Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 654 Why is Your Excellency laughing?

"I am Li Yunlong, the commander of the First Regiment of the Eighth Route Army. Fellow villagers, listen to me."

Seeing that the people were about to blow themselves up to make way, Li Yunlong spoke loudly through a megaphone, his distinctive voice reaching the ears of every citizen.

"Everyone stay still, I'll have the soldiers clear the mines for you!"

"We have tanks and big trucks, we'll catch up with the Japanese devils soon, and then we won't let a single one of them get away!"

Of course, Commander Li was still very cautious, sitting in a tank and not showing himself.

If there were Japanese spies among the civilians, and one of them were shot in the back, that would be a real disaster.

Now, Li Yunlong's head is worth 1000 million silver dollars to the Japanese.

Ten million silver dollars could roughly fund about six divisions for the Nationalist army.

"Commander Li, you've finally arrived..."

Some ordinary people burst into tears, for the people of Taiyuan had suffered under the Japanese invaders for too long.

Immediately, Li Yunlong grabbed the walkie-talkie and issued the order:

"The Sharp Sword Commando Team and the reconnaissance battalion immediately stepped forward to clear the mines for the villagers!"

"Be careful, there might be enemy spies inside!"

"Commander, should the infantry bypass and pursue the Japanese?"

Chen Ziyuan, the first corps commander of the new regiment, asked, his eyes filled with a crazy killing intent, wishing he could rush up and shoot the Japanese devils wildly.

Coercing ordinary people and planting landmines under their bodies—only a beast would do such a thing.

"No rush!" Li Yunlong said calmly. "The Japanese have definitely laid mines on the road. Let the mine-clearing vehicles clear the way after the Sharp Sword Assault Team and the reconnaissance battalion finish their work, so that the soldiers can conserve their energy."

"Don't worry, the Japanese can't escape. I have already ordered the troops in the Jinzhong base area to intercept the Japanese in the Shouyang and Yangquan areas."

"Yes!" Chen Ziyuan waited patiently.

Mine clearance is a specialty of the Sharp Sword Squadron and the Reconnaissance Battalion.

More than an hour later, the Sharp Sword Squadron and the reconnaissance battalion finally completed their mission, and thousands of civilians were rescued.

The Japanese soldiers were reluctant to use grenades, so only a little over a thousand civilians had grenades buried beneath them.

Li Yunlong immediately arranged for a company to escort the civilians back to Taiyuan.

As Li Yunlong passed by the local people, he looked out through the observation window of the tank and saw that all the people on both sides of the road were kowtowing and thanking the Eighth Route Army.

The company commander in charge of escorting the team back to Taiyuan was startled and quickly led his soldiers to exchange blows with the local people.

This scene left the ordinary people completely bewildered, and they all looked at each other in confusion.

Li Yunlong smiled slightly. This company commander was interesting. Upon asking, he learned that it was Wang Yousheng again.

"Fellow villagers, please get up. We, the Eighth Route Army, are the people's army and cannot accept such a grand gesture from you. Please rest assured."

Immediately, Li Yunlong spoke loudly through a megaphone in a fierce tone:
"I, Li Yunlong, assure you, will definitely twist off Yoshio Shinotsuka's head to appease the spirits of the soldiers and civilians of Shanxi who were killed by the Japanese devils!"

The villagers then stood up and watched as tanks and trucks drove off in the direction the Japanese soldiers were fleeing.

Seeing the tanks, trucks, and elite soldiers, the people immediately felt a strong sense of security.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man rushed towards the M4 tank where Li Yunlong was located from the crowd of civilians.

"Gnawing and chewing..."

The sound of an M2 heavy machine gun rang out, and the man was instantly cleaved in two by the machine gun fire. Then, his entire body suddenly exploded, and blood and flesh rained down.

It was obvious that this man was a Japanese spy, strapped with explosives and preparing to kill Li Yunlong, but he was killed by a heavy machine gun.

The troops successfully crossed the highway and continued their pursuit. Not long after, Wang Hongcai, the reconnaissance battalion commander, reported to Li Yunlong over the radio: "Reporting to the regimental commander!" Back when Li Yunlong led the New First Regiment across the Yellow River, Wang Hongcai was Li Yunlong's reconnaissance squad leader.

