"By the way, Chief of Staff, there should be a lot of captures to eliminate the enemy's Kwantung Army wing, but I know very well, these Kwantung Army are very rich compared to ordinary little devils" Seeing the thoughtful chief of staff, Liu Hua continued to ask.

"Ah, division commander, I really guessed it right, these Kwantung Army are indeed much richer than ordinary little devils. However, in this battle, due to the large number of heavy howitzers we used, many weapons were damaged to a certain extent, but there were also many weapons that could be used directly. These included 6 75-mm mountain guns, 4 infantry guns, 29 mortars, 34 grenadiers, 18 heavy machine guns, 49 light machine guns, and 4,356 rifles of various kinds. As for ammunition, quite a few were captured on the battlefield, and the specific data has not yet been counted. However, we completely accepted the arsenal of a little devil in the county, which stored a field wing of the Japanese army and a year's ammunition reserve. It can be said that in this battle, we will not lose money. However, the 240 rounds of heavy howitzer shells fired out could not be replenished, and one shot was missing. The chief of staff introduced with a smile.

"Well, good job with weapons, how about the rest? Food, in particular, is subjected to these aspects. You know, the weather is getting colder and colder, and we have added tens of thousands of new fighters to our readers, so we have to prepare in advance. Liu Hua nodded and continued to ask.

"Hehe, division commander, I think that this time we attacked Yangquan County, and it was really right. Because, I learned from the mouth of a captured puppet regiment commander that the reason why the army sent this field wing was to let Yangquan County be nailed like a nail to the periphery of our base area. Therefore, in the county seat, there are all kinds of grain and grass that 10,000 people need for a year. Among them, 3 million catties of various grains and 10,000 sets of various clothes. In addition, a large amount of cloth and cotton were found in the warehouse, which could be mobilized to make military uniforms by the local people at any time. In addition, 20 tons of canned food of various kinds, which we rarely seize, were seized. However, I heard from the captured puppet army commander that this kind of canned meat is only eligible for an elite unit like the Eastern Army. However, now it's cheaper for us to read a force. The chief of staff said with a smile.

"Okay, it's a great fight" Listening to the chief of staff's answer, division commander Liu Hua couldn't help but applaud. At this moment, the communications staff officer also took a telegram and ran to the front of the division commander Liu Hua and the chief of staff Li Qing with a smile on his face, and reported loudly.

"Report to the division commander, chief of staff, and brigade commander Luo of the Second Brigade sent a good report, the second brigade of the column directly under me has completely occupied Shouyang County, eliminated all the puppet troops in the city totaling more than 3,600 people, seized all kinds of weapons and ammunition, and countless military supplies." The communications staff officer reported with excitement on his face.

"Quick, show me the telegram" Zhang Hua took the telegram from the communications staff officer with a smile on his face.

It turned out that when Liu Hua rushed to the outskirts of Yangquan County with the first brigade, more than 6,000 people led by Luo Zhihui, the commander of the second brigade, and 12 105mm heavy howitzers of a heavy artillery battalion, also rushed to the periphery of Shouyang County, and collided with the third regiment of the first division surrounding the county seat.

After learning about the enemy's situation, when the brigade commander Luo Zhihui learned that the more than 3,000 defenders in the city completely relied on the city fortifications in the county town for defense, he did not hesitate at all. On the same night, under the cover of the artillery bombardment of the heavy artillery battalion, they launched an attack on the main gate of the county seat, in an attempt to open a breakthrough point in the entire city defense system of the Yue army with the heavy weapons in their hands. However, because the little devil had long planned to fight to the death, the battle was not very smooth at the beginning. The troops lost almost two companies of strength and still did not take the city.

However, Luo Zhihui, who found the problem, quickly ordered the troops to stop the attack, and at the same time, called all the regiment commanders to discuss countermeasures. Eventually, a piece of intelligence led him to a good idea. That is, the defenders of the army in the county town only had two brigades of 2,000 people. Coupled with the losses of the little devils in the process of the attack just now, the army at this time was only less than 1,600 troops. If the 1,600 men were to be evenly distributed among the four gates, each gate would have less than two squadrons of defenders.

"Now I'm going to reassign you to your respective combat missions. The heavy artillery battalion had 12 howitzers, an average of three guns per gate, plus mortars attached to each regiment, which was enough to provide artillery support. My task is very simple, from now on we have a total of four regiments of troops, and we will attack from the four city gates, and each regiment will not be divided into main attacks and feints. Whoever is the first to storm into the county will be the main attacking force. In a word, all regiments must break through the urban defense system of the county town in the shortest possible time. Luo Zhihui, the brigade commander who thought of the tactics of war, immediately ordered the four regiment commanders beside him.

