Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"If you send your men there and they are wiped out by that Northeast Army, can you bear the consequences?! So many soldiers have already died; our only goal is to destroy that Northeast Army."
"If we don't eliminate them, the Empire's future plans here will not go smoothly, which will affect the Empire's great cause. Do you want to become a sinner of the Empire?" Itagaki Seishiro said repeatedly.

"Understood, I will instruct my men to control their emotions! Until this Northeast Army is wiped out!" Ota Ichiro said after a moment of silence.

"We will definitely avenge the death of your division commander, but not now!" Itagaki Seishiro's tone softened; he understood Ota Ichiro's feelings.

Their superior officer was killed by the enemy, and they could only wait and could not take action. Their anger was unimaginable. However, anger only makes people lose their rationality and unable to make accurate judgments.

To be honest, he was genuinely worried that the 31st Brigade would disobey orders and go to collect the bodies, which could result in the loss of even more soldiers, making it much more difficult to encircle and annihilate this Northeast Army.

"Hi!" Ichiro Ota replied.

"Just wait for news. I'll call you when it's time for you to take action, and you'll be in charge of leading the charge." After saying this, Itagaki Seishiro hung up the phone, feeling a sense of relief.

"Division Commander, Division Commander, something's happened!" At that moment, a Japanese brigade commander rushed in, anxiously shouting that something had happened.

"Baka! What happened again!" Itagaki Seishiro said irritably. He felt a headache coming on whenever he heard the word "trouble". A sense of irritation rose in his heart. Ever since the 33rd Brigade was attacked, he had not received a single good news, only bad news.

"Division Commander, the brigade that went into the mountains to encircle and annihilate the New 1st Regiment but became the 772nd Regiment has run into trouble. The brigade commander was killed in action, and an entire regiment was wiped out." The Japanese brigade commander swallowed hard and nervously recounted the events.

To be honest, he really didn't expect this to happen.

"What?! How could this be?! How could the 772nd Regiment possibly have the ability to annihilate a regiment?" Itagaki Seishiro was shocked to hear this. It was just a main force regiment of the Eighth Route Army. No matter how strong its combat power was, it couldn't compare to a Class B division.

Even the strongest Shinichi Regiment, he felt, couldn't possibly do that.

Apart from Mu Jin's Northeast Army, he didn't think any other unit had the ability to wipe out an entire regiment of theirs with just one regiment.

"Division Commander, it's not just the 772nd Regiment, but also the 771st Regiment. These two regiments joined forces, and the 772nd Regiment had been harassing us non-stop, which weakened the soldiers' combat effectiveness..." The Japanese brigade commander recounted the details.

This caused Itagaki Seishiro to fall into deep thought for a moment.

I couldn't help but recall his decision to send this brigade to probe whether the Northeast Army was there.

If he hadn't urged the other side to rush into the mountains to encircle and annihilate them, perhaps this wouldn't have happened.

The key point is that the location of that Northeast Army unit was discovered, but they were outmaneuvered by the enemy and suffered heavy casualties. In fact, he had never thought that the troops encircling and suppressing the 772nd Regiment would run into trouble.

"There's still one more regiment. We need to get them out of the mountains quickly so they don't get wiped out," Itagaki Seishiro hurriedly said.

Their losses are already too great; if they lose another regiment, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

It's already quite good that we were able to withdraw one regiment.

"They've already retreated; nothing will happen," the Japanese brigade commander said.

"That's fine then." Seishiro Itagaki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Division Commander, I have a feeling that this Northeast Army is really difficult to deal with. Perhaps we should just give up and turn our attention to the Eighth Route Army? We've already deployed most of our forces to encircle and annihilate this Northeast Army."
"I reckon the Eighth Route Army will seize this opportunity to sabotage our railways and highways," the Japanese brigade commander suggested.

If that Northeast Army wants to retreat, let them retreat. They should now focus on dealing with the Eighth Route Army.

"Do you think that if we let that Northeast Army unit leave, they won't attack us?! Once we withdraw, the enemy might think we've backed down and turn on us even more fiercely."

