"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, what you say makes a lot of sense. However, Chief of Staff, there is no place in the whole of Shanxi now, except for Jinxi, where there are soldiers of the imperial army. It's just that where should this reinforcement come from? Listening to the words of the chief of staff, the commander, Lieutenant General Tada, nodded secretly, but another question came to mind.

"Your Excellency, we don't have to worry too much about this at all. In western Jinxi, in addition to the strength of nearly 10,000 troops of an elite Kwantung Army brigade of our army, there are also local garrison troops of 30,000 people. If we order all the garrisons of Fenyang and Wenshui counties to attack, then our reinforcements will be 20,000 people. I think that even if the 20,000-strong Imperial Army is ambushed by the main force of the Eighth Route Army's Reading Division, the 20,000 people can hold on to the spot for at least a week. And when the main force of the Reading Division is all attracted to the direction of the ambush position, the elite troops we sent from the Hebei region can easily enter the Reading Division's lair and recapture Taiyuan City. The chief of staff replied confidently.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, if things do go on like this, maybe this is a great time for us to deal with the Reader." After listening to the chief of staff's answer, Lieutenant General Tada Toshi's face could no longer see a trace of worry, but his face was full of excitement, and a pair of eyes couldn't help but start to shine.

"Hey, Commander, if you can really accomplish this campaign objective. After this battle, the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army will not only lose its nest, but also suffer heavy losses. Seeing that the commander, Lieutenant General Tada, had agreed to his proposal, the chief of staff continued.

"Very good, this is a very good solution. Chief of Staff, now I order that the task of attracting the main force of the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army will be entrusted to you to complete. After the main force of the Reading Division is successfully attracted by you, I will personally command an elite imperial army soldier of the division to attack Taiyuan directly along Shitai Road. The commander, Lieutenant General Tada, nodded with satisfaction and began to assign combat tasks.

So, when nearly 10,000 soldiers in the Kwantung Army Brigade of the Yue Army had just walked through Laiyuan County, they all stopped and began to wait for the arrival of follow-up troops. Liu Hua, the commander of the Reading Division, with three brigades of nearly 20,000 troops, drove out of the newly occupied Taiyuan City and went straight in the direction where the reinforcements of the Yue Army came. As the division commander, Liu Hua was on the march while discussing the enemy situation with several brigade commanders and regiment commanders.

"Division commander, according to intelligence. A brigade of reinforcements has just passed through the Fenyang area, and in one day, it will enter Wenshui County, which is the only way to go. And our army, after ten hours of rapid marching, will be in Qingxu County. The distance between the two county seats, if in the form of a rapid march, takes only eight hours. Therefore, our army now has a maximum of 18 hours to prepare. Wang Benqing, the commander of the Third Brigade, who was still serving as a temporary staff officer by Liu Hua's side, pointed to a map of Jinxi in front of him and introduced it to several people.

And just as Wang Benqing finished speaking, the eyes of several people looked at the division commander Liu Hua who was silent next to him at the same time, waiting for the division commander Liu Hua to give the battle order.

"You're all watching what I'm doing, there's 18 hours to prepare, that's enough. Comrades, I think so. The army is a Kwantung Army brigade with nearly 10,000 people. Therefore, if we want to eat all of them left, we must find a suitable ambush location that can put all these nearly 10,000 little devils into it. And along the entire highway, the only place that meets this condition is along the Fen River north of Qingxu County. The terrain is very open, and one side of the road is blocked by the Fen River. When the time comes, we only need to ambush on the side of the road, wait until the army enters the ambush circle, block the head and cut the tail, give full play to all kinds of light and heavy firepower in our hands, and drive the little devils into the Fen River. Liu Hua pointed to a section of highway on the map and introduced it loudly.

"Commander, what a good idea. When the time comes, the little devils who enter our ambush circle must be called unknown every day, called the earth, and the ground should not be, and can only be beaten passively. Division commander, you just give the order" As soon as Liu Hua's words were finished, several brigade commanders shouted and began to ask for battle.

"Don't worry, these are nearly 10,000 little devils, and everyone will have a share at that time. Of course, the protagonist of this battle, I don't say that everyone also knows, is the artillery regiment in our hands. Commander Zhou" Regarding everyone's reaction, Liu Hua nodded with satisfaction, and shouted to Zhou Zhigang, the head of the artillery regiment of the 1st Division, who had not spoken in front of him.

"To" Zhou Zhigang stood up and replied loudly.

"Well, Commander Zhou, whether this ambush can succeed depends on your artillery regiment. Your artillery regiment has a total of 36 guns of various types. In addition, three brigades have more than fifty mortars. When the time comes, all these nearly 100 artillery pieces will be commanded and arranged by you. My request is very simple, after the battle starts, your artillery cluster will give me at least ten minutes to prepare for artillery fire on this section of the road. In these ten minutes, on the one hand, it is necessary to kill and injure a large number of the living forces of the army, and at the same time, it is necessary to disrupt the formation of the little devils and crush their will to resist. How, is there any confidence to complete this task. Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Report to the division commander, Zhou Zhigang guarantees to complete the task." Without a superfluous word, Zhou Zhigang replied loudly.

