Outside the city walls there was a moat thirty meters wide and three meters deep. In other words, the height of the defenders was greatly increased, the position of the attackers was greatly reduced, and the height difference was increased. If you attack, you will be trapped in this moat for a long time and suppressed by the enemy.

Besides, Li Qishan was born as a bandit and was very cunning. There are fierce generals and troops defending the city, Xu Xuezhang commands the puppet county brigade and the puppet sixth regiment, Lu Zhaoyue commands the puppet third regiment, Li Changlu commands the independent battalion, Yang Cuncai commands the pistol battalion, etc. These are all Li Qishan's strong alliance brothers, and they are also early executioners who defected to the Japanese invaders, have rich combat experience, and have a lot of blood debts.

On the previous occasions, the Eighth Route Army also mobilized the main force to attack Chiping County, but the siege of Chiping County was unsuccessful due to the strong fortifications and stubborn defense of Chiping County, which also fueled Li Qichang's arrogance.

So this Li Qishan also cheered up his middle- and lower-level officers many times and said: "What's so great about the Eighth Road!" Aren't they just some machine guns? The machine guns that hit us in Chiping County were simply tickling us, and we didn't care about anything. "Chiping County is impregnable, and even if the Eighth Road is fought for three months, it can't be defeated."

In the forward command headquarters of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan No. 1 Subdivision in Xiaoliuzhuang, Beiguan, the commander Liu Zhiyuan was a little worried, he had made a lot of efforts to attack Chiping County several times before, but he didn't defeat it, can he beat it down this time? What the first division lacked now was artillery, and it was indeed difficult to attack such a strong stronghold without artillery.

At this time, he thought of the new 8th Brigade and the mechanized regiment of Han Xing. He immediately contacted Zhang Weihan and asked for Zhang Weihan's support.

Not long after, Han Xing came to Liu Zhiyuan's headquarters with the guard battalion and a howitzer company of the Hou Dashan Mechanized Regiment.

Old friends and comrades-in-arms are naturally very happy to meet. Liu Zhiyuan hugged Han Xing all of a sudden, first hugged him warmly, and then said happily: "Commander Han, I am looking forward to the stars and the moon, and I finally hope for you." ”

Han Xing hurriedly said: "You still think about me, I don't think you can't think of me in the war." Besides, don't call me commander, you are the real commander, the commander of the division, commanding five or six regiments, seven or eight thousand men. What am I, that is, a big-headed soldier. ”

"It's not that I don't want you, it's that good steel is used on the blade, you are so busy, I can only call you when it is critical." Liu Zhiyuan's mouth was also unceremoniously, "Whether the radish is big or small, anyway, it is the elder of the generation, you are my old leader!" What am I talking about, mention your Commander Han's name, Okamura Ningji, Sonobe and Ichiro all know, and Chairman Jiang, Li Zongren, and Xue Yue even know. When it comes to my nickname, who knows which mountain it is a monkey, that is, except for Li Qishan and Luo Zhaorong, Xu Guanwu knows. ”

Han Xing then stabbed him and said, "Don't make you so worthless. Why don't I follow you as a soldier? Follow an errand, convey an order, and think it's okay. ”

Liu Zhiyuan hurriedly said: "Shhh, shhh, shh, Commander Zhang is holding you like a baby, how can I grab it." Besides, even with my small temple, I can't hold you as a great god. This time I called you to help, and I said it so badly, Zhang Weihan let you go! ”

Liu Zhiyuan and Han Xing had enough trouble, so they shook hands with Zhang Xiaosan, commander of the guard battalion, and Li Bus, commander of the artillery company.

These veterans of Han Xing, Zhang Xiaosan, Wu Xiaoming, Li Busi, and Li Dazhong, were also respectful and affectionate when they saw Liu Zhiyuan, who turned out to be their chief of staff, and now they are the commanders of the military sub-divisions, and their official ranks are not a little bigger. When they saw Liu Zhiyuan, they naturally spoke in a measured manner, and they couldn't be like Han Xing, they could say anything.

After these veterans of Han Xing exchanged a few words with Liu Zhiyuan, they naturally did their own business, leaving only Han Xing and Liu Zhiyuan to say some intimate words.

Liu Zhiyuan made a cup of tea for Han Xing and sent it to Han Xing. Now the conditions are a little better, and I can make a cup of tea for the distinguished guests, which is also the treatment of the guests.

The most important thing for the two of them is to discuss the army.

Liu Zhiyuan said to Han Xing: "Commander Han, what do you think about how to destroy these enemies in Chiping? ”

"Why do you call me a commander again, I'm not a commander."

"I'm used to screaming, I can't change it!"

Han Xing had no choice but to say: "There are two ways to fight this battle, one is to first destroy the enemy on the periphery and isolate Chiping County. That is, first eliminate the enemies of Liu Wangshan, Zhang Liangqiao, Putuo Temple and Yuan Zhuang, cut off their minions of Li Qishan, and then besiege the county seat. It's a safe way to play, but it takes some time.

