Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 305 Promotion and Salary Increase: Reaching the Pinnacle of Life

After retreating one kilometer with his troops, Kujo Yuji turned around and began to march north.

Under Yuji Kujo's orders, the entire unit remained silent.

But where Yuuji Kujo couldn't see, several pairs of eyes were watching them.
At midnight, Yuuji Kujo stopped.

After receiving the map from the staff officer, Yuuji Kujo covered the flashlight with one hand and began to slide his fingers across the map with the other.

"Yoshi. This is it." Yuuji Kujo nodded in satisfaction.

Although there is no mention of night combat methods in the infantry manual, and the Locust Army does not usually train for night combat.

But I still managed to learn it on my own; I really am a genius.

"Order the troops to detour to Majiatun, and we will rest in the nearby dense forest!" Kujo Yuji ordered.

Since it's a surprise attack, it definitely needs to be done covertly.

The Eighth Route Army usually launches surprise attacks at night, so if I'm going to learn, it has to be at night too.

The Japanese soldiers hid in the dense forest for a whole day without even having a hot meal.

Seeing that the Eighth Route Army had not discovered him, Yuji Kujo was even more satisfied.

At 9 p.m., Yuuji Kujo stood up and said:
"Order the troops to remain silent and march covertly!"

"set off!"

Yuji Kujo led his troops, laboriously crossing Laolong Mountain, and finally arrived at Hongni Bay at dawn.

"Yoshi! We did it!" Yuuji Kujo exclaimed excitedly.

Although he adjusted his direction several times along the way, he never got lost.

Moreover, they arrived at their destination before dawn.

"Pass on my orders! Tao Ci, obey!"

Kujo Yuuji drew his command sword and shouted excitedly.

Regimental Commander, I'm here!
"Brigade Commander, the Japanese have already occupied Hongniwan." Xu Wu walked into the temporary command post from outside.

Chen Chengxing already knew the night before last that the Japanese were secretly advancing north.

At that time, Chen Chengxing had already figured out Kujo Yuji's plan.

Hongniwan was Chen Chengxing's bait to lure the Japanese.

"The Japanese are already trapped. It looks like we're about to make a fortune," Chen Chengxing laughed.

"Order all units to begin operations according to Plan No. 2!" Chen Chengxing commanded.

"yes!".
"Baka! How did the Eighth Route Army escape this time?!"

Looking at the deserted Red Mud Bay, Yuuji Kujo felt a little frustrated.

They had finally pulled off a textbook night raid, only to find that the New Second Brigade's command post was long gone.

This is so unconventional.

Are the people of the New Second Brigade all afraid of dying? That's why they broke through to the outer line so early?
Just as Yuji Kujo was there, pondering possible breakout directions for the New Second Brigade command, Li Chao rushed over.

"Sir, something terrible has happened! Our reconnaissance personnel have discovered that the Eighth Route Army has appeared in Da Niu Zhuang, with at least a thousand men!"

Upon hearing Li Chao's report, Kujo Yuji's expression changed.

"Oh no! We've fallen into their trap!" Kujo Yuji realized what was happening.

This wasn't a successful surprise attack; it was clearly a trap.

"Emergency assembly!" Yuji Kujo shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The Eighth Route Army is well-prepared; this is not a safe place to stay!"

"Everyone, immediately advance to the north side of Hongniwan Mountain and retreat from the north!" Yuji Kujo ordered urgently.

Although Yuji Kujo had already realized what was happening, it was clearly too late.

At this point, the encirclement by the 212th and 213th Regiments had been completed.

The Japanese troops had only marched less than 5 kilometers north when they were blocked at Baijiazhuang by the 212th Regiment.

"Baka yarou!" Kujo Yuuji's face turned ashen, and he had lost all confidence.

"Immediately seize the high ground to the northeast! Prepare to hold it!"

Since the number of Eighth Route Army soldiers was still unknown, Kujo Yuji did not immediately request reinforcements.

