Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 251 A crushing defeat!
Although Li Yunlong's side was surrounded by the Yoshino Brigade.

But how to find out if the Jin-Sui Army came out, in which direction they were, and when Li Yunlong should go out? Li Yunlong actually left a backup plan outside.

When Li Yunlong saw a signal flare fired from behind the Yoshino Regiment, he knew it was time to go out and also knew which direction the Jin-Sui Army was in.

Li Yunlong immediately gathered Ding Wei, Gao Liujin, and Gao Xigang together and got straight to the point: "You all saw the signal flare, right?"

"Yes, I saw it." Gao Liujin nodded excitedly first. "The signal flares are going off, that means the Jin-Sui Army has come out, it's time for us to go out."

Playing the fool in this Japanese encirclement is too boring for Gao Liujin.

It's more satisfying to rush out and kill the Japanese devils.

"Our repeated feigned breakouts have allowed us to figure out the Yoshino Regiment's firepower configuration and weaknesses in their encirclement." Li Yunlong pointed to the map in front of him and said, "The breakout plan is simple: we concentrate our superior artillery fire and launch a direct artillery barrage to break through their weak points. Then the Japanese will definitely pursue us. So!"

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, then continued, "Being entangled and pursued by 10,000 Japanese soldiers from the Yoshino Regiment is still quite troublesome. Therefore, we need to join forces with the Jin-Sui Army, but!"

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, then continued, "But we can't let Yan Kai come along. Otherwise, once they take Yan Kai, they'll most likely withdraw immediately, and we can't let them withdraw. So!"

"So that's how we did it. After breaking through, Lao Ding and Gao Xigang took Yan Kai to another place, while Gao Liujin and I led the team towards the Jin-Sui Army. Once we joined forces with the Jin-Sui Army, I would have them continue fighting together until the Japanese troops were exhausted. That would be the time for us to rush towards Taiyuan."

"Okay, let's do it this way." Everyone agreed with Li Yunlong's plan. After briefly discussing a few details, the team immediately got to work.

boom!
boom!
boom!
……

The Hell Cannon roared first, its powerful destructive force instantly shattering the Yoshino Brigade's forward positions.

Then the Type 92 infantry guns were used to clear out the Japanese firing positions.

Grenade launchers and mortars, along with light and heavy machine guns, swept away any remaining isolated firepower.

Li Yunlong's powerful attack directly broke a large hole in the Yoshino Brigade's encirclement.

This caught the regimental commander, Yoshino, off guard: "Damn it! When that signal flare was fired from behind me into the encirclement, I knew it was bad news. I never expected it! I really never expected it! The Eighth Route Army was just pretending to be surrounded! How despicable! Hold on! Hold on! Use all the poison gas! Use the rest!"

Unfortunately, Captain Yoshino didn't have many poison gas grenades to begin with, and he had used them up quite a bit in his previous fight with Li Yunlong.

Although the remaining poison gas grenades were all fired, they were not enough to seal the gap in the encirclement.

Commander Yoshino could only watch helplessly as Li Yunlong's troops filed out of the breach.

When the artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army came pouring down, the Japanese troops of the Yoshino Regiment had no choice but to flee in panic.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Li Yunlong and his troops rushed out of the encirclement.

"Commander, the Eighth Route Army is moving closer to the Jin-Sui Army," a Japanese officer urgently warned. "If they join forces with the Jin-Sui Army, things could get very bad. The Eighth Route Army has such powerful artillery; if they become the vanguard of the Jin-Sui Army, the Jin-Sui Army will be in a very advantageous position, and that will be troublesome."

Although the Jin-Sui Army was not particularly tough, it was still quite effective when the tide was on its favor.

Just like before, Li Yunlong pretended to be besieged in Heyuan County, and the Jin-Sui Army launched an attack.

At that time, the Imperial Army's supply lines were attacked, and they had little ammunition and supplies left. The Imperial Army's combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. The Jin-Sui Army was winning the battle at the time, but it inflicted heavy casualties on the Imperial Army.

Now, if the Eighth Route Army and the Jin-Sui Army join forces, and the Eighth Route Army's artillery is used as the vanguard for the Jin-Sui Army, that would not be a good thing at all.

"Baka! Chase them! Chase them right now! Keep them occupied and don't let them get close to the Jin-Sui Army!" Regiment Commander Yoshino hurriedly ordered his troops to give chase. At the same time, he was also yelling, "Send a telegram to Brigade Commander Kawashima immediately and tell them that the Eighth Route Army that we surrounded has broken out and is heading in their direction."

"Hayi!"

The troops under the command of the Yoshino Regiment immediately began to pursue Li Yunlong's forces.

But the idea was grand, while the reality was harsh.

With Li Yunlong's powerful artillery and the occasional bouncing mines, the Yoshino Regiment's troops were ultimately unable to hold off Li Yunlong's forces.

Taking advantage of the Japanese being suppressed, Ding Wei and Gao Xigang took Yan Kai and went elsewhere.

Of course, Yan Kai was still unwilling to cooperate.

Knowing that the Jin-Sui Army had emerged, Yan Kai also wanted to join forces with them.

It's really not safe to stay with this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers.

However, Yan Kai was no match for Ding Wei, and he was eventually dragged away by Ding Wei.

Ding Wei and Gao Xigang successfully led Yan Kai away, while Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin fought their way back, quickly moving towards the Jin-Sui Army.

……

"Push them up! Push them up with all your might!"

Major General Kawashima led his entire brigade in a fierce attack on the rear of the Jin-Sui Army.

