Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 311 Using two thousand men to create a base, the Eighth Route Army will definitely fall for it.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, a report from the front: the Japanese are retreating westward."

At dawn, Xu Wu walked into the temporary command post and reported.

"Withdrawn? They've only been fighting for a day, why are they withdrawing?" Luo Ping asked, somewhat puzzled.

These are different from the Japanese soldiers we've seen before.

The Japanese have always been the type to charge forward whether they gain an advantage or suffer a loss.

Why did they retreat so quietly this time?

"What a pity. We finally managed to destroy the Japanese artillery positions, just when we were about to take advantage of the situation."

"The Japanese soldiers actually ran away."

Chen Chengxing casually tossed the pencil onto the map on the table, a look of regret on his face.

With the Japanese losing their artillery positions, the New 2nd Brigade gained firepower superiority.

If the Japanese don't withdraw, the 211th and 212th Regiments will prepare to take action.

Once the encirclement is complete, the Japanese soldiers will be severely injured, if not killed.

It's a pity that the Japanese soldiers ran away as soon as they saw it.

"What's the situation regarding casualties?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"The total number of casualties across all regiments was 835, but the Japanese suffered at least twice that number."

"The explosions on the Japanese positions last night were quite conspicuous," Xu Wu said excitedly.

He had never seen such a big explosion before.

"That was a Japanese artillery position that exploded. The special forces have already sent a telegram explaining the situation," Chen Chengxing said.

If Chen Chengxing hadn't known that the Japanese artillery would be wiped out, he wouldn't have dared to launch an attack so easily.

"However, after this battle, there probably won't be another opportunity like this."

The reason we were able to wipe out the Japanese artillery position was entirely due to the terrain, plus a bit of luck.

The rugged terrain meant that the Japanese artillery pieces were not spaced at the standard distance.

In addition, the Japanese had piled up artillery shells on the position, waiting to be fired.

That's how I managed to kill him in one shot.

However, after suffering such a huge loss, the Japanese will surely learn their lesson.

From now on, let alone fighting the New Second Brigade, the Japanese will probably have to be careful when fighting any Eighth Route Army.

After all, the Japanese already knew that the Eighth Route Army had heavy mortars.

"It's already quite good to have something like this even once," Luo Ping said with a smile.

"The cannon company fired a total of thirty shells and achieved such great success. You should be secretly happy."

"Hahaha"

The command center was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
After the Fourth Brigade withdrew from Dayun Mountain, the system notified that they had gained 5400 honor points.

This is only a victory assessment, which means that many Japanese officers must have been killed.

On the other hand, the Fourth Brigade did not simply leave when it retreated.

Under Yoshio Shinotsuka's instructions, the 4th Brigade placed an infantry battalion at the Zhang Family Association and also dispatched an additional regiment of Locust Army troops to reinforce it.

The total number of Japanese and puppet troops in Zhangjiahui was nearly two thousand.

In addition to the two infantry guns of the Japanese battalion's artillery squad, two more 75mm mountain guns manufactured in Shanxi were specially added.

The parts for the Shanxi-made mountain guns were all imported from Italy before the war, so their quality was not much different from that of the Type 41 mountain gun.

In order for the troops to hold out for a long time, the Japanese stored a large amount of food and ammunition in Zhangjiahui.

At the same time, in order to prevent the Second New Brigade from connecting with the Eighth Route Army in Liangshan to the south.

Yoshio Shinotsuka reinforced the garrison in Luyang to a regiment.

From Qujiao Town and Junyu Town in the west of Luyang to Hekou Town in the east, all are within the jurisdiction of this joint team.

Inside the Taiyuan Command Headquarters, Yoshio Shinotsuka looked at the Dayun Mountain on the map and said:

"Yamaoka-kun, do you think the new Second Brigade will be fooled?"

"This bait is tempting enough; it should bite on its own," said Michifumi Yamaoka, slightly hesitant.

Zhangjiahui is an important node for the new Second Brigade as it heads north from Dayun Mountain.

The locust army's occupation of this area is a thorn in the side for the New Second Brigade.

Moreover, the Zhang family is right at the doorstep of Dayun Mountain, posing a constant threat to the safety of the new Second Brigade.

The 8th Regiment, now stationed in Luyang, has completely sealed off the south side of Dayun Mountain.

The only way for the new Second Brigade to develop is to move north.

"I hope so." Yoshio Shinotsuka nodded.

The biggest threat to the new 2nd Brigade right now is its several heavy mortars.

As long as the New Second Brigade attacks Zhangjiahui, it will inevitably have to deploy heavy artillery.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to capture a fortified stronghold garrisoned by two thousand men.

Yoshio Shinotsuka had already spoken with Commander Okamura, and that as soon as the New Second Regiment made a move, planes would come to bomb it.

If the heavy mortars of the New 2nd Brigade are rendered useless, they will be like toothless tigers.

When we sweep through again next time, we can chase after them and kill them.

