Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 208: Don’t you want to end it yet?
"Commander, Political Commissar, news has come in from all the troops that the scheduled combat mission has been completed and they are now cleaning up the battlefield!"

"The second and third battalions seized three heavy machine guns, two mountain cannons, and nine trucks," the operations staff reported.

According to Chen Chengxing's previous order, the battalions did not need to report anything other than the mountain artillery. In addition, the battlefield had not been cleaned up yet, so the messengers sent by Zheng Hua and Sun Xun only reported these major items.

As for Yuehe Town, before the Japanese broke out, they had blown up all the weapons they could not take away, and the one remaining heavy machine gun was destroyed by the first battalion's infantry artillery. The remaining soldiers are still working hard to clear the ruins and look for things.

After hearing the report from the combat staff, Chen Chengxing turned off the system. Since there were no side quests in this operation, he only gained some honor points.

Including the honor points gained from the shelling of Sakata Nobutsu, Caojiaji and Caotouling, the total number is now 72596, which means we are not far from upgrading and gaining new features.

"Pull the mountain cannon back to Xiaogang Village. As for the truck, dismantle it and have the militia transport it to Hongniwan," said Chen Chengxing.

Even if heavy weapons like mountain cannons were left in the second and third battalions, they would not be able to use them. After all, guerrilla warfare was not conducted with mountain cannons.

As for this truck, regardless of whether anyone can drive it, the roads in the Zhongyun Mountains are full of potholes and there is no room for the truck to maneuver.

"Also, let them leave some people behind to clean up the battlefield, and let the rest of the troops move towards Xiazhuang and Hanjia Village, and try to drive back the Japanese reinforcements." Chen Chengxing ordered.

According to the real-time intelligence from the guerrillas, the Japanese in the surrounding strongholds are not a concern, but the Japanese in Wuyi County, Xinkou and Taigu are getting closer and closer. Even though the guerrillas continue to increase the frequency of attacks, the Japanese are still advancing slowly forward.

Just as the operations staff was about to leave, Chen Chengxing spoke again: "Tell them not to attack blindly. If the devils retreat, let them leave."

Before the Hundred Regiments Campaign, we could not provoke the Japanese at will.

"yes!".
After learning that the troops from Mahe Town and Yaotou Village had been completely wiped out, the Japanese reinforcements did not immediately choose to retreat, but instead tried to advance forward.

However, when they found that the Eighth Route Army's resistance was still very stubborn, they decided not to advance rashly but to retreat.

The battle of Mahe Town has ended, which means that the Eighth Route Army's main force is free. If they continue to attack, they may suffer any blow.

Seeing that the Japanese began to retreat, the various units of the New Second Regiment did not pursue them, but instead broke contact with the Japanese and began to retreat.

Mahe Town.

Chen Chengxing stood in front of the Japanese's unfinished artillery tower and found that although it was not constructed of pure concrete and steel bars, it was also a brick-concrete structure, and the wall was 60 centimeters thick.

Such a solid defense, even if a mountain artillery wanted to destroy it, it would have to fire several shells at the same location, which is almost impossible.

"Lu Ze, arrange for someone to completely blow up this artillery tower. Never let the Japanese use it again." Chen Chengxing turned around and ordered.

"Yes!"

Just as Chen Chengxing was about to go to other positions to take a look, a combat staff officer ran over.

"Commissar, we have made a major discovery! The Japanese headquarters has found a large number of documents!"

"Documents? Go take a look." Luo Ping said immediately.

In the past, when they killed the Japanese, their documents had basically been burned and there was nothing that could be used. This was the first time that a large number of documents were discovered.

After everyone arrived at the center of the town and saw the scene, they understood why the documents had been preserved.

The artillery shells directly destroyed the Japanese headquarters, and a large number of documents were buried in the ruins.

When the soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, they also cleaned up the ruins. As a result, they found a smashed radio and a lot of documents under a collapsed wall. Everyone then realized that this was the Japanese command center.

As the cleanup progressed, more and more files were dug out.

Looking at the increasing number of documents in his hands, Luo Ping smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth: "Tell everyone to be careful and turn out every piece of paper, don't lose anything!"

Although no one in the New Second Regiment can understand it, there are people in the headquarters who know Japanese and they can understand it.

After the entire ruins were finally cleaned up, more than 50 various documents of the Japanese were found.

Chen Chengxing and Luo Ping immediately sent a team to deliver the documents to the military district, which then sent them to the headquarters.
When the headquarters received these documents and translated them, everyone was surprised to find that there were various documents issued by the North China Front Army, covering all aspects of politics, economy, and military.

