Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 156: China’s army is vulnerable!
In June, as the wheat in the fields turned yellower, the situation in central Hebei became increasingly tense.

The devils and puppet troops were constantly moving around in the various strongholds.
That afternoon, a communicator from the local troops suddenly came to report.

"Captain Chen, Political Commissar Luo, the Japanese invaders from Anyang County suddenly left the city and have now arrived at Dongli Town." The correspondent's report did not add anything superfluous, but simply explained the movements of the Japanese invaders.

"How many people are there?" Luo Ping asked.

"This time the Japs are a mixed brigade of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, with two heavy artillery pieces, 2 to 5 cavalry, and the rest are infantry, a total of more than people."

"There are cavalry? And heavy artillery?" Luo Ping asked in surprise: "What kind of artillery?"

"We don't recognize this either, but it's not a mountain cannon, so it should be heavier," said the communicator.

Normally a mountain artillery can be towed by one horse, but this time the Japanese brought artillery towed by six horses.

Chen Chengxing saw that the communicator could not provide more information, so he nodded and said, "We will pay attention to this matter. Go back and tell your captain to pay more attention to the movements of the Japanese. If the Japanese raid, use guerrilla mine warfare as the main method and do not get too entangled with them."

The Japs have cavalry, and there are not many places on the plains where they can fight guerrilla warfare. The best thing to do is to use more landmines for sneak attacks.

"Yes!"

When the communicator left, Chen Chengxing's system also rang.

[Side quest released: Noble Bloodline. ]

[Captain of the Anyang County Garrison Battalion, Nagata Tsukimi, is a descendant of the Japanese nobility. He came to China this time to "gild" himself on the battlefield.

At the request of the presidents of the various maintenance associations in Anyang, Nagata Tsukimi decided to conduct a sweep of the Eighth Route Army in the area before collecting summer grain to ensure smooth collection of military grain.

[Mission objective: Kill Nagata Tsukimi and annihilate the enemy forces that are sweeping in. ]

[Task Reward: A copy of random intelligence.]

"Lao Luo, this group of devils is probably not simple," Chen Chengxing said after turning off the system.

"What do you mean?" Luo Ping didn't understand.

"The cavalry regiment under the Japanese division has only four cavalry squadrons. Even regiment-level operations may not be equipped with a cavalry squadron. How could the Japanese in Anyang be so qualified as to be able to carry out a sweep with half a cavalry squadron? I guess the Japanese major Nagata Yuejian is not an ordinary person." Chen Chengxing explained.

"Now that you mention it, it's true. The 403rd Regiment at Erxianqiao didn't even have any cavalry, but now an understaffed battalion is equipped with half a cavalry squadron, and two heavy artillery." Luo Ping also understood a little.

I have never heard of an infantry battalion being equipped with a cavalry squadron before. This must be the importance the Japanese troops attach to Nagata Tsukimi.

"Old Chen, what should we do? Do we need to assemble the troops?" Luo Ping asked.

It was impossible for the New Second Regiment to gather thousands of people together, so the First, Second and Fourth Battalions were all scattered in the surrounding villages and towns to cooperate with the work of the local government.

If you want to fight a war, you must mobilize troops in a timely manner.

"It's just a battalion of Japanese soldiers. There's no need to mobilize a large force. Just mobilize the nearest 1st, 5th and 13th companies." Chen Chengxing said after thinking for a while.

The garrison troops in Dongli Town consisted of only half a Japanese infantry squad and a battalion of more than 300 puppet troops.

Chen Chengxing estimated that Nagata Yuejian would select puppet troops to serve as the transport team, but at most 200 people would be selected. Together with more than 500 devils, the total number would not exceed 800.

Chen Chengxing had an infantry artillery company, a reinforced guard company, and three infantry companies. Although they were not fully staffed, there were nearly a thousand people, and their equipment was not much weaker than that of the Japanese.

With the addition of local guerrillas, it would be no problem to wipe out this group of Japs without any intention.

The three infantry companies that received the order began to gather towards the regiment headquarters. Although the other troops did not move, they also became vigilant and prepared for battle.

In Dongli Town, the puppet soldiers were delighted to learn that Nagata Yuejian was going to take them on a "demonstration sweep".

Why did they join the army despite being called traitors? It was just to get benefits. Now that the Japanese are leading a team to raid, the danger is small and the benefits are great.

However, the puppet army battalion commander Ma Ziqi was not very happy.

As the person actually in charge of the Dongli Town area, he is familiar with the situation in the rural areas outside.

Even though the vast rural areas are nominally still under the Japanese security zone, the Eighth Route Army is now causing trouble in this area!

"Ma Sang, what do you think of my plan?" When Changtian Yuejian was boasting, he saw that Ma Ziqi below seemed to have no reaction, so he spoke.

"Hey! I will firmly obey the instructions of the Majesty!" Ma Ziqi stood at attention and bowed his head.

In fact, Ma Ziqi didn't hear the plan that Nagata Yuejian just mentioned.

"Yoshi. In that case, let Ma Sang lead two infantry companies to follow me on the sweep tomorrow." Nagata Tsukimi nodded.

"what?"

"Madam, how many troops are participating in this mopping-up operation?" asked Ma Ziqi.

"We are the only one going this way." Nagata Tsukimi said confidently.

"Just one route? Lady Taijun, there are so many Eighth Route Army soldiers outside. Isn't the Locust Army a little short in strength?" Ma Ziqi said cautiously.

"Hahahaha, Ma Sang, you'd better be careful. The locust army is very strong and the Chinese army is vulnerable." Nagata Tsukimi laughed.

Since he entered the Chinese battlefield, he has fought many battles, but each time the opposing army was defeated at the first blow. His battalion could chase after a division of the Chinese army.

