Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

"Of course!"

"Then I want two heavy machine guns, two Type 99 rifles, and a mortar!"

Kong Jie asked for a huge price. The heavy machine gun was a heavy weapon in the Eighth Route Army and was a scarce commodity. Before the independent regiment made a deal with Li Yunlong, there was only one in the entire regiment.

"No problem! But the ammunition is a bit low."

Ding Chengye's answer made Kong Jie a little surprised. When did Li Yunlong become so generous? Something was wrong, something was very wrong?

Something must be wrong when things are out of the ordinary. Kong Jie thought for a moment and said, "Taking the stronghold is such a big deal. Your regiment commander, no, that kid Li Yunlong is the commander now, where is your commander?"

"Report, Captain Kong, our commander has gone to attack Ping'an County!"

"???"

Three question marks immediately appeared in Kong Jie's mind.

"county seat?"

Kong Jie immediately looked towards the direction of Ping'an County. The Xiaotonghe stronghold was about fifteen kilometers away from Ping'an County. Gunfire might not be heard at night, but artillery fire should be audible. However, the direction of Ping'an County was relatively quiet, while there were some faint sounds of gunfire and artillery fire from other directions. Kong Jie knew that other places were still attacking the Japanese stronghold.

"Yes! It's been taken down!"

Kong Jie's eyes widened, his mouth opened so wide that a grenade could fit in it, and he looked at Ding Chengye in shock: "Did you shoot it down?"

Without waiting for Ding Chengye's reply, Kong Jie immediately paced back and forth and said, "Li Yunlong, Li Yunlong, no wonder you're so generous. It turns out you want to have it all to yourself. My independent regiment helped you capture the stronghold and held back the enemy's troops there, and you only gave me this little?"

Thinking of this, Kong Jie immediately said, "We don't need the weapons just now, you guys can keep them!"

After saying that, he immediately turned around and said, "Independent Regiment, assemble and go to Ping'an County!"

At the same time, Kong Jie was already cursing in his heart. "Li Yunlong, I first sent out a guard company, and then two battalions to help you capture the stronghold, and you thought of using such a small thing to get rid of me? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Captain, what are we going to do in Ping'an County?"

The captain of the independent regiment's guard company ran over and asked curiously.

“Attack the county town!”

After Kong Jie finished speaking, he immediately took the lead and rushed towards Ping'an County. Kong Jie knew very well that he had to act quickly, otherwise he would not get any benefit after Li Yunlong transported all the supplies away.

At the headquarters of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, the division commander and the chief of staff had already returned to the headquarters. The division commander glanced at the telegram sent by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and said, "The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is willing to immediately give us the equipment of Li Yunlong's brigade, but the prerequisite is that we immediately give them the body of Kazuo Shinozuka. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the Chief of Staff laughed. "They should have given us this equipment in the first place, but now it's being used as a bargaining chip. I don't agree!"

"Well, I don't agree either!"

"I think we should ask Li Yunlong for his opinion. After all, he's the one who captured the person. If Li Yunlong doesn't agree, there's nothing we can do, right?"

The division commander nodded and said, "Alright, send a telegram to the independent column right now and ask Li Yunlong for his opinion. Oh, and also ask him how the battle for the county town is going. If it's really not going well, don't force it. We've worked so hard to build up some resources, don't let them all go to waste all at once!"

"Yes!"

At the Ping'an County Command Center, Li Yunlong couldn't help but laugh after seeing the telegram from headquarters. "Staff Officer Xie, you used to be the combat staff officer of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Please take a look at this telegram. Why is Commander Yan suddenly interested in Shinozuka Kazuo's body?"

After taking the telegram and taking a look at it, Staff Officer Xie immediately understood that Li Yunlong wanted him to prove his loyalty. After all, anyone would be suspicious of him as a staff officer of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army suddenly coming to surrender to Li Yunlong.

"I do know some information about this matter. The Japanese have contacted Shancheng and captured over 50 people from a Military Control Commission station in Sijiucheng. They want to exchange them for Shinozuka Kazuo. Shancheng asked the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to negotiate with us, probably to prevent us from asking for too much."

Li Yunlong couldn't help laughing when he heard this. This Staff Officer Xie was also a smart man. He directly changed the words to "we". However, Li Yunlong still understood the key point. The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was negotiating with the Eighth Route Army on behalf of the mountain city. There was just an extra middleman, but the situation was much more complicated.

