Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 184 Test the waters

As early as when Ishimura Tomoki was besieged, Nara Yukio received a telegram asking for help.

Yukio Nara immediately ordered the second, third, and fifth battalions to stop the mopping-up operation. Except for leaving some troops to guard the stronghold, all other troops were to move eastward along the highway. At the same time, he ordered the fourth battalion, which was closest to Yanwei Cliff, to provide support.

However, the Fourth Battalion was more than 50 miles away from Yanwei Cliff. If it were a plain, it would be easy, but marching in the mountains was completely different. The pace was slow, and the guerrillas were constantly harassing them.

The Japanese Fourth Battalion did not arrive at the battlefield until Ishimura Tomoki was completely wiped out, and was even still a long distance away from Baigou Gate.

Upon learning that Ishimura Tomoki's entire army had been wiped out, Nara Yukio jumped up immediately.

"Damn it! How could Ishimura be completely wiped out!" Nara Yukio felt worse than if his father had died.

Tomoki Ishimura is not an ordinary chief of staff. Because he is about to be promoted, Tomoki Ishimura will take over his position as brigade commander. That's why Yukio Nara asked him to lead the team to go on a mopping-up operation. He originally wanted to improve his battle record, but ended up killing all the people.

It doesn't matter if Ishimura Tomoki dies. His chances of being promoted to Lieutenant General Tianhuang's aide-de-camp will be greatly reduced. How can he make progress in the future? How can he become a general? How can he become a marshal?
"Revenge! I want to avenge Colonel Ishimura!"

"Everyone, gather in Wuyi County as quickly as possible!"

Nara Yukio had been working for this Heavenly Locust aide-de-camp for a long time, and he couldn't believe what would happen if he failed.

If he could kill this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers now, he would still have a chance to shut up his competitors. After all, those guys’ backgrounds were no weaker than his own.

If they fail to get rid of this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers, the position of General Tianhuang's aide-de-camp will probably fall to someone else.

At the temporary headquarters of the New Second Regiment, Luo Ping brought in a telegram.

"Old Chen, the brigade commander agreed, and also sent the New 316st Regiment, the Independent Regiment, and the th Regiment of the Temporary st Division to support us."

"The brigade commander's appetite is bigger than mine." Chen Chengxing looked at the telegram and laughed.

The combined strength of the New 316st Regiment, the Independent Regiment and the th Regiment is as many as five to six thousand people, and they are all main forces. Add to that the strength of the New nd Regiment, and the Japanese will suffer heavy losses if they are not careful.

As for the real-time report that followed, Chen Chengxing didn't care about it. He believed that the brigade commander was not a master of micro-control and would definitely not be able to move the machine gun five meters to the left.

Otherwise, the New Second Regiment's telegram would most likely be damaged at the critical moment, after all, the Japanese's radio has always been prone to problems.

"What about now?"

"Retreat first and move to the southwest." Chen Chengxing said.

Since we are going to have a big fight, we must find a suitable place, at least one that can accommodate so many devils.

Just as Chen Chengxing made the decision, the system's voice rang.

[Side quest released: Independent 3rd Mixed Brigade. ]

[Mission objective: Repel/annihilate the Japanese Army's Third Independent Mixed Brigade.]

[Quest Reward: 0-5 skill points (depending on the battle results).]

"It's finally here." Chen Chengxing said secretly after glancing at the system.

Ever since the completion of the regiment-level main mission, the small-scale Japanese side mission has never been triggered again. Chen Chengxing is sure that the system has been secretly upgraded.

Now there is finally a mission again, and the reward is quite a lot of skill points. If I do well, the tactical command should be able to be upgraded.

With his current level, Chen Chengxing can predict some of the Japanese's actions, and in the future he may be able to predict the Japanese's predictions.

In the Zhongyun Mountains, which is not so geographically important, large numbers of troops began to gather at two locations, one in the east and one in the west.

For a moment, there was a feeling of turbulence.

A day later, the Japanese completed their assembly in Wuyi County and immediately set out, preparing to enter the mountains from Dingjun Ridge and then go through Mafang to Yanziya.

In order to increase speed, the Japs didn't even bring the Locust Army this time.

The liaison officer in Wuyi County also delivered the information as soon as possible.

In the meeting room, everyone's faces were somewhat solemn. Although they had known that the Japanese would start a war, they were still a little surprised when the time came. According to the intelligence sent by the liaison, the Japanese mobilized four infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and a large number of baggage, engineers and other personnel.

"The Japanese Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade has come out in full force this time. Should we continue to retreat?" Luo Ping looked at Chen Chengxing.

