Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 357 As long as I don't fight you, you'll never defeat me.

"Da da da".
"Light machine gun! Take cover! Take cover!"

The soldiers at the forefront of the outpost were suddenly attacked by the Jin-Sui Army and fell in a pool of blood.

After the others realized what was happening, they immediately rolled behind cover.

"Machine gun squad, suppress fire! Assault team, advance!" A platoon leader of the A column immediately ordered.

The Jin-Sui Army's firing point was in a crucial position; without eliminating them, they could not continue their operations.

"Da da da".
As their own gunfire rang out, the two assault teams, each consisting of six men, quickly took turns leaping forward.

The Jin-Sui Army troops in the firing positions naturally saw the assault teams advancing continuously.

They immediately deduced G Army's intentions.

"Shoot! Shoot quickly!"

At this moment, even if the enemy's light machine gun is suppressing your firing position.

Our side must also respond.

Otherwise, it's just waiting to die.

"Da da da".
"Slap!" "Slap!"
The Jin-Sui Army fired wildly despite the suppressed fire.

Faced with gunfire, the assault team could only take turns.

Two minutes later, after the deaths of three men, several grenades were thrown into the enemy's position.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
A plume of smoke rose from the firing point of the Jin-Sui Army.

"Forward!" The platoon leader immediately ordered to continue advancing.

"Brother-in-law, we should go!" Gao Feng said to Pan Ga.

Gao Feng was unwilling to defend even the river mouth, let alone accompany the 38th Provisional Division to defend Qingyuan.

Pan Ga stood on the roof, holding a telescope and looking around.

At this time, the defensive line of the Provisional 38th Division in Qingyuan City was constantly moving backward.

It looks like they'll reach the command post in less than two hours.

"Brother-in-law, only by preserving your health can you better serve the Party and the country," Gao Feng advised again.

Gao Feng is now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

However, they cannot simply run away.

After all, Pan Ga was his backer.

"For the sake of the Party and the country, retreat!" Pan Ga said through gritted teeth.

Without reinforcements, Qingyuan had no chance to turn the tide.

Fang Zhiyuan's desperate resistance there was merely an attempt to inflict more casualties on the G army.

This is not a wise choice.

The Party-state still needs itself.
Two hours later, except for Pan Ga who fled with a dozen or so trusted men, the rest of the 38th Provisional Division was annihilated.

Among them, there were more than 2,500 prisoners.

After Qingyuan came Xixiao County, and this time it was the D column's turn to attack the city.

After encircling Xixiao County, the D-line formation, as usual, opened the gap towards Chongqing.

However, this time the Second Independent Detachment did not undertake the ambush mission, but instead served as the general reserve force.

After surrounding Xixiao County, the D column did not rush to attack the city.

It wasn't that Chen Sijin didn't want to attack immediately, but this was the only county town left on the outskirts of Chongqing.

We still need to use this as bait to lure out the Jin-Sui Army from Chongqing.

Although the D column adopted a strategy of encirclement without attack, its subordinate units were also slowly eliminating the bunkers and firing points on the outskirts of Xixiao.

After all, this city will have to be fought sooner or later.

Yan Jun, the brigade commander of the 8th Independent Brigade of the Jin-Sui Army responsible for guarding Xixiao, looked at the troops outside the city and asked the person next to him:
"Has a telegram been sent to the commander? What did he say?"

"The commander ordered us to hold our ground," said Meng Wei, the deputy brigade commander standing nearby.

"Hold on? How can I hold on?" Yan Jun asked anxiously.

Even the Provisional 38th Division couldn't hold it, how could his independent brigade, with only 2,500 men, possibly hold it!
"Commander, I think the Commander-in-Chief is probably determined not to send reinforcements. We'll have to think of something," Meng Wei whispered.

"What do you mean?"

Meng Wei glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, explained:

"Brigadier General, there are still people above the commander."

"This"

Yan Jun understood Meng Wei's meaning, but he hesitated.

No matter where you are, reporting to higher-ups without authorization is a major taboo.

If he were to send a telegram directly to Commander Yan, what would the military commander think of him? What would his other colleagues think of him?
Seeing Yan Jun hesitate, Meng Wei said urgently:

"Commander, what time is it? Why worry about such things now?"

"If reinforcements don't arrive soon, we'll fall into the hands of the G army!"

Yan Jun hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Send the message, send the message immediately!"

Just as the Jin-Sui Army's Independent Eighth Brigade was directly requesting reinforcements from Yan Xishan, Li Yunlong arrived at the forward command post.

"Zhang Dabiao, what's the situation now?"

"Brigade Commander, I've selected some skilled marksmen from various regiments, and they're currently sniping at us."

"However, the enemy's fortifications were very well-constructed, and the effect was not ideal."

"Moreover, the enemy's counter-fire is also quite strong; as soon as a gun goes off, the machine guns will immediately start firing."

"It seems the Jin-Sui Army has been quite busy this past month," Li Yunlong said, holding up his binoculars.

The Jin-Sui Army troops in Xixiao County added many new defensive fortifications outside the original Japanese fortifications.

"Brigade Commander, this can't go on forever. When are we going to launch an attack?" Zhang Dabiao asked from the side.

There's no point in continuing to waste time like this.

The sniping was effective at first, but after only half an hour, the Jin-Sui army stopped showing themselves.

Only the gun muzzle was exposed, continuously firing.

