The course of the battle was indeed not what Qiao Anbang expected, just as he ordered Cao Er to lead the 2nd Infantry Division and the mixed army of the special operations battalion to immediately pursue in the direction of Qingdao.

The troops from other directions also turned around and fled eastward, and it was obvious that this was the attention of Seishiro Itagaki.

Fortunately, the high-level leaders of the Fifth Theater were mentally prepared in advance, and Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Qiao Anbang, Li Pinxian, and others immediately jointly issued new instructions to the various group armies under the theater.

At the same time, in order to be able to capture Qingdao, Qiao Anbang also ordered personnel to quickly repair the damaged Xuzhou airfield, so as to provide a base for the Huben Army Air Force to support the army's attack on Qingdao.

Although the Tiger Ben Army already has a Longshan military airfield in Pheasant and Ji, the distance in the air from Pheasant and Ji to Qingdao is nearly 500 kilometers, and it is nearly 1,000 kilometers back and forth.

This has exceeded the maximum combat radius of the main fighter of the Tiger Army, the BF109, and if the air base is not moved forward, the group of Tiger Army fighters flying out will fall into a dangerous situation where there is no return.

The Tiger Army is not the army that was at the end of World War II in the original history, and Qiao Anbang certainly does not need a "kamikaze team".

After receiving the latest operational order from the headquarters of the theater commander, all units of the Fifth Theater launched a-for-tat pursuit, and the entire battlefield position began to gradually move eastward.

At the same time, the North China Front Army Headquarters of the Beiping Invasion Army.

General Gen. Sugiyama Moto, the newly appointed commander of the North China Front Army, accompanied by Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe, chief of staff, stood in front of the operational map and gazed at it.

As for Sugiyama Yuan's appointment, because of the defeat of the Yue army in Xuzhou, he returned to his hometown by boat to recuperate and vacation.

After looking at the huge combat map hanging on the wall, Sugiyama Mototo turned his head to look at the simulated sand table behind him, on which the small sun flags representing the fifth and tenth divisions and the red flags representing the [***] team were scattered like chess pieces on the chessboard.

From the small flags on the sand table, it can be clearly identified that the entire battlefield situation is staggered, and the two armies have become a pot of porridge.

Seeing this, Sugiyama Yuan couldn't help frowning, and just wanted to say something to Okabe Naosaburo.

A rush of footsteps came from outside the headquarters.

Sugiyama Mototo and Okabe Naosaburo turned around when they heard the sound, only to see a communications staff officer hurriedly walking in with a folder in his hand.

When he arrived, the person who came hurriedly put his feet away and said: "Report to Your Excellency Commander, I just received the latest battle report from Shandong forwarded by Qingdao!" ”

"Read!" Sugiyama Motoyama waved his hand.

"Not long ago, the Qingdao Garrison Headquarters received an urgent telegram from the headquarters of the Fifth Division, in which General Seishiro Itagaki informed the commander of the Fifth Division that the Fifth Division and all the imperial troops on the Shandong side would retreat in the direction of Qingdao and asked our army in Qingdao to prepare to meet them."

The communications staff officer quickly finished reading the telegram in his hand, quickly closed the folder and bowed his head.

"Qingdao?" Sugiyama and Okabe Naosaburo looked at each other in surprise, and then turned around together.

Staring at the map carefully for a long time, both Sugiyama Mototo and Okabe Naosaburo saw approval and surprise in each other's eyes.

Seishiro Itagaki was able to make a whim in the desperate situation and make the decision to retreat to the Jiaodong Peninsula, so that Sugiyama Motomo and Okabe Naosaburo were not shocked.

At least for now, it seems that it is far more advantageous to retreat to Jiaodong than to retreat to Hebei and Shanxi.

Sugiyama Motomo pondered for a moment, then immediately turned to the communications staff officer and said, "Proposed electricity; In view of the fact that Qingdao and Jiaodong are currently the only places occupied by the imperial army of our empire in Shandong, especially Qingdao, which is the only outlet to the sea in the Central Plains of China, and its strategic position is very important.

It can be seen that its important surname is no less than that of Manchuria, so please ask the base camp to immediately telegraph the Third and Fourth Fleets of the Navy to move closer to Qingdao Port, especially to send more sea-based aviation units to assist the Imperial Army Army troops to block the counterattack of the Chinese people and ensure Jiaodong! ”

The communications staff officer quickly drafted the contents of the message, saluted Sugiyama Mototo and Okabe Naosaburo, and then turned to leave.

…………………………………………………… Qingdao, the 9th Mixed Brigade of the Army and the Qingdao Garrison Headquarters.

Major General Yue Sheng, commander of the Ninth Mixed Brigade, read the telegram order just sent from the headquarters of the Beiping Front Army in his hand with a solemn expression.

He raised his head and said to his communication adjutant: "Pass the order, the 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th, and 40th brigades of Reading Power and all units of the Imperial Allied Army will immediately prepare for battle and prepare to receive the main force of our front army!" ”

"Hay!" The communications adjutant hurriedly bowed his head, and then turned around with the order.

