Xu Dalong and others captured two medium tanks and fourteen armored vehicles, and he planned to establish a tank squadron.
The chariot unit is easy to use, but it is too luxurious to use. Each dispatch requires a lot of fuel, and maintenance personnel are required to perform maintenance and repairs. There are not many artillery shells on the vehicle, and there is no source of replenishment.
And those machine guns, because they have special calibers, don’t have many bullets left.
Xu Dalong could only find a way to maintain the combat effectiveness of this armored force.
The guerrilla arsenals and mines all had workers who were familiar with machine maintenance. Xu Dalong selected a few people from among them to form a maintenance team to ensure that tanks and armored vehicles could be maintained and repaired normally.
He organized technical workers to disassemble the machine guns from tanks and armored vehicles and replace them with ordinary crooked machine guns. Although the range and firepower were not as good as the original ones, at least the problem of ammunition replenishment was solved.
After a lot of hard work, the Mawushan Guerrilla Tank Squadron was formed.
The Chief of Staff of the Japanese First Army, Torokuro Yoshida, heard that the tank brigade was completely destroyed and knew that such refueling tactics were purely to give snacks to the guerrillas. Therefore, he ordered the Japanese troops stationed in various counties not to do so without his orders.
When leaving the county town, be sure to wait for the arrival of the large force before taking action together.
Xu Dalong received intelligence from various counties and learned that the Japanese army did not dare to leave the city to fight, and knew that this was a good opportunity.
So, he sent this information to Chu Yunfei, hoping that they would seize the time to occupy Xinhe County.
In order to reassure Chu Yunfei, Xu Dalong said that he had sent cavalry troops to monitor the Japanese troops in Guancheng County and Juma County on both sides of Xinhe County to ensure that they would not be attacked by the Japanese army.
After receiving the information from Xu Dalong, Chu Yunfei immediately ordered the troops to prepare and set off on time at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.
The Shanxi-Sui Army dispatched one brigade of troops at a time, and the World War II District Governor attached great importance to this. The Chief of Staff sent Li Kun to lead a liaison group to follow Chu Yunfei's troops.
That night, Chu Yunfei held a banquet to welcome Li Kun.
Li Kun has full confidence in Xu Dalong and wishes Chu Yunfei and others an immediate success in their trip, establishing a firm foothold in Xinhe County and expanding the power of the 358th Brigade.
Chu Yunfei was also full of confidence. He believed that Xu Dalong and his small Mawushan guerrillas could stand firm under the heavy siege of the enemy. The tens of thousands of troops of the 358th Brigade stood in Xinhe County.
Keeping your footing is no longer a problem.
Chu Yunfei, Li Kun and others were chatting and laughing happily, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
At this moment, a telegram from the World War II District Chief's Department arrived.
The telegram stated that the Chief of Staff had just received news from Taiyuan City that the Japanese army had mobilized a large group of troops to encircle and suppress the Mawushan guerrillas, and had sent Chief of Staff Yoshino Torokuro of the First Army to personally take command.
The King of Shanxi was worried that if Chu Yunfei's troops attacked Xinhe County at this time, they would encounter the main force of the Japanese army and be in danger of annihilation, so he ordered them to postpone their actions.
When Li Kun heard the news, he couldn't help but shook his head slightly.
Chu Yunfei was extremely embarrassed. He had just made an agreement with Xu Dalong, and the Mawushan guerrillas also sent cavalry troops to take charge of their flank security.
To break his promise again under such circumstances would really make him lose face.
He really didn't know how to explain it to Xu Dalong.
Chu Yunfei knew that if he did not go to the Mawushan area this time, he would not be able to hold his head high in front of the Eighth Route Army in the future, let alone get along with Xu Dalong and the others. It would be impossible to get support from the Eighth Route Army in future battles.
Yes.
He couldn't sit still anymore and decided to go to the king of Shanxi in person and beg him to order the dispatch of troops.
Chu Yunfei took a car and set off overnight, hoping to see the King of Shanxi tomorrow morning and state his views to him.
Before leaving, he asked Fang Ligong to inform the troops and continue to prepare for departure.
Ask Li Kun to inform Xu Dalong of the situation here, saying that he will do everything possible to act in accordance with the original plan.
To be honest, Li Kun felt that he did not have the face to send this telegram. He did not want to tell Xu Dalong about this matter in advance. He wanted to wait until Chu Yunfei had accurate information.
If the 358th Brigade really couldn't go to Xinhe County, he wouldn't have sent this telegram. Let Chu Yunfei handle this embarrassing matter by himself.
At this moment, Xu Dalong sent a telegram to Li Kun, asking him to say hello to the logistics department of the World War II zone in advance and find a way to solve some of the gasoline for him.
The quantity Xu Dalong wants is not small. Li Kun knows that Xu Dalong has a motorcycle fleet and a small number of cars, so he shouldn't be able to use so many.
He didn't know that Xu Dalong now had a big oil drinker under his command, his chariot squadron.
Li Kun immediately called his friends in the logistics department. After getting a positive reply, he sent a telegram back to Xu Dalong, saying that he could bring money over at any time. At that time, the World War II District Chief's Department would send vehicles to transport this batch for them.
Oil.
Li Kun was willing to send this telegram, especially this time. He felt that he would feel better if he could do something for Xu Dalong.
In the telegram to Xu Dalong, he did not mention the matter of Chu Yunfei and the 358th Brigade. He had made up his mind and would not interfere with this matter.
Early the next morning, Chu Yunfei arrived at the Shanxi King's mansion.
