Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 239 The World Needs a Big Victory

Chen Chengxing had just returned to Hongni Bay with the cavalry company. Before he could catch his breath, he suddenly saw Wen Ying walking out of the regiment headquarters.

And from the looks of it, it was clearly heading straight towards him.

"Oh? Director Wen, have you finished your studies? Welcome back!" Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

"Captain, I have something to talk to you about." Wen Ying went straight to the point.

Chen Chengxing hasn't come back these few days, and she is almost suffocating.

"Is there something? Then come inside and talk." Chen Chengxing handed the reins to Wei Dayong.

"Sun Desheng, hand over the supplies to the logistics department. Then you can freely select new soldiers from the various guerrillas. You must fill the cavalry company as soon as possible and keep up with the training."

The Hundred Regiments Campaign is not far away now, and the cavalry company will definitely be needed at that time.

"Yes!" Seeing Wen Ying staring at him, Sun Desheng didn't dare to say anything and left quickly.

However, after entering the house, Wen Ying hesitated again and did not directly talk about the new weapons.

"Do you know about the naming of our guns at the exhibition in May?" Wen Ying asked.

"I know. I read it in the newspaper." Chen Chengxing nodded.

"I heard that in addition to our semi-automatic rifles, there is another gun at this exhibition?"

"Well, the headquarters arsenal has developed a bolt-action rifle named Type 81; our semi-automatic rifle is named Type 71."

"However, Mr. Ziren and the commander-in-chief designated the Type 81 rifle invented by the headquarters arsenal as the standard rifle."

"If the arsenals make guns in the future, they will all produce this type of rifle."

Wen Ying was still a little depressed when she said this. She really hoped that the rifle she developed could be designated as a standard rifle.

"I have anticipated this. Our semi-automatic rifle is unlikely to take on the leading role in the short term." Chen Chengxing didn't care.

Not to mention the special caliber of the ammunition, the amount of ammunition consumption alone is something the Eighth Route Army cannot withstand.

Even though the arsenal now has some inventory, Chen Chengxing still only equipped the guard company and did not distribute it to other troops at all.

If semi-automatic rifles are to become standard equipment, it will probably have to wait until after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Wen Ying himself knew the situation of the gun, so he was only slightly frustrated.

Then she changed the subject and talked about the newly developed weapon she had developed.

"Let's not talk about that. I read a lot of books in Yan'an and found that hollow charges can increase armor-piercing capabilities, so I developed a new anti-tank weapon."

Wen Ying said as he unfolded the rolled-up drawing on the table.

"After I invented it, I immediately led the team back to Dayun Mountain. I wanted to try out a few."

Wen Ying did not say anything about the Equipment Department's disagreement, for she was worried that Chen Chengxing would also disagree after knowing it.

"Okay, let's produce a few and try it out first." Chen Chengxing nodded.

This was done by Chen Chengxing, how could he not know about it.

"Ah? You agree?" Wen Ying's face was full of disbelief. Isn't this too easy?

Along the way, she was worried that Chen Chengxing might not agree.

"Of course, I feel this weapon is very useful." Chen Chengxing affirmed.

Although the original intention of RPG was to be an anti-tank weapon, it does not mean that it cannot be used to attack other things. It is equally effective when attacking firing points, bunkers, and artillery towers.

It’s just that Wen Ying is still limited to the system’s cognition and has not realized it.

Wen Ying was a little moved when she heard Chen Chengxing's words.

In her opinion, this anti-tank weapon might be a bit useless for the new Second Regiment.

After all, the terrain of Dayun Mountain and even Zhongyun Mountain Range leaves no room for the Japanese tanks to operate.

Wen Ying didn't expect Chen Chengxing to support her so much.

"Then I want to use the captured truck drive shafts to produce gun barrels, is that okay?" Wen Ying said excitedly.

Although the diameter of the anti-tank weapon is only 40 mm, the barrel is relatively long. It is not impossible to process it using rails, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The axles of the dismantled Japanese trucks, both in thickness and length, were just right for producing gun barrels.

"Yes, we can first use the iron sheet of the oil drum to stamp or weld the bullet head. Later, we can heat the Japanese helmets and reshape them, or forge the bottom plate of the railroad into pieces."

The easiest way is to use the iron sheet from a paint bucket directly, while forging the rail bottom plate is the most troublesome.

The New Second Regiment doesn’t have a roller press, and it would be too troublesome to knock it out bit by bit.

However, Chen Chengxing has no intention of acquiring a large amount of equipment in the short term, so this method should not be needed.

This problem was easily solved after the Anti-Japanese War ended and the Eighth Route Army occupied the big cities with steel mills.

"Okay, I'll try it first." Wen Ying nodded.

The arsenal does not have a stamping machine now, so it can only rely on manpower, and the speed is unlikely to be fast.

After the two discussed the details, Wen Ying left the regiment excitedly. In the following period of time, Chen Chengxing would go to the arsenal whenever he had nothing to do.

Northern Shaanxi, Yangjialing.

