Li Ziyuan's analysis and judgment, He Sanliang stared at the map for a long time, raised his head and said to Ma Yongcheng, who was hesitant: "I agree with Lao Li's opinion, now we must go south." Otherwise, the old fox would have really run away. In my opinion, Gao Ping left one battalion, and the rest of the troops, together with the four divisions, moved south on both sides of the road. ”

"However, this ambush circle, I suggest not to set it up in Yangcheng, but on both sides of the highway leading to Jiaozuo and Boai in Henan, especially Walnut Garden and Yuequan Lake, which must be used to retreat to Jiaozuo. From what I know of this old fox, it's very likely that he will find a way to move when he retreats. ”

"And it is easy not to move closer in other directions, especially in the direction of Yangcheng. He doesn't know where we're going to be waiting for him, but he knows that it's our forte. With his personality and character, he would not be stupid enough to drill into our ambush circle by himself, no matter whether he was his descendant on the battlefield on the Yangcheng side or not, he would not retreat in the direction of Yangcheng. ”

"I will definitely find a way to run back to Henan as soon as possible. In his opinion, it should be his lair. This person has crossed paths with us on the battlefield both before and after surrendering to the enemy, and he is still clear about our combat effectiveness. Therefore, no matter which direction there is a problem, the only thing he can do is to slip away, and he will definitely not go all out to rescue. ”

Regarding He Sanliang's idea, which is partly the same as his own, but partly different, Li Ziyuan pondered for a moment and said: "I agree, let the deputy commander of the Fourth Division take the two battalions of the backbone of the Fourth Division, and add one battalion of the main regiment of the Fourth Division to stay in Gaoping and take care of all the captured personnel." The rest of the troops immediately moved south on the spot along both sides of the road. ”

Leaving the deputy commander of the Fourth Division, Li Ziyuan specially strengthened his tone. Whether it was Ma Yongcheng or He Sanliang, when they heard his particularly accentuated words, they couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and then understood what he meant. He Sanliang didn't want to express his opinion on this matter. Ma Yongcheng wanted to persuade him, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Li Ziyuan calculated very accurately, and sounded the assembly call on time an hour later. The troops, who were sleeping soundly, regrouped energetically in the shortest possible time after hearing the sound of the assembly horn. Li Ziyuan did not do any tactical mobilization, but immediately quickly marched in the direction of Nanjin City after replenishing ammunition.

At this point, it was already midnight. Looking at the starry sky, Li Ziyuan said with some emotion: "When I first entered the Taihang Mountains with the troops, I felt that this place was very big. It is also a mountainous area, which is very different from the mountains of northern Shaanxi and the mountains of Sichuan. Why do you feel now, it's still a little small here, and I feel like it's a hassle to adjust my ass? ”

Li Ziyuan's emotion, Ma Yongcheng smiled and said: "At that time, you were only a company, or even a platoon's butt, so you naturally felt the vast world." Now that you're adjusting the butts of thousands of people at once, it naturally feels like a small place. If one day, you adjust the butts of tens of thousands of people, you will feel that the world is smaller. ”

Regarding Ma Yongcheng's analogy, Li Ziyuan smiled and said nothing. Looking at the troops around him who were marching rapidly, and the terrain on both flanks, they fell silent again. Ma Yongcheng saw that he didn't know what he was thinking, so he didn't bother him. Except for the footsteps of the troops during the rapid march and the sound of horses' hooves, there was not a single murmur in the entire ranks.

Just when Li Ziyuan and Ma Yongcheng were urging the troops to keep speeding up the march. The cavalry correspondent behind him hurried to Li Ziyuan's horse and handed Li Ziyuan a telegram from the military division. Hearing that it was a telegram from the division, Li Ziyuan immediately turned on it and looked at Zhang Yuhu's flashlight.

After reading the telegram quickly, Li Ziyuan turned over and dismounted. looked at the map opened by He Sanliang beside him, and after taking a closer look, he said to He Sanliang beside him: "The original plan remains the same, and the whole army will speed up the march." As for the enemy in Changzhi going south, the remaining troops of the sub-district were telegraphed to launch an all-out attack on Changzhi and Hubei County. ”

"As long as they bluff as much as possible, it is enough to drag the Changzhi Japanese puppet army for twenty-four hours. The loss of Gaoping or even Jincheng was not unacceptable to the Japanese army. But if Changzhi is lost, or in danger, then they can't accept it anyway. ”

"As long as Changzhi is threatened, those Japanese puppet troops will quickly come back to help. And what I and even the entire military region's southbound combat units need most now is these 24 hours. As long as the Japanese puppet army is held back for twenty-four hours, it will be enough for us to solve all the problems, and now it will be up to us to see who can hold out for the last twenty-four hours. ”

"In addition, let the deputy commander of the four divisions who remained in Gaoping immediately command the rest of the troops remaining in Gaoping to go north and build a defensive line at the junction of Gaoping and Changzhi, except for one battalion to stay behind to supervise the prisoners. Once the enemy of Changzhi does not care about going south, he will hold on to the spot at all costs. Also, forward this telegram to the military district. ”

"If the brother troops attacking Qinshui County have already succeeded. The military region was asked to immediately transfer them to the north on the spot, and from Qinshui to the outside of Changzhi City. However, taking into account the changes in the enemy situation around Linfen, it is estimated that the military region will not have much to move this unit north. Gaoping is the northern barrier of Jincheng, the eastern barrier of Linfen, and the southern barrier of Changzhi. ”

"For the puppet army, maybe Gao Ping's gains and losses don't matter. But for the Japanese army, Gaoping could not be lost easily. Once Gaoping is lost, I expect the Japanese to quickly counterattack and try to recapture it. The reason why the Japanese army in Linfen did not move for a long time is probably because they are assessing the course of the battle and trying to find ways to mobilize mobile forces. ”

Looking at Li Ziyuan pointing to the map, He Sanliang pondered for a while, took out a red and blue pencil from the shoulder bag of the guard behind him, marked all the routes of the Changzhi Japanese puppet army southward on the map, and followed the highway from Changzhi to Gaoping until the county seat of Gaoping.

