"Okay, very good, I just want your artillery regiment, give me shells, and blow up a bloody road for the infantry brothers." After listening to the answer of Chen Guangrong, the commander of the artillery regiment, Liu Hua nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, Commander"

"The specific offensive tasks of each unit are as follows. The 1st Regiment and the 2nd Regiment of the Rapid Reaction Brigade carried out a strong attack from the south gate of the front, the 3rd Regiment carried out a feint attack from the west gate, and the headquarters of Sun Xingbang of the 1st Division carried out a feint attack from the east gate. The Plateau Division of the 2nd Division carried three mortar companies to ambush outside the North Gate, and as soon as the breakthrough troops of the army entered the ambush circle, they would immediately launch an attack, and remember not to let anyone go for me. The cavalry regiment, which was on guard around Taiyuan, and at the same time, served as a reserve for the troops, destroying all the small groups of enemies who rushed to reinforce the surrounding area. Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Yes, Commander. guarantee the completion of the task" several regiment commanders, the commander replied one after another.

"Okay, good, let's have a good day off today. In order to prevent the Japanese army from calling for air support, I decided that the entire siege should be carried out at night. By nine o'clock this evening, the troops must be in place. Is it all clear? Liu Hua nodded and asked loudly.

"It's all clear"

"Okay, then the meeting will be dismissed, everyone will be in place, and after going back, we will do a good job in the pre-war mobilization of the troops." Liu Hua ordered.

At this time, everyone in the entire Taiyuan City, including General Bin Sanyuan, the supreme commander of the North China garrison of the Yue Army, was in command. Still as usual, sitting in a room with his colleagues, enjoying songs and dances, drinking flower wine, completely unaware that his life was already in the countdown stage at this moment.

More importantly, there is about a wing of troops in Taiyuan City. In everyone's eyes, the Eighth Route Army far away in Jindong is being beaten by its two main divisions, where there are enough troops to attack him, and it is an important town in Taiyuan with many fortifications. Therefore, under this kind of thinking of underestimating the enemy, it was the army that originally stuck to the city wall. However, at this time, it has been completely replaced by a puppet army unit with low combat effectiveness. Every little devil is hiding in the barracks without restraint, and drinking flower wine in the courtyard of the city

And the puppet army guarding the city wall was already unhappy that they had such an errand, coupled with the cold wind blowing at night. Almost every puppet soldier scolded the little devils who were enjoying themselves in the city, as well as the families of their own officers.

Faced with this situation, almost every puppet soldier on duty shrunk and snuggled up in the corner. Unless a fierce and vicious commander comes to inspect, he will reluctantly stand up and take two steps and make a show. As for the patrol guard outside the city, it has long been thrown aside by these puppet army sentinels. Maybe these soldiers really hope that the Eighth Route Army can come over and let these little devils in the city taste the power of the Eighth Route Army.

And just when the sentries on the city wall were snuggling in the corner to keep warm, the Eighth Route Army outside the city began to act. Under the cover of night, the first to act were the 24 heavy guns of the artillery regiment. Under the command of regiment commander Chen Guangrong, hundreds of artillery personnel were almost shirtless in the biting cold wind. Lifted the cover covering the cannon, pushed the bulky cannon hard, and pushed the howitzers weighing several tons into the gun position that had been prepared long ago. At the same time, according to the coordinates of the artillery bombardment secretly sent by the special operations brigade in the city, the shooting of Zhuyuan began to be adjusted.

Several infantry regiments, on the other hand, were led by their respective commanders. Under the cover of night, it slowly approached the tall city walls. From dark, one to all the troops were in place, it took less than an hour and a half. And at half past eight in the evening, all the troops were ready for the attack. The artillery regiment's heavy howitzer shells were also pushed into the chambers by the soldiers, ready to be fired at any time.

"Division commander, according to the latest information sent by the Special Operations Group, the enemies who are now sticking to the city wall are basically puppet troops. This is very contrary to our intentions to fight. I suggest that for the time being, leave the 12 heavy guns behind you alone. After a while of bombardment with mountain artillery, the infantry launched several tentative attacks. After the little devil sent all his main forces to the city wall, we are using the 12 heavy howitzers behind us. Seeing that there was less than half an hour left before the final general attack, looking at the situation that suddenly appeared in the telegram, Chief of Staff Li Qing came to the silent Liu Hua and suggested.

"Well, the ultimate goal of our campaign is to kill and injure as much of the living force as possible, and then hit their morale and drive these little devils out of Taiyuan City. If we kill and wound the puppet army, it is obvious that we will not be able to achieve this campaign goal. Chief of Staff, immediately follow your idea, order the 12 mountain guns of the artillery regiment to attack first, and the various attacking units will also carry out a certain degree of tentative attack, so as to attract all the main wings of the army to the city wall. After listening to the words of the chief of staff, Liu Hua nodded secretly and immediately ordered.

"Yes, Commander"

"Boom, boom, boom, woo" Soon, less than five minutes after the chief of staff left, Liu Hua remembered a series of roars behind him. 12 shells, with a loud whistling sound, flew over the heads of the warriors and flew towards the walls not far away. At the same time, the mortar batteries of the two regiments that were on the task of feint also fired a dense barrage of shells at the city walls at the same time.

