Chapter 6: Reaping a Bountiful Harvest

  When Wataru Ichiro led the remaining few hundred little devils back to the county town in a hurry, Liu Dazhu had already left the county town with 3 battalions of soldiers. Looking at the ruined command center, the corpses all over the ground, and the empty arsenal, Wataru Ichiro almost went mad.

  Watanabe Ichiro's eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed a small devilish staff officer, shouting "Hachigara, how could this be?"

  The poor little devil's counselor only knew how to continuously say "Hi, hi, hi........"

  Watanabe Ichiro returned to his command room in a state of despair, knowing that he was inescapably guilty today. Today's defeat had resulted in the loss of hundreds of Imperial elite troops at the hands of the enemy. The supplies for a field army unit that had arrived from Shijiazhuang a few days ago and were preparing to depart for Taiyuan had been completely looted by the Eighth Route Army. These were enough reasons for him to commit seppuku to apologize to the Emperor. Thinking of this, Watanabe Ichiro faced east and used his command sword to make a standard cross-shaped cut on his abdomen, making a loyal sacrifice for His Imperial Majesty.

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  Not long after Zhang Yunfei led the special warfare team members back to the Third Battalion Command, they heard a hurried and urgent footsteps outside. Before long, Instructor Fang Zheng pushed open the door and excitedly said to Zhang Yunfei: "Battalion Commander, Deputy Battalion Commander Liu Dazhu and the others have returned."

  "Oh, great! Instructor, let's go to the village entrance to welcome our triumphant heroes." Zhang Yunfei also said with a smile.

  As they arrived at the village entrance, they saw a long line of soldiers slowly approaching, each with a smile on their face and a spring in their step. Every soldier was carrying several guns, some even had boxes of ammunition slung over their shoulders. Behind the soldiers followed hundreds of civilians, either pushing single-wheeled carts or driving ox-drawn carts. It seemed that this trip to the county town had been quite profitable, with rich spoils to be had.

  Seeing the battalion commander and instructor standing at the village entrance to welcome the soldiers, Liu Dazhu quickly stepped forward and stood at attention to report: "Report to the battalion commander, Liu Dazhu has successfully completed his mission and led the 3rd company's soldiers back victorious."

  Zhang Yunfei patted Liu Dazhu's shoulder and said: "Dazhu did a good job, didn't let us down."

  Today we won a great victory, the whole 3rd battalion is filled with joyful atmosphere. Zhang Yunfei even ordered the cooking team to give the soldiers an extra meal tonight. In the evening, the cooking team slaughtered a big fat pig, and at night, the entire 3rd battalion was filled with the tempting smell of meat.

  In the evening, at the 3rd Battalion Command Headquarters conference room, Zhang Yunfei convened a meeting of all platoon leaders and above military officers in the 3rd Battalion. Today's big victory must be thoroughly summarized.

  "Comrades, today we have won a great victory, annihilating several hundred devils and capturing even more equipment and supplies. The quantities were counted before the meeting: over 3,000 Type 38 rifles, more than 200 submachine guns, over 100 Type 92 heavy machine guns, tens of millions of rounds of ammunition, as well as 12 Type 92 infantry cannons and 36 60mm mortars, with five bases of cannonballs. In addition, we also captured over 100 Thompson submachine guns and several sniper rifles, which are exactly what our special forces urgently need."

  "Regimental Commander, our 3rd Regiment is now so rich it's dripping with oil, even more prosperous than Chiang Kai-shek's Central Army!" said Battalion Commander Wang Haiyang with a smile. The other comrades all showed approving glances after hearing the battalion commander's words.

  "Actually, the battalion commander hasn't finished speaking yet. The first battalion is absolutely right. Our 3rd Battalion is now truly rich and overflowing with wealth. Among this batch of captured equipment and materials, there are more than 500,000 yuan, over 100 kilograms of gold, over 1,000 stones of grain, as well as a large quantity of cotton and cloth, some medicine, and several thousand sets of brand new little devil's military uniforms." The instructor added with excitement.

  When they heard the instructor say that so much gold and silver had been seized, the company commanders were stunned for a long time, and after a while, everyone burst out laughing and applauding.

  Seeing everyone's heartfelt joy, Zhang Yunfei pressed his hands down, and everyone immediately quieted down. Zhang Yunfei continued to say: "We currently have a large number of weapons and equipment, the troops need to accelerate development, I decide: From 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies, select 30 veteran soldiers to form the 4th company, artillery company, heavy firepower company, and the regiment's direct guard platoon. The new recruits' training will be completed, and they will be supplemented to each company."

  Zhang Yunfei's words stopped, and Deputy Regimental Commander Liu Dazhu hastily asked: "Regimental Commander, how are the personnel and weapons allocated to each company and platoon?"

