Chapter 235 The Mountain City Taken for granted "By the way, Commander, we have captured a guy from Yamamoto's special forces alive." Just when Qin Yangming, Li Yunlong and others were preparing to escort Pinglu Yongfu, the old Japanese soldier, to the brigade headquarters. Duan Peng found Qin Yangming and reported to him about a Japanese soldier he had captured when he led the assault platoon to deal with the remaining Japanese special forces soldiers. Listening to what Duan Peng said, Qin Yangming looked at Duan Peng strangely. "Are you sure it was from the Japanese Yamamoto Special Forces? And he was captured alive?" There was some disbelief in Qin Yangming's tone. On the one hand, when the assault platoon carries out combat missions, when will they leave any survivors? On the other hand, the Japanese Yamamoto Special Forces were the real elite of the Japanese. Even most of the soldiers of the Japanese Fourth Brigade would fight desperately, let alone the Japanese in the Yamamoto Special Forces? Logically speaking, the Japanese soldiers in Yamamoto's special forces would rather commit suicide than be captured alive. But now Duan Peng said that he had captured a Japanese soldier from Yamamoto's special forces alive, which made Qin Yangming puzzled.
Seeing Qin Yangming's face full of confusion, Duan Peng quickly explained what was going on. “Captain, we didn’t capture that guy alive, but he surrendered directly… In the end, he said that he was very important, very important, and could be useful to us… I figured he must be a kid from Yamamoto’s special forces… Since he surrendered, he must be a coward. Maybe we can really get some important information out of him then. Even if we can't get any information out of them, it would be good to find out the training methods of the Japanese Yamamoto Special Forces, so that we can use them ourselves." After listening to what Duan Peng said, Qin Yangming thought for a while and then spoke. "So where is he now?" "When I first came here, I put it directly at the back for the new recruits to watch." "Okay, after I send Pinglu Yongfu to the brigade commander, I'll ask him what happened." Listening to what Duan Peng said, Qin Yangming nodded, and then took his men and followed Ding Wei to Baihu Ridge to hand Pinglu Yongfu over to the brigade commander. The troops need someone to take charge of the command. Whether it is the New 1st Regiment, the Independent Regiment, or the Vanguard Regiment, they all have close ties with Li Yunlong. So Li Yunlong stayed behind to command the three regiments of troops and make some arrangements at the same time. Qin Yangming's main task was to bring the heavy artillery regiment and the tank company back to Baihuling and return them to the headquarters. As for Ding Wei, since Ding Wei was more eloquent than Kong Jie, the honest boy, the task of handing Pinglu Yongfu over to the brigade commander was mainly the responsibility of Ding Wei. See if we can save some more weapons and equipment. …… The Japanese 4th Brigade had been completely wiped out, and the remaining 9th and 11th Brigades no longer had any need to attack. If we continue the attack, we might end up getting trapped by another brigade. Yoshio Shinozuka withdrew the other two brigades without any hesitation. If the Vanguard Regiment and other three main regiments had not suffered heavy losses after completely annihilating the Japanese Fourth Brigade, and if the soldiers had not been too tired, a large number of heavy weapons could not have been transported to the front line. The brigade commander was planning to let another Japanese brigade into Tongshi Town for another attack.
If Yoshio Shinozuka allowed the other two brigades to continue the attack, it was possible that another brigade would be trapped after the Eighth Route Army troops regrouped again. However, Yoshio Shinozuka was also worried that another brigade would be involved. The Eighth Route Army was also worried that Yoshio Shinozuka would really not care and directly send out the 20th Division. Therefore, both sides tacitly chose to cease fire at the same time. The Japanese retreated, and the Eighth Route Army did not pursue them. The surviving Japanese retreated and left their original positions. The Eighth Route Army was prepared to prevent the Japanese from launching a counterattack, so they chose to stay where they were and continue to build their defense line. Regardless of whether the Japanese will strike back or not, the two counties of Linyuan County and Shiquan County will sooner or later become the frontline positions in the battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese. Therefore, the Eighth Route Army strengthened the defense line at the original blocking position. In addition to preventing the Japanese from making a surprise attack, it was also a precautionary measure to prepare for future battles. Along with them, the troops of the other two brigades of the Japanese army withdrew from the two county towns of Shiquan County and Linyuan County. The Battle of Tongshi, which was triggered by the Yamazaki Battalion of the Japanese army, was officially declared over after two days and two nights. The Eighth Route Army's speed, fierce offensive, and great results completely shocked all forces, including the Japanese. No one expected that an entire field brigade of the Japanese would be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army within two days! Even the brigade commander, Major General Ping Lu Yongfu, was captured alive by the Eighth Route Army. In the early morning, the Eighth Route Army issued an order to completely annihilate the Japanese 4th Brigade and capture alive the 4th Brigade Commander Ping Lu Yongfu, Major General of the Japanese Army. All newspaper