The attack by Ding Qiu's troops did not go smoothly. Although the city gate was successfully breached, the stubborn resistance of the Japanese army in the room caused heavy losses to the Eighth Route Army, which had little experience in attacking fortresses.
"Captain, the losses of the Second Battalion are too great. The Japs' marksmanship is very accurate. We can't defeat the town government. Why don't we withdraw first." The chief of staff came down from the front line and said hurriedly.
"No, the fight has reached this point. If we can't win, all our sacrifices will be in vain." Ding Qiu said anxiously, "Let's go and take a look."
The town government is actually just a compound, but the masonry structure, the various shooting points that have been set up long ago, and the grenade cans that have been marked with gun metadata prevent the surrounding soldiers from approaching.
"Commander, look, there are at least thirty Japanese and hundreds of puppet troops here." The second battalion commander pointed at the surrounded compound and said.
"We don't have much time. Once night comes, our attack will be more difficult." Ding Qiu looked at it and said, "Who is familiar with the terrain?"
"I, the regiment commander, I did hard labor two months ago." said a veteran who looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was not wearing the military uniform of the Eighth Route Army, but only wore a military cap to mark his military status.
He didn't have a gun in his hand, but a big knife. At this time, due to the expansion of the Eighth Route Army, a large number of people still couldn't get guns.
"In your opinion, which direction is the easiest to attack?" Ding Qiu asked.
"To the west, there is a garden to the west, and the defense there is the weakest." The veteran said immediately, "But there is a machine gun point there, which is difficult for our mortars to hit."
Ding Qiu hesitated for a moment, slammed his hat and shouted, "No, bring over the recoilless rifle, cover it with mortars, and shoot the recoilless rifle through the outer wall. The second and first battalions prepare death squads. All battalion-level and below
Party members must participate, do you understand?"
"Yes!" everyone shouted loudly.
In the basement of the compound, Deng Lin looked anxiously at the Japanese squadron leader with a serious look on his face, "Captain Dongshi, how are you? When will the imperial army come to support?"
Squadron Leader Dong Shi looked at the reply and kept staying. He couldn't believe that the imperial army all over Shanxi was actually encountering such a difficult situation at this time.
——Taiyuan
Bunzaburo Kawagishi, who had not slept for two days and two nights, looked expressionlessly at the strategic map on the wall that was constantly being written and drawn by the staff. Countless red dots representing the Japanese army were surrounded by blue arrows, especially Yuncheng.
The area to the south is being besieged by more than 100,000 Jinsui troops. The Japanese troops guarding there are no more than one regiment after another. If it were not for the large number of North China security forces cooperating, they might have been lost.
"Report, call from Yangquan, guerrillas have appeared in Pingping, Pingding, Yexi, and Hedi. Among them, Pingping and Yexi have been conquered by the guerrillas. They are making a final stand and requesting reinforcements from the division and regiment headquarters." A staff officer said loudly.
.
"Huh, what a huge battle. In just three days, the entire Shanxi Province will be overturned by the Chinese guerrillas and the remnants of the Shanxi-Sui Army. How many counties is it now? Are 40 counties or 50 counties under siege?
Reinforcements, where can I get reinforcements?" Bunzaburo Kawagishi said in a depressed tone.
"Division Commander, what should we do? If this continues, many stations will be breached." Chief of Staff Kimura Hisashi said.
Bunzaburo Kawagishi didn't answer and asked, "Has the headquarters received a call back?"
Kimura Kizou shook his head and said, "Not yet."
A communications soldier rushed in, saluted and said loudly, "Report, a call from the headquarters. The 108th Division and the 109th Division are on the way to reinforce and are expected to enter Shanxi in three days at the earliest."
When Bunzaburo Kawagishi heard this, a smile bloomed on his face and said, "Okay, okay, then we won't be afraid anymore. Let all localities abandon the towns and defend the county with all their strength. The guerrillas in those towns are all to attract our attention. Don't
Leave them alone, our real opponent is Yan Xishan who is attacking Yuncheng and Linfen. Let the 109th Division move to Linfen as soon as possible, and then work with us to completely drive Yan Xishan out of Shanxi and make Shanxi completely our royal paradise.
"
Kimura Jiuzou asked worriedly, "Do you really don't need to worry about those Eighth Route Army?"
Bunzaburo Kawagishi chuckled and said, "When the time comes, we will have three divisions. Do we still need to be afraid of the guerrillas with big swords? This means that if you want to take something, you must fight it first."
Kimura Kizou then nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. The division commander has a high strategic vision."
——Pingzhen
Two recoilless rifles were brought over, and two shells easily blew a hole in the wall, but it was not over yet. In order to ensure a success, they fired two more rounds and made three holes before giving up.
"Smoke bombs!!" Ding Qiu shouted, but he felt bitter in his heart. These shells could only be supplied by Yan'an, and every shot was missing. It was really heartbreaking.
