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

Chapter 59 The Battle on the Way to the Rear

On the way to Yan'an, the team did not move quickly because Chen Ming's injuries had only begun to heal.

After preparing to cross the Tongpu Railway at night, they encountered a Japanese checkpoint.

"Stop moving forward."

Using the map, Chen Ming saw the checkpoints set up on the road ahead.

This checkpoint, located at a traffic junction, consisted of ten Japanese soldiers and 15 puppet troops, making it a medium-sized checkpoint.

It was probably a temporary installation by the Japanese army to strengthen defenses along the railway line.

Chen Ming's team was stopped at this checkpoint.

If we take a detour, we might have to pass through more enemy-occupied areas, deviating from the planned location, which could be more dangerous.

If they were to cross through the mountains, given Chen Ming's current physical condition, his injuries might flare up, leaving no time for treatment.

"Captain, what should I do?"

Chen Ming's bodyguard, Da Biao, asked Chen Ming in a low voice.

Chen Ming looked at the troop deployment at the checkpoint and pondered a solution.

There were a total of 25 enemies, 10 Japanese soldiers and 15 puppet troops, equipped with two light machine guns, one grenade launcher, plus sandbag fortifications and wooden fences.

Currently, the only ones who can participate in the battle are the four full-time guards sent by headquarters and Da Biao.

Five against twenty-five, one wrong move and you could be defeated.

Are there any of our fraternal units nearby?

Chen Ming asked.

If he were in good health, Chen Ming wouldn't have taken those ten Japanese soldiers seriously.

He once single-handedly wiped out a small squad of Japanese soldiers and captured more than thirty puppet troops.

But the situation is different now. This is along the railway line, so we can't use firearms. If a battle breaks out and disturbs the Japanese, their reinforcements will arrive quickly.

At that time, due to his physical limitations, it would be difficult for him to retreat unscathed while being pursued by the Japanese.

"Yes, there were comrades from the armed work team waiting for us after we passed this checkpoint."

Da Biao spoke up.

"Okay, then I'll give you a task: go over the mountain over there and contact the comrades from the guerrilla team so we can work together to take down this Japanese checkpoint."

Chen Ming spoke to Da Biao.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

"Be careful. The mountain roads are complicated at night, so please be cautious. If you encounter any difficulties, I will think of another way," Chen Ming instructed.

"Don't worry, commander. We're just country bumpkins. This little bit of mountain road is nothing to us."

Da Biao patted his chest and said confidently.

"Well, be careful."

After Da Biao left, Chen Ming and his four full-time guards hid nearby to avoid being discovered by the Japanese and waited for Da Biao to bring reinforcements.

PS: When escorting important wounded, the safety of the wounded should be the priority, so I wrote here to find reinforcements instead of rushing in recklessly, otherwise things will be bad as soon as the gunfire starts.

After waiting for three and a half hours, Da Biao arrived with twenty-one soldiers from the armed work team, having crossed the mountains.

Chen Ming looked at the dusty and weary soldiers of the guerrilla team, many of whom had cuts and bleeding from thorns, and felt a pang of heartache.

"Thank you for your hard work, comrades of the guerrilla team." "Commander, it's no trouble at all. Please assign us tasks."

The captain of the guerrilla team was a middle-aged man in his thirties with an ordinary face, the kind of person you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

His original orders were to escort Chen Ming secretly to Ningwu, where comrades from Ningwu would take over the escort duties.

Unexpectedly, the Japanese suddenly set up checkpoints on the Tongpu Railway and stopped them.

They couldn't rashly dismantle the checkpoint; that would alert the Japanese.

They couldn't hide and wait in the mountains beforehand, because Chen Ming's whereabouts were kept secret, and the guerrilla team had no idea of ​​his exact route; they could only wait for him to make contact.

"The Japanese set up this checkpoint with only ten Japanese soldiers and fifteen puppet troops. My plan was to take advantage of the darkness to sneak over and take out the Japanese sentries first, then take out the other Japanese soldiers, and the remaining puppet troops would be easy to deal with."

"Don't use your guns throughout the entire process if you can avoid it."

Chen Ming explained his planned battle strategy.

"Of course, the armed work team is a professional in infiltration operations. If you have any suggestions, you can speak up and discuss them. Our Party is all about pooling everyone's wisdom."

After listening to Chen Ming's battle plan, the captain of the guerrilla team looked at the Japanese checkpoint, thought for a moment, and had no objections.

Chen Ming's battle plan is the optimal solution at this stage.

"No problem, the guerrilla team guarantees to complete the mission."

“Okay, then we’ll start the operation at four in the morning,” Chen Ming said.

Between 4 and 5 a.m. is the time when people are most sleepy; even night owls get sleepy at this time.

Time passed slowly, and during this process, Chen Ming explained the enemy's troop deployment, the location of the sentries, and the planned attack route to the soldiers of the armed work team.

Using the three-dimensional combat map, Chen Ming was able to clearly see the enemy's situation regardless of the darkness.

With this information, the success rate of the operation will be greatly increased.

After listening to Chen Ming's arrangements, the captain of the armed work team nodded repeatedly, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He's a leader after all; his insight and level of expertise are on a completely different level.

Their guerrilla unit had carried out missions to take down Japanese checkpoints before, but never once had the operational plan as detailed and perfect as Chen Ming's.

Ten Japanese soldiers and fifteen puppet troops—which one to deal with first, which direction to retreat in case of an emergency, and the retreat route to be chosen precisely down to every available cover to avoid bullets—all of this was included.

The guerrilla leader had a feeling that if they followed such a detailed battle plan, they could take down the Japanese checkpoint of more than 20 men without losing a single soldier.

At the appointed time of four o'clock, all the Japanese soldiers in the checkpoint, except for the sentries on duty, had already gone to sleep.

The puppet troops were also not very attentive to their guard duties.

Two kilometers from this checkpoint, a company of enemy soldiers was stationed. They could arrive within fifteen minutes in the event of a battle, and the puppet troops never imagined that the enemy would dare to attack them.

Under the cover of night, the eight soldiers of the guerrilla team, along with Chen Ming's three bodyguards, including Da Biao, quietly approached the Japanese checkpoint sentry.

The operation went very smoothly. When they were less than three meters away from the sentry, the soldiers suddenly launched an attack, stabbing the enemy sentry with their daggers.

Before the Japanese sentry could react, he felt a sharp pain. His eyes widened as he tried to speak, but his mouth was tightly covered, and he slowly lost his heartbeat.

The soldiers gently lowered the Japanese sentry without making a sound, and then began to sneak towards the Japanese soldiers inside.

As expected, the next operation was carried out meticulously by Chen Ming, and all twenty Japanese and puppet soldiers had their throats slit in their sleep.

PS: Only two chapters today. The next chapter will be about the Yan'an storyline. The Yan'an storyline is too difficult to write; I've lost a lot of hair. I can only write it tomorrow. I'll release a big chapter on May Day.

(End of this chapter)