Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"That's true. The losses of ordinary brigades are acceptable, but the losses of Class A units are far greater." Yamamoto Ichiki sighed.

The resources used to train a Class B division are vastly different from those used to train a Class A division. In fact, the resources required to train a Class A brigade can be comparable to those required to train a Class B division.

"Yes, but as long as we can wipe out that Northeast Army, it's acceptable, isn't it?" the Japanese lieutenant colonel said.

In his view, nothing was more important than destroying that Northeast Army. Even if it meant losing a brigade or a division, as long as the Northeast Army could no longer target them, the empire could establish its presence there without being destroyed.

"Never mind all that, let's go check the situation first." Yamamoto Ichiki didn't want to say much more now. He didn't want the 33rd Brigade to be annihilated by the enemy, because that would be too great a loss.

The loss of a brigade now would likely result in the loss of more than half a division after the encirclement of the enemy. Adding another brigade would require the sacrifice of one and a half divisions, and that would be a top-tier division.

They have never lost a Class A division in China. Not to mention a Class A division, even a brigade of a Class A division is difficult for the enemy to annihilate.

And now, it is estimated that the first brigade of a Class A division will be annihilated by the enemy.

The implications are self-evident.

"I heard that the Empire has been secretly meeting with that Nationalist soldier. Judging from the situation, they still show signs of wanting to negotiate. If we fail to annihilate this Northeast Army this time and instead suffer heavy losses, the situation might be different." The Japanese lieutenant colonel's expression became very solemn as he said these words.

The war has dragged on for so long, and the pressure on the empire is still immense. If the fighting continues, the burden will only grow heavier until one day it will be dragged down.

Therefore, it is necessary to end the fighting here and redeploy troops to plunder resources in other countries. Only in this way can the pressure on the empire be relieved.

"Yes, this battle is of paramount importance. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army's development has indeed been quite rapid. Compared to the resistance from the Nationalist Army, the Eighth Route Army has caused us much more trouble," Yamamoto Ichiki nodded and then said.

It was because the Eighth Route Army kept sabotaging them that they could not occupy territory with peace of mind, let alone plunder resources with peace of mind. That is why the "cage policy" and the "three alls policy" came about.

“That’s right. After we take care of that Northeast Army, the next step is to take care of the Eighth Route Army. Otherwise, we’ll have to keep sending reinforcements here, and the pressure will be too great.” The Japanese lieutenant colonel agreed.

At this moment, several soldiers hiding on the mountain also saw the Japanese troops move out.

"Just as the regimental commander guessed, the Japanese division commander really did send troops to provide support. And judging from the situation of this unit, it is obviously not an ordinary one. It is the Japanese secret unit. However, judging from the number, there are nearly three thousand people." One of the soldiers said.

They had been keeping an eye on the Japanese, and now they saw the Japanese coming out to provide support.

“Indeed, but some of them don’t seem that strong. Never mind, let’s not talk about it anymore. Quickly contact the company commander to send a telegram to the regimental commander.” The soldier next to him urged, this was important intelligence that needed to be reported immediately.

"Okay." The soldier immediately took out his walkie-talkie, contacted the company commander, and explained the situation.

.........

On the other side, after annihilating the Japanese battalion that had left to resist, Xu Qingfeng and Kong Jie headed towards Li Yunlong's side.

Upon hearing the gunfire, Xu Qingfeng knew that the two sides had already clashed, but it would take them quite some time to get there.

"Damn it, I didn't expect the Japanese to run so fast. They've already engaged Li Yunlong in battle," Kong Jie said as he ran.

He was somewhat worried that the Japanese soldiers might escape, and if that happened, their gains for the night would not be able to be expanded.

"Don't worry, the Japanese can't escape. The regimental commander has already made preparations. Although the position isn't ideal, overall, we can still hold off the Japanese," Xu Qingfeng reassured him.

He still trusted Li Yunlong and his men. It wasn't like he was asking them to fight the Japanese to the death. As long as they could hold out for ten or twenty minutes, they could get there in time.

The troops also increased their advance speed to prevent the Japanese from actually escaping, which would make annihilation more difficult.