The mortar fired two shells with a "bang", countless smoke came out, and the Japanese machine gun fire suddenly became panicked.
"Comrades, rush." I don't know who was the first to rush. Countless figures rushed in. After a huge explosion, the annoying sound of Japanese machine gunfire finally disappeared.
"Grenade!" shouted a squad leader. Two smoking grenades were thrown into the room.
With a "boom", a bloody figure was blown out together with countless pieces of messy furniture and wood.
"Did you see it? Houses like this have to be cleared one by one with grenades. You have to wait a while before throwing the grenades, otherwise they will be thrown back. Also, don't think that everything will be fine if one person dies. There may be others inside.
There is one." The old squad leader led the soldiers to attack while teaching on the spot.
After saying that, the old squad leader kicked open the door and quickly ducked aside.
"Pop!" A bullet grazed the old squad leader's clothes and flew over.
"I know that bad guys have a long life, and I can't kill you with one blow. Charge!" the old squad leader said, shooting in the direction where he just fired, and then rushed in quickly. Two other soldiers rushed in, and the other two
One man stood guard at the door to ensure a way out.
I only saw a frightened Japanese soldier in the room holding a rifle and shooting behind a stone table. It was this table that saved his life just now. Seeing that the old squad leader and others had come in, he quickly grabbed the rifle and stabbed the old squad leader coldly.
With a snort, he blocked the enemy's attack.
"Fuck you." The old squad leader kicked the devil in the stomach. The devil was kicked like a bent shrimp and fell to the ground.
The old squad leader did not underestimate the enemy. He first knocked the Japanese out with his rifle and then carefully checked other places in the room where people could hide. He found that no one could look at the two soldiers who had tied up the Japanese with peace of mind.
"Damn, it's easy for him. You two stay, small coal mine, local cattle, let's go." The old squad leader took a rest and continued to lead the two soldiers to fight inside.
After about an hour, the gunfire in the yard disappeared.
Ding Qiu looked at Deng Lin, who was so frightened that he was pissing and urinating, and the Japanese officer who had committed suicide. He shook his head and said, "Leave this traitor to the common people, clean up the battlefield immediately, and prepare to retreat."
——Yan'an
Jiang Cheng looked at the summary of battle reports from various places, thought for a while and said, "Chairman, don't we occupy even a single city?"
Chairman Mao smiled and said, "Now we have to fight it down. The main force of the Japs is here. Can we hold it? Why don't we give it to the Japs and let these places become our warehouses? If we run out of things, we will go and fight them down. And a county must have at least one
Two hundred Japanese troops are stationed here, how much mobile strength do you think the Japanese troops will have?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "It just feels like a pity."
Chairman Mao waved his hand and said, "It's not a pity, it's not a pity. These devils were really killed. Talents are the most important."
Xiao Wang knocked on the door and said, "Chairman, telegram."
Chairman Mao said, "Bring it in." He took the telegram and read it. After reading it, he smiled and said, "Boss Zhu said that the Japanese reinforcements have finally moved. Two divisions are heading towards Shanxi. Our Commander Yan's head is hurting again.
"
Jiang Cheng asked, "What should we do? Should we retreat now?"
Chairman Mao shook his head and said, "We can't retreat now. Mr. Zhu means the same thing as me. The Japanese are eager to rescue, but they are giving us an opportunity. The base areas across Hebei can be mobilized. We must give these two divisions a permanent peace."
An unforgettable journey into death!!”
After getting down to business, Chairman Mao said, "You came to my place as soon as you came back. I'm afraid someone will be angry. I won't keep you today. Go and see your people."
Jiang Cheng smiled sheepishly and did not refuse, but nodded and left.
Jiang Cheng came to his own yard, but before he could reach it, he was spotted by the sharp-eyed Li Qian.
"My boss is back." Li Qian flew over like a swallow, wanting to make some more intimate moves but she didn't dare.
Jiang Cheng smiled, touched Li Qian's head, and asked as he walked, "How was it? Was it hard along the way? Have you met your senior brother?"
Li Qian stuck out her tongue and said, "Fortunately, my senior brother went to Wuhan and we only met him once."
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "Vice Chairman Zhou is very busy and there will be many opportunities in the future. How is Yishan? Has the doctor come to see her?"
Li Qian nodded and said, "A medical team from India came to Yan'an. The chairman immediately asked them to check Sister Yishan's body, but Sister Yishan was still mentally tortured, so there was nothing they could do."
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "I understand, it's okay. Where are the people from Wei?"
Jin Shan next to him said, "Wei Guo should be at the school at this time. As soon as he came and heard that there was a military academy here, he immediately went to observe."
Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "You know that studying is a good thing. You all should get used to it here."
