Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 162 Some Strength, But Not Much
"Taijun, the Eighth Route Army is coming in!"

"What should I do, Taijun!"

Several captains of the security teams surrounded Saito Hachiro and talked in a buzzing voice.

If the Eighth Route Army had no artillery, they could still fight the Eighth Route Army by using the defense of blockhouses and artillery towers. But now the Eighth Route Army has used infantry artillery to take down almost all the fortifications. If it really comes to street fighting, they will be no match.

"Baka!" Saito Hachiro cursed at the several security captains who were almost frightened.

The Eighth Route Army has just entered Sangong Town and you are so scared. If the Eighth Route Army stood in front of you, wouldn’t you pee your pants?
"The soldiers are fighting on the front line now. Do you want to escape?" Saito Hachiro said with a bad look.

"No, no, no." Several people shook their heads. If they were charged with deserting the battlefield, they might be shot in the next second.

Anyone can see how cold-blooded and ruthless the Japanese are.

"You must return quickly and lead the soldiers to fight back. As long as we defeat the Eighth Route Army, the Locust Army will be rewarded greatly!" Saito Hachiro ordered.

"Hi!"

They had no choice but to return to the front line dejectedly.

However, no matter how loud the slogans were shouted, it could not affect the advancement of the New Second Regiment's front.

In front of the infantry artillery, those fixed firing points were sitting ducks, but away from these firing points, the traitors in the guard team would be unable to fight against the New Second Regiment.

This resulted in the garrison being bombarded if they held their ground, or being shot to death by the Eighth Route Army if they did not, and their single-minded approach ended up blocking both ends.

In just one hour, most of the firepower points set up by the Japanese at the road passes were eliminated.

The 1st, 2nd and 4th Battalions squeezed the Japanese and traitors southward from three sides. In order to leave a retreat route for the Japanese and traitors, the New 2nd Regiment did not cut off the retreat route to the south from the center of the town by attacking from both wings.

When there was a way to retreat, even the Japanese advisers of the security team did not force the security team to occupy every house and defend it. They were bushido, but that did not mean they were willing to die.

Looking at the increasingly smaller space for movement, Saito Hachiro realized that the situation was hopeless. The elite strength of this Eighth Route Army unit could not be matched by the security force.

Moreover, the enemy had obviously fought in street fighting before, and their coordination was quite methodical. They would not panic when facing the locust army's firepower points, but would immediately call for artillery support.

This was different from all the Eighth Route Army troops he had encountered. Ordinary Eighth Route Army troops never thought of calling for artillery support, even if that team had small cannons such as grenade launchers.

Whether it is a mortar or an infantry gun, it is enough to destroy the firing points built with sandbags.

Faced with so many elite Eighth Route Army troops, the more than 200 locust soldiers in his hands were simply unable to resist.

"Order all troops to retreat in an orderly manner. We will withdraw from Sangong Town and head south to wait for reinforcements." Saito Hachiro ordered.

Since the situation is unstoppable, turning back is the only option.

During the retreat, Saito Hachiro did not order the food to be set on fire. He did not know that there were tens of thousands of civilian workers behind the New Second Regiment, carrying shoulder poles and pushing carts and heading to the side.

Saito Hachiro believed that these 3,800 troops alone could not transport much food, and giving them food could also delay their speed, creating conditions for reinforcements to encircle them.

If they could consume this new Second Regiment, not to mention more than a thousand tons of food, even if they added another three thousand tons, Saito Hachiro wouldn't even frown.

As soon as the Japanese moved, Xu Wu immediately sent out a communicator.

"Commander, the Japanese show signs of retreating southward, and they haven't set fire to any food supplies," the communicator reported.

"No setting of fire?" Chen Chengxing was a little surprised. The Japs have never been kind-hearted people. If they didn't set of fire, there must be some trick.

Chen Chengxing only thought about it for a moment and figured out the Japanese's plan. They definitely wanted to slow down the marching speed of the New Second Regiment.

But the Japanese were thinking too much. Even without the support of civilian workers, the Eighth Route Army would not put themselves in danger for the sake of food.

"Let the first and second battalions follow suit to attack from both sides, and the fourth battalion will clean up Sangong Town, set up defenses on the spot, and support the civilian workers' team." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

The Japanese in Sangong Town fought and retreated until they evacuated Sangong Town, then they quickened their pace and evacuated quickly towards Tuhe Bridge.

