At the military headquarters of the 8th Army in Jiangxian County, when Kong Lingsui was making military deployments, the phone rang and an operational staff officer answered. "Commander, it's General Ouyang's call!". Hearing this, Kong Lingsui hurriedly took the phone: "Report, I'm Kong Lingsui asking the general for instructions!" Ouyang Jian's voice came from the phone: "General Kong, according to the enemy's report, a puppet army unit is moving south quickly, and the intelligence shows that it is the strength of a regiment. You must not allow the traitor to show off his might, and order your unit to immediately dispatch the cavalry regiment attached to the army and beat him severely. "Yes, Humble Order!"

Under the sun, a puppet army unit withstood the cold wind, and quickly moved south along the avenue, and they did not seem to be fighting but occupying. On the right side of the road is a gentle slope of a mountain range, and on the left is a hilly open field. At this time, a dense cavalry appeared on the side of the mountain.

A sturdy officer raised his saber and shouted: "Brothers, the traitors of Manchukuo actually came here to get drunk, and they fucking ate the gall of the ambitious leopard, so that they have no way to kill and attack." Immediately the cavalry shouted and attacked. At this time, the puppet army found that the fierce cavalry was coming, and immediately panicked on the road.

Some of the puppet soldiers resisted on the spot, some fled to the rear, and some ran to the side of the road. Suddenly faced with a cavalry attack, the puppet officers and soldiers did not have any psychological preparation, and their spirits collapsed first. In a few seconds, the cavalry rushed to the road, and they vented all their anger against the Japanese army on the puppet army. With the wielding of the saber, the puppet soldiers fell in a pool of blood, and even those who surrendered with their hands raised could not escape the killing. The cavalry rushed back and forth on the road, and the scene was very miserable. Although the Manchukuo puppet army is well-equipped and has good military qualities.

But they are used to being pampered, and they have never experienced a cruel war at all, let alone the test of life and death. Although the Nationalist Army, especially the Northwest Army, had many defeats and few victories against the Japanese army, after all, it was a repeated defeat and a battle, after all, after a brutal battle test, the Manchukuo puppet army was far from being defeated in this regard.

When the 4th Division of the puppet army arrived on the battlefield, the battle was over. The puppet officers and soldiers were frightened, and their scalps were numb. The road was littered with horrific corpses, and there was hardly a single living mouth. In this battle, the puppet army vanguard regiment reimbursed one-third of the men. Seeing such a scene, the commander of the division was so frightened that he had to order the troops to stop advancing.

A few hours later, the regiment returned victorious. The commander of the cavalry regiment in the military headquarters painted a picture of his voice and color, and all the generals and officers were smiling happily, and for the first time since the beginning of the war, they were so elated. "The report was received from the headquarters of the group army, commending our unit for taking the initiative to attack and annihilate a regiment of the Manchukuo puppet army, and highly appreciating the commander's command and decisive attack. The war report has been reported to the Ministry of Defence. Kong Lingsui was a little confused when he heard this, how could he become the strength of a regiment when he wiped out one-third of the puppet army. After thinking about it again, Kong Lingsui immediately called Ouyang Jian.

After explaining the situation, Kong Lingsui listened to it for a few minutes, put down the big words and was silent. "Commander, what did General Ouyang say?" The chief of staff asked, and all the generals pricked up their ears. "Everyone, General Ouyang deserves this!" Kong Lingsui gave a thumbs up and said, "General Ouyang said that the credit is ours and has nothing to do with him. As for the theater command's statement that a regiment of the puppet army should be eliminated, since it has been reported to the Ministry of Defense, there is no need to change it, and the expansion of the results is also for the sake of inspiration! "Commander, no wonder General Ouyang is so admirable, he is by no means an idle person."

"Everyone, General Ouyang is not greedy for merit, such a superior is a wise chief. Under the command of such a commander, the soldiers will use their lives. I believe that General Ouyang is in command at the front, and we will definitely be able to hold Zhongtiao Mountain. "Army commander, I heard an operational staff officer in the theater command privately say that Commander Wei was a defeated general under General Ouyang. Two people are not fighting, not dealing. It is said that under the care of General Ouyang, Commander Wei's 10th Army had a good record in the war against Japan, so it became the trump card unit in the national army. ”

At midnight, a large number of wounded people arrived in Hengqu, and Ouyang Jian personally visited the wounded soldiers and comforted them not to worry. All wounded soldiers will be taken to the theater field hospital on the south bank of the Yellow River, where each wounded soldier will be meticulously treated. Ouyang Jian personally commanded the rush to transport the wounded soldiers at the ferry, and asked the wounded soldiers to cross the river first. When the wounded soldiers learned that they were greeted with warmth and meticulous care, it turned out to be a famous person, and they were all moved to tears.

The war correspondent of the 4th Group Army took a picture of Ouyang Jian comforting the wounded at the ferry, although the photo was a little blurry, but the real picture was very warm, and once again inspired all the officers and soldiers of the defense. The photographs were published in the War Zone War Bulletin and sent to the various departments of the War Zone.

