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

Chapter 157 The Helpless Garrison in Mongolia: Zhou Weiguo's New Arrangements!
PS: Chapter 149 has been released.

Zhou Weiguo conducted a final check on all the instruments on the Japanese plane, and after confirming that there were no problems, he began the descent.

Both he and the communications officer in the back seat were on high alert, ready to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring.

Below the runway, on the riverbank, a crowd of over three thousand people had gathered, all intently watching Zhou Weiguo's plane land.

Several hundred soldiers are on standby to deal with any unexpected situations. In the event of an accident, they must ensure the safety of Zhou Weiguo and the communications officer.

Amidst the intense anticipation of the crowd, the plane circled several times before reaching a suitable landing altitude, aligned itself with the runway, and began its descent.

The moment the wheels touched the runway, there was a muffled thud, accompanied by bright sparks.

Fortunately, nothing else happened besides the sparks, and the plane's speed began to decrease.

"Great, it didn't explode!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd, and many people embraced each other and wept with joy.

The officers of the independent detachment had told them that the most dangerous moment for an airplane is during landing.

The landing was safe and sound, meaning the worst moment for the plane was over, and the fourth division would soon have its own aircraft.

The plane's speed dropped rapidly, and the temporary runway, built over several hours by thousands of people, withstood the test.

Finally, the plane came to a smooth stop 170 meters from the end of the runway, without any incident.

Zhou Weiguo opened the cabin door and climbed off the plane shakily, his back already soaked with sweat.

He knew he had won the bet.

As soon as they got off the plane, a group of soldiers ran over and, without saying a word, lifted Zhou Weiguo and another communications officer high into the air.

Cheers and applause rang out continuously.

The eyes of thousands of people were focused on Zhou Weiguo, the communications officer, and the captured aircraft.

"Is this the Japanese plane? How can such a big metal lump fly?"

"You don't understand, do you? I heard that it's because there's a flying chicken hidden inside the plane, and it's the chicken flapping its wings that makes it fly."

"Is that so? That's so weird! What kind of chicken can fly that high and so fast?"

"Would I lie to you? This isn't an ordinary chicken. Ordinary chickens eat rice and drink water, but this chicken drinks oil."

"Look, that opening is where you feed the chickens. As long as you pour oil in there, the chickens can fly."

"Brother Erniu, you know so much."

The locals watching the plane from a short distance were sharing their observations, filled with curiosity about airplanes.

Kong Jie was also on site directing operations.

Seeing that more and more people were gathering, Kong Jie immediately ordered his men to maintain order and prevent any accidents from happening to the plane.

Meanwhile, Kong Jie used a truck to tow the plane away to prevent the Japanese from discovering it and sending planes to destroy the aircraft that his independent detachment had worked so hard to capture.

After the plane was moved and hidden, Kong Jie immediately reported this intelligence to Chen Ming at the front-line command.

"Report, telegram from Kong Jie's unit: The plane has landed safely with no casualties. The plane is currently hidden."

Inside the command post, Wang Dafei excitedly approached Chen Ming with a telegram and reported.

Chen Ming took the telegram, looked at the text, and laughed loudly with delight:
“Great, excellent! Zhou Weiguo has made a great contribution this time. I will personally celebrate his achievement when we get back.”

"This time, our independent detachment has become famous throughout the country and even the world," Wang Dafei said with a smile.

Such operations—surprising enemy airfields and successfully piloting enemy aircraft back—are rare throughout the world.

These operations were full of tactical value and legendary stories.

Especially since the Eighth Route Army was a force with no air force whatsoever, capturing an airplane from the Japanese was of even greater significance.

"However, Comrade Zhou Weiguo is going to become famous this time. The division headquarters or headquarters might come looking for you to send him, right?"

"After all, Comrade Zhou Weiguo is a highly skilled individual who can fly planes and understands armored warfare and special operations," Wang Dafei added.

Upon hearing Wang Dafei's words, Chen Ming was stunned for a moment, and his smile froze.

Yes.

Our military is currently facing a severe shortage of talent, and we must focus on cultivating and developing technical personnel.

Especially in the areas of armor and aviation, there is practically no talent at all.

Zhou Weiguo, who had returned from studying in Germany, possessed rich practical experience and was able to fly a plane from the Japanese airfield back to the base area under complex battlefield conditions.

