Hearing Li Ziyuan ask about the arrival of the troops, He Sanliang hurriedly said: "The troops have arrived at the designated positions one after another, and they are now waiting in concealment. However, the puppet army in Gaoping City has some movements. According to Liu Lianming's report, the puppet army over there probably has sensed that something is wrong, and now it is a little frequent. ”

"Lao Li, in fact, we have so many troop movements, and the Japanese puppet army in Gaoping is not aware of this impossibility at all. In particular, part of our troops has now completed the deployment in front of the enemy. No matter how poor the combat effectiveness of this pseudo-independent 16th Brigade is, it will still detect some clues. Now they are reacting, at least for now. ”

Regarding He Sanliang's report, Li Ziyuan thought about it carefully, turned his head and said to a few people around him: "Lao He is right, so many of our troops have arrived at the periphery of Gaoping, and this pseudo-independent 16th Brigade can't detect it at all, so it's really weird." Now that our troops have been deployed in front of the enemy, our strategic intentions can no longer be concealed. ”

"Most of these high-ranking officers of the puppet army, the so-called major general rank and above, are frustrated by the warlord melee. Their level of ability in military command can be called average, but their sense of smell is absolutely not bad. Thousands of our troops have come together, and if they really haven't noticed it until now, then they won't be able to mix up until now. ”

"If it drags on, it can only make the puppet army and the Japanese army in Gaoping City more fully prepared. It is even very likely that all the puppet army troops on the periphery will be transferred back. As for now, they are only making partial adjustments for the time being, and it should be that they have not yet figured out our true intentions and the real number of troops invested in this battle. ”

"Now that the troops have been deployed in front of the enemy, I will see that things should be done sooner rather than later. I estimate that in no more than five hours at the latest, Gao Ping's puppet army will be able to discover our true strength. When the time comes, they will withdraw all the puppet troops on the periphery back to Gaoping City as soon as possible. ”

"So, I can't think of any effect on us other than making our attacks more difficult. I don't think we can afford to wait any longer, and launch an attack in advance now. Immediately tell the troops to immediately launch an attack on their respective targets according to the predetermined plan. ”

"If the fortifications of the puppet army can be blasted, they are absolutely not allowed to attack them. Tell the front-line commander that tactics are dead, but people are alive. You have to use tactics flexibly, and you are definitely not allowed to fight hard for me. Tell the troops of the 4th Division that whether or not they can achieve the expected results in this battle depends on whether they can contain the enemy forces on the periphery. ”

"Once the battle starts, we must not only ensure that the puppet army on the periphery cannot come back to help, but also not let the puppet army on the periphery interfere with our siege operations. In short, as long as Gaoping City is not taken, the puppet army in the outlying strongholds will not be able to enter the city for me. ”

After He Sanliang quickly recorded the order, he turned around and conveyed it to the participating troops. And after He Sanliang turned around and left, Ma Yongcheng and the old and serious deputy commander of the Fourth Division looked at each other and said a little worriedly: "Lao Li, you are changing the deployment without authorization, are you making up your mind by asking the military region for instructions?" ”

Regarding the concern of his old comrades-in-arms, Li Ziyuan said without the slightest hesitation: "It's too late, wait for the instructions to be completed, and wait for the reply from the military region, the daylilies are cold, and now we can only ask for instructions while fighting." The record is a little inferior, let's talk about it first, and I will personally bear the responsibility. ”

Li Ziyuan's attitude was very resolute, and after giving his report to the military region, he walked out of the headquarters with a telescope. didn't ride a horse, so he didn't work and came to Liu Haishan's position. Seeing that Li Ziyuan had arrived, Liu Haishan smiled bitterly: "What, old man, you are not at ease with me, and you rushed over to supervise the battle in person?" Rest assured, the first battalion has already touched it. ”

Liu Haishan did not welcome his arrival, but Li Ziyuan shook his head and said: "I came here, not because I am not worried about you, but you happen to overlook the overall situation of the battlefield here." If another unit had been here, I would have come here as well. Lao Liu, don't worry, I am here absolutely Xu Shu entered Cao Ying without saying a word, and absolutely did not interfere with your command. ”

Li Ziyuan's statement made Liu Haishan only shake his head and remain silent. Just when Liu Haishan came to him for Li Ziyuan, he had a headache. In the direction of the first battalion in front, after an explosion, a dense burst of gunfire mixed with the unique sound of Meiji 16 heavy machine guns rang out.

At the same time, the phone number between Liu Haishan's command headquarters and the front also rang. Liu Haishan picked up the phone, and after listening to the report of the first battalion in front of him, he turned his head to Li Ziyuan and said: "The first battalion has now cleared the outlying strongholds of the assembly town, and the third company has broken through into the assembly town and is developing in depth. The first and second companies are expanding to the wings. ”

"The main force of the second battalion has seized the stronghold of Huangcun and blocked the route of the puppet army in the city to reinforce the assembly town. The second battalion is now cleaning up several small strongholds around Huangcun. The main forces of the 3rd Battalion have passed through the gap opened by the 2nd Battalion and are now developing in depth. The vanguard of the third battalion is already less than five miles away from Gaoping. ”

Liu Haishan's report, holding a telescope, was observing Li Ziyuan in front of him, but he didn't hear it. In desperation, Liu Haishan could only tell the first battalion commander on the phone that he must seize the fighter. The enemy in the assembly town must not be allowed to flee to the Huangcun stronghold in the rear, and the movements must be fast, fierce, steady, accurate, and ruthless. ”

Putting down the phone in his hand, Liu Haishan directly wanted to call the other troops, urging them to speed up their actions. It is necessary to seize the seven strongholds that are most critical to the attack on Gaoping in the shortest possible time. Putting down the phone in his hand, Liu Haishan looked up at Li Ziyuan. was stunned to find that Li Ziyuan didn't even think he had heard of it.