Now he is the battalion commander and head of the reconnaissance section of the new regiment. After studying "How to Train a Reconnaissance Soldier" provided by Boss Lin, his reconnaissance skills have become superb, and he has trained a large number of reconnaissance soldiers.

"A Japanese cavalry unit has been spotted heading towards the Guangyang Highway. Should we send a unit to pursue them?"

The hoofprints of the Japanese soldiers and the droppings of their horses could not be hidden from the reconnaissance soldiers of the New First Regiment.

Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes and asked into the walkie-talkie, "How many Japanese cavalry are there?"

Reconnaissance Battalion Commander Wang Hongcai immediately replied: "Judging from the hoofprints, the Japanese cavalry number nearly 3000, roughly the size of two cavalry regiments. Should we send troops to pursue them?"

Li Yunlong carefully calculated that there was a Japanese infantry regiment lying in ambush on the Guangyang Highway.

In this way, there were approximately 6000 Japanese soldiers covering Yoshio Shinotsuka's escape from Guangyang Highway.

The newly formed cavalry column, which was lying in ambush on the Guangyang Highway, also numbered approximately 8000 men.

Although the cavalry column had 6000 riders, cavalry was not very useful on the main battlefield. Therefore, Li Yunlong handed over the Independent Brigade and the column's cavalry battalion to Ma Renxing and took them to the Guangyang Highway to ambush them.

They have the advantage in both manpower and firepower.

"No need!" Li Yunlong said, narrowing his eyes. "We'll continue our advance along the Zhengtai Railway and pursue the main Japanese force!"

Reconnaissance Battalion: "Yes, sir!"

Not long after, the 129th Division sent a telegram saying that the Japanese troops of the North China Area Army had gone mad and had launched a frenzied attack on the positions of the 386th Brigade at Jiuguan with the 10th and 12th Class A Divisions.

The main force of the 129th Division has already reinforced Jiuguan, which has now become a meat grinder for the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese.

Li Yunlong knew that the New First Regiment had to deal with the First Army as soon as possible.

After a period of rest and reorganization, he led his troops into the North China Plain, looking for an opportunity to annihilate the 10th and 12th Divisions and strengthen his forces.

Otherwise, if the 129th Division crippled these two divisions and left only scraps for itself, it wouldn't be very satisfying.

As night fell, Yoshio Shinotsuka led two cavalry regiments, which joined forces with the infantry regiment, and without a moment's rest, continued their escape along the Guangyang Highway towards eastern Shanxi.

"General." Kuroshima Morita rode up to Shinotsuka Yoshio and bowed to report, "The scout cavalry sent a telegram saying they did not find any Eighth Route Army pursuers."

"Understood." Yoshio Shinotsuka nodded.

“Strange,” Kuroshima Morita said with a puzzled tone. “With such a large cavalry force marching towards Guangyang Highway, it’s impossible for the Eighth Route Army’s scouts to discover our whereabouts. Why didn’t Li Yunlong send pursuers?”

“It’s very simple.” Yoshio Shinotsuka narrowed his eyes and said, “Because Li Yunlong’s target is me, the commander of the First Army.”

"What the general means is," Kuroshima Morita said with a hint of realization, "that Li Yunlong judges you to still be breaking out along the Zhengtai Road with the main force?"

"So they didn't send troops to pursue us?"

“That’s right.” Yoshio Shinotsuka nodded. “As for our cavalry, the Eighth Route Army only needs to send out a few dozen planes early tomorrow morning to inflict heavy losses on us. Therefore, we must cross the Guangyang Highway before dawn and reach the Xiyang area to find woods to hide in.”

"Li Yunlong is too cunning," Kuroshima Morita quickly flattered, "but he's still not as good as General Li."

“Of course.” Yoshio Shinotsuka said indignantly, “If it weren’t for the fact that Li Yunlong had someone backing him up with weapons and ammunition, he and the New First Regiment would have been wiped out by the locust army of my First Army long ago.”

At around 3 a.m., Yoshio Shinotsuka led two cavalry regiments on a long run and finally arrived in the Guangyang area.

As for the infantry regiment that was supposed to provide support, it had already been left dozens of kilometers behind.

Looking at the treacherous terrain on both sides of Guangyang, Yoshio Shinotsuka suddenly burst out laughing.

"Why is Your Excellency laughing?"

The sudden laughter startled Kuroshima Morita.

(End of this chapter)