Traveling through 1937, starting from the Battle of Songhu

Chapter 455: Stirring Up the Storm

At Xianyaling, as Gu Changfeng led the team away, the entire brigade began to operate at high speed. News came in one after another, and Zhao Ziqing handled it with ease.

After all, he is a top student. Even though he is not fighting in the war, he can still handle things well in the brigade headquarters.

Just like what Gu Changfeng had instructed before about handling spies, if not 100% of them in Gaojia Town, at least 80% of them were secretly arrested by him.

Zhou Qianli was also in charge of the brigade headquarters. He watched Zhao Ziqing convey his orders before speaking, "Old Zhao, why don't you stop Changfeng? This operation is too risky."

When Zhao Ziqing heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "You, the political commissar, didn't stop me, and you're counting on me!"

He now had no objection to joining the Eighth Route Army, and by this point, many people in the entire independent brigade had actually guessed it, but they just didn't say it explicitly.

Strength determines confidence. As for what the bald man thinks, that is his business. The officers of the independent brigade don’t care. For example, the regimental commander sent by the bald man before was killed in the independent brigade before he could even do anything.

"Alas," Zhou Qianli sighed softly and said, "The Japs are operating on such a large scale, I don't know if we can hold on."

Zhao Ziqing glanced at Zhou Qianli, thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I also agree that Changfeng should go out. Gaojia Town cannot be destroyed again, so it is best to divert the Japanese to the Yuci area."

"As for Laiyuan, Baoding, and even Shijiazhuang, although taking them is of great significance, taking Taiyuan is even more significant. That is the headquarters of the Japanese First Army. If Changfeng really takes it down, the Japanese will go crazy."

He knew very well what Gu Changfeng's purpose was. He had not wanted to make trouble in Laiyuan before, let alone now that he had a strong army.

Zhou Qianli nodded and changed the subject, "Anyway, you guys are in charge of the military affairs, I won't be involved. The 5th and 6th Regiments have a large-scale operation tonight, so please pay attention!"

Zhao Ziqing was obviously more interested in this and said with a smile, "Old Zhou, our operation is about to begin, so the brigade headquarters will be handed over to you later. You are the political commissar, don't you think you can take a rest? Haha!"

Gu Changfeng has already gone out, how could he not have any ideas? The newly trained special forces have never experienced large-scale operations, and this is a good opportunity.

Zhou Qianli hadn't expected that Zhao Ziqing, who was in charge of the brigade headquarters, would also have to leave. Upon hearing this, his eyes widened. After a long pause, he said helplessly, "You guys are just treating me like an animal!"

He knew that with these guys' personalities, he couldn't stop them. He had no choice but to stay up all night again...

On the Pinghan Railway, the 56th Regiment's target was still the Shijiazhuang to Baoding section.

During the day, the 5th and 6th Regiments launched small-scale surprise attacks on several strongholds. The Japanese were used to it and didn't think much of it. They couldn't defeat them anyway, so they just ran away when they saw them.

So the 56th Regiment didn't achieve much in terms of victory. They only killed a few hundred Japanese and puppet soldiers, and captured only a small amount of spoils...

Xingtang County, the location of the Japanese security zone, has not only a large group of Japanese troops, but also a reinforced regiment of puppet troops, with a total strength of more than 4,000.

In order to better control the declining situation in the surrounding areas, the Japanese directly placed heavy troops to guard several county towns, forming a corner with Xinle, Dingxian and Quyang. If any of them was attacked, they could provide support for no more than an hour.

After a year of preparation, the Japs do have sufficient manpower, especially in the current environment, and it is very comfortable for them to gather the puppet troops.

Many of them were entire regiments or even entire brigades that surrendered, resulting in a huge increase in the First Army's strength.

In fact, if it weren't for the preparation of supplies needed for the puppet army, Yoshio Shinozuka would have wanted to take action before the New Year. The result was obvious. There were too many Imperial Army troops, and with the transportation personnel in between, they simply did not have enough supplies, so they waited until this time.

The goal of the 5th and 6th Regiments tonight is to muddy the waters. If they can defeat these devils and puppet troops, Deng Wu and Zhang Guofu will be overjoyed.

Of course, their appetite was not that big. They just surrounded the enemy and attacked the reinforcements, and consumed more Japanese troops. After all, their main force, the two regiments combined, had only more than 6,000 people.

By 6 p.m., the Second Battalion of the Fifth Regiment had quietly arrived outside Xingtang County and sent several scouts into the county, waiting for the scouts to come back and report the results.

At ten o'clock in the evening, scout Kong Lingfei finally returned and brought back the information the second battalion commander needed.

"Commander, the inspections in the county town are very strict. Even staying in a hotel requires a good citizen certificate. The villagers turn pale when they talk about our army."

"The county gate was permanently guarded by a battalion of puppet troops. The Japanese barracks were located near the former county government. There was only one battalion of Japanese soldiers!"

"These puppet troops are all Nationalist troops who were scattered and surrendered on various battlefields. They probably felt that China had no hope, so they voluntarily surrendered to the devil. Their regimental commander, in particular, is very stubborn and is really working for the devil wholeheartedly!"

Kong Lingfei is indeed an excellent scout. His intelligence investigation is very detailed, which makes the second battalion commander Yuan Gang very satisfied.

The goal of their Second Battalion was to investigate the specific situation and then take the lead in attacking the Japanese and puppet troops in the county. As for their other battalions and the Sixth Regiment, they were not so fast.

"Brothers, everyone is aware of the situation in the county. Let's talk about how to fight!"

There were more than 4,000 Japanese and puppet troops in the county town. It would be very difficult for their reinforced battalion of more than 800 people to capture them. Several company commanders of the second battalion began to frown.

After a long pause, the company commander spoke up, "Battalion Commander, since most of the county is inhabited by puppet troops, and puppet troops are naturally afraid of the Japs, should we disguise ourselves as Japs and try to outwit them?"

The other company commanders were instantly enlightened after hearing this. The artillery company commander immediately added: "Battalion Commander, when we were following the brigade commander before, the special forces often went to carry out missions with the puppet army."

"It just so happens that there are several soldiers in our battalion who can speak Japanese language. We also seized a batch of Japanese clothes during the day. We can disguise ourselves as Japanese soldiers and approach the county town, saying that we are here to reinforce Xingtang County."

This reason is very reasonable. In the past six months, the independent brigade and the Eighth Route Army have been attacking the Japanese strongholds from time to time, so the Japanese have been frequently mobilized, which has given them an opportunity.

Yuan Gang didn't think for long before making the final decision: "Let's follow this plan. Next, we will discuss the details and report them to the regiment headquarters."

"The idea was proposed by Captain Qi. The camouflage mission is now assigned to your company. The soldiers who can speak Japanese language are also assigned to you. We will act at 12 o'clock tonight."

"Artillery Company, Second and Third Companies, prepare for a strong attack..."

There is no doubt that the joint attack of the 5th and 6th Regiments tonight must achieve some results.

If their battalion can capture Xingtang directly, then their Second Battalion will become famous. Just thinking about it makes me excited!