"Very good, Brigade Commander Shen, when the time comes, you will personally lead the troops of the two regiments, responsible for intercepting the tail of the Yue army and blocking their back road. Brigade Commander Luo, you also wounded the two main regiments, responsible for blocking the enemy's head and not letting them rush out. As for the remaining five main regiments, under my personal command, an ambush was carried out west of the road. In a word, after the battle begins, we should use the firepower in our hands as much as possible to kill and injure the enemy's living forces, compress the enemy's encirclement, and prohibit casual charges. This time, I also demanded that nearly 10,000 little devils be annihilated with minimal casualties. Liu Hua continued to order.

"Yes, division commander, guarantee the completion of the task," several people replied at the same time.

Just when the column directly under the reading division, under the command of their respective commanders, quickly drove towards the predetermined ambush circle. The follow-up troops of the Yue Army also arrived slowly. Two garrison wings, plus a number of garrison brigades. A whole 10,000 little devils gathered around the Kwantung Army Brigade of the Yue Army.

Of course, Liu Hua, the division commander who was rushing to the ambush position with his troops, knew nothing about everything that happened to the reinforcements of the army. At this time, Liu Hua, with an army of nearly 20,000 people and a large number of heavy weapons, rushed to the ambush position he had preset for the little devil in a hurry.

In the end, the entire unit, with high morale, walked for less than six hours and arrived at the position. More than 20,000 people, after hastily eating a little dry food, began to build ambush fortifications on the entire ambush position, preparing their graves for the little devils.

Eventually, after almost a night of excavation, a complete set of ambush fortifications appeared on both sides of the road. And the warriors who had been digging all night took advantage of the fact that the little devils had not yet arrived, and cowered in the trenches and began to rest and replenish their physical strength for a day and a night.

At the same time, the special operations brigade, which was already close to the reinforcements of the army, also began to send the situation of the army one by one to the hands of division commander Liu Hua.

However, at this moment, a piece of information from the special operations brigade surprised the division commander Liu Hua and several brigade commanders. Because, on the telegram, it was written: "After detailed investigation, in addition to the 10,000 people of the Kwantung Army brigade, the reinforcements of the army also include all the garrison troops in the two areas of Fenyang and Wenshui. It includes two garrison wings and three garrison brigades, totaling more than 11,000 people. At this time, the reinforcements of the Yue army rushed to Taiyuan, with a total strength of more than 20,000 troops. In terms of heavy equipment, there are a total of 54 mountain artillery, infantry artillery, and field artillery. Liu Xiaogang, captain of the special operations brigade, and Luo Zhi, political commissar"

"Commander, what should we do now. The total strength of the army is more than twice what we estimated. And even more importantly, in terms of heavy firepower, far beyond our artillery regiments. At the same time, the ambush position we are currently building can only contain less than 15,000 little devils at most, but there are more than 20,000 little devils. After listening to the entire content of the telegram, Shen Qinghua, the commander of the first brigade, was the first to stand up and say.

"Yes, division commander, what should we do now, according to the report of the special operations team, in eight hours, the reinforcements of the army will enter our ambush circle. Whether to continue to ambush the imps or retreat immediately, we must make a decision right away. Luo Zhihui, the commander of the second brigade, stood up at the same time and asked with an anxious face.

"Brigade Commander Wang, what do you think of this issue" Seeing that the two brigade commanders had already spoken, Liu Hua looked at Wang Benqing, the commander of the third brigade who was serving as his temporary chief of staff at this time.

"Report to the division commander, I think that in this ambush war, even if the little devils come with more troops, we must fight it, and we must end the battle in the shortest possible time." Seeing the puzzled eyes cast by the division commander, Wang Benqing opened his mouth and said.

And Liu Hua, who was sitting next to him without saying a word, nodded silently after listening to Wang Benqing's words, because what Wang Benqing said coincided with what he was thinking in his heart. Thinking of this, Liu Hua began to continue asking: "Brigade Commander Wang, tell me your reason?" ”

"Yes, Commander. This time, the army dispatched a total of 20,000 troops, and there were only two goals, one was to recapture Taiyuan City from our hands, and among them, there was another purpose, that is, with the strength of 20,000 troops, and the main force of our reading division, to conduct a big decisive battle around Taiyuan and weaken the strength of our reading division. Wang Benqing replied loudly.

"Yes, that makes sense. But why do we have to fight this battle with the little devils, and in the shortest possible time, solve the 20,000 troops of the Yue army? Liu Hua nodded and continued to ask.

"That's right, Commander. If we are faced with the strength of 20,000 troops, we will retreat without a fight. Then, it is impossible for us to take away a large amount of materials seized in Taiyuan City. At the same time, there is no point in launching this Taiyuan battle. Looking at the two brigade commanders in front of him and his own division commander, Wang Benqing continued.

