Chapter 39: The New Independent Regiment Wants to Seize Territory and Expand Its Forces! The Seventh Route Anti-Bandit Army
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By now, nearly every patriotic young man in the Jin-Sui base area who wished to join the army had enlisted, whether from the towns within Jin-Sui or from the surrounding villages.
Even so, the New First Regiment still had to continue expanding. A force of barely more than fifteen hundred men was nowhere near enough to satisfy Li Yunlong.
Sitting on a stool with one hand propping up his head, Li Yunlong muttered, “There are two ways to keep expanding now.”
“One is to enlarge the base area. The other is to find a way to incorporate puppet troops or righteous bandits who fight the Japanese.”
“If we want to expand the base area, the only targets left are the county seats occupied by the Japanese.”
“Taking a county seat with only one regiment would be highly inappropriate, and there’s no real need for it either... The time isn’t ripe yet!”
“Even if we somehow managed to seize one by sheer luck, once the Japanese retaliated, the New First Regiment might not have the strength to hold it.”
“By the looks of things, if we want to expand and develop the New First Regiment now, our only option is to incorporate puppet troops or bandits.”
“There aren’t many puppet troops in the surrounding area, and their territory is some distance from Jin-Sui. An expedition would be inconvenient, and we could easily leave our own base vulnerable to attack.”
“In that case, we’ll start with the easiest targets. We’ll wipe out every bandit group around us!”
After careful thought and analysis, Li Yunlong finally arrived at a plan.
Suppress the bandits and expand the regiment.
At the same time, they could obtain some much-needed military funds from the bandit strongholds.
Just then, Chen Qing entered the command headquarters.
“Commander, according to our investigations and the reports from the local people, the bandit problem around Jin-Sui is extremely serious,” Chen Qing said gravely. “At first, I thought there were bandits only near Hunter Village. Now it seems that isn’t the case at all.”
“Jin-Sui lies on the border between Shanxi and Suiyuan Provinces. Ever since the war reached this region, the surrounding area has effectively become a lawless zone beyond anyone’s jurisdiction.”
“That is why so many bandits have taken over the mountains and ruled as kings... Some of them are relatively restrained and do little more than rob people of their money.”
“But others are utterly depraved. They are no different from the Japanese, bullying men, preying on women, and slaughtering civilians.”
“Now that our Eighth Route Army controls Jin-Sui, some of the civilians have indeed asked us to send troops to suppress the bandits.”
“So I thought I should report the situation to you.”
After hearing Chen Qing’s report, Li Yunlong’s face lit up with delight.
It was as if someone had brought him a pillow just as sleep overcame him.
Chen Qing’s report only strengthened Li Yunlong’s resolve to suppress the bandits.
“I understand.” Li Yunlong raised his eyebrows. “I’ll take care of it.”
...
The next day.
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Li Yunlong summoned the three battalion commanders of the New First Regiment, along with Zhou Weiguo.
Inside the command headquarters, Li Yunlong’s gaze swept across everyone present before he spoke in a deep voice.
“Gentlemen, starting today, our New First Regiment will officially begin a campaign to suppress the bandits.”
“First, we can incorporate the bandits and expand the strength of our regiment.”
“Second, we can resolve the severe bandit problem in the region and show the people that we sincerely serve them.”
“Besides, only when the bandits are gone will the people truly be able to live and work in peace.”
“Of course, our New First Regiment can incorporate bandits—but only those who do not oppress the people, who rob the rich to aid the poor, and who resist the Japanese invaders.”
“As for the vicious bandits, kill every one of them. The New First Regiment does not accept criminals or beasts!”
“Yes, sir!” Everyone present acknowledged the order.
Soon afterward, the New First Regiment’s campaign to suppress the bandits officially began.
...
Following Li Yunlong’s deployment, every battalion and unit began clearing the surrounding areas of bandits.
First Battalion Commander Zhang Dabiao and Wang Chengzhu led the First Battalion, along with part of the artillery detachment, to the foot of the mountain stronghold belonging to the Seventh Route Army.
The so-called Seventh Route Army was merely a name copied from the Eighth Route Army.
Although the Seventh Route Army claimed to be a force resisting Japan and fighting the invaders, in reality, its members did nothing but murder, arson, and terrorize the region.
Many civilians had died at their hands.
What made it even more intolerable was that these people used the name of resistance against Japan to deceive the people and extort their trust and money.
When Zhang Dabiao and Wang Chengzhu led the First Battalion and part of the artillery detachment to the stronghold, the bandits soon detected the approaching enemy.
Bai Hu, the second-in-command of the Seventh Route Army, hurried to report the situation to their leader, Black Dragon.
“Chief, a group of heavily armed Eighth Route soldiers has arrived at the foot of the mountain. They clearly mean us no good and are preparing to attack our stronghold.” Bai Hu’s face was tense. “What should we do?”
“How many of them are there?” Black Dragon asked, his brow deeply furrowed.
“About six hundred,” Bai Hu replied.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Black Dragon immediately relaxed. “Don’t panic. Six hundred men think they can attack our stronghold? They must be dreaming.”
“Our stronghold sits halfway up the mountain. It is easy to defend and extremely difficult to attack.”
“Forget the poorly equipped Eighth Route Army. Even if the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army came, six hundred men would never break through our stronghold!”
Hearing this, Bai Hu quickly regained his composure as well.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain...
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Wang Chengzhu gave the order. “All artillerymen, begin setting up the guns!”
The New First Regiment’s artillerymen immediately sprang into action. Various mortars and several Type 95 infantry guns were soon brought into position.
The Type 95 infantry guns had naturally been captured from the Japanese by the New First Regiment.
For example, the former Takemoto Battalion had been equipped with Type 95 infantry guns.
Unfortunately, the main force of the Takemoto Battalion had been annihilated in Tiger Gorge, leaving the Type 95 infantry guns with no chance to be used.
Even so, their power and range were both remarkably good.
To be honest, bringing so many artillery pieces to attack the Seventh Route Army’s stronghold was rather like using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken.
But this had been Li Yunlong’s decision.
His meaning was simple: suppressing bandits was fine, and they could use as many guns and cannons as they needed, but casualties had to be kept under control.
After all, the New First Regiment was suppressing the bandits in order to expand its ranks and strengthen its forces.
If the campaign resulted in excessive casualties, it would defeat the entire purpose.
That was why Wang Chengzhu had brought so many guns with him, preparing to bombard the Seventh Route Army’s stronghold.
When the bandits on the mountain saw the large number of artillery pieces in the Eighth Route Army’s possession, they were all startled.
Just then, their leader, Black Dragon, appeared.
“Damn it, who do those Eighth Route soldiers think they’re trying to frighten? Do they really take me for a coward?” Black Dragon cursed. “They’ve only got a few cannons!”
“With the Eighth Route Army’s financial resources, how many shells can they possibly fire? They’re probably just trying to scare us into surrendering.”
“Pay them no mind. Hold the stronghold.”
“I refuse to believe they can do anything to us.”
After hearing Black Dragon’s words, the bandits indeed steadied themselves considerably.
At the foot of the mountain, Zhang Dabiao saw that the Seventh Route Army’s devils still had not surrendered. He immediately turned to Wang Chengzhu.
“Chengzhu, open fire. Let these bandits have a taste of what it feels like to be shelled!”
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