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

Chapter 84 Promotion, Reorganization of the Second Independent Regiment

While Li Yunlong ambushed the Japanese observation group, Zhao Jiayu's Independent Regiment had already engaged in combat with the Japanese.

Because Li Yunlong took some of his soldiers with him, Zhao Jiayu's Independent Regiment, despite having already detected Yamamoto's special forces, still suffered heavy casualties in the battle.

The soldiers of Yamamoto's Special Attack Corps were the elite of the Japanese army, equipped with powerful automatic firepower.

While its long-range combat capabilities are poor, in close-quarters combat, the submachine gun's powerful automatic firepower far surpasses that of bolt-action rifles.

Upon contact, Kong Jie's Independent Regiment was plunged into a fierce battle.

The headquarters was right behind them, and for the safety of the headquarters, the soldiers of the Independent Regiment could not retreat even a step.

Relying on their tenacious fighting spirit and the advantage of their position, the Independent Regiment barely managed to hold off the first wave of attacks from Yamamoto's special forces.

However, below the cliff, Yamamoto's special forces were continuously reinforcing their troops, and the Independent Regiment was suffering increasing casualties.

Fortunately, other troops guarding headquarters are on their way and will be able to provide support soon.

For the safety of the headquarters, Zhao Gang led his men directly into the headquarters.

"Boss, for your safety, you need to leave here temporarily."

The situation was urgent, and Zhao Gang explained his purpose as soon as he entered.

"Cover the boss's retreat! Withdraw!"

In a moment of urgency, Zhao Gang immediately led his men to move the boss to a safe place.

After the boss left, Yamamoto's special forces also faced a difficult situation.

The soldiers of the Second and Third Battalions of the Independent Regiment fought to the death and refused to retreat. Troops from other places were rushing to the scene and would arrive to provide support soon.

If they keep fighting like this, even if they complete the mission, there won't be many people left in the special forces team.

Yamamoto is currently at a disadvantage; continuing the fight would result in heavy losses and could even prevent him from completing the mission.

If they retreated, the observation group would be watching. As a member of the Yamamoto family, he only got this opportunity because of his family's influence, which is why Yoshio Shinotsuka agreed to this operation.

If he slunk away, he would not only lose face, but also his family's.

At that moment, the special forces' communications officer ran up quickly.

"Sir, the observation group was attacked by an unknown enemy, and all officers, including Brigade Commander Hattori, were killed in action."

"Nani?"

Yamamoto was momentarily stunned, and just as he was getting caught up in his dilemma, an opportunity for a reasonable retreat presented itself.

[It seems that heaven is still looking out for me.] Yamamoto thought to himself.

"withdraw!"

Having found a way out, Yamamoto did not hesitate to issue the order to retreat, and led the special forces team away.

As for the observation group that was ambushed, what does that have to do with him?

A major general brigade commander is not worth Yamamoto Ichiki's too much attention.

The soldiers of the Independent Regiment, fearing some kind of conspiracy by the Japanese, did not pursue them in order to protect their headquarters.

The news that Li Yunlong ambushed a Japanese observation group and killed a major general and six colonels quickly spread throughout the country as if it had sprouted wings.

The killing of a Japanese brigade commander by a major general is truly shocking at this time of year!
Li Yunlong's fame skyrocketed!
People from all walks of life who were paying attention to the situation of the War of Resistance Against Japan learned directly that Li Yunlong, the commander of an independent regiment in the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, killed a Japanese major general brigade commander.

The Nationalist government directly issued a commendation order to Li Yunlong and also sent people to inquire about his situation.

The same applies to the castrated rooster, but the ever-shrewd Yan the rooster publicized it extensively in the newspapers, thus sharing some of the credit from the ambush observation group.

It was only after Chu Yunfei, a member of the Jin-Sui Army officer corps, joined the Independent Regiment that Li Yunlong was able to successfully kill the Japanese major general.

What does this mean?
This shows that the Independent Regiment was able to complete this ambush thanks to the guidance of Chu Yunfei, a top student.

Otherwise, why didn't this happen before?

However, people from all walks of life are somewhat disgusted by the practice of castrating roosters.

Everyone knows exactly what the Jin-Sui Army is like.