"As for the reason why more than 20,000 people were wiped out in the shortest possible time, the reason is very simple, that is, our army cannot afford to delay. You must know that the main force of our Reading Force Division has now all opened its own base areas. If the time comes, we will be in a state of anxiety with the army. The army suddenly transferred heavy troops from the Shijiazhuang area of other provinces to attack our rear. Then we will be faced with a situation where we will be attacked on the back and back. At that time, the situation of our entire reading force will be very dangerous. Wang Benqing said.

"Well, well said. Brigadier Wang, is there anything else? After listening to Wang Benqing's answer, Liu Hua couldn't help but applaud and continued to ask with anticipation on his face.

"Division Commander, in addition to the above unfavorable reasons, there is another benefit. That is, if we can solve these 20,000 little devils in the shortest possible time, then, in the entire western part of Jinxi, the little devils will only have less than 20,000 garrisons left. In this way, it is equivalent to that the entire Jinxi is completely open to our readers, and we can take advantage of the situation to recover the entire Jinxi. The whole of Shanxi will be included in the scope of our reading division. Wang Benqing continued.

"Well, think very long-term. What are your thoughts now, both of you? Liu Hua nodded and asked the two brigade commanders in front of him with a pensive face.

"Division Commander, I completely agree with Brigade Commander Wang's opinion, fight this battle with the little devil, and fight it quickly. However, at present, our entire subordinate column has only 20,000 troops, and in terms of strength and firepower, we do not have any advantage compared with the little devils. At the same time, our ambush circle can't hold so many little devils. I believe that our immediate priority is to address this issue. Brigade Commander Shen Qinghua stood up and said.

"Division commander, I suggest that the second division, which is closest to us, send reinforcements to reinforce us. At the same time, air defense regiments, armored regiments, and heavy artillery regiments were sent to reinforce them. Although this battle requires a quick victory. However, after all, there are a staggering 20,000 people in the army, and it must take a long time to get nothing left. At that time, if the army asks for aircraft support, we will not have the cover of the air defense regiment, and the casualties of the soldiers will be very huge. As for the armored regiment, two days ago, when the armored regiment ambushed a wing of the Kwantung Army, it showed its might. And here, it happens to be a plain area, which is very suitable for the surprise attack of the armored regiment at night. Brigadier Luo Zhihui also stood up and said.

"Well, that's a very good suggestion. Now that the opinions of several of us have been unified, then we will fight this battle with the little devils. Let them know that we don't have to be much worse than the elite Kwantung Army of the little devils, and they are also invincible and invincible. Division Commander Liu Hua clenched his fists tightly and said loudly.

"Yes, division commander, please give a combat order" The three brigade commanders, together with the commander of the artillery regiment Zhou Zhigang, stood in front of Liu Hua at the same time and replied loudly.

"Well, first of all, what we need to solve is the problem of reinforcements. Brigade Commander Wang" Liu Hua nodded, and shouted loudly to Wang Benqing, who was his temporary chief of staff.

"To" Wang Benqing stood up.

"Brigade Commander Wang, you immediately draft a telegram to the political commissar. Because the enemy situation has changed, please ask the political commissar to quickly order the heavy artillery regiment, armored regiment, and air defense regiment to carry all the equipment (including the heavy equipment captured in Taiyuan City) and rush to the ambush battlefield in the shortest possible time. Second, he ordered the senior commander of the 2nd Division to immediately transfer the strength of at least three main regiments to reinforce the ambush battlefield as quickly as possible. Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Yes, division commander" Wang Benqing put away the folder in his hand and replied loudly.

"Okay, now it's the specific task of our three brigades." Liu Hua nodded and continued.

"Division commander, you just give the order," the three brigade commanders replied in unison again.

"Okay, now I order, all ambush positions remain the same. However, we must make certain changes in the relative tactics. When the time comes, our specific battle mages will first destroy the enemy's artillery and baggage, and then destroy the vanguard and rear guard units of the army. After all the main forces of the little devils and all the artillery and baggage entered the ambush circle. Brigade Commander Shen, Brigade Commander Luo, the two regiments led by each of you immediately launched a charge against the Yue army, cutting the entire Yue army into three sections. However, when the time comes, your four regiments will be attacked from both sides by the enemy. Division Commander Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Division commander, don't worry, I, Shen Qinghua, Luo Zhihui, promise to complete the task. At the first moment of the battle, cut off the entire marching column of the army and divide it into three. The two brigade commanders stood up and replied loudly.

"Okay, Brigade Commander Wang, when the time comes, we will command the strength of the remaining five infantry regiments, and with the cooperation of the artillery regiment, we will eat the artillery and baggage soldiers in the middle of the marching army column in the shortest possible time. Let these little devils lose the support of artillery fire and the supply of ammunition in the next battle. Liu Hua continued to order.

"Yes, Brigadier Commander, guaranteed to complete the mission"

"Okay, then you'll each go back to your command. It would be several hours before the little devil was able to enter the ambush circle. Ordered the cooks from each unit to find a way to get a hot meal for the soldiers to eat and replenish everyone's physical strength. After the task was arranged, division commander Liu Hua ordered several brigade commanders who were about to turn around and leave.

(To be continued)