Chapter 11: The Great Sweep (2)

  Li Xinmin settled his troops and then walked into the brigade command center with the regimental commander.

  "Do you know why we're in such a hurry to gather you all back? ", The captain raised his teacup and took a sip of water.

  "I don't know! Is something important going to happen?" Li Xinmin asked with great puzzlement.

  At this time, the political commissar smiled and said on one side, "You little devil, you have done a great job!" Hearing the words of the political commissar, Li Xinmin became even more puzzled.

  "How did I make a meritorious deed?", "Do you know who killed the Japanese military commander this time? Do you know what was written in the documents you intercepted?" The series of questions from the political commissar completely confused Li Xinmin.

  "Let me tell you, this time you've caught a big fish! Among the Japanese military officers you killed was Tanaka Nobuyoshi, the commander of the Sakae Brigade. Not long ago, he participated in the Pingxingguan Battle and came to Taiyuan to recover from his injuries. This time, while on a mission, he was killed by you, and the documents he carried were the Japanese army's latest battle plan against our Eighth Route Army. By capturing this intelligence ahead of time, we can make preparations in advance." The political commissar explained the cause and effect to Li Xinmin one by one.

  "Thanks to your intelligence, we were not at a disadvantage when the battle took place. Therefore, the headquarters commander specially proposed to reward you. After discussion by the party committee, it was decided to appoint you as the commander of the third battalion of the special operations regiment." The regimental commander said.

  "Yes! Thank you for your trust, leader!" Li Xinmin was very excited at this moment. "Who is going right away?" Li Xinmin asked afterwards.

  "Just now we all saw it, your men and horses are almost catching up with a whole regiment. The men and horses find their own way, the weapons equip themselves."

  "You little scamp! Your current equipment is probably enough to take down an entire regiment." The commissar chuckled from the side.

  At this moment, Li Xinmin and others were celebrating happily. At the same time, in the command center of the Japanese devils in Xunxian County, the commander of the 3rd Regiment, Hirata Ichiro, was frantically slashing at objects in the house with his command sword.

  The Battle of Sunjia Village, not a single devil was spared, and Tanaka Nobuyoshi, who was inspecting the military situation at that time, was also killed by the enemy. This news was unbearable for Hirata Ichiro. He thought it was an insult to him, and after scolding that unit, he immediately reported the intelligence to Taiyuan, which made Taiyuan even more angry and decided to carry out a more brutal sweep of the Eighth Route Army, with the intention of thoroughly eliminating the base of the Eighth Route Army.

  The Japanese army assembled over 100,000 people and launched a crazy revenge action against the base area. The 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army ambushed and killed more than 500 enemies in Mazhuang. The Japanese Fourth Division's Sakata Detachment rushed to Mazhuang from Wuxiang to reinforce, attempting to find the main force of the Eighth Route Army for a decisive battle. After failing to do so, they marched towards Yunling, intending to attack the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Lizhuang.

  The 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army encountered them in Yunling, and both sides engaged in a fierce battle for positions. The casualties on both sides were heavy, but the 386th Brigade was able to withdraw from Yunling smoothly under the cover of friendly forces.

  In the battle, the devils felt that the local villagers were supporting the Eighth Route Army, which made them feel that the Eighth Route Army's strength in the locality was expanding rapidly, and then they swept more crazily. The Japanese army concentrated in various counties divided into several directions, they implemented a policy of "burning, killing and looting" against the villages of the Eighth Route Army base, killing people on sight, raping women on sight, burning houses on sight, and ninety percent of the houses were burned down. The enemy used all their most vicious means, catching little children and cutting off their legs, smashing them on stones, even splashing out brain pulp, pulling out intestines and hanging them on trees. Whole villages of villagers were brutally killed by the devils, and there was no one left to bury the bodies! The bodies were abandoned in the village by the devils, gradually rotting and emitting a foul smell, and the wild dogs nearby contracted the virus after eating the flesh of the dead, attacking any living thing they saw. For a time, the surrounding area became a death zone. In the face of the enemy's large-scale sweep and sudden attack, the Eighth Route Army's organs and troops dispersed to carry out guerrilla warfare and counter-sweeping. They implemented "empty room clearing", burying food, dispersing livestock into small groups, and driving them up the mountain. The devils burned down houses, and the people lived in caves and thatched huts on the mountain, with two or three households forming a group. Militiamen stood guard and fired warning shots when they discovered the enemy, and when the people heard the sound of gunfire, they all hid in the mountains.

