The army stationed in Weixian was the third brigade under the command of Major General Sasaki Zhiichi.

On the orders of Lieutenant General Nishio Shouzo, the former commander of the Second Army, the Third Brigade was dispatched to Shandong, and the brigade headquarters was stationed in Weixian.

The establishment of this army is a bit chaotic, not only do the permanent divisions and regiments have the system of pulling horses and pack horses, but later with the emergence of three wing divisions, they can also be divided into four-unit divisions and regiments and three-unit divisions. The same is true for brigades, there are brigades under divisions, as well as mixed brigades, mixed brigades, and infantry brigades. People who can't figure it out tend to think of a mixed brigade as a mixed brigade with reading power.

There are two situations in which the army is mixed into brigades: one is to transfer a brigade or one to three wings or several brigades from a backbone division or regiment in order to accomplish a certain combat mission, and to return to the army after completing the task. For example, the 2nd and 15th mixed brigades of the Chahar Dispatch Corps, which Liu Yimin eliminated near Taiyuan, belong to this kind of surname, but these two brigades have returned to their original souls, and it is impossible for them to return to their original strengths. Historically, the army has organized a total of eight, namely, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mixed brigades, the mixed brigade of the Chinese garrison in Tun, the mixed brigade of Taiwan, the mixed brigade of Huatai (South Sakhalin), and the mixed brigade of Yangon. Historically, only the Chinese Tun Mixed Brigade and the Taiwan Mixed Brigade fought in China. At present, the Chinese Tun Mixed Brigade has been reorganized into the 27th Division, and the Taiwan Mixed Brigade has been reorganized into the 48th Division.

The mixed brigade is different, it is a combat unit of the reading force, which is generally composed of five infantry brigades, and is composed of engineering, artillery, cavalry, and baggage troops, with a total strength of about 4,900 people. There are also individual Reading Mixed Brigade and Regiment under the jurisdiction of six infantry brigades or two wings, such as the Fifth Brigade of Reading Mixed Brigade stationed in Tianjin, although there are only five infantry brigades, but they are all reinforced brigades, and the other subordinate units are also the size of brigades, with a total strength of 8,280 people.

The army was first organized into the 1st Brigade and the 11th Brigade in 1934. These two mixed brigades were all engaged in the North China battlefield after the Lugou Bridge Incident. At that time, the first brigade of the Reading Force was incorporated into the Chahar Dispatch Army, participated in the Battle of Taiyuan, and was completely annihilated by the instructor. Reading Li mixed into the 11th Brigade to participate in the battle to capture Beiping, and later garrisoned Datong, which was expanded into the 26th Division. Historically, since the formation of the 1st and 11th Reading Mixed Brigades in 1934, the 1st to 136th Reading Mixed Brigades were formed during the war, including reorganization and reorganization, etc. (there are 12 missing numbers: 41, 42, 63, 68, 74, 93, 94, 99, 104, 106, 110, 111), of which 37 were put into the battlefield in China's Guannai.

Of course, due to the arrival of Liu Yimin, history has changed, and it is difficult to say how many more mixed brigades can be formed by the Yue Army. However, now there are 11 mixed brigades on the battlefield in North China. Among them, the Yue army covered their ears and stole the bell, believing that the Chinese and other countries in the world did not understand its military structure, and violated the rule that the entire army of their own troops had abolished the number of the 11th brigade, and claimed that the original number of the 1st Brigade and the 11th Brigade of the 11th Brigade were abolished at the same time, and the first brigade of the mixed reading force was reorganized to replace the 22nd Division that went to Xinxiang to station in Handan. The second brigade was stationed in Zhangjiakou, which belonged to the sequence of the Mongolian army. The third brigade was stationed in Weixian, the fourth brigade was annihilated by the instructor, the fifth brigade was stationed in Tianjin, the sixth brigade was stationed in Juxian, the main force was eliminated by the fifth brigade, the seventh brigade was stationed in Dexian, the eighth and ninth brigades were stationed in Shanxi, the tenth brigade was stationed in Tai'an, and the main force of the thirteenth brigade was annihilated by the instructor, and after being mixed with the 83rd Wing, some soldiers were supplemented and are now stationed in Tai'an.

As for the Reading Infantry Brigade, it was only in early 1944 that it began to be established, and there were 14 in total, all of which were put into the Chinese battlefield.

After Major General Sasaki commanded the 3rd Brigade to be stationed in Weixian, he carried out a frenzied sweep on both sides of the Jiaoji Line, causing many tragedies. Later, due to the concentration of troops to launch the Battle of Xuzhou, the 16th Division, which was sweeping and garrisoning in the mountainous areas of central and southern Shandong, moved south, and the Second Army instructed the third brigade to be responsible for the defense of the entire central Shandong region. Except for one brigade, cavalry corps, engineer corps, artillery corps, and baggage corps stationed in Weixian, the other four brigades were all scattered in various county towns and strongholds on major transportation routes. There are even some counties with only one squad of devils, commanding the puppet army and the puppet police, and being responsible for the defense of a county.

