Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 136 It is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let one go

Beiping.

After receiving the telegram, the commander-in-chief of the North China Expeditionary Army, Sugiyama Gen, said unhappily: "It's the damn Eighth Route Army again!"

"Mr. Yamashita, how is the preparation of the security sweep troops going?" Sugiyama Gen looked at the Chief of Staff Yamashita Tomotake.

"Commander, supplies are being allocated now, and it is expected that the troop deployment will be completed within half a month." Yamashita Fengwu reported.

"Half a month? That's too slow. We must speed up. 10 days! The preparations must be completed within 10 days." Sugiyama Moto said dissatisfiedly.

"Hai!"

"In addition, immediately send out a reconnaissance plane to search for clues about the Eighth Route Army around Dongting Village. We must eliminate this Eighth Route Army!" Sugiyama Gen ordered.

According to the farewell telegram from Yoshikawa Battalion, it can be seen that this group of Eighth Route Army is very well-equipped. They must be the elite among the elite of the Eighth Route Army. If this unit can be eliminated, it will surely be a heavy blow to the Eighth Route Army.

"Haha!" Yamashita Fengwu stood at attention and left the office.

In order to ensure that everything went smoothly, in addition to sending out four reconnaissance planes, the Japanese also ordered Changshan's 4 reinforcements to stop returning and instead stay nearby to await further orders.

Once they discover the movements of the Eighth Route Army, they need to pursue them immediately.

In the evening, the New 2nd Regiment, which had been marching for several hours, decided to stop and rest in Nanliu Village and cross the Pinghan Railway late at night.

Inside the temporary regiment headquarters, Chen Chengxing looked at the map without saying a word. He always felt that something was not right.

They had just killed most of the battalion in Dongting Village, so it was normal for the Japanese to send out planes for reconnaissance, but he had a vague feeling that the altitude at which the planes were flying was not right.

Normally, reconnaissance planes would usually fly higher in order to have a wider field of view. After all, the Japanese knew the size of the New Second Regiment.

In order to avoid being exposed, the New Second Regiment marched in a dispersed manner during this march. If the Japanese reconnaissance planes were conducting high-altitude reconnaissance, they would not notice the small group of troops.

But the altitude of the aircraft reconnaissance in the afternoon was obviously lower than he had seen before.

"We can't rest anymore, we must move immediately!" Chen Chengxing suddenly said.

"Transfer? Commander, the troops have only rested for less than an hour and can't recover at all." Xu Wu said anxiously.

The New Second Regiment fought a battle in the morning and then marched quickly for several hours. Without a short rest, they were exhausted.

You have to know that the New Second Regiment was not marching lightly this time. Each of them was carrying large and small bags of supplies, and each person was carrying at least 20 kilograms of weight.

"Can't you hear my order? I said move immediately!" Chen Chengxing's face darkened.

"Old Chen, you should take a break first. It's not dark yet. The best time for the New Second Regiment to cross the Pinghan Railway is at midnight. If we move out now, we will be exposed."

"Why don't we rest for two hours before setting off? This way, we should be able to cross the Pinghan Railway at 2: p.m. Although it's not yet midnight, it's barely acceptable." Luo Ping advised.

"No! Everyone, leave immediately. No matter what, we must leave here first." Chen Chengxing said firmly.

Chen Chengxing also knew that it was a bit early to set out to cross the Pinghan Railway, but his inner uneasiness was becoming more and more serious, so he decided to set off first and then see the situation when he arrived near the railway.

Faced with Chen Chengxing's toughness, everyone had no choice but to do as he asked.

The only way to stop Chen Chengxing at this time is for Luo Ping to use his veto power, but the use of this right must be reported to the superiors afterwards. Luo Ping would never use it for such a small matter.

As the order was issued, the soldiers stopped resting, loaded up their supplies and continued their march eastward.

More than half an hour later, the scout who stayed behind suddenly came to report.

"Report, a large group of Japanese troops has appeared in the rear. There are about 4000 Japanese and puppet troops in total!"

After hearing the scout's report, everyone's face changed drastically. If the New Second Regiment had stayed where it was, it would probably have been ambushed by the Japanese by now.

In that case, not only would we not be able to enter Hebei Province and join up with the brigade headquarters, we would even be at risk of being completely wiped out.

After hearing the scout's report, Chen Chengxing finally understood the reason for his uneasiness. The plane lowered its altitude for reconnaissance and might have discovered some clues.

"Order the reconnaissance platoon to pay close attention to the movements of the Japanese, and the troops to speed up their march!"

"Xu Wu, lead the 1st Battalion to cover the rear and prepare for battle!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Upon learning that a large Japanese force had appeared behind them, the soldiers' marching speed increased again.