They landed successfully on the crudely constructed runway and captured a takeoff-ready aircraft.

Such talented individuals should go to the rear to spread their knowledge and thus maximize their value.

To cultivate more aviation talents and other technical military personnel.

After all, individual strength has its limits. Spreading knowledge, teaching more people, one person tells ten, ten tell a hundred, until it becomes a prairie fire, that's the most effective way.

Once the news is reported, not only will the division headquarters receive orders, but even the rear will send orders for Chen Ming to send Zhou Weiguo over.

"No, I have to find a way to keep Zhou Weiguo here," Chen Ming thought to himself.

It wasn't that Chen Ming was a wealthy landlord who couldn't bear to send Zhou Weiguo away.

After Chen Ming learned that Zhou Weiguo could even fly a plane, he had already decided to transfer Zhou Weiguo away from the front line.

Let him stay at the command post as an advisor and instructor to reduce the chances of the other side personally leading the team and risking their lives.

Such a talent is wasted on being a front-line troop commander, not even a regimental-level special operations brigade.

However, even if they were to be transferred away from the front lines, they should have stayed in the Fourth Division.

After all, Zhou Weiguo was transferred from the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region by Chen Ming, who had to swallow his pride and even use weapons and ammunition.

You can't just transfer someone away with a single sentence, can you?
Even if it were the King of Heaven himself, we still have to reason with him, right?

Moreover, Zhou Weiguo can be of greater value if he stays in the fourth division.

When it comes to cultivating talent, Chen Ming dares to say that no one understands talent cultivation better than him.

The talents trained by the Fourth Division were sent to other brother units, and everyone who used them praised them highly.

With the addition of the badge system, the fourth district is undoubtedly the most suitable place to cultivate talent.

Everyone agrees on this point. If Chen Ming hadn't been more outstanding in commanding battles, he might have been transferred to the rear to work on talent development.

After having an idea in mind, Chen Ming reported the intelligence to headquarters via secret telegram.

Headquarters.

The commander was greatly shocked upon receiving the report from the independent detachment.

Early this morning, the troops below reported that there was a major operation at the Independent Detachment's location, and the surrounding Japanese troops were all on high alert.

Headquarters thought the Independent Detachment was about to make some big move again, and was puzzled that since the main force of the Independent Detachment had gone to northern Shanxi, what other force was there to carry out actions around Taiyuan?

A telegram from the Independent Detachment directly resolved the commander's doubts.

"Look everyone, this is great news!"

The boss smiled broadly and handed the telegram to everyone.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the sight.

They must have read it right. The major operation carried out by the Independent Detachment in the early hours of this morning was actually capturing a Japanese plane and even bringing it back.

Does this mean they already own their own plane?

At this stage, an aircraft is of great significance.

Its value far exceeds its mere equipment value; in essence, it is a multi-dimensional strategic fulcrum that can influence the course of a battle.

First, it revolutionized strategic reconnaissance, piercing the Japanese intelligence iron curtain; second, it served as a cradle for aviation talent, boosting the morale of our own troops.

Thirdly, it can be used as a bargaining chip in international competition to leverage allied aid and exchange technology for resources.

It is also a form of political symbolism, reversing the prejudice that one's side is a "guerrilla" in the international arena.

After all, what guerrilla force could capture an airplane from the Japanese and fly it back?
Everyone was very happy.

"Notify Chen Ming to make sure the plane is hidden and that the Japanese don't destroy it. We'll send someone over immediately."

"Also, protect the Japanese pilots well; they are all precious treasures."

Inside the command post, Chen Ming looked at the battle report submitted by Li Yousheng.

Back to last night.

After the special operations battalion, the sharpshooter battalion, and an artillery platoon from the machine gun battalion attacked the Japanese airfield, the Japanese troops in Daixian County immediately learned of the attack. The airfield was extremely important and had to be rescued; moreover, judging from the firepower configuration, its scale should not be too large.

Therefore, Daixian County immediately dispatched troops to provide emergency reinforcements to the airport, which was six kilometers away.

The garrison in Daixian County consisted of approximately 800 Japanese troops who had previously withdrawn from Fanshi County, plus nearly 2,500 puppet troops.

This time, the Japanese deployed 500 Japanese soldiers and 1,200 puppet troops, totaling 1,700 men.

Only three hundred Japanese soldiers and five hundred puppet troops were left to defend the county town.

