Bright Sword: Iron Will 48

Chapter 48: An Uproar

“Extra! Extra!”

“Yesterday’s latest war report! The Eighth Route Army, in conjunction with the Shanxi Defense Army, with all soldiers united in hatred of the enemy, decisively defeated over 7,000 Japanese soldiers!”

“Raise our national prestige!”

On the streets of major cities, people scrambled to buy today’s newspapers.

“Give me one!”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. There’s enough for everyone.”

“7,000 enemy soldiers annihilated! This is the first major victory since the Incident!” (The Incident refers to the Xi’an Incident of 1936)

In the streets and alleys, people discussed the matter.

“Look, the young general Wang Feng led his troops in a flanking attack.”

“So young, a true hero emerges from youth!”

Since the start of the war of resistance, the Japanese army had been invincible throughout China. Wherever their troops went, local officials scattered like birds and beasts.

Talk of national ruin and extinction filled society.

The great victory at Pingxing Pass was a rare triumph. Yan Laosi, with a flourish, directly sent the war report by telegram nationwide.

For a time, the whole nation was invigorated. People took to the streets to demonstrate, and the wave of calls for nationwide resistance reached its peak.

Fanzhi.

Second War Zone Headquarters.

Unlike the lively scenes in the outside world, the war zone headquarters was quiet at this moment.

The Japanese army had broken through Ruyuekou!

Fanzhi, which had been deep in the rear, suddenly became the front line, and the entire war zone headquarters was in imminent danger.

Before Yan Laosi sent the telegram announcing the great victory at Pingxing Pass, he had already issued a clear order to retreat.

The entire army retreated in an orderly manner to the Xinkou line.

There, they would reorganize their defenses and resist the Japanese invasion.

Commander’s Office.

Yan Laosi sat in his chair, his previous worries and fatigue completely gone, replaced by ease and pleasure.

The great victory at Pingxing Pass, annihilating more than 7,000 enemy soldiers.

These were genuine 7,000.

Unlike the previous small-scale publicity of Wang Feng’s achievements in the enemy’s rear, this large-scale telegram was addressed to the tens of millions of people across the nation, and Yan Laosi did not exaggerate the numbers.

The actual number of enemy soldiers annihilated was reported truthfully.

He wanted to avoid discrepancies with the Eighth Route Army’s publicized figures.

Whichever side claimed a bigger victory would ultimately lose face!

“Cuiya, this great victory owes much to your 33rd Army.”

Yan Laosi smiled, looking at Sun Chu sitting opposite him.

Sun Chu quickly stood up: “The reason we could annihilate more than 7,000 Japanese soldiers is entirely due to the Commander’s brilliant command. We merely followed orders!”

Facing the deliberate flattery, the smile on Yan Laosi’s face grew even brighter: “For the upcoming Xinkou battle, I hope you will do your utmost to drive the Japanese out of Shanxi as soon as possible!”

Sun Chu bowed slightly: “Thank you, Commander, for your recognition!”

The smile on Yan Laosi’s face gradually subsided, and he began to discuss business: “How is the situation with the Provisional First Brigade?”

Sun Chu’s face hardened, his tone as calm as possible, so the Commander would detect no abnormality: “According to reports from below, the Provisional First Brigade suffered heavy losses. Over half of the troops are casualties, and their weapons and ammunition are severely lacking.”

After hearing this, Yan Laosi frowned slightly.

He began to consider the matter of rewarding meritorious service.

The 17th Army was a Central Army, and the 115th Division was the Eighth Route Army; they wouldn’t be compared.

Guo Zongfen retreated halfway through the battle.

Although his excuse was plausible—a lack of ammunition and reinforcements—he was essentially a deserter.

While Yan Laosi could choose not to pursue his specific responsibility, when it came to rewarding merits, Guo Zongfen would have to be moved down the list.

The remaining choices were Chu Yunfei and Wang Feng’s units.

The 358th Regiment fought well. All the soldiers fought to the last moment, buying precious time for the flanking maneuver of the rear troops.

Chu Yunfei, though a Whampoa Military Academy officer, was originally from Wutai, Shanxi.

He was a fellow villager of Yan Laosi.

Regardless of how he was rewarded, it would be appropriate.

But Wang Feng was a difficult case.

As a rising star in the military, his command ability was unquestionable.

From the current situation, he was far superior to the senior staff officers surrounding Yan Laosi.

