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

Chapter 71 So, can love be transferred?
After successfully capturing the county town, Chen Ming immediately ordered his troops to purge the traitors from the town based on the information provided by Zhang Fang, and at the same time sent people to move all the supplies in the town away.

Shouyang County is located on the Zhengtai Railway line and is one of its transit stations, with abundant supplies.

However, because it's on the Zhengtai Railway line, this city is definitely not a place to stay for long.

The Japanese will not allow the railway line to be cut off by the Eighth Route Army. No matter the cost, they will do everything in their power to take back Shouyang.

What Chen Ming had to do was to empty the supplies in Shouyang County before the Japanese army arrived.

According to statistics, there are plenty of supplies in Shouyang County.

"Commander, the statistics are in. There are a total of 100 tons of rice, 50 tons of flour, 50 tons of salt, sugar, and canned goods in the county town, 80 tons of horse feed (barley and hay), and 240 mules and horses."

"More than 800 rifles, more than 10 light and heavy machine guns, two Type 92 infantry guns, four mortars, 500,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, 2000 artillery shells, 5000 rounds of grenade launcher ammunition, and 5000 hand grenades."

"In addition, there are fifty tons of gasoline/diesel, 500 boxes of sulfanilamide, bandages, ten tons of alcohol, more than one thousand winter coats, more than two thousand pairs of military boots, five tons of telephone lines, and ten sets of wireless equipment."

Hearing about the large amount of captured supplies, Chen Ming was also very happy.

Shouyang County mainly served as a transit point for supplies, delivering supplies to surrounding strongholds, bunkers, and stations. Weapons were primarily located in the outer strongholds.

Therefore, the city had a relatively large supply of daily necessities and ammunition, but relatively few weapons.

"Take them all away and bring them all back to me. I'm going to make a fortune this time."

"Yes."

Such a large amount of supplies can greatly improve their difficult situation.

It was already five o'clock. Soon it would be dawn, and then the Japanese planes would arrive.

The transportation of supplies must be fast.

Fortunately, a large number of mules and horses were captured this time, and there were enough people mobilized. Otherwise, the soldiers of the Second Independent Regiment alone might not have been able to transport the supplies.

After capturing the county town, Chen Ming immediately reported to the brigade headquarters.

Chen Ming also reported the supplies on site.

There are too many supplies, and the brigade headquarters needs to coordinate with other units and civilians to help transport them, while also providing cover for the transport troops.

Otherwise, it would be very difficult to safely transport such a large quantity of supplies back to the base.

When the news reached the brigade headquarters, the brigade commander was overjoyed to learn that Chen Ming had captured Shouyang County without firing a shot and seized a large amount of combat supplies.

In particular, regarding weapons and ammunition, there were over 800 rifles, more than 10 light and heavy machine guns, two Type 92 infantry guns, four mortars, 500,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, 2000 artillery shells, 5000 rounds of grenade launcher ammunition, and 5000 hand grenades.

With the addition of a large amount of medical supplies, they've really made a fortune.

According to convention, when troops are temporarily assigned to a new command, 30% of the captured supplies are handed over to the military region, 50% are kept by the brigade, and 20% are awarded to the combat troops.

The brigade commander himself is the commander of the Taiyue Military Region, a second-level military region. The portion that is handed over to the military region is handed over to him.

As long as Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment is transferred from the division headquarters to his command, all the spoils of this operation will be in his hands.

This isn't just a few guns and a few hundred rounds of ammunition that have been seized.

"Hahaha, great, I'm really rich now."

The brigade commander smiled happily and immediately telegraphed Chen Ming, instructing him to retreat with supplies along the southwest direction, with the New 1st Regiment and the 772nd Regiment taking turns providing cover.

It wasn't until dawn, when the Japanese army conducted aerial reconnaissance, that they learned the impact of the Eighth Route Army's raid.

Yoshio Shinotsuka mistakenly believed that this was a regular offensive launched by the Eighth Route Army, so he mobilized troops from all directions to prepare to encircle these Eighth Route Army soldiers.

But when he learned about the situation in various places, he finally realized what was going on.

Something's not right. This time, the Eighth Route Army has mobilized too many troops. There are battles everywhere, and highways, railways, and bridges in various places have been destroyed on a large scale.

He immediately ordered the 36th Division, the 37th Division, and the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade to deploy a total of more than 8,000 men to launch a counterattack on the attacked location.

However, once the planned 22 regiments began fighting, troops from other areas also joined in one after another.

It can be said that the entire war zone was in complete chaos, with fighting everywhere. The Japanese army's transportation lines and strongholds were extensively destroyed and eliminated.

According to statistics, a total of 106 regiments, or about 400,000 troops, were deployed, inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese army.

The Second Independent Regiment was busy transporting supplies and was responsible for blocking Li Yunlong, but they were also locked in a fierce battle with the Japanese troops supporting them from Meng County.

Upon receiving orders from the brigade headquarters, and learning that the 2nd Independent Regiment had captured Shouyang County and seized a large amount of supplies, the Independent Regiment was tasked with covering the 2nd Independent Regiment's retreat.

Li Yunlong was so envious that his mouth watered.

That's a county town on the Japanese railway line; there must be plenty of supplies there. Chen Ming has really struck gold this time.

"Damn it, why is it that Chen Ming gets to lead the main attack and take the county town, while I have to do the blocking work for him? After the battle is over, Chen Ming should at least pay me some wages."

Li Yunlong said sourly.

But the most important thing now is to stop the Japanese troops in Meng County from advancing towards Shouyang. Let's finish this battle first.

