Yangquan is the gateway to the Three Jins, backed by Taiyuan and Jinzhong, right between Taiyuan and Shimen (sjz), and close to the Zhengtai-Taiwan Railway...
Not only is it a very important strategic location, it is also the commercial center in eastern Shanxi, which is very prosperous.
After the Japanese Fourth Mixed Brigade entered Jinzhong, it not only brought thousands of troops, but also attracted a large number of Japanese businessmen, making Yangquan more prosperous.
With the cooperation of the underground party, the independent group even skipped the step of investigation and went straight to the Japanese trading house and the traitor's home in the city.
As we all know, slightly larger businessmen and firms have their own transportation teams. Although there are already cars in this era, China is too backward and the road conditions are too bad, resulting in a very low penetration rate of cars. It is the favorite means of transportation for ordinary people and businessmen.
Or mules, horses, carts and horses...
Attacking the trading houses run by the Japanese and traitors and capturing their transport teams is the quickest way to seize a large number of mules, horses and horses.
"Bangdang..."
The wooden door of the Japanese trading house was knocked open by the guards. Several retired Japanese veterans who served as guards for the trading company were about to fight back with their guns, when a hail of machine gun bullets flew towards them, taking away their lives in an instant...
"Captain Li, the mules, horses and horses used to transport the Japs are all kept in the backyard..." the underground party leader introduced...
"Go directly to the backyard, collect mules and horses first, and then seize other financial items..." Captain Li went straight to the backyard of the trading house...
At least fifty mules, horses and horses were locked up in the stables and eating fodder. Captain Li was happy when he saw it: "Leave one platoon of the new recruit company...divided into a class and send all the mules, horses and horses here to the regimental commander.
Others stay here to clean up the battlefield..."
"Find out all the property that the Japanese have looted from the people, and then use the seized property to buy mules, horses and horses nearby..."
"There must be a lot of people around who help transport goods. I bought all the mules, horses and horses in their hands, but you can't buy and sell by force. I would rather pay a little more money than let the villagers suffer!"
"Others, follow me...to the next Jaap Trading Company..."
At ten o'clock in the evening, the guard company and the second battalion recruit company had sent more than 800 mules, horses and horses to the ammunition depot. Together with the more than 100 mules and horses equipped by the baggage company, they could already put the bullets and artillery shells in the ammunition depot.
Ship them all away…
The fighting in the city ended an hour ago. The second battalion took the more than 10,000 yuan that the guard company had just seized and went straight to the village outside the city to continue buying mules, horses and horses:
At 11 o'clock in the evening, the guard company and the second battalion sent more than 500 mules, horses and horses... which could almost transport all the weapons and ammunition in the arsenal...
The Yangquan of Noda has been illuminated by torches. Surrounding the arsenal, mules, horses and horses with ammunition and weapons strapped to their backs can be seen everywhere.
"Captain, we have enough mules, horses and horses to transport weapons and ammunition... we can go to the material warehouse!" Changxing, the baggage company, hurried over to report.
Kong Jie looked at his watch and replied: "It will be twelve o'clock soon... The material warehouse contains more than 400,000 kilograms of rice and flour, as well as a large amount of quilts and other materials, at least two thousand mules and horses.
It takes mules and horses to clear the place!"
"I know you are under a lot of pressure...but you must support me..."
"I've asked a battalion of recruits to allocate some people to help you. We must transport all the good things in the warehouse back to the defense area...I will do everything possible to collect mules and horses for you..."
The baggage company commander was indeed very tired. They bundled boxes of weapons and ammunition in the arsenal onto their horses.
The other soldiers didn't know that in the past few hours, he had carried not only 100 but also 70 or 80 boxes of various kinds with his hands, and his palms had already developed blisters.
But they were more excited.
Now work harder and transport all the captured weapons, ammunition and supplies back to the base area. The troops will be less hungry in the future, and they will be able to distribute more bullets when fighting the Japanese, kill more Japanese, and sacrifice fewer soldiers...
…
When they thought of this, they became very motivated.
It doesn’t matter if your palms are blistered, just keep doing it...
It doesn’t matter if the blisters are broken. Wrap a layer of cloth around it and continue drying...
Each and every one of them seemed to be on stimulants, otherwise they would not have emptied an arsenal within three or four hours.
Facing Kong Jie's eyes, he vowed: "Commander, please rest assured, the baggage company promises not to leave a bullet or a grain of food for the Japanese..."
"You first ask the guard company and the second battalion to send the mules and horses collected behind them directly to the material warehouse. The baggage company will rush over in ten minutes and try to clear out the place before dawn!"
"Good boy, ambitious... No one is more professional in transporting supplies than the Baggage Company, I will listen to you..."
"Captain, there's something going on..." The baggage company commander was just about to leave when 1st Battalion Commander Shen Quan suddenly ran towards him, followed by two soldiers.
When they got closer, they recognized one of the soldiers: "Xiao Zhang, didn't you stay in the defense area to protect the Chief of Staff? Why are you here?"
The more Kong Jie said, the more worried he became. He was afraid that something might happen to the troops left behind in the defense zone and that they would not be able to block the Japanese reinforcements, which would affect the decisive battle at Lijiapo, so he continued to ask questions.
"Did something happen at the Chief of Staff's place..."
"Report to the head of the regiment, the chief of staff is fine. The chief of staff asked me to tell you: the remaining troops in the defense area will definitely be able to complete the blocking mission, so that you can attack Yangquan with confidence!"
"I came here to tell you that the Japanese have sent an infantry brigade back to Yangquan to aid."
"The chief of staff transferred a company to slow down their march, but they did not carry heavy weapons and relied very little on roads. Our slowing effect was very poor... We will definitely be able to get back to Yangquan before dawn!"
