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

Chapter 67 Loyalty, Discipline, and Sacrifice

The enemy had only seven Japanese soldiers, who hadn't even fixed bayonets yet, while our side had twelve soldiers.

Despite outnumbering the enemy, and sacrificing three soldiers, they finally annihilated the seven stubborn Japanese soldiers who were putting up a last stand.

After eliminating the Japanese soldiers, the squad leader among the twelve soldiers ordered his men to quickly check the supplies, while he himself threw himself on the body of the old squad leader who had sacrificed himself to protect the supplies.

"Old sergeant, wake up! Didn't we agree to go home together after the war? Why are you going back on your word?"

He and his platoon leader were originally conscripted soldiers, but later surrendered to the Japanese under the leadership of their superiors and became puppet soldiers.

Later, Chen Ming led his team to capture them. After learning about their experiences, he did not make things difficult for them but instead incorporated them into his own ranks.

Under the guidance of Chen Ming and the political officers, they learned to read, wrote letters home, and understood why they were fighting and why they were soldiers, thus developing a faith in their hearts.

The platoon leader was originally a squad leader in the puppet army. Later, deeply inspired by his beliefs and Chen Ming's personal charisma, he fought bravely and was promoted to platoon leader based on his meritorious service.

Although the conditions were tough, the platoon leader was happy with the new life he was in.

The platoon leader also said that once they were victorious, he would introduce his younger sister to him.

But now, the platoon leader has heroically sacrificed his life to protect the supplies.

Upstairs, after the company commander finished clearing out the Japanese soldiers, he led his troops down to the basement, only to find a long row of mangled corpses.

"Old Fan!"

The company commander rushed forward to check on the platoon leader.

"what happened?"

"The platoon leader sacrificed himself to stop the Japanese from destroying supplies by throwing himself onto their grenades," the squad leader said tearfully.

"You little devils, I'll fuck your ancestors!"

The company commander roared angrily and picked up the body of the platoon leader.

His anger surged, but he still had a mission and needed to report the situation first.

Outside, after learning that the bunker had been captured, Li Yousheng immediately ordered a squad of soldiers to guard the supplies.

The other troops immediately followed Chen Ming's orders, changed direction, and attacked the more than 400 Japanese soldiers who were supporting the county town.

The outskirts of Shouyang County.

The more than 400 Japanese soldiers who went out to provide support moved very cautiously.

They received orders from the brigade to hold back the enemy force attacking the train station until reinforcements from the brigade arrived from the Yangquan direction, at which point they would wipe out the enemy force together.

According to information from the train station, the enemy attacking the station numbered approximately a thousand.

These 400-plus Japanese soldiers were not afraid of losing to the enemy, after all, their battalion was equivalent to a Chinese division.

A mere thousand or so people are not even worth their attention.

It was only during the night raid that the Locust Army soldiers at the train station suffered casualties.

After fighting for so long, the force of over a thousand men couldn't even capture the bunker guarded by fifty-odd soldiers of the Locust Army, which shows their low combat effectiveness.

However, while strategically despising the enemy, tactically taking them seriously is crucial.

Although the Japanese army was arrogant, it was not stupid.

Knowing that the enemy had launched a night attack on the train station, it was impossible to openly and recklessly provide support.

"Fire flares to confirm there are no enemy ambushes around. We cannot make the same mistake as those people inside the station who were careless."

The commander of the 14th Battalion of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, who was leading the team, issued the order.

"Hai!"

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese soldiers immediately fired several flares into the sky.

As the flare ascended, the surrounding situation was instantly revealed.

"Immediately fire artillery shells to the hillside 500 meters to the left and the thicket of weeds 700 meters to the right for reconnaissance." Illuminated by the flares, the surrounding terrain was clearly visible.

The Japanese battalion commander immediately decided to fire artillery shells to reconnoiter these suspicious locations and prevent the enemy from ambushing them.

The Japanese guess was correct; soldiers of the Independent 2nd Regiment were indeed hiding in these places.

"Battalion Commander, when do we make our move?" a company commander from the Third Battalion asked.

"No rush," said Wang Gui, the battalion commander. "The regimental commander has ordered that once the Japanese have passed the intersection ahead, we will circle around to their rear and block their retreat."

"We absolutely cannot make a move now. We can't let the Japanese find out, or we'll be in trouble if they retreat back to the county town."

"clear."

They spoke very quietly, almost whispering in each other's ears, just to keep quiet in the darkness.

"Battalion Commander, the Japanese aren't moving. Have they spotted us?" the company commander asked worriedly.

The main force of the Japanese troops stopped and did not advance any further.

"Probably not. If the Japanese discover us, they usually either come towards us to close the distance, or retreat 300 meters to a position where they can attack or defend."

Wang Gui looked at the Japanese soldiers in the distance and spoke.

"The Japanese might be testing us. Tell the soldiers to stay absolutely hidden. Even if you're going to shit, you'd better do it in my pants."

"Yes."

The company commander made a hand gesture to the communications soldier next to him, who then made the same gesture to the soldiers around him.

Before long, the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Independent Regiment, who were lying in ambush, understood the order through hand gestures.

On the Japanese side, two mortars and several heavy machine guns had been set up and began to conduct fire reconnaissance of the suspicious locations.

"Boom."

"Da da, da da da!"

Shells landed where the Third Battalion was lying in ambush, and machine gun bullets kicked up dirt.

Some unlucky soldiers were caught in the crossfire of the Japanese reconnaissance, hit by bullets and shells.

The most tragic soldier had both legs blown off by artillery shells, but he only let out a muffled groan, his face flushed red, veins bulging, and he bit his sleeve tightly without making a sound.

The other soldiers who were unfortunately infected did the same, gritting their teeth and holding back their noise, with only one belief in their hearts: to remain hidden!

"Lieutenant Colonel, after conducting a reconnaissance with firepower, no enemy ambush was found."

A Japanese company commander reported.

"Yoshi, let's keep going."

After firing more than a dozen artillery shells and hundreds of machine gun bullets, there was still no movement at those suspicious locations, and the Japanese battalion commander was convinced that there were no enemies in those places.

After conducting a reconnaissance mission, the Japanese troops continued their advance towards the train station.

The soldiers of the Third Battalion, who had been lying in ambush, only began to move after the Japanese had crossed the intersection and were some distance away.

But more than ten minutes have already passed.

The soldier whose legs were blown off, along with some other wounded soldiers, lay prone on the ground to maintain concealment, ignoring their bleeding wounds.

Some soldiers have already died from excessive blood loss due to untreated wounds.

When Wang Gui learned that the wounded soldiers had gritted their teeth and persevered in their covert operations, ultimately sacrificing their lives, he was heartbroken.

"They're all great," Wang Gui said heavily, tears streaming down his face.

"Immediately bandage the wounded. The rest of you, follow me straight into the enemy's rear and cooperate with the soldiers in the direction of the train station to wipe out this group of Japanese soldiers and avenge our fallen comrades!"

(End of this chapter)