Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Ishikawa's charge was broken up again, forcing him to retreat to the riverbank for defense. Looking at the remaining two or three hundred men, most of whom were wounded, Ishikawa knew there was no hope of breaking out today. He feared they would be surrounded and annihilated by the Chinese army.

So, Ishikawa said to Ono.

"Ono-kun, I'm afraid today you and I will have to serve His Majesty the Emperor here."

"Hey! The Imperial Japanese Army is invincible. I believe the Imperial Army will avenge us." Ono Yaji said with a determined look.

"Inform the signalman to send a telegram to the regiment commander. Tell him that our battalion was ambushed by Chinese troops at Huangyadi, Xiyang. We are unable to break out and have decided to launch a Jade Embrace attack to inform the Emperor."

Then, he ordered people to burn the code books, destroy the radio station, and prepare to blow up the two infantry guns. The rest, led by Ishikawa, began to tie cloth strips with plaster flags printed on their heads, preparing to launch a desperate charge towards the position of the 1st Battalion of the 781st Regiment.

Zhou Xi and Huang Fu were lying in the command post at this time. After seeing the Japanese army's actions through binoculars, they knew that the Japanese army was no longer able to fight, so they quickly spoke.

"Order the artillery positions to fire three rounds of rapid fire again, bombarding the riverbank positions. As soon as the artillery stops, snipers must aim at the Japanese who intend to destroy the heavy weapons and artillery, and deal with them one by one."

"Bugler, blow the charge immediately after you've completed the three-round rapid-fire!"

As the command from the headquarters was issued, the artillery positions began to fire at the Japanese troops on the riverbank again. The Japanese artillery squad wanted to fight back in the hail of bullets, but as soon as they stood up, they were shot in the head by a sniper. The other Japanese artillerymen were so scared that they could only hide behind the bunker.

Afterwards, under the charge of the 781st Regiment, Ishikawa resolutely led his troops to rush towards the Eighth Route Army's position and fought with the soldiers of the 781st Regiment.

Within twenty minutes, the entire Ishikawa Battalion was completely wiped out. The entire riverbank was littered with the bodies of Japanese soldiers. The soldiers of the 781st Regiment began to clean up the battlefield, stabbing each corpse with their bayonets to prevent the injured and feigning death Japanese soldiers from causing harm to those around them.

Speaking of which, this regulation was proposed by Zeng Jiwen himself. For Japanese soldiers who voluntarily surrendered, the Eighth Route Army would treat prisoners well, but for those who refused to surrender, the Eighth Route Army had to prioritize ensuring the safety of the soldiers when cleaning up the battlefield before discussing future matters.

Huang Fu and the others looked at the devastated battlefield and said, "Send a telegram to the brigade commander and tell him that I have led the 781st Regiment to completely wipe out the Ishikawa Battalion in the direction of Jiulongkou at Huangyadi. Tell him to prepare his troops."

Then he turned around and discussed with the political commissar and others. After the casualties, losses and spoils of war were counted, he would also start to build guerrillas and other local armed forces in nearby towns and villages.

This battle can be said to have brought out the style of the 781st Regiment. It completely established the reputation of the 781st Regiment in the surrounding area. In this way, many organizational construction work in the surrounding area can be carried out very well.

At this moment, after receiving the farewell telegram from the Ishikawa Battalion, the 79th Regiment commander angrily tore it into pieces, his hatred for the 389th Brigade once again filling his mind. Twice, twice in total, once one of his battalions was completely wiped out, and this time the battalion that was about to be assigned to him was ambushed and completely wiped out.

Why is it that the 389th Brigade is so naturally incompatible with me? When I think about the fact that two battalions of my own regiment were completely wiped out by the Chinese army, I was happy before. The previous regiment commander committed suicide because of being forced to commit suicide at Nanling Station, and I succeeded that useless person Iwakiri Hide.

Looking back, he didn't expect that not long after he took office, another battalion was wiped out by the 389th Brigade. Where would he put his face? How would the brigade commander and the division commander view him?