The situation of the Third Division of the Weixian Army had already fallen into Liu Yimin's eyes.

According to Liu Yimin's design, the Luzhong campaign was divided into three steps.

In the first step, the main force of the Fourth Brigade was to sweep away the pseudo-strongholds on the rural transportation arteries between Zhoucun, Zichuan, Boshan, and Laiwu in the south of the Jiaoji Line, and drive the devils into the county towns and cities; The 3rd, 7th, and 8th Brigades were used to sweep away the pseudo-strongholds between Zhoucun and Weixian north of the Jiaoji Line, and drive the devils back to Zhoucun, Linzi, Yidu, Changle, Weixian, Guangrao, Shouguang and other county seats. After more than two months of hard work, this step has been fully realized.

In the second step, the troops of the Eighth Route Army and the Jizhong Military Region launched a feint attack on the northern section of the Jinpu Line and the northern section of the Pinghan Line, the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region launched a feint attack on the Baoding to Shijiazhuang section of the Pinghan Road, the Sixth Brigade launched a feint attack on the enemy in Dexian, the Luxi Garrison Brigade launched a feint attack on the 10th Eighth Division, the Tai'an Detachment and the Taixi Garrison Brigade launched a feint attack on the enemy between Yanzhou in Tai'an, and the Southwest Lu Garrison Brigade launched a feint attack on the enemy in Heze. The 2nd Brigade was placed behind the Luxi Garrison Brigade, ready to annihilate the enemy of the 108th Division to counterattack the Luxi Garrison Brigade; Teach the Fourth Brigade to secretly advance westward, wait in concealment, and be ready to command the Tai'an Detachment and the Taixi Garrison Brigade to ambush the enemy heading north in Yanzhou. The main force of the southeastern Lu detachment was placed in the border area of Juxian, Yuezhao, and Zhucheng, and the Weihai Highway was consoled to prevent the Yue army from carrying out sneak attacks and reinforcements from Xuzhou to Qingdao or Weixian through Linyi. The purpose of the second step is to confuse the devils with a posture of blossoming everywhere, so that it will not be easy for them to judge the true combat intentions of our army.

In the third step, the No. 1 Special Operations Squadron guided the Eighth Brigade to covertly enter the periphery of Weixian County, launch a surprise attack on the enemy, and force the enemy to call for help. The 1st Jiao Brigade, the 3rd Jiao Brigade, the 4th Jiao Brigade, the Cavalry Brigade, and the brigade directly units formed a reinforcement group, secretly captured Changle County, and set up an ambush in Changle to prepare to destroy the enemy coming to the aid from the direction of Jinan. After the 1st Special Warfare Squadron guided the 8th Brigade to launch an attack, it immediately marched east to join up with the 7th Brigade, secretly returned eastward, and entered the outer area of Qingdao to hide and wait.

This is the original assumption, now the situation has changed, the Eighth Division of the Army is now in Tai'an, in this case, for the time being, it is not clear whether the puppet army in the direction of Qingdao came to the rescue first or the Eighth Division came to the rescue, and even if the Eighth Division came to the rescue, it is not clear whether it will take the railway bypass to Jinan, or directly along the Taylor Highway to the east and then go north. These conditions can only be clarified after they have begun.

In view of this situation, Liu Yimin decided to teach the 1st Brigade, the 3rd Brigade, the 4th Brigade, the Cavalry Brigade, and the brigade-direct troops to stand by on the outskirts of Weixian for the time being, and to make a decision after the attack in Weixian County was made in light of changes in the enemy's situation.

On the evening of 25 May, Liu Yimin issued an operational order for the Luzhong Campaign.

The first to start was the Eighth Route Army's Jizhong troops.

Since the Great Breakthrough of Jizhong to the southern part of Hebei for training, all the troops in central Hebei have been turned into the main force, and the 115th Division has sent the main force of the 343rd Brigade to Jizhong to help the troops in central Hebei to reorganize and train while expanding the troops.

Due to the arrival of Liu Yimin, the history of the Red Army's Long March was changed, and the Red First Regiment became stronger and stronger, and when the Red Army was reorganized, the Red First Army was reorganized into a first-class division of the Third Brigade and the Ninth Regiment, which was more than twice as many as the Second Brigade and the Fourth Regiment in history. After entering the Shanxi battlefield, the troops continued to expand, and several military subdivisions were established, not only forming local armed forces, but also further expanding the main force. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the main force, Nie Rongzhen had to give strict orders to extract the main force and use it for fighting tough battles, and all the newly organized units were organized into military regions and units directly under the military subdivisions, and they were trained while fighting.

