In the ancestral hall outside Beiguan Town, the telephone rings and telegraph rings one after another, from Dingtao and Cao County on the first line of Shangqiu in Heze, as well as the iron furnace set and Zhuangzhai on the first line from Heze to Lanfeng, there are constantly intelligence reports. From the summary of this information www.biquge.info the Japanese army obviously focused on the investigation of Lanfeng's actions. It was only at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon when the news of the exchange of fire between the two armies at the Neihuangji Railway Station and the bombing of the railway outside the Neihuangji Railway Station came that Xu Tingyao and others of the army headquarters breathed a sigh of relief -- as the intelligence said, the Japanese army's goal was to take Neihuangji first, and the current actions were exactly the same as the intelligence said.

"Report," Xu Tingyao thought it was an outside tip, and didn't look up. "The former enemy command in Lanfeng called and judged that the Japanese army was very likely to leave the city and move south tomorrow." The staff of the military headquarters reported the news from the command of the former enemy.

"Tomorrow?" Xu Tingyao and Du Yuming looked at each other, but Kaifeng said that it was the day after tomorrow.

"It shouldn't be possible." Chief of Staff Liao Yaoxiang held his glasses and began to analyze in a daze: "The Japanese army has strengthened its firepower when it went south alone this time. In addition to its own divisional heavy artillery, there are two additional field heavy artillery wings, there are 32 150mm howitzers here, and it is reported that there are more than 150mm caliber artillery, which is obviously used to bombard our army's city defense. According to the description, this is likely to be a four-five type 200mm or 240mm field howitzer, this kind of artillery weighs more than 30 tons, although it can be transported separately, but it can be moved very slowly, I think they will be ...... the day after tomorrow."

Liao Yaoxiang knew a lot about the Japanese army's weapons, and when he heard the report of the reconnaissance team, he felt that it should be a four- or five-type large-caliber field howitzer, but he only returned to China the year before last and did not know much about the Japanese army. Du Yuming shook his head, Xu Tingyao said: "Jianchu, the Japanese will not wait for the heavy artillery behind, at least not for this kind of four-five 200mm large-caliber howitzer." Judging from the arrogance of Tu Feiyuan today, he does have the possibility of dispatching tomorrow, and we will have to build a bridge tonight. ”

"Sit, how can the Japanese army attack the city?" Liao Yaoxiang was puzzled.

"The Japanese can occupy the ferry and then attack the city." Du Yuming added on the side. "Since 918, the Japanese army's arrogance has been extremely serious, and they have looked down on us and ignored us at all. At this time, the Xuzhou troops are urgently retreating westward, and Tu Feiyuan will not wait until the day after tomorrow to act, he will leave the city tomorrow! ”

"But ......" Liao Yaoxiang thought of Chang Kaishen in Kaifeng, and even more thought of the report from the Air Force, and felt that if the Japanese army left the city tomorrow, his side did not seem to be ready.

"I'll report to the principal shortly." Du Yuming said, "The air force should not wait for 250 kilograms of bombs, this was originally to deal with the Japanese heavy artillery." Now allow them to hook up fuel tanks to extend their time in the air over the battlefield. ”

Du Yuming said his adjustment, and Hou Teng ran in again, he was not alone but with a person, and the two of them were leading two tall horses. Hou Teng is Du Yuming's cronies, and when Du Yuming saw him leading the horse in, he was a little unhappy and said, "What are you doing!" ”

"Report to the army sitting, two good horses were captured at the front, and the captured soldiers said that they would sacrifice the horses to the commander." As Hou Teng spoke, the soldier with gauze on his head next to him saluted, "The first-class soldier Ma Licheng has seen the commander, the deputy commander and the commanders. ”

A soldier can capture the Japanese war horse, and it is still two, Du Yuming naturally wants to speak softly, he said kindly: "Take a break, it is not easy to capture the war horse, you have worked hard." ”

Du Yuming spoke like this, and the soldier's posture stood straighter, but Xu Tingyao said: "Good guy, this is a success!" Good sign, good sign! What's your name? Xu Tingyao was happy and asked the soldier's name again.

"Report to the sir, the first-class soldiers and horses are ready." Ma Licheng is on the right path again. Although he is only a soldier, it is rare not to have stage fright.

"Where?" Xu Tingyao patted him on the shoulder, then walked to the horse and stroked the horse's back, saying, "It's really a good horse." ”

"Report sir, I'm from Xiangtan, Hunan." Ma Licheng replied.

"Oh......" Xu Tingyao smiled, the 88th Army was formed in Xiangtan, Hunan, and naturally recruited a lot of Hunan soldiers. You seized it alone? ”

"Yes, sir. But he still died a brother, he ...... "Ma Licheng picked up a bargain, the Japanese came out after shooting, and then he was knocked down by a shot, but this person was not dead, and when he crossed the river, it was a hand-to-hand fight to kill this person."

"Good!" Xu Tingyao nodded, two people killed two Japanese soldiers and captured two good horses, which is indeed rare. He said to the adjutant beside him: "Write down his name and reward him according to the regulations." Light Pavilion ......"