Gu Yan
The King of Shanxi met him, and Chu Yunfei issued a military order, saying that he would ensure that the 358th Brigade would not suffer heavy losses and would grow stronger.
He talked hard and almost lost his temper. The King of Shanxi finally relented and agreed to Chu Yunfei sending a regiment of troops to Xinhe County.
Chu Yunfei was very depressed. Only when the entire 358th Brigade went to Xinhe County could Chu Yunfei be sure of a firm foothold. If he only went to one regiment, his strength was too small, and he would easily suffer heavy losses.
However, Chu Yunfei is a smart man. No matter what, the King of Shanxi has opened the door to gold.
Chu Yunfei decided to agree first. As for how to act specifically, Wang Gui of Shanxi Province was too busy to care about it, so he had room for manipulation.
Chu Yunfei called Li Kun and asked him to send a telegram to Xu Dalong, saying that the troops would set off immediately, but they would just have to postpone it for a few hours until he returned to the 358th Brigade Headquarters.
Li Kun was very happy to get this result.
He sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, saying that the 358th Brigade would set off at two o'clock today, and asked Xu Dalong to be prepared to respond.
Chu Yunfei returned to the 358th Brigade Headquarters and told Li Kun and Fang Ligong about his meeting with the King of Shanxi.
The two of them did not expect that things would turn out like this, and they both felt very embarrassed. They secretly complained that the King of Shanxi was too stingy.
Chu Yunfei had an idea. He said: "Anyway, the King of Shanxi gave us the golden mouth and asked us to send troops to Xinhe County. Didn't he agree that we should send a regiment of troops? Then we will send a regiment.
This group can be a strengthening group.
Let’s just take the 358th regiment as the main one and merge the main forces of the other two regiments into this regiment, wouldn’t it be enough?”
Li Kun thought this was a good idea and nodded in agreement.
Fang Ligong praised: "Brigade, you still have a way. I'll go and prepare." After saying that, he started to go out to mobilize the troops.
At two o'clock at noon, Chu Yunfei and Fang Liqiang led the main force of the 358th Brigade, 6,700 people, out of the barracks in the name of the 358th Regiment and marched towards the county seat of Xinhe County.
Li Kun led the liaison team and followed Chu Yunfei and others.
Due to the blockade of the Mawushan guerrilla cavalry units, the Japanese troops stationed in Guancheng County and Juma County did not receive any news about the actions of the 358th Brigade.
Therefore, Chu Yunfei and others were not intercepted by the Japanese and puppet troops along the way, and entered Xinhe County smoothly.
Xu Dalong and Sun Desheng led the special operations squadron and part of the cavalry troops to join Chu Yunfei and others, and introduced the enemy situation in Xinhe County and surrounding counties. They said that the 358th Brigade would attack Xinhe County and the Mawushan guerrillas would cooperate.
.
Chu Yunfei was a little embarrassed at first. He heard that the main force of the Japanese army could not come to join the battle, so he said that the 358th Brigade would take over the Xinhe County itself and would not need the cooperation of Xu Dalong and others.
Xu Dalong hopes so. If the 358th Brigade can fight a victorious battle independently, it will improve their morale and enhance their confidence in persisting in the struggle within Xinhe County.
Chu Yunfei commanded the troops to surround Xinhe County that night, started dinner early at five o'clock, and launched an attack on the county seat on time at six-thirty.
In Xinhe County, there was only a Japanese gendarmerie with a few dozen troops, and then there were some puppet policemen and a small number of puppet troops. They were no match for the 358th Brigade.
The officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade first opened the city gate with cannons, and then swarmed in. In a short time, they annihilated the Japanese and puppet troops in the city and completely took control of the entire county.
Chu Yunfei and Li Kun jointly sent a telegram to the World War II District Governor's Department. The chief of staff was very happy after receiving the telegram and reported the good news to the King of Shanxi.
When the King of Shanxi heard that Chu Yunfei's 358th Brigade had safely arrived at Xinhe County, captured the county seat, and wiped out all the Japanese and puppet troops in the city, he felt relieved and asked the Chief of Staff to send Chu Yunfei a message.
Received a congratulatory message.
After receiving the affirmation from the King of Shanxi, Chu Yunfei felt at ease.
He knew that with the success of this battle, even if someone reported that he was careless and sent more than one regiment of troops, the King of Shanxi would never pursue it again.
One good thing about the King of Shanxi is that he only values the results. As long as Chu Yunfei and the others can gain a firm foothold and grow their troops, he doesn't care what means they use.
Lingao City.
The Chief of Staff of the Japanese First Army, Torokuro Yoshino, was having a headache on how to deal with the Mawushan guerrillas due to insufficient troops. Suddenly, the 358th Brigade of the Shanxi-Sui Army suddenly appeared in the enemy's camp.
This time, it became even more difficult to besiege the Mawushan guerrillas.
He was very helpless and could only report the situation to the commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka.
After receiving the report, Yoshio Shinozuka also felt very depressed. He also believed that the Mawushan guerrillas had the support of the Jinsui Army, and it would be more difficult to destroy them in the future.
He sent a telegram to Yoshino Torokuro, asking him to rush back to Taiyuan City, and the two would renegotiate the strategy to encircle and suppress the Mawushan guerrillas.
The 358th Brigade occupied Xinhe County. Xu Dalong congratulated Chu Yunfei and Fang Li on their meritorious service, and sent them 50,000 kilograms of grain and purchased a batch of daily necessities to help them control prices in the city and stabilize people's hearts.