Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 155 Are there still Guo troops in North China?
"Boss, the Central Committee sent a telegram stating that the 386th Brigade achieved a major victory in Erxianqiao." The Deputy Chief of General Staff handed a telegram to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

"Well, since the Central Committee also believes that this is another major victory since Pingxingguan, let's send the commendation telegram discussed at the meeting to the 386th Brigade." The deputy commander-in-chief said after looking at the telegram in his hand.

The battle of Erxianqiao was carried out without any preparation and in a completely passive situation. The 386th Brigade was once surrounded by the Japanese on all sides, which objectively caused certain casualties and material losses.

However, in the complex combat environment behind enemy lines, it was inevitable to fight a few passive battles, which ultimately inflicted heavy casualties on the Japs.

The New Second Regiment fought two consecutive battles and actually wiped out an entire regiment of the Japanese enemy. This was an incredible achievement and must be greatly credited.

Although there was one time when I got something for free, luck is also part of strength and you can't deny it.

However, the experience of the 386th Brigade also reminded the deputy commander-in-chief that in guerrilla warfare on the plains, lightness and flexibility are the most important. Too much baggage is a burden. The troops in North China must be streamlined in the future.

If the 386th Brigade had not carried so much baggage and heavy weapons, it would have been able to cross the river with the Independent Regiment and the New st Regiment would have been able to complete the transfer before the Japanese army arrived.

"I'll send it out in a moment, but sir, what should we do about the prisoners mentioned by the 386th Brigade?" asked the Deputy Chief of General Staff.

Chen Chengxing didn't remember the prisoners captured by the New Second Regiment in Xiaojia Town at the time, but only remembered them when Luo Ping came to ask about them the next day.

No one in the New Second Regiment knew Japanese, Chen Chengxing's own Japanese was only level 0, and it was impossible for him to invest skill points in it in a short period of time, so Chen Chengxing directly sent all the prisoners to the brigade headquarters.

With a lieutenant colonel and a bunch of technical soldiers, Brigade Chen certainly cannot act on his own. Moreover, the 386th Brigade still has missions to complete and it is impossible for them to continue to move with the prisoners.

At this time, the issue of prisoners became an issue that needed to be resolved urgently.

"I have already contacted Chongqing through Wei Junru about this matter. They are willing to exchange a batch of supplies for the officers of the 403rd Regiment and the credit of Xiaojia Town. They will pick them up themselves when the time comes."

"As for those technical troops, since the Guo Party doesn't want them, let the local government take them over, and then secretly transport them to the headquarters in batches. If we can capture a few of them, we won't lose anything at all."

The Eighth Route Army is now in dire need of technical troops. These Japanese soldiers are all elite. If they are willing to teach, it will play a significant role in improving the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army.

"Okay, I will arrange the route and the support." The Deputy Chief of General Staff nodded.

The Eighth Route Army rarely received assistance from other countries, so it never cared much about face projects. The benefits that could be obtained were real.

"Extra number, extra number!"

"The 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army wiped out the 403rd Regiment of the Japanese Army!"

"Extra! Come and see! The Eighth Route Army has burned down camps for 800 miles! All the Japanese have been roasted like pigs!"

After hearing the newsboy's shout, passers-by stopped.

"Give me one."

"And I!"

"I want to see how the devils roast it."

When everyone took the newspaper and looked at it, the first thing they saw was a burnt-to-pieces Japanese regiment flag and a group of Japanese prisoners.

Although the entire flag of the regiment can no longer be seen, the words 403 on it can still be seen.

"Even the regiment flag was burned like this? It seems that even if the Japanese soldiers are not completely killed, there are probably not many left alive."

It helps the Guo Party and the Japanese to brag about the regiment flag. People in big cities all have a certain understanding of the regiment flag.

The Japs' regimental flag was bestowed upon them by their heavenly locusts. It was a supreme honor for the Japs soldiers. The loss of the regimental flag meant the disappearance of the regiment's number.