Xu Tingyao talked to Ma Licheng because of the color of 'horse to success', but Du Yuming went to the communication office to report to Chang Kaishen without delay. Kaifeng's side was not Chang Kaishen's call, but Liu Fei in the first hall. After hanging up the telegram, he reported the situation on the front line, and then whispered: "Chairman of the committee, Du Guangting's worries are justified, today the Japanese will dare to blow up the Longhai line, and tomorrow they will not wait for the arrival of heavy artillery and baggage to launch an attack." It is estimated that in the eyes of the Japanese Kou, our army should be vulnerable. ”

"Hmm." Chang Kaishen nodded, of course he knew the arrogance of the Japanese army, and Xue Yue and Du Yuming's judgment was very reasonable. "What about the heavy artillery units of the Wokos? And the planes, the lack of 250 kg of bombs will not affect the combat effectiveness. ”

"This, it shouldn't matter. There were no fortifications between the Japanese troops marching in the field, and some of them were simple fortifications, and 50 kilograms of bombs were enough. Liu Fei said, "As for the heavy artillery troops, Du Guangting means that to disrupt the current enemy's rear, you can besiege it first, and then the 88th Army will go out of Heze to encircle and annihilate the heavy artillery troops, and even, you can capture the Japanese heavy artillery to fight the besieged Japanese army, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone." ”

Liu Fei's killing two birds with one stone made Chang Kaishen smile, as he participated in the revolution at the end of the Qing Dynasty, he still remembers the incident of the Japanese army shelling the second ship of Shendingzhen with the captured Qing army fortress in the First Sino-Japanese War. If the captured Japanese heavy artillery can be used to bombard the besieged Japanese divisions, it can be regarded as a kind of retribution; What's more, he is now very happy -- he has just received a report from military commander Dai Li: An important figure in the Soviet Union has fled to Japan, and the plan to bring disaster to the north has officially begun.

"Very good, immediately inform the ministries that they plan to launch an attack at twelve o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and I hope that the ministries will be ready and not delayed." Chang Kaishen restrained his smile, and there was murderous anger in his eyes.

The order was issued from Kaifeng Xingyuan and directly transmitted to the Wuchang Aviation Committee and the various departments of the Eastern Henan Army, and in Heze City, Kenji Tuhihara, who learned that the cavalry troops had blown up the Longhai Line, was also giving orders. "Ladies and gentlemen, judging from the results of today's reconnaissance, the focus of the defense of the Chinese army is Guide, and there is a defensive line in the northwest of Guide, which is why we try our best to prevent our cavalry from approaching. This is no different from the previous judgment, the Chinese army did not understand my plan. That being the case, our army should attack Kaocheng, Yifeng, and Neihuang on a large scale tomorrow. I order: At 7 o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow, Major General Toshima Fang will lead the 59th Wing as the right flank and go to Kaocheng Yifeng, northeast of Lanfeng, to attract the attention of the Chinese Army, and I will lead the 2nd Wing, the 59th Wing, and the divisional baggage and artillery units straight to Neihuang. ”

Dohihara said his plan. He was a clever man, and even if he had already diverted the attention of the Chinese army, he would attack the east and the west again: when the Chinese army thought that he was occupying Neihuang in order to attack Guide, he would march west to occupy Chenliukou, and only then began the real attack of the 14th Division.

At this time, the 14th Division was not complete, and the Sakai Takashi detachment from Jining to the east had a brigade of the 15th Wing and the 59th Wing. Only three wings actually crossed the river and went south to owe one brigade, and then the 6th Field Artillery Wing of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, the 8th Independent Field Artillery Wing, the 2nd Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade, and the 5th Mortar Brigade, and in addition to the artillery, armored vehicles, engineers, boats and bridges, communications, sanitation, balloons, and other units were added, with a number of about 22,000 people.

"Hey!" Major General Toshima Botaro did not think there was anything wrong with Dohihara's arrangement. He was just worried that the Lanfeng defenders would flee without a fight like Heze, and he said: "Your Excellency, if the Zhina army gives up Lanfeng, or if the Lanfeng defenders are weak......"

"Then take the opportunity to take Lan Feng!" Tu Feiyuan said loudly. "The purpose of our army is to occupy Chenliukou to obtain supplies and troops, and then use this as a base to occupy Kaifeng and attack to the west, cutting off the retreat of the troops belonging to the 5th Theater of Operations in Xuzhou, China and the 1st Theater of Operations, if we can take Lanfeng, our army will be free from worries in this operation, and make every effort to attack Kaifeng and Zhengzhou in the west."

"Hey!" Thinking that he could occupy Zhengzhou, the always serious Toshima Fang also laughed. "The wisdom of His Excellency the division commander is unimaginable to the people of China, if this operation is successful, then the capture of Wuhan can be at least three months ahead of schedule."

"The people of China can only learn from the empire with an open mind in order to wash away their ignorance and stubbornness and become obedient citizens of the empire." Tu Feiyuan is not ashamed. "I heard that Chang Kaishen is in Zhengzhou, and he is very willing to be in Kaifeng, if Chang Kaishen can be caught after the outside surrounds Kaifeng, then the incident will be completely close."

