Bright Sword: From Soldier to Brigade Commander

The victory was of great significance and the spoils were huge.

The Tsuruta squad was completely wiped out. An 81mm mortar, more than 60 artillery shells, three Type 89 grenade launchers, 300 grenades, 27 Type 38 rifles, three light machine guns, some bullets, and some grenades all fell into the hands of Su Fei's troops.

The weapons and ammunition of the puppet army infantry battalion of Li Duanzhang, which consisted of more than 500 people, included about 350 rifles, a number of grenades and bullets.

Four months' worth of rations and other supplies for 600 Japanese and puppet troops.

The Japanese and puppet troops had more than 20 horses.

The news reached the 358th Regiment, and it was reported by a telecommunications team he left for Su Fei.

"Using one company to capture a town and wipe out a Japanese infantry squad and an Imperial Army infantry battalion? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

The headquarters of the 358th Regiment was in an uproar.

Everyone suspected that Su Fei was bragging and forcing the telecommunications team to release false military achievements.

This is totally outrageous.

Are the Japanese really that bad? Almost all of them are sharpshooters. One veteran is so cunning and vicious that even a whole squad of our Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is scared.

They are defending the city, and you are attacking it by force?

Qian Bojun, Fang Ligong, and some officers who were jealous of Su Fei all requested to conduct an on-site inspection.

Okay.

Chu Yunfei agreed.

He also wanted to know how the battle was fought.

The telegram was very concise and was too vague. It only said that they would ambush the city. But how could they ambush the city?

Chu Yunfei personally brought Qian Bojun and others, plus a cavalry platoon and an infantry battalion.

Qian Bojun’s reinforced battalion, more than 1800 people!

They were worried that the Japanese and puppet troops would immediately counterattack Wanjia Town and harm Su Fei's troops.

He was also worried that the Japanese and puppet troops would deliberately retreat and set up an ambush to attack him.

Unexpectedly, I actually ran into him after arriving here.

It had been more than four hours since Su Fei, the cavalry messenger, left and Chu Yunfei mobilized his troops to arrive. The Japanese army had indeed mobilized troops to besiege them.

Captain Morita, who was stationed in the county town, personally led two Japanese infantry squads and another infantry battalion of the puppet army to retaliate. At night, the Japanese and puppet troops were divided into two groups. One group advanced head-on, with more than 70 Japanese soldiers and more than 300 puppet soldiers. Captain Morita led the other group to make a flanking move, with more than 30 Japanese soldiers and more than 150 puppet soldiers.

They vowed to wipe out the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army that invaded Wanjia Town.

The battle took place in the early morning. They were able to contact Captain Tsuruta at first, but then lost contact.

Realizing the danger, Captain Morita immediately assembled his troops and charged towards Wanjia Town with great momentum.

However, after their scouts entered the Wanjia Town fortress under the cover of night, there was no movement.

Fearing an ambush, they sent the puppet army's cannon fodder. As a result, these cannon fodder returned in surprise, as happy as a monkey: "Taijun, there is no one here, it's empty."

He was very happy that he was not ambushed.

However, Captain Morita poured a bucket of cold water on him from head to toe and gave him several loud slaps in the face.

It’s over, the Hetian squad and Li Duanzhang’s Imperial Army Infantry Battalion were completely wiped out!

There was a lot of blood and a bloody smell in the walled city, but no corpses were found.

All the houses in Wanjia Town are empty.

However, Captain Morita was no ordinary man. He patiently entered several households and stroked the quilts with his hands.

"These people haven't been away for long, and there's still a faint lingering warmth!"

How to do?

Infantry Battalion Captain Hu Liqiang of the Imperial Army was extremely alert: "Taijun, be careful of enemy ambushes! Su Fei has defected to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army! The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has recovered rapidly in recent years and its strength has grown!"

Captain Morita frowned and thought, "Captain Hu, leave one company to guard the town, and the rest of the troops retreat quickly."

Another leader of the Imperial Army, the deputy captain, competed with Hu Liqiang for favor and said, "Mr. Morita, is it possible that this is an empty city plan? After the enemy severely damaged our Tsuruta unit, they suffered heavy losses and dared not defend the city and fled?"

Hu Liqiang immediately retorted, "The enemy's escape is the Empty City Strategy? It's the Thirty-Six Stratagems!"

Morita ordered the main force of the army to withdraw from Wanjia Town and set up an ambush circle outside the town.

Yes, it is possible that the main force of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has arrived, so let’s ambush them!

The Japanese and puppet troops set up multiple ambush points around Wanjia Town, 800 meters away.

Dig trenches, individual pits, machine gun positions, mortar and grenade launcher positions.

There were three ambush positions, located in the west, south, and north. As for the east, Captain Morita personally led his men there as a reserve.

It was approaching dawn.

……

Chu Yunfei, who was on the march, received a telegram from Su Fei. Su Fei was worried that Chu Yunfei would lead the troops here, so he told him not to move rashly and it would be best not to approach Wanjia Town, as he should be careful of the Japanese ambush.

