Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

What if they really want to attack the city?"

"Yes."

Everyone looked at Qiu Delong.

Many people were very nervous. What would they do if the Eighth Route Army captured Wanping?

What if the Eighth Route Army treated them all as Han people and made them easier to deal with?

Qiu Delong remained silent. The Second Battalion Commander of the Seventh Regiment, below, whispered, "Commander, how about we go all out and join the Eighth Route Army?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people who had been discussing heatedly just now fell silent.

Each one of them looks pretty.

It's not that I'm too shocked. In fact, these officers of the North China Security Army, with the exception of a few die-hard traitors, are just ordinary people in this chaotic world. They are not villains in the traditional sense, but they are not heroes either. They are just ordinary people.

Ordinary people are just going with the flow in the general trend.

Some of them had previously become traitors out of desperation, others simply to make a living, for various reasons. But none of them had considered becoming die-hard traitors. Now that things had changed, many of them had considered it. Because the North China Security Army had been captured numerous times by the Eighth Route Army, the education they received there had been quite effective.

Although for various reasons, they continued to serve as the Imperial Army after returning, many of them were unwilling to fight against the Eighth Route Army, and many even began to think about joining the Eighth Route Army.

Some people have discussed this privately.

It's just that no one said it publicly.

Qiu Delong had a blank expression on his face, but he was very happy in his heart.

Qiu Delong, as an insider directly under the leadership of the column's political department, had joined the party not long ago. The column's political department even used Qiu Delong's connections to insert a number of its own people into the Seventh Regiment.

Do the work of the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Regiment.

The work has been very effective this year.

Just like the commander of the Second Battalion who just spoke, his adjutants were all underground party members. After this period of contact and persuasion, he no longer wanted to be a puppet soldier. It was just that he had never had the opportunity before. But now that the Eighth Route Army troops have arrived in Wanping, the time is ripe.

Wei Hongjun's original idea was to play the long game and catch a big fish.

The North China Security Army was planted with insiders until the Liberation War. But the situation is so good now that we can't wait until then.

Amidst the silence, someone hesitated and said, "Many of our Seventh Regiment's officers and soldiers are from Wanping and Fangshan. If we rebel, will it affect our families?"

This is the current thinking of many officers and soldiers.

I don't object anyway, but I'm afraid it will affect my family.

The second battalion commander, who had initially proposed a rebellion, said, "What are we afraid of? As long as we rebellious, we can help the Eighth Route Army capture Wanping City. By then, Wanping and Fangshan will belong to the Eighth Route Army. Our families can go and live in the Eighth Route Army's base. Besides, looking at the current situation, it's even a question whether the Japanese can hold on to Peking. Maybe we can follow the Eighth Route Army into Peking, become anti-Japanese heroes, get promoted and make a fortune. The Japanese are like rabbits with long tails that can't grow long.

Several people's eyes lit up.

Wanping was the western gate of Peking, the real western gate. If Wanping was lost, Peking would be under the control of the Eighth Route Army.

Thinking of this, everyone looked up at Qiu Delong.

Qiu Delong glanced at everyone and said, "Do you really think so?"

"Captain, do it. If we're any later, we'll all be treated as traitors."

"That's right, let's do it." Qiu Delong nodded slowly.

The task assigned to me by the column was finally completed.

So he said: "Since we are going to do it anyway, we must make a good plan.

We must strike the target with one strike and help the Eighth Route Army capture Wanping County."

Chapter 341: Conquering Wanping

The Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign had a truly huge impact.

Whether militarily or politically.

It can even be said that it changed the entire public opinion of China's War of Resistance and changed the direction of China's War of Resistance.

Wang Jingwei's defection to the Japanese and the establishment of the Nanjing puppet Nationalist Government dealt a heavy blow to China's war of resistance. After all, Wang Jingwei was once Sun Yat-sen's successor and served as the president of the Kuomintang.

Coupled with the dramatic changes in the European situation, China's war of resistance became increasingly difficult. In various newspapers, there was an increasing amount of pessimistic opinion about the future of the war of resistance.

Pessimism abounded not only in the press but even within the upper echelons of the Nationalist government. They all believed that China had little chance of victory in the war of resistance alone. Even those in positions of power and command of large armies shared this sentiment, not to mention the civilians in the occupied territories. Everyone began to lose confidence in the future of the war of resistance.

Under this kind of public opinion, many front-line generals who were originally on both sides of the fence switched sides and became puppet soldiers.

