One was unable to catch up, and the other, from the time he entered the border of Mengxi, Heimu gradually realized how difficult his opponent was.
Before the arrival of this reinforcement, Kuroki specifically studied the situation in which the Nanzhi tank group fought against the armored force of the Eighth Route Army.
In this regard, he was very sure that if he dared to divide his forces to pursue the fleeing Eighth Route Army armored units, he would probably fall into the Eighth Route Army's follow-up trap.
Without the follow-up of the mobile heavy artillery unit, Kuroki would not dare to pursue blindly.
The key is that the heavy artillery unit has poor mobility and may not be able to keep up with armored vehicles.
In this way, history continued to repeat itself. Kuroki gave a special order not to allow pursuit. Then the Japanese were like calves licking their wounds, with their heads hanging down one by one. Under the increasingly hot temperature, they were attacked and bombarded by the Eighth Route Army.
The noisy camp.
"General!"
"Don't say anything, continue repairs, count the losses, and let the soldiers seize the time to replenish food. If you don't have the conditions to make a fire for cooking, just use some cans and compressed biscuits!"
After giving the order, Heimu turned to look at the lunch box on the small wooden table that he was about to enjoy. At this time, due to the movement caused by the Eighth Route Army's shelling, it had completely overturned to the ground, and the food inside had also flowed out.
One place.
Fortunately, the Japanese chief of staff was considerate and quickly sent another piece of food.
Kuroki breathed a long sigh of relief, suppressed the anger in his heart and picked up the lunch box again to eat. However, just as he picked up the chopsticks, there was a sudden sound of shelling.
——A team of soldiers from the Second Battalion of the Armored Corps arranged by Kong Jie once again conducted a long-range artillery raid on the Japanese camp.
Kuroki's face turned gloomy when he heard the news.
These damn Eighth Route Army troops are here again. They are really bullying people too much. He wants to tear these bastards into pieces.
Fortunately, after the first round of raids, the Japanese army strengthened their defenses and extended the outer defenses several hundred meters outward.
The temporary camp where the Japanese troops were stationed was only hit from a relatively long distance by larger-caliber artillery from the Eighth Route Army.
Overall, it's not very harmful, but it's extremely insulting.
"Reporting to the commander, this Eighth Route Army armored unit that sneaked into our camp seems to be somewhat similar to the last Eighth Route Army unit that sneaked up on us. They have quite a few combat vehicles, more than 50 of them. They just use artillery to target them from a distance.
Our army carried out a sneak attack."
Heimu gritted his teeth in hatred. He rushed to the frontier to observe in person, holding a high-power telescope to investigate from a distance.
On this vast plain terrain, his vision soon fell on the Eighth Route Army armored units on the distant horizon.
Feeling the roar of artillery fire on the opposite side, Heimu also looked slightly sideways. The artillery fire of these Eighth Route Army armored units was not ordinary.
But so far, Heimu still doesn’t understand what the Eighth Route Army’s move means.
First, a small armored unit was used to harass, and then a larger armored unit suspected to be the main force of the Eighth Route Army was used to sneak attack the camp.
"What conspiracy is hidden behind the Eighth Route Army?"
The tragedy of Nanzhi's chariot group almost being annihilated was right in front of him. Kuroki couldn't help but be careless. This sudden in-depth thought made Kuromu calm down quickly from his anger.
The entire Blackwood Chariot Brigade temporarily stayed at the camp and did not blindly pursue the attacking Eighth Route Army armored forces.
Unnamed slope area.
Inside the hidden temporary frontline command post.
The news came back quickly.
"Reporting to the detachment leader, the Second Armored Battalion received news that it had completed its second raid on the Japanese army. The Japanese still chose to stay in the camp and did not launch a strong counterattack against our army."
Kong Jie nodded, turned to look at the generals, and said with emotion: "As expected, the old devil leading the Kwantung Army's chariot unit this time is a very calm guy.
Since this little devil came into our sight, we have attacked seven or eight times.
If this was according to the temperament of that old devil Nan Zhi, he would have launched a counterattack long ago.
This new Japanese commander has been able to remain stable until now. It seems that he really made a mistake!"
The old devil, Shady, plays it safe and steady. He will never take action rashly before he has found out the specific situation of the Eighth Route Army's armored forces. This is indeed a safe way.
The Japanese forces are not scattered, and there are mobile heavy artillery units that can follow up at any time.
Although Kong Jie and Li Yunlong can carry out long-range bombardment from time to time, or local small-scale raids, for the entire Blackwood Chariot Brigade, it is always insignificant.
