Bright Sword: Let my company hold off the Yamazaki Battalion

Chapter 40 An enraged Yoshio Shinotsuka: "Damn it, we have to take action!"

"Commander, is this thing any good?" Second Company Commander Zhang Mieri asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't it just some iron pipes?"

"You can't eat it, you can't drink it, and weapons and equipment are definitely not allowed."

Company Commander Zhao Quanyou didn't recognize him either, but that didn't stop him from criticizing others: "Old Zhang, you're all talk. Just because you don't know him doesn't mean he's unimportant?"

"Look at our commander, he's practically drooling over all this stuff."

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng subconsciously wiped his mouth, ignoring his subordinates' teasing. He stood up and said seriously to the Fourth Company Commander, You Tianming, "Fourth Company Commander, this is a precious gem. It must be in the same condition as it is now. I won't allow it to get damaged. This is a precious gem!"

"My precious darling?"

The crowd was even more confused upon hearing this.

Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Chu Feng chuckled and said, "I told you all to read more books, but none of you were happy about it."

"The truly good stuff is right in front of you, and you're dumbfounded, aren't you? You don't recognize it anymore!"

As he spoke, he patted the cannon barrel forcefully: "This is no ordinary iron pipe. This thing is a cannon barrel. After a little processing when we get back, this iron pipe will become a 100mm mortar."

As soon as Chu Feng's words were recorded, the eyes of the group, who had been somewhat puzzled, lit up instantly.

"What the heck? A 100mm mortar?!"

"Is that a cannon barrel? No wonder it looks like that!"

Zhang Dongyi, who was still clutching the Type 94 75mm mountain gun tightly, quickly let go and ran over, shouting as he ran, "Regimental Commander, Regimental Commander, hand it over to our artillery company, we guarantee to complete the mission!"

Zhang Dongyi was well aware of the relative importance of a 75mm mountain gun versus dozens of 100mm mortars.

"Ha ha ha ha!!!"

Seeing Zhang Dongyi's expression, everyone burst into laughter.

Soon, the liaison officer arrived with his men, making the train station even busier.

Because this battle brought enough transport capacity, Chu Feng was still shouting, "Prioritize transporting captured supplies, and while you're at it, sabotage some railway tracks—don't miss anything usable or aesthetically pleasing."

As he spoke, he pointed to the power generation equipment at the train station and shouted, "By the way, be careful with the gasoline and diesel for these generators. Don't bump or knock them. Make sure you get them back to me safely and smoothly."

Finally, when everything was on track, Chu Feng stood on the platform, hands on his hips, his face full of pride.

"This wave has made us incredibly wealthy!"

"Hahaha!"

Time flew by in the midst of their busy work. Instead of waiting for the last troops to depart together, they loaded up and left in batches.

The massive amount of supplies at the train station disappeared as the number of people, livestock, and carts decreased.

"Boom! Boom!!!"

Suddenly, an explosion was heard in the distance, followed by intense gunfire. The busy crowd stopped in their tracks and turned their eyes toward the direction from which the sound came.

"It's finally here!"

Chu Feng remained calm, muttered something under his breath, and then shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Speed ​​up! Every second we save here means one less soldier killed or wounded in the company."

The team leader's words spurred the already swift group to speed up even further.

However, Chu Feng's orders were not yet finished. He waved to Zhang Mierui, the second company commander: "Second company commander, your second company must immediately withdraw from the battlefield to clean up and split into two to quickly support the first company."

"In short, until my signal flare takes off, you can't back down an inch, understand?"

Without hesitation, Zhang Mierui, the 2nd Company Commander, replied, "Yes, Commander, I guarantee to complete the mission!" After saying that, he turned around and called to the soldiers of the 2nd Company, and they ran quickly towards the 1st Company.

"Boom! Boom!!!"

At the same time, the other soldiers of the artillery company who remained on the small hill also quickly turned their guns around to provide artillery support to the company!

Meanwhile, other reinforcements arrived outside Xiaoxishan Railway Station after receiving the news.

They were met with resistance and delays from the Eighth Route Army as soon as they stepped out.

Without a doubt, this must be the reinforcements that the old commander arranged for them.

