearing that the Japanese brigade commander would shoot him dead.

"That's fine then." The Japanese brigade commander finally smiled. To be honest, he thought the enemy must have ambushed people on both sides, but when they found out it wasn't them, they let the puppet army go.

Since that's the case, why not let the puppet troops be the vanguard? That way, there might be less danger.

After the dead Japanese soldiers were burned to ashes, it became completely dark. The Japanese brigade commander did not burn down the village for the time being, but instead had his men move into the village. The others set up camp nearby and sent out patrol teams to patrol within two miles of the village.

.........

On the other side, Blind Cheng and his men also waited for the return of the battalion commander.

"Regimental Commander!" The battalion commander greeted Blind Cheng with a broad smile.

"How's the situation? Is everything resolved?" Seeing the battalion commander's smile, Blind Cheng knew that the battle had gone smoothly without any unexpected incidents.

"I have successfully completed my mission," the battalion commander replied.

"Well done, I'll give you credit." Blind Cheng was very happy to hear this. He had been worried that the battalion commander and his men might not be able to take down the vanguard of the Japanese army, but now it seemed that his worries were completely unnecessary.

"It was all thanks to the regimental commander's plan. The Japanese devils were completely unsuspecting, foolishly marching into the village. We caught them completely off guard and wiped them out in less than three minutes."
It took another two minutes to clean up the battlefield, but because of the time constraint, we didn't have time to count how many Japanese soldiers we had killed. "The battalion commander said that if they hadn't only had two minutes, he would have wanted to know exactly how many Japanese soldiers they had killed in this operation.

"It's alright, it's already great to have brought back the spoils of war," Blind Cheng replied. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, and this way, they could replenish the ammunition they had used in this operation.

"Commander, should we continue our sneak attacks?!" the battalion commander asked, looking eager to try again, as if he wanted to take down the Japanese again.

"That's fine. The Japanese are already on guard and won't fall for it again. If they encounter a village again later, they probably won't be so foolish as to be ambushed." Blind Cheng shook his head, feeling that this matter couldn't be rushed.

Moreover, he felt that the Japanese might not send Japanese soldiers as the vanguard later, but instead the puppet troops would be sent as the vanguard.

It's not worth putting the troops in danger just to kill some puppet soldiers, so we should try our best not to attack the Japanese anymore.

"That's true, Commander. When can we launch a counterattack against the Japanese? I think if we can get a good opportunity to ambush them, we might not be unable to defeat them," the battalion commander suggested.

The 772nd Regiment still has considerable firepower, and they also have tear gas. Although the effectiveness of tear gas is greatly reduced in open areas, a large number of them can still have a significant impact on the Japanese.

The key point is that these Japanese soldiers who went into the mountains did not appear to be carrying gas masks, so the tear gas had a significant impact on them.

If they had the chance to ambush the Japanese, they still had a chance to eliminate the Japanese soldiers who had entered the mountains.

"Well, there is an opportunity. We can ambush the Japanese on their retreat route. Since they've already passed through, they'll be more careless during their retreat, giving us a chance to take them out," Blind Cheng slowly explained his plan.

The Japanese devils are so arrogant in burning down the homes that the people depend on for survival. It's not enough to just wipe out one vanguard of the Japanese devils; we have to wipe out all the Japanese devils and the people.

"That's good. The Japanese will never expect that we will not only not run away, but will also ambush them along their retreat route," the battalion commander said quickly upon hearing this.

"However, that's not necessarily true. If the Japanese realize that Li Jin's troops aren't here, they might continue to pursue us and try to eliminate us." Blind Cheng continued his analysis. He also knew very well that the Japanese were afraid of Li Jin, not them.

"We're not afraid of them. If they dare to keep chasing, let them chase us all they want. We have plenty of time!" the battalion commander said confidently. They were very familiar with the terrain and were not afraid that the Japanese could annihilate them. In addition, the civilians had already been moved to a safe place, so there was even less reason for them to be timid.

"Well, actually I still prefer to fight the Japanese at night, but that's obviously not possible right now. Their camp is heavily guarded, so we'll have to see how things go before we start making a specific plan," said Blind Cheng. After all, he wasn't a god and couldn't predict everything.

Moreover, their main objective was to hold off the Japanese and buy time for Li Jin's side; they preferred to avoid unnecessary battles.

This attack on the vanguard of the Japanese army was only to teach them a lesson; burning down houses indiscriminately would have consequences.

"Understood!" The battalion commander nodded.

"Speaking of which, the landmines we planted hit the Japanese men who were sent to flank us from both sides, but the Japanese coming from the front didn't get hit. What on earth are those Japanese doing?!" Blind Cheng wondered.

Logically, the Japanese soldiers should have pursued them and stepped on the landmines, but there was no explosion, which made him wonder if the Japanese soldiers had bypassed the area where they had laid the landmines.

