Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 224 is to let them investigate (It's the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket)
Looking at the equally empty Hongni Bay, Nara Yukio could no longer get angry.

The frequent landmine attacks in the past few days have tortured him to the point of losing his temper.

At this time, in the entire Hongni Bay area, except for the breeding team in the back mountain three miles away, which had chickens, ducks, pigs and rabbits, no one else was breathing.

There was not even a proper road leading to the back mountain, so Nara Yukio naturally didn't think of going there to take a look.

There are hills everywhere in northwest Shanxi. If you were to see them all, you would not be able to finish them in a year.

"Brigade Commander, the headquarters sent another telegram. Now the 26th Division, the 9th Mixed Brigade and the 16th Mixed Brigade have all withdrawn. Only the rd Mixed Brigade is still behind enemy lines. General Shinozuka asked us to retreat and rest as soon as possible." Ryotaro Toyama came over and reported.

Ever since Toyama Ryotaro knew that Nara Yukio was going to lead him on a mopping-up operation, he made a side report during the routine communication with the headquarters, hoping that Shinozuka Yoshio would order Nara Yukio to return to Wuyi County.

However, what Ryotaro Toyama did not expect was that just because the headquarters' retreat telegram did not specify a specific time, Yukio Nara blatantly ignored the telegram.

The troops had now arrived at Hongni Bay, but had gained nothing except dozens of casualties.

At this time, Toyama Ryotaro mentioned the telegram again, wanting Nara Yukio to lead the team to retreat quickly, especially to lead him to retreat.

"I understand." Nara Yukio sighed.

"The troops will rest and retreat tomorrow."

"Mr. Dongshan, send a message to the Liangzhuang troops and ask them to retreat together tomorrow."

Yukio Nara felt that the Eighth Route Army of the New Second Regiment must have hidden deep in the mountains, otherwise he would not have discovered anything.

It was impossible for the 3rd Mixed Brigade to go deep into the mountains to carry out a sweep, so retreat became the only option.

"Hai!"

Seeing that Nara Yukio finally decided to retreat, Toyama Ryotaro breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day, before dawn, Wei Dayong knocked on Chen Chengxing's door.

"Captain, there is a situation."

When Chen Chengxing heard Wei Dayong's voice, he opened his eyes suddenly and looked at the watch. It was not yet 5 o'clock.

"What's wrong?" Chen Chengxing walked out while putting on his clothes.

"The Cavalry Reconnaissance Platoon sent in intelligence that the Japanese in Liangzhuang have shown unusual movements," said Wei Dayong.

"Ah."

Chen Chengxing nodded and walked quickly into the operations room. He had a hunch that the fighter plane had arrived.

"Old Chen, you're here. I've arranged for someone to call the others." Luo Ping greeted Chen Chengxing as he entered the room.

"The scouts reported that the Japanese soldiers in Liangzhuang were setting fire to the houses and were probably preparing to retreat," said Luo Ping.

Luo Ping has experienced this kind of thing many times. When the Japanese have gained nothing, their favorite thing to do is to cause sabotage.

It’s as if they can’t show their abilities unless they destroy something.

"Burn the house? It seems we really need to retreat." Chen Chengxing immediately walked to the map.

"If the Japanese in Liangzhuang retreat, they will definitely retreat eastward directly to Wuyi County. Our chance has come." Chen Chengxing said while looking at the map.

Now the distance between the two groups of Japanese soldiers of the 24rd Mixed Brigade has been maximized. With just a little resistance, even if the other side pushes forward desperately, it will be impossible for them to reach the battlefield within hours.

Looking back at the people who had just walked in, Chen Chengxing ordered: "Xu Wu, you take the first battalion to Liujiazhuang immediately to set up a blocking position. I have only one request, that the Japanese in Hongni Bay cannot pass before dawn. Can you do it?!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

"Very good." Chen Chengxing nodded and continued, "The communications platoon will draw a line between Liujiazhuang and the field artillery platoon. You can call for artillery support when necessary."

Liujiazhuang is 7 kilometers away from the artillery positions on Erlang Mountain, which is just within the strike range of Italian artillery.

Moreover, the artillery observation post of the field artillery platoon had already marked the map of the Erlang Mountain area and could call for targeted strikes at any time.

"Is there artillery support? That's no problem at all!" Xu Wu said confidently.

The First Battalion was not trying to defeat the two thousand Japs. It was just trying to stop them until dawn. It wasn't a big problem.

It seems like there are 24 hours from now until dawn the next day, but the possibility of the Japanese fighting at night is very low, and the first battalion only has to fight for one day.

After the first battalion left Erlang Mountain to the west, Chen Chengxing waved his hand and led all the rest of the troops down the mountain to the east. Then they took a shortcut along the top of the mountain and went diagonally to the mountain pass northeast of Erlipu, preparing to ambush the Japanese retreating to the east.

The troops of the two battalions of Haruji Morita and Kazutaka Ando did not march together, but were divided into two groups, one in front and one behind, 2 kilometers apart from each other.

In addition, the Ando Battalion, as the vanguard, also sent out a large number of scouts to investigate along the way.

