After Li Yunlong broke out of the encirclement, he led the remaining 30 people to retreat to the Second Battalion's encampment, Peach Blossom Valley.
For the Independent Regiment, they suffered a huge loss this time. Political Commissar Zhao Gang was seriously injured. A bullet hit his abdomen, and his intestines were smashed. He had lost too much blood and was on the verge of death. Li Yunlong sent a platoon of troops to escort Zhao Gang to the headquarters hospital for treatment. He said to the unconscious Zhao Gang,"Old Zhao, go and recuperate in peace. You must hold on. You promised me that if we don't chase the Japanese away, neither of us is allowed to die. Don't f * cking act like a bear. You want to leave just like that? No way. This is too unfriendly. Let me tell you, you're a member of the Independent Regiment when you're alive, and you're a ghost of the Independent Regiment when you're dead. I'll catch you no matter where you hide. Want to be a deserter? Absolutely not. You are allowed to live, not die, do you hear me? Please, Old Zhao…" Li Yunlong cried, tears streaming down his chest.
Vice Commander Xing Zhiguo and Second Battalion Commander Sun Bin, who were with the 2nd Battalion when they split up, were crying. After sending Zhao Gang away, Li Yunlong locked himself in his room. No one was allowed to enter the house for the whole day. He did not eat or drink. He smoked one cannon after another with his Leaf Smoke Cannon. The half-opened window was like a big chimney that was lighting a fire, and smoke was coming out.
This time, the regiment headquarters was attacked and more than 50 people were sacrificed. Almost all of the guard platoons were killed, and half of the regiment headquarters were killed. Even the cook, Old Wang, who was covering the rear, was sacrificed. Thinking of this, Li Yunlong's heart twitched painfully. He was reflecting on himself. The intelligence from the inside kept coming. The situation of the Japanese special agent team, the ambush of Chu Yunfei's troops, and the location where Xiuqin was detained were all clear. Li Yunlong's anger was boiling in his chest. Damn it, this time the regimental headquarters was almost wiped out, the political commissar was seriously injured, and even his wife was captured. This time, he couldn't just let it go. If he became a coward, he wouldn't be able to survive in this area in the future. What f * cking special forces? Could it be three heads and six arms? Not the blood body of his parents? Even if the Yamamoto Secret Service Squad was made of steel, I would still smash them into pieces and swallow them. Yamamoto, if you had escaped back to Taiyuan, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to you. However, you didn't know death and escaped into Pingan County. Since he was already here, he could forget about leaving.
In the evening, Li Yunlong pushed open the door and shouted,"" Gather in the communications team." When the independent regiment split up, there were more than a thousand people. They were all scattered in an area of a few hundred miles, fighting independently. Its mission was to assist in the establishment of a grassroots anti-Japanese regime and develop and strengthen the team. Every company or even platoon had become an independent unit. If you had the ability, you could expand your company to the size of a regiment. However, you still have to call a company. As for equipment, ammunition, clothing, and supplies, sorry, there's nothing up there. You have to take them from the enemy yourself. If you did well, you would eat meat every day and celebrate the New Year every day. If you didn't do well, you wouldn't even be able to drink soup.
Li Yunlong himself was not sure how many people there were in the independent regiment. When the entire regiment was evacuated, there were more than 1,000 people. According to the most conservative estimation, it would be expanded to more than 2,000 people. Li Yunlong sent out all the communicators and ordered the battalions, companies, and platoons to quickly return to their original positions. They had important combat missions.
"Regiment Commander, why are the troops gathering?" asked Xing Zhiguo, the deputy regiment commander.”"What else can I do?" Li Yunlong said impatiently.”
"Attack the county." Xing Zhiguo was shocked." This is a big matter. Shouldn't we ask our superiors?"”"It's too late. The division headquarters is hundreds of kilometers away from us. By the time we get back, the vegetables will be cold.”"Guild Leader, this is too hasty. How many troops do we have? Was there enough ammunition? Are there any heavy weapons? What about the Japanese reinforcements? No matter what, we should at least ask the main forces of the neighboring counties to cooperate.”