offices immediately recalled the newspapers that were ready for sale, and printing houses immediately sped up reprinting. "Hurry, everyone, speed up and print 100,000 newspapers before 10 o'clock!" The manager of the printing factory looked at the sample newspaper sent by the newspaper office and the large, bright words on it. And the accompanying photos show people cheering with excitement. "The great victory at Tongshi, the complete annihilation of the Japanese Fourth Brigade, and the capture of the brigade commander Ping Lu Yongfu alive!" This piece of news took up an entire page of the newspaper. An entire brigade was wiped out within two days, and a Japanese brigade commander, a major general, was captured alive. Such a major victory was fully worthy of using half a newspaper for publicity. However, because there was not enough time to inquire about what happened in detail, there was not much information in the newspaper. It only gave a general account of the reasons why the 4th Brigade was completely wiped out. There are no specific details or anything. This time, the Eighth Route Army's great victory in Tongshi Town was not only promoted by the Second War Zone, but even the mountain city did not suppress it, but actively cooperated in the publicity. There was no way. The Battle of Yichang in the mountain city had entered a critical moment. The strength of the Japanese had broken through the defense line of the Chinese army and they were stepping up their attacks. There was basically no hope of victory. The morale of the soldiers on the front line was extremely low and they no longer had any hope of victory. But Shancheng doesn't want to lose the Battle of Yichang. They lost the Battle of Yichang, while the Eighth Route Army won a great victory at Tongshi.
How do the people view this? After the Battle of Yichang began, large-scale propaganda was carried out, and a man from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the mountain city vowed that victory would definitely come. Then they suffered a great defeat, and then the Eighth Route Army won a great victory. What did the people think? It would be fine if the Eighth Route Army did not take any action. Even if they lost, the impact would not be that great. But now the Eighth Route Army first won a great victory in Shangdang, and now another great victory in Tongshi. In the end, they suffered a great defeat in Yichang. How the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison. So Shancheng is now in a difficult situation. In order to boost the morale of the soldiers on the front line, Shancheng had no choice but to help the Second War Zone with propaganda. That’s right, although the Tongshi victory was mainly achieved by the Eighth Route Army. However, the Eighth Route Army was still under the jurisdiction of the Second War Zone, so the victory of Tongshi was definitely the credit of the Second War Zone. Moreover, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in the Second War Zone did not do nothing. On the contrary, they provided a lot of support to the battle in Tongshi Town. Regardless of whether the Eighth Route Army recognized it or not, the Japanese in the Jincheng area and the Zhongtiao Mountain area were blocked by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Even the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army held out against a brigade of the Japanese devils' crazy attack, and the casualties of the 5,000-man regiment reached more than 2,000. Therefore, in the battle of Tongshi Town, the Jinsui Army also had its share of credit. Therefore, when promoting the event, Shancheng used some Spring and Autumn style writing techniques and focused on promoting the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. As for the Second War Zone, the direct propaganda was that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army cooperated with the Eighth Route Army to completely annihilate the Japanese Fourth Brigade and captured the Fourth Brigade Major General Ping Lu Yongfu alive. Among them, Chu Yunfei, commander of the 358th Regiment of our Shanxi Suiyuan Army, led 5,000 soldiers of the 358th Regiment to fight bravely against the enemy, with more than half of them suffered casualties, and withstood the attack of a brigade of the Japanese devils. Li Yunlong, commander of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment, led his troops to capture the escaped commander of the Japanese Fourth Brigade, Major General Pinglu Yongfu. The promotion seems to be normal, but if you look closely you will find some problems. Although the report said that the Eighth Route Army captured alive the commander of the Japanese Fourth Brigade, Ping Lu Yongfu. However, it did not mention the casualties of the Eighth Route Army. Instead, it focused on describing how the 358th Regiment suffered more than half casualties and how difficult the battle was. It is easy for people to think that the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was the main force that completely wiped out the Japanese 4th Brigade. Of course, this is also because the publicity was urgent and many details did not have time to be added. There was no way. The headquarters of the Second War Zone had just received a telegram from the Eighth Route Army and had no time to discuss it. Then we received a telegram from someone in Shancheng saying that the higher-ups were planning to say that the Tongshi battle was arranged by Shancheng...and they were also planning to replace the 358th Regiment with a regiment of the Central Army. It is clear that the people in Shancheng are trying to steal the credit. If Shancheng is willing to offer enough benefits, it is not impossible for the Second War Zone to give the credit to Shancheng.
