Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

The brigade commander was right. Yan Laoxi actually gave Chu Yunfei an order, ordering him to withdraw from the battle and preserve his strength.

However, he was ignored by Chu Yunfei. Even Fang Ligong, the chief of staff who had been with him for many years, was taken back to the regiment headquarters and placed under house arrest by Chu Yunfei.

Chu Yunfei has endured so many times, this time he is determined to stop the Japanese at all costs.

However, the Eighth Route Army was unaware of this. The brigade commander called Li Yunlong and others separately, asking them to prepare for battle, believing that Chu Yunfei might withdraw from the battle at any time.

After receiving the call from the brigade commander, Li Yunlong began to wonder, "Chu Yunfei doesn't seem like a coward, so why would he retreat?"

The two had been in contact for several days. Li Yunlong knew Chu Yunfei's temperament very well. Like him, he was stubborn. He believed that Chu Yunfei would not withdraw from the battle easily.

However, military orders are as firm as a mountain, so he still arranged the defense according to the instructions of the brigade commander.

At this time, Chu Yunfei and his troops were already on the battlefield, ready for battle.

The Japanese invaders came like a tide. Chu Yunfei gave an order and guns and cannons roared. The battle was extremely fierce. Chu Yunfei personally took to the battlefield and the morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted.

On the other side, the Eighth Route Army soldiers were anxiously waiting to fill the vacancy left by Chu Yunfei's troops. Time passed, but there was still no sign of Chu Yunfei's withdrawal.

After several hours of fierce fighting, Chu Yunfei successfully repelled a round of attacks by the Japanese army.

At this time, the news reached the Eighth Route Army. Li Yunlong slapped his thigh and said, "Damn it, Chu Yunfei is such a man!"

Although there are differences between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, they should work together to resist foreign enemies and defend the country in the face of the great cause of resisting Japan.

Li Yunlong immediately decided to send people to support Chu Yunfei. He called Zhang Dabiao and ordered, "Dabiao, Chu Yunfei is fighting fiercely right now. We can't just stand by and watch. Take the first battalion and go around to the flank to surprise the Japanese."

Zhang Dabiao is Li Yunlong's right-hand man, and their relationship transcends that of superiors and subordinates in the face of life and death.

Hearing Li Yunlong's order, Zhang Dabiao said: "Commander, you told me the order yourself. Although our independent regiment is strong now, the first battalion is not the main force. But if this strong man leaves, if the Japanese suddenly attack, I'm afraid it will be a bit tricky!"

Li Yunlong glanced at him and said, "Zhang Dabiao, are you afraid?"

"Captain, you must speak with conscience!"

Zhang Dabiao's face flushed with anxiety as he retorted, "I, Zhang Dabiao, have been with you since I joined the army. We've fought in so many battles, big and small. When have you ever seen me afraid?"

"You kid, why don't you know how to be funny!"

Li Yunlong chuckled and handed the wine bowl to Zhang Dabiao: "Come on, have a drink."

Zhang Dabiao was an honest man. He took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. After finishing, he wiped his mouth with an expression of being unsatisfied.

"Hey hey!"

Li Yunlong took the bowl and said dissatisfiedly, "How can you be so naive? I let you take a few sips, but I didn't let you drink it all!"

Inviting Zhang Dabiao to sit down, Li Yunlong poured him another bowl of wine: "Dabiao, I know what you are worried about. It's just an accident. The boss blames me and wants to shoot me. You don't have to worry about it."

"The Japs heading towards Xiangyang are temporarily blocked by a main regiment of the Central Army. We don't need to worry. Even if the Japs break through their defenses, we still have Kong Erlangzi's New Second Regiment ahead of us. I'm sending the First Battalion to reinforce Chu Yunfei as a favor. Besides, with your First Battalion there, how could the Japs possibly reach our Independent Battalion's defense zone?"

