Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 141 This must be a trick of the Eighth Route Army

In Xiaoxinzhuang.

Liu Beixin suddenly found Yoshida Yuma in a panic and reported: "Taijun! It's bad! I suddenly received a report from the outer scouts that a large number of Eighth Route Army appeared in the west and northeast of Xiaoxinzhuang! The number must be at least 6,000 to 7,000!"

Liu Beixin dared to swear that he was not exaggerating at all this time.

"What? How come there are so many Eighth Route Army soldiers?" Yoshida Yuma was shocked.

If this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers were as elite as those in Xiaoxinzhuang, they would not be their match.

Although Yoshida Yuma had completed the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army in Xiaoxinzhuang, he also recognized the strength of this group of Eighth Route Army.

This is definitely not an ordinary Eighth Route Army!
If Yoshida Yu knew that the Eighth Route Army hiding in the east of the village did not use their full strength, he would probably be even more surprised.

"Taijun, now we should not worry about where the Eighth Route Army came from. The most important thing now is to retreat quickly!" Liu Beixin said anxiously.

"No, that's not right!" Yoshida Yuma thought for a moment and said confidently, "The Eighth Route Army can't possibly have so many elite troops. This must be a trick of the Eighth Route Army! They want us to evacuate. The Eighth Route Army in Xiaoxin Village took the opportunity to escape!"

"The Eighth Route Army must be civilians pretending to be doing the work!" Yoshida Yuma looked very smart.

"Ah?" Liu Beixin was stunned: "Taijun? Didn't we receive a telegram saying that the reinforcements were beaten back by the Eighth Route Army?"

"That's right! There is no way the Eighth Route Army can surround us while blocking the reinforcements! There are not so many Eighth Route Army troops in Ji-Zhong!" Yoshida Yuma said confidently.

It's impossible that there are 10,000 or 20,000 Eighth Route Army soldiers in Wuheng County alone, right?
Yoshida Yuma is now becoming more and more confident. This is a trick of the Eighth Route Army. They must be trying to help the Eighth Route Army in Xiaoxinzhuang escape.

"Order the troops to intensify the attack!" ordered Yoshida Yuma.

"Hai!"

Liu Beixin looked at the signalman who was going to deliver the message and Yoshida Yuma who looked confident, and didn't know what to say.

Chen Chengxing was also a little surprised when he heard the scout's report that the Japanese not only did not retreat but instead intensified their attack.

Luo Ping said at the side: "What are the devils doing? Didn't they notice us?"

"This shouldn't be the case. With more than a thousand of us, the Japanese should be able to see us even if they are blind." Chen Chengxing held up a telescope and looked at the situation in Xiaoxinzhuang with some confusion.

"Don't worry about those things. Just keep moving forward according to the established plan and force the Japanese out of Xiaoxinzhuang," said Chen Chengxing.

No matter what the Japanese think, as long as the New 772nd Regiment and the nd Regiment are in place, they will be attacked from both sides.

If the Japanese want to save their lives, evacuation is the only option.

It was not until the new 772nd Regiment and the nd Regiment arrived that Yoshida Yuma felt something was wrong.

If the Eighth Route Army was fake, they would not dare to enter the battlefield.

Moreover, according to investigation, this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers was very well-equipped.

"Taijun, let's retreat quickly. The Eighth Route Army is already building its positions. Once they finish, they will definitely launch an attack!" Liu Beixin said anxiously.

If you don’t leave now, you will be killed by the Eighth Route Army!

"Order the troops to stop the attack!"

"Send a message to the regiment commander immediately and request tactical guidance!" ordered Yoshida Yuma.

Now Yoshida's Battalion still has the strength to fight the Eighth Route Army. If they can get reinforcements, there is a chance to turn defeat into victory.

Although we don't know where so many people from the Eighth Route Army came from, they must be the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Hebei Province.

If it can be eliminated, the situation in the entire Jizhong area will improve greatly.

"Hai!"

Liu Beixin looked at the telegraph soldier who was sending the message quickly and didn't know what to say.

After receiving the telegram from Yoshida Battalion, Watanabe Sakon of Wuheng County thought about it and decided to follow Yoshida Battalion's idea.

"Send a telegram to Major Yoshida and ask him to build a defensive position and wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the 5th Division," said Watanabe Sakon.

When Yoshida Yuma received the telegram from Watanabe Sakon and learned that half of the 5th Division had already moved here, he was greatly excited.

The Fifth Division is the ace force of the Locust Army. Although it suffered heavy losses last year and most of its soldiers are now in the reserve force, there are differences among the reserve forces.

The combat effectiveness of the Type A division reserve is higher than that of the garrison.

"The troops stop the attack and order the artillery unit in Beima Village to move to Xiaoxinzhuang immediately. We must use the defensive fortifications built by the Eighth Route Army to hold our ground. As long as we can hold out for 48 hours, reinforcements will arrive!" Yoshida Yuma ordered.

"Hai!"

As Yoshida Yushin's order was issued, the Japanese and puppet troops all began to shrink their defense lines and retreat into the village.

However, because the First Battalion was still holding on, the Japanese defense was not perfect, and the First Battalion was like a sharp knife pointing at the Japanese's lower back.

The Japanese troops in Beima Village also began to prepare for transfer, which gave Zheng Hua an opportunity.

The artillery in transport state has no combat effectiveness at all. Now the only ones who can fight against Zheng Hua are a squad of Japanese devils and a company of puppet troops.

If there were no fortifications, the three infantry companies led by Zheng Hua would be able to beat them to a pulp.

"Battalion Commander, should we attack?" the commander of the 5th Company asked in a low voice.

