For many Japanese troops who had just arrived in Zaozhuang, they knew very well that the encirclement and suppression operation would be launched, and it would not be completed in a short time. As for the number and whereabouts of the attackers, the Japanese army also needs to spend more time to find out.

Secondly, the loss of Zaozhuang was even worse than the Japanese army expected. Most of the Japanese troops who came overnight to reinforce did not carry too many daily necessities. At present, most of the people in Zaozhuang City have run out, and the logistics supply of the Japanese army is also a problem.

Fortunately, after regaining control of Zaozhuang and setting up a radio station, the Japanese army also began to temporarily mobilize a batch of food and daily necessities to Zaozhuang from the surrounding garrison troops. The large amount of combat materials needed for the follow-up encirclement and suppression will also be quickly replenished in the near future.

It's still the same old saying, the three armies have not moved, and the grain and grass go first. As far as the Japanese army is concerned, they have to eat and when they fight, and if they really have to starve them for a few days, it is estimated that they will not be able to stand on their feet. In Zaozhuang City, the grain was scavenged.

Losing the fastest rail transportation, the Japanese army could only replenish supplies from other counties by road transportation. It will take a long time to mobilize materials or to participate in the encirclement and suppression.

Before waiting for the sweep operation to begin, the Japanese troops who arrived in Zaozhuang had another task, which was to find out the whereabouts of the attacking forces. On the night of the attack, the Jinan garrison headquarters issued an order to control the area around Zaozhuang.

At the same time, the Japanese army also applied for a number of reconnaissance and patrol planes to carry out round-trip aerial reconnaissance in Zaozhuang. Its purpose was to find out the stealth of the attacking force. It's a pity that the reconnaissance aircraft didn't seem to gain much.

The reason is very simple, whether it is the Zaozhuang detachment commanded by Hu Biao or the Lunan guerrilla detachment that participated in the cooperative operation, they are all experts who are good at fighting guerrillas. Naturally, we have our own methods to guard against the Japanese army's aerial reconnaissance.

If there is a large Zaozhuang, there are many mountain ranges. Despite the fact that the reconnaissance aircraft was in some large mountains, signs of personnel activity were seen. According to the scouts, they can reduce the flight altitude to reconnoitre, and most of the people hidden in the mountains are armed bandits.

The Japanese soldiers, who were in charge of ground investigation and tracking, quickly followed the ruts to find the abandoned car that Hu Biao had used and abandoned. Looking at these cars that were pushed into the ditch and all blown up, the Japanese army also felt quite a headache.

Looking at the highway that stretched forward, the members of the Japanese Army's Special High School who were in charge of the investigation also said helplessly: "Baga! In such a short period of time, it should be impossible for them to escape from the territory of Zaozhuang. But why was this car abandoned here? ”

"Team leader, could it be that they are deliberately confusing us and making us mistakenly think that they have escaped from Zaozhuang?"

"The question is, can you guarantee now that they didn't flee the territory of Zaozhuang? The fact that they were able to drive the car to this place is enough that we must expand the reconnaissance area. Send electricity to the defenders in the surrounding areas and ask them to block the exits along the road. ”

"Team leader, this group of enemies shouldn't be able to take the road, right?"

"Even if they don't take the road, then if they want to leave Zaozhuang, they will have to spend more time. They seized so much supplies last night, how much could they bring with them to move with them if they only transported them by manpower? Walk the mountain trail and spend more time! ”

In the opinion of the head of the investigation team of the special high school section who led the team, the blockade of the surrounding roads is more to scare the sneak attack troops and make them dare not choose to march from the road. If you choose to break through on other roads, the time it takes will also increase exponentially.

Secondly, another advantage of blocking the highway is that it completely surrounds the entire Zaozhuang. As a steady stream of follow-up reinforcements arrived in Zaozhuang, the Japanese reconnaissance would continue to increase until the hidden attackers were forced out.

The Japanese army's idea was good, but for Hu Biao, who had always been cautious, he also knew that the longer the delay, the higher the danger of the troops being exposed. After letting the troops rest for a day, it was decided to lead the main force to jump out of the encirclement set up by the Japanese army.

In contrast, the Independent Regiment of the Qilu Column of the Eighth Route Army, which came from the Yimeng Mountains, infiltrated Zaozhuang under such circumstances. As far as the Qilu Column was concerned, the spoils captured by the guerrilla detachment this time were something they would not give up no matter what.

When Zhang Guangwu, the chief of staff of the Qilu Column, saw the materials prepared by the guerrilla detachment in advance, and the officers and soldiers of the Independent Regiment who were secretly marching all the way, he also looked very excited, and said with a smile: "Wow, they are all good guns!" And artillery and machine guns! ”

Looking at Sun Xinghua and Lin Dingyuan, who came to converge, Zhang Guangwu, who came over on behalf of the column, also said happily: "Not bad! It has only been a few days since your detachment was formed, and so much loot has been captured, and the column has already decided to take credit for you! ”

In the face of Zhang Guangwu's praise, Sun Xinghua smiled bitterly: "Chief of Staff, in fact, we didn't contribute much in the battle last night. In addition to fighting Zhangzhuang, it was Staff Officer Lin who led the team, and we almost didn't fight the ambush battle on the railway! ”

"What's going on?"

"The training of the troops is still a bit lacking, and many soldiers are not suitable for group combat. When it comes to fighting, I still like to fight alone. If it weren't for Captain Hu's support of the mortar and the cooperation of the soldiers, we are afraid that we would have suffered a lot of casualties last night! ”

Listening to what Sun Xinghua said, Zhang Guangwu thought about it and nodded: "This is also something that can't be helped!" As soon as your detachment was formed, you participated in such a large-scale battle, and it is normal for the fighters to be a little unable to adapt to it.

