The second said, Hengshui County.

Ling Tianbao tentatively sent an infantry company to attack the south gate of Hengshui, but when the infantry company had already rushed to the city, it was not intercepted by the devil's fire.

Ling Tianbao felt more and more hesitant, and once again sent two infantry companies in one go, and the three infantry companies alternately covered and entered the city, and soon after entering the city, they found that the villagers in the entire Hengshui County were hiding at home and did not dare to come out.

There was not a single devil soldier at all, and a battalion commander turned to the herald and said, "Xiao Li, report to the division seat immediately, the city is empty, there are no devils!" ”

"Yes!" The herald snapped to his feet, and then quickly turned and left.

"What? There are no devils in the city? Ling Tianbao said with a face full of disbelief.

"Yes, we didn't find a single devil." Herald Xiao Li said.

"Okay, you go back first, tell your battalion commander, let him carefully search the whole city, and see that there are wood and devils ambushing soldiers at the bottom!" Ling Tianbao waved his hand.

"Yes!" The herald snapped forward, turned around, and ran toward the city.

Seeing the herald leave, Ling Tianbao said to his chief of staff, Wang Qing: "Chief of staff, what do you think?" ”

Wang Qing pondered for a while and said: "If there are no devils' ambushes in the city, there is only one explanation, that is, the devils have given up Hengshui!" ”

"Give up Hengshui?" Ling Tianbao felt incredible, and said: "According to the information provided by the Ministry of Security, there must be seven or eight thousand devils in Hengshui, how can the little devil's surname be so easy to give up the strategic place of Hengshui." ”

"It's hard to say, let's wait for news from the forward battalion!" Wang Qing said thoughtfully.

"Hmm." Ling Tianbao nodded indifferently.

Not long after, three white signal flares in the city rose into the air, which represented the safety of the city, seeing the signal flares, Wang Qing said to Ling Tianbao: "Master, we can enter the city." ”

"Hmm!" Ling Tianbao nodded and said, "Order all regiments, enter the city!" ”

In Hengshui City, Ling Tianbao took the guard battalion to the gate of the Hengshui Garrison Headquarters of the original army, and the devil signboards hanging on both sides of the gate had been taken off by the angry soldiers and cut into dozens of sections with big knives.

The two spearheads kicked open the gate of the garrison headquarters, then quickly rushed into the courtyard, and then gave a safe sign language outside.

At this time, Ling Tianbao, surrounded by Wang Qing and others, strode in, and saw that the room was still smoking green smoke and had burned to ashes, Ling Tianbao sat on a chair, took out a Taiyuan brand cigarette from his pocket, and lit it: "It seems that the devil withdrew before dawn." ”

Wang Qing walked around the room, hoping to find something useful, and when he found nothing, he turned around and said, "It should be, Master, we can report to the Chief." ”

"Hmm!" Ling Tianbao nodded and said: "You can do this matter, just say that the devil suddenly gave up Hengshui, and my second division successfully recovered Hengshui!" ”

"Yes!" Wang Qing snapped and said, "I'll do it right away." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, towards the communications department that was being built.

………… Gongtai Town.

Liu Cheng walked into Zhang Mingyu's temporary tent with the telegram just sent by the Second Division, and stood up and said: "General seat, the Second Division sent a telegram saying that the devil has given up Hengshui County, and now Hengshui County has been taken by us." ”

"Huh? The devil gave up Hengshui County? Zhang Mingyu said in surprise: "Chief of Staff, do you think the little devil is playing that trick?" ”

"At present, it is not possible to judge the true purpose of the devil, but the general seat, we asked the personnel of the Security Department to pay more attention to the withdrawal of the 28th Division of the Japanese Army from Hengshui, and the problem will be solved." Liu Cheng shook his head and said.

"Hmmm! I immediately informed Jin Bihui and asked her to pay more attention. Zhang Mingyu nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Zongzuo, I have discussed with the elders of Gongtai and Qianmo towns, and they agreed to build the two towns together, and the address has been chosen, which is now in Wuling Township, which is close to the highway and has convenient transportation and is backed by the surrounding mountains, which is suitable for the people to live." Liu Cheng said again.

"Good! You can call the shots about these things, as long as you do things for the people, what is it if we are tired and bitter as soldiers? Isn't it the duty of our soldiers to defend their homes and the country and to encircle millions of Chinese people from being bullied by foreign enemies? Now that the devil has driven away, and the people are happy and want to live a good life, we must help them build their homes beautifully, so that they can live a happy and stable life from now on. Zhang Mingyu said.