Ding Wei, on the other hand, had a much easier time.

The new regiment had better weapons and equipment than the independent regiment, and Ding Wei was a brilliant commander with outstanding military talent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to study in the rear.

The meticulously planned defenses, including the bombing of bridges and the destruction of roads, held off the Japanese troops at minimal cost, preventing them from reaching Shouyang until the following day.

By noon, the Second Independent Regiment had almost finished transferring supplies. Many hands make light work, especially since they were moving weapons, ammunition, and food.

People during this period had an intense desire for food, and they had inexhaustible energy as long as they were transporting food.

The Eighth Route Army also had a strong desire for weapons and ammunition.

They could transport that much weaponry and ammunition, even if the quantity were doubled. After the Second Independent Regiment successfully withdrew, the other regiments also received withdrawal orders from the brigade headquarters.

The Japanese realized something was wrong and had amassed a large force to counterattack. What they should do now is retreat to their base and prepare for defense.

Chen Ming's Independent Second Regiment, following orders from the brigade headquarters, withdrew to a village called Wanjialing in the mountainous area south of Shouyang.

Meanwhile, defenses were deployed along the route to prepare for the Japanese counterattack.

The Second Independent Regiment had barely settled in when the brigade commander arrived, eager to take stock of his supplies.

"Chen Ming, congratulations on your fortune!"

At the headquarters of the Independent Second Regiment, Chen Ming got a headache whenever he heard the brigade commander's laughter.

"Brigade Commander, we should congratulate you on your fortune! We'll send these spoils to your brigade headquarters once you've counted them." Chen Ming immediately greeted him with a smile.

In the end, it all has to be handed over anyway; that's the rule.

Rather than being unwillingly congratulated on getting rich, it's better to be straightforward and then negotiate with the brigade commander.

The brigade commander was taken aback by Chen Ming's words, then laughed: "Since you're so sensible, just tell me what you want, and I'll try my best to fulfill it."

In high spirits, the brigade commander did not mind granting Chen Ming some reasonable requests.

Upon hearing the brigade commander's words, Chen Ming immediately seized the opportunity to rise to power:

"Brigade Commander, could you allocate more of the captured artillery shells to the Independent 2nd Regiment? We've almost exhausted our resources during this main attack."

"Also, could we leave an infantry gun in the 2nd Independent Regiment? This infantry gun played a significant role in attacking the Japanese strongholds this time."

Upon hearing Chen Ming's request, the brigade commander thought for a moment and then agreed.

"Okay, I'll grant you this request."

"Thank you, Brigade Commander."

"Hahaha."

Next, the brigade commander began to take stock of the supplies captured by his Independent 2nd Regiment.

In addition to the supplies captured in the county town, the Japanese also captured a considerable amount of supplies at various strongholds and train stations.

Among them were two Type 92 infantry guns with over 700 rounds of ammunition, 16 mortars with over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, over 20 light machine guns, 13 heavy machine guns, and a quantity of ammunition.

More than 500 rifles, and a number of grenade launchers and hand grenades.

The brigade commander touched the infantry gun, then picked up a machine gun, clearly delighted with it.

Other daily necessities need no further explanation.

With so many spoils, the combat effectiveness of his 386th Brigade can be raised to another level.

Chen Ming is truly his lucky charm.

The brigade commander liked Chen Ming very much. He was good at fighting, knew how to develop troops, had a good overall perspective, and obeyed orders.

It can be said that now, people's affection for Chen Ming far exceeds that for Li Yunlong, and even the commanders of the two numbered regiments cannot compare to Chen Ming.

The brigade commander had already planned that after this battle, he would detain the 2nd Independent Regiment under the 386th Brigade.

Chen Ming is so good at developing troops, so we'll give him a deputy brigade commander position and let him establish a military sub-district on his own, and train him as a key member of the military.

"Not bad, not bad, these are all good guns and cannons."

The more the brigade commander counted the items, the louder his laughter became.

"Such a great achievement, I will report it to headquarters later and personally recommend you for commendation."

"It's all thanks to the brigade commander's excellent command. The Independent Second Regiment was able to achieve such results under the brigade commander's wise leadership," Chen Ming immediately praised.

"Hahaha."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

In this operation, the 2nd Independent Regiment eliminated more than 1,200 Japanese soldiers, suffered more than 800 casualties, and captured a large amount of supplies.

It was undoubtedly a great victory.

The work of moving supplies will take some time, and the commanders of the other regiments of the 386th Brigade have also arrived.

After learning that the Second Independent Regiment had captured a large amount of supplies, Li Yunlong shamelessly approached the brigade commander.

The Independent Regiment's losses in this ambush far outweighed their gains. After taking stock of the spoils, they found that half of their resources were gone, meaning they had gained absolutely nothing.

The Second Independent Regiment captured the county town and became incredibly wealthy, turning into landlords and rich men.

So, he once again decided to shamelessly congratulate the brigade commander on his fortune.

"Brigade Commander, I beg you, I'll kneel down and beg you, please? The Independent Regiment is suffering so much."

"Get lost, don't force me to slap you when I'm happiest."

The distribution of supplies is unified, yet Li Yunlong dares to congratulate himself on getting rich; he's gone too far.

Li Yunlong, who was being scolded, was a little confused. This wasn't right, was it?

Can love really transfer?
P.S.: Two chapters today, totaling 6,000 words. Please be sure to vote for me. It's August now. After we finish defeating the Yamazaki Battalion, we'll start the "farming" part, such as developing military industry and expanding the army. I wonder if you readers will like this part.

(End of this chapter)