As long as they cross the Tu River Bridge, they can use the bridge to establish a defensive position. Saito Hachiro is confident that the Locust Army soldiers alone can hold the position by then.

The speed at which the guard team ran away could be described as outstanding. Even though the New Second Regiment had the infantry combat proficiency feature that could increase the movement speed by 5%, it could only keep up with their retreat speed.

Although this was related to the fact that the New Second Regiment was equipped with 60mm mortars and heavy machine guns, it was already faster than any puppet army encountered before.

When Xu Wu and Zheng Hua wanted to send troops to intercept, the guard team, who had noticed something, actually increased their escape speed again.

It seems that death can really bring out people's potential.

Seeing that they could not stop the Japanese, Xu Wu and Zheng Hua simply gave up trying to intercept them. Instead, they led their troops in pursuit on both sides, and the three parties formed a V-shaped V-shaped line and rushed towards the Tuhe Bridge.

After seeing the bridge from afar, the Japanese and traitors were all encouraged. They thought that as long as they could hold on a little longer, they would be able to escape.

However, a few minutes later, the sudden sound of gunfire shattered their hopes.

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
As the sound of heavy machine guns rang out, a dozen Japanese soldiers who had just stepped onto the bridge were beaten into bloody messes.

"Damn! There's an ambush!" Saito Hachiro's face changed drastically. The way to escape was clearly right in front of him, but it was blocked by the Eighth Route Army.

"Launch a strong attack immediately! Deploy the infantry artillery and provide fire cover!" Saito Hachiro shouted.

Now the two enemy forces on the left and right are only 10 minutes away from them. If they cannot break through the enemy's defense within these 10 minutes, it will be difficult to move forward.

After receiving the order, the Japanese infantry squadron immediately dispersed and attacked under the cover of heavy machine guns. However, the Tuhe Bridge was not an arch, but a flat concrete bridge, and it was built by the Japanese themselves. The reason why it was built flat was to facilitate the transportation of supplies by trucks.

But at this time the flat bridge was about to cost Saito Hachiro his life. Facing two heavy machine guns that formed a good firepower point, the Japanese infantry were suppressed and dared not raise their heads. If they raised their butts higher, they would be half lost.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
The Japanese infantry artillery finally opened fire. After a few shots, the guard company's heavy machine gun fire point was destroyed, and the Japanese infantry took the opportunity to rush forward.

At the critical moment, the light machine gunner of the guard company stepped forward, lay directly on the ground, used sacks as cover, and continuously fired at the charging Japanese.

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The blockade of several light machine guns once again made it difficult for the Japanese to move forward, and the infantry artillery did not have much killing effect on the soldiers lying directly on the ground.

If the Japanese had enough time, they could have attacked the guard company. Although the Czech light machine guns were designed with the ability to quickly change barrels, at a high rate of fire, each gun would only last 10 minutes before overheating. But what the Japanese lacked now was time, and 10 minutes was enough for the first and second battalions to catch up.

Seeing that it was impossible to break through the Eighth Route Army's position, Saito Hachiro decisively gave up dragging the situation any further and instead ordered everyone to use the Tu River as a support and go on the defensive on the spot. As long as they could hold out until dawn, reinforcements would soon arrive.

Chen Chengxing, who followed, found the Japanese's actions a bit funny.

"Are you preparing for a do-or-die battle? Aren't you overestimating the security forces?" Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

The combat effectiveness of the North China Guard was indeed much stronger than that of the puppet army. At least they dared to shoot at the Eighth Route Army. But to say how elite they were is an overstatement.

Chen Chengxing watched the Japs' movements and ordered, "Infantry artillery immediately set up positions, and the first and second battalions will launch an attack."

Because the Japanese were temporarily on the defensive and didn't even have a trench, now was the best time to attack.

Xu Wu and Zheng Hua each directly sent out three infantry companies, and at the same time the machine gun company also began shooting.

"Da da da", "Da da da", "Da da da".
"kill!"

"Kill!"

The garrison without artillery towers and bunkers for defense is no match for the guerrillas, not to mention that the garrison now does not even have a trench or sandbags, and the attack is carried out by elite troops like the New Second Regiment.

The security team had no chance of winning at all, even if there were Japanese devils mixed in.

If the Japanese were concentrated together, they could cause some trouble to the New Second Regiment, but in order to ensure that the guard team did not surrender directly, Saito Hachiro was forced to disperse the troops and mix them with the guard team.

