"What? Why don't I know about this? Muto Akira was visibly angry.

"General, I just learned about this, and I haven't had time to report it to you yet!" Nakajima Kawaji hurriedly bowed his head and said.

"Oh! Then let's evacuate to Wuhan and take a warship from Wuhan to Nanjing. Muto Zhang said indifferently.

"General! Now that we are retreating, what about Wu Zhibao's Second Army? Kawaji Nakajima asked.

"Humph! Tell Suzuki-kun, let him tell Wu Zhibao, let him take over the defense of Zheng County, and finally they can fight with the 42nd Army, which will be more conducive to our retreat! Muto Akira snorted coldly.

"Hay! Humble duty understands! Nakajima Kawaji bowed his head suddenly, and then quickly turned around and left.

…………

Huayuankou, headquarters of the 42nd Army.

Zhang Mingyu was discussing the military situation with Lai San, Ling Tianbao and others in front of the map, and Lai Changqing, the commander of the first brigade of the third division, walked in quickly, snapped his feet and said: "General seat, division seat, Ling Shizuo, the devil has suddenly withdrawn." ”

"What? Withdrawn? Zhang Mingyu and the others were only stunned.

"Yes! According to the forward observation post, the 101st Division of the Yue Army, which was confronting us, had retreated to Zheng County on all fronts. Lai Changqing nodded.

At this moment, Ren Hui, the commander of the Second Division and the Second Brigade, strode in with his head held high, and said uprightly: "Report to the general seat, the division seat, the Lai Division, the devil suddenly retreated." ”

"Huh?" Zhang Mingyu and the others glanced at each other and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"I don't know, fifteen minutes ago, the army suddenly stopped attacking, and the 21st Division, which was confronting us, had begun to withdraw towards the city of Zheng County one after another, and the Sixth Division on the eastern front had moved, and it seemed that it was also moving closer to Zheng County, and the second army of Wu Zhibao, the puppet army guarding the eastern front with the Sixth Division, also moved, and followed closely behind the Sixth Division to move towards Zheng County." Ren Hui said calmly.

"What's going on? Could it be that there are other [***] troops killed? Lai San muttered.

"Impossible! There is not a [***] within a radius of several hundred miles around us, the nearest is also in the third theater of war in Anhui and the first theater on the north bank of the Yellow River, at present the third theater is fighting Hefei, the first theater is cooperating with the fifth theater to counterattack Xuzhou, how can there be extra troops to reinforce us? Ling Tianbao immediately shook his head and said.

"No, it doesn't mean that other Chinese anti-Japanese forces!" Zhang Mingyu said with an awe-inspiring expression.

"What do you mean? Could it be the New Fourth Army? Lai San was the first to react.

"Hmmm! Except for the New Fourth Army! There is no other armed force that can make the devil retreat on his own! Zhang Mingyu nodded.

"Total seat! The devils retreated to Zheng County this time, should we take advantage of their unstable foothold to immediately counterattack? Take Zheng County in one fell swoop? Ren Hui, commander of the Second Division and Second Brigade, suggested.

"No, it's not time yet, although the devils have begun to shrink the defensive line, but we are only guessing at the moment, whether it is the arrival of the New Fourth Army, it is not yet known, and all the troops are extremely tired now, and the ammunition is not very sufficient, if the devils really plan to defend to the death, with our current ammunition reserves, we will not be able to fight a large-scale battle, and our heavy equipment has not been transported across the river." Zhang Mingyu flatly refused.

After finishing speaking, Zhang Mingyu said to Ren Hui and Lai Changqing: "You go back and closely monitor the situation of the devils, and let the regiments catch and rest, there may be a tough battle to fight next!" ”

"Yes!" The two of them snapped to the ground, and then quickly turned and left.

After seeing the two leave, Zhang Mingyu said to Lai San again: "Send a telegram to Wang Tiehan immediately, and let them find a way to smuggle a batch of ammunition for me!" The sooner the better! ”

"Yes!" Lai San snapped up and stood upright, just about to turn around and leave, when Wang Xiaohai, a communications soldier, strode in, stood up and said, "General seat, I just received an urgent message from the Fourth Infantry Division!" ”

"Huh? Read! Zhang Mingyu said with an awe-inspiring expression.

"Yes, the Fourth Infantry Division called and said that they had crossed the Yellow River yesterday, and after a day and a night of rapid marching around Luoyang, they were rushing towards Zheng County for reinforcements! We can be there by this evening at the latest! Wang Xiaohai opened the telegram in his hand and read.

