Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 123 Chen Ming's head is worth one hundred million!

When the two Japanese regiments arrived in Shenchi County by railway, Kong Jie's First Regiment had already disappeared.

However, although the first regiment retreated, it took everything it was supposed to take with it.

All supplies have been transported away, and those that cannot be transported are temporarily stored in the homes of local residents, to be moved away gradually later.

The strongholds and pillboxes have all been destroyed, leaving only a few difficult-to-conquer concrete fortifications.

These fortifications are highly defensive, and even infantry artillery cannot breach them. Taking them down would be extremely difficult and would come at a great cost.

Because of the urgency, Kong Jie did not linger too long at these medium-sized strongholds.

Shenchi County is too close to the Tongpu Railway, and the Japanese reinforcements are coming very quickly. We must hurry up and transport all the supplies away.

These indestructible strongholds can be used to gradually wear down the Japanese troops, surrounding them one by one.

The transportation of supplies was very fast. The Japanese troops in northwestern Shanxi were few in number and had limited control, while our army had a good mass base.

After mobilizing a large number of people, Kong Jie was confident that even if the amount of these supplies doubled, he could transport them all away.

After transporting the supplies, Kong Jie distributed some of the grain to the people to express his gratitude for their support of the Eighth Route Army.

These ordinary people chose to help the Eighth Route Army at their own risk; they couldn't let the other side risk their lives for nothing.

If these people were reported and exposed by the puppet troops and traitors who wanted to curry favor with the Japanese, they would all be in trouble.

In order to protect these people, Kong Jie made a statement directly in the county town to the puppet troops and traitors who did not deserve to die and had not been tried.

Anyone who dares to help the Japanese invaders harm their own compatriots will be reported and shouldn't blame the Independent Detachment for their bullets being unforgiving.

Hearing Kong Jie's words, the puppet troops and traitors were all trembling with fear.

In their words, "This Eighth Master's regimental commander is definitely a man of his word. They easily captured the county town, and all the Japanese soldiers in the county town were wiped out."

"If they were determined to target me, it would be a piece of cake. I wouldn't even be able to protect myself while hiding in the county town."

After the supplies were moved away, two regiments of the Japanese army arrived.

Following Chen Ming's orders, Kong Jie captured Shenchi County in order to attract the attention of the Japanese and divert their energy to Shenchi County.

We cannot stay in Shenchi County; now is not the time to occupy the county seat.

Shenchi County is very close to the Tongpu Railway, making it a very important land transportation hub and railway material transfer station.

The Japanese were determined to take back Shenchi County no matter what.

If Shenchi County were to fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, it would be like inserting a blood-draining knife into the throat of the Tongpu Railway, greatly impacting the Japanese army's strategy of defending Shanxi Province by relying on the railway and transportation lines.

The Japanese are still very strong, so it's not the time to confront them head-on.

However, while Shenchi County was abandoned, Kelan County was not.

Chen Ming stationed troops in Kelan County.

Geographically, Kelan County is too far from the railway line in Shanxi Province, and is located deep in northwestern Shanxi.

The Japanese forces in northwestern Shanxi were few in number, and the cost of reinforcing them was too high.

At this time when military operations are underway everywhere, it is not worthwhile to divert a large number of troops to recapture a county town that is difficult to defend.

At the same time, because of its deep location, Yoshio Shinotsuka was worried that the troops he sent out might be seized by the Independent Detachment, so he did not send troops to take back Kelan County.

This can be seen as tacitly acknowledging that the Independent Detachment has occupied Kelan County.

Even Yoshio Shinotsuka, whose hatred for the Independent Detachment had reached its peak, didn't even consider sending bombers to bomb Koran Prefecture.

The Japanese were a country with scarce resources, and their aerial bombs and fuel were limited, so Kelan County had little strategic value.

Instead of wasting precious aerial bombs in a small county like Kelan County, it would be better to use them to bomb other important cities, such as Chongqing and Chengdu.

When Chen Ming received the news that the two Japanese regiments had recaptured Shenchi County, they stopped their offensive and instead garrisoned key transportation points, trying to trap the Independent Detachment in the mountains.

He smiled and said in front of all the commanders and soldiers:

"It seems the Japanese are terrified of our Independent Detachment. Neither of our two regiments dare to come in. Hahaha."

Chen Ming's words filled all the commanders and soldiers with immense pride.

Their independent detachment's reputation was earned through countless battles, their great fame built upon the corpses of countless Japanese soldiers.

In the past, the Japanese had always looked down on the Eighth Route Army. Sometimes, even a small squad would dare to venture in alone and carry out sweeping operations without restraint.

Due to their inferior weaponry and equipment, the Eighth Route Army had no choice but to resort to guerrilla warfare.

Now, the two Japanese regiments dared not easily enter the base area, and the resulting sense of pride made everyone sincerely admire Chen Ming, their leader.

"Yes, the detachment commander's troop deployment is like he has a third eye; he knows exactly what the Japanese are up to! This battle is fought like cutting melons and vegetables!" Chief of Staff Wang Dafei praised with a smile.

"Hahaha."

His words elicited laughter from the officers and soldiers present.

"You don't know, the detachment commander led us to so many victories that the Japanese directly offered a bounty of 300,000 silver dollars, specifically targeting our detachment commander."