Moreover, although the Eighth Route Army had already formed an encirclement, Kujo Yuji was not too worried.

There are still a large number of troops sweeping through northwestern Shanxi.

Even if they are surrounded by the main force of the Eighth Route Army, as long as they can hold out for one day, reinforcements will arrive.

With the Japanese troops blocked, the 212th Regiment was no longer in a hurry to attack.

Instead, they strengthened the encirclement while waiting for fire support to arrive.

Sun Xun only gave the order to attack after receiving instructions from Chen Chengxing.

"fire!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"
As the firepower from mortars and infantry guns began to extend backward, the 1st Battalion of the 212th Regiment launched an offensive.

"Machine gunners, advance! Infantry squads, deploy!"

When the New Second Brigade was in combat, its battalion and company units were centered around 82mm mortars and heavy machine guns.

At the squad and platoon level, the light machine gun is the core weapon.

Therefore, when launching an attack, the machine gun team is the first to advance.

Yuji Kujo, standing on the high ground, frowned as he watched the Eighth Route Army launch their attack.

Just by observing the movements of the Eighth Route Army soldiers, Yuji Kujo was able to tell that they were elite troops.

This is not good news for him.

"Order the mortar positions to suppress the Eighth Route Army's heavy machine guns; prepare the grenade launchers for attack at any time!" Kujo Yuji ordered.

Although the Japanese only had four mortars, they were at a disadvantage compared to the 212th and 213th Regiments.

However, there was an ample supply of grenade launchers and ammunition, totaling 27.

With so many grenade launchers, there is enough to create a dense barrage of bullets.

In addition, the Japanese machine gun squadron's 12 heavy machine guns were constantly firing.

This made the 212th Regiment's attack very slow.

"Take over the artillery position and have Wang Chengzhu's heavy mortars knock out the Japanese heavy machine guns one by one."

Inside the temporary command post, Chen Chengxing put down his binoculars and spoke to Xu Wu.

Without suppressing the Japanese heavy machine guns, it would be difficult for the troops to charge onto the position.

Although the infantry guns and 82mm mortars of the 212th Regiment were usable, their power was far inferior to that of heavy mortars.

Xu Wu grabbed the phone next to him. "Hello, artillery position? The brigade commander has ordered the heavy mortars to take out the Japanese heavy machine guns."

"Suppression shot!"

The heavy mortar positions had already completed their preparations based on data reported by the forward observation team.

"put!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"
Although mortars are not very accurate, they are powerful and numerous.

After a barrage of artillery fire, two of the heavy machine guns of the Kujo Battalion were destroyed on the spot.

The remaining infantry also suffered significant casualties.

"Damn it! The Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery is here too!"

Yuuji Kujo is now feeling worse than if his father had died.

"Immediately send a telegram to the brigade commander requesting tactical guidance!"

The troops' circular fortifications were temporary structures; even if they were lucky enough to stop one shell, they couldn't stop a second or third.

After forcing the Japanese heavy machine gunners to retreat in disarray, Wang Chengzhu showed no sign of stopping.

The artillery shells began to bombard the enemy's rear.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sun Xun pushed forward another battalion, and the two battalions began to launch a fierce attack under the cover of artillery fire.

"Damn it, we can't hold on any longer!" Kujo Yuji hadn't expected the situation to collapse so quickly.

It has been less than an hour since the Eighth Route Army launched its attack.

When did the Eighth Route Army have this strength?

"Sir! Sir! The brothers can't hold on any longer! The 12th Regiment has already suffered more than half its casualties!"

Taking advantage of a lull in the fighting, Li Chao ran over and found Kujo Yuji.

He was covered in black soot and looked utterly disheveled.

"Commander Li, order your troops to hold on a little longer. The reinforcements have set off and will be arriving soon!" Yuji Kujo encouraged.

Although Yuji Kujo looked down on the fighting strength of the Locust Army, he now had to rely on their efforts.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lead the locust army to retreat.

