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

Chapter 134 Invading the County (We Won the Revival Match!)

"Battalion Commander, the puppet troops killed the Japanese soldiers and surrendered."

Not far from the city wall, a company commander said happily to Battalion Commander Yang Dong.

Although there weren't many Japanese soldiers in the direction they were attacking, there were still several hundred puppet troops. If they continued fighting, many more soldiers would be sacrificed.

The soldiers of the Third Battalion are not afraid of sacrifice, but it would be best if fewer soldiers could be sacrificed.

"Haha, great! This time, the credit goes to our Third Battalion!" Yang Dong was also very happy.

Once the puppet troops surrender, they can continuously enter the city from the west, encircling and annihilating the Japanese troops from other directions.

"Quickly, get the soldiers to charge with me! Once we're in the city, we'll give those Japanese devils a good whack in the backside!" Yang Dong took the lead, immediately grabbing the mirror box and leading his troops away.

On the city wall, after the puppet army commander surrendered, he did not immediately open the city gate, but instead hid behind the wall and shouted:

"Eighth Master, if we surrender, will you spare the lives of our brothers?"

He wanted to confirm this one last time, as it concerned his life and death. If the Eighth Route Army denied it after they invaded, he would be hated by both the Japanese and the Eighth Route Army.

"Don't worry, our Eighth Route Army's policy is to treat prisoners of war well. Besides, you killed the Japanese devils and gave up your defensive positions. That was a battlefield uprising, so you should be treated even better," Yang Dong shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, one of the puppet soldiers on the city wall immediately spoke to the puppet regiment commander:
"Brother, it's true. I have a fellow villager who was captured by the Eighth Route Army. In the end, the Eighth Route Army not only didn't kill him, but also gave him three silver dollars as travel expenses and let him go home."

"That guy's name is Xiao Liu Zi, and his father is Yang Fu Gui, who's from our area. Do you remember him, brother?"

Upon hearing this, the puppet army commander indeed thought of Yang Fugui.

My worries vanished almost entirely.

Those who were captured were given three silver dollars for their journey home. So, those who voluntarily killed Japanese soldiers and surrendered should at least have their lives guaranteed, if not more.

Otherwise, who would dare to join the Eighth Route Army in the future?

So the puppet army commander no longer hesitated and shouted, "Good, Eighth Master, let's revolt! I'll have the city gates opened right now to welcome you to fight the Japanese devils!"

After saying this, he ordered a platoon of puppet soldiers beside him to immediately clear away the debris blocking the city gate and open it to welcome the Third Battalion soldiers into the city to fight.

Upon receiving the order, the puppet troops immediately ran as fast as rabbits towards the city gate.

Now that they have surrendered, it means they no longer have to stand on the city walls watching the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire, and they no longer have to risk their lives.

Surrendering to the Eighth Route Army meant their safety was guaranteed, so how could they not hurry up?

The puppet troops on the city wall all knew that the Eighth Route Army had mobilized so many troops and so many artillery pieces, and they were determined to take Ping'an County.

Furthermore, this Eighth Route Army unit was composed of elite troops from an independent detachment, so the more than 600 Japanese soldiers inside the city walls certainly couldn't withstand them.

Rather than being purged by the Eighth Route Army after the city falls, or being forced to die by the Japanese, it's better to surrender now and at least save your life.

After the puppet troops cleared away the debris, a dozen men worked together to use a winch to raise the sturdy iron city gate.

These specially designed city gates have an astonishing defensive capability, as they are specifically designed to protect against artillery and explosives.

It can be said that this gate alone is more solid than the city wall.

After the city gates were opened, the battalion commander did not immediately order his troops to enter the city. Instead, he sent a squad of soldiers in to scout the situation.

If the puppet troops were feigning surrender and had set up an ambush in the city, it would be too dangerous to rush into the city.

The platoon leader of the first company of the third battalion, who was assigned the task, volunteered to undertake the reconnaissance mission.

When the platoon leader led his soldiers into the city, and saw the puppet troops who had piled up their weapons and were obediently squatting to one side, his worries were mostly relieved.

Because he saw that the person leading the group was the commander of the puppet army.

The commander of the puppet army couldn't very well use himself as a scapegoat.

Even if they wanted to set an ambush, they wouldn't let the commander of the puppet army act as an actor himself.

Otherwise, even if the Eighth Route Army soldiers who entered the county were ambushed, the puppet army commander who was used as bait would not survive.

So, after ordering two soldiers to go outside the city to inform the main force, the platoon leader, along with the remaining soldiers, began to guard the surrendered puppet troops.

"Eighth Master, be careful of accidental discharge. We've come to our senses and started an uprising by killing the Japanese devils. If the gun accidentally goes off, I'll be so wronged."

The fake regimental commander saw a platoon leader pointing his gun at him, the dark muzzle aimed at his head, and quickly began to fawn over him.

Seeing the other party's appearance, the platoon leader thought for a moment and then lowered his gun.

After the main force entered the city, the battalion commander immediately ordered a platoon of soldiers to guard these puppet troops and had someone report the situation to He Jianxin.

He then led the remaining soldiers to rely on the fortifications built by the Japanese at the city gate, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

At the First Battalion Command Post, He Jianxin finally smiled with joy after receiving Yang Dong's battle report.

The siege had been going on for three hours, with over six hundred casualties, before the city gates were finally breached.

