Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 227 Isn’t that bold?

The New Second Regiment and the Japanese in Erlipu fought fiercely for a whole night, and the main battalion and guerrillas were all involved in the battle.

By the time the sky began to brighten, the Japanese casualties had exceeded 70%. The remaining troops were all withdrawn to the threshing ground area, and they used the houses and artillery around the threshing ground to defend it tightly.

"There are less than 500 Japanese soldiers left now. We can definitely end the battle before dark."

Luo Ping looked at the Japanese who had been squeezed into a small space and felt that victory was waving to him.

And after defeating this group of Japanese devils, we still have a chance to defeat the remaining group.

"I'm afraid there's no chance." Chen Chengxing sighed.

"What?" Luo Ping looked over with some confusion.

Chen Chengxing didn't say anything, but handed the intelligence just sent by the Cavalry Reconnaissance Platoon to Luo Ping.

"The Japanese reinforcements from Taigu have already arrived in Sanhe Town? And there are more than 2,000 of them? Where did Taigu get so many people?" Luo Ping said in surprise.

Although Taigu is located in an important position and is the gateway to Taiyuan, because it is an occupied area, the Japanese had only deployed a team of six or seven hundred people, and these people were also responsible for the security of the surrounding strongholds.

"It should be the other Japanese troops that have withdrawn from northwest Shanxi. But no matter which group of Japanese troops they are, we have to withdraw."

The Japanese have now started to advance from Sanhe Town, which is only 20 kilometers away from Erlipu. Even if there are harassment from the militia guerrillas, the Japanese will definitely arrive before noon.

The New Second Regiment is not the early Eighth Route Army. It has so many heavy weapons and cannot wait until the Japanese reinforcements arrive before retreating, otherwise it might be attacked.

"What a pity." Luo Ping looked at Erlipu with a little reluctance. It was obvious that he could wipe out the enemy completely if he just made a little more effort.

"Although we didn't completely wipe out the Japanese, we still gained a lot from this ambush, so it wasn't in vain," said Chen Chengxing.

In the current situation, even if we can completely wipe out the Japanese, the probability of seizing those heavy weapons is very low.

The Japs will definitely blow up their heavy weapons before they die.

As for supplies such as rifles and bullets, they were cleaned up during the night battle, so the New Second Regiment did not lose money.

"Let all troops withdraw from the battle gradually. Send people to pick up the shells after the Japanese retreat." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"yes!".
After the New Second Regiment withdrew from the battle, without any hesitation, the various troops began to evacuate southward in an orderly manner.

When Ando Kazutaka and Morita Haruji saw that the Eighth Route Army had stopped attacking, they both breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground.

This night has left a shadow on them. The combat effectiveness of the main force of the New Second Regiment is too strong.

Last night, even the artillery team's ammunition men went to the battlefield to fill the lines.

After all the Eighth Route Army troops had evacuated and confirmed that they were safe, Morita Haruji sent people to count the casualties.

As a result, of the nearly 1900 people who set out from Liangzhuang, there are now less than left, and there are many seriously injured among them, and it is unknown whether they can survive.

Yukio Nara breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the Morita Battalion and the Ando Battalion had withdrawn to Sanhe Town under the cover of reinforcements, and that there was basically no loss of heavy weapons.

Now most of the domestic resources have been tilted towards the navy. If the artillery is lost, let alone whether he will be held accountable, even if he wants to replenish it, it will not be a simple matter.

"Brigade Commander, the Eighth Route Army in Liujiazhuang has withdrawn from their position. Should we continue to retreat towards Sanhe Town?" asked Toyama Ryotaro.

Ryotaro Toyama was too afraid that Yukio Nara would go looking for trouble with the Shinji Group now.

"We are going to retreat, but not towards Sanhe Town, but towards Luyang. We will return to Wuyi County via Luyang!" Nara Yukio said seriously.

With the breakout of the Morita Battalion and the Ando Battalion, the troops he led had essentially become an isolated force.

If they continue to move eastward at this time, even with the support of the ancient reinforcements, they will most likely be besieged.

The two battalions under his command were the foundation of the Third Mixed Brigade and he could not take risks easily.

Ryotaro Toyama breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Yukio Nara said.

No matter where we retreat to, as long as we retreat, the distance to retreat to Luyang is actually closer.

It only takes 20 kilometers to reach the Anzhuang stronghold. Once you pass the stronghold, the troops will be safe.

Chen Chengxing, who was leading his team marching south, was somewhat surprised after receiving the information sent by the first battalion.

"Are the Japanese getting scared? Why are they retreating directly to Luyang?" Luo Ping said from the side.

In the previous battle of Erlipu, the New 600nd Regiment suffered less than casualties, and was still able to fight against Nara Yukio's enemy troops.

We were preparing to stop him, but Yukio Nara took the team and ran away.

"Old Chen, should we let the First Battalion block the attack again, and then let the New Second Regiment speed up?"

Luo Ping wanted to catch up and encircle the Japanese.

"We need to speed up and abandon all heavy weapons." Chen Chengxing moved his fingers on the map.