Bashun said with a grimace, "Although the food here is not good, it's acceptable, but it's too boring. Boss, when are we going to fight the Japanese again?"
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and said, "Huang Biao has said it several times. He is the one who is going to go this time. You should be honest and guard the warehouse for a while."
Bashun immediately shouted, "I'm just wondering why that guy saw me looking like I was seeing a mother-in-law. It turns out that's what happened."
Jiang Cheng said, "I'm going to see Yishan, you can go and do your own work." After that, he went to Yu Yishan's room under the leadership of Li Qian.
Looking at Yu Yishan, who was still lying quietly on the bed, Jiang Cheng sighed, let Li Qian leave, held Yu Yishan's hand again, and began to talk about what happened during this period.
The 108th and 109th Divisions on the other side began to advance towards Shanxi, but this journey was extremely difficult.
After a "bang" explosion, the train stopped again. Several officers and train staff walked down, looked at the blasted railway track, and sighed.
"Pop" "Pap" bullets flying from nowhere hit the glass of the train, frightening the Japanese soldiers to get out of the car and prepare to fight.
"Why are you panicking? Go back, go back!" The officer who came down first shouted loudly and drove the people back.
"What should we do? It's been a day and we have walked less than forty miles. How long will it take to reach Shanxi at this speed?" A Japanese officer said anxiously.
"I think we might as well not take the train and walk." An officer said with an idea.
"To put it simply, what should we do with our cannons? Shouldn't we all use rifles instead of heavy weapons?" Another officer laughed.
"Okay, let's send our situation to the division commander and let the division commander decide. In addition, if we send out scouts again, why are there still guerrillas? All the scouts in front should go to military court. Huh!"
The officer said dissatisfiedly.
However, there was no good news from the scouts on the front line. No bombs were found under the railroad tracks, because there were no railroad tracks at all. Hundreds of meters of railroad tracks were gone, and only the foundations were left.
On the railway, the Japanese scouts were dumbfounded. Such news immediately stopped the discussion. All the Japanese troops got off the train, dismantled their heavy weapons, and marched on foot with men and horses.
"Haha, good job. I see, the little Japs went to Shanxi not to fight, but to collect the bodies of the Japs." Luo Ronghuan said with a smile while reading the telegram.
"Well, the intensity of the strike can be higher, but we must be careful not to bite the tail. We can fight like this by taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese are eager to rescue and are unwilling to entangle with us." Lin Sanhu patted his clothes and said.
"Commander, don't worry. Each of our commanders and fighters is more clever than the last." Luo Ronghuan said with a smile when he saw that Lin Sanhu seemed to have moved on from the Zhou Kun incident.
——Ji County
Yan Xishan, who received the news almost at the same time, was shaken in his heart. The 100,000 Shanxi-Sui army had been fighting for almost three days and had only captured various small towns and counties. The most important targets, Linfen and Yuncheng, had not made any progress at all. The Japanese army had
The defensive power far exceeded his imagination, and nearly 10,000 casualties were incurred, but there was no hope of victory.
Yan Xishan sighed and said, "Order, Yang Aiyuan's troops retreat to Yuncheng, and cooperate with Wei Lihuang's troops to attack Yuncheng. If two of them can't be defeated, we will just fight one. I don't believe that this little devil is really made of iron."
"
——Chen Liukou
"Vulnerable, vulnerable, the Chinese troops are really vulnerable. Hahahaha." Looking at the Nationalist Army being crushed by tanks, Xiangyue Qingji laughed, feeling very happy in his heart.
"Your Excellency, Commander, this is an urgent telegram from General Juichi Terauchi." Kenji Doihara, with an ashen complexion, handed the telegram to Seiji Kozuki.
Xiangyue Qingji twisted his mouth, took the telegram, read it quickly, and cursed loudly, "Waste, waste, can't they even do it even if they persist?"
It turned out that when Terauchi saw that Tang Enbo had successfully broken through the encirclement, he felt that the purpose of the Battle of Xuzhou could no longer be achieved, so he asked Xiang Yue Qingsi to prepare to retreat, and also stated in the telegram that Xiang Yue Qingsi would be held responsible for violating military orders.
"Your Excellency, Commander, what should we do?" Kenji Doihara asked worriedly, "Should we retreat directly from Chenliukou?"
"No!! Absolutely not." Xiangzuki Seiji said calmly, "If we return without success, then Juichi Terauchi will definitely take action on us. It's like doing business now. We were originally planning to make a hundred thousand, but we found out that because of us
If we can’t make any money from our actions, then the only way is for us to make 10,000. At that time, the country will only say that we are heroes and criticize Juichi Terauchi.”
Doihara Kenji nodded and said, "Then let's continue according to the original plan."
Xiangyue Qingsi looked to the south and said, "First capture Lanfeng, then attack Kaifeng. As long as we can capture Kaifeng, we will have achieved success."
