latelenovela Chapter 963 Seeking Rewards, Seeking Great Merit
Chapter 963 Seeking Rewards, Seeking Great Merit
It's no wonder Chu Yunfei was so anxious. He had just received a battle report that the Independent Column was doing well and had already surrounded an enemy garrison division. They would launch a general offensive soon.
If his troops linger too long in Goose City, they'll probably miss the later major battles.
Keep in mind that this was an epic battle involving at least a tank regiment, two heavy howitzer regiments, and six mountain artillery regiments, totaling nearly five hundred large-caliber artillery pieces.
If he missed this opportunity, Chu Yunfei would probably regret it to the core.
Even if they can't be the main attackers, it's good to see it for themselves. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to let these bumpkins experience the awe-inspiring feeling of a massive barrage of artillery fire in modern warfare.
After receiving the order, the regiment quickly withdrew from the battlefield, rested for two hours, and then immediately set off.
When Commander Zhang led his team through Languan and arrived at the highway behind it, they found that it was already full of bicycles and tricycles of all sizes.
The person in charge of liaison and arrangements was Yang, an official from the Echeng County Party Committee, who was specifically responsible for contacting the Jin-Sui Army.
"Commander Zhang, Chief of Staff Sun, I am the officer in charge of liaising with local comrades. My surname is Sun, you can call me Xiao Sun."
"First of all, congratulations on your successful recapture of Languan and the annihilation of an entire enemy garrison battalion. We in the rear have also witnessed the prowess of the Jin-Sui Army; they are truly a group of brave and invincible warriors."
Hearing these words of praise, Regiment Commander Zhang and Chief of Staff Sun felt as sweet as if they had drunk honey.
To be honest, the Battle of Languan was one of the most impressive hard-fought battles fought by the Jin-Sui Army in recent years.
They wiped out more than a thousand enemies while suffering fewer than 200 casualties themselves. The casualty ratio between the two sides was 5:1. This would be a great victory anywhere, the kind that you could brag about.
When I heard that Chief of Staff Fang reported the overall results of the battle back to the Fourth War Zone Command, it caused quite a stir. Even Commander Yan praised it three times and said that this battle really brought honor to the Jin-Sui Army.
If it weren't for the major battles to come and the need to coordinate with the Eighth Route Army, the Fourth War Zone would have already spread the news of this great victory far and wide.
It's not that killing more than a thousand Japanese soldiers was such a great achievement, but rather that the casualty ratio was so remarkable.
After eliminating five Japanese soldiers, the Jin-Sui Army suffered only one casualty. Note that most of them were only wounded, and with our current medical conditions, the vast majority of them can be healed and return to the battlefield to fight the enemy.
Only about thirty people actually died; if you really count them, the casualty ratio is probably 30:1.
However, this data certainly cannot be revealed to outsiders. Even if it were true, the common people would scoff at it and think it was a fabrication of war achievements.
However, a ratio of 5:1 is already quite exaggerated, a figure that was only seen when invaders bullied China with their advanced weaponry.
As for this battle, we deployed over a hundred artillery pieces and consumed three thousand shells. Almost every enemy could get three shells, so there's no need to worry about such details; they're all minor matters.
All we need to do is let all Chinese people know that this battle was fought independently by the Jin-Sui Army.
However, Commander Zhang didn't dare to be presumptuous, and instead politely said:
"Officer Yang, this is all thanks to the ample logistical support you provided from behind. Otherwise, our Jin-Sui Army would not have achieved such great results."
"Our Division Commander Chu said that after this battle is over, he will petition the higher command to recommend you for meritorious service."
As the saying goes, "Everyone likes to hear nice words, and they don't cost any money anyway."
After exchanging compliments, they began to get down to business.
"Commander Zhang, Chief of Staff Sun, we laid a lot of landmines on this only road from Languan to Echeng, originally to block enemy reinforcements, but we didn't expect the Japanese to be so weak. You wiped them all out in no time."
"It will take some time to dig out the landmines again, but the county committee is already dispatching manpower to speed up the process."
"This time we have mobilized a large number of pedicabs and bicycles to prioritize transporting you to a place 10 kilometers away for rest. By tomorrow morning, the landmines should be mostly cleared, and the transportation speed will be faster then."
Chief of Staff Sun quickly and politely replied, "No need to be so polite, we'll follow your arrangements."
The rest was simple. The regiment, organized into companies, had its personnel transported away by human-powered bicycles and tricycles. Apart from their rifles, all other heavy equipment and supplies were transported simultaneously by those modified cargo tricycles.
The soldiers of the regiment had just gone through a battle and were physically exhausted, especially in this kind of mountain warfare, which was a great test of their physical fitness.
Although they had rested for two hours, everyone still felt very tired. Now that they had the help of the local people, it couldn't be better.
Riding on the back of a bicycle at high speed was, to be honest, an incredibly novel experience for Chinese soldiers, especially those in the Jin-Sui Army.
They had previously recruited some civilians to help the army transport supplies, but even with high prices, very few people responded.
I've heard that these riders brought their own food and came spontaneously; they're all great young men.
Many soldiers of the Jin-Sui Army felt a pang of sadness upon witnessing this scene. The feeling of being genuinely admired by the people was something they had never experienced before, and they felt an immense sense of exhilaration.
Many people took out their own distributed compressed biscuits and canned food and offered them to the people who were traveling with them.
However, all the villagers who were recruited refused to accept this kindness, saying that these good things were for the heroes who fought the Japanese, and that they had only done a little work and should just eat some flatbread.
After much arguing and even threats that they wouldn't take the bus if they didn't eat, many villagers reluctantly agreed.
Having experienced this scene, the morale of the officers and soldiers of the entire infantry regiment was completely renewed. They realized how intoxicating it was to be admired, and wondered what kind of life they had lived before.
Upon arriving at their destination, Commander Zhang discovered that a very large area had already been prepared, with corresponding field camp tents erected.
There were also a large number of armed militiamen on guard around the area, and the entire camp was bustling with people, creating a lively scene.
Moreover, many large pots had been set up throughout the camp, and the aroma of stewed meat filled the entire sky.