For safety reasons, Kawaguchi Heiji did not order an attack throughout the morning.
Even though the bombers of the Aviation Corps arrived, Kawaguchi Heiji still did not order the attack.
After all, the aircraft at this time were no better than those of later generations. Due to the lack of communication equipment, instant communication between ground and air was not possible, so the ground infantry could not guide the bombers in the sky to bomb the ground, so the Japanese bombers could only drop bombs visually, which forced
They can only select large and valuable targets.
The reason why Kawaguchi Heiji is so cautious is actually completely reasonable, because if he launches an attack rashly, he needs to take a lot of risks. What if the Dameishan Independent Regiment really plants a big bomb in Shangsha Bridge, or something else?
If there is any trap, the Japanese army will pay an unimaginable price.
And when the artillery arrives, it can fully cover the independent regiment's sniper point with artillery fire. At that time, the Japanese army no longer has to take any risks.
Therefore, Kawaguchi Heiji would rather wait for a long time than rush forward.
At five past ten in the morning, six fighter-bombers taking off from Nanjing and Feicheng airports flew over Meizhen one after another, and then launched a visual bombing of Meizhen. The Japanese also wanted to carry out a large-scale bombing of Meizhen, but what to do.
As a tactical target, the value of Meizhen is too low. Six fighter-bomber sorties and a dozen aerial bombs are sent out, which is the limit. After all, the aerial bombs of Little Japan were not blown by strong winds.
What was thrown was not just bombs, but also money.
An ordinary aircraft bomb is worth several thousand yen.
What's more, the fuel required to dispatch a bomber is even more expensive.
After dropping the bombs, the six fighter-bombers conducted several rounds of dive and strafing at several suspicious targets in the town. After finishing all this, more than half an hour had passed. Due to the limited time in the air and the exhaustion of ammunition, the six fighter-bombers
The fighter-bomber flapped its wings and returned.
After 11 o'clock in the morning, the artillery regiment of the Kawaguchi detachment finally arrived on the battlefield.
As soon as the artillery regiment arrived, Kawaguchi Heiji immediately ordered the artillery to launch on the flat ground outside Xiasha Bridge, and carried out artillery fire coverage on the two sniper points where Chinese snipers had previously been stationed, as well as several nearby suspicious targets. The artillery fire lasted ten minutes.
The vanguard brigade sent another small team and set foot on the Shangsha Bridge with utmost caution.
However, this time, the Japanese were no longer blocked and easily crossed Shangsha Bridge and entered Meizhen.
At 12:30 noon, when the armored command vehicle Kawaguchi Heiji was riding in slowly passed the Shangsha Bridge and parked in the square outside the Mei family ancestral hall, the 101st Infantry Regiment, which entered the town first, had already taken control of the entire town.
Moreover, two of the three infantry brigades to which it belongs have begun to search and advance towards the periphery, while one brigade is staying behind in the town.
Kawaguchi Heiji, an old Japanese soldier, once again committed his old habit of being suspicious. For safety reasons, he did not allow the 149th Infantry Regiment, the Artillery Regiment, the Engineer Regiment, the Baggage Regiment and other auxiliary units to enter Meizhen to garrison.
They are still stationed in the open space outside Xiasha Bridge.
The reason why Kawaguchi Heiji made such a deployment was that he was worried that after all the troops entered the town, the entrance to Shaqiao Gang would be blocked by the Dameishan Independent Regiment, and they would close the door and beat the dogs! If there was a different commander, I am afraid that this would not happen at all.
Worried, because it is almost impossible to lock the Kawaguchi detachment in Meizhen.
So it must be said that Kawaguchi Heiji is really cautious.
However, as for the detachment headquarters, Kawaguchi Heiji chose the Ume family ancestral hall in the town.
Under certain conditions, Kawaguchi Heiji is still reluctant to camp in the wild.
When Kawaguchi Heiji walked into the Ume family ancestral hall surrounded by more than a dozen guards, Nagai Tatsuya, who entered the town first, had already led people to tidy up and clean the ancestral hall, and even connected the telephone line between the headquarters and the military camp outside the town.
It has also been set up, as well as the entire headquarters' power generation and lighting systems.
Tatsuya Nagajin is an old devil. Let’s not talk about whether he can fight or not, but his handyman skills are definitely top-notch.
Kawaguchi Heiji had been resting in the headquarters for less than half an hour when Yoshino Akio, the commander of the 101st Infantry Regiment, walked in with a solemn expression and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander, the reconnaissance unit has reported that Mei Town has become a
It’s an empty city, we didn’t even find a single person in the town.”
"Nani?" Kawaguchi Heiji's face changed slightly when he heard this.
Yongjin Tatsuya, who was standing next to him, was also dumbfounded. He was missing?
Intelligence shows that Meizhen is a large town with a population of more than 5,000. With so many people, could it be said that all of them have hid in the mountains? But this is not right. The Kawaguchi detachment has appeared outside the entrance of Meizhen since the time of breaking the wind.
How easy is it to transfer so many people in half a day?
Unless this is planned in advance, it may be possible.
But how free does the Dameishan Independent Group have to be to make such a plan?
