"The anti-Japanese army is burning the city, what do they want to do?"

Youpeng of Shan County, who was riding on the war horse, got the report of the scout in front and couldn't help but look confused.

"It is believed that the movement of the Imperial army has been discovered, and it is intended to clean up the city, and then resist stubbornly; Do these anti-Japanese armies really plan to fight a decisive battle with the empire in Langfang? It's incredible! ”

The chief of staff of the 1st Army, Major General Ogawa, was still shocked at this time.

"This is politics, and its existence completely distorts a lot of weird behavior in the military!"

Shan County Youpeng looked at a pillar of black smoke that soared into the sky under the eastern starry sky, illuminated by the bright moonlight, and ordered to the chief of staff of operations, Okagashi: "Tell General Tachimi to pay attention to the surprise attack of the Qing army, and at the same time remind all departments to release enough alert troops on both wings along the way; These Qing troops are far more treacherous and cunning than you think! ”

In this way, under the tacit cooperation of the Qing Dynasty royal family and the 1st Army of the Japanese Army, the military headquarters and the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Shanhaiguan Regiment of the Anti-Japanese Army were firmly pressed to death in Langfang City, waiting for the bloody fate it was ushering in.

At 0:30 a.m. on March 14 in the Western calendar, the 10th Brigade of Lijian Shangwen arrived at Caiyu Town, fifteen miles north of Langfang City.

Immediately, the newly formed 5th Brigade of the 22nd Wing of the 10th Brigade was responsible for perimeter vigilance and forward reconnaissance, and the rest of the troops immediately rested and camped in place.

At 1 o'clock in the morning, the headquarters of the 5th Division arrived in Caiyu Town.

At 2:30, the headquarters of the 3rd Division and the 6th Brigade arrived at the north bank of the Fenghe River, ten miles northeast of Langfang.

At 2:50, the 5th Brigade arrived at Hongsi Village, twelve miles northeast of Langfang.

At 3:50, nearly an hour later than originally planned, the headquarters of the 1st Army of the Japanese Army and 3 artillery wings arrived at Caiyu Town.

At this point, all 24,000 Japanese troops arrived at the predetermined location.

In these three villages and towns, it can already be clearly seen that the raging fire in Langfang City is still burning violently, reflecting half of the eastern sky.

At 4 o'clock in the morning, the Japanese troops of all divisions, enduring great exhaustion, began to enter their respective positions and theaters of operations.

The Japanese artillery continued to drive more than 4,700 prisoners of war (from Tongzhou to Caiyu Town, the Japanese army killed more than 200 Qing prisoners, of which ninety percent were prisoners after entering the customs, and seventy percent were Tongzhou prisoners), pulling heavy artillery and loading carts, and rushed to Dikou Village on the north bank of the Feng River, ten miles southeast of Caiyu Town.

This place is less than five miles away from the central city of Langfang, and the artillery range can easily cover the entire Langfang City.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, in the dawn of dawn, all the Japanese troops entered the reserve position and surrounded Langfang City like an iron barrel.

The fire in Langfang City was finally extinguished, and the remaining 20 or so houses that had not been burned out were still burning enthusiastically.

Inside the city, outside the city, there was silence.

The Japanese infantry was about two miles away from the city wall, looking at the city from afar, and confronted the anti-Japanese army standing on the city wall.

At this time, the order of the Japanese General Staff was also conveyed to all wings, 'Rest in the morning, prepare long ladders and other climbing tools at 10 o'clock, shell at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and attack the whole army at 30 o'clock, so as to take Langfang City in one fell swoop!' ’

Immediately, on the Japanese position, except for the soldiers in charge of guarding, the rest of the soldiers began to fall to the ground and fell asleep.

At this time, He Changying, Wang Wenjin, Wan Benhua, Hou Bolin, Xu Bangdao ——, a group of Qing army officials were checking the enemy situation around Langfang City.

In the binoculars, the more people looked at their faces, the whiter they became, and the more they looked, the more frightened they became, and in the end, a group of officials in Langfang City were so weak that they could hardly move their feet.

