“This time, Xiao Yun has made quite a stir!”
In the Taihang Mountain area, the 386th Brigade, led by Chen, a fellow traveler who had a great relationship with Xiao Yun and had even shared a backpack with Old Chiang, was active in this area.
They had made quite a name for themselves, even earning the title of "Taihang Valiant Force" from the surrounding Japanese and puppet forces.
However, after seeing the great commotion Xiao Yun had caused in Northwest Shanxi, Chen felt that his 386th Brigade was still engaged in minor skirmishes.
At most, they were conducting ambushes, harassing Japanese transport units, and occasionally capturing a few strongholds.
While they inflicted considerable casualties on the Japanese, Chen, who was accustomed to grand campaigns, considered them to be petty.
They were both brigade commanders, but there was a significant difference in scale between Xiao Yun's feats in Northwest Shanxi and his own.
Chen had the ambition to create a stir, but his capabilities did not allow it.
His 386th Brigade was not as wealthy as Xiao Yun's 399th Brigade, which had even acquired an artillery battalion during the battle of Shuozhou and was said to be expanding into an artillery regiment.
Furthermore, the Japanese were currently determined to launch a major offensive in the Southern Shanxi region, though not specifically targeting the 386th Brigade. However, the 386th Brigade remained active in the Taihang Mountain area in Southeast Shanxi.
Recently, due to the Japanese troop concentration, the 386th Brigade had become more restrained, reducing their ambushes and refraining from any significant actions.
They didn't want to be detected and attacked by the Japanese as soon as they moved. What would happen to the people in the base area then?
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“Good, Brigade Commander Xiao truly deserves to be a model for us soldiers. These inhumane Japanese beasts should be dealt with so ruthlessly!”
Chu Yun Fei, the commander of the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, who was also active in Northwest Shanxi, expressed his excitement upon hearing that Xiao Yun, leading the 399th Brigade, had annihilated the Japanese 222nd Regiment and liberated Shuozhou.
He paced back and forth in the command room, his admiration for Xiao Yun reaching its peak, and he longed to personally inquire about Xiao Yun's command during the battle.
Seeing Chu Yun Fei acting like a fervent fan of Xiao Yun, the chief of staff, Fang Li Gong, wanted to dissuade him.
He recalled what Chu Yun Fei had said earlier, but the words died on his tongue.
He could only watch with a constipated expression as Chu Yun Fei paced back and forth.
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In Shandong Province, at the Tiger Head Mountain Independent Regiment, Zhou Wei Guo and his former bodyguard, Xu Hu, had been part of the Eighth Route Army for almost half a year.
Zhou Wei Guo was no longer the regiment commander of the elite Central Army's German-equipped division. He was just a lowly platoon leader.
Currently, at the regiment's classic battle case study session, he was filled with admiration for Xiao Yun and the 399th Brigade, who were thousands of miles away.
Such a victory achieved by an entire brigade was astounding. Honestly, even his former elite German-equipped division of the Central Army might not have been able to accomplish it.
Even if they managed to capture Shuozhou, they would have suffered heavy casualties!
A true man should be like that!
In comparison, the Tiger Head Mountain Independent Regiment seemed insignificant.
But it was understandable, one was a formal brigade registered with the Nationalist Government, and the other was just a local regimental-level force of the Eighth Route Army.
Although they only seemed to differ by one level, in reality, they were worlds apart.
If only he could fight under his senior, who had become famous throughout the nation.
Zhou Wei Guo, a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy's 9th class and a former student at the Munich Military Academy, was far superior to the officers of the Tiger Head Mountain Independent Regiment in both military knowledge and command abilities.
To put it bluntly, Zhou Wei Guo viewed the other officers and soldiers of the Tiger Head Mountain Independent Regiment as students compared to university graduates, and they simply couldn't relate on the same level.
If he hadn't been rescued by the Tiger Head Mountain Independent Regiment, and if some special circumstances hadn't intervened, he would have already left.
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In the South, in the 6th Military District of the New Fourth Army.
Chen Da Lei, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, who had only a 3rd Company under his command, though supposedly leading an entire regiment, contemplated the excellent command examples issued by the Military District Commander.
Blah blah blah, a regiment with over 2,500 men conducting a delaying action, while three other regiments attacked the city under the cover of artillery fire?
Could his military district, with only a single company, even learn from this?
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At the Headquarters of the Second War Zone, Yan Lao Xi, upon hearing that Xiao Yun's 399th Brigade had eliminated the Japanese 222nd Regiment and liberated Shuozhou, expressed his approval in a loud voice.
His pacing back and forth indicated his excitement, a far cry from the furious anger he had displayed when he had tried to recruit Xiao Yun and been rejected.
“The 399th Brigade has fought a good battle! Quickly, issue a commendation order in the name of the Headquarters of the Second War Zone!
Also, ask Xiao Yun if they can hand over Shuozhou City after the 399th Brigade has secured it. We can negotiate a price!”