Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 572: Ten thousand tons of food and spies!
That is, on that day.

Taiyuan.

Yamamoto Ikki walked into the First Army Headquarters and saw the First Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka holding a telegram in his hand with a mysterious look on his face.

"General, you're looking for me?"

Yamamoto Ikki's leather shoes touched each other with a crisp sound, and he bowed his head.

"Yamamoto-kun."

Shinozuka Yoshio placed the telegram on the table:

"The opportunity to destroy the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal has arrived."

Northwest Shanxi Arsenal...

Yamamoto's mind moved. The First Army Headquarters naturally knew about the Eighth Route Army's newly built Northwest Shanxi Arsenal. It was said that its output and scale were almost half of Yan Laoxi's Taiyuan Arsenal.

This made Yoshio Shinozuka and Ikki Yamamoto very shocked and nervous. The Northwest Shanxi Arsenal had just started and it had already grown to such a large scale. What would it be like in the future?

However, the First Army's intelligence department used various methods of infiltration and lurking, but only obtained a little information about the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal.

Shinozuka Yoshio said:

"Just now, Lieutenant General Tada Shun, Commander of the North China Front Army, sent a secret telegram."

"A senior intelligence officer of the Mei Agency of the Locust Army, a senior agent codenamed Pangolin, successfully infiltrated the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal and became a workshop team leader."

"How do pangolins do it?" Yamamoto asked curiously.

In the past few months, the First Army has sent five groups of ordinary intelligence officers and two senior intelligence personnel, that is, senior agents.

Without exception, all of them failed in their infiltration and appeared in the Eighth Route Army's border area daily.

The Eighth Route Army had no preferential treatment for captured agents and spies, and they were not protected by international law.

If they can't pry open his mouth, they will be shot immediately.

Shinozuka Yoshio smiled slightly: "This person has been lurking in Yan Laoxi's Taiyuan Arsenal many years ago. There is no problem with his identity."

Yamamoto suddenly realized: "I see."

It is no exaggeration to say that except for the high-ranking officers of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the middle and lower levels of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army were basically infiltrated by the Japanese intelligence department and turned into a sieve.

However, the Japanese military's intelligence department was not a monolithic entity. There were the Special High Section, the Doiyuan Agency, and intelligence agencies directly under the various fronts.

These intelligence agencies have no connection with each other, and the intelligence personnel are in competition with each other.

A man who had been lurking among the technical workers of the Taiyuan Arsenal for more than ten years had superb skills and management capabilities and had never revealed any flaws. In addition, he appeared to have defected to the Eighth Route Army and had a positive attitude. If he reported and sacrificed a few locust soldiers or Kuomintang intelligence personnel, it would make sense that he would be promoted to workshop team leader by the Eighth Route Army and even be trained as a key person.

"What do you need me to do?"

Yamamoto Kazuki's expression changed.

This information is top secret, and even the Chief of Staff of the First Army, Mutaguchi Ren'ya, probably doesn't know it.

The commander let him know such top-secret information, which must be a mission.

Shinozuka Yoshio said, "Yamamoto-kun, you'll be in charge of contacting Pangolin and obtaining the design drawings of the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal, as well as the arsenal's anti-aircraft firepower deployment diagram. This secret report contains the contact information. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

A workshop team leader of an arsenal is fully capable of drawing the design drawings of the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal and the anti-aircraft fire deployment map based on his memory.

The Eighth Route Army also has equipment to monitor radio signals. If senior agents use radio to communicate, they will inevitably be discovered by the Eighth Route Army.

Therefore, we can only use primitive methods to communicate and send information.

"Hey, please rest assured, General. I will send my confidant to northwest Shanxi to get the information." Yamamoto nodded in response. He knew very well that the confidentiality level of the information was inversely proportional to the number of people who knew about it.

Shinozuka Yoshio added, "Commander Tada said that if we can destroy the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal, it will be a great achievement. Yamamoto-kun can be promoted to Major General and become the commander of a mixed brigade based on this achievement."

Yamamoto Ikki's eyes flashed, this military achievement was almost forced into his mouth.

"Please thank Commander Tada for me. Yamamoto will definitely live up to his expectations."

Yamamoto took the telegram, turned around and walked out with high spirits.

Now, he only needs to send a reliable person to the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal to find the signal left by the senior agent and retrieve the intelligence. If the air force successfully bombs the Eighth Route Army Arsenal, he can be promoted to major general.

……

"Reporting to the regiment commander and political commissar, in the past three months, we have recaptured twelve county towns, including Daixian, Ningwu, and Yuanping."

"More than 4000 Japanese and puppet troops were annihilated, including about 2000 Japanese troops."

"Now, everything north of Xin County belongs to our Northwest Shanxi Military Region."

In Ping'an County, at the headquarters of the New 1st Regiment, Zhang Dabiao reported to Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang.

Now that the new group has sufficient food and oil, Zhang Dabiao has become more and more muscular, more energetic, and his eyes have become sharper.

"Haha not bad."

