Bright Sword: Leading the Special Operations Squadron to Fight the Japs

After collecting intelligence through He Zhiying'er's intelligence network, they finally found out the source of the uniforms and weapons and equipment, which was the little-known Jinnan Independent Column. The commander of this team was their old enemy Li Yunlong.

Kazuchi Takaji returned to Taiyuan City and reported to Shinozuka Yoshio in person.

"General Xiaozuka, according to my analysis, Li Yunlong was afraid of the empire's retaliation, so he hid his identity and handed over his original 386th Regiment to his former deputy commander Xing Zhiguo, and then reorganized a Jinnan Independent Column, hiding as a local guerrilla force!"

"Yoshi, where is Li Yunlong hiding now?"

He Zhiyingji walked to the map and drew a circle on the Taihang Mountains south of Pingshun County.

"According to my capable subordinates, Li Yunlong is in Shipo Township!"

"How many troops?"

He Zhiyinger shook his head. If it weren’t for the new military uniforms they had recently changed into, even Li Yunlong didn’t know exactly how many troops he had. How could he and Zhiyinger know?

"According to my understanding of the Chinese military, the local armed forces they organize are based on a company or a battalion of regular troops. The other soldiers are temporarily recruited from the local area, so there shouldn't be many of them."

Kazuchi Takaji paused.

"Also, the intelligence I sent back from my intelligence network in Pingshun County showed that Li Yunlong's troops did not conduct large-scale grain collection, so I estimate that the number of soldiers is no more than 2,000."

Yoshio Shinozuka nodded. Deep down, he still looked down on the Chinese army, especially the Eighth Route Army. In his eyes, they were just farmers who had just put down their hoes.

If Li Yunlong and Wang Meng knew about this, they would probably laugh their heads off. They can basically use compressed biscuits and egg powder as one-third of their food rations now, and of course there is no need to collect grain on a large scale.

And didn’t the Japanese give away several large trucks for free in Gaojiaopo Village on Zhengtai Road some time ago?

Yoshio Shino made up his mind and ordered Lieutenant General Yuichiro Nono of the 37th Division to lead the 225th Infantry Regiment, the 227th Infantry Regiment, the 37th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and the Pingshun Security Corps of the puppet army to assemble in Pingshun County and launch an attack on the Jinnan Independent Column on a certain day.

No Yuichiro was dismissive of Yoshio Shinozuka's order. Although the 37th Division was a Type B division, was it necessary to mobilize two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment to deal with a local armed force?

"General Xiaoxiao is becoming more and more timid! Order all troops to assemble within a month and reach the Jinnan Independent Column within ten days!"

The independent column units that had just returned to Shipo Township had no idea that the Japanese were already preparing to gather heavy troops.

The independent regiment suffered heavy losses in the defense of Huangyadong. Currently, there are only more than 800 combat-capable soldiers left. Fortunately, the arsenal was brought out.

"Old Xing, I don't think the Japanese will let us go easily. You should take the comrades from the arsenal into the Taihang Mountains to develop and train the team first."

"Okay, it won't matter if our independent regiment arrives, but these soldiers who know how to make guns and cannons are very valuable. I'll take them to Taihang Mountain, and if that doesn't work, we'll go to the base in northwest Shanxi. Take care of yourselves!"

Li Yunlong sent a medical team to follow the independent regiment and help them treat the wounded.

Before leaving, each soldier of the independent regiment was given ten days' worth of compressed biscuits, fifty rounds of bullets, and four grenades.

Finally, more than a thousand Mauser rifles that were replaced by the first battalion were packed up and given to Xing Zhiguo.

Li Yunlong felt unhappy as he watched the independent regiment walking into the mountains.

Xing Zhiguo is an old comrade and is good at leading troops in battle. He really needs to take the comrades in the arsenal into consideration, otherwise the losses would not have been so great.

Zhao Gang patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder, frowning.

"Old Li, there's no time to be sad now, think about what to do next?"

"Alas, our old troops, it's really painful to see them!"

