Bright Sword: I am an undercover agent in the puppet army

Chapter 84 Good news comes frequently, Brigade Commander: Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Kong Jie, we congratulate you on your wealth!
Jiro Nojiri turned his head and saw Kasahara Koizumi next to him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, handed the phone to the signalmen on duty nearby, and reported to him: "Captain, something big has happened!"

"We just received a report that at least 30 small strongholds on the Zhengtai Railway from Yangquan to Niangziguan were attacked by the Tubalu at the same time at 12 o'clock in the morning."

"And the calls are still coming in, which means the number of locations being attacked is still increasing."

"So far, several bases have lost contact. It seems that the telephone lines have been cut off."

"Captain, this is most likely a premeditated offensive by the Eighth Route Army."

Jiro Nojiri understood the strength of the Eighth Route Army and knew that it lacked siege weapons. He subconsciously thought that the stronghold had lost contact because the telephone lines had been cut, and did not think that it had been captured.

Kasahara Koizumi said with a serious face: "Nojiri-kun, it's not possible, it's certain! This must be a large-scale offensive carefully organized by the Eighth Route Army against the strongholds along the Shotai Railway."

Nojiri Jiro asked, "Should we order the 3rd Infantry Battalion to provide reinforcements?"

Kasahara Koizumi: "Dozens of locust army strongholds were attacked at the same time. The 1200-plus men of the Third Infantry Battalion were undoubtedly a drop in the bucket and meaningless."

Nojiri Jiro said again: "Pingding County, as well as Taohe, Heishui River, Niangzi Pass and other large strongholds have not been attacked for the time being. Can we withdraw the locust troops in these strongholds to rescue them?"

Kasahara Koizumi shook his head: "No need, since the Eighth Route Army came prepared, they must have made various plans. If we withdraw the troops from these large strongholds at this time, we may fall into the enemy's trap.

On the contrary, as long as these large strongholds are not lost, the Eighth Route Army's attack on the Zhengtai Railway will not pose much of a threat.

After daybreak, with the tactical guidance of the air force, it won’t be too late for the locust army to launch a counterattack! "

"It won't be easy for the Eighth Route Army to capture those small strongholds of the Locust Army in just a few hours!"

"Pass on my order. The garrisons of each stronghold must defend the stronghold to the death and hold out until dawn! At the same time, all large strongholds must also strengthen their vigilance and guard against attacks by the Eighth Route Army!"

Kasahara Koizumi was still a little too conceited, or perhaps he underestimated the current strength of the Eighth Route Army.

If he immediately ordered the garrisons of each small stronghold to abandon their strongholds and quickly break out to the nearest large stronghold, perhaps they could still preserve a certain amount of strength.

But with the issuance of this order, the garrison troops in various strongholds were doomed to be completely annihilated.

Of course, this is not Kasahara Koizumi's fault, because he could never have dreamed that the Eighth Route Army had the Flying Thunder Cannon, a powerful weapon for sieges, and 80 of them!
"Hi Yi!"

Jiro Nojiri bowed his head heavily and then began to convey the order personally.

Kasahara Koizumi said to a nearby communications staff officer: "Immediately report to the 1st Army Headquarters the information that all small strongholds on the Zhengtai Railway from Yangquan to Niangziguan were attacked by the Eighth Route Army."

"Hi!" The communications officer bowed heavily.

……

after an hour.

Taiyuan.

Japanese 1st Army Headquarters.

Commander Yoshio Shinozuka and Chief of Staff Hideyoshi Kusuyama, who were sleeping soundly, were awakened one after another by the staff officers on duty.

"Commander, please forgive me for disturbing you. There was a huge incident on the front line, so I had to report it overnight!"

"What exactly happened? Tell me quickly!" Seeing that Yoshio Shinozuka next to him looked sleepy, Hideyoshi Kusuyama urged him with dissatisfaction.

The Japanese staff officer immediately reported truthfully what happened on the front line. After listening to it, Shinozuka Yoshio and the other man suddenly woke up from all sleepiness.

Especially the old devil Shinozuka Yoshio, his face was extremely gloomy: "Bakayaloo! These damn Eighth Route Army soldiers really know how to pick the right time!"

After saying that, Yoshio Shinozuka strode towards the operations hall.

