Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 406 Stealing the Tower and Cutting Off the Minion Wave

Half a month later, the various units secretly arrived in Caozhou via Changzhi and Yincheng.

Upon reaching their designated positions, the units did not immediately launch a surprise attack, but instead rested for several days while waiting for the ammunition to arrive.

Currently, the main forces of the G army do not have dedicated supply units; supplies are generally transported by militia and civilians.

Of course, the rest period didn't mean being idle and doing nothing. Each unit sent out reconnaissance troops to investigate the enemy situation.

Wei Dayong also led the reconnaissance company of the Second Detachment, in small teams, to frequently appear along the Longhai Railway line.
A few days later, General Liu convened a strategic meeting.

"According to the intelligence gathered, the defense between Xiayi and Zhuolu is the responsibility of Xue Xiaosong's Zhuolu Pacification Office."

"However, Xue Xiaosong has already deployed all available troops to the Huaihe River region in the east."

"Only a few security regiments are responsible for guarding this area."

Upon hearing General Liu mention the security regiment, everyone present immediately put the enemy in this area out of their minds.

Security regiments? They can't even defeat the local forces of the G army, so they're not worth the attention of these main forces.

After discussing the area east of Xiayi, General Manager Liu began to focus on introducing the area west of Xiayi.

"The entire area from Xiayi to Shangdu was under the jurisdiction of Liu Jingfu's Shangdu Pacification Office."

"Liu Jingfu's main force has also been chasing after our Central Plains breakout force. However, he still has two reorganized divisions here. These two divisions are our targets."

"The headquarters of the 68th Reorganized Division and the 143rd Brigade were stationed in Bianliang; the 119th Reorganized Brigade was responsible for Pucheng and Chenqiao; and the 81st Reorganized Brigade was responsible for Yongqiu."

“整编55师74旅在兰仪、考城；181旅在归德；55师师部和29旅在虞县。”

"As for the other surrounding counties, they are also under the jurisdiction of the local security forces."

(Red represents railways)

After giving a general explanation of the enemy's situation, General Liu drew a large arc on the map.

"Our ultimate goal is to gain control of the railway from the outer lines, then advance from north to south into the enemy's rear, and then turn northwest to launch a swift counterattack, sweeping through the Central Plains and crushing the enemy!"

Everyone was excited when they heard about Mr. Liu's grand plan!
Fighting across thousands of miles, cutting through enemy lines—just thinking about it is incredibly impressive!
"Don't get too excited yet. Whether we can complete this big project depends on the results in the Huaihe River region," General Manager Liu said with a smile.

Although he formulated this plan, he was well aware that the chances of it being realized were extremely slim.

After all, Guo Jun wasn't stupid; he couldn't just let him roam freely in the Central Plains.

If the Kuomintang army is severely damaged along the Longhai Railway, they will inevitably launch a fierce counterattack.

Therefore, his initial plan was to set only a small goal.

"Our initial objective was to sabotage the railway, control traffic, and disrupt the KMT's east-west communication."

After listening to President Liu's plan, Chen Chengxing immediately understood it.

Don't be fooled by the fancy stuff I mentioned before; it's really just about stealing towers and cutting off minion waves.

“Commander, achieving this goal is not difficult, but achieving it with minimal casualties is not so simple,” Chen Chengxing said.

Although the Guo army was sparsely armed in this area, it still managed to establish a deep defensive zone stretching several to tens of miles along the north side of the Longhai Railway.

Choosing to push straight through might seem simple, but it will definitely be a tough battle.

After all, the Kuomintang army was best at ambushing and holding out.

"What are your thoughts?" General Manager Liu sat down again, and the next step was for everyone to discuss.

"The enemy has two fully-equipped divisions, totaling over 40,000 men. Although we have the advantage, we haven't achieved an absolute dominance."

The troops currently gathered in the Caozhou area, in addition to the Second Detachment and the C Column, also include the G Column and five independent brigades of the military regions, with a total strength of more than 70,000.

The Second Detachment was not afraid of these two reorganized divisions, but the firepower of the other units was still somewhat insufficient.

At this time, it is best to avoid a decisive battle with the main force of the Guo army.

“Since the initial goal is to destroy the railway, I think it would be better to deploy a large force in a line and conduct targeted demolitions,” Chen Chengxing suggested.

After Chen Chengxing finished speaking, General Manager Liu nodded, as this was roughly in line with his plan.

Several units simultaneously launch a pinpoint assault, then expand to the left and right, deciding on the next course of action based on the situation.

When the Guo army was suddenly attacked, their reaction was not quick enough.

The defenders' first reaction was to defend their own territory and they were unlikely to provide support easily.

"What are your thoughts?" General Manager Liu asked, looking at the others.

The commanders of each unit also shared their thoughts, and then discussed among themselves for a while.

Finally, General Liu and the political commissar formulated the final plan.

Tens of thousands of troops were deployed horizontally along this 200-kilometer-long railway, simultaneously carrying out targeted demolitions behind enemy lines.

"The G column and three independent brigades formed the left flank army to launch an attack on Xiayi."

"After the success, send out a small force to advance eastward, in an effort to hold back any reinforcements that might come from the direction of Xuzhou."

"The main force of the left flank army advanced towards Guide, clearing out strongholds along the line and destroying the railway."

"The Second Detachment, the C Column, and two independent brigades formed the right wing army, sending small forces to monitor Pucheng and Chenqiao, while the main force captured Lanyi and Kaocheng."

