Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Peking, headquarters of the Japanese army in North China.

At this time, the commander of the Japanese army in North China, Terauchi Hisaichi, was sitting in the main seat. Sitting below were Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Kawabe Masamitsu, Staff Officer Major General Suzuki Rodomichi, Staff Officer Colonel Muto Akira, and Staff Officer Major General Hashimoto Gun.

In addition, there are Kenji Doihara who is in charge of intelligence, the commander of the 5th Division Seishirō Sakagami who is rushing back from the front line, the commander of the 1st Army Seiji Kazuki, and the main person responsible for this meeting, the commander of the 20th Division Kawaban Saburo.

Terauchi Hisaichi sat in the main seat, staring at the 20th Division Commander Kawaban Saburo with a gloomy expression, as if he wanted to eat him.

Kawanan Bunsaburo also knew that the protagonist of this incident was their 20th Division. However, it was a precedent for the Japanese Army. An entire field battalion was completely wiped out by the Chinese army, and not a single person escaped. When the news came late at night, the North China Front Army was shocked. They had never expected that one of their field battalions would be completely wiped out under their noses. The enemy was a beggar group that they had always looked down upon and regarded as farmers. It was a shame.

The result was that in the middle of the night, Chuan received calls from the North China Front Army, the China Expeditionary Force, the headquarters, etc., which were filled with countless insults and they believed that Chuan should commit suicide by disembowelment.

However, the consequences were far more severe. The 389th Brigade's destruction of the Nanling Station directly led to a shortage of weapons for the Xiyang Detachment and frontline troops, which were about to arrive at Niangzi Pass to reinforce them. This necessitated a rapid reorganization of supplies, significantly delaying the Battle of Niangzi Pass. This greatly displeased the Imperial Headquarters, who stated that if the battle proved unsuccessful, they would remove Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the North China Front Army, and replace him with a more capable commander.

Thanks to Terauchi Hisaichi's huge network of relationships in the country, the responsibility for this incident was pushed down, but the Chinese defenders in Niangzi Pass had to be eliminated as soon as possible, the southern line to capture Taiyuan had to be opened up, and the northern line had to be connected to capture Shanxi in one fell swoop.

"Has the intelligence department found out which Chinese unit destroyed our Imperial Army this time? What is its number and who is the commander?" Terauchi Hisaichi asked Suzuki Shigeji, the head of the North China Special High Section of the intelligence department.

At this time, Suzuki Shigeji, who was in charge of intelligence, stood up.

"We learned last night from spies within the Chinese government that the unit that destroyed a battalion of our Imperial Army was the 389th Brigade, directly under the 18th Group Army of the Chinese government. Its predecessor was a reorganization of the Chinese Red Revolutionary Corps. Its members participated in the 25,000-mile strategic shift led by the Chinese Communist Party, which they called the Long March."

"The brigade's intelligence analysis concluded that its soldiers were elite within the Chinese military system, steadfast in their beliefs and courageous in combat. They were among the few units daring enough to challenge the Imperial Army. Their weaknesses were a severe shortage of supplies and a significant lack of light and heavy weapons, ammunition, and artillery."

"The brigade commander's name was Zeng Jiwen. He was born in Shaoshan, Hunan in 1910. He was the youngest person to establish the Chinese Communist Party. He was a steadfast believer in the left, having graduated from the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy. During the Chinese Revolution, he led his troops to conquer three Beiyang lines of defense in a single day, directly defeating the Beiyang government army in Hubei. He was later sent by the Chinese government to the Delin Military Academy, and then to the Frunze Military Academy in the north. After the two sides reached an agreement and reorganized, he became the commander of the 389th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. According to the organization provided by the Nationalist government, it commanded three major combat regiments and several directly affiliated units, comparable to a Type A brigade of the Central Army."

Suzuki Shigeji sat down after saying this.

At this time, all the officers were surprised when they heard the information about this unit. Terauchi Hisaichi looked at everyone and said.

"It seems that this person is a high threat, especially after obtaining most of the Imperial Army's equipment." Chief of Staff Naosaburo Okabe said.

"Indeed, but I can't understand why the supplies of an Imperial Army brigade are guarded by only one squadron of Imperial Army, or even only a small team is left on guard." Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Masamitsu Kawabe said to the Commander of the First Army, Xiang Qingyueji.

"Chief of Staff, the Imperial Army attacking Niangzi Pass encountered stubborn resistance from the Chinese army on both the left and right routes, and the troops consumed a lot of ammunition, so we came up with the idea of ​​using Nanling Station as a transit point for supplies. There was also a regiment of Imperial Army patrolling and guarding the surrounding area, but we didn't expect that this group of Chinese soldiers would take advantage of the opportunity." Commander of the First Army, Xiang Qingyueji, stood up and said to Terauchi Hisaichi.

