Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 202: Dedicated to duty? That would make you an Eighth Route Army soldier.
After Chen Chengxing returned to Hongniwan, he immediately met with Luo Ping to discuss how to deal with the Japanese's actions.

"Old Chen, according to the latest intelligence, construction has already begun at both ends, and they have already repaired several kilometers each. The county brigade has exchanged fire with the Japanese many times, but the effect is not great. The Japanese guards are very strong."

"We have to make plans early." Luo Ping said.

This road is very important to the Japanese. Once repaired, it can be used to transport troops and supplies, and then directly attack the hinterland of the New Second Regiment.

"We can't let the Japanese build this road so easily. Once the Wu'an Highway is opened, it will be like cutting us in half, easily dividing our base into two parts, north and south." Chen Chengxing affirmed.

When the Hundred Regiments Campaign came, Chen Chengxing still wanted to lead the New Second Regiment to fight a great battle. If they were blocked by the Japanese, the mobilization of the troops would be a hassle.

"Now the Japanese in Wuyi have reached Yaotou Village. If we want to fight, we must act quickly. Otherwise, when the road from Yaotou Village to Wuyi County is repaired, the Japanese will definitely move westward. Once they build strongholds at the important passes of Wuliguan, Tasi Town, and Zhangjiahui, we will be passive." Luo Ping said seriously.

The Japanese always built roads in sections, and would first occupy important nodes such as bridges and passes, and then connect them together, connecting the points into lines, and then expanding the lines into areas, thereby forcing the main force of the Eighth Route Army to engage in a decisive battle with them.

"Then fight! If he dares to come out, we will beat him!" Chen Chengxing said firmly that Wuan Highway must not be repaired this year.

In the eyes of the Japanese, Wu'an Highway was like a sword, which could cut the New Second Regiment in half when wielded.

But in Chen Chengxing's view, Wu'an Highway is like the enemy's aorta. As long as they grab it, they can cause the enemy to continue to lose blood.

If it wasn't for the wrong timing, Chen Chengxing would not have paid any attention to the Japanese road construction efforts. The Japanese did not have as strong industrial capabilities as those in Europe, and could not produce enough reinforced concrete. As long as they had infantry guns and mountain guns in hand, the New Second Regiment could take the Japanese artillery towers and strongholds if they wanted.

"It's easier to fight than to say it's easy. The main thing is how to fight. Yaotou Village is at a crossroads. There are not only strongholds all around it, but Wuyi County, Xinkou and Taigu are all within 50 kilometers. Once the fighting starts, it can easily become a decisive battle of the main force." Luo Ping said.

Once the battle of Yaotou Village breaks out, the surrounding Japanese will certainly give their full support, but the New Second Regiment is too weak. Once a decisive battle is fought, the New Second Regiment will not be able to withstand the consumption. The final result will definitely be that the remaining soldiers will retreat back into the mountains, without the strength to fight back.

"If we want to attack Yaotou Village, we must be prepared to fight for reinforcements. The first thing we need to do is to find out the garrison situation of the Japanese in various places." Chen Chengxing said.

"I'll take care of this. I'll communicate with local comrades and let the underground workers confirm the specific information." Luo Ping took the initiative to take over the task.

"Okay, then I will take the third battalion and first defeat the troops sent by Anqiu in the west to prevent them from stabbing us in the back." Chen Chengxing said.

To attack Yaotou Village, most of the troops of the New Second Regiment would have to be mobilized, so what we had to avoid was fighting on two fronts.

In order to support the plan of the Third Mixed Brigade of Wuyi County, Anqiu sent out a mixed road protection team composed of Japanese soldiers and security forces.

At the same time, he ordered the Anqiu City Detective Team to protect the road construction team and supervise the more than a thousand workers brought by the chairman of the maintenance association.

While the Japanese and puppet troops were acting arrogantly, Chen Chengxing had already quietly moved the third battalion to the vicinity of Caotouling.

"Commander, according to investigation, Anqiu City has sent an infantry company and more than 200 puppet troops, who are now stationed on the hillside of Caotouling. The road construction team at the foot of the mountain is supervised by only dozens of traitors from the detective team." The third battalion commander lay on the hillside and reported to Chen Chengxing in a low voice.

The workers of the road construction team are all recorded, and the president of the maintenance association is responsible for organization. No one dares to run away at will. Once they run away, their families will inevitably suffer.

"Halfway up the mountain? The Japanese are too timid." Chen Chengxing turned the telescope.

The reason why the Japanese railway protection team set up their base halfway up the mountain was definitely because they were afraid of attacks from the Eighth Route Army. During the road construction process, they must have been shot by the county brigade many times.

"Although the Japanese have built barracks and fortifications, they have not formed a stronghold. I will lead the team to launch a night attack tonight, and we will definitely be able to win the battle in one go," said Sun Xun.

"This is not how you fight a war. The Japs are defending in a high-altitude area. If we attack them forcefully, we will be at a great disadvantage." Chen Chengxing did not agree to Sun Xun's request.

