Regarding Ma Yongcheng's worries, Li Ziyuan did not answer him immediately. The terrain and enemy situation of the entire Jincheng quickly went through in his mind. The red and blue pencils in his hand were constantly drawing circles on the map, and the distribution locations of the Japanese puppet army in the Jincheng area were constantly drawn. And connect these circles with the so-called positions of their own troops, one by one with red lines.

It took a long time to put down the pen and sort out his thoughts a little, before he picked up the phone and asked for a call to the deputy commander of the fourth division. Li Ziyuan still asked about the battle situation: "How is the situation on your side?" Have you taken down those key nodes now? ”

On the phone, the veteran deputy commander of the fourth division over there said directly: "The situation on our side is okay, and the troops that stick to the key points have repelled many battalion and company-level counterattacks organized by the puppet army in front of them. One of my battalions is now launching a counterattack from the right flank. It has broken through the three lines of defense of the puppet army and is now advancing to attack in depth. ”

"But although the number of puppet troops on the flanks is small, they can resist very tenaciously, and every point needs to be fought over repeatedly to be determined. At present, the troops consume a lot of ammunition, mainly because the counterattack troops have suffered heavy casualties, and the troops are also quite tired. However, the overall progress is not smooth, and the overall pace of progress is quite slow. ”

"However, most of the attention of the puppet army on the front is now attracted by the interspersed troops on my flank, and the strength of the frontal counterattack has decreased a little. I've pulled all the reserves up and am now preparing for a frontal attack. Strive to completely solve this puppet army before this morning. ”

Seeing that the veteran deputy commander of the Fourth Division had finally figured it out, Li Ziyuan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and said, "You don't put all the reserves into the front. In adding no less than one reinforced company to the flank troops, care must be taken not to allow this sharp knife to snap forward. ”

"In addition, when there is a frontal counterattack on all fronts, we must increase the intensity of the attack. After nearly a night of fierce fighting, we were exhausted, and the puppet army in front of us was also exhausted. Our casualties are not light, theirs are even greater. I estimate that these puppet armies on the periphery have now run out of sharpness. ”

"Since you have decided to fight back on all fronts, you must completely eliminate this puppet army in one go. So, I'm allocating some of the machine-gun ammunition to you. Also, pay attention to the collection of ammunition from enemy corpses and prisoners, as well as the collection of ammunition abandoned on the battlefield. ”

"Tell the cadres and soldiers on the front line that the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road. At this time, it depends on who can hold on to the last five minutes, and whoever can hold on will be the winner. The risks that should be taken, still have to be taken. In a word, your attack posture should be as sharp as a tiger descending from a mountain. ”

"After solving the problem on your side, in addition to monitoring the enemy in Gaoping with a part of the force and completely clearing the perimeter of Gaoping, the main force immediately deployed in the southwest direction. While resting, do not relax the vigilance of the troops. I'll give you four hours to take advantage of the fact that these puppet armies are out of the fortifications and deal with these enemies cleanly and thoroughly. ”

Putting down the phone in his hand, Li Ziyuan wanted to call He Sanliang again: "Lao He, how are you preparing over there?" As soon as it's ready, go straight to blasting. Remember, be sure to blow up a gap large enough to get a battalion of troops in one sitting. After entering the city, there is no main direction of attack, and the brigade headquarters of the Puppet Independent 16th Brigade is your target. ”

After talking to He Sanliang, Li Ziyuan put down the phone in his hand. Ma Yongcheng on the side said with a smile: "Why don't you hang up a phone call to Lao Liu and ask about the battle situation over there?" You kid won't be so petty at this time. Although I don't agree with you going to Lao Liu, I don't have any objection to you using the phone to care about it. ”

Regarding Ma Yongcheng's attitude, Li Ziyuan shook his head and said, "At this time, don't use it for the time being." If there is any big change on Lao Liu's side, he will call by himself. Lao Liu, I know that the more pressure there is, the more silent it is. By not making this call, I am already showing my attitude. ”

"The drum doesn't need to be hammered, as long as he calms down, he knows what to do. His character and temperament, as an old comrade-in-arms, I still understand. On his side, the only thing we can do now is to wait for him to report on the situation of the battle. For the rest, as you said, let's not interfere with his command for the time being. ”

Li Ziyuan never took the initiative to make this call, but half an hour later, Liu Haishan's phone came: "Deputy Commander Li, now the troops at the breakthrough point have repelled seven company-level and three battalion-level counterattacks of the puppet army. At present, the strength of the puppet army's counterattack in the entire breakthrough area has begun to decline. ”

"The momentum of its counterattack, in addition to the fact that the firepower is still fierce, has now begun to become weak. Especially after Lao Zhou entered the battle with the main artillery force, the morale of this puppet army became very low. Looking at it now, the elite of the puppet army in the city is estimated to be almost done. ”

"Are we mobilizing the whole group now and going all out in the city? Also, although we have not yet been able to make contact with the trapped troops. But now the two companies in the city are still resisting, and we can still hear gunfire coming from inside the city. I think we've reached the point where we're going to hit all fronts. ”

Liu Haishan's report, Li Ziyuan pondered slightly, and after estimating the progress of He Sanliang's side, he approved Liu Haishan's request to launch a general attack: "I think it's okay, but you must control the intensity after entering the city." Don't attack and rush all at once, but adopt tactics and methods of advancing one by one, and peel off the skin of the puppet army in the city layer by layer. ”

