Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 153 Between fighting and making peace, choosing the way to do it (6K)

After Chen Chengxing set up the pocket formation, everyone was quietly waiting for the arrival of the Japanese.

"Snap!" "Bang!" "Thump, thump, thump".
Soon, sporadic gunshots began to be heard in the distance.

Then a messenger came running to report: "Commander, the Second Battalion has arrived with the Japanese and is now advancing along the established route."

"Okay! Give the order immediately and pour the oil!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

After receiving Chen Chengxing's order, the soldiers who had been prepared immediately walked through the dry corn stalks while pouring gasoline.

With the emergence of several oil roads, the dry fields were secretly divided into more than a dozen areas.

A few minutes later, the soldiers of the Second Battalion appeared near the ancient village and quickly got into the dead poles.

When the Japanese chased to Guzhuang, they stopped by the field.

The endless yellow corn stalks before their eyes reminded the Japanese of the harassment they had suffered from the Green Tent Guerrillas.

Just when the Japanese were hesitating whether to continue the pursuit, gunfire from the Second Battalion was heard again.

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
A few light machine guns swept through and knocked down several Japanese soldiers on the spot.

"Bagayalo! Chase! Chase!" the Japanese squadron leader said angrily.

After entering, everyone is in the dark, who is afraid of who?
When Murakami Isamu led a large army to catch up, they heard continuous gunshots from the withered fields.

"Everyone, chase immediately!" ordered Murakami Isamu.

Now the vanguard troops are definitely being bullied inside, and the main force must provide support quickly.

"Captain, fighting the Eighth Route Army in a farmland is too disadvantageous. It's hard to bring our heavy firepower advantage into play. It's better to just withdraw the vanguard troops and then set a fire." Suzuki Shunji suggested while looking at the withered farmland.

After entering the farmland, the visual range does not exceed 5 meters, so there is really no room for artillery and heavy machine guns to play a role, and there is also the possibility of accidental injuries.

After thinking about it, Murakami Yong rejected Suzuki Shunji's proposal: "Suzuki-kun, the locust army did set fires before when facing the harassment of the Eighth Route Army guerrillas, but it didn't have much effect. If the encirclement is not completed, the Eighth Route Army can leave at any time."

"If you want to set fire to the Eighth Route Army, there must be a strong wind, and it must be a fierce wind. The wind speed must be faster than the Eighth Route Army's escape speed, so that the fire can catch up with the Eighth Route Army."

"But now we can only feel a light breeze. Given the current situation, if the fire is to burn the entire farmland, it may take until dawn. By then, the Eighth Route Army will have already fled."

"Besides, our visibility in the fields is low, and the visibility of the Eighth Route Army is equally low. I believe in the warriors of the empire, they can definitely defeat the Eighth Route Army!" Murakami Yong said seriously.

"Chase!" ordered Murakami Isamu.

"Hai!"

As Murakami Isamu made the decision, the Japanese immediately chased into the field.

In the headquarters of the New Second Regiment, Chen Chengxing immediately received the news after the Japanese invaders entered the fields.

"Good! The Japanese have fallen into the trap!" Chen Chengxing said excitedly. As the Japanese entered the dry field, the plan was half completed.

"Let the 2nd, 3rd and 4th companies immediately block the enemy's retreat, and the troops on the west route will support the nd Battalion and enter the position!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

After receiving the news, Xu Wu, who was defending the western route, immediately ordered the bugler to blow the assembly call.

After hearing the assembly call, the Second Battalion, which was fighting with the Japanese in the fields, knew that its mission had been accomplished. They immediately followed the call and left the dry fields, and switched to on-site defense on the west route.

After the Second Battalion withdrew, the Japanese in the dry fields quickly realized that the Eighth Route Army had disappeared, and they knew without a doubt that the Eighth Route Army had run following the sound of the bugle call.

The Japs began to chase after the sound of the horn.

But the New Second Regiment had already trampled down all the dead poles within a radius of more than 30 meters in front of the ditch, so the Japanese were discovered as soon as they showed their heads.

"beat!"

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The Japanese soldiers who showed their heads were suddenly strafed and immediately knocked down. The remaining Japanese soldiers quickly retreated back into the fields.

Murakami Yong, who rushed to the front line, looked at the situation and said, "The Eighth Route Army is simply stupid. Our troops used crops to block their sight and hid in the dark. What can they do to us?"