"After succeeding, a small force was also dispatched to blow up the railway and clear out the strongholds in the direction of Guide."

"The main force will expand its gains to the west and prepare to annihilate the reinforcements from Bianliang in mobile warfare."

In the right flank army, Chen Chengxing's Second Detachment served as the main force, responsible for the reinforcements from Lanyi and Bianliang, while the C Column was responsible for Kaocheng.

"Are you all clear?" General Manager Liu asked.

"clear!".
"Alright, all units march in secret. The general offensive will begin in five days!" Commander Liu ordered.

The distance from Caozhou to various locations on the Longhai Railway is approximately seventy kilometers. To ensure that all units have sufficient combat capability, General Liu gave them ample time.

"Yes!"

After five days of covert marching, the various units lay in ambush outside the towns they needed to attack. As ordered by Chen Chengxing, Team 1 was responsible for attacking Lanyi from the west and south, while Team 2 was responsible for launching a pincer attack from the east and north.

Team 4 was deployed to the Xizhai and Huangtugang areas to block Yongqiu's reinforcements.

At 10 p.m., the troops began to move forward.

As soon as the 201st Regiment arrived at Nanguan Station, they saw two trains of military vehicles parked inside.

Upon receiving the message, Li Chishui immediately gave the order:

"Halt the troops and take cover! Send a squad from the Second Battalion to infiltrate and scout the area!"

According to Wei Dayong and his team's previous investigation, there should be no trains running at Lanyi Station at night.

Now that an unexpected event has occurred, the troops cannot advance rashly.

Upon receiving the order, the fifth company commander personally led a platoon of soldiers and quietly sneaked into the station.

The group did not speak at all, communicating entirely through gestures.

As soon as they reached the outer perimeter of the station, they saw the iron gates of two trains wide open.

Hundreds of KMT soldiers were sleeping haphazardly in the vehicles and on the ground.

In addition, there were more than a dozen ten-wheeled trucks and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition.

The soldiers' eyes lit up when they saw the supplies.

Their favorite troops were those that transported supplies.

The fifth company commander waved his hand and led his troops out quietly.

"Commander, we've struck it rich! We've struck it rich!" the second battalion commander reported.
"There was probably a battalion of KMT troops inside, and the rest of the carriages were filled with a large amount of weapons and ammunition!"

"Weapons and ammunition? It seems this is a supply convoy delivering supplies to the front lines," Li Chishui said.

"But now that we've seen them, this must be the second team!"

"Second Battalion Commander! The station is now in the hands of your Second Battalion."

"Yes!"

After handing the station over to the Second Battalion, Li Chishui led the First and Third Battalions to continue their advance.

At the moment the general offensive against Lan Yi began, a large number of grenades were thrown under the buttocks of the sleeping Guo soldiers.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"What's going on! What's going on?!"

"The G Army has the G Army! Counterattack, counterattack now!"

"Quickly bring out all the heavy machine guns from the carriage!"

"Da da da".
Caught off guard, the Guo army hastily launched a counterattack.

However, the Guo army, already stunned by the attack, didn't even know how many people were attacking them.

They simply fired indiscriminately in all directions, relying on their ample ammunition.

The chaotic punches from the Guo army really gave the Second Battalion a hard time. Bullets were everywhere on the battlefield, and there was no opening for a flanking attack.

Although the situation was somewhat deadlocked, the soldiers of the Second Battalion were not in a hurry.

"Let them fight first. I don't believe they can hold out for long," the second battalion commander ordered.

At this rate of fire, it won't be long before all the guns overheat.

Unlike the stalemate at the station, the other troops launching a general offensive against Lan Yi were not having an easy time.

From firing the first shot to storming into the city, it took less than 7 minutes in total.

Moreover, the chaos within the Guo army after they entered the city far exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Is the Guo army plotting something?" Ding Futong could hardly believe how smoothly the battle was going.

This made him subconsciously think that Guo Jun wanted to lure him into a trap.

"Never mind all that, just push in and find their command post!" Li Chishui said, waving his hand.

Lan Yi only has one regiment of soldiers, plus at most less than a thousand brigade-level troops.

Moreover, both the 68th and 55th Divisions were reorganized from the Northwest Army.

The mountain guns equipped by its directly subordinate artillery battalion were all obsolete miscellaneous cannons, old cannons, and even Japanese mortars and infantry guns.

Even if the entire 68th Division were here, they couldn't do anything to the Second Detachment.

Even if the artillery regiment of the Second Detachment remained in Caozhou, the same thing would happen.

When Li Chishui was leading his troops to slaughter everyone in Lanyi City, he suddenly saw a large number of officers running out of a large courtyard.

"That's the enemy's command post! Surround them!" Li Chishui shouted.

It looks like these people are having a meeting; let's take them all out at once.

"Surf the gun and don't kill!"

"Surrender and you will not be killed!"
The soldiers charged forward with their guns at the ready.

Faced with the gleaming bayonets, the officers of the Nationalist army wisely raised their hands.

"Keep them under control and take control of the command post!"

With a wave of his hand, Li Chishui swiftly rushed into the embankment.

However, just a few minutes later, the company commander ran back.

"Commander, it's in here."

"What? This isn't the command post?" Li Chishui asked, somewhat surprised.

If this isn't command post, what are all these officers doing here?
(End of this chapter)