Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 427 What a pity *2
"Commander, the 3rd team reports that they have now penetrated deep into the vicinity of Caojiaji and discovered the whereabouts of the main force of the Guo army. They cannot withdraw immediately."

"Damn it, why is Qin Sheng running so fast?!" Chen Chengxing shouted angrily.

"Two isolated regiments, venturing deep into the heart of the 11th Division—if they get surrounded and annihilated, I won't let them get away with it!"

He knew perfectly well why Team 3 was running so fast—it was because they were worried about not getting any meat.

Sometimes, going too fast isn't a good thing.

"Even if you want to punish Qin Sheng, you have to wait until he comes back," Luo Ping advised.

Of course, Luo Ping was just saying that.

He knew very well that as long as the three teams could return smoothly, Qin Sheng would at most be punished with three cups of wine as a penalty.

After all, Qin Sheng only ran too fast and lost contact with Team 2; he didn't make any major mistakes.

"Xu Wu, immediately send a telegram to Qin Sheng, instructing him to lead his team into hiding."

"Other units will provide support to Team 3 on the perimeter tonight, and Team 3 will withdraw when the time is right!" Chen Chengxing said.

"yes!".
At 8 p.m., Chen Chengxing began his operation according to the plan previously laid out by Ye Si.

The first thing the second force needs to do is to occupy the high ground of Fengshan.

Although this mountain is only 88 meters high, it still stands out majestically on the plain of Subei.

Under Chen Chengxing's orders, the 201st Regiment launched an attack from the southwest, while the 203rd Regiment launched a pincer attack from the northwest.

After several flares were launched, two regiments of heavy mortars began to fire covering fire on the KMT's forward positions and the defensive fortifications in front of them.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
The Guo army's position was covered by explosions, and the barricades placed on the ground were blown to pieces.

As the artillery fire began to extend backward, the spearhead company began to advance.

Leading the charge were the demolition experts and machine gunners.

Under the cover of the machine gunners, several demolition experts launched separate attacks.

"The G army is coming! Attack them!" shouted the frontline commander of the Guo army.

"Da da da".
The concealed machine gun bunkers began firing bullets, and the KMT soldiers on the front lines also kept firing.

Under intense fire, demolition crew members were frequently hit by bullets, but new soldiers would immediately step forward to take over the demolition charges.

Meanwhile, two light and heavy machine guns were constantly suppressing the Kuomintang army's forward positions with firepower.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
With several explosions, the enemy's barbed wire was blasted open in several places.

"Throw a grenade!"

After throwing a barrage of grenades, taking advantage of the disoriented and confused Guo army, the soldiers of the spearhead company leaped up and rushed into the trench through the gap.

"kill!".
When the Guo army was hiding in their positions, they were able to suppress the attacks of the two elite companies by relying on cover and firepower.

But when it came to hand-to-hand combat, the Guo army was no match at all.

The Guo army deployed a reinforced battalion on the mountain, establishing three lines of defense.

However, under the powerful pincer attack of the 201st and 203rd Regiments, they did not last long at all.

Before 10 o'clock, the elite troops had already rushed up the hill.

As soon as they reached the top of the hill, some soldiers heard someone shouting from inside a bunker.

"Commander! Commander! The brothers can't hold on much longer! Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements!"

At this moment, Hong Xiangwen, the deputy brigade commander of the 3rd Reserve Brigade and commander of the 9th Regiment, who was in charge of guarding the mountain closure, was almost in tears.

Having been ambushed at Wuhuading, the 9th Regiment immediately withdrew to Zhangcun.

At the time, Hong Xiangwen felt it was still not safe, so he led a battalion and two reinforced mountain guns to Fengshan.

Hong Xiangwen's original plan was that once the G army crossed the river and attacked Zhangcun, he could use the high ground to bombard the G army with mountain artillery.

Unexpectedly, the G army attacked the mountain directly from the side.

Moreover, the G army also deployed multiple heavy artillery pieces.

His two mountain guns were no match for these heavy mortars.

"Requesting reinforcements?" Upon hearing that they could directly contact the brigade commander, the soldiers of the elite company immediately judged that there must be a big fish in this.

"Don't worry! Your reinforcements have arrived!"

With shouts, several grenades were thrown into the bunker.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
After a few muffled thuds, a plume of smoke rose from the bunker.

Once the thick smoke cleared, the soldiers carefully descended into the bunker.

As soon as they entered, they saw Hong Xiangwen lying on the ground, wearing a colonel's uniform.

"Colonel? Heh heh, the company commander's gotta buy me drinks this time!"

Who would have thought that a colonel could be stationed at Fengshan, a place guarded by a battalion?

"Let's go, let's keep pushing forward!"

Just as Team 1 launched its attack on Fengshan, Qin Sheng also began his operation.

However, he did not retreat, but instead chose to continue his secret march towards Caojiaji.

"If you two dare to lie, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead, understand?"

Qin Sheng looked at the two Guo army soldiers beside him and sneered.

"Understood, understood!" The two nodded repeatedly.

“What we’re saying is absolutely true. The 11th Division’s headquarters, engineer battalion, artillery battalion, and cavalry battalion are all located in Caojiaji!”

During this single day, the 118th Brigade of the 11th Division had captured Lailong'an, which was the only victory achieved by the Guo Army that day.

To provide cover for the flanks of the 118th Brigade, Hu Ziqi ordered the entire 18th Brigade to move forward.

Hu Ziqi's original plan was for the division headquarters to remain in Caojiaji to await the arrival of the 11th Brigade.