Li Yunlong stared at the map and nodded with satisfaction.

"Old Li, you can send a telegram to Boss Lin to prepare to receive the goods."

Zhao Gang smiled brightly. Recovering 10 counties means 1 tons of grain.

As for the grain seized when the county was recaptured, it was basically all snatched from the common people by the Japanese, so Li Yunlong ordered that the grain be distributed free of charge to the common people who were living in hard times. It was not unreasonable for the common people to support the Eighth Route Army.

Moreover, most of the counties recaptured by the New 1st Regiment were recaptured on the way to northwestern Shanxi last time.

In other words, Li Yunlong earned 2000 tons of grain from some county towns, which is comparable to a strong military town.

"Send a telegram to Boss Lin immediately."

Li Yunlong drafted a telegram and asked Xiao Zhang to send it to Boss Lin.

Now the new regiment has more than 7 people and more than 1 soldiers and horses. The food consumption for people and horses every day is not a small amount.

With the income of these 1 tons of grain, Zhang Wanhe's logistical pressure will be less.

"How's the situation over there on Shota Road?"

Zhao Gang suddenly asked while staring at the map.

"The Japanese's Zhengtai Railway has been opened to traffic, but their military trains are often robbed by the 129th Division, and very few Japanese supplies arrive in Taiyuan from Shimen City." Zhang Dabiao replied with a smile.

"The 129th Division is still comfortable. They guard the Japanese's Zhengtai Road and live a good life." Li Yunlong said enviously.

"You can also give Beitongpu Road to the devils." Zhao Gang said with a smile, "We can also eat delicious food and drink spicy food."

"If we give Beitongpu Road to the Japanese, will their military trains dare to come?" Li Yunlong asked.

"That's true. Now, except for Xin County, Yangqu County and Taiyuan, all of them are our territory. If we give the railway to the Japanese, their military trains will not dare to come." Zhao Gang said with a smile.

"However, if we want to attack Taiyuan, we must first capture Xin County. When will we capture this important military town on the Beitongpu Road?"

During the Battle of Taiyuan, Yan Laoxi deployed troops in Xin County to block the Japanese attack on Taiyuan, which was the Battle of Xinkou.

Taking Xin County would not only allow them to obtain 2000 tons of grain from Boss Lin, but also allow them to march south and attack Taiyuan, thus seizing the initiative on the battlefield. Li Yunlong asked, "How are the Japanese troops deployed in Xin County?"

"It's a mixed brigade," Zhang Dabiao replied. "That's the 6000th Brigade directly under the First Army. The brigade commander is Major General Kosei Toranosuke. This mixed brigade has nearly 8 troops. There's also the puppet army's 9000th Mixed Brigade, for a total strength of about ."

"In addition, the Japanese built some fortifications outside Xin County, most of which were brick and stone bunkers, and a few were concrete bunkers."

"The city walls of Xin County have also been reinforced. The Japanese have also built a large number of barricades inside Xin County, preparing to engage in street fighting with us."

"Damn it." Li Yunlong frowned, "The Japs are still going strong."

With the current strength of the New 1st Regiment, it is not difficult to capture Xin County. Li Yunlong is more concerned about achieving greater results at a lower cost.

If they attacked the county town of Xin County, the New 1st Regiment would lose thousands or even tens of thousands of troops, and there would be no point in conquering Taiyuan.

Xin County was not the main force of the Japanese First Army, but the Japanese were also very clear that Xin County was a barrier north of Taiyuan. Once Xin County was captured by the Eighth Route Army, the First Army would lose the initiative on the battlefield.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka sent the 9th Brigade and a mixed brigade of puppet troops to garrison here.

Zhao Gang proposed an idea: "Can we lure out the main force of the 9th Brigade and destroy them in the wild?"

"I think it's difficult," Zhang Dabiao said. "According to intelligence, this Kosei Toranosuke is different from other arrogant Japanese officers. He is very cunning, but we can give it a try."

Li Yunlong's eyes flashed and he said:

"There's no need to rush the attack on Xin County. The general attack on Taiyuan is still four or five months away."

"Now we are more concerned about the issue of military strength."

"A problem with the military strength?" Zhao Gang and Zhang Dabiao were both stunned.

"That's right." Li Yunlong nodded. "I've thought about it carefully. When we attack Taiyuan, the main force of the Japanese in the North China Front will definitely send reinforcements. At that time, the main forces of the 129th Division and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region will probably try to stop us."

"The only troops capable of attacking Taiyuan are the three regiments from the Northwest Shanxi Military Region and the Central Shanxi Military Region."

"Our three regiments currently have a total strength of approximately 10 men. The First Army's combined forces, including the Japanese and puppet troops, number over men. Our forces are still too few."

"Add to that the various fortifications like bunkers, watchtowers, and tunnels, and we might not gain much of an advantage."

Although in the original drama Li Yunlong often said that if you give me a division, he would dare to attack Taiyuan.

But whether you dare to fight and whether you can win the fight are two different things.

