From Fangzi to the Yellow River pontoon bridge on the other side of Binxian County, the distance is about 250 miles, and the Instructor Engineer Regiment and the Engineer Battalion of the 1st Brigade set off by car and arrived at about 10 o'clock in the evening.

The engineering regiment brought the equipment of the Japanese army's boat and bridge units, such as motor boats and steel plates, which had been captured in Qingdao, and their task was to help the engineer battalion of the 6th Brigade build pontoon bridges for the tanks and cars of the 1st Brigade.

At this time, the army did not have a professional Zhouqiao unit, and only when crossing the river was fighting, it was equipped with Zhouqiao troops, such as the Zhouqiao troops of the 14th Division who forcibly crossed the Yellow River. The motorboats used to erect boat bridges in peacetime are scattered among the troops with river defense and river defense tasks, and most of the equipment is stored in the rear bases. Anyway, they occupied the lines of communication and could be sent to the front in a few days as long as they needed. As a result, the instructors occupied Tianjin and Qingdao, and both seized a batch of equipment for crossing the river.

Originally, the Sixth Brigade had already built two pontoon bridges on the Yellow River, both of which were connected to wooden boats with steel cables, and wooden planks were laid on the wooden boats. Liu Yimin telegraphed Zhang Hongtao to send an engineer battalion to reinforce the pontoon bridge and ensure the passage of heavy firepower, that is, to build a pontoon bridge that could allow tanks and cars to pass. Because Liu Yimin knew that part of the equipment seized in Tianjin was in the engineer battalion of the First Brigade of Jiao, and part of it was asked for by Zhang Hongtao. The equipment taken away by the engineer battalion of the 1st Brigade was used when the 1st Brigade crossed the Yellow River in the east, and the results were very good. It is okay to teach the boat bridge equipment of the 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion to build a pontoon bridge over the Yellow River, no more is enough. But the army crosses the river quickly. If the army finds out after dawn, not only will the pontoon bridge be lost, but I am afraid that the entire plan for crossing the river will be ruined.

By the time the Engineer Regiment and the 1st Brigade Engineer Battalion arrived, the 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion had basically completed a boat bridge. Ren Chaoran, the commander of the engineering corps, and Li Zengyu, the political commissar, let them drive a car to try it, and the result was no problem. So Ren Chaoran asked the car to go back to pick up the troops, started the diesel generator, set up searchlights on both sides of the Yellow River, and commanded the battalions to hurry up and get away.

The engineer battalion of the 1st Brigade and the engineer battalion of the 6th Brigade both had experience in building boat bridges, so Ren Chaoran asked them to each take a division engineer battalion and erect two more boat bridges, and he commanded the other three engineer battalions to build three more pontoon bridges as soon as possible. These three pontoon bridges are different from the pontoon bridges erected by the engineer battalion of the Sixth Brigade, which are made of a winch, and can usually sink into the water, and can not be seen, so they can be pulled up when they are used. This was requested by Liu Yimin a long time ago, and the engineer regiment began to practice when it was training in Xi'an. It's just that there was no equipment at that time, and it was a simulation exercise. Since the occupation of Tianjin and Qingdao, the engineering equipment has undergone a fundamental change, and some of the instructors of the army have them, and the instructors of the army have found many of them from the warehouses of the Americans, Germans, and British.

By the time Liu Yimin arrived at the ferry on horseback, all the tanks and armored vehicles of the First Brigade had already been exhausted, but the cars had returned to pick up the troops again. However, the cavalry brigade arrived quickly and had already begun to cross the river.

Liu Yimin looked at the table below, it was only five hours before dawn, and after calculating the distance, he felt that the speed of the troops' movement could be described by the word god speed, needless to say, the speed of the car was more than 30 kilometers an hour, and it arrived in more than four hours, and it could pick up three people. The speed of the cavalry was also good, and it arrived in eight hours, only the artillery and the infantry in the rubber [***] car arrived late, and it seems that there are still more cars, at least to reach the level of putting one brigade at a time, and in the future the artillery will have to be changed to car hauling, so that the mobility of the sub-troops will be stronger.

This speed of march was unimaginable during the Long March. At that time, it was all on two legs, and walking 200 miles in one day and one night was Scud. Now more than 200 miles can be reached overnight, if in the future we really control the Jinpu Road and Jiaoji Road, and build Shandong into a real and stable base area, then wouldn't it be more mobile to mobilize the army to fight in the south and the north?

After the cavalry brigade, it was the cavalry battalion of the 1st Brigade, the 3rd Brigade, and the 4th Brigade and the infantry on horseback, Liu Yimin directly ordered them to cross the river, and then ordered the engineer regiment to dismantle the boat bridges one by one, and when the troops were finished, they must be dismantled, the equipment was hidden, and the order was given to the heavy plane, so as not to be discovered and blown up by the devil's plane.

