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

Chapter 83 What tiger general? I think it's a rat general!
After the two regiments returned, beaming with satisfaction, with their spoils...

Next, Chen Ming began to encourage several battalion commanders.

"Comrade Jianxin's First Battalion did a great job this time. I'm relieved to have the First Battalion in your hands." Chen Ming patted He Jianxin on the shoulder to show his encouragement.

"The Second Battalion fought tenaciously this time, demonstrating the resilience of our Independent Second Regiment. You, Li Yousheng, and the soldiers of the Second Battalion are all outstanding."

Chen Ming held Li Yousheng's hand and praised him.

Hearing Chen Ming's words of comfort and concern, Li Yousheng felt a lump in his throat and nodded heavily.

"Comrade Yang Ming's Fourth Battalion fought very well this time, displaying great bravery in combat." Chen Ming patted Yang Ming, the Fourth Battalion Commander, on the shoulder.

The battalion commander of the Fourth Battalion was promoted by Chen Ming from the local armed forces, and he was very brave in battle.

Chen Ming praised the battalion commanders of each main force battalion to varying degrees.

But when it came to Wang Gui, Chen Ming didn't even look at Wang Gui's outstretched hands. He walked straight to the regimental combat map with a stern face.

Chen Ming's action made Wang Gui a little embarrassed; he didn't know whether to put his hand down or extend it.

Inside the meeting room, Chen Ming began to summarize the operation that annihilated the Kawasaki Battalion.

"Where has Wang Gui, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion who disobeyed orders on the battlefield, gone?"

Inside the meeting room, Chen Ming deliberately asked a question.

"To!"

Wang Gui stood up.

"If I were to drag you out and execute you right now, would you feel wronged?" Chen Ming asked.

"Reporting to the regimental commander, it's not unfair. Even if you strip me of my battalion commander position and send me to carry explosives to blow up the Japanese bunker, I still wouldn't feel wronged."

"See that? One sentence revealed your true nature, Wang Gui!" Chen Ming's tone was very serious.

"Arrogant and self-important! I said I'd execute you, so what? What right do you have to negotiate with me?"

"I clearly told you to join the First Battalion in encircling and annihilating the Japanese in Huanglong Cave, but you insisted on taking matters into your own hands, withdrawing from the position, and leading the soldiers to charge at the Japanese!"

"I've already prepared the artillery positions, and you, along with the Third Battalion and the Second Battalion, went straight into bayonet fighting with the Japanese, causing so many more soldiers to sacrifice their lives for nothing!"

"Is my artillery battalion just for show?"

"The Third Battalion is the main force battalion of the Independent Second Regiment, right?"

"You said you, Wang Gui, were born a hunter and are a valiant general, is that right?"

"I think you're a rat general!"

"The First Battalion fought against over 600 Japanese soldiers at Huanglong Cave, and only 37 soldiers were killed. But your Third Battalion, along with the Second Battalion, fought against over 150 Japanese soldiers, and only 113 soldiers were killed!"

"Is the Third Battalion the main force battalion of the Independent Second Regiment?"

Chen Ming severely criticized Wang Gui for disobeying orders on the battlefield and for underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly.

"Commander, stop scolding me," Wang Gui said through gritted teeth.

The regimental commander could scold him, but this time he really acted impulsively without considering the consequences. Even with artillery available, he led his soldiers to fight the Japanese with bayonets.

The soldiers of the Third Battalion are all outstanding. The honor the Third Battalion has today is all thanks to the soldiers' hard work and dedication.

"So what if I cursed at you?" Chen Ming shouted.

“If you play poorly, I, Chen Ming, will scold you, Wang Gui. If I, Chen Ming, play poorly, you, Wang Gui, can also scold me, Chen Ming.”

"If you disobey orders on the battlefield, I should execute you. I, Chen Ming, may not have many other skills, but I certainly have the ability to execute Ma Su!"

Wang Gui's eyes turned red and his voice choked as he was criticized by Chen Ming.

