Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 317 I bet your cannon has no shells.
An hour later, Chen Chengxing heard a 'putt-putt-putt' sound.

"The artillery is here! I'm going to show the puppet troops what it means to not shed a tear until you see the coffin!"

“Even if we surrender now, it doesn’t mean the battlefield has turned against us,” Chen Chengxing said, standing up.

As soon as Chen Chengxing stepped out, he saw Wang Chengzhu jogging over.

"Brigade Commander! Wang Chengzhu reporting for duty!"

"Zhu Zi, move the cannon into the Zhang Family Association stronghold and aim at the puppet army's blockhouse," Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Due to its weight, Chen Chengxing did not plan to use the 105mm howitzer this time.

Instead, they planned to use the lighter Type 88 75mm anti-aircraft gun.

As the main anti-aircraft gun of the Japanese army, it was already outdated when World War II broke out.

It struggles against high-speed aircraft and cannot hit bombers flying at high altitudes.

However, just because it's not good at air defense doesn't mean it's not good at direct fire.

Because of its extra-long caliber, this artillery shell can reach a muzzle velocity of over 700 meters per second, more than twice that of the Type 94 mountain gun.

With a horizontal firing range of 14 kilometers, it is extremely effective whether used for anti-tank or anti-bunker purposes.

Wang Chengzhu led two hand-operated tractors, chugging the cannon into the stronghold.

The loud noise of the hand tractor was extremely noticeable within the stronghold.

The puppet troops inside the large bunker could all hear it.

"What are the Eighth Route Army soldiers doing?"

Tan Dake looked at the Eighth Route Army soldiers outside through the firing port, somewhat puzzled.

Besides the strange noises from before, the Eighth Route Army has now started demolishing houses again.

"Commander, is it because the Eighth Route Army can't take us down that they're planning to tear down houses to vent their anger?" the adjutant beside him said.

"You know what, it's actually possible," Tan Dake said smugly.

"It seems that the Second New Brigade is only capable of this much. As long as we rely on our strong defense, the Eighth Route Army can't do anything to us!"

While Tan Dake was smugly showing off to the puppet troops in the bunker, Wang Chengzhu's side had already made preparations.

Artillery fire does not require demolishing all the houses in front of it; it only needs to create a trajectory that can reach the large bunker.

"Brigade Commander, Battalion Commander Wang is asking if we should fire the artillery," Xu Wu said, gripping the phone.

"Have Qin Sheng shout twice through the loudspeaker," Chen Chengxing said.

These shells are becoming increasingly rare, and Chen Chengxing would be happy to see the puppet troops surrender.

"Yes!" Xu Wu relayed Chen Chengxing's order.

“Listen up, you puppet troops inside.”

"Our brigade commander is merciful. As long as you are willing to surrender, I can guarantee your safety!"

"."

"Did the puppet soldiers inside hear that?!" Qin Sheng shouted when the puppet soldiers did not respond.

"Bullshit! If you've got the guts, come and fight your way in! If I even flinch, I'm not a Tan!"

Tan Dake was incredibly arrogant inside the pillbox, shouting loudly at the outside.

Others tried to dissuade him from provoking the Eighth Route Army, but it was too late.

"Hey! Damn, there really are people who aren't afraid of death."

"Tell Zhu Zi to fire!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"fire!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Because of the distance and speed, the trajectory of the shell is extremely straight.

Wang Chengzhu fired two shells in quick succession at the same spot, penetrating the frontal defenses of the bunker and causing an explosion inside.

They blasted a corner of the bunker to pieces.

"Continue loading!"

Wang Chengzhu was so excited to see how well the cannon worked that he prepared to fire two more shots.

Just then, Wang Chengzhu heard a heart-wrenching scream.

"Sir! Please don't fire again!"

A puppet soldier tumbled and crawled out of the smoke, holding a white towel in his hand.

Seeing this, Wang Chengzhu had no choice but to stop the shelling and then bring the puppet troops to Chen Chengxing.

"Who are you? Can you represent your brigade commander? Tell him to come out and surrender right now!"

Chen Chengxing looked at the puppet soldiers dressed in major's uniform with disdain.

"I am the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 13th Regiment. My surname is Ma. I am here to negotiate with the Eighth Route Army on the orders of our brigade commander."

"Hmph! Negotiation? At a time like this, you're still thinking about negotiation?" Chen Chengxing said with a stern face.

"We only have one principle now: surrender and you won't be killed! There's nothing else to discuss."

"I don't think you can make the decision either, so let's stop talking nonsense."

"Pillar, keep hitting!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

"fire!"

Wang Chengzhu immediately ordered the artillery to fire.

He wished the puppet troops could withstand a couple more cannon shots so he could have some fun.

"boom!"

Before Wang Chengzhu could continue loading, Battalion Commander Ma shouted in terror:

"Sir! Stop fighting! Stop fighting! I'll go and get our brigade commander to surrender right now!"

"I'll give you five more minutes. After five minutes, I'll just blow up the bunker!" Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

"Thank you! Thank you, sir." Battalion Commander Ma ran back in a disheveled state.

"Brigade Commander, do you think the puppet troops are willing to surrender?" Xu Wu asked.

“It’s not a matter of whether he wants to or not; in the face of death, no one will listen to him,” Chen Chengxing said.

Inside the large bunker, after hearing Battalion Commander Ma's words, Tan Dake paced back and forth in the room.

"Damn it, what am I going to do?!" Tan Dake was sweating profusely.
"Commander, why don't we just surrender? It's better to live a miserable life than to die," someone nearby pleaded.

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer," Tan Dake said through gritted teeth.

