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

Chapter 225 The advance team enters Chifeng!

The wind whipped up the yellow sand from beyond the Great Wall, howling and weaving through the bare branches, and Liu Tengjie tightened the reins on his horse.

He looked up into the distance, and below the horizon, the rolling, yellowish-brown hills finally revealed the unique landform of the Chifeng region.

After a long journey of more than half a month, they finally set foot on this land shrouded in gloom.

Chifeng, at that time, was located in the heart of Rehe Province of the puppet state of Manchukuo, like a nail held in the palm of the enemy.

The disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves here is so great that it makes one's heart sink:

Meanwhile, the anti-Japanese armed forces could only struggle and move about in the deep mountains and dense forests.

What's even more challenging is that this area is home to multiple ethnic groups, including Han, Mongolian, and Hui.

The Japanese and puppet troops deliberately spread rumors and instigated ethnic tensions, adding another layer of complexity to the already difficult struggle.

Even the most battle-hardened warriors may fall on this land.

Liu Tengjie knew in his heart that what they were about to face was a tough battle more brutal than any battle before.

Just three days after the advance team entered Chifeng, an unexpected "minor loss" came knocking.

That afternoon, the column marched along a narrow mountain stream. In front was the reconnaissance company responsible for clearing the way, in the middle was the main force carrying supplies, and at the rear was the medical platoon guarded by a dozen reconnaissance soldiers.

This medical team belonged to the medical platoon of the entire advance team. Most of the thirty-odd people in the team were medical personnel carrying medicine kits and stretchers.

Women accounted for more than 30% of the team members. Most of them volunteered from hospitals in the rear. They still had a youthful innocence on their faces, but their eyes were firm as they followed the team forward.

No one noticed that greedy eyes had already been lurking in the bushes on both sides of the mountain stream.

This band of bandits was known locally as "Black Wind Stronghold." They made a living by robbing passing caravans, and bullying the weak and fearing the strong was ingrained in their very nature.

"Boss, look! There are over thirty people, quite a few women, and they're carrying so many heavy boxes. They must be carrying some good stuff!"

A bandit with a full beard approached the leader, "Black Wind Blade," lowered his voice, and looked at him with greed in his eyes.

"Black Wind Blade" squinted, staring at the medicine box on the back of the medical team soldier.

The boxes were carefully wrapped in canvas, but the edges revealed that they were made of solid wood, clearly containing valuable items.

In this chaotic world, medicine is rarer than gold. If you can get these medical supplies onto the black market, you can easily get several hundred dollars for them.

Then look at those female medical soldiers. Although they are wearing simple cotton-padded clothes, they cannot hide the heroic spirit between their brows.

The sight of several beautiful young women, their backs straight in the cold wind, only fueled the bandits' wicked intentions.

"Black Wind Blade" licked his lips, already considering the medical team as his for the taking.

With money and women, this is practically a "big fat meat" delivered to his door!
At "Black Wind Blade's" command, more than a hundred bandits suddenly sprang out from behind the bushes, brandishing their rifles and broadswords at the medical team.

"Brothers, rob money, rob grain, rob women!"

The bandit leader's roar echoed through the mountain stream, carrying a nauseating arrogance.

The medical team and the guards were completely unprepared for the ambush, and gunfire and shouts of battle erupted everywhere.

Before the two scouts on the outermost edge could react, they were hit by the bandits' bullets and fell to the ground in the mud, their clothes instantly stained with blood.

Four more soldiers were hit by bullets. One of them had his arm pierced, and blood was flowing down his sleeve, but he still gritted his teeth and tried to raise his gun to fight back.

"Ambush! Proceed to combat readiness, provide alternating cover!"

The reconnaissance squad leader suddenly drew his pistol from his waist and fired two shots in the direction of the bandits.

He was a veteran who had fought alongside Liu Tengjie for three years. Although he was both shocked and angry at the moment, he did not lose his composure.

