Chapter 14: Awe-Inspiring Northwest of Jin

  "Commander! Isn't it about time? If we don't retreat, our troops won't be able to hold on any longer!", Zhang Daquan asked Li Xinmin if they should retreat. His third company could no longer hold out for much longer, and the casualties in this battle were too great. Now his third company had less than half of its original men left, and their ammunition was extremely scarce. If they didn't retreat now, they really wouldn't be able to escape.

  These new troops all knew that Li Xinmin did not want the team he had brought up himself to be consumed like this, but for the safety of the headquarters commander, he still persisted in blocking here for a day. Under the premise of no support at all, they have done very well.

  "Notify Gaodabao and them, execute the second plan! We should withdraw!", Li Xinmin said with a heavy tone.

  "Yes!" Guard Li Shilong quickly went to execute Li Xinmin's order. Soon, "Rumble! Rumble!" The loud noise awakened the devils, and they found that the surrounding mountain walls were continuously exploding, with huge rocks rolling down, smashing into the devil's main force, and the devils fled in all directions, even abandoning their guns and cannons.

  "Retreat!", even before the explosion occurred, the warriors had been notified that with the big explosion as a signal, they would destroy the heavy weapons that were not convenient to carry and quickly retreat to Taiyue Mountain.

  The warriors quickly withdrew from the array ground and advanced deep into Mount Taihang. When the devils rushed to the commanding heights again, Li Xinmin and his men had already disappeared in the vastness of Mount Taihang.

  "Bastard!", shouted Kobayashi Ichiro in anger at the ghostly officer who was participating in the battle. Kawaguchi and others were so frightened that they immediately lowered their heads.

  "Are you going to let the Eighth Route Army escape right in front of us? You have disgraced the honor of the Great Japanese Imperial Army and insulted our brigade!" Several devils lowered their heads even deeper.

  "There are less than a thousand people in this small place, yet they managed to intercept me, a lone traveler, for an entire day. Shouldn't all of you reflect on this?"

  "Yes!" Several officers responded immediately.

  "Colonel! The intelligence department also bears some responsibility for this battle! Please punish us, Colonel!", Intelligence Officer Kawaguchi stepped forward to admit his mistake, and Kobayashi looked at him.

  "Kawaguchi-kun! What's your take on this war?" said Kobayashi Ichiro with a profound implication.

  "Judging from this incident, the Eighth Route Army's momentum is very rapid, and their combat strength has increased quickly." Little Lin nodded.

  "Their weapons have been changed from Hanyang-made to mainly equipped with the Great Japanese Empire's weapons." "Please continue, Kawaguchi-san!"

  "As for the Eighth Route Army, all their weapons are from our hands, which is to say that they are equipped with the equipment of the Great Japanese Empire. Their source of weapons is constantly ambushing our transportation teams and small units. Therefore, in dealing with the Eighth Route Army, should we change the strategy of the past? We should now regard the Eighth Route Army as one of the main enemies and cannot let them develop freely! Otherwise, it will leave a great hidden danger for the rule of the Great Japanese Empire!", Kawaguchi said excitedly, he indeed hit the point at this moment, but his view had already been raised in Japan. Because not long after, the commander of the North China Front Army was considered to have made strategic mistakes and command errors in dealing with the Eighth Route Army, and was replaced by the devilish strategist Okamura Yasuji.

  "Not bad! We should change our strategy!", said Kobayashi Ichiro, gesturing to Kawaguchi to continue.

  "We should consider why the Eighth Route Army is getting stronger and more powerful after each battle. Their combat effectiveness has transformed from simple resistance to large-scale frontal resistance. The losses they inflict on us are often greater than those of the Nationalist army we face head-on! They specifically target our transportation teams, destroy our highways and railways, cut off our supply lines, making it difficult for us to fight a conventional war, greatly disrupting our logistical support."

  "Not bad! River Mouth, what you said is right, we should reflect on ourselves. I will report your views to the superiors."

  "What do you think of the troops we encountered?" asked Kobayashi. "Judging from the items collected on the battlefield, this Eighth Route Army should be a directly affiliated unit of the Eighth Route Agency, and the Eighth Route has always been very good at its own protection work. Although these people are very stubborn, in terms of numbers, they do not pose a threat to the main force of my Imperial Japanese Army. In this battle, they have consumed most of their personnel, and judging from the battlefield, they no longer have much combat effectiveness now. What we fear is whether another ten or hundred Eighth Route Armies will appear? At that time, it will greatly threaten the rule of my Great Japanese Empire here."

  "Hmm! You all go back and strengthen the security of your jurisdictions, can't give the Eighth Route another chance!", Kobayashi Kazuo ordered seriously.

  At this moment, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army Command Center inquired about the situation below.

  "Don't worry, Commander! All units have safely withdrawn! The three battalions that were left behind also withdrew smoothly, but I don't know what their current situation is like."

  "Hmm! I didn't expect this Li Xinmin to be a fierce warrior!", "Haha, what? Commander is starting to care for Li Xinmin?", the staff officer joked.

  "It's really something! One regiment actually tore open a gap in the enemy's position, and before the enemy could react, they broke through the encirclement with the main force. It was just one regiment that held off an entire enemy division! You say this kid is impressive or not?"

  "Yes! This little guy is really something! The soldiers of the Third Battalion are all good comrades! What a pity about these fine troops!" The commander sighed.

  "Yes! I'm afraid this time the three battalions have been thoroughly crippled!", the staff officer also sighed.

  "Find the Third Battalion and have them return to headquarters for rest and reorganization!", "Understood, Commander!"

  At this moment, the commander and political commissar of the 772nd Regiment of the Eighth Route Army were visiting Li Xinmin and his men, asking about the situation in the Third Battalion.

  When Li Xinmin and his men retreated from Taiyue Mountain, they followed the Qinghui Ridge to Zhang Village, dozens of miles away, which was the defense zone of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. Li Xinmin explained the situation of the three battalions to the commander of the 772nd Regiment, and Commander Wang Jinsan immediately came to the headquarters of the Third Battalion in Zhang Village with a large amount of medicine to help treat the wounded. After all, Li Xinmin's battle achievements had caused a sensation in northwest Shanxi, and if it weren't for the desperate resistance of the three battalions, the headquarters and other brother units would have suffered heavy casualties. The subsequent blocking battle was even more impressive to everyone.

  "This time your loss is really quite miserable!" Wang Jinsan said.

  "Ah! That's right! In just one short day, we lost many cadres, and a whole company of brothers was wiped out in one battle! Who wouldn't be furious about that?" Li Xinmin said.

  "Speaking of which, I'd like to ask you, your camp's weapons aren't bad at all! They actually forced the devils to deploy planes!", said Lao Xie, the political commissar of the 772nd Regiment, with a tone of admiration.

  "As soon as I mention the devils' planes, I get angry. Those damned devils! If it weren't for their air raids, we wouldn't have ended up like this, abandoning all our belongings there." Li Xinmin said with great indignation.

  "Yes! That's the family property we've accumulated with great difficulty for a long time! It was destroyed by our own hands!", Huang Yucai said regretfully on the side. Like this, several people discussed together for half a day. They were discussing here, and outside they were also discussing Li Xinmin's three battalions, which caused a sensation in the entire northwest of Shanxi after this battle, greatly boosting the morale of our military and civilians.