If I'm not mistaken, that Northeast Army unit must have cooperated with the Eighth Route Army. One unit was responsible for drawing most of our firepower, while the other seized the opportunity to sabotage our transportation.
"Therefore, at this critical juncture, we must do everything in our power to deal with Mu Jin!" Itagaki Seishiro said with a serious expression.

If they let that Northeast Army unit go, they would never fight them again, and he hoped that would be the case. But the problem was that the consequences of letting them go would be far more serious.

Therefore, even knowing that this was Mu Jin's intention, they still had to target Mu Jin. But Mu Jin probably never expected that they would send so many people to encircle and suppress him, even at the cost of abandoning most of the railways and highways.

"This..." The Japanese brigade commander fell silent for a moment, because what Itagaki Seishiro said was indeed true.

Even if they let that Northeast Army unit go, their current situation will not change in the slightest, and they may even lose the opportunity to annihilate that Northeast Army unit.

"Besides, now is our best chance to eliminate the enemy. If we miss it, and they go into hiding again, our chances of annihilating them will be even slimmer."

"By then, Mu Jin's troops will be growing faster and faster. What do you think we should do to them then?!" Itagaki Seishiro continued to explain the reasons.

Although the Eighth Route Army's development exceeded their expectations, they were still able to cope with it.

But Mu Jin's Northeast Army was different. The enemy could turn the world upside down with just a few thousand men. If the enemy were to grow to tens of thousands, he was terrified just thinking about it!
"Division Commander, you've thought this through very well. I understand." The Japanese brigade commander nodded quickly, agreeing with Itagaki Seishiro's statement.

"Sigh... I feel somewhat powerless against this enemy, Mu Jin. He's too difficult to deal with!" Itagaki Seishiro sighed.

The opponent is powerful and has outstanding command ability. He doesn't seem like a person in his twenties at all, but rather like a general who has been through many battles.

To be honest, the other side has fought quite a few battles; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they've been through countless wars.

"Division Commander, don't be discouraged. I believe you can definitely wipe out Mu Jin and avenge the soldiers who died!" The Japanese brigade commander quickly comforted him.

This was the first time the division commander had shown signs of being overwhelmed in front of him, clearly indicating that dealing with Mu Jin had put immense pressure on the division commander.

"Of course, alright, you can go now. I need some peace and quiet." Itagaki Seishiro waved his hand; he needed to calm down, otherwise he might not be able to command the upcoming battle. "Hey! Division Commander, take care of yourself!" The Japanese brigade commander said this with concern before turning and leaving.

Seishiro Itagaki slumped in his chair, looking like a useless person, his eyes lifeless. The successive blows had left him feeling exhausted, even with his strong mentality; it was a kind of mental exhaustion.

Physical fatigue can be recovered through rest, but mental fatigue is much more serious.

"No, I have to pull myself together. I can't just fall like this until I wipe out this Northeast Army." Itagaki Seishiro sat up straight, trying his best to stay focused.

.........

The 386th Brigade, in the conference room.

"Commander, I received a message from headquarters that the Japanese planes have stopped bombing our troops. I suspect they are planning to use their planes against Li Jin's forces!" The political commissar walked in with a document in his hand and said.

Previously, the Japanese planes were targeting them, but starting today, they will no longer be targeting them. This shows that the Japanese feel they have a more troublesome enemy to deal with.

"As expected. The reason they mobilized aircraft to deal with us before was because they thought the secret forces could cooperate with other units to take down Li Jin."

As a result, Li Jin wiped out a bunch of them one after another, making the Japanese realize that dealing with Li Jin was far more difficult than they had imagined. "The commander nodded and said.

After all, their large-scale operation put pressure on the Japanese side, which is why they mobilized most of their aircraft to target them.

"Yes, judging from this, Li Jin is probably in trouble. The Japanese have quite a few planes, and I'm worried that Li Jin and his men will suffer significant casualties." The political commissar frowned, somewhat afraid that things wouldn't go well for Li Jin.

