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

Chapter 138 I Want to Accuse Li Yunlong
Upon hearing Zhang Dabiao's report that the Japanese logistics unit had been discovered, Li Yunlong immediately perked up.

"Where are they? How many Japanese soldiers are there?"

The Independent Regiment's blocking battle was very difficult. Li Yunlong's weapons and equipment were worn out, and his troops were also insufficient.

The Independent Regiment currently has only one reinforced infantry battalion, with a strength of about 800 men.

They are now forced to prepare to withdraw to the second line of defense to further slow down the Japanese advance and buy time for the liberating troops.

"Report: The Japanese logistics unit is about 250 men, located 3 kilometers from our blocking position."

Zhang Dabiao answered immediately.

Listening to Zhang Dabiao's report, Li Yunlong quickly thought about it.

The Japanese logistics unit was three kilometers away, which wasn't too far. If they took a detour and launched a surprise attack, they could arrive in less than an hour.

The Japanese logistics unit was even weaker, with only a little over two hundred men.

If we could bypass the main force of the Japanese army and directly attack their logistics units, even if we couldn't completely annihilate them, we could still destroy as much of their supplies as possible.

Without the support of the logistics troops, even if the two Japanese battalions wanted to continue to reinforce Ping'an County, they would have to wait for the subsequent supplies to arrive.

After all, no matter how strong a soldier is, how many shells can he withstand?

In this way, the Independent Regiment and the Fourth Regiment achieved their blocking objective.

Li Yunlong was weighing whether or not to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese transport convoy.

After a struggle with his conscience, Li Yunlong finally decided to do it!

Their mission was to block the Japanese troops, prevent them from reinforcing Ping'an County, and buy time for the liberation of the county.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a traditional blocking battle; as long as the objective is achieved, that's fine.

"Da Biao, assemble the first battalion. We're not going to the second blocking position. We're going to wipe out the Japanese logistics unit!" Li Yunlong said.

"Commander, if the First Battalion is transferred, there will only be a little over four hundred men left. It will be even more difficult to fight on the second line of defense," Zhang Dabiao said hesitantly.

The Independent Regiment originally had more than 1,200 men, but after fighting a defensive battle, only more than 800 men remain.

If the strongest battalion is transferred away, only a little over four hundred troops will remain.

With such a small force, it would be extremely difficult to defend against the fierce attack of two battalions of Japanese soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Independent Regiment and the Fourth Regiment were positioned to block the Japanese troops from the opposite direction. If the defenses of the Independent Regiment weakened, the Japanese would concentrate their forces to launch a fierce attack on the Independent Regiment.

The pressure will fall on the Independent Regiment, at which point the Fourth Regiment will definitely send reinforcements, which will disrupt the deployment of the blocking position.

"No matter how we fight, it doesn't matter. As long as we stop the Japanese devils and don't let them pass, that's enough. I'll take responsibility for anything that happens," Li Yunlong said loudly.

Anyway, this wasn't the first time he had disobeyed orders on the battlefield. It was just a blocking action; as long as the Japanese were stopped from reinforcing Ping'an County, that would be fine.

As long as the mission is completed, Li Yunlong is willing to accept punishment afterward.

Of course, Li Yunlong had no choice but to do this.

The Japanese soldiers were well-equipped, had strong combat capabilities, and were numerous.

If the current blocking tactics continue, the Independent Regiment will suffer heavy casualties and its resources will be depleted.

In order to reduce the casualties of his troops, Li Yunlong thought of launching a surprise attack on the Japanese logistics unit.

This would not only reduce the difficulty of the ambush, but the Independent Regiment might also make a fortune and recoup its losses.

"Commander, if you're so good at abandoning your position, that's a mistake!"

Zhang Dabiao wanted to continue persuading Li Yunlong.

"So what if I made a mistake? Haven't I made enough mistakes already? Just carry out the order!" Li Yunlong commanded.

"Yes, but should we inform the Fourth Regiment about this?" Zhang Dabiao asked again.

"Isn't that obvious!" Li Yunlong said irritably.

Even if he wanted to raid the Japanese logistics unit, he couldn't just take his troops away without notifying the Fourth Regiment.

Although Li Yunlong sometimes makes mistakes, he can still distinguish between what is important and what is not.

If the Independent Regiment withdraws its troops and the Fourth Regiment doesn't receive the news, it could lead to serious problems!
Therefore, under Li Yunlong's orders, the First Battalion of the Independent Regiment was taken away by him to detour and attack the Japanese transport convoy.

Zhang Dabiao stayed behind to continue organizing the defense, while sending someone to inform the Independent Regiment's movements to Commander Zhang of the Fourth Regiment on the other side.

"This is utter nonsense! Our orders from above are to stay here for 36 hours. Where did Li Yunlong get the audacity to move troops without authorization?"

"If something goes wrong, how many heads does Li Yunlong have to be executed?"

Commander Zhang was furious at Li Yunlong's behavior, and the goodwill he had previously felt towards him vanished completely.

Disobeying orders on the battlefield has always been a major taboo.

If all troops followed suit, becoming a disorganized mess with their own ideas, then there would be no need to fight a war.

"Immediately send men to bring Li Yunlong back. We can't let him withdraw half of his troops to carry out a gamble," Commander Zhang said immediately.

"Commander, it's too late. By the time the Independent Regiment notified us, Commander Li had already transferred the troops."

"Damn it, what a Li Yunlong!"

Commander Zhang was so angry that he clenched his fists and started cursing.

If Li Yunlong were to appear in front of him now, he would not care whether the other party was a regimental commander or not, and would directly punch Li Yunlong a few times.

