Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 220 As soon as I heard it, I knew it was the Eighth Route Army Field Army

After Chen Chengxing led the team to leave Xiangyang Village, they hurried all the way towards Jiao Town. It was not until after four o'clock in the morning that Chen Chengxing met up with the regiment headquarters.

However, the guerrilla team did not stop, but turned west and prepared to enter the Stone Ridge Mountain to rest.

In the battle of Xiangyang Village, the guerrilla team had not only lost its combat effectiveness, but was also half-crippled and was in urgent need of rest and recuperation.

"Old Chen, what's the situation now?" Luo Ping asked impatiently after seeing Chen Chengxing.

When Luo Ping saw that only Xu Wu and Sun Xun had brought their troops to join him, he was almost frightened to death.

Of course, after understanding the situation, he almost scolded Xu Wu and Sun Xun to death.

"More than half of the guerrilla team 4 suffered casualties, but the Japanese also suffered about four to five hundred casualties. I estimate that the Third Mixed Brigade should now have less than people," said Chen Chengxing.

Although the Japanese are likely to temporarily add soldiers from the engineering corps and the baggage train to the front-line troops, the combat effectiveness of those people is weaker than that of the infantry.

Hearing that more than half of the guerrilla team had been killed or wounded, Luo Ping was heartbroken, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it, as they were, after all, a brigade of Japanese invaders.

"4 is not a small amount. What are your plans for the next step?" Luo Ping and Chen Chengxing asked as they walked in.

"The Second Battalion has now cut off the Japanese's supply from the east. Now it depends on whether the Japanese retreat or advance." Chen Chengxing said.

However, Chen Chengxing felt that the Japanese would continue to advance. After all, there was a mission here. If the Japanese retreated directly, the mission would fail.

"Then let's wait and see. You take a rest first. I'll just keep an eye on it at the regiment headquarters." Luo Ping said.

Chen Chengxing did not refuse Luo Ping's kindness. He had not slept for several days and was already a little tired. He was afraid that they would fight again after dawn.

In the early morning, as soon as it got light, Yukio Nara ordered the troops to assemble and set off. As for breakfast, the cooks had already prepared it, and the Japanese soldiers ate while walking.

The mounted reconnaissance platoon had been keeping an eye on the Japanese from the periphery. Seeing that the Japanese continued to march southward, Ma Zhiyuan immediately sent a soldier to Jiao Town to report the news.

"Old Chen, the Japanese didn't split their forces this time, but advanced in large numbers. I'm afraid we'll have to temporarily avoid their attack." Luo Ping said after listening to the scout's report.

"Yes, we have to retreat, but we have to help the local comrades retreat first. In order to avoid being attacked by the Japanese again, we have to send a troop to harass them." Chen Chengxing said.

Hearing Chen Chengxing's words, Xu Wu, Sun Xun and Qin Sheng on the side all straightened their backs and prepared to take over the task.

After Chen Chengxing glanced at them, he said, "Fourth Battalion Commander, the First and Third Battalions have been marching and fighting for several days in a row. They are already a little tired. This mission is handed over to you."

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the task!" Qin Shengli said.

"Come and see." Chen Chengxing pointed at the map and said, "The Japanese are also marching in large numbers, so they will definitely take this road. Dazhongzhuang and Sanlu Town are both places they must pass through."

When retreating from Xiangyang Village, Chen Chengxing could have taken a shortcut to go straight to Jiao Town, but the Japanese were marching in a large force with so many heavy weapons and baggage that they could only take the main road to get around.

"You should lead the Fourth Battalion to the Shiniushan area now to harass and ambush the Japanese to buy time for the main force to evacuate," Chen Chengxing said.

"yes!".
After the Fourth Battalion left, Chen Chengxing and Luo Ping were not idle either. They began to cooperate with the local government agencies in Jiao Town to retreat.

Because it was fighting at home, the New Second Regiment did not have to worry about food and fodder, and its only six mountain cannons were all transported by special pack horses.

