Chapter 52 "Operation Spring Thunder"

  While the troops were secretly conducting large-scale military exercises, the "Divine Eagle" Independent Regiment began to shift its gaze to the Nationalist Party's Security Regiment under their noses.

  This security regiment, headquartered in Gǔ Hé Town, took advantage of the "Divine Eagle" having just entered Què County and not yet stabilized its footing, suddenly sending troops to occupy two towns in southwestern Què. Originally, since the "Divine Eagle" had already accepted reorganization into the National Army, this security regiment was nominally a friendly force, and without orders could not lightly take action. However, there have been reports from the people that the security regiment's discipline has deteriorated, repeatedly harassing local residents, so Chen Jifang cannot allow such things to happen within his own jurisdiction. After discussing with Deputy Regiment Commander Zhōng Dǐngchéng, he decided to take action against the security regiment.

  Fighting the security regiment is not like fighting the Japanese devils. Firstly, Chinese people are fighting Chinese people, and we try our best not to kill each other if possible; secondly, the commander of the security regiment, Zhao Fengmao, holds the title of Administrative Commissioner of the 5th District of Anhui Province, and it would be hard to explain to the higher-ups if things get out of hand.

  Chen Jifan secretly convened Zhong Dingcheng and Hu Yunfeng to discuss how to get rid of the thorn that had been inserted under his eyelid. The matter was of great importance, and secrecy was the top priority.

  After secret planning, a plan codenamed "Spring Thunder" surfaced.

  The first phase of Operation "Spring Thunder" was to infiltrate a large number of intelligence personnel into Gǔ Hé Town, Wǔ Gāng Town and èr Láng Kǒu Town, closely monitor the movements of the security corps, and gather evidence of the security corps' disturbance of the people.

  According to previous plans, in order not to cause a big impact, the "Spring Thunder" operation was carried out by the Corps Special Reconnaissance Team.

  Chen Jifan found that his luck was particularly good, and in the more than 20 days of whole-staff training, the devils did not make any big moves on the periphery. Although he saw the soldiers growing day by day, Chen Jifan and Zhong Dingcheng both knew in their hearts that the current "Shenying" independent regiment was still far from being their own troops. The truly reliable ones were the special reconnaissance teams directly under the regiment. This team had a small number of people, but it had always been the pride of Shenying. However, this "pride" had not yet undergone real testing until now, and taking down Zhao Fengyou's security team was currently a good opportunity.

  An undercover agent in Guhe Town sent back intelligence that Zhao Fengyou arrived at Wugang Town three days ago, but the specific purpose is unknown.

  The opportunity has arrived!

  When Chen Jifan mentioned these few words to Zhong Dingcheng, the old Zhong, who was originally a scout, did not show much excitement.

  "Squad leader, before formulating the action plan, we still need to conduct the most thorough reconnaissance, and this reconnaissance must be actual combat reconnaissance, completed by the special warfare team in person."

  "Alright! You and Zhao Jun personally select the personnel."

  Chong Dingcheng and Xu Yang were in charge of the first real combat reconnaissance, plus two scouts. Xu Yang was specially recommended by Zhao Jun. Chong Dingcheng had never heard of Xu Yang's military exploits, but from the 9mm Browning pistol on his waist, he knew that this kid wasn't a vegetarian lantern.

  The four of them couldn't possibly go to Wugang dressed in military uniform, so Zhong Dingcheng disguised himself as a big boss, wearing a long gown and a bowler hat. Xu Yang and the other two disguised themselves as followers, carrying some goods on their shoulders. The four of them looked like they were doing business, heading towards Wugang.

  Wugang Town is a big town, with low walls built around it. Because of its proximity to the county seat and being an essential passage to Chaohu Lake, there are still many businesses operating here.

  The town gate was set up with a sentry post. Zhong Dingcheng looked at the sentry posts from afar, and a hint of murderous intent gradually appeared in his eyes. It was normal for the soldiers to be chaotic and set up checkpoints, but what was key was that these security teams didn't take advantage of the opportunity to extort money from passing pedestrians, and some even harassed individual women who passed by.