The Xinkou battle was about to begin, and it was a time to employ talented people.

Yan Laosi was reluctant to waste such a capable general.

But how to use him became a problem.

Giving him too little would discourage him, giving him too much might make him too powerful, ultimately leading to nothing.

Sun Chu, quick-witted, had been observing Yan Laosi’s expression. Seeing the opportune moment, he said: “Commander, there are currently no vacancies in the army’s organization. Why not emulate the 358th Regiment and temporarily establish an elite reinforced brigade?”

“What do you think?”

Yan Laosi pondered: “Elite reinforced brigade…”

Sun Chu pressed on: “Yes, for such a great achievement, Wang Feng should be promoted.”

“But he is already a major general. A further promotion would make him a lieutenant general.”

“However, there are no vacant divisional positions. It would be better to upgrade his Provisional First Brigade to an elite reinforced brigade.”

“This avoids promotion and doesn’t require a vacant position.”

Hearing Sun Chu’s explanation, Yan Laosi’s eyes lit up.

Good idea!

Sun Chu, seeing that his suggestion was well-received, continued: “Commander, I think this alone is not enough to satisfy everyone.”

“It would be appropriate to allocate some more weapons and supplies to the Provisional First Brigade.”

This sentence struck a chord with Yan Laosi: “Weapons and supplies?”

He said this while frowning.

Sun Chu explained: “Yes, the rifles used by our Shanxi Defense Army and those used by the Central Army are of completely different calibers.”

“The ammunition is not interchangeable.”

“Currently, the weapons of the Provisional First Brigade are very mixed. If the entire brigade is equipped with our Shanxi-made weapons, even if Wang Feng defects to the Nanjing government, logistics will be a major problem.”

“Wang Feng is a smart man, he will weigh the pros and cons.”

After this explanation, Yan Laosi’s brow gradually smoothed out.

Making the Provisional First Brigade dependent on the Shanxi Defense Army’s logistics system would prevent them from leaving easily.

“Cuiya, you’re right, you’re right!”

The Central Army’s standard-issue rifles, either the Zhongzheng Rifle or the Hanyang Rifle, used 7.92mm ammunition.

The Shanxi-made Type 65 rifle, however, used the same caliber as the Japanese army: 6.5mm rifle ammunition.

If Wang Feng really defected to the Nanjing government, the supply problem for one or two thousand people could be solved by capturing supplies.

But for five or six thousand people, unless they captured Japanese arsenals every day, it would be very difficult to solve the problem fundamentally.

Yan Laosi stood up, pacing back and forth in the room. After much deliberation, he made a decision: “Allocate 5,000 rifles, twelve mortars, one hundred light machine guns, and fifty heavy machine guns to the Provisional First Brigade.”

“800,000 rounds of ammunition, 50,000 grenades.”

“And allocate 3,000 men from the reserve force to immediately reinforce the Provisional First Brigade.”

Hearing this string of numbers, Sun Chu was shocked.

Before coming, he had assumed that the Commander would be generous this time, but he hadn’t expected this much.

“On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the Provisional First Brigade, I thank the Commander!”

The telegram was quickly sent from the Second War Zone Headquarters.

Provisional First Brigade.

Wang Feng sat in his chair, looking at the telegram Zhao Fangyuan handed over, his heart stirred.

“You say our Taiyuan Arsenal has purchased new equipment?”

Zhao Fangyuan was taken aback, then understood Wang Feng’s meaning.

Compared to the string of weapon numbers in the telegram, Wang Feng was more focused on the last point:

[As decided by the Second War Zone Headquarters, the Provisional First Brigade will be upgraded from a regular infantry brigade to an elite reinforced brigade.]

“Elite reinforced…”

Wang Feng muttered the words from the telegram.

It seemed there was much that could be done with this.

Units with designations such as “Elite Reinforced” were temporary, specially established units.

They were not officially recorded in the Nanjing government’s military and political department.

Although they lacked legitimacy, their operational flexibility increased.

The Shanxi Defense Army had not yet established clear regulations for these so-called elite reinforced units.

“That means we can expand freely…”

Wang Feng instantly grasped the essence of it.

Chu Yunfei’s 358th Regiment had two thousand men in a battalion.

Li Yunlong’s independent regiment had expanded to ten thousand men during the battle for Ping’an County.

“With such precedents, I must follow suit!”

(End of Chapter)

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