Liang Jian: Lao Li, I'm really not a military expert

Chapter 224 Even if I win, I have to win fairly. I never use crooked means!

"Lao Zhao, you and 500 soldiers will be responsible for cleaning up the guns and ammunition left behind by the Japanese. You must be quick, we must complete all this before dawn! The Japanese gave us this great gift, we can't be polite to them, we must accept it!"

Li Yunlong gave his final instructions, and the three immediately started to get busy. They had to clean up the battlefield before dawn. Due to the inconvenience of wearing gas masks, the speed of cleaning up the battlefield was not as fast as expected. Fortunately, Lin Zhenhua made proper arrangements and finally cleaned up the battlefield ten minutes before dawn. He even seized more than 200 unexploded gas bombs, which made Lin Zhenhua secretly exclaim that it was a close call.

Shen Quan and Sanwazi also returned safely with their troops, which finally put Li Yunlong and the other three at ease. Thinking of the corpses scattered all over the battlefield yesterday, Lin Zhenhua couldn't help but joked, "Old Li, according to the information I got from the prisoners, the Japs attacked half an hour later than us, but we reversed the outcome and chased them away. Even the puppet army was forced to turn against us by the Japs. If things go wrong, the Japs' offensive against our independent regiment this time may end in failure. At least we can get a good night's sleep for a few days!"

Li Yunlong took off his gas mask. He was not too excited by the victory last night. Instead, he said in a serious tone: "College student, on this point, I have a completely different idea from you. The total force mobilized by the devils before was close to a division. Even if the combat effectiveness of the puppet army was weakened, they could be used as cannon fodder by the devils to consume our ammunition. Who would have thought that the devils would go too far this time and the puppet army was forced to turn against us, which allowed us to achieve great results last night!"

"Otherwise, our counterattack last night could only cause two to three thousand casualties to the Japanese at most. This is the limit of what we can do. After all, we only had two battalions of troops to attack. Even if the Japanese's night combat capability is poor, they can still wipe out our two battalions in hand-to-hand combat with us!"

Lin Zhenhua interrupted and said, "Old Li, they have captured more than 100 Japanese prisoners. In addition, we roughly counted the bodies of the Japanese and puppet soldiers last night, and the total number is more than 7000. Adding the results of yesterday morning's battle, the Japanese lost more than people yesterday. The Second Mixed Brigade only has half of its troops left, and all the artillery shells have been lost. They have lost the ability to attack in wartime!"

Zhao Gang also agreed and said, "Old Li, the college student's analysis is correct. The Japanese have suffered heavy casualties this time, and their weapons and ammunition are in short supply. Unless their ammunition supply can keep up, they really won't be able to launch an offensive against our independent regiment in a short period of time!"

"Plus, the news that our independent regiment is surrounded has spread. The brigade commander will definitely send people to support us. The Japanese cannot fail to consider this. The best way is to temporarily avoid the front line and fight again the next day after replenishment!"

Li Yunlong said firmly: "Old Zhao, college student, although I don't know why the Japanese sent a large number of troops to wipe out our independent regiment, I can be sure that the Japanese will never give up the encirclement and suppression of our independent regiment because of a setback!"

"Earlier, the college students sent out a special agent company to eliminate the fuel and ammunition depots at the Taiyuan Airport of the Japanese. But that doesn't mean the Japanese can't mobilize fighter planes from other places. I estimate that the Japanese's revenge will come soon, so we have to prepare in advance!"

Lin Zhenhua's face also became serious. He stopped joking and said solemnly: "Lao Li, I will go and concentrate our anti-aircraft firepower now. As long as the Japanese fighter planes dare to come, we will stop them. As long as we can shoot down a few more fighter planes, the Japanese will have to consider whether such a loss is worth it. Without the threat of Japanese fighter planes, the heavy artillery in our hands can really exert its power!"

Li Yunlong was also not idle. He immediately began to arrange defenses. Zhao Gang also began to look for a suitable place to store the captured Japanese artillery shells. The three of them began to work non-stop.

Near Heiyun Village, the headquarters of the Second Brigade is located.

"Commander, we lost more than 4800 soldiers in yesterday's battle. The 22nd Division of the puppet army has also been eliminated, and its remaining troops have fled to the mountains. We are currently unable to spare troops to encircle and suppress them, but they have been eliminated from our combat sequence! We still have more than 8000 troops available. Because we retreated in a hurry yesterday, we abandoned a large amount of ammunition, especially artillery shells. We don't have any stock now. Fortunately, the transport team sent by the headquarters has arrived, and I have arranged for the troops below to replenish ammunition!"

"The heavy artillery we have been waiting for for a long time has arrived along with the ammunition supply. In order to enhance our strength, the headquarters has allocated eight 120mm howitzers and six 155mm howitzers to us. They have also added 24 75mm mountain artillery for us, along with a basic amount of ammunition!"