"I ordered the troops to launch a cold gun attack. I want to let the Eighth Route Army know what 'returning a favor in their own way' means." Murakami Isamu said with a smile.

In the past, when they conducted sweeps, they were always ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. Now, the 403rd Regiment can naturally put what they have learned into practice.

The Japanese hid in the fields and took advantage of the accuracy of their Type 38 rifles to continuously launch sneak attacks on the New Second Regiment in the ditch. The soldiers really had no good way to deal with this tactic of the Japanese. This kind of sneak attack is really something that only those who use it will know.

After receiving the news that the Second Battalion had completely evacuated, Chen Chengxing immediately took out his signal gun, walked out of the regiment headquarters and fired a shot into the air.

A flare shot up into the sky.

"The commander has given the signal, light the fire!"

"ignition!".
The soldiers on the east and south sides immediately ignited more than a dozen fire points each.

The special forces battalion in the north that was responsible for blocking the canal also took out the torches they had prepared in advance, lit them, and threw them across the canal into the fields on the opposite side.

The fire was not very obvious at first, but when the fire came into contact with gasoline, tongues of flames immediately began to spread.

Animals' ability to sense danger far exceeds that of humans. When the fire began to spread, the pack horses led by the Japanese became restless and tried to break free from the reins and leave.

"Baga! Calm the mules and horses immediately, don't make loud noises, to prevent the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire!" Murakami Yong shouted.

The Japanese had already trampled out a number of open spaces at this time, and except for the front-line infantry, everyone else basically stayed in the open spaces.

"Captain, something is not right." Suzuki Shunji said.

If one or two mules and horses became agitated it might be an accident, but now that more than a hundred mules and horses under the 403rd Regiment are like this, there is definitely a problem.

After being reminded by Suzuki Shunji, Murakami Isamu also felt that something was wrong.

"Someone come! Climb onto the horse and see what's going on!" Murakami Isamu ordered.

The dead poles around them were much taller than the Japanese, so they couldn't see anything even if they jumped up. If they wanted to see the surrounding situation clearly, they had to climb higher.

When one of the Japanese soldiers stood up on the horse with the help of others, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.

Suzuki Shunji on the ground looked at the soldiers on horseback who were motionless and asked directly: "Did you find anything?!"

The Japanese soldier, whose daze was interrupted, fell off his horse. He didn't care about the pain and shouted without even standing up: "Fire! Fire!"

"What?" Everyone around suddenly became alert.

Immediately, several more people mounted their horses to confirm the situation.

"Captain! It's bad! The east, north, and south are all on fire, and the fire is getting bigger and bigger!"

"Damn it! What a vicious plan of the Eighth Route Army!" Murakami Yong immediately realized that he had been fooled.

"Cut the firebreak quickly!" ordered Murakami Isamu.

Although there was no fire in the west, the Eighth Route Army was blocking the area with heavy machine guns. If the troops broke out from this direction, it would be a massacre.

The best thing to do now is to cut the firebreak immediately. It’s not a big deal as long as the fire doesn’t get in.

At the same time, some troops need to launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army in the west. As long as they can occupy a position, the 403rd Regiment will be able to leave Kutian.

"Hayaku! Hayaku!"

At this critical moment of life and death, all the devils joined the battle.

A 2-meter-wide emergency firebreak was quickly cut out, and even the dead leaves on the ground were swept away by hand.

However, firebreaks can block ordinary flames, but they have no way of blocking the gasoline belts on the ground.

Although the New Second Regiment did not have much gasoline, and the belt of gasoline poured by the soldiers was not very wide, it still quickly burned into the isolation zone.

The Japanese were about to collapse as they watched the flames spread inwards. What should they do?
"Don't just stand there! Use the fire path created by grenades! Set up two infantry guns and directly fire wherever the fire starts!" Suzuki Shunji shouted.

Suzuki Shunji knew at a glance that the Eighth Route Army had poured gasoline on the fields, but the amount should not be much. If there was a lot, he would have smelled the obvious smell long ago.

Since there is not much, gasoline can only play an auxiliary role. The fire can be extinguished as long as it is put out in time.

The explosion can extinguish the flames because of its violent shock wave.

Suzuki Shunji's instructions were very timely, and the flames were under control before they spread. The Japanese couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

On the roof of a house in Guzhuang, Chen Chengxing looked through a telescope at the isolation zone cut by the Japanese and the flames that were constantly being extinguished, and his face did not look good.