"Baka! Stupid!" Terauchi Hisaichi said angrily.

"This is completely idiotic command. What is the 79th Regiment doing? The commander of that regiment should commit seppuku."

"Captain of the 79th Regiment, Iwakiri Hideichi, has committed seppuku." Kawaan stood up and responded.

"Instruct the intelligence department to collect detailed information about this person and offer a reward of 50 yuan for his head." said Terauchi Hisaichi.

"At the same time, hurry up and dispatch supplies to capture Niangzi Pass and occupy Taiyuan as soon as possible. Then we can settle accounts with this 389th Brigade."

"Hi!" everyone answered.

At this time, the 389th Brigade Headquarters.

After hiding at night and during the day, on the second night, all the members of the 389th Brigade successfully moved to the rear near Yueshuigou and Cuijiatang after a night of transfer, and settled in a nearby mountain village. At the same time, they also began to count the captured items.

Political Commissar Zhou Shi began to read out the weapons and ammunition seized this time.

"This time, Li Yunlong seized over 4000 Type 38 rifles, along with their bayonets, and 800,000 rounds of ammunition from the station. This is more than what our entire Eighth Route Army has seized."

"144 light machine guns, 20 rounds of ammunition, 48 heavy machine guns, 5 rounds of heavy machine gun ammunition."

"There are also 150 grenade launchers, 300 artillery shells, 12 60mm mortars, and 1200 artillery shells."

“同时四一式75mm山炮4门，炮弹160发，九四式75mm山炮4门，炮弹160发”

"8 Type 94 90mm light mortars, 480 rounds of ammunition"

"In addition, we also brought back two Type 97 150mm medium mortars. These are heavy artillery pieces with 120 rounds of ammunition. We originally had four more, as well as other mid-range 150mm mortars, but we ran out of them and couldn't carry them to blast them."

"The rest are 512 military horses, 10 tons of medical supplies, 5 tons of other supplies, and 15 radio stations." Zhou Shi concluded excitedly.

"Li Yunlong is really capable of moving so many supplies. Even though his battalion is a reinforced battalion, he can actually move so many things." Deputy Brigade Commander Huang Hanjia said in surprise.

"Brigade Commander, don't underestimate Li Yunlong. When I led my men there, all the war horses were bent and several were killed. I felt so sad. The soldiers were carrying a lot of bags, and each of them looked like a local rich man from Shanxi." Chen Zifeng said.

"Then why is there a large portion missing here?" Logistics Minister Zhang Wanhe asked in confusion. Compared with the supplies his logistics department received, there was a huge amount missing.

After listening to Zhang Wanhe's words, everyone was confused.

Zeng Jiwen seemed to be thinking about something and asked.

"Lao Zhang, what's missing?"

"Brigade Commander, we only have a little over 3,000 Type 38 rifles, and the rest are all Zhongzheng rifles. We only have a little over 300 war horses, 100 light machine guns, 36 heavy machine guns, and dozens fewer grenade launchers. We only have six 60mm mortars. The other artillery pieces are in good numbers, but we're missing the 150mm medium mortars."

After hearing what Logistics Minister Zhang Wanhe said, everyone was puzzled as to how the weapons could be missing if they were put into storage upon arrival.

Suddenly, several leaders of the brigade laughed, and then Chief of Staff Wang Zhuo said to Zeng Jiwen.

"Brigade Commander, it seems like it's time for you to take action!"

"Yes, although we say that the captured equipment should be turned over to the public, you also said before that each unit can choose to keep a part of it. Li Yunlong is not afraid of being starved to death. If one battalion takes so much equipment, how will the other battalions view it?" Wu Zhong also laughed.

Chen Zifeng was also stunned. As Li Yunlong's direct superior, he suddenly realized how little he knew about his own Third Battalion Commander. During the initial reorganization, he only knew him as a capable regimental commander in the Fourth Front Army. He could cause trouble, but he was decisive in battle. He had no major flaws in major matters. He often disobeyed orders, but that was only in emergencies. He was considered quite courageous. He had only heard about him and hadn't felt much, but this time he had witnessed it firsthand.

This guy is a glutton, Chen Zifeng thought to himself.

"Okay, I'll make the call. We have to give this kid a warning. He has made such a great contribution this time, I'm afraid his tail will be sticking up to the sky. If we don't give him a warning, he might cause trouble for you next time." Zeng Jiwen said with a smile.

After saying that, he called Li Yunlong who was resting in Cuijiatang.

"Hello, Li Yunlong, congratulations on your fortune!"