"Hmm, the battle plan is already in place. We don't have the right to mobilize our neighbor's main force, so we can just inform them. Just tell them that our Independent Regiment is going to the county town to eat and drink. If anyone wants to eat, they can eat together. If they don't dare to come, then forget it. An independent regiment plus a few county brigades, district squads, and militia should be enough.”Li Yunlong said casually.
Xing Zhiguo was so anxious that he was sweating."Regiment commander, you have to think twice. If we fight, the entire northwest of Shanxi will be in chaos. The Japanese troops in Fu 'an, Shuiquan, Luyang, and other counties will reinforce. The pressure is too great.”"What are you afraid of? I'm the military commander. I'll take responsibility. Even if the higher-ups want to investigate in the future, just shoot me. Just carry out the order.”Two days later, the Independent Regiment was assembled. Even Li Yunlong himself was surprised. In just two years, the Independent Regiment had grown to more than 5000 people. The company commander who had split the troops two years ago was still a company commander now. The number of troops under his command had reached 600 to 700.
Li Yunlong was so happy that his eyes almost disappeared. He punched the chests of a large group of battalion and company level officers and said,
"Good boy, these bastards have all made a fortune.”The Independent Regiment had not fought any major battles in the past few years, but there were small battles almost every day. They pulled out a turret in the east and ambushed a transport team in the west. They did not lose much manpower, but their equipment was very different from before. They even seized a few mountain cannons. Together with the original mortars, they managed to form an artillery company. Li Yun Long had never been rich since the day he led his troops. He was afraid of being poor. He never dreamed that his troops would have such powerful firepower. He was so happy that he didn't even know which leg to take first. What made him even happier was that the local armed forces in the guerrilla area of the Independent Regiment, the county brigade, the district squad, and the militia of the villages all rushed over when they heard that the Independent Regiment was going to attack the county. There were more than ten thousand people.
This was an opportunity given to Li Yun Long by the heavens. In his previous military career, he had only commanded one regiment at most. Now, it was different. To be able to command tens of thousands of people in battle was already on another level. This was called a large regiment battle.
Just as Vice Commander Xing Zhiguo had predicted, the entire northwest of Shanxi was going to be in chaos. Everything in the world was full of coincidences. A small group of Japanese troops attacked a small mountain village and captured a rural woman, but this woman was Li Yunlong's wife. Li Yunlong, who was usually restless, was even more restless now. This was a bit like an old story. It was a very common story. The Independent Regiment wanted to attack the county town, so the local armed forces in the base area and guerrilla zone could not stand idly by, so they started to fight vigorously. As soon as the Japanese defenders in the county town were attacked, the defenders from all over the country would come to reinforce them. The surrounding guerrilla zones had the main forces of the Eighth Route Army and the local troops of the Kuomingtang Army. They also had a large number of county brigades, district squads, militia, and other local armed forces. Although there was no order for coordinated operations between the Eighth Route Army and the Kuomingtang Army, the internal communication ability of the Eighth Route Army was very poor, and the communication between the main forces and local forces was also very poor. The ministries in the surrounding guerrilla zones did not know that Li Yunlong was going to attack the county. However, as long as the Japanese army came out of the stronghold in front of him, he could not let them walk freely. As a result, the various Eighth Route Army units, the various units of the Guomindang Army, the anti-Japanese armed forces of various regions, and even the bandit mountain kings who gathered in the mountains and forests were all involved. Northwest Shanxi was really in chaos.
The Taiyuan garrison sent a regiment to the northwest of Shanxi by train. After walking for dozens of kilometers, the train stopped.
The commander got out of the car and saw that more than ten kilometers of tracks had disappeared.
The Japanese army in Fu 'an received the reinforcement order. As soon as they left the stronghold, they stepped on the mines and sent engineers to explore the mines. In an instant, they were knocked down by the sudden machine gun fire. The Japanese army was anxious and rushed forward in battle formation, but they were in the air. The Japanese commander ordered the attack to advance. The troops fought as they walked. They harassed all the way. Within dozens of kilometers, more than half of them had been killed or injured.
