Ping'an County, fifty kilometers away from Qixiaguan, has been under martial law since yesterday because a big shot came to Ping'an County. He is Major General Kasahara Koizumi, commander of the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army.
The exhibition held by Yan Xishan in Kenanpo was like a slap in the face of the Japanese, especially the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade.
The Japanese army regulations clearly stipulate that if the military flag is present, the establishment remains, and if the military flag is gone, the establishment is gone.
Strictly speaking, since the flag of the Third Regiment was captured by Gao Hongming, the designation of the Third Regiment no longer exists.
But in this matter, Yoshio Shinozuka and Koizumi Kasahara played a little trick. Instead of reporting the news that the flag had been captured by the enemy to the base camp immediately, they suppressed the news.
Of course, how could such a big thing be suppressed? The news still spread to the North China Front Army and even the Chinese Expeditionary Army Headquarters, and even the base camp was alarmed.
But what is strange is that the high-level Japanese military officials would never tolerate such news about the seizure of a military flag that was maliciously suppressed, but the strange thing is that the high-level officials actually acquiesced in this matter.
It's about turning a blind eye.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand if you think about it carefully. Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has begun to advocate that the Japanese emperor will be the eternal line and will be passed down forever from generation to generation. Therefore, the emperor system has always maintained the supreme power in the spiritual, cultural and religious fields.
Influence.
As the most loyal subordinates of the Japanese Emperor, the Japanese army is naturally invincible. If the news of the surrender of the military flag spreads back to the country, it will be a huge blow to the Japanese people, and it will also expose the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese Imperial Army.
It is conceivable how much excitement Yan Xishan's exhibition held in Kenanpo gave the Japanese.
Although the plan to send planes to bomb Kenanpo a few days ago was ruined by Gao Hongming's air defense company, Yoshio Shinozuka and Koizumi Kasahara were not people who gave up easily.
Don’t you have heavy anti-aircraft fire?
Well... let's have a good time on land.
You, Gao Hongming, can't stay in Kenanpo forever, can you? I'll give you a blow and set up an ambush to kill you on your way home.
After dozens of staff officers at the First Army Headquarters worked sleeplessly all night, the chief of staff, Major General Naosaburo Okabe, submitted a plan to Yoshio Shinozuka.
That is to send one or two regiments of troops to set up an ambush at Qixia Pass, the only way for Gao Hongming to return to Hongming. It is necessary to annihilate Gao Hongming and his militia and take back the regiment flag.
In this way, we can not only eliminate the thorn in Gao Hongming's side, but also solve the problem of canceling the establishment of the third wing. It can be said to be the best of both worlds.
There's just one problem with this plan, that is, a regiment of the Shanxi-Sui Army is stationed at Qixia Pass. Although this regiment is not a super-staffed regiment with more than 5,000 people like the Chu Yunfei 358 regiment stationed in Dagushan, it is still
With a small force of 2,000 troops, it will not be easy for them to capture Qixia Pass, and it may even lead to a war with the Jinsui Army.
It's not that Yoshio Shinozuka is afraid of Yan Xishan, but that various forces in Shanxi are now complex and intertwined. The Japanese Army, the Shanxi-Sui Army, the Central Army, the Eighth Route Army and as many bandits as there are are all criss-crossed.
Although the Japanese army was the strongest, because they occupied most of the territory, they had to spread more than 100,000 troops like pepper noodles to nearly a hundred counties and important railway lines. In this way, Shinozuka
There are not many troops that the righteous man can really mobilize.
Furthermore, if a large force is really mobilized, it will be difficult to hide it from others, so after thinking about it, Yoshio Shinozuka and Naosaburo Okabe decided that dispatching two regiments is already the limit, and if more, it would be impossible to keep it secret.
The most suitable unit is naturally Kasahara Koizumi's Fourth Independent Brigade. As the saying goes, know your shame and then be brave. When the Fourth Independent Brigade encounters Gao Hongming and his militia, they will definitely use their full strength.
After some secret operations and a sum of money, the Japanese bribed the commander of the Jinsui Army stationed at Qixia Pass.
The commander of the Jinsui Army withdrew his troops from Qixia Pass yesterday in the name of training, went to a place a hundred miles away for training, and came back three days later.
According to Japanese estimates, three days would be enough for them to eat Gao Hongming and his militia down to the bone.
Kasahara Koizumi, who is based in Ping'an County, is sitting in a large room that serves as the headquarters. He is sitting with a command knife in both hands. With his eyes slightly closed, it seems that he is closing his eyes to rest, but in fact his brain is spinning rapidly.
A staff officer hurried over.
"Your Excellency Major General, the battle at Qixia Pass has begun."
"Well!"
Kasahara Koizumi nodded solemnly. Based on his experience and the strength shown by the Liandai County militia, it would take at least an hour or even two hours for the Third Regiment to have a result against him.
As a brigade commander, it would be too disrespectful of one's status to go to the front line to supervise the battle in a hurry from the beginning or to inquire about the battle situation urgently.
But today's battle situation was beyond his expectation. In less than ten minutes, news from the front line came.
"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, the Third Regiment called. They are currently engaged in a fierce battle with Gao Hongming's troops. The opponent's firepower is extremely fierce, and the Third Regiment is making slow progress."
"Where's the Fourth Wing?"
"Colonel Kosuke Kiuchi of the Fourth Regiment reported that their original plan was to quickly occupy the commanding heights west of Qixia Pass after the Chinese entered the ambush circle, but they did not expect that the Chinese reacted very quickly. As soon as the battle started, their rearguard troops
We quickly occupied two highlands on the road behind us, and the Fourth Regiment is now organizing troops to attack those two highlands."
"Bagaya Road, a bunch of trash!"
Kasahara Koizumi, who was still maintaining his airs, was so angry that he cursed loudly.
Originally, in his plan, as soon as the battle started, the Third Regiment would take Gao Hongming by surprise by taking advantage of its geographical location and unexpectedness.
The unprepared Gao Hongming's front troops will definitely retreat. In this way, the third regiment can push Gao Hongming and his troops back. At the same time, the fourth regiment seizes the commanding heights on both sides of the rearguard.
With a blockade at both ends, Gao Hongming's troops were firmly surrounded in an undefended open space.
At that time, the Fourth Independent Brigade can calmly launch an attack on Gao Hongming. With the less than 3,000 troops in his hand, they will definitely collapse in less than a day.
But as the old saying goes, plans cannot keep up with changes.
Kasahara Koizumi found that as soon as the battle started, the situation slipped in an unpredictable direction.
"No...it would be too passive to continue fighting like this. The Chinese will come at any time to add more troops."
Thinking of this, Kasahara Koizumi hesitated, took a deep breath, and grabbed the phone on the table...