Regarding He Sanliang's concern, Li Ziyuan smiled and said: "Old He, if the deployment of the 62nd Division is the same as the original 36th Division, and the entire formed division is concentrated in the southeast of Shanxi, I may still have this concern." However, the two brigades of the 62nd Division were scattered over a vast area between the Zhengtai Line, the Tongpu Line, and the Daoqing Line. ”

"Unless they don't want other defense areas, they definitely won't have too many troops concentrated here. Of course, more of a puppet army. But it's a little hard for us to fight devils, but if we can't fight the puppet army, then we should all go home and eat ourselves. And what does the second battalion do? They didn't just pick us up. ”

"When they came to meet us, I gave them a very important task, which was to find out the thickness of the Japanese puppet army's encirclement. In fact, if the three battalions are complete, and the number of recruits and non-combat troops we are carrying at the moment is smaller, it will be better to let the second battalion go to Changzhi City to surround Wei and save Zhao with one hand. ”

"But our current situation can only take a combination of internal and external methods. And Lao He, why should I insist until noon tomorrow. In addition to waiting for the arrival of the second battalion, there is another very crucial reason, I want to look at the ratio between the Japanese puppet army that will attack the city tomorrow, in order to judge the composition of the second blockade line of the Japanese puppet army. ”

"Old Qian, your task this time is to master the movements of the captives and recruits. Prisoners, in particular, are to be replenished into the troops when necessary, and pulled directly into the battlefield. Lao He, you have to fully cooperate with me this time. Firmly grasp the troops, and absolutely not allow the troops to disperse and not be able to converge. ”

"Also, there are only a few troops on the walls. The devil's artillery is very powerful, and if there are too many people on the city wall, there are too many people who think of us. Tell Zhou Tong that his artillery company has hidden it for me. I want their artillery fire to hit there, and his artillery fire must be able to send and receive hits.

Speaking of this, Li Ziyuan kept his mouth. And He Sanliang and Qian Peng both shook their heads, and they both felt that Li Ziyuan's plan was still a bit too risky. It's just that it's too late to say anything. The two of them could only adopt a tacit attitude towards Li Ziyuan's battle plan.

Facing the heavy siege of the Japanese puppet army, Li Ziyuan seemed to be very calm. On the contrary, perhaps it was the Japanese army who were afraid of long nights and dreams, and they couldn't hold their breath. At dawn the next day, the eager Japanese concentrated more than ten mountain artillery guns that had been transferred one after another, plus two 105 mm guns.

The Japanese army can be said to have invested heavily this time, not only concentrating a large number of artillery pieces that can be called extremely luxurious in the previous operations of the Eighth Route Army. And he did not skimp on shells, and in just ten minutes, two or three hundred shells fell at the east and north gates of Hubei.

Under the intensive artillery fire of the Japanese army, the two city gates were blown up and damaged, and it can almost be said that they are shaking. But the Japanese spent a lot of money last year, because the Japanese army personally supervised the work, and did not cut corners at all, and the city wall was built so solidly. Even if the broken bricks were blown up, they still insisted on standing.

In the face of the Japanese army's luxurious artillery preparations, Li Ziyuan looked relaxed on the surface. In fact, Li Ziyuan, who fought this kind of battle for the first time, was still nervous, and his hands holding the telescope were already sweating slightly. Li Ziyuan fought a defensive battle, but this kind of outside leaving the mountains, simple town defense, and not even fighting reinforcements outside, Li Ziyuan fought for the first time.

The Japanese artillery was ready to shake the ground and shake the mountains, and Li Ziyuan did not put down the telescope in his hand at all during this period. At this moment, his greatest luck is that after entering the city for the second time, he evacuated the people in the city as soon as possible. Otherwise, wait for the extension of the Japanese artillery fire, and the common people do not know how many casualties will be suffered.

After more than ten minutes of artillery fire was prepared, the Japanese concentrated heavy forces to launch an attack on the east and north gates. Under the cover of light and heavy machine guns and infantry guns at any cost, the Japanese troops each invested an infantry squadron at the east gate and the north gate, plus about a battalion of the puppet army.

In the face of the large-scale attack of the Japanese puppet army, Li Ziyuan was not in a hurry. When the ladder was erected and the city was climbed, it became clear that the troops began to greet with *. Light and heavy machine guns concentrated their firepower to hit the second echelon of the Japanese puppet army. Li Ziyuan repeatedly told the troops that no one was allowed to poke out of the city wall against the Japanese puppet army who were climbing the city, but only smashed down.

If the ladder crosses the city, it shall be topped down with a wooden pole. In a word, except for not allowing the Japanese puppet army to climb into the city, the rest can do whatever it takes as long as they don't lean out. Anyway, when I entered the city for the second time, I captured a lot of them from the Japanese puppet army in the city*. These* are not open to use, do they still stay for the devils?

After receiving Li Ziyuan's order, one company on each of the two sides of the city was not polite. Use what works. Boil water in a large pot that has been set up in advance and pour it under the city. The city gate building that was blown up by Japanese artillery fire, and the waste bricks and tiles were smashed downward. There were even excrements collected from the toilets that were boiled and dumped under the city.

In short, just as Li Ziyuan said, whatever method works, use whatever method works. In the first wave of attacks, the Japanese army paid more than 20 ladders, and more than 100 Japanese puppet soldiers were burned, injured, broken and fractured, and even poured from head to head by boiling dung water casualties, almost none of which were able to attack the city.