"What? They have already crossed the Yellow River? When did it happen? Why don't you report it to me? Zhang Mingyu said in surprise.

"Division Commander Wang said in the telegram that because of the secrecy in advance, the radio stations of all regiments and battalions of the division were silent, and now they are less than 80 miles away from Zheng County, and it will not be long before the scouts of the Yue Army will discover them, so they will report to the headquarters at this time!" Wang Xiaohai replied.

"Oh! In this way, then you call back the 4th Division immediately! Tell Wang Tiehan to transfer one or two regiments of troops to immediately move south along the Pinghan Railway, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the railways along the Pinghan Railway, and cut off the road of Zhengzhou's army to the south. The rest of the main forces immediately and rapidly marched eastward and surrounded Zheng County with the main force of our group army. Zhang Mingyu said to Wang Xiaohai.

"Yes!" Wang Xiaohai snapped up and straightened, and then quickly turned around and left.

After Wang Xiaohai left, Zhang Mingyu's mood suddenly brightened, this time the smuggling of the fourth division was really an unexpected surprise, although the second and third divisions had been fighting continuously, the personnel were tired, and the ammunition was extremely scarce, but the fourth division was fully staffed and had sufficient ammunition, although the equipment was slightly worse than that of the third division, but compared with the devil soldiers who were exhausted from continuous battles, they still occupied an absolute advantage.

At least in terms of physical strength and morale, it has an absolute advantage.

．．．．．．．．．．

Zheng County, known as the Army Garrison Headquarters.

Nakajima Kawaji strode in, and suddenly retracted his feet and said: "General, the Sixth Division, the Seventeenth Division, the Twenty-first Division, and the One Hundred and First Division have all been pulled around Zheng County, and the Sixth Division has firmly guarded the railway station, and our divisions can board the train at any time and retreat south!" ”

"Yo Xi! The 101st Division and the 21st Division were ordered to immediately board the train and evacuate, the 17th Division was responsible for the security work of Zheng County, and the 6th Division was to protect the safety of the railway station! Muto Zhang nodded happily and said, "Nakajima-kun, are you flying to Wuhan with me, or will you stay in command?" ”

"General, I am willing to stay and coordinate the overall situation until the main force of the imperial army is evacuated!" Nakajima Kawaji suddenly bowed his head and said.

"Yo Xi! Nakajima-kun: That's a lot of hard work! Muto Akira nodded with satisfaction.

．．．．．．．．．．．

At the southwest railway station in Zheng County, the officers and men of the Sixth Division of the Chinese Army surrounded the place, and on the periphery of the station, a group of soldiers of the Chinese Army were lining up in a neat line to enter the station, preparing to board the train and evacuate.

Not far from the station, two divisions of the Second Army were stationed here, and Wu Zhibao, commander of the Second Army, accompanied by adjutant Li Hui, secretly came to the periphery of the station to observe the situation of the devils.

After putting down the binoculars, Wu Zhibao sighed and said, "Grandma, it seems that these devils are going to run away!" ”

"Yes! Commander, I am sure that they learned that the New Fourth Army was coming, and they were afraid that they would not be able to defeat the New Fourth Army and the 42nd Group Army by then, so they took the initiative to evacuate! Li Hui nodded approvingly.

"That's right! What did that old devil from Suzuki send someone to say just now? Wu Zhibao asked.

"Oh! The man himself said that Suzuki asked him to tell us that after all the people were evacuated, we would take over the defense of Zheng County! Li Hui replied.

"Fuck! These dogs said that they really didn't have a good heart, and even let us take over Zheng County, so don't they use us as a shield? When the time comes, not to mention the New Fourth Army, will the 42nd Group Army be able to bypass us? Little devils can't keep Zheng County, can we? Wu Zhibao immediately scolded.

"Yes! The devil's trick is not poisonous, but Commander, we still have to accept it! Li Hui said confidently.

"Oh? What do you mean by that? Wu Zhibao asked suspiciously.

"Commander, after we take over Zheng County, even if we don't surrender to the 42nd Group Army or the New Fourth Army, I can also issue a telegram statement and surrender to the Yucheng National Political Axe, so that the commander will become a hero who saves the country by turning into a curve, and then Chairman Jiang will definitely seal the official position of the commander of Zheng County's urban defense, and he Zhang Mingyu will not dare to attack us blatantly no matter how capable he is, right? After all, we're also [***]! Li Hui explained.

