Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 362 This is unreasonable
"Chen Chengxing's mind works really fast."

"A single night raid cornered the 23rd Army."

Looking at the real-time battle reports from various units, General Liu relaxed.

In an attempt to break through the encirclement, the 23rd Army had launched several counterattacks throughout the morning, but all of them were repelled.

The Jin-Sui Army was good at defensive battles, but when it came to offensive operations, they were utterly incompetent.

"The morale of the 23rd Army of the Jin-Sui Army is now on the verge of collapse."

"We should try to avoid a cornered beast fighting like a cornered animal. I think we should continue with the tactic of surrounding three sides while leaving one side open," the political commissar said.

"Yes, we're thinking the same thing." Mr. Liu nodded.

"By leaving an opening in the south, we can create a false escape route. As long as the 23rd Army escapes the natural barrier, we can annihilate them in motion."

Guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare are their specialty.

"Then it's settled." The political commissar nodded in agreement.

After discussing the details, the two sent the order to the Second Independent Detachment.

Chen Chengxing immediately ordered the breach to be opened, and then launched feint attacks from several other sides.

Upon seeing the sudden opening, the Jin-Sui Army on Qilishan Mountain no longer considered anything else.

They immediately followed the gap and headed straight for Yushuling, where the general headquarters was located to the south.

The Provisional 44th Division and the 6th Division of the Provincial Defense Army on Tutaishan Mountain also ran away when they saw the people on Qilishan Mountain running away.

Once the troops at Qilishan retreat, one of the corners that could have been relied upon by each other will be gone.

If they continue to stay on the mountain, all that awaits them is encirclement and annihilation.

"Sir, all units are rapidly retreating!"

The operations staff officer hurriedly reported, holding the telegram.

Whether it was the troops on Qilishan or Tutaishan, they all acted first and reported later.

By the time the command received the telegram, they had already left the position.

“I’ve already seen it.” Peng Yulin’s expression was extremely grim.

The three defensive positions were only three or four kilometers apart.

Peng Yulin could see the dense, dark mass of people being evacuated without even needing binoculars.

Peng Yulin knew very well that he was no longer able to advance towards Chongqing.

He could neither save the 19th Army nor wanted to die in Chongqing with the enemy.

The only way to preserve the main force is to retreat in large numbers.

"Pass on my order! The 63rd Division shall launch a fierce attack to the north, and the rest of the troops shall retreat immediately!"

Peng Yulin planned to use a feint attack.

If the G army falls into the trap and slows down their pursuit, then I can leave at my leisure.

Even if the G army doesn't fall for the trap, the 63rd Division can still support the main force's retreat and buy themselves some time.

"Commander, the pursuing troops report that they have encountered fierce resistance from the main force of the Jin-Sui Army."

"They have already broken contact with the main force of the Jin-Sui Army."

"However, according to reports from the troops, the Jin-Sui Army has a tendency to stabilize its position and launch a counter-offensive again," Xu Wu reported.

"A counterattack? Absolutely not." Chen Chengxing said decisively.

Previously, when they used natural defenses for defense, the Jin-Sui Army was beaten black and blue. How could they dare to engage in open field battles?

"I think this is a feigned south while actually being in the north!"

Chen Chengxing was certain that the Jin-Sui Army wanted to return to Shuncheng.

"Send the order to Li Chishui: have the 201st Regiment advance lightly and rapidly southward along the right side of the road, with the target being Lijia Yu!"

Lijia Yu is located on the east bank of the Yang River. Although the village is small, it was a necessary route for the Jin-Sui Army to escape.

If we can capture Lijia Yu first, we can block the Jin-Sui Army on the riverbank.

Unless the Jin-Sui Army all turn into fish, they will have no chance of escaping.

Upon receiving Chen Chengxing's order, Li Chishui immediately issued a command to march at full speed.

"Go quickly, go quickly!"

"I'm telling you, on the road you are not allowed to linger in battle, capture prisoners, or make a fortune from foreign goods!"

"We have only one goal, and that is Lijia Yu!"

"If we successfully block Lijia Yu, the detachment leader will have to treat us to dumplings!"

On the mountain road to the right of the highway, Li Chishui kept urging them on.

The main force of the Jin-Sui Army quickly retreated south along the highway, while Li Chishui led the 201st Regiment to take a shortcut through the mountain gullies.

The mountain roads were already difficult to travel at night, and the continuous rain made them even more muddy.

The soldiers kept slipping and falling on the muddy road, but not one of them made a sound.

Even when they fall, the soldiers instinctively protect their weapons first.

If mud gets into the gun, it'll break down during a firefight.

The 201st Regiment ran for more than four hours in the mud.

Around 10 p.m., they finally overtook the Jin-Sui Army and arrived at Lijia Yu ahead of schedule.

"Quickly, build a defensive position immediately! The Jin-Sui Army could arrive at any moment!"

Without taking a break, the 201st Regiment immediately began digging fortifications.

Half an hour later, Li Chishui, who was directing the digging of trenches, received a message from a sentry.

"Commander, the vanguard of the Jin-Sui Army has arrived."

"Have your comrades get ready and do as I say."

Li Chishui immediately ordered his troops to enter combat readiness.

A few minutes later, looking at the Jin-Sui army that had been traveling through the night, Li Chishui waved his right hand.

"Three shots per group!"

"put!".
"Clap clap clap" "Clap clap clap".
The vanguard of the Jin-Sui army, caught off guard, was immediately thrown into chaos.

"It's the G Army! Retreat! Retreat now!"