After the 11th Brigade arrives, the troops will continue to advance. "Very good. If the intelligence is accurate, you two will be credited for your service!"

Qin Sheng patted the two of them on the shoulders.

The enemy has more than one brigade, while we only have one brigade. You have the advantage and can fight!
Qin Sheng turned his head and gave the order:
"The 207th Regiment will attack Caojiaji from west to east; the 1st Battalion of the 209th Regiment will attack Wangzhuang to cut off the connection between Caojiaji and the 69th Division, while the remaining forces will seize Xiaomacun to block the enemy forces in the east!"

"Everyone! Move out!"

At Qin Sheng's command, the previously concealed troops began to advance towards their respective objectives.

At 9 p.m., after confirming that all units had reached their positions, the 207th Regiment began its attack.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Kill!"
The 11th Division's directly subordinate units, which were suddenly attacked, were completely stunned.

They never imagined they would be attacked so suddenly.

"Defense! Defense! Get the cavalry battalion to reinforce the front line immediately!"

The voice of the KMT officer in charge of guarding the western front was somewhat distorted.

Although the mortars of the third team were skewed terribly due to the poor lighting, each shell fired sent chills down the spines of the Kuomintang troops in Caojiaji.

Inside the 11th Division headquarters, Hu Ziqi frowned as he listened to the chaotic report.

"Where did this G army come from? How did they end up in Caojiaji?!"

The closest shell to land during the recent artillery barrage was less than 300 meters from his division headquarters.

"Commander, during the day, the 11th Brigade reported that they were attacked by the G Army in a small-scale attack."

"Do you think they broke in around that time?" Chief of Staff Xiao Rui analyzed from the side.

"Possibly," Hu Ziqi nodded.

"Send orders to the front lines: troops must strengthen their defenses and are not allowed to launch counterattacks without authorization."

Hu Ziqi had no idea what was going on with the G army, and since it was nighttime, he didn't dare to launch a large-scale counterattack rashly.

However, he wasn't someone who would just take a beating without fighting back.

"Immediately send an order to the 18th Brigade to return and provide immediate support!"

"yes!".
"Captain, the field headquarters reports that the J Column and the 75th Brigade have advanced the front line to the south of the Yi River."

“Good, now not only has the 3rd Reserve Brigade been cut in half, but the 69th Division has also been surrounded!” Chen Chengxing nodded.

Team 1 has successfully captured Fengshan and has blocked the directions of Zhangcun and Xiaodian respectively.

With the J Column and the 75th Brigade already crossing the river, plus the B Column advancing from east to west, the encirclement has been formed.

"By the way, what about Team 3? Where are they?" Chen Chengxing asked.

In order to support Team 3, Team 2 has moved to the north of Jiangtouzhuang and is ready to launch an attack together with Team 3 at any time.

"Team 3 reports that they have discovered the headquarters of the 11th Reorganized Division in the Caojiaji area and are now attacking Caojiaji."

"Caojiaji? That's utter nonsense!"

Chen Chengxing didn't even need to look at the map to know that Team 3 was in danger.

Once the entire 11th Division is surrounded, Team 3 will inevitably be caught in the middle.

If we want to save them, the Second Division will have to abandon the Field Command's orders and go all out to confront the 11th Reorganized Division.

But that would give the 69th Division a chance to break out, and if the 69th and 11th Divisions attacked the Second Detachment from both sides, the Second Detachment would definitely be severely damaged.

Neither of these points is acceptable to Chen Chengxing.

"Send a telegram to Qin Sheng, ordering them to immediately retreat to the northwest, with their target being Shangzhao!" Chen Chengxing said solemnly.

According to the field headquarters' plan, the Second Detachment was to advance east and west together with the B Column to cut off the 69th Division's retreat route and the communication between the 69th and 11th Divisions.

Uesugawa was the only route the 69th Division could take during its retreat.

By having Team 3 move there, we can turn a passive situation into an active one.

Moreover, it will also benefit the next steps of the second branch.

"yes!".
"Alas! What a pity!"

Holding the telegram from headquarters, Qin Sheng looked at the troops advancing towards Caojiaji and could only issue the order to retreat.

The telegram was very strongly worded, and Qin Sheng didn't dare to say a word.

He knew his squad leader's temper very well; if he dared to stumble at this moment, the squad leader would chop him up with a knife.

With the order to retreat given, the soldiers did not hesitate at all. After taking the wounded and the fallen comrades with them, they quickly withdrew from the battle.

The actions of Team 2 puzzled Hu Ziqi even more.

"What is the G army doing? They launched a fierce attack right from the start, and after only half an hour, just when they were about to enter the village, they suddenly retreated."

Hu Ziqi considered himself to be very knowledgeable, but he had never encountered this situation before.

He hadn't anticipated either the attack or the retreat of the G army.

"Has the 18th Brigade's whereabouts been discovered?" Xiao Rui asked.

After hearing Xiao Rui's analysis, Hu Ziqi thought about it seriously, but ultimately shook his head.

"It's unlikely. The 18th Brigade was attacking the G Army's flank from the south. The G Army wouldn't have deployed its reconnaissance units that far away."

"Then I wonder what this G army is thinking," Xiao Rui said helplessly.

The actions of the G army are completely illogical.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore." Hu Ziqi waved his hand. "It's just a pity to miss such a good opportunity."

According to the 18th Brigade's report, they will be able to maneuver to their positions in another half hour.

When the time comes, with the cooperation of the division's directly subordinate units, we will definitely be able to wipe out this G army.

(End of this chapter)