.........

Meanwhile, the Japanese were also extremely anxious. They were desperately attacking the front lines, trying to break through Li Yunlong's defenses. However, Li Yunlong's firepower was indeed very strong, and the breakthrough point was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It would take the Japanese a lot of time to escape.

Of course, Li Yunlong and his men were also under a lot of pressure, because the Japanese soldiers were attacking like they were risking their lives.

Some Japanese soldiers had even broken through to within about 100 meters of the front line, but they still found it difficult to break through the defensive zone of many machine gun positions.

The closer the distance, the greater the firepower of the machine gun, which is still very scary for the Japanese. The key is that it is difficult for the Japanese to fire their machine guns and suppress Li Yunlong and his men with firepower, which makes it even more difficult for the Japanese to break through.

"Brigade Commander, the casualties are too high. We can't break through the enemy's machine gun positions, and our firepower can't suppress them either. The soldiers can't even get close to the enemy." The Japanese regimental commander reported to Nakajima Ichiro.

In less than ten minutes, hundreds of their soldiers had already perished, and the front lines were piled high with the corpses of their soldiers.

"Damn it, how come the enemy's sharpshooter is so good? He can shoot so accurately even at night." Nakajima Ichiro couldn't help but curse.

Given the current situation, it is virtually impossible for them to break out; in other words, this is very likely to be the place where their entire brigade will perish.

"Brigade Commander, what should we do now?!" The Japanese regimental commander was also somewhat panicked; the situation was far more serious than he had imagined.

"The division commander has already sent Yamamoto's special attack team to provide support. We only need to hold out for one more day! Have the soldiers set up their positions and prepare for the enemy's attack!" Nakajima Ichiro said slowly.

Continuing to sacrifice lives in a desperate attempt to break through is no longer feasible; it would be better to build a more secure position to counter the enemy's attack.

Ichiro Nakajima is now filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have retreated when they were attacked. They could have taken advantage of the terrain to launch a counterattack.

Even if they are no match for the enemy, they can still hold out for two or three days. However, now they are facing much greater pressure, and holding out for one day may be their limit.

"Brigade Commander, I feel that once that Northeast Army arrives, we might not be able to hold out for even a day!" The Japanese regimental commander hesitated before speaking. He felt that with the Northeast Army's combat strength and firepower, they might be annihilated in less than a day.

"Don't panic. Actually, I was just saying it for a day. In reality, we only need to hold out for half a day."

"If the enemy sees that they can't take us down for a long time, they will inevitably choose to retreat. They dare not linger too long, otherwise, other troops will surround us, and they will have no chance to escape." Nakajima Ichiro began to analyze. In his view, the enemy would not choose to fight for that long, because they would also need to retreat. Therefore, once they failed to take us down after a prolonged siege, the enemy would definitely retreat.

"Yes, although we were attacked, the division commander must have also arranged for troops to surround us! Although the plan was different from what we expected..."

But our current situation is actually quite similar to the original plan, except that the people being attacked have changed from the command center to us.

"As long as we can hold out, it will be difficult for the enemy to escape." The Japanese regimental commander realized this and quickly said.

"Yes, and if the enemy wants to retreat, we'll have to find a way to hold them off and prevent them from retreating so easily!" Nakajima Ichiro said slowly.

Although the plan differed slightly, the result was actually similar, only the losses were too great.

"I just don't know how many men will be left in our brigade by then," the Japanese regimental commander sighed.

Faced with the enemy's fierce attack, their brigade is probably going to be wiped out, possibly losing its complete structure, and might even be disbanded in the future.

"Don't think about that now. Pass the word down and prepare for a fight to the death," Nakajima Ichiro ordered.

"Oh, right, send a telegram to the division commander and tell him our plans," Nakajima Ichiro instructed again.

Their breakout attempt failed, leaving them with no choice but to fight the enemy to the bitter end. They could only hope that the division commander would order the other units to speed up their advance and complete the encirclement as soon as possible, so that their deaths would be worthwhile.

.........

As the Japanese troops ceased their attacks on the positions ahead of the main road, Li Yunlong and his men naturally noticed this as well.