"It seems that there are capable people among the Japanese." said the brigade commander.

The fact that he was able to respond calmly in this situation and knew how to use explosions to put out fires was enough to demonstrate his excellence.

"What a pity." Chen Chengxing sighed.

"Although the fire attack was not successful, the Japanese should not dare to continue pursuing us, and the troops are safe." The brigade commander comforted.

"Alas," Chen Chengxing shook his head and prepared to go back to the regiment headquarters with the brigade commander to issue the order to retreat.

However, when Chen Chengxing was climbing down the ladder, a gust of wind suddenly blew and Chen Chengxing's hat fell to the ground.

Chen Chengxing was stunned for a moment. After looking down at the hat on the ground, Chen Chengxing shouted excitedly: "Wind! Wind!"

"What are you crazy about? Stop going crazy and come down quickly." The brigade commander said unhappily. It is common for plans to fail, and there is no need to yell.

"The wind is blowing! Brigade Commander! The wind is blowing!" Chen Chengxing immediately climbed back onto the roof.

Chen Chengxing stood on the roof, watching the rapidly spreading fire and laughed, "Hahahaha! East wind help me!"

At this time, the brigade commander also felt the arrival of the wind, and it was a sudden strong wind, which made his clothes rustle.

The brigade commander climbed back onto the roof, looked at the fire in the field, and then looked at Chen Chengxing who was still laughing.

What kind of luck is this? Or did you choose between fighting and making peace?
With the appearance of strong east wind, the flames in the dry fields suddenly rose up and swept towards the west.

The intensity of the fire could not be stopped by the two-meter isolation belt cut by the Japanese.

The fire crossed the isolation belt in an instant without any stumbling.

Looking at the rapidly spreading flames, Suzuki Shunji was devastated: "Baka! How come the wind suddenly started!"

"Captain! We need to break out immediately!" Suzuki Shunji said anxiously.

"Okay, everyone, break out to the west immediately and storm the Eighth Route Army's position!" Murakami Yong stood up and said.

"No, we can't go west! The wind is very fast now and we can't outrun the flames." said Suzuki Shunji.

Now, except for a small number of front-line soldiers, most of the troops of the 403rd Regiment are in the middle of the dry fields. They are more than 1 kilometer away from the west. With the current fire, they will probably have become roasted chickens before they run out of the dry fields.

"Then where should we go?" Murakami Isamu asked anxiously.

"Go south!" Suzuki Shunji said firmly.

The wind is so strong now that they can only go south or north.

To the north is a canal. Although Suzuki Shunji did not measure it on the spot, he estimated that it should be similar to the common canals in other places. Once the locust army goes down, it basically means that they have lost their ability to resist, and a few light machine guns of the Eighth Route Army can shoot them all to death.

This meant that the 403rd Regiment had only one option: to go south.

"Turn around immediately!" Without any hesitation, Murakami Isamu took the lead and ran south, while the other Japanese soldiers followed hurriedly behind.

The closest Japanese soldier was 4 meters away from the South Road, and some were as far as to meters away.

Therefore, not all the Japanese soldiers followed Murakami Isamu and rushed south. Many of them chose to break through from other closer directions.

The flames, with the help of the wind, swept across the area at a speed far exceeding the speed at which the Japanese escaped.

A large number of Japanese soldiers were screaming and howling due to the fire.

The mules and horses that were originally following the reins saw that the fire was coming and no longer cared about the pain of the reins. They just broke free and ran away. Some of the pack horses even kicked the Japanese soldiers who were leading them before running away, sending them to warm themselves by the fire.

"My goodness, this fire is too strong, isn't it?"

The soldiers who were in charge of surrounding the dry field were a little dumbfounded as they looked at the growing fire.

Under the influence of the east wind, the flames in the fields even burned into fire tornadoes, which was completely beyond the soldiers' imagination.

Just as the soldiers were discussing heatedly, there was a sudden movement in the fire, as if something was about to rush out.

"Ready to fight!"

All the soldiers immediately cocked their guns and pointed them into the fire.

A few seconds later, many mules and horses rushed out of the fire, roaring and neighing frantically.

"Carry the cannon and the gun immediately!"

"Stop these horses!"

The soldiers on the front line saw the supplies carried on the horses at a glance.

