Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 198 Our 358th Regiment also has a cavalry battalion

Along the way, Chen Chengxing deliberately controlled the speed of the New Second Regiment.

When we arrived at Dongming Village, which is the closest village to Wanjia Town, it was exactly 9 o'clock in the evening.

"Second Battalion Commander, Third Battalion Commander, you two take your troops and continue on your journey. I will lead the first battalion to Wanjia Town and then quickly catch up with you." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Captain, let's walk slower so we can take a break," said Sun Xun.

"It's all right. It won't take us long." Chen Chengxing said casually.

Dongming Village is less than 10 miles away from Wanjia Town. With the combat effectiveness of a battalion, it can definitely catch up with the main force within 2 hours.

After dividing the troops in Dongming Village, Chen Chengxing led one battalion and sneaked quietly to Wanjia Town, while the rest of the troops continued to advance.

Half an hour later, outside Wanjia Town, Chen Chengxing held up a telescope and asked, "Xu Wu, did you remember what I told you on the way?"

It was precisely because the Eighth Route Army had never initiated an attack that the sudden outbreak of the Hundred Regiments Campaign caught the Japanese off guard. Chen Chengxing certainly could not let the Japanese be alerted in advance, so he decided to pass on the blame.

"Captain, don't worry. I've memorized everything and explained it to my comrades." Xu Wu nodded. He had already practiced it secretly and was afraid that he would be exposed.

"Okay, the troops will rush into Wanjia Town from the north gate. Divide the first company into three and be responsible for blocking the other three gates. Don't let my horse escape." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!" Xu Wu said, turned around and waved his hand, and began to move his troops forward.

Chen Chengxing thought for a moment and ordered, "Lu Ze, lead a platoon forward to join the attack and try out the new guns."

Since the development of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, one platoon of the guard company has completed the replacement of the rifle. However, due to the shortage of ammunition, although the soldiers have received training, they have not actually fought on the battlefield.

Although this semi-automatic rifle is considered an eternal classic, Chen Chengxing has no idea whether the Erlangdong Arsenal can replicate it.

“By the way, after the shooting, pick up all the bullet shells for me,” Chen Chengxing added.

The production of intermediate-power bullets is slow, which means that the gun has to use a large number of reloaded bullets. Therefore, not a single shell can be wasted, and it is also necessary to try to avoid being discovered by the enemy.

"yes!".
After all the troops were in place, Chen Chengxing waved his hand to the side, and Wang Chengzhu, who had already set up the artillery, fired a test shell.

"boom!"

One has to admire Wang Chengzhu's ability. Even at night, and with the first shell, he destroyed the Japanese machine gun fire point set up at the east gate.

How much ammunition can be saved in the future?

The sound of artillery fire was an order. Xu Wu immediately led his team to launch an attack, with the first row of the guard company rushing in the front.

In Wanjia Town, Ma Zhifei, the commander of the cavalry battalion, who was sleeping with his concubine in his arms, suddenly jumped up.
"What's going on?!" Ma Zhifei rushed out without even having time to put on his clothes. He had already heard shouts and fierce gunfire.

"Battalion Commander, it's bad. The Eighth Route Army has broken in from outside! There are thousands of them!" Adjutant Liu Ma ran over.

"How many?" Ma Zhifei thought he had heard wrongly. There were indeed guerrillas from the Eighth Route Army in this area, but there were only a dozen or so of them. How could there be thousands of them!

"There must be at least several thousand people, and hundreds of machine guns alone!" Liu Ma said anxiously.

According to their understanding of the Eighth Route Army, if a platoon of the Eighth Route Army had one light machine gun, it would be considered a main force. One hundred machine guns would require at least three to four thousand people!
"Damn, how did so many Eighth Route Army soldiers appear in Wanjia Town? Are those artillery towers blind?!" Ma Zhifei said angrily.

His cavalry battalion has only about 300 people. If it had speed, it could have fought off the Eighth Route Army. But now the horses are all in the stables, without even saddles. How can he fight against the 3,000 Eighth Route Army?
"Captain, what should we do now?!"

"Pass my order first and let the brothers use the street corner for defense. I will call for support!" Ma Zhifei said and ran to the office.

After entering the room, Ma Zhifei didn't even bother to turn on the light. He ran to the phone in the dark, picked up the phone and started shaking it frantically.

"Hello? Brigade Commander? I'm Ma Zhifei! Wanjia Town is under attack by the Eighth Route Army!"

"How many people are there? There are already 7,000 or 8,000 exposed! There are countless light and heavy machine guns, and four or five small cannons! We are now using fortifications to fight back, but I'm afraid we can't hold out for much longer!"

"Ma Zhifei! I tell you, no matter what, you must keep my horses!" shouted Tan Dake, the commander of the 8th Mixed Brigade of the Locust Association Army. These horses were his treasures.

The Japanese army is now undergoing a mechanization reform, and many cavalry have been transformed into mechanized units, so a lot of horses have been eliminated. He begged and pleaded for help to get this battalion of Japanese horses. If he lost them, he would cry to death.

"Brigade Commander! This...this..." Ma Zhifei was speechless. If I could block it, why would I make this call?
"I will call the Japanese to ask for support immediately. All you have to do is hold out until dawn!"

"."

Hearing the call being hung up, Ma Zhifei was unable to utter a word.

Not to mention holding out until dawn, even if he could hold out for 2 hours, Ma Zhifei would be considered a famous general of the time.

At this time, Liu Ma also came in from outside. After lighting the kerosene lamp, Liu Ma asked, "Captain, how is it? When will the reinforcements arrive?"

"Arrive? Arrive!" Ma Zhifei said unhappily, "The brigade commander told us to hold out until dawn!"