"They're asking for too much, and even if we ask for too much, they'll have to agree. They're so stingy on weekdays. Send a telegram to division headquarters and say I don't agree. If you want Kazuo Shinozuka's body, immediately deliver the promised brigade's equipment, plus 2,000 rifles, 200,000 rounds of ammunition, two artillery pieces, ten mortars, and 200 rounds of artillery shells. Nothing else!"

After finishing speaking, Li Yunlong looked at Staff Officer Xie and asked, "Can the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army produce so many weapons and ammunition?"

Staff Officer Xie immediately laughed and said, "Of course the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army can provide these things, but they don't have to pay for these weapons and ammunition. I guess they will add something to the price."

It was more than just adding some. After Li Yunlong's reply was sent to the division headquarters, the division headquarters called back the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

After seeing the telegram, Yan Laoxi's expression didn't change at all. Instead, he revealed a look of disdain and said, "I thought the Eighth Route Army would ask for a lot, but it turned out to be stingy. They sent a telegram to Shancheng saying that the Eighth Route Army wanted 10,000 rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 light and heavy machine guns, 10 artillery pieces, and 50 mortars!"

After hearing this, Yang Xingru thought for a moment and said, "Sir, isn't that a bit too much?"

"Of course it's more, but we can negotiate for more. Whatever credit we get will be ours. Besides, we're about to make a big move, so it's better to have more weapons and ammunition than for those parasites in the logistics department to take them away and resell them. Oh, and send a telegram to the head of the Military Control Bureau so he can make some sense of it!"

"Yes!"

Chapter 125 I'll take you to kill some devils

"Li Yunlong has already taken over Ping'an County?"

After the telegram was sent to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the division commander and the chief of staff focused their attention on the second half of Li Yunlong's telegram, but they were not too surprised. After all, the fact that Li Yunlong was able to sneak into Taiyuan City and capture Shinozuka Kazuo and take over a county town was not enough to shock the division commander and the chief of staff.

The two of them have now become accustomed to Li Yunlong's sudden surprises and are not surprised.

"Well, not only did they take it down, they even sent a telegram saying they had captured it. This guy has made a fortune!"

The chief of staff handed over the telegram as he spoke.

"Master, who got rich?"

At this time, the brigade commander walked into the command center, casually put his hat aside, and asked curiously.

"Who else could it be? Li Yunlong!"

After saying this, the division commander handed the telegram directly to the brigade commander.

After reading it, the brigade commander couldn't help but laugh: "This kid really made a fortune!"

The chief of staff immediately understood what the brigade commander was trying to do and laughed, "It's not easy to snatch food from this kid's mouth. He's very protective of his food!"

Hearing this, the brigade commander immediately laughed: "He dares, but I have to get a few cannons over, and my cavalry battalion is still in the hands of that kid!"

The division commander waved his hand and said, "You don't need this guy to turn it in. He sent the telegram, which means he was ready. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the spoils. Li Yunlong is really different from before. If he had so much spoils before, he would have hidden them away long ago."

"Hahaha, I think this kid must be hiding something!"

After a brief chat, the division commander looked at the brigade commander and asked, "How's the investigation going?"

"The specific details cannot be confirmed at the moment, but the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the National Army may make big moves!"

The commander said worriedly, "We have to be on guard. After all, what happened over there in Wannan just happened not long ago. We have to be prepared. If they really want to take action, we can deal with it!"

The brigade commander nodded and said, "I think we need to strengthen our intelligence work. Otherwise, if we only rely on headquarters to provide us with intelligence, sometimes the response will still be slow!"

Just when the brigade commander, division commander, chief of staff and others were discussing the recent actions of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the National Army in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Li Yunlong was also asking Staff Officer Xie for some information.

"You mean, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is preparing for war recently?"

Li Yunlong couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard the news. The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was preparing for war. Who was their target? The Eighth Route Army or the Japanese?

Staff Officer Xie nodded and said, "Because of General Li, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army suffered a great loss of face this time. The regular army did nothing on the battlefield, but General Li stole the limelight and captured the commander of the Japanese First Army. Commander Yan was severely reprimanded by the Shancheng forces, so Commander Yan decided to save some face."

"This time, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is preparing to organize a major counterattack, and the Nationalist Army will also cooperate in the operation. It is expected that a counterattack will be launched in the summer!"

Staff Officer Xie did not feel any guilt for leaking intelligence to Li Yunlong. He left the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army not to become a traitor to the Japanese, but to join the Eighth Route Army to fight the Japanese. They were both under the jurisdiction of the Second War Zone, so there was no problem in sharing intelligence.