The Japanese reinforcements stationed in Luyang were ambushed halfway. First, they were attacked by a battalion of the Kuomintangs. After an hour of crossfire, both sides suffered casualties. After the Kuomintangs withdrew, the Japanese continued to walk and repeatedly encountered the harassment of Tuba Road. Landmine warfare and sparrow warfare were fought in turn. Tubo Road had a variety of weapons. The earth cannons, large poles, muskets, matchsticks, and firecrackers in iron buckets from the Guangxu years were crackling non-stop. The earth cannons were also very lethal at close range. Dozens of kilograms of gunpowder wrapped in a large amount of iron sand pieces shot out in a fan shape, killing or injuring targets within 30 to 40 meters. The number of wounded Japanese soldiers increased, and the commander ordered a small team to escort the wounded back to the stronghold. Who would have thought that on the way back to the stronghold, they would be attacked by a group of bandits, and all the soldiers in the small team would die.
The bandits did not have any preferential treatment for prisoners or implement a humane policy. They first robbed the military supplies and even stripped the clothes of the wounded. Then, they slaughtered all the wounded, leaving dozens of naked bodies on the road.
The city wall of Pingan County was built during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty. The well-preserved city wall was 40 to 50 feet high, with wide horse tracks on it. The city bricks were made of glutinous rice juice mixed with mortar, which was unusually strong. The neat and intact battlements reflected the tactical characteristics of the cold weapon era.
There was a moat around the city outside the city wall, but due to the passage of time, the moat had dried up and silted up.
There was a Japanese infantry squadron, a Japanese gendarmerie, and a puppet brigade stationed in the county town, with a strength of more than a thousand people. The puppet army's combat effectiveness was very weak. The predecessor of this brigade was the security force of the former Guomingtang army. In the battle sequence of the Guomingtang army, it was also a third-rate force. It could maintain law and order, but it was not good to fight with real weapons.
After Yamamoto Ichiki led the remaining special agents into the county town, he found that he only had more than 20 members left, and more than half of them were injured. This elite special forces unit had been crippled, and it seemed that it would be difficult to recover in a short period of time.
However, Yamamoto couldn't be bothered to be depressed at this time. He knew that he couldn't stay here for long. The smart Chu Yunfei and Li Yunlong wouldn't let him off easily. He had already sent a distress message to the First Army headquarters in Taiyuan, requesting Commander Yoshio Mazuka to send troops to receive him. During this period, his special agent team could take the opportunity to rest. This time he had misjudged the situation.
Yamamoto Ichiki and his special agent team members had already entered the countdown to the time they could live in this world.
This year, with the frequent success of the US military in the Pacific War, the rapid advancement of the Soviets in the Eastern Front of Europe, and the victory of the British army in Alamein, North Africa. The successive defeats of the Axis countries showed signs of defeat. Anyone with military foresight could see that the military alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was bound to lose.
On the declining battlefield of China, after several years of military confrontation, more than a million Japanese troops were restrained in the Japanese occupied area, unable to launch a new offensive. The strategic concept of exchanging space for time proposed by the Chinese National Government in the early days of the war showed some effect. The war had been going on for five or six years, but the Japanese army had not even opened the railway artery that ran through the north and south of China, the Jingguang line. This greatly affected the Japanese army's strategy of advancing south into Southeast Asia.
The Japanese troops stationed in China had shown obvious signs of decline.
In the eastern strategic structure, the second battlefield of the Chinese battlefield was just a small chess piece, and the northwest region of Shanxi was an even smaller chess piece on the military situation map of the second battlefield. Li Yunlong's independent regiment was not officially organized on the military establishment table of the National Government Military Committee. It did not even have a serial number. In theory, it was an armed force that was outside the fighting sequence of the National Army. Even in the battle sequence of the 18th Army, Li Yunlong's regiment, like many independent regiments or new regiments, belonged to a local army without an official name. Even the generals of the Eighth Route Army headquarters were not very clear about this small independent regiment, because in 1943, the total strength of the Eighth Route Army had grown from more than 80,000 people in 1937 to more than 400,000 people, which was far beyond the establishment of a group army. Therefore, Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment was not even a small chess piece, whether it was the commander of the second war zone of the Guomindang Army or the headquarters of the 18th Army. Who would have thought that this Li Yunlong could cause such a huge commotion?
Li Yunlong sent out one-third of his forces to lead the local armed forces to fight for reinforcements. They blocked all the roads within 50 kilometers of the county town and buried thousands of land mines.
