Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 48 An uproar

Chapter 48: An Uproar

"Excuse me!"

"Latest battle report from yesterday! The Eighth Route Army joined forces with the Shanxi Jinsui Army, and all the soldiers of the army shared the same hatred and defeated more than 7,000 Japanese troops!"

"Promote our national prestige!"

On the streets of major cities, people are rushing to buy today's newspapers.

"Give me one!"

"Don't rush, don't rush. Everyone gets a share."

"We have annihilated seven thousand enemies! This is our first major victory since the incident!"

In the streets, people were discussing this matter.

"Look, the young general Wang Feng is leading his troops in a surprise attack."

"He's so young, it's true that heroes emerge from youth!"

Since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army has been rampant in all parts of China. Wherever the army passed, local officials fled like birds and beasts.

The argument of national destruction and genocide is rampant in society.

The Pingxingguan victory was a rare great victory. Yan Laoxi waved his hand and directly sent the battle report to the whole country.

For a time, the whole country was excited, and the masses took to the streets to march and demonstrate, and the wave of calls for national resistance to the war reached its peak.

Fanzhi.

Second Theater Command.

Unlike the bustling scene outside, the theater headquarters was deserted at this time.

The Japanese army broke through Ruyuekou!

Fanzhi was directly transformed from the rear area to the front line, and the entire theater command was in danger.

Before reporting the Pingxingguan victory to the whole country, Commander Yan had already issued a clear order to retreat.

The entire army withdrew to the Xinkou line in an orderly manner.

The defense line was reorganized here to fight against the Japanese invasion.

Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

Old Yan sat on the chair, his previous worry and fatigue gone, replaced by ease and joy.

The Pingxingguan victory annihilated more than 7,000 enemies.

But it’s the real deal, seven thousand.

This is different from the previous small-scale publicity of Wang Feng’s achievements in infiltrating behind enemy lines.

This large-scale electricity supply was for millions of people across the country, and Yan Laoxi did not deliberately dilute it.

The more enemies we annihilate, the better.

Otherwise the data would not match the data publicized by the Eighth Route Army.

Whoever publicizes the greater victory will be more embarrassed!
"Cui Ya, this battle was such a great victory, all thanks to your 33rd Army."

Yan Laoxi curled up the corner of his mouth into a smile and looked at Sun Chu who was sitting opposite him.

Sun Chu stood up quickly and said, "The reason why we were able to annihilate more than 7,000 Japanese invaders in this battle was all thanks to the wise command of the Marshal. We were just following orders!"

Facing the deliberate flattery, Yan Laoxi's smile became even brighter: "In the next East-West Xinkou Campaign, I hope you will do your best to drive the Japanese out of Shanxi as soon as possible!"

Sun Chu bowed slightly: "Thank you for your appreciation, Marshal!"

The smile on Yan Laoxi's face gradually faded, and he began to talk about business: "What is the situation of the temporary first brigade?"

Sun Chu kept a straight face and spoke as calmly as possible so that Commander Yan would not notice anything unusual. "According to the reports from below, the Temporary 1st Brigade suffered heavy losses, with more than half of the troops reduced, and weapons and ammunition are seriously lacking."

After hearing this, Yan Laoxi frowned slightly.

I began to think about rewarding people based on their merits.

The 17th Army is the Central Army, and the 115th Division is the Eighth Route Army, so let’s not compare them together for now.

Guo Zongfen suddenly retreated in the middle of the battle.

Despite what they said, it was because they had run out of ammunition and food and had no reinforcements.

What is feasible is to escape from the battlefield.

Although Yan Laoxi can choose not to pursue his specific responsibility, he has to step back a little when it comes to rewarding people for their contributions.

The only ones left were Chu Yunfei and Wang Feng's troops.

The 358th Regiment fought well. All the soldiers in the regiment fought to the last moment, buying precious time for the roundabout operation of the rear troops.

Although Chu Yunfei was an officer of the Whampoa Military Academy, his hometown was Wutai, Shanxi.

He is from the same hometown as Yan Laoxi.

No reward is too much.

But Wang Feng was in a difficult situation.

As a rising new general in the military, his level of command and combat ability is unquestionable.

Judging from the current situation, he is much stronger than the group of senior staff surrounding him.

Now that the battle of Xinkou is about to begin, it is the time to use people.

