Volume 1 Chapter 029: Soft Persimmon
Fang Ligong has been thinking about this issue since the establishment of the 5th Battalion.
Hearing the commander's question, he replied.
"How about the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division of the Imperial Army?"
Chu Yunfei asked. "Where is that regiment stationed now?"
"Linzhai Town in Heyuan County!"
Chu Yunfei looked towards Linzhai Town, Heyuan County, which was a bit far from his position, with a straight-line distance of 60 kilometers.
This place in Shanxi is 60 kilometers away in a straight line. If you really walk, it may be closer to 70 or 80 kilometers.
Even if the march goes smoothly, it will take two days.
At such a distance, if they were caught by the more mobile Japanese soldiers, it would be very dangerous.
Chu Yunfei looked at Fang Ligong and said, "Tell me about your battle plan!"
Fang Ligong picked up the tactical baton and pointed along the 358 team's headquarters, Yancheng, Wuzhai County, towards Linzhai Town.
"Commander! The puppet army is just a mob. We only need to send out two battalions to defeat the enemy. Let the 2nd and 5th battalions go out together, and march at night under the cover of darkness. Rest in the morning of the next day, and rush to Linzhai Town in the afternoon. Attack with all our strength, and try to finish the battle within 2 hours, and then return. Let the 1st battalion go to support them! I think it should be feasible!"
Chu Yunfei looked at the sand table and estimated the strategy that Fang Ligong mentioned.
The 5th Battalion was newly formed, and two-thirds of its members are new recruits.
If they were allowed to face the Japanese army right from the start, many people would die .
The difficulty is just right to deal with the puppet army whose combat effectiveness is not even second-rate.
It's a good opportunity for them to see blood and understand war.
After thinking for a while, Chu Yunfei said, "I'm not worried about attacking the puppet army, but I'm afraid of being bitten by the devils on the way back. We must be prepared for this!"
Fang Ligong said: "I will instruct the 2nd Battalion and the 5th Battalion to pay attention to this and also ask them to be prepared!"
Chu Yunfei agreed. "Okay then! Let's attack the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Independent Division of the Puppet Army!"
February 9, 1941.
Chu Yunfei convened a combat meeting.
That morning, all officers above the battalion level of the 358th Regiment came to the regimental headquarters.
As soon as the regiment commander Chu Yunfei arrived, all the battalion commanders stood up immediately.
"salute!"
After Chu Yunfei returned the greeting, he waved his hand and said, "Everyone, sit down! I gathered everyone together today because I decided to attack the puppet army!"
It turned out that there was going to be a war, and the troops were puppet troops.
When the officers heard this, they all rubbed their hands and pricked up their ears.
Puppet army!
What a soft persimmon!
Easy to deal with, and plenty of money.
Where can I find such an opponent?
The battalion commander Wu Ziqiang stood up and said loudly: "Commander. Our battalion is ready and can join the battle at any time!"
The commander of the Second Battalion, Cheng Yuqing, did not dare to show weakness and stood up, standing at attention and shouting: "Commander. Our Second Battalion has trained very hard. We have been ranked among the top in several competitions. Please give us the task, Commander. We will ensure that we complete it!"
…
The Sakata Regiment was annihilated in one fell swoop, which made most of the soldiers of the 358th Regiment more confident.
Especially when they heard that their opponent this time was the puppet army, they were full of confidence.
Chu Yunfei was very pleased to see that the morale of the 358th Regiment was changing little by little.
He smiled and said, "I am very happy to see everyone's enthusiasm. Now I order: Shi Song to lead the 5th Battalion to Linzhai Town. This is a test of your battalion's training results. You must show the power of the 358th Regiment and scare the enemy. Do you have confidence?"
Shi Song was very excited when he heard this.
The 5th Battalion can finally set out!
Whether he will become the main player of the team or sit on the bench in the future depends on this time.
Shi Song stood up and shouted, "Make sure to complete the mission!"
"Good. There's a lot of morale. Chief of Staff, please read out the battle plan!" Chu Yunfei nodded with satisfaction.
Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Fang Ligong stood up quickly and picked up the battle plan that the staff had completed after several days.
"I am now announcing the battle plan!"
The bustling meeting room suddenly became quiet.
"Captain of Battalion 5! Commander of Battalion 2!"
The 5th Battalion Commander Shi Song and the 2nd Battalion Commander Cheng Yuqing stood up to attention and said, "Yes!"
"In order to cooperate with the 5th Battalion to successfully complete the task of attacking Linzhai Town, the 2nd Battalion will also participate. The 5th Battalion will serve as the main force of the attack in this battle, and the 2nd Battalion will assist. The 5th Battalion and the 2nd Battalion will set out in two days, and arrive at Linzhai Town in two days, and launch the attack before 4 pm on February 11, 1941. The battle must be ended before 6 pm. After conquering Linzhai Town, immediately put the puppet soldiers and puppet officials on trial and confiscate their property! They must evacuate before 1 am on February 12. Can you do it?"
The commander of the 5th Battalion, Shi Song, immediately shouted, "Make sure you complete the mission! If we don't win, I will kill myself!"
When the 2nd Battalion Commander Cheng Yuqing heard that this operation was just to test the combat effectiveness of the 5th Battalion and that the 2nd Battalion was just going to escort the 5th Battalion, he was a little unhappy.
But this is the order from the regiment.
Even though Cheng Yuqing was unhappy, he did not dare to disobey the military order. He stood up and shouted, "Yes!"
"Yeah!" Fang Ligong turned to look at Wu Ziqiang. "First Battalion Commander!"
"have!"
Fang Ligong warned, "Your troops will set out at 1:00 pm on February 11th and head to Linzhai Town to meet the 2nd and 5th Battalions. You may encounter Japanese troops during the journey. You must be mentally prepared and strengthen your air defense!"
When the battalion commander of the first battalion, Wu Ziqiang, heard that this time, his troops were actually going to provide support.
He stood up helplessly and said, "Yes!"
Chu Yunfei saw that except for the commander of the 5th Battalion, the others were not in high spirits.
He stood up, inspected his men and said, "This is just an appetizer to warm you up. Our regiment will face a series of battles next. If any battalion fails, don't blame me for being ruthless! Do you hear me?"
"Yes!" This time all the officers from the five battalions stood up and shouted loudly.
"Okay, the combat order has been announced. Everyone go back and make pre-war mobilization. The meeting is adjourned." Chu Yunfei made the final summary.
On the way to Linzhai Town, the 5th Battalion Commander Shi Song was a little excited.
This was the first time the 5th Battalion participated in a battle since its establishment.
But you have to complete the task well.
Shi Song had already sent out all of his reconnaissance platoons, fearing that any accidents might cause losses to the troops.
From time to time he walked to the dirt slope beside the road to look at the road ahead. After marching for nearly a whole night, the regiment was almost reaching the territory of Heyuan County.
It was almost daytime, and Shen Quan, the captain of the Big Sword Team, came over and reminded, "Sir, it's almost dawn. Let's find a place to hide first!"
Shi Song knew Shen Quan's background, so he scolded him unhappily. "Don't forget, you are just a company commander. You don't have to worry about it. I know what to do! Do your job well!"
Shen Quan served as a battalion commander in the Eighth Route Army.
There were rumors earlier that he was a strong candidate for the commander of the 5th Battalion.
Later, the superiors were worried about this person, so they promoted him to be the battalion commander.
Shi Song's attitude towards Shen Quan was not very good.
I am often afraid that Shen Quan will take my place.
What's so great about you? If I didn't have an important mission, I would have beaten you up. Shen Quan shouted, suppressing his anger.
"Yes, sir!"
Shi Song scolded Shen Quan to leave, and he called the deputy battalion commander Liu Bin over.
"Find a remote and desolate mountain to camp, set up a cordon and sentries. Oh, and since Shen Quan is not very energetic, let his broadsword company be on duty. Tell him that anyone who dares to approach will be detained until our army captures Linzhai Town! If the news leaks out, I will hold him accountable!"