Only once at the east gate, more than a dozen Japanese soldiers rushed to the city under the cover of infantry guns and mortars behind them. As a result, as soon as he landed in the city, before he had time to find concealment, the dense bullets and the * slashing head and face were knocked down. More than a dozen Japanese soldiers who climbed to the top of the city did not even have time to fire their guns, and they were beaten into a hornet's nest.

The battle was resolved so quickly that Li Ziyuan, who was directing the battle at the east gate, did not react. The dozen or so Japanese soldiers who arrived in the city have all become hornet's nests. Li Ziyuan reacted that these dozen Japanese soldiers would not be Song Weiye, the commander of the first battalion who was sticking to the east gate, and consciously put them up.

Otherwise, how could the location of the Japanese army landing in the city be so coincidental, and it happened to be the intersection of the fire of several of his machine guns? Next to the machine gun, there are also two recruits who will use * in ambush? But how Song Weiye fights, that's his business. As long as you can solve the devil at a small cost, it's more important than anything, isn't it.

The first wave of attacks was ten miles long, which made Major General Tokutaro Nakajima, who had just arrived, face comparable to their Japanese Mount Fuji. Think of yourself being stuffed into a small plane, taking off from a dirt runway instead of a section of road outside Yangquan City, and landing directly east of Hubei County, without even bringing an adjutant.

Originally, I thought that this time I would eliminate a bold force and dare to defend the city. As a result, as soon as he made a move, he was beaten in the face. The first wave of attacks suffered setbacks on all fronts, which made His Excellency the Major General very dissatisfied. Putting down the binoculars in his hand, he said to a Japanese soldier next to him: "Don't stop the attack, tell the troops in front to launch a continuous assault." ”

After receiving his order, the young man hesitated. Just looked at Major General Nakajima Tokutaro's face, and finally didn't dare to say anything. Don't dare to hesitate at all, and immediately convey this order. However, this time, His Excellency Shao Zuo left the puppet army to attack the east gate, and he personally commanded the Japanese army to attack the north gate with all his might.

After the first wave of testing, although the losses were not light, this Shao Zuo also found that the defense system of the entire Hubei County, at least so far, the East Gate is the strongest. A few 105* shots landed on the blockage of the city gate, and only a layer of sandbags on the outside was blown up, and the large stones inside were not hurt at all.

Relatively speaking, although the defense of the north gate seems to have a lot of light and heavy machine guns, it is only some carts and wood that can block the door opening. Compared to the east gate, the north gate is obviously a relatively soft bone. At least as long as the cannonballs blow through the broken wood inside the city gate, there is no big problem in attacking the city.

He didn't want his subordinates, this Shao Zuo, who had suffered too many casualties, personally commanded two infantry squadrons, an independent mortar squadron and a mountain artillery squadron, plus a heavy machine gun squadron, and a 105* gun to launch an attack on the soft persimmon north gate in his eyes. In order to open Hubei County as soon as possible with minimal casualties.

In this Shao Zuo's opinion, as long as he can rush into the city, these dirt roads are a piece of cake. This is the county seat of Hubei, not the Taihang Mountains where they have been entrenched for a long time. If these eight roads don't go to Hubei County, they are purely looking for death. As long as the cover of the city walls is lost, isn't it easy to clean them up?

Of course, for Li Ziyuan's move to block the road with a large car at the north gate, this Shaozuo was also a little skeptical, whether the guy in front of him was playing any tricks. But after sending personnel to conduct careful reconnaissance of the materials blocking the other three doors. His Excellency Shao Zuo thought that this was a way out for the cunning Eighth Route Commander to consciously leave for himself.

Obviously, they knew that they would not be able to resist the Imperial Japanese Army for long if they were trapped here. It is estimated that they are still ready to adopt the old method, and hold on until dark to move from the way they left behind. This Shaozo didn't think that the eight roads in the city would lack enough materials if they wanted to block this gate like other city gates.

Although beside him, Liu Kaishan, who had already rushed back from the eastern mountains at this time, repeatedly reminded this Shao Zuo that the Eighth Route Regiment Commander in the city was not ordinary cunning. When the imperial army is attacking the city, it is better to be cautious. But this old man's reminder, that Shao Zuo didn't listen to it at all.

After the first round of artillery fire blew up the pile of rags that Li Ziyuan used to block the city gate, His Excellency immediately commanded the troops to rush towards the north gate. At the same time, the artillery behind him extended the artillery fire. Dense shells smashed into the head of the city and the depth of the north gate. A heavy machine gun squadron of the Japanese army, with four heavy machine guns, also rained down on the city like a storm.

The blockage at the north gate was blown up into the sky, and in the face of the Japanese attack, the limited firepower on the head of the city could not stop the breakthrough of the city. Just when a squadron of the Japanese army, which was the first to enter the city, broke through the opponent's attack, only a few light machine guns and some rifles, forming a sparse fire network and rushing into the city.

The Japanese soldiers who were preparing to enter the city were stunned to find that several bundles suddenly rolled down from the city, and a layer of quilts was wrapped on the outside, and a large amount of wood was tied. A few holes had been pierced by a bayonet, still flowing outward, emitting a strong smell of gasoline, a gasoline drum that could be smelled from distant artillery positions.