After the Japanese broke through the Hengling Pass, the front commander Tada Jun ordered the 33rd Division and the 4th Brigade in the northeast, as well as the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the puppet army to attack Dong Feng. In addition, the 21st and 35th Divisions of the Eastern Front were ordered to launch attacks on the Jiyuan and Mengxian defense lines.

So far, the Japanese army has launched a powerful offensive in five directions: Shanxi, Northwest, North, Northeast, and East. On January 18, the Japanese army on the eastern front broke through the outer defense line of Jiyuan and Mengxian, and the troops approached Jiyuan and Mengxian, and the main force of the 33rd Division of the Japanese army on the northern front took Dongfeng with great difficulty, and the defending 17th Army, 15th Army, 98th Army, 14th Army, and 43rd Army retreated to the Henghe and Lishan lines. The 9th Army and the 93rd Army of the Eastern Front fought hard for several days, and on January 25, they abandoned Jiyuan and Mengxian, and retreated to the line of Fengkou and Wangwo according to the order of the theater command.

Wangwo is located on the north bank of the Yellow River, and on the south bank is Mengjin, which is the core defense line secretly planned by the theater command. The 9th and 93rd armies retreated to Fengkou and Wangwo, and joined up with the 23rd Army, which had built a defensive line here, and the defensive force was greatly strengthened. Especially in Mengjin on the south bank of the Yellow River in Wangwo, the 10th Heavy Artillery Regiment of the theater was deployed here, which effectively supported the defensive operations of the defenders and contained the Japanese attack on Wangwo. The Japanese army on the eastern front attacked the core defense line, and the intensity of the defense suddenly increased, and the Japanese army fell into a bitter battle.

Similarly, the 33rd Division and the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Army on the Northern Front, as well as the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the puppet army, were blocked in the Lishan defensive line. After the Japanese army broke through the Hengling Pass on the northeast front, the 41st Division divided its troops to attack Yokogawa, but was stubbornly blocked by the 17th, 43rd, and 15th armies and fell into a bitter battle. However, the 9th Brigade of the Japanese Army, most of the 36th Division, including the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the puppet army, could not take Jiangxian for a long time, and the battle situation entered a short-term stalemate.

By the end of January, after 20 days of fierce fighting, although the Japanese army had broken through the defensive line, most of them were purposefully abandoned by the Chinese defenders, so the Japanese army did not achieve the result of destroying the enemy in a large way.

At the beginning of February, the Japanese army headquarters in Yancheng, commander Tada Jun, stood silent in front of the military map. "Your Excellency General, the Chinese defenders deliberately gave up Hengling Pass, Sangchi, and Dongfeng on the northern front, and Jiyuan and Mengxian on the eastern front. On the Western Front, it seems that the enemy army deliberately abandoned Nianci and defended the county seat of Xia County to ensure the safety of Zhangdian. The west side is Pinglu, Zhangdian and Xia County, the north line is Jiangxian, Henghe and Lishan, and the east line is sealed and Wangwo, and Hengqu is the center to form an oval defense line. ”

The chief of staff of the Japanese army continued: "The purpose of the enemy army is very clear, to delay time on the outer defense line, to frustrate our troops, and to defend the core defense line with all our might. At first, the enemy lured us to encircle and annihilate the 5th Army, but when it failed, it lured us to encircle and annihilate the 14th Army. Now that the enemy's forces are shrinking, our battle plan has been completely frustrated. At present, we are launching an offensive on all fronts, and our troops are far from sufficient. Tada Jun had to admit the judgment of the chief of staff that the 250,000 army was not enough.

At this moment, Tada Jun felt that the enemy's commander was very cunning, and folded his five fingers to form a fist, and the enemy's new defense line was so airtight that it was almost impossible to find a flaw in the defense. The 16th Mixed Brigade of the Western Front was no longer able to capture Pinglu, but it could not withdraw its troops. The reason is that the enemy has a powerful reserve corps in his hands, and it is precisely the legendary general of the Communist Party who commands the battle on the front line, which inevitably makes Tada Jun afraid of wolves and tigers. He knew that the 16th Mixed Brigade Regiment of the Western Front, which now served as flank security for the 37th Division.

If the 16th Mixed Brigade were to join the Northern Front Assault Regiment, perhaps the enemy would target the 37th Division. The 37th Division continued to attack the county seat of Xia County, but it did not take the county seat of Xia County. At the critical moment, the enemy army not only relieved the siege of Xia County, but also sent reinforcements to the south of Xia County, which could support the county defenders at any time. At present, it is difficult to do anything on the Western Front, the enemy's forces in Zhangdian have not moved, and the Hengqu enemy reserve corps can reinforce the Western Front at any time, and the enemy troops on the south bank of the Yellow River can also cross the river at any time if necessary.

Tada Jun thought about it again and again and said decisively: "The attack on the whole line has been changed to a key attack, since the enemy is stubbornly defending the core defense line, we are determined to eat all the Chinese defenders, and order the 36th Division and the 9th Brigade to capture Jiangxian within 5 days, and order the 21st and 35th Divisions to capture the seal within 5 days, and to compress all the Chinese defenders on the Hengqu line." Tada's death order heralded the beginning of an even more tragic battle.