"Wonderful! That's a great plan! Adjutant Li, you are really my little Zhuge ! Ha ha! If I really become the city defense commander of Zheng County, you will be my deputy commander and chief of staff, haha! Wu Zhibao immediately laughed happily when she heard this.

"Commander! Li Hui does not seek to be promoted and make a fortune, as long as he can follow the commander in this life! Li Hui hurriedly said.

"Dude! What are you talking about, our brothers have officials to do it together, and we have wealth together! There are women who also play together haha! Wu Zhibao immediately put his arm around Li Hui's shoulders and said.

"Commander! This is not the place to talk, let's hurry back to the station and prepare for the reception! Li Hui immediately signaled.

"That's right! Walk back! Wu Zhibao nodded again and again.

．．．．．．．．．

In the garrison headquarters of the Zheng County, after sending off Akira Muto and a cadre of senior generals, the entire garrison headquarters seemed a little empty, and Kawaji Nakajima, who was in charge of staying behind, was sitting at his desk sorting out documents, preparing to sort out some confidential documents and take them away.

At this time, a communications staff officer strode in with a nervous expression, and suddenly retracted his feet and said: "General, a large number of Zhina troops are coming from the direction of Luoyang!" The number should be around two divisions.! ”

"What? Two divisions? Where are they now? Nakajima stood up in surprise and said.

"They are still fifty miles away from Zheng County, but their march speed is extremely fast, and they will reach Zheng County this evening at most!" The communications staff officer bowed his head suddenly.

"What? This evening? Nakajima Kawaji was shocked and said, "Can the 101st Division and the 21st Division all be evacuated this evening?" ”

"It should be about the same! The trains are in full swing and should be able to board them all in the evening! The communications staff officer counted a little, then looked up and replied.

"Yo Xi! As long as these two divisions can be withdrawn, then Nanjing will be able to get strong support, and he telegraphed to General Suzuki Ichichi that after the 101st Division and the 21st Division are all evacuated, his 6th Division will be evacuated immediately, and our 17th Division will be the queen! Nakajima nodded happily.

"Hay! The communications staff officer of the army suddenly bowed his head, and then turned around and strode away.

．．．．．．．．．

Huayuankou, the general headquarters of the 42nd Group Army.

The stars gathered, and all the officers above the brigade level of the second and third divisions had arrived, Zhang Mingyu looked around at the crowd: "Brothers, the scouts have inquired clearly, the devil's retreat is indeed because of the arrival of the New Fourth Army, this time the New Fourth Army sent two main divisions and a reading brigade of tens of thousands of people to reinforce, so the little devil plans to flee without a fight this time!" I would like to tell you another piece of good news, the Fourth Division has successfully crossed the Yellow River and made a detour back to the western front of Zheng County, and will be able to reach Zheng County by this evening at the latest, when we will complete the encirclement of Zheng County. ”

"Total seat! I heard that the devil has already begun to prepare for the escape, if he waits for the arrival of the fourth division, will he let the little devil escape? Lai Changqing asked.

"This is one of the reasons why I summoned you here, I decided to immediately launch an attack on Zheng County, in order to block the speed of the army's inevitability, and when the advance team of the Fourth Division successfully destroys the railway, it will not be so easy for the little devil to escape by train!" Zhang Mingyu said.

"Now I command!" Zhang Mingyu said this.

Everyone immediately lifted their spirits and looked at Zhang Mingyu excitedly.

"I ordered the three infantry brigades of the Third Division to spread out on the whole line and besiege Zheng County, and the Second Infantry Division marched eastward with the strength of one or two regiments, went south along Zhongmu County, and quickly interspersed to the Xinzheng area, cutting off the road of Zhengzhou's army! After the main force of the 2nd Infantry Division captured Zheng County, it immediately followed in pursuit! Strive to wipe out all the devils in Zheng County in the area north of Xuchang, so that they will not escape and let the tiger return to the mountain! ”

"Yes!" Everyone snapped forward and answered loudly.

"That's it! Nothing to do, go ahead and prepare! Forty minutes later, I'm going to hear our gunshots ringing out from the head of Zheng County! Zhang Mingyu waved his hand.

"Yes!" The crowd said yes again, and then quickly turned and left.

Outside the city of Zheng County, tens of thousands of officers and men of the 42nd Group have already lined up and are ready to go. At this moment, all the artillery of the third division began to bombard the cityhead position of the Zhengxian army, and the dense shells smashed into the cityhead position of the army like locusts flying in the sky.

"Boom... Boom..."A violent explosion rang out continuously, and after each loud bang, a varying number of ghost soldiers and dirt were blown into the sky.

