Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 278 So shameless

Chu Yunfei received a quick reply from his superiors, and soon the feedback reached Chu Yunfei.

Chu Yunfei found Li Yunlong: "Brother Yunlong, our superiors have approved your battle plan, we can begin immediately."

“Okay, no problem.” Li Yunlong nodded and said to Chu Yunfei, “I’ll turn around and go back now, and then your Jin-Sui Army will hurry up and outflank the Japanese.”

"Okay." Chu Yunfei nodded and quickly returned to his command post.

Because the attack had been planned in advance with Ding Wei, Gao Liujin, and Gao Xigang, Li Yunlong's troops didn't need to stop when they turned back to fight the Japanese head-on; the troops quickly turned around.

Gao Liujin's team was the first to engage the vanguard of the Japanese army.

The result was no surprise: Gao Liujin, with his superior artillery firepower, managed to halt the advance of the Japanese vanguard.

Before the Japanese vanguard could react, Ding Wei and Li Yunlong's troops rushed forward.

The Japanese vanguard was cut in half, and a huge gash was ripped open in the front line.

Finally, Gao Xigang led his team into the huge opening and quickly advanced deep into the enemy's territory.

Before long, the Japanese vanguard was cut in two.

Then the Jin-Sui Army troops immediately encircled the Japanese vanguard, which had split into two, while Li Yunlong and others continued their rapid assault towards the center of the Yoshino Regiment.

Due to the fierce artillery fire and the direct bombardment of the ground, the central defense line of the Yoshino Regiment was quickly breached.

Seeing that his troops were in danger of being quickly cut in two, the regimental commander Yoshino's eyes widened in fury: "Baka! Is this the Eighth Route Army? Their fighting power is too strong. They're going to cut our troops in half with lightning speed!"

Beside Regiment Commander Yoshino, a Japanese officer said with a serious expression: "It's obvious that the Eighth Route Army is responsible for cutting us in half, and the Jin-Sui Army is responsible for surrounding and dividing us. Regiment Commander, we probably need to hurry up and retreat."

"Damn it! We were clearly chasing the enemy, how did it turn into the enemy trying to annihilate us in the blink of an eye!" Captain Yoshino did not want to retreat.

But the Eighth Route Army was about to reach them, and the Jin-Sui Army behind the Eighth Route Army was also moving quickly.

Captain Yoshino knew that continuing to hold out would be futile, so he had no choice but to order a retreat.

However, Yoshino's troops did not manage to withdraw successfully, not because they did not have time to withdraw, but because they simply did not have the opportunity.

Because several divisions of the Jin-Sui Army had already circled around to the rear of the Yoshino Regiment.

By the time the Yoshino Regiment retreated, these Jin-Sui Army divisions had already surrounded them.

With the help of Li Yunlong's side, the Yoshino Brigade of more than 10,000 men was successfully cut into two ends and surrounded separately.

Next came the encirclement and annihilation battle.

Li Yunlong and the Jin-Sui Army put all their strength into a fierce attack on the Japanese troops in the encirclement.

Although the Japanese were at a disadvantage, even a rabbit will bite when it's cornered, let alone a group of ferocious beasts.

The Japanese soldiers, facing dire straits, unleashed tremendous fighting power. They avoided Li Yunlong's side and instead chose the Jin-Sui Army, whom they considered easy targets.

Ultimately, Commander Yoshino led a portion of the Japanese troops to successfully break through the Jin-Sui Army, resulting in the annihilation of a large number of Japanese soldiers.

"Commander Chu, your Jin-Sui Army is really dragging our feet!" Gao Liujin shouted at Chu Yunfei with great dissatisfaction. "You have so many men, yet you still can't stop the Japanese. Otherwise, we could have wiped them all out!"

Chu Yunfei said solemnly, "At least not a single Japanese soldier will be able to break through from my side."

Chu Yunfei couldn't afford to worry about Yoshino Regiment Commander leading a group of Japanese soldiers in their breakout.