"We killed quite a few Japanese soldiers. Judging from the photos, there must be at least 2 of them."

"Only 2 people? Isn't it said that a regiment of the Japanese has more than people? Where are the others?"

"You always read quickly. Didn't you see it in the newspaper? Another 1,600 people were wiped out by Guo's army in Xiaojia Town. The Japanese deputy commander and a large number of officers were also captured. There are also photos."

"Guo Jun? Are there still Guo Jun in North China?"

"Now it seems that there are also tough guys in the Guo army who dare to fight in the encirclement of the devils."

"Great! If we have a few more battles like this, there will be hope for China!"

The complete annihilation of the Japanese army regiment at one time greatly boosted the morale of the nation.

On this day, countless people took to the streets to call for donations of money and materials to support the war of resistance.

Peiping, North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

After reading the newspaper in his hand, Sugiyama threw it on the table and said disdainfully: "The Central Army of the Kuomintang Party? It's ridiculous."

How could the locust army not know whether there were fruit troops or not on the North China Plain?

If the Guo army wants to encircle and annihilate the 1,600-man locust army, it must at least deploy an elite full-strength brigade.

However, Guo’s army was not like the Eighth Route Army who knew how to dig holes. The appearance of so many people on the North China Plain was something that anyone with enough experience could see clearly.

"Has the autopsy of the soldiers who died in Xiaojia Town been completed?" Sugiyama Gen looked at the Chief of Staff Yamashita Fengwu and asked.

"The water supply unit has completed the testing and found no signs of biological or chemical weapons poisoning," Yamashita Tomotake reported.

"No? How is that possible? Then how did they lose their combat effectiveness?" Sugiyama Gen said in disbelief.

"Well, according to the test, tung oil was found in the stomachs of all the soldiers whose bodies were examined, so it is inferred that it was food poisoning." Yamashita Fengwu really didn't know how to comment on this matter.

"Tung oil? Food poisoning?" Sugiyama was stunned. He could not have imagined that this would be the result. "Baka! Are they all idiots? They don't even know what tung oil is? There is tung oil in the lubricant of their weapons. Why don't I see them eating the lubricant directly?" Sugiyama cursed.

"General, most of the tung oil in the empire is occupied by the navy's naval officers. The army's weapon lubricants only contain a small amount of tung oil, which is completely different from pure tung oil. So it is normal that soldiers don't know tung oil." Yamashita Fengwu said.

"Damn navy idiot!" Sugiyama Moto cursed.

"General, how should we record this matter?" asked Yamashita Fengwu.

Every battle of the Locust Army must be registered. Now that the cause has been determined, it must be registered.

"Baka." Sugiyama Yuan took a breath and said helplessly, "Just register according to what Guo Jun said."

You can't write in the report that the locust army stole food, ate things they shouldn't have, collapsed from diarrhea, and were stabbed to death in the feces.

Those navy idiots would make you laugh to death.

"Hai!" Yamashita Fengwu also felt that this fact was really hard to talk about.
Because the Japanese had not caught up with them, the New 2nd Regiment and the Brigade Headquarters rested in Nanzhaozhuang for a few days before dispersing and leaving.

The brigade headquarters continued to move towards Angu area, while the New Second Regiment returned to Anyang area after confirming the retreat of the Japanese mopping-up troops.

After returning to Anyang, the New Second Regiment had a lot of things to deal with.

Although the main Japanese army withdrew, the Japanese in the surrounding counties established a number of puppet regimes in this area.

The primary task of the New Second Regiment was to cooperate with local armed forces to establish a revolutionary base, to screen out those puppet regimes, and to strike resolutely against die-hard traitors.

Originally, before these people surrendered to the Japanese, it was difficult for the Eighth Route Army to take action against them. After all, the Eighth Route Army nominally still belonged to the combat sequence of the National Revolutionary Army and could not arbitrarily attack the local tyrants and divide their land.