  "Scum!" Zhong Dingcheng cursed in his heart.

  The four of them soon walked up to the sentry post.

  "Halt! What are you doing? What are you looking at? I'm talking to you!" A security guard with a crooked hat blocked their way.

  "Hey! Boss, don't point that thing at us, we're just small-time traders. There are devils everywhere, but I heard this place is safe, so we rushed over. It's chaotic outside, please boss, spare us a meal." Xuyang said as he stuffed a few silver dollars into the slouch hat owner's hand.

  Zhong Dingcheng also pretended to take off his hat and bowed his head.

  "Consider yourself lucky. Do you know why there are no Japanese people here?" asked the big ocean with a tilt of his hat.

  "This, we are outsiders, don't know." Xu Yang replied vaguely.

  "You don't know the situation! Listen up, we have Commander Zhao and the security team stationed here, what can those little devils do?" Slant Cap shouted loudly.

  "Isn't that right, boss? I heard before we came that the whole of Puyang had a 'Divine Eagle' unit that chased away the devils." Zhong Dingcheng also chimed in with two sentences.

  "To hell with 'Divine Eagle'! If it weren't for Commander Zhao sparing them out of consideration for the Party and the country, this bunch of blind bumpkins would have been wiped out long ago."

  "Boss, how come these people have no eyesight?" Xu Yang said with a suppressed smile.

  "Hum! After the little devils were scared away by our security team, the grain in the county town was monopolized by those country bumpkins. Commander Zhao has a lot and doesn't care, but these country bumpkins actually don't come to pay their respects? They really deserve a beating!"

  "That's right! That's right! Boss, we won't take up too much of your time, let's go in." Zhong Dingcheng continued to nod and bow.

  "Get out." The crooked hat waved its hand impatiently.

  After entering the town, the four of them went straight to a roadside food stall and ordered something to eat.

  Street vendors can usually hear some useful things.

  "Have you heard? Zhao Yanwang has arrived!" said passerby A, covering his mouth with his hand.

  "Shh! Don't lose your life, let the security team's little devils hear you and you won't be able to get away with it." The boss of the pancake stall reminded him carefully.

  "This big brother, who is this Zhao Yanwang you're talking about?" Zhong Dingcheng asked the passerby A, pretending to be puzzled.

  Passerby A looked around and then whispered, "It's Zhao Fengmao, the commander of the security team. He's very dark-skinned and has a set of ways to bully ordinary people, but when he sees the Japanese devils, he runs away."

  "In fact, not all the people in the security team are bad guys. The main reason is that Zhao, Yan and Wang set up many nominal taxes and donations, such as anti-Japanese donations and military grain supplies, which went too far. As a result, the security team took advantage of the ordinary people, and many people secretly called them 'two devils'."

  It seems that this security team has done a lot of evil in the town, and it's better to get rid of them as soon as possible, so that the people can have peace.

  "Boss, I'm afraid there are quite a few security teams in town?" Xu Yang asked, pretending to be silly.

  "Can't it? I heard from a cousin of mine that there was a troop with over a thousand guns?" the boss replied.

  "Not just one, not just one," Passerby A started selling the trick, "Second Brother's mouth also has a group."

  After the four of them finished eating, they first found a small inn to rest. Then they split up to investigate the garrison's location inside and outside the town.

  Zhao Fengou is now fifty-four years old, and after so many years of mixing in the official circles of the Republic of China, he has come to realize a truth: only with a gun in hand can one speak loudly. Therefore, taking advantage of his appointment as the Commissioner of the 5th District of Anhui Province, he incorporated the scattered armed forces in Guhe Town into two local security battalions, and the numbering of the security battalions only needs to be reported to Anhui Province for approval.

  This time he came to Wugang Town to meet the "Divine Eagle" Independent Regiment, which had been making a big stir recently. In his opinion, although the National Government had incorporated this regiment, he did not recognize it, especially after occupying the county seat and swallowing more than 20,000 kilograms of grain on its own, which was unbearable!