The Japanese have promised him that if he can hold off the New Second Brigade, they will promote him to army commander. They will also provide him with equipment and silver dollars to recruit new soldiers.

This was a huge temptation for Tan Dake.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold, and Tan Dake decided to take a gamble.

He bet that there were no shells in the Eighth Route Army's cannons.

The people around him had different expressions as they watched Tan Dake grit his teeth and persevere.

However, as time went on, seeing that Tan Dake showed no signs of surrendering, everyone's gazes kept meeting.

Outside the outpost, Chen Chengxing glanced at his watch; five minutes would be up.

"Damn, it seems these puppet troops won't learn their lesson until they're faced with death."

"Pillar, get ready and listen to my instructions," Chen Chengxing commanded.

"Yes!"

Wang Chengzhu directed the gunners to pull back the breechblock, ready to load ammunition and fire at any time.

Just as Chen Chengxing was about to wave, another white towel was raised from inside the bunker.

"Eighth Route Army commander! Don't fire! We surrender!"

A group of puppet army officers escorted Tan Dake out.

Tan Dake wants to use their lives as a means to advance his career, but he has to see if they agree.

The Eighth Route Army outside is not to be trifled with.

If another shot comes down, who knows who will die.

With the surrender of these puppet army officers, the puppet troops in the large bunker naturally laid down their weapons and obediently became prisoners.

Chen Chengxing dumped all two thousand-plus prisoners he had captured onto Luo Ping.

After the education meeting, those who could join the Eighth Route Army were recruited, and those who did not wish to join were sent back.

The rest will be sent to labor camps first, and we'll exchange them for supplies with the Japanese when we have the chance.

We can't waste a single one.

"Old Chen, this time it's really something."

Luo Ping, holding the compiled data, walked into the brigade headquarters with a smile.

"We captured 2132 people, more than 1600 pistols and rifles, and 18 light machine guns."

"A total of 15 bullets, more than 2400 hand grenades, 10 catties of grain, and 30 warhorses."

"It's just a pity we don't have cannons or shells," Luo Ping said with a hint of regret.

All the train axles that were seized earlier have been processed.

Although the guerrillas occasionally manage to pry back some rails, getting the wheel axles is not so easy.

The headquarters did manage to acquire some wheel axles through the Pinghan Railway, but it was clearly impossible for them to be assigned to the New Second Brigade.

"Having this batch of weapons is already quite good," Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

The Second New Brigade's capture of Zhangjiahui at the cost of 3 dead and 7 lightly wounded was already a resounding victory.

Chen Chengxing's only regret was that no mission was triggered.

Since the main storyline progressed to the division level, unless there is something of particular value, it is very difficult for small-scale units to trigger side missions.

Chen Chengxing is now worried that if the main storyline progresses further, he hopes that Chiang Kai-shek won't be the only target in the side quests.

"Old Luo, now we can put the reorganization on the agenda."

"Besides the three numbered regiments and the unique regiment, I plan to establish four more independent regiments," Chen Chengxing said.

"Four? I'm afraid we can't fill the full complement," Luo Ping said after thinking for a moment.

The four fully-staffed independent regiments totaled six thousand men.

Although we have now taken down the Zhang family's 8th Mixed Brigade, this brigade still doesn't have as many weapons as a single main force regiment of the New 2nd Brigade.

"I know that. The four newly formed regiments will remain the same: one full-strength battalion and two basic battalions. We'll work on the rest gradually."

"By the way, several hundred guns should arrive in a while."

"With these hundreds of guns, the newly formed regiment can be replenished quite a bit," Chen Chengxing said.

"Hundreds? Where did they come from?" Luo Ping asked in surprise.

This is not a small amount.

"The Japanese gave it to us. Hurry up and screen the prisoners. The remaining Japanese are willing to exchange them back."

Chen Chengxing detailed the fate of the puppet troops, saying that the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

"Hey, those Japanese are really generous. I'm going right now." Luo Ping walked out excitedly.

I never imagined that prisoners could now be exchanged for guns.

If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have released those prisoners back.

A few months later.

While Chen Chengxing and Luo Ping were busy reorganizing the troops, the Japanese had already begun planning a new "mopping-up" operation.

Because the Eighth Route Army was more powerful than in history, the Japanese suffered more than in history.

Especially when facing landmine warfare, the Japanese soldiers were practically exhausted, but they were completely helpless.

The fastest way to deal with landmines is to use mine-clearing tanks.

But whether the Japanese soldiers were from Shanxi or Hebei, would they dare to file a report?
Are you suggesting I tell my superiors that I want to bring a mine-clearing tank from hundreds of kilometers away?

The purpose was to deal with the Eighth Route Army.

If you dare to say that, you'd be lucky not to get slapped a hundred times.

You have to understand that the Japanese were a poor empire with a low steel production.

Because they gained no advantage in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and in China, the Japanese had no choice but to move south.

Therefore, the Japanese mainly used their steel on naval warships.

The construction of a single battleship, the Yamato, required 7 tons of steel, not even including ammunition.

The Japanese army, severely lacking in resources, could only deploy a few or a dozen tanks in large-scale battles on the Chinese battlefield.

In the enemy's rear, they can't spare a single vehicle; being able to equip themselves with even a few armored vehicles is already a great achievement.

However, these armored vehicles could not withstand the bullets from the heavy machine gun.

As time went on, the Japanese soldiers realized that their safe zone no longer existed.

Once you leave the county town, the wilderness is the domain of the Eighth Route Army.

In order to contain the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese had no choice but to expand the size of their auxiliary forces.

The Japanese targeted the 358th Regiment as the first step in their new "mopping-up" operation.

(End of this chapter)