At the moment of "boom, boom, boom", a violent explosion sounded on the city wall that had just been peaceful. In particular, the south gate wall was shelled by 12 mountain guns. All 12 shells, on the premise of accurate firing coordinates provided by the special operations team, were fired into the wide and majestic city walls.

With the explosion of 12 shells, 12 fireballs instantly rose on the city wall. Liu Hua raised the telescope in his hand, and through the telescope, he could clearly see the enemy's every move on the city wall two kilometers away. Countless puppet soldiers were torn to pieces alive before they could react to the explosions. What's more, it was directly thrown into the sky by the air wave generated by the explosion of the cannonball, and then fell heavily on the city wall, turning into a soft corpse. Most of the puppet soldiers were panicked and scurried back and forth in the explosion. Under the reflection of the fire generated by the explosion, Liu Hua could clearly see the faces full of horror.

However, their panic, their panic did not give them any chance of living, but rather hastened the rate of their death. As these puppet soldiers began to run around without being organized, the second round of shells from the mountain artillery battalion had already flown out of the barrel and flew towards the city wall not far away.

"Boom, boom, boom" Another violent explosion sounded, and the puppet soldiers who were still panicked just now. In a burst of explosions, it instantly turned into a mutilated corpse. The shelling continued, and the casualties of the puppet troops on the city walls slowly intensified.

In the face of sudden artillery fire, not only the puppet army on the city wall was beaten in a panic. Those little devils who were spending a lot of time drinking in the city were also shocked on the spot by the sudden explosion of shells. Faced with the city wall, which had completely fallen into a sea of fire at this time, almost all the little devils seemed to be petrified. stared blankly at the city wall, which had become a piece of fire at this time.

"Baga, the walls must have been attacked. Hurry, go back to the barracks immediately, hurry, pick up your weapons, immediately reinforce the city walls," and immediately, some of the officers in these soldiers reacted from shock. He yelled loudly at the petrified ghost soldiers.

"Hi" Hearing the orders of these commanders, the soldiers finally reacted from their shock. They threw down the wine glasses and bottles in their hands, and pushed away the girl in their arms. With a hint of drunkenness, he shook his body that seemed to be about to fall apart and ran in the direction of the barracks.

And when the artillery regiment outside the city launched an artillery bombardment, General Bin Sanyuan, the supreme commander of the North China garrison, and the supreme commander of Taiyuan and others. At this time, they were gathering together, enjoying singing and dancing, and drinking flower wine. Everyone wears only a wide kimono, and from time to time they take advantage of the girl in their arms, so that they let out a low moan and a debauched laugh.

And at the moment when the first round of shells exploded, the violent explosion was unsurprising, and immediately drowned out the music from the gramophone and reached the ears of every officer present. And General Binsangen, who was about to pour double the sake into his mouth, was when the sound of cannon reached his ears. His hand trembled, and the glass fell to the ground along with the glass of sake inside.

"Baga, where is the explosion, Chief of Staff, call immediately and ask, where is the artillery, quickly." Seeing His Excellency the Commander who made a fool of himself, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Taiyuan did not dare to slack off, and immediately ordered loudly to the chief of staff sitting next to him.

"Hey, Your Excellency Commander" The chief of staff did not dare to slack off, and quickly dragged his wide kimono and ran to a room next to him. After a while, I saw the chief of staff running back with a panicked face.

"Chief of Staff, what's going on, where is the artillery firing" Seeing the chief of staff with a panicked face, the Supreme Commander of Taiyuan seemed to have guessed something, and hurriedly asked.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander. The latest report has just been received that the Eighth Route Army has surrounded the entire city of Taiyuan, and now the three gates of Taiyuan have been shelled by the Eighth Route Army. The puppet soldiers guarding the city walls are in danger of being wiped out at any time. Your Excellency, Commander, please," replied the Chief of Staff.

"Nani, besieged by the Eighth Route Army. How can it be? Isn't the Eighth Route Army being encircled and suppressed by our two divisions and regiments now, how could it come to Taiyuan? Impossible, absolutely impossible, it must be those puppet soldiers who are lying about the military situation. After listening to the report of the chief of staff, the commander replied in disbelief.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, but our three gates were indeed shelled by the Eighth Route Army, and it was by mountain artillery. If it weren't for the main force of the Eighth Route Army, there wouldn't have been so many mountain artillery at all. Listening to the commander's answer, the chief of staff immediately said.

"Didn't Baga Itagaki Jun say that his heavy artillery brigade had attracted all the main forces of the Reading Division to Gongcun, why did there be so many main forces of the Eighth Route Army here, Baga" Listening to the words of the chief of staff, the commander Bin Sanyuan overturned the table in front of him violently, and asked loudly to several other senior officers in the room.

"Hi, Your Excellency, I think it's time to send reinforcements to the walls right now. We must rely on the strong fortifications of Taiyuan to block the attack of the Eighth Route Army. "I saw the angry Commander Bin Sanyuan. Major General Kunizaki Deng, the supreme commander of Taiyuan, quickly stood up and persuaded.