China's resistance to Japanese aggression became increasingly difficult.

But just as this pessimistic mood spread across the country, the Eighth Route Army launched a major battle in North China.

The Eighth Route Army directly cut off several of the Japanese army's most important transportation lines in North China. Not to mention the Zhengtai Railway, the Eighth Route Army tore up half of the Zhengtai Railway. Besides the Zhengtai Railway, the Pingsui Railway, Pinghan Railway, and Tongpu Railway were also torn up for over 20 miles. Over rails and over one million sleepers were removed. Over electric poles were dug up in North China.

Railways in North China were interrupted and many cities had no electricity.

Amidst the pessimistic anti-Japanese public opinion, the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign immediately boosted the anti-Japanese public opinion in North China and the Chinese public opinion.

After all, these things are visible to the naked eye. Compared to how many enemies are killed on the battlefield, traffic is cut off, and there is no electricity, these are things that can be directly felt.

what's the result?

Just look at the situation of the puppet troops in North China. After the Hundred Regiments Campaign, very few puppet troops were killed on the battlefield. Captives and defectors were numerous. Within less than two months, the number of captured and defected puppet troops exceeded 20,000. This dismal performance of the puppet troops in North China led the Japanese army to begin to distrust them.

Then the puppet troops were kept under stricter watch.

The slightest problem would result in punishment for the puppet army officers. The punishments were extremely severe. Previously, they might have merely been reprimanded, but now they were punishable by execution. The Japanese advisors assigned to the puppet army would beat and kick the puppet soldiers at the slightest dissatisfaction. This Japanese military management style further strained relations between the Japanese and puppet troops.

The trust between the two sides was limited to begin with.

The Japanese army suppressed the puppet army so much that the puppet army became increasingly dissatisfied with the Japanese army. Therefore, during the war, the puppet army frequently used the war to kill the Japanese army's advisors.

A vicious cycle has emerged.

But no one expected such a thing to happen in Wanping.

Where is Wanping?

This is where the July 7 Incident took place.

One could even say that Wanping is Peking. Among the cities surrounding Peking, Wanping is the most important. Yet, something unexpected happened here.

The 79th Regiment of the Fourth Army of the North China Security Force, which had been defending Wanping County alongside the th Independent Battalion of the th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, suddenly defected. Because of its "heroic" performance on the battlefield, not only repelling several Eighth Route Army "attacks" but also capturing several Eighth Route Army positions, the th Regiment earned the trust of both the North China Security Forces and the Japanese Army.

Compared to other units, the Seventh Regiment boasted superior weaponry and a larger force. Within the North China Front Army, it was the only one to boast four battalions, totaling approximately 1800 men. Furthermore, the regiment possessed a comparable number of light and heavy machine guns as the other two North China Security Army regiments. It was precisely because of the high regard and trust held by both the Japanese and North China Security Army leaders that they were granted station in such a crucial location as Wanping.

The North China Front Army and the North China Security Army were very confident about Wanping.

There were the 79th Independent Battalion, other units of the 1800th Independent Mixed Brigade, and the th Security Army Regiment of over men. The entire Wanping area contained approximately Japanese and puppet troops. For the North China Front Army, Wanping was impregnable.

But this army rebelled.

Qiu Delong divided the Seventh Regiment into two and personally led a surprise attack on the headquarters of the 79th Independent Mixed Brigade. The th Independent Battalion of the th Independent Mixed Brigade primarily guarded the east and west city gates. The brigade headquarters was staffed entirely by civilian personnel. While there were guards, they consisted of only a small squad of around fifty men. The remaining hundred or so were civilians.

Although Qiu Delong's Seventh Regiment's combat effectiveness is average.

But the surprise attack on the unsuspecting brigade headquarters was a huge success.

The guards at the brigade headquarters had no idea the North China Security Army would suddenly open fire on them. Completely unprepared, they were suddenly opened fire. After dispatching the guards, the 7th Regiment's troops stormed the headquarters, killing the brigade commander, Hasegawa Mioji. Hasegawa Mioji, Major General and Commander of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade, was thus cowardly killed by the puppet army.

A brigade commander, a major general, died.

No one could have imagined such a thing would happen. A dignified Japanese brigade commander, a major general, was killed in a puppet army rebellion. This was also the second major general brigade commander to be killed in the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

Another section of the Seventh Regiment, which was defending the city with the Japanese, suddenly turned against them at the west gate of Wanping City and opened fire on the Japanese. The Japanese were caught off guard and were ambushed by the Seventh Regiment, resulting in over 80 casualties.