But now that he has become a traitor, the Eighth Route Army's crackdown on him is reasonable, legal and compliant.

If someone commits many evil deeds in his daily life, he will be hanged on a tree directly, and even those whose crimes do not deserve the death penalty will also be punished.

Those traitors who were purged had no way to deal with the Eighth Route Army, which had guns. They could only run to the county town to cry to the Japanese and want them to make decisions for them.

"Taijun, you must make the decision for us. Those unruly people have the support of the Eighth Route Army and will not listen to us at all."

"That's right, Madam, you must support us and send troops to severely punish those unruly people!"

The chairmen of the maintenance associations of several villages kept crying and complaining in the city defense headquarters of Anyang County.

"Everyone, don't worry. I understand your request and I sympathize with it, but we also have regulations and cannot mobilize troops at will."

"But I can report your request for a large-scale sweep. You just need to go back and wait for news."

In response to the cries of the maintenance association chairmen, Japanese Major Nagata Tsukimi expressed his solidarity with the enemy.

However, when asked to send troops from the Locust Army to help, he spread his hands and indicated that he was powerless. The only thing he could do was to report it.

Funny, the locust army came here to support you? Doesn't that mean they are begging for food on their knees?
“These” maintenance association presidents looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

What report? They have been eating for so many years, from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, they have seen everything. Isn't this just passing the buck?

"Taijun, it's already May and the summer grain harvest is almost over. If we allow the Eighth Route Army to run rampant, I'm afraid we won't be able to harvest enough grain this year."

The Japanese implemented different collection plans in security areas, quasi-security areas, and non-security areas. In security areas and non-security areas close to security areas, as long as grain was paid on time and in sufficient quantity, the Japanese generally would not kill all of the people.

"Baka! Every village has a set amount of military rations, and they must be paid in full within the specified time, otherwise you will die!" Nagata Yuejian said angrily: "Whoever dares to let the locust army starve will have his head moved!"

After hearing what Nagata Tsukimi said, the faces of several maintenance association presidents became even uglier. This guy is a traitor and he thinks something is wrong.

The Japanese determined the amount of tax that each village should pay based on the land they owned, but most of the land in the village was in their hands.

If he could not collect more grain from the people, he would have to make up the number with grain produced at home.

With the support of the Eighth Route Army, even if those peasants paid grain, they would only pay less, not a single grain more.

Who will fill the vacancies? Isn't it up to us?

When the Kuomintang was in power, I didn't pay so much.

After the Japanese came, I paid more than before. So why the hell did the Japanese come?
Seeing that several guild leaders were about to burst into tears, Nagata Tsukimi also knew their difficulties, so she said, "How about this, you go back and form your own self-defense groups, and when you leave later, each of you take a few rifles with you."

The Locust Army still has a large number of weapons captured from the Fruit Army. The Locust Army does not need these weapons, so it is just right to give them to them.

Moreover, as long as the supply of bullets is controlled, it doesn’t matter even if the Eighth Route Army steals the guns. A gun without bullets is no better than a firewood stick.

"But..." Several people were still a little embarrassed.

Just giving them guns is useless. Three or five guns can suppress ordinary people, but they cannot suppress the Eighth Route Army.

When we were in Zhangzhuang, nearly a thousand Japanese were killed. It was like we were giving them away for nothing.

Nagata Tsukimi also knew that they could not be a match for the Eighth Route Army, so he comforted them: "Don't worry, the locust army will send troops to sweep the Eighth Route Army before the grain is collected."

"Really? Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Madam!" Everyone started to smile.

What they need is this time difference. As long as the Eighth Route Army cannot interfere with them during the half month of grain collection, then they will have the final say in whether the fight is big or small, right?
When there is a threat from the Japanese, I am not afraid that those peasants will not surrender.

(End of this chapter)