At that moment, Tatsuya Nagajin asked: "Yoshino-san, are the Chinese people in this town leaving in a hurry?"
Yoshino Akio shook his head and said in a deep voice: "There are various signs that the Chinese people left very calmly, because they did not even leave a chicken, a dog, or a grain of grain for the imperial army!"
"Strengthen the walls and clear the country!" Tatsuya Nagajin suddenly turned back to look at Kawaguchi Heiji and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, Commander, the Chinese are trying to clear the country by strengthening the walls and trying to force the imperial army to retreat by controlling supplies."
Speaking of this, Yongjin Tatsuya suddenly thought of another possibility and said in a deep voice: "Oh, by the way, Yoshino-san, immediately inform all the brigades you belong to that when cooking, you must not take the town's well water, you must use the town's well water.
We have to be careful about the Chinese people poisoning the water in the Waimei River. Since the water is flowing, there is no need to worry."
"Hai." Yoshino Akio nodded heavily and turned around.
Watching Yoshino Akio's figure go away, Nagashin Tatsuya turned back to Kawaguchi Heiji and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, it will be troublesome if the Chinese Army refuses to fight the Imperial Army."
Kawaguchi Heiji nodded solemnly. Indeed, if the Damei Mountain Independent Regiment has been hiding and refusing to fight with them, this will indeed be a troublesome thing, because the supplies they carry with the army are limited, and they can only stay in Meizhen for half a month at most.
If the battle cannot be resolved within half a month, supplies must be transferred from Feicheng.
But Kawaguchi Heiji never thinks this is a good idea, because to transfer supplies from Feicheng to Meizhen, one must pass through the high mountains under Qingniuling, and it is easy to be ambushed by the enemy, so enough guards must be equipped, so that
As a result, the cost of transporting supplies will increase greatly, and it may not be safe.
Originally, the Japanese army could raise supplies on the spot to support the war.
However, now that all the people in Meizhen have fled and taken away all their food and livestock, it has stopped the Japanese army from using war to support the war. The question is, where have the people in the town gone?
"Find!" Kawaguchi Heiji said in a deep voice, "Immediately send out a search team to find out the whereabouts of the people in the town, especially to find where their food and livestock are hidden. I don't believe that the Chinese can take all the food and livestock away
Hide them all without leaving any trace!"
(Dividing line)
It is actually not easy to strengthen the walls and clear the country.
This was the first day of clearing the country, and something happened.
When Wang Husheng hurriedly walked in with more than 20 guards, the nursing staff of several large households in the town were making trouble. Faced with the approaching of dozens of nursing staff, the few militiamen who were maintaining order on the scene were about to attack.
Unable to stand it any longer, one of the militiamen almost let the enemy take away his rifle.
However, when they saw Wang Husheng coming with more than twenty guards, the nursing home servants did not dare to cause trouble anymore, and the few rural gentry and gentry who had been arguing fiercely just stopped.
Under the dim light, Huang Delu turned around and cast a questioning look at Huang Shiren.
As long as Huang Shiren nodded, Huang Delu would take out the dart and shoot Wang Husheng without hesitation. Speaking of which, Huang Delu followed Huang Shiren around when he was young. He was also a well-known man, and he also had several lives on his hands.
, otherwise, he would not have been able to help Huang Shiren build such a big business.
However, Huang Shiren shook his head and signaled Huang Delu not to act rashly. Huang Delu released his palm and then put the willow leaf dart back into his sleeve without leaving a trace.
Not far away, Wang Husheng didn't know that he had just had a brush with death.
"Fellow village sages, please be patient for a moment." Wang Husheng pressed his hands to signal the sages and gentry present and their servants to calm down, and then continued, "Please believe me, the government has no ill intentions towards you.
I invited you here because I am responsible for your safety. You also know that the little devils don’t care who you are. They kill people when they see them, rob things when they see them, and rob women when they see them...
You know."
After being in contact with Xu Rui for a long time, Wang Husheng also learned Xu Rui's mantra.
As soon as Wang Husheng finished speaking, a local sage stood up and said: "Sir, we just want to know what mistakes or crimes we have committed? Why do you want to imprison us in a dark dungeon? Even during the Manchu Dynasty, there was no such thing.
Is that so? This is simply unreasonable."
"That is, if the government advocates rent reduction, we will reduce rent. If the government advocates interest rate reduction, we will reduce interest rates. We have always supported the government's work, but in the end we got this kind of reward?"
"County Magistrate Wang, you have to be reasonable, you have to be reasonable."
Seeing that several village sages and gentry were getting more and more excited as they talked, and the situation was beginning to get out of control, and Wang Husheng shouted at the top of his lungs and refused to stop, so Wang Husheng became angry, and immediately took out the brocade noodle box and fired a shot at the top of the cave.
, in a confined space, the gunshot sounded very loud, almost shattering everyone's eardrums.
Hearing the gunfire, several rural gentry stopped again and did not dare to say anything anymore.
"I will retry it one last time." Wang Husheng suppressed his anger and said, "We are not detaining you, but asking you to come here to take shelter temporarily. The kid above has already invaded the town, and you don't want to stay at home and let the kid kill you.
We are also doing this for your safety, so we ask for your understanding and your cooperation!"