"Remember, don't rush rashly, and get the pace of the battle right. Judging from the situation from the beginning of the battle to the present, the main defensive force of the puppet army is on your side. The pressure you will bear after entering the city should be far greater than that of Lao He. Therefore, after attacking the city, you must fight steadily. ”

"The streets in Gaoping City are narrow, and we must pay attention to the damage caused by the fire on both sides of the street. Also, you immediately withdraw all of Liu Lianming's reconnaissance for me and scatter it for me to the area south of Gaoping. In addition, after breaking into the city, Zhou Tong's artillery had to be transferred back except for a mountain cannon to cooperate with you. ”

Li Ziyuan just put down Liu Haishan's phone here, and He Sanliang's phone came in again. He Sanliang reported* that the loading has been completed, is it on time to detonate? Regarding He Sanliang's request, Li Ziyuan said with a headache: "Lao He, you are now the commander over there, and when the explosion will start is within your brother's own authority." ”

"As long as you feel that the time and the fighter are right, you must make up your mind. Don't ask for advice on such a question, brother. Again, there is no main direction of attack, where there is an enemy, there is your goal. But you must control the pace of the battle for me, and be careful not to take the enemy lightly. ”

"The next step of street fighting is a big test for us. You'll have to keep the pace of the battle and pay more attention to your way along the flanks of the street. You must not put all your troops on the same street, because you think you have too many troops and are looking for targets for the enemy. Your brother has fought the Battle of Linyi, so you should know what you should pay attention to in the street fighting. ”

Putting down the phone in his hand, Li Ziyuan said to the communications staff officer: "Telegraph to the military region that our department has broken into the city from two directions. Now a general attack is being launched on the puppet army in the city, and efforts are being made to solve the problem once and for all before dusk today. In addition, our unit is also launching a final purge battle against the puppet army on the periphery. ”

It's just that the staff officer who hasn't waited for the record of Li Ziyuan's order turned around and went to send a telegram. The telegram from the military region had already arrived, and on the telegram, the military region told Li Ziyuan that the two regiments of the puppet Ninth Division stationed in Qinshui and one regiment of the Eighth Division stationed in Yangcheng had been secretly transferred last night, and their whereabouts had not yet been clarified.

In addition, more than 3,000 Japanese troops were drawn from Anyang, Jiaozuo, Xinxiang, Zhengzhou, and even Luoyang, and the 6th and 10th independent garrisons stationed there, as well as the 110th Division, and are now taking hundreds of trucks to forcibly reinforce Jincheng in a mechanized way. The troops of various divisions of our southern front are carrying out resistance along the line.

The strength of the Japanese reinforcements this time far exceeded that of the puppet army. Although the troops are not large, they are equipped with very powerful artillery. In particular, the Japanese reinforcements from Xinxiang, which had recently been reinforced, had only one separate infantry brigade, but had two mountain artillery squadrons and one mortar squadron.

The 14th Independent Infantry Brigade stationed in Changzhi was also under the command of its newly arrived brigade commander, Major General Motoquan Xin. Now it is also a frequent action, putting on a posture of going south for reinforcements. The military region has already moved north with a force, ready to insert diagonally behind Li Ziyuan, ready to meet the puppet army sent by Yangcheng and Qinshui.

The military region has now made up its mind to use this puppet army to disperse reinforcements and try to achieve the overall situation of the surprise target. They also adopted corresponding tactical adjustments to move against move, preparing to annihilate the enemy in the movement. This time, the military region reminded him that he must pay attention to the situation in his flank and rear. Before the reinforcements of the military region arrived, we must pay attention to the sneak attack of the Japanese puppet army behind it.

Regarding the telegram of the military region, Li Ziyuan did not say anything, just sat there and quietly looked at the map. And Ma Yongcheng, who was on the side, shook his head and said: "The situation is very complicated now, why aren't you worried at all?" If the puppet army arrives before the main force, it will be difficult for us. ”

Ma Yongcheng was worried, but Li Ziyuan smiled and said: "Old man, in fact, the current posture of these puppet armies, we can be worried." Don't look at the whereabouts of these puppet soldiers are unknown, in fact, it is not difficult to guess that they must be coming to Gaoping. It's just that the one in Jincheng is an old fox, but which of his division commanders is not an old fox? ”

"Everyone has been rolling over little by little in the warlord melee for many years, what kind of conspiracy to kill people with a knife has not been seen? The old fox himself did not move, and let his subordinates be the first birds. came up with this plan of multiple batches and multiple reinforcements, which was actually a big pie for Gaoping's defending enemy. ”

"The combat effectiveness of his own troops, can he not be clear? With reinforcements scattered in this way, it was indeed difficult for us to judge for a moment which direction his main force was. But the problem is that he did buy a certain amount of time in doing so, but he also scattered all his forces. His division commanders, which reinforcements would be desperate in this situation? ”

"For these people, the barrel of the gun is the foundation of their life. From their commander-in-chief, to the officers at all levels below, everyone knows that when the troops are gone, they are nothing. So, they will play tricks and scheming, but the only thing they won't do is to fight with their lives. ”