With so many troops, it's more than enough to deal with the Eighth Route Army attacking the airport.

After all, the strongholds between Fanshi County and Dai County still exist, and no trace of Ding Wei's Independent Detachment has been found.

The Japanese are quite daring as long as they don't target the main force of the Independent Detachment.

Surely not all Eighth Route Army units could have the same level of weaponry and combat effectiveness as the Independent Detachment.

So the Japanese soldiers swaggered towards the airport.

However, they ran headlong into the ambush zone of the Third Battalion of the Independent Detachment.

This ambush area was only 3.2 kilometers away from the scene in Daixian County, and could even be seen directly from Daixian County.

The Japanese soldiers never expected that so many Eighth Route Army soldiers would be lying in ambush right under their noses. It was as unexpected as glancing downstairs to make sure no one was there before leaving the house, only to find a group of burly men suddenly jumping out when they opened the door.

At such a close distance from the county seat, weren't the Eighth Route Army members afraid of their artillery?
Caught off guard, the Japanese suffered a heavy loss from the start, with more than 150 people killed in action.

Immediately afterwards, the machine gun battalion directly under the Independent Detachment opened fire.

Heavy machine guns, mortars, and grenade launchers roared simultaneously, along with specially modified flying thunder cannons that exploded in large areas with a single shot, sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

The Japanese soldiers were completely stunned by the overwhelming firepower.

"Baka! This is definitely not an ordinary Eighth Route Army unit; it must be an independent detachment."

"Take cover immediately and launch a counterattack."

The leading Japanese lieutenant colonel shouted angrily.

When encountering an ambush, the best response can be divided into four steps.

First, seize cover and find shelter from bullets and shells. Then, assess the battlefield situation, determine the enemy's location and crossfire zone based on gunfire and bullet impact distribution, and confirm the withdrawal direction in one go.

Afterwards, a violent counterattack was launched, using firepower density to suppress the ambushers, and the troops maneuvered in a serpentine pattern to reduce casualties.

Final tactical withdrawal.

This is the "SAVE" golden four-step rule when encountering an ambush, which can increase the survival rate by more than 300%.

The Japanese lieutenant colonel leading the team in Daixian County was extremely experienced in command and reacted swiftly within a minute of being ambushed.

However, no matter how fast the reaction, it is all in vain in the face of absolute firepower superiority.

There was no cover to stop his fortifications in front of the flying thunder cannon explosives filled with shrapnel.

This is a flying thunder cannon. Don't be fooled by its short range; its power far exceeds that of a 150mm caliber heavy cannon!
In particular, with the addition of fragmentation, the only difference between it and a real large-caliber cannon is its range.

With one shot, the explosives blew open the bunker, and shrapnel killed and injured personnel.

Moreover, being in an ambush and already prepared, the Japanese lieutenant colonel's counterattack was largely ineffective.

Japanese soldiers and puppet troops fell in droves, suffering heavy casualties.

The Japanese lieutenant colonel realized that if they continued fighting like this, they risked total annihilation. So he decisively abandoned the puppet troops and had them cover their retreat, while he led the remaining Japanese soldiers to retreat.

With the puppet troops covering their rear, the Japanese actually managed to escape with a portion of their forces.

After all, the Third Battalion only corresponds to a Class A regiment. Compared with the other three battalions of the Independent Detachment that correspond to the main force reinforced regiments, there is a considerable gap in combat power and firepower.

Although Chen Ming transferred the machine gun battalion directly under the Independent Detachment, the number of enemy and friendly forces was roughly the same, making it extremely difficult to annihilate the Japanese.

This was 3.2 kilometers from the Japanese county town, giving it the advantage of being in the dark and having the ambush capability, but it was also just outside the range of the Japanese county town's artillery.

Looking at the more than one hundred Japanese soldiers and more than three hundred puppet troops who had escaped, Li Yousheng felt no regret.

In the first battle, more than 300 Japanese soldiers and more than 500 puppet troops were annihilated, and 400 puppet troops were captured. This was already very good.

If they are too greedy and continue the pursuit, the Japanese artillery inside the county town will be able to reach them.

"Quickly clean up the battlefield and evacuate to the airport to move supplies," Li Yousheng ordered.

The Third Battalion was transferred here to cover the Special Operations Battalion and the Guerrilla Battalion's raid on the Japanese airfield.