  Zhao Fengyou had over a thousand guns in his hands, and normally even the provincial capital of Anhui would give him face. Especially with the administrative power of several surrounding counties in his grasp, he almost walked sideways. But the "Divine Eagle" Independent Regiment of Quanjiao didn't put him in their eyes at all, and they didn't even ask for instructions on the appointment of county magistrates, doing whatever they wanted. Zhao Fengyou was holding back his anger, thinking of teaching the "Divine Eagle" a lesson.

  He was naturally gloating and didn't think that the "Eagle" he dreaded had already set his sights on him.

  Zhong Dingcheng's reconnaissance efficiency was extremely high, and in just one night, he had a thorough understanding of the entire town, including where Commander Zhao was staying.

  After returning to Quan Pei, Zhong Dingcheng compiled the reconnaissance situation into a simple map and reported it to Chen Jifan. After discussion by the three people in the regimental headquarters, they decided to launch Operation "Spring Thunder" two days later.

  This idea originated from Chen Jifa, who was inspired by the US military's special forces' operation in Panama to capture its president. It achieved its goal without causing significant international repercussions. At least many people may not even know that this incident ever occurred.

  Outside Wugang Town, 2 o'clock in the middle of the night.

  120 ghostly figures quietly lurked in the grass and woods, "Spring Thunder" vanguard commander Zhong Dingcheng observed the defensive positions of the Wugang Town Security Regiment through binoculars.

  The security team was not the Japanese army, but set up a machine gun bunker outside the town. Four or five soldiers were sleeping in the bunker with yawns. There were two sentries on the wall, holding guns and walking back and forth listlessly.

  Before the action, Chen Jifeng insisted that he would not kill the security team's soldiers if possible, as long as they could be subdued. He did not want the "God Eagle" to have Chinese blood on their hands. When Zhong Dingcheng conveyed the team leader's request to the special reconnaissance team, the young men all indicated no problem.

  Action begins. Zhao Jun leads a team of members with ropes to climb over the town gate under the cover of night; Zhong Dingcheng leads another team to quickly approach the machine gun bunker outside the town gate.

  The sentry on the wall can easily see everything that happens at the town gate, so nothing can be done here until Zhao Jun disposes of the sentry on the wall.

  Wen Chuanhao is still the same, even the special forces are a bit afraid of him. He doesn't speak much usually, but during battles, he quietly finds a place to ambush. Of course, his team quickly enters combat mode as well. Now he has 8 members, Jin Suo is already a small team leader, and Yu Yue, the young man sent by Song Guantou last time, is also good. He trained very hard, Wen Chuanhao assigned him to Jin Suo's team.

  Zhao Jun was the first to climb over the wall, and after a brief vigil, the rest of the team quickly followed. Zhao Jun left two men on the spot to keep watch, and led the others to swiftly pounce on the two sentries. The two sentries had no idea what was happening around them, and just as one of them was about to turn his head, he suddenly felt a pair of large hands tightly covering his mouth. He was about to shout when he felt a heavy blow to the back of his neck, and then knew nothing more. The other sentry heard the commotion and ran towards it with his gun at the ready, but his feet were tripped up by someone, and he couldn't catch himself as he fell forward. He only felt a great force wrapping around him, and then felt a chill on the back of his neck. "Don't make a sound! Or you'll die!" A cold dagger flashed in front of his eyes before being pressed against his neck again. He was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.

  Despicable! Zhao Jun disdainfully ordered his team members to take away the two men, and then gave a signal to clear out. The signal was sent, and Zhao Jun immediately prepared to open the gate. Wen Chuanhao saw Zhao Jun succeed, and also waved his hand for his team members to climb the wall to find a sniping location.

  Zhong Dingcheng saw Zhao Jun and gave a signal, and with a flip of his body, he led the team members to rush into the bunker. In just a few minutes, the entire town gate was occupied. Zhao Jun ordered people to set up a 50-meter alert on both sides of the town gate before opening it.

  The special forces who had been well-prepared entered the town very quickly. Some occupied the high points of the walls, while others took the lead in searching and warning in all directions.

