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

Chapter 93 The Sweep Invades
Next, Chen Ming determined the operational areas for each unit.

Although each unit is to operate independently, the scope still needs to be defined.

Among them, the Second Brigade operated towards Wutai, focusing on the development of the Tongpu Railway; the First Brigade operated towards Yangquan and Shouyang, focusing on the development of the Zhengtai Railway; and the Third Brigade continued to operate around Meng County, consolidating its base area.

Various units were fighting against Japanese invaders, puppet troops, and traitors, and were also clearing out bandits in the Japanese-occupied areas.

As for the Fourth Battalion, it was responsible for protecting important facilities such as the arsenal and field hospital.

The brigade's directly subordinate guard company is responsible for protecting the brigade headquarters.

More than 100 elite special operations troops directly under the detachment were kept as mobile forces to provide support at any time.

With the operational deployment order issued, the various units began to move.

They have taken root in the snow-covered mountains and are developing rapidly.

Because of the previous distribution of grain during the suppression of bandits, the people were very supportive of the Eighth Route Army, and many people signed up to join the army.

Meanwhile, local armed forces are also developing.

With the weapon support of the independent detachment, the local armed forces developed very rapidly.

The local armed forces were not Chen Ming's direct troops, but belonged to the military sub-district. Chen Ming could only temporarily command them during combat.

Militia members are excellent reserve personnel for the main force. Once selected and incorporated into the main force, they can quickly form combat effectiveness.

Since the Japanese have a large number of reserves, we cannot lag behind.

As May approached, in order to support the 100,000 Japanese troops gathered in the Zhongtiao Mountains in their operation against the Zhongtiao Mountains, and to prevent the Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines from sabotaging the logistics lines during the operation.

The Japanese army assembled a division, two independent brigades, and other infantry battalions, totaling approximately 40,000 men.

Including the security forces, the anti-corruption army, and other puppet troops, there were approximately 20,000 people.

Relying on railway lines, they launched a large-scale mopping-up operation against our army's base areas, supporting more than 100,000 Japanese troops in the Zhongtiao Mountains.

Among them, more than 5,000 Japanese troops and more than 3,000 puppet troops were heading towards Chen Ming.

Why? Because their location is so crucial, sandwiched between the Zhengtai Railway and the Tongpu Railway.
In addition, the Independent Detachment had once wiped out a Japanese infantry battalion of more than 1400 men, posing a great threat.

Faced with the massive sweep by the Japanese army, the brigade commander ordered Chen Ming to prepare to cover the retreat of civilians and troops.

The priority now should be preserving our strength; it is not advisable to engage in direct combat with the Japanese army too early.

Chen Ming resolutely carried out the brigade commander's orders.

He immediately ordered all units to return to their posts, as they had an important mission.

After the order was given, the communications company commander immediately ordered: "Assemble the communications company. First platoon to Wutai, second platoon to Yangquan, and third platoon to Mengxian."

"This is a direct order; the troops must be brought back to their posts as quickly as possible, no matter what."

"Yes."

After the tasks were assigned, the soldiers of the communications company rode their horses and began to head towards the areas where the battalions and companies of each unit were operating.

Radios are scarce nowadays, and only some troops have been equipped with them. Other troops have none. In addition, due to the dispersed operations and unpredictable movements, they cannot use telephone communication and communication mainly relies on manpower.

Meng County.

Kong Jie had just ambushed a transport convoy and was cleaning up the battlefield.

At that moment, a communications soldier on horseback arrived.

"Report, the detachment commander orders all units to immediately assemble at the command post. There is an important combat mission, and there must be no mistakes."

"I can't breathe," the communications soldier said.

Upon hearing that there was an important combat mission, Kong Jie's expression immediately sharpened, and he shouted:

"Attention, all troops! Immediately cease cleaning up the battlefield, release all prisoners, abandon all supplies, and immediately assemble your forces to move toward the command post."

Kong Jie is an honest man; he will carry out orders without hesitation.

Since the order instructed him to rush to the command post for an important combat mission, Kong Jie wouldn't waste a single minute. It was just some supplies; if he ran out, he could capture more.

If anything is missing, just ask the Japanese; the Japanese are our transport captains.

This scene also occurred in other units.

As the order was relayed to the battalions and companies, the scattered troops began to gather and quickly converge on Chen Ming's forces.

In a short time, a large number of people gathered at Black Wind Mountain.

Looking at the large number of soldiers gathered in the Independent Detachment, Chen Ming felt a surge of pride and excitement.

"Report, all departments have assembled. Please give instructions." Chief of Staff Chang Fei said with a bright smile.

"I don't have any instructions, just one sentence: the people must be protected and evacuated safely," Chen Ming shouted.

This is an order from headquarters, and it must be carried out properly.

No matter what, we must always put the people first.

"Yes."

All departments have assembled, and due to the large number of people, the formation appears somewhat bloated.

However, the situation is urgent now, and it is not the time to reorganize. The most urgent task is to get through the current sweep.

We can discuss anything after the war is over.

"Report: The 714th Regiment in southern Wutai was surrounded by 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops in the Baijiazhuang area while covering the evacuation of civilians. Headquarters has ordered our unit to reinforce the 714th Regiment and rescue the trapped troops at all costs."

At that moment, a communications soldier delivered an urgent telegram.

Upon seeing the specifics, Chen Ming immediately frowned.

The Japanese devils were so arrogant. A force of 3,000 men dared to penetrate deep into our base area and surround the 714th Regiment, a brother unit.

Moreover, intelligence indicated that other Japanese troops were converging on Baijiazhuang, attempting to use this besieged regiment to draw other Eighth Route Army troops to its aid.

The plan was to besiege the enemy's stronghold and attack reinforcements, aiming to eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army between the Zhengtai Railway and the Tongpu Railway.

"The Japanese have so few men, and they think they can pull off a 'besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements' tactic?"

"If they want to besiege a point and attack reinforcements, I'll just surround them completely and use the besieged 714th Regiment to launch a central attack."

Chen Ming cursed angrily and immediately figured out how to fight.

His playing style is very similar to the one he used when he played against the Yamazaki Battalion.

Back then, the Yamazaki Battalion relied on the terrain of Lijiapo to lure the Eighth Route Army into attacking, hoping to hold out until the Japanese reinforcements arrived from the outer perimeter, forming a huge encirclement.

The same applies to Chen Ming now.

By using the surrounded 714th Regiment, they could lure the Japanese troops toward Baijiazhuang, while they themselves would form an encirclement around it.

The only difference was that when we fought the Yamazaki Battalion, our army was doing everything in its power to eliminate them as quickly as possible, otherwise we would be surrounded and wiped out.

Now, the Japanese are surrounding the 714th Regiment to lure the Eighth Route Army into a decisive battle. They will not rush to attack the besieged 714th Regiment, so the 714th Regiment is safe for the time being.

Otherwise, if there's no bait left, how can you possibly catch any fish?

However, since the Japanese were trying to fish, Chen Ming took the bait.

Let's see if the Japanese soldiers successfully caught the fish, or if they were swallowed whole by the whale that is the Independent Detachment.

"Order the troops to immediately split into two groups, forming a pincer movement to surround Baijiazhuang and wipe out this arrogant group of Japanese devils."

"Yes."

Under Chen Ming's orders, the troops began to move rapidly towards Baijiazhuang.

One of the vanguard battalions abandoned heavy equipment and rushed lightly, determined to reach Baijiazhuang in the shortest possible time.

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(End of this chapter)