Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 168: You have such a trivial skill, and you dare to show off in front of an expert!
Looking at the burning Hongni Bay, Luo Ping said with some distress: "The Japs can leave if they want, and stay if they want. Why are they burning the house? We haven't even started the attack yet!"

Hongniwan was built with great effort by the New Second Regiment, but the Japanese burned it down without any hesitation.

"The Japs are trying to prevent a night attack. As soon as daybreak comes, they will surely escape!" Chen Chengxing said firmly.

If the Japanese wanted to hold on, every house would be a ready-made fortification and it would be impossible for them to burn it down themselves.

"You burned down my house and you still want to run away? You're dreaming! We must let them know the rules of the New Second Regiment!"

Now Luo Ping hates this group of devils to death and decides to let them know what it means to leave no one alive.

"If the Japanese want to escape, they can either take a small road or a main road. Given Mizuhara Kosuke's cunning performance, the possibility of them taking the small road is very low. They must be escaping along the main road." Chen Chengxing said, looking at the map.

If they take the main road, the Japanese infantry can call for support from the Japanese soldiers retreating to Xiaoliu Village when necessary.

But if they take a small road, once the Japanese are blocked, there will be no one to help them.

However, although he concluded that the Japanese would escape via the main road, Chen Chengxing did not let down his guard.

"Although it is basically certain that the Japanese will take the main road, we still have to be on guard."

"Order the sixth and seventh guerrilla teams to set up an ambush at Yanzi Gorge to block the enemy's retreat path; order the first and second guerrilla teams to continue harassing the enemy at Hongni Bay and chase them as they retreat; the rest of the troops to cooperate with the third and fourth battalions to set up an ambush at Magouli and near the mountain gate."

"This is where the Japanese were buried!" Chen Chengxing said, pointing to the two villages of Magouli and Shanmenkou.

Early the next morning, Kosuke Mizuhara assembled all his troops and prepared to break out, but before breaking out he decided to do something else.

"Mr. Xiaoze, take your men to set fire to the entire Hongni Bay to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army."

Now there are so many Eighth Route Army troops on the periphery. After Hongni Bay is set on fire, it will definitely attract some of the Eighth Route Army troops to participate in the firefighting. In that way, the pressure on the 103rd Regiment will be much less.

"Hai!"

Kiyohiro Ozawa immediately led his men to set fire to the houses in Hongni Bay, and the entire Hongni Bay was engulfed in fire.

When the fire broke out in Hongni Bay, Kosuke Mizuhara led his troops to advance quickly along the road.

Looking at the entire Hongni Bay that was beginning to burn, Luo Ping gritted his teeth and made a crackling sound.

"Old Chen, these bastards are so abominable, you must not let them get away!"

"Don't worry, no one will survive!" Chen Chengxing said affirmatively.

Hongniwan is not only the result of Luo Ping's hard work, but also the result of the long-term construction of the entire New Second Regiment.

Mizuhara Kosuke led his troops on a rapid march along the road for more than an hour, but when they were about to enter the mountain gate area, they suddenly stopped.

"Pass my order, stop advancing! Change direction and break out through Yanzi Gorge!"

Kosuke Mizuhara once again showed his cunning, preparing to make a feint to the east and attack in the west to lure the snake out of its hole.

Looking at the Japanese who circled in front of the pocket formation and then suddenly changed direction, Sun Xun hurriedly called Chen Chengxing.

"Captain, something is wrong. After reaching the mountain pass, the Japanese suddenly turned north. It seems that they are going to break out through Changyu and Yanzixia! Have the Japanese discovered our ambush?!"

After hearing what Sun Xun reported, Chen Chengxing saw through Mizuhara Kosuke's trick at a glance.

"Haha. You have such a simple skill, and you dare to show off in front of an expert!"

"Captain of the Third Battalion, don't worry about what the Japanese are doing. Your mission is to stay on the battlefield and tell the soldiers that they must not be exposed without my order! If the Japanese want to take a stroll, let them do it."

"Yes!"

With Chen Chengxing's order, the soldiers on the position calmed down. They had fought so many battles and the regiment commander had never made a mistake. If the regiment commander said the Japanese would come, then the Japanese would definitely come.

Chen Chengxing's judgment was correct. After Mizuhara Kosuke led his troops along the foothills for half an hour, he suddenly turned back under the cover of the grove and returned to the main road.

"It seems that the Eighth Route Army did not ambush us. Order the troops to advance quickly and meet up with the heavy weapons troops at Xiaoliu Village!"

