Chapter 62 Issuing a Challenge

Chapter 62: Issuing a Letter of Challenge

"Commander, I suggest you don't kill all the Japanese and puppet troops before us. Leave one alive, write a letter of challenge, and have the survivor deliver it to Ichiro Hirata," Wu Ze continued advising Li Yunron. "Make the challenge as arrogant as you possibly can. There is only one principle: provoke Hirata Ichiro into sending out as many troops as possible, the more the better."

"Wu Ze, why don't you write this challenge letter yourself?" Li Yunlong's eyes lit up once more. Wu Ze's suggestion, combined with the water attack, was simply peerless.

Once that massive canyon was filled and breached, the roaring torrents of mountain water would rush down like a collapsing mountain.

No matter how many Japanese and puppet troops came, every last one of them would perish.

In the past, when facing encirclement and suppression by the Japanese and puppet troops, they always hoped the enemy would send as few soldiers as possible.

But now, they wished Hirata Ichiro would immediately petition Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka of the First Army to send eighty or a hundred thousand Japanese and puppet troops—the more, the better, even if it meant dispatching the Emperor's personal guard.

"Commander, I'm not very familiar with Hirata Ichiro's temperament. How about you dictate, and I write?" Wu Ze said.

Wu Ze was quite proficient in traditional characters as well.

Actually, the most suitable person for this task should have been Zhong Zhicheng, the deputy commander of the New First Regiment.

Zhong Zhicheng excelled at psychological warfare, and his literary foundation was undoubtedly solid enough.

If Zhong Zhicheng were to write it, the effect would certainly be exceptional.

However, this plan was of such monumental significance that the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

If Zhong Zhicheng knew, he would inevitably report it upward.

The more links there were in the chain of intelligence transmission, the easier it was for secrets to leak.

Once leaked, let alone drowning the Japanese and puppet troops, the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment would truly become the modern equivalents of Ma Su.

The Brigade Commander's instruction to Li Yunlong was that as long as they could win battles, whatever happened, the Brigade Commander would cover for him.

It was precisely because of this that Li Yunlong dared to act with such audacity.

For the task at hand, Li Yunlong was the most appropriate person to execute it.

Even Kong Jie of the Independent Regiment was unsuited for it.

"Alright, alright, alright," Li Yunlong agreed readily. He knew that little Japanese bastard Hirata Ichiro very well; he must miss his mother dearly.

In the letter of challenge, on the one hand, they would exaggerate the strength of the New First Regiment, and on the other hand, they would send their warmest regards to Hirata Ichiro's mother. This would undoubtedly piss that little Japanese bastard off to the point where he'd jump through the roof.

"Very well then, time is pressing, let's write it now." Wu Ze took out paper and pen.

"Alright, start the opening with: 'Hirata Ichiro, you sent over three thousand men just wanting to wipe out my New First Regiment? Just how damn low do you think of my New First Regiment, you bastard? I'm not afraid of exposing our strength, so I'll lay my cards on the table with you—the manpower of my New First Regiment is already on par with the Shanxi-Suiyuan 358th Regiment...'"

"'Hirata Ichiro, when it comes to fighting wars, we Chinese are the ancestors of you little Japanese. The military treatises left behind by our ancestors clearly state that to fight an encirclement campaign, you need ten times the numerical strength. When you raise troops for revenge next time, don't skimp on the troop numbers! If you send too few, I, your grandfather, will look down on you!'"

"'Hirata Ichiro, is your mother still doing well? I heard your old man died early, and your mother raised you with great difficulty. With you not by her side, your mother must surely... What is that old saying we have in China? Ah yes, right, a widow's doorstep sees many visitors. Is your mother currently surrounded by a crowd of big, burly men?'"

"'If that really is the case, then that's not too good. I'm not sure if your little Japanese lack of female virtue gets looked down upon by others, but you'd better pay attention. When you finally go home and your mother asks you to pick a father out from among a crowd of strapping men, you'll need to watch out. Old Li here is kindly reminding you so you can mentally prepare yourself in advance.'"

...

As Wu Ze wrote, he struggled to hold back his laughter.

He truly never expected that Old Li's swearing skills were utterly consummate, possessing both profound depth and artistic conception.

"Wu Ze, how is it? How do you like my challenge letter?" Li Yunlong stopped and looked as Wu Ze filled the entire sheet of paper.

"Mm, not bad. After receiving this letter of challenge, Hirata Ichiro will surely be so angry his lungs burst," Wu Ze nodded.