"Commander, let me say a word."

Inside the meeting room, a group of commanders, political commissars, and instructors felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to try to persuade Chen Ming.

"Let him say it!"

"Commander, our Third Battalion did not fight well in this battle. It was my mistake in command. Even if you were to shoot me, I, Wang Gui, would not utter a single word of complaint."

"But Commander, you can't scold the soldiers of the Third Battalion like that, because the soldiers on the front lines are all outstanding."

"On this point, I must set the record straight: none of the fallen soldiers were attacked from behind."

Chen Ming looked at Wang Gui, took out a booklet, and threw it in front of him.

"This is the roster of those who sacrificed their lives in the bayonet fight against the Japanese in the Third Battalion. I'm handing it over to you today."

"Wang Gui, if it weren't for the soldiers of the Third Battalion fighting so bravely, you wouldn't be leaving here today, understand?"

Wang Gui nodded heavily, holding the roster in his hand as if it weighed a ton!
After reprimanding Wang Gui, Chen Ming looked at the group of commanders and soldiers and said:

"From now on, if any battalion or company, like the Third Battalion, disobeys orders on the battlefield, the battalion or company commander will be dismissed immediately, and the main force battalion's designation will be revoked!"

"Anyone who dares to plead for them will be the one to take the position of regimental commander!"

Chen Ming wanted to urge all commanders and soldiers to remember that disobeying orders on the battlefield was a precedent that could not be set in his Independent Second Regiment.

They're just a group now, but what about in the future?
As the military grows and expands, the disobedience of a regiment, a brigade, or even a division could very well lead to the defeat of a campaign!

Someone is absolutely right: in large-scale military operations, strict discipline is essential!

His Independent Second Regiment, although only one regiment, still had to maintain strict military discipline!

Chen Ming is not a brigade commander, and Wang Gui is not Li Yunlong.

Disobeying orders on the battlefield—what a serious crime! Chen Ming couldn't cover it up.

After the meeting, Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze approached Wang Gui and offered him some psychological support. "Comrade Wang Gui, the regimental commander's criticism of you this time was also to spur you on. The soldiers of the Third Battalion are all excellent; they are a team capable of fighting tough battles. In the future, I also hope that the Third Battalion will win great victories."

Zhang Zhengze carefully worked on Wang Gui's case.

"Political Commissar, I know that I did disobey orders this time. Even if the regimental commander executes me, I will accept it."

"I have realized my mistake."

Wang Gui said with his head down.

“Yes, the Third Battalion is the old core of our Independent Second Regiment, and the regimental commander has high expectations for it,” Zhang Zhengze continued.

"Political Commissar, I understand. I will definitely lead the troops well, obey orders, and win a victory to vindicate the soldiers of the Third Battalion."

After that, Zhang Zhengze went to persuade Li Yousheng, the battalion commander of the Second Battalion.

Li Yousheng was a model set up by Chen Ming, serving as a model for the soldiers in the regiment who were former prisoners of war.

Our Eighth Route Army doesn't care about background; as long as someone is genuinely fighting the Japanese, the Eighth Route Army will treat them all equally.

This time, Wang Gui led the Third Battalion to compete with the Second Battalion for the mission, and dragged the Second Battalion into the charge.

This led to the Second Battalion luring the enemy deep into their territory, resulting in the sacrifice of so many soldiers who did not receive the honor they deserved.

If the political commissar doesn't work things out with Li Yousheng, he might not understand and keep it bottled up inside, which would be detrimental to team unity.

After the meeting, Chen Ming began to tally up the results of the meeting.

In this operation, the First Battalion lost 37 soldiers and the Third Battalion lost 137 soldiers (including those killed in the Huanglongdong ambush).

The Second Battalion suffered the heaviest casualties, especially the First Company of the Second Battalion. This single company held off more than 1400 Japanese soldiers with heavy artillery for six hours, and the First Company of the Second Battalion was almost annihilated.