Although the brigade commander speculated in his telegram that the New Second Regiment had retreated deep into the mountains, no one dared to risk their own safety.

"It's a pity, the Japanese are very alert." Luo Ping stood on the top of the hill and looked at the Japanese troops emerging from the distance with a telescope and said regretfully. "The Third Mixed Brigade has suffered a lot from the New Second Regiment. When we know that the New Second Regiment is erratic, it is still difficult to ambush them." Chen Chengxing said.

An ambush can only be successful if the enemy is caught off guard. As long as the Japanese are wary and slow down their actions, it will be difficult to succeed.

However, Chen Chengxing has already made preparations, and it all depends on whether the Japanese will fall into his trap.

Of course, Chen Chengxing did not put all his hopes on the ambush. Zheng Hua and Sun Xun had already led the second and third battalions to the mountainous areas on the left and right wings of the Japanese.

As soon as the battle starts, they will lead the team to attack the Japanese on both wings.

Just as the two were talking, several gunshots were heard from a hilltop not far away. It was an exchange of fire between the sentries of both sides.

After hearing the gunshots, the Japanese immediately stopped marching, and the front and rear troops began to quickly converge.

"What's going on?" asked Haruji Morita after leading his team over.

Because of the distance, he did not hear the gunfire, but only received a telegram from Ando Battalion requesting support.

"The scouts I sent out had an exchange of fire with the Eighth Route Army on that hill. I have sent a small team to investigate the situation. We will know the details soon." Ando Kazutaka explained.

"Is it just sporadic gunfire? Is it an attack by the Eighth Route Army?" asked Haruji Morita.

Since the raids began, they have been harassed many times every day.

"No, it's different." Ando Kazutaka shook his head. "Previous attacks were all carried out by homemade guns, mines, and at most a few Hanyang rifles. But this time the sound was very clear. It was the sound of a Type 38 rifle."

In the Zhongyun Mountain area, the main force of the New Second Regiment was basically those using the Type 38 rifle.

Of course, it is also possible that the New Second Regiment will send its main force to carry out harassment this time, but Ando Kazutaka does not intend to gamble. As long as he does not gamble, he will not lose.

If there really is no ambush, then Ando's Battalion should just continue to advance. It will only take half an hour to an hour, and they can afford the consumption of time. The troops led by the brigade commander are still behind and have not caught up.

The team sent by Ando Kazutaka went forward to scout for one kilometer, but did not find anything unusual.

After receiving the message that he was safe, Ando Kazutaka breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was overly suspicious. This should be the harassment team sent by the New Second Regiment. They had encountered this situation before.

"Morita-kun, I'll continue to lead the team. Please leave later." Ando Kazutaka said.

"Be safe, Ando-kun!"

Three miles away, Luo Ping, who was on the top of the hill, saw that the Japanese did not send out scouts to scout around like before, but instead just moved forward along the road. He said in disbelief, "Old Chen, it's amazing. The Japanese really didn't scout."

"The Japs are human beings too. They have already searched this area thoroughly. Why would they search it again?" Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

The previous sporadic exchanges of fire were arranged by Chen Chengxing, with the purpose of letting the Japanese search the area carefully so that they would let down their guard.

For this reason, Chen Chengxing did not place the main force at the most suitable ambush location, but instead moved it a mile back. He knew that the Japanese would definitely go to the most suitable ambush location for reconnaissance, and after reconnaissance there, their vigilance would gradually be lowered.

The Japs will certainly continue to send out scouts after a while, but that will be at least half an hour later, by which time they will have already entered the ambush circle.

As the Japanese marched leisurely, they were unaware that their guns were pointed at them.
"Bang!" "Bang!"

Two red flares suddenly shot up into the sky.

The moment he looked up and saw the flare, Ando Kazutaka's eyes widened.

Before Ando Kazutaka could react, fierce gunfire rang out.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
"Boom!" "Boom!".
The Japanese troops were in chaos, especially the mule and horse team that was attacked. The horses wanted to run away at the first moment, and the Japanese soldiers next to them did not even bother to lie down and could only pull the reins with all their strength.

Their heavy weapons and baggage are still on their horses. How can they fight if they run away?

The moment he heard the sound of gunfire, Ando Kazutaka fell to the ground subconsciously.

"Enemy attack!"

"Suppress with machine gun and grenade launcher fire!"

"Defender becomes forward, turn forward! Turn forward!"

Ando Kazutaka knew just from the sound of gunfire that there were at least four to five thousand people, and his brigade's firepower and troops had not been deployed, and the cannons were still on horseback, so he was definitely no match for them now.

The most important thing at this time is to leave the enemy's firepower range and then deploy your own firepower to fight back.

After receiving the order, Ando's team immediately ran back for their lives.

Artillery and machine gun units were the focus of all the Japanese troops. Even at the risk of their lives, they had to help them carry their weapons out, as they were important equipment for their counterattack.

Just as the ambush started, the Morita Battalion in the rear and the Second and Third Battalions on both wings of the Japanese army began to advance rapidly towards the battlefield at the same time.

(End of this chapter)