However, even the supplies consumed last time had not been delivered to Shancheng, and the Second War Zone was not willing to give the credit to Shancheng. Moreover, Shancheng not only wanted to steal the credit from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, but also ordered all the troops of the Second War Zone to quickly enter the Shangdang area while the Eighth Route Army's battle had just ended. Directly drive the Eighth Route Army out of Shangdang area, or forcibly incorporate them. It would be fine if it was Shancheng who issued the order, but it was only a verbal order from Shancheng, not a formal order. In other words, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army took the mountain city, and then took advantage of the fact that the Eighth Route Army was exhausted after having just wiped out the Japanese Fourth Brigade to launch a sneak attack on the Eighth Route Army, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was blamed for provoking the civil war. Not to mention how powerful the remaining Eighth Route Army in Shangdang area was, the Eighth Route Army was the first to recapture the Shangdang area and promised to help the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army recapture Jincheng and Zhongtiao Mountain areas. It was impossible for Yan Laoxi to take this opportunity to stab the Eighth Route Army. What's more, the Eighth Route Army troops are still stationed in various important areas of the Shangdang region, and those troops have not moved. The Eighth Route Army is not just on guard against the Japanese. Since the Eighth Route Army was able to completely wipe out an entire field brigade of the Japanese devils, that means that the Eighth Route Army could also completely wipe out an entire Shanxi-Suiyuan Army! Moreover, if Yan Laoxi really did that, the people in Shancheng would never admit that they had issued such an order. They would then use the excuse that his Jinsui Army had provoked a civil war and directly cancel the Jinsui Army's organization. In the end, all the Jinsui Army troops would be taken over by the Central Army. There was no way Yan Laoxi would be fooled, so after receiving the reminder from people in the mountain city, Yan Laoxi ordered people to start distributing newspapers as quickly as possible. Just take the credit first. At that time, if Shancheng dares to complain again, Yan Laoxi will not care about it and will directly expose the fact that Shancheng has withheld supplies from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. If the Shangdang area is lost again at that time, those guys in Shancheng will be in big trouble. The troops in the mountain city had sufficient supplies and were constantly losing battles. On the other hand, in the Second War Zone, despite the continuous withholding of supplies in the mountain city, the soldiers not only bravely fought against the Japanese, but also achieved many victories. By then, the mountain city will be drowned in the spit of angry citizens. So as soon as the plain text telegram was sent from the Second War Zone. The people in Shancheng could only hold their noses and carry out propaganda in order to badmouth the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and prevent the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Eighth Route Army from launching full cooperation. The Shancheng side even exaggerated the contributions of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. There was even a photo of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army placed directly next to the photo of Pinglu Yongfu. If you are illiterate, looking at these photos you might think that Pinglu Yongfu was captured alive by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. As a result, three situations emerged regarding the newspapers published in Shancheng and the newspapers published in the Second War Zone and the Japanese-occupied areas. On the mountain city side: All the things were done by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. The Eighth Route Army was just lucky and captured the escaped Pinglu Yongfu. Second War Zone: In this battle, the Eighth Route Army was indeed the dominant force, and the main credit went to the Eighth Route Army for completely annihilating the Japanese Fourth Brigade. However, our Shanxi-Suiyuan Army fully cooperated and blocked the Japanese in Jincheng and Zhongtiao Mountain areas. The 358th Regiment cooperated with the Eighth Route Army to block the Japanese 9th Brigade, suffering heavy casualties. The Eighth Route Army made a great contribution, but our Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's contribution was not much less. Japanese-occupied area: Due to the intelligence errors of the intelligence department, the commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka, made a wrong plan and launched a wrong battle, which led to the Fourth Brigade being surrounded by the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. The 4th Brigade, with only 10,000 men, resisted the 100,000-strong army composed of the elite troops of the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Tongshi Town, and at the cost of all of its own destruction, prevented the combined forces of the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army from breaking out of the Shangdang area.
The 9th and 11th Brigades completely blocked the periphery of the Shangdang area. The commander of the 1st Army, Yoshio Shinozuka, is redistributing his troops to cooperate with the troops in Jincheng and Zhongtiao Mountain to launch a new offensive against the Shangdang area. It was obvious that the Japanese intelligence department did not reach a deal with Yoshio Shinozuka, so the blame for the annihilation of the 4th Brigade was directly pinned on the intelligence department. And because of this incident, Yoshio Shinozuka has not been dismissed yet. The Japanese North China Front Army Command is reorganizing its troops and plans to continue to send troops to Shanxi to retake the Shangdang area. (End of this chapter)