The advance team consisted of elite soldiers selected from thousands of candidates, who could react in the shortest possible time even in the event of a surprise attack.

He immediately recognized the ambush attackers: they were dressed in coarse cloth, wore their hats askew, and carried weapons of varying quality; they were clearly bandits.

"What were the scouting and clearing companies doing? The enemy has already gotten right up behind us!"

The reconnaissance squad leader couldn't help but curse out loud, his voice full of anger.

"Damn it, a bunch of sons of bitches dare to cause us trouble!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the reconnaissance squad leader quickly organized a counterattack.

The reconnaissance squad soldiers quickly found cover on the rocks on both sides of the ravine and fired their rifles accurately at the bandits.

They were all exceptional marksmen, one in a hundred. Even in the midst of chaos, their bullets seemed to have eyes, always aiming for the bandits' vital points.

A bandit who had just peeked out was about to fire at the medic when a bullet pierced his forehead, and he fell straight down.

Another bandit wielding a large knife had only taken two steps forward when he was shot in the leg and fell to the ground with a scream.

After just two rounds of shooting, more than thirty bandits fell in pools of blood. The rest were so frightened that they huddled behind cover and dared not show their faces again.

"This is a tough problem, let's retreat!"

Seeing his men fall one by one, "Black Wind Blade" panicked.

He originally thought this medical team was weak, but he didn't expect the guards to be so capable, losing a third of their men in just a few minutes.

He dared not linger in the fight any longer, and with a shout, he tried to lead the rest of his men to flee.

The reconnaissance squad leader stared in the direction the bandits had fled, his fingers gripping the gun handle tightly until his knuckles turned white.

He knew in his heart that he couldn't pursue them now.

The enemy situation was unclear, and no one knew whether there were other bandits hiding outside the mountain stream;

Moreover, their primary task is to protect the medical team; if they pursue, the remaining medical staff and wounded will be in danger.

"Don't chase! Immediately construct defenses and hold both sides of the ravine!"

The reconnaissance squad leader gave a loud order.

"Medic, quick! Stop the bleeding and bandage the wounded first!"

The soldiers immediately sprang into action; some used their bayonets to dig and build fortifications, while others vigilantly watched the direction the bandits fled.
The medical staff quickly put down their medicine kits, took out gauze and hemostatic powder, and squatted down next to the wounded to get busy.

A female medic, her hands trembling, bandaged the arm of a soldier who had just stood in front of her and was shot. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back.

She knew that now was not the time to cry. Only by stabilizing the vital signs of the wounded as soon as possible and waiting for the main force to return to provide support could they perform further surgeries on them.

On the ground, the bodies of the fallen soldiers were carefully carried behind a sheltered rock.

At this moment, Liu Tengjie, who was walking at the front of the group, had just climbed a mountain ridge when he saw the communications soldier behind him riding up on horseback in a hurry, his face full of anxiety.

"Captain! Something's wrong! The medical team behind us has been ambushed!"

The communications soldier dismounted, panting, and said.

Liu Tengjie's heart sank, and his brows furrowed instantly.

Before setting off, he specifically ordered his company to carefully scout the route and confirm that there were no traces of the enemy before letting the troops advance. How could an ambush suddenly appear?
But he had no time to think. Most of the medical team members were medical staff, whose combat effectiveness was already weak. If he was a step too late, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Immediately change course and rush to reinforce!"

Liu Tengjie's voice was resolute. He leaped onto his warhorse and shouted to the troops behind him.

"Special operations team, follow me! The rest of you, speed up and keep up!"

The special operations team that received the order was the most elite force in the advance team. Each member carried a submachine gun and had grenades on their waist, moving as swiftly as a leopard.

They ran wildly along the path they had come from, the broken branches crunching under their feet, the thorns scratching their cheeks, but no one slowed down.

They covered the three-kilometer distance in just ten minutes and could see the scenery in the mountain stream in the distance.