Next, as long as we push our troops into the county town from the west side of the breached town and encircle and annihilate the remaining Japanese soldiers, Ping'an County will basically be captured.

That's how it is in offensive battles; they're extremely difficult to fight. Even with superior artillery, the First Battalion still paid a considerable price.

The main reason was that the Japanese had the advantage of city walls, so the First Battalion's numerical superiority could not be utilized.

Now that the county town has fallen and the fortifications are gone, it's time for the first brigade to hunt.

"Report to headquarters: Our unit successfully broke through the western side of Ping'an County at 8:40 a.m. and entered the county town." He Jianxin immediately reported the intelligence to Chen Ming at headquarters by phone.

Chen Ming had already learned of the Third Battalion's achievements through the First Battalion's surveillance, but the others in the command post were unaware of this.

The phone call from He Jianxin brought smiles to everyone's faces in the command center.

"Well done! The soldiers of the large platoon fought bravely and broke through the heavily fortified Japanese positions in Ping'an County in less than three hours."

The brigade commander stood up, slammed his fist on the table, and spoke with great enthusiasm.

The others also expressed their own feelings.

Chen Ming was very pleased and immediately ordered He Jianxin to seize the opportunity to expand the victory and not give the Japanese a chance to escape.

If the Japanese escape after we've spent so much manpower and resources besieging this county town, the Independent Detachment will suffer a huge loss.

The brigade commander and other troops were still watching from the sidelines.

Chen Ming wanted to make the brigade commander look good in front of the other brother units.

Upon receiving the order, He Jianxin immediately ordered the First and Fourth Battalions, which were also responsible for feint attacks on the south and north sides, to withdraw some troops.

Together with the reserve troops sent out, they entered through the west gate and wiped out the Japanese troops from other directions.

After the order was issued, the first to arrive was the Fifth Battalion, which He Jianxin had previously sent out as a reserve force.

The battalion commander of the Fifth Battalion was named Liu Qing, and he was one of the cadres who were sent to support the brigade headquarters.

Because of his bravery in combat and high level of ideological awareness, he was promoted three ranks from platoon-level officer to become the battalion commander of the main force.

When Liu Qing led his troops to the West Gate, he saw Yang Dong, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion, who was building a defensive position to guard the city gate.

"Old Yang, you're really something. So many cannons from other directions failed to take it down, but you managed to capture the city gate."

Liu Qing punched Yang Dong's shoulder hard, feeling happy that his comrade had won the first merit.

"Old Liu, we've finally waited for you to come! Our two battalions, totaling over a thousand men, are going to poke the Japanese in the back. The Japanese are going to suffer a lot now," Yang Dong said happily.

After entering the county town, he did not launch an attack immediately, but instead built positions to strengthen the defense of the city gates.

Otherwise, if the Japanese recaptured the city gates, other troops wouldn't be able to get in, and their Third Battalion would be surrounded in the county town.

This is a very risky thing to do.

Now the Fifth Battalion has arrived, bringing the total number of soldiers in the two battalions to over a thousand. With so many soldiers, Yang Dong is confident that the Japanese soldiers inside the city can hold them off if they try to launch a counterattack.

Moreover, there is a steady stream of reinforcements coming from the rear, so it can be said that the Japanese can no longer cause any trouble.

Taking over the county town is only a matter of time.

After the two battalions joined forces, some soldiers stayed behind to continue guarding the city gates, while the rest, led by Liu Qing and Yang Gui, charged towards the Japanese soldiers at the other city gates.

Inside Ping'an County, Hirata Ichiro was checking on the situation of the remaining reinforcements in the command room.

Just then, a Japanese officer rushed in in a panic.

"What's the rush? As an Imperial soldier, you should be calm and composed. Don't panic when something happens."

Hirata Ichiro scolded loudly.

The officer's sudden intrusion disrupted his train of thought.

Although the county town is now under heavy attack by the Eighth Route Army, whose firepower is very strong, Hirata Ichiro is not too panicked.

What good is a powerful independent detachment with a lot of artillery if it has strong combat capabilities?

They were all mortars and infantry guns, no heavy artillery.

With the city walls fortified, Hirata Ichiro was confident that with a battalion of troops stationed in the county town, even a 50,000-strong Chinese army would not be able to break through.

So what if the other side is a formidable independent detachment?

He might not be able to defeat the enemy in open battle, but now he is stationed in the county town with strong fortifications!
Reinforcements are on their way, and the Eighth Route Army will retreat on its own once they arrive.

"Sir, the western part of the city has been breached by the Chinese army, and now a large number of Chinese troops are marching towards us. Please make a decision quickly, sir."

The Japanese officer completely ignored Hirata Ichiro's words.

With things so urgent, there's no time to worry about composure or poise.

pat!

Hirata Ichiro lost his grip on the teacup, which slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, shattering on impact.

"What? The Eighth Route Army has invaded?"

he asked in disbelief.

There are over four hundred men defending the west side of the city. Although he allocated some of his troops to reinforce the defenses of the east side, there is still a small squad of Japanese soldiers and over three hundred puppet troops.

With so many troops, how come the West Gate was lost in less than half an hour after he drew the Japanese troops?
Even if over three hundred idiots stood guard on the city wall with guns, the Eighth Route Army wouldn't be able to break in that quickly, right?
"Sir, stay calm and composed. Don't panic in the face of trouble," a clueless Japanese soldier beside Ichiro advised.

(End of this chapter)