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

Chapter 128 The Iron Triangle Reunites, Ding Wei and Li Yunlong Are Shocked
This time, Chen Ming mobilized two reinforced battalions to the vicinity of Ping'an and Lan County.

The remaining troops were responsible for defending the base area to prevent the Japanese from taking advantage of the Independent Detachment's attack on the county town to sweep away the base area that had been painstakingly built.

Kong Jie's Second Reinforced Brigade and He Jianxin's First Reinforced Brigade moved to the vicinity of Lan County and Ping'an County, respectively.

Chen Ming's plan to attack the county town was such a significant operation that it would inevitably have to be reported to headquarters.

Chen Ming also reported it according to the procedure.

The headquarters' opinion was that it was permissible to fight, and the general manager would coordinate with other units to help the independent detachment fight a blocking action.

Meanwhile, Li Yunlong's and Ding Wei's troops, which were operating in Ping'an County, were temporarily assigned to Chen Ming's command during this operation.

Kong Jie also met Ding Wei and Li Yunlong here.

This is the first time the "Iron Triangle" of northwestern Shanxi has met in northwestern Shanxi.

This was the first time these three old comrades-in-arms had the opportunity to get together, so they had to go and see each other.

How are the troops doing? What were the casualties in the counter-sweep operation?

It's uncertain whether the soldiers of the Independent Regiment and the New First Regiment can hold out.

During the preparations, Kong Jie, accompanied by a company of soldiers, brought several bottles of captured Fenjiu liquor to visit the Independent Regiment.

This time, the Second Reinforced Battalion of the Independent Column was going to cooperate with two regiments, so they needed to get together and build rapport first.

"Old Li, Old Li, look who's here!"

When Zhao Gang saw that Kong Jie had brought Ding Wei with him, he happily greeted Li Yunlong from the regimental headquarters.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong walked out of the regimental headquarters with his neck tilted to the side, his dark face bearing an expression as if everyone owed him money.

The Independent Regiment's situation was far from optimistic during this counter-sweep operation.

Because the troop buildup was too rapid, coupled with natural disasters and man-made calamities, the troops found themselves in a situation of lacking supplies, weapons, and ammunition.

Faced with the Japanese army's massive sweep, the troops were forced to split up and break through the encirclement.

They broke into smaller groups, evaded Japanese sweeps, and broke through to areas where Japanese forces were weak.

This time, the Independent Regiment broke through to northwestern Shanxi, and the casualties of the troops reached 40%. This does not include non-combat losses. It was one of the units with relatively heavy casualties in the anti-mopping-up operations.

Coupled with the dismal grain yield of the autumn harvest, Li Yunlong was worried about how to get through the difficult days ahead.

When Li Yunlong saw Kong Jie and Ding Wei arrive, he said with a forced smile:
"Oh, who do we have here? It's Ding Wei and Kong Erlengzi."

Seeing Li Yunlong's sour face, Kong Jie immediately understood what Li Yunlong was thinking, so he deliberately said to Ding Wei:

"Hey, it seems Commander Li isn't welcoming us, Lao Ding. Looks like the few bottles of Fenjiu I brought this time will have to be drunk by the two of us old comrades."

After saying that, Kong Jie took out several bottles of Fenjiu liquor that he had brought from the guard and waved them around.

Ding Wei understood and deliberately said, "Yes, we were thinking that it was a rare opportunity for the three of us old comrades to get together, but we didn't expect that Commander Li wouldn't welcome us. So let's find a place to have a good drink."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's eyes immediately lit up as he looked at the bottles of Fenjiu in Kong Jie's hand.

His expression immediately changed, and he put on a smile.

"How could that be? We just had a bad eye and couldn't see clearly. I, Old Li, care about my old comrades the most. If you don't believe me, go out and ask around. Everyone knows that I, Li Yunlong, am the most hospitable person."

"Come, come, don't stand outside, sit inside."

Kong Jiedingwei didn't think much of Li Yunlong's sudden change.

They're all old comrades-in-arms; everyone knows Li Yunlong has a face like a dog's.

Upon entering the room, Kong Jie placed the supplies he had brought on the table.

Li Yunlong didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the Fenjiu liquor, opened it, poured a bowl for each of them, and then took a sip.

Kong Jie and Ding Wei weren't as impatient as Li Yunlong; they put the canned food they brought on the table as snacks with their drinks.

Li Yunlong looked at the Fenjiu liquor and canned goods on the table and hummed a couple of sour remarks.

"Your Independent Detachment is doing quite well, drinking Fenjiu and being served canned Japanese food. I, Li Yunlong, am also benefiting from your influence, Kong Jie."

Li Yunlong has also had a tough time lately.

Forget about Fenjiu, sometimes you can't even get your hands on sweet potato liquor.

With widespread grain production declines, where do ordinary people find surplus grain to brew wine?
Since the common people stopped brewing wine, Li Yunlong had no way to exchange goods with them, and naturally, he had no wine to drink.

They couldn't even get peanuts as a snack with alcohol.

"Our Independent Detachment is also having a tough time in this counter-sweep operation. The Japanese have amassed more than 20,000 troops and are trying to encircle and intercept our Fourth Military Sub-district."

"If it weren't for the detachment commander's strategic planning, which led to the defeat of the Japanese 237th Regiment south of Wutai Mountain, preventing the Japanese from launching a mopping-up operation with small units, it would have been a disaster."

"After that, he decisively led his troops to break up into smaller units and advance into northwestern Shanxi. At the same time, he quickly captured three county towns, scaring the Japanese into not daring to invade the base area."

"Otherwise, the casualties of the troops would not have been so small."

Kong Jie spoke up.