Only then did he understand that what Li Ziyuan said when he came was not to fool himself, but to really not interfere with his command. This has made some cadres who have been sent by their superiors to strengthen their command meddle everywhere at the lower levels, and the commanders at the next level are a little at a loss.

While Liu Haishan was pondering here, Li Ziyuan put down the binoculars in his hand and walked to the map hanging in his headquarters and sat down. At this time, the gunfire outside was already densely connected. Looking over from the observation port of Liu Haishan, the simple command headquarters, the firelight from the explosion of the shells outside flashed from time to time.

In the end, the second regiment was brought out by Li Ziyuan himself, and the speed of advancement was quite fast. Except for the largest stronghold in the entire Gaoping periphery, the rest of the strongholds were all captured within two hours. The most important stronghold on the outskirts of Gaoping, the assembly town, was attacked, and a reinforced battalion of the puppet army in the city tried to reinforce the assembly town under the cover of artillery fire.

There was a fierce battle with the 2nd Battalion, which had seized Huangcun. After an hour and a half of hard fighting, the two companies of the 2nd Battalion, with the cooperation of the 3rd Battalion and the 1st Division, defeated the reinforced battalion that had come to reinforce the puppet army. Not only did the battalion crush, but more than 100 prisoners, including the battalion commander, were captured, and a single piece of weapons and ammunition was seized.

At this time, the progress was the smoothest, and after cooperating with the second battalion to defeat the reinforced puppet army, the third battalion, which was developing in depth, could already see the Gaoping city wall under the night. The vanguard of the battalion has already exchanged fire with the puppet defenders at the head of the city. By this time, Li Ziyuan's first step plan had been basically completed.

However, the attack of the first battalion and three companies on the assembly town has not progressed smoothly. The puppet army of the army relied on the complete fortifications built before and the ample ammunition to resist desperately. Even though the gunfire in the depths had gradually fallen silent, it did not stop resisting. The rare tenacity of this puppet army surprised many people.

Looking at Liu Haishan, who was a little impatient and angry with the instructors of the first battalion on the phone, Li Ziyuan smiled and said: "Lao Liu, this is a little different from you." Usually look at you calm and not like a person of your age, why am I here, but you are impatient? ”

"Calm down, if you can't beat it for a while, then don't fight it yet. The puppet army in the town of the assembly is nothing more than a reinforced company, and after these few hours of fierce fighting, it would be good to be able to get half of the people down. Even if we can't solve him for a while, there is no big threat to us. Since this is the case, let's just let him go and see that he can't run away, and what should the rest do. ”

At a critical time, Li Ziyuan's words were like an empowerment for Liu Haishan. Yes, what are you fighting with the puppet army that is not more than half a company here? Behind is Gaoping City, which solves the main force of the puppet army first, and the remaining puppet army is just a matter of minutes.

Liu Haishan, who figured it out, didn't say a word, carried binoculars and pistols, left the headquarters with the guards, and rushed towards Gaoping City. looked at Liu Haishan, who left in a hurry after thinking about it. Li Ziyuan neither said anything nor stopped him. As the head of a regiment, it is time to go to the forefront.

After straightening out his thoughts, Li Ziyuan picked up the phone and asked for the same direction, He Sanliang, who was commanding two independent battalions of the division and a battalion of the Lubei detachment, asked him about the situation there. Knowing that the progress in the north direction of the city was much faster than he imagined, he had been dragged under the north city wall.

He Sanliang, with the cooperation of Wang Jun, was organizing troops to enter the city on the one hand, and digging tunnels on the other. The puppet army in the city resisted stubbornly and the firepower was also fierce, and the troops were counterattacked three times when they climbed to the top of the city under the cover of artillery. Now he is making preparations with both hands, on the one hand, organizing troops, forcibly landing the city under the cover of mortar groups, and on the other hand, preparing for explosions.

After listening to He Sanliang's report, Li Ziyuan frowned and didn't say much. Just told He Sanliang that he must master the rhythm of the battle. As long as it is guaranteed to give the main force of the puppet army in the city and form enough pressure, do not rush to break the city, and consider the overall strategic deployment of the main force.

Putting down the phone in his hand, Li Ziyuan's fingers kept tapping on the desktop. At this moment, Ma Yongcheng, who stayed behind and didn't know when he came over, walked over. handed a telegram to Li Ziyuan and said: "The call back from the military region, the commander is somewhat annoyed that you launched an attack in advance without asking for instructions. ”

"You are considering that the front of the enemy has been deployed, but you ignore the efficiency of the actions of the puppet army in the direction of Jincheng. If you solve Gaoping and eat up the bait, what else will the main force take to fish? Besides, the old fox in Jincheng still has a certain understanding of our tactics of encircling and sending reinforcements. ”

"After all, we have been neighbors for a long time in Linn County. The head of the military region is worried that if you make a move in advance, it is very likely that you will be taken by surprise. As soon as your side starts, the old fox in Jincheng will not only come out for reinforcements, but may even withdraw the whole army to northern Henan. For a person like him, the army is his lifeblood, and preserving his strength is above all else. ”