Morimoto had no choice but to forward the Ishikawa Battalion's farewell message to the division and inquire about the next battle plan. Now that the Ishikawa Battalion was finished, he only had two battalions under his command. If Zeng Jiwen attacked again and depleted them, he would soon be left with no troops. He would either commit seppuku or be transferred to the reserves. And it was uncertain whether he could even defeat the 389th Brigade.

Thinking of this, Morimoto couldn't help but scold Zeng Jiwen again. "Why are you always focusing on the 79th Regiment when you can go after anyone else? Now that the Ishikawa Battalion has been eliminated, the other two battalions must also be worried. After all, the 79th Regiment had fought so many battles on the Chinese battlefield, but they had never been as embarrassed and nearly crippled as they are now."

The soldiers below might have been filled with righteous indignation before, but once the news of the Ishikawa Battalion's destruction spread, they would probably all wake up. After all, the Bushido spirit is awesome, but the Japanese are also weak. After two battalions were destroyed in succession by the 389th Brigade, I'm afraid the rest of the 79th Regiment would have a PST phobia towards the 389th Brigade.

After a while, a reply came from the division, instructing the 79th Regiment to speed up to Xiyang County, completely occupy Xiyang County, send troops to search for the traces of the 389th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and wait for the main force of the 20th Division to arrive in Xiyang.

When Kawagishi Fumisaburo received the telegram, he didn't think much of it and quickly called back to ask the 79th Regiment to speed up. After a detailed analysis with the Chief of Staff, they both felt that the Ishikawa Battalion was likely to be completely wiped out by the Eighth Route Army, but this would also expose their whereabouts.

The Imperial Army had already captured Taiyuan and was beginning its southward advance along the Zhengtai Road, heading towards Changzhi and other areas. The 20th Division's mission was to depart from Yangquan, capture Xiyang and Heshun, and advance southward towards Changzhi. Intelligence sources indicated that the Eighth Route Army was likely operating between Yangquan and Changzhi, away from the county seat. By locating the 389th Brigade's area of ​​activity and targeting its troops directly, the 20th Division's disgrace could be avenged.

When Morimoto saw the telegram, he knew that the division commander was already assembling the 39th Brigade to prepare for a southward march, so he ordered his troops to speed up and try to reach Xiyang County before dark.

At about 14 p.m., Morimoto led the remaining two battalions of the 79th Regiment, plus an infantry artillery company and a machine gun company, and slowly left Zhangzhuang. Zeng Jiwen had received the news as early as noon when the 79th Regiment arrived in Zhangzhuang. He had originally thought that the Japanese army would pass through Zhangzhuang quickly, but he did not expect that these guys would actually stop in Zhangzhuang.

Because Zhangzhuang was located on a small, open plain, more than ten kilometers from the mountains, its depth made it difficult to encircle it. If they weren't careful, the Japanese would easily slip through. However, this also gave Zeng Jiwen an opportunity. He immediately ordered the Second Battalion to prepare to move toward the mountainous area northeast of Zhangzhuang while the Japanese troops were stationed and resting. Once the Japanese troops set out, they would immediately establish an encirclement network in Zhangzhuang to block their retreat.

14:30.

At this time, on Lianhua Mountain, in the trenches full of fortifications, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 782nd Regiment were all camouflaged with branches and other things, not daring to make the slightest sound. At the same time, on a sloping hillside at the highest point, an artillery position was built, with 4 Type 94 mountain guns, 4 Type 41 mountain guns and two 150mm medium mortars arranged together. Based on the Japanese army's marching route, the surveyors calculated how to kill the most enemies with the least amount of shells.

On the road down the mountain, the 79th Regiment's First Battalion marched at the front of the entire regiment, placing the infantry artillery and machine gun squads in the middle and rear, protected by a squadron of Japanese soldiers. In the middle was the regiment headquarters, with the machine gun and artillery squadrons in front and behind, and the Third Battalion at the rear to cover the rear.