Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 356 The reinforcements finally arrived.
In the east of the city, Gao Feng slid down the wall using a rope and then looked back at the river mouth.

"Damn it, since there's no support, let whoever wants to clean up this mess do it."

"Lieutenant Yin, let's go to Qingyuan to find my brother-in-law!" Gao Feng said through gritted teeth.

Although he was reluctant to give up his wealth and status, he was even less willing to lose his life at the river mouth.

Since there's no support, let whoever wants to take on this mess take it.

The deputy commander of the 38th Provisional Division in Qingyuan County, who was about 12 years old, became his brother-in-law half a month ago.

Gao Feng was confident that he could make a comeback with the help of his brother-in-law.

His sister is currently enjoying a period of being pampered.

Inside the city, after circling half of the river mouth, the communications soldier had no choice but to inform the battalion commander of the news of the regimental commander's disappearance.

"What? The regimental commander ran away?!" The battalion commander was completely dumbfounded.

The city hasn't even fallen yet, how come they've already run away?
"Battalion Commander, what do we do now?" Several company commanders nearby immediately asked.

With the officers all gone, naturally no one wanted to die in vain.

If the G army's shells had been slightly off-target and hit us, we probably wouldn't have been able to clear them at all.

"What else can we do? Let's get out of here!" the battalion commander said.

"There are no G troops in the east of the city, let's evacuate from the east of the city immediately!"

In this attack on the river mouth, Chen Chengxing still adopted the tactic of surrounding three sides while leaving one side open.

Don't be fooled by the simple strategy of surrounding three sides while leaving one side undefended; it's a well-intentioned but ultimately deliberate tactic.

As long as this opening is there, the enemy will be affected.

Enemies who are surrounded will not have the idea of ​​fighting to the death; they will only think about escaping by any means of survival.

Once the enemy has such thoughts, their morale and fighting attitude will be greatly diminished.

Moreover, this gap provides a passage for reinforcements, giving them hope that rescue is still possible.

Only in this way can the idea of ​​sending reinforcements be realized.

However, no one expected that Shi Anguo would choose to stay indoors and not come out this time.

By simply not sending any reinforcements, they successfully thwarted the reinforcement-catching plan.

As soon as the 1st Battalion of the 5th Security Regiment made a move, the other two battalions immediately followed suit.

After all, we've known each other for years; nobody's a fool.

"Quick! Quick!"

"Go for the source! Run forward!"

After leaving the river mouth, the soldiers of the Jin-Sui Army ran desperately towards Qingyuan.

Previously, when Gao Feng and his adjutant escaped at night, they were too inconspicuous to be noticed.

However, the sight of thousands of people leaving the city was quite conspicuous.

"Sir, the enemy has left the city!"

The scouts immediately delivered the intelligence to the command post.

"Let Sun Desheng lead the cavalry regiment to intercept them, while the 204th Regiment will attack from both flanks."

Chen Chengxing had been waiting for them to escape.

After the soldiers of the Fifth Security Regiment had run two miles from the river mouth, they suddenly discovered that cavalry had attacked from the side.

"There's an ambush!"

"The G army is attacking!"
Before the cavalry could even charge, the Fifth Security Regiment was already in chaos.

"Raise the white flag! Raise the white flag now!" someone shouted in the chaos.

The soldiers of the Jin-Sui Army knew very well that although this group of G troops numbered only five or six hundred, once they were caught, they would never be able to escape.

No one could stand still and charge forward under the firepower of cavalry.

If the speed slows down, the G army infantry will catch up.

Since we're going to be captured sooner or later, let's not risk our lives and waste time.

Soon, a white shirt was held up.

"A successful first battle has given us a good start."

At the post-battle debriefing meeting, General Manager Liu first encouraged everyone with a smile before changing the subject.

"However, this incident has also exposed a number of problems."

"First, the commanders' tactical thinking needs to be changed; second, the soldiers need to intensify their training."