"Think about it. Chu Yunfei is unwilling to withdraw now. Once the First Battalion arrives, he won't have the chance to do so even if he wants to. Our Independent Regiment has already provided support. If Chu Yunfei really dares to retreat, his days in northwest Shanxi will be over."

These words made Zhang Dabiao understand the intention of the regiment commander. The purpose of the first battalion going there was not entirely to stop the Japanese, but to set up Chu Yunfei and his 358th Regiment.

"Captain, I understand. I'll take the entire battalion there right away!"

After saying that, Zhang Dabiao ran out. Just when Li Yunlong was happy about saving a bowl of wine, Zhang Dabiao suddenly turned back, picked up the bowl of wine and drank it all in one gulp, faster than Li Yunlong.

That’s not all. Zhang Dabiao grabbed a handful of peanuts on the table that Li Yunlong was using to eat with his wine, stuffed them into his mouth, and then quickly ran out.

The whole process took less than ten seconds, and Li Yunlong was stunned.

Dagushan.

Chu Yunfei had just repelled a wave of attacks and had no time to catch his breath when the Japanese organized a new round of charge. Under Chu Yunfei's command, the 358th Regiment burst out with powerful combat effectiveness.

The battalions cooperated well with each other and provided cross-cover, blocking the Japanese outside the defense line. Although his superiors repeatedly ordered him to withdraw, Chu Yunfei still ignored them.

However, things began to change.

A Japanese army troop came from the direction of Laiyuan County, with a strength of about a battalion, and they came fully armed.

Once this large group of Japanese invaders enters Dagu Town, Chu Yunfei will be faced with being attacked from both sides.

There was only one Shanxi-Suiyuan Army unit, the 358th Regiment, in northwest Shanxi. Considering what had happened before, Chu Yunfei knew clearly that if there were any reinforcements, they could only be Lin Qiang's independent battalion.

However, the crisis in the independent camp is even greater now, and Lin Qiang has no time to care about Chu Yunfei's life or death.

But something unexpected happened. When the Japanese army approached Dagu Town, a company sent by Chu Yunfei to block them also arrived at the designated location.

The 358th Regiment was a reinforced regiment, and its strength had long exceeded 5,000 people. In addition, after the Qian Bojun incident, nearly 1,000 people were taken away by Lin Qiang, Chu Yunfei recruited more soldiers and expanded the troops to more than 7,000 people.

This company was equivalent to a battalion of the Eighth Route Army during difficult times.

The two sides soon exchanged fire, and the sound of gunfire continued.

Just as Chu Yunfei was pondering this, intelligence came from the front: "Report to the regiment commander, according to the front observation post, the Eighth Route Army reinforcements are coming!"

"Hmm? Great, how many of them are coming!?"

Chu Yunfei thought that Lin Qiang had sent reinforcements, so the recruitment issue would be resolved.

"There are about a battalion of troops coming from the independent regiment's defense zone."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunfei was stunned: "Li Yunlong's troops?"

Chu Yunfei admired Li Yunlong, but he also knew that Li Yunlong was a profit-seeking person and would never do any business that would lose money.

If Lin Qiang had not taken action first in the first battalion of Dagu Town, it would have been Li Yunlong's turn to take action.

With Chu Yunfei's intelligence, it was not difficult to guess Li Yunlong's purpose, but this time Chu Yunfei lost his mind and did not guess Li Yunlong's intention at all.

In other words, Chu Yunfei was happy because the crisis was resolved.

The first battalion led by Zhang Dabiao was the most powerful team in the independent regiment. They fought extremely fiercely and killed one-fifth of the Japanese in just one encounter.

Originally, the Japanese wanted to attack the 358th Regiment from both sides, but they never expected that their own team would become the sandwich.

On the battlefield, Zhang Dabiao ordered the mortars to bombard with all their might: "Don't save ammunition for me, take aim and bomb him directly!"

"Bomb crew, go!"

"Brothers, no matter whether we are facing a battalion or a regiment of Japs, we must eat them all before the Japs' reinforcements arrive!"