Although the Japanese road protection team had only about 400 people, and the First Battalion could definitely take them down with its strength, the Japanese had already occupied the advantageous terrain. Even if the Third Battalion had the advantage of heavy machine guns and mortars, a strong attack would inevitably result in considerable casualties, which was unacceptable to Chen Chengxing.

However, the upper half of Caotouling is quite steep. In addition, the Japanese wanted to prevent the road construction team from being hijacked by the Eighth Route Army, so they did not set up their position on the top of the mountain. This gave the New Second Regiment an opportunity.

"We must launch a night attack, but if we want to take down this group of devils, we have to attack them from both sides," said Chen Chengxing.

"Third Battalion Commander, you lead the 9th and 10th companies to climb the mountain from the north side of Caotouling. After crossing the top of the mountain, go down from the south to the middle of the mountain slope and attack the back of the Japanese camp at night."

"I will lead the 11th and 12th companies to capture the road construction team, and cooperate with you to attack the Japanese troops from both sides." Chen Chengxing ordered.

No matter when, it is always advantageous to attack from a high position. As long as you can occupy the advantage of the high ground, it will be difficult for the Japanese and puppet troops halfway up the mountain to defend.

As long as the Japanese leave the bunker, the two troops of the Third Battalion will be able to cooperate with each other to form a pincer attack, and the Japanese will be caught in a dilemma.

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, as soon as it got dark, Sun Xun led the 9th and 10th companies to take a detour and arrive at the north of Caotouling.

The northern slope of Caotouling is very steep. It is not only rugged and dangerous, but also has no road. This is the main reason why the Japanese were relaxed and careless.

However, the Japanese were not unprepared. According to the order of the Japanese squadron leader, the security team was to send people to guard the top of the mountain.

However, the southern slope of Caotouling is not that flat, and the weather is very cold now, especially at night, when the cold wind penetrates deep into the bone marrow. No one goes to the guard post arranged by Huang Jinbiao, and everyone stays in the barracks gambling and drinking.

"Brother, is it okay for us to just ignore the Japanese orders?" Adjutant Ma Yong poured a glass of wine for Huang Jinbiao and asked.

Although Huang Jinbiao arranged guard posts according to the Japanese orders, he did not carry out the mission at all. Even those who were assigned to stand guard did not know when they should go.

"Oh, it's okay!" Huang Jinbiao said indifferently.

"I don't know the Eighth Route Army, but I also know my brothers. Is there anyone among them who can stand on the top of the mountain for a night? If there is, I will give him the seat of captain."

Huang Jinbiao knew too much about these people in the security team. After all, he recruited them. These guys were addicted to eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and none of them knew how to perform their duties.

Ma Yong thought about it and realized that what the captain said was true. In such a cold day, instead of drinking in the barracks, he went outside to drink in the northwest wind. Isn't this like an Eighth Route Army soldier?

If you want to be a traitor, you have to act like a traitor. If you are so competent, not only the security forces but even the Japanese will not tolerate you.

Ma Yong lifted the lid of the pot on the stove, took a look, and then forgot about the sentry. He raised his glass and said, "Captain, the dog meat is ready. I toast you!"

"Hmm, it smells so good! If you roll the dog meat three times, even gods can't sit still. Let's go!" Huang Jinbiao picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

While Huang Jinbiao was eating and drinking, Sun Xun finally led the 9th and 10th companies to climb to the top of the mountain after untold hardships.

During the journey, someone fell down the hillside, but even though his leg was broken, he didn't make a single groan.

After checking his watch and seeing that there was still time, Sun Xun signaled the soldiers to assist the artillery and machine gun platoons below to pull up the mortars and heavy machine guns. This was not an easy task. The 60mm mortar was not a big deal, as both the gun and the shells were not very heavy, but the Type 92 heavy machine gun was different. Even an empty gun without a gun mount weighed nearly 28 kilograms, which was 60 kilograms heavier than the entire 11mm mortar.

The soldiers took a lot of effort to pull up a platoon of artillery, and as for the heavy machine guns, they only managed to bring up two in the end.

However, a lot of artillery shells and bullets were brought up. After all, for heavy machine guns and mortars, ammunition is the most important thing.

"Build artillery and heavy machine gun positions immediately, and the rest of the people move forward." Sun Xun ordered. It was already 12 o'clock and they couldn't wait any longer.

After receiving the order, the soldiers quietly slid down the hillside and quickly surrounded the Japanese base.

Sun Xun took out his signal gun, but this time he did not aim at the air. Instead, he shot at the Japanese barracks 50 meters away.

The sentry standing guard in the barracks looked at the roof of the barracks that was set on fire by the flare and shouted, "Fuck! Who the hell flicked the cigarette butt onto the roof!"

"It's on fire! Come and put it out!"

Hearing the sentry outside yelling, Huang Jinbiao ran out with his clothes on: "What the hell are you yelling about? It's just a fire, isn't it? It turns out that the queen is feeling cold and wants to warm herself by the fire!"

The barracks built by the Japanese on Caotouling were very sturdy. Although the signal flares caused a fire, the fire was small and showed no tendency to spread.

