Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

This village is far away from the war zone and has not been persecuted by the Japanese and traitors. This led to the fact that when recruiting soldiers, several young and middle-aged men in the village were unwilling to leave the village.

The hope of the team exceeding 50 people was shattered, but Lin Qiang was open-minded and continued to lead the team towards the destination.

We are currently less than 20 kilometers away from our destination, Heiyun Village. At this speed, we will arrive at it by noon tomorrow.

Of course, the premise is that there will be no obstacles that slow down the march.

At noon, the team stopped to rest as usual and the personnel carrying supplies were replaced.

At this time, the soldier who was in charge of scouting the way ahead hurried back, his face looking a little panicked: "Report to the platoon leader, a Japanese stronghold has been discovered ahead. The specific number of people and firepower configuration are unknown. In addition, there is a group of puppet troops stationed at Wulipo, with a strength of about one platoon."

This sudden news made Lin Qiang frown.

If there is only one Japanese stronghold, it would be fine. If there is no chance to attack, we can still go around it through the detour.

The platoon of puppet troops on Wulipo completely blocked the team's way forward.

Wulipo is located between two mountain ranges, and this platoon of puppet troops is stationed at the pass. If they want to go around it, they have to walk more than 20 kilometers.

This was just a small stronghold used by the Japanese to block the Eighth Route Army from passing through the defense zone. It was completely different from the strongholds in important strategic locations. There were no bunkers around it, only a gun tower and a circle of defensive fortifications on the outside. Transport teams would come regularly to deliver daily necessities and ammunition.

Hu Zi had just been replaced and looked a little tired, but he said worriedly, "Platoon leader, the team is exhausted just carrying the supplies forward. Moreover, with such a small number of troops, we have to split a few people to transport the supplies. Our combat effectiveness is definitely not as good as the Japanese. We should just take a detour and come back to deal with them after we settle them down."

Lin Qiang heard all these words, but did not rush to answer.

What Hu Zi said made sense. It was not a good time for the first platoon to start a war now. It seemed that bypassing Wulipu was the best option.

However, Lin Qiang thought that bypassing Wulipo might not be the best option. After thinking for a while, he said, "This place is less than 50 kilometers away from Laiyuan County. The more detour we take, the deeper we go into enemy territory. We might even have to face the Japanese."

Qiangzi was a typical warmonger. He still held the heavy machine gun in his arms and came over and said, "Platoon leader, why don't you let me take the others and sneak behind the puppet army to shoot these bastards."

There was more than one purpose for volunteering. Qiangzi carried the heavy machine gun all the way, thinking of firing a burst of bullets at the Japanese.

How could Lin Qiang not see through his little trick? He immediately issued a death order: "Without my order, no one is allowed to use heavy machine guns and mortars. If anyone dares to disobey the order, don't blame me, Lin Qiang, for turning my back on you!"

This order was given out of consideration for the safety of the entire team. Generally speaking, heavy machine guns and mortars are heavy firepower that only the main force has.

If a platoon used one of them in a battle, they would definitely be identified by the Japanese as the main force.

Once things develop to this point, judging from the results of the Japanese's several raids, they will definitely chase us like a mad dog.

"Qiangzi, take the supplies and retreat to the mountain first."

After thinking for a while, Lin Qiang finally decided to take Wulipo.

Taking a detour is a very disadvantageous choice for the first platoon. It would be fine if they didn't encounter the Japanese army, but if they did, based on the current mobility of the team, it would be impossible to shake off the pursuing Japanese without losing some supplies.

Another thing is that Lin Qiang also had some selfish motives in making this decision.

Don’t you, Monk Wei, look down on my team?

Today I will let you know what kind of team I, Lin Qiang, lead!

This selfish motive was not only for Lin Qiang himself, but also for the entire row of soldiers who were looked down upon by Monk Wei.

If we have to find a reasonable reason, it is to integrate the new recruits and test the overall strength of the team.

Even Monk Wei was surprised by this decision. He approached Lin Qiang and asked, "Platoon Leader, you don't really want to attack Wulipo, do you?"

"My crotch is on fire—of course!"

Lin Qiang said confidently, "Why, do you not trust me, or do you not trust this team?"

"Platoon leader, it's not that I look down on you."

Monk Wei had also heard the soldiers' report and believed that it would be impossible to capture Wulipo with just this number of people. A rash attack would only result in more casualties. "We only have this many people, and if we send some away, including you, there are only twenty people who can fight..."

"Hearing what you said, you don't believe me?"