Ren Chaoran first served as an instructor in the engineer company, and later as an instructor in the engineer battalion, a political commissar of the engineer regiment, and later as a regiment commander. After many years of fighting career, he has long developed a style of not being arrogant or impatient, and working hard. After receiving the order, he knew that the mission of the first phase of the bridge had been completed, and the division commander was right, it must be dismantled as soon as possible.

By the time the artillery brigade and the artillery regiments of the brigades arrived, it was already past four o'clock in the morning, and at this time there was still one boat bridge left to be dismantled.

Watching the 1st Field Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, the Mountain Artillery Regiment, the Medium Mortar Regiment, the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment, the 1st Brigade Artillery Regiment, the 3rd Brigade Artillery Regiment, and the 4th Brigade Artillery Regiment pass through the boat bridge and pontoon bridge at one time, Liu Yimin, who was standing by the Yellow River, felt in a trance, as if he had returned to the Xiangjiang River when he had just crossed, and a tragic and heroic mood arose spontaneously in his heart. At that time, the Red Army suffered heavy losses, difficult times. He was at the forefront of the team in every battle, and many of the fighters regained their belief in victory because of their words and deeds. Now that there is such a powerful army, I am afraid that Xiao Yue is a bird! He has strategies and tactics that are decades ahead of them, and beating him is like an adult beating a child. As long as you don't act brutally, after this sweep, why not let the army go south to capture Wuhan and Guangzhou? Seeing that the Germans in Europe have begun to move according to the trajectory of history, Xiao Yueben will inevitably cooperate with them. When the Pacific War breaks out, hehe, the naval and air forces of the army will turn to fight with the US military, and then it will be time to clean them up on a large scale! Maybe you can have three major battles or something on the army, that guy, make a big deal!

was imagining, Tang Xingying came up with the child. When Liu Yimin asked, he learned that Tang Xingying couldn't stand the bumps of the car, so he changed to a rubber [***] car. Seeing Liu Yimin standing alone by the Yellow River in a daze, Tang Xingying couldn't rest assured, so she came to see him.

Liu Yimin picked up his son, pointed to the Yellow River and said, "Son, this is the Yellow River, and further down is the mouth of the Yellow River." When you grow up, it's going to be a very beautiful place. When the time comes, remember to accompany my father to see the magnificent scenery of the Yellow River entering the sea! ”

Without waiting for Xiao Zhenghe to speak, Tang Xingying said angrily: "My son is so young, what do you know?" If you really want to wait for that day, you can rest assured that even if you are lying on the hospital bed, I will carry you on my back and fulfill your wishes. ”

Liu Yimin grinned, stopped talking, put his son around his neck, held Tang Xingying's hand, and the family of three quietly watched the spectacular scene of the army crossing the river.

Until Cai Zhong came to ridicule Liu Yimin, he was an old husband and wife, and he was still pretending to be romantic by the Yellow River, and he was not afraid of the jokes of the soldiers. Liu Yimin sent the two girls to get in the car and cross the river.

When all the troops were finished, it was already half past six in the morning, and the sky was already clear, and after a while, it was estimated that the planes of the Yue army would take off for reconnaissance, and Liu Yimin led his horse across the pontoon bridge.

After crossing the bridge, Liu Yimin called Ren Chaoran and Li Zengyu and told them that the engineer regiment was about to be upgraded to an engineer brigade, and it was planned to have jurisdiction over the engineer training brigade, the engineer regiment, the boat bridge regiment, the construction regiment, and the antiaircraft machine gun battalion, and be responsible for the training and management of the entire division's engineers, of which the antiaircraft machine gun battalion would be transferred by the air defense brigade. Ren Chaoran was ordered to lead the 1st Brigade Engineer Battalion, the 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion, and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Engineer Battalions to garrison the ferry, and the task was to quickly build a bridge when the troops retreated to ensure the safe return of the main force to Shandong. Li Zengyu was ordered to lead the 1st and 2nd Engineer Battalions to follow the main force and undertake the task of blasting in case necessary.

As soon as they heard that the engineer regiment was finally going to be promoted to an engineer brigade, Ren Chaoran and Li Zengyu were very excited, and they both saluted and assured Liu Yimin that they would resolutely complete the task.

After crossing the river, Liu Yimin ordered the troops to camp in the eastern part of Binxian County, do a good job of camouflage and concealment, block news, and pay attention to air defense. Then he met with the main cadres of the Sixth Brigade.

Zhang Hongtao, Fu Zhuting, and He Mingliang had already greeted the main force at the ferry, and they hadn't seen each other for a few months, Zhang Hongtao was okay to say, his body was very strong. Fu Zhuting was a little obviously emaciated, and Liu Yimin frowned, and asked him to go to the field hospital for examination and let Chen Tong see if there was anything wrong. If you are sick, treat it as soon as possible, don't delay.

Fu Zhuting reported that he was in good health and could fight with the devil with a bayonet. The reason for the emaciation is mainly due to the fact that the base area is start-up, the affairs are complicated, and the affairs of the troops have to be considered, so it is a bit too busy. It would be good when the military and the government were separated, and the work could be grasped in more detail.