In the battle conference, Li Yunlong was extremely autocratic. He did not like the term military democracy. He had different ideas. Who should he listen to? I'm the Guild Leader, so you have to listen to me. He simply canceled the discussion and directly assigned tasks."1st Battalion, pick a dozen skilled soldiers to disguise as puppet troops and sneak attack the north gate first. If the sneak attack doesn't work, then change to a strong attack. Use explosives to blow up the city wall. All the attacking troops will be divided into four points, east, west, south, and north. Remember, the troops that attack first should not rush into the depths. They should first infiltrate along the city wall and kill the enemy's defensive forces on the city wall. Then, they should open the city gate and attack from four directions. They should compress the enemy in the center and finally take care of them.”Deputy Commander Xing Zhiguo raised a different opinion."Regiment commander, we have to choose a main attack direction and concentrate the main forces in the main attack direction. We should send out small forces to feint attacks at the other three points so that the enemy will have difficulty determining the main attack direction…”Li Yunlong interrupted Xing Zhiguo rudely,""That tactic of yours is too inflexible. This time, the ratio of our strength to the enemy is 5:1. The enemy's peripheral forces are very weak on the city wall. We will attack from all directions. Every point is the main direction of attack. The enemy can only let us lead the nose and turn every point into a key defense point. However, the enemy has fewer troops and we have more troops. We will definitely take advantage of them. You are in charge of distributing the troops. This matter is settled.”The battle had entered a white-hot stage from the beginning. The small team's sneak attack had almost succeeded, but it had failed at the last step. The battle started at the north gate. In an instant, gunshots erupted from the other three directions. Heavy and light machine guns fired at each other from above and below the city walls, causing sand and stones to fly everywhere. A few echelon of demolition teams braved the rain of bullets and rushed forward. From the beginning, there were many casualties. Li Yunlong, who was in charge of the north gate attack, was itching to see this. He pushed away the machine gunners and personally fired at the city wall with the Type 92 heavy machine gun. The machine gun fired fiercely and skillfully, suppressing the defenders on the city wall until they could not raise their heads. The dynamites kept getting shot down, and new dynamites rushed forward recklessly. This was a head-on battle, and both sides were risking their lives. A dynamiter hugged his legs that had been broken by a heavy machine gun and climbed to the base of the city wall with difficulty. The defenders panicked and a string of grenades fell. The injured dynamiter pulled the fuse before the grenades exploded…Boom! There was a huge explosion, and a huge V-shaped gap appeared on the city wall. The attacking troops rushed up like a tide, but fell down one by one…At this time, with Ping An County as the center, the surrounding hundreds of miles were in a mess. Chu Yunfei received information that a regiment of the Japanese army in Taiyuan had come to reinforce Ping An County. Chu Yunfei was shocked. The reinforcement of a Japanese regiment meant that Ping 'an County was under attack and the defenders could not hold on. Which unit had the guts to eat a leopard? Just like that?
It was definitely not the Guomindang army that belonged to the Second Battle Area. Otherwise, he would have known. It should be the Eighth Route Army, but as far as he knew, other than Li Yunlong's regiment, there was no main force of the Eighth Route Army nearby. Li Yunlong was just an independent regiment, how dare he attack the county? It should be known that although the Japanese army's defense was point-line, its mobility was very strong. Each of its strongholds was not defended in isolation. When a stronghold was attacked, other strongholds would desperately reinforce it, unlike the Kuomintang-style troops, where each department would not help in order to preserve their strength. Chu Yunfei thought," It must be Li Yunlong. This kid is really stupid. He didn't even say hello and just started fighting. Is your regiment enough?" Chu Yunfei was a little dissatisfied. This kid was too arrogant. Although there were conflicts between the two sides, they were still allies, right? Isn't this looking down on me? He was not a narrow-minded person. Even if he was dissatisfied, he still had to help. Moreover, the Japanese wanted to pass through his territory. He had to leave some money to buy passage, right? "Since the devil has delivered himself to our doorstep, how about we set up an ambush to deal with him?”Chu Yunfei said to Chief of Staff Lin Zhiqiang.
"Regimental commander, we are going to fight against a Japanese regiment. This is not a joke. Ah, I can't do a losing business, please think twice.”Lin Zhiqiang disagreed.
