128: Chapter 128 A Crazy Plan!

"Mr. Shen, do you mean... that you want us to simultaneously attack Liao County, Du County, Wu County, Qin County, Li County... and even City Name in a single night?"

The Division Commander's voice rose a few notches, carrying disbelief and shock, but even more so, an excitement ignited by this crazy proposal!

This plan was simply too bold!

To actually want to accomplish everything in a... single night?

"Exactly!" Shen Wang nodded.

"Since we have enough tanks, why should we line up to attack them one by one? He County was taken in ten minutes. As for the other county seats, as long as the reconnaissance is thorough and the surprise attack is decisive, even if it takes a bit more time, half an hour is enough to resolve the battle!"

"We can completely divide our troops into multiple spearheads and launch a fatal blow against multiple targets at the same time!"

"By the time the Japanese make their distress calls to City Name, maybe the command post in City Name will already be pointed at by our tanks!"

This idea was like throwing a giant boulder into a calm lake!

The command post instantly "exploded" with activity!

"Good heavens... sweep through Southeast Shanxi in one night?" Li Yunlong almost jumped up.

"Thrilling! Absolutely thrilling! This is how a battle should be fought!" Kong the Thickhead was also flushed with excitement.

The Chief of Staff, the Division Commander, and other bigwigs exchanged glances quickly, their brains rapidly calculating the feasibility.

How to distribute troops? How to organize the tanks? How to ensure communication?

Questions surfaced one after another, but the more they thought about it, the more they felt... it seemed feasible!

They had over ninety tanks capable of night combat (14 99A tanks + 80 type 59 tank), three main force regiments that had been tempered in the blood and fire of He County and equipped with brand-new gear, and the powerful communication equipment (walkie-talkies) brought by Shen Wang to ensure command and coordination...

They were fully capable of organizing multiple powerful combined assault groups!

"Theoretically... it's feasible!" The Chief of Staff let out a heavy breath, his eyes flashing with intensity.

"But this places extremely high demands on the independent combat capability of each assault unit and the on-the-spot decision-making ability of the commanders! Moreover, if any link fails, it could affect the entire situation."

"Then we choose the strongest officers, lead with the toughest troops, and execute the most decisive orders!" The Division Commander said resolutely.

"Winning through danger has always been our old tradition! Now that we have such good conditions, we must be even bolder and more aggressive!"

However, that political Leader raised another thorny issue: "Even if it's operationally feasible, attacking so many county seats means the number of captured Japanese and Puppet Army will likely be staggering!"

"Where would we find enough manpower to guard, escort, and screen them?"

"We can't just take a place, lock the prisoners in the city, and have the troops rush to the next target, right? The rear would be in total chaos!"

The Chiefs frowned; they had only been thinking about the fighting and had forgotten about the prisoners.

This couldn't be blamed on them; after all, in previous battles, there were rarely any prisoners, and due to habitual thinking, they had overlooked the prisoner issue for a moment.

At this moment, Shen Wang smiled again.

"Prisoners... that's easy to handle! Just hand over all the prisoners that you Leaders capture to me."

"Hand them over to you?" The political Leader was stunned. "Mr. Shen, this isn't just a few dozen; it could be hundreds or thousands! How can you manage them all by yourself?"

Shen Wang's smile deepened. He held up one finger and said slowly, "I don't need many people. Give me one 99A tank; one is enough."

"I guarantee that I will 'take care' of them properly."

One 99A tank? Taking care of hundreds or thousands of prisoners?

The command post was silent for a moment, and then the expressions of several Leaders became somewhat strange.

The Brigade Commander's mouth twitched, and the eyes of Li Yunlong and the others were full of the look of "I understand."

The political Leader seemed to realize it too and wanted to say something: "Mr. Shen, this... our Eighth Route Army has policies regarding prisoners..."

"Old Zhang," the Division Commander raised his hand and gently interrupted him.

"Mr. Shen is not our combat officer, so he doesn't have to be completely bound by our internal discipline!"

"Since Mr. Shen is willing to take over the 'handling' of these prisoners, we will... fully cooperate with the operation and concentrate the prisoners for Mr. Shen to 'look after'."

"Mr. Shen is a man of great righteousness; surely he has his own proper arrangements!"

With things put this way, everyone understood.

What was meant by "handing them to Mr. Shen to handle" and "taking care of them with one 99A tank" was self-evident.

In this extraordinary time, facing a group of prisoners that could be large and full of uncertainty, especially when the troops needed to fight at high speed and continuously without the time to look after other things—

A method of handling that was the simplest, most thorough, and most in line with "Mr. Shen's" style was thus tacitly approved.

Nothing was explicitly stated, but everyone understood.

The political Leader opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing, just nodded silently.

War is never a dinner party.

If the enemy can come, so can we!

The last obstacle was cleared in this tacit way.

The Chief of Staff took a deep breath, his gaze becoming as sharp as a knife again as he swept across the room.

"Then, the plan is finalized!"

"All units must immediately launch comprehensive and secret reconnaissance on the six targets: Liao County, Du County, Wu County, Qin County, Li County, and City Name!"

"You must find out all the details within three days!"

"Using the Independent Regiment, the New First Regiment, and the New Second Regiment as the backbone, combined with 99A and type 59 tank, organize into six reinforced combined assault battalions!"

"The attack time is tentatively set for midnight three days from now!"

"Six forces, attacking simultaneously!"

"Combat objective: Recover five counties and one city in Southeast Shanxi overnight! Completely open up the Taihang Mountains and the Taiyue Mountains!"

"comrades!" The Chief of Staff looked around at everyone one last time, his voice impassioned.

"This battle is not only to expand our base area, but also to show the prestige of our Eighth Route Army after re-equipping! To show the determination of the Chinese people in the War of Resistance!"

"Let the Japanese know that North China is no longer the place of the past where they could do whatever they wanted!"

"Yes!!!"

The Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Kong Jie... all the generals stood tall, shouting in unison, their eyes burning with the fires of war.

A lightning storm of unprecedented scale and astonishing speed for the Eighth Route Army was about to explode simultaneously under the night sky of Southeast Shanxi!

And Shen Wang had already begun to silently calculate how many... regimental banner he could harvest after this night.

...

Meanwhile.

Chongqing, Military Statistics Bureau.

"Boss, this is one of our bureau's most outstanding-looking agents, Yu Manli, codenamed black widow."

The Chief of the Second Action Division led a woman with outstanding looks and a graceful figure to Boss Dai's office.

Boss Dai slightly sized up Yu Manli and nodded.

"I know you. I even signed your amnesty."

Boss Dai had an amazing memory. Yu Manli was previously a death row prisoner, but because of her meritorious service in participating in the assassination of the Emperor's special envoy, Gao Yuesanlang, her status as a death row prisoner was revoked by Boss Dai, and she was exceptionally promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Boss Dai continued: "I called you here this time because there is a difficult task to entrust to you!"