Before the people around him could breathe a sigh of relief, the Japanese squadron leader, Horiguchi Kiri, who came out, recognized at a glance that it was a flare.

"Damn! There are enemies!" Horiguchi Kiri shouted.

But before anyone could react, the shells had already fallen from the sky.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
Now there was no need to shout, everyone knew they had to hide quickly.

Although the Japs immediately took defensive actions, they never dreamed that the Eighth Route Army would come down from the top of the steep mountain. Therefore, all the fortifications they built faced the bottom of the mountain, and they were caught off guard at this time.

Taking advantage of the height and the suppression of mortars and heavy machine guns, Sun Xun quickly occupied all the positions outside the barracks. The Japanese had no choice but to retreat into the sturdy barracks and prepare to hold their ground.

The 9th and 10th companies launched several attacks, but the Japanese took advantage of the barracks' defenses to make these attacks ineffective.

When the Japanese were building the barracks, they had already planned to use them for defense. There were no windows in the barracks at all, and the lighting and ventilation were dependent on large and small shooting holes.

Although Sun Xu led his team to the low wall outside the barracks and blew up several gaps with explosive packs, it became difficult to advance further inside.

Although the Japanese barracks were made of adobe houses, they were very thick and could not be blown open by thrown grenades. The only way to blow them up was to use explosive packs. However, the 9th and 10th companies were on a raid over mountains and hills and did not bring many explosive packs with them. Moreover, the soldiers could not directly throw 10-kilogram explosive packs at the Japanese barracks.

"Damn, the Japs are really tenacious!" Sun Xun gritted his teeth as he looked at the Japs in the barracks.

Now even if the 11th or 12th Company attacks from the bottom up, it will be difficult because the Japanese fortifications in the front are more solid.

Only by driving the Japanese out of their positions first can the plan of attacking from both sides be effective.

Just when Sun Xun was determined to attack, the 9th Company Commander Tian Cheng suggested, "Battalion Commander, I think we should use fire attack."

"Fire attack? Tell me about it." Sun Xun asked Tian Cheng to tell him his idea.

"Battalion commander, look over there, the Japanese have discarded a lot of straw mats and wheat straw. Let's tie the straw mats into bundles, wrap them with wheat straw, light them, and throw them next to the Japanese barracks. They won't be able to bear the heat." Tian Cheng said, pointing to the scattered straw mats and several piles of wheat straw outside the low wall.

This should have been done by the Japanese in order to build houses. In order to build adobe walls, wheat straw must be added as a reinforcing material.

However, it was obvious that the Japanese and the puppet army did not know the exact amount to be used, so they forced the common people to bring a lot of it over. After building the barracks and making the kangs, there were still a lot of straw mats and wheat straw left outside.

Sun Xun thought about it carefully and decided that this was indeed a good idea. They were now occupying the outer perimeter of the low wall, while the Japanese were in their barracks inside the low wall. The two sides were not far apart. If the low wall had not been in the way, the troops would have already dispersed and rushed in.

If they used fire attack, they only needed to set fire to the outermost barracks. As long as the 9th and 10th companies entered the camp and dispersed, they could take advantage of the enemy's blind spots and defeat them one by one.

Moreover, the current wind direction is conducive to the launch of a fire attack.

"Hurry up." Sun Xun ordered.

"Yes!"

Tian Cheng waved his hand and led dozens of people to roll up the grass.

Ten minutes later, the rolled-up straw was set on fire and thrown near the Japanese barracks.

At first the Japanese didn't feel anything, but as more and more grass rolled up, the fire grew bigger and bigger, and under the influence of the wind, the flames would occasionally lick the Japanese who were holding their guns at the shooting port.

If the Japanese continued to stay at the shooting hole, they would be covered with blisters from the fire, which would become infected and kill them; but if they left the shooting hole, they would not be able to continue attacking the Eighth Route Army.

A stubborn mind becomes blocked at both ends.

Moreover, as the fire grew, the Japanese and puppet troops felt that the barracks were getting hotter and hotter. If they continued to hold out, they would probably end up like a pig roasting in a stewing oven.

In desperation, Horiguchi Kiri could only give the order to retreat, and to break out directly and retreat down the mountain. He planned to meet up with the people down the mountain, and then take the laborers as hostages to force the Eighth Route Army to retreat.

After hearing the order, people in each barracks ran out. They could no longer bear it.

The Japanese and the guard team never expected that Sun Xun had already ordered the machine gun team to set up the machine guns, and as soon as they came out, the machine gun team began to fire continuously.

"Thump, thump, thump." "Thump, thump, thump."
Huang Jinbiao almost fell down when he saw his men charging forward. Even if you haven't received any training, you can't just charge forward like this, right? You should respect the machine guns in the hands of the Eighth Route Army.

"Scatter, scatter! Keep your bodies down, keep your bodies down!" Huang Jinbiao shouted.

I don’t know if the running guards heard it, but as it was dark, many Japanese and puppet soldiers broke out of the encirclement and fled frantically down the mountain.

They wanted to rendezvous with the amulet quickly.

(End of this chapter)