When Mizuhara Kosuke changed direction and took a small path, he left a secret sentry behind. In this situation, the Eighth Route Army did not come out to pursue him, which meant that there was really no ambush.

As for the Eighth Route Army that had been chasing them from Hongni Bay, it was very likely that they had been lured to Changyu by his feint.

Thinking of this, Mizuhara Kosuke felt somewhat proud. It was just a small trick, but it made the Eighth Route Army run around in a hurry.

However, at this moment, the black muzzles of guns around him were already pointing at him.

Looking at the Japanese sneaking out of the mountain den, Sun Xun smiled and said, "What the regiment commander said is true. The Japanese are back again."

Qin Sheng, who was standing by, also laughed at the returning Japanese soldiers. "Well, these Japanese soldiers are so good at this, and they dare to show off in front of the regiment commander. Isn't that like showing off in front of Guan Gong? It might be better to let them take a walk."

As he spoke, Qin Sheng signaled to the soldiers next to him, asking them to get ready and be prepared to open fire at any time.

Mizuhara Kosuke was riding on his horse, looking at the surrounding terrain, and said to Ozawa Kiyohiro with some pride: "Ozawa-kun, it's ridiculous that the Eighth Route Army is so reckless!"

"Look at this place, the terrain is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. We only need to deploy a battalion of troops to block the entire road. If we send another battalion to block the mountain pass we just passed, this place will immediately become a hopeless situation."

"If we are trapped in it, no matter how many troops we have, we will lose the power to fight back."

"It's a pity that the Eighth Route Army has already missed the opportunity. Even if they change direction and chase us now, they can only eat dirt behind us."

Mizuhara Kosuke was very proud of how he used erratic marching to trick the Eighth Route Army.

However, what he didn't know was that under the command of Chen Chengxing, except for the guerrilla team one and team two who followed the Japanese, the other troops stayed where they were and did not move, waiting for the Japanese to come to them.

By ten o'clock in the morning, all the Japanese troops had entered the Magouli and Shanmenkou areas.

The fighters from the Third Battalion, the Fourth Battalion and the guerrillas, who had been well prepared, opened fire the moment the flare was launched.

"Da da da".
"Boom!" "Boom!".
The moment the gunshot rang out, Kosuke Mizuhara was pulled off his horse by the guards nearby.

"dispersion!"

"Covering fire!"

"The troops turn east!" Mizuhara Kosuke had no intention of being stubborn, and did not care about the embarrassment of dismounting in a hurry, and immediately gave the order to turn around.

Just as he said just now, the terrain here is extremely unfavorable for the ambushed 103rd Regiment. Only by leaving the mountain pass immediately can they regain the favorable terrain for defense.

If we fight the Eighth Route Army here, 8 lives won't be enough.

Kosuke Mizuhara led his team out of the ambush circle in a hail of bullets and fled frantically towards the mountain gate.

However, when the 103rd Regiment made a feint and tried to break out along the main road again, the guerrilla squads one and two following behind had already occupied the high ground east of the mountain gate, completely blocking the enemy's retreat.

"Hello! Regimental headquarters? The Japanese have been blocked!"

"Yes, surround them from all sides! The Japanese can't escape now!"

Chen Chengxing took the phone from the combat staff and ordered: "Third Battalion Commander, launch an attack on the Japanese immediately! But don't be in a hurry, gradually reduce the Japanese's activity space. Use more mortars to attack the Japanese's firepower points!"

Although the Japanese only had 1300 people this time and did not bring any artillery, they brought 24 heavy machine guns. If the New Second Regiment was eager to attack, there would inevitably be heavy casualties.

Now that the meal is in the pot, there is naturally no need for the New Second Regiment to rush. As long as the Japanese support forces cannot break through Tujialing, no one in the Japanese 103rd Regiment will survive.

Kosuke Mizuhara was a little panicked because his retreat was blocked. This was far beyond his expectations.

"Captain, what should we do now? Should we order the troops to attack?" Kiyohiro Ozawa asked anxiously.

After hearing what Ozawa Kiyohiro said, Mizuhara Kosuke came back to his senses: "Yes, yes, yes, attack, attack now!"

"Order the First Battalion to launch an immediate assault! Open the exit for the troops!"

"Gather all the grenade launchers, divide them into two teams, and prepare for artillery support!"

Although the 103rd Regiment did not bring infantry artillery and baggage this time, each squad still had a grenade launcher and 16 grenades.