"What?!" Liu Ma was shocked. Dawn? Did the brigade commander drink too much? If they had this ability, they would not have been a security corps in the first place, and they would not be traitors now.

"Damn it, never mind, let's go first!" Ma Zhifei said gritting his teeth.

"I'll prepare it right away!" Liu Ma ran out in a hurry.

There are always several spare horses in the camp headquarters. In case of emergency military information, they can be transmitted directly on horseback. Now they have become their life-saving straw.

Ma Zhifei, along with Liu Ma and several guards, rode straight to the South Gate, preparing to escape from there.

Who would have thought that as soon as the door was opened, the sound of light machine gun fire was heard outside. The guard who opened the door was shot dead on the spot.

"Fuck! The Eighth Route Army has blocked the entire Wanjia Town!" Ma Zhifei said in horror.

"Battalion Commander, why don't we charge at the same time?" Liu Ma suggested.

At this gate, a light machine gun is enough to complete the blockade. If you want to break through, you have to fight for your life, and then see who has the longer luck.

"Why are you rushing? Go back!" Ma Zhifei had not made up his mind yet, but Liu Ma's words made up his mind for him.

If they all charged at the same time, I, as the battalion commander, would suffer the most. If I died, I would become cannon fodder.

If we go back now and surrender voluntarily, we might end up well. After all, the Eighth Route Army never kills prisoners.

"Yes!" The soldiers next to him also breathed a sigh of relief. They were also afraid of death.

Moreover, if they surrendered, as long as the battalion commander was fine, they, the ordinary soldiers, would be even safer.

As the puppet army voluntarily gave up resistance, the first battalion quickly took control of the entire Wanjia Town.

A few minutes later, Chen Chengxing also led his team in.

Chen Chengxing winked at Xu Wu and said, "Chief of Staff Fang, what's the situation?"

"Report to the commander, all the war horses have been captured, not a single one is missing!"

"Great! We also have a cavalry battalion in the 358th Regiment!"

The two men didn't speak loudly, but it was just loud enough for Ma Zhifei and others who were squatting in the front to hear.

Ma Zhifei and Liu Ma both knew that the 358th Regiment was the strongest force in the vicinity, with a total of 5000 people.

Ma Zhifei and Liu Ma looked at each other and saw sudden enlightenment in each other's eyes.

Right, all right!

Damn, I knew the Eighth Route Army didn't have such firepower. It turns out that you, the 358th Regiment, are pretending to be the Eighth Route Army! The acting is quite realistic!

If you have this talent, why don't you go to Shanghai to make a movie? !
Chen Chengxing looked at the people who had buried their heads even lower, and knew that they had already imagined everything.

"Chief of Staff Fang, strip these people of their clothes and lock them in the stable. Let's retreat!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

Cavalry focuses on surprise attacks, and there is no easier way to conduct a surprise attack than by disguising themselves as puppet troops.

When ordered to take off their clothes, none of the puppet cavalrymen dared to say anything. They all took the initiative to take off their clothes, leaving only their shirts, and then shivered with cold.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Chengxing quickly evacuated Wanjia Town with the spoils and chased after the main force of the New Second Regiment. After a forced march, it took him only one hour to catch up with the main force, and then the First Battalion quietly merged into the main force.

Ma Zhifei in the stable breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the 358th Regiment had finally left, and then sat down.

"Battalion Commander, what should we do? Should we call the brigade commander to report the situation?" Liu Ma asked tremblingly, hugging his arms.

After thinking it over carefully, Ma Zhifei decided that it would be better not to make the call. If the brigade commander knew that he had surrendered without any resistance and his horse and gun had been taken away, he would probably order his execution immediately.

"Adjutant Liu, tell the brothers to keep their mouths shut. If the brigade commander knows the truth, none of us will survive!"

"Also, tell everyone about the situation of the 358th Regiment. Tell everyone that it was the 358th Regiment who did it." Ma Zhifei instructed.

It is better to be defeated by the 358th Regiment than by the Eighth Route Army. There are simply not many Eighth Route Army soldiers in this area. The brigade commander can easily judge that the seven or eight thousand people he mentioned before were nonsense. If he finds out that there were only six or seven hundred Eighth Route Army soldiers who rushed in, he would probably die.

But if it is the 358th Regiment, it is different. Late at night, it is difficult to distinguish between 5 people and or people.

"Yes!"

Liu Ma was also afraid that the brigade commander would get angry and kill them. After all, he, the adjutant, and the battalion commander were one and the same, and they would probably die together.

The next day, the Japanese and puppet troops rushed to Wanjia Town and found the cavalry battalion's troops in the stable.

Looking at the huddled soldiers, Tan Dake gritted his teeth and said, "Where are the Eighth Route Army?!"

"Brigade Commander! You have to make the decision for us. That is not the Eighth Route Army at all!" Ma Zhifei cried.

"Not the Eighth Route Army?"

"It was the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army! They pretended to be the Eighth Route Army to attack us! I heard everything they whispered!" Ma Zhifei said firmly.

"That's right, I also heard people talking about the 358th Regiment!" Liu Ma on the side echoed.

"I heard it too."

"Me too.".
Tan Da, who was still a little unsure at first, saw that so many people were sure that it was the 358th Regiment, and he couldn't help but believe what they said.

"The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is going too far!" Tan Dake said angrily, "This is the territory of the 321st Regiment. Why did the 358th Regiment come here? I will never let them off!"

Tan Dake also understood the reason why the 358th Regiment was in disguise. It must be because it was difficult to explain to the 321st Regiment, and they could also put the blame on the Eighth Route Army.

358th Regiment, so cunning!
(End of this chapter)