  The target of the Zhongding City is a courtyard in the middle of the town, which is now the residence of Zhao Fengyou, the commander of the security guard. According to reconnaissance, the actual number of troops stationed in the town is not nearly 1,000 as rumored, but more than 400. All of them live in the town, and there are 70 or 80 people guarding inside and outside Zhao Fengyou's residence, with real guns and bullets, which can be described as heavily guarded.

  After occupying the town gate, Zhao Jun sent a class of troops to guard the town gate, and outside the town, Wen Chuanhao's sniper squad was arranged to cover.

  Zhong Dingcheng divided his troops into two groups, one attacking another town gate, while the rest secretly advanced towards Zhao Fengyu's residence.

  There were no pedestrians on the way, and the garrison had been asleep for a long time. Except for a few patrols, not a single security guard could be seen.

  Because all the people who are still awake at this moment are concentrated in Commander Zhao's residence. Now, there are more than 80 special team members under the command of Zhong Dingcheng and Zhao Jun, which is roughly the same as the number of guards. If they fight hard, it will be no problem, but the key is that once the gunshots sound, teams from all sides will surround them.

  Zhong Ding Cheng gave the order to launch a fierce attack.

  First dispatch two squads of warriors to surround all exits of the residence, then divide them in half with one half climbing over the wall and the other half forcing their way past the guards at the entrance.

  Action begins!

  "Boom", a hand grenade exploded at the entrance of the residence, and the lucky surviving guard had not yet figured out what was happening when he saw a group of ghostly figures shooting dense bullets at him.

  As the gunfire rang out, the courtyard immediately fell into chaos, and the security team was far inferior to the devils. It had been chaotic for a long time. According to the intelligence gathered beforehand, Zhao Fengmao lived in the backyard, so the special forces left some people to guard the gate and the rest of the soldiers rushed towards the backyard at high speed.

  Zhao Fengou was awakened by the intense gunfire and was about to ask what was going on. The guards rushed in to report that their residence had been attacked by an unidentified armed group, with heavy casualties among the guards. Please evacuate immediately, Commander.

  Zhao Feng initially didn't believe it, the town had at least a few hundred people. Even if someone launched an attack, it was impossible to sneak in silently, and the sound of gunfire had already reached the front yard.

  Zhao Fengchou didn't dare to hesitate, and quickly went back to get a handgun. But it was too late, as soon as he came out of the house, he heard many voices around him: "Put down your weapons!" "Raise your hands!" "Don't move!" Then there were the sounds of guns being cocked.

  As the ancient saying goes, "catching a thief and catching a king", the capture of Zhao Fengmao, the commander of the Security Regiment, has greatly reduced the pressure on the special forces. When the security regiment rushed to surround the special forces after hearing the news, Zhong Dingcheng shouted: "The 'Divine Eagle' Independent Regiment of the National Revolutionary Army is ordered to arrest the wanted criminal, retreat!"

  Then he turned around and ordered the dejected Zhao Fengyu: "Order them to put down their guns!"

  The name of the "Divine Eagle" independent regiment still resonated loudly in this area, and many people began to hesitate.

  "Put down your guns! Do you want my old man's life or what?" Zhao Fengyu cursed in a fluster.

  The commander gave the order, and many people's hands immediately loosened, and guns fell to the ground. A few die-hards still wanted to make a move, but as soon as they raised their guns, they were hit by bullets flying from hidden places.

  From the moment the first man threw down his rifle, the collapse of the security regiment was only a matter of time. After less than 20 minutes of fighting, the "Divine Eagle" Independent Regiment's special reconnaissance team captured over 400 Kuomintang security troops stationed in Wugang Town with zero casualties, killing 23 and capturing Security Regiment Commander Zhao Fengmao alive.

  "You launched a surprise attack on the party and national army, I want to sue you, let me go! I'll see how you end up, if you have the guts, just shoot me. Otherwise, we're not done." Zhao Fengmao had already woken up from his initial panic, he was yelling recklessly.

  Yes, Zhong Dingcheng thought that the military operation was over quickly. But this Commander Zhao had become a hot potato, couldn't be killed and couldn't be let go.

  "Notify the team leader, 'Spring Thunder' operation has ended. Please instruct!"

  Squad leader, you'd better come quickly, next step is up to you. Zhong Dingcheng thought.