Chen Chengxing, who was on the roof of Guzhuang, also saw this scene and immediately shouted down: "Call the front line! Don't panic, send a platoon of soldiers to chase and gather them. If you can't catch up, just shoot them to death!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the front line hurriedly stopped catching horses and returned to the defense line.

Just as the soldiers were preparing their defenses again, they saw a large number of Japs jumping out of the fire.

"ah!"

The Japanese soldiers were on fire, but no one tried to put out the fire. Instead, they all rushed towards the blockade line of the New Second Regiment with red eyes.

"beat!"

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The soldiers opened fire at full force, continuously shooting at the rushing Japanese, trying to suppress them.

But the Japanese had no intention of retreating and just charged forward without thinking.

The ones in front were killed, and the ones behind immediately took their place.

The Japs who kept rushing out even trampled out several paths in the flames.

Faced with the frantic charge of the Japanese, the pressure on the 13th Company on the southern front line doubled.

Although the ground was covered with a layer of Japanese corpses, from time to time some Japanese soldiers would rush to the position, detonate grenades and die together with the soldiers.

Seeing that more and more Japanese troops were breaking through the defense line, Chen Chengxing ordered: "Call the Fourth Battalion and ask them to give up the first-line position and retreat to the second line; order the First and Second Battalions to reinforce the Fourth Battalion and prepare for a decisive battle."

When setting up the position, Chen Chengxing had already made a plan for the Japanese to break out by force, but at that time he was not sure whether the Japanese would break out from the west or the south.

As the Fourth Battalion retreated, the Japanese did not continue to advance after rushing out of the fire field, but instead rushed into the ditch and rolled over to put out the fire.

Murakami Isamu was smoked black and collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

He really thought he was going to turn into a roast chicken.

"Captain, we have less than 600 people left, and all our heavy firepower has been lost!" Suzuki Shunji also slumped beside him and reported.

This fire directly wiped out nearly 2/3 of the troops!
"Where is the radio? Is it there?" Murakami Isamu asked immediately.

Murakami Isamu knew without hesitation that the Eighth Route Army must have surrounded the troops. Although the 403rd Regiment escaped from the fire, the danger was not over yet. The 403rd Regiment was in urgent need of support.

"The regiment's radio was taken away by packhorses, but the 94st Battalion's Type radio is still there," said Suzuki Shunji.

The mules and horses frightened by the flames were beyond the control of ordinary people. They had already run away to who knows where.

The Japanese's radio station was assigned to the battalion level, but the battalion was equipped with level 3 communication equipment, which was a low-power radio station.

The Japanese's standard Type 94 radio can realize radio calls within 2 kilometers and send and receive telegrams within 10 kilometers.

"Keep calling and request immediate support from surrounding troops!" Murakami Isamu ordered.

Although their current location is more than 20 kilometers away from Erxianqiao, there are township strongholds nearby. As long as the strongholds are equipped with radio stations, the situation of the 403rd Regiment can be forwarded to superiors.

"Hai!"

Chen Chengxing was on the roof watching the burning Japanese rushing into the ditch, and then prepared to use the ditch for defense, but he was not in a hurry at all, as he was waiting for the first and second battalions to arrive.

"Chen Chengxing, why don't you take action while the Japanese are still struggling to gain a foothold? What are you waiting for?" asked the brigade commander.

The Japs had just rushed out of the fire, and now was a good opportunity to attack.

"Brigade Commander, I'm ready. As soon as you give the order, the entire army will charge." Chen Chengxing said.

The brigade commander had not arrived when Chen Chengxing was making preparations, so the brigade commander did not know what Chen Chengxing was planning.

When the brigade commander heard Chen Chengxing say that he already had a plan, he said no more and raised his telescope to check the situation on the battlefield.

Ten minutes later, after learning that most of the troops from the first and second battalions had been moved to their locations, Chen Chengxing got off the roof and returned to the regiment headquarters.

After taking the phone from the operations staff, Chen Chengxing ordered: "Detonate! Sound the charge!"

Qin Sheng on the other end of the phone immediately walked out of the frontline command post after receiving the order and ordered several soldiers who had been prepared for a long time: "Detonate!"

The soldiers pressed the detonators in their hands at the same time.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
A series of explosions immediately occurred in the ditch where the Japanese were hiding.

Chen Chengxing had already buried explosives in the road ditch between the South Road and the West Road, which was hundreds of meters long on each side.