"On the European battlefield, BL fell, DM/HL/BLS also surrendered one after another, and the Gaul Empire, which was known as the world's best army yesterday, also surrendered."

"It seems that a hard mouth cannot beat a weak knee." Mr. Zi Ren stood on the loess slope and looked into the distance.

"The domestic situation is somewhat complicated right now," the commander-in-chief said.

"Since the puppet government was established in Nanjing at the end of March, more than one million KMT troops have surrendered to the government."

"According to intelligence from Hong Kong, secret envoys are communicating between Italy and the Kuomintang."

Now the war situation in Europe has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and the war situation in Europe has also irritated Italy's nerves.

Italy's desire to quickly subdue China and then use China to compete for hegemony in Asia and the Pacific region has been aroused.

Moreover, Italy took advantage of the serious defeat in Europe and the weakening of its influence in Asia to exert pressure on the original old powers.

Under pressure from Italy, international transportation lines in southwest China have now been blocked.

The transportation of materials has been severely disrupted.

This made the situation of the War of Resistance even more difficult, and some people within the Communist Party became more shaken, and signs of compromise and surrender had already appeared.

"After the defeat in Pingjin and Songhu, most of North China and Central China have been lost, and South China is now in danger."

Mr. Zi Ren stood on the loess slope, the wind blowing his hair everywhere.

"The whole country and even the whole world urgently needs a victory in the war!"

"Let the battle begin!" Mr. Zi Ren's eyes were full of determination.

Mr. Zi Ren is of course well aware of the price the Eighth Route Army is going to pay for its current military action, but in order to improve the domestic situation, the Eighth Route Army must make sacrifices!
After making the decision, Mr. Zi Ren immediately convened a meeting.

After discussion, the central government decided to launch a major raid.

The idea of attacking Zhengtai Road, which had been brewing in the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, was unanimously approved at the meeting.

Eighth Route Army Headquarters.

"Since the beginning of winter last year, the Japanese army has begun to implement a cage policy of 'using railways as pillars, roads as chains, and bunkers as locks' in order to target our guerrilla warfare."

"Relying on railway and highway transportation lines, the Japanese army built a large number of artillery towers and strongholds, and there is a trend of building more and more and more densely."

"In addition, the Japanese army also built strongholds near towns, stations, bridges and tunnels along the railway, each of which was guarded by dozens to hundreds of soldiers, and there were armored trains patrolling the railway."

"At the same time, the Japanese army also built a line of outposts at major key points within a range of 10 to 15 kilometers on both sides of the railway, intending to use this to cut off the connection between the bases of various units."

"The Shotai Railway was one of the important pillars for the Japanese army to implement the cage policy."
At the meeting, the Chief of General Staff took the lead in explaining the current situation.

"The central government has already agreed to our raiding plan. We called everyone here this time to discuss the specific combat deployment." The deputy commander-in-chief said while looking at everyone present.

"Boss, to carry out such a big move, our strength and trump cards are almost completely exposed to the enemy."

"In a card game, whoever reveals his cards first will often be the first to fall into a passive position." Master Liu said hesitantly.

Although the Japanese army is now vigorously building artillery towers and strongholds.

However, after the 82/81mm mortar was modified to be dual-purpose, ordinary turrets could not withstand close-range direct fire.

As long as the troops wanted, they could take down the many artillery towers built by the Japanese army at any time.

The reason why we are not starting a war now is that we don’t want to provoke the Japanese too much.

"This plan had been brewing for a long time before the commander-in-chief returned to Yan'an," explained the Chief of General Staff.

"It involves many issues such as manpower, equipment, casualties, and even takes into account the subsequent retaliation by the Japanese army."

"It's really not a good time to take action now, but if we don't fight, then..."

"If we don't fight, our country will be destroyed and our race will be extinct!" said the deputy commander-in-chief, slamming the table and standing up.

Everyone in the conference room had a solemn look on their faces. They all knew that the current domestic situation was not optimistic.

Although we still have advantages in some local battles, the overall situation is rapidly deteriorating.

The Eighth Route Army is now in a dilemma.

Taking the initiative was actually to deliberately attract the attention of the Japanese army to themselves, so as to reduce the pressure on the front battlefield.

"This battle has been reported to Yan'an, and the superiors have issued a battle preparation order."

"The 120th Division, the 129th Division and all combat units in Jin-Cha-Ji will launch a comprehensive attack on the Zhengtai, Tongpu, Pinghan and Jinpu railways, as well as all road transportation networks in the above-mentioned areas!"

"From division to regiment, from regiment to company, we travel thousands of miles! You tear up the railway, I blow up the bridge; you attack the train station, I take the mine!"

"This time we want to let the Japanese know that the Chinese cannot be defeated!"
At the headquarters meeting, it was determined that the main target of this campaign was the Shotai Line.

The total number of troops from various divisions participating in the Zhengtai Line operations was at least 22 main force regiments.

The remaining railways will cooperate in the operations, and the troops to be dispatched will be arranged by each unit on its own.

(End of this chapter)