"A summer offensive? They didn't seize the opportunity presented by the Japanese during their winter raid, and are now preparing to engage them head-on? What do you think these people are thinking?"

Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes slightly.

Staff Officer Xie agreed with Li Yunlong's statement, shook his head helplessly, and continued, "According to the intelligence I know, the Japanese are also preparing for a summer offensive. They issued an order at the end of last year, intending to completely resolve the war here this year, and not just in the south, but also in the north."

"Shinozuka Kazuo forcibly launched a winter offensive, disrupting the Japanese's deployment. I estimate that after this Japanese prince arrives in Taiyuan, in addition to focusing on our independent column, he will also pay close attention to the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain. The Japanese intend to remove this thorn and open up a road across the Yellow River in Shanxi Province."

Li Yunlong quickly analyzed the information shared by Staff Officer Xie in his mind, and then paced back and forth.

The Chinese New Year is coming later this year, and it is almost March now. The battle in Zhongtiao Mountain should break out around May.

A major battle requires a lot of preparation in the early stages, which may take several months. Calculating the time, the Japanese were indeed preparing for the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

That means the Japanese have no time to take care of the independent column for the time being, and even if they want to, they can't mobilize more troops.

At least he could stay in Ping'an County until the battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was over.

Thinking of this, Li Yunlong couldn't help but light a cigarette and frowned as he thought about his next move.

According to Li Yunlong's original plan, he would lead his troops to retreat immediately after taking Ping'an County. After all, if he captured a county town, the Japanese would definitely launch a crazy counterattack.

But now if the Japanese's focus is not on me, then I only need to repel a few rounds of attacks from the Japanese and delay the time, so that I can gain a considerable amount of time for development.

Moreover, next year will be 1942, and the Pacific War will break out. The Japanese will withdraw a large number of troops from the country. By then, the strength of the Japanese in the country will be even weaker than the previous year, and Wang Xiaoer will be able to gain a firm foothold in Ping'an County.

Thinking of this, Li Yunlong already had the answer in his mind.

Ping'an County must defend itself, one step ahead, step by step ahead, occupying a county town and developing it will be much faster than developing in the Taihang Mountains. Although Ping'an County is not big, it has a relatively large population and land. There are also several small factories in Ping'an County, including a printing factory, a metallurgical factory, a weaving factory, a match factory and a soap factory.

It is precisely because of the existence of these factories that the Japanese attach so much importance to Ping'an County. Otherwise, why would there be a large battalion stationed in Ping'an County?

You have to know how many troops the Japanese have in total? If a battalion of troops is deployed in a county, the entire Japanese army cannot even leave the four northeastern provinces.

"Thank you, Staff Officer. Your information is very important. I will report it to the division headquarters now. As for your position, I still need to wait for the division headquarters' response!"

After hearing this, Staff Officer Xie immediately said, "General Li, you're too polite. I don't need any position. All I need is a gun that can kill the devils. The same goes for the other comrades who came with me!"

"Yes, General Li, just give us a gun!"

"We'll be satisfied if we can defeat the Japs!"

Hearing what they said, Li Yunlong immediately laughed: "There are some devils to kill. Now I will take you to kill a few devils for your own pleasure!"

After Li Yunlong entered Ping'an County, he captured more than a dozen Japanese soldiers. He also captured a few Japanese soldiers in the Yegouling ambush. In addition, there were some puppet soldiers.

The puppet soldier Li Yunlong did not plan to kill them all as he did before. Except for those who committed serious crimes, he would shoot them and send the rest to Heiyun Mountain to mine.

As for the Japanese Li Yunlong, he had no intention of leaving any survivors. It would be better to use them to win over these newcomers.

Soon Li Yunlong brought Staff Officer Xie and others to the place where the prisoners were held.

The First Battalion was in charge of the prisoners. Zhang Dabiao was on duty with his men. When he saw Li Yunlong, he immediately led him over and said, "Commander!"

"Are the Japanese prisoners still obedient?"

"He's completely obedient after being taught a lesson!"

"Take me to see it!"

Zhang Dabiao immediately led Li Yunlong to the place where the Japanese prisoners were held. "Commander, you didn't catch any big fish this time. The highest-ranking one is the captain of the Japanese tank battalion, a lieutenant colonel named Mukai Toshiaki."

Li Yunlong immediately rolled his eyes at Zhang Dabiao and said, "Do you think the Japanese generals are cabbages that you can run into everywhere?" But then Li Yunlong paused and looked at Zhang Dabiao and asked, "What's the name of that Japanese captain?"

Chapter 126 Don’t Die Easily