At four o'clock in the morning, it had been almost two hours since the reinforcements had set off. The situation in Hunyuan County was getting worse and worse, and the bad premonition in the head of the division commander was getting stronger and stronger.
A communications staff officer rushed in without even shouting a report.
Seeing the seriousness and anxiety on his face, the division commander's heart skipped a beat and he sensed a hint of danger.
"Sir, something happened in Hunyuan City. This is the farewell telegram they just sent..."
"An Eighth Route Army army rushed to the headquarters, and then we lost contact with the Hunyuan City headquarters."
"Bagheya Road, our division was defeated by the garrison again, losing troops and generals!" The commander's expression suddenly dropped, he clenched his fists and cursed while suppressing the rising anger in his heart.
Half a minute later, staring at the communications staff, he reported: "Is there anything else in the telegram?"
"Hi!" the communications staff member quickly replied: "The Hunyuan headquarters recommends that the reinforcements we sent out immediately stop advancing and not go to Hunyuan City again."
"The garrison that attacked Hunyuan was not only equipped with heavy artillery, heavy mortars, a large number of mountain artillery, ordinary mortars, but also dispatched tank troops."
"If the reinforcements encounter the tank troops and cavalry troops of the garrison in the wild, they will definitely be defeated and lose a lot of troops in vain."
The division commander replied solemnly: "The reminder from Hunyuan Command is correct."
"The reinforcements are infantry, not equipped with heavy weapons. On the field battlefield, if infantry encounters chariot troops and cavalry troops, they will die."
"Order the reinforcements to rush to this line immediately and use the favorable terrain to establish a defense line."
"Even if Hunyuan City is lost, we cannot allow the garrison to enter Datong and affect our use of troops against the Jinsui Army."
In Hunyuan City, the sound of gunfire has come to an end.
After the Japanese command post was occupied by the first detachment of commandos lurking in the city, the remaining Japanese and puppet troops collapsed.
When Li Hao walked into the headquarters, the corpses of the Japanese had been cleaned up.
But the strong smell of blood in the air still made Li Hao understand: a very tragic bloody battle had just occurred here.
"Captain, the results have been tallied!" Hong Linfeng rushed in from outside and reported with a look on his face.
"The battle went much smoother than we planned. Of the more than 1,600 Japanese and puppet troops in the city, not one of them broke through and escaped. They were all wiped out by us."
"The Japanese army, from commanders at least to ordinary soldiers, were all wiped out."
"The puppet troops captured 696 people and the rest were killed."
"In terms of results, the most seized items were light and heavy machine guns."
"Because the Japanese army built a large number of machine gun bunkers along the city wall, the light and heavy machine guns they equipped have been significantly strengthened."
"Excluding those destroyed during the battle, there are still 16 heavy machine guns and 63 light machine guns left. Now they are all ours."
Li Hao nodded with satisfaction.
With these captures, the losses of the troops in the siege battle can be fully replenished, and maybe there will still be a surplus to support the troops to finish the next battle.
Looking at Hong Linfeng with a serious look on his face, he asked: "Where are the reinforcements coming from the direction of Datong?"
"It's less than twenty kilometers away from Hunyuan City!" Hong Linfeng replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Wei, commander of the reconnaissance company, rushed over: "Regiment commander, chief of staff, the little Japanese reinforcements have stopped advancing."
"The troops suddenly stopped and relied on the favorable terrain to establish a defense line at Caoziling, fifteen kilometers away from Hunyuan City."
As soon as the chief of staff found Cao Ziling on the map, communications platoon leader Zhou Liang rushed over after him.
"Captain, there is an urgent call from the commando team monitoring Datong City."
"Datong City has just dispatched an artillery brigade. It includes four infantry cannons, four field cannons, four heavy artillery, and all vehicles are transported. They are marching towards Hunyuan."
Hong Linfeng raised his eyebrows and analyzed: "The Japanese infantry is waiting for the artillery to arrive, and then counterattack Hunyuan.
Li Hao shook his head and replied: "Probably not!"
"If they want to counterattack, they will not stop at Caoziling. Instead, they should take advantage of our unstable footing and march all the way to Hunyuan City to harass us and not give us time to prepare."
"As soon as the artillery is in place, start attacking the city and recapture Hunyuan City."
"If my guess is correct, they should be planning to stop at Caoziling and build a defense line there to prevent our defense regiment from going deep into Datong."
Hong Linfeng frowned and replied: "Captain, the task given to us by the headquarters is to penetrate 50 kilometers into Datong to establish a defense line. If the Japanese army really intends to defend Caoziling, I suggest that the troops set off immediately to launch an attack on Caoziling and take advantage of the day."
The puppet army's foothold is not yet stable, so break through there."
"If the Japanese are allowed to repair the blockade and build a large number of reinforced concrete fortifications, it will definitely be very difficult for us to break through Caoziling."
Li Hao shook his head and replied: "No time."
"It will be daybreak when the troops pass by."
"Japanese planes will definitely come to the battlefield, but we still can't launch attacks, which is a waste of the soldiers' physical strength."
"I decided not to attack Cao Wenling for the time being?"
Hong Linfeng was frightened by Li Hao's decision. He looked at Li Hao and asked anxiously: "If we don't attack Cao Wenling, what will happen to the headquarters' mission? Captain, you have to think twice."
Li Hao shook his head and replied: "There are two tasks given to us by the headquarters. There is a stipulated time for taking Hunyuan City, and we have successfully completed it. There is no stipulated time for attacking and advancing fifty kilometers in the direction of Datong, so it does not mean that we do not attack Caoziling now.
Mission accomplished."
"Our mission is to force the Japanese and puppet troops in Datong to divide their forces and reduce the pressure on the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to attack Datong City."
"The entire Datong garrison only adds up to more than 10,000 people. So far, we have held back a full 2,000 elite Japanese troops. That's enough."
"Even if we really give up attacking Caoziling, the headquarters and the Jinsui Army will have nothing to say."
"And I don't really stop attacking, I just postpone the attack."
"Chief of Staff, you were complaining just now that we have been on the offensive in this battle. We have paid a lot but gained little. When the battle is over, we will definitely suffer a big loss."
"Now I can tell you clearly that we cannot lose in this battle."
"As long as we fight the next battle well, our gains will definitely make you smile from ear to ear with joy."
Hong Linfeng frowned at first and looked puzzled.
After Li Hao finished speaking, the heavy expression on the chief of staff's face slowly disappeared, and he shouted with a look of realization: "Commander, I understand, you want to annihilate all the Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Caoziling!"
Li Hao nodded and replied: "Not bad!"
"As long as we choose the right time to attack, we can not only annihilate the Japanese and puppet troops in Caoziling, but also turn Caoziling into a flesh and blood mill, attracting more little devils to come and be eliminated by us."
"By then, the number of Japs we have killed will not be one or two thousand, but three or four thousand. Maybe it will help us recapture several counties in Guangling."