Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 165 Mizuhara Kosuke: Take my surprise attack!

After looking at the intelligence sent by Sun Xun and then at the map, Chen Chengxing said with certainty: "The Japanese want to go straight to Hongni Bay!"

In addition to being the headquarters of the New Second Regiment, Hongniwan also had many factories, military supply warehouses and border administrative agencies.

"We can't rest any longer. Order the entire army to set off immediately, march quickly, and rush back to Hongni Bay!" Chen Chengxing gave the order decisively.

The Japanese may launch a surprise attack at any time, and the New Second Regiment must arrive at the battlefield in time.

The soldiers knew the situation was urgent, so they did not rest at all and crossed the Mengzhen area overnight into the Jiaozishan area.

In the second half of the night, when passing through Shangguanzhuang, Chen Chengxing ordered the logistics transport team to turn to Erlang Mountain, and asked them to unload the rifles carried by the pack horses first, and then take the mortar shells for supplies.

The New Second Regiment had no more 82mm mortar shells left. In the battle against half a regiment of Japanese devils, the mortar played a big role.

Before dawn the next day, Chen Chengxing brought the three infantry battalions of the New Second Regiment and the regiment's direct troops, totaling nearly 3,000 people, to Niuzhuang and joined the Third Battalion.

"Captain!" Sun Xun and several guerrilla leaders stepped forward and saluted.

Only when he saw Chen Chengxing did Sun Xun finally breathe a sigh of relief. The pressure on the entire base was extremely great, even greater than the pressure of facing the White Dogs' siege during the Long March.

There are tens of thousands of civilians in the base. Once the Eighth Route Army is forced to withdraw, these tens of thousands of people will definitely not have a good ending.

"Yeah." Chen Chengxing casually returned the greeting and asked directly: "What's the situation now?"

"After the Japanese suddenly occupied Xiaoliu Village, all the local residents were driven away. However, the Japanese did not make any movement yesterday afternoon, as if their target was Xiaoliu Village." Sun Xun said.

Xiaoliu Village belongs to the guerrilla zone, and there is a maintenance association in the village. The Japanese will not easily start a massacre in the guerrilla zone without an excuse. After all, they still have to rely on the people to grow crops for their food.

The Japanese will only be ruthless when they are unable to collect food from the base.

However, in order to allow the soldiers to have a place to sleep, the villagers were ruthlessly driven away by the Japanese. As for where the people slept, they didn't care at all.

That is to say, the weather is warm now. If it were winter, the number of villagers in Xiaoliu Village would probably be reduced by more than half.

Looking at the hung map, Chen Chengxing said, "Although the Japanese have not made any moves in Xiaoliu Village, their target is definitely Hongni Bay."

There are only three places in Dayun Mountain that are worth attacking by the Japanese: Hongniwan, Liangzhuang and Erlang Mountain. The Japanese are now on the west side of Dayun Mountain, and their target must be Hongniwan.

Now that the ultimate goal of the Japanese devils has been determined, we can take advantage of them and set up an ambush position between Xiaoliu Village and Hongni Bay to encircle and annihilate this group of Japanese devils.

"The troops will move to Tujialing to set up an ambush, then lure the enemy deep into our territory and lead them into the ambush zone," Chen Chengxing ordered.

Tujialing is 20 miles away from Xiaoliu Village. The road is narrow and the slopes are steep, which is very conducive to ambushes.

"Yes!"

Now the New Second Regiment has gathered nearly 7,000 people in this area. As long as the Japanese fall into the trap, everyone is confident that they can defeat them.

Early in the morning, Chen Chengxing led a large force to Tujialing to set up an ambush position, while Yang Hong led the soldiers of the first guerrilla squadron to appear near Xiaoliu Village and fired a cold shot at the soldiers on guard.

"Bang!" "Bang!".
As soon as the gunshots rang out, the Japanese in the village immediately rushed out of the room, put on their clothes in a disorderly manner, and took up their combat positions.