"The chief of staff wants you to be ready to retreat at any time. Don't be dragged back to Yangquan by the Japanese reinforcements!"
Kong Jie immediately looked at his watch and frowned unconsciously: "It will be twelve o'clock soon..."
"The Japs will return to Yangquan before dawn. We carry thousands of mules, horses and horses loaded with supplies. We will definitely not be able to march as fast as the Japs. We must retreat at least three hours in advance, otherwise we will not be able to escape the Japs' pursuit..."
"After this calculation, we only have more than three hours left to transport the remaining supplies!"
The baggage company commander's expression suddenly dropped, and he looked at Kong Jie and found it difficult to answer: "Captain, there are more things in the material warehouse than in the arsenal. We will definitely not be able to complete the task in more than three hours!"
"Then pick up the important materials and transport them!" Kong Jie decided to cut off his hands and give up part of the seizure.
"If the materials that cannot be transferred can be distributed to the people in the city, they will be distributed, and those that cannot be distributed will be blown up!"
"We must evacuate Yangquan around three o'clock in the morning!"
When Kong Jie said this, Huang Yu could feel the pain and reluctance in his heart.
The company commander of the baggage company and the commander of the first battalion Shen Quan... all showed heartbroken expressions.
Everyone is used to being poor. So many supplies were suddenly seized, only to be blown up because there was no time to transfer them. This would make anyone feel heartbroken for a long time.
But compared to the safety of more than a thousand soldiers in Yangquan City, everyone is definitely more willing to give up supplies.
As long as people are alive, the materials that were blown up may still be seized again.
If the troops are gone, then everything will be lost and everything will be lost.
Just when everyone had to accept this cruel decision, Huang Yu suddenly interrupted.
"Captain, I think we still have a chance!"
"If we find a way to eat the Japanese reinforcements, or severely defeat them... we will have enough time to calmly transport and capture them, and we don't have to worry about the Japanese chasing troops!"
Kong Jie shook his head and said: "How can it be so easy!"
"The Japanese reinforcements have an infantry brigade. Even if they don't have heavy weapons, they must be equipped with a lot of mortars and heavy machine guns."
"We only have two battalions of combat troops. Although we have a slight advantage in strength, our firepower and combat effectiveness are not as good as theirs. How can we fight!"
"Even if we win in the end, the two main battalions will suffer heavy casualties. It's not cost-effective..."
"Then it's better to give up part of the capture and avoid this battle!"
"Captain, I think the firepower advantage is also in our hands, not with the Japanese!" Huang Yu suddenly retorted.
"Although we are only equipped with two infantry guns, we have just seized six mortars from the arsenal!"
"The gunners of the infantry artillery platoon can operate mortars, so we can equip the troops with them!"
"The Japs Brigade Headquarters still has three armored vehicles available!"
"The Japanese reinforcements did not carry infantry artillery or mountain artillery, and the light and heavy machine guns basically did not threaten the safety of the tanks!"
"It's also difficult for mortars to hit moving armored vehicles!"
"If we launch a sudden attack under the cover of armored vehicles, the Japanese will definitely be killed in chaos. Maybe we won't even have a chance to set up artillery. The three armored vehicles will not be in danger. They can run rampant among the Japanese and use their vehicles to carry heavy loads.
Machine guns slaughtered them indiscriminately."
"The cavalry company followed the armored vehicle to expand the victory and further disrupt the enemy formation..."
"The infantry followed the cavalry to expand the results... Use all the machine guns we captured and the submachine guns and light machine guns we equipped to form a firepower commando team and crush them head-on. The powerful offensive firepower will definitely kill the Japanese reinforcements.
Falling flowers and flowing water!"
Upon hearing this, Kong Jie felt that there was a way to fight like this. He stared at Huang Yu and asked, "Are you sure the assault platoon can move the armored vehicles and directly participate in the battle to kill the Japanese?"
"I'm sure!" Huang Yu replied confidently.
Shen Quan was the first to stand up and support: "Commander, counterattack according to Staff Huang's idea, I think we can defeat the Japanese reinforcements!"
"Kill them off, and there will be no Japanese and puppet troops nearby who can threaten our security. We can evacuate Yangquan City without any problem!"
The infantry artillery platoon leader appeared out of nowhere: "Commander, the gunners I have are all capable of operating mortars."
"After the attack started, six mortars aimed at the main force of the Japanese and fired at a rapid rate. More than a hundred shells were thrown at them, which would definitely disrupt their formation and the artillerymen would have no chance to set up their artillery..."
"The assault platoon drove three armored vehicles and took the opportunity to launch an attack. The cavalry and infantry followed behind to cover up the attack. If I were a little devil, I would be scared and run away!"
Chen Quan continued to support: "The 1st and 2nd Battalions, plus the guard company and the assault platoon, are equipped with a total of more than 20 light machine guns and more than 20 submachine guns. If all the light machine guns just captured are used, that will be 50 light machine guns.
Attack the Japanese with machine guns!"
"The artillery killed one or two hundred Japs, three armored vehicles killed more than a hundred, the cavalry company killed one or two hundred, and the Japs' returning troops were wiped out by half in an instant!"
"The remaining soldiers were rushed by armored vehicles and cavalry companies and were in chaos. The soldiers could not find the officers, and the officers could not find the soldiers!"
"The troops took advantage of the chaos and attacked. They fired with light and heavy machine guns and submachine guns. Bullets flew past like a hailstorm. No matter how powerful the enemy was, they were no match for them!"
"We will definitely win this battle!"
"Do it!" Kong Jie finally made up his mind and ordered with clenched fists.