"All units must abandon their guerrilla warfare habits and quickly become capable of fighting in the field."

"I have received instructions from my superiors that during the battle in Chongqing, the troops should fight, train, and reorganize simultaneously."

"The Second Independent Detachment did a very good job on tactical issues this time," General Manager Liu praised.

"A simple tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open can avoid heavy casualties for the troops."

Whether it was the Jin-Sui Army or the Central Army, their specialty from the start of the War of Resistance against Japan was defensive warfare.

Although the defensive battle was played terribly, it was still much better than the open field battle.

Upon hearing Mr. Liu's words, everyone below nodded in agreement.

They also watched the battle from the hilltop, and the Second Independent Detachment was indeed fighting with great skill and discipline.

In this battle, the Second Independent Detachment only deployed its heavy artillery at the very end.

At the beginning, the 201st Regiment did not display particularly strong firepower.

There's no reason why the Second Independent Detachment could do it, but they couldn't.

After discussing the issues, General Manager Liu then outlined the next steps for retaking Qingyuan.

Although the Second Independent Team played very well, one flower does not make a spring.

The Second Independent Detachment had already attacked the city once, and this time they were tasked with intercepting reinforcements together with the C Column.

The attack on Qingyuan will be carried out by column A.
One week later, all troops were in place.

Line A surrounded Qingyuan from three sides, leaving another gap facing Chongqing.

Chen Chengxing led the Second Independent Detachment to ambush in the Beifang Village area, while the C Column ambushed in the Nangang Village area.

The two units formed a pincer movement against the reinforcement channel reserved for Column A.

Li Yunlong's independent troops arrived at Hongmian Mountain, preparing to catch up with the Chongqing reinforcements and give them a good beating once they arrived.

Cheng Zhiqiang's 386th Brigade was stationed in the southeast of Chongqing, responsible for monitoring enemy forces in Xixiao County and ready to return to support and attack Chongqing's reinforcements at any time.

The remaining troops also had their own tasks.

At 2:00 AM, two signal flares were launched, and Column A launched an attack from three sides.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
As several mountain guns began firing, the battle at Qingyuan gradually intensified over time. "Commander, you were right, the G army really did come."

Pan Ga, deputy commander of the 38th Provisional Division of the Jin-Sui Army, looked at the occasional explosions outside with admiration.

“The G Party has always been vengeful.”

"I spoke while holding up my binoculars," said Fang Zhiyuan, commander of the 38th Provisional Division.

"Such a big thing happened in Xiaojiadian, and a river mouth alone cannot quell their anger."

"Commander, do you think the G Army will attack Chongqing?" Pan Ga realized what was happening.

"Most likely." Fang Zhiyuan nodded.

With over 20,000 troops of the 19th Army stationed on the outskirts of Taiyuan, the CCP couldn't sleep well.

Now that we have a good excuse, we will definitely find a way to seize Chongqing.

"Tell the brothers that we must keep the G army outside the city," Fang Zhiyuan ordered.

His provisional division had nearly four thousand men, and relying on the city walls for defense, he was not very afraid of the G army.

Of course, Fang Zhiyuan didn't intend to shoulder the burden himself.

He had already sent a telegram to the Chongqing Command when Column A launched its attack.

This time, Shi Anguo did not ignore the river mouth as he had done before; instead, he immediately sent reinforcements.

The Provisional 38th Division was an important part of his 19th Army, and he could not easily give it up.

Moreover, the river mouth has already been lost. If Qingyuan is lost as well, the G army will be able to march on Chongqing.

"Commander, the enemy forces from Chongqing have been mobilized, numbering over six thousand!"

Inside the temporary command post in Beifang Village, Xu Wu brought over a telegram.

"Six thousand? That's the size of a division in the Jin-Sui Army."

“Shi Anguo has invested heavily,” Chen Chengxing said.

The Jin-Sui Army had only two main divisions in Chongqing, plus some miscellaneous units such as security regiments and provincial defense forces.