Chu Yunfei stopped, and Fang Ligong and others beside him were furious: "Su Fei must have lied about the military intelligence and was afraid that we would expose his tricks, so he stopped the regimental commander from conducting an on-site inspection."

Qian Bojun even fanned the flames.

They were furious at the super treatment given to Su Fei, a local guerrilla.

Chu Yunfei waved.

"No matter what, we must make careful deployments. Chief of Staff, you lead an infantry company and a machine gun company, advancing from the left wing to the east of Wanjia Town, 2000 meters away from the town, and gradually converge inward. Battalion Commander Qian Bojun, you lead an infantry company and an artillery company, advancing from the right wing, entering the southwest of Wanjia Town, 1500 meters away from the town, and then converge inward to conduct reconnaissance. The rest of the troops, with one company as the vanguard, advance and conduct reconnaissance, and the rest of the troops follow me behind, keeping a distance of 500 to 1000 meters. As the central reserve, we will provide support to any area that is ambushed by the enemy as quickly as possible!"

Chu Yunfei estimated that if the enemy had an ambush, it would not be too far away from the town, and his troops would be able to encircle the town from the outside.

Whether it was Chu Yunfei, Captain Morita, or Hu Liqiang, they were all nervously setting up their formations, anxiously waiting for the truth to be revealed. However, they suddenly heard loud noises one after another coming from the direction of the county town!

It was a cannonball, a mountain cannon, the kind of Shanxi-made mountain cannon used by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army!

Morita, who was on the east side of Wanjia Town, hurriedly raised his telescope to observe, but after one ball of fire after another, he fell into deep darkness.

I can't see it.

But he knew very well in his heart that it was bad.

The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's attack on Wanjia Town was actually a trap. The real goal was to capture the county town where Morita was stationed.

It’s over, it’s over, I’ve fallen into a trap!

How to do?

Of course, withdraw troops.

However, we cannot withdraw completely. We must leave a troop behind to ambush the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army!

He sent someone to deliver orders to other troops, and then he led his troops back quickly towards the county town in the east.

On Chu Yunfei's side, several giants from the 358th Regiment understood.

Su Fei is so bold that he launched a surprise attack on the county town!

He must have won the battle in Wanjia Town, but was not satisfied, so he chased us all the way to the county town.

This Su Fei is indeed extraordinary.

In this case, it is impossible for the Japanese army to ambush in the Wanjia Town area.

As a result, Fang Ligong, Qian Bojun and others were careless and stopped pretending, allowing the soldiers to stop and rest on the spot.

So, the Japanese troops directly under Morita, which were retreating eastward, consisting of about 30 Japanese soldiers and more than 80 puppet soldiers, ran in a line and ran headlong into the team of Fang Ligong, the chief of staff of the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

An infantry company and a machine gun company of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, which had relaxed their posture, were sitting down to rest when they suddenly discovered that something was wrong.

Both sides became alert almost at the same time, shouted, and then started shooting.

The Japanese and puppet troops were retreating eastwards for rescue, with bullets loaded, while the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was sitting down to relax and rest. It must have been the Japanese and puppet troops who took action first, with a burst of shooting and bayonet charges, which completely defeated Fang Ligong's more than 200 Shanxi-Suiyuan Army soldiers.

The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army fled in all directions.

They didn't know how many Japanese troops there were, and it was because of bloodline suppression.

However, Morita's troops were also greatly surprised to find themselves ambushed by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. They thought that it was an intentional ambush by Su Fei's troops and were terrified. After breaking out of the encirclement, they fled for their lives.

Morita also ordered the firing of signal flares to request other Japanese and puppet troops to come for reinforcement.

Although Fang Ligong's troops were defeated, they were relieved to see the enemy flee. After all, they were regular troops and had been trained harshly by Chu Yunfei. The troops still had some discipline, so they immediately regrouped and the machine gun company fired fiercely at the east where the Japanese troops left.

The Japanese puppet army's Morita unit, about a hundred people, were anxious to rescue the county town. They now believed that the ambushing troops were the worst type of troops in Su Fei's unit, who were only trying to scare them and had no combat effectiveness at all. Otherwise, they would have been defeated with just one charge?

Since it’s rubbish, just ignore it and continue to send aid from the East!

They were caught off guard, and the defeated troops were the real elite force of the 358th Regiment, which had a machine gun company, one heavy machine gun, and four light machine guns.

After the troops were defeated, the heavy machine gun was thrown heavily into the darkness. The Japanese army did not dare to seize it and did not notice it.

Now, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army immediately returned to their positions and used machine guns to fire.

Because they saw that the location where the flares were fired was already far away, they were no longer afraid and returned.

