Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

"..."

"Eighth Route Army Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Independent Column, Li Yunlong's urgent telegram."

After the commander slowly read the contents of the seizure, he slowly put the telegram down and looked at the chief of staff in surprise: "Old man, hit me with a punch and see if I'm dreaming."

The Chief of General Staff's cigarette was already half burned, but he didn't move. After hearing the commander's words, he smiled bitterly and said, "I hope this isn't a dream!"

"With so much supplies, I want to send all the troops to Datong and bring everything back!"

"Hey, Li Yunlong has given us another big problem. Immediately contact all the troops and see how many are near Datong. Mobilize them all to Datong immediately!"

The Chief of General Staff calmed down at this time and said, "I think Li Yunlong sent a telegram to show off. He must have come up with a plan. He probably wants to see us make a fool of ourselves. Don't move the other troops yet. Let them stay close to Datong. If there is a large-scale mobilization, the Japanese will definitely be alert."

"Didn't Li Yunlong say that the Japanese might not even know that Datong was lost?"

"That's impossible? If there's no news about such a big city, how could the devil not know?"

"They should have noticed something, but they definitely didn't expect Datong to be captured. At most, they would send someone to check on the situation, but the round trip would take quite a while!"

After hearing this, the army commander nodded and said, "I underestimated Li Yunlong before, but now it seems his command ability and strategic vision are impeccable. We didn't even think of attacking Datong, but this guy's tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west is brilliant!"

"Yeah, now I'm completely relieved. Since this kid is capable enough, let's give him more responsibilities. I heard that his independent column already has five new battalions. If we don't organize them, he will probably continue to expand new battalions!"

Hearing this, the commander immediately laughed: "I guess when he comes back, he can directly set up a new independent column. This guy hasn't learned anything else here, but he learned to expand the organization very quickly."

"With so much captured loot, even if Li Yunlong gives us some, he can still expand his army by another 10,000 people. Twelve detachments are a bit too small. Let's give Li Yunlong three regiments on this basis. Kong Jie's independent regiment is assigned to Li Yunlong. The defense zone of the independent regiment basically overlaps with Li Yunlong's. They are old partners, so Kong Jie shouldn't have any objections to it being assigned to him."

After hearing this, the Chief of General Staff immediately said, "I think Kong Jie is going to be a little mad. I heard he did business with Li Yunlong and exchanged a lot of arms. Now the whole regiment is under Li Yunlong's command. Kong Jie is probably not happy."

"Kong Jie is quite capable, though a little clumsy in combat. However, this makes him less of a worry than Li Yunlong. From now on, when Li Yunlong goes out to fight, Kong Jie will guard the rear, so this kind of cooperation is also good."

"What do you think Kong Jie's expression will be after we give him this transfer order?"

"Old buddy, why are you imitating Li Yunlong?"

"Hahaha……"

Just as the two men were laughing, as the army commander expected, the second telegram was delivered to the Chief of General Staff.

"I was saying this guy just wanted to see how excited we were. Luckily Datong is far away, otherwise he would definitely come to us with this list of seized goods and see for himself how surprised we are."

"Hahaha, let me see what this kid is up to!"

The Chief of General Staff immediately took the telegram and started reading it. However, after reading it, the Chief of General Staff couldn't help but take a breath. Li Yunlong's plan was a bit crazy. In the Chief of General Staff's opinion, it was even crazier than Li Yunlong's original plan to attack Datong.

"Li Yunlong is planning to take advantage of the Japanese's lack of information that Datong has been recaptured by us. He plans to transport all the goods by train from Datong southward, passing through Huaixian, Yuanping County, Xinxian, Taiyuan, and finally to the vicinity of Yangquan."

"It's over 300 kilometers. If the road is clear, we can transport a trainload of supplies from Datong to the vicinity of our base within 12 hours!"

"Li Yunlong's request for support is for us to send people to support them along the train route and transport supplies back to the base. What do you think, old friend?"

The Chief of General Staff walked to the front of the map, headed south from Datong along the Tongpu Railway, then arrived at Taiyuan, turned east and arrived near Yangquan.

This plan seems crazy just by looking at it, let alone executing it, as there may be various emergencies along the way.

But if successful, a large amount of supplies can be transported back to the base.

As long as these supplies can reach the base safely, the development of the base can usher in a qualitative leap.

You should know that there are quite a few industrial equipment here, and what the base lacks most is these industrial equipment. Taihang Mountain is a treasure trove with all kinds of mineral resources, but there is no corresponding equipment to convert these resources into weapons and ammunition.