In the hall, several combat staff from the combat class were busy putting small blue flags on the sand table.

Yoshio Shinozuka walked closer and saw that most of the sand table was filled with small blue flags, which meant that their 1st Army was fighting in all the occupied areas in Shanxi.

The situation just reported is even more serious!
"Commander, Chief of Staff!" Head of the Operations Section, Kazuyoshi Sakanishi, approached Shinozuka and Yoshio and reported, "An hour ago, around midnight, more than 200 strongholds along the Tongpu Railway, Zhengtai Railway, and Baijin Railway were simultaneously attacked by the Eighth Route Army."

"In addition, according to the news from the front army headquarters, more than 100 strongholds along the Pinghan Railway and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway were also attacked by the Eighth Route Army."

“Also, this attack is very different from previous attacks.”

"What do you mean?" Kusunokichi Hideyoshi said, "Sakanishi-kun, please explain it more clearly."

"Hi!" Sakai Ichiro bowed respectfully and said, "The Eighth Route Army is coming with great force this time. It's not a harassing attack like before, but it looks like they are going to attack the nearly 400 small strongholds mentioned above at the same time."

"Among them, the offensive was the most intense on the Zhengtai Railway from Yangquan to Niangziguan. In just half an hour, dozens of strongholds had lost contact at the same time.

At first, the 22nd Regiment thought that the telephone lines had been cut by the Eighth Route Army, but according to the scouts' reports, at least 20 strongholds had been breached by the Eighth Route Army within an hour, and the number was still increasing.

"What?" Hideyoshi Kusuyama was shocked when he heard this.

Before this, although the Eighth Route Army had been threatened by the Japanese troops in North China, most of the time they only dared to ambush their transport troops, or at most attack some remote small strongholds and checkpoints, or when the Japanese troops were fighting against the Shanxi Suiyuan Army and the Central Army, they would divert and attack from behind.

For example, the last battle of Cangyun Town.

Fighting the Japanese army head-on has never happened before, let alone launching an attack on nearly 400 strongholds at the same time as they are doing now.

"When did the Eighth Route Army become so powerful? They are actually able to launch attacks on nearly 400 strongholds at the same time? Are they crazy? Do they want to die?"

Hideyoshi Kusuyama was shocked and couldn't believe it.

Shinozuka Yoshio's strategic vision was obviously more ruthless, he said with a straight face: "No, the Eighth Route Army has always been cautious, they will not do anything to seek their own death.

Since 37, the Central Army of China and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army have been defeated by the Locust Army and their strength has been greatly weakened. On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army has survived in the cracks and its strength has become stronger and stronger. "

"It's just that the speed at which the Eighth Route Army is developing is truly shocking and unexpected."

"The time they chose was just right, as it was the time when our 1st Locust Army and even the entire North China Locust Army was at its weakest."

After a pause, Shinozuka Yoshio changed the subject and said, "However, this is not entirely a bad thing for the Locust Army.

At least it sounded a warning to the Locust Army. Otherwise, if the Eighth Route Army's strength had not been exposed, it would have caused great trouble to the Locust Army in the future."

"No wonder Chiang Kai-shek preferred to give up fighting against the Japanese locust army and deal with the Communist Party's troops first a few years ago. Now it seems that he is right. Their development speed is really too terrifying!"

Kusunoshi Hideyoshi nodded in agreement and asked, "Commander-in-chief, do you want to order the 9th Brigade and the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade to attack?"

"No!" Shinozuka Yoshio waved his hand and said, "The 9th Brigade and the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade are our general reserve forces. Before we understand the specific strength of the Eighth Route Army, these two troops must not act rashly.

It is better to be still than to move. Let's observe first, and it won't be too late to respond later.

At least for now, those large strongholds are still in the hands of the Locust Army and have not been attacked by the Eighth Route Army. This means that the Locust Army still has a firm control over the railway lines and can achieve rapid maneuvers. "

Kusunokichi asked again: "What about the more than 200 small outposts on the periphery?"

Shinozuka Yoshio: "Each of the locust army's strongholds had artillery towers and solid fortifications built, and blockade trenches dug. The Eighth Route Army lacked siege weapons, and even with several times the number of troops as the locust army, it was difficult to capture those strongholds in a short period of time.