Because that group of Japanese soldiers escaped from Chu Yunfei's superiors.

“Gao Liujin, say less. At least Commander Chu is genuinely killing Japanese soldiers.” Li Yunlong pulled Gao Liujin aside and said to Chu Yunfei, “Brother Yunfei, my and several other regiments have suffered heavy casualties and need to rest for a while. You go and do what you need to do.”

"Brother Yunlong, this time we have to thank you Eighth Route Army for leading the charge and breaking the enemy's morale. Otherwise, we wouldn't have achieved such great results." Chu Yunfei cupped his hands towards Li Yunlong and said, "Our superiors said that you can take one-third of the spoils from this battlefield."

"Brother Yunfei, please thank your superiors for me," Li Yunlong said, expressing his gratitude.

On the surface, Li Yunlong was thanking Chu Yunfei, but in reality, Li Yunlong could figure out what the Jin-Sui Army was up to with his toes.

On the surface, they're giving us a third of the space to clean up, but this is just wasting our time.

Then the Jin-Sui Army could quickly rush towards the Japanese rear in Taiyuan.

In fact, Li Yunlong saw it all. When the Yoshino Regiment led some of the Japanese soldiers to break through the encirclement, before all the remaining Japanese soldiers in the encirclement had been cleared out, some of the Jin-Sui Army troops had already moved towards the Japanese rear in Taiyuan.

"Brother Yunlong, my casualties have also been quite heavy, please excuse me." Chu Yunfei made an excuse and quickly returned.

As soon as Chu Yunfei left, Gao Liujin immediately said to Li Yunlong, "Li Yunlong, the Jin-Sui Army has sent some troops to the Japanese rear in Taiyuan. Should we really take a look first?"

“Gao Liujin, you need patience to enjoy a big meal. Just you watch, the Jin-Sui Army is impatient; they definitely won't eat hot tofu.” Li Yunlong looked at Gao Liujin seriously. “Now that we’ve dealt with this group of Japanese devils, and we can’t catch the ones who escaped, it’s time to bring Takahashi Konosuke back. Gao Liujin, how about this mission is yours…”

Before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, Gao Liujin immediately shook his head: "Li Yunlong, it's a promise, I still need to go to the Japanese rear in Taiyuan to make some money." Gao Xigang took the initiative to stand up: "Li Yunlong, let my 28th Regiment escort Takahashi Konosuke back. Besides, our four regiments have a lot of wounded soldiers in this battle, I'll take them all back."

Despite how well this battle was fought, the firepower of the four regiments was fierce enough to keep the Japanese soldiers pinned down.

But the Japanese were not to be underestimated, and the casualties of the four regiments were still considerable.

"Alright, Gao Xigang, then you can take Takahashi Konosuke and the wounded soldiers from our regiments back." Li Yunlong nodded.

After quickly tidying up and cleaning up the battlefield, Gao Xigang led the 28th Regiment back immediately.

Li Yunlong, Gao Liujin, and Ding Wei's team chose to take a break.

After all, this battle had drained the troops of too much energy and physical strength.

If you don't raise them properly, how will you make a fortune later?

Regarding the Eighth Route Army's passive attitude, Fang Ligong of the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army looked at Chu Yunfei suspiciously: "Regimental Commander, after dealing with this group of Japanese devils, one regiment of the Eighth Route Army took the wounded and the spoils of war back, but why didn't the other three regiments take the opportunity to go to the Japanese rear in Taiyuan? What are they trying to do? Aren't they worried that we'll take all the spoils?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Chu Yunfei pointed out: "The Eighth Route Army is leading the charge, and the troops are too exhausted. They need to take a break now."

In this battle, the Jin-Sui Army had the upper hand and the intensity was not high.

The troops sent to the rear of Taiyuan were actually reserve forces and did not participate in the battle.

They are full of energy, so they can go ahead first.