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng also nodded approvingly.

"Chief of Staff, what do you think of the next phase of our operation?" Zhang Mingyu asked.

"I think we are advancing a little fast, at most we have to stop when we take Cangzhou, after all, now the third and fourth divisions are still spinning in place, we have to wait for them to take Baoding, and then the two armies will go hand in hand, so that the army can be overwhelmed and tired of coping. As the saying goes, if you can't win with one fist, you can beat him to death with two fists! Liu Cheng said thoughtfully.

"Hmmm! I also think so, go back and urge the arsenal to speed up production, the second batch of rocket artillery must be produced by the end of this month, equipping the 3rd and 4th divisions! Zhang Mingyu nodded.

"Send another telegram to Xu Hu, asking him to lead the armored division to assemble quickly, and go to Hengshui with the main force tomorrow to prepare for the next stage of the Cangzhou Campaign!"

"Yes!" Liu Cheng stood upright, turned around immediately, and left quickly.

………… Yucheng, the leader's official residence.

Chairman Jiang had just finished lunch and was about to take a lunch break, when hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and then General He strode in and said, "Take a seat!" The Military Commission transferred the latest battle situation of the 42nd Group Army! ”

"Oh! Read it and hear it! Chairman Jiang waved his hand and said, "Respectfully, come and sit!" Although Chairman Jiang was angry that he could not control Zhang Mingyu, and even wanted to get rid of Zhang Mingyu several times, at this time Zhang Mingyu waved his army north, and he was also very concerned about the war situation, after all, Chairman Jiang is also Chinese, he is also patriotic, and his political position has nothing to do with his patriotic complex.

If Zhang Mingyu wades his army to the north, if he can fight to the death with the army, in the end, it will be Chairman Jiang who will benefit.

Even if Zhang Mingyu defeated the Yue army and recovered Pingjin, Chairman Chiang would have enough reasons to send troops to accept it, not to mention that he did not believe that Zhang Mingyu would be able to recover Pingjin at all.

Admiral He sat down as he said, and then said: "According to the telegram, the first part of the 42nd Group Army has successfully recovered the area south of Hengshui, and the puppet army has been eliminated no less than 30,000 people. Not to mention, he was about to move his army north to Cangzhou. ”

"Oh?" Chairman Jiang was slightly moved, he didn't expect the 42nd Group Army to progress so quickly, and asked, "What about the direction of Baoding?" ”

"There is no movement in the direction of Baoding for the time being, but the two main divisions of the 42nd Group Army have gathered around Baoding, and I believe that there will be results soon." Admiral Ho replied.

"Jingzhi, do you think Zhang Mingyu can recover Pingjin and drive Yue Kou out of the customs as he said before he went out of the army?" Chairman Jiang asked.

"It's hard to say this, and I can't guess it! However, I believe that even if the 42nd Group Army cannot succeed in recovering the Pingjin region, there is still hope for the recovery of the whole of Hebei! Admiral He replied thoughtfully.

"Oh! It's okay, you go back first, I'm tired. Chairman Jiang waved his hand.

"The humble post retired first." Admiral He suddenly got up, then turned to leave.

Seeing General He's figure leaving, Chairman Jiang sighed deeply, in fact, he wanted to ask whether Zhang Mingyu would be the second Feng Yuxiang or Yan Xishan after he took Pingjin.

…………… Yan'an, tile cave.

Holding a pu fan, fanning it over and over again, playing chess with Mr. Zhu over and over again, at this time, Zhou Gong walked over with vigorous steps.

smiled and said: "Chairman, this chess game is good!" ”

"Enlai, is there any major movement in the army at the moment?" [***] asked while playing chess.

A few days ago, he led the main force of the 42nd Group Army to the north, and in less than half a month, he recovered a large area of land south of Hengshui, annihilating the puppet army as many as tens of thousands of people, forcing Okamura Ningji to order the army to retreat." Zhou Gong replied with a smile.

"This Zhang Mingyu is a good hand in war, when will he be able to win him over, he will be a major force for our party and our army!" Mr. Zhu also smiled slightly.

"Hmmm! This Zhang Mingyu's tactical command ability is unmatched by the Kuomintang generals. Enlai, you arranged to get close to Zhang Mingyu last time, did that matter have any results? [***] nodded and asked Zhou Gong.

"The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army has sent Li Yunlong and Zhang Mingyu to have contact several times, and the last time Zhang Mingyu was besieged in Qingdu, Li Yunlong's Reading Brigade was also sent to reinforcements, it is estimated that the feelings have been almost cultivated, just waiting for the right opportunity Li Yunlong can have a showdown with Zhang Mingyu." Zhou Gong replied.

