Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 332 The Grand Master's Appetite
"Old Luo, Chen Sijin has agreed to let us launch an attack!" Chen Chengxing said excitedly.

The military region has sent a reply.

Chen Chengxing personally translated the encrypted telegram.

The above roughly outlines the overall operational plan of the Jin-Sui Military Region.

"What did the telegram say? Will the other friendly forces cooperate with us in the operation?" Luo Ping immediately stood up.

Watching the troops continuously assemble, Luo Ping felt both excited and anxious.

If possible, Luo Ping would certainly like to take Ping An, as this would be of great benefit to the new Second Regiment.

"The specifics were not elaborated upon. The officer only mentioned that the New Third Regiment was responsible for the Japanese troops in the Fu'an direction, while the New First Regiment was responsible for the Shuiquan direction."

"However, Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment is quite special. Judging from the telegram, Commander Chen wants to take Anqiu at the same time."

"Does the Grand Commander have such a big appetite? And can the Independent Regiment take Anqiu on its own?" Luo Ping took the telegram.

They've been fighting the Japanese for so many years, and the Eighth Route Army has captured quite a few county towns.

However, it was somewhat unusual for a single regiment to capture a heavily defended county town.

"The military region should arrange a few artillery pieces to assist the independent regiment," Chen Chengxing said.

"According to intelligence, the force that attacked our Dayunshan base from Anqiu was the Luye Brigade."

"When they retreated, they did not return to Anqiu, but went directly back to Xifen via Luyang."

"Currently, the Japanese troops inside Anqiu City should only consist of a reinforced infantry company and a garrison battalion."

"At most, add some traitors from the detective squad and the night raid squad," Chen Chengxing added.

"That's not right either. The Independent Regiment suffered considerable casualties during its large-scale mopping-up operation," Luo Ping said.

Even though there was only one reinforced company of Japanese soldiers, along with the garrison and some traitors in Anqiu City.

But these people number at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.

How many men would the Independent Regiment need to take Anqiu?

There are still many strongholds on the outskirts of Anqiu, and these Japanese and puppet troops add up to several hundred.

"Old Luo, you don't understand my old comrade-in-arms at all," Chen Chengxing said with a smile.

"This kid is not only good at causing trouble, but he's also very good at developing troops."

"Otherwise, given the mistakes he's made, he should be executed eight hundred times over."

"This is truly remarkable. An independent regiment, in just two years, has already managed to capture a county town," Luo Ping exclaimed.

The Independent Regiment is quite different from the original Second Regiment.

Since crossing the river to join the battle, the New Second Regiment has never suffered a defeat.

Even after several large-scale mopping-up operations, the Japanese did not gain any advantage.

"Forget about Li Yunlong for now, the new Second Regiment is the main character this time."

Chen Chengxing took the map from Xu Wu.

Now that the military region has decided to remove the Japanese invaders' tentacles that have penetrated deep into northwestern Shanxi.

The plans for the new Second Regiment will have to be changed accordingly.

In response to the telegram sent by the military region, Chen Chengxing marked numerous red circles on the map.

These red circles indicate either pillboxes or strongholds.

According to the military region's telegram, all units will launch simultaneous attacks in these locations.

Even the artillery of the military region's artillery regiments would be split up and distributed among various units to assist in the attack.

Looking at the offensive map, Luo Ping was somewhat taken aback.

"Our military region has such strength now? To be able to stage such a grand spectacle?"

The few words in the telegram didn't reveal much at first.

However, after marking them one by one on the map, it can be found that the battles were spread throughout the entire northwestern Shanxi region.

If the military region's plan is followed, the entire northwestern Shanxi region will be thrown into chaos.

Moreover, in addition to the Jin-Northwest Military Region, the base areas in Jin-North, Jin-Cha-Ji, and Taihang Mountains may also have their forces mobilized.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the various units usually keep a low profile. I estimate that the total strength of the entire Jin-Northwest Military Region, including the county brigades and guerrillas, definitely exceeds 10 people."

Chen Chengxing had some understanding of the development of the Eighth Route Army.

After all, by 1945, the Eighth Route Army had more than 900,000 regular troops, more than 2 million militiamen, and tens of millions of self-defense troops.

Even now, the number of officially designated Eighth Route Army units certainly exceeds 50.

Chu Yunfei, who was standing to the side, stared wide-eyed when he heard Chen Chengxing say that the Jin-Northwest Military Region alone had more than 10 troops.

When he led the 358th Regiment to Dagushan, he thought that with his reinforced regiment, he would be able to stir up trouble in northwestern Shanxi.

Now it seems I was being a bit narrow-minded.

The Eighth Route Army's ability to organize its troops was truly terrifying.

Luckily, I was also a member of the Eighth Route Army!
Chu Yunfei straightened his hat.

"The plan is now very clear," Chen Chengxing said, pointing to the map.

“There are people in charge of the Japanese troops in the strongholds to the north, west and south of Ping'an County.”

"The mission of the New Second Regiment, in addition to Ping'an County and the nearby strongholds, is to block Japanese reinforcements from Wuyi County, Xinkou, Luyang, and even Taiyuan."

Upon hearing Chen Chengxing's words, everyone's expressions turned serious.

The Japanese soldiers in these places are not so easy to mess with.

According to intelligence, the Japanese troops in these areas are from the 4th Division, a Class A division.

"Commander, has the military region provided us with any support?" Chu Yunfei asked.

