At the theater command headquarters, the chief of staff rushed into the commander-in-chief's office with an excited look on his face.

As soon as the door was closed, he reported excitedly: "Commander-in-Chief, our purpose has been achieved..."

"The intelligence department just got the news: the National Salvation Army has occupied the entire territory of Yangquan and Shouyang, and the Eighth Route Army that were operating in both places have been driven away by the National Salvation Army!"

"Zhou Cheng's naughty young man dares to do it... It is said that the two troops fought several battles on the battlefield. After the National Salvation Army entered the base of the Independent Regiment, they chased them all the way, expelled the Independent Regiment in just one day and one night, and snatched a large number of weapons, ammunition and supplies from the Independent Regiment..."

"The intelligence department also reported that the independent regiment paid a huge price in the blocking war. After the two troops were driven out of the base, they all entered the Japanese and puppet army occupied areas, and could be surrounded and completely wiped out by the Japanese and puppet army at any time!"

"The National Salvation Army is establishing a defense line on the edge of the independent regiment base to prevent the independent regiment from returning to the base."

"A large number of troops were also sent to the independent regiment to be incorporated into the remnants and local armed forces. I heard that they had arrested more than 100 Eighth Route Army that refused to accept the adaptation, and were ready to expel them all and send them out of Shouyang and Yangquan!"

"Good job!" The commander-in-chief was so excited that he slapped the table on the spot.

"Zhou Cheng, a naughty young man, has already swung his fist. Next, it depends on the reaction of the Eighth Route Army. Chief of Staff, let the intelligence department keep a close eye on the National Salvation Army and the Independent Corps, and keep abreast of their next moves at any time."

"As for Zhou Cheng, the more he is, the more he can be a knife in the war zone, the more he can use it for me."

As soon as the chief of staff was about to take the order and leave, the voice of the communications officer rang at the door.

"Report to the Chief, the Eighth Route Army had just sent a protest telegram to the war zone, demanding that the war zone severely deal with the National Salvation Army's arbitrary attack on the Independent Regiment's base and cause a large number of casualties to the Independent Regiment. It also demanded that the War Zone order the National Salvation Army to withdraw from the Independent Regiment's base and give some compensation to the Independent Regiment!"

The Chief of Staff quickly received the telegram and smiled after reading it: "Commander-in-Chief, this is indeed a protest telegram sent to us by the Eighth Route Army!"

"It means that the National Salvation Army attacked the Independent Regiment not only angered the Eighth Route Army that was operating around Yangquan, but also angered their superiors. The National Salvation Army wants to renege and has no chance to ease relations with the Eighth Route Army again."

"Commander-in-Chief, how do you think we will reply to this protest telegram!"

The commander-in-chief blurted out: "Of course, we are dealing with this matter from a fair and just standpoint!"

"Although the war zone assigned the entire Yangquan and Shouyang to the National Savior Army, and issued an order to take down Shouyang and Yangquan as soon as possible, it did not allow the National Savior Army to directly attack the Eighth Route Army's Independent Regiment, nor did it allow the National Savior Army to fight with the Independent Regiment, nor did it allow the National Savior Army to cause casualties to the Independent Regiment."

"This is the act of the relatives suffering from the enemy. If the news spreads, it will definitely make the Japanese laugh."

"When Zhou Cheng, the commander of the National Salvation Army, did such a stupid thing, the war zone must be dealt with seriously, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public!"

The Chief of Staff was stunned when he heard this, and he did not expect the Commander-in-Chief to make such a decision.

The telegram sent by the war zone did not explicitly state that the National Salvation Army would attack the Independent Regiment, but a discerning person could tell at a glance that the war zone had the idea of ​​letting them fight.

Now that the purpose of the war zone has been achieved, I turn my head and turn my back on my face. Isn’t this a little helpless?

And this is not beneficial for the war zone.

The relationship between the National Salvation Army and the Eighth Route Army was finally intensified. If the war zone suddenly came like this, wouldn’t it be a disguised ease of their relationship?

The Chief of Staff was a little confused and quickly reminded: "Sir, will we make the National Salvation Army hold a grudge against us? As soon as we used him, we kicked him off and stabbed them in the back. Is it a bit too much?"

"And when we receive a telegram from the Eighth Route Army, we will deal with the National Salvation Army. This will definitely make outsiders feel that the war zone supports the Eighth Route Army. Maybe the Eighth Route Army will dispatch heavy troops to Yangquan and Shouyang to regain their base from the National Salvation Army..."

The commander-in-chief smiled and replied confidently: "I wish they could send troops back to Shouyang and Yangquan, and kill the country-savior army to turn the world upside down!"

"As for irritating the National Saving Army, Chief of Staff, do you think we have irritated the National Saving Army fewer times?"

"This time we encouraged the National Rescue Army to attack the Eighth Route Army's Independent Regiment, and our goal of isolating the National Rescue Army has been achieved."

"But Chief of Staff, don't forget that isolating the National Salvation Army is just the first step in the entire plan. Our ultimate goal is to kill people with a knife. After the National Salvation Army is completely isolated by us and the Eighth Route Army and without any foreign aid, let the Japanese help us get rid of them."

"If this killing strategy of using a knife can also join the Eighth Route Army, then our progress in eliminating the National Salvation Army will definitely accelerate further."