It is unrealistic to completely defeat the Japanese in this way.
If time continues, this armored unit of the Eighth Route Army will be completely exposed to the Japanese army's sight.
There is not much time left for Kong Jie and Li Yunlong in this battle.
In the end, Li Yunlong thought about it and came up with a solution.
After listening to Li Yunlong's idea, all the generals frowned and laughed together.
Soon.
The old Japanese soldier Kuroki, who was still resting in the temporary camp, received an unexpected gift.
This gift was specially sent by a group of traitors.
A group of traitors were searched by the guards and brought to Kuroki.
The traitor leader revealed his identity to Kuroki. He was the company commander of the Imperial Alliance Army of the Nanzhi Chariot Unit. He was accidentally captured because of his injuries.
A team of flesh-and-blood bodies that have been searched without any weapons poses no threat to the Blackwood Chariot Brigade. Blackwood is currently also eager to learn more information about its opponents.
He asked: "How much do you know about the Eighth Route Army troops opposite?"
The traitor leader replied: "Taijun, those are the armored troops of the Eighth Route Army. They are very powerful. Taijun Nanzhi was defeated by them all."
"Baga, what I want is information about the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side, not your nonsense!" Heimu said angrily.
"Hi!" The traitor leader was startled and quickly replied: "Taijun, there are two commanders of the Eighth Route Army opposite, one is named Kong Jie and the other is named Li Yunlong."
"Kong Jie, Li Yunlong..."
Major General Kuroki was thinking about it, and the Japanese chief of staff on the side reminded: "General, we have seen these two names in the list of enemy generals who must be killed by the headquarters.
Kong Jie and Li Yunlong seem to be Eighth Route Army generals in the Taihang area.
I heard that Commander Okamura hated these two people, especially the one named Kong Jie.
The North China Front even offered a high reward of 200,000 yuan for Kong Jie's head.
I didn't expect them to come here!"
Kuroki nodded. He didn't expect his opponent to be so well-established. The amount of 200,000 also shocked him. Even a mid-level and high-level Japanese general like him is actually very clean financially. p>
Not to mention that if they could really defeat this armored force of the Eighth Route Army, they could even capture Kong Jie and Li Yunlong alive and present them to the Commander-in-Chief...
As he thought about it, Kuroki felt a little dizzy for a moment.
"General, I heard that these two people are notoriously difficult to deal with. Even the First Army was lost to them many times. I'm afraid we have met our opponent this time!"
The words of the Japanese chief of staff brought Kuroki back to reality.
Heimu looked at the traitor leader and asked, "Then why did Kong Jie and Li Yunlong let you back?"
The traitor leader turned around and took a floral skirt from a traitor behind him, and then said to Kuroki: "Taijun, the Eighth Route Army deliberately let us come back to bring you a message.
It is the Eighth Route Army commander Li Yunlong who asked us to give you a message."
"Baga, tell me!" Heimu shouted in a deep voice. He wanted to hear what Li Yunlong had to say to him.
The traitor leader responded, imitated Li Yunlong's tone, picked up the manuscript Li Yunlong wrote for him, and read vividly: "Hey, little devil, I am Li Yunlong, and I am the king of heaven who can kill you.
You seniors of the Kwantung Army were once beaten to a pulp by me in Shanxi.
In my opinion, the little devils in Shanxi are not worth mentioning at all, and their combat effectiveness is probably not even second-rate.
I originally thought that your Kwantung Army is known as the elite of the Japanese army, the flower of the imperial army, and its combat effectiveness should be good, but I did not expect that it would be such garbage, which is disappointing.
This time I heard that your Kwantung Army sent over an elite tank force. I hope you won’t disappoint me again.
According to the direction of your march, there is a large plain 20 miles ahead. The scenery is just right and the terrain is open, suitable for a decisive battle between the two armies.
I won’t play any nonsense with you either.
If you are still bloody soldiers, let’s have a life-and-death battle in that area and kill him happily!
Oh, by the way, I can understand if you are really afraid of death, and we won’t force it. I, Li Yunlong, have a principle and never hit a woman.
The Japanese commander opposite, if you are willing to wear this floral skirt I gave you and pretend to be a woman, I may consider sparing your life and clearing the way for you!
Also, I would like to remind you that there is not much time left for you. If you do not have the courage to fight decisively, I, Li Yunlong, will not bother to fight with cowards like you.
I will lead the troops to evacuate immediately. I won’t play with you after this time!”
The voice stopped suddenly, and the old devil Hei Mu's face was so gloomy that he was about to drip.