According to intelligence, their total number is no more than 15,000.

The 6,000 people mobilized this time represent almost half of Chongqing's fighting strength.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the Jin-Sui Army has invested heavily; with so few men, it's not enough to feed us," Luo Ping said with a laugh.

Although the reorganization of various units has not yet been completed, there are still many gaps.

However, the Second Independent Detachment and the C Column together number nearly 30,000.

Taking down the Chongqing reinforcements was a piece of cake.

"No matter how many come, just eat some of them, and it'll be easier to take a point from Chongqing," Chen Chengxing said.

"However, we have plenty of weapons now, so let the C Column take care of this Jin-Sui Army."

"They had been developing in northern Shanxi before, and their weapons were relatively scarce."

The Second Independent Detachment is not short of rifles, so there is no need to compete with the C Column for them.

"Okay, let's support the bottom line of C."

Luo Ping had no objection to Chen Chengxing's suggestion.

Just as Mr. Liu said, a single flower does not make a spring.

No matter how luxurious the equipment of the Second Independent Detachment was, it was impossible for each person to carry a light machine gun.

Meanwhile, the 68th Division, which had set out from Chongqing, gradually moved towards the ambush position.

However, the 68th Division was very vigilant, not only having forwards and rear guards, but also sending out multiple reconnaissance teams in all directions.

Although the Second Independent Detachment and the main force of the C Column were relatively far behind, the 25th Regiment, which was at the forefront of the C Column, was discovered by a reconnaissance team.

"Damn it! Attack!" The commander of the 25th Regiment reluctantly gave the order to attack.

His plan was to draw the enemy forces over, thus buying time for the main force to encircle them.

But things didn't go as he expected.

The machine guns on the position had barely fired a few shots when the vanguard of the 68th Division began to retreat.

Immediately afterwards, the entire 68th Division took off and fled.

Its speed was so fast that even Li Yunlong didn't have time to react.

The Second Independent Detachment and the C Column, which were preparing to encircle the enemy, were also stunned and stood still.

Judging from the gunshots, less than 100 bullets were fired in total.

They probably didn't kill many people, so how did they get away like that?
Mr. Liu was also frustrated upon receiving the report.

Previously, their strategy of besieging a point to attack reinforcements had been invincible, but unexpectedly, they encountered repeated setbacks with Shi Anguo.

"There's no chance to intercept reinforcements. Concentrate artillery fire and launch a strong attack on Qingyuan!" General Liu ordered.

The Chongqing reinforcements are like startled rabbits; they definitely won't come out of their burrows easily anytime soon.

Therefore, there is no need to waste time.

Upon receiving the instructions, the mountain guns of Column A began to concentrate their firepower and bombard a section of the city wall.

Chen Chengxing's two 105mm cannons also joined the firepower attack.

The city walls of Qingyuan were covered by artillery fire.

At 11 a.m., with a loud 'boom,' the city wall of Qingyuan was officially breached.

"Kill!"
The vanguard battalion of the A column immediately surged towards the breach.

"Brothers! Don't worry! Reinforcements will be here soon!"

"Utilize the fortifications built within the city to launch a defensive counterattack!"

Fang Zhiyuan led the guard battalion to the front line.

Like armies in feudal times, the Kuomintang's troops relied mainly on officers and core elites to maintain their position.

With Fang Zhiyuan and the guard battalion leading the way, the rest of the 38th Provisional Division fought very tenaciously.

The troops in Column A had no experience in urban warfare, and upon entering the city, they found themselves quite unaccustomed to it.

However, although A's team didn't perform well after entering the city, General Manager Liu didn't say much.

This day was bound to come sooner or later.

This is just a county town. If the attack were on a large city like Taiyuan, the troops would suffer countless casualties.

The Second Independent Detachment's experience in attacking cities has been studied countless times by various units.

Therefore, A only had some initial difficulties adapting.

As time went on, the regiments took turns launching attacks, and their offensives grew stronger and stronger.

(End of this chapter)