"It's worth a try. Even Li Yunlong can't take away so many supplies. Once the Japanese react, Datong will be completely undefendable. Then these supplies may have to be destroyed. It's better to take a risk!"

The Chief of General Staff looked at the Army Commander and said, "I approve of this action plan!"

The army commander nodded and said, "I agree. Let's send as many troops as possible to assist Li Yunlong this time. At the same time, we must also strengthen the military strength in Taiyuan so that the Japanese can focus their attention on the defense of Taiyuan."

"Well, I agree. If all else fails, our troops can fire a few shots at Taiyuan to make a show of attracting the devil's attention."

"Okay, let's do it this way. I'll send a telegram right now and have all the troops prepare."

"it is good!"

"But keep it secret. It can't be exposed before the train passes Taiyuan!"

"Ok!"

……

……

……

Here are five chapters and ten thousand words. I know you're anxious, but don't worry, I still have to fix some typos and incoherent sentences. Don't think the supplies are plentiful. Datong has been an important city since ancient times, and these supplies are really not much. Twenty thousand people will need them for two or three months. Finally, I beg for five-star reviews, free gifts, and some advertising support. Thank you! ~

Chapter 200: Nationalist Prisoners

In Taiyuan City, at the First Army Headquarters, although it was late at night, the lights were still on.

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko was in a very good mood. The battle of Zhongtiao Mountain had basically been decided. The main force of the First Army was wiping out the last remaining defenders in Zhongtiao Mountain. They would soon complete the final cleanup and announce this great victory to the outside world.

The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was something that Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko had been busy with since he became the commander of the First Army. In order to ensure that this battle was foolproof, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko also mobilized offensive troops from other places to assist the First Army in attacking Zhongtiao Mountain.

In addition, the 4th Division and the 26th Division were mobilized to strengthen the defense of the Taiyuan area to ensure the safety of Jin when the battle broke out.

Now everything has finally come to an end. It can be said that the shame of the First Army has been largely washed away after this battle. According to the current statistics on casualties, it can be said that it was a complete victory. Even the most picky people would not be able to find any problems.

With 100,000 troops against 200,000, they were outnumbered and were on the attacking side, but they suffered only 3,000 casualties, with more than 600 killed and more than 2,200 injured. They annihilated tens of thousands of enemies, the exact number has not been counted yet, but it was at least 40,000, and also killed several generals.

This casualty ratio broke the record of the largest casualty ratio since the Japanese launched a full-scale war. It is equivalent to one Japanese soldier destroying and capturing more than 20 Chinese defenders.

"Your Highness, the Eighth Route Army has begun operations in Jinzhong, Yangquan, Taiyuan, and other places, harassing these cities. Our investigators report that the Eighth Route Army has dispatched a large number of troops, seemingly intending to attack the cities."

At this time, a staff officer came in with a telegram and reported the latest situation to Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko.

"Don't worry about it. Tell all the troops to defend the city. No matter how the Eighth Route Army provokes them from the outside, ignore them!"

Prince Asaka Naruhiko said this with a smile on his face.

The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was nearing its end, and the Japanese could already withdraw troops from Zhongtiao Mountain, but Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko was not in a hurry to withdraw troops. Instead, he was waiting for the Eighth Route Army to become complacent, and then suddenly led the army into Taihang Mountain to attack the Eighth Route Army by surprise.

Block the retreat routes of the Eighth Route Army troops operating in Jinzhong, Taiyuan, Yangquan and other places, and then completely wipe them out.

"Your Highness, the Sixth Division reports that they have gathered all the captured Chinese troops, totaling over 40,000. What should be done with these people?"

"More than 40,000 prisoners?"

When Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko heard about the large number of captives, he smiled and asked, "Is this number confirmed?"

"We've already checked, there are some seriously injured people here!"

"Oh, the combat effectiveness of this unit is really weak. They haven't made any progress in all these years. Back in Nanjing... all the seriously injured were executed on the spot, and the rest..."

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko was recounting his past in Nanjing while thinking about how to deal with these prisoners of war. More than 40,000 prisoners of war, excluding the seriously wounded, was a huge number. If not handled properly, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Your Highness, do we need to dispose of all these captives? Keeping them alive would waste too much food, and these are all soldiers, so it would be easy to..."

A staff officer beside him thought for a while and then gave his suggestion.

