Show the sword, start from the guerrillas

That night, the main force of the New Second Regiment quietly moved north under the cover of the Quick Reaction Company, found a suitable place to establish the regiment headquarters in the mountains in the north, and settled down there.

On the morning of the second day, some soldiers of the New Second Regiment who stayed behind marched south with their horses and carts, heading straight for Mafang. Then, on the night of the second day, they circled from the east and quietly returned to the mountainous area in the north, completing a roundabout transfer to confuse the enemy.

Of course, starting from that night, a company headquarters was established in Songta Town, and the third company of the new second regiment was stationed here, serving as a fortress for the entire regiment.

Kong Jie's approach was actually very bold! During the Guangyang ambush, the Japanese advanced westward from Xiyang, passed Madaoling and Nianshan Town, and headed westward. This was actually a marching route that had been explored long ago. In fact, the road here is in the same line as the road south of Liangjia Village, and is one of the road passages from Shanxi to Jingxing or Jiulongguan.

Moreover, most of the way there are rivers along the way, so there is no shortage of water when traveling. Such conditions are essential for traveling merchants and marching.

So, the New Second Regiment occupied Songta Town, clearly displaying their weapons, horses, and artillery, and raising flags here, swearing to the Japanese that there was a new armed force here, which was quite provocative.

"Baga...this is a provocation to us!" A major officer from the 36th Division in Yuci angrily slammed the table after learning about this situation.

"Captain, should we attack Songta?" The Japanese officers under him asked when they saw that their captain was angry.

"No, no, no, no... Our mission is still to ensure the safety of the Baijin Line! The railway line is still under repair, and the highway line must be kept open. This is our priority!" said the Japanese major.

"Then...what should we do?" another officer under him asked.

"What should we do? Songta Town is located right between Yuci, Xiyang and Shouyang, right at the junction of the three counties! Forget it, let's send a situation report to the Fourth Brigade!"

The situation was sent to the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade, but it made the devils in trouble! It's not that the devils of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade didn't want to take care of it, but the strategic location of the Pingliao Highway and the railway line was more important. They had to take care of the railway and highway lines, as well as the defense of several counties, so they really couldn't spare too many troops.

In fact, since last year, that is, in the second half of 42, the Japanese realized the problem of insufficient troops after the defeat in the Battle of Midway. Therefore, it is inevitable to withdraw troops from the Chinese battlefield. Even if they are not directly withdrawn, they will reduce the investment here. At this time, if there were no serious natural disasters in China, making it difficult for the anti-Japanese forces to recover, it would be hard to say.

At this time, the First Army only had the 36th, 37th, and 69th divisions, as well as the 3rd and 4th independent mixed brigades. The First Army needed to defend the entire Tongpu Railway, the Zhengtai Railway, and important nodes in the south such as Yuncheng.

Three divisions and two independent mixed brigades, the total strength of the Japanese is only about 6, but they are facing the Central Army, the Shanxi Suiyuan Army and the Eighth Route Army. Not to mention other things, but the Eighth Route Army has military regions such as Northwest Shanxi, Taiyue, Taihang, and Beiyue. The Eighth Route Army has about 20 troops here.

If the Japs only had their regular army, and Li Yunlong was given a division to attack Taiyuan at this time, he might really be able to take it down! However, after taking it down, he would have to face the provocation and suppression of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army and the Central Army.

Of course, the main force of the devils only has this, but they have a lot of puppet troops under their command, which is an important means for the devils to stabilize the current situation. The idea of ​​saving the country by a roundabout way provided by Wang Jingwei has bred too many puppet troops, allowing the power controlled by the devils to continue to expand, thus achieving a strange balance. However, in Jinzhong, due to the sudden insertion of the New Second Regiment, this balance has a slight deviation.

"Where on earth did these Eighth Route Army soldiers come from?" Major General Tokutaro Nakajima of Yangquan looked at the location of Songta Town on the map, his brows slightly furrowed, his mind racing as he planned his next countermeasures.

"Well..." After thinking for a while, Major General Nakajima called the messenger beside him and personally wrote an order and issued it.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. The soldiers of the Third Company of the New Second Regiment stationed in Songta Town had become familiar with the surrounding villages. They also established a militia team in the village for training and took over some of the tasks of the local regiment. However, during these days, the Third Company always maintained a high level of alert to guard against the sudden attack of the devils.

However, at noon that day, the soldiers on guard suddenly discovered that a convoy was coming from the western road, with about a dozen horse-drawn carriages.

"Stay alert and be ready to fight at any time!" Seeing the situation, the third company commander quickly gave orders to the soldiers at the checkpoint in front.

"Huff, huff, huff..." The carriage team slowly approached the checkpoint and stopped. A middle-aged man sitting next to the driver jumped off the carriage, bowed and nodded to the sentry, took out a box of Sakura cigarettes from his pocket and said, "Sir, would you like to smoke..."

"Stand back, let's talk about it. This is the Eighth Route Army's defense zone, and we can't let you go without a pass!" The sentry said to the newcomer, holding a submachine gun in his hand with the muzzle slightly raised.

"This has been changed to the Eighth Route Army's defense zone? That's great. I've heard that the Eighth Route Army is really good to the people. They say that the army and the people are like one family, and they are all soldiers! How about some leniency?"

"Can you read? Look at the sign over there. All material convoys passing through this road must be strictly inspected and are not allowed to carry prohibited items, otherwise they will be confiscated!" said the sentry, pointing to a large sign on the side.

"Food, cotton cloth, salt, vinegar, bullets, guns, copper, iron, hardwood... why are they all contraband? How can we do business like this?" said the visitor.

"Look, not letting you pass doesn't mean you can't do business! We, the Eighth Route Army, control the above-mentioned materials! You caravans can transport these materials from the enemy-occupied areas and sell them to our Eighth Route Army! We have cigarettes, soap, honey, red dates, and farm tools that can be exchanged! We even have money to buy them! But you have to pay taxes!" said the sentry.

"Well...that...our truck is full of food. How about we sell it to you, the Eighth Route Army? How much would you like to pay?" the man asked.

"I can't make the decision on this matter, I'll call someone who can make the decision!" The sentry signaled the visitor to stay still and turned back to call for help, while the comrades accompanying him remained on guard. (End of this chapter)