As the Pingbei detachment, which was cooperating with the outside forces, how could they miss this good opportunity? The troops immediately set out to attack the city.

The Japanese army was really in a mess.

While fighting the "rebellious" 34th Regiment, they also had to stop the attack of the Eighth Route Army. The 34th Regiment was responsible for the siege. Since Chen Zhonghe came to the 34th Regiment, the combat effectiveness of the th Regiment has increased dramatically.

Of course, it also has something to do with the support of the column.

After all, Chen Zhonghe had served as the Director of the Operations and Training Department at the Column Headquarters for many years. Leveraging his connections, he recruited numerous students from the Operations and Training Department. Many of these graduates were from the Chahar Military and Political Cadre School and the Second Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, who had also received practical training at the Operations and Training Department. Upon their arrival at the 34th Regiment, they significantly improved the commanding staff of the regiment. Furthermore, a training team was established within the regiment to train its own grassroots cadres.

The effect is quite good.

The 34th Regiment took advantage of the chaos at the west gate of Wanping City and launched a fierce attack on the west gate.

At the West City Gate, there were originally two Japanese squadrons, plus a machine gun squadron, totaling approximately 400 men. Add to that two battalions of the 7th Regiment of the North China Security Army, numbering over 700 men, for a total of over 1,000 Japanese and puppet troops. However, the 7th Regiment suddenly launched a counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese. While the 7th Regiment's combat effectiveness was low, its surprise attack on the unsuspecting Japanese was nonetheless highly successful. The Japanese suffered heavy casualties, and within a short period, fewer than 300 Japanese troops remained capable of fighting.

While they had to fight with the Seventh Regiment of the Security Army, they also had to stop the Eighth Route Army from attacking the city.

Three hundred people are not enough.

Soon, the rest of the 7th Regiment of the Security Army, led by Qiu Delong, arrived at the West City Gate. This put even more pressure on the Japanese army. Although the Japanese army was powerful, it was severely stretched in the face of such a situation.

The 34th Regiment took advantage of this opportunity and quickly climbed up the wall where the 34th Regiment of the Security Army was located. The combat effectiveness of the th Regiment was far greater than that of the th Regiment of the Security Army. Before the Japanese army had even reached a company, they were suppressed by the Eighth Route Army.

As more and more troops of the 34th Regiment climbed onto the city wall, the Japanese army really could not withstand the offensive of the 34th Regiment.

The 34th Regiment immediately opened the city gates, allowing the main force to enter Wanping. The 35th, 39th, and 40th Regiments quickly entered Wanping County and engaged the Japanese troops coming to support them from the East Gate. Within Wanping City, the Eighth Route Army already had a clear advantage.

More than 8,000 troops from four regiments poured into Wanping City. How could they be stopped by the Japanese army with only a few hundred men left?

1940 10 Month 10 Day.

The explosive news spread throughout North China and all over China.

Wanping was recovered.

After the July 7 Incident and the Battle of Marco Polo Bridge, Wanping quickly fell. Three years later, the Eighth Route Army unexpectedly broke through Wanping. By inciting the puppet army to revolt, the Eighth Route Army attacked from both inside and outside, completely capturing the city in just eight hours.

Eliminate all Japanese troops in Wanping City.

All the good things in Wanping City became spoils of the Eighth Route Army. Although Wanping City is not Peking, it is too close to Peking. Or perhaps it is Peking, and the good things in Wanping City are too numerous to count.

Here are the arsenals of the Japanese Army's 15th Independent Mixed Brigade and the arsenals of the 4th Army of the North China Security Army.

The first thing Wang Qiuyun did upon entering Wanping City was to move the arsenal. He took away all the valuables inside, and they couldn't be left alone. He also organized the transfer of people to the base as quickly as possible.

Fear of being bombed by Japanese planes.

Of course, the capture of Wanping City had a very obvious propaganda effect on the Eighth Route Army.

After Wang Qiuyun raised a banner to announce the recruitment, a long line formed at the recruitment office. In particular, Wang Qiuyun's first division established a student group, and within two days, over a thousand people signed up. Most of them were middle school students aged sixteen or seventeen from the surrounding area.

Chapter 342: Clearing Wanping

The capture of Wanping was a big deal.

If the Eighth Column captured Zhuolu, it would be a big deal for Chahar, but Chahar was still too far away and too remote for the rest of the country.