.................................... "Brothers, the little devil has collapsed, now it's faster than whom, that army is the first to attack Qingdao, that is a great achievement, it's too late, and you can't even catch a devil's hair!" Whether we can expand the Eighth Brigade for the time being depends on this battle! Give Lao Tzu more strength! ”

After capturing Linyi County with the Second Division and other friendly troops, Liu Guodong made the final pre-war mobilization for his subordinates before setting off.

Some of the bandit recruits who joined halfway didn't know why, so they shouted and asked, "Sir, what are the benefits of expansion?" ”

Liu Guodong looked at them and said solemnly: "What's the benefit?" To put it simply, among all the brothers present, soldiers were promoted to squad leaders, squad leaders were promoted to platoon commanders, platoon commanders were promoted to company commanders, and company commanders were promoted to battalion commanders.

The most important thing is that once we officially expand into a regular main force, not only will it be glorious and faced, but everyone will also have military salaries, and ordinary soldiers will have six oceans a month, not to mention officers! After saying this, Liu Guodong showed a smug smile on his face.

Ji Changfeng, who was next to him, touched him with his elbow a little embarrassed, and said in a low voice: "Lao Liu, isn't our temporary Eighth Brigade already disbanded?" Also, when did it say that we would be expanded into divisions? Didn't you make a promise? ”

"Hey!" Liu Guodong smiled confidently and said in a low voice: "Brother Changfeng, don't worry, I dare to guarantee that as long as this battle is over, not only will the number of our Eighth Brigade be restored, but it is also very likely to become the next new main division!" Saying that, Liu Guodong also squeezed his eyes at Ji Changfeng.

Ji Changfeng thought about it, it was really like that, at present, the main division of the Huben Army plus the sixth and seventh divisions of Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun is a total of seven main infantry divisions.

After this battle, it is really possible to expand the troops, thinking of Qiao Anbang giving his troops a temporary number of the Eighth Brigade, is his intention to expand the Eighth Brigade into the next main division?

"Alright, without further ado, let's go! Capture Qingdao and drive the little devils into the sea to feed the turtles! Liu Guodong ordered with a wave of his hand.

Thousands of warriors began to march in four columns along the dirt road in the direction of Qingdao, the long line winding and twisting, and from the heights, it looked like a huge dragon moving forward.

Not long after Liu Guodong and Ji Changfeng led the team to set off, a deafening roar came from the county town of Linyi, and about twenty or thirty No. 4 tanks with blue sky and white flags rumbled out of the city.

Soon the road outside the city was billowing smoke and dust, and the tanks and combat vehicles were like a whirlwind of dust everywhere they went.

Almost at the same time, there was a shrill roar of engines in the blue sky, and about a dozen BF109 fighters painted with the blue sky and white emblem pattern swept through the air like falcons, and the green smoke emitted by the tail of the aircraft drew a beautiful arc in the sky.

The mission of these air force fighters was to help ground forces search for and pursue the retreating Japanese army.

………………………… Pheasant and Ji County, with the defeat of the army, the evacuated people have returned home, and the Pheasant and Ji have resumed the prosperity and noise of the past.

In a private room on the second floor of a teahouse near the Qiao family's compound, two mysterious men were gathering to discuss something.

One of the men had a square face, thick eyebrows and a thick beard, was seven feet tall, had broad shoulders and long arms, and was much more burly and majestic than the average person.

The other person had a handsome face, sword eyebrows and eagle eyes, and a sneer on the corner of his mouth from time to time, and the whole person looked particularly cold and handsome.

"Zhang Dequan, the boss has new instructions!" The handsome man said in a cold tone.

"What instructions?" The burly Zhang Dequan didn't care about the cold arrogance of the person in front of him, and asked.

The handsome man took out a note from his arms and handed it to Zhang Dequan, got up and said, "After reading it, you know what to do, go to me when you decide to act, and I will fully cooperate with you!" With that, he turned and left.

Zhang Dequan nodded and opened the note, and after reading it, his face instantly became solemn, and he burned the note with a frown, and Zhang Dequan also left the private room with a heavy heart.

The front-line battle is in full swing, as the base camp of the Tiger Army, Pheasant and Ji are rare calm, and the people have returned to normal life order.

The shops on the street reopened one after another, the porters and vendors shuttled back and forth and shouted, and in the dense flow of people, Zhang Dequan bowed his head and pondered.

Boss Dai actually asked him to kidnap Qiao Anbang's father Qiao Siyuan, and to tell him from the heart, Zhang Dequan really didn't want to attack Qiao Siyuan.

Not to mention that he is Qiao Anbang's father, but Old Man Qiao's performance in this Pheasant and Ji defense battle also made Zhang Dequan admire.

If there is no Qiao Anbang brothers to lead the Tiger Ben Regiment to fight thousands of miles, attack Suzhou, restore Shanghai, and force the main force of the army to return to help, then nearly 700,000 people in Nanjing and hundreds of thousands of [***] soldiers in Jiangnan are likely to be wiped out.

The Qiao family can be described as full of loyalty, and for the Qiao family, Zhang Dequan admires it from the bottom of his heart.

However, Zhang Dequan also knew that Boss Dai's orders would never allow him not to carry them out, and as a military commander agent, he had no choice.

(To be continued)