"Of course, I don't intend to lose money. Let's arrange our attacks in a echelon formation and block them in sections to buy some time for Li Yunlong.”Lin Zhiqiang said," Regiment Commander, we and the Eighth Route Army are minding our own business. Why are we helping him?"”"You can choose not to help others, but this Li Yunlong is still a man. If the Chinese army has a few more officers like Li Yunlong, this war will be much easier to fight.”Chu Yunfei made up his mind.
As soon as the 358th Regiment of the Guomindang Army entered the position, they started fighting. Li Yunlong's reinforcements and the Japanese army were on fire.
This was the Independent Regiment's 1st Company, the He County brigade, and the district team. There were only a few hundred people, while the Japanese army was an entire regiment. This was a fierce battle with a great disparity in strength.
For a full four hours, the Eighth Route Army's blocking troops did not retreat. The Japanese heavy artillery blew up the position into a sea of fire. The soldiers drilled out of the collapsed fortifications and used machine guns, rifles, and cluster grenades to block tenaciously. Chu Yunfei sent people to contact them a few times and asked them to withdraw. The commander of the Eighth Route Army refused to let the 358th Regiment continue to block, claiming that they were ordered to block for eight hours and could only retreat when the time was up, unless they were all killed.
The Eighth Route Army finally fulfilled its promise. Chu Yunfei saw in the telescope that the last few soldiers had pulled the cluster grenades and killed the Japanese soldiers who rushed to the position. He was full of emotions. When he thought that one day he would meet such a force on the battlefield, he couldn't help but be secretly shocked.
The Japanese army, who had just opened up the road, organized their team and walked over the bodies of the dead soldiers of the Independent Regiment. After a few steps, they entered the ambush circle of the 358th Regiment. It was another fierce battle... The desperate resistance of the various blocking forces, coupled with the harassment and attacks of the Eighth Route Army, the Kuomintang-Tang Army, and the local armed forces in the surrounding areas, made Li Yunlong win time. His tactics of attacking from all sides worked. The troops were equally distributed and attacked at the same time. The problem was that the difference in combat ability between the Japanese and the puppet troops was too great. It was always the puppet troops who could not hold on first. If they broke through one point, the entire defense system would collapse.
The north gate was broken through first. Before the north gate could attack, another loud noise came from the south gate. The south gate was also broken through. The enemy soldiers panicked and quickly gave up on the city wall and retreated. The attacking troops rushed into the city from both sides, shouting.
The remnants of the enemy troops occupied a brick building in the center of the county town, surrounded by various attacking forces.
The enemy and the defending troops were like trapped beasts, forming a dense fire net. The attacking troops were thwarted several times and suffered heavy casualties. Li Yunlong was so angry that he cursed,"Where's the artillery?" Pull the cannon up. Damn it, I want to see how many shots this broken brick house can withstand. Inside the building, Yamamoto closed his eyes in despair. As a samurai, he was not afraid of death. The Yamato people firmly believed in the theory of reincarnation. Death was just the beginning of the next cycle of life, so there was nothing to be afraid of. What made him feel pain was the special forces that he had spent his entire life building. At this moment, he thought of two ancient Chinese poems: He died before he could win the battle, which made the hero's tears fill his clothes. His ambition had not been fulfilled, and he could not die with his eyes closed. The special forces were about to be wiped out before they could even make a name for themselves. What was unbearable was that he was defeated by the beggar army, which was dressed in tattered clothes and used inferior weapons.
He ordered people to bring the captured Xiuqin and carefully looked at this country woman. After a long silence, he said,""Perhaps I should call you Mrs. Li. I called you here to inform you of a piece of good news. You see, your husband's troops have surrounded us.”"Then why don't you surrender?" Xiuqin asked calmly.”"No, the soldiers of the Emperor will not surrender. We will fight to the last soldier. The question is, do you still want to live?”Xiuqin shook her head." Since I fell into your hands, I didn't plan to live. I'll die even if I live to be a hundred years old. I've married a good man in this life. I'm content."”Yamamoto nodded and said," I believe that. The woman chosen by Mr. Li Yunlong probably won't be afraid of death. But I still want to make an effort. Are you willing to persuade your husband to negotiate with me?" You should know that I didn't use any torture methods on you after you were captured. I am a soldier, not an executioner. I have no interest in violence except on the battlefield.”
