Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

Wang Desheng went on this journey.

It took almost two hours.

Li Yunlong squatted on the stone steps at the entrance of the regimental headquarters, glancing up at the village entrance every now and then.

The communications soldier sent by Cheng Shifa was still waiting in the yard, also looking towards the village entrance.

Another half hour passed.

Three figures finally appeared on the dirt road at the entrance of the village.

Wang Desheng walked at the front, his pace much faster than when he left, but the expression on his face carried an inexplicable doubt.

He walked up to Li Yunlong and stood at attention.

Before he could even speak, Li Yunlong had already stood up.

"How is it?"

Wang Desheng swallowed hard, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and his voice carried a hint of confusion that he himself didn't quite understand.

"Commander, it's very quiet on the Japanese side."

"Very quiet?"

Li Yunlong's brows furrowed instantly.

"How do you mean quiet?"

"We reached about two miles outside the Japanese territory, found a high spot, and lay down to observe for over half an hour."

Wang Desheng spoke while gesturing.

"The Japanese camp was quiet, with no signs of assembling or troop movement."

Li Yunlong didn't speak; his mind was racing.

The Japanese 69th Regiment suddenly stopped moving today.

"Are you sure they didn't split their forces?"

Li Yunlong asked another question.

"Sure."

Wang Desheng answered with great certainty.

"We circled most of their camp, looking at everything we could see."

"The number of people in the camp is comparable to that of a regiment. The tents, supplies, and mules are all there, and there is no obvious sign of them decreasing."

"It just... it just stopped moving."

Li Yunlong was silent for a moment, then stubbed out his cigarette and turned to the communications soldier in the courtyard, saying:

"Go back and tell Blind Cheng that what I've heard is about the same; the Japanese didn't move today."

The communications soldier responded and turned to leave.

"etc."

Li Yunlong called him back again.

"Tell Blind Cheng to send more men to keep an eye on the Japanese, and to send someone to tell me immediately if there are any new developments."

The communications soldier nodded and quickly ran out of the yard.

Li Yunlong squatted back down on the stone steps and lit another cigarette.

Wang Desheng squatted down next to him, and both of their gazes were fixed on the distant, rolling mountain shadows. Neither of them spoke.

This silence is so unusual.

There must be a reason why a brigade that was sweeping through suddenly stopped and held its ground.

It was a little after 1 p.m.

This time, it was Xiao Ma, the communications officer from the brigade headquarters, who came.

He was riding a horse, sweating profusely.

When I dismounted at the entrance of the regimental headquarters, there was still a half-empty jug of water hanging on the saddle.

He didn't even have time to drink water. He first saluted Li Yunlong, and then conveyed the intelligence from the brigade headquarters.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong froze on the spot as if he had been nailed there by something.

"Is this true?"

He looked at Xiao Ma, his voice carrying a hint of uncertain inquiry.

"real."

Xiao Ma nodded vigorously.

"The news was personally confirmed by the brigade commander."

"The New Second Regiment annihilated the Japanese 107th Regiment on the gentle slope south of Lugu Valley. Colonel Koichi Abe, the regimental commander, was killed on the spot."

"The brigade commander asked me to tell you this so that you are aware of the situation."

Li Yunlong remained silent.

His gaze remained fixed on the distant mountain shadows for a long time.

"That's over three thousand Japanese soldiers."

His voice was not loud, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were talking to Wang Desheng.

"Zhou Xiaogui led 2,500 men and annihilated an entire full-strength Japanese regiment."

Wang Desheng opened his mouth briefly, then closed it again.

The complete annihilation of an entire Japanese regiment was unprecedented in the history of the Eighth Route Army.

He fought alongside Li Yunlong for so many years, engaging in ambushes, raids, and guerrilla warfare.

But they never managed to annihilate an entire Japanese regiment on the main battlefield.

Li Yunlong strode out of the courtyard.

Wang Desheng quickly followed.

"Commander, where are you going?"

"Go to Regiment 772."

Li Yunlong said without turning his head.

"Find Blind Cheng."

He mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and galloped off towards the 772nd Regiment's location.

The horse's hooves kicked up a cloud of dust on the dirt road.

They quickly disappeared around the bend in the mountain road.

From the New First Regiment's camp to the 772nd Regiment's camp, a journey of over thirty miles through mountainous terrain, Li Yunlong arrived in just over an hour.

As he dismounted, Cheng Shifa was standing at the entrance of the regiment's headquarters.

Seeing Li Yunlong rush in like a whirlwind.

Cheng Shifa's brow twitched slightly.

But his expression didn't change much; he simply stepped aside to let the doorway pass.

"Come in and talk."

Li Yunlong strode into the courtyard, plopped down on a stone bench, and took two gulps of water from the teacup on the table.

Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and got straight to the point.

"Old Cheng, the Japanese 107th Regiment was completely annihilated by Zhou Xiaogui's New Second Regiment."

Cheng Shifa didn't rush to reply. He walked back to the table, sat down, and looked at Li Yunlong.

"I know, the message just came from the brigade headquarters."

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, then grinned.

"It's better that you know, so I don't have to explain it again."

He leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"Old Cheng, think about it, why is the Japanese 69th Regiment holding back today?"

"I had Wang Desheng sneak over there to check, and it was very quiet over there."

Cheng Shifa picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of water, and then slowly spoke.

"With the 107th Regiment gone, the 69th Regiment became an isolated force."

"Naoki Nakajima isn't stupid; he wouldn't continue advancing if his neighboring units were completely wiped out."

"He is either waiting for orders from headquarters or reassessing the battlefield situation."

"That's right."

Li Yunlong slammed his hand on the table.

"So tell me, do you think we have a chance now, before the Japanese can react, to wipe out the 69th Regiment as well?"

Cheng Shifa remained silent.

His gaze fell on Li Yunlong's face, as if weighing the weight of those words.

There was a long silence in the room before he finally spoke.

"Old Li, do you know how many people are in the 69th Regiment?"

"More than three thousand people, a full-strength brigade."

How many people are in the 772nd Regiment now?

"A little over two thousand."

"Where's your new regiment?"

"More than seven hundred."

Cheng Shifa leaned back in his chair, speaking in a low voice but clearly enunciating each word.

"Two thousand seven hundred men are at a disadvantage in terms of both numbers and equipment when fighting a brigade of three thousand men."

"Even if the Japanese are like frightened birds now, we are not entirely confident that we can defeat them."

"If it turns into a war of attrition, we'll be the ones who suffer."

Li Yunlong frowned.

He knew that Cheng Shifa was telling the truth.

The two regiments combined were indeed fewer in number than the 69th Regiment.

Moreover, if a fight were to break out...

The Japanese army's firepower, training level, and battlefield experience were all far superior to those of the Eighth Route Army.

Even if the Japanese are now like frightened birds.

That was a raptor with a population of over three thousand.