Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 221 What is this for? (It's the end of the month, please vote)
Li Chishui led the 13th Company around the top of the hill, and then ran back as fast as they could.

After running about a hundred meters and turning a hill, Li Chishui threw the bag he was carrying to the ground.

"Throw the bag while running!" Li Chishui shouted.

"Ah?" The soldier next to him thought he had heard it wrong.

"What? This is called all is fair in war! Throw the bag! Throw it quickly!" Li Chishui shouted.

Although the soldiers of the 13th Company did not understand, they still followed the orders and the backpacks that were broken into squares were thrown all over the ground.

"Listen!" Li Chishui shouted as he ran, "Fire a shot after every fifty meters! Throw a bullet bag after two hundred meters! Throw a grain bag after five hundred meters! Throw a water bottle after one thousand meters! Do you hear me?"

"Company commander, I don't know how to count either!" said a soldier on the side. Who knows how many meters this is?
Li Chishui was almost choked to death by this sentence, and could only helplessly say: "Watch my actions, you do whatever I do."

The soldiers of the 13th Company took almost everything prepared by the th Battalion. Now everyone was carrying large and small bags, throwing them as they ran. This not only attracted the Japanese, but also reduced the soldiers' burden.

Morita Haruji, who caught up with them, looked at the things thrown all over the ground and said with a smile: "It seems that the battle in Xiangyang Village scared the Eighth Route Army, and now they are in disarray."

"Captain, the New 10nd Regiment has always used more troops against fewer in the past, and they only dared to attack when they had at least times the force. This time, they encountered the main force of the rd Mixed Brigade, and their true colors were immediately exposed." The Japanese deputy captain also laughed.

"Hehehe. The new second regiment? That's all!" Morita Haruji said disdainfully.

"Everyone! Keep chasing!"

After chasing for several hours, Ryotaro Toyama, who was following behind, felt something was wrong. What was going on?
"Brigade Commander, I feel something is wrong. The road is getting narrower and narrower, and the hills on both sides are getting higher and higher. We are now heading into the mountains." Toyama Ryotaro drove his horse to Nara Yukio and reminded him.

"I know they are heading into the mountains. Whenever the Eighth Route Army encounters a raid, they basically hide in the mountains. I think this time is no exception." Nara Yukio said casually.

"If it's a small group of Eighth Route Army, it's normal for them to go into the mountains, but the main force of the New Second Regiment we are chasing has more than 10,000 people. What kind of mountain can provide the food and fodder they need?"

After hearing Ryotaro Toyama's hint, Yukio Nara began to react.

"Stop marching!" shouted Yukio Nara.

"Send a telegram to the Morita Battalion immediately and ask where they are and whether they have caught up with the Eighth Route Army."

"Hai!" The telegraph operator nearby quickly turned on the radio and started sending messages.

The Morita Battalion only thought that the 13th Company was the rear guard of the New 13nd Regiment, so they kept following the gunfire of the th Company. There was no real exchange of fire between the two sides.

After looking at the call back from the Morita Battalion and finding their current location on the map, Yukio Nara immediately knew that he had been fooled.

"Baka! Is Morita Haruji an idiot? Where is Yantan Village? Further west is the main range of Zhongyun Mountain. There are only a few villages there? How could the Eighth Route Army possibly get there!"

"Send a telegram to Morita Squadron, tell them to stop advancing immediately and retreat to the main force!"

Nara Yukio looked at the map, breathing heavily, and after thinking for a while, he ordered: "Dongshan Jun, the main force will go through Linggou, Dawan Village, and then go to Qingfeng Temple, and then sweep south again!"

Since the troops heading west are bait, the Eighth Route Army is most likely still in the area to the south.

"Hai!"

By the time the Japanese finally arrived at Qingfeng Temple after struggling to pull their baggage and heavy weapons over the mountains and across the hills, it was already past five in the evening.