"In addition, the National Salvation Army is not a vegetarian. With the current strength of the National Salvation Army, the Eighth Route Army will definitely pay a huge price to get a bargain from them and regain their base."

"So during the entire process of killing people with a knife, whether it is the National Salvation Army, the Eighth Route Army, or the Japanese, they will lose their troops and generals in the back and forth battles."

"For the war zone, no matter who their strength is damaged, we are happy to see..."

The Chief of Staff understood.

When he was still focusing on the game of chess in front of him, the commander-in-chief had already started playing another game of chess.

But I have to admit that the Commander-in-Chief's idea is very good.

If the war zone could really make a comeback and turn the other way, encourage the Eighth Route Army to counterattack Shouyang and Yangquan and regain the two bases from the Independent Regiment, the Independent Regiment and the National Salvation Army would definitely be in a state of dying...

People will die when fighting, and they will also consume a lot of materials, weapons and ammunition.

The more fierce the fight between the two sides, the weaker the strength will become, and finally let the war zone reap the benefits...

Thinking of this, the Chief of Staff’s eyes had begun to shine and supported him on the spot: “Commander-in-Chief, I understand what you think, and I fully agree with… How to reply to the telegram, please give the order!”

The commander-in-chief was very satisfied with the compliments from his subordinates and thought for a moment that he decided: "After investigation, in order to compete for territory, the National Rescue Army attacked the Independent Regiment without authorization, provoked war, and caused a large number of casualties to the Eighth Route Army, seriously undermining the united front. In order to serve as a warning, the war zone decided to demote Zhou Cheng, the commander of the National Rescue Army, from colonel to lieutenant colonel, temporarily acting as the National Rescue Army, and compensating the Eighth Route Army for losses in combat."

"As for the National Salvation Army's base, the two troops will discuss and resolve the issue by themselves, and the war zone will not interfere."

As the battle slowly ended, the main forces returned to their defense zones one after another, and the front-line command of the National Salvation Army gradually moved from the front line to Yangquan County.

Zhou Cheng was very happy that from now on, all the territory of the four counties of Pingding Yangquan, Shouyang and Xiyang will belong to him.

With territory, population, and support from the division headquarters, Zhou Cheng was confident that he would build this area into an anti-Japanese fortress that the Japanese would never be able to destroy.

"Regiment Commander, Yangquan Guard Brigade and Shouyang Guard Brigade have sent troops to take over the defensive positions that confronted the Japanese and puppet troops. The main force of the regiment participating in the attack is retreating across the board. But I think the two Guard Brigades have too few troops. If the Japanese and puppet troops do not keep their promises and suddenly send troops to attack us, the two Guard Brigades will definitely not last long." The Chief of Staff hurriedly ran into the command center to report.

"Have all the prisoners we captured in Shouyang and Yangquan sent back to Deputy Commander Tang?" Zhou Cheng asked immediately.

Chen Zhengyu nodded: "It has been sent over, and there are more than 7,000 people in total. I heard that Deputy Commander Tang has mobilized a lot of prisoners to join us!"

"Or what if they'll add them to two garrison brigades now."

"These two garrison brigades are our front-line troops against the Japanese and puppet troops, but their current troop strength is not yet half of the full force, and it will be a problem if an accident occurs."

Zhou Cheng shook his head: "They can't replenish the troops yet..."

"You must replenish the troops after passing the identification training and assessment of the recruit battalion."

"If we rashly add prisoners to the army, and there are Japanese spies hidden among these people, it would be too dangerous!"

"Don't worry, the Japanese and puppet troops will definitely not take the initiative to provoke the war now."

"It's not only because we have a verbal agreement with them that does not attack each other. If we take a step back, even if there is no such agreement, the Japanese and puppet troops will not have the strength to attack us."

"In order to send troops to kill them while we were fighting with the Independent Corps, the Japanese and puppet troops drew another five or six thousand people from the garrisons around us."

"As a result, these five or six thousand people not only did not eliminate the independent regiment, but instead fell into it, and they lost heavy losses."

"There are currently many Japanese and puppet troops left by our defense zone, with excellent equipment and strong combat effectiveness. In fact, they are strong outside and work hard at the outside. Not to mention taking the initiative to attack us, they are even problematic to protect themselves."

"So, after mobilization, we must first identify and then send to the recruit battalion for about ten days of training. Only after passing the assessment can the troops be replenished..."

After listening to the analysis of the regiment commander, Chen Zhengyu's face was much less worried and continued to report: "After statistics, this time we attacked Shouyang and Yangquan, we seized a total of 2,865 undamaged 38 large hoods, 126 light machine guns, 21 Type 92 heavy machine guns, four mountain cannons, four infantry cannons, and 19 mortars. The remaining weapons were all blown up, and the largest number were rifles. The 38 large hoods were officially built with Hanyang and more than 5,000. If they were sent to the arsenal, they would definitely be fine to repair the 4,000."

"But we also paid a huge price in the attack, especially the battle between my command of the troops and the Japanese and puppet troops in Yangquan."

"I just calculated it a little. After the seized equipment was filled with the loss, the remaining equipment was just enough for the Shouyang Guard Brigade and Yangquan Guard Brigade to form a full squad."
Chapter completed!