Including the sacrifices made in luring the enemy deep into their territory, a total of 253 of the 607 soldiers in the Second Battalion perished.

The Second Independent Regiment lost a total of 427 soldiers.

Including the 714th and 716th Regiments, a total of 732 soldiers sacrificed their lives.

In contrast, 1408 Japanese soldiers from the Kawasaki Battalion were annihilated.

With casualties close to 1:2, it was a great victory.

730 rifles (including damaged ones), 44 light machine guns, 42 grenade launchers, 73 pistols, and 8 heavy machine guns were seized.

Eight 81mm mortars, four Type 8 infantry guns, and four Type 41 mountain howitzers.

In terms of ammunition, there were 7.3 rifle rounds, over 8000 pistol rounds, over 1.5 light machine gun rounds, over 1.2 heavy machine gun rounds, and over 2300 hand grenades.

The force consisted of 630 grenade launchers, over 800 mortar shells, 403 infantry shells, and the fewest mountain gun shells, with only 207.

However, Chen Ming gave away two-thirds of the weapons other than artillery.

Other units were suffering too much, but the Independent 2nd Regiment had no shortage of light weapons, and Chen Ming helped them whenever he could.

Chen Ming considered it a trial fee for commanding two regimental commanders and the Independent Second Regiment, which was almost like being a division commander.

Weapons and ammunition, once placed in the Eighth Route Army's ranks, were all used to fight the Japanese invaders; Chen Ming didn't mind distributing them.

He was a regimental commander in the Eighth Route Army, not a warlord or a bandit. How could he possibly take everything for himself?

Chen Ming annihilated a battalion of Japanese soldiers at Huanglong Cave, drawing some of the Japanese army's attention.

However, at this time, the Japanese army was mainly focused on Yamamoto's special forces.

On the mountain road, Japanese Major General Hattori Naotomi sat inside an armored vehicle, heading towards the designated location to watch the performance of Yamamoto's special attack team.

"I really don't understand why Shinotsuka-kun trusts such a small unit so much, making such a big fuss to send us to this mountain."

Hattori Naotomi was very dissatisfied. Why should the empire, with its large army, focus its efforts on a small special forces team of only a hundred men?

The convoy continued its journey.

Meanwhile, on the distant hillside, a group of people were lying hidden.

This group of people were none other than Li Yunlong from the Independent Regiment and Chu Yunfei from the Officers' Corps.

Chu Yunfei originally planned to visit the Second Independent Regiment, but the commander informed him that the Second Independent Regiment was actually carrying out combat missions. So Chu Yunfei had no choice but to settle for the Independent Regiment instead.

Chu Yunfei knew that the Independent Regiment had destroyed the command post of the Sakata Regiment in the Battle of Cangyunling and fought very tenaciously.

"Brother Yunlong, you brought me to this desolate place, so you were planning to ambush this group of Japanese soldiers?" Chu Yunfei looked at the Japanese troops below, which numbered at least several hundred.

Given the strength of the Independent Regiment, it was still too much of a stretch to ambush so many Japanese soldiers.

Li Yunlong did not reply and continued to wait.

The fact that the Japanese have mobilized so many troops means they are definitely not simple.

Sure enough, when Hattori Naotomi's convoy came into view, Li Yunlong finally caught the big fish he had been waiting for.

"Order the troops to attack!"

At Li Yunlong's command, the soldiers of the Independent Regiment who were lying in ambush launched an attack on the Japanese convoy.

Machine guns swept through the Japanese guards, grenades and grenade launchers struck the Japanese vehicles, and they stormed right into the Japanese ranks.

"My God, you've caught a huge fish! A major general, six colonels, and the rest are officers!" Chu Yunfei exclaimed in shock.

"Hahaha, God has eyes! Stop shooting! Stop shooting! Cease fire!" Li Yunlong was also very excited.

He's about to make a great contribution.

P.S.: 6000 words, please vote!
(End of this chapter)