The red and blue pencils in his hand were again marked by the left-behind troops of the Ludong Division. After using red and blue pencils to connect the garrison of the remaining troops with Changzhi City, he said: "I mean, it is necessary to block the Japanese puppet army that is going south of Changzhi." But instead of using the troops of the Ludong Division, use the troops of the Fourth Division left behind in Gaoping. ”

"On the line of Wangyun, Shennong, Nanshan, and Caojiagou at the junction of Gaoping and Changzhi, the method of trapezoidal configuration and layer by layer blocking was adopted to contain its reinforcements at the junction of Gaoping and Changzhi. After the Japanese puppet army went south, the remaining troops were directly under the city of Changzhi. ”

"There's no need to bluff, just a strong attack. Although Yuan Quanxin, who was newly transferred from the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army in Changzhi, served as the chief of staff of the division and regiment, he did not actually command the troops above the wing level to fight. It's not so much a soldier as a spy. ”

"This kind of Japanese soldier is generally more insidious and cunning, and his ambition is often greater. However, the actual combat experience is insufficient, and the determination on the battlefield is usually very indecisive. In terms of commanding operations, there are more times when there is a tiger. In the event of an attack, unlike the general Japanese officers, who are accustomed to holding on, they will always call for reinforcements as soon as possible. ”

"This guy dragged on this time, and he didn't start acting until a day later, and it was the effect of this habit. I am full of thoughts that I want to take advantage, but I am afraid of losing money. He now thinks that the main force of our army has been deployed on all fronts, and it is estimated that he feels that the time has come to take advantage, so he thinks about dispatching. ”

"The regiment is now fully manned and fully organized, even if it can't capture Changzhi City in a short time, as long as it poses a fatal threat to the regimental headquarters of the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade, he will be honest in the future. The amount of troops he has drawn is estimated to be all the mobile forces that he can draw now. ”

"What I'm most worried about now is not the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade of Changzhi. It is the 114th Division stationed in Linfen, which is the biggest threat to the entire Jinzhong battlefield. This 114th Division is currently the only formed division in the entire First Army. It belongs to two infantry brigades and eight infantry brigades, and Linfen is connected to the Qinshui landscape, and the threat is far greater than that of other directions. ”

"Relatively speaking, the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade of Changzhi is far from a big threat to us. Don't forget, it is not only the troops of our Ludong Division that remain around Changzhi, but also the troops of the Fourth Division to which Changzhi belongs. In this campaign, the superiors did not transfer their commanders to participate in the battle, probably because they were worried about any changes in the situation of the enemy in Changzhi. ”

"Lao Li, your strength lies in attack, and it lies in braking with movement. Compared with this change in the enemy's situation that uses static to control static and brake with movement, I am afraid that you are not as good as the leader of the fourth division. Therefore, this time, the military region transferred you to Gaoping, and left the commander of the fourth division to preside over the overall situation of the left-behind troops. It is an approach that is tailored to your respective strengths. ”

"I suggest that it be reported to the military region, no matter what the results of the brother troops who went to attack Qinshui County are now, they should not be stuck on the front line of Qinshui. Instead, it immediately attacked and advanced in a northwesterly direction, at the junction of Linfen and Qinshui. And quickly at the junction of Qinshui and Gaoping, along the fork to the Baijian ditch line. ”

"As you said, it's enough to give us twenty-four hours. My opinion is that the south will attack and the north will defend, and the Japanese puppet army dispatched from Linfen and Changzhi will adopt a separate approach. The 114th Division of Linfen was made every effort to block it, and the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade of Changzhi was deployed to adopt the tactics of static braking. ”

"After the reinforcements from the south and the troops we blocked were launched, the remaining troops of the division launched a full-line attack on Changzhi City. The remaining troops of the four divisions set up an ambush between Gaoping and Changzhi. When the Japanese puppet army in the south returns to Changzhi, they will strive to completely solve this support army in one go. ”

"Moreover, they are all troops of the four divisions, which are relatively unified in terms of tactical coordination and command, and there is relatively little external interference. As for whether Changzhi City can be defeated, it depends on the situation of the battlefields in the south and west. I estimate that once Changzhi starts, the Japanese puppet army dispatched by Linfen can only rescue Changzhi first. ”

"It is indeed important to contain Jincheng on the road from Jiaozuo to Changzhi, but if Changzhi is lost, for the Japanese army, not only will the headquarters of an independent brigade be wiped out by our army, but the most important thing is that the loss of the entire strategic situation in the southeast of Jinxi will be irreparable. Under the premise that the harm of the two sides is the lesser of the two, the Japanese troops dispatched by Linfen will not give up the long-term rule. ”

"In this way, we have taken the pressure off the northwest direction and are more conducive to fighting for this critical 24-hour time. However, the key to this plan lies in two places, one is how to move the commanders of the four divisions and implement them according to our plan. The second is the view of the military region. As long as the military district approves our plan, the first problem is not a problem. ”