"Why don't you speak? Didn't you be so sure that the information that our most ace spy had worked so hard to get was fake? Is it better to say that he is a fool? The old man was so angry that he scolded his mother, he scolded others, and he scolded himself.

He has always believed in Zhou Lin. But how can you doubt it this time?

Such a good opportunity to annihilate the Japanese army turned out to be full of danger for himself.

"Alas!" The old man sighed and left the conference room.

And Dai Li was waiting for the old man outside, and this time the responsibility was not on him.

"Contact the spy immediately and ask him to prepare the fourth division." The old man said.

"Yes, I'll contact him right away." Dai Lisa saluted and prepared to leave.

The old man called out to Dai Li: "Did you give the money to that Chuan?" ”

Dai Li shook his head: "After the information was leaked, no money was given." ”

The old man thought for a while: "If the information is accurate, give him the money, otherwise, if you look for him next time, he may ignore it." ”

When Zhou Lin learned that his two times of information had been discarded, he sighed and said nothing. Bi Zhang's consideration of the battle situation is not as simple as he thought.

However, the situation in the back is becoming more and more unfavorable to the Chinese military.

On September 17, 1941, the Japanese troops transferred from various places to northern Hunan had all been assembled and entered the position of starting for the offensive.

Having learned the lesson of the dispersion of forces during the First Battle of Changsha, Anan Weiji deployed the attacking forces side by side in a narrow front, hoping to make a breakthrough in depth.

Forty-four battalions and 322 artillery pieces and mortars were deployed on a frontage only 20 kilometres north of the New Wall River.

Only the 63rd Brigade of the 14th Independent Mixed Brigade (Hirano Detachment) was sent to the south of the Xiangjiang River by boat, attacking Qingshan and Yingtian, covering their right flank, and planning to fight with the main front.

The specific positions of the offensive departure of the various units were: the 63rd Brigade of the 14th Brigade was located near Yueyang, the 4th Division was located on the north side of Sangangzui, the 26th Brigade (Hayabuchi Detachment) was located near Qingfengyi, the 3rd Division was located near Xiaokou, the 6th Division and the 62nd Infantry Brigade (Jiangteng Detachment) of the 14th Brigade were located near Straw Shoe Ridge, the 40th Division was located near Majiaqiao, and the 33rd Infantry Regiment (Araki Detachment) was located near Gantian.

The defenders of the Ninth Theater on the south bank of the Xinqiang River were the 59th, 102nd, 90th and 60th Divisions of the 4th Army (attached to the 37th Army), most of which were withdrawn from the north bank of the Xinqiang River after the battle of Dayun Mountain and before dawn on the 18th.

The 58th Army and the 20th Army, on the orders of the 27th Army, joined the defense on the south bank of the Xinqiang River and had not yet reached the designated position.

On September 18, Xue Yue ordered the 37th Army (owed to the 60th Division) to garrison the line from Hukou to Luogong Bridge according to the planned plan of a decisive battle and counterattack with the Japanese on both sides of the Miluo River to annihilate the Japanese army.

The 99th Division of the 99th Army garrisoned the line west of Luogong Bridge and from Yingtian to Xiangyin.

The 92nd Division advanced north of Sanjie Bridge, occupied positions, and placed them under the command of the commander of the 37th Army, resolutely blocking the Japanese army.

The main force of the 26th Army marched from Liuyang to the vicinity of Jinjing; The 72nd Army was reassigned to Pingjiang and prepared for battle. Subsequently, the Ninth Theater ordered all armies of the 27th Group Army to attack Changle Street, Whetstone, Guiyi, Xinshi and other places on the flank of the Japanese army north of the Miluo River, delaying its southward advance.

ordered the 26th Army to advance from Jinjing to the Wengjiang River; The 10th Army in Hengshan and Lukou was ordered to march to the area of Gaoqiao and Jinjing.

At dawn on the 18th, the Japanese army launched an attack on all fronts, and forcibly crossed the Xinqiang River with the support of artillery and aviation and the coordination of combat vehicles.

The divisions of the 4th Army relied on their established positions to resist the Japanese army.

The 102nd Division fought head-on against the concentrated attacks of the Japanese 4th, 3rd, and 6th Divisions, and the fighting was particularly fierce.

A few hours later, the Japanese successfully crossed the river and broke through the first line of the defenders.

The 4th Army moved to the second line positions east and west of Changhu and continued to resist.

