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

Chapter 201 Issue my order: Send a telegram throughout the country!

Fearing encirclement and annihilation by the Independent Detachment and the Northern Route Army, the Japanese troops in Baotou chose to break out.

Based on the telegram sent by Chen Ming, which claimed that tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers had come to the resources, the commander of the Northern Route Army deduced from the unusual behavior of the Japanese soldiers.

The main force of the Japanese troops must have split up and headed to Baotou, otherwise the Japanese cavalry group would not have attacked their positions.

It would be a waste to send tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers solely to pursue the Independent Detachment.

The commander of the Northern Route Army was unaware that the Independent Detachment had accomplished a momentous feat, and his impression of the Independent Detachment's strength remained stuck in the past.

In his memory, the Independent Detachment was so formidable that the Japanese could overwhelm them with just tens of thousands of troops.

There's no need to send tens of thousands of troops to support them directly. These Japanese devils' target is definitely not just the Independent Detachment, but also his Northern Route Army.

Based on these factors, the commander of the Northern Route Army made a decision and ordered the Northern Route Army in Baotou to break out immediately to avoid being attacked and severely damaged by the Japanese from both inside and outside Baotou.

As a result, the Japanese soldiers in Baotou desperately tried to break out, and the Northern Route Army also desperately tried to break out, resulting in a dramatic chase between the two sides.

The Northern Route Army ran ahead, and the Japanese soldiers followed behind in their attempt to break through.

"Quickly, as long as we break through the defenses of the 35th Army of the Chinese forces ahead, we can successfully advance."

"The enemy is not a Chinese Independent Detachment unit; their combat strength is not strong. Warriors of the Empire, charge!"

The commander of the Japanese cavalry regiment shouted the order.

Based on the past few hours of contact, he had determined that he was on the right track in his breakout direction. The enemy was not the Eighth Route Army's Independent Detachment, but the relatively weaker Northern Route Army.

Once they break through the Northern Route Army's defenses, given the mobility of the cavalry group, even if the Independent Detachment wanted to encircle them, it would be impossible.

"Brothers, retreat quickly! The Japanese are closing in so tightly, their main force will definitely surround us soon. If we don't retreat now, we'll be surrounded by the Japanese!"

A regimental commander of the Northern Route Army shouted, his forehead covered in sweat.

This pursuit by the Japanese cavalry group was the most frantic attack their Northern Route Army had ever faced against the Japanese cavalry group.

They fought as if they were risking their lives, completely ignoring the rearguard and focusing solely on pursuing them.

For the Japanese to do this, they must have had a more important objective and didn't care about the rearguard troops.

The target is self-evident; it's definitely the main force of their Northern Route Army!
Therefore, they also ran for their lives, fearing that if they were too slow, they would be surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese.

At this time, there wasn't a single Japanese soldier left in Baotou. Only some puppet troops abandoned by the Japanese were left, trying to take advantage of the chaos to rob and make a fortune.

This information was successfully intercepted by our Party's underground workers in Baotou.

"Report, secret telegram from Baotou: All the Japanese soldiers in Baotou have disappeared, and most of the puppet troops have also disappeared, leaving only a small number of puppet troops in Baotou."

"Baotou is now in a state of being without military control, with a small number of puppet troops and a large number of local thugs looting and creating chaos in the city."

Inside the command post, Chen Ming, the commander of the Datong Campaign, received a secret telegram from the direction of Baotou.

"What? All the Japanese and puppet troops in Baotou have left. What about the Northern Route Army?" Chen Ming asked in surprise.

"According to intelligence from Baotou, no trace of the Northern Route Army has been found outside Baotou. It is only known that after the Japanese and puppet troops left, a fierce battle broke out north of Baotou."

"The current situation of the battle is unknown, but what is certain is that Baotou now has almost no army left, making it a city without any army defense."

Chief of Staff Wang Dafei began his report.

When he received the telegram, he was completely confused. Hadn't the Northern Route Army surrounded the Japanese cavalry group in Baotou?

How come all the Japanese and puppet troops and the Northern Route Army in Baotou suddenly disappeared?

Strange, so strange.

According to the Japanese army's manual, under normal circumstances, when surrounded, they would not easily break out if reinforcements were available.

Instead, they would choose to defend the city and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

As a result, all the Japanese soldiers in Baotou have now left Baotou, and even more strangely, the Northern Route Army has also left.

Even Wang Dafei, who had experienced countless battles, both large and small, couldn't understand this strange phenomenon.

Chen Ming was also completely baffled and couldn't understand why this was happening.

He began to put himself in the shoes of the Japanese soldiers and the commander of the Northern Route Army, constantly surmising under what circumstances this situation might occur.

After a long while, Chen Ming's eyes lit up.

"I've figured it out, empiricism is harmful!" Chen Ming exclaimed.

His predictions about the Japanese soldiers' behavior were based on his past experience dealing with them.

Little did they know that with each development and strengthening of the Independent Detachment, the Japanese were no longer the same as before when facing it.