"Don't worry about that. Before you came back, Li Jin sent me a telegram saying that we're going to blow up several airfields built by the Japanese tonight."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Japanese planes won't be able to take off again tomorrow." The commander smiled as he relayed the news.

Li Jin had sent him a telegram before the operation, and the Japanese airfield didn't have many guards at the moment. Li Jin's choice to make his move at this time was absolutely right.

"Oh?! Li Jin had already thought of all this?!" The political commissar was somewhat surprised.

"What do you think? After Li Jin blew up the Japanese airfield in Taiyuan, he sent out intelligence agents to find out where the Japanese would build an airfield."
"After that, he located the Japanese airfield. As for now, it's just a matter of taking care of things incidentally," the commander said with a smile. Li Jin's thinking was quite far-sighted.

"That kid's got some skills. He's so thoughtful. I was a little worried about them, but now everything's fine. With him taking action, those Japanese planes are definitely gone."

"Now the Japanese have no air superiority. Not only are they under no pressure, but we are also under no pressure here." The political commissar laughed.

The Japanese planes posed a significant threat to their troops, and many of their soldiers had been killed in the bombing raids in recent days.

Now that the Japanese no longer have planes, their troops no longer need to worry so much.

"Yes, without the Japanese planes hanging over our heads like a double-edged sword, our operations will be much smoother." The commander also felt much more relaxed.

Since the start of the war, the Japanese aircraft have always been a major problem that is difficult to solve. After all, once the fighting starts, the Japanese can call in aircraft to attack at any time, which is a huge threat.

“If only we had air superiority too. You know what, the air superiority that Li Jin mentioned is indeed very important,” the political commissar suddenly remarked.

Without air superiority, both frontline and logistical troops are threatened, with significant consequences.

"It may not be possible now, but I believe that sooner or later we will have our own aircraft, and in the future, no aircraft from any other country will be allowed to fly into our country's airspace!" the leader said domineeringly.

It's just airplanes. We may not have them now, but that doesn't mean we won't in the future. Sooner or later, they will become even more powerful.

"That's right. It's not just about airplanes; we should also have a stronger navy, and we shouldn't allow foreign warships to invade our territorial waters in the future!" The political commissar nodded in agreement.

In the future, we must develop in all aspects, including land, sea, and air, to become truly powerful. After all, if we fall behind, we will be vulnerable to attack!
"That day will definitely come. We are already training our talent, and we will not be inferior to other countries!" The leader also looked forward to that day.

Just then, a telegraph operator ran in.

"A telegram has been sent by the 772nd Regiment, Commander." The telegraph operator handed the telegram to the commander.

"If I'm not mistaken, the 772nd Regiment and the 771st Regiment have already wiped out the Japanese regiment," the political commissar said upon seeing this.

"That's right. They killed a Japanese brigade commander and a Japanese regimental commander, annihilated the entire Japanese regiment, and captured more than a thousand puppet troops." The commander recounted the contents of the telegram after reading it.

"That's not bad!" The political commissar nodded.

Compared to Li Jin's achievements, the 772nd Regiment's record was indeed not that impressive, but compared to other units, it was much better.

"What do you mean 'not bad'? This is already very good. Not every unit can have someone as capable as Li Jin! But I do look forward to Li Jin killing even higher-ranking Japanese soldiers in the future!" The commander said somewhat helplessly, noticing the political commissar's calm tone.

"You know what, that day was bound to come sooner or later." The political commissar had a lot of faith in Li Jin's ability to do it, and felt that this day would probably come soon.

"Speaking of which, what should we do with those captured puppet troops?! After ideological education, should we let them join us, or should we make them do manual labor?!" The political commissar thought of the captured puppet troops.

There are over a thousand puppet soldiers, which is quite a number, so we need to handle this properly!
"Well, it depends. If someone performs well, joining us isn't out of the question, provided they have no history of wrongdoing!" the leader said with a serious expression.

Anyone who commits a crime should be executed, but those who haven't done anything wrong can be given a chance. Sometimes, it's not appropriate to completely eliminate them!

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking!" The political commissar nodded in agreement; he had been considering the same thing. (End of Chapter)