The rearguard of the Jin-Sui Army could not hold out and retreated continuously.

Major General Kawashima did not slow down the offensive; instead, he ordered his troops to press on.

Once the Jin-Sui Army's lines are breached, like a sharp knife splitting them in two, the Jin-Sui Army's morale will quickly collapse.

With morale collapsing, Major General Kawashima could end the battle sooner and return to Division Commander Kumamoto's unit. However, just as Major General Kawashima was fighting fiercely, a communications soldier rushed over and handed him a newly arrived telegram: "Brigade Commander, an urgent telegram has arrived from Regiment Commander Yoshino."

An urgent telegram arrived from the Yoshino United team!

Upon hearing this, Major General Kawashima immediately felt a sense of unease.

Could it be that the Eighth Route Army troops trapped by the Yoshino Brigade have escaped?

If that's the case, then the situation is likely to undergo a new change.

Major General Kawashima quickly grabbed the urgent telegram and looked at it.

"Damn it! These Eighth Route Army soldiers were just pretending to be surrounded by the Yoshino Brigade. They're rushing this way now!" After reading the contents of the urgent telegram, Major General Kawashima angrily tore it to shreds.

"Brigade Commander, what should we do now? Should we continue attacking the Jin-Sui Army, or should we withdraw first?" A staff officer asked Major General Kawashima.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers who came from the Yoshino Regiment are not to be trifled with.

When they captured the Yanzhen Arsenal, they replenished their artillery with a large number of pieces and inflicted heavy losses on our 29th Brigade.

Now that they're coming again, it wouldn't be a wise move for us to confront them head-on.

"Baka! Retreating is just being afraid of those Eighth Route Army guerrillas!" Major General Kawashima spat all over his staff officer's face. "When have our Imperial Army ever been afraid! With our brigade, the reinforcements from Taiyuan, and the 10,000 men from the Yoshino Regiment, we have over 20,000 men. Retreating is a disgrace to our Bushido spirit!"

"So, should we continue attacking the Jin-Sui Army, or turn around and fight the Eighth Route Army?" the staff officer asked.

"We'll abandon our attack on the Jin-Sui Army here. Instead, we'll block the Eighth Route Army and let the tank regiment from Taiyuan continue to hold off the Jin-Sui Army," Major General Kawashima roared.

"Hayi!"

Major General Kawashima's idea was good, but putting it into practice was not so easy.

Because a considerable number of Jin-Sui troops were blocking his way, he had no choice but to take a detour if he wanted to stop Li Yunlong.

Not to mention that Major General Kawashima had already driven the Jin-Sui Army to a frenzy, and even if he wanted to quickly disengage from the battle, it would take time.

With the time added up, while Major General Kawashima was still making the best of a detour, Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin's troops had already covered more than ten kilometers and arrived opposite the 358th Regiment, the vanguard of the Jin-Sui Army.

At this time, the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army was in a very bad situation.

Chu Yunfei brought the artillery battalion over, and although the close-range artillery fire caused some trouble for the Japanese tank regiment.

However, Chu Yunfei's artillery battalion suffered heavy losses from Japanese artillery bombardment.

With the artillery battalion suppressed, the Japanese armored tanks, in coordination with the infantry, immediately seized the opportunity to advance.

Chu Yunfei's artillery battalion didn't have time to escape; it was only a matter of time before the remaining artillery was swallowed up by the Japanese.

"Commander, my artillery battalion is probably doomed!" the battalion commander cried out to Chu Yunfei.

"Those damned Japanese tanks are absolutely despicable!" Chu Yunfei's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

He risked his artillery battalion to take down the Japanese tank regiment.

Now, the artillery battalion is about to be wiped out, but the Japanese tank regiment is still there.

How could this not break Chu Yunfei's heart?

Without the artillery battalion, the 358th Regiment's combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

"Pass on my orders: blow up any artillery that can't be taken away, or the Japanese will capture it..." Before Chu Yunfei could finish relaying his orders, something unexpected happened on the Japanese side.

A unit of troops seemed to appear out of nowhere, swiftly emerging from behind the Japanese soldiers.

The huge and strange shells whistled through the Japanese troops and exploded, instantly sending Japanese infantrymen flying.

Then came the Type 92 infantry guns for supplementary bombardment, and finally, grenade launchers and mortars, along with machine guns, pushed forward sideways.

Under such powerful firepower, the Japanese troops on the other side were utterly crushed, their defeat was like a landslide!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
……

One after another, shells spewing smoke from their tails traced curves through the air. The Japanese tanks and armored vehicles that Chu Yunfei hated so much were fatally attacked one after another, either exploding into fireballs on the spot or losing their combat capability while billowing thick smoke.

"Commander, isn't this the Eighth Route Army?" Qian Bojun, the battalion commander of the 358th Regiment, shouted in shock to Chu Yunfei.

I originally thought that the 358th Regiment would lose its artillery battalion completely today and be utterly destroyed by the Japanese.

Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, an Eighth Route Army unit suddenly appeared.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! While the Japanese are being dealt with, seize the opportunity to rush over and protect the remaining artillery of our artillery battalion." Looking at the enemy's firepower configuration, Chu Yunfei had already vaguely guessed who the newcomers were. Chu Yunfei didn't have time to think about how this person had escaped from the Yoshino Regiment's encirclement.

He now had only one thought: he absolutely must not let the remaining cannons in the artillery battalion fall into the hands of this shameless bamboo craftsman.

Otherwise, the artillery battalion of the 358th Regiment would really be gone.

(End of this chapter)