Now that you have weapons, ammunition and supplies, you have to focus on training your troops. A telegram had already been sent from the headquarters that after the main force came over, the main force under the command of our column would be reorganized accordingly.

Although your detachment is a newly formed unit, you should be able to apply for the corresponding reorganization by virtue of your combat exploits this time. If you can be reorganized into a main regiment, you will also need to show the combat effectiveness that the main regiment should have. ”

"Yes! Please rest assured that the chief of staff will be strict in the future, and we will organize the troops to strengthen training! ”

"How's the situation on Captain Hu's side?"

"Not so clear! From the beginning to the end, we didn't find out where they were hiding, and they were still a certain wary of us. However, they had sent a telegram earlier, and they were already planning to leave Zaozhuang to avoid the limelight. ”

"What? As soon as they won the battle, they wanted to withdraw? ”

Hearing the information provided by Sun Xinghua, Zhang Guangwu did seem a little surprised. In Zhang Guangwu's view, the current time in Zaozhuang is the emptiest time for the Japanese army, and Hu Biao should take advantage of the victory to pursue it. Why do you choose to leave?

Lin Dingyuan, who stayed next to him and didn't speak, also answered in a timely manner: "That's because Captain Hu thinks that the little devil will retaliate like crazy next." This time, we robbed the little devil twice and captured Zaozhuang City, and the Japanese army will definitely be very angry.

In order to avoid a possible sweep by the Japanese army, he decided to take the main force away and keep a small number of troops to continue to lurk in Zaozhuang. If nothing else, the batch of materials he seized should also be hidden, and it will be activated after the rumors have passed! ”

"By the way, didn't he send a telegraph operator in your detachment? What about people? Hurry up and send him a telegram and ask about the situation! ”

Thinking of the newspaper operator sent by Hu Biao to the guerrilla detachment before, Zhang Guangwu felt the need to get in touch with Hu Biao. Although he had only met Hu Biao once, Zhang Guangwu still knew that Hu Biao's ability to spy on intelligence was still very strong.

Ready to withdraw so soon, Hu Biao must have received some news! Thinking of the conditions mentioned by Hu Biao before, Zhang Guangwu suddenly found that the batch of materials earned by the guerrilla detachment was only afraid that it would be very hot and had to be handled carefully.

With only the Japanese garrison in Qilu, the Qilu column felt that it could barely deal with it. But if the main division of the Japanese army, which was fighting on the front line, retreated, the situation in Qilu would also become quite tricky.

Thinking of this possibility, Zhang Guangwu wanted to ask Hu Biao more about the situation, which also helped him make his next decision. Although the independent regiment brought by it has been replaced with shotguns, in terms of combat effectiveness, it is really a death to the Japanese army, and the odds of victory are still not great!

In the face of Zhang Guangwu's inquiry, Lin Dingyuan continued to smile bitterly: "Chief of Staff, when you arrived, the telegram team sent by Captain Hu left. At this time, I'm afraid that they have already joined Captain Hu! ”

"Walk so fast! Never mind! Fortunately, I brought the radio this time and immediately sent a report to Captain Hu to ask about his situation. I'd like to see him again if it's convenient. This guy must have smelled something! ”

When Hu Biao received a telegram from Zhang Guangwu, he said very directly: "Call back, our department is preparing to transfer, and it is inconvenient to meet." If you have a fate, you will see you again. If there is something to do directly, we will implement radio silence at night! ”

"Yes, Captain!"

Qin Tianyou, who was staying by Hu Biao's side, also smiled when he saw this scene: "This chief of staff, you want to attack us again?" ”

"I don't know! But for us, we have to hurry. According to the telegram sent by Lao Xu, the little devil had set up many interceptions on the road out of Zaozhuang. If you don't hurry up, you won't be able to leave. ”

"As we go, they pulled a main regiment over. It's really blocking the little devils, I'm afraid it will be very troublesome! ”

"If the Eighth Route Army was so easy to deal with, they wouldn't have developed so quickly! Don't worry, the little devil wants to block the Eighth Route Army, but I'm afraid it's not very likely. At present, the troops deployed by the little devils in Qilu are actually insufficient. ”

"Then why don't we stay and continue to work with them?"

"You forget, we need to keep a low profile! As far as our current strength is concerned, it is said that it is an anti-war force, but in fact it is only the strength of a reinforced regiment. With this little bit of possessions that we have finally saved, we must live a careful life in order to go further! ”

On some matters, Hu Biao also did not want to mislead the Eighth Route Army and make the Eighth Route Army feel that they could mobilize Hu Biao at will. Again, Hu Biao must ensure the independence and autonomy of the troops, and no one wants him to be absolutely obedient and cooperative.

After receiving the telegram from Hu Biao, Zhang Guangwu became more and more sure that Hu Biao must know something they did not know. Unable to meet face-to-face, Zhang Guangwu could only ask if Hu Biao knew what battle plan the Japanese army was arranging.

Faced with such an inquiry, Hu Biao thought for a while and said: "Forward a copy of the information that the reconnaissance team has heard." In addition, tell Chief of Staff Zhang to think about Mr. Zhu's 16-character guerrilla warfare policy! ”

In Hu Biao's opinion, if Zhang Guangwu was smart, he would naturally make a wise decision. At this stage, including the Eighth Route Army, in the face of the Japanese army, keeping a low profile is the way to survive. If it's too high-profile, it will outweigh the losses!