“This isn’t something we can decide. The higher-ups’ plan is to besiege the enemy stronghold and then attack their reinforcements. I estimate we’ll have to wait a few more days,” Li Yunlong said.

In the past few days, the units of the D column have at most made a show of attacking, and it is unlikely that they will launch a full-scale assault.

"Although we won't launch an attack in the short term, we can't sit idly by. We need to actively prepare," Li Yunlong said.

"Brigade Commander, I've already given the order." Zhang Dabiao nodded. "Whenever the soldiers have time, they'll dig the trenches forward to shorten the attack distance."

“Zhang Dabiao, I’m telling you, you’re just stubborn.” Li Yunlong glared at him.

"Don't just look up, can't you think of a solution from below?"

"You mean the tunnel?" Zhang Dabiao suddenly realized.

The biggest obstacle to the D-line from Xixiao County is the city wall, which is more than five meters high.

If the city walls can be breached through tunnels, then all that's left is to conquer them.

“That’s right, it’s a tunnel!” Li Yunlong nodded.

"Find a coffin, put the explosives inside, and place it under the city wall, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Earthwork is an area where independent brigades are traditionally skilled.

"I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Dabiao immediately left the forward command post and went to the engineering company.

In the following days, the Independent Brigade would fire guns and artillery whenever they had nothing else to do, in order to attract the attention of the defending troops.

Meanwhile, the engineers began secretly digging tunnels in the west of the city.

"Commander, Commander Yan has sent another telegram, requesting immediate support for Xixiao County."

Wei Wenjie handed a telegram to Shi Anguo.

This is the third telegram sent in the past few days.

"I understand." Shi Anguo took it and casually put it aside.

"Support, support, it's easier said than done."

"Commander Yan isn't in my position, so how would he know the difficulties we're facing now!"

Shi Anguo sighed.

If he could provide support, would he refuse?

But now it's obvious that the G army has a pocket outside.

If we rush out at this point, will Yu even survive?

For the situation in Shanxi, Chongqing is the most important.

With Yuci as a springboard, they could seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Taiyuan.

Why can't Commander Yan understand? Why is he so concerned about those few troops?
"Commander, Commander Yan's words are getting increasingly harsh; this can't go on," Wei Wenjie said.

Although Commander Yan was not like Chairman Chang, he never directly commanded brigades or regiments.

But no one could guarantee that if things continued to drag on, Commander Yan wouldn't send a telegram to the two divisions below.

"We need to think of a way." Shi Anguo rubbed his brow.

Radio facilitates the transmission of orders, but sometimes convenience isn't necessarily a good thing.

"Here's what you're going to do: draft a telegram saying that the G army has been spotted around Chongqing and is poised to launch a major attack on the city."

"The troops in Chongqing are already stretched thin and unable to send reinforcements."

"By the way, also send a copy of the telegram to the Eighth Brigade, and tell them to find a way to hold their ground," Shi Anguo said.

"Yes!"

"Damn it, is Shi Anguo a tortoise? Why isn't he sending troops?"

The commanders of the B and C columns, responsible for the ambush, were utterly speechless.

There's no need to be so cowardly, is there?

"What do we do now?" B Zongsi asked.

"I'm running low on food. Do you have any extra food?"

When C heard that B wanted to borrow grain, C was helpless.

"The C column only has one day's worth of rations left."

They are currently lying in ambush; they cannot allow the militia to deliver grain in a high-profile manner.

Once we finish eating the current food, we'll go hungry.

"I should have borrowed some from the Second Independent Detachment," said B Zongsi Jin.

"Borrow? What's different about the Second Independent Detachment?"

If it's just about food, the troops aren't lacking anything right now; it's just that logistics can't keep up.

"Those factories in the base area of ​​the Second Independent Detachment have been moved to Taiyuan and placed under the jurisdiction of the General Logistics Department."

"However, the supplies are still somewhat biased towards the old employer, and the Second Independent Detachment has the most abundant compressed rations," B Zongsi explained.

"Compressed rations were invented by the Second Detachment?" C-Column Commander Jin finally realized.

The C-lineage was located at the northernmost part of northern Shanxi and was unaware of the Zhongyun Mountain incident.

"Yes."

Although the ingredients of compressed dry food have changed slightly, the nutritional content is still quite sufficient.

It's also very filling, but the taste might not be that great.

But this greatly shocked the troops that were assigned to the unit.

For military campaigns, convenience alone is enough.

However, due to production limitations, even though the main force of the field army currently only has more than 100,000 men, they cannot supply enough compressed rations.

"It's no use talking about this now. Who knows if the Jin-Sui Army will stubbornly refuse to leave their positions?" The commander of the C Column shook his head.

This was truly baffling to him.

In the past, we fought against puppet troops, and the Japanese would often provide support as well.

Why did they refuse to help the Jin-Sui Army when they were in dire need?

"Report this to the headquarters. This isn't something we can decide on our own anymore," B Zongsi said helplessly.

"Okay, report it."

"This Shi Anguo, without sending a single soldier, managed to break our plan to besiege the point and intercept reinforcements," General Manager Liu said with a hint of helplessness.

"Since besieging the city and attacking reinforcements is not feasible, I think we should let the D column directly attack the city," the political commissar said.

Shi Anguo had made up his mind not to leave the nest, so there was no point in them wasting any more time.

Finish off Xixiao as soon as possible, then encircle Yu.

If we can't fight off reinforcements from Chongqing, then we should try to fight off other reinforcements.

"Give the order to the Dzong! Take Xixiao County!"

(End of this chapter)