Even if they can finally capture some strongholds, the price they have to pay will be staggeringly high!"

After a pause, a hint of coldness flashed in Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes, and he changed the subject and continued, "Moreover, if we lose a few thousand locust soldiers and tens of thousands of Imperial Army soldiers, we can get a plan for a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army. This is undoubtedly worth it for our 1st Army!"

"Decisive battle?" Hideyoshi Kusuyama was stunned.

Shinozuka Yoshio did not answer but asked: "Kusuyama-kun, don't you think this is an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to, or even destroy, the Eighth Route Army?"

"What has been the biggest threat to the Locust Army from the Eighth Route Army?"

Hideyoshi Kusunokichi: "The greatest threat the Eighth Route Army poses to the Locust Army is, of course, their endless harassment. They are like a group of annoying flies, never engaging in direct confrontation with the Locust Army. Whenever the Locust Army launches a raid, they retreat into the mountains.

This left the locust army with a lot of strength but nowhere to use it.

But once the locust raid is over, they will pop out and bite you from time to time.
Although it can't cause much damage to the locust army, it is extremely disgusting."

Shinozuka Yoshio: "That's it. The Locust Army has never been afraid of the Eighth Route Army, but they have been unable to find an opportunity to engage in a head-on battle with them. Now that they have taken the initiative to jump out, isn't this a perfect opportunity to destroy them?"

"Hi! Commander, you are wise!" Kusunokichi understood everything immediately, and when he came to his senses, he did not forget to flatter the other party a little.

Shinozuka Yoshio said in a deep voice: "Order the 4th Brigade, the 8th Brigade, and the 15th Mixed Brigade to immediately investigate the strength of the Eighth Route Army in this area and the unit numbers."

"The combat class has begun to formulate a counterattack plan, and the aviation forces are ready for battle at any time."

“At the same time, the Intelligence Department immediately mobilized all its forces to investigate the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Central Army.

It is imperative to determine whether this large-scale offensive was a unilateral action by the Eighth Route Army or a coordinated operation by the entire Second War Zone.

If possible, try to show some goodwill to Yan Laoxi and Chiang Kai-shek. "

"Hi!" Several Japanese section chiefs bowed heavily at the same time and left in a hurry.

The military is the continuation of politics.

This old devil, Yoshio Shinozuka, was not only a military commander, but also had great political vision. He was very familiar with the relationships and contradictions among the Eighth Route Army, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and the Central Army. He often cleverly used these relationships and contradictions to make them suspicious and check each other, thus preventing them from fighting together.

Every time he launched a sweep of the Eighth Route Army base, Yoshio Shinozuka would "show goodwill" to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Central Army, asking them to stand idly by.

For example, during the large-scale mop-up operation a few months ago, during the Battle of Cangyunling, the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was clearly watching from the side, but did not provide any support to the Eighth Route Army with a single shot.

It was because Shinozuka Yoshio showed enough "goodwill" to Yan Laoxi and Chiang Kai-shek that Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment remained in place.

In fact, even though the Kuomintang and the Communist Party joined forces to fight the war of resistance, Yan Xi Jinping and Chiang Kai-shek were still wary of the Eighth Route Army. They would create friction from time to time and try to weaken the Eighth Route Army's strength.

It was even more common to use the Japanese to legitimately deal with the Eighth Route Army.

At present, a division of the 1st Army is stationed at the eastern foot of Luliang Mountain and the northern foot of Zhongtiao Mountain respectively.

If he could reach some kind of tacit understanding with Yan Xi Jinping and Chiang Kai-shek again and let the two of them stand aside and watch, then Shinozuka Yoshio would be able to withdraw at least two brigades.

This is almost the strength of a field division.

……

The Japanese army had perfect communication means, and even equipped radio stations at the squadron level, which could timely grasp the information from the front line. This is why after all the telephone lines were cut off, the large bases were still able to maintain contact with the regiment headquarters.

In contrast, the Eighth Route Army's communication means were much more backward.

Radio stations were only equipped at the brigade level, and communications below the regiment level could only rely on cavalry.

Of course, Li Yunlong's independent regiment is an exception.

However, Li Yunlong did not report the situation to the brigade headquarters through the radio at the first time.