The Japanese 3rd and 4th Divisions and the Hayabuchi Detachment quickly advanced southward along the areas on both sides of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, and the 3rd Division made a detour to the flank of the 4th Army.

The Japanese Hirano detachment also took naval ships to advance along the east side of Dongting Lake to land near Qingshan at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River, and coordinated with the main force to attack the defending 99th Army on this side.

By 16 o'clock, the second line of positions of the 4th Army was broken through by the Japanese again.

In view of the superiority of the Japanese army, the fierce attack, and the air support, the frontal resistance was no longer effective, so the commander of the army, Ou Zhen, ordered the divisions to cover one by one, move to the mountainous area east of the Guanwang Bridge, and occupy a favorable position, so that they could maneuver or flank the Japanese army later.

At 22:30 on the 18th, in order to strengthen the main battlefield forces of northern Hunan Province, the Ninth Theater ordered the 72nd Army to move westward from the Xiushui and Sandu areas to the vicinity of Tongcheng, and commanded the provisional 54th Division to prepare for counterattack operations on this side.

The 20th Army (lacking the provisional 54th Division) was ordered to advance to Wang'anwu and Zhugongqiao, and coordinated with the 58th and 4th Armies to attack the Japanese troops advancing south across the river to the west.

On the 19th, the 20th Army marched from Taoshu Port to Zhugong Bridge, and arrived at the designated position at dusk.

The 58th Army fought fiercely with the Japanese near Gaojiaqiao.

The positions of the 59th, 60th, and 90th Divisions of the 4th Army were all attacked by the Japanese 40th Division.

The 4th, 3rd, and 6th divisions of the Japanese army quickly advanced southward, and reached the vicinity of Shipu and Changle Street on the north bank of the Miluo River in the evening.

The 6th Division also crossed the river from the whetstone with one part and engaged the 37th Army defending on the south bank in the area of Yanjiapu and Hukou.

At this time, the only troops in the Ninth Theater that served as garrisons on the south bank of the Miluo River were the 37th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 95th and 140th Divisions) and the 99th Army (with the 92nd, 99th, and 197th Divisions).

On the 20th, the Military Commission telegraphed an order to the Ninth Theater to hold its existing positions on both sides of the Xiangjiang River and south of the Miluo River, strengthen resistance, maintain the main force on the outer flank, and strive to attack the enemy's flank.

The 3rd and 5th Theaters were ordered to take advantage of the situation to attack the enemy in front of them, so as to prepare for the operations in the 9th Theater. At the same time, the Sixth Theater was ordered to attack the Japanese troops in Jingzhou and Yichang, and the camera recovered Yichang.

In addition to explicitly placing the 10th and 26th armies under the command of the Ninth Theater, the Military Commission also ordered the 79th Army to be transferred from the 6th Theater and the 2nd Army from the Seventh Theater to reinforce the Ninth Theater.

However, the telegram sent by the Ninth Theater to all armies and armies on September 18 was stolen and deciphered by the Japanese special intelligence department and sent to the 11th Army.

When the Ninth Theater received information that the Ninth Theater was defending the existing positions on the Miluo River with four divisions and placing the main force on the Wengjiang River and other places in the east of the battlefield to flank the Japanese army, it immediately changed its original deployment, ordered the 3rd and 4th Divisions to turn to the area east of the Hukou and Wengjiang rivers one by one, and caused the 40th and 6th Divisions to make a detour from the mountains to the east to form an encirclement posture for the 37th, 26th, and 10th armies of China. Annihilation.

On the same day, the 4th, 3rd, and 6th Divisions of the Japanese Army and the Zaoyuan Detachment forcibly crossed the Miluo River from Luogongqiao, Xinshi, Whetstone, Hukou and other river crossing points, breaking through the forward position of the 37th Army.

The defenders retreated to the main position. The 40th Division of the Japanese Army was attached to the Araki Detachment, and after repelling the flank attack of the 4th Army, the Liujiangteng Detachment covered the supply line, and the main force turned to the area east of Xinguanqiao and Wengjiang, and was scheduled to make a roundabout southward journey through Pingjiang.

On September 22, the Japanese, with the support of aviation, attacked the main position of the 37th Army.

The two sides fought fiercely for 3 days. By the 24th, the Japanese 3rd and 4th Divisions broke through the defenders' main positions and surrounded the 95th and 140th Divisions.

The 37th Army was ordered to break through and move to the city of Malin, suffering heavy casualties.