Yan Laoxi was reluctant to waste such a brave general, but how to use him became a problem.

If you give too little, you're afraid of being disappointed; if you give too much, you're afraid that they won't grow strong enough, and in the end, both your efforts will be in vain.

Sun Chu was quick-witted and had been secretly observing Yan Laoxi's expression. He saw that the time was right and said, "Marshal, there are currently no vacancies in the army. Why not follow the example of the 358th Regiment and temporarily set up an elite reinforcement brigade."

"What do you think?"

Yan Laoxi pondered secretly: "Elite Reinforced Brigade"

Sun Chu struck while the iron was hot: "Yes, for such a great achievement, Wang Feng should be promoted to a higher military rank."

"But he is now a major general. If he is promoted again, he will be a lieutenant general."

"But there are no vacancies in the division-level organization at the moment, so it would be better to upgrade his temporary 1st Brigade to an elite reinforced brigade."

"There is no need to promote military rank, nor to use up an extra vacant position."

After listening to Sun Chu's explanation, Yan Laoxi's eyes lit up.

good idea!
Sun Chu saw that there was a play, and continued: "General, I think this alone is not enough to convince the people."

"We should allocate some more weapons and supplies to the Temporary 1st Brigade."

This sentence directly hit Yan Laoxi's heart: "Weapons and supplies?"

As he spoke, his brows knitted together.

Sun Chu explained: "Yes, the rifles used by our Jinsui Army and the rifles used by the Central Army are completely different calibers."

"Bullets are not universal."

"The weapons of the Temporary First Brigade are very mixed. If the entire unit is equipped with our Jin weapons, even if Wang Feng surrenders to the Nanjing government, the logistics will be a big problem."

"Wang Feng is a smart man and will weigh the pros and cons."

After this explanation, Yan Laoxi's brows gradually relaxed.

The 1st Temporary Brigade became dependent on the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's logistical supply system, so it would be unable to leave even if it wanted to.

"Cui Ya, that makes sense. That makes sense!"

The Zhongzheng or Hanyang rifles equipped by the Central Army have a caliber of 7.92 mm.

The Type 65 rifle made in Jin has the same caliber as that of the Japanese army.

That is the 6.5mm rifle bullet.

If Wang Feng really surrendered to the Nanjing government, the supply problem of one or two thousand people could be solved by seizing spoils.

But it is difficult to fundamentally solve the problem of supplying five or six thousand people unless we attack the Japanese arsenal every day.

Yan Laoxi stood up and paced back and forth in the room. After thinking for a while, he made up his mind: "Allocate 5,000 rifles, 12 mortars, 100 light machine guns, and 50 heavy machine guns to the First Temporary Brigade."

"800,000 rounds of bullets and 50,000 grenades."

"Allow another 3,000 men from the reserve to immediately reinforce the temporary brigade."

Hearing the string of numbers, Sun Chu was suddenly shocked.

Before coming, he had assumed that Commander Yan would be more generous this time, but he did not expect that he would give so much.

"On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the First Brigade, I would like to thank the Marshal!"

The telegram was quickly sent from the Second War Zone Command.

A temporary trip.

Wang Feng sat in the chair, looking at the telegram handed over by Zhao Fangyuan, and his heart could not calm down for a long time.

"You said that our Taiyuan Arsenal has purchased new equipment?"

Zhao Fangyuan was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Wang Feng meant.

Compared with the series of weapons numbers in the telegram, Wang Feng was more concerned about the last point.

[According to the Second Theater Command, the Temporary 1st Brigade will be upgraded from an ordinary infantry brigade to an elite reinforced brigade. ]

"Elite reinforcement."

Wang Feng kept repeating the words in the telegram.

It seems like there are a lot of articles to write about.

Troops numbered with [Elite Strengthened] are all temporary special units.

It is an organization that is not recorded by the Military and Political Department of the Nanjing Government.

Although it lacks orthodoxy, it is more feasible.

At present, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has not had clear regulations on this so-called elite reinforced force.

"That means it can be expanded at will."

Wang Feng instantly grasped the essence of it.

Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment has a battalion of two thousand people.

Li Yunlong's independent regiment expanded to 10,000 people when attacking Ping'an County.

"There's a role model in front of me, so I have to learn from it!"