The supporting regiments have not arrived yet. The nearest 316th Regiment will arrive in this area tonight, and the New st Regiment and the Independent Regiment will not arrive until tomorrow night at the earliest.

It was still a bit difficult for the New Second Regiment to fight against a brigade of Japanese invaders on its own.

Although the mixed brigade has fewer troops than the infantry brigade, its heavy firepower has been greatly enhanced, and it can be considered a miniature division.

"Don't worry. The Japanese soldiers in Dingjun Ridge not only did not retreat, but have begun to advance again. This means that the 3rd Mixed Brigade will definitely go through Dingjun Ridge and then turn to Yanwei Cliff." Chen Chengxing did not agree with Luo Ping's proposal to retreat again.

The scouts had reported long ago that after leaving the Locust Association Army to garrison, Toyama Ryotaro had already begun to advance with more than 400 Japanese soldiers.

"This mountain road is more than a hundred miles long. All the regiments should be in place before the Japanese reach Yanwei Cliff." Chen Chengxing said.

The best location to ambush the Japanese has been determined. It is Laoyeling, 5 kilometers away from the temporary command post. The terrain here is steep. Once the Japanese enter here, they will be skinned alive if they don't die.

If you retreat at this time, it will be difficult to find a suitable position.

Once they lose the advantage of terrain, it is unknown what price these four regiments will have to pay in order to deal a severe blow to the Japanese Third Mixed Brigade.

Moreover, except for the New 2nd Regiment which has a radio station to contact superiors, the rest of the assembled troops all rely on human communication. The Japanese may even take advantage of the time difference to defeat Chen Chengxing one by one, which would be a case of losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken.

"So what are your plans now?" Luo Ping asked.

The rest of the people also turned their eyes to Chen Chengxing. Waiting all the time was not the style of the New Second Regiment.

"According to intelligence, the Japanese are still using the old tactic of 'divide and conquer' this time. At their current speed, this vanguard unit will arrive at Mafang in the evening and will march towards Yanwei Cliff again the next day.

The 316th Regiment should be here by the evening, so we can test them first." Chen Chengxing pointed his pencil at the location of the Japanese vanguard on the map.

Although the Japanese troops had trucks to transport supplies, the mountain roads were rugged and difficult to travel on, so the Japanese could not move fast.

If the New 316nd Regiment and the th Regiment were fast enough and could leave after the battle, the Japanese would not be able to catch up with them.

Luo Ping thought about it and felt that he could give it a try. Even if it failed, there would be no loss. One or two large battalions of troops could not do anything to the New Second Regiment. As long as they wanted to leave, they could withdraw from the battle at any time and hide in the ravine. The Japanese would not dare to send troops to pursue them.

"Captain, please give the orders." Seeing that the political commissar also agreed, everyone volunteered.

"There's nothing much to say about this. Just attack directly." Chen Chengxing said.

Although Mafang is nominally a town, it is just a larger village without even a wall.

The main combat forces of the New 316nd Regiment and the th Regiment are at least ten times larger than the Japanese. With such an absolute advantage, any tactics are meaningless; just attack directly.

In the evening, Chen Chengxing met the 316th Regiment that came to support him at Taojiawan, west of Mafang.

"Captain Zhang, thank you for coming to support us." Chen Chengxing stepped forward and shook the hand of Zhang Yong, commander of the 316th Regiment.

"Captain Chen, you are too polite. We are friendly forces. As long as we fight the Japanese, we will do our best to help. Just make the arrangements." Zhang Yong said affirmatively.

The Shanxi New Army was jointly established by Yan Xishan and the Red Party to fight against the Japanese invaders. As long as it was about fighting the Japanese invaders, they would help out.

The situation was made clear in the telegram sent during the departure. The nominal commander of this battle was Chen's brigade, but in reality, Chen Chengxing, the commander of the New Second Regiment, was in charge of the on-site command.

"Captain Zhang, the 316th Regiment will be responsible for launching the attack from the west. I have already made arrangements for the other three sides." Chen Chengxing said as he took Zhang Yong to the map.

The 316th Regiment used the organization of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, so it had only 1500 troops, which was enough to complete a encirclement on one side. In this way, Chen Chengxing could withdraw half of the guerrillas as reserve forces.

Once we launch a siege, the Japanese will either break through or hold their ground and ask for help. No matter what they choose, we must have troops ready.

"No problem, I will lead the team to the east side of Mafang now." Zhang Yong nodded.

The Japanese haven't arrived yet, so the New 316nd Regiment and the th Regiment are hiding in the outer mountainous areas and will not launch the offensive until dark.

(End of this chapter)