Major General Matsumoto sat in his own seat, and the deputy captain who had returned from the breakout stood in front with his head lowered, reporting the entire battle process while accepting Matsumoto's questions. It took a full hour before Matsumoto stopped.
After a long sigh, he affirmed: "The real main force of the New Regiment is in Tianxin Town, and the opponent you encounter is Wang Ping, the leader of the New Regiment!"
"Only he can calculate the battles one after another so accurately, so that you are always in a passive state of being beaten!"
"General, what should we do next? Should we continue to mobilize troops to attack Tianxin Town or stop here!" the chief of staff asked in a serious tone.
Just one night after we were happy about the good news coming from Linfen North, the bad news came in front of us, making everyone's good mood disappear all of a sudden.
Matsumoto did not answer, but stared at the deputy captain and asked: "Tell me the truth, how many people are there in the Eighth Route Army attacking you, and how many casualties did they suffer in a night of fighting?"
"This?" the vice-captain hesitated.
The chief of staff next to him asked angrily: "Do we need to consider such a simple issue for so long? There are as many troops as there should be. You are the commander. It is impossible that the battle is over and the opponent's strength has not yet been understood."
"Five to six hundred people! General, you must be humble because of your humble position. The Eighth Route Army attacking us should not exceed 600 people!" the deputy captain replied.
"Although they attacked with great momentum, it was all caused by the Eighth Route Army's artillery shells mixed with chili powder. In a head-to-head confrontation, they would definitely not be their opponents."
"As for the casualties, I don't know very well. But I am sure that their casualties will not be small."
"Because, many imperial soldiers chose to detonate grenades before dying in battle, and died together with the Eighth Route Army!"
"I estimate that there will definitely be two hundred people!"
Major General Matsumoto frowned suddenly: "In other words, the Eighth Route Army in Tianxin Town has less than 400 people in total!"
"Hi! I can be sure of this because of my humble position!" It was rare for the vice-captain to reply so firmly.
The chief of staff suddenly said: "General, there are less than 400 people, which is exactly the strength of a battalion of the Eighth Route Army. We can kill them as long as we dispatch half an infantry brigade!"
"If half an infantry brigade could kill them, the Third Battalion wouldn't have been completely wiped out in Tianxin Town!" Matsumoto replied angrily.
The chief of staff immediately became embarrassed.
After hesitating for a moment, he continued: "But, our mobile troops have been dispatched, so we can't send too many troops to Tianxin Town!"
"Let the First Infantry Battalion pass!" Matsumoto made the decision with a frown.
"The First Brigade is the most powerful unit in our brigade, and it is also the unit that has fought the most with the New Regiment. Let them kill the Eighth Route Army in Fengyun Town and go directly to Tianxin Town!"
"Since the Eighth Route Army in Tianxin Town is the main force of the new regiment, and their regiment leader Wang Ping is also there, it means that the Eighth Route Army in Fengyun Town is also a virtual army, a false main force that distracts our troops."
Major General Matsumoto forgot to calculate one thing, the equipment of the new regiment.
With the two battalions in Wang Ping's hands plus the troops directly under him, the total strength is indeed less than 400.
But the equipment is not ordinary luxury.
A force of less than 400 people was equipped with four mountain cannons, three infantry cannons, 18 mortars, 16 heavy machine guns, and more than 40 various light machine guns!
Of course, even if Major General Matsumoto thought about it, he would think that even if the New Regiment obtained these equipment, not many people would use them, especially mortars, infantry guns, and mountain guns.
Ordinary soldiers may not be able to make good use of it even if they train for a month.
But he underestimated the Fourth Battalion currently active in Fengyun Town.
The Fourth Battalion is not only not a virtual force, but also a well-deserved main force.
Among the nearly a thousand former anti-Japanese soldiers, there must be many talents that Wang Ping wants.
At ten o'clock the next night, the fourth battalion, marching in company units, entered Fengyun Town.
"Report to the leader, the Fourth Battalion Changrong Army was ordered to lead the team back to report and ask the leader to issue combat missions!"
"Get some rest first, and then prepare to fight!" Wang Ping was very satisfied with this subordinate who had been fighting alone outside for more than a month.
Rong Jun was stunned for a moment before hesitatingly asked: "What about the Japanese behind us? They were chasing us all the way. If we hadn't destroyed all the gun towers along the highway in advance, we would have been blocked halfway by them.
Then they were wiped out!"
Wang Ping did not hide anything and answered directly: "The reconnaissance platoon just reported that the Japanese who are chasing you have now set up camp!"
"They are quite self-aware and know that this is our Eighth Route Army's world at night!"
"Let the troops rest first. I have people prepare hot meals and dishes for you. Now that you have rest, we will take action at two o'clock in the morning!"
"However, before taking action, you have to do one thing: "Select all the extra gunners and heavy machine gunners from the fourth battalion. Can you defeat the Japanese behind you tonight? They are the protagonists!"
There is a highland nearly three kilometers away from the temporary station of the New Regiment. Rather than being a highland, it may be more appropriate to say that it is a gentle slope. Because the top of the slope is large enough and there are no woods around to hide troops, you can glance over it from the top of the slope.
, you can have a panoramic view of all the wastelands and fertile fields within one or two kilometers of the surrounding area, and the field of vision is very broad.
When Lieutenant Colonel Qinggang, the captain of the Japanese Army, passed by, he took a fancy to this place at a glance and decided to make it his station for the night.
As the captain of the infantry brigade with the most powerful combat capabilities in the entire brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Qinggang is arrogant, but he is not so arrogant.
The Imperial Army is not suitable for night fighting, while the Eighth Route Army likes to fight at night and uses its own strength to overcome the enemy's weakness. This basic common sense is still very clear.
In addition, since there is no air support, Lieutenant Colonel Qinggang will definitely avoid fighting the Eighth Route Army at night.
Moreover, after traveling all day during the day, and having to participate in battles from time to time, both you and the Eighth Route Army you are chasing need to rest!
"Sir, the campsite has been arranged as required. The entire army is arranged in small teams and dispersedly arranged!" the chief of staff walked into Lieutenant Colonel Qinggang's tent and reported with a tired look on his face.
"Yo Xi!" Qinggang replied with satisfaction.
"Chief of Staff, the brigade headquarters reported during the day that the night before yesterday, the Third Brigade suffered heavy losses in the face of the Eighth Route Army's artillery attack because the station was too small and the personnel were too dense, and then a series of battles that were not conducive to the imperial army broke out.
, eventually leading to the complete destruction of the Third Brigade!"
"Our opponents are the same people, and they are likely to repeat their old tricks. However, we cannot repeat the same mistakes!"
“Although it’s a bit harder, as long as the loss can be minimized, it’s worth it!”
"Hey, I've learned a lesson from my humble position!" the chief of staff replied, lowering his head.
Then he continued to report: "As for patrol and security at night, because the terrain around us is very good, we only arranged an infantry squadron!"
"After all, we have to ensure that most of the soldiers have sufficient physical strength for tomorrow's battle!"
"Yes, but we need to deploy a few more fixed firepower points to attack the Eighth Route Army who may sneak attack us from a high position!" Lieutenant Colonel Qinggang affirmed.
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