Therefore, it is clearly inappropriate to use past experience of dealing with the Japanese to predict the current Japanese.

Chen Ming was influenced by empiricism.

After figuring it out, Chen Ming felt that his thinking and perspective had broadened considerably, and his understanding of the world had deepened.

Seeing the blank stares of everyone in the command room, Chen Ming began to explain:

"I suspect that the unusual behavior of the Northern Route Army and the Japanese is caused by our sudden cessation of the attack on Guihua and our complete concealment of our whereabouts."

"The Japanese were worried that we would repeat the situation in Wucheng, so they launched a surprise attack on Baotou under the cover of night, and together with the Northern Route Army, they attacked the Japanese cavalry group in Baotou from both sides."

"The Japanese knew that with the strength of a single cavalry group, it would be difficult to withstand the pincer attack of our independent detachment and the Northern Route Army. Fearing total annihilation, they abandoned Baotou and attempted to break out."

"After all, the Japanese don't know how they took Datong yet. In their eyes, our Independent Detachment is still a strong army that can take Datong in eight hours."

Chen Ming said with a smile.

"The reaction of the Northern Route Army was also based on this. The Northern Route Army did not know that Datong had been captured by us, and they were unaware of our strength."

"In my previous telegram to the Northern Route Army, I stated that tens of thousands of Japanese troops were moving towards Guihua and Baotou."

"The commander of the Northern Route Army may have thought that these Japanese soldiers were coming for his Northern Route Army, and made a wrong judgment."

"They thought the Japanese in Baotou were trying to create a 'center-outbreak' scenario, coordinating with a large, non-existent Japanese force on the periphery to encircle and annihilate them."

"That's why they were in such a hurry to evacuate Baotou."

Chen Ming explained to everyone in the command room with a smile.

Upon hearing Chen Ming's explanation, everyone suddenly understood; so that's how it was.

"Does that mean that Baotou is now completely deserted, with no Japanese or puppet troops left to defend it?"

This is our chance!

Chief of Staff Wang Dafei spoke first.

"That's right, it was indeed an opportunity. The Japanese were in such a hurry to leave shortly after we disappeared that they definitely didn't have a chance to destroy all the supplies in Baotou."

He Jianxin began to speak.

"Which of our units is closest to Baotou right now?" Chen Ming asked.

Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Wang Dafei quickly began to investigate.

"Report: The Qingshan Detachment is currently active near Baotou."

"Okay, send me some electricity and ask them if they want to make a fortune!" Chen Ming said with a smile.

"Yes."

Chen Ming definitely won't go back to Baotou. Right now, the main enemy of the Japanese army is the Independent Detachment, and it would be too dangerous for him to go back to Baotou.

If the main force of the independent detachment does not appear, the Japanese will be hesitant to act rashly.

This would make it safer for troops who were on their way to Baotou to receive supplies.

It was just a small town called Baotou. As a remote city, the supplies there were a fortune for other troops.

However, for the Independent Detachment, which had seized all of Datong's resources and captured a large amount of supplies, industrial equipment, and machine tools, this was a different story.

The supplies in Baotou are nothing compared to what we have now.

Of course, the main reason was that after the Japanese retreated, they would definitely burn some of the supplies in Baotou, and there probably wouldn't be many important supplies left.

After the telegram was sent to the Qingshan Detachment, the detachment commander learned that supplies were waiting for them to receive in a city.

He jumped out of bed excitedly. "Haha, great news, great news!"

"Quickly, sound the rallying call! Gather all the able-bodied soldiers! Let's make a fortune!"

The detachment leader of Qingshan Detachment stepped out of the room and gave the order.

"What's up, Lao Li? Why are you assembling the troops so late?" asked Li's partner.

"Look at this, Comrade Chen Ming from the Independent Detachment is really generous, he gave me a headscarf directly."

"If we can bring all the supplies back from Baotou, we'll make a fortune. Although we won't be as good as the Independent Detachment, we'll at least be among the top."

Captain Li handed the telegram to his partner.

"My God, Baotou is a ghost town now?! We're going to strike it rich!"

"Old Li, give me a few punches, I feel like I'm still half asleep," the political commissar said.

"Wow, wow! Great, fantastic! We're going to be rich!"

The physical pain did not affect the political commissar's mood; on the contrary, it made him even happier.

"Hurry up and assemble the troops. Comrade Chen Ming of the Independent Detachment is too generous. He has given us such a great gift just for cooperating in the operation."

"However, time is of the essence now. Once it gets light, the Japanese planes will be dispatched and they will probably discover the situation in Baotou."

"The Northern Route Army might get involved then, so we have to be quick and try to move as much as we can in one night."

Captain Li began to speak.

Before long, the soldiers of the Qingshan Detachment had almost all assembled.

Although they were woken up at night, there was not a trace of complaint on their faces.

It's like waking up an ordinary person and telling them, "Come on, we're going to be rich! Come with me to move gold, and everything we bring back will be ours."

Who's sleeping at a time like this? Making money is the only right thing to do.