Outside Nanliu Village, the commander of the Japanese 140th Regiment, Yuta Shimada, was looking at the stove on the ground.

Although he didn't know what a smokeless stove was, he could still see the traces of burning.

"The reconnaissance plane's suspicions were correct. The Eighth Route Army did indeed march in separate groups and began to assemble after nightfall. But we don't know why they suddenly left," said Yuta Shimada.

Normally, the Eighth Route Army would not take action until midnight, but this time they suddenly changed their behavior, which must be strange.

"Captain, do you think there are spies in the Locust Army?" Chief of Staff Masao Yano whispered.

It is impossible for there to be Chinese spies in the Locust Army itself, but this cannot be guaranteed among the Locust Affiliates.

After all, many of the Locust Alliance's troops were directly converted from the Chinese army, and there are all kinds of people among them.

"What you said makes sense. You should immediately invite all officers above the company level of the Locust Association to attend a meeting here," said Yuta Shimada.

The privates did not know the troops’ destination. To know that their target was Nanliu Village, they had to be at least officers at the company level or above.

"Hai!"

The puppet army officers who received the notice were confused, but the locust army had a trick, so they came happily.

Who would have thought that he would be shot as soon as he arrived.

At this point, even the dumbest person would know that something was going to go wrong.

The puppet army commander Wu Xiongfei was sweating so much that his legs began to tremble unconsciously.

Family members know their own business. Although he was a puppet soldier who was transferred from the local army, he has always been in contact with the Chongqing government.

After confirming that all the officers of the Locust Association were present, Shimada Yuta said, "This is the base of the Eighth Route Army. According to the plan, our army will complete the encirclement and annihilate the Eighth Route Army. However, the Eighth Route Army is gone now. Tell me, what went wrong?"

After hearing what Shimada Yuta said, the puppet army officers at the scene immediately realized that they suspected there was a traitor among them!

This is a very serious matter. If you can't explain it clearly, you will definitely die.

"Taijun, you know me. Ever since the Locust Army entered North China, I have joined the Locust Army. I am loyal to the Locust Army!" Wu Xiongfei said immediately.

Hearing Wu Xiongfei's words, Shimada Yuta nodded. He still trusted Wu Xiongfei. Shimada Yuta's main suspicion was officers below the regimental level.

"Mr. Wu, I understand that you are very loyal." said Yuta Shimada.

"Hey! Long live the careless locust!" Wu Xiongfei immediately stood at attention.

"Yoshi." Shimada Yuta nodded with satisfaction. He liked people like this. No matter if he was really loyal or not, at least his actions were loyal to the Locust Army. Hearing that the commander had passed the test, the others spoke up:

"Taijun, I am very loyal to the Locust Army!"

"Yes, yes, I am also very loyal!"

"You are so insightful, my Lord!"

Listening to the chattering, Shimada Yuta shouted impatiently: "Shut up!"

"Yano, you take your men to conduct detailed inquiries. You must understand their entire itinerary since they left Changshan and see if there is anyone who can testify throughout the entire process." Shimada Yuta instructed.

"Hai!"

Masao Yano immediately ordered the soldiers to guard these people separately, and then asked them to write down their itinerary questions first, and then Masao Yano questioned and verified based on each person's confession.

These officers racked their brains with pens and papers to think about their specific itineraries. According to the requirements, the itinerary of all of them must be written down in full, without even a minute's error.

And there must be a witness. If the testimony is different from what the witness says, then it will be troublesome.

After working for more than half an hour, Yano Masao found Shimada Yuta with a small stack of papers and said, "Captain, there are some problems with these dozen people. Some of them have no witnesses for their itineraries, and some have discrepancies with what the witnesses said. Do we need to conduct an investigation?"

It has been more than ten hours since they set out from Changshan. It would be easy for those with a shorter itinerary, but it would be troublesome if the itinerary was longer.

Normal people don’t think that clearly, so there will definitely be errors, so careful review is needed.

Yuta Shimada took the confession and looked at it. There were names marked in Japanese on it.

"No need, just shoot them all." Shimada Yuta casually returned the confession to Yano Masao.

"All?" Yano Masaro asked in surprise. These people were all core officers of the Locust Association Army.

"That's right, all of them. As for the traitors, we would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let even one go." Shimada Yuta said firmly.

"Yes!" Seeing that Shimada Yuta had made up his mind, Masaro Yano had no choice but to follow his orders.

When those puppet army officers were tied up and pushed into a row to kneel, they realized something was wrong. It looked like they were going to be shot!

"My Lord, I am loyal!