Therefore, as long as the local government, schools, printing factories and other things in Jiao Town are all evacuated, the New Second Regiment can leave at any time.

At Shiniushan, Qin Sheng held a pre-war meeting.

"We now have a force of less than a thousand people. It is almost impossible to block the Japanese Third Mixed Brigade head-on. Therefore, we can only fight guerrilla warfare. What do you think?" Qin Sheng asked.

Although he was leading the main battalion and its equipment was much better than that of the guerrilla team, the additional machine guns and mortars were not very effective when facing the attack of 20 mountain cannons.

"Battalion Commander, I have a solution." Li Chishui said.

"Talk about it."

"You see, Sanlu Town is a fork in the road. There are two roads splitting into the north and south of Shiniushan Mountain. The Japanese take the main road from the west. Going southeast is Jiao Town, but if you go northeast, you will reach the mountainous area." Li Chishui said, pointing to the map on the table.

"So I think we shouldn't harass the devils on the southern route, but we need to start harassing them west of Sanlu Town, and then find a way to lure them to the northern route."

"In this way, by the time the Japanese find out something is wrong, the transfer work in Jiao Town will have been completed, and the main force should have also evacuated." Li Chishui affirmed.

"What you said is very good, but there is a problem here. How can we lead the Japanese to the north?" Qin Sheng asked.

If the Japanese do not fall for it and choose to go straight to the south, the Fourth Battalion will be in trouble. By then, it may be too late even if they want to set up a blocking position again.

"This is easy to handle. We can just divide the troops into two. I will lead the 13th Company to lure the Japanese. The main force of the th Battalion will still set up positions at the passes and commanding heights along the road in this area. We can block the enemy layer by layer." Li Chishui said confidently.

"Just the 13th Company? Can it do it?" Everyone was a little bit unconvinced. With such a small number of people, the Japanese could easily deal with it by sending out a squadron.

"Everyone just watch, and even if the Japanese don't fall for it, we won't lose anything," said Li Chishui.

"Let's do this. Li Chishuai, others call you Li Dabenshi. This time I want to see how capable you are." Qin Sheng made the decision.

If you want to delay the enemy, harassment alone won't be that effective, but blocking the enemy is not that easy. The guerrilla team had only fought for half an afternoon when more than half of them were killed or wounded. Even if they were replaced by the fourth battalion, Qin Sheng felt that there would not be any good results.

"Does Company 13 need anything? Heavy machine guns? Mortars? Just tell me and I'll give them to you," said Qin Sheng.

"I don't want any heavy machine guns or mortars. Just give me the backpacks, bullet belts, food belts, and water bottles of the Fourth Battalion." Li Chishui said.

Since they need to disguise themselves as a large force, they need something. Heavy machine guns and mortars are heavy weapons. The 13th Company cannot run fast with them when they escape, and they are just a burden.

"No problem!" Qin Sheng nodded, then looked at the company commanders next to him and said, "You all heard it, gather all the things in the company immediately, and Company 13 can take as many as they can."

"Yes!"

These things are of no use in a war, so it doesn't matter if they are given to the 13th Company.

At Anshiping, Li Chishui had already ambushed the 13th Company here.

The place chosen by Li Chishui was not suitable for an ambush except for a few woods. Therefore, the Japanese vanguard battalion did not arouse any suspicion and did not even send out scouts to search.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers getting closer and closer, Li Chishui raised his right hand and signaled the soldiers to get ready.

As Li Chishui swung his right hand heavily, a series of explosions immediately sounded on the road.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!".
At the same time, the soldiers on the side also began to open fire at full force, and machine guns and mortars all began to pour ammunition at the Japs.

After the Japanese were attacked by landmines, they all lay down in an instant. The Japanese captain, Haruji Morita, lay on the ground, pointing at the grove and shouting, "Kill the chickens!"

"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!".
"Hit! Hit quickly! Shoot as fast as you can!" Li Chishui lay down behind the sandbags and shouted while firing: "Sweet potato! Live! Shoot as I say!"