"General, how dare the Eighth Route Army take the initiative to invite our army for a decisive battle! What are they planning?"
Heimu did not answer immediately, but looked at the traitor leader: "Did you find any other information? Did the Eighth Route Army have any traps in that area?"
The traitors all shook their heads. They really didn't know the situation.
Kuroki waved his hand impatiently, and after driving away the traitors, he immediately unfolded the military map of the area, and then found the plain area on the detailed map.
"It's a plain terrain!" the Japanese chief of staff said.
"This is a detailed map specially drawn by the Mongolian troops who have been conducting reconnaissance here for many years. The terrain is absolutely unmistakable."
"That's strange. Such a plain terrain is indeed open, especially suitable for developing armor advantages, mobility advantages, and artillery advantages.
Why did the Eighth Route Army choose to start a decisive battle with our army in this area?
Is it possible that they really have any confidence to compete with our army in a head-on confrontation?"
Kuroki suddenly became hesitant.
But when I think about this trip, I led the elite tanks to trek over a long distance in accordance with the orders of the headquarters, in order to fight the Eighth Route Army decisively and eliminate them in one fell swoop!
The weather is getting hotter and hotter now. If we don't seize the time to wipe out these Eighth Route Army troops in one fell swoop, we don't know how much suffering we will suffer.
If Kong Jie and Li Yunlong are really like what they said in the message they brought, they will immediately choose to evacuate without a decisive battle.
The pursuit along the way was a waste of time, and the old soldier Heimu had already realized how powerful this Eighth Route Army armored force was in mobility.
Once this group of eight is determined to escape, Kuroki will not have the confidence to stop them.
Your Excellency, Commander, will never be able to complete your mission.
This time he led the armored troops to mobilize troops, but all previous efforts would also be in vain.
Looking up again, I saw the floral skirt that was thrown away in a corner.
It seems to be filled with ridicule.
The anger in his heart was ignited again. Heimu no longer hesitated, but still maintained a cautious temper. He sent several reconnaissance troops in advance to conduct reconnaissance in the area mentioned by Kong Jie and Li Yunlong.
Soon after, Kuroki received news from the reconnaissance team:
The area mentioned by the Eighth Route Army is indeed a plain terrain, with green grass at a glance. It can be detected from a distance, and indeed an armored unit of the Eighth Route Army is staying there.
The entire grassland is open and flat on all sides, except for a gentle slope on the west.
Heimu analyzed suspiciously: "In such a terrain, the Eighth Route Army cannot take advantage of it. What on earth do they want to do?"
The Japanese chief of staff tried to say: "Chinese military art emphasizes waiting for work at ease. Our army traveled a long distance and waited for work at ease on the Eighth Route Army. Perhaps this was the plan."
Boom——
The two old Japanese were analyzing the situation when the sound of artillery shelling came again, and the soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Eighth Route Army Armored Corps launched another sneak attack.
When Kuroki investigated the situation with a dark face, the communications soldier came to report:
"Reporting to the commander, the situation of the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack is similar to the previous two times. The Eighth Route Army's armored units that sneak attacked our army at this moment are withdrawing eastward!"
"General, that is the area where Kong Jie and Li Yunlong agreed to fight our army!" the Japanese chief of staff reminded.
"Asshole!"
Heimu cursed twice and finally made up his mind to destroy this Eighth Route Army armored force in one fell swoop in the next decisive battle.
However, this old devil is still cautious and has not been carried away by anger.
"Carefully investigate the movement routes of the evacuated Eighth Route Army armored forces to ensure that our army will not fall into the Eighth Route Army's minefield traps as it advances."
Heimu has already learned about this. The Eighth Route Army seems to have many newly developed and powerful anti-tank mines. Because of this, that idiot Nan Zhi suffered a big loss at the hands of the Eighth Route Army.
He doesn't want to make the same mistake again.
Then, during the on-site reconnaissance of the terrain, Kuroki noticed a raised soil slope to the west of the plain terrain chosen by the Eighth Route Army.
Realizing that compared to the flatness on all sides of that area, this slope may be put to good use, and heavy artillery positions may be located in that slope area.
Let the naturally raised soil slopes serve as excellent artillery fire shelters.
The frontline reconnaissance force also received news that the evacuated armored troops of the Eighth Route Army drove all the way from that slope, which is enough to prove that there were no mine traps set by the Eighth Route Army along the way.
In this case...
"Xinxi, these damn bastards, if you want a decisive battle, let's do it! I, the elite tanks of the Imperial Japanese Empire, will definitely tear them to pieces!"