After receiving Liu Yimin's order to launch the Luzhong Campaign, Chen Guang, commander of the 343 Brigade, shouted happily that the opportunity had finally come, and immediately ordered the troops that had already been in place to do so. However, this Chen Guang is a famous general in my army, and he has his own hills and valleys in his chest. He knew that he was only fighting on his side to cooperate with the instructor's side of the big fight, and if the fight was too much, when the army eased up, it was likely that the Jizhong Plain would be the first target of the army's retaliation. On this plain, there is no shelter, and if the army and heavy army group are surrounded by all sides, I am afraid that I will have to sing another major breakthrough in Jizhong, which will be a shame. Therefore, he mobilized all the local troops in the Jizhong base area to launch an attack and harass the troops on the northern section of the Pinghan Line, the northern section of the Jinpu Line, and the Baoda Road, and the 343 Brigade and the main force of the Jizhong Military Region followed up behind the local troops, set up pockets, and as long as the devils dared to pursue, they would immediately have another ambush battle at Pingxingguan and Yanmen Pass.

Almost at the same time as the troops in central Hebei started, the troops of the southern Hebei military region also began to act. Their target is the devil's garrison in the section from Shijiazhuang to Handan on Pinghan Road, and in the words of Song Renqiang, political commissar of the southern Hebei Military Region, they want the entire military region to mobilize and make the momentum bigger, so that the devils can know that there is still a part of the main force of the instructors in southern Hebei.

Not to mention, the luck of the troops of the Southern Hebei Military Region was good; they caught up with a troop transport train of the 27 th Division of the devils and directly blew it up; when more than 1,000 devils were wailing and moaning in the tumbling train, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army twisted open the carriage door, threw bundles of grenades into it, and confiscated their machine guns, rifles, bullets, grenades, infantry guns, and grenadiers along the way.

The 108th Division, which was in Luxi, had already received an order from General Terauchi Shouichi to immediately return to Jinan to defend Jinan. Considering that the troops would withdraw at night and be easily ambushed by the Eighth Route Army, the division commander, Lieutenant General Xia Yuan Xiong Mi, decided that the troops would prepare for retreat overnight and return to Jinan early tomorrow morning. Unexpectedly, as soon as it was delayed, Xu Shiyou commanded the Luxi Garrison Brigade to stick up, and the gunfire on the front-line positions of the 108th Division continued throughout the night, making the soldiers' faces gray and without any energy.

By dawn, he was really annoyed by the small unit of the Luxi Garrison Brigade, and a captain of the army ordered a squadron to attack without authorization to drive away this small unit of the Eighth Route Army that had broken their conscience. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the imperial army was strong, and this pursuit, the small units of the Eighth Route Army fled in embarrassment, which provoked the anger of the pursuing devil squadron leader, and pursued a little farther. As a result, the captain of the devil brigade who decided to pursue without authorization only heard a dense burst of gunfire faintly in the distance, and the devil squadron never returned.

Zhang Haitao and Wang Jian'an's chosen point of attack was the town of Ciyao, located between Dawenkou and Yanzhou. It is only a dozen kilometers away from Dawenkou. Dawenkou has been occupied, and the devils here seem to be lucky, and they have never been attacked. That was the end of their good fortune, though. The Eighth Route Army not only quietly entered the town and slaughtered all the devils of a squadron in its sleep, but also destroyed the station in Ciyao Town by the way, and the rails and sleepers were also missing. The soldiers of the Eighth Division and the 13th Brigade of the Reading Force, who were rushing to repair the railway between Tai'an and Dawenkou, were deflated.

On the night of the 25th, from Jizhong to southwest Lu, there were battles everywhere, and it seemed that the Eighth Route Army moved all of a sudden, and even the Eighth Route Army in the Shanxi battlefield took the initiative to attack the devils defending the communication line.

After dawn, General Terauchi Shouichi, who received the report, was not too surprised, he knew that the 14th Division was fighting fiercely with the main force of the Chinese Army, and the reinforcements from the direction of Xuzhou were rapidly attacking and advancing towards eastern Henan, and the Eighth Route Army was doing this to destroy the supply lines of the imperial army and support the Kuomintang troops in eastern Henan.

Shouichi Terauchi, who saw through the strategic intentions of the Eighth Route Army at a glance, laughed fiercely, thinking to himself Liu Yimin, Liu Yimin, with this trick, he still wants to block the pace of the imperial army's chariot? This is a bit of a dream! Don't you know that the Great Empire has a powerful navy and aviation? Even if the Pinghan Line and the Jinpu Line were completely paralyzed, the Imperial Army could still rely on sea and air transportation to solve the supply problem.

General Terauchi Shouichi, who was calm, ordered all units to strictly guard the defensive line and rely on the fortifications to repel the arrogant attack on the Tuba Road, and then personally went to the airport to supervise the airdrop of the 14th Division by the air force.

It was not until the evening of the 26th that Liu Yimin gave the order to launch an attack on Weixian.

(To be continued)