Chapter 57
Taiyuan.
Japanese headquarters.
At this time, Shinozuka Yoshio looked calm and composed, and his eyes occasionally flashed with surprise when he looked at the map.
Yes.
The situation is getting better rapidly.
Since the Yamazaki Battalion mistakenly entered the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army, the entire situation was soon revitalized.
The Eighth Route Army, which was originally slippery, was now tied up in Lijiapo, and the three brigades of the Empire were rushing to support there at a very fast speed.
I believe it won’t take long to surround them.
As long as they are surrounded.
They will definitely be wiped out.
This is undoubtedly great news for the situation in Shanxi Province, which has been troubled by the Eighth Route Army for a long time, and even ushered in unprecedented dawn of victory for the entire Chinese battlefield.
How could this not surprise Shinozuka Yoshio?
"Report!"
At this moment, Nanshan Hideyoshi suddenly came in a hurry.
"Speak!"
"General!"
Hideyoshi Nanshan's face looked extremely ugly. He hesitated and said, "The battlefield observation group sent by the Army Headquarters has just been attacked by..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's being attacked by the Shanxi Suiyuan Army!"
"What?"
Yoshio Shinozuka's face changed in shock.
Hideyoshi Nanshan felt a strong chill, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hurriedly explained, "We just received a telegram that the battlefield observation group had not been stationed in the Huting stronghold for a short time, and was suddenly attacked by the Shanxi Suiyuan Army. The enemy's firepower was extremely fierce. In less than five minutes, all the soldiers outside the stronghold had died. Fortunately, all the officers were temporarily safe in the stronghold."
"May the Emperor bless you!"
Yoshio Shinozuka breathed a sigh of relief.
The importance of the battlefield observation group is absolutely beyond doubt.
If something happens to them, it will be an unprecedented blow to the entire northern war zone, and the entire middle-level command system will even be devastated.
"Just--"
"Just what?"
"The enemy's firepower is really fierce. Although all the members of the observation group rely on the stronghold to defend, if we can't send troops to rescue in time, I'm afraid they will eventually be broken."
"Then immediately dispatch nearby troops to rescue!"
"General!"
Nanshan Hideyoshi said bitterly: "In order to support this large-scale cleanup, many elite imperial troops have been drawn from the surrounding areas. At present, each stronghold only retains the most basic armed forces. Even if they go there now, it will be a drop in the bucket and can't save the battlefield observation group at all!"
"Which armed force is the closest?"
"It should be the 4th Brigade!"
"The 4th Brigade?"
Shinozuka Yoshio's face changed slightly, and his eyes flashed with strange light.
Nanshan Hideyoshi did not dare to neglect and immediately said: "Yes, General! Now the 4th Brigade is advancing from Delai and Fuyuan to Lijiaopo. Its vanguard has arrived in Meilai Town. The straight-line distance from this place to Huting Stronghold is about 70 miles. If the 4th Brigade can use trucks for rapid support, I believe it will arrive in two hours, but in this case-"
"If you want to rush to Lijiaopo, you have to refuse!"
Shinozuka Yoshio muttered with an ugly face.
Two choices.
Either rescue Huting Stronghold or rush to Lijiaopo.
"Damn it!"
Even though Shinozuka Yoshio, who was used to big scenes, was in great hesitation at this time. He hesitated for nearly ten seconds before he gritted his teeth and said, "The battlefield observation group is the elite of our empire. If something happens, it will definitely hit the northern war situation of our empire hard. Now pass on my order - let the 4th Brigade immediately send troops to support the Huting stronghold. Don't let the observation group get into trouble!"
"Hai!"
Nanshan Hideyoshi immediately accepted the order.
...
Mountain road.
The marching 4th Brigade soon received a telegram.
"Baga!"
Brigade Commander Mori Shige Nagahide was furious after seeing the content. He roared: "How could those stupid guys appear in that damn place? Don't they know that the Empire is now doing its best to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army?"
"General!"
Staff officer Kuroishi beside him said in a deep voice: "All members of the battlefield observation group are the backbone of our Empire, including your classmate from the Imperial Army University, Major General Sakuragi Nobumoto of the 23rd Brigade. General Shinozuka must not want them to get into trouble here, so he asked us to rush to help."
"Humph!"
Mori Shige Nagahide sneered and said: "Sakuragi Nobumoto is really a fool who can't do anything but make trouble!"
"General!"
Staff officer Kuroishi frowned and said: "What should we do now?"
Mori Shige Nagahide hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Since General Shinozuka has given a clear order, all transport vehicles, tricycles, etc. in the brigade will be allocated to the Kurosawa Regiment, so that they can rush to the Tiger Pavilion stronghold!""But——"
Staff officer Heishi seemed very embarrassed and said, "This will make it difficult to transport our various baggage and artillery, and the efficiency of our advance will be greatly reduced!"
"Do I have any choice?"
"Yes, yes, General!"
"Let's do this for now!"
Mori Shige Nagahide waved his hands irritably and said, "Those idiots in the battlefield observation group must not die, at least not in Shanxi Province. Now we can only let the Sakata Regiment continue to advance to Lijiapo, I hope it won't be delayed!"
...
Luofengpo.
This place is long and narrow, with steep slopes on both sides, which is indeed quite suitable for ambushes.
At this time, Lu Zhixian had already led most of the soldiers of the Anti-Japanese Camp to wait here.
"Battalion Commander!"
Chen Feng smiled and said, "We just received intelligence that the vanguard of the fourth brigade of the Japanese has changed its route. They have abandoned most of their heavy firepower and are coming to us quickly on transport trucks."
"Very good!"
Lu Zhixian was excited when he heard the news.
Yang Zhihua said with admiration, "Battalion Commander! You are really a master of foresight. You knew that these little Japanese would throw away all their baggage and come to support us lightly! Without the help of those powerful firepower, even if a regiment comes, we are confident that we can kill them all!"
"That's right!"
Chen Feng nodded and said, "Previously, you used the cavalry battalion and all the transport vehicles as the vanguard, and used the threat of attacking the Huting stronghold to force the Japanese reinforcements to change their route. Compared with the previous time when we had to work hard, The division traveled far to face the fully armed devils, but now they can take advantage of their rest and catch them off guard! This is really wonderful! "
"Yes!"
Yang Zhihua also said again: "You spent so much money to rent Captain Sun from the Eighth Route Army before, and now it seems that it is really worth it. The existence of the cavalry company has greatly improved our mobility, otherwise those transport vehicles alone would not pose much threat to Hu Ting!"
"Don't be happy too early!"
Lu Zhixian didn't care too much about this.
When he was at the headquarters of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army before.
As a staff officer, he had planned similar combat plans for the headquarters many times. Now with the intelligence support from Minglou, it is natural for him to make some simple plans.
Seeing the battle coming, he did not relax at all, and said solemnly: "The enemy is coming soon. Even if they lack a lot of artillery support, they are still the elite of the devil. We still have to be vigilant in this battle and strive to wipe them out in one blow!"
"Yes, battalion commander!"
Everyone immediately obeyed the order.
(I haven't received any royalties recently, so I want a free "power for love" and eat some instant noodles.)