Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

The junction of Laiyuan County and Anhua County.

The Japanese Fourth Brigade is resting here, waiting for the order to attack.

Brigade commander Haradaira Koizumi was concentrating on deducing the operation on the map. When he learned that the team's plan had failed, not only did it not cause any losses to the Eighth Route Army, but the team also suffered heavy losses.

He immediately called in the commander of the 22nd Regiment, Yuta Jiro, and after meeting him, he slapped him twice in the face without saying a word.

"Waste, good-for-nothing!"

"If you can't even do this little thing, it was such a waste to exchange so many supplies for you!"

As the saying goes, if you make a mistake you must admit it, and if you are beaten you must stand at attention.

The five clearly visible finger marks on his face caused far less harm to Yutajiro than the verbal abuse from Harahira Koizumi.

Although Yutajiro wanted to refute, he chose to remain silent because he knew the captain's temper well.

Misfortune never comes singly.

After the plan failed, the signalman brought more bad news: "Report to the commander, there is news from the direction of Ping'an County. The team has encountered strong resistance from the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. It is temporarily unable to break through and cannot reach the designated position on time."

"Nani?"

Harahira Koizumi was so angry that he kicked over the ammunition box used as a base for the map and cursed, "Chu Yunfei, that bastard, why did he have to interfere at this time!?"

"Order the 18th Regiment to attack with all their might the base of the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army!"

Upon hearing this, the Chief of Staff stopped him in time: "Captain, this decision is wrong!"

Before Yuan Ping Xiaoquan lost his temper, the chief of staff explained: "Our mission is to hold back the Eighth Route Army's independent battalion and prevent Lin Qiang from reinforcing other units. We have already lost a large number of troops in the two operations."

"If you split up your forces at this moment, it will probably lead to the failure of the entire plan. Captain, you must prioritize the overall situation!"

"There are two brigades of troops in the Ping'an direction. It's only a matter of time before they break through Chu Yunfei's blockade. For now, let's think about how to hold Lin Qiang back for three days."

After hearing this, Harahira Koizumi's emotions gradually calmed down, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided: "Shimono-kun, in your opinion, what should we do next?"

The Chief of Staff thought for a moment and replied, "We have already tested some of the independent battalion's combat capabilities. Many of our plans cannot be implemented. Judging from the results of the previous two battles, we cannot achieve our goals with only one or two regiments."

"The terrain around Xiaowangzhuang is narrow. Passing through Hulukou puts us in the ambush range of the independent battalion. If we act rashly, what happened to Kawashita-kun might very well happen to us."

"So, I think we should deploy the troops and order the 22nd and 4th Regiments to lead the way, starting from Hulukou and advancing along the mountains on both sides."

"Also, our artillery only has one chance to fire. I think we should abandon the artillery and bring in a large number of grenade launchers as the main suppressive firepower, coordinating with the simultaneous advance on both sides."

Harahira Koizumi nodded, but then shook his head. "Your plan is good, but all our actions are under Lin Qiang's watch. Once we enter the range of the howitzers, he will open fire without hesitation."

When talking about the independent battalion's howitzers, Harahira Koizumi felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Any conspiracy or trick is so powerless in the face of absolute artillery fire.

"This……"

Chief of Staff Onomura also felt powerless. The howitzer's destructive power was too strong, and the team could not effectively avoid the bombing in the narrow space.

After a moment's thought, Harahira Koizumi called the signalman and instructed, "Telegram to Commander Yoshio Shinozuka. Tell him that the Independent Battalion is under heavy artillery fire, and the 4th Brigade is unable to break through and is in dire straits. Request air support to destroy the Independent Battalion's howitzer positions."

"Hi Yi!"

The signalman left quickly, returned to the radio station and started sending the message.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Harahira Koizumi would never request air force reinforcements. This was not only a personal shame for him, but also a shame for the entire brigade.

Compared to this, if he fails to complete the task, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame forever like Hide Kawashita.

However, Haradaira Koizumi's request was ruthlessly rejected by Yoshio Shinozuka on the grounds that the bombers could not effectively bomb the independent battalion's position.

This reason made Harahira Koizumi extremely angry. In terms of position, he was also a major general, but he was just following the orders of Commander-in-Chief Okamura Ningji and was ordered to come to assist the Northwest Shanxi War Zone.

The humiliated and angry Haradaira Koizumi immediately sent a telegram to Okamura Neiji, which clearly pointed out the difficulty of the operation and the fact that Yoshio Shinozuka did not provide air support.

In Harahira Koizumi's opinion, trying to delay the independent battalion for three days under such circumstances was simply an impossible task.

No matter how many troops the 4th Brigade has, it cannot withstand the repeated bombardment of howitzers. If the problem of howitzers cannot be solved, Harahira Koizumi will definitely not continue to send troops to die.

However, this telegram fell on deaf ears, and after ten minutes, there was no response.

Haradaira Koizumi thought that Commander Okamura Neiji was very disappointed in him, so he sent another telegram with more detailed content, explaining why he asked for help.

However, Haradaira Koizumi may not know until his death that the telegram was never sent to the headquarters of General Okamura Yasuji, and even the telegram sent to Yoshio Shinozuka was not sent.

As for the reply, it was not from Yoshio Shinozuka at all. How could he reply if he hadn't even received the telegram?

At the Xiaowangzhuang position.

Xiaowu, the communications soldier, is a high-level talent that Lin Qiang picked up for free. He is not only proficient in Japanese translation, but also knows how to intercept radio stations and can translate intercepted Japanese telegrams.

In Xiaowu's own words, he had memorized several of the Japanese code books in his mind and could figure them out with just one glance.

The ability to intercept and reply to Japanese telegrams is a reward given by the system after repelling the Japanese regiment.

It could originally be purchased in the system mall, but the price was 550,000 Anti-Japanese War Points, and Lin Qiang couldn't bear to buy it.

It is true that the earlier you buy, the earlier you enjoy. If you don’t buy, it will be free.

After getting this equipment, Lin Qiang immediately called Xiao Wu. He originally wanted to give it a try, but he didn't expect that he actually intercepted a telegram.

Not only that, it can also directly locate based on the location where the signal is sent. As long as the signal can be captured, it can be accurately located immediately.

Therefore, the reply that Yuanping Koizumi received was Xiaowu's reply according to Lin Qiang's instructions.

"Commander, another telegram has been intercepted."

Xiao Wu handed the translated telegram to Lin Qiang. After he finished reading it, he smiled and said to Xiao Wu, "Reply him with two words."

"Which two words?"

"no!"