"We can take Ping'an County on our own, but if we face the Fourth Division, we may not be a match for them."

It's not that simple for a Class A division to be able to overpower an entire army corps of the Kuomintang.

"The military region's special operations regiment will assist the newly formed 2nd Regiment in attacking Ping'an County," Chen Chengxing said. "As for the 4th Division, I already have a contingency plan."

The Fourth Division is now doing very well in business with the New Second Regiment, and even the entire Jin-Sui Military Region.

They probably wouldn't choose to fight the Eighth Route Army to the death.

Of course, no matter who the Fourth Division chooses, Chen Chengxing has to be prepared.

The 4th Division was a mechanized unit, and its original mules and horses had all been replaced by trucks.

This meant that the 4th Division had no choice but to proceed along the highway, otherwise supplies would not be able to keep up.

Therefore, the confrontation with the 4th Division mainly focused on raids and mine warfare.

"Xu Wu!" Chen Chengxing straightened up after estimating the combat strength.

"To!"

Apart from Xu Wu, everyone else in the regimental headquarters also stood at attention.

"Make a note of this."

"The 3rd Battalion plus the Independent Regiment will reinforce the defense line in the direction of Heyanggou and block reinforcements from the directions of Luyang and Taiyuan."

"The First Battalion, the Second Battalion, the Military Region Special Service Regiment, plus the Independent Second and Third Regiments, and the Independent Artillery Battalion, will encircle Ping'an County."

"The Independent Fourth Regiment and three county brigades set up positions in the Yujialing area to block reinforcements from the direction of Wuyi County."

"The Fifth Regiment and the Cavalry Battalion will serve as the general reserve force and will operate together with the regimental headquarters."

"In addition, local troops were ordered to lay mines along the highways."

"The density must be high. Take out all our assets and bury them all."

"Also, order the engineering battalion to prepare to bury explosives on all bridges in areas where Japanese reinforcements might pass, and be ready to demolish them!"

Xu Wu, who was frantically taking notes, suddenly froze.

"Huh? All the bridges? Are we still going or not?"

"I said prepare first! Wait until the Japanese are close before drawing the bowstring," Chen Chengxing said.

The 4th Division is an enigmatic unit; who knows what choices they will make?

If we take our time clearing the mines, we'll wait until they arrive and then blow up the bridges one by one.

If the 4th Division deviates from its usual approach and chooses to advance rapidly, then we'll have no choice but to bomb it all first.

"Yes." Xu Wu quickly wrote it down.

"Sir! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Sanlei, the battalion commander of the puppet army in Ping'an County, scrambled into the military police headquarters.

"According to reports from the garrison troops, a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers have appeared around the county town!"

"They were numerous and well-equipped, with a full range of light and heavy machine guns and mortars."

"It looks like they're planning to attack the county seat!"

The outer defenses of Ping'an County were mainly the responsibility of the puppet army.

Therefore, the puppet troops on guard duty immediately reported to Zhao Sanlei upon seeing the Eighth Route Army troops.

"The Eighth Route Army? Why would the Eighth Route Army suddenly attack Ping'an County?" Takeshita Shun frowned deeply.

Ping'an County has strong fortifications. How dare those few guns of the Eighth Route Army come to Ping'an County?
"How many people are there?" asked Naoshi Takeda, the military police captain standing nearby.

"I don't know the exact number, but the military reports that the woods and hillsides outside are packed with people, probably tens of thousands."

"Moreover, these Eighth Route Army soldiers were all wearing military uniforms, and they looked like a field army unit no matter how you looked at them."

Zhao Sanlei wiped the sweat from his forehead.

With so many Eighth Route Army soldiers, a small county like Ping'an probably can't withstand them.

Moreover, with the Japanese watching him, he couldn't surrender even if he wanted to.

"Tens of thousands?!" Takeda Naoshi's expression changed drastically.

An army of tens of thousands of people is at least a division-level unit.

At this level, artillery is almost certainly present.

This means that the fortifications in Ping'an County are not so safe.

"Order the troops to move into position immediately!" Naoshi Takeda commanded.

Regardless of what the Eighth Route Army outside is doing.

The city defense forces of Ping'an County must be fully prepared.

"Hey! I'm going right now." Zhao Sanlei hurriedly ran out again.

"Colonel Takeshita, the situation is tense. I wonder if you could send a telegram to General Shinotsuka requesting tactical guidance?"

Of course, Takeda Naoshi could also use the name of the Heian County City Defense Commander to send a telegram to his superiors.

However, compared to Takeshita Shun, his words clearly carried less weight.

“Takeda-kun, if we send a message now, it might not be possible to explain the situation to our superiors.” Takeshita Shun shook his head.

The Eighth Route Army has not yet begun its attack on the city, and no one knows how the battle will turn out.

If the Eighth Route Army's plan is to besiege a point and attack reinforcements, or to launch a feint attack in one direction while striking in another.

Easily deploying troops could lead to other problems.

"Well, Colonel, I'll go check out the front lines first. I'll leave this to you," Takeda Naoshi said helplessly.

Naoshi Takeda certainly knew that Shun Takeshita was right, but his thoughts differed from Shun Takeshita's.

Naoshi Takeda was, after all, the commander of the defense of Heian County, and protecting Heian County was his mission.

Other situations were not within his consideration.

However, since Takeshita Shun is not cooperating, there's nothing he can do.

(End of this chapter)