For the Eighth Route Army, this was more important than capturing hundreds of guns and several artillery pieces. For this reason, the deputy commander-in-chief sent a commendation telegram to the New Second Regiment.

Even Chen Lu thought about it for a long time and finally gave up the idea of congratulating him. After all, he had just made a great contribution and it was really not right to congratulate him right away.

But why do I feel so heartbroken?
"Tens of thousands of people? The Eighth Route Army's New Second Regiment has tens of thousands of people?!"

In Wuyi County, Nara Yukio looked at the intelligence summarized in his hands and said in disbelief, no matter which country the troops were from, it was impossible for there to be an infantry regiment of more than 10,000 people.

Compared to the New Second Regiment with more than ten thousand troops, Nara Yukio would rather believe that Mahe Town was taken down by an infantry battalion of 5 people.

"Brigade Commander, this is a fact. The total strength of the Eighth Route Army participating in this battle even exceeds 10,000." Toyama Ryotaro said seriously. He had disagreed with taking the risk of marching into Mahe Town from the very beginning.

Fighting with the New Second Regiment is a complete loss-making proposition. There is nothing the Locust Army needs in Dayun Mountain.

Even if they want to open up the Wu'an Highway and shorten the transportation distance, they can fully utilize the power of the Maintenance Association to advance step by step. The fewer resources the Locust Army invests in it, the more cost-effective it is. It would be best to issue only one order.

"However, according to intelligence, not all of the Eighth Route Army troops participating in the battle are main forces. As far as I know, the Eighth Route Army also has a militia guerrilla unit called the 'County Battalion'. These people's combat effectiveness is not that strong, and their equipment is not complete. They mainly rely on cold weapons and earthen guns. Among the 10,000-man army, the vast majority should be such militiamen." Toyama Ryotaro added.

"Souga." After hearing what Toyama Ryotaro said, Nara Yukio breathed a sigh of relief.

Nara Yukio was familiar with the Eighth Route Army's militia organization. Their combat effectiveness was weaker than that of the Locust Army, and their weapons were insufficient, so they had little impact on the Locust Army.

However, neither Toyama Ryotaro nor Nara Yukio expected that although Chen Chengxing's group was also called a guerrilla group, its strength was completely different from that of a county brigade. If placed in other places, each guerrilla brigade could be called a county independent regiment.

"Mr. Dongshan, the construction of the highway cannot be stopped. In addition, more troops must be dispatched to Yaotou Village, Jie Village, Zhuangluo Town and other strongholds." After learning that the New Second Regiment was not as powerful as he had imagined, Nara Yukio had another idea.

"Brigade Commander, General Shinozuka sent a telegram requesting that the attack be temporarily suspended and that we wait until the summer mop-up before taking action." Toyama Ryotaro didn't expect that Nara Yukio still wanted to take action again, so he decisively brought in Yoshio Shinozuka.

The 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade really can't stand the tossing and turning. The most important thing now is to intensify training and wait for the right opportunity to launch a surprise attack with all their strength, instead of adopting the tactic of adding fuel to the fire like they are doing now.

"I understand." Hearing that the First Army Command had ordered to stop the attack, Nara Yukio could only temporarily suppress his thoughts.

However, the plan to send troops to Yaotou Village and other strongholds has not changed. The New Second Regiment in Dayun Mountain is now in danger, and more troops must be sent to guard against another attack by the Eighth Route Army.

After the battle of Mahe Town, Chen Chengxing saw that the Japanese had become obedient and no longer continued to build roads westward, so he ordered the troops to return to their respective bases.

During this period, while the New Second Regiment was gathering its troops, the Japanese invaders to the west and south of the Zhongyun Mountains took advantage of the situation to build their artillery towers several kilometers forward and established a number of puppet regimes. If things dragged on any longer, the situation in the west would become unfavorable to the New Second Regiment.

You should know that the entire Zhongyun Mountains, except for Dayun Mountain in the south and Zhongshan Mountain in the north, the mountains in the middle of about 40 to 50 kilometers generally have a terrain that is low in the west and high in the east, and most of the population stays in the west.

It is impossible for Chen Chengxing to give up these villages so easily. The development of the New Second Regiment depends entirely on the people of Zhongyun Mountain.

As for the road east of Yaotou Village, the Japanese could repair it if they wanted to, and Chen Chengxing had no intention of interfering. Besides, it could be considered a resource point for the guerrillas.

As long as the Japs' transportation was small-scale, the guerrillas or county brigades would seize the opportunity to make some money.

After all, no matter how rich and powerful the Japanese are, it is impossible for them to provide every transport team with an escort team.