Another half hour passed, and the last batch of supplies was loaded onto the train and evacuated from the train station, disappearing into the mountains.

Chu Feng breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, one red signal flare, retreat!"

"Yes, sir!" the bugler replied without hesitation, pulling out his signal gun.

"Snapped!"

A red signal flare was launched into the sky, and the first and second companies, having received the message, felt reassured.

"Quickly, blow up the tracks and retreat!"

With orders and explosions ringing out, the troops took turns providing cover and disappeared into the mountains and forests.

Just half an hour after Chu Feng led his men to evacuate, Japanese reinforcements arrived at the train station.

Looking at the empty Xiaoxishan Railway Station, and the corpses that had been looted and left with only loincloths on the ground, the Japanese soldier leading the team had a gloomy expression.

"Baka!!!"

He cursed and began issuing orders: "Clean up the battlefield, collect the bodies of the warriors of the Jade Shattered Empire, quickly assess the damage, and repair the damaged railway."

"Report the message to the brigade commander." After giving the order, he looked towards the mountains to the south shrouded in night, his eyes sharp yet somewhat helpless.

This battle came too unexpectedly, and even more unexpectedly, Xiaoxishan Railway Station, which had not been captured in the previous raid, was captured this time.

And so fast, so swift.

Taiyuan City, First Army Headquarters.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka, commander of the Japanese First Army, held the newly delivered telegram with a grim expression: "Baka yarou!!!"

"Those Eighth Route Army guerrillas are too arrogant!"

"They have launched another attack on our railway line, and this time they have even captured Xiaoxishan Railway Station."

"We must retaliate quickly and cannot remain passive any longer, otherwise our First Army will become a laughing stock of the entire Imperial Japanese Army."

At this point, he thought for a moment: "Summon Colonel Yamamoto here!"

Upon receiving the order, Colonel Yamamoto Ichiki quickly arrived.

"General!"

Yamamoto Ichiki saluted, holding a document in his hand.

"You know the news too."

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka cut to the chase without mincing words: "The Eighth Route Army is too arrogant. We must fight a battle to restore our reputation and defend our dignity and honor."

With that, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka stared intently at Colonel Ichiki Yamamoto and asked, "Have you finalized your battle plan?"

Upon hearing this, Colonel Yamamoto Ichiki handed over the documents in his hand: "It's decided!"

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka reached out and took the document, opening it to examine it. He quickly finished reading, then looked up at Colonel Ichiki Yamamoto, his expression a mixture of surprise and astonishment: "Could the gap between us really be that large?"

"Hey, can you tell me your thoughts on why you chose the small Tiger Pavilion outpost?"

Upon hearing Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka's words, Colonel Yamamoto remained calm: "It's not that other intelligence is worthless, but the problem is that our intelligence agents, who were infiltrated into the Jin-Sui Army, sent back a message this morning stating that a group of more than a dozen high-ranking officers of the Jin-Sui Army have suddenly disappeared."

"Rumor has it that he went to the Lingyang area at the invitation of the Eighth Route Army headquarters for exchange and learning."

"According to the map, Lingyang is no more than 60 li away from the Huting stronghold as the crow flies."

"The trouble they stirred up at the Huting stronghold must be related to this exchange."

"And what kind of people should the Eighth Route Army send to receive them, given that they are on par with a dozen or so high-ranking officers from the Jin-Sui Army?"

At this point, Colonel Yamamoto paused and said, "As for the incident at Konishiyama Station, I believe it was an accident and should not be related to this exchange."

"What?!"

Yoshio Shinotsuka raised a doubt: "Why do you think that? The Konishiyama train station was just attacked. Could it be a diversionary tactic by the Eighth Route Army, or something else?"

Colonel Yamamoto confidently stated, "The timing is off, and the location is too far from what our intelligence indicated; it's highly likely an accident."

Looking at the confident Colonel Yamamoto, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka nodded: "Alright, since you've made up your mind, let's start preparing."

"We can move out once the battlefield observation team arrives!"

Upon hearing this, Colonel Yamamoto immediately saluted and said, "Yes, sir!"