After fighting with the Japanese in the village for a few minutes, Yang Hong quickly withdrew from the battle.

A squadron of Japanese soldiers immediately chased after them.

Mizuhara Kosuke listened to the gunshots getting farther and farther away, looked at the map and ordered: "Tell the 3rd Squadron to stop pursuing after entering Tanzhuang and wait for the main force to arrive."

"Hai!"

Seeing the Japanese suddenly stop chasing in Tanzhuang, everyone was a little confused. Yang Hong led his troops forward to lure them again, but the Japanese never moved forward.

Even after the large army arrived at Tanzhuang, the Japanese had no plans to send troops.

Three miles away at Tujialing, Luo Ping looked at the movements of the Japanese and asked in surprise, "Did the Japanese discover our ambush?"

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the Japs suddenly stopped advancing.

"It's very likely, but there's no need to rush. Time is on our side. If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either. Let's see who can outlast the other." Chen Chengxing said.

The Japanese are not here for tourism, their purpose is to carry out a sweep, and as long as it is a sweep they must move forward, and then the New Second Regiment will naturally have a chance.

Just as Chen Chengxing and others were discussing the movements of the Japanese, the Japanese in Tanzhuang were also holding a meeting.

"Captain, the Eighth Route Army has been harassing us outside. This is not a long-term solution. Should we send troops to pursue them?" asked the captain of the 1st Infantry Battalion.

"No, even though the main force of the New Second Regiment is not here, the other Eighth Route Army will never let us rush to Hongni Bay so easily."

"I'm sure the Eighth Route Army will set up ambushes along the way and consume our troops layer by layer. If our army's fighting spirit disappears, the Eighth Route Army will achieve their goal," said Mizuhara Kosuke.

This is a common tactic used by the Eighth Route Army in guerrilla warfare. If the 103rd Regiment was led by the Eighth Route Army, the final outcome would be a disastrous withdrawal from Dayun Mountain.

What Mizuhara Kosuke wanted was a swift and violent attack, not breakthroughs layer by layer, which would be meaningless.

"Captain, what should we do next?" asked Kiyohiro Ozawa.

It is certain that the Eighth Route Army set an ambush, but if the troops want to attack Hongni Bay, they have to go into the mountains. There is no point in being deadlocked here.

"Haha. I've got a good idea." Mizuhara Kosuke said with confidence.

"From the terrain point of view, Tujialing is the most suitable place for ambush in this area. The Eighth Route Army must have set up an ambush position here! Order the artillery squadron to bombard Tujialing at 4 pm!" Mizuhara Kosuke ordered.

Artillery bombardment also belongs to fire reconnaissance, but the effect is much better than machine gun fire. If there is an Eighth Route Army ambush, it will inevitably be exposed under the attack of artillery.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, just when everyone in the New Second Regiment thought that the Japanese were quiet today and would not make any moves, the Japanese artillery bombardment began. "Boom!" "Boom!"
Artillery shells continued to fall on the Tujialing position, and the temporary command post of the New Second Regiment was also shaken to the ground.

"Are the Japanese going to attack?" Luo Ping said excitedly, patting the dirt off his head.

According to the Japanese procedure, the infantry should charge after the artillery bombardment. Although the Japanese were not ambushed, by utilizing the terrain of Tujialing, the New 103nd Regiment was able to knock out the rd Regiment.

"If the Japanese launch an attack, we will defeat them first, and then see whether we continue to fight or lure them deeper into our territory," said Chen Chengxing.

Chen Chengxing was unwilling to fight a positional war from the bottom of his heart. If he could not complete the annihilation, the New Second Regiment would gain nothing.

The Eighth Route Army does not have the logistical supplies that the Guo Army has. If they really want to fight a few positional battles, the New Second Regiment will have to go back to the Eighth Route Army's three-gun, hand-to-hand attacks.

The same is true even if the New Second Regiment has an arsenal, because the raw materials in the arsenal are not sufficient.

"Do you have any ideas?" Luo Ping asked.

"It's not decided yet. It depends on what the devils do."

