Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 348 Three people and a pig
"It's posted! It's posted!"

Luo Ping couldn't stop smiling as he looked at the logistical statistics of the seized supplies.

Putting aside the miscellaneous things I brought back this time.

The seized items alone were worth more than 300,000 silver dollars.

Of course, the new Second Regiment could only look at this money; the gold and silver dollars, these hard currencies, had to be sent to northern Shaanxi.

The remaining banknotes that are not recognized internationally can be kept.

The Japanese soldiers would use the banknotes they accepted to buy weapons.

As for the Union Bank notes issued by the puppet government, even the Japanese themselves didn't recognize them, so they had to find other ways to spend them.

However, there weren't many of these banknotes, after all, those traitors were bad, not stupid.

They also know what hard currency is.

"Old Chen, look." Luo Ping handed the statistics sheet to Chen Chengxing.

"13 heavy machine guns, 45 light machine guns, more than 6,000 pistols and rifles, and a total of 280,000 rounds of ammunition."

"22 grenade launchers, 865 artillery shells, and more than 8,000 hand grenades."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Huh? Where did it end?"

Chen Chengxing flipped through it and found nothing at the end.

"Commander, Political Commissar, the rest have been destroyed by the Japanese," Xu Wu explained from the side.

"All the damaged equipment has been sent to Erlang Mountain."

"The Japanese are really wasting their talents," Luo Ping said with a touch of regret.

These are two mountain guns and two infantry guns; they are quite valuable.

Weapons like these, once destroyed, are virtually impossible to repair given the capabilities of the Eighth Route Army's own arsenals.

Those with better barrels can even be converted into 82mm mortars.

As for the rest, they can only be melted down and made into artillery shells and grenades.

"Xu Wu, what's the quality of these weapons?" Chen Chengxing asked.

The weapons the Japanese had were undoubtedly better than those of the Eighth Route Army, even in their most dilapidated state.

But the puppet troops couldn't guarantee that.

"The majority of them were Jin-made rifles and Hanyang rifles, with only a small number of Zhongzheng rifles."

"The rifling of the Hanyang and Jin-made rifles is mostly severely worn."

The Japanese had previously seized weapons and equipment from hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang troops in South China.

However, it is clear that none of them were allocated to the puppet troops in Shanxi.

The puppet troops in Shanxi were using weapons captured in the early stages of the War of Resistance against Japan.

"Pick out the ones with decent performance and keep them; the rest will be distributed to the county brigade or district squad."

"yes!".
After Xu Wu left, Luo Ping spoke up:
"Old Chen, we've acquired a batch of weapons. Even if we pick and choose, I estimate we can still keep one or two thousand good ones."

"This could easily be used to build another battalion or expand the independent regiment."

"what are you thinking?"

"Sigh, I'm having a headache too," Chen Chengxing said helplessly.

"What the independent regiments lack is not riflemen, but heavy firepower."

"But right now, we simply don't have that many heavy weapons."

"You can't have an infantry battalion with eight hundred riflemen, can you?"

More troops are not necessarily better; if they are too bloated, it will affect their mobility.

This is why, during the difficult times before, the Eighth Route Army mainly consisted of small regiments of about a thousand men.

Guerrilla warfare requires speed.

Although the Japanese were about to surrender, a bloated army would not be an option for future mobile warfare.

Currently, the main force of the new second regiment is actually somewhat bloated.

In other words, they had been operating within their base area and had not engaged in long-range mobile warfare.

Otherwise, it would have been evident long ago.

"Then how about establishing another independent regiment?" Luo Ping asked.

“Let’s build another regiment, but not an independent one. Let’s call it a supplementary regiment for now,” Chen Chengxing said after thinking for a moment.

The previous five independent regiments had not yet been fully equipped with heavy equipment.

The new Second Regiment does not currently have the strength to form another independent regiment.

"Alright, that's the only way." Luo Ping nodded.

In May, Chen Chengxing, who was watching the training of the supplementary regiment, suddenly heard Luo Ping excitedly calling his name.

"Old Chen! Look!" Luo Ping said, handing a newspaper to Chen Chengxing.

"The fighting on the European front is over, Germany has surrendered!"

Looking at the newspaper, Chen Chengxing said, "It seems this war is about to come to an end."

"Xu Wu, order all troops to go on high alert!"

"yes!".
"Old Chen, what do you mean?" Luo Ping asked, somewhat puzzled.

Could it be that the Japanese will launch a counterattack?

"Germany has surrendered, and the US and the Soviet Union will then turn their attention to the Japanese."

"It seems a conflict is about to break out between us and the Kuomintang," Chen Chengxing said.

"Old Chen, although a major battle between the two sides is very likely in the future, we can't make the first move," Luo Ping hurriedly said.

Next to the base of the New Second Regiment, there are also the 217th Regiment of the Central Army and the 321st Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army.