The effective range of the heavy machine gun is 800 to 1000 meters for direct firing. The sight range of the light machine gun made by the Shanxi Army is also 1500 meters, and the effective range of direct firing is also more than 500 meters. Before the Morita troops rushed out of 500 meters, they were repeatedly strangled by the machine gun fire of the meritorious troops of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Fang Ligong's troops, terrified and extremely angry, fired at the fastest speed, and the infantry company also fired forward.

In the storm of metal jets, the troops of Captain Morita, commander of the Japanese county garrison, suffered heavy losses.

In the end, Morita was injured and was carried by Japanese soldiers and escaped through a ravine to avoid fire.

However, no more than 15 Japanese and puppet troops were able to escape.

At this time, the other Japanese and puppet troops, except for a company of puppet troops in Wanjia Town and several Japanese military advisers, and the ambush troops arranged outside the city, received the order and immediately retreated from the ambush site, shouting loudly and moving to the east, exposing their targets.

Qian Bojun in the southwest was shocked. Damn, there was indeed an ambush.

He kept his troops in hiding.

Hu Liqiang's puppet army was bypassing Wanjia Town and retreating to the east to reinforce the county town. Suddenly, they heard noise from the east and heard gunshots. A fighting broke out.

He immediately ordered his troops to stay put.

Choose correctly.

But when Captain Morita's flare went up, he could no longer remain hidden: "Move!"

However, the sound of machine gun fire came from the east.

As soon as he heard it, he recognized the sounds of Czech light machine guns, Shanxi-made light machine guns, and 92 Maxim heavy machine guns. No, that was not the case. This was the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army!

Morita was attacked.

"Brothers, charge! There are the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army over there. Kill them!"

Hu Liqiang is a die-hard member of the Imperial Army, and his fate and interests are tied to those of the Japanese army, so he must be rescued.

As a result, the Japanese and puppet troops immediately launched a charge and fired at the troops that had made meritorious contributions to the east.

Fang Ligong's troops were caught off guard. The sound of the machine guns and the muzzle flames were too obvious, and they were seen clearly and attacked. They suffered the greatest losses, with basically all of them killed and losing their combat effectiveness. Only the infantry company continued to shoot while crawling on the ground.

Other Japanese and puppet troops ambushed and attacked.

Chu Yunfei saw the war going on in the northwest and became furious. He rode his horse and led the guard company to charge directly, and also asked the bugler to blow the bugle.

Qian Bojun's troops in the southwest could no longer rest and had to attack.

The final result was that Chu Yunfei's troops, a guard company, and Qian Bojun's reinforced battalion, a total of 1800 people, surrounded more than 70 Japanese troops and more than 300 puppet troops, and a chaotic battle broke out in the darkness before dawn.

The 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had obviously strong firepower. At the critical moment, not only did Chu Yunfei personally lead the guard company's cavalry to charge, but the artillery company also bombarded the puppet army, gaining an advantage.

The Japanese army was not willing to be left out either. A half-infantry squad with two mortars, one heavy machine gun, and five light machine guns strafed and bombed everywhere.

The two armies engaged in a scuffle, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Japanese and puppet troops were surrounded and did not dare to move around, and they held out until dawn.

After daybreak, they began to break out. Chu Yunfei also saw the enemy's situation clearly and laughed: "Fuck, there are only a few devils here? Most of them are the Imperial Army? Isn't it shameful? Charge and kill them!"

The Japanese military advisor in Wanjia Town urged a company of the Imperial Army's ambush troops to rush out of the town and support the Japanese army's breakout.

There was another chaos.

In the end, the Japanese and puppet troops broke through the encirclement and fled, with the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army chasing them closely.

After chasing for more than ten miles, the Japanese army was almost completely wiped out, and the Imperial Army also surrendered one after another. In the end, only more than ten Japanese soldiers and more than 70 puppet soldiers escaped the siege.

Chu Yunfei believed that the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops had been eliminated in Wanjia Town, and now he could easily capture the county town!

After a brief reorganization of the troops, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army approached the county town in a mighty force.

However, the flag of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has already been flying over the county town!

what?

Chu Yunfei sent cavalry to conduct reconnaissance and contact the personnel on the city wall.

It turned out to be one of our own, from Su Fei’s army!

Chu Yunfei was overjoyed and led his team into the county town.

"Brother Su, what's going on? Back then, Zhou Yu was fighting Cao Ren outside the city, and Zhao Yun easily captured Nanjun City. You have a good plan."

Su Fei shook his head slightly. "Commander, originally, I wanted to capture all the main forces of the Japanese and puppet troops in the county by myself, but you accidentally messed up! Oh, the losses are not small, right? We fought for a full hour and a half!"

Chu Yunfei was shocked: "You want to take down all the Japanese and puppet troops by yourself? Why? Just relying on your one company of militia?"

Su Fei introduced the battle in Wanjia Town to eliminate Hetian’s troops, and also introduced his own plan to attack the county town. He took advantage of the opportunity when the main force of the Japanese army reinforced Wanjia Town, took advantage of the opportunity, captured the county town, and set up an ambush in the county town to kill the Japanese army!