Qin Sheng had been waiting here for a long time with the Fourth Battalion, and even the 13th Company took a shortcut and ran back.

After the Japanese vanguard troops exchanged fire with the Fourth Battalion at Qingfeng Temple, they did not launch an offensive but immediately chose to retreat.

Looking at the rapidly retreating Japanese soldiers, Qin Sheng felt a little regretful: "TND, the Japanese soldiers are really alert and didn't even get into the pocket formation."

"Battalion Commander, it's getting late now. I think the Japanese will most likely not launch an attack." Li Chishui said while looking at the Japanese.

"I think so too, but the captain must have some ideas for us to stay in Qingfeng Temple and wait." Qin Sheng said.

"Stay in Qingfeng Temple? Does the commander want to fight the devils here?"

The terrain in the Qingfeng Temple area is narrow and it is not possible to deploy a large force. If the New Second Regiment wants to fight with the Third Mixed Brigade, it would be a good place.

Moreover, it is less than 10 kilometers from Jiao Town to Qingfeng Temple, so the New Second Regiment can be said to be well-rested.

"We'll know in the evening." Qin Sheng didn't know what Chen Chengxing's plan was.

On the hill outside Changwan Village, Nara Yukio was looking at the situation at Qingfeng Temple through a telescope.

"Brigade Commander, since the Eighth Route Army appeared here, their main force must be nearby. I estimate that it is most likely in Jiaozhen and Yujiayu area." said Toyama Ryotaro.

"Yeah, that should be the case." Nara Yukio nodded. He was relieved to know that he had not lost the trace of the Eighth Route Army.

"Toyama-kun, order all troops to build offensive positions as far forward as possible, and launch an offensive as soon as tomorrow morning comes." Nara Yukio ordered. The vanguard troops had already fought with the Eighth Route Army of Qingfeng Temple. There should be more than a thousand people on the Eighth Route Army's position, and from the sound of it, they are all equipped with Japanese weapons. This must be the core field force of the Eighth Route Army.

But now it was getting late, and the artillery advantage of the 3rd Mixed Brigade could not be brought into play in a night battle. Therefore, Nara Yukio could only suppress the idea of a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army and prepare to fight again tomorrow.

At 10 o'clock in the evening, when the Japanese soldiers of the rd Mixed Brigade were dragging their tired bodies to rest, Chen Chengxing had already arrived at Qingfeng Temple with the main infantry forces of the st and nd Battalions.

"What's the current situation of the Japanese?" Chen Chengxing asked after arriving at the front line.

"The Japanese had no intention of launching an attack before dark. Their vanguard troops only launched a tentative attack and then withdrew. However, now the Japanese have dug their attack position to a location 300 meters away from the front line of Qingfeng Temple. I tried to attack with mortars, but the effect was not obvious." Qin Sheng said.

The Japanese trenches were also dug in a crooked pattern, so a small number of artillery shells would not have any impact on the Japanese progress, and the Fourth Battalion did not have so many artillery shells to consume, so Qin Sheng just tried it once and stopped.

Chen Chengxing didn't care about the position. His plan was to attack at night, and the closer the Japanese were, the better.

"The Japanese have been led astray for several days. I think they are exhausted. It's a good opportunity to give them some extra fuel tonight," said Chen Chengxing.

After the New Second Regiment rested for two hours, at 12 o'clock, Xu Wu led the First Battalion to find the position first, and Chen Chengxing led the Third and Fourth Battalions and followed two hundred meters behind.

Because the Japs thought that there were only a thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers in Qingfeng Temple and thought that they would not dare to act rashly, so the sentries they sent out only advanced 50 meters.

Therefore, when the Japanese sentries discovered that a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers suddenly appeared in the darkness and immediately opened fire to warn them, Xu Wu also led his team to launch the final charge.

"Comrades, kill me!"

"Kill!"
The sudden shouts and gunshots made the originally silent Japanese position instantly restless.