"What are they doing? Don't you even look at the sky? The sun has already set. The Japanese have definitely set up camp here. If I'm not mistaken, the Japanese probably won't burn the village down so quickly," Blind Cheng replied.

It was already late, and the Japanese soldiers couldn't possibly continue their journey day and night without rest.

"Is it because our operation this time has made the Japanese wary and they dare not attack the village again?!" the battalion commander laughed.

"They're not refusing to burn the village; they plan to use Zhangjia Village for defense, since it's readily available. They'll probably burn the village down tomorrow," said Blind Cheng, already guessing the Japanese intentions.

"Damn it, I thought the Japanese devils were starting to be wary of us too, but I never expected it to be like this." The battalion commander couldn't help but curse.

Not long after, more soldiers from the First Battalion returned; they were the soldiers responsible for planting landmines.

"Regimental Commander, Battalion Commander!" The company commander leading the team saluted the two men.

"How many Japanese soldiers did you kill over there?!" Blind Cheng asked.

"We didn't hit any Japanese soldiers." The company commander shook his head.

"Didn't it hit any Japanese soldiers?! How did the landmine explode? Don't tell me it only hit puppet troops." The battalion commander said hurriedly.

"Yes, they bombed the puppet troops. They were flanking from both sides. They were all puppet troops. I didn't see a single Japanese soldier," the company commander nodded and said.

He did want to blow up the Japanese soldiers, but the Japanese didn't come; instead, it was all puppet troops who came. What could he do?

"You mean, the Japanese only sent puppet troops to encircle us?!" Blind Cheng frowned and asked. He hadn't expected the Japanese to send puppet troops to carry out the encirclement mission. Had he underestimated the combat effectiveness of these puppet troops?
"Yes, it's strange. I don't understand what the Japanese are thinking either. You can't say that the fighting ability of those traitors can compare with that of the Japanese, can you?" The company commander nodded in response.

"Commander, I think this is just the Japanese being cautious. They're worried that someone might be lying in ambush on both flanks, so they sent out puppet troops to avoid too many casualties among their own soldiers!" The battalion commander also began to analyze.

"These little devils are probably thinking we have a conspiracy behind our attack on the first village, which is why they put the puppet troops in charge of flanking the enemy."

"They just didn't expect that we simply wanted to take out the vanguard of the Japanese army." Blind Cheng smiled as he finished speaking.

"Looking at it this way, the Japanese are terrified of Li Jin to the core. Even if they were to mobilize, they wouldn't dare send out so many men to attack; they would only dare to send out their puppet troops." The battalion commander was also overjoyed.

It's true that fate has a shadow; Li Jin's strength has been deeply imprinted in the minds of the Japanese, making them uneasy whenever they hear about Li Jin's troops.

"Actually, let alone the Japanese, if our enemy were as powerful as Li Jin, I would also be afraid. After all, the difference in strength between the two sides is just too great." Blind Cheng shook his head helplessly. The sense of oppression from Li Jin's special forces regiment was still terrifying.

Once you've fought Li Jin once, you'll know what kind of enemy you're facing—one that ordinary people simply cannot defeat.

"Yes, the special operations regiment is indeed ridiculously strong, and they have a lot of people and their firepower is incredibly fierce." The battalion commander also sighed.

I wish they could have such a powerful army someday.

"That day will come. Send a telegram to the commander first, telling him about our situation here," Blind Cheng instructed.

.........

In Zhangjia Village, the Japanese brigade commander was taken to the ancestral hall, which looked like a comfortable place to sleep because it was quite large.

"Brigade Commander, this is the largest part of the village," said the Japanese regimental commander.

"Hmm, that's strange. Why isn't there an ancestral tablet in this ancestral hall?!" the Japanese brigade commander asked curiously. Logically speaking, these ancestral halls should have ancestral tablets. He had originally planned to burn all the tablets in the ancestral hall.

"Brigade Commander, I suspect these villagers simply moved the memorial tablets away, which is why the space is empty," the Japanese regimental commander explained.

"That's the only explanation. Have the telegraph operator immediately inform the higher-ups of our situation here," the Japanese brigade commander said. They needed to let their superiors know as soon as possible about the enemy attack they had encountered.

"Hey!" The Japanese regimental commander turned and left.

The Japanese brigade commander wandered around the ancestral hall, asking if there was anything fun to do.

A few minutes later, the Japanese regimental commander returned.

"Brigade Commander, the Division Commander has replied with a telegram." The Japanese regimental commander handed the telegram to the Japanese brigade commander for inspection.

"It seems the division commander is indeed quite concerned about whether that Northeast Army is here," the Japanese brigade commander said. But it's understandable; it seems the division commander has a plan to wipe out that Northeast Army in one fell swoop.

"Yes, if we don't deal with this Northeast Army, not only the division commander, but even the commander-in-chief won't be able to sleep soundly." (End of Chapter)