"Judging from Zhang Mingyu's several donations of weapons and equipment to our Eighth Route Army, there is still hope for this matter, at least he still does not reject our party, and it should be different from other stubborn Kuomintang." Mr. Zhu said.

"Hmm" [***] nodded and said, "Yes, there is hope for this, but you can't be in a hurry!" Let's continue to play this game. ”

……………… Hengshui County.

Zhang Mingyu led the first infantry division, guard regiment, and armored division into Hengshui County, and Ling Tianbao hurriedly went out of the city to greet him, after a shabby experience.

Everyone entered the city one after another, and as soon as they entered the headquarters of the Second Division, Colonel Fang Jun of the Communications Department brought a telegram, which was sent by Jin Bihui, and Zhang Mingyu hurriedly read the telegram, and immediately fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Liu Cheng asked, "Boss, what's wrong?" ”

"The 28th Division withdrew to Cangzhou, and Okamura Ningji mobilized two field divisions and two other mixed brigades to gather in Cangzhou, apparently preparing to fight with us in Cangzhou." Zhang Mingyu frowned.

"Two more divisions and two brigades? Obediently, with the original army in Cangzhou and the 28th Division that has just been withdrawn, the strength of the army in Cangzhou has reached 100,000! Liu Cheng gasped and said, "It seems that Okamura Ningji wants to make a desperate bet." ”

"Hmmm! In addition to these, Jin Bihui also reported that in addition to the 100,000 Yue army, at least 200,000 puppet troops are also being intensively assembled, and most importantly, Okamura Ninji now has at least 300 new fighters under his command! Zhang Mingyu nodded coldly.

"Grandma's bear, then let's have a real fight with Okamura Ningji, an old devil, I'm afraid of him! In addition to the more than 100,000 devils who still have some combat effectiveness, the rest of the puppet army is just a plate of tofu scum, and it is almost the same to send us troops. Ling Tianbao said coaxingly.

When Zhang Mingyu heard this, he was also slightly moved, yes, it is certainly a pleasure to have a fight with the real sword and real gun of the Yue Army, but if this battle is lost, then he may never have a chance to turn over. In addition, with only two divisions in his hands, it is really difficult to have a chance of winning against the 400,000 puppet coalition army.

But, on second thought, can he still retreat at this time? Will the 42nd Army still be able to retreat? The answer is definitely no.

Because the fathers and villagers of the whole country are watching, and overseas Chinese at home and abroad are also watching and paying attention to this shocking battle for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

If this battle is lost, it will definitely greatly damage the morale of the people who are determined to resist the Kou, and greatly increase the confidence of the Kou.

Therefore, he can only stand up to the battle, like a man!

After making up his mind, Zhang Mingyu suddenly stood up, and then said with an awe-inspiring expression: "I decide!" Gather your troops! Fight with Okamura Ningji! ”

"Great, Boss, with your words, even if there is a sword mountain and a sea of fire in front of you, you are not afraid!" Ling Tianbao said excitedly.

"Lao Ling is right! Let's have a fight with Okamura Ningji and 100,000 little devils, even if we die in battle, we won't lose the true character of [***] people! Defend my China and fight to the end! Zhang Mingyu said excitedly.

"Defend my China! Fight to the end! Zhang Biao, Niu Tiangui and the others only felt their blood boiling, and they all said in unison.

"Chief of Staff, you immediately send a telegram to Lai San, ask him to immediately give up the attack on Baoding, lead all the officers and soldiers of the Third Division to the north immediately, and the Ministry of Transportation will fully assist, within 15 days, all the officers and men of the Third Division must reach Hengshui, otherwise military law will be engaged!" Zhang Mingyu said with an awe-inspiring expression.

"Yes!" Liu Cheng snapped upright, but immediately said with a worried face: "General seat, will the Baoding army take the opportunity to come out and sneak attack our rear!" ”

"Let Wang Tiehan lead the four divisions to keep an eye on Baoding City for me, as long as the little devil dares to come out, all of them will be eliminated for me! Exterminate! Send a telegram to Ma Liqun again, and let him personally lead two cavalry regiments to cross the Taihang Mountain and gallop to the aid of the Fourth Division! Zhang Mingyu said.

"For the rest of you, put the ministries in order at once! Fifteen days later, follow me to the north! Fight it out with Okamura Ninji! Zhang Mingyu said loudly.

"Yes!" Everyone tore their throats and said yes, and then they turned around and strode away.

(To be continued)