Bright Sword: Flesh and Blood Military Industrial Base

Chapter 47 Every step forward comes at a bloody price.

That afternoon, Sun Desheng left Changning Village, still deeply moved.

And it was at this very moment that Sun Ming returned to report.

"Company commander, there's been some movement from the Japanese. An infantry company, along with a battalion of collaborators, has left the city. They're heading towards the Daejeon stronghold!"

"Daejeon base!" A glint flashed in Yang Zheng's eyes, and he smiled coldly. "Daejeon base has just been rebuilt and has not felt any threat. The purpose of this unwarranted reinforcement is quite obvious."

Chen Xiaoquan, who had just arrived, immediately chimed in: "The Japanese are undoubtedly targeting us. It seems that in the past few days, the Japanese plainclothes officers or traitors have managed to get information about our whereabouts."

Yang Zheng nodded, not too surprised. After all, they were now in a guerrilla zone, and the Japanese often came to raid them. Naturally, some hated the Japanese to the bone, while others secretly defected to the Japanese to gain benefits.

Although they deployed personnel at the intersections of major roads, they couldn't stop people from crossing the mountains, especially locals.

"Call Liu Tiegang, Luo Dashan, and the others over here!" Yang Zheng instructed Chen Xiaoquan to fetch them.

He, however, was staring at the simplified map with a larger area drawn by the reconnaissance team during this period.

In his mind, he was already thinking about how to fight.

Abandoning Changning Village? Yang Zheng would not do that unless absolutely necessary.

Soon, all the platoon leaders, including Liu Tiegang and Sun Ming, crowded into the company headquarters.

"Company commander, the Japanese are coming! How do we fight them?"

"That's right! Company Commander, there's a saying, what's it... first..."

"Strike first, strike hard!"

"Yes, it's best to strike first. Let's ambush them on the way."

Not one of them spoke of backing down. Even the usually composed Chen Xiaoquan and Liu Tiegang remained silent, but their expressions suggested they were already considering how to make their move.

Yang Zheng glanced around at everyone, taking in their emotions.

Morale is up!

"Attack!" Yang Zheng slammed his right hand heavily on the table, his tone firm. Then, he added, "But there's a proper way to attack. The Japanese have an infantry company plus a battalion of collaborators, totaling over 400 men."

With superior firepower and ample ammunition, and the Japanese soldiers being just as skilled as us, we would be at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation.

Therefore, this time we must implement the guerrilla strategy: when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue!

"Company Commander, what's the arrangement? Give the order!" Zhao Dahu said simply, not wanting to think.

Yang Zheng glanced at him and sighed softly. If Zhao Dahu doesn't change his personality, he might not even be able to be promoted to company commander; platoon leader is his limit.

"Da Hu, remember this: you are the platoon leader, and you are responsible for every order you carry out for the sake of your comrades! Think things through carefully. Blindly following orders will only lead to more casualties among your comrades."

Zhao Dahu scratched his head and said matter-of-factly, "Isn't this what happens with you, Company Commander? You give the order, and I guarantee I'll carry it out properly."

Yang Zheng shook his head, not wanting to say more for the time being, and said, "I plan to divide the road from Xiyang to Datian outpost to Changning Village into four sections."

First, on the section from Xiyang to Datian, starting about 15 li from Datian, there are many hillsides along the road with abundant trees.

Arrange for a platoon to move there as quickly as possible, and then have squads take turns harassing the Japanese troops with sniper fire.

Slowing down their advance while inflicting effective casualties—this task is assigned to Zhao Dahu's second platoon.

"Yes, Company Commander!" Zhao Dahu responded loudly, his face radiating confidence.

"Chen Xiaoquan..."

Yang Zheng laid out his plan step by step, and finally said, "This time, let all comrades fight freely, and take this opportunity to practice your marksmanship."

"Understood, Company Commander!" the platoon leaders replied happily.

The platoon leaders already knew that the Eighth Company could now produce bullets independently, and they no longer considered saving bullets as a prerequisite for future battles.

"Alright, reconnaissance squad, advance! Railway detachment, assemble the villagers! Each platoon, take your weapons and ammunition, and begin the operation!"

In this battle, I don't expect to wipe out these four hundred-plus enemies in one fell swoop, but I want them to pay a bloody price for every step they take, so that by the time they reach the vicinity of Changning Village, they will be exhausted, demoralized, and their formation broken!

"Can you do it?" Yang Zheng leaned forward, looking at each platoon leader.

"Yes, we guarantee to complete the mission!" the crowd roared in unison, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"action!"

Once the order was given, the entire Eighth Company sprang into action like a sophisticated war machine.

In less than ten minutes, Zhao Dahu's second platoon took the lead in action. Apart from the necessary weapons, ammunition, and a day's worth of dry rations, they brought nothing else, striving to reach the corresponding area as quickly as possible.

Following closely behind the second row were the first and third rows, who, led by Chen Xiaoquan and Zeng Dahui, hurried away quickly.

Meanwhile, Liu Tiegang of the railway detachment began to gather villagers to carry out Yang Zheng's orders—a move intended to take advantage of the chaos.

Meanwhile, the fire support platoon, led by Luo Dashan, quickly made preparations, using all the mule carts and loading grenades, hand grenades, bullets for light and heavy machine guns, and rifle bullets onto the vehicles.

Their mission was to be the last, and also to serve as a supply point for the troops completing their harassment mission.

The villagers, young and old, including Zhou Dachui, looked worried but also full of anticipation.

"The Eighth Route Army will definitely win," Zhou Dachui said with absolute certainty.

This confidence was built in his heart by the Eighth Company's successive victories.

"Yes, we will definitely win!"

"We've boiled some water and are waiting for them to return!"

"Go home, take out all the pots and pans, boil some water, and they'll definitely be able to use it when they get back."

The villagers shouted, but their eyes unknowingly reddened.

Yang Zheng stood at the intersection, watching the troops leave one after another quickly. His expression was calm, but his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

This was the first time he had commanded a force of over two hundred men with unprecedented firepower in a planned ambush and harassment operation.

Pressure and passion coexist.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the new regiment in Chenjia Village, Li Yunlong listened to Zhang Dabiao's words, and his usually stoic face was unusually blank.

It wasn't until Zhang Dabiao stopped and swallowed several times that Li Yunlong realized what was happening.

"Are you sure you didn't misread it? Is that really how Yang Zheng reported it?"

Before Zhang Dabiao could answer, Li Yunlong spoke up, "You...I...damn it...what's going on? Yang Zheng is so capable?"

And how could so many defeated soldiers happen to be nearby, all of them joining their Eighth Company at once? Damn it, that's fucking bizarre.

By the end, an excited smile had appeared on Li Yunlong's face.

Zhang Dabiao opened Yang Zheng's background investigation report on the deserters who had defected, glanced at it, and said, "According to the report, there are no problems!"

"Damn it, Yang kid, good luck, really damn good luck, and he's skilled too, I like him! Hahaha!!" Li Yunlong laughed loudly.

"By the way, Commander, here is another set of blueprints sent by Company Commander Yang. It's the blueprint for the 6.5mm bullet used by the Japanese Type 38 rifle."

Zhang Dabiao's way of addressing Yang Zheng had subtly changed since he received the report; he used to call him "Young Yang Zheng," but now he called him "Company Commander Yang."

He was already convinced that with Yang Zheng's abilities, becoming a battalion commander was only a matter of time, and it wouldn't be too long.