After hearing this, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko also began to ponder. He personally preferred to kill these captives. Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko even planned to kill all the people in Zhongtiao Mountain. He did the same thing when he was in Nanjing.

"Your Highness, I have a suggestion."

At this time, the commander of the 26th Division, Kuroda Shigenori, suddenly stood up and spoke.

Upon hearing Kuroda Shigenori speak, Prince Asaka Naruhiko immediately smiled and said, "I wonder what Kuroda-kun has in mind."

If any other Japanese soldier interrupted Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko's thoughts, the old Japanese soldier would definitely blame him immediately, but Kuroda Shigenori and Kuroshima Morita were both members of the Japanese royal family. They were just marginal figures, but their seniority was the same as his.

"Your Highness, I think these 40,000 prisoners can be handed over to me."

"here you are?"

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko frowned slightly. This was his prisoner, and Kuroda Shigenori wanted him directly? This made him a little unhappy.

Kuroda Shigenori noticed Prince Asaka Naruhiko's displeasure and said with a smile, "Your Highness, you may not know that the Datong coal mine is in urgent need of workers. We are unable to recruit enough workers now."

"The task assigned to us by the Ministry of Industry this year is very heavy, but if we have these 40,000 prisoners, I think we can complete this mission."

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko knew what Kuroda Shigenori wanted to do as soon as he opened his mouth. He simply wanted him to send these people to the mines as prisoners, but relatives are relatives and business is business.

Kuroda Shigenori touched his upper lip to his lower lip and gave him 40,000 prisoners? Didn't Kuroda Shigenori know how difficult it was to capture these 40,000 prisoners?

Kuroda Shigenori saw Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko looking at him with a smile and immediately said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. I will not let you down. I am willing to use part of the funds to purchase these prisoners."

Upon hearing this, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko became interested. This was what it meant to talk about things.

"Oh? Kuroda-kun, are you so short of manpower in the mine? As far as I know, you have at least 100,000 miners in your mine?"

"Ha Yi, over 30,000 miners have died in the past two years. We're seriously short of manpower. We're planning to open two more mines so we can meet the Ministry of Industry's requirements. When I arrived, places like Peking and Fengtian were urging Datong to ship more coal."

"I see, thank you for your hard work!"

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko pretended to be concerned, then said, "I can give you these 40,000 men, but I need to give an explanation to the troops under my command."

"Hayi, Your Highness, don't worry. I will send some to Taiyuan right away. I'm sure Your Highness will be satisfied."

"Yoshi, then I'll hand these prisoners over to you. I'll give the order now."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko watched Kuroda Shigenori leave with a smile on his face. He immediately turned to his confidential secretary and said, "Send a telegram to Kanda Masatane to load the Chinese prisoners directly onto the train and send them to Datong!"

"Hayi!"

After leaving Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko's office, Kuroda Shigenori looked at his deputy and asked, "Has there been any incident at the Datong Mine recently?"

"Hayi, nothing happened. Datong was just attacked by the Eighth Route Army guerrillas. The telephone lines were cut off, but communication has been restored now."

Hearing this, Kuroda Shigenori did not take it seriously. After all, the Eighth Route Army had been very active around Taiyuan recently, and occasionally destroyed telephone lines. The Eighth Route Army in the entire Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region seemed to be very active recently, so Kuroda Shigenori regarded it as a normal harassment by the Eighth Route Army.

In fact, what Kuroda Shigenori didn't know was that he was able to know that Datong was harassed by the Eighth Route Army because Li Yunlong took the initiative to report it to the Japanese headquarters in Mengjiang, in order to eliminate the Japanese doubts in the headquarters. After all, they couldn't contact Datong for several hours, so a reasonable explanation was needed.

"Send a telegram to Changming Zhenyi immediately and ask him to take one hundred small yellow croakers from my home and send them to Taiyuan. Also, I will personally present some gifts to His Royal Highness the Prince and select a few Chinese cultural relics from my basement and send them over."

"Hayi!"

Shinichi Chomei was the nephew of Shigenori Kuroda, and it was with the strong recommendation of Shigenori Kuroda that Shinichi Chomei was transferred to the 26th Division.

Otherwise, with Chomei Shinichi's age and experience, he would not have directly become the commander of the 26th Division as a lieutenant colonel, and he would not have been directly transferred without any experience in commanding grassroots troops. Therefore, Kuroda Shigenori trusted him very much.

Chapter 201 The Japanese Officer's Treasure

Datong City.