"Ahh Toshima Botaro was taken aback, and several other wing commanders were also stunned, and Major General Kanaoka Qiao of the 8th Wing of the Independent Field Heavy Artillery said: "The Shina Chang clan is in Kaifeng?!" ”

"It's very likely, but he's definitely not in Wuchang." In the past, he was in charge of intelligence, but now even if he leads troops to fight, he still has contacts with intelligence agencies. "If Zhengzhou can be sure that Chang Kaishen is not in Zhengzhou, then he is very likely to be in Kaifeng, and maybe we can capture him alive, just like in Xi'an two years ago."

"Your Excellency, if the Chang clan is in Kaifeng, before we capture Kaifeng, he should flee by plane." Toshima Botaro said with some disappointment. Of course, he also wanted to capture Chang Kaishen alive and completely end the Zhina incident.

"yes." Tu Feiyuan also retracted his conjecture, he was a hundred kilometers away from Feng, if Chang Kaishen was in Kaifeng, then Kaifeng must have a guard force of more than one division, even if he arrived at Kaifeng City, he would still escape, just like Nanjing. "It would be nice if we had a force that would come from the sky."

One after another, the I-16 monoplane landed on the Luohe Field Airfield, and this was the last batch of planes to be transferred today. Unlike the Soviet Air Force that escorted the 6th Brigade in the morning, the three squadrons of the 24th, 25th, and 28th Squadrons of the 5th Air Force Group came this time.

"Salute!" Lieutenant Colonel Ma Tinghuai, deputy captain of the 5th Squadron, saluted Chen Qixia with a smile, and he was accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Hu Zhuangru, the leader of the 25th Squadron. "Brother Yuren's new plane is not good, the speed is too slow."

It is not good for Ma Tinghuai to fly over the Heinkel bomber before coming, Chen Qixia smiled when she saw this: "So my brother's life will be handed over to you tomorrow, and you will have to take care of it." Chen Qixia said, and said, "Sit down and talk." I told you captain that I wouldn't come, so I'll wait for you to come. ”

The captain of the 5th Brigade was originally Ding Jixu, he knew how to fight aircraft, although his skills were not good, but many things could be said, but he accidentally blew up the American ship during the Battle of Songhu, so he was transferred, and the current captain Ning Mingjie didn't make sense, so he had to talk to Ma Tinghuai.

"Hmm." Ma Tinghuai sat down and said first, "This kind of German aircraft is slow, inflexible, and without the escort of destroyers, it is difficult to play on the battlefield." I will hold a meeting with the squadrons and the leaders of the various detachments in the evening to focus on this issue, and then conduct a mock exercise tomorrow morning to see how they should cooperate. ”

"I'm relieved to have your words, brother." Chen Qixia breathed a sigh of relief. According to the plan, the day after tomorrow, the I-16 destroyers of the 5th Group will cover the operation of the group, and after landing in Kaifeng, they will be escorted by the 4th Group. "It's the first time we've flown this kind of aircraft, and we've only been taking over for a short time, so we don't know how well it performs."

"German goods should not be bad." Ma Tinghuai smiled: "It's better than the Soviet goods, the plane ......"

Ma Tinghuai shook his head, the 5th Brigade flew the American-made **** three, and the performance was good, although the performance of the Soviet aircraft was also good, but everyone was not used to it, and then the engine life was too short, almost half of the American aircraft. Of course, Ma Tinghuai did not know that the design life of Soviet aircraft was later aimed at 50 hours, because the survival time of the Eastern Front was only 50 hours, and 200 hours was completely wasted, but at this time, the short life of Soviet aircraft engines was all due to insufficient manufacturing level.

"You can just use it, it's better than no plane." Of course, Chen Qixia knows the situation that the country is facing now, and her own batch of planes is the last batch of German munitions, and there will be no more in the future.

"Brother Yuren, have you heard about the navy's recruitment of pilots?" Everyone is familiar with each other, tacit understanding each other, and don't talk too much about business, it was Ma Tinghuai who asked about another matter.

"Navy Recruit Pilot?" Chen Qixia smiled, "This is a joke, what kind of pilots does the navy recruit?" ”

"Brother Yuren, it's true, two people in my team said they want to go back to the navy." Hu Zhuang said. "Don't you have that?"

"Haven't heard of it." Chen Qixia shook his head, he really hadn't heard of anyone leaving the 6th Brigade. "What does the Navy do when recruiting pilots? Do they have aircraft carriers? ”

"I don't know if there are aircraft carriers, but the trainer planes bought by the Navy have returned." Ma Tinghuai also said that several pilots of the 5th Brigade who had been transferred from the navy earlier had told him about returning to the navy in the past few days.

"Trainers?" Chen Qixia was about to say something. The military telephone on the desk rang, he picked up the microphone and his face changed, the phone hung up for a while, he looked at Ma Tinghuai and said, "The time is set, tomorrow morning at half past ten o'clock." (To be continued.) )