Li Ziyuan nodded at the teacups on the table, which he used as the firepower of the Japanese army, and said: "We don't have artillery in our hands, and we don't even have much explosives." If you rely on cluster grenades alone, this will definitely come at a great cost. Besides, the grenades made by our base in our hands are also clear to you. ”

"Not to mention blowing up a bunker, it is not possible to blow up a Japanese puppet army. If you can't get a bunker, not a single box of grenades will blow it up. This situation also means that the cost of our offensive is not small. Old chief, I am absolutely how to fight this attack, we should still think about it. ”

"Just as you said, the central government's transfer of the key cadres back to northern Shaanxi this time is unlikely to leave the key cadres in their own right place. If the casualties in this battle are too great, the commander and you will not be able to explain to their superiors. I think we should think about it carefully, and in the case of lack of firepower, we should use tactics to make up for it. ”

"As for the devil's retaliatory sweep afterwards, I will also find a way to make some preparations in advance. Before the Japanese army completed the battle of Nakajo Mountain, the strong wall of the strong wall, the clear field of the clear field. However, as long as this battle is fought, it can completely defeat the Hubei garrison. Without the response of these local snakes, I am really not afraid of the devil's revenge. ”

Li Ziyuan's worry, Wang Cheng also nodded thoughtfully: "I have also pondered what you think, and the reason for the lack of firepower to make up for it with tactics is still right." We don't have the cannon, at least in the short term, but we can adjust the tactics accordingly. ”

"I want to wait until the troops arrive, and then let's come up with a plan together to practice for three days. Although the time is a little rushed, it is not unprepared to rush into battle. In this battle, my policy is that the troops should be trained, but we must not affect the decision-making of the higher authorities because of casualties. ”

"Also, don't be arrogant, you kid. The Japanese army in the southeast of Jin Province was previously held back by a lot of energy because of the direction of Zhongtiao Mountain and Lingchuan. At present, although the battle on the side of Nakajo Mountain has not completely ended, the effective resistance has been basically defeated. ”

"In addition to the 27th Army of the Central Army, which was defeated last month, at least for the time being, most of the Japanese forces have been freed up in the southern and southeastern areas of Jinjin. These 36 divisions alone can draw out a considerable part of their troops and transfer them to the southeastern region of Shanxi. So when you kid is preparing for the counter-sweep, you must think as carefully as possible. ”

Regarding Li Ziyuan's opinion, Wang Cheng still agrees. But for this guy's big grin, Wang Cheng is a little dissatisfied. It's just that the Japanese army swept up and retaliated afterwards, although it was inevitable, but after all, there was still some time. At present, the main energy is still to focus on how to fight this battle.

However, although the two of them reached an agreement on this matter, how to adjust their tactics, the two of them didn't think of too many ways for a while. Li Ziyuan used a kettle and a teacup to put a general three-dimensional defensive posture on the table, The two of them studied it for a long time, and there was no good way.

The situation now in front of us is that the Japanese puppet army on the front line from Qiaokou to Pingchuan is insufficient. The loss of the puppet garrison during the Spring Festival has not been replenished by the Japanese army. Therefore, in addition to a small squad of the Japanese army, the current combat effectiveness of the puppet garrison is only a squadron that is dissatisfied with the formation in Qiaokou and a reinforced squadron in Pingchuan Town.

In addition to this part of the puppet garrison, the Japanese puppet army in the entire Hubei territory, in addition to the Japanese army squad in Hubei County and the two companies of the puppet Jinnan Founding Army, there are some armed policemen who basically have no field combat ability. That is to say, in this battle, their own troops have an absolute advantage in terms of strength.

At the same time, most of the enemy troops that need to be faced in this battle are puppet troops with relatively poor combat effectiveness, which is a favorable aspect of this battle. If these puppet armies are added together in the field battle, it will not be enough to fight the two strong troops at the moment. But where there is a positive side, there is also a negative side.

The Japanese puppet military fortifications in Pingchuan Town are strong and the defense system is complete. Moreover, although the combat effectiveness of the puppet garrison is somewhat weaker, the strength of the troops is also at an absolute disadvantage. However, if you rely on favorable fortifications and defend under the supervision of the Japanese army, it is still a persimmon that is not too hard, but it is definitely not soft.

Defensive warfare is not a field battle, hiding inside the fortifications and shooting, and fighting the battlefield are two different things. No matter how poor the combat effectiveness of the troops is, they can withstand it for a while when they have strong fortifications to rely on. What's more, the troops are seriously lacking in offensive weapons, and if these puppet troops really don't come out, they will really have to work hard to solve them.

In addition, both Wang Cheng and Li Ziyuan found that the puppet army in Shanxi may have inherited the old foundation of the Jin Sui army. It's a bit worse to play tough battles, but they're both better at defending. And the puppet army of Qiaokou and Pingchuan judged by Li Ziyuan, and the posture of shrinking defense without coming out, is very likely to appear.

If the method of encircling the point to send reinforcements is adopted, and the Japanese puppet army in Pingchuan Town is lured to dispatch first, it is not very likely that the puppet army will be tricked. The lack of the Japanese army, which has always been the backbone, makes these puppet troops, who are not strong in their desire to fight, and are now in the weakest moment, take the initiative to come to the rescue, and it is estimated that there will be no great hope.

In other words, this battle is almost 100 percent a tough battle. However, in the case of attacking fortified positions, especially in the absence of heavy weapons, relying solely on insufficient explosive packs to attack the stronghold of the well-fortified Japanese puppet army has always been the most troublesome thing for the entire Eighth Route Army.