However, it was obviously too late at this time. Although the Japanese machine guns on duty immediately began to fire blindly, they were suppressed in a very short time by the heavy machine guns and infantry artillery that had been prepared on the Qingfeng Temple position.

The first battalion took advantage of this brief period of time to rush into the Japanese position, and the third and fourth battalions followed closely to provide support.

When the first gunshot was heard, Yukio Nara immediately climbed out of bed, but by the time he put on his clothes, walked out of the command post and raised his telescope to observe, the New Second Regiment had already engaged in a fighting battle with the Japanese on the front line.

"Brigade Commander, reports from the front line say that the Eighth Route Army has dispatched a large number of troops for a night attack. Preliminary estimates show that there are more than 2,000 people. The Ando Battalion at the front line can no longer hold on." Ryotaro Toyama hurried over to report.

Now the strength ratio between the New 3nd Regiment and the Japanese on the front line is 1:, and Ando Battalion is no match at all.

"How many? Aren't there only 1,800 troops on the Qingfeng Temple position? Where do so many troops come from now?" Nara Yukio turned his head suddenly and said in disbelief.

If there were not only a thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers on the Qingfeng Temple position, he would not have placed only one battalion at the front line, and had the front line position been so close to the Eighth Route Army position.

"It's not clear. If the Eighth Route Army didn't hide their troops on purpose, they must have come to provide support at night," said Toyama Ryotaro.

"Baga. The Eighth Route Army is really too cunning."

"Order the Ando Battalion to retreat immediately, and the Takeuchi Battalion and the Morita Battalion will be responsible for their support!" Nara Yukio was no longer bothered to find out who was responsible, and immediately gave the order to retreat.

Visibility was too low at night and the two sides engaged in a melee again, and the firepower advantage of the 3rd Mixed Brigade could not be fully utilized.

"Ha!"
After receiving the order to retreat, the An Teng Battalion did not run back recklessly, but retreated in an orderly manner, covering each other, and the heavy weapons were carried away as soon as possible.

After Chen Chengxing led his team to chase and kill the Japanese for more than 200 meters, he saw that the Japanese reinforcements had arrived, so he immediately led the New 2nd Regiment to retreat and break contact with the Japanese.

"Stop chasing! Clean up the battlefield quickly and let's retreat!" Chen Chengxing ordered. If they continued, the casualties of the New Second Regiment would increase greatly.

After returning to Qingfeng Temple, Xu Wu reported: "Captain, we killed at least 300 devils in this night raid and seized 202 long and short guns and 8 crooked-handled rifles. It's a pity that the heavy machine gun was taken away by the devils."

"It's good to have these spoils of war. The Japanese didn't flee," said Chen Chengxing.

The fact that we had these spoils was the reason why the Japanese did not counterattack. If they had chosen to attack after their reinforcements arrived, these rifles would not have been seized.

"Captain, what should we do next? Fight the Japanese again in Qingfeng Temple?" Qin Sheng asked from the side.

If they want to fight at Qingfeng Temple, they have to further expand their position, otherwise they won’t be able to accommodate 3,000 people.

"The main force has already withdrawn. There is no need to defend Qingfeng Temple anymore." Chen Chengxing shook his head.

Although the terrain of Qingfeng Temple is not conducive to the deployment of Japanese artillery, it has certain advantages for the New Second Regiment.

But Chen Chengxing was still unwilling to start a war with the Japanese here. He still wanted to delay for a while, and wait until the Japanese divided their forces again before he could really take action.

"Qin Sheng, let the soldiers get ready, we are retreating." Chen Chengxing ordered.

"yes!".
Just as Chen Chengxing led the New Second Regiment to quietly leave Qingfeng Temple and retreat southward, Nara Yukio also issued an order to lead the Third Mixed Brigade to retreat to Qilinggou in order to prevent the Eighth Route Army from launching another night attack.

(End of this chapter)