You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

Mentioning Gangcun, the expressions of the CEOs present became even more serious.

"This person is not Tada Shun. His methods for dealing with us will likely be even more ruthless and vicious than Tada Shun's 'cage'!"

The downfall of Tada Shun brought them some relief, but his successor, Okamura, was undoubtedly a stronger, more familiar with China, and more difficult opponent.

This person came during the Beiyang Government era!

He also served as a member of President Le Dan's advisory group!

Finally, the vice president slowly spoke: "No matter what new tricks he pulls, retaliation is inevitable! And He County will be the first to suffer!"

We'll think about the future later.

The problem now is He County!

"The Japanese devils will regain both their lost face and prestige here! This is a thorn in their side that they must remove, and a battle to restore their glory!"

The deputy general manager's gaze sharpened: "And we absolutely cannot let He County fall! Especially the arsenal there! We cannot afford to lose it!"

"Send a telegram to the brigade commander immediately!"

"The briefing reported the current grim situation and clearly pointed out that the Japanese army, especially after Okamura took office, would inevitably launch an unprecedented and frenzied attack on He County."

"Order them: Relying on existing new equipment and favorable terrain, make the most thorough defensive preparations!"

"The Independent Regiment and its supporting troops must be placed on the highest level of combat readiness! At the same time, we must seek opportunities to engage in combat while on the move, and absolutely not allow the Japanese to easily encircle us!"

"Yes, sir!" The communications officer recorded the order.

"Furthermore, telegraph all brother units," the deputy commander continued, "inform them of the situation, and require all units to be on high alert, strengthen reconnaissance, and closely monitor the movements of the Japanese troops in front of them."

"Once the battle breaks out in the He County direction, all units must, according to the actual situation, harass and contain the Japanese forces, and fully support the defense of He County!"

"Tell all commanders and soldiers," the deputy commander's gaze swept over each of the senior officers, "that the mountain city wants to see us fight the Japanese to the death, and the Japanese want to use our heads to sacrifice for their flag. We will not let them have their way!"

"This battle is not only about protecting He County and the arsenal, but also about showing the people of the whole country and those with ulterior motives!"

"Our Eighth Route Army has backbone, and more importantly, the ability to fight tough battles and win them! No matter how fierce the Japanese devils are, they won't be able to easily take down this tough nut to crack!"

The CEOs all stood up and responded loudly:

"yes!"

"We will never let the enemy get what they want!"

. . .

three days later.

He County, the front-line command post of the 386th Brigade and the headquarters of the Independent Regiment.

The brigade commander, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, and others were all present.

The room was filled with smoke, and the atmosphere was even heavier than the smoke itself.

A rough but huge military map was laid out on a table made of door panels, covered with red and blue arrows and troop symbols.

The brigade commander stood with his hands behind his back in front of the map, remaining silent for a long time.

Li Yunlong stared intently at the three thick red arrows on the map pointing towards He County from different directions, his cheek muscles bulging.

Upon receiving orders from headquarters, troops in He County and surrounding areas quickly entered a state of first-level combat readiness.

Other intelligence also gradually came in.

Zhao Gang took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: "According to intelligence, the main force of the 36th Division has completed its assembly in Quancheng, the 37th Division is in Zhicheng, and the Independent Mixed Brigade 3 is in Jincheng."

"In addition, the Third Flight Brigade of Taiyuan is also being mobilized..."

"Damn it..." Li Yunlong finally couldn't hold back and slammed his fist on the edge of the table.

"Those little devils have really gone all out! Two divisions! And an independent mixed brigade! Has Shinotsuka Kazuo really pulled out all the trappings of his First Army?"

It should be noted that the First Army of Shanxi Province only has three divisions and four independent brigades in total.

This time, Kazuo Shinotsuka mobilized almost half of the mobile forces he could muster in Jin Province.

The Japanese alone had a force of between 60,000 and 70,000.

Add to that the puppet troops who will inevitably cooperate...

Zhao Gang gave a wry smile: "The total enemy forces gathered around our county are probably... no less than 100,000!"

"One hundred thousand..." A staff officer next to him gasped.

"At most, our independent regiment, including the new recruits we've taken in recently and the county and district detachments, can only muster a little over five thousand men to be deployed to the main battlefront... This..."

The troop strength ratio is nearly 20 to 1, or even 30 to 1!

Even with all the new weapons Shen Wang sent, the sheer number still left everyone breathless!

The brigade commander slowly turned around, his face showing an unprecedented solemnity.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples vigorously.

Even with his courage and insight, he felt immense pressure in the face of such a disparity in troop strength and the enemy's relentless and determined attitude.

I knew the Japanese soldiers would go crazy, but I never imagined they would go this crazy!

"The headquarters commander's judgment is correct," the brigade commander put his glasses back on, "The Japanese devils are going to swallow us whole, skin and bones, and use our blood to wash away their lost flag!"

Li Yunlong, his neck stiff with arrogance, retorted, "Brigade Commander! We'll meet force with force, and water with earth! At worst, we'll fight to the death!"

"Old Li!" Zhao Gang stopped him. "We can't act recklessly! This isn't something that can be solved by risking our lives! Even if we had 100,000 pigs standing still and let us slaughter them, we'd still kill them until our hands were sore!"

"How about... we retreat to the mountains and fight a guerrilla war?" one of the staff officers suggested.

"No!"

The brigade commander rejected it without even thinking.

"This is more than just a county town! Our arsenal is nearing completion here! And Mr. Shen has sent us all sorts of new weapons!"

"These... must not fall into the hands of the Japanese!"

If the Japanese get their hands on Type 99A, Type 56, Type 107, and proximity fuses...

The brigade commander couldn't even imagine what would happen!

"Pass the order: if absolutely necessary, destroy all weapons!"

"That's Mr. Shen's life's work; we absolutely cannot let the Japanese get their hands on those weapons and equipment!"

Upon hearing the brigade commander's words, Li Yunlong deflated like a punctured balloon, his momentum vanishing, and he scratched his head in frustration.

"Damn it... Speaking of Mr. Shen, it's been almost a month, where on earth has he gone? Why haven't we heard a single word from him?"

Zhao Gang's face was also full of worry: "Yes, Mr. Shen said he would come back, but the timing... could something have happened to him on the way?"

If any miracle were to occur, everyone could only place their hopes on Shen Wang.

However, a month has passed, and Shen Wang seems to have vanished.

If something happens that delays things, that's fine, but if some unexpected event occurs...

This is probably even harder for people to accept than losing He County!

Just as the atmosphere in the command post reached its most oppressive point, with everyone's brows furrowed—

"Report!"

The heavy cotton curtain of the command post was suddenly flung open, and Wei Heshang strode in.

"Reporting to the brigade commander! Regimental commander! Political commissar! Mr. Shen... Mr. Shen is here! He's at the city gate!"