"Reinforcements? That's great." Li Chao breathed a sigh of relief.

If the reinforcements departed from Ping'an County by truck, they should arrive within 2 hours.

Then I will be rescued.

Moreover, one might even be able to use this battle to get promoted to a minor official position.

"Sir, I will lead the brothers to continue to reinforce the position."

“Go ahead. Once we’ve retreated, I will definitely make sure you get credit for it.” Kujo Yuji nodded.

Regardless of whether you and the 12th Regiment can withdraw, as long as the Ninth Battalion can withdraw, your contribution, Li Chao, will be immense.

"Hi! Thank you, sir!"
As Li Chao turned and left, the smile on Yuji Kujo's face vanished instantly.

"Nakagawa-kun, order the Third Infantry Battalion to prepare for a breakout," Kujo Yuuji whispered.

Yuji Kujo knew very well that the Eighth Route Army, with its heavy artillery, could not possibly hold this position.

It was already incredibly lucky that we were able to defeat the Eighth Route Army.

If another round comes, the position will definitely be lost.

The best option now is to break through and retreat into the mountains while the Eighth Route Army launches its attack.

Then they left the Eighth Route Army's base area directly through the mountains.

"Hai!"
Unseen by the puppet troops, the Japanese began their preparations in secret.

A dozen minutes later, the 212th Regiment, having regrouped, stepped forward again.

The heavy mortars began their attack.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
Despite his fear of being shelled, Kujo Yuji lay down in a relatively safe spot and used binoculars to observe the movements of the Eighth Route Army.

As the shelling began to extend backward, the troops of the 212th Regiment also approached.

"Open fire!" Yuuji Kujo shouted.

"Da da da" "Da da da".
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Whether it was heavy machine guns or mortars, they were all desperately firing ammunition at this moment.

They need to move soon, and too much ammunition would be a burden.

After all, the 3rd Infantry Battalion had already suffered considerable casualties, and it was impossible for them to take all the ammunition with them.

The puppet troops became excited as they watched the Japanese soldiers launch a fierce attack.

"They're definitely Japanese! Their firepower is freaking insane!"

"With such fierce firepower, how could the Eighth Route Army possibly break through? It seems we've got this in the bag."

"That's right, it's a sure thing. When we get back, the Japanese will definitely reward us for our contributions, and we'll definitely make a fortune then."

Seeing the sudden burst of fierce firepower on the Japanese positions, the people in the Second New Brigade command post were somewhat puzzled.

"What are the Japanese doing? Are they going to give up?" Luo Ping asked, somewhat puzzled.

This is no way to fight a war. The Japanese are currently isolated and helpless.

What if we run out of ammunition? What if the machine gun and mortar overheat?
"It's not that we're not going to continue, it's that we're running away," Chen Chengxing said.

"run?"

"That makes sense; the Japanese didn't intend to continue fighting here."

Upon hearing Chen Chengxing's explanation, Luo Ping suddenly understood.

"The Japanese are delusional," Chen Chengxing said dismissively.

"Xu Wu, notify the cavalry battalion and have them prepare in the Shetouling and Dongcun area."

The Japanese soldiers entered Hongniwan from the direction of Da Niu Zhuang, and they also discovered that there were Eighth Route Army troops in that area.

Therefore, the Japanese could not possibly break through to the west; they could only detour to the north.

Heading north, Snakehead Ridge was the only place the Japanese troops could pass through on their way out.

"Yes!" Xu Wu immediately arranged for a messenger to relay the order to the cavalry battalion.

After a period of development, in addition to each regiment reaching full strength, the cavalry company of the new 2nd Brigade has also developed into a standard cavalry battalion.

The entire camp consisted of 470 people and over 600 horses.

Chen Chengxing congratulated the various regiments quite a bit on expanding this cavalry battalion.

After all, they are fighting in guerrilla territory, so they can't be too big a target.

If there were too many cavalry, Chen Chengxing feared they wouldn't be able to control them.

(End of this chapter)