The rest of the troops, except for the necessary vigilance, after repairing the fortifications, rested according to Li Ziyuan's order, so as to recharge their energy and prepare for a big battle. Only Wang Jun's engineer company, as well as most of Liu Lianming's reconnaissance company, were constantly busy behind Li Ziyuan.

Except for a few battalion company commanders, almost no one knew what Li Ziyuan was busy with. All they saw was that the Northeast* was being moved out one by one. There were also earthen constructions* carried by the troops that were reopened, and it was not known what was filled inside and then removed.

In fact, it turned out that the Japanese army's reaction speed was quite fast. Those puppet soldiers who were driven out of the city by Li Ziyuan on the spot and dismissed directly went to the Japanese puppet army to report the news. Knowing that Hubei County was actually occupied by a group of eight roads, the Japanese puppet army, which was sweeping from Hubei County to the east, quickly made a 180-degree U-turn and quickly returned to Hubei County.

The Japanese puppet army, which was blockading or setting up ambushes in other areas, also gave up the original battle plan and reinforced, under the orders of the Japanese high-level, towards Hubei County. For a while, the attention of the Japanese puppet army in the entire Ludong area, and even the entire Changzhi periphery, was attracted by the small Hubei County.

Without him, it is not uncommon for the county occupied by the Japanese army to be captured by the Eighth Route in a short time. But the general eight-way road is to retreat immediately after taking a handful. But like Li Ziyuan, not only in just three days, but also captured Hubei County twice. solved the Japanese puppet army that was 1,000 smaller, and even now it is bold to put on a posture of not leaving on the spot.

This obviously slap in the face made the 62nd Division of the Japanese Army almost thunderous from top to bottom. It's just that you succeeded in two consecutive sneak attacks, and now you are entrenched in the county seat openly, isn't this embarrassing for the 62nd Division? Chongqing has also done this, but the strength of at least one army is there.

It's good that you dare to do it with such fanfare with less than the strength of a regiment, is this a mockery of the incompetence of the Imperial Japanese Army, or what? After receiving Li Ziyuan's entry into the county seat of Hubei and putting on a stubborn posture. The 62nd Division quickly dispatched Major General Tokutaro Nakajima, commander of the 63rd Infantry Brigade, and rushed to Hubei to personally sit in the direct battle.

Just as Li Ziyuan was busy completing the construction of the project, the vanguard of the Japanese army had already appeared outside the east gate. And when the sky was dark, more and more Japanese puppet troops arrived one after another. Until the entire Hubei county is surrounded, it can be said that the water is impassable.

Maybe he was worried that Balu, who had always been good at night fighting, took advantage of the fact that the encirclement had not been officially completed, and used the cover of night to tear a hole and escape. Of course, it was also to wait for the supreme commander of the battle, Major General Nakajima Tokutaro, to take office, and the Japanese puppet army did not launch any attacks after arriving one after another.

It's just that Hubei County, which is not a large area, is surrounded by regiments. The puppet armies that arrived one after another made the entire Hubei county a flood. Li Ziyuan stood on the city wall, looking at the circle of bonfires lit on the outer part of the city wall in the telescope, and didn't say anything, just smiled faintly.

Facing the situation that the enemy army had been surrounded, He Sanliang and Qian Peng glanced at each other, and said with some worry: "Regiment leader, what kind of medicine is you selling in this gourd?" Before the second dozen pots in the north, it can be described as a stroke of genius. But after we regain Hubei County again, we should retreat immediately. ”

"But this time you didn't leave, you had to stay here. Ask you what you think, and you don't explain it. The current situation is that we have been surrounded by the Japanese puppet army, and it is difficult to stand out completely with our current strength. Are you planning to hold on to the city and wait for reinforcements? ”

"The problem is that now the troops in other directions, most likely, do not know our whereabouts yet. The troops of the military division alone are simply not able to relieve us from the siege. According to the comparison of the current strength and firepower, it is estimated that we will hold out for two days at most. Even if you want to break the net, there is no such way to play. ”

Regarding the incomprehension and worry in He Sanliang's tone, Li Ziyuan put down the telescope in his hand, pointed to the enemy under the city wall and said, "Old He, the fish is dead and the net is broken now, and it is far from that point. From what you know about me, am I the kind of person who can break the kettle at every turn? ”

"The reason why I put on a posture of stubbornly defending Hubei County, the first point is not to let the Japanese puppet army think that they have touched our whereabouts, they will not transfer the enemy back in the mountainous area in the eastern part of Hubei. The longer the Japanese puppet army remained in the eastern mountains, the more destructive it would be to the eastern mountains. The Japanese puppet army encountered this morning is not the Japanese puppet army that swept through our eastern mountainous areas. ”

This shows that the devil did not transfer back the Japanese puppet army that swept the eastern mountains at all. Instead, they took their own steps and handed over the task of searching for us to the Japanese puppet army in other directions, and the Japanese puppet army in the eastern mountainous area took the action of continuing to carry out the original sweeping plan. We have blindly concealed ourselves, but the villagers and local armed forces in the eastern mountainous areas will be sad. ”

"The second point, now that our intelligence is not sensitive enough, we have taken down Hubei County and eliminated the devils to sweep our rear base this time. The devils are bound to chase and intercept us like crazy, but we haven't figured out the deployment of the devil's troops around us so far. ”