Wang Dafei continued.

Upon hearing the figure of 300,000 silver dollars, everyone gasped in shock. That was 300,000 silver dollars! The Japanese hated their detachment commander so much that they were willing to spend so much money on a bounty for him.

"If you ask me, those Japanese devils are so petty. Do they think my head is only worth 300,000 silver dollars?" Chen Ming joked.

With the purchasing power of the silver dollar today, 300,000 silver dollars is equivalent to 100 million in later years.

Now, Chen Ming's head is worth a small goal.

"Haha, let's put in a lot more effort and raise the bounty on the squad leader to 100 million silver dollars!" Dafei immediately chimed in.

His words drew laughter from the crowd once again.

Under what circumstances could the bounty on the Japanese be increased?

It's just about continuing to fight the Japanese, until they're hurt and scared.

Only in this way can the bounty on Chen Ming be increased further.

Dafei's words were filled with the expectation that the Independent Detachment would continue to fight the Japanese and eliminate more Japanese soldiers.

"Alright, let's all work together and try to raise my bounty to one million silver dollars."

"But now that my head is worth so much, Da Biao, you'd better protect me." Chen Ming said jokingly, completely unconcerned.

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, Da Biao immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Captain. Even if the Japanese devils step over my dead body, they won't be able to lay a finger on you."

"Haha."

The atmosphere at this post-victory gathering was very relaxed.

The Japanese troops no longer dared to venture deep into the mountainous areas of northwestern Shanxi. The mopping-up operations in northwestern Shanxi were essentially ruined by the arrival of the Independent Detachment.

In the Jin-Cha-Ji region, because of the presence of the Independent Detachment, the Japanese only dared to conduct mopping-up operations with at least a battalion as an independent unit, and dared not conduct mopping-up operations with forces below the battalion level.

Although the Japanese army mobilized a large number of troops, this number was insufficient when deployed in large battalions in the vast Taihang Mountains.

Many units broke up into smaller units and broke out of the Japanese encirclement, greatly reducing casualties and sacrificing fewer soldiers.

The pressure on the troops in southern Shanxi was greatly reduced because the Japanese had dispatched a division northward to suppress the Independent Detachment.

The casualty rate during this sweep was also much lower.

It can be said that the role played by the Independent Detachment alone in this counter-sweep was no less than that of an army of 100,000.

With the strength of a single detachment, they not only annihilated numerous enemy troops but also defeated an elite regiment of a Japanese Class A division.

It also indirectly influenced the course of the Great Sweep, saving countless warriors who would have been killed or wounded in the original timeline.

This is the significance of Chen Ming's arrival in this era.

The Japanese soldiers no longer dared to easily enter the Independent Detachment's defense zone, and Chen Ming began to discuss the next steps in the operation.

After capturing Kelan County, Chen Ming planned to advance his troops into Wuzhai County to see if he could encircle and ambush the Japanese reinforcements.

At the same time, in coordination with the Jin-Sui Military Region, they threatened several counties in northwestern Shanxi, such as Xing County and Lan County, completely cutting off the springboard for the Japanese army to invade the base area in northwestern Shanxi.

Wuzhai is surrounded by mountains, and the only relatively flat road leading to Shenchi County is the road that the Japanese can only use to reinforce Wuzhai.

When large numbers of Eighth Route Army troops appeared around Wuzhai County, the Japanese soldiers in the county town immediately began to panic.

They directly transferred all the Japanese and puppet troops from their strongholds outside the city into the county town to strengthen its defenses.

These strongholds served as effective defensive fortifications for guerrillas and the Eighth Route Army, which lacked heavy firepower.

But against an independent detachment equipped with infantry artillery, it was a fixed coffin, which the independent detachment could devour at will.

In order to prevent the troops in these strongholds from being wiped out by the Independent Detachment, the Japanese company commander in the county town had no choice but to transfer all his troops to the county town.

They wanted to rely on the county town's fortifications to defend the town while awaiting orders from higher authorities.

They might send reinforcements or issue an order to retreat.

When the Japanese soldiers voluntarily handed over their stronghold, Chen Ming did not stand on ceremony.

Troops were constantly harassed by the Japanese and puppet troops who wanted to transport supplies from the stronghold back to the county town.

Faced with the constant harassment from the First Regiment of the Independent Detachment, the terrified Japanese soldiers and puppet troops had no choice but to abandon the supplies and return to the county town unarmed.

They also considered burning all the supplies before retreating back to the county town.

However, this action resulted in the Japanese soldiers of the First Regiment surrounding and annihilating them outside the stronghold, and none of the Japanese and puppet troops who burned the supplies escaped.

Now, both the Japanese soldiers and the puppet troops inside the stronghold knew the Independent Detachment's intentions.

You can retreat to the county town, but you have to leave your supplies behind. If you don't have any supplies, then you'll have to leave your life behind.

Under pressure from the Independent Detachment, the Japanese company commander in the county town had no choice but to order the abandonment of supplies and retreat to the county town.

If the troops at the strongholds outside the county town were wiped out by the Independent Detachment, it would be impossible to defend the county town with just a few hundred men.

Anyway, the supplies in the stronghold, mainly food, were mostly looted from the people. If they were gone, they were gone. We could just loot again.

(End of this chapter)