Just as Yoshio Shinotsuka was full of hope, Luo Ping was also discussing the Zhang Family Association with Chen Chengxing.

"Old Chen, what are you planning to do about the Zhang family?"

"They put up a sign at the entrance that said something like 'Bandit Suppression Experimental Zone'."

The Japanese soldiers from Zhangjiahui put up a sign, which had a bad influence on the surrounding villages.

"Let the Japanese do whatever they want, it's none of our business," Chen Chengxing said casually.

As the Pacific War progressed, the Japanese would inevitably have to withdraw a large number of their elite troops.

Time is on the side of the Eighth Route Army, and the new Second Brigade only needs to develop step by step.

In another year, the offensive and defensive strategies will change.

"Sigh, I feel a bit awkward seeing the Japanese devils at our doorstep," Luo Ping said.

The Zhang family was too close to their base; they were practically inseparable.

The Japanese soldiers could urinate all the way to the base area from the pillbox.

"If the Japanese devils come out every now and then, we won't have a good life."

"Not sending our main force to fight doesn't mean we'll let the Japanese run rampant," Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

"I have already given orders to Li Chishui to take charge of dealing with the Zhang Family Society."

"Li Chishui? How can a county brigade deal with the Zhang family?" Luo Ping asked, puzzled.

The Zhang family, including all its members, numbered two thousand enemy soldiers.

Li Chishui is made of iron, but how many nails can he hammer?

“County brigade? This time when he comes back, I’ll probably have to give him the status of an independent regiment,” Chen Chengxing said.

"That can't be right? He has so many people?" Luo Ping asked in surprise.

Apart from the independent regiments of the Eighth Route Army divisions at the time of the reorganization, the independent regiments of the various military regions afterwards all belonged to local forces.

Even for local troops, an independent regiment usually has more than a thousand men.

However, according to the organizational structure reported by the Wuyi County Brigade, they currently only have about 500 people.

This is far from the size of an independent regiment.

"Hmph! Every single one of these people from the new Second Regiment will conceal their organizational affiliation."

"You'll find out when Li Chishui returns with his men," Chen Chengxing said.

They were all his own men; how could Chen Chengxing not know them?

Besides the county and district brigades, the main force regiments probably also have redundant personnel, but Chen Chengxing is just pretending not to know.

After all, there are some things that Chen Chengxing, as a superior, should not know.

"Then I'll wait and see," Luo Ping said with a smile.

The more people the better. The base area is currently producing a large quantity of potatoes, so we are not afraid of having too many people.

"We'll talk about the Zhang family's affairs in a couple of days." "Right now, the issue at hand is the guerrilla zone," Chen Chengxing said.

"Reports from all regiments: the situation has worsened since this large-scale mopping-up operation than before."

"In the villages of the guerrilla areas, the vast majority of them have established puppet regimes."

"This has been very unfavorable for the development of local forces."

After the Fourth Brigade retreated, Chen Chengxing had already ordered the three main regiments to return separately.

The next area that the new Second Brigade will focus on developing is local troops.

However, the development of local forces is now being severely hampered by the puppet regime established by the Japanese.

In this situation, the main force cannot possibly push forward in one straight line.

After all, many puppet regimes were forced into existence, and not necessarily by die-hard traitors.

If we take such a drastic approach, it will cause a huge mess.

Besides, even if it's cut off, the Japanese can rebuild it when they come back.

If this continues several times, the people will likely lose their lives.

"What are your thoughts?" Luo Ping asked.

Based on Luo Ping's understanding, since Chen Chengxing raised this question, he must have a solution.

"We confront the Japanese head-on. If the Japanese develop puppet regimes, we will expand our armed work teams!"

"Let the armed work team keep a record of the traitors' names on both the red and black lists," Chen Chengxing said.

Starting last year, a campaign was launched to strengthen security in order to deal with the Japanese invaders.

The Eighth Route Army adopted the strategy of "advancing when the enemy advances".

Various units dispatched armed work teams one after another, and the New Second Brigade naturally took action as well.

The mission of the armed work teams was to mobilize and organize the masses and establish secret regimes.

"Red and Black Accounts?"

Luo Ping understood exactly what it meant to expand the size of the armed work team.

After all, the Japanese had intensified their efforts, so the Eighth Route Army had to retaliate by intensifying its own efforts as well.

However, this was the first time Luo Ping had heard of this red and black account.

"It's very simple, just set up a ledger for each traitor."

“A red dot is recorded for anyone who does a good deed for the Eighth Route Army; a black dot is recorded for anyone who does a bad deed.”

"If there are many red dots, even if we catch them, it won't be difficult; if there are many black dots, we'll settle the score with them."

Chen Chengxing took a piece of paper and used Zhang San's name as a template.

Looking at the sample on the paper, Luo Ping immediately understood Chen Chengxing's idea.

"That's a good idea," Luo Ping nodded.

