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

Chapter 35 Going to Headquarters
Upon hearing Da Biao's voice, the soldiers from the other 3rd Battalion, 2nd Company all came to see Chen Ming, and even Kong Jie came.

Looking at the soldiers wrapped in bandages, Chen Ming's throat tightened and his nose tingled.

"Isn't this the iron-willed Commander Chen? Why is he crying? He's acting like a woman." Kong Jie said, looking at Chen Ming.

"The Second Independent Regiment fought a great battle! With two battalions plus more than 150 soldiers from the Railway Guerrilla, they annihilated over a thousand Japanese soldiers, establishing the reputation of our Eighth Route Army. It was exhilarating!"

"I, Kong Jie, have never admired anyone in my life, but I really have to give you, Chen Ming, a thumbs up."

Kong Jie said.

Kong Jie truly admired Chen Ming's spirit of leading his soldiers to cover the retreat of the main force, showing no fear of sacrifice.

Not everyone can make that choice when given a way out.

"Commander Kong, do you have any wine?" Chen Ming asked.

“Your arm was shot, and although the bone wasn’t broken, it’s best if you don’t drink alcohol,” Kong Jie said.

"I'll feel uneasy if I don't drink it," Chen Ming said.

Kong Jie sighed and told the guard to get a bottle of wine.

"Since you want to drink, I'll have a drink with you today."

Kong Jie personally poured Chen Ming a bowl of wine, which Chen Ming drank without hesitation, the spiciness irritating his throat.

“I understand how you feel. I’ve also seen soldiers sacrifice themselves in front of me, and I feel sad too. But I always think, if our generation doesn’t sacrifice themselves, are we going to let our sons and grandsons continue to carry guns and go to the battlefield to sacrifice themselves?” Kong Jie said.

"What we can do is not forget the past, continue to fight the Japanese on behalf of the fallen soldiers, and commemorate them with the blood of the Japanese."

Hearing Kong Jie's words, Chen Ming was somewhat surprised. Kong Jie, who was usually a rough and unrefined man, could actually say something so reasonable.

"I understand. I will continue to kill the Japanese devils on behalf of the fallen soldiers, drive them out of our country, and let our descendants live peaceful lives," Chen Ming said in agreement.

"That's right." Kong Jie poured Chen Ming another bowl of wine.

"Commander Kong, what do you want to do after we win?" Chen Ming asked.

Hearing Chen Ming ask this, Kong Jie was taken aback, thought for a moment, and then said:

"If we drive out the Japanese devils and win the war, I will retire from the army and return to my hometown. I will marry a virtuous wife who will manage the household perfectly, and the rice jar will always smell of fresh millet."

"Let's have another bunch of kids rolling in the mud, like freshly harvested wheat grains, squatting on the doorstep eating their food, the older ones helping the younger ones, and they don't cry when they fall, they just dust themselves off and chase after the chicks."

"I really want to live like that for a day, to hear my baby call me 'Daddy' in their sweet, childish voice. Unfortunately, the Japanese devils won't let us have that peaceful life."

Listening to Kong Jie's description, Da Biao and Kong Jie's bodyguard also showed expressions of longing.

In this era, if it weren't for the Japanese invasion, they would have wanted to live a peaceful and ordinary life.

"We will win. Sooner or later we will drive the Japanese devils out of China and out of our homeland," Chen Ming said with unwavering determination.

It was just an ordinary life, yet it required soldiers to risk their lives one after another.

"Yes, we will win." Kong Jie nodded firmly.

"Enough talk, let's drink. After you're done, I'll send someone to take you back to the Second Independent Regiment. The commander-in-chief has already sent someone to tell you to go to headquarters after you return to the Second Independent Regiment," Kong Jie said.

"Ah."

After drinking, Chen Ming felt a little better, and his determination to eliminate the Japanese devils became even stronger.

Escorted by the soldiers of the Independent Regiment, the remaining soldiers of the 2nd Company of the 3rd Battalion and Chen Ming returned to the 2nd Independent Regiment. "Regimental Commander!"

Upon seeing Chen Ming, the soldiers of the Independent Second Regiment excitedly surrounded him.

The regimental commander, who had led his troops to cover the retreat of the main force, returned, and the soldiers were overjoyed.

Looking at these faces, Chen Ming nodded and asked, "Are the soldiers all alright?"

"Everything's fine. We got a lot of Japanese medical supplies in our spoils this time, and we've saved many of their seriously wounded soldiers," Dafei said.

"Okay, take the spoils from this operation and come with me to headquarters," Chen Ming said.

"Should we bring them all, Commander?" Dafei asked.

"Hmm, let's keep four mortars and shells, five heavy machine guns and fifteen light machine guns," Chen Ming said after thinking for a moment.

The two Type 92 infantry guns were definitely not going to be kept; the entire Eighth Route Army didn't have many Type 92 infantry guns at the moment.

The first seizure occurred in November of 39. Although there have been sporadic seizures since then, there have certainly not been many to date.

Chen Ming's Independent 2nd Regiment certainly wasn't qualified to retain two Type 92 infantry guns, but they could still keep some mortars by underreporting their numbers.

The battalion commanders on the front lines have it tough, and so do the soldiers.

As long as it's not too excessive, some things can be overlooked.

This time, Chen Ming's troop deployment to ambush the Japanese train was an unauthorized troop movement without permission, which is a serious violation of discipline.

Fortunately, he was different from Li Yunlong.

Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment at that time also had the responsibility of protecting the headquarters. If the troops were moved without authorization, the headquarters would be in danger.

Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment had just been reorganized and had no combat missions or bases yet, so the severity of the situation was much lower.

Moreover, this time, Chen Ming not only dealt a severe blow to the Japanese, causing them heavy casualties, but also captured a large amount of supplies.

They also discovered the Japanese army's impending mopping-up operation in advance, which essentially saved the battle.

During wartime, the consequences of unauthorized troop movements are both principled and flexible. Unauthorized actions will inevitably lead to accountability, but in emergency situations, decisions can be made on the spot, and if the outcome is positive, the punishment can be lenient.

The core logic is "centralized and unified command" and "wartime on-the-spot decision-making," which aims to prevent blindism while avoiding mechanically executing orders and delaying opportunities.

While the soldiers were collecting the spoils, Chen Ming began writing down the entire course of the battle, as well as his speculations about the Japanese army's impending mopping-up operation.

This would allow headquarters to better understand the situation at the front lines and the purpose of the Japanese army's impending mopping-up operation.

Fortunately, Chen Ming's injured arm was his left hand, which did not affect his right hand's ability to write. Otherwise, having to dictate to the cadres in the regiment who could write would feel a bit like self-praise.

After finishing the report, Chen Ming headed towards headquarters with the report and the captured supplies.

After a long journey, we finally arrived at headquarters.

Before heading to headquarters, Chen Ming had already reported it, so after their identities were verified, the group successfully entered headquarters.

Inside headquarters, the CEO and a group of senior executives were discussing Chen Ming's ambush operation, and the brigade commander was also present.

"Chen Ming, that kid, fought a great battle. Two battalions plus the guerrillas, totaling only over eight hundred men, managed to wipe out over a thousand Japanese soldiers while losing only four hundred of their own."

"However, once this kid arrives, none of you should give anything away. If he dares to move troops without permission, I'll give him a good scare, otherwise he'll get too cocky."

P.S.: Three chapters today. These chapters were a bit depressing; I wanted to write something realistic rather than just mindless fun. I'll finish this quickly with three chapters. Please read and vote! If there's enough, I'll update three times a day from now on.
(End of this chapter)