The objective of providing cover has now been achieved, and a large number of Japanese and puppet troops have been annihilated. The remaining Japanese troops will not dare to send reinforcements to the airport for a short period of time.

What needs to be done now is to empty the Japanese airfield.

The remaining dismantled aircraft parts at the Japanese airfield, along with anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons for air defense, were all valuable items.

The special operations team and sharpshooter team alone couldn't move it all.

According to the news from the special operations team, four Type 88 75mm anti-aircraft guns were deployed inside the Japanese airfield.

Eight Type 98 20mm anti-aircraft guns and twelve Type 93 13.2mm machine guns.

These are all top-notch weapons, capable of both anti-aircraft defense and attacking Japanese infantry and lightly armored tanks; their effectiveness is self-evident.

If all the dismantled Japanese aircraft parts were brought back, and another complete aircraft could serve as a reference, it might even be possible to assemble a new aircraft. At that time, the Third Squadron would have made a great contribution.

Even if they cannot be assembled into new aircraft, they can be used as replacement parts to extend the lifespan of the aircraft captured by the Independent Detachment.

Therefore, under Li Yousheng's command, some of the soldiers of the Third Battalion served as guard and defense forces, while the rest became porters, moving valuable items from the Japanese airfield into the mountains.

Once they entered the mountains, it would be incredibly difficult for the Japanese to find them again.

At the same time, Li Yousheng also sent a telegram to Chen Ming's command post.

Inside the headquarters of the Mongolian army, when Noon Saburo received news of the attack on Daixian Airport, his vision went black and he almost fell to the ground.

He wasn't feeling sorry for the planes inside the airport, but rather thinking about his nephew who was inside the Daixian Airport.

Given the pilot's status, if the Eighth Route Army were to breach the airfield, it's highly unlikely they would kill him.

As for his nephew's foolish and arrogant personality, Noon Saburo worried that the nephew would not dare to commit suicide to serve the Heavenly Locusts, but would instead surrender and be captured by the Eighth Route Army.

There's even a possibility that he might reveal his identity.

If that were the case, the Eighth Route Army would definitely make a big deal out of his nephew, and his family would be disgraced because of his foolish nephew.

"Immediately dispatch troops from Dai County to reinforce the airport and ensure its safety," ordered Noon Saburo.

An hour later, the news came again.

"Report: The troops rescuing the airport in Daixian County were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army's firepower was overwhelming, and the reinforcements suffered heavy losses, forcing them to make a tactical retreat." The Japanese messenger relayed the message.

Upon hearing this, Noon Saburo was both angry and helpless.

Because at that point, he was completely out of options.

Yes, he has no more soldiers.

Now, due to the order to hold out in Okamura, all the troops stationed in Mongolia are tied down in various cities.

He only had one mobile force at his disposal, which was the regiment of the 26th Division that was reinforcing Huai Ren.

That regiment is currently tied down by the Eighth Route Army in the Huai'ren area, and troops from other areas cannot be mobilized.

Noon Saburo can no longer send out even a single soldier, unless he takes a huge risk by drawing troops from the city's defenses.

This is clearly impossible; even if troops were transferred, it would be difficult to cross the battlefield and provide support to Daixian.

Moreover, judging from the firepower of the Eighth Route Army unit that ambushed the troops in Daixian County, the airport must have already been captured by the Eighth Route Army.

Even if troops are sent to provide support now, and they manage to cross the battlefield, it will be difficult to catch up with the Eighth Route Army.

"I hope he died from a stray bullet or committed suicide."

Noon Saburo prayed in his heart that his nephew would die and not be captured by the Eighth Route Army, otherwise the family would be disgraced.

Not long after Noon Saburo began praying, even worse news arrived.

"Report: One hour after the attack on the airport, the garrison of Daixian County spotted an aircraft flying over the county towards the Eighth Route Army's Independent Detachment. The aircraft is currently missing."

"According to the soldiers who observed the plane, it should be a plane from our Daixian Airport."

"In addition, soldiers in Ningwu reported that there were unusual phenomena in the early morning in the Independent Detachment's defense zone. Flashlights were gathered at night, and arrows made of bonfires were also seen, as if they were pointing the way."

The Japanese staff officer reported with great concern.

"What? What did you say?"

P.S.: Sorry guys, I was too busy moving today, so I only have 5,000 words left.
(End of this chapter)