"Let's transfer the reserve force to the Independent Regiment to reinforce them," Commander Zhang said helplessly.

Although he was angry that Li Yunlong disobeyed orders on the battlefield, refused to follow his superiors' commands, and arbitrarily moved troops.

But we still have to fight back; no matter what, we can't let the Japanese break through our lines.

If anything goes wrong, not only will Li Yunlong be held responsible, but he will also be held responsible.

Of course, taking responsibility is a minor matter; the most important thing is that the Japanese soldiers break through their blocking positions and successfully reinforce Ping'an County.

At that point, this campaign, which has been prepared for more than two months and involved the mobilization of so many troops and resources, could very well fail.

When the investigation comes, it turns out that their 4th Regiment and Independent Regiment failed to complete their blocking mission, and Regiment Commander Zhang will be too ashamed to go back and face his superiors.

Li Yunlong led a battalion of soldiers on a forced march, bypassing the Japanese reconnaissance units, and finally found the Japanese logistics unit hidden in a mountain valley in a concealed location.

This logistics unit was indeed small in number, just as the scouts had said.

Upon seeing this, Li Yunlong immediately felt confident.

"Although the Japanese logistics troops were well hidden, they were difficult to find under normal circumstances because they were hiding in this mountain valley."

"But now that it has been discovered, this ravine has immediately become the burial ground for the Japanese devils!"

"Order the troops to charge forward and wipe out this group of Japanese devils."

After receiving the order, Li Yunlong led his troops and took the lead in attacking the Japanese logistics unit.

"Da da da!"

The light machine gun was spitting fire.

The Japanese transport team, which was still carrying weapons and ammunition to the main force at the front, was caught off guard and immediately fell into chaos.

Because the fighting on the front lines was intense, and the Japanese needed to continue advancing after capturing the first blocking position, some Japanese soldiers were transferring supplies.

The Japanese soldiers who remained at the temporary logistics base were mostly engineering detachments, ammunition squads, and a small number of transport companies.

The number of people has decreased from the original 250 to only about 160.

These troops were not very strong in combat; they were not as strong as the main fighting forces of the Japanese.

Under the fierce attack of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment, they quickly retreated.

"Baka! Why are there Eighth Route Army soldiers here? Aren't the main force fighting against them?"

The Japanese company commander in charge of logistics cursed in disbelief.

The Eighth Route Army clearly had fewer troops and worse weaponry than them, so why did they dare to draw troops from the front lines to attack them?

Aren't the Eighth Route Army soldiers afraid of their positions collapsing?

"Quickly, launch a counterattack immediately and wait for reinforcements from the front lines!" the Japanese company commander shouted.

However, since Li Yunlong dared to draw a battalion from an important blocking position, he must have been determined.

Under the personal command of Li Yunlong, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment fought with exceptional bravery.

They engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese logistics troops.

The Independent Regiment's First Battalion had 400 soldiers, while the Japanese only had a little over 160. In addition, more than 60 of them were killed in the previous surprise attack, leaving less than 100 soldiers.

Faced with a bayonet charge launched by more than 300 soldiers of the Independent Regiment, the Japanese logistics unit, which had little combat experience, quickly collapsed.

They were not a main combat force to begin with, and they were also a logistics unit of a mixed brigade that was not even a major force in the Japanese army.

Despite being outnumbered and lacking experience in close combat, the battle ended in less than thirty minutes.

When Li Yunlong looked at the remaining troops, he found that there were only more than 260 men left.

This casualty ratio looks much better than the casualty ratio of a sniping attack.

"Quickly, move everything you can carry, and blow up everything you can't carry. Don't leave a single bullet for the Japanese."

Li Yunlong shouted loudly.

This battle was fought brilliantly; the Japanese temporary logistics base was destroyed in just half an hour.

Without a constant supply of logistical support, the Japanese heavy firepower and mortars will soon become ineffective.

We must wait for new supplies to arrive before we can continue the attack.

Otherwise, an army can easily fall into trouble if it loses its logistics.

In this way, Li Yunlong's objective of interception would be achieved.

This attack will delay the Japanese for at least five hours.

"Hurry up, hurry up, stop dawdling!" Li Yunlong urged loudly.

The main force of the Japanese army was not far from here, and it only took them a little over an hour to take a detour and force their way through.

The Japanese are closer, and reinforcements should arrive soon.

Finally, after gathering a certain amount of weapons and ammunition, Li Yunlong led his troops to retreat.

As for the remaining supplies that couldn't be taken away, Li Yunlong could only tearfully order them to be blown up, leaving nothing for the Japanese.

"Damn it, it breaks my heart."

Li Yunlong watched as the supplies he couldn't take were destroyed in the explosion, and he was so heartbroken that he almost burst into tears.

In fact, the soldiers of the First Battalion could have taken more supplies, but after such a long battle and march, their bodies were already at their limit.

If we continue to move heavy supplies, we are very likely to be caught up by the Japanese during the retreat, resulting in a large number of casualties.

In order for the soldiers to retreat smoothly, Li Yunlong, who was a miserly old man, chose to blow it up.

Even if they can't take it, the Japanese won't get it either.

After successfully leading his troops to retreat before the Japanese arrived, Li Yunlong smiled happily as he looked at the ammunition boxes and weapons his soldiers were carrying.

"This deal was a good one. Not only did we successfully repel the Japanese, but our Independent Regiment also made a small fortune."

However, upon receiving the report from Commander Zhang, Chen Ming slammed his fist on the table in the Beiyao Village command post.

(End of this chapter)