Chu Yunfei then circled around to Li Yunlong's side.

"Brother Yunlong, it seems the Japanese have given up on breaking out; they've probably resigned themselves to their fate," Chu Yunfei said. The fact that the Japanese have stopped attacking the breakout direction already speaks volumes.

“Indeed, Brother Yunfei, look what the Japanese are doing! They're fortifying their positions; they're clearly going to wage a protracted war against us.” Li Yunlong gestured for Chu Yunfei to look at the situation on the Japanese side.

"If I'm not mistaken, they're probably thinking of holding out against our attack for half a day, so that we'll realize we can't break through and choose to retreat," Chu Yunfei said slowly.

"That's possible. Other Japanese troops have probably already surrounded this area, which is why they think we'll retreat," Li Yunlong speculated.

In fact, all of this was within their expectations, but the Japanese probably thought they were overestimating themselves by thinking they could hold out for even half a day.

Half a day was enough time for them to wipe out the Japanese devils.

"We're mainly waiting for news from Brother Mu. If they complete their mission, we can wipe out the Japanese ahead of schedule," Chu Yunfei said.

They were actually capable of taking down the brigade within half a day, but in order to prevent Li Jin's mission from failing, they had to delay it a little longer.

"Hmm, perhaps the Japanese secret force won't take too long to reach Mu Jin's ambush. Then we won't need to delay for that long," Li Yunlong said. The 33rd Brigade was the one being ambushed.

The Japanese division commander must be extremely anxious, so he would definitely urge his troops to travel as quickly as possible.

“That’s right. The enemy’s secret forces might have arrived by car, which is much faster than running,” Chu Yunfei said.

In short, the faster the Japanese secret troops travel, the less time they need to delay, allowing them to annihilate the Japanese ahead of time and reduce casualties.

.........

On the other side, Li Jin was still waiting for news, not resting.

"Commander, the political commissar sent a telegram saying that the Japanese have been successfully lured into the ambush, and it's only a matter of time before the 33rd Brigade is wiped out," Liu Changshun reported, holding the telegram in his hand.

"Well, I'm not too worried about them. What I'm more worried about is whether Yamamoto Ichiki will realize this is a trap. What if they find out it's a trap?"

"I'm afraid they won't provide support. In that case, we'll have no choice but to abandon our plan to annihilate the Japanese command post." Li Jin nodded and then said.

He wouldn't feel at ease until the Japanese command sent Yamamoto Ichiki over.

"Commander, don't worry, the Japanese will never think of this. Our plan is flawless. They will never realize it's a trap," Liu Changshun said.

In his view, the regimental commander's plan could not possibly go wrong. The attack on the 33rd Brigade included the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment. The Japanese would never have imagined that the 358th Regiment was among them.

All of this was to mislead the Japanese, making them believe that they were all attacking the 33rd Brigade, thus prompting them to send reinforcements.

"Don't be so absolute. Let's wait for news." Li Jin didn't dare to make any guarantees, after all, Yamamoto Ichiki's abilities were indeed quite strong.

If he hadn't known about Yamamoto Ichiki's existence beforehand, he might have actually fallen into the trap the other party had set. Therefore, he still dared not be too careless.

"That's true, we still can't underestimate the enemy." Liu Changshun nodded. The enemy must have some skill to set up such a powerful trap. Being too careless could easily lead to losses.

"Commander, do you think the political commissar can annihilate the 33rd Brigade within half a day?!" Liu Changshun asked.

"Of course we can. Although less than half of the troops are participating, with the regimental commander and the others, it's enough to wipe out this Japanese brigade." Li Jin was quite confident about this!

"Moreover, the Japanese no longer have advantageous terrain for a counterattack, so it will be very difficult for them to hold out for even half a day," Li Jin continued. He was aware of the plan devised by Xu Qingfeng.

Therefore, he was not worried about Xu Qingfeng's situation.

"That's what I think too. Even if they don't run away, I think we can still annihilate the Japanese in half a day, it's just that the cost might be higher," Liu Changshun said. (End of Chapter)