The Eighth Route Army was different; they fought intensely, which drained their energy and strength. Even though Li Yunlong was eager to go to Taiyuan, he had no energy left and could only rest first.

"Li Yunlong's cleverness has backfired," Fang Ligong laughed.

“Maybe they’re just being shrewd.” Chu Yunfei turned his head to look in the direction of the Japanese troops behind Taiyuan, and then said, “I don’t know why, but I always feel that the profits behind Taiyuan are probably not so easy to come by, and that little devil Yoshio Shinotsuka is probably not so easy to deal with.”

Fang Ligong asked suspiciously, "Commander, do you mean that the Eighth Route Army is ostensibly resting, but actually observing and letting our Jin-Sui Army test the waters behind the Japanese forces in Taiyuan?"

"It's highly likely that's the case, after all, Li Yunlong is the kind of guy who only ever takes advantage and never suffers a loss." Chu Yunfei nodded and said, "However, it's definitely not feasible for the army to withdraw without first making a run for it in the rear of Taiyuan."

The Japanese have been dealt with, leaving Taiyuan's rear vulnerable. We can't afford not to take advantage of this situation.

Even if Yoshio Shinozuka was prepared, the fact remains that Taiyuan's rear was vulnerable.

Fang Ligong said, "Let's not think too much about it. Maybe our army's operation will go smoothly..."

Before Fang Ligong could finish speaking, someone ran up and shouted at Chu Yunfei, "Commander, it's a call from above."

Chu Yunfei quickly went to the phone and picked up the receiver: "This is Chu Yunfei."

"Chu Yunfei, have the Eighth Route Army troops not moved yet?" the superior asked over the phone.

"Yes, one of their regiments returned with the wounded and the spoils, while the remaining three regiments are resting and did not head towards the rear of Taiyuan," Chu Yunfei answered truthfully.

"Your 358th and 321st regiments are not to go to Taiyuan. You must follow the Eighth Route Army closely," the superior ordered.

Chu Yunfei asked in confusion, "Commander, why is this? Shouldn't my unit also be heading to the rear of Taiyuan...?"

Before Chu Yunfei could finish speaking, his superior interrupted him: "The reason I'm having you follow the Eighth Route Army is that the Eighth Route Army has recently inflicted great damage on the Japanese. They have captured a lot of Japanese supplies and equipment. If you follow the Eighth Route Army and they have any important operations in this regard, you can take advantage of the situation."

"I'm afraid the Eighth Route Army won't easily agree to let my unit and the 321st Regiment follow us, will they?" Chu Yunfei hesitated for a moment.

The higher-ups' idea is not bad; the Eighth Route Army has indeed made a lot of money recently.

Li Yunlong, having come out to cause trouble, certainly wouldn't go back empty-handed easily.

Sticking close to Li Yunlong and his men definitely offers a chance to benefit. Exactly!
This trick is just a bit too shameless.

“Your legs are your own, so what? How you walk on our own land, does it get in Li Yunlong’s way?” the superior said solemnly.

"Yes, Commander." Chu Yunfei replied.

"Furthermore, our Jin-Sui Army is heading to the rear of Taiyuan, where they are very likely to make a fortune. The reason for having you and the 321st Regiment follow the Eighth Route Army is to prevent them from getting desperate and causing trouble, and from trying to steal our things from behind," the superior continued.

Chu Yunfei was somewhat stunned: "Even if the Eighth Route Army gets desperate, they probably won't steal our things, right?"

"How could he not? When Li Yunlong of the Eighth Route Army got desperate, he let his troops rob grain. He even dared to rob his own people, what wouldn't he dare to do!" the superior said solemnly. "And that Gao Liujin, when he goes crazy, he even uses his own division headquarters as bait. When these two scoundrels get together, we have to be careful."

"Yes, Commander." Chu Yunfei agreed emphatically.

Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin are no pushovers; if they get angry, it's no joke.

And then there's Ding Wei. He doesn't seem like much, but someone who can get along with Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin must be no ordinary person.

(End of this chapter)