Instead, he reported the good news to Xu Yang who was woken up, and asked him to prepare for tomorrow's battle.

He was cautious, knowing that if he reported too early, the brigade commander would know that he had easily captured several strongholds.

Then the brigade commander would definitely congratulate him on his wealth as soon as possible.

On the contrary, if he reports later, it means that the battle on the front line is relatively difficult, and the losses will be consumed, which will give him a lot of room for maneuver...

and so.

Up to now, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters has no idea what the fighting situation is on the front line, the 129th Division Headquarters has no idea, and the 386th Brigade Headquarters is also completely in the dark.

The brigade commander and the chief of staff could only stay in the brigade headquarters and wait for the cavalry from each regiment to come and report the news.

In order to reduce the workload of the cavalry signalmen and to better grasp the battle situation on the front line and facilitate better command, the brigade commander has moved his brigade headquarters to Bangou Village.

This place is almost the midpoint between Yangquan and Niangziguan, about 20 kilometers north of Yanhui Station on the Zhengtai Railway Line.

The brigade commander raised his wrist and glanced at it, saying, "It's almost two o'clock. Calculating the time, there will be news coming back soon."

The chief of staff beside him laughed and said, "Commander, it's not that fast. The small strongholds of the Japanese have built artillery towers and dug blockade trenches.

According to past combat experience, there will be no news until at least three o'clock."

The brigade commander smiled and said, "Then let's make a bet. There will definitely be news within ten minutes."

Chief of Staff: "Brigade Commander, what do you want to bet on?"

Brigadier: "How about we bet on your precious pen? If I lose, I will take off my watch and give it to you."

The chief of staff laughed and said, "Hahaha! Then your watch will soon belong to me, Brigade Commander."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of horse neighing outside and the sound of cavalry reining in their horses.

Then came the sentry's shout: "Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, the cavalry signalman is here!"

The smile on the Chief of Staff's face froze immediately: "Not so fast, right?"

The smile on the brigade commander's face became even brighter: "Hahaha! Chief of Staff, you still underestimate the power of the Flying Thunder Cannon.

I'm not sure, can I bet with you? "

"Brigade Commander, this pen belongs to you!" The chief of staff admitted defeat with a sincere heart. He took out the pen from his chest pocket with great pain and handed it to the brigade commander.

Although he didn't know whether the signalman brought victory news or some other news, he would rather lose, as it meant that the war on the front line was progressing smoothly, which was a good omen.

The brigade commander waved his hand and said, "Keep this pen for now. When you get some extra pens from the spoils, give me this one."

While the two were talking, a signalman ran in from outside, looking exhausted. He saluted and reported to the two of them: "Report, Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff! The New 1st Regiment has captured the Zhaozhuang stronghold."

"Good! Well done!" The brigade commander cheered and said to the chief of staff, "Chief of Staff, mark it on the map quickly!"

"Yes!" the chief of staff responded, found the location of the Zhaozhuang stronghold on the map, picked up a red pencil and drew a big red cross.

The reason why a fountain pen was not used was because the Eighth Route Army was too poor. Maps were precious things that could be drawn with a pencil and then erased and used repeatedly.

The brigade commander came over, leaned over to look at the map for a while, and said, "The Zhaozhuang stronghold is 20 kilometers away from here. Doesn't that mean they took it down at least an hour ago?"

The signalman scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Um, Commander, I was on my way to the brigade headquarters just now. I lost my way due to fog and was delayed for almost 20 minutes."

brigadier:"……"

chief of staff:"……"

The brigade commander was speechless for a while, then he looked shocked again: "Doesn't that mean that your New 40st Regiment only took about minutes to capture the Zhaozhuang stronghold."

"Yes." The signalman nodded.

The brigade commander thought he had overestimated the power of the Flying Thunder Cannon, but he didn't expect that he had underestimated it.

He said sincerely with joy: "Ding Wei has set a good example for our 386th Brigade!"

The chief of staff nodded in agreement: "Ding Wei is a good guy. I dare say this is the first stronghold captured by our 129th Division and even the entire Eighth Route Army."

"That's right!" The brigade commander said, "If Li Yunlong is a talented general, then Ding Wei is a talented commander. His tactical guidance ability is not inferior to Li Yunlong, and his strategic vision is far superior to Li Yunlong. The most important thing is that this kid is worry-free."

