116: Chapter 116 A Shocking Victory! The Regiment Flag is Found Again!

The steel torrent pursued all the way, driving the crumbling Japanese and Puppet Army forces away from He County like herding sheep.

The devils left behind countless corpses, weapons, and supplies along the way.

They pursued for dozens of miles until the remaining devils and Puppet Army troops stopped taking the relatively flat main roads and instead ducked into the mountains on both sides; only then did Li Yunlong and the others reluctantly order a halt to the pursuit.

"Alright, stop the chase. The terrain in the mountains is complicated."

Although Li Yunlong and the others were somewhat unwilling, they knew when to quit while they were ahead.

Shanxi Province is mountainous. Once the enemy forces break into small groups and disappear into the deep mountains and old forests, the mobile advantage of tanks and trucks is greatly diminished, making them susceptible to ambushes instead.

However, even so, the results of this pursuit were staggering enough.

The corpses of devils and Puppet Army soldiers who fell during the pursuit almost covered the ditches and roads along the way.

The soldiers of the Independent Regiment, New First Regiment, and New Second Regiment made a rough estimate; the enemies killed or wounded during this pursuit were likely more than all the enemies they had eliminated in several years of fighting combined!

On the way back, the soldiers began to systematically clean up the battlefield.

Looking at the various weapons scattered all over the ground—Type 38 rifles, Type 11 light machine guns, even type 92 heavy machine guns and grenade launchers—the soldiers' expressions were somewhat subtle.

Li Yunlong jumped off a tank, kicked a mud-and-blood-stained Type 11 light machine gun by his feet, and curled his lip.

"This piece of junk—in the past, if I captured one, I'd be so happy I couldn't sleep for three days. I'd practically want to worship it like an ancestor."

Beside him, Wei the Monk chuckled and asked, "Commander, what about now?"

"Now?" Li Yunlong used his toe to shove the Type 11 light machine gun aside, his face full of disdain.

"Now, even if you gave it to me for free, I'd think it takes up too much space! It's a pain to clean and even more of a pain to fire! It's nowhere near as good as our Type 56 squads and Type 56 submachine guns!"

His words resonated with the surrounding soldiers.

In the past, why did you get to have a Type 11?

Now, why do I have to take a Type 11?

However, despite their verbal disdain, their style of hard work and plain living was deep in their bones, so the soldiers still meticulously cleaned the battlefield.

They loaded usable weapons and ammunition onto trucks and collected as many repairable parts from the damaged ones as possible.

It wasn't until dusk that the various units returned to He County in a grand procession, carrying their abundant spoils of war.

When the convoy, loaded with soldiers, tanks, and captured supplies, roared through the gates of He County, the city was already a sea of jubilation! The remaining soldiers, militia, and the entire city's populace flooded the streets to welcome them!

The sound of applause, cheers, and gongs and drums shook the heavens and earth!

"They're back! The heroes are back!"

"We won! The hundred thousand devils have been driven away!"

"Long live the Eighth Route Army!"

Soldiers jumped off the trucks, hugging, cheering, and jumping with familiar comrades and villagers.

Many people started laughing, only for tears to stream down their faces.

"Squad leader! We really did it! A hundred thousand devils! We drove them all away!" A new recruit grabbed his squad leader's arm, crying and laughing incoherently.

The veteran squad leader's eyes were also red as he slapped the recruit's shoulder hard. "Yes! We did it! With these heavy hitters in our hands, we'll never have to fear the little devils again!"

"That was so satisfying! Charging with the tanks... that feeling was like flying!"

"You guys didn't see it, but the devils were blown to bits by our rockets... it was brutal..."

"We captured so much! The trucks can barely fit it all!"

"Who would have thought that one day we'd be the ones chasing the devils into the mountains!"

...

The soldiers cheered frantically.

The suppressed fear of the past, the helplessness against a powerful enemy, and the heartache over backward equipment were all released at this moment!

Repelling an army of a hundred thousand!

In the past, this was a scene they wouldn't even dare to dream of!

But today, they had turned it into reality with their own hands!

Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Kong Jie, and the other generals were also surrounded by the soldiers, receiving the most enthusiastic cheers.

As they looked at the excited, proud faces, their hearts were also filled with grand ambition.

This battle didn't just showcase the might of the Eighth Route Army and shatter the devils' encirclement; more importantly, it built unprecedented confidence and backbone!

Of course, all of this was thanks to the weapons Shen Wang had brought.

Li Yunlong and the others hurried back to the command room to report the results to the Brigade Commander and Shen Wang.

"Brigade Commander! Mr. Shen! A victory! A monumental victory!"

Li Yunlong shouted at the top of his lungs, unable to wait to start reporting the numbers.

"According to preliminary statistics, the number of devils and Puppet Army troops we killed in this battle is at least—"

He held up three fingers and shook them. "Thirty thousand plus! Only more, not less!"

Zhao Gang held a more detailed preliminary statistics sheet and added, "To be precise, over thirty-five thousand enemies were annihilated in this campaign. Among them, about twenty thousand were devils and about fifteen thousand were Puppet Army."

He pointed at the table and began to elaborate: "The fiercest blow was dealt to the devils' artillery!"

"Our first salvo of Katyushas basically wiped out the assembled 36th Field Artillery Regiment, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, the Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade's artillery unit, and the 2nd Independent Field Artillery Regiment that was rushed from Taiyuan—four entire artillery regiments in one go!"

"Just those four artillery regiments alone accounted for nearly ten thousand devils killed!"

Kong Jie excitedly picked up the thread: "Exactly! After the artillery plowed the ground, our tanks and infantry chased down the routing devils and took down at least another ten thousand!"

"The corpses of devils lying on the pursuit route alone covered several miles!"

"The 222nd and 223rd Regiments of the 36th Division, the 225th and 226th Regiments of the 37th Division, and several independent infantry battalions of that damn Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade have all had their organizational structures crippled!"

Ding Wei also grinned. "The Puppet Army was even more pathetic! The 8th and 12th Regiments of the 'Peace Preservation Army' and the 'Puppet Army' Mixed Brigade pissed their pants as soon as they heard our cannons and ran faster than rabbits!"

"We caught up and gave them a beating, causing heavy casualties. We took several thousand prisoners alone!"

Li Yunlong slapped his thigh, his tone a bit regretful. "Damn it, if those bastards hadn't been too scared to take the main roads and had instead all ducked into the deep mountains and old forests, the results could have been doubled!"

As the Brigade Commander listened to this dizzying string of numbers and results, even though he had already made an estimation, his heart couldn't help but surge with emotion.

"Over thirty-five thousand enemies killed... a hundred thousand routed..." the Brigade Commander's voice trembled slightly.

This result... it's almost as much as the damn Hundred Regiments Offensive!

But one must remember, the Hundred Regiments Offensive involved the entire Eighth Route Army and took nearly half a year to complete.

Whereas this He County campaign lasted only seven short days in total, and if you count the actual combat time, it was less than a single day.

The forces deployed were only three non-standard regiments—the Independent Regiment, New First Regiment, and New Second Regiment—plus some local militias.

This is absolutely unprecedented... a shocking victory!

At that moment, as if remembering something, Zhao Gang turned to the door and shouted, "Bring it in!"

Several soldiers carefully carried a wooden box inside and placed it on the floor.

Zhao Gang stepped forward personally, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the lid.

When the contents of the box were revealed to everyone, the sound of people gasping for air instantly filled the headquarters.

Shen Wang, in particular, had his eyes go wide!

"A regimental banner!"