The brigade sent an urgent telegram, saying that it had learned from secret channels that the enemy had ordered a large concentration of troops in Pingshun County.

"Good fellow, the Japanese really think highly of me, Li Yunlong, by giving me three regiments!"

The two infantry regiments have about 7000 people and are equipped with a small amount of artillery.

An artillery regiment has more than 2300 people, equipped with three artillery battalions. Each battalion has 12 75mm mountain cannons and some self-defense weapons.

The Pingshun Security Corps had more than 1500 puppet soldiers, all of whom were lightly armed and had second-rate combat skills. They were good at bullying ordinary people, but they were worse than bandits in fighting.

Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang and Wang Meng held another meeting. Currently, there are two strategic directions before them: one is to abandon the newly established base, avoid the enemy's sharp edge, and enter the Taihang Mountains; the other is to rely on the Taihang Mountains without seeking gains or losses in the base, and to resist with the goal of killing the enemy's effective forces.

As expected, all three agreed to option 2.

"Since no one has any objection, I will send a telegram to the brigade and headquarters in the name of the column's party committee!"

"agree!"

"agree!"

Zhao Gang was busy contacting the headquarters.

Li Yunlong inspected various troops and asked them to quickly count the number of casualties and build defensive fortifications outside their respective bases in preparation for meeting the enemy.

Wang Meng was making preparations for a major war, exchanging supplies and preparing for battle based on the losses reported by various units.

Both the brigade and the headquarters received a telegram from the independent column requesting to fight. The head of the headquarters agreed to severely strike a blow against the arrogance of the Japanese and puppet troops and boost the confidence of the Eighth Route Army. The specific combat plan was formulated by the 386th Brigade and the independent column.

Brigade Commander Chen studied the terrain of Pingshun County and the Taihang Mountains on the map.

"Let Li Yunlong report the troop organization!"

"Yes!"

In less than a minute, Zhao Gang, who was guarding the radio station, reported the latest configuration of each unit:

The 386th Brigade's Jinnan Independent Column was organized as follows:

The independent column headquarters had 123 men;

The direct guard company has 156 people;

110 members of the direct special operations team;

The direct cavalry company has 143 men;

614 people in the direct tank battalion;

The direct reconnaissance battalion has 625 personnel;

The Communications Battalion has 435 personnel;

the transport battalion had 352 men;

The artillery regiment has 2458 men;

2134st Infantry Regiment: men;

1936nd Infantry Regiment, men;

The 1954rd Infantry Regiment has men;

The whole column.

自卫手枪2000余支、自动步枪1100余支、半自动步枪1900余支、冲锋枪600余支、毛瑟步枪5300余支。

More than 34 MG800 general-purpose machine guns;

More than 50 300mm platoon-level mortars;

More than 81 100mm platoon-level mortars;

37 36mm anti-tank guns;

More than 75 60mm infantry guns;

150mm more than 120 doors;

105 60mm howitzers;

37 60mm anti-aircraft guns;

30 Tiger heavy tanks;

There are more than 200 trucks, ammunition trucks, tractors, and tank repair vehicles of various types.

Brigade Commander Chen and the heads of the headquarters confirmed with the independent column at least three times before they finally closed their jaws of fear.

"Chief of Staff, Li Yunlong has made a fortune. The vitality of the entire column is stronger than that of our Eighth Route Army combined!"

"Li Yunlong is a capable guy. With such a troop in our hands, why should we be afraid of a raid by the Japanese?"

"Call the Independent Column back. I don't care how Li Yunlong fights, just don't embarrass me!"

Li Yunlong laughed as he looked at the telegram. With this sentence, things would be easy. We could use whatever dirty tricks we had.

"Old Li, why didn't you hide it this time? Aren't you afraid that the brigade commander will be happy and prosperous?"

"Old Zhao, we are facing a powerful enemy. We must tell the truth. Otherwise, if we mislead the leaders into making the wrong decision, we, Old Li, will be sinners for all eternity!"