The cadres and fighters of the Independent Regiment had already settled down, and these soldiers, who had been forcibly marching for more than 20 days and had traveled nearly 1,000 kilometers, were lying in the camping 'room' made of branches and thatch, stretching their legs and arms, and without lighting cigarettes, and the extremely tired soldiers fell asleep.

At night, the Peacock Valley, the valley that accommodated the soldiers of the Eight or Nine Thousand Eighth Route Army, was silent at this time, except for the soldiers on guard and patrol walking back and forth around the camp, the soldiers all fell asleep.

Quiet valley, even the chirping kingfisher in the forest, are silent standing on the branches no longer noisy, some close their eyes to sleep, some shake their heads, their eyes from time to time to stare around, these cute elves in the eyes, there is no noise of a large number of people and horses in the valley during the day, at this time they like this tranquility very much, comfortably breathing the air in the mountain forest.

Time passed little by little, and when the east revealed the whiteness of the fish's belly, the valley slowly had the sound of crowd activities.

The tireless sun, breaking through the darkness of dawn, spews out dazzling light according to its own trajectory, shining on the sky and earth of the new day.

Peacock Valley began to become active again, and all units reorganized their troops in accordance with the orders of their superiors. The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army came and went in a hurry, busy and making tense pre-war preparations.

After Lei Jian finished his first breakfast, he was rushed over by Wang Xiaoliang and a few people, urging them to explain the 'Battle of the Hundred Regiments', they wanted to know how big a battle this was, and the kind of psychology and expression that they couldn't wait to see in Lei Jian's eyes, they couldn't help frowning.

He suddenly felt an inexplicable fear, and he frowned as he looked at his partners and brothers in front of him. Lei Jian had already promised to tell his soldiers about the battle of the 'Battle of the Hundred Regiments', but he really agreed, but he was afraid that he would leak the news if he said it, and this kind of behavior of leaking military secrets in advance could be regarded as an enemy spy within the Eighth Route Army, and it could also be judged as consciously revealing news to the enemy.

At this time, Luo Jinchuan said: "Commander Lei, it just so happens that there is no major action in the army today, take this opportunity, you can meet everyone's request and explain this matter clearly, so as not to keep muttering in everyone's mind and affecting everyone's emotions." ”

Lei Jian couldn't think of a good way for a while, how could he shirk it, only to take one step at a time, first convene cadres above the battalion level, in the name of convening a military meeting, and then talk about it.

More than 20 cadres above the battalion level were crowded in the grass hut where Lei Jian was both his 'bedroom' and his operational 'headquarters', sitting next to each other, staring at Lei Jian with eager eyes, waiting for Lei Jian to explain the ins and outs of the 'Hundred Regiment War'.

Lei Jian looked at the cadres present, he really couldn't bear to refuse the promise he made without words, and he didn't dare to reveal the secrets of the upcoming 'Hundred Regiment War' in advance, he asked tentatively: "Let's not talk about any issues today, I will first convey the spirit of the military meeting held by Commander Chen of the Eastern Column, and then tell you a few small examples, okay?" ”

Niu Dali was the first to stand up and object: "Commander Lei, you have told us about the 'Hundred Regiment Battle' from the Santougu base area, the forced march of more than 1,000 kilometers, and the life and death tribulation has finally come over, and now that you have time to rest, you should give this 'Hundred Regiment Battle' to the brothers, and everyone in the province is always worried about it." ”

Wang Xiaoliang shouted anxiously: "Captain Lei, don't fool me with these brothers, you can't sit on wax for what you promised, say it quickly, or everyone will have an opinion on you." ”

Several others also shouted: "Commander Lei, for the sake of the brotherhood of those of us who have survived many battles, don't hurt our hearts, okay?" Say it, I can't wait a minute. ”

Lei Jian looked at these cadres present, if he didn't say one, two, or three today, he would never agree, he had an idea: "It seems that I can only play a little trick, and explain the 'Hundred Regiment Battle' that is about to start through the previous pre-deployment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, explain it in detail, and then set the time. ”

He coughed lightly and said, "Well, since I promised you, I will honor what I said, but I have a request, that is, to try to explain this battle in as much detail as possible, which may take up a lot of time, but I only have this morning, after this time, I will only talk about it later." ”

"Then let's talk about it simply and clearly, don't say it halfway, let everyone worry about it in their hearts, it's too toss-up." Zheng Tie shook his head and said dissatisfied.