After listening to Junichiro Hatoyama's report, Ichiro Katayama nodded. He had already thought about retreating before, but after getting the support from the headquarters, he straightened his back again. He planned to launch another attack on the independent regiment, but before that, he needed to confirm whether the support from fighter jets could arrive!

"Hatoyama, you should immediately send a telegram to the North China Front Army Headquarters asking when the air support promised to us will arrive?"

"Hi! Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, I will go and ask right away!" Junichiro Hatoyama bowed and said.

Colonel Miyata hurried over, bowed and apologized, "Your Excellency, our artillery regiment disappointed you yesterday. The counterattack of the Chinese army last night had a great impact on our artillery regiment. We lost a large number of shells and some artillery. Fortunately, we have completed the supply now. Compared with before, the combat effectiveness of our artillery regiment has not only not weakened, but increased by 50%! It can fully cover the tank battalion and launch an attack on the position of the independent regiment!"

Ichiro Katayama did not blame Colonel Miyamoto. Under the circumstances yesterday, he was able to ensure that most of the artillery regiment's organization was intact and most of the artillery were rescued. There was really nothing to criticize. Even though he made many mistakes in his command last night, the most important thing at the moment should be to capture the position of the independent regiment and report the news of yesterday's failure. Only in this way can he make up for his mistakes!

"Miyata-kun, as soon as the air support promised by the headquarters arrives, we will immediately launch a second attack on the independent regiment. This time, your artillery regiment must not let me down. You must suppress the enemy's artillery and cover the tank brigade to occupy the frontier position of China, opening a channel for the subsequent infantry attack!"

Just as Katayama Ichiro was about to say a few more words, Hatoyama Junichiro ran back with a happy face, bowed his head and said excitedly: "Brigade Commander, the headquarters will send a squadron of fighters and a battalion of bombers to provide us with air support today. The estimated arrival time is 10 am. Let's prepare in advance and point out the target for them!"

Ichiro Katayama looked at the weather. Today was a cloudy day and the temperature was slightly lower than yesterday. It was indeed a good day for an attack.

"Hatoyama, immediately mobilize an infantry squadron with a radio to investigate the situation in our previous camp and determine the remaining poison gas. We will then decide whether to launch an offensive today!"

Junichiro Hatoyama immediately sent out a squadron of reconnaissance troops in accordance with Ichiro Katayama's order. Two hours later, he received a telegram that there was still a high concentration of poison gas residue in the camp where they were previously located.

Ichiro Katayama was not too angry when he heard the news from the reconnaissance squadron. This was within his expectations. It would be a good opportunity for the troops to rest for a day and recover their strength before fighting again tomorrow!

At this time, in the command center, Li Yunlong's eyes were as big as copper bells, and he asked in a bad tone: "College student, what are you planning to do? Why did you fire the Japanese poison gas bombs all at once instead of hiding them somewhere?"

Lin Zhenhua replied with a smile: "Old Li, I am using a delaying tactic. There is no reinforcement coming now, so we have to buy time for the arrival of reinforcements! I took a look and found that the poison gas bombs of the Japanese invaders last night affected a wide area. It has been six or seven hours, and the poison gas in the air has not dissipated yet!"

"Your words reminded me that once the Japanese get air support, the Second Brigade will seize this favorable opportunity to launch another attack on our front-line positions. I just thought of a good idea, which is to fire the poison gas bombs in our hands into the camp where the Japanese are stationed. Since that is the only way for the Japanese to pass, for their own safety, the Japanese will definitely not launch an attack on our positions at this time. In this way, we can deal with the attack of the Japanese fighter planes more calmly!"

"Before firing the poison gas bombs, I have arranged for people to prepare lime water and sprinkle it on the ground in advance. These measures can effectively eliminate the poison gas and will not cause huge damage to the surrounding environment. This is completely killing two birds with one stone!"

Zhao Gang did not agree. He felt that Lin Zhenhua's action this time was too risky. That was why Zhao Gang stopped him after just two or three poison gas bombs. This made Lin Zhenhua quite dissatisfied. He felt that since the Japanese dared to use poison gas bombs, they could also use poison gas bombs to deal with them. But when he saw Zhao Gang's stern eyes, Lin Zhenhua swallowed back his subsequent words!

Li Yunlong felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere. After understanding the situation, he found out the reason and said in a teaching tone: "College student, I will not criticize you this time. Can you discuss with me before doing anything in the future? We are different from the Japanese. We will not do anything that goes against our conscience. Even if we win, we must win with dignity! Hide those poison gas bombs somewhere and destroy them as soon as possible. They are too dangerous. Once leaked, the consequences will be disastrous!"