Chapter 48 Good News
By five o'clock in the afternoon, it was already dark.
Somewhere between the Huting stronghold and the Niuzhuang stronghold, the officers and soldiers of the New 1st Regiment were deploying in stages along a road line more than two kilometers long, stepping up the construction of defensive fortifications.
Ding Wei, commander of the new 1st regiment, is inspecting the position.
"Listen to me, the fortifications must be built solidly."
"This blockade is different from the past. It will most likely be a fierce battle."
"The order from the brigade is to keep us like nails on the battlefield!"
"Before the independent regiment takes over the Huting stronghold, we must not let a single enemy soldier pass!"
Accompanied by Ding Wei's shouts of encouragement, the soldiers of the New 1st Regiment dug trenches enthusiastically.
No matter what, Li Yunlong is their old commander. How can they not help the old commander?
The new regiment is now strong in terms of men and horses, with three main battalions plus a cavalry company, a guard company, and a special service company. Each main battalion has three infantry companies and one machine gun company.
In addition, there is an artillery platoon directly under the regiment headquarters!
This means that the new regiment has 15 companies plus one artillery platoon.
Including several teams directly under the regiment headquarters, the total strength of the regiment has exceeded 2,000 people.
This is even more impressive than the old main force regiment like the 772nd Regiment, because the 772nd Regiment only has 12 companies and more than 1,700 people.
Therefore, the New 1st Regiment was the main force in this blocking operation, and the 772nd Regiment was responsible for protecting the flanks to prevent the Japanese army from making a detour from the flanks and attacking the two wings behind the New 1st Regiment.
As for the local forces in the third and fifth districts, they mainly launched attacks on roads.
The commander of the 772nd Regiment, Cheng Shifa, was at the position of the New 1st Regiment at that time. He was extremely envious when he saw the New 1st Regiment placing light and heavy machine guns on the positions on both sides of the road.
"Damn it, your New 1st Regiment is even more awesome than our 772nd Regiment!"
Cheng Shifa said: "If I didn't know, I would have thought you were the main force of the 386th Brigade."
"Old Cheng, I don't like what you said." Ding Wei said with a sneer, "Isn't your 772nd Regiment just formed earlier and has an official number from the National Government? In terms of combat effectiveness and equipment, how is our New 1st Regiment inferior to you? If we really fight on the battlefield with real swords and guns, I dare to bet with you that our New 1st Regiment will definitely win."
Cheng Shifa said: "Hey, I told you you're fat and you're really out of breath?"
Ding Wei said: "Don't be unconvinced, otherwise why would the brigade commander let our New 1st Regiment fight as the main force?"
"That's because the brigade commander is partial to me." Cheng Shifa said with a dark face, "Before, Li Yunlong could get whatever good thing he wanted, but now that you're here, you can get whatever good thing he wants."
"That's because you, Blind Cheng, are incompetent."
Ding Wei sneered: "Can you blame the brigade commander?"
"Yes, I'm not as troublesome as you two."
Cheng Shi said angrily, "Look at Li Yunlong. What has he become because of the brigade commander?"
"With only one regiment of troops, and they were newly upgraded from local troops, they only had a few hundred broken guns and no heavy weapons. How dare they attack the Huting stronghold where the Japanese puppet army was heavily guarded!"
Ding Wei said: "Don't underestimate Lao Li. This guy has always had many tricks up his sleeve when fighting."
"No matter how many tricks he has, can he use them as heavy weapons?" Cheng Shifa sneered, "Old Ding, just wait and see. In the end, the brigade commander will have to come out and clean up his mess and dispatch the artillery battalion."
Ding Wei smiled and said, "What do you say if Lao Li wants to take over the Huting stronghold?"
"What do you mean?" Cheng Shifa turned around and saw his guards following behind him with horses. At this moment, his warhorse kicked up its tail and pooped a pile of horse manure. He immediately pointed at the freshly-cooked horse manure and said, "If Li Yunlong can really take down the Huting stronghold with his independent regiment, I will eat this pile of horse manure."
"Blind Cheng, you said this." Ding Wei said angrily.
"I said," Cheng Shifa said, "One word of spit is as good as a nail."
As they were talking, the sound of hurried horse hooves suddenly came from the road behind them.
"Captain Ding, Captain Ding!" A shout came immediately.
When Ding Wei and Cheng Shifa looked back, they saw a rider galloping along the road from the direction of Huting.
As they got closer, Ding Wei recognized the man as Kong Jie's guard Xiao Li, and immediately asked, "Xiao Li, why are you here instead of staying at the Huting stronghold to protect Captain Kong?"
"Captain Ding, the captain asked me to come here to inform you."
Xiao Li panted and said, "The battle at Huting stronghold is over, and the battlefield has been cleaned up. All the brother troops don't need to fight anymore, just let the enemy's reinforcements go."
