Chapter 2 Chen Feng: They can’t hold on for half an hour

Author: Jie Shiye

Chapter 2 Chen Feng: They can’t hold on for half an hour

The temporary headquarters of the Eighth Route Army's Ninth Column Headquarters.

Commander Liu waved to the staff officer Zhang Chu who came over, and then asked:

"Commander Zhang, have all the logistics agencies and units been withdrawn? Have the casualties and losses been calculated?"

"Report to Commander, the hospital, arsenal, and clothing factory have all been safely relocated. There are no casualties or property losses." Zhang Chu saluted and replied.

"Well, the team responsible for the cover mission this time did a great job. If they hadn't bought time and blocked the Japanese army, the situation would have been much worse."

"By the way, have all the cover teams withdrawn?" The commander nodded, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

"The teams of the 718th Regiment and the 716th Regiment have already withdrawn, but"

"Just what?"

The commander frowned and had a bad feeling.

Zhang Chu said: "A company of the Wuyi County brigade and two local district teams who were ordered to assist in the cover mission were bitten by the Japanese and were unable to evacuate. There is currently no news. The situation is probably not optimistic."

"Map." the commander greeted.

Zhang Chu quickly spread the map on the grinding plate, took out a pencil and worked on the map, marked the location, and pointed:

"Their last position was here. Judging from the information reported by the previous reconnaissance company, the Japanese army deployed at least one squadron of troops in this area."

"A squadron, it's too bad, the average three people in the county brigade can't get one gun, each gun has less than five bullets, and each soldier can't even get a big sword. What can they do with the Japanese in a squadron?"

To fight?" The commander gritted his teeth.

"Before they set off, we allocated some guns and bullets to them from the equipment department." Zhang Chu held his eyes.

Of course the commander knew that he had allocated some equipment to the county brigade, and it was he who wrote the approval note:

"With just a few broken guns, can they match the firepower of a Japanese squadron?"

Zhang Chu immediately understood what the commander meant and said:

"Chief, the team currently closest to the county brigade is the independent battalion of the new regiment of the 386th Brigade. It is 60 kilometers away in a straight line. It has to pass through the Japanese-occupied area on the way. If everything goes well, it will take at least seven hours of urgent march to get there."

"But at present we can only contact the regiment headquarters of the new regiment. There is a ten-kilometer distance between their regiment headquarters and the independent battalion. It will probably take a long time for the order to be conveyed."

"Then there is also a regiment of the National Revolutionary Army's decisive column stationed nearby, but I'm afraid they are..." Zhang Chu hesitated, saying nothing.

"It's too late for the new regiment to pass. I'll ask the political commissar to contact the decisive column in a moment. You should immediately notify the guard company and reconnaissance company directly under the column to assemble urgently. Get all the light machine guns and bullets from the logistics department, and also put the door

Bring the mortars as well, and be sure to rescue the county brigade," the commander ordered.

Zhang Chu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He, the staff officer, knew the column's background best. There were only three light machine guns in total, and each gun only had about a hundred rounds of ammunition.

An old mortar only has three shells left.

You must know that a squadron that usually fights Japanese troops must dispatch at least one battalion of troops.

If you want to annihilate them all, you need the cooperation of a main force group to achieve it immediately.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chu reminded:

"Commander, the Japanese have a squadron of troops and are equipped with radios. If there is an emergency, they will immediately request support. Maybe the two companies sent will also be in trouble."

"Besides, if the task is assigned to the guard company, the safety of the column organization will not be guaranteed. Although we have moved out, the enemy situation in this area is still unclear."

After hearing what Zhang Chu said, the commander was very unhappy:

"You mean to give up on the county brigade and leave them alone? Let them fend for themselves?"

"This mission was originally not within their combat scope. They asked others to help. Now that we are safe, we just abandon them and ignore them?"

"We in the Eighth Route Army have no such logic, and there is no such logic in the world! The mission of the guard company and the reconnaissance company is not to annihilate the Japanese army, but to assist the county brigade to break out and relocate. Do you understand? Go and execute it immediately!"

"yes!"

Having said that, Zhang Chu did not dare to say anything more after understanding the commander's determination.

However, he believed that the commander should know in his heart that the county brigade was most likely in danger.

Can the county brigade insist on having both a guard company and a reconnaissance company?

Even if we are in place, can we break out?

Anyway, Zhang Chu felt that there was little hope.

Ancient City Walled Town.

The National Revolutionary Army fought to the death at the secret stronghold of the 345th Regiment of one column.

"Captain, there's a call from the top." The communications lieutenant reported with the message he just received.

At this moment, Xie Tianbiao, leader of the 345th Regiment, was lying on the rocking chair on the platform, basking in the sun and smoking a fine cigar.

From time to time, I would take the sizzling and greasy mutton skewers from the orderly and take a few bites, which was so satisfying.