As the saying goes, you can't even make steamed buns without fighting for your reputation.

Monk Wei had been watching him through the crack in the door time and again. Even though Lin Qiang had a good temper, he couldn't help but feel a little angry. "Okay, you just watch carefully from the side. Today I'm going to show you my skills like an old lady wearing a waistcoat!"

The reason why he was so confident was that Lin Qiang knew the character of the traitors too well.

Especially when they were stationed in such a remote place, the Japanese soldiers had already developed a rebellious mentality. If they had not been stuttering, they would have rebelled with their guns.

Wulipo was considered a buffer zone between the Japanese invaders and the Eighth Route Army, and was often raided by guerrillas and local forces.

Although it does not have a very direct effect, it can still make the Japanese physically and mentally exhausted.

Although they knew that it was a guerrilla force that made much of a noise but did little to bring about any attack, the Japanese soldiers on Wulipo did not dare to take the risk. They did not dare to bet that it was not a large force of the Eighth Route Army that was attacking.

This guerrilla tactic laid the key to victory in the battle. Lin Qiang's plan was also very simple, which was to fight according to the previous style.

All the team's supplies were moved to a safe place, and ten people were left to guard it. Lin Qiang did not use the mortar and heavy machine gun.

As I said, the team’s combat effectiveness is too weak now. If it is targeted by a large Japanese force, it will be detrimental to future development.

Lin Qiang gathered everyone together and laid out his battle plan: "The difficulty of this Wulipo stronghold lies in the machine guns on the artillery tower. However, the Japanese are also afraid of death. They will definitely not leave the artillery tower when a battle begins. Qiangzi, you lead a team to engage the Japanese from the front, while Huzi and I will lead the others to sneak over and blow up the artillery tower."

"Remember, as soon as this turret is blown up, Qiangzi, you must cease fire and withdraw from the battle, taking the supplies and retreating along the original route."

The plan is simple and easy to implement.

As long as the feint attack on the front attracts firepower, the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold will think that it is a small guerrilla force and will not care about the flanks at all.

As long as we can get to the bottom of the artillery tower, we can take down the Japanese artillery tower by throwing a few grenades in.

Everyone who stayed behind was assigned a task, except for Monk Wei, which made him a little unhappy. He asked Lin Qiang, "What about me?"

"you?"

Lin Qiang gave him a meaningful look and said, "You are responsible for observing whether there are any reinforcements from the Japanese. If there are, fire three shots in a row."

In fact, what Lin Qiang wanted to say was that you just need to watch the show, because this battle was originally a show performed for Monk Wei.

Monk Wei didn't say anything else. He picked up his gun and gloomily found a high ground to observe the situation.

Ten minutes later.

The cuckoo's call was heard on Wulipu, followed by the sound of a volley of Type 38 rifles.

The Japanese were inside the artillery tower, and the puppet troops were firing indiscriminately in the outer fortifications.

There were more than 40 puppet soldiers in a platoon, and none of them dared to stick their heads out to see what was going on, for they were all afraid that the bullets would have eyes and fly into them.

Platoon leader Zhang Yuntian, nestled in his fortifications, remained calm. He took out a cigarette, lit one, and then said to the puppet soldiers around him, "Don't panic, everyone. It must be the guerrillas from Wangcun setting off fireworks again."

After his platoon was assigned here, it was often harassed by guerrillas. From the initial treatment when they were facing a formidable enemy to the current state of being accustomed to it, Zhang Yuntian can be said to have figured out the guerrillas' tactics.

Unlike before, some puppet soldiers heard the difference in the sound of the gunfire and said in a panic: "Platoon leader, it doesn't seem to be the guerrillas this time. Listen, the sound of the gunfire is like the Type 38 rifle, not the homemade rifles in the hands of the guerrillas!"

Zhang Yuntian exhaled a puff of white mist, not paying any attention to what his men said. He said impatiently, "You heard wrong. How could the guerrillas have Type 38 rifles? It must be the Japanese in the artillery tower who are shooting."

Putting out his cigarette, Zhang Yuntian continued, "Even if the main force of the Eighth Route Army arrives, I haven't aimed or fired, and I haven't done anything harmful to the world. What are you afraid of? At worst, we can just defect to the Eighth Route Army."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuntian heard a loud noise coming from the artillery tower behind him. Looking back, he saw only billowing black smoke rising into the sky instead of the flames.

This scene frightened him so much that his hands began to tremble uncontrollably: "Oh no! We're finished!"