Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 99 Battle of Xinzhuang
The remaining Japanese troops, numbering less than a hundred, could not possibly withstand the fire from dozens of light machine guns.

Of course, Zhang Dabiao was surprised when he saw Wang Gensheng:

"Wang Gensheng, why are you here? Aren't you from the New Second Regiment?"

"Our New Second Regiment had already broken out of the Japanese mopping-up encirclement. We were worried about the Independent Regiment, so we brought the Cavalry Company over to take a look. Unexpectedly, we not only saved my old master, Captain Sun, but also Captain Zhang!"

Just as Wang Gensheng finished speaking, when Zhang Dabiao was about to say something, Li Xiu, who was in charge of observing the periphery, hurried over and said:

"Deputy Regimental Officer, another group of Japs are coming. They're probably a battalion strong and are less than five miles away from us!"

It is obvious that a battalion of Japanese troops is not easy to defeat and cannot be quickly eliminated. The most important thing is that the Japanese battalion has a radio, so if they cannot be quickly eliminated, they will immediately call for support.

Zhang Dabiao also understood and said immediately:

"Clean up the battlefield and retreat!"

However, they encountered difficulties during the retreat because Zhang Dabiao's 1st Battalion and 1st Company was not a cavalry company, so there were only a few people who could ride horses.

Therefore, even though Wang Gensheng and his men had more than 800 unridden war horses, they were unable to take Zhang Dabiao's soldiers away with them.

But now the Japanese were less than five miles away from them, so it was definitely too late to learn now.

Zhang Dabiao could only helplessly say to Wang Gensheng:
"My soldiers can't ride horses, so you should retreat first! The Japs can't catch up to us at a distance of five miles. Oh, and Captain Li told me they'll retreat from the road near Xingzhuang. You can go and check it out!"

In response to Zhang Dabiao's helplessness, Wang Gensheng smiled and said:
"It doesn't matter if you can't ride a horse. Just have your soldiers sit on the horses and my soldiers will hold the reins!"

Zhang Dabiao listened to Wang Gensheng's method, slapped his forehead and said with a wry smile:
"Oh my! Look at my brain, why didn't I think of such a simple solution!"

But in the end, it was Sun Desheng's cavalry who held the reins of the horses of a company of soldiers who could not ride.

Riding on a warhorse naturally made him move much faster, and he immediately shook off the pursuit of the large group of Japanese infantry.

After hearing from Zhang Dabiao that Li Yunlong and his companions were taking the road to Xingzhuang, Wang Gensheng took Zhang Dabiao and others and rushed towards Xinzhuang.

However, on the way, Wang Gensheng encountered three waves of independent regiment companies that were breaking out and being chased by the Japanese.

So Wang Gensheng and the others hadn't even reached Xingzhuang yet! The number of people gathered together had already exceeded 500.

Of course, these people also sat on the horses in the air like the first company, and then the cavalry company held the reins and led them to run.

Just as Wang Gensheng led the cavalry company towards Xinzhuang, Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang had also arrived at Xinzhuang with less than a company of troops.

Zhao Gang, who had just arrived at Xingzhuang, said:

"Old Li, our current village is called Xinzhuang, and the village we just broke out of is called Weiwang Village. They're only a dozen miles apart. The enemy's mopping-up force hasn't reached Xinzhuang yet, but I estimate they'll be here in an hour or two! What should we do next?"

It was obvious that Zhao Gang was not very good at fighting, especially facing a fierce battle like the Japanese army's mopping-up. Zhao Gang had no experience in this, so he could not compare with Li Yunlong, an old Eighth Route Army soldier who had walked through the grasslands. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army also had a clear rule that in the command of military operations, the political will must obey the military leader, the head of the regiment. After hearing what Zhao Gang said, Li Yunlong thought for a moment and said:
"Old Zhao! Have you ever seen a rake on the grass? The Japanese mopping-up troops are like a rake. Our current position is between the two teeth of the rake. If the troops leave Xinzhuang now, they will hit the teeth. This is a plain, only twenty miles away from the mountains. If the troops are exposed on the plain in broad daylight, they will be walking into the enemy's guns. My suggestion is to evacuate the civilians first. We will defend Xinzhuang on the spot and wait until dark to break out. As long as we rush out, we will be in the mountains in less than two hours!"

Zhao Gang naturally agreed with Li Yunlong's plan and the interests he mentioned.

"I agree with you, but the problem is that we only have less than a company of soldiers. Can we hold out until dark?"

In response to Zhao Gang's concerns, Li Yunlong said firmly:

"We have to defend it even if we can't. There is no other way!"

Zhao Gang did not object to Li Yunlong's decisive tone and expressed his agreement.

So Li Yunlong took less than a company of troops and set up a defensive position in Xinzhuang.

However, after waiting for more than half an hour, there was still no sign of the enemy coming. A soldier said to Li Yunlong:

"Captain, if the enemy doesn't come, all our efforts will be in vain!"

In response to this, Li Yunlong said:

"It would be better if you didn't come. Do you think I want to fight this battle? This kind of defensive battle is the most boring. Our independent regiment has always emphasized offense. Our Lion Commander also said that the best defense is offense!"

As soon as Li Yunlong said this, the soldier immediately became excited and said:

"That's easy. When the enemy reaches our fortifications, we'll rush out and launch a counterattack!"

Li Yunlong immediately denied the words of this soldier who was only in his teens and was at the age of fearlessness.

"No, this won't do. You have to use your brain. We can't counterattack at any time. Now we have less than a company of soldiers left. We have to hold on until dark. We can't fight hard if we don't have much capital. We have to calculate the use of troops. This time our independent regiment has changed its strategy. No matter how hard it is, we won't leave the fortifications. If the enemy is far away, we will shoot with guns, and if they are close, we will greet them with grenades!..."

However, just when Li Yunlong had just finished arranging the defensive tactics, the Japanese led a team to surround Xinzhuang. This time, the leader was a colonel regiment commander, Kasahara Koizumi of the 22nd Regiment, 4th Regiment, 1st Army of the Japanese. Of course, this regiment was naturally also called the Kasahara Regiment.

However, because it was a mopping-up operation, the Kasahara Regiment naturally dispersed its troops like other regiments.

At this time, the commander of the Kasahara regiment actually only had one battalion under his command, with a force of about a thousand people.

The young-looking Captain Kasahara did not immediately enter the village. Instead, he observed through a telescope before speaking to the regimental staff officer beside him:
"This village seems to be empty. There is no sign of anyone. Maybe the people have all fled!"

It was obvious that the commander did not want to bother entering the village to search, but the staff officer was somewhat reluctant. After all, one of the duties of a staff officer was to supervise his supervisor in executing pre-planned military plans.
So, the staff officer said:

"Sir, according to the coordinates we've set in advance, this village has not yet been searched! But I don't think there are any Eighth Route Army troops here!"

(End of this chapter)