Faced with the barrage of heavy machine gun fire, the Jin-Sui Army dared not stay in place for even a second longer.

They all scrambled and stumbled, fleeing in a sorry state.

Seeing the sudden burst of firepower from Lijia Yu, Peng Yulin's face turned ashen.

"Damn it! How did the G Army get here?!" "And how did they bring a heavy machine gun with them?"

The G Army set off from the direction of Qilishan. How could it possibly be faster than the Jin-Sui Army that took the highway?
This is unreasonable!

"Sir, what should we do now?" Shi Wenjun asked from the side.

"Order the troops to immediately construct positions and launch a full-scale attack after dawn!" Peng Yulin ordered.

The location of Lijia Yu was too crucial; it completely blocked the Jin-Sui Army's plan to retreat along the highway.

If they leave the highway, given the current state of the Jin-Sui Army, they'd be lucky to cover even ten li a day.

To ensure a successful retreat, Lijia Yu must be captured!

However, Lijia Yu has heavy machine guns, so the only way to counterattack is to unleash the power of artillery during the day.

In the morning, the sun had just risen above the horizon.

The artillery regiments of the Jin-Sui Army then began to unleash their power.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
The 201st Regiment's position was covered by a barrage of artillery fire.

The combined power of the thirty-six 75mm mountain guns was terrifying.

The 201st Regiment spent the whole night building fortifications, and almost all of the exposed parts were leveled.

However, no matter how powerful the Jin-Sui Army's firepower was, the soldiers had no intention of retreating to the air-raid shelter.

They all knew their mission was important, so they all stayed huddled in the trenches and held their ground.

When the artillery fire subsided, the vanguard of the Jin-Sui Army charged toward the 201st Regiment's position along the highway.

"The enemy is coming up!" the observation post shouted.

"Shoot!" Li Chishui stood up and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

Upon hearing the signal, the soldiers all stood up and fired.

"Put-put-put."
The moment the two sides met, they went all out.

The Jin-Sui Army participating in the attack was well-equipped with firepower, including light machine guns, rifles, and submachine guns.

Judging solely from the performance of the Jin-Sui Army, Peng Yulin's will to survive was at its peak.

Those who participated in the attack were all the main and elite troops of the Jin-Sui Army.

This is completely different from the usual practice of the Guo army in combat, where they would first use miscellaneous troops to wear down the enemy.

Under Peng Yulin's personal supervision, the Jin-Sui Army launched more than ten consecutive attacks from morning to noon and from noon to afternoon.

The ground in front of the 201st Regiment's position was littered with corpses.

However, the 201st Regiment found the battles becoming easier and easier as they progressed.

"The Jin-Sui Army has lost its courage."

Seeing the Jin-Sui Army slowing down after encountering some obstacles, Ding Futong breathed a sigh of relief.

The Jin-Sui Army in the afternoon and the army in the morning seemed like two different units.

"As the saying goes in the play, one should press on with one's might, but the second attempt will be less effective, and the third attempt will be exhaustive."

"How many drums have passed since the Jin-Sui Army arrived?"

Li Chishui put down his binoculars and looked at his watch.

Despite the large number of soldiers in the Jin-Sui region, they are no match for us.

Apart from a very small number of elite troops, most of the Jin-Sui Army could only fight battles when the tide was against them.

Once their elite forces are wiped out, their offensive will pose little threat.

"It seems to be the fourteenth or fifteenth charge," Ding Futong said.

"Judging from the timing, the main force should be arriving soon."

"Tell the comrades to save their energy; we still need to capture prisoners later," Li Chishui said.

Peng Yulin, whom Li Chishui regarded as a lamb to the slaughter, was now in a state of great anxiety.

"Two thousand soldiers can hold off my thirty thousand troops?"

Peng Yulin now understood perfectly well that he had already missed his best opportunity.

They should have launched a full-scale attack last night.

However, he had misjudged the strength of the G army's heavy machine guns and chose to utilize his artillery advantage during the day.

Who would have thought that the other side didn't even have a heavy machine gun?

"Sir, the G army in front of us is definitely a tough nut to crack. We need to think of other ways."

"Why don't we cross the river?" Shi Wenjun suggested.

Although this G army only has light weapons, they definitely won't be able to take it down in a short time.

"Crossing the river? How can we cross it? It's been raining for days, and the Yang River's water level is high. Anyone who tries to cross at this time will drown."

Peng Yulin directly rejected Shi Wenjun's proposal.

He had planned this all along, so he sent out reconnaissance troops all around.

However, none of the information obtained from these investigations was in their favor.

Now, even if we wanted to seize advantageous terrain, we couldn't continue to hold our ground.

The army of over 30,000 men, though still having ammunition, had run out of food.

Just as the Jin-Sui Army commanders were discussing the matter animatedly, a sentry brought them news that made them even more desperate.

"Sir, the G army is catching up!"

"How many people?" Peng Yulin asked anxiously.

"They're everywhere, there must be at least 50,000 of them!"

"They have encircled us from the north and east!" the sentry reported.

Peng Yulin's face was extremely grim. With their exit blocked by Lijia Yu, the only area where the G army had not appeared was the west side facing Yanghe River.

The Yanghe River is now a dead end.

"Order the troops to prepare for a desperate battle!" Peng Yulin said through gritted teeth.

"yes!".
Unlike Peng Yulin's determination to die, the ordinary soldiers of the Jin-Sui Army had no such thoughts at all.

They didn't join the army willingly in the first place, and they were often bullied by officers.

Looking back now, it's ridiculous to think we made them risk their lives.

(End of this chapter)