Xiuqin's expression suddenly changed and she spat,""Japanese, stop dreaming. You killed hundreds of people in my village. You didn't even spare the children. The Eighth Route Army won't let you off." Yamamoto silently waved his hand and ordered someone to take Xiuqin away. He felt that it was not worth bickering with a woman.
A bamboo pole stretched out from the enemy's stronghold, and a white handkerchief was dangling from it. The sound of gunfire suddenly stopped, and the battlefield became quiet. Yamamoto shouted.
"Mr. Li Yunlong, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Yamamoto Ichiki. Please listen to me patiently."Every grievance has its perpetrator, and every debt has its owner." I, Yamamoto Ichiki, am the one who made you my enemy. This is a grudge between you and me. I have a suggestion. You might as well listen to it. If you give way to my subordinates, I will be extremely grateful. As a token of gratitude, your wife will return to Zhao in one piece. Your enemy, I, will stay and do whatever you want. Please consider it.”Li Yunlong replied," Yamamoto, that's impossible. Not only do I want your life, I want the lives of all your special agents. Unless you surrender unconditionally, I can give you the treatment of a prisoner of war. From now on, I will stop firing for three minutes. You can consider it. After three minutes, my artillery will immediately open fire…"
Yamamoto smiled coldly." Mr. Li, you've been fighting the Japanese army for six years since 1937, right?" In general, how many Japanese soldiers have you seen who surrendered?”Li Yunlong thought for a moment and said," That's true. There are almost none. Frankly speaking, although you Japanese soldiers are bastards, you still have the integrity of a soldier. From this point of view, many Chinese soldiers are far inferior. In order to save their lives, they are willing to be dogs for others. For example, those Imperial Association Army officers around you. Their performance really made me, a Chinese soldier, feel embarrassed. It can't be helped. It's inevitable for a family to have an unfilial son and a country to have a treacherous official.”Li Yunlong's sarcastic words angered the puppet army captain in the stronghold. He shouted crazily,"Li Yunlong, cut the crap. Your wife is here. If you have the guts, shoot her.”
The artillery company had already aimed all kinds of cannons at the enemy's stronghold, and the shells were loaded. The cannoneers were all livid, and no one said a word. It was obvious that the entire regiment had spent so much effort to attack the county town, wasn't it to save the regiment commander's wife?
With this shot, would there still be people left? The monk noticed that Li Yunlong's facial muscles were twitching, and he was gritting his teeth. Everyone understood that the situation was very serious. Although the various reinforcements had effectively blocked the reinforcements, their combat power was limited. The enemy reinforcements would arrive soon, and there was no time to lose. Otherwise, all their previous efforts would be wasted.
Li Yunlong's voice was very calm.""Yamamoto, there's still one minute left.”Yamamoto's voice was also very calm."Mr. Li, we don't like forgiveness. We pay blood for blood and a tooth for a tooth. We believe that only revenge can keep our dignity. I admit that I'm not a generous person. If you fall into my hands, I will use all the torture I can to make you die in pain. Similarly, my life is now in your hands. You will never forgive me. Moreover, I have destroyed that small village and hundreds of lives. I understand your feelings of revenge. You can fire now.”Li Yunlong raised his hand and shouted,"Artillery Company, prepare to fire…"”The guard monk suddenly knelt in front of him and grabbed the corner of his shirt. He cried,"We can't open fire, Captain. Xiuqin's sister-in-law is still inside. Give me ten minutes, I'll lead the assault team in.”Li Yunlong kicked the monk down. His eyes were burning with anger as he shouted,"On my command, get ready-fire!”Six mountain cannons opened fire at the same time. The shells flew straight into the windows of the stronghold. Several mortar shells drew a few arcs in the air and fell into the stronghold. After a round of concentrated fire, the buildings of the garrison collapsed in a violent explosion.
Li Yunlong sat down weakly…His mind was blank and his body was weak.
The guard monk ran over with tears all over his face."Captain, all the enemies in the stronghold have been eliminated. Yamamoto's head was cut in half by shrapnel. I found the pistol you gave Xiuqin on him.”Li Yunlong waved his hand and said,"Don't say anymore…"”He carefully examined the Browning pistol in his hand. The blue color on the gun shone blue in the sunlight.
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