What the Japanese Chief of Staff did not expect was that just because of his hesitation and hesitation, the situation in Laiyuan that was conducive to the Japanese army suddenly became chaotic one day later.
Under the blockade of the guard platoon, the Japanese troops who went to Wuzhen for reconnaissance were killed almost every time they came. Until the afternoon of that day, the Japanese chief of staff did not receive any useful information.
The same goes for the direction of Shuiquan Village.
Because it was not clear how many Eighth Route Army troops were hiding in Shuiquan Village, and the Japanese troops in Laiyuan City had limited troops, fewer troops went to Shuiquan Village to investigate, and they were eliminated by the Eighth Route Army blockade troops before they even entered the village.
If there are too many, they are worried about being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army and the entire army will be destroyed. After all, the Eighth Route Army has the strength to wipe out an elite infantry squadron of the Imperial Army in just a few minutes.
After losing many elite scouts yesterday, despite Ono's request to intensify the reconnaissance of Shuiquan Village, the chief of staff did not send out precious imperial soldiers. Instead, he ordered the puppet troops to put on civilian clothes and continue to send people.
Go to Shuiquan Village to find out the situation.
Many puppet soldiers did not really want to sacrifice their lives for the Japanese. Faced with the sudden appearance of the Eighth Route Army around them, the puppet soldiers dressed in civilian clothes directly admitted their identity as puppet soldiers, then handed over their weapons and surrendered, without any thought of resistance.
Zeng Quan, who originally thought that he would gain nothing by staying in Shuiquan Village, by four or five o'clock in the afternoon, his face was already smiling because he was satisfied with the results.
More than twenty Mauser pistols and more than eighty puppet prisoners were the results of Zeng Quan's day's battle.
Whether it is Mauser pistols or puppet prisoners, they are all urgently needed by the Independent Battalion. Zeng Quan is confident that after delivering these harvests to the instructors, it will only take a few days for the Independent Battalion to have more than one platoon of troops.
However, the Japanese Chief of Staff was on the verge of tears at this time. Not counting that he had not received any useful information, the reconnaissance troops sent to the city almost disappeared one by one.
You must know that many of the people here are the most elite scouts in the infantry, and if one is lost, one will be lost. Even the wealthy Japanese army cannot withstand such a rate of losses.
Moreover, the commander of the team, Colonel Ono, gave himself a day to conduct investigations. As soon as the day passed, he did not obtain any valuable intelligence. If Colonel Ono wants to be held accountable, as the chief of staff, he must bear the main responsibility.
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Looking at the sky that was slowly darkening outside, the chief of staff could only bite the bullet and walked into Ono's office and reported the results that he had found nothing.
"Baga, what does the staff do for food? What does the reconnaissance force do for food? There is also a security regiment. If the empire keeps them, it is worse than raising a bunch of trash. They can't even handle such a small thing, Baga Yalu!" He held it back for a while!
Ono, who had no place to vent his anger, cursed loudly at the chief of staff.
The chief of staff did not dare to have the slightest intention to refute, so he lowered his head and accepted it.
It wasn't until the commander got tired of scolding that he weakly asked: "Commander, what should we do next? Should we continue to send troops for investigation?"
Ono shook his head, and then replied with a calm face: "No more investigation. There is no result for so long. It is useless to continue the investigation. Moreover, it will lose troops in vain and buy time for the Eighth Route Army!"
"What do you mean, captain?" the staff officer asked after heaving a long sigh of relief.
"Send troops directly!" Ono's face quickly exuded a strong sense of killing.
"Since I don't know the strength of the Eighth Route Army, I will bring all the main forces there. Even if the Eighth Route Army hides two main regiments, no, three main regiments, in Shuiquan Village, I am not afraid of them!"
"Order the Songjing Brigade, Laiyuan Guard Regiment, and the Regiment Mountain Artillery Squadron to prepare to leave the station immediately. We will set off at ten o'clock in the evening and arrive at Shuiquan Village at two o'clock in the morning. We will also launch a night attack on the Eighth Route Army!"
The chief of staff immediately reminded: "But in this way, there is only one infantry squadron and one baggage squadron left in Laiyuan City! If the Eighth Route Army has any conspiracy, Laiyuan City will be in danger. They are too good at sneak attacks!"
"You are right. This is why I have always asked you to find out the strength of the Eighth Route Army and why the Ninjas do not send troops. We have limited troops. If we send out less troops, we are likely to be ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. If there are more, the defenders of Laiyuan City
Less again!" Ono analyzed with a frown.
"I have betrayed the trust of your Excellency, the commander of the alliance. I ask the commander to punish you! But I still feel that there are too few troops left behind. Although there is no news from the Wuzhen stronghold, I am sure that the stronghold must have been captured by the Eighth Route Army. It is still unclear which Eighth Route Army
Is it the same as the Eighth Route in Shuiquan Village? If not, then as soon as we leave Laiyuan City, the Eighth Route in the direction of Wuzhen may rush towards the county seat!" The chief of staff lowered his head with regret on his face, and then said his own
Worry!
Ono's already frowning brows became even deeper now. This was indeed a very difficult decision.
Whether it is the Eighth Route Army in Shuiquan Village or the Eighth Route Army in the Wuzhen direction, he wants to eliminate it. But there is a prerequisite, the security of Laiyuan City cannot be affected.
You must know that when I retreated from the front line, the extra equipment of the division due to the loss of troops, including the equipment of the Chinese army captured on the battlefield, were all hoarded in the county town for use when preparing to form a garrison brigade.
If the county town is occupied by the Eighth Route Army when you send troops, those weapons fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. With the speed at which the Eighth Route Army can mobilize troops, it won’t take too long for your enemy to have at least two more regiments, which will affect Laiyuan and even the surrounding areas.
The stability of several counties will definitely have a huge impact.
At that time, not only will he not get the so-called military exploits, but he will also become a sinner of the Japanese Empire!
"Baga, this is really a difficult decision! However, we can't wait any longer for the Eighth Route Army in the direction of Shuiquan Village. They wiped out more than two hundred of our warriors, and we must eat them to avenge the warriors who died in the battle!" Hesitant
Colonel Ono finally made a ruthless decision.
"In this way, a battalion is transferred from the garrison regiment to stay and coordinate defense. Compared with battlefield attack and field combat, the garrison regiment is better at defense. In addition, isn't there a heavy machine gun squadron that has been disabled in the city? A heavy machine gun squadron is transferred from the arsenal to
They have replenished their equipment. In this case, even if the Eighth Route Army comes with a regiment, they will not be able to capture Laiyuan City!"
"Besides, there are three main regiments and some local troops in the First Army Division of the Eighth Route Army directly opposite us. Unless they have the ability to spread the word to form an army, Laiyuan City will definitely be safe!"
The chief of staff also felt that there was no problem with this arrangement. After all, Ono's analysis just now was all true.
In order to make up for his mistakes during the day, the chief of staff immediately left the headquarters to arrange for the expedition troops without saying a word.
Because the troops spared a lot of road to avoid the Japanese and puppet strongholds, by the time Wang Ping led the team to the Guanliang stronghold, it was already dark, but from a distance, he saw that the Japanese and puppet strongholds in Guanliang still had two lights on.
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Originally, he thought that the Guanliang stronghold, where more than a hundred Japanese and puppet troops were stationed, was the same as the one he had encountered before, but when he got closer, Wang Ping realized that he had thought wrong, and then he frowned subconsciously.
Because, Wang Ping actually saw a cannon muzzle in the stronghold, a masonry pavilion almost three stories high, standing high in the middle of the stronghold!