Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

"Hey, Commander, I will definitely help you share your worries." Okabe Naosaburo said excitedly.

"Commander, what do you think? Should we immediately send someone to recover this batch of supplies and equipment?" suggested Naosaburo Okabe.

Umezu Mijiro thought for a moment and said, "No, let the intelligence department collect detailed information about this incident and develop a combat plan targeting this unit. Once the Imperial Army occupies the southern part, we will immediately return to encircle this unit."

Umezu Mijiro said in a refusal. Okabe Naosaburo's eyes flashed with disappointment, but he didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement. "Commander, shall I go and inform the others now?"

"Go!" Umezu Mijiro waved his hand, signaling the chief of staff to leave. The moment Okabe Naozaburo walked out of the room, his face changed.

Originally, they thought they could take advantage of the fact that Meizu Michijiro had just taken office and was unfamiliar with the Chinese troops in various places in Shanxi, and let him launch a hasty attack, and then let his subordinates work without putting in any effort, so that they would suffer a heavy blow. However, they did not expect that this guy was so cautious and could actually endure it. He would rather let the supplies be taken away and digested by the Eighth Route Army than recover them.

I shook my head and thought I would have to find another opportunity later.

At this time, Umezu Michijiro looked at the figure of the chief of staff leaving, and his expression suddenly became solemn. After all, the predecessor, Katsuki Seiji, had many supporters in the First Army. This time, his dismissal from the position of commander of the First Army would cause dissatisfaction among many generals of the First Army. If he was not careful, he would be tricked by these guys.

Before taking office, he had already roughly learned about the course of the incident through the intelligence department, and quickly determined that there were probably a large number of troops from the 389th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army active on the south side of the Zhengtai Line.

According to previous intelligence analysis, this unit should have stronger combat effectiveness than the Central Army. Its commander Zeng Jiwen is one of the few troops in the Chinese Army that dares to fight the Imperial Army head-on. This battle with the 5th Division shocked him even more.

Within two days, the frequent mobilization of the Imperial Army caused a large number of casualties to the Imperial Army. In addition, there was heavy firepower reported from below. If he mobilized his troops to go into the mountains, he would probably be defeated by Zeng Jiwen one by one. By then, he would be replaced before he could even get comfortable in his position as commander.

Therefore, he just rejected the chief of staff's plan. He would rather the Eighth Route Army get this batch of supplies than forcibly bring troops to sweep the area and do some useless work, in case Zeng Jiwen found a flaw and caused heavy losses.

After all, even if the Eighth Route Army obtained this batch of equipment, they would not be able to produce weapons and ammunition if they blocked the vicinity and prohibited the flow of raw materials into the Eighth Route Army's defense zone. Moreover, even if they did, how could they possibly produce weapons with their almost no industrial personnel?

As for weapons and equipment, they could lose them many times, but as long as they could inflict a heavy blow on the 389th Brigade, it would be a victory. Therefore, Umezu Michijiro was not worried at all. He had already discussed with Commander Terauchi that as soon as the battle in southern Shanxi was over, they would immediately mobilize heavy troops to attack from both the north and the south, encircling the 389th Brigade.

Two days later, at this time, Dajinggou.

After two days of rest, Zeng Jiwen began to gather everyone to learn about the harvest and discuss the next plans for this batch of equipment.

"Brigade Commander, I have looked at it again and again these two days, and personally confirmed it with my subordinates. We have another great harvest this time!" Zhou Xi looked quite happy.

"Let me first tell you about the spoils of this operation."

"During this operation, the 781st Regiment had previously captured Taigu and seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition. We completely annihilated a battalion of Japanese troops in Taigu. Together with the supplies stored in the city and the strongholds along the way, we had approximately 800 Type 38 rifles, 50 pistols, 24 light machine guns, 16 heavy machine guns, 24 grenade launchers, and two infantry guns. The only radio station we found this time was a spare radio from the warehouse."