"Yo Xi, Kunisaki-kun, this is your business, not my business. I'll leave the rest to you, and I'm going back to rest. After General Bin Sanyuan finished speaking, he turned around and pulled a girl who had just served him to his room, ignoring the stunned Major General Noboru Kunisaki and the officers in the room.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander" Looking at the departing Commander General Bin Sanyuan, Major General Kunisaki Noboru hurriedly replied loudly.

"Chief of Staff, immediately reinforce the South Gate of the First Garrison Brigade in the city, and be sure to block the attack of the Eighth Route Army. The artillery brigade in the city was ordered to immediately suppress the artillery fire, and the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army must be suppressed. The 2nd Garrison Brigade was ordered to divide the strength of two squadrons to reinforce the West Gate and the East Gate respectively. Hurry up and see that General Bin Sanyuan has disappeared at the end of the corridor. Major General Noboru Kunisaki breathed a sigh of relief and shouted an order to the chief of staff waiting for the order in front of him.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander," replied the chief of staff who had received the order, turning and running out of the room.

"Gentlemen, now an Eighth Route Army has suddenly appeared outside the city. For the sake of the safety of Taiyuan City, I hope that everyone will not rest tonight, perform their duties, and must ensure the safety of the entire Taiyuan City and the safety of His Excellency the Commander. Ono-kun, immediately arrange a squadron of military police to protect the residence of His Excellency the Commander and prevent the people of China from sabotage" Seeing the chief of staff who had gone to deliver the order, Major General Noboru Kunisaki ordered loudly to a group of officers in the room.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander Qin, rest assured, it is our honor to serve the Empire and do our best. We will definitely perform our duties and protect Taiyuan City" Listening to the words of the commander, Major General Kunizaki Noboru, the remaining officers in the room nodded in agreement, and under the leadership of Major General Kunizaki Noboru, they quickly left this pleasant room and rushed to their command position.

And the captain of the first brigade who received the reinforcement order was shuttling back and forth between the barracks at this time, constantly urging the soldiers to hurry up and assemble. You know, these little devils have drunk a certain amount of sake, and many people can't even stand up, how to gather.

In the end, the captain who was forced to be helpless could only lead the troops of more than three squadrons that he hastily assembled, carrying heavy machine guns and other heavy firepower, to reinforce the south gate, which had fallen into a sea of fire. Until this time, the shelling of the artillery regiment outside the city had lasted for five minutes, and nearly 100 rounds of mountain artillery shells were fired by the soldiers on the city wall.

"The artillery was ordered to carry out the extension of artillery fire, and the infantry to carry out a tentative attack. Tell the commander of the attack that the troops must not suffer major casualties" Seeing that under the continuous shelling of his 12 mountain guns, the puppet army on the city wall seemed to be about to lose its combat effectiveness, Liu Hua wisely ordered the forward infantry to start a tentative attack.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock" Immediately, a loud charge horn was remembered on the forward position. At the same time, a dozen or so heavy machine guns arranged in the front line to cover the attack of the troops, under the command of commanders at all levels, spewed dense tongues of fire into the city wall of a sea of fire.

At the same time, a battalion of infantrymen, armed with weapons, carried bags of explosives. Under the command of commanders at all levels, they lined up in a neat offensive formation, holding ladders, bending over, and slowly drilled out of the grass where they were hiding. Rushed towards the city wall not far away.

"Rush, comrades, rush" There was a burst of shouts of killing, and the soldiers quickly approached the city wall. And after the fierce shelling just now, there is not much left of a battalion of puppet soldiers on the city wall. In addition, the dense fire network of 12 heavy machine guns that served as cover at this time, and the bullets fired from the city walls can be said to be only a handful. In less than a few minutes, one of the battalions in charge of the attack had already rushed to the trench almost two hundred meters away from the city wall, carrying the ladder

"Division commander, it seems that the little devil's reinforcements have not yet arrived" Seeing the sparse firepower shot from the city wall, the chief of staff said to Liu Hua, who was speechless.

"Well, it's been almost ten minutes, and the little devil's reinforcements should be almost there. Ordered, the forward battalion to build fortifications on the spot and find a way to dig a day's fortifications on the edge of the trench. At the same time, the attached sappers immediately blew up the enemy's trench at the edge of the trench and opened the way for the follow-up troops to attack. Liu Hua nodded, and then ordered.

Immediately, the fighters, who had just rushed to the edge of the trench, stopped. One by one, the fighters holding the explosives bag rolled forward one after another, turned into the trench, and began to place explosives on both sides of the trench, preparing to use the explosives to blow up two slopes in the trench. The rest of the warriors immediately lay on the ground, picked up the sapper shovels that had been on their backs, and began to dig the fortifications. A shovel and a bridge of dirt were soon piled up in front of him

"Da Da Da" was less than a minute before the fighters lay in place and had just begun to dig trenches. Suddenly, a dense burst of fire shot out from the city walls. Dozens of tongues of fire weaved a dense web of fire in front of the warriors. The sudden firepower immediately planted explosives in the trenches, and the sappers, who were completely exposed to the front of the army, fell to the ground in pieces.

(To be continued)