The chief of staff couldn't help laughing when he thought of the countless mistakes Li Yunlong had made.

Only the brigade commander can keep that guy under control.

Brigade Commander: "Go ahead and tell your regiment commander Ding Wei that I congratulate him on his fortune!"

"Yes!" The signalman saluted and turned away.

As they were talking, the sound of horses neighing was heard outside.

The brigade commander said, "Chief of Staff, guess which regiment it is this time?"

The Chief of Staff: "It's probably the Independent Regiment. Li Yunlong is a well-known man with many tricks in battle."

As soon as he finished speaking, another cavalry signalman ran in hurriedly: "Report, Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, the 772nd Regiment has captured the Shipan Village stronghold."

This result was a little unexpected, but it was also expected by the brigade commander and chief of staff.

"The 772nd Regiment is indeed the veteran main force of our 386th Brigade!"

The chief of staff found the location of Mopan Village on the map and drew a cross on it.

……

"Report……"

"Report……"

"Report……"

Almost from this moment on, news of victory was reported back to the brigade headquarters every few minutes.

Looking at the 30 or so big red crosses marked on the map, the chief of staff frowned and said, "What's wrong with Li Yunlong today? Why hasn't he sent back any news?"

The brigade commander thought for a while and said, "Something is wrong. With the strength of the independent regiment, it is impossible that we have not captured the enemy's stronghold yet. This guy must be up to no good."

"Signalman, immediately send a telegram to Li Yunlong asking why there has been no victory report yet. Tell him that if the offensive does not make any progress, I will have to consider replacing the person responsible for the main attack on Niangzi Pass tomorrow."

Telegrams were exchanged.

Upon hearing that if he continued to hide the secret, he would lose tomorrow's main attack mission, Li Yunlong was so scared that his chrysanthemums tightened and he quickly confessed the truth.

The signalman took the translated message and reported to the brigade commander: "Report, brigade commander, Li reported in the telegram that their independent regiment had captured eight target strongholds including Liujiatun at 1:40 in the morning.

Among them, the Liujiatun stronghold was captured in just half an hour.

At present, the independent regiment has cleaned up the battlefield and withdrawn to a safe area for rest.

Captain Li said that the reason he did not report in time was that he was worried about disturbing your sleep, so he planned to report after dawn.

Also, he asked you not to cancel his main attack mission, and he kowtowed to you."

"I can't deal with you!" The brigade commander laughed: "Li Yunlong must be deliberately dragging his feet, trying to polish the battle situation, conceal the losses, and embezzle the spoils."

The chief of staff also laughed: "Li Yunlong is still as fierce as ever in fighting and has never disappointed anyone.

But this ideological awareness still needs to be improved.”

The brigade commander still sided with Li Yunlong. He said, "Li Yunlong is a little less aware, but he handed in the most spoils of war to the brigade.

He never keeps life-saving things like medicines for himself.

Even other spoils of war are always held back, and he has his own set of excuses, such as those who are capable get to eat meat, and those who are not capable deserve to eat shit.”

The Chief of Staff also admired Li Yunlong very much: "Hahaha! That's right, otherwise Li Yunlong would not have been able to turn a basic regiment into a team with machine guns and mortars and top combat effectiveness in less than a year.

After he was transferred from the New 386st Regiment to the Independent Regiment, in just a few months he developed the "sprung dough" in the commander's eyes into the most powerful team in the entire th Brigade.

To put it bluntly, it was because the Eighth Route Army was too poor, and they had to find ways to obtain all the troops, weapons, ammunition, and various supplies on their own.

It's also difficult for Li Yunlong and others.

This guy is a bit stingy, but he is also developing our own team, right?

Moreover, he is like a sponge, you can always squeeze out some oil and water if you squeeze it hard. "

After saying that, the chief of staff began to look for the eight strongholds captured by the independent regiment on the map and marked them with big red crosses one by one.

The brigade commander then said to the signalman who was standing nearby: "Call Li Yunlong back and tell him that I congratulate him on his fortune.

All spoils must be recorded and not kept privately!
The subsequent battle situation must also be reported to the brigade headquarters as soon as possible! "

……

(End of this chapter)