The east city, the south city, the west city, and finally the north city.

Seeing the artillery group along the north bank of the Feng River, Wan Benhua's hand holding the telescope was trembling.

He put down his binoculars, looked at He Changying, and said with difficulty: "He Dutong, this is far more than 15,000 or 6,000 Japanese soldiers?" ”

He Changying's face was also pale at this time, and now it can be clearly seen that all the three artillery wings of the Japanese army have pressed over, and although the number of the army cannot be determined, it is definitely not less than 20,000 people.

"They really dare to come, don't Yan Kyoto leave soldiers?"

He Changying said bitterly: "Before, I just said that there were 100,000 Japanese troops, and Wang Shilang could let this Langfang City go?" ”

"The only way to survive now is to take advantage of the exhausting march of the Japanese army overnight and break through all the way!"

Wan Benhua looked at Wang Wenjin expectantly, waiting for his nod.

"Yes, yes, now that the Japanese soldiers are exhausted, it is an excellent time to break through."

Hou Bolin had already been frightened, and when he heard Wan Benhua's proposal, he hurriedly opened his mouth to agree.

Although Wang Wenjin was also full of panic and despair at this time, when he heard Wan Benhua's words, he still closed his mouth and did not speak with a blank face.

He Changying's heart let out a sneer, and he arched his hand to Wang Wenjin and said, "The war situation is urgent, and the last general will not be here to accompany the adults." ”

After speaking, He Changying didn't care about the faces of Wang Wenjin and the others, and strode away.

At about 7:30 a.m., the generals of the anti-Japanese army gathered in the Beicheng Tower, looked at the artillery positions in the northeast direction, and discussed the military situation.

"Can't hold it, after a large-scale artillery bombardment, the Japanese army will definitely launch a full-scale attack, but this first round of attacks is extremely difficult to hold! - Unless the Jinmen Brigade can arrive for reinforcements this afternoon, and even if it comes, it will still be difficult to defend! ”

Everyone analyzed for a long time, and they were all pessimistic.

Xu Bangdao hit the nail on the head and said: "The absolute gap in strength, so many artillery pieces of the Japanese army; Now taking advantage of the fatigue of the Japanese army and immediately breaking through with all your strength is the right way! ”

He Changying looked at Jia Qisheng, and Jia Qisheng nodded solemnly, meaning to agree with Xu Bangdao's opinion.

"What about you?"

He Changying looked at Qian Yugang, Liu Yufu, Lu Zhaomei, Li Xiang, Lu Wenjie, Ye Chuansong, Yin Wenxin, Zhao Dabang and ——, this group of anti-Japanese army officers and asked for their opinions.

Everyone is fearless and helpless.

"Commander-in-chief, the matter of fighting a war is to cover up the water and cover the earth, and the Japanese army has killed a lot of people inside and out, and this time it must be like that!"

Lu Zhaomei said it very imposingly, but it was all nonsense.

"The key is that their artillery is indeed too sharp, and in the end, Langfang is not like Yanjing, a big city with high walls and thick walls, and it is not surprising that sooner or later the city will be broken; In the end, breaking through is still the only option. ”

Staff officer Yin Wenxin obviously agreed with Xu Bangdao's view.

"There is Wang Wenjin holding that broken sword blocked, how can you get out? This old man has a heart to die together, and wants to consume us! ”

He Changying said that he was full of grievances.

"Commander-in-chief, I'm going to kill them all now!"

Lu Zhaomei stood up again with a fierce face.

"Sit down, we are still the army of the Qing Dynasty, what will we do after killing him?"

He Changying glared at Lu Zhaomei fiercely, and then said very lightly: "If you want to kill, it is also the Japanese army's shells that have no eyes, and Zuo Shilang died for the country." ”

Xu Bangdao, Jia Qisheng, Tang Shaoyi, and several people heard that their scalps were numb.

At this time, Zhao Dabang, who had been silent, suddenly said: "If artillery is our number one trouble, it is not impossible. ”