The smoke of battle had not yet cleared, and the bodies of bandits were scattered on the ground. Several soldiers were guarding the area vigilantly with their guns raised, while medics were busy tending to the wounded.

"What's the situation? Where's the enemy?"

Special operations squad leader Zhao Gang rushed to the reconnaissance squad leader's side, his voice full of urgency.

The reconnaissance squad leader's tense nerves relaxed slightly when he saw the reinforcements, but his expression remained heavy.

“We have driven the enemy away. There were about a hundred of them, and they were local bandits.”

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Two soldiers from our class were killed, and four others were wounded, all with gunshot wounds."

Speaking of the fallen soldiers, the reconnaissance squad leader's eyes reddened. Just last night, these brothers were stirring the pot together, joking with each other about when they could drive the Japanese out of China.

But today, those two vibrant lives are forever left on this land.

"It would be an honor to die on the battlefield fighting the Japanese, but they... they died at the hands of bandits. I can't swallow this!"

Upon hearing of the casualties, the special operations squad leader clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking.

"Damn it! We set off from our base area and traveled hundreds of kilometers, dodging several encirclements by the Japanese and puppet troops along the way, without losing a single soldier."

"I never expected to suffer a loss at the hands of a group of bandits so soon after arriving in Chifeng!"

He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with rage.

"This debt cannot be left unpaid; these bandits must pay with their blood!"

Just as the two were talking, the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps came from afar.

Liu Tengjie arrived with the main force.

He dismounted, walked quickly to the body of the fallen soldier, slowly removed his cotton hat, and bowed deeply to the body.

Upon learning of the situation, he was furious.

"Reconnaissance Company Commander!"

"To!"

Zhou Lei, the company commander of the reconnaissance company, swallowed hard, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

"How the hell did you conduct your reconnaissance? Over a hundred bandits appeared right under our noses and you didn't even notice!"

"It also resulted in the deaths of two soldiers and injuries to four others?"

"Zhou Lei, what did I tell you when you were a scout with me?"

"A scout's eyes must be sharper than an eagle's; they must be able to spot something amiss in the movement of the grass and smell the gunpowder hidden in the soil."

"And you, you just let someone glance at that pile of rocks on the left side of Eagle's Beak Cliff, said 'no trace of the enemy,' and then dared to sign the reconnaissance report?"

Zhou Lei gripped his military cap tightly, his knuckles turning white:
“I sent the third platoon to check, and they said there were only wild rabbit footprints in the pile of rocks, and no signs of human disturbance.”

"I figured that since the main force had just passed, even if the enemy wanted to ambush us, they wouldn't choose the route the rearguard company took..."

"Thinking?" Liu Tengjie suddenly looked up, the pity in his eyes instantly turning into a sharp blade.

"While you're 'thinking' about it, those two soldiers are covering the medical platoon's retreat; while you're 'thinking' about it, the bandits have already set up their guns behind the pile of rubble, with the muzzles pointed at their backs!"

"Zhou Lei, those are two lives!"

He stood up, walked up to Zhou Lei, and slapped the two armbands hard against the man's chest.

"Look for yourself! The report in the third row says 'there is fresh soil on the northwest side of the pile of rocks,' and you didn't even see it!"

"Tell me, what were you thinking at the time? Were you thinking about how to finish the mission quickly, or did you think the lives of the rear guard company were unimportant?"

Zhou Lei took the report, his fingertips trembling as he flipped through it. When he saw the line of words that had been overlooked, his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with tears: "I... I was in a hurry to check the next outpost and didn't read the report carefully... I thought that bit of fresh soil was just something the villagers had dug up while digging for wild vegetables..."

"Captain Liu, I was wrong, I was really wrong..."

"wrong?"

Liu Tengjie, the leader of the advance team, took a deep breath and tried to suppress the sob in his throat.

"If we say 'we were wrong' now, can we get those two soldiers back?"

"How can you expect your four wounded comrades to feel less pain? Zhou Lei, you're the reconnaissance company commander, not a new recruit!"

