Show the sword, start from the guerrillas

Ding-ling-ling... The old-fashioned magnetic telephone suddenly rang, interrupting Ueno's thoughts. After picking up the phone, Ueno heard some very bad news.

"Reporting to the captain, we are from the Shili Township Mountain Squadron. Just now, a company of the Eighth Route Army attacked us, but we have repelled them! However, when the Eighth Route Army came, they brought a lot of corpses in their vehicles, all wearing our military uniforms. And... and the Eighth Route Army also brought a lot of heads, which were also our soldiers..."

Listening to the voice with some fear coming from the receiver, Ueno finally determined where the abnormality he felt came from - that's right, the Eighth Route Army mobilized its forces at some point and concentrated on destroying the Nakajima Squadron he sent out to make a detour! Although he didn't know when this happened, it had become a fact!
As for why he was sure that it was the Eighth Route Army that concentrated its forces, it was because he knew the combat effectiveness of Nakajima's squadron, not to mention that Nakajima was accompanied by more than a thousand Imperial Army soldiers. Moreover, the Imperial Army was previously an elite force under Sun Dongling of the Central Army, and its combat effectiveness was still very strong!

Although, but... what needs to be solved now is not the problem of the Nakajima Squadron being eliminated, but the problem of the Eighth Route Army that suddenly appeared in the north! In particular, the Eighth Route Army has also learned to chop off heads... This is the most feared thing for the lower-level soldiers, because if the head is cut off, the soul can't enter the so-called God's toilet and can't rest in peace...

Well, although there is no definite evidence for this statement, the Japanese are indeed afraid of having their heads chopped off! For example, the famous seppuku suicide requires very high knife skills from the person next to them. It is required that the neck be cut off with one knife, but the skin must be attached...

In fact, the key point now is not to chop off the heads and then pile them up there. The problem now is that the Eighth Route Army is openly provoking and slapping them in the face! This matter is absolutely intolerable, because if there is no counterattack, it will be a huge blow to the morale of the lower-level soldiers and officers at all levels! There is another aspect, that is, once their own people show weakness, those imperial army...

The Imperial Army seemed very obedient, but the premise was that the Imperial Army had to be strong, strong enough to suppress all resistance from the Imperial Army! Before completely enslaving the Imperial Army, it had to remain strong and ruthless. This was like raising a dog. Not only did you have to provide the dog with food, but you also had to tie it up with a chain and beat it with a stick... Otherwise, you couldn't train a good and obedient dog!
In the time it took to make a phone call, Major Ueno had thought of so many things, and he didn't even have time to talk to the devils on the other side: "Since the Eighth Route Army has retreated, you should arrange some soldiers to go out and find out their location. It's best to grasp their movements! I will mobilize troops to counterattack them! Remember, the Eighth Route Army is no match for us, so go for it!"

After hearing that the Japanese soldiers in the Shili Township base had hung up the phone, Ueno also hung up the phone. After thinking for a while, he picked up the phone again and began to call the scattered teams of the 23rd Battalion. Then, he sent a message to the signalman, asking him to send a situation report to the 24th Battalion, informing the 24th Battalion that he needed to reorganize the team and pursue the Eighth Route Army in the north...

After finishing all this, more than ten minutes had passed. At this moment, Shangye did not plan to stay in Gu County any longer. He felt that he had to lead the team north in person to better control the situation.

So, three hours later, Ueno brought 23 soldiers from the 957rd Battalion and two battalions of the Imperial Army, forming a team of 3580 people, and headed straight for Shili Township.

The reason why he led so many troops north was that during this period of time, the Japanese in Shili Township finally "figured out" the situation of the Eighth Route Army.

Well, actually, it can’t be said that they have figured it out clearly, because after attacking the stronghold in Shili Township, the 772nd Regiment directly raised a red flag on the hilltop east of Shili Village in the north, clearly stating that we are here, come and fight us if you have the guts.
Shili Village is just 4 miles north of Shili Township. Even if the Japanese in Shili Township haven't had time to build a gun tower, you can see the flag of the 772nd Regiment standing on any roof! Well, if you have good eyesight, you can see it without a telescope. The flag of the 772nd Regiment is clear, and the 8th Company even turned its back to the Japanese and dug trenches on the southern slope... It's clear that they are going to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese here!

Therefore, when Ueno learned that a regiment of the Eighth Route Army was building a position in Shili Village, his desire to fight was aroused to the extreme! Of course, there was also a desire for revenge, a need to boost morale, and a desire for military exploits... So, he notified Captain Sakuragi of the 24th Battalion, informed him of the situation in the north, and then resolutely headed north.

What the Japanese could see was the 772nd Regiment with its flag clearly displayed. However, in Shili Village, which the Japanese could not see, the main force of the 20th Regiment had already been in place and had built its own position on the mountain south of the village. Similarly, to the east of the 772nd Regiment's position, on the hilltop across the Guxian River, the 16th Regiment also built its own position.

The three positions echoed each other, with a total span of more than 4 kilometers, completely blocking the passage of the Japanese troops along the Guxian River to the north. If the Japanese troops wanted to return to Changzi County, they had to go back to Guxian and then go northeast to Shizizhuang... Of course, this was not the point. The point was that the Second Battalion, the general reserve, had already learned about the Japanese troops' movements from the radio station of the special operations team!
If the Second Battalion knew, then all three positions would know too! They had been busy since last night, and with the time this morning, the signalmen had enough time to set up the telephone lines.

"Haha, great, we finally got the devils here! Comrades, it's rare that our 772nd Regiment also has the chance to fight a positional battle and defend! So, when the devils come, fight them well and don't let them down!"

"Captain, don't worry! In the past, we fought guerrilla warfare and ambushes because we were poorly equipped and had insufficient manpower! Now the main force of our brigade is here, and we are just waiting for the Japanese to come!"

"Yes, we are waiting for the Japanese to come. We will no longer take the initiative to avoid the main force of the Japanese and attack their baggage and supply lines! Although, the gains from attacking the Japanese logistics are greater."

Knowing that the Japanese were coming, everyone was very excited! Of course, it was still more than 30 miles from Guxian to Shili Township, and it would take the Japanese at least three hours to get there, so everyone had time to rest.

Two hours later, the special forces returned to Taipinggou ahead of schedule and brought back the terrain information ahead. (End of this chapter)