As long as the grenade launchers are concentrated together, they will immediately form a small artillery group that can provide the necessary artillery support.

"Hai!"

All the Japanese soldiers of the 103rd Regiment knew that they were in extreme danger, so they acted very quickly and completed all preparations in just a few minutes.

"Kill the chicken for me!" The captain of the Japanese first battalion drew out his command knife and shouted.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
The Japanese heavy machine guns immediately opened fire, and at the same time the well-prepared grenade launcher team also launched a wave of artillery attacks.

Although time was tight for the guerrilla teams one and two, they still set up a barbed wire fence in front of their position.

Before the Japanese infantry charge, they must create a gap in the barbed wire.

This is because the New Second Regiment was poor. The barbed wire they captured was not enough to maintain several positions at the same time.

If we follow the standards, the first line of defense should be formed by two to three layers of barbed wire combined with mines.

If it was a standard position, even if the Japanese grenade launchers used up all their shells, they would not be able to break through the barbed wire blockade.

(This was standard trench warfare fortification, which forced out tanks and large-caliber heavy artillery.)
After the grenade launcher completed the first wave of fire, the Japanese captain immediately shouted to the infantry: "Tai Ci, give it!"

The Japs of the 1st Squadron immediately dispersed in a skirmish line and launched an attack forward.

Although the guerrillas can also enjoy the bonus of Chen Chengxing's characteristics, their combat effectiveness is still not as good as the four main battalions, not to mention that their equipment is still a long way behind. Therefore, they can only let the Japanese within 4 meters before opening fire.

"Comrades! Fight!"

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
The guerrillas do not have heavy weapons, but each guerrilla battalion has a lot of Type 99 rifles, so their firepower is not weak in a short period of time.

A Type 99 rifle that uses a special reduced-charge rifle and fires in short bursts can still maintain firepower for a period of time.

Moreover, due to the shortage of ammunition, the high precision of the Type 99 rifle actually gives the guerrillas an advantage.

When the Japanese rushed to within 50 meters, the soldiers used grenades to hit them hard.

Although the guerrillas were short of firearms, they had enough explosives such as grenades and mines, and the guerrilla fighters could also make their own black powder explosives and mines.

The soldiers had already buried mines in front of the position, and would take turns pulling the trigger when the Japanese rushed up.

Using grenades and mines, the soldiers resisted the enemy's heavy machine guns and grenade launchers and repelled several attacks.

Looking at the 3rd Squadron retreating again, Mizuhara Kosuke's face became increasingly ugly.

But as if it weren't raining, before Mizuhara Kosuke could come up with any solution, Ozawa Kiyohiro came running to report: "Captain, the Eighth Route Army is surrounding us in large numbers. The 4th and 5th squadrons defending the perimeter have suffered heavy casualties. I'm afraid they can't hold on!"

"Baka." Mizuhara Kosuke looked at the Eighth Route Army surrounding him, his face almost turning black.

This time he only brought 6 infantry squadrons and 2 machine gun squadrons, and his manpower was already a little stretched.

“命令步兵第1第2中队支援4中队和5中队，第3中队和第6中队对山门口高地再次展开进攻！”水原康介命令道。

If it weren't for the fact that it was impossible to deploy too many troops on the high ground at the entrance of the mountain, Mizuhara Kosuke would have wanted to send his entire army forward and complete the breakthrough in one wave.

But now he could only attack one squadron at a time, and even so, a squadron of soldiers had to be divided into three waves, and they could not attack at the same time.

By 4 p.m., the Japanese troops on the periphery were completely defeated, and Mizuhara Kosuke had no choice but to stop the attack and withdraw all his troops to the two villages of Magouli and Shanmenkou.

"Send a telegram to the Taiyuan Headquarters immediately! Request for quick support!" Mizuhara Kosuke knew that he was in a desperate situation now. The troops from Xiaoliu Village alone could not save him. He must have infantry to cooperate with Xiaoliu Village's heavy weapons troops to attack together.

"Ha!" The telegraph soldier immediately took out the code book and began to write the telegram.

Seeing that the telegraph soldiers were still checking the codes one by one, Mizuhara Kosuke shouted angrily: "Damn it! What time is it now? Send the message immediately! Send it in clear code!"

I was asking for help, so what if the Eighth Route Army knew about it? If I changed the message to code, would the Eighth Route Army not know that I had besieged the 103rd Regiment?

"Hai!"

A clear coded telegram was sent from the mountain gate to the outside world.

(End of this chapter)