"Abandon heavy weapons? How can that be possible? Without heavy weapons, we will definitely not be able to defeat this group of devils!" Luo Ping said anxiously. Without heavy weapons, the 6,000 people of the New Second Regiment might be defeated by the 2,000 devils.

If things are impossible, Luo Ping would rather not fight this battle than let the New Second Regiment sacrifice in vain.

"Lao Luo, if we want to defeat this group of devils, we can't fight them head-on. We can only ambush them."

"But the Japs have been harassed frequently along the way, so they must be very careful now. Even if we catch up with them, it will be difficult to ambush them successfully."

The Japanese are now in a state of high alert. If the New Second Regiment attacks rashly, it will not be able to achieve the suddenness of the battle.

If we fail to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and attack them unexpectedly, a rash attack will only backfire.

"What do you think?" Luo Ping asked directly.

He knew Chen Chengxing too well, and he knew as soon as he heard it that he had an idea, but this idea was probably not reasonable.

"That's what I think. The Japanese must be advancing step by step now. We only need to send one battalion to use the commanding heights and passes along the way to block the Japanese layer by layer, and we can easily slow down their speed."

"Then the main force of the New Second Regiment will take the mountain road from here and move diagonally to the Anzhuang stronghold, and ambush the enemy right under their noses!" Chen Chengxing affirmed.

After hearing Chen Chengxing's words, everyone around was stunned. This idea was too bold.

Pulling the troops right under the enemy's noses does offer great opportunities, but the risks are also extremely high.

"Old Chen, please tell me carefully, what happened?" Luo Ping asked in shock.

"It's actually very simple. The enemy troops must be on high alert right now. As long as the attacks and interceptions continue, the enemy will not dare to march quickly."

"If the First Battalion can hold out until night, we can enter the designated position under the cover of darkness. When the Japanese arrive at Anzhuang the next day, they will be exhausted and we can catch them by surprise!"

The Japanese must be very tired after continuous fighting and marching in Dayun Mountain. Therefore, after arriving at the Anzhuang stronghold, they will definitely not pass through directly. They will definitely take a short rest before moving forward. This is the opportunity for the New Second Regiment.

After Chen Chengxing finished speaking, no one at the scene spoke.

They all knew that their leader always had a lot of ideas, but they still couldn't react to such a shocking idea.

"You...I..." Luo Ping opened his mouth several times but didn't know what to say.

"No need to do this, let's try it first." Chen Chengxing made the decision.

Even if the New Second Regiment failed, they would just withdraw from the battle. Chen Chengxing didn't believe that Nara Yukio would dare to chase and kill them.

Seeing that Luo Ping didn't say anything, the others also shut up. No one could guarantee whether this would succeed, so they could only give it a try.

After making the decision, Chen Chengxing left behind all the heavy machine guns and mortars, and then led his light troops to march quickly towards Anzhuang.

According to Chen Chengxing's plan, the two sides did not have many opportunities for a firefight.

If the ambush fails, the New Second Regiment will quickly withdraw from the battle and Chen Chengxing will give up the side quest.

After being constantly harassed and ambushed by the First Battalion, the Japs inevitably slowed down.

"Commander, I feel something is wrong. The Eighth Route Army had clearly withdrawn this morning, so why are they blocking us now? Is their main force closing in on us?"

Ryotaro Toyama looked at the sniping position that appeared again on the mountain pass ahead, his expression a little solemn.

There must be a reason why the Eighth Route Army delayed their actions. Now there is only their own unit in this area, and the probability of the Eighth Route Army encircling the Third Mixed Brigade is very high.

"What you said makes sense, but we don't have much of a choice right now."

"Order the troops to expand the scope of reconnaissance to prevent the ambush of the Eighth Route Army! As long as the Eighth Route Army fails to ambush us, a frontal attack will not be able to do anything to us." Nara Yukio put down the telescope and said seriously.

The reason why the Morita Battalion and the Ando Battalion were severely damaged was that they were ambushed twice in succession, which directly led to 1/3 casualties of the front-line troops.

If it weren't for those two ambushes, it would have been impossible for the Eighth Route Army's six or seven thousand troops to defeat them so quickly relying on the defense of Erlipu.

"Ha! I'll arrange it right away."

Regarding the current situation, Toyama Ryotaro doesn't have any better solution. He can only be prepared and be ready to call for help at any time.

In the evening, after arriving at Shangge Village, in order to ensure safety, the Japanese did not choose to rest in the village, but continued to travel 2 kilometers and stopped at Hululing.

"Mr. Dongshan, these two hills can form a pincer attack, which is very conducive to defense. As long as we get through tonight, we will be safe." Nara Yukio said while standing on a hill.

They are now less than 10 kilometers away from Anzhuang. They can crawl to the Anzhuang stronghold tomorrow and will be safe then.

For the 3rd Mixed Brigade, tonight is the most dangerous time.

"I'll give the instructions. Everyone must not rest and must be ready to respond to the attacks of the Eighth Route Army at any time," said Toyama Ryotaro.

"Okay, order the troops to get ready, deploy all firepower, and be ready for night battle at any time!" ordered Yukio Nara.

"Ha!"
(End of this chapter)