Li Yunlong's usual fighting style is to calculate the cost before fighting, and only fight when there is an advantage.

If I can't gain any advantage, I won't fight no matter what.

This time the Japanese were well prepared in Taiyuan, with more than thousands of fortifications of all sizes. Various fortifications were densely packed outside the city, forming crossfire everywhere.

The casualties of the troops in this attack on Taiyuan are estimated to be unprecedented.

"Commander, do you mean to reorganize the militia into the main force?" Zhang Dabiao's eyes suddenly flashed, and he instantly guessed Li Yunlong's idea.

"That's right." Li Yunlong nodded. "We've seized at least tens of thousands of guns from the militia. Let's concentrate most of these weapons and equipment. In addition to the columns, we can also expand some new detachments, each with several thousand people. What do you two think?"

"Captain, I think this is a very good idea." Zhang Dabiao nodded. "These militiamen have been training for quite some time. After they are formed into a detachment, their combat effectiveness may not be as good as the Japanese, but they will have no problem fighting the puppet troops."

Zhao Gang's eyes lit up. "I agree. We still have several months before we attack Taiyuan. This is enough time for these detachments to train their tactics and marksmanship, improve their combat effectiveness, and become regular main forces."

Li Yunlong nodded and said, "That's settled then. I'll go apply to the headquarters."

Just then, the radio operator Xiao Zhang brought in a telegram from Boss Lin.

Li Yunlong took the telegram and read it. He said, "Brother Lin replied that the food shipment will begin tomorrow, but the equipment has been damaged by a spy. He is very angry and wants us to find the spy within two weeks. The price is very generous."

"What if we can't find the spy within half a month?" asked Zhang Dabiao.

"Then there is no price." Li Yunlong said unhappily.

Zhao Gang said, "The enemy is hiding very deeply this time. It will be quite difficult to find them in half a month... I wonder if Brother Lin knows the identity of the spy?"

"Report."

At this moment, the voice of the intelligence officer sounded outside the door.

Li Yunlong turned his head and said, "Come in."

A moment later, a short, medium-built Eighth Route Army officer walked in quickly. This man was Cao Luqiang, the intelligence staff officer of the New 1st Regiment.

Although he looks inconspicuous, he is a student brought up by Ke Gong and a master sent by the headquarters not long ago. The intelligence system of the New 1st Regiment was established and improved by him.

Under the command of Cao Luqiang, the military and civilians in the base area uncovered batch after batch of Japanese devils and spies sent by the national army.

"Reporting to the regimental commander, political commissar, and Chief of Staff Zhang, we have a clue about the spy."

Staff Officer Cao saluted the three men and immediately reported.

"Have you confirmed this person's identity?"

Li Yunlong asked immediately.

After Zhang Wanhe requested support from the regiment headquarters, Li Yunlong immediately asked Staff Officer Cao to put down his work and take full responsibility for the investigation of the matter.

The Northwest Shanxi Arsenal is Li Yunlong's favorite. How can he not take it seriously when enemy spies sneak in and sabotage it?

"Not yet, but I found a plum blossom mark near the door of the Peace Hotel in the county town."

As he spoke, Staff Officer Cao handed over two photos, and there was indeed a plum blossom mark on the photos.

"The enemy's secret code?" Zhao Gang asked, his expression changing. "It didn't get revealed when we took the photo, did it?"

Cao Shen reported: "It's not exposed. This is the contact code of the Japanese Mei Agency. If I hadn't come into contact with the Mei Agency in Songhu, I wouldn't have discovered it. It is basically certain that this hotel is a contact point for the Japanese army in Ping'an County."

"Damn little devils."

Li Yunlong was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. They didn't even know that the Japanese had set up a contact point in Ping'an County.

Zhao Gang was thoughtful and analyzed, "If the spy in the arsenal is from the Mei Agency, he must have connections here and must be sending intelligence out from here."

Li Yunlong nodded and said, "Besides, it's very likely that the information has already been sent out. Now we just need to keep an eye on the personnel on the ammunition production line at the arsenal and see who keeps coming to this restaurant. We can basically determine who it is."

Zhao Gang said, "Staff Officer Cao, keep a close watch on the Arsenal and the Peace Hotel. Don't alert the enemy yet."

"Yes!"

Staff Officer Cao saluted and turned to walk out.

Things like espionage don't require Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang and Zhang Dabiao to spend too much energy.

The three brothers discussed the battle plan, emergency plan, and the amount of combat supplies needed to attack Taiyuan.

Zhao Gang said, "If we can recapture Taiyuan, it will be extremely beneficial to the entire anti-Japanese war situation."

"Moreover..." Li Yunlong said, "It can also attract the Japanese from Central China, South China, and even the Kwantung Army to attack us, and we can earn a large amount of weapons, ammunition, and strategic materials."

It has been four months since the end of the Northwest Shanxi Campaign, and no Japanese troops have attacked the New 1st Regiment. This makes Commander Li feel a bit lonely.

(End of this chapter)