Luo Ping was terrified that Chen Chengxing would wipe out both regiments. Although the new Second Regiment wouldn't be a big deal, he couldn't afford to give anyone cause for criticism.

If the Kuomintang (KMT) were to stand on their moral high ground and point fingers at us, we'd be drowned in their spittle.

"Don't worry, I don't even look down on the 217th Regiment or the 321st Regiment," Chen Chengxing said dismissively.

Although these two groups are also lucrative targets, Chen Chengxing can't afford to deal with them right now.

Chen Chengxing is about to eat the fattest pig in Shanxi.

Three months later, on a hilltop outside Sanhe Town, Chen Chengxing met Mao Lizhilang.

"Mr. Mori, please have a seat!" Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

How does it feel to revisit this place?

“Mr. Chen, we met here two years ago, and I felt then that you were no ordinary person.”

"Now it seems I wasn't wrong," Tomoro Mori remarked.

Chen Chengxing was the first person to choose to make a fair deal with the Locust Army.

This was extremely rare under the circumstances at the time.

Moreover, Chen Chengxing directly chose me as the trading partner, which further demonstrates his foresight.

At that time, the commander of the 4th Division was Yamashita Tomotake.

After the two worked together to send Yamashita Tomoyuki away, the two-year-long transaction began.

In the past two years, Mouri Tomoro has made a fortune.

I just don't know which cave Fengwu is drinking muddy water in down the mountain right now.

"Hehe. Let's not talk about that anymore." Chen Chengxing poured a cup of tea for Mori Chiro.

"I think Mr. Mori should be aware of the current situation."

"The United States dropped two atomic bombs on your country; the Soviet Union has also launched an offensive against the Kwantung Army, and it is advancing rapidly."

"How long do you think you can hold out, Mori-kun?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"Judging from the current situation, it will take at most three months," said Tomoro Mori.

After reading the battle reports of the Kwantung Army, Mori Tomoro realized that the Soviet Union's iron torrent was simply too powerful, and the Japanese army had no chance of fighting back.

Once the Kwantung Army is eliminated, the Soviet Union can advance unimpeded.

On the vast North China Plain, armored forces are virtually invincible.

Just as the Soviet Union defeated the Kuomintang army, the Soviet Union will only do so more easily and quickly.

"Mr. Mori is really optimistic," Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

"In my opinion, your locusts probably won't last even a week."

“That’s impossible.” Mouri Tomoro shook his head without even thinking.

Even though the Locust Army's combat strength and equipment are not as good as at the beginning of the war, they still have 1.4 million troops in China.

Even if there were 1.4 million pigs, the Soviet Union couldn't catch them all in a week.

"Mr. Mori, you can fool others with some things, but don't fool yourself," Chen Chengxing said casually.

"I've heard about your plan to have 100 million people perish, but that's impossible unless you intend to destroy your country and exterminate your race."

"Moreover, most of your Italian soldiers are young and strong, and the Italian government will not let you die like this."

These are strong laborers; if Italy were to lose 1.4 million people, it would take decades to recover.

The plan proposed by the Japanese was more about creating a bargaining chip.

Of course, without nuclear weapons, Misu did not back down at all.

The Japanese could not possibly not carry out the "One Hundred Million Deaths Plan".

But if the next nuclear bomb were to fall on Tokyo, that would be unacceptable.

Because the names of Tianhuang and the esteemed officials cannot be included in this Jade Shattering Plan.

Upon hearing Chen Chengxing's words, Mouri Tomoro fell silent.

"Mr. Mori, I reckon your locusts will be surrendering soon."

“I hope you can order the Fourth Division to surrender to me,” Chen Chengxing said.

The new Second Regiment is now right next to the Fourth Division, giving it a natural advantage.

Mouri Tomoro remained silent.

Surrendering did not impose any psychological burden on him.

It was Iimoto who lost; what does that have to do with Mouri Tomoro?
Tomoro Mori had anticipated this step, and therefore had already converted his earnings into US dollars, British pounds, and gold.

After surrendering, whether he returned to Italy or went to another country, he would be a person of high status.

He hadn't yet decided whether or not to surrender to the New Second Regiment.

"Mr. Mori, what's there to hesitate about?"

"If you are willing to surrender to me, I can guarantee the safety of everyone and all the property of the Fourth Division."

"If you surrender to the Guo army, it will be difficult to guarantee your property."

Chen Chengxing's words were like the last straw.

Tomoro Mori nodded: "If I receive the order to surrender, I will send a telegram to all departments."

Although most of his assets have been deposited in international banks, he still has a considerable amount of valuables with him.

It's best to avoid losses if possible.

Since we're all going to surrender anyway, it doesn't matter who we surrender to.
"Congratulations, Mori-kun, you made the right choice." Chen Chengxing breathed a sigh of relief.

For Chen Chengxing, the equipment of a division was something he coveted, but it wasn't essential.

Chen Chengxing had other motives.

(End of this chapter)