Two days have passed, and there is no movement in Laiyuan City. No matter how the garrison shows weakness, the little Japanese can't get out of the city.
"Commander, the enemy is too cautious. He must be afraid of being beaten by us and not be fooled at all!" Hong Linfeng said with a frown.
On the road from Laiyuan to Lingqiu City, the heavy artillery battalion and four main battalions had set up a huge pocket formation, setting up a net and waiting for the fish to take the bait.
Unfortunately, the Japanese are too cautious and cunning to be fooled.
"Then use our backup plan!" Li Hao thought for a moment and replied.
"In addition to ambushing the Japanese and puppet troops, I also have a backup plan to attack the Japs. And I told you from the beginning, to attack the Japs in Laiyuan City."
"According to intelligence: Although the Japanese and puppet troops have no plans to leave the city, they have relaxed their vigilance. Most of their troops are concentrated in a few stations, instead of being dispersed in Laiyuan City to fight with us in street battles at any time."
"As long as their forces are concentrated together, we will have the opportunity to use heavy artillery to kill them in large numbers."
In Laiyuan City, as time passed day by day, the Japanese became more and more lax in their vigilance.
The brigade leader is no exception.
Regardless of the news brought back by the reconnaissance troops or the news brought back by the prisoners, it was proved that the garrison suffered heavy casualties.
In order to make up for these shortfalls, they have reached the point of starvation.
Not only did they directly replenish the troops with untrained prisoners, but they also recruited new soldiers on a large scale within the base area to directly replenish the troops.
In the view of the brigade commander, expanding the troops at all costs not only has no benefit, but will also be counterproductive.
On the surface, it seems that there are more troops, but the overall combat effectiveness is gradually weakened.
It's impossible that the garrison didn't know the pros and cons, but they still did it. There was only one possibility.
They indeed suffered too much losses on the battlefield and had a serious shortage of troops. They had to give up some things to make up for the loss of troops...
All this proved to the brigade commander that the garrison had indeed been severely damaged by them.
Of course, all this is an illusion deliberately created by Li Hao. The purpose is the same as before, so that the little devils can continue to underestimate the enemy and relax their vigilance.
"General, several captains came to report to me. The troops are too tired and are not good for a city defense battle that may break out at any time. We hope to change the current garrison method." The deputy chief of staff walked into the headquarters and reported.
"In order to prevent accidents, we have kept half of our troops in combat status and dispersed them in various street fighting fortifications in the city."
"Laiyuan City is too big, and each infantry brigade has a large defensive area. They are dispersed, assembled, and then dispersed again every day... not only makes the troops very tired, but it is also not conducive to troop management."
"They suggested that the troops should no longer be dispersed, but centralized at the station for training and management."
"If the garrison wants to attack Laiyuan City, as long as the city defense troops hold out for half an hour, all troops can enter the city defense fortifications and prepare for battle."
"I also agree to their proposal."
"The steady stream of news coming in from outside the city further proves that the garrison has lost the ability to attack Laiyuan City."
"It has been almost four days since the last attack on Laiyuan City. If the garrison had the ability to attack, they would have attacked long ago instead of waiting until now."
"In addition, the main force in the direction of Datong will be ready for attack in ten days, and we will definitely receive orders to cooperate with the attack by then."
"If the troops are too tired, their performance in cooperating with the attack will definitely be very poor."
The brigade leader thought for a long time before speaking: "Tell them that I agree to their request."
"Starting from tomorrow, the troops will not need to disperse into street fighting fortifications to guard. All troops will be concentrated in their respective stations for training and restoration of combat effectiveness."
"As long as the main force is dispatched, we will rush out of Laiyuan City and use our strongest combat power to kill the garrison."
In front of the enemy headquarters of the garrison, the chief of staff rushed in with a piece of information in his hand and a smile on his face.
"Captain, good news, our opportunity has come."
"Our observation posts scattered outside Laiyuan City have just reported that the Japanese have not divided their troops today."
"All the troops were concentrated in four stations for training, and the troops guarding the city were all replaced by the Imperial Association Army. This was obviously the same strategy used in Lingqiu City to defend Laiyuan City."
"The Imperial Association Army defended the city and acted as cannon fodder, slowing down our attack speed and buying time for the Japanese troops in the city to enter the fortifications. Then they used street fighting to consume our troops entering the city."
Li Hao stared at the Laiyuan city defense map and asked, "Can you determine the specific locations of the four Japanese military stations and the brigade headquarters?"
"Okay!" Hong Linfeng affirmed.
"After the Japs occupied Laiyuan, they did not make any other improvements except for the street fighting fortifications. The four garrisons existed when we occupied Laiyuan City and were used. Now they are used by the Japs again."
"The brigade headquarters has not changed, it is all at the same location."
"That's good!" Li Hao's eyes became obviously hot and he made a decision immediately: "We will take action tonight."
"This is a piece of information just forwarded by a superior. The Japs who occupied Datong are aggressively expanding their puppet troops. They have already formed two divisions with more than 6,000 people. If they are not satisfied, they will form another division."
"I judge that after the formation of this division is completed, they will gather their troops and launch a new round of attack on us."
"So time does not wait for me. The little Japs in Laiyuan City must be captured as soon as possible to prevent the troops from being attacked from both sides again."
At eight o'clock in the evening, all the Japanese and puppet troops had dinner and were ready to rest, including the brigade commander. The city of Laiyuan, which had been busy all day, slowly became quiet.
Because the people had been evacuated outside the city and had not yet returned home, except for some lights at the Jaap garrison and the brigade headquarters, the rest of Laiyuan City was dark and nothing could be seen.
Looking down from the air, no guidance is needed. Just by looking at the lights, you can tell where the Japs are stationed and where they are not.
In a mountain depression less than five kilometers away from Laiyuan City in the south of the city, more than a hundred soldiers pushed and pulled six heavy cannons slowly into the dug emplacements.
These are soldiers from the 1st Company and 1st Platoon of the 5th Heavy Artillery Battalion.
The company commander squatted next to him holding a blueprint, and several of the company's most skilled gunners and staff members gathered around, using flashlights to make one last calculation of the data on the blueprint.
Not far away, dozens of gunners were transporting artillery shells on mules and horses.
Each long cannonball weighs dozens of kilograms, and its surface is extremely smooth. To ensure safety, two people need to hold it together.
A reconnaissance squad from the reconnaissance company was lurking around, not letting go of any movement in the night.
If there are enemies, be sure to kill them as soon as possible to ensure that the situation here is not leaked to them.
A little further away there was a cavalry company on patrol.
They started moving around a few days ago and blocked the south gate of Laiyuan City.
"Company commander, the six heavy artillery pieces have been deployed..." a platoon leader rushed over and reported.
"According to the shooting data above, adjust the artillery immediately. Check whether the observer is in place and ensure smooth communication between us and the observer." the company commander ordered, with a serious look on his face.