On the brigade side, the brigade commander was furious.

Li Yunlong disobeyed orders and moved troops without authorization, putting headquarters in danger and forcing a relocation. The commander-in-chief was unaware that Li Yunlong was no longer defending Zhao Jiayu until the retreat.

Afterwards, because Li Yunlong's contribution in this incident was enormous and attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society, headquarters decided to give Li Yunlong a punishment that balanced his merits and demerits.

"This Li Yunlong is bolder than the Heavenly King himself. What wouldn't he dare to do? If he does it again, I'll have him shot."

"Brigade Commander, calm down. Are you willing to kill Li Yunlong?" the staff officer beside him said with a smile.

“Kill him as soon as possible, so I can save myself some trouble. Hasn’t Li Yunlong done enough good deeds? Go and look through his file; he has just as many merits as he has made mistakes.”

The brigade commander continued discussing Li Yunlong's killing of a Japanese major general. Although he was still cursing Li Yunlong, he was secretly very pleased.

Despite the fierce criticism, they are actually protecting their own.

On the Independent Second Regiment's side, Chen Ming also reported the battle situation of annihilating the Kawasaki Battalion and the list of spoils to the brigade commander.

The brigade commander was overjoyed after receiving and reading the report.

"Look everyone, the battle results for the Independent Second Regiment are in. That kid Chen Ming has given us another surprise."

Seeing how happy the brigade commander was, the staff at the brigade headquarters knew that the Independent Second Regiment had won another battle, and they accepted the report.

The first thing I noticed was the casualty situation. After seeing that three regiments had fought together, and that they had annihilated more than 1,400 Japanese soldiers from the Kawasaki Battalion at the cost of more than 700 dead, I was amazed.

The smiles on everyone's faces could no longer be contained.

When looking at the list of captured supplies, there were eight mortars, four Type 92 infantry guns, and four Type 41 mountain howitzers.

"Suck!"

The group put down the telegram and gasped, clearly shocked by the enormous spoils.

It should be noted that even now, the Eighth Route Army has never completely captured any of the Japanese mountain howitzers.

The Independent Regiment captured four mountain guns and four Type 92 infantry guns in one fell swoop!
Most importantly, in the battle against the Japanese with so many artillery pieces, the Independent 2nd Regiment, along with two other regiments that cooperated, managed to annihilate the Japanese with a casualty ratio of 1:2.

"Well done! This was a brilliant battle, something other units should learn from. Chen Ming is really good; he always manages to give me some big surprises."

The brigade commander looked at the battle report and liked it more and more.

"If only Li Yunlong were as easy to manage as Chen Ming."

After reading the battle report, the boss began to feel disgusted with Li Yunlong again.

No comparison, no harm!

One is Chen Ming, a beloved general who obeys orders and is capable of winning battles!

Another one is capable of both meritorious service and fighting, but he makes mistakes of all sizes. Every time he makes a meritorious service, he has to worry about when Li Yunlong will cause a big scare.

Comparing the two, the brigade commander liked Chen Ming even more.

Headquarters.

"The Second Independent Regiment is preparing to send people to transport the artillery to headquarters so that the division can make the handover. It should arrive in about ten days."

"Haha, not bad. Now it's time to discuss what kind of reward to give Chen Ming?"

They had discussed Chen Ming's issues last time, and originally planned to promote him after he returned from his studies.

Now that Chen Ming has made another great contribution, he should be rewarded.

The Eighth Route Army has always been clear about rewards and punishments.

"I think, since the Second Independent Regiment was reorganized from a district squad, how about we reorganize it into an independent detachment?"

"Anyway, the Second Independent Regiment is currently developing on its own; the Nationalist government has not provided a single bullet or a single silver dollar."

“Give him an independent detachment, give him enough autonomy, and let Chen Ming develop independently.”

"I think it's a good idea. Chen Ming is very good at equipment, so this way we can also influence the surrounding troops and help them grow stronger."

"Let's decide on this for now, and discuss the specifics later at the meeting."

The things they've discussed and decided on are unlikely to be anything unexpected.

Not long after, Chen Ming received an order from headquarters to return to headquarters to report on his work.

(End of this chapter)