Bright Sword: Iron Will 16

Chapter 16: The Promotion Was Real

358th Regiment, command post.

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong burst in, his left eyeglass lens cracked like a spiderweb.

“Commander, the Japanese are less than a hundred meters away!”

Chu Yunfei coldly snorted, grabbed a rifle, and turned to leave the command post.

Fang Ligong was startled: “Commander, if we don’t retreat now, it will be too late!”

Chu Yunfei fixed the bayonet onto his rifle: “Brother Ligong, a soldier must have backbone!”

“We retreated during the Yangquan battle, retreated during the Uixian battle, and retreated during the Guangling battle. Now, Pingxing Pass is right behind us. If we retreat again, the Japanese will take Taiyuan!”

“We train soldiers for a thousand days, to use them in a single moment. Soldiers cannot be cowards!”

Fang Ligong tried to stop Chu Yunfei: “Commander, if we break through and retreat now, there’s still a chance. There are two thousand reservists in Lingqiu City.”

“Then our unit can defend the city and still fight the Japanese.”

Chu Yunfei shook his head: “The 21st Infantry Regiment sent two companies to outflank us and attack our command post.”

“If we can’t hold our ground and break through, what will we tell the brothers who fought bravely against the Japanese at the front?”

“I, Chu Yunfei, am not a coward!”

Fang Ligong stood rooted to the spot.

The situation was urgent. He was only focused on breaking through, neglecting the analysis of the overall battle situation.

The 358th Regiment’s command post was located far behind the lines.

Losing the command post was equivalent to having our rear cut off.

If the regimental headquarters couldn’t hold its ground, and lost its position,

the main force at the front would be completely surrounded.

Just as the two were arguing, a cannon shot rang out.

Behind the attacking Japanese army, a series of explosions sounded.

Chu Yunfei reacted first. Reinforcements had arrived.

“Heaven truly does not let people down! Immediately organize the troops for a counterattack. I want to see which good fellow is supporting the 358th Regiment.”

Rear of the Japanese forces.

414th Regiment’s makeshift position.

Wang Feng’s attention was fixed on the three-dimensional battle map.

Seeing Chu Yunfei walking out of the command post with a bayonet, he couldn’t help but click his tongue: “Tsk tsk tsk, it really is the 358th Regiment.”

The main body of Japanese troops attacking at the front heard the cannon fire from behind and quickly began to contract their lines.

But the Japanese soldiers who were already engaged in hand-to-hand combat couldn’t retreat easily.

The Japanese troops began to become disconnected.

“First and Second Battalions, provide fire support! Absolutely do not let the Japanese get close to our positions!”

Wang Feng switched his perspective and immediately gave the order.

The 414th Regiment had suffered heavy losses. If they engaged the Japanese again at this moment, they would likely be overwhelmed.

The Japanese formations, caught between two forces, began to show slight disarray.

“Baka! Where did these Chinese troops come from?!”

“Why weren’t we informed beforehand?!”

The 414th Regiment’s artillery fire was intense, temporarily baffling the Japanese.

How many reinforcements had arrived?

Da-da-da!

Wang Feng threw all the captured machine guns into the battle. For a time, the hillside erupted in gunfire, the sound as dense as a rain shower.

This completely intimidated the Japanese troops.

The scale of this firepower…could there be two regiments?

The Japanese captain was unsure what to do.

This was behind the Shanxi Defense Army’s 358th Regiment’s position. Operating deep in enemy territory without adequate logistical support, if they were firmly held by a large Shanxi Defense Army force, they would be worn down and destroyed.

“Retreat!”

After about half an hour of fighting, the Japanese commander received orders from higher command to retreat.

They then began to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner.

Wang Feng constantly observed the battlefield situation: “Order the First and Second Battalions to cease fire.”

Two infantry companies of an army division, almost six hundred men, were not something they could swallow whole.

This was a real battlefield, not like in movies where you wipe out several infantry battalions at a stroke.

In the ambush warfare a few days ago,

with the 414th Regiment having sufficient troops, careful preparation and a cautious approach, they had only annihilated over six hundred men after paying a heavy price.

But the current situation was completely different.

358th Regiment position.

As Wang Feng stepped into the trench, Chu Yunfei approached with his staff officers, smiling warmly:

“I thought it was some celestial being, some immortal who came to aid the 358th Regiment. It’s actually Brother Wang!”

“After the general meeting, we haven’t seen each other for two or three years.”

“What a coincidence to meet today!”

Chu Yunfei smiled magnanimously, showing no trace of the near-defeat.

Wang Feng replied with a smile: “Brother Yunfei, long time no see.”

Fang Ligong stood aside, looking somewhat restrained, his heels together in attention:

“Commander!”

Wang Feng turned his head, somewhat surprised.

Commander?

Could it be that Yan Laosi really promoted me to a general’s rank?

Seeing Wang Feng’s expression, Chu Yunfei added with a smile: “Brother Wang, you don’t know, Commander Yan personally ordered the widespread publicity of your unit’s actions in disrupting the Japanese supply lines in their rear.”

“Our Commander-in-Chief specifically applied to the Chairman to promote you.”

“Breaking through the Japanese lines and conducting a deep penetration behind the Fifth Division—what audacity!

“I, Chu, am truly impressed, truly impressed!”

Wang Feng was stunned.

He suddenly understood Yan Laosi’s actions.

This Second War Zone Commander was a thoroughgoing businessman.

As long as it benefited him, anything was acceptable.

The extensive promotion of Wang Feng’s exploits.

Would allow the Japanese intelligence agency to easily gather information on the 414th Regiment’s general location and movements.

Between losing an ordinary infantry regiment and boosting morale,

Yan Laosi didn’t need to deliberate.

With hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Shanxi Defense Army, what was one ordinary infantry regiment?

No wonder Yan Laosi was certain that the 414th Regiment wouldn’t break out of the Japanese encirclement.

Wasn’t this equivalent to selling out the 414th Regiment?

Chu Yunfei extended his hand: “Brother Wang, the command post has just been shelled, the environment is a bit rough, please excuse it.”

Wang Feng quickly waved his hand: “We’re brothers in the same trench, why are we being so formal?”

Chu Yunfei smiled knowingly: “My apologies, my apologies.”

After entering the 358th Regiment command post, Fang Ligong brought Wang Feng a stool.

When placing it on the ground, he even wiped off the dust with his hand.

Wang Feng sat down with a smile, his eyes immediately falling on a newspaper on the table.

“Brother Chu…this is?”

Chu Yunfei reacted, taking out the newspaper: “Brother Wang, please take a look.”

Wang Feng took the newspaper and glanced at it.

Sure enough.

[The 414th Regiment of the 61st Army, broke into the Japanese rear, under the command of Regiment Commander Wang Feng, destroyed the Japanese Fifth Division’s supply lines in multiple locations, annihilating more than seven thousand enemy soldiers, and capturing countless weapons.]

[Approved by the Military Commission of the National Revolutionary Army, all surviving soldiers of the 414th Regiment are collectively promoted one rank.]

Seven thousand…

Wang Feng’s eyes fell on this line, and his mouth twitched.

How did I not know when I annihilated so many Japanese soldiers?

With just a flip of the lips, the Japanese fall down in droves.

Wang Feng shook his head, those with general ranks were at least brigade commanders.

He wondered when Yan Laosi would promote him.

This couldn’t possibly be a posthumous promotion, could it?

Military ranks were quite particular.

Some were position-based ranks, and some were formal ranks.

The two were quite different, and their value varied.

(End of chapter)

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