"No hurry. Let's wait for the Japanese to leave their lair, and then we'll attack them from both sides." Zheng Hua lay on the dirt ridge beside the road and observed the Japanese's every move with a telescope.

Ten minutes later, seeing that the Japanese had begun to march towards Xiaoxinzhuang, Zheng Hua waved to the bugler next to him.

The bugler immediately picked up the signal gun and fired two flares into the air.

The Japanese squadron leader saw two flares suddenly rising in the air and immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Something's happening! Defend! Defend!" the Japanese squadron leader shouted. Along with the Japanese squadron leader's shout, a large number of mortar shells fell from the sky.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
Although the mortar's hit rate is not high, it can be defeated by its large number.

The Japanese were immediately blown to pieces.

"Spread out! Spread out!"

The Japanese squadron leader had already seen the Eighth Route Army attacking from all directions.

"Kill the chicken for me! Kill the chicken for me!" the Japanese squadron leader shouted.

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!".
The Japanese counterattack was very swift, and the puppet army was also forced to shoot at the Eighth Route Army continuously.

After all, the Japanese and the puppet army are mixed together now. If the puppet army dares to shoot into the air at this time, the Japanese soldiers next to them will stab them to death with a bayonet.

Looking at the hedgehog-like Japanese, Zheng Hua could only order the mortars to attack the Japanese firepower points.

This is the difference between plain warfare and mountain guerrilla warfare. During a mountain ambush, the distance between the two sides is usually within tens of meters or even more than ten meters, but on the plains it is impossible to get so close, so the attack can only be fought little by little.

As the mortars began to chase and fire at the Japanese machine gun fire points, the Japanese fire suppression was immediately greatly weakened.

Although the Japanese grenade launchers were also attacking the Eighth Route Army's light machine guns, the Eighth Route Army was now the attacking side and the light machine gun team was moving very quickly.

Moreover, a small squad of the Japanese only had three grenade launchers, and they were unable to handle all of them when facing the siege of three companies.

Seeing the Eighth Route Army getting closer, the Japanese squadron leader realized that he could not go on. If he dragged on any longer, he would be defeated even faster if hand-to-hand combat broke out.

Now that the distance is far, the Locust Army can still assist in the attack. Once it comes to hand-to-hand combat, these guys will just kneel down immediately.

"Blow up the mountain cannon! Move in immediately!" ordered the Japanese squadron leader.

When turning, the mountain artillery was too big a target. Although the horses pulling the artillery could maneuver quickly, once the draft horses were hit by concentrated fire, they would not be able to survive.

By then, the mountain artillery might be snatched away by the Eighth Route Army.

In any case, blowing up the mountain cannon is much better than losing it.

Being forced to blow up the artillery and move forward is different from abandoning the mountain artillery and moving forward directly.

Anyone who dared to abandon the artillery would be shot no matter what the reason was and would be retreated to Xiaoxinzhuang.

"Hai!"

After receiving the order, although the gunner was reluctant, he immediately began to prepare according to the order.

The mules and horses were unhooked, and the guns and shells were pushed into a ditch beside the road and piled in a heap.

Seeing the artillery ready, the Japanese squadron leader ordered: "Turn forward!"

The Japanese and puppet troops immediately fled towards Xiaoxinzhuang, and the Japanese artillery followed them after throwing a few grenades into the pile of shells.

"boom!!!"

Following a huge explosion, Zheng Hua even saw a gun barrel spinning and flying more than ten meters away.

"Fuck! Prodigal son! What a good country boy!" Zheng Hua slapped his thigh and cursed.

He came here just for these two cannons, but he was blown up.

"Let the comrades fight hard! Whoever dares to blow up the artillery of the New Second Regiment! No one will be able to escape!" Zheng Hua said angrily.

"Yes!"

Under the continuous pursuit of the New Second Regiment, the Japanese ran faster and faster, and the puppet troops, who could barely keep up, gradually fell further and further behind the Japanese.

Seeing the Eighth Route Army approaching, the clever puppet soldiers consciously threw away their guns and lay on the ground waiting to be captured.

Those who are not so smart and just run away will be gradually shot to death.

By the time the surviving Japanese soldiers fled to Xiaoxinzhuang in a panic, there were only less than 40 people left from the original infantry squad and mountain artillery squad.

As for the puppet troops, there was not a single one left.

Upon learning that the mountain cannon was gone, Yoshida Yuma almost vomited blood due to anger.

In his opinion, these two mountain cannons would be a strong support for defending Xiaoxinzhuang.

If we only rely on two infantry guns, it is not impossible to support the situation, but the pressure on the troops will definitely be greater.

When Chen Chengxing learned that the Japanese had blew up the mountain artillery and a small group of troops withdrew into Xiaoxinzhuang, although it was a pity, the basic goal had been achieved.

Now that the Japanese have lost their mountain artillery, Xiaoxinzhuang has become the home ground of the New Second Regiment.

"Have you connected the call with the brigade headquarters?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"Report, the call has been connected. The brigade commander's order is to wait first. The 28th Regiment and the Independent Regiment are now marching towards this side." The combat staff officer on the side reported.

The original battle plan was for the Japanese to flee, with the 772nd Regiment and the New nd Regiment chasing them, and the New st Regiment blocking them from the front.

But now the Japanese were hiding in Xiaoxinzhuang and refused to leave, so the brigade commander decided to wait until night to launch the general attack.

But there is a situation at night. If the Japanese choose to break out, they are likely to escape in the dark.

So the brigade commander is waiting for reinforcements from the 28th Regiment and the Independent Regiment. With these 5 reinforcements, it will be enough to surround this area.

"I understand. Let the comrades be prepared. If the Japanese make any unusual movements, launch an attack at any time." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)