"Too many red dots, treat leniently; too many black dots, kill without mercy."

"This isn't a black and white ledger, it's practically a book of life and death!" Luo Ping laughed.

With this ledger, those traitors and puppet troops dared not easily commit evil deeds.

It's different to have a knife held to everyone's neck than to have it held only to your own.

One of the major tasks of the armed work team was to eliminate traitors. With the ledger, they could target and eliminate die-hard traitors in a targeted manner.

Before long, all the remaining traitors will be two-faced.

This was crucial for the Eighth Route Army's expansion into enemy-occupied and guerrilla areas.

After all, the Japanese could not extend their power to the grassroots level; the local governments were basically controlled by traitors.

If they could secure the covert support of local township and village chiefs, the guerrillas could swim right into the heart of the Japanese invaders.

"Leave this matter to me, I'll coordinate with the local comrades," Luo Ping said.

The armed work team is a force that integrates the Party, government, military, and civilians.

In addition to the new Second Brigade sending combat personnel, local governments also need to send political officers.

"Mm." Chen Chengxing nodded.

This was originally the political commissar's job, so Chen Chengxing naturally wouldn't take it on.

"I'll have someone notify you when the Wuyi County brigade arrives," Chen Chengxing said.

"it is good."

A few days later, Li Chishui walked into the brigade headquarters with a grin.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, Wuyi County Brigade, Battalion Commander Li Chishui, is here to report!"

"Alright, have a seat." Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

"Tell me, how many people did you bring this time?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"Hehe. Not many, less than 1,200 people," Li Chishui said, feigning embarrassment.

When Li Chishui received the transfer order, he realized what was going on, so he brought everything he could with him.

"Wow. It's only been a year and a half, and you've already gathered so many people?" Luo Ping was a little incredulous.

There were only a dozen or so people when Li Chishui left.

"The more the Japanese army sweeps through, the more people who have grudges against them become, and naturally, the easier it is to recruit soldiers," Li Chishui explained.

If the Japanese hadn't launched sweeps in the countryside, the Eighth Route Army would have gradually and subtly developed its influence.

If the Japanese intensify their mopping-up operations, given the discipline of the Japanese and their puppet troops, they will only gain a large number of enemies.

Those who had a grudge against the Japanese devils suddenly became Eighth Route Army soldiers.

This is also why the more the Japanese swept through, the more Eighth Route Army troops appeared.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. You should already know why I asked you to come back."

“The area north of Dayun Mountain, including Zhangjiahui, Jiaozhen, and Zianshan, is all under your jurisdiction.”

Chen Chengxing pointed to the map.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, the Zhang family's affairs are easy to discuss, but... isn't this a bit illegitimate?"

"After all, we are the Wuyi County Brigade. What kind of nonsense is it for us to run into Ping'an County's territory?" Li Chishui said embarrassedly.

"Hehe. How about it, Lao Luo? I told you so, didn't I?" Chen Chengxing laughed at Luo Ping.

Before Li Chishui came in, Chen Chengxing told Luo Ping that Li Chishui would definitely bring up the issue of staffing.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore," Chen Chengxing said seriously.

"The political commissar and I have decided to reorganize the Wuyi County Brigade into the 1st Independent Regiment of the New 2nd Brigade, and we will report it to the military region shortly."

"A Class C regiment is organized into 6 companies, including 5 infantry companies and 1 fire support company."

In accordance with the headquarters' requirements for streamlining administration and reducing personnel, a large number of non-combat personnel in the military were laid off.

In guerrilla units, brigade-level detachments directly subordinate battalion-level battalions, and battalion-level battalions subordinate platoon-level squads.

Within regimental-level units, there are three types: A, B, and C.

The 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of Regiment A, the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of Regiment B, and the 6th Company directly under the command of Regiment C are all under the command of the regimental headquarters.

"Thank you, brigade commander, thank you, political commissar." Li Chishui was so excited he almost jumped up.

Indeed, development is faster in local areas!
In just over a year, he rose from a company commander to a regimental commander, a position he held several ranks high.

Whether it's a large or small group, you'll be Group Leader Li from now on.

“However, brigade commander, there’s the issue of firepower for my independent regiment,” Li Chishui rubbed his hands together.

He had more men at his disposal, but not many light and heavy machine guns or mortars.

"I don't have any extra weapons here, but since you're going to go toe-to-toe with the Japanese from the Zhang family, I can give you two 82mm mortars."

"The rest is up to you. If you want it, go to the armory to exchange for it."

"As for the number of people in the Independent Regiment, let's say one thousand. The rest will be used to rebuild the county brigade," Chen Chengxing said.

According to headquarters' standards, Group C should have 900 people.

However, since the new Second Brigade is capable of producing its own mortars and rocket launchers, it is inevitable that it will become somewhat overconfident.

"Yes!" Li Chishui replied excitedly.

Getting two cannons would be considered good.

(End of this chapter)