In order to gather enough explosives, Chen Chengxing not only used up all the explosives carried by the New Second Regiment, but also buried the remaining dozens of 82mm mortar shells.

Although the mortar companies of each battalion would be useless without artillery shells, the New Second Regiment still had infantry artillery to use, so the impact on combat effectiveness was not significant.

"Blow the charge!"

"Comrades! Follow me!" Qin Sheng shouted.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep"

"kill!"

"Kill!"
The sound of the explosion was an order, and the soldiers who had been prepared rushed out immediately.

The first and second battalions on both wings rushed towards the Japanese almost at the same time.

The Japanese soldiers in the ditch were suddenly attacked by the explosion and were dizzy. Before they could recover, the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion rushed into the Japanese formation, followed closely by the First and Second Battalions.

Faced with the desperate situation, the wounded Japanese soldiers did not retreat at all and began to fight desperately with the New Second Regiment.

However, the number of combatants on both sides has not only reached 4:1, but the Japanese have just experienced fire and frantic running, and their physical strength has long been exhausted.

Therefore, facing the siege of the New 403nd Regiment, the Japanese rd Regiment was simply unable to resist.

Chen Chengxing and the brigade commander stood on the roof, watching the situation on the battlefield through binoculars. As the last Japanese soldier fell to the ground, Chen Chengxing put down the binoculars and looked to the east.

"Brigade Commander, it's almost dawn." Chen Chengxing said as he looked at the light gradually rising in the east.

"Haha, Chen Chengxing, you really make me look at you in a new light!" The brigade commander looked at Chen Chengxing and smiled.

Is this still the Chen Dadao who fought among the white dogs during the Long March with only a broadsword in one hand and a Mauser pistol in the other?
"Hehe. When you meet someone after three days, you should look at him with new eyes. I am no longer myself." Chen Chengxing laughed, and then jumped directly from the roof.

As the east began to lighten, the originally somewhat eerie ancient village began to become peaceful.

As he jumped, Chen Chengxing also heard the system's prompt.

[The battle is over. Battle evaluation: great victory! ]

【Obtained 8096 honor points. 】

[Current Honor Points: 51265/100000.]

[Main Mission: Great Victory (Regiment/Squadron Level). Completed! ]

【Rewards are waiting to be claimed! 】

[Rewards are being distributed]

[Obtain 1 Rifle Research Instant Kill Scroll]

[Main mission released: Great victory (brigade level). ]

[Mission Reward: 1 Portable Anti-Tank Equipment Instant Kill Scroll)]

The main mission is completed? Chen Chengxing immediately became excited.

The group of Japanese invaders we defeated in Xiaojia Town before was a great victory, and they are also winning a great victory now. It seems that it is okay to divide one regiment into two groups to defeat them?

However, the next main task made Chen Chengxing a little discouraged. A brigade of Japanese soldiers had at least seven or eight thousand people, which was not something the New Second Regiment could accomplish in a short period of time.

Although Chen Chengxing was very envious of the reward, he was afraid that it would be impossible to get it within three to five years.

By the time Chen Chengxing and the brigade commander arrived at the front line, the soldiers had already started to clean up the battlefield.

"Leave two platoons of soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and the rest of the people must put out the fire immediately." Chen Chengxing ordered.

As the sun appeared, the strong east wind stopped and the fire was under control.

There are still quite a few Japanese soldiers inside trying to keep warm, and they have a lot of supplies on them, which cannot be wasted.

"Yes!"

The soldiers immediately dispersed to put out the fire. The special forces battalion, which received the news, also salvaged the Japanese soldiers from the ditch, searched for their bodies, and then began to participate in the fire-fighting.

By the time the fire was put out and we had searched the half-cooked Japanese for usable supplies, it was already past 9 o'clock.

"Stop cleaning, assemble the entire army and prepare to retreat!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

Now most of the supplies have been cleaned up, with only a few items left scattered around the fire scene.

According to the reconnaissance platoon's report, the Japanese have already begun chasing them. The fire and smoke in Guzhuang are so huge that they can be seen clearly from more than ten miles away. The Japanese will definitely come here.

Upon receiving the order, the New 2nd Regiment and the Special Service Battalion immediately stopped cleaning and began to assemble and move.

After waiting for an hour, when the Japanese 32nd Regiment arrived at Guzhuang, they saw only a pile of horrific corpses.

(End of this chapter)