"Do you want to add a few more lines to it?" Li Yunlong looked at Wu Ze.

"No need, Commander, this challenge letter of yours is already plenty."

"Very well then, hand it over." Li Yunlong took the letter of challenge handed over by Wu Ze. After folding it neatly, he called out, "Xiao Wu, come over here."

"Commander, what are your orders?" Xiao Wu hurried over.

Handing the letter of challenge to Xiao Wu, Li Yunlong said, "Take this letter and catch up with Zhang Dabiao. Tell Zhang Dabiao not to kill all the Japanese and puppet troops, but to leave one alive and have that survivor deliver the challenge letter to Hirata Ichiro."

"Yes!" Xiao Wu took the letter of challenge and sprinted off.

"Wu Ze, how many troops do you guess that little Japanese bastard Hirata Ichiro will send?" Li Yunlong asked with an expectant smile.

"That's hard to say," Wu Ze shook his head. "However, once this battle is fought, the overall situation for the 386th Brigade will finally open up."

Currently, the situation of the 386th Brigade was precarious, surviving in the cracks with strong enemy forces on all four sides.

Had it not been for the Brigade Commander's exceptional command abilities, the 386th Brigade would never have been able to establish a foothold.

"The situation of the 386th Brigade will open up?" Li Yunlong didn't quite catch Wu Ze's meaning. "Wu Ze, how can this battle help open up the situation for the 386th Brigade?"

Listening to Wu Ze, did this battle actually mean helping the Brigade Commander fight a larger strategic game?

"Commander, think about it," Wu Ze smiled. "After Hirata Ichiro receives this letter, putting aside the fact that he'll be driven mad with rage, even his superiors won't be able to swallow the grievance of over three thousand Japanese and puppet troops being annihilated by the New First Regiment. By then, heavy enemy forces from nearby surrounding areas—such as Anhua County, Ping'an County, and others—will be redeployed. Once these enemy forces are transferred away, do you think units like the Shanxi-Suiyuan 358th Regiment, the 321st Regiment, and the Nationalist Central Army's 217th Regiment are going to sit around idly..."

This was just like Li Yunlong attacking Ping'an County in the television drama. Li Yunlong's forces launched a fierce assault on Ping'an County.

In order to rescue the remnants of Yamamoto's Special Operations Team, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka of the Japanese First Army mobilized heavy reinforcements from various directions to support Ping'an County.

Once the Japanese reinforcements moved, it affected the entire strategic layout.

Various anti-Japanese forces immediately sprang into action upon hearing the news. Whether it was the Eighth Route Army, the Nationalist Central Army, or the Shanxi-Suiyuan forces, everyone united instantly.

Having been beaten quite badly by the Japanese on ordinary days, they had all been harboring deep-seated fury in their hearts.

Now that the Japanese were marching out of their strongholds, it was the prime opportunity to deal with them. How could they let it slip by?

The various anti-Japanese forces laid siege to strongpoints and ambushed reinforcements everywhere, and all participating troops harvested a rich crop of spoils of war.

After the battle of Ping'an County, many base areas of the Eighth Route Army were linked together into a continuous whole, and the overall situation expanded dramatically.

And right now, Wu Ze's maneuver would achieve even better results than Li Yunlong's attack on Ping'an County.

When Li Yunlong attacked Ping'an County, after the Italian cannon blew Yamamoto's forces to pieces and Yoshio Shinozuka learned that the special forces' remnants had been wiped out, he ordered the various reinforcements to retreat while their strength remained intact.

As for Wu Ze's current scheme, due to the terrain, while the various enemy reinforcements would arrive very quickly and most anti-Japanese forces wouldn't have time to block them beforehand, it didn't matter—no matter how many came, they would all die.

Once the various reinforcements were eliminated, the strongholds they previously defended would be left empty, and the anti-Japanese forces would seize the opportunity to uproot them.

Therefore, through this move by Wu Ze, the formidable enemies surrounding the 386th Brigade would be thoroughly cleared out. Relying on the Brigade Commander's capabilities, he would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to expand the fruits of victory, completely opening up the strategic situation of the 386th Brigade.

When the time came, with such massive merits in hand, let alone the Brigade Commander, even the General Headquarters wouldn't do anything to Li Yunlong.

Before Wu Ze could finish speaking, Li Yunlong understood: "Ah, yes, yes, Wu Ze, what you say is spot on. This battle of ours actually helps the Brigade Commander open up the situation! When the time comes, he'll have to treat us to drinks. Who knows, the General Headquarters might even commend us! Hahaha."