Everyone else also shouted in agreement, and for a while the atmosphere in the room was a little uncoordinated, and they were very dissatisfied with Lei Jian's words.

Lei Jian said with a calm face: "Don't be serious with me, I just want to tell you that only by understanding the early deployment of the 'Hundred Regiments Battle' can you follow the spirit of the instructions of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters step by step in the battles that will be launched later, and fight every battle."

I'm not talking about the 'Battle of the Hundred Regiments' today, I'm talking about this big battle, do you understand what I mean? ”

Some of the cadres present could understand it, but their head Lei was afraid of leaking secrets, and some said without understanding: "Head Lei, if you want to say it, let's make it clear, it sounds confusing to make people confused, how boring it is." ”

Lei Jian no longer said politely: "Please think about it for me, everything will be understood, our independent regiment has now arrived at the assembly place designated by the superiors, Commander Chen of the East Column ordered all troops to prepare for battle, once the order is issued, at all costs, to attack the Japanese strongholds and artillery towers along the Deshi Railway, this is our most important combat mission at present, and it is also the beginning of the big battle I said." ”

Wang Xiaoliang asked with some incomprehension: "Commander Lei, why did you attack the railways, highways, and stronghold turrets built by the devils, and what does this have to do with the big battle you said?" ”

Lei Jian looked at Wang Xiaoliang and everyone, and then said solemnly: "This is a sabotage war that was actively launched in this historical period, according to the military trends of various battlefields at home and abroad, as well as the grim situation of each unit and base area of the Eighth Route Army. ”

In order to solve this doubt in everyone's hearts, but also to satisfy everyone's curiosity, and in order to fight this big battle, he began to explain it clearly for the first time.

After the Nanyue Conference, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a phase of stalemate, and the Japanese army adjusted its strategic deployment and ordered all units to consolidate the occupied areas under the Japanese army's domination and not to carry out strategic offensives.

At the meeting, Okamura Ninji, commander of North China, convened a military meeting of theater commanders, at which he clearly stated: "In all theaters in North China, the main operational objective of the Imperial Japanese Army is the regular army and guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army, which are growing and rampant day by day in the areas occupied by Japan. ”

This is located in the Iron Lion Tomb in Dongcheng District, Beiping, where the former 29th Army Headquarters of the Song (Zheyuan) Department is located, and has been occupied by the headquarters of the North China Front of the Japanese Army at this time.

In the conference room of the Japanese North China Front, after Commander Okamura Ninji finished speaking, Chief of Staff Moritake Tanabe continued: "Commander Okamura has just proposed to the units of the Imperial Japanese Army in the North China Theater in accordance with the strategic deployment of the Army Headquarters, and I hope to ...... the combat missions of the troops in China at this stage. ”

Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Kazuki, commander of the First Army of the North China Front, the commander of the three divisions of the First Division, arrogantly interrupted the chief of staff's words and said: "I have my own views on the operational arrangements of Okamura-kun, and the Tuba Road, which is active in the North China area, has been lacking in weapons, ammunition, and food for a long time, and its combat effectiveness is low, so it is not enough to cause trouble, and the three divisions of the First Army of the Imperial Japanese Army can wipe out the rampant Tuba Road in less than a month. ”

"Xiangyuejun, the Eighth Route Army, which is active in the North China Theater, is the main force of the Eighth Route Army, and the combat method of guerrilla warfare is good at guerrilla warfare, and the tactics of attacking the east and the west are very headaches for the commander of the Imperial Army, if you want to completely eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army, only by implementing division and encirclement can you eradicate the forces of the Eighth Route Army in North China." Chief of Staff Moritake Tanabe, who was wearing myopic glasses and narrow-eyed, said in an accentuated tone.

Okamura Ninji said more directly: "According to the strategic deployment of the Great Japanese General Staff Headquarters, on the one hand, it is necessary to suppress the Nanjing government in China with heavy forces and force the Nanjing government to surrender, and on the other hand, it is necessary to launch a large-scale offensive war against the Eighth Route Army. ”

(End of chapter)