"What?" Ding Wei was stunned. "Did Li Yunlong finish the work?"
He thought that Li Yunlong was a rough but meticulous man who never fought a battle without confidence, but he still did not expect that the independent regiment could capture the Huting stronghold so quickly. This was far beyond his expectations.
Cheng Shifa was even more incredulous. How could it be possible?
Just the independent regiment? Those hundreds of broken guns and more than a thousand people?
How could they capture the Huting stronghold which was heavily guarded by the Japanese and puppet troops?
Ding Wei still didn't quite believe it, so he pulled Xiao Li aside and asked, "Xiao Li, are you mistaken? Did the independent regiment really take over the Huting stronghold? You're not lying to us?"
"Cheat?" Xiao Li was also stunned when he heard that.
"Captain Ding, why would I lie to you?"
Ding Wei was speechless. Yes, why did you lie to us?
Xiao Li took a breath and said, "Captain Ding, I still have to go and notify the 772nd Regiment and the local troops of the Third and Fifth Divisions to move, so I won't stay here any longer."
"Go directly to the blocking position in District 5."
Ding Wei said: "I will notify the 772nd Regiment and the Third Division for you."
"Thank you, Captain Ding." Xiao Li rode away .
Ding Wei turned around and looked at Cheng Shifa with a smile, calling out, "Old Cheng?"
"What are you doing?" Cheng Shifa shrank his neck and said, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Ding Wei said with a smile, "Just reminding you that it's time for dinner."
After saying that, he pointed to the pile of horse manure on the ground and said with a smile, "Hurry up and eat it while it's hot."
"Go away." Cheng Shi said with a dark face, "You are the one who eats shit."
…
At the 386th Brigade Headquarters.
The brigade commander was pacing back and forth in the command center.
The chief of staff and several staff officers followed the brigade commander's gaze, and no one dared to say a word, because they knew that the brigade commander was very angry, and who would dare to offend him at this time?
"Chief of Staff, has the main force of the Japanese 4th Brigade left the county?"
"From the time, they must have left the city, but they are most likely blocked in Niuzhuang because a squad from the Fifth District blew up a highway bridge. The Japanese won't be able to repair the bridge in more than two hours."
"But that can only stop the Japanese army for two hours. After that, we will have to fight a tough battle."
"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only hope that the independent regiment can move faster."
"Chief of Staff, how long will it take for the Independent Regiment to capture the Huting stronghold? Is it possible to capture it before dawn tomorrow?"
"Under normal circumstances, the possibility of taking over the Huting stronghold before dawn tomorrow is very small. After all, the independent regiment has no heavy weapons and does not have an advantage in manpower."
"This Li Yunlong!"
The brigade commander became angry again as he spoke.
"What did the boss say on the phone just now?"
The chief of staff said with a gloomy face, "Commander, the general is very angry. He said that Li Yunlong is disorganized and undisciplined, and has refused to change despite repeated admonitions. We must punish him severely in the brigade."
After a pause, he asked again, "How about letting him come to the brigade headquarters and carry the heavy burden of the march for a few days?"
"Take the blame?" The brigade commander said with a dark face, "It's too easy for him to take the blame. If the independent regiment fails to take down the Huting stronghold and the troops suffer heavy losses, I will have to shoot him!"
Speaking of this, the brigade commander became anxious again.
"No, why am I getting more and more uncertain the more I talk?"
"I have to go to the Tiger Pavilion stronghold to take a look myself."
The Chief of Staff advised: "Brigade Commander, how about I go?"
"You can go too," said the brigade commander. "Take the artillery battalion and all the artillery shells with you. Tell Li Yunlong that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. We must capture the Huting stronghold at all costs!"
"Yes!" the chief of staff responded, put on his belt and walked out.
At this moment, the phone on the table suddenly rang.
The chief of staff turned back and grabbed the receiver: "Hello, this is the 386th Brigade."
"Chief of Staff, this is Zhao Gang." Zhao Gang's voice came from the other end of the phone, "I want to report a good news to you. Our independent regiment has captured the Huting stronghold!"
"Oh, you have taken down the Tiger Pavilion stronghold."
The chief of staff responded casually and was about to hang up the phone.
But the next second, the chief of staff reacted and his expression changed.
The brigade commander and several combat staff officers next to him also looked over.
"Zhao Gang, what did you just say?" The chief of staff's voice trembled slightly when he asked again.
Zhao Gang on the other end of the phone was obviously a little excited. He took a breath and repeated loudly: "Chief of Staff, I want to report a good news to you. Our independent regiment has successfully captured the Huting stronghold and gained a lot!"
The chief of staff immediately turned his gaze to the brigade commander and said quickly: "Brigade commander, we got him!"