The 13th Company needs to create the feeling of a main force. First of all, the firepower density must keep up. If the number of guns is not enough, it can only rely on rapid fire to improve the effect. It doesn’t matter whether it can hit the target or not.

"Group 1, listen to my orders! Fight!" Ren Wuliu pointed at the people next to him and ordered.

The three people who had been prepared immediately raised the specially borrowed Hanyang-made rifles and pulled the trigger at the same time.

"Bang, bang, bang" bullets from three rifles were fired almost at the same time.

"Group 2! Fight!" Ren Wuliu pointed at a small group on the other side and shouted.

"bang bang bang"

The 13th Company did not bring heavy machine guns this time, but they still had to simulate the feeling of heavy machine guns. After all, they were the main force of the New nd Regiment. If they didn’t have heavy machine guns, the Japanese wouldn’t believe it if they told others about it.

The best way to simulate this is to fire a volley of guns at the same time. As long as the rhythm is well controlled, the Japanese will not be able to hear it easily.

Listening to the sounds on the battlefield, the Japanese deputy captain said to Haruji Morita who was standing beside him: "Captain, judging from the sound of the gunfire, this is definitely the main force of the Eighth Route Army!"

"Yo, there are at least five Type 5 heavy machine guns, and the main shooters are well-trained and have been using short bursts. It seems that the main force of the Eighth Route Army did not get far that night and was caught up by us!" Morita Haruji nodded.

As someone who has fought against the Eighth Route Army many times, he can tell who his opponent is just by the sound of gunfire.

If the sound is "dong dong" with an interval of ten to twenty seconds, and is disorderly and unintelligible, it is a shot made with black powder, and then it stops after a few shots, it is the militia guerrillas using sparrow warfare to attack.

If the gunfire is mainly from Hanyang rifles, and you can occasionally hear Zhongzheng rifles or Type 38 rifles, but the gunfire is sparse and not continuous, and you can't hear machine guns, or there is only one machine gun firing in short bursts, and it doesn't get too entangled, kills a few people, and then retreats after gaining an advantage, then it is probably a local force like the county brigade.

If a landmine explodes first, followed by rapid fire and then bursts of fire from light machine guns, this means the Eighth Route Army's core regiment is laying an ambush.

If you hear heavy machine gun fire in a basic regiment, and it keeps firing for a long time without a break, and there are also mortar and grenade launcher bombardments, and the majority of the rifles are Type 38 rifles, then this must be the old Eighth Route Army soldiers from the field regiment.

When Haruji Morita heard the continuous firing of heavy machine guns, he knew that this must be the main force of the New Second Regiment. You know, among the thousands of Eighth Route Army soldiers in Xiangyang Village, there were only two heavy machine guns and no mortars.

"Is the artillery squadron ready?!" Morita Haruji turned his head and asked.

"Preparations are complete!"

The Japs took the main road this time, so the artillery pieces were all dragged during the march and could be set up immediately once they were unhooked.

"Fire immediately!" ordered Haruji Morita.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
After several minutes of shelling, Morita Haruji drew out his command knife and shouted, "Taoji, come on!"
Watching the Japanese charging, Li Chishui knew that it was time for the 13th Company to withdraw. Although they could simulate the gunfire of the main force, they could not withstand the attack of a battalion and would be exposed in a real face-to-face confrontation.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Haruji Morita listened to the gunshots gradually fading away. Although he didn't know why the Eighth Route Army retreated directly, he didn't become overly suspicious. After all, he had heard the sounds of heavy machine guns and mortars with his own ears.

"Telegraph soldier, send a message to the brigade commander and tell him that my battalion has caught up with the main force of the Eighth Route Army and is now pursuing them. Please ask the brigade commander to lead the main force to follow up quickly!" Haruji Morita ordered.

The goal of the 3rd Mixed Brigade's advance this time was to destroy the main force of the New 2nd Regiment. Therefore, no matter what the purpose of the Eighth Route Army's rapid withdrawal was, as long as they could be surrounded and annihilated, the combat objective could be achieved.

"Ha!"
(End of this chapter)