"The reconnaissance report in your hand is linked to the lives of the entire unit!"

He took a deep breath and made the disciplinary decision word by word, emphasizing each syllable:
"After deliberation by the Party Committee of the advance team, it has been decided to give you a major demerit, remove you from your post as company commander of the reconnaissance company, and transfer you to the training team as a reconnaissance instructor for a period of six months."

The advance team has a special mission, and its political commissar is directly responsible for the independent detachment's party committee.

Cadres who fail in their duties can be reassigned, such as replacing cadres at the company level or below.

Zhou Lei suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock:
"Captain Liu, I... I still want to stay in the reconnaissance company. I want to atone for my crimes, I want to avenge the fallen soldiers, I want..."

"If you stay in the reconnaissance company, I'm afraid there will be more deaths."

Liu Tengjie interrupted him, his tone heavy.

“Going to the training team is not a punishment for you, but to teach the new comrades the five words ‘reconnaissance is no small matter’ in detail.”

"You need to let them know that every instance of neglect could lead to the bleeding of their comrades."

“Every instance of carelessness could lead to mission failure.”

He looked at the reconnaissance company commander, his eyes filled with a complex emotion:

“Zhou Lei, I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but the battlefield doesn’t care about ‘intention’, it only cares about ‘results’.”

"Six months from now, if you can make all the new recruits in the training unit understand the 'responsibility of a scout,' and if you can truly remember this lesson, I will give you another chance."

"But now, you must leave the reconnaissance company, for the sake of those two fallen soldiers, and for the sake of the remaining brothers."

As Zhou Lei received the disciplinary decision, he repeatedly stroked the three words "major demerit" with his fingers, and finally couldn't hold back his tears.

He straightened his back forcefully, gave a standard military salute, his voice hoarse but firm:

"Yes, Captain Liu! I will definitely remember this lesson and teach the new comrade well!"

"When I return, I will definitely return to you a reconnaissance company that you can trust!"

Liu Tengjie watched Zhou Lei's figure, then turned around and picked up the armbands of the two fallen soldiers, gently pressing them to his chest.

The atmosphere was very oppressive, and he murmured softly:

"Don't worry, this won't happen again..."

The advance team had a special mission. Before they set off, Chen Ming earnestly told him that their unit was undertaking an incredibly important task.

Under these circumstances, Liu Tengjie attached great importance to this task and would not allow any mistakes to occur.

Therefore, even as the former battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion and the company commander of the reconnaissance company who had always followed him, he did not hesitate to replace him.

"The deputy company commander will take over command of the reconnaissance company."

Liu Tengjie spoke up.

"Yes."

"I hope that I will remember this lesson and never make the same mistake again."

"This time it was just a group of bandits, but in the future we will be facing the Japanese Kwantung Army. If we are careless, we may face annihilation."

Liu Tengjie spoke up.

Chifeng is a vital passage between Northeast and North China. Before the development of the Liaoxi Corridor, Chifeng was the only passage from the Central Plains to Northeast China.

It is a crossroads connecting Manchukuo, North China, and the Mongolian Plateau.

The Chifeng area was the territory of the Japanese Kwantung Army, which also established its headquarters in Chifeng.

The Kwantung Army, which had a brigade, was stationed in the Chifeng area.

The fighting power of the Japanese Kwantung Army was far superior to that of the troops stationed in Mongolia or even the First Army.

The enemy was very powerful. This was not Shanxi Province, and there was no strong base or support from the people.

Liu Tengjie must proceed with caution, and every step requires careful consideration.

Faced with Zhou Lei, the company commander who had always followed him, Liu Tengjie had no choice but to "reluctantly execute Ma Su."

After disciplining Zhou Lei, Liu Tengjie looked at the dead bandit's corpse, his eyes blazing with fury.

"They deserve to pay for their crimes in blood! Reconnaissance Company 1, Sharpshooter Platoon, Special Forces Team, assemble!"

(End of this chapter)