"Shangfeng? What did you say? Read it to me." Xie Tianbiao waved his hand.

Lieutenant: "We are now receiving a request from the Eighth Route Army's Ninth Column Headquarters, hoping that our troops can provide assistance to their troops who were besieged by the Japanese in Area 689 at the junction of Hebei and Chacha and help them break out of the encirclement."

"Chief of Staff Chang Naichao of the Column Staff issued an instruction: Your regiment immediately initiates an emergency response after receiving the order, organizes the detachment to 'carefully' (emphasis added) reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and 'seriously' (emphasis added) organize research and analysis to form a 'complete' (emphasis added)

After drafting the rough plan and plan, report it to the column staff as soon as possible. After approval, military operations can be carried out to support friendly forces without slacking off."

"Go, hurry up, call Company Commander Chen and Staff Officer Wen over and run." Xie Tianbiao quickly sat up and ordered the orderly soldiers on the side.

Soon, Chen Feng and Wen Tianhai came running over after receiving the order.

While the two of them were circulating the message, Xie Tianbiao said:

"Have you read the contents of the telegram? Shangfeng's meaning has been made very clear. This task will be left to you two. Organize people to go there immediately to understand the situation. You must find out the number of troops and weapon configuration of the Japanese army.

"

Chen Feng is a straight-tempered man and said anxiously:

"Captain, what else can we learn about the situation? My reconnaissance team has already figured out the situation. The Japanese army consists of a squadron with 200 people, equipped with one heavy machine gun and four light machine guns.

Twelve mortars and one infantry gun."

"The trapped Eighth Route Army is not a regular army, it should be a militia. There are about a hundred people in number, and their weapons and equipment are very backward. Just now, the Japanese have used artillery fire to rush into their position. The situation is already very urgent."

"Captain, I request to lead my company to attack immediately. I promise that we can defeat the Japanese and rescue the friendly forces safely."

"Captain, you must make a decisive decision. According to the weapons and combat capabilities of the Eighth Route Army, in another half hour, or even less than half an hour, they will be wiped out by the devils. By then, all we can save are corpses.

"

After hearing what Chen Feng said, Xie Tianbiao frowned and looked a little embarrassed.

I thought to myself that this Chen Feng claimed to be from the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University. How could he have such poor understanding ability?

Are you pretending to be confused because you understand, or are you really stupid?

Upon seeing this, Wen Tianhai quickly advised Chen Feng:

"Brother Chen, don't worry. It's not that the regiment leader is not decisive. The command from the top is for us to conduct careful reconnaissance first, and then carefully study the battle plan. We also need to have a plan and submit it for approval before taking action."

"We are all soldiers. We must strictly implement orders. Don't make it difficult for the commander."

Xie Tianbiao glanced at Wen Tianhai appreciatively, thinking that this kid was still smart.

Chen Feng has strong military ability and is a good leader of troops, but his ability to figure out and understand Shangfeng's intentions is too poor.

Xie Tianbiao knew that if his troops wanted to gain a foothold behind enemy lines, they still had to rely on capable people like Chen Feng, so he smiled and said sincerely:

"Chen Feng, Tianhai is right, we are all soldiers, and it is the bounden duty of soldiers to obey orders."

"We will carry out the tasks as assigned by the superior, and we must not discount them."

"Look, although we are a regiment-level organization, we only have three to five hundred people."

"Yes, I don't doubt your ability, brother Chen. If you are asked to lead the troops, you will definitely be able to drive away these little Japanese, but what happens next?"

"We will definitely have to sacrifice a lot of brothers, and the Japanese who have suffered a loss will definitely take revenge on us. Who will help us then? The gains outweigh the losses."

"Shangfeng is aware of our situation, so he issued such an instruction. The most urgent task now is to strengthen our own team."

"If we want to have the right to speak, we still have to be strong. What is our top priority?"

"Recruiting new soldiers and intensifying training are the top priorities."

"Who can do these jobs? It's not up to you, Brother Chen. To be honest, I have already submitted a report to the higher-ups to promote you to the position of deputy chief of staff of our regiment and grant you the rank of major."

"I estimate that your promotion order will come out in a few days. You can't make mistakes at this time."

"Brother Chen, calm down and be patient. Fighting the Japanese will not happen overnight. I promise, there will be many battles for you to fight in the future."

If Chen Feng hadn't been useful, Xie Tianbiao wouldn't have bothered to say such a long list of words, and his throat was dry.

"But the leader."

Chen Feng wanted to say a few more words and try to win over him, but Wen Tianhai, who had quick eyes and quick hands, stopped him.

"Captain, don't worry. Brother Chen and I will go immediately to carry out Shangfeng's orders and promise not to compromise." Wen Tianhai said flatteringly.

Xie Tianbiao waved his hand, indicating that they could go.
Chapter completed!