  "This is exactly what I am going to say next, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are infantry companies, each company has three infantry platoons and a company direct support mortar battery and a company headquarters. The company headquarters consists of a cooking squad, a 5-person medical emergency team, and a small number of communication and guard personnel. Each platoon is divided into three infantry squads, with 12 people in each squad, equipped with 8 Type 38 rifles, one light machine gun, and one grenade launcher. The company direct support mortar battery is equipped with 3 60mm mortars, with more than 140 people in the whole company."

  The artillery company was equipped with 12 Type 92 infantry guns and 24 60mm trench mortars, with more than 160 people in the whole company, as well as horses for pulling guns and transporting ammunition.

  Heavy firepower company has three heavy firepower platoons, each equipped with 92-style heavy machine guns 6, Type 26 light machine guns 6, and more than 120 soldiers in the whole company.

  The camp directly belonged to the guard company under which there were three infantry squads, all equipped with Thompson submachine guns.

  After saying this, Zhang Yunfei took a glance around everyone. They were still immersed in the deep shock. Just over a month ago, they were used to living a poor life, but suddenly became rich landlords. The role change was too sudden for them to adapt.

  After a while, after everyone had accepted becoming landlords, Zhang Yunfei continued to say: "In the next phase, on the one hand, we need to strengthen our training, especially live ammunition shooting training; On the other hand, we must accelerate the expansion of our troops and continue to carry out recruitment work. All young men who are eager to fight against the devils can be temporarily assigned to the new recruit regiment for training. In addition, each company should disperse and station in nearby villages to increase strategic depth.

  The next day, each regiment sorted out its equipment and set off to garrison in various nearby villages. Based on the land, it further expanded, and a few days later, several large villages around Xin'an County were garrisoned by troops of the Eighth Route Army. Some small villages also established militias with dozens or hundreds of people. Zhang Yunfei gave the old Hanyang-made and Lao Tiaozi rifles that the 3rd Regiment had replaced to each militia team.

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  Taiyuan, the headquarters of the Japanese First Army, Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Shimizu, Commander of the First Army, and his Chief of Staff were leisurely sipping tea. In front of them, two young and beautiful Japanese women in kimonos knelt down to serve them carefully.

  He picked up the delicate small teacup, Xiang Yue Qingci lightly sipped a small mouthful and said to the Chief of Staff beside him: "Jing Xia Jun, the Longjing tea from Zhina is really not bad, it leaves a lasting aftertaste."

  The chief of staff replied respectfully: "Yes, Commander, Longjing, Maojian and Gua Pian from Zhina are all famous teas that can rival those of the Empire."

  Suddenly, a communications soldier walked quickly to the front of Xiang Yueqing with several telegrams in his hand, standing at attention and saluting: "Commander, an urgent telegram from the Watanabe Unit in Xin'an County. The telegram says that Xin'an County has been attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army. The arsenal in Xin'an County was looted, and the equipment for a field regiment was taken away. More than 500 Imperial warriors of the Watanabe Unit were killed, and Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe Ichiro has committed seppuku to show his loyalty to His Majesty."

  "Hachiko, that idiot Watanabe Ichiro!" Katsuragi Seiji slammed the exquisite teacup in his hand to the ground in indignation.

  "Commander, should we increase the garrison in Xin'an County? Xin'an County is adjacent to the Taihang Mountains to the east. If Xin'an County is occupied by China, the Eighth Route Army will further expand their base in the Taihang Mountains." The Chief of Staff suggested solemnly.

  Xiang Yue Qing Si walked solemnly in front of a large military map, staring at the map of Xin'an County in a daze.

  The 1st Army, currently stationed in Shanxi, has jurisdiction over the 6th, 14th and 20th Divisions. The 6th and 14th Divisions, along with Yan Xishan's Jin-Sui Army in southern Shanxi and Hu Zongnan's Central Army, form a strategic standoff. The Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division is stationed in Datong.

  "Find out which unit of the Eighth Route Army attacked Xin'an County?" Xiang Yueqing looked at the map for a while and said to the communication soldier.

  "Commander, the 20th Division just sent a telegram saying that the 8th Route Army's 120th Division, 359th Brigade, 717th Regiment, 3rd Battalion attacked Xin'an County Town."

  When he heard that a regiment of the Eighth Route Army had attacked and taken the county seat of Xin'an, which was garrisoned by an infantry battalion of the Japanese army, Shogetsu Seiji indignantly said: "Hachigaya Kōtarō is really a fool. The county seat heavily guarded by his troops has been taken by just one regiment of the Eighth Route Army."

  The chief of staff and the communications officer did not dare to answer, so they stood at attention with their heads bowed in front of Xiang Yueqing.

  "Order, dispatch the Koizumi detachment of the 20th Division to garrison Xin'an County and strengthen the alertness of the surrounding eight roads." said Qingxiang.