"Let's move rashly, and if we can't do it, we will take the initiative to send it to the devil ourselves. Dude, we're good at ambush warfare, but devils are also good at ambush warfare. In particular, he is good at using the terrain to fight our counter-ambushes. You can also see the actions of the devils today, they want to drive us to the ambush circle they have set up. ”

"The fact that the devils have resorted to a dragnet that they are least willing to carry out does not mean that their plan is simply to find us in order to eliminate us once and for all. I reckon they are a tactic, a tactic of persecution. They know that we have a habit of being active in the plains for a while and eventually returning to the mountains. ”

"So, I'm afraid they're going to do it and drive us into their ambush circle in the mountains. Brother, if this is the Japanese puppet army's sweep of the entire Taihang Mountains, they certainly don't have so much strength to do this. But it was only a sweep in the Ludong area, focusing on Hubei County, and I think the troops they used this tactic were still enough. ”

"Not even much, they will be transferred to the Japanese puppet army that swept in the eastern mountains, and it is enough to transfer to the nearest mountain pass position. With so many of our troops, plus a large amount of weapons and ammunition carried, we can only take the ordinary big lane. It is impossible to move by walking on mountain roads alone and with heavy equipment. So they simply used what we do best and looked for opportunities to hit us. ”

"Instead of taking the risk of jumping out, it is better to rely on Hubei County to fight one. On the contrary, the entire deployment of the Japanese puppet army was completely disrupted. As for the chance to break through, Lao He, my four city gates seem to be reserved for the north gate. In fact, the way of life is at the west gate in the direction of Changzhi. It's just that it looks extremely tightly blocked on the outside, but inside it's a flower shelf. ”

"When we break through, it will only take ten minutes at most to clear a passage. There was also the second battalion that I left outside the city, and I distributed them a radio that was captured in Hubei County. The reason why they were not allowed to use it before was because they were worried that the Japanese puppet army would capture their radio signals and expose their whereabouts. ”

"With the radio station, we can always ensure smooth communication with the 2nd Battalion. When the troops were building fortifications and the Japanese puppet army had not yet arrived, I sent people to find and inform the second battalion, so that they could immediately rush to the vicinity of Hubei County. But don't go into the city to join us, look for a reliable spot in the northwest direction and wait for a hidden standby. ”

"At the same time, the radio station was activated to ensure communication with the regimental headquarters at all times. Lao He, Lao Qian, I am not arrogant, with six infantry companies plus an incomplete engineer company, I dare to fight to the death with thousands of Japanese puppet troops here. That's not self-confidence, that's arrogance, with the blood of the warriors. ”

"Let's take Hubei County as the core and fully mobilize the Japanese puppet army. In this way, the Japanese puppet army will inevitably leave a large number of blank areas behind them, and once we break through, then the vast world will have a lot to do. We don't have to hold on for too long, as long as we can hold on until noon tomorrow, it's about the same. ”

"The Japanese puppet army has always believed that our army is good at night fighting, and it is generally delayed until it is dark to break through or transfer. Let's just hit him with a time difference, and take advantage of the Japanese army's mastery of our army's tactical habits to pick out the time when he is surprised. If we stick to the routine and choose to stick to it until night, we will really be doomed this time. ”

"First, we have no experience in defending cities, and our troops have basically never fought this kind of defensive warfare. Second, our troops and firepower are at an absolute disadvantage. Third, our capital is limited, and if we fight too hard and can't take the wounded away, then we are irresponsible to the soldiers. ”

After listening to Li Ziyuan's entire plan, after He Sanliang and Qian Peng glanced at each other, they both saw the surprise in each other's eyes. In their opinion, Li Ziyuan's plan is really too risky. This is taking the lives of the cadres and soldiers of the whole regiment, risking or gambling in it.

Li Ziyuan was probably worried that the two of them would oppose it, so when formulating the entire strategy, he was tight-lipped no matter how he asked. It's just that it's too late to say anything now, and the encirclement of the Japanese puppet army has been roughly completed. Now it's too late to break through immediately.

However, although he knew that it was too late, He Sanliang still said: "Commander, how can you accurately judge that the devil is in such a circle?" Even if we highlight the first encirclement, what should we do if we encounter a encirclement with more troops and more powerful firepower from the Japanese puppet army? ”

"You know, according to military common sense, it is impossible to close the encirclement together. At least in the second line, in some key positions, it is also necessary to form a part of crossfire. In particular, the area of Hubei County is not large, and the Japanese puppet army will deploy at least three blockade lines. And as soon as our side moves, Japanese puppet troops from other directions will swarm in. ”

"In a situation where both troops and firepower are at an absolute disadvantage. When the time comes, we will have no strong fortifications and we will be free from the cover of the walls. Fight a field encounter, and we will suffer a big loss when the time comes. Once surrounded by the Japanese puppet army in the field, the consequences are unimaginable. ”

He Sanliang's worries are not unreasonable. If only one of the encirclement and blockade lines is deployed, it means that the commander is an idiot. There is no qualified commander, and when encircling or blocking, only one blockade line is deployed. Even if the forces are tight, a part of the mobile forces will be transferred and strengthened to the second blockade line.