Therefore, although the 42nd Regiment was severely damaged and the 403rd Regiment was completely wiped out in Hebei Province, Nagata Tsukimi still did not take the Eighth Route Army seriously. Nagata Tsukimi believed that it was just that the peasants in the 42nd and 403rd Regiments were too weak. He was an aristocrat who had received elite education since childhood. How could his command ability be compared with those peasants?

Ma Ziqi looked at the mysteriously confident Nagata Yuejian and didn't know how to start. He just hoped that there were only local Eighth Route Army soldiers outside and no old Eighth Route Army soldiers. If there were regular Eighth Route Army soldiers, they would probably not have a good ending.

Early the next morning, the Japs set off immediately after breakfast.

As soon as the Japanese set out, Chen Chengxing quickly obtained the intelligence.

"It seems that the Japanese are really coming this way." Chen Chengxing said as he looked at the movements of the Japanese on the map.

"At the current speed of the Japanese, if they sweep all the way south, they should be able to reach Zhangjiaji area tomorrow," said Luo Ping.

Now the headquarters of the new second regiment is located in Zhangjiaji.

"Then let's set up a pocket formation for the Japanese, but we need to think carefully about which place to choose," said Chen Chengxing.

The Japanese have a lot of cavalry, which gives them a great advantage in reconnaissance, pursuit and retreat. If you want to defeat this group of Japanese, you can only take advantage of the terrain.

Because Nagata Tsukimi had never encountered a decent army before, he thought the Eighth Route Army was just a bunch of defeated soldiers who would run around in panic if frightened.

So he didn't even arrange any guard posts, and just rode his horse and swept the area in a swaggering manner.

At this time, the guerrillas in various places had received instructions from the New Second Regiment and were harassing the Japanese intentionally and luring them to the southeast.

Just after Nagata Tsukimi aimlessly swept through several villages, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from the green tent on the side of the road.

"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!".
With the sudden sound of gunfire, several Japanese soldiers were immediately injured and fell to the ground.

"Damn! There are enemies!" When Nagata Tsukimi heard the gunshot, he fell off his horse in panic.

"Counterattack! Counterattack!" shouted Nagata Tsukimi.

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The Japanese machine gunners fired several rounds at the green tent, but apart from smashing a large number of leaves, there was no reaction from the green tent.

"Baka! These damn Eighth Route Army soldiers." Nagata Yuejian thought that these were just a few Eighth Route Army soldiers harassing him again.

Seeing the very angry Nagata Tsukimi, Ma Ziqi suggested: "Taijun, we have artillery with us, why don't we use it to shoot directly at the place where the Eighth Route Army is firing? If there are any Eighth Route Army soldiers there, we will definitely be able to blow them to death."

"Yoshi Masang, your idea is great!" Nagata Tsukimi gave a thumbs up.

"Set up the guns immediately! Prepare to fire!"

"Hayaku! Hayaku!" Nagata Tsukimi kept urging.

The Japanese artillerymen quickly untied the artillery from the horses, set it up, and immediately fired at the green tent.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
The Japanese fired several rounds in succession, and apart from the branches and leaves flying everywhere, there was no human figure in the green tent.

"Damn it, the Eighth Route Army must have escaped!" Nagata Tsukimi stood up and said angrily.

"Everyone! Start again!" Nagata Tsukimi ordered: "The cavalry troops move forward, and the rest of the troops are on high alert!"

Having just suffered a loss, Nagata Tsukimi dared not be careless again.

But as he walked, Nagata Tsukimi heard a series of explosions coming from the front, followed by a burst of gunfire.

"The artillery will immediately set up their guns to bombard the Eighth Route Army, and the infantry will support the cavalry!" Nagata Tsukimi shouted.

However, the guerrillas had already retreated back into the green tent at this time. Even if the cavalry immediately chased them, they could not catch up. The Japanese cavalry stopped chasing after entering the green tent for more than ten meters. In the absence of vision, riding horses to chase inside was tantamount to seeking death.

Nagata Tsukimi felt heartbroken when he looked at the horses that were damaged by the explosion. This half of the cavalry squadron was specially allocated to him by the division commander, and if it was lost, there would be no place to replace it.

"Ma Sang, you, lead the team and clear the way!" Nagata Tsukimi turned his head and ordered.

Since the Eighth Route Army can't catch up, they'll just have to send someone else to step on the mines. It doesn't matter how many casualties these people suffer.

"Hey!" Although Ma Ziqi cursed in his heart, he had no choice but to do as he was told.

But Ma Ziqi was not stupid. He simply assigned one company to explore the way ahead, and he led another company to continue transporting supplies.

Along the way, although they were constantly attacked by the Eighth Route Army and the Locust Army suffered more than twenty casualties, the Japanese still "occupied" several villages in succession, which made Nagata Yuejian very satisfied.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, after occupying Wangfu Village, Nagata Tsukimi decided to stop the sweep and continue tomorrow.

"Ma Sang, the Locust Army was so stupid during this mopping-up operation! The Locust Army has worked very hard, and it will have to work harder tomorrow. So at night, the Locust Army will be responsible for vigilance while the Locust Army will rest." Nagata Tsukimi ordered.

Ma Ziqi had no way to deal with Nagata Tsukimi who lied with open eyes and could only blame himself for his bad luck.

After finally getting through the night, Nagata Tsukimi was ready to set out early the next morning.

This forced the Locust Army to eat dry food while marching, cursing in their hearts.

This day was different from yesterday. The Japanese did not encounter any harassment, so they advanced at a faster speed.

Not long after crossing the small canal, Nagata Tsukimi saw from afar a group of people holding the Japanese flag walking towards them.

(End of this chapter)