Under the cover of night, all the soldiers of the Qingshan Detachment, except for those who stayed behind at their post, headed towards Baotou to make their fortune.

Chen Ming also dispatched a large number of reconnaissance troops to keep abreast of the Japanese positions and ensure the safety of the Qingshan Detachment.

It wasn't until dawn, when Japanese reconnaissance planes appeared over Baotou, that they realized something was wrong.

"Why are there so few people in Baotou? Not only are there no troops from the 35th Army of China, but even the Eighth Route Army within it is not an independent detachment."

Okamura fell into deep thought inside the headquarters of the North China Expeditionary Army.

He felt as if he had been tricked by the Independent Detachment again, and had fallen into their trap.

They simply abandoned the city of Baotou without offering any resistance.

The supplies in Baotou were once again seized by the Eighth Route Army, without causing any casualties to the Eighth Route Army.

This is undoubtedly an indelible disgrace for Okamura.

"Damn Independent Detachment, you idiot!"

The matter is already settled, and there is no way to undo it now.

"Order the cavalry group to immediately retake Baotou, and the remaining troops to advance on Datong with all their might," Gangcun ordered in a fit of rage.

From the actions of the Independent Detachment over the past few days, he had come to know the Independent Detachment's true objective: Datong.

All previous actions were intended to cover up Datong, but Okamura was powerless to do anything about it.

This was an open plot by the Independent Detachment, a blatant attack on Wucheng, clearly intended to cripple him.

Gangcun could only be moved step by step by the independent detachment, following their ideas.

This is a result of information asymmetry.

To this day, Gangcun still can't understand how the Independent Detachment managed to capture Datong in just eight hours.

Such formidable combat power forced Okamura to approach the Independent Detachment with the utmost caution.

He couldn't understand why, when the Independent Detachment attacked Datong, it not only destroyed the command system in Datong immediately, but also the Japanese intelligence system within Datong.

Many members of the Japanese intelligence system were veteran agents who had been hiding for years or even decades.

From archival records to lifestyle habits and behavior, they are no different from normal Chinese people.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to wipe them all out at once, unless the Eighth Route Army took control of everyone in Datong.

Or perhaps they obtained a list of Japanese spies and arrested them all during the attack on Datong.

The first scenario is unrealistic. The Eighth Route Army doesn't have that much time. It's impossible to completely control everyone in Datong in eight hours. Intelligence personnel would have enough time to send the telegram.

That leaves only the second possibility: there is a traitor within their ranks.

The person who could have access to the list of all the undercover agents in Datong must be a high-ranking member of the intelligence department.

Therefore, Gangcun issued another order, demanding a thorough investigation of the head of the intelligence agency who was on the list of all people in Datong who were hiding, and to find the mole who was hiding.

It is no coincidence.

Inside the headquarters of the Northern Route Army, the commander of the Northern Route Army fell silent as he looked at the news sent back from Baotou.

He was filled with mixed feelings and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which he squandered due to his misjudgment.

After the Japanese cavalry group broke out of Baotou, Baotou became a ghost town.

At that time, he only needed to send a company of soldiers to take over Baotou and occupy the western core city of this pseudo-Mengjiang regime.

Even if they only occupy the territory for one night, it will have a huge impact on public opinion across the country.

Their Northern Route Army has been active in Baotou for so long, they dream of taking it back.

But this opportunity was missed.

"Ugh!"

The commander of the Northern Route Army was at a loss as to what to do.

In his mind, this was no one's fault but the Eighth Route Army's. The Independent Detachment was already attacking Jining and was even advancing towards Guihua to support them, which was already more than enough.

Even after the Japanese reinforcements arrived, they didn't forget to remind them during the retreat, which was much better than their Nationalist colleagues who retreated without a word.

If we're really going to be serious, he should thank Chen Ming.

Now, he can only blame himself for misjudging the situation, failing to seize the opportunity, and missing a golden chance.

"Chen Ming is a decent guy. Let's cooperate again next time," the Northern Route Army commander thought to himself.

Independent Detachment.

Chen Ming has returned to Datong. Most of the supplies in Datong have been transported away, and it is now a completely deserted city.

The defensive chain outside Datong City was almost completely destroyed by the soldiers of the Independent Detachment. It would be impossible for the Japanese to rebuild it in less than a year or two.

This is Chen Ming making preparations in advance for the second attack on Datong.

The decision to return Datong to the Japanese was based on this consideration: to use Datong, a city the Japanese would never give up, to continuously bleed them dry.

We will wear down the Japanese step by step and drain their blood.

After the last batch of supplies was loaded onto the train, Chen Ming stood on the train and loudly commanded:

"All troops, withdraw from Datong and go home to count your money!"

Amidst cheers and laughter, the Independent Detachment, along with its cooperating troops, withdrew from Datong, leaving the Japanese with an empty city.

Upon returning to the base, Chen Ming, without even taking a break, immediately exclaimed with delight:

"Pass on my order: send a telegram throughout the entire country!"

P.S.: This book has finally reached two hundred chapters! Congratulations!

(End of this chapter)