Another way to play is to capture the thief and capture the king first, break the county seat first, and eliminate Li Qishan. Then clean up these minions on the periphery of Liu Wangshan separately. This way of fighting is a bit risky, but if the county can be conquered quickly, it can also play a role in disintegrating the enemy and quickly liberating the county. I don't know what kind of play Commander Liu used? ”

Liu Zhiyuan said: "I plan to use your second tactic?" ”

Han Xing thought for a while and said, "That's good! What are you going to do with the enemy's tall walls and the bunkers on them? ”

"Didn't you bring a howitzer company, isn't this solved?" Liu Zhiyuan said.

Han Xing smiled: "Why do you keep calculating me, can't you think of a way yourself!" ”

"Why don't you bring a howitzer company here?" Liu Zhiyuan said to Han Xing again, "If I have a way, what will I do if I invite you, a great god?" Since you came here with a howitzer company, you have already thought about it, and you are here to deal with the tall walls and turrets. ”

Han Xing asked again, "What about the wide and deep moat?" ”

Liu Zhiyuan said: "Then we can only count on the earthwork industry and blasting." ”

Han Xing said to Liu Zhiyuan again: "When I came, I still had some empty oil drums on my tractor, put these empty oil drums full of explosives, roll them down the trench directly, and blow it up a few sections first. ”

Liu Zhiyuan nodded and said, "It's still Commander Han who thinks thoughtfully!" ”

Han Xing asked again, "What is the overall deployment?" ”

Liu Zhiyuan avoided talking about his own deployment, and said to Han Xing: "Commander Han, I can't say it first, you talk about your deployment first, and then look at my military map, let's compare, how much worse is my thinking than yours?" ”

Han Xing looked at a military map in the corner of Liu Zhiyuan's house, which had already been tightly sealed with a cloth curtain. It seems that Liu Zhiyuan has already planned how to attack Chiping County, but he is just using this topic to test himself, choosing the lesser of two evils, the heavier of two benefits, and learning from each other's strengths.

Han Xing thought for a while and said, "What we have to consider at present is that if Li Qishan abandons the city and escapes, it will be to flee to the southeast around Liu Wangshan, Zhangliangqiao, and Yuanzhuang. If it were me, I would surround it on three sides, let it go on one side, attack from the north gate or the west gate, force it to abandon the strong fortifications, and flee in the southeast direction, and once it escapes, set up a pocket array in the southeast and put it in. Surround and annihilate. ”

Liu Zhiyuan laughed when he heard this, and said, "Please look at my military deployment? ”

Liu Zhiyuan led Han Xing to his military map, opened the curtain, and Han Xing saw the military map of Chiping County. On the map, Liu Zhiyuan placed the second regiment on the north and north gate of the city, the fourth regiment on the west side of the city, the third regiment on the south side of the city, the fifth regiment on the east side of the city, and the sixth regiment on the southeast side of the city.

The red arrows on the map only indicate the specific location of the troops and the target of the attack is Chiping County, but the map itself does not say what the detailed intention of their red arrows is.

Liu Zhiyuan was still "examining" Han Xing, and continued to ask: "Commander Han, it seems that there is no difference between your main idea and mine, can you say what the main tasks of our various regiments are?" ”

Han Xing snorted and said, "What's so difficult about this, the map is all marked, do you still need me to speak!" The main task of the 2nd Regiment was to make the main attack, to prompt the enemy to flee to the southeast. The four regiments choked the west gate of Li Qishan, this area is red earth, which can dig holes, and the four regiments dig holes from here to dig under the west gate. It's good to blow up the West Gate, cooperate with the attack of the Second Regiment, and guard against the reinforcements of Boping Luo Zhaorong.

The main task of the third regiment is to be in charge of the south gate, that is, it can be a feint attack or a main attack, but it has to be open, if Li Qishan wants to run, then let them run. The Fifth Regiment was in charge of the East Gate, and its task was to assist the Second Regiment in actively assisting, and to be vigilant against the reinforcements of the enemy in Jinan and Yuanzhuang and the escape of Li Bandits to Jinan, but like the Third Regiment, if Li Qishan ran, then let them run.

The 6th Regiment was deployed in the southeast direction outside the city, and it was estimated that if Li Qishan wanted to escape, he would run from him, just to block the enemy, and cooperate with the 3rd Regiment and the 5th Regiment to annihilate Li Qishan. They also have a task, that is, to watch the reinforcements of Liu Wangshan, Zhang Liangqiao and other enemies. ”

Liu Zhiyuan was taken aback when he heard this, and said in admiration: "Commander Han, Commander Han, is not the commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army." Although you did not attend the military meeting of our military division, you guessed the details of our military meeting. I thought my thoughts were roughly the same as yours, and I was a little complacent. But some details, although you didn't plan directly, but, what we thought of, you have already thought of. Admire it, admire it! ”

As he spoke, he bowed respectfully to Han Xing.

Han Xing shook his head lightly and said, "Look at what Commander Liu said, Commander Liu's plan is still quite complete!" I'm just guessing. Planning is just planning, and in the implementation process, there are still considerable uncertainties, which can only be handled flexibly. ”

Liu Zhiyuan said to Han Xing again: "If you want to talk about Commander Han's military talent, this position should have been yours a long time ago, but because the background is too deep, the above can't make up your mind for a long time." ”

Han Xing also smiled and said, "It's just because the background is too deep that the Southern Expeditionary Army has always let me be the commander." There is a pros and cons in everything, and this is the stake! ”