After about half an hour, the shelling stopped, and for this shelling, the artillerymen of the brigades and regiments of the 3rd Division took out all their homes and fired all the shells.

At this time, the army position was already full of fire, dust, and smoke, and I couldn't see my fingers.

In the headquarters of the Third Division, Lai San picked up the phone and yelled into the microphone: "Attention all regiments, attack immediately!" Strike now! ”

"Kill....!" Tens of thousands of [***] soldiers jumped out of the trenches one after another, and the first army city head position with a shouting of killing launched a fierce attack.

The sound of shouting and killing echoed for a long time over the entire Zheng County, and tens of thousands of heroic [***] officers and soldiers braved the rain of bullets and bullets of the devils to launch an attack on the position of the Yue army.

．．．．．．．

In Zheng County, it is called the Army Garrison Headquarters.

Nakajima Kawaji was sitting inside, and he could faintly hear the sound of shouting and gunfire from outside the city, at this time, Nakajima Kawaji was dressed in full uniform, holding his imperial saber in his left hand, and sat on the office chair in the headquarters with an indifferent expression.

At this time, hurried footsteps sounded outside the headquarters, and I saw a communications staff officer striding in, and suddenly retracted his feet and said: "General, the 11th Squadron of the Third Fleet of the Navy has sent a telegram, saying that they have begun to sail away from the Yellow River!" ”

"Got it!" Nakajima Kawaji said expressionlessly. The withdrawal of the Navy was a must, because the Army was already ready to abandon Zheng County, and there was no point in them staying.

At this time, the chief of staff of the 17th Division, Koichi Matsushita, walked in quickly, snapped his feet and said: "General, the 42nd Army of the Chinese Army has launched a fierce attack on our defensive line, and the 47th Infantry Wing reports that they can hold out for two hours at most!" ”

"Order the 17th Infantry Wing to reinforce the 47th Infantry Wing, and hold out until dark no matter what!" Nakajima Kawa said expressionlessly.

"Hay!" Matsushita Koichi Zuo suddenly bowed his head and said, then turned around and strode away.

．．．．．．．．

To the west of Zheng County, in a field forty miles away.

The main regiments of the Fourth Division were resting in the fields, and the forced march of a day and a night had finally exhausted these iron-clad men.

However, Wang Tiehan gave them only an hour to rest, and as early as half an hour ago, Wang Tiehan personally ordered Cheng Ze, commander of the first brigade, to lead two infantry regiments to turn around and go south, preparing to sabotage the railway and cut off the way for the army to flee south.

Half an hour later, Wang Tiehan dragged his tired body to stand up, and shouted energetically: "It's time!" All of them! Let's go! ”

The officers and men who were still sleeping in a sweet sleep woke up from their sleep with great reluctance, and before they had time to rub their tired eyes, they began to continue the forced march under the leadership of their respective commanders.

Seeing that the officers and soldiers were exhausted and demoralized, Wang Tiehan immediately shouted: "Brothers! Zheng County is ahead, and after running these last dozens of miles, you will be able to meet with the brother troops and the general seat! Now that the army is in a rout, we should rush forward with all our might! Kill the little devils! Brothers, show the momentum that my Chinese man should have, rush! ”

After roaring, Wang Tiehan took the lead and ran wildly.

Seeing this, a company-level officer opened his throat and shouted to the officers and soldiers behind him: "Brothers! Come on! Anyway, we're just 100 pounds! I'm afraid of a ball! Whoever rushed to Zheng County first, Lao Tzu asked him to play bitch! I heard that Zheng County's bitches are more scratchy than one another! The white flowers are big! **, and big ass! ”

"Company commander, don't be a bitch when you're hungry! Hungry now just want to eat a dry meal! Is there wood? A big-headed soldier asked weakly.

"Yes! As long as you rush to Zheng County, roast chicken and roast duck! There's everything! Lao Tzu took out all the military salaries this month, and invited you to eat to your heart's content! The company commander said.

"What does the company commander mean when he speaks?" The big-headed soldier suddenly came to his senses and asked.

"A mouthful of foam and a nail, Lao Tzu counts when he speaks!" The company commander replied loudly.

"Rush...!" Suddenly, the soldiers of the whole company burst out with amazing perseverance, and soon overtook the troops in front and rushed steadily to the first! Wang Tiehan looked at this company with some surprise, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Damn! This is really the sharp knife company of my fourth division! Enough guys! ”

(To be continued)