He Mingliang is the commander of the old engineer regiment, and when he was in Zhenyuan, he participated in the test of flying thunder cannons and electric explosives, and made great contributions in the battles of Qingxi Town and Yangping Town. When Liu Yimin saw him, he felt that the transfer of him to work in the Third Division at that time was mainly to consider the qualifications of cadres when they were used. This is about to set up an engineer brigade, and I am afraid that he will have to be transferred back to work in the engineer brigade. But first we have to fight the battle in front of us.

Zhang Hongtao reported on the current situation of the enemy and the enemy along the Jilu border. Because our army on the Jilu border had besieged Dexian in order to cooperate with the main force of the Luzhong Campaign, and after being ordered to withdraw from the siege, it concentrated on resting, and there was no main force in the northern area of the Jilu border, and only the county brigades and district squads served as garrison tasks. Therefore, yesterday morning, after the army launched a surprise attack on the Jilu border, the main force of the puppet army on the northern road captured the front line of Nanpi and Yanshan, and all the brigades, district squads, and militias of our counties were transferred to tunnel fortifications to carry out raids, tunnel warfare, and mine warfare against the enemy. The army was anxious to capture our main force, marched at a fast pace, and resolutely struck at the sporadic attacks and harassment of our local troops. Yesterday alone, three county brigades and 12 district squadrons lost contact, and the militia's losses cannot be counted for the time being. The cadres at all levels also suffered great losses, mainly because they did not have time to transfer. The 10th Division of the South Road Army burned, killed, looted and plundered on the road from Dexian to Lingxian, and did all kinds of evil. After receiving the division commander's order to lure the enemy, the cavalry battalion of the 6th Brigade had already engaged the enemy in Lingxian and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. Last night, after being blocked by the cavalry battalion and the 16th Regiment in Linyi Town, the devils camped on the spot and built a defensive position. The plan is to further stimulate the devils today, so that the enemy can concentrate his forces and pursue quickly, and strive to lure the main force of the devils to the city of Binxian before dark.

After listening to Zhang Hongtao's report, Liu Yimin calculated that there was a road of more than 110 miles from Dexian County to Linyi Town, and along the way, there were county brigades, district squads, and militia to block and harass attacks, as well as cavalry battalions to block the attack. This attack speed is fast enough. And from Linyi Town to Binxian County, there are still more than 200 miles to go, and the devil will definitely not be able to reach it today. You must know that although the little devil is pursuing, the 10th Division is not a mechanized division, and most of the soldiers walk on two legs, so you can't get there if you don't stop him. This is different from the rapid march of one's own troops in the base area, and besides, the current 10th Division is far inferior to its own instructor's main force in terms of mobility. They don't have so many war horses, and they don't have so many cars, glue [***] cars.

During the day, it is better not to block the attack, and even if it is attacked, it cannot be fought by regiment-sized troops, because it will attract bombing by military planes, and the losses will be too great. It is only possible to lure the enemy quickly with a cavalry battalion. In this case, the devil will advance about 120 miles as soon as today, that is, at the junction of Shanghe and Huimin.

During the day, their main forces can't march, which is tantamount to telling the devil's plane to bomb themselves. If you move to meet the enemy tonight, the troops can do without torches, but tanks, armored vehicles, and cars cannot do without turning on their lights. It seems that we can only wait one more day in Binxian County, so that the devils can arrive in Binxian tomorrow afternoon, launch an attack on the county seat of Binxian, and completely annihilate the 10th Division tomorrow night.

However, in this way, the troops of the northern front of the army are likely to arrive, and as soon as the battle starts, the army on the northern front will definitely reinforce it, especially this second division, which is good at night attacks, and Okamura Ningji is old and cunning, when the time comes, don't let the devils attack themselves in two ways to laugh at it!

Liu Yimin thought about it and felt that he couldn't let the main force of the devils on the North Road attack too fast, so that they couldn't reach the battlefield so quickly. As long as they arrived after the 10th Division was annihilated, it didn't matter, not to mention the Flying Thunder Artillery Regiment, just the four artillery regiments of the artillery brigade plus the eight artillery regiments of the 1st Brigade, the 3rd Brigade, the 4th Brigade, and the 6th Brigade could make the old devil of Okamura Ningji sift through chaff. There is no need to think about destroying him, there is absolute certainty of defeating him.

It seems that the cavalry brigade must be dispatched to give the northern front army a head-on attack, delay their advance, and buy time for the elimination of the 10th Division.

After thinking about it, Liu Yimin asked Zhang Hongtao to go back to deploy the defense of Binxian County first, and he must stick to it. There must be at least two regiments in the city, which can resolutely resist the attack of the little devils and attract all the devils to the city of Binxian County. The main force is hidden in the east of Binxian to rest, and after the devil arrives in Binxian, the main force will go out again to annihilate the enemy under Binxian County.

(To be continued)