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

Chapter 41 Fear of Insufficient Firepower

"Boom!"

After several loud explosions, the Japanese machine gunners were no longer sleepy.

The Japanese soldiers and their puppet troops, numbering over three hundred, no longer needed to guard the stronghold and could sleep as long as they wanted.

Five Flying Thunder Cannons, carrying nearly 100 kilograms of ammonium nitrate explosives, sent all the Japanese soldiers inside the stronghold to the ground.

Even the brick and stone watchtowers were blown up.

Bricks and stones flew around like shrapnel. If Chen Ming hadn't ordered the soldiers to lie down and take cover, some unlucky soldiers might have been hit by the flying bricks and stones.

"How spectacular!"

Looking at the artillery fire that had lit up the stronghold and the few remaining scattered red dots, Chen Ming couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, those little devils are really in for it now."

A soldier standing nearby also sighed.

"I should have just fired three shots; five Flying Thunder Cannon shots were such a waste."

Seeing the immense power of the Flying Thunder Cannon, Chen Ming couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

It's all due to a fear of insufficient firepower. They're always worried that the power won't be enough, so they load as much explosive as they can and fire as many rounds as they can.

It is estimated that a significant portion of the supplies inside the stronghold were destroyed by the massive explosion.

These all belong to Chen Ming!

"Clean up the battlefield immediately, eliminate all the remaining Japanese soldiers in the stronghold, move all the supplies, and don't leave a single bullet for the Japanese."

After feeling sorry for him, Chen Ming gave the order.

"Yes."

Battalion Commander Li Yousheng immediately led his soldiers into the Huting stronghold, finished off the remaining Japanese soldiers who were still in human form, and took away all the supplies.

Looking at the corpses inside the stronghold, many of which were unrecognizable, a wave of nausea washed over the soldiers.

They were not unfamiliar with battlefields, but this hellish scene was something they had never witnessed before.

However, despite the physical discomfort, they were actually quite happy.

Finally, the Huting stronghold, which had been a menace to the village, was destroyed without losing a single soldier.

"Commander, there's a basement here, hiding the Japanese supplies. We're going to strike it rich this time!"

Chen Ming stepped onto a pile of fragments that he couldn't tell what they were, and heard Li Yousheng's excited report.

"Alright, kid, can't you be a little more ambitious? I've seen the world, what kind of fortune do you think I could make?" Chen Ming said with a laugh.

"Commander, there's a Japanese infantry gun! And two hundred shells!"

Li Yousheng could not hide his joy, and was as happy as if he had just married a wife.

"what?"

Chen Ming was also unsettled.

Last time, those two infantry guns attracted so many Japanese soldiers who chased them to their deaths.

Unexpectedly, there was a gate inside the Tiger Pavilion stronghold.

If Chen Ming had known there were infantry guns here, he would have taken down this stronghold long ago. Would it still be standing until now?

"Take me to see it," Chen Ming said quickly.

"Yes."

Following Li Yousheng, Chen Ming entered the Japanese army's basement where supplies were stored.

Upon entering, he saw the Type 92 infantry gun, four mortars, and shells displayed in the basement.

80 landmines (240 kg of explosives), 30 blasting tubes (150 kg), and 50 kg of TNT blocks.

The amount of food and daily necessities was countless. "Damn it, I'm really rich now!" Chen Ming grinned.

With this cannon, along with mortars, he could form an artillery company.

"Take all the weapons, ammunition, and supplies with me. Don't leave the Japanese a single grain of food."

"Yes."

After half an hour of cleaning, Li Yousheng reported the overall situation of the seizure to Chen Ming.

"Reporting to the regimental commander, in this battle, we captured one Type 92 infantry gun and two hundred rounds of ammunition, four Type 97 mortars and six hundred rounds of ammunition."

"4 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 2 of which were damaged; 14 light machine guns, 6 of which were damaged; 350 rifles, 64 of which were damaged."

"20 grenade launchers, undamaged, totaling 440 kilograms of explosives, and some other ammunition."

"30 tons of grain and non-staple food, 20 tons of coal, one ton of gasoline/kerosene, and two generators."

"In addition, there are 500 cartons of cigarettes and more than 500 kilograms of liquor."

The supplies this time were very plentiful; the Japanese must have just resupplyed not long ago.

Upon hearing Li Yousheng's report, Chen Ming beamed with joy. It was worth it to destroy the Japanese stronghold!

"Immediately contact the civilians prepared in the rear to help move supplies. We must empty the Japanese stronghold as quickly as possible," Chen Ming ordered immediately.

Having learned from the previous experience of losing a large amount of supplies due to insufficient transportation capacity, Chen Ming mobilized the surrounding masses this time when attacking the stronghold.

We asked the people to help move the supplies, relying on the strength of the masses.

The Eighth Route Army was the army of the people; the masses were their strongest support in fighting the Japanese invaders.

There were plenty of supplies in the outpost, but with the help of many people, the supplies were quickly moved away.

Even the bricks inside the stronghold were picked up by the villagers; not a single brick was left for the Japanese.

To express his gratitude to the villagers for their help, Chen Ming planned to distribute 20 tons of staple grain from the 30 tons of grain he had seized to the villagers who had helped him.

Most of this grain was confiscated by the Japanese on the spot, looted from the people. Distributing it to them was a way of returning the grain to its rightful owners.

However, this matter still needs to be reported back to the higher authorities first, and after approval, it will be organized and allocated by designated personnel to ensure fairness and transparency.

After leaving behind a company of soldiers to coordinate with the local people to help move supplies, Chen Ming led the remaining troops to the second ambush site.

He brought a whole battalion of soldiers this time, and he didn't intend to just attack a simple Japanese stronghold.

Having finally gotten the chance to mobilize the entire regiment, Chen Ming was determined to seize the opportunity and inflict as much pain as possible on the Japanese.

The Huting stronghold was attacked and the entire army was wiped out.

The Japanese soldiers in the county town couldn't contact the Japanese soldiers inside the stronghold, and coupled with the huge explosion, they would usually conclude that the Huting stronghold had been attacked and the telephone lines had been cut.

The Japanese soldiers in the county town probably never imagined that a medium-sized stronghold with machine guns, artillery, and more than 300 Japanese soldiers would be wiped out so quickly.

At this point, reinforcements would be sent to assist the Japanese troops inside the stronghold in eliminating the enemy attacking the stronghold.

What Chen Ming needed to do was to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's inevitable route, encircling and intercepting their reinforcements.

Ambushes were Chen Ming's specialty; from the district squad level onward, he had always relied on ambushes to develop his troops.

It's fair to say they had it all figured out.

If only a few Japanese soldiers come, Chen Ming will beat them up badly and leave them all behind.

If too many come, exceeding the Second Battalion's capabilities, we'll use landmines, explosives, mortars, and grenade launchers to give those sons of bitches a good beating.

Kill as many as you can, and after the ambush, fight and retreat simultaneously, preserving your own strength while eliminating as many enemy troops as possible.

At the same time, it buys time for the civilians who are transporting supplies to evacuate.

An hour later, Chen Ming led his troops to the designated location.

Meanwhile, the Japanese troops in the county town had already dispatched a company of soldiers.

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(End of this chapter)