"Old Ding, where's your new regiment?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Wei sighed: "Our new regiment also suffered considerable losses this time, with a quarter of its personnel gone and a significant amount of heavy weapons lost."

With his two old comrades-in-arms speaking, Li Yunlong stopped holding back.

"Losing a quarter of our men is already considered good. My Independent Regiment was almost wiped out during this counter-offensive. Although I am still a regimental commander, I am actually just a battalion commander." "We lost all our Type 92 rifles, and we only have five light machine guns left. We also don't have enough ammunition. Each person has less than five bullets, and three people can only share one grenade."

As Li Yunlong spoke, he looked towards Kong Jie.

The Independent Regiment is in such a terrible state, shouldn't Kong Jie, as its former commander, do something about it?

Li Yunlong had seen the troops that Kong Jie brought, and frankly, the Independent Regiment's soldiers couldn't compare to their weapons, equipment, and morale.

Kong Jie looked at Li Yunlong and knew exactly what the other was thinking.

To be honest, he brought Ding Wei to the Independent Regiment on Chen Ming's orders.

So Kong Jie said, "Here's what we'll do. I'll take out four hundred rifles, four Type 92 rifles, twelve Type 91 light machine guns, plus twenty thousand rounds of ammunition to support the Independent Regiment and the New First Regiment so they can get through this difficult time first."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately became restless.

I originally wanted to play the victim and see if I could get a few dozen rifles and some bullets from Kong Jie.

After all, things aren't going well for any of the military units right now; getting a few rifles is already considered a good thing.

Unexpectedly, Kong Jie's first words were enough to mobilize the weapons and equipment of an entire regiment.

Besides the rifles, the key weapons included four heavy machine guns, twelve Type 96 light machine guns, and 20,000 rounds of ammunition.

This is quite a fortune.

Although this was intended for two regiments, and Li Yunlong could only receive half, it was still a valuable supply.

"Old Kong, I didn't expect you to have become such a rich man after all this time. You're so generous with your words. Come on, let me, Li Yunlong, toast you."

Li Yunlong smiled, picked up his bowl, clinked it with the two men's, and took the first sip.

After finishing his drink, he asked again, "But won't your superiors criticize you for bringing out so many weapons and equipment?"

If it were just a few dozen rifles, that would be fine; Kong Jie still had that much autonomy.

The weapons and equipment Kong Jie brought out this time were enough to form a regiment, and the key was that they included heavy weapons.

For ordinary troops to deploy so many weapons, they need approval from the military region.

The Fourth Military Sub-district is alright; like the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment, it is under the command of the brigade commander.

All you need to do is report it to the brigade commander and get his approval (this refers to the brigade commander's concurrent position in the Taiyue Military Region).

If so many weapons are to be moved across military regions, approval from headquarters is required.

Li Yunlong is the type of person who will never let go of equipment that is offered to him.

But it also depends on who the target is. If Kong Jie gets punished because of this weapon, he would feel bad about it.

Upon hearing Li Yunlong's words, Kong Jie spoke up:
"Don't worry, this allocation of weapons was approved by the leadership. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to do it even if I had ten times the courage."

"This time, the detachment commander is going to fight the more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers in Lan County and Ping'an County. These weapons and equipment are to support you."

Hearing Kong Jie say this, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei were no longer worried.

"That's great! These weapons and equipment are our wages for working for Captain Chen this time. Captain Chen is a very honest man."

"I've had a hard time getting along with those Japanese devils in Ping'an County for a long time, especially that son of a bitch Hirata Ichiro. He's throwing some damn birthday party soon, damn it!" Li Yunlong cursed.

"Old Kong, how many troops is Commander Chen planning to deploy to attack the county towns this time? There are more than two thousand Japanese soldiers in the two county towns; they're a tough nut to crack," Ding Wei asked.

He was different from Li Yunlong. Li Yunlong was bold and a fierce general, but his strategic vision was not as good as Ding Wei's.

When he heard that they were going to attack the county seat, he had no choice but to do it.

Ding Wei is different. He is not the kind of person who acts rashly. He will carefully analyze the pros and cons and weigh the situation between himself and the enemy.

With over two thousand Japanese soldiers stationed in the county town, they would be a very tough nut to crack.

For the Eighth Route Army, which lacked weapons for offensive operations, taking the city would be extremely difficult.

At the same time, because the specific situation of the troops is confidential, and many troops have a habit of concealing information when reporting their organizational structure.

For example, when Li Yunlong attacked Ping'an County, he usually kept his forces hidden. Only after they assembled did Li Yunlong discover that the troops had actually deployed eight battalions.

Therefore, Ding Wei was also unaware of the specific personnel configuration of the independent detachment.

Upon hearing Ding Wei's question, Kong Jie spoke up:
"This time, our independent detachment has brought two reinforced battalions as the main attack force, along with the supporting troops. We are more than capable of taking two county towns this time."

"My Second Reinforced Battalion is responsible for liberating Lan County this time."

Kong Jie spoke, feeling extremely pleased.

He was an honest man, but how could Kong Jie give up the opportunity to show off in front of his old comrades?

Which man can resist the opportunity to show off in front of his brothers?

As expected, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei gasped when they heard Kong Jie say that.

Doesn't Kong Jie's statement mean that an reinforced battalion of the Independent Detachment has more than 5,000 soldiers?
In addition, attacking a county town is a tough battle, which places high demands on the combat effectiveness and firepower of the troops.

Since Commander Chen decided to make Kong Jie's Second Reinforced Battalion the main force in attacking Lan County, it means that Kong Jie's troops now have the strength to capture a county town garrisoned by a Japanese infantry battalion.

How long has it been? Kong Jie has already become a wealthy man?

Therefore, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei asked, somewhat uneasy:
(End of this chapter)