The fortifications rebuilt by the Japanese puppet army in Pingchuan Town this time, Li Ziyuan had observed it at close range. These fortifications were clearly painstakingly designed. The firing range of each firepower point is not only quite open, covering almost the entire Pingchuan Town, but also has small firepower points around several main forts to cover. Between the various firing points, there is a cross-deployment on the firing range.

In other words, if you hit any of these fortifications, you will face fire from the surrounding fortifications. At the same time, it is wide and deep, and the blockade ditch on both sides is almost 90 degrees, and how to pass through it is also a difficult problem. If you choose to attack, the price to pay will definitely be considerable.

There is also an option to choose a soil work course, but it can only be through the open land on the outskirts of Pingchuan. But it was just as difficult to pass through the blockade ditch several meters wide outside the town of Pingchuan. However, earthwork is also an option, as long as it can pass through the open land on the outskirts of Pingchuan, it can reduce casualties by at least one-third.

However, soil work is a very time-consuming method, which requires the main attacking force to deploy a part of the troops in the case of an attack on the periphery of Pingchuan to clamp down on the Japanese puppet army that may be reinforced in the north direction of Hu. The small number of Japanese puppet troops does not mean that they will not come out to reinforce.

As for the Japanese puppet army in the eastern direction of Ludong, there is no need for Wang Cheng and Li Ziyuan to worry about it at the moment. After reinforcing the Ludong Independent Battalion, the main regiment that had just been incorporated into the Ludong Army Division, would also carry out sabotage operations against the Baijin Railway and the strongholds of the Japanese puppet army in Ludong. The Japanese puppet army in the eastern direction of Ludong was also difficult to reinforce Hubei when they were too busy to take care of themselves.

As long as the Japanese puppet army in the direction of Hubei County can be restrained, it doesn't matter if there is more time to delay on the periphery of Pingchuan. However, in order to support Wang Cheng's offensive operations, Li Ziyuan gave almost all the explosives on hand to the old chief. After all, even at present, the basic regiment is strong and strong, and the three formed battalions are fully manned.

But the lack of heavy weapons is the lack of heavy weapons. Although there are a lot of light and heavy machine guns, the problem is that machine gun bullets cannot penetrate fortifications. The large-caliber machine gun that Li Ziyuan handed over was okay, but the problem was that the military division could not afford to raise the machine gun, so it was handed over to the military region. Lacking offensive weapons, the fortification group of the Pingchuan stronghold is enough for the basic regiment to gnaw well for a while.

However, Li Ziyuan also advised Wang Cheng not to be stingy with explosives when passing through the blockade ditch. The manual work is slow, and the attacking troops are easily suppressed by enemy fire in the blockade ditch, and if necessary, explosives can be used to blow up a slope in the blockade ditch. As long as you pass through the blockade ditch and knock out a few main forts in the blockade ditch, this battle will be much easier.

Li Ziyuan's meaning is very clear, that is, people are the most precious. The explosives are gone, and we can find a way to do it again. But if the troops suffer too many casualties, it will not be easy to do. But Li Ziyuan's opinion is only for reference, and how this battle will be fought depends on Wang Cheng's meaning.

Just when all the key regiments arrived and Wang Cheng personally went into battle to lead the troops to conduct pre-war drills, he received information from Liu Yanlai. On the day that the basic regiment of the sub-division entered the territory of Hubei, the Japanese puppet army in Pingchuan seemed to smell some rumors, and withdrew all the puppet troops in Qiaokou to Pingchuan Town, and the entire Qiaokou stronghold is now empty.

After receiving this information, Wang Cheng and Li Ziyuan glanced at each other, but they shook their heads in unison. Wang Cheng and Li Ziyuan divided labor, and Wang Cheng transferred a company to Qiaokou, temporarily controlling this most important stronghold in the eastern mountainous area of Hubei and leading to the outside world. And Li Ziyuan commanded his Hubei Independent Battalion, all of which entered the stronghold that the Japanese puppet army had abandoned before.

At the same time, after all the basic regiments of the sub-division arrived in Hubei, Wang Cheng commanded the troops to use the former Japanese puppet military fortification group in the Qiaokou stronghold to carry out a certain drill to attack the fortified positions, and explore the tactics of attacking the fortified positions in the absence of heavy weapons. With the cooperation of Liu Lianming, Wang Cheng also took his chief of staff and a group of battalion and company military commanders to the periphery of Pingchuan to conduct reconnaissance.

However, after the reconnaissance returned, Wang Cheng postponed the launch of the attack and only commanded the troops to enter the periphery of Pingchuan. And Wang Tieshi of Pingchuan also reacted quite quickly, after the divisional backbone group entered the periphery of Pingchuan. He also gave up all the outlying strongholds of the entire town of Pyongcheon, except for the commanding heights in the northeast.

Wang Tieshi couldn't retreat and withdrew all his troops into the town. Wang Cheng was not in a hurry to launch an attack, but continued to send a small force to launch a tentative attack, trying to find out the key deployment areas of the Japanese puppet army in Pingchuan, and prepare for a comprehensive start in an orderly manner.

The reason why Wang Cheng in Pingchuan did not rush to attack was because on the railway line from Pingchuan to Changzhi, several armored vehicles of the Japanese army constantly harassed Wang Cheng's troops. These armored vehicles, which can quickly switch between railway and road driving states, rush over from time to time and quickly retreat after firing machine guns for a while.

You set up a defense along the road, and he slipped off the railroad. If you want to blow up the railroad and cut off the path of these pesky guys, he's constantly patrolling the railroad to make it hard for you to find a start. From time to time, it also cooperated with several Japanese light tanks and armored vehicles dispatched from Hubei County to intersperse the surrounding area of Pingchuan.