If the Japs continue to advance cautiously and refuse to be tempted like they did today, it will be difficult for the New Second Regiment to set up a successful ambush.

However, Chen Chengxing felt that the Japanese would definitely not procrastinate like this.

Those who understand that speed is of the essence in war know that if the Japanese keep procrastinating, they will not be able to carry out a sweep of the Dayunshan area, unless they just want to get by with the job from the beginning.

However, the Japs now have a large number of large and small cannons, and it is impossible to deal with them.

Hearing the artillery fire outside gradually subside, Chen Chengxing walked out of the underground bunker, set up a telescope outside, and ordered: "The whole regiment should be ready for battle!"

However, just as the New Second Regiment was on high alert, the Japanese did not make any moves, and not even any infantry came forward to build a position.

"Captain, why are the Japanese dragging their feet?" Xu Wu on the side seemed a little confused.

The Japanese tactics have always been rigid. After the artillery bombardment, your infantry charges forward. Why don't you play by the rules?

"Something's not right." Chen Chengxing said as he looked at the motionless Tan Zhuang.

It is already half past four. If the Japanese don't hurry up and act, it will probably be dark before long. The Japanese will not easily engage in night battles.

"Correspondent!"

"Have!"

"Send a message to the reconnaissance platoon and send someone to Tanzhuang to see what the Japanese are doing!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Ma Zhiyuan led a dozen soldiers and quietly moved towards Tanzhuang.

They were very cautious along the way and scouted any place where there might be sentries or secret sentries.

However, until they approached Tanzhuang, Ma Zhiyuan and his men did not encounter any enemy.

Outside Tanzhuang, Ma Zhiyuan signaled to the three-person team next to him, asking them to go into the village to investigate, while the others were ready to provide support.

A few minutes later, a soldier came running back: "Platoon leader, something is wrong, there is no one in Tan Village!"

When Ma Zhiyuan heard the soldier's report, his mind was confused for a moment.

No one? Then where did the shells used to attack the New Second Regiment come from?
Unable to figure it out, Ma Zhiyuan led his team into Tanzhuang to see what was going on.

In Tanzhuang, Ma Zhiyuan discovered a large number of traces of the devils.

"The Japanese army definitely entered Tanzhuang, but why did they withdraw?" Ma Zhiyuan threw the can he picked up to the ground.

"Platoon leader, should we continue our reconnaissance to the west?" asked a soldier nearby.

"Continue investigating!"

We can't just let it go when the Japanese disappear. We have to understand their movements.

Ma Zhiyuan sent a soldier to inform the regiment commander, and he took the rest of the men to chase the Japanese in the direction they came from.

Mizuhara Kosuke's sudden action not only confused the New 103nd Regiment, but even the Japanese soldiers of the rd Regiment were confused.

"Captain, are we just going to retreat to Xiaoliu Village like this?" Kiyohiro Ozawa asked in confusion.

Just walking back and forth like this has no meaning for the situation on the battlefield.

"Mr. Ozawa, war is all about deception. Now the Eighth Route Army has figured out the routine of the locust army's raids. If we still follow the previous method, at most we can burn down some houses and massacre some villagers, which will have no impact on the overall situation." Mizuhara Kousuke said casually.

"Now with our retreat, the Eighth Route Army has worked in vain. They will definitely withdraw and look for another opportunity. At this time, if I make a counterattack, what do you think will happen?" Mizuhara Kosuke said with a smile.

"A counterattack? Do you mean to advance again from Tanzhuang?" Kiyohiro Ozawa understood a little.

"Sao Daisinai~~"

"The captain of the corps deserves the title of 'wise general'!" Kiyohiro Ozawa gave a thumbs up.

"Haha, Mr. Ozawa, you will lead an army in the future. You must remember that tactics are dead, but people are alive. As a commander, you must learn to adapt." Mizuhara Kousuke taught while looking in the direction of Tujialing.

"Hai! Thank you for your guidance, Captain!"

(End of this chapter)