  The Japanese army, with railways and highways as its pillars, frequently swept the anti-Japanese base areas and attempted to cut off the strategic zones of Taihang, Jin-Cha-Ji, etc. The Eighth Route Army Headquarters, having obtained intelligence in advance, made a counterattack plan against the "cage policy" of the Japanese devils, launching a transportation sabotage war against the Japanese, destroying their highway and railway facilities, and dealing a heavy blow to the North China Front Army of Japan.

  After a long period of counter-sweeping, the third camp of Li Xinmin did not lose many men and horses, but instead increased their combat effectiveness.

  "Company Commander! The scout just came back and reported that the headquarters is surrounded by the enemy, and the main force is fighting fiercely with the enemy in the Cangyun Ridge area." Huang Yuke rushed into the command post of the battalion, now he was already a company commander. He immediately reported to Li Xinmin as soon as he arrived at the command post. Due to accurate intelligence, Li Xinmin commanded properly, and the third company successfully broke through the enemy's defense line, and is currently resting.

  "Cangyun Ridge?" Li Xinmin immediately opened the map and carefully studied it, occasionally circling and pointing on the map.

  "Notify all soldiers to assemble immediately!" Li Xinmin ordered loudly.

  "Company commander! The whole company has assembled!", "Comrades! Our headquarters and our brother units are currently surrounded by the enemy's main force at Cangyun Ridge, what should we do?", "Go to rescue! Kill the devils!", "Right! Our three companies will not produce any cowards. Brothers in trouble will never avoid it. Now let's go to Cangyun Ridge to support them." Then, Li Xinmin led his troops to quickly advance towards Cangyun Ridge.

  At this moment, the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army's Death-defying First Column is engaged in a fierce battle with the main force of the devils on the three mountain peaks of the main position of Cangyun Ridge. The devils have thrown in more than 7,000 people this time, and the Eighth Route Army has launched thirteen consecutive attacks, engaging in a brutal bayonet fight with the Japanese army.

  "Commander! Right ahead is the main battlefield of Cangyun Ridge!" Huang Yuke briefed Li Xinmin on the situation.

  "We will launch an attack from Yujialing, where the terrain is favorable to us and it's easy for us to hold our position. The first and second battalions will be responsible for attacking the weak points of the enemy, while the third battalion will build a strongpoint on high ground to cover the withdrawal of friendly forces." Li Xinmin briefly introduced the action plan.

  "Yes!" The three company commanders went back to make preparations.

  In a burst of bugle calls, the first and second companies fiercely charged towards the devils. At this moment, the devils were engaged in fierce battle with the 386th Brigade. Suddenly, the bugle call of the Eighth Route Army came from the rear, followed by a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers rushing over. The Eighth Route Army inside was also confused, but the commander remained clear-headed. He immediately ordered the troops to cover the personnel of the headquarters and break through from the location where Li Xinmin and others were attacking towards the outside. Finally, with the help of the first and second companies, they successfully broke out of the devils' encirclement.

  "Brothers! Which part of the country are you from?", a soldier from the besieging army asked the soldiers of the Third Regiment.

  "We are from the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Special Task Force. Our battalion commander is waiting for you at the rear!" The soldier replied.

  Watching the main force break through the encirclement, Li Xinnian knew he could retreat, but another problem was in front of him. The headquarters' action was very slow, so they couldn't shake off the devils' pursuit. If they didn't stop the devils' pursuit, it wouldn't take long for the devils to catch up with the headquarters, and all their previous efforts would be in vain.