In a conference room temporarily cleared by the security forces, seven or eight captains and the commander of the puppet army sat around two tables with serious faces, quietly waiting for the arrival of the chief of staff.
"Hello, sir..."
The moment the chief of staff appeared at the door, all the officers stood up from their chairs, their faces full of respect.
"Everyone sit down..." the chief of staff looked very unhappy and pressed his hands to order.
"Tell each one how many troops we lost in the artillery raid just now..."
The captain, who was sitting first under the chief of staff, stood up first and reported seriously: "Sir..."
"The station where I was working was attacked by at least six mountain field guns of the Eighth Route Army. The enemy fired a total of five rounds and 30 shells, all of which hit the station and destroyed many barracks..."
"Many soldiers were buried in the ruins..."
"After final statistics, we have killed a total of 69 imperial soldiers, seriously injured 18 people, and directly lost half an infantry squadron..."
This result was still within the acceptable range of the chief of staff. Although his expression was very ugly, he did not get angry and immediately turned his attention to the next captain.
"Report to the commander..." The captain, who was targeted by the chief of staff, quickly stood up from his chair.
"When the county seat was attacked by artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army, we defended the city..."
"We were attacked by at least fifteen mortars from the Eighth Route Army."
"They fired a total of six 90-round artillery shells, and more than 30% of the artillery shells hit the city head."
"Because we took over the city defenses in a hurry and didn't have time to build the fortifications, the city was empty."
"As a result, the troops did not even have a hiding place after being hit by artillery fire, so the casualties of the troops were a bit heavy."
"A total of 104 imperial soldiers were killed and 21 were seriously injured..."
Hearing this, the chief of staff frowned visibly, but did not get angry and continued to look at the next captain.
"Report to the commander..." The squadron leader who was targeted quickly stood up.
"Our garrison is relatively scattered, and because the garrison is too small, many troops are stationed next to the garrison."
"Although they were also attacked by six enemy mountain field guns and many barracks were destroyed, only 41 people were killed, 12 were seriously injured, and about one infantry squad was directly lost."
The chief of staff's frown suddenly relaxed a lot.
But he was happy for only ten seconds before he was brought back to reality by the next captain's report, and Shu Zhang's brows wrinkled again.
"Sir, our unit was attacked by a large number of mortars from the Eighth Route Army on the top of the city. A total of 148 people were killed, 25 were seriously injured, and an infantry squadron was directly lost..."
"Taijun, our Imperial Army assisted the Imperial Army in defending the city. We were attacked by a large number of mortars from the Eighth Route Army. 168 people were killed, 41 were seriously injured, and two companies were directly lost..." A puppet army commander stood up and reported.
As the casualty data reported by his subordinates became larger and larger, the expression on the chief of staff's face became more and more serious.
After the last subordinate finished his report, the chief of staff's clenched fist hit the table in front of him with a "bang..." sound.
His face was flushed red, and he looked like an angry lion, roaring loudly: "Bagya Road..."
"This is the second time the Eighth Route Army guerrilla brigade has attacked us."
"Coupled with the battle losses in the afternoon, we lost nearly a brigade of the imperial army without even seeing them face to face..."
"It's unbearable..."
"I must find them and eliminate them..."
The chief of staff was irritated. He slapped the map on the table and asked sternly: "Tell me everything..."
"How will we fight tomorrow..."
"How to find the guerrilla brigade in Fangshan and annihilate them all."
A group captain stood up and suggested: "We can ask for aviation support..."
"Let them dispatch the aircraft fleet Fangshan to conduct low-altitude reconnaissance..."
"Send out reconnaissance troops to find the Eighth Route Army artillery positions that just attacked us, and follow the traces they left behind when they retreated. Maybe we can find the real location of the guerrilla brigade."
"We also need the intelligence agencies to take action together and help us search for the guerrilla brigade."
"Their total strength exceeds two to three thousand, not two to three hundred. No matter where they hide, they cannot be silent. They will always leave some traces."
"As long as we find these traces and follow the clues, we will definitely find the Eighth Route Army guerrilla brigade."
"If we send out the main force to kill them, we will definitely annihilate them all."
"I object..." Another captain immediately stood up and retorted.
"If we only send out the reconnaissance force and leave the main force in Fangshan..."
"Even if the reconnaissance force is attacked by the guerrilla brigade and the main force kills them immediately, there is a high chance that we will miss them."
"Maybe there is an Eighth Route Army reconnaissance unit lurking outside the city. As soon as our main force is dispatched, they will receive the news and move the troops."
"More importantly, if the guerrilla brigade sees that the situation is bad and takes the opportunity to hide in the mountains, it will be difficult for us to eliminate them."
"So we may only have one chance to completely wipe out the guerrilla brigade."
"I suggest that the main force be sent out."
"Use the brigade as a unit, spaced ten kilometers apart from each other, attack directly to the west of Fangshan, and sweep across this large area."
"If we can find the main force of the guerrilla brigade, we will fight decisively. If we can't find it, we will block their retreat into the mountains."
"Then we'll sweep in other directions."
The captain who was the first to stand up retorted: "I don't agree with dividing the troops to raid the guerrilla brigade..."
"Don't forget, everyone, the guerrilla brigade has the strength to eat up our reinforced brigade in one bite."
"Our division of troops to carry out raids is tantamount to creating various fighter planes for the Eighth Route Army to defeat us."
The chief of staff seemed to understand what his subordinates were thinking, and suddenly interjected: "I wish they would come over and besiege our mopping up troops..."
"This way we can take the opportunity to surround them and eliminate them..."
After saying that, he turned his attention to the captain who proposed to divide the troops for a raid, and asked with a thoughtful look on his face: "You put the raid troops ten kilometers apart from each other, probably so that after an accident occurs to one raid team, the nearest two routes
The mopping up troops can quickly reinforce the battlefield!"
"Sir is wise!" the captain replied flatteringly.
At this time, Dan once again spoke to the captain who had divided his troops to attack: "What about Fangshan County..."
"Including the casualties just now, we already have more than 300 seriously injured people in our hands. We definitely can't march with them..."
"But if they are left in Fangshan, heavy troops will be deployed to protect them to prevent the guerrilla brigade from killing Fangshan and turning around..."
"In this case..."
"We don't have many troops to mop up the guerrilla brigade. If we divide the troops further, I'm afraid that if one of the mopping up troops is besieged, they won't be able to last even two hours."