After the regiment headquarters returned to Hongniwan, Chen Chengxing's attention was once again focused on the Erlangdong Arsenal. After the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army would have a hard time. Before that, they had to try their best to increase their financial resources.

In April, Wen Ying suddenly came to Hongniwan and asked, "Captain, I heard that Yan'an is going to hold an industrial exhibition?"

"That's true. We held it once last year and this year is the second session. If nothing unexpected happens, it should still start on May 1st." Chen Chengxing nodded and said.

Last year's exhibition was very successful and was featured in the Eighth Route Army's newspaper. Although many items were produced by manual machinery, there were many types of items on display, even a modified anti-aircraft machine gun.

Chen Chengxing's saliva was drooling as he looked at the photos of the anti-aircraft machine guns. If the New Second Regiment had a few of these, the Japanese planes would not dare to fly over the New Second Regiment at will.

But this is just something we can only think about. The Eighth Route Army only has a few anti-aircraft machine guns, and every bullet fired must be approved.

"Our arsenal has produced a lot of equipment this year, and I want to send it to Yan'an for an exhibition!" Wen Ying said excitedly.

After all, Wen Ying is only 20 years old now, and she likes this kind of excitement very much.

Moreover, the equipment produced by Erlangdong Arsenal is not a small number, and she also wants to show off.

"This road is full of mixed people and it's very dangerous. I'll arrange a platoon from the guard company to go. They have all the production equipment anyway." Chen Chengxing said.

The weapons currently produced by the Erlangdong Arsenal are semi-automatic rifles, light machine guns and two caliber mortars.

Except for the 82mm mortar, the guard company has all the other equipment. All they need to do is transfer a mortar spare to them from the logistics department.

"Ah, but I want to go too." Wen Ying frowned. What's the point of showing off if you can't listen to other people's praise in person?
"Captain, please let me go. I haven't been to Yan'an yet." Wen Ying pleaded.

Wen Ying had learned about the Red Party when she was in Taiyuan. After joining the New Second Regiment, she had personal experience and knew that the Red Party and the Guo Party were completely different political parties. Therefore, she now wanted to visit the so-called red holy land.

Chen Chengxing didn't expect that Wen Ying, who used to be so tomboyish, actually had a feminine side.

I thought about the telegram sent by the deputy commander-in-chief before. It said that the naming of the new gun should be handed over to Mr. Ren. This is a good opportunity to show it to Mr. Ren so that his superiors can also know the idea.

"If you want to go, take the production drawings of the semi-automatic rifle with you. If necessary, stay in Yan'an," said Chen Chengxing.

The design of the semi-automatic rifle is mature. Chen Chengxing doesn't know whether his superiors will also plan to produce it after seeing it, so he plans to make preparations in advance.

"Really? Thank you, Captain!" Wen Ying immediately became excited when she heard Chen Chengxing asked him to go. From childhood to adulthood, she had never traveled so far.

Looking at Wen Ying jumping out, Chen Chengxing shook his head helplessly, then said, "Monk!"

"Eh!"

"Tell the telegraph operator to contact the headquarters and ask whether the troops going to Yan'an to attend the exhibition have set off. If not, let them wait for our New Second Regiment." Chen Chengxing instructed.

From Dayun Mountain to Yan'an, one has to cross the jurisdictions of several forces. The enemy, our own, and the stubborn forces are mixed together, and sending out only one platoon of troops is still a little weak.

If it was just the guard platoon itself, it would be fine, but now they have to carry a burden, and a valuable burden at that, so it would definitely be more appropriate for them to follow the main force.

"I'll go right away." Wei Dayong turned around and left the yard and went next door.

The next day, Lu Ze led a platoon of guards and a cavalry squad specially assigned by Chen Chengxing, met up with Wen Ying and her daughter Li Kui, and left Dayun Mountain to the west.

According to the telegram from headquarters, the team going to Yan'an is now in Majiagou Village in Dongxiang waiting for comrades from other bases, and it is completely in time for the New Second Regiment to go there now.

The journey from Majiagou to Yan'an was very smooth. After all, the entire team had five or six hundred people, and the bandits did not dare to provoke them.

The Guo army forces along the way were unwilling to clash with the Eighth Route Army without clear orders. After all, the casualties were all their own troops, and there would be no one to replenish them when the time came.

After arriving in Yan'an, Wen Ying spent her time visiting places other than working at the exhibition venue. This place was completely different from what she had imagined.
Just as Yan'an was preparing to hold the exhibition, war clouds were once again gathering in southern China.
(End of this chapter)