This resulted in the Japanese soldiers being unable to organize local advantageous battles.

The Japanese soldiers in groups of two or three were completely useless against the large-scale attack of the New Second Regiment.

The soldiers of the New Second Regiment rushed into the enemy's camp. Except for some people fighting with the Japanese with bayonets, the rest of them just stabbed the guards.

Before the war, the regiment commander issued an order that these black dogs should be treated according to the rules for the Japanese devils.

Moreover, it is a hand-to-hand fight now. Even if these traitors kneel down and beg for mercy, no one will let them go. If they are stabbed in the back, they will be finished.

Faced with the Eighth Route Army's extermination, the traitors in the security team were extremely angry.

Although they have undergone intensive training by the Japanese, they are still far from being the real elite, and it is impossible for the Japanese to really train them into elites. Otherwise, who would listen to whom at that time?

Xu Wu looked at the battlefield where the hand-to-hand combat was unfolding and said, "Captain, the battle is about to end. The combat effectiveness of these black dogs is indeed stronger than that of the puppet army. If they were puppet troops, they would not run away at all and would surrender on the spot."

The puppet army's combat tenet has always been to get by if possible, or surrender if not.

"It has some combat capability, but not much. At best, it's second-rate." Chen Chengxing said casually as he put down the telescope.

Ten minutes later, the battle ended.

The soldiers began to finish off the enemy one by one, no matter if it was the Japanese or the Heilongjiang devils, they would just stab them with one strike. After many training sessions, the soldiers were able to successfully penetrate the gaps between the ribs and pierce directly into the heart.

Since the battle was over, Chen Chengxing did not stay any longer. He ordered Xu Wu to lead a battalion to clean up the battlefield, and Chen Chengxing took the others back to Sangong Town.

When Chen Chengxing returned to Sangong Town, Luo Ping had already arrived with the migrant workers.

"Lao Luo, is the journey smooth?"

"It went smoothly. Although there were some artillery towers on the road, no one dared to act rashly because of the threat from the soldiers."

The artillery towers at key locations along the way have been removed. If the remaining puppet troops want to threaten the safety of the migrant workers, they have to leave the artillery towers and give chase.

But when the Eighth Route Army was lurking outside the artillery tower, none of the puppet soldiers dared to go out.

They were even worried that the Eighth Route Army would attack the artillery tower. If so, should they surrender immediately or hold out for a while before surrendering?
"That's good. Let's transport the food immediately. Take as much as we can, but make sure it doesn't affect the marching speed. We have to return to the base before dawn, which is not a short distance." Chen Chengxing said.

"I'll keep an eye on it." Luo Ping nodded.

The people have been poor for many years. When they see so much food all of a sudden, they will definitely load until they can't load any more, but this will inevitably slow down the march.

This could very well put the larger force in danger.

Using dozens of carts and various shoulder poles, wheelbarrows, and donkey carts seized from Sangong Town, 80 to 90 percent of the grain in Sangong Town was loaded. Looking at the more than 100 tons of grain left, Chen Chengxing felt a little sorry.

But no matter how regrettable it was, there was nothing that could be done. The soldiers were carrying large and small bags of captured weapons and ammunition, and they couldn't just put down the ammunition to transport food.

For the Eighth Route Army, only with guns could they ask the Japanese for supplies.

"Set fire." Looking at the large army that had already left, Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Ma Zhiyuan, who had been prepared, led the soldiers to throw torches onto each haystack.

The hay for the mules and horses ignited easily, and the flames immediately began to spread.

"withdraw!".
By daybreak, when the Japanese invaders, who had been harassed by the guerrillas all night, rushed back to Sangong Town, the fire in the town was almost out, with only some ruins still smoldering.

Sugiyama Gen, who received the news, was not too angry. The locust army had harvested tens of thousands of tons of grain in North China this time, and burning a few thousand tons would not cause any serious consequences.

It’s just that Sugiyama Gen made a note of the New Second Regiment in his little notebook.

At dawn, the New Second Regiment led the team back to the base before the sun rose.

"Lao Luo, I'll leave the rest to you." Chen Chengxing simply became a hands-off boss.

It is not the end of the story after the grain is transported back. The workers have to be given some of the grain as compensation, and the rest has to be weighed and put into the public treasury. It is no easy job.

Luo Ping had no choice but to deal with Chen Chengxing's shirking of responsibility. With a head of the group who was unwilling to take charge, he was destined to do more work.

(End of this chapter)