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

Chapter 30 Chasing and intercepting
At this time, Chen Ming was unaware that his Independent Second Regiment, consisting of two battalions and the Railway Guerrilla, had a total of only eight hundred soldiers.

They were able to garrison and intercept the Japanese forces, which numbered over 10,000 men and were more than a brigade in total.

However, he knew that the amount of supplies seized this time was enormous, and the Japanese troops throughout Taiyuan, northwestern Shanxi, and the entire province would be frantically pursuing and intercepting them.

What Chen Ming needed to do was first take out the Japanese soldiers who were chasing them and protecting the railway, and then drag it out until nightfall. Once the Japanese planes were no longer effective, they would have a greater chance of escaping.

"Are the troops all ready?" Chen Ming asked Da Fei in a valley.

"Everything is ready."

"Order the two companies of soldiers who were blocking the way to retreat to our side and lure the Japanese over."

"Yes!"

Dafei sent a messenger to inform the soldiers in charge of the blocking action.

After waiting for about an hour, it was already four o'clock, and Chen Ming could see the blocking troops fighting and retreating.

The pursuing Japanese troops were close behind, only about 200 meters away from the retreating troops. One side was running for its life, and the other side was chasing for its life.

These two groups of Japanese soldiers were given a death order: to hold onto this enemy force at all costs and not let them out of sight, while waiting for reinforcements to encircle them.

One by one, the retreating soldiers fell as the Japanese soldiers pursued them. Chen Ming felt heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do.

As a commander, one must never act impulsively based on personal feelings. Only after the retreating soldiers have entered the ambush site can we wipe out this group of pursuing Japanese soldiers.

Exposing ourselves now will only increase casualties.

More than ten minutes later, only sixty-odd soldiers remained from the two companies of more than two hundred, and they finally entered the designated ambush location.

Seeing that the enemy they were chasing had hidden in the valley, the Japanese soldiers did not hesitate to continue their pursuit.

Once they entered the valley, Chen Ming immediately detonated the buried explosives and gave the order to charge.

Charging would cause even greater casualties, but it was the only way to eliminate the more than three hundred pursuing Japanese soldiers more quickly.

A direct firefight would take more time and could potentially drag on until enemy reinforcements arrive, turning the ambush into a skirmish where, with their current forces, they have virtually no chance of winning.

"Da da di—da da di—du ——————!"

As the bugle sounded, the soldiers charged towards the stunned Japanese soldiers like tigers descending a mountain.

Of the more than 300 Japanese soldiers, nearly 170 were killed in the explosion, which contained over 100 kilograms of ammonium nitrate explosives. The remaining Japanese soldiers also suffered greatly.

Fifteen minutes later, after sacrificing more than sixty soldiers, Chen Ming successfully annihilated the pursuing Japanese troops.

"No need to clean up the battlefield, take all the spoils, retreat immediately, do not linger."

Chen Ming gave the order to stop the soldiers who wanted to clean up the battlefield.

Now they have to run as fast as they can, not a minute can be wasted.

After using the captured medical supplies to bandage the wounded, Chen Ming led his team to retreat immediately northeast of Taiyuan.

The area is surrounded by mountains. Once they hide there under the cover of night, not even 300 Japanese soldiers, let alone 30,000, would be able to find them easily.

An hour later, it was already past five o'clock.

In winter, it gets dark very early. Before long, the entire Shanxi province was completely dark.

The Japanese planes in the sky have also disappeared.

After fighting all afternoon, Chen Ming and his soldiers finally got a short break.

"Take a break, eat to replenish your energy, and don't light any fires or use any lighting equipment," Chen Ming said.

With Chen Ming's order given, the soldiers were finally able to catch their breath and seize the precious rest time to start eating.

This time, the soldiers no longer ate hard, dry flatbreads, but captured canned beef. Food is the most important thing for people, and among the Japanese spoils, besides weapons and ammunition, food was what the soldiers cared about most.

Chen Ming also relaxed the rules, allowing each person to take a maximum of two cans of food, and the rest must be destroyed and not left for the Japanese.

After finishing a hearty and oily meal, Chen Ming hid on a small slope, under the cover of a wall of more than a dozen soldiers, and lit a cigarette, pondering the road ahead.

This afternoon, he finally witnessed the madness of the Japanese. No matter which direction they retreated in, a large number of Japanese soldiers blocked their way, and even the planes in the sky kept flying.

Along the way, if it weren't for the three-dimensional combat map with an upgraded range of ten kilometers, the remaining members of their group might have been wiped out by the Japanese.

Chen Ming smoked one cigarette after another, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Now the lives of the entire regiment and the guerrilla fighters rest on his shoulders.

The soldiers surrounding Chen Ming, trying to keep the smoke from illuminating his position, dared not disturb their commander, afraid of interrupting his thoughts.

After a long while, having smoked most of a pack of cigarettes, Chen Ming made a decision.

"Let's report the casualty figures."

"Reporting to the regimental commander, of the 308 soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 141 have been killed; of the 109 soldiers in the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion, 73 have been killed; and of the 98 soldiers in the 3rd Company of the 3rd Battalion, 65 have been killed."

"Of the 160 guerrilla fighters, 71 were killed in action."

Dafei's voice was heavy.

This was the first time they had suffered such heavy casualties in this battle.

Including the guerrillas, there were more than 800 soldiers in total, of whom more than 350 were killed.

The worst off were the two companies of the Third Battalion responsible for the blocking action. Most of them were killed; of the more than two hundred soldiers, only sixty or so remained.

Even the company commander and political instructor of the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion sacrificed themselves on the front lines to block the Japanese invaders. Now the deputy company commander is in command.

It was a serious injury, almost crippling him.

However, this time their results were particularly fruitful, killing more than 800 Japanese soldiers, capturing a large amount of combat supplies, and destroying the combat supply of a Japanese brigade.

Such a victory would be an undeniable triumph on any battlefield!

"Call Carpenter Li over," Chen Ming said.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in his forties, with an honest appearance and dark skin, came to Chen Ming.

"Commander, I'm here," Carpenter Li said.

Carpenter Li was originally a well-known carpenter in the surrounding villages. With his skills, he not only married a capable wife but also had a lovely daughter.

The brutal Japanese army not only killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter, but also broke one of his hands and destroyed the craft he relied on for survival.

Therefore, Li the carpenter resolutely joined Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment and fought against the Japanese with the troops.

Even if one hand is no longer dexterous, he can still fire a gun and continue to kill Japanese soldiers to avenge himself.

"Can you still do carpentry? I have a task for you now, a very difficult one. If you can't do it, I'll think of something else," Chen Ming said.

"I can do it!" Carpenter Li's voice was firm and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Although his hand was still injured and hadn't fully healed, he was determined to complete any mission assigned by the commander.

"Alright, this is a matter of great importance. Whether the entire regiment can retreat successfully depends on this," Chen Ming said solemnly.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

P.S.: I'm starting a thread to recruit extras, and I'll lead you guys in fighting the Japanese.

(End of this chapter)