Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 148 Thousands of miles of attack
However, as the Japanese troops withdrew, although the territory they occupied was smaller, the number of troops in each stronghold increased.

Although the Japanese devils are like grasshoppers in autumn, they won't be able to jump around for many more days.

But even a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

Fortunately, not every city had more than a regiment of Japanese soldiers stationed there; many counties still had a battalion of soldiers stationed there.

However, just as Wang Gensheng was preparing to take action against the Japanese in the surrounding counties, a telegram disrupted his plans.

This telegram was sent from the Eighth Route Army command.

The telegram contained very simple information: it was intelligence from the local Communist Party that there were quite a few Japanese cavalry stationed in Baotou, so if Wang Gensheng wanted to expand his cavalry, going there would undoubtedly be the best option.

Of course, this information was also obtained by the command department at Wang Gensheng's request.

There was no way around it; ever since the Wanjia Town incident, both the puppet troops and the Japanese cavalry had gradually decreased in number.

Especially after Wang Gensheng almost completely annihilated the Kuroshima Morita Cavalry Regiment during the great sweep, there were no decent cavalry units left in northwestern Shanxi.

They only had a few horses for communication, so if Wang Gensheng wanted to expand the special cavalry regiment, he could only ask the command for help to find out where the Japanese had a large number of warhorses.

Although the Japanese army built up a cavalry force of nearly 300,000 during World War II, this was insignificant compared to their more than 3 million infantrymen. The ratio was ten to one. In addition, considering the attrition of the cavalry, it would not be so easy for Wang Gensheng to obtain a large number of cavalry nearby.

However, Baotou is more than 500 kilometers away from Wang Gensheng's location, and traveling thousands of miles is no easy task.

Don't be fooled by the fact that in ancient times, urgent courier services could arrive in a single day with ease.

But in reality, that's because the ancient urgent delivery system of 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers) did have post stations.

That's what made the urgent 800-li delivery possible, even though the speed of warhorses could reach 60, 70, or even 80 kilometers per hour.

However, such high speed cannot be maintained for long periods of time; at most, it can only be maintained for fifteen minutes. If the time is too long, the warhorse will die from overheating due to excessive body temperature.

This is why in ancient times, a post station was basically established every thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers). This allowed the horses to be constantly changed so that they could maintain a continuous sprinting speed without stopping.

However, Wang Gensheng's journey to Baotou was not as urgent as it could have been done with a courier.

How could there possibly be a large number of warhorses available for Wang Gensheng to replace along the way?
If Wang Gensheng really existed, there would be no need to go to Baotou to get warhorses.

So by hiding during the day and traveling at night, it took Wang Gensheng three whole days to reach Baotou.

Of course, the journey was not without its challenges, as one had to cross a formidable natural barrier to reach Baotou, which was none other than the Yellow River.

Fortunately, this natural barrier wasn't too difficult for Wang Gensheng to cross, because when he went there, the Yellow River was already frozen over. Although it hadn't snowed yet, the cold weather still kept the river frozen. Of course, crossing the frozen Yellow River wasn't easy either. For Wang Gensheng and the other soldiers who knew how to ski, crossing the frozen Yellow River was like skiing.

But it's not good for horses. A slight mishap could cause them to split over, which is a minor issue. The worst thing would be to break a horse's leg, which would mean the horse is finished.

Wang Gensheng naturally had a solution for this: tying thick cotton cloth to the four hooves would provide some anti-slip effect.

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Of course, Baotou has now been occupied by the Japanese, so Wang Gensheng naturally cannot launch a large-scale attack. Moreover, according to the information, there are no Japanese cavalry in Baotou, so there is no way to obtain Japanese cavalry by attacking Baotou.

Nevertheless, Wang Gensheng still entered Baotou City, because this was the place where the local party agreed to exchange intelligence. So, according to the agreement, Wang Gensheng entered a restaurant in Baotou City and asked the owner:
Do you sell thoroughbred horses here?

"Yes, yes, as long as you can eat a whole horse, we have plenty for sale!"

Upon hearing the shop owner's reply, Wang Gensheng knew that this was a member of the local Communist Party. However, before Wang Gensheng could speak, the shop owner's party member led him into the inner room and said:
"The guide has been arranged; we'll take you there now!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gensheng immediately followed the comrade who was leading the way out of Baotou City.

Under the leadership of the local party comrades, Wang Gensheng's cavalry regiment successfully located the Japanese cavalry's encampment.

However, a tricky thing is that, according to the local party intelligence comrade, a cavalry regiment is stationed here, with more than 3,000 people, which is equivalent to the number of a Japanese infantry regiment.

In fact, in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Japanese cavalry regiments were not just this small. In the early stages of the war, the cavalry regiments not only had two cavalry regiments, but also a cavalry artillery regiment and an armored vehicle convoy, with a total strength of more than 5,000 people.

However, with the war escalating to this point, especially with the unfavorable battles in the Pacific theater, a large number of soldiers had been sent away. In addition, there was a shortage of fuel, and there was no way to deal with it since there were no oil fields in the country. Therefore, the Japanese armored vehicles were practically useless.

Therefore, the number of people in this cavalry regiment has been reduced again and again, and now it only retains two cavalry regiments, with a scale of more than 3,000 people.

Wang Gensheng observed from a distance with binoculars, and sure enough, these Japanese soldiers really did have a knack for adapting to local customs.

Upon arriving on this grassland, people have actually started staying in tents, and the tents in the campsite actually look quite proper.

Wang Gensheng just didn't understand why the Japanese soldiers were staying in tents.
Why build a wooden fence around the camp? Well, it's good this way. At least Wang Gensheng won't have to worry about the Japanese soldiers scattering and running away when they take action at night.

In fact, Wang Gensheng understood why the Japanese soldiers, even though they lived in tents, still had to build a fence around their camp. Without a fence, if the enemy launched a cavalry charge, the Japanese soldiers would be thrown into chaos.

Without wooden fences, even with sentries, the Japanese wouldn't have time to react if a cavalryman charged. But with these wooden fences, they could at least withstand the enemy's charge.

After all, the Japanese had not yet gained complete control of the area; the Ma clan's army was still putting up resistance!
However, since there was a wooden fence, Wang Gensheng couldn't just launch a cavalry charge directly, so he had to resort to a nighttime raid.

After nightfall, Wang Gensheng led the cavalry assault team, which had already dismounted, to quietly approach the Japanese cavalry brigade's encampment.

(End of this chapter)