"Please spare my life, Madam! Please spare my life!
"Madam! Madam! I am a traitor, a traitor! Not a traitor!"

Faced with these people's desire to survive, Masaro Yano ignored them, but raised his right hand and then swung it down heavily.

"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!".
As a burst of gunfire rang out, all the puppet army officers kneeling on the ground shut up and lay down.

"Finish the job!" Yano Masaro ordered casually.

The surviving puppet army officers around were all pale-faced. They absolutely did not believe that there were so many traitors. Moreover, many of them were die-hard traitors who had helped Japan do evil. They did not expect that the Japanese would kill them all without mercy.

Shimada Yuta looked at the dead puppet army officers on the ground without any change in his expression. There were only a dozen officers, and many of the soldiers under him wanted to be officials. Just promote a few of them. By then, those people would be grateful to the locust army.

As for whether replacing a few officers would lead to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the Locust Army, Shimada Yuta was not worried at all.

Are you kidding? Do the Locust Alliance have any combat effectiveness? Even if their combat effectiveness is further reduced, it will never stop them from stepping on mines or blocking bullets.

"The troops will pursue eastward and at the same time send a telegram to the headquarters requesting further instructions." Shimada Yuta said to Yano Masao.

It was now dark and they didn't know which direction the Eighth Route Army was heading, but in general, they were moving eastward, so they could chase them while waiting for instructions from their superiors.

"Hai!"

Because the Japanese were busy cleaning out traitors, the New Second Regiment did not encounter any danger during its march.

By the time the Japanese began to pursue, the distance between the two sides had widened to seven or eight kilometers, and the New Second Regiment had arrived near the Pinghan Railway.

"Commander, Lijia Town is ahead. As long as we pass Lijia Town and go one kilometer ahead, we will reach the Pinghan Railway." Ma Zhiyuan, the reconnaissance platoon leader, reported.

"How many enemy troops are there in Lijia Town?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"According to the people living nearby, there is a battalion of puppet troops and a dozen Japanese devils in Lijia Town," said Ma Zhiyuan.

Chen Chengxing looked at the map and fell into deep thought.

A stronghold with Japanese invaders and a stronghold without Japanese invaders are two completely different situations. If you want to pass through them smoothly, you must think of a way.

After a moment, Chen Chengxing said, "Ma Zhiyuan, have the soldiers of the reconnaissance platoon destroy all the searchlights on Lijia Town and the five or six artillery towers to the north and south of it."

"Yes!" Ma Zhiyuan immediately ran back to make arrangements.

The soldiers in the reconnaissance platoon are all elite, and their marksmanship is outstanding. They can easily shoot down the searchlight by working in pairs.

If they only destroyed the searchlight of one stronghold, it would definitely arouse the Japanese's vigilance. Once the Japanese who were chasing them in the rear got the news, they would be able to determine the location of the New 2nd Regiment.

But if the searchlights of more than a dozen artillery towers were destroyed, it would confuse the Japanese's vision and make it difficult for them to figure out the movements of the New Second Regiment.

The most crucial thing is that all the searchlights in this area have been turned off and the artillery tower has not been attacked. The Japanese traitors will definitely think that it is the guerrillas harassing them again. They will not be too vigilant, and the New Second Regiment can take the opportunity to pass between the two artillery towers.

The same method can be used on the other side of the railway.

Ten minutes later, with a burst of gunfire, all the artillery towers within a long stretch of several kilometers became blind.

The Japanese and puppet troops in the artillery tower all fired at the outside.

However, the soldiers had already run away after firing the cold gun, and the Japanese shot them all to the ground.

After the Japanese in the artillery tower fired for a while, they found that there was no response from outside and no one was attacking, so they immediately concluded that this was a sporadic attack by the Eighth Route Army.

"Baga! The Eighth Route Army is so annoying!" cursed the leading Japanese sergeant.

"Disband! Sentinels, be on guard!" the sergeant ordered.

They may encounter such situations several times in a month, so they can just ignore them.

After daybreak, engineers will come to repair the damaged searchlight.

They are already familiar with this process.

Seeing that the time had come, Chen Chengxing waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

The New Second Regiment immediately passed quietly between several artillery towers in company units.

By the time the New Second Regiment crossed the Pinghan Railway, the searchlights on the other side had already been extinguished.

When the engineering company passed the Pinghan Railway, they left a large mine for the Japanese. As long as the Japanese locomotive ran over it, it would immediately make it jump off on the spot.

After entering the Ji Zhong Plain, the New Second Regiment immediately turned south. According to the previous order from the brigade, they had to meet up in the Qingshui River area.

(End of this chapter)