As a result, at the four gates of Shouyang County, almost at the same time, fierce gunfire rang out at the same time. Only a few minutes later, in addition to the east gate in the direction of the main attack, the garrison troops in the other three directions sent telegrams asking for help from the high headquarters of the county army. In the end, the supreme commander of the Yue army, who was forced to helpless, had no choice but to draw a large number of troops from the east gate to rescue the other three city gates that were in danger. However, the situation did not last long.

Under the fierce attack of the four regiments, the defending troops of the four city gates, which only lasted for half an hour, lost more than half of them in the dense artillery fire. So, once again, a telegram was sent to the county headquarters asking for help. However, at this time, the supreme commander-in-chief of the army also had no troops to send.

In the end, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, facing the four gates that had been surrounded by Dan, could only pray constantly in his own headquarters. Once again, half an hour passed, and in the face of the defenders, who had already suffered most casualties, mortar shells kept falling overhead, and a large area of howitzer shells exploded, and the first thing that could not hold on was the puppet army troops on the city wall.

As a puppet soldier began to retreat, there were more and more gaps in the defense of the army on the city wall. At this time, looking at the victory that was about to come, the warriors certainly would not let go of such a good opportunity, and launched a more fierce attack one after another. So, in the midst of the enemy's porous defenses, the warriors quickly stormed the city walls.

One warrior, two warriors As more and more warriors attacked the city wall, there were only more than a hundred little devil soldiers left in the entire city gate, and they were soon completely wiped out by the warriors. Destroy the defenders of the city walls, and the gates will be opened. The Second Brigade and the Sixth Regiment, which were responsible for attacking the south gate, all rushed into the county under the leadership of the regiment commander Zhu Liguo.

After entering the county seat, according to the tactics that Zhang Huaping had mentioned, the entire unit did not hesitate without any hesitation and went straight to the enemy's headquarters. After ten minutes of fierce fighting, all the officers and soldiers of the enemy command were killed under the bayonets of the artillery fire of the soldiers of the 6th Regiment.

Without the command of the headquarters, coupled with the internal and external attacks of the soldiers of the Second Brigade and the Sixth Regiment, the hundreds of little devils on the remaining three city gates, after less than ten minutes of trapped beast fighting, either died under the bayonets of the soldiers, or committed suicide by disembowelment.

In the entire battle to attack Shouyang County, after the 2nd Brigade of the directly subordinate column and a main force regiment of the 1st Division paid the price of more than 600 casualties, two squadrons and a regiment of puppet troops in the city were completely annihilated. In addition, a large number of weapons and ammunition and various logistical materials were seized.

"Good, good fight. Chief of Staff, this is a double blessing. Although the casualties of the troops were a little larger, they achieved such a big victory after all. Now there is only the third brigade led by Wang Benqing, and I don't know what the current situation is" After reading the telegram sent by Luo Zhihui, Zhang Hua couldn't help but feel excited. However, as soon as he thought of the Third Brigade, which still had no news at this time, Zhang Hua began to worry.

In fact, it was not that Wang Benqing, the commander of the Third Brigade, did not want to send a telegram to the division headquarters, but that he simply did not have time to send a telegram. Because at this time, he was advancing lightly with his troops, pursuing the puppet army that had been completely defeated, and as for the brigade headquarters radio station and all the heavy equipment of the troops, he left it in the county seat of Xiyang, which had already been occupied by him.

It turned out that when Wang Benqing rushed to the outskirts of Xiyang County with more than 6,000 people from the Third Brigade, through reconnaissance, it was found that the defenders in the county town were not two army brigades and a puppet legion. Rather, it was a brigade of the army, a puppet army division, with a total strength of 4,500 people.

However, when the brigade commander Wang Benqing concentrated all his artillery and prepared for the attack that night. The supreme commander of the Yue Army, who was guarding the county seat, was immediately frightened into a cold sweat when he saw more than a dozen field artillery pieces slipping outside the city. Because he knew that in this city defense force with a puppet army ratio much higher than the proportion of the imperial army, if it encountered a large-scale artillery bombardment by the Eighth Route Army, not to mention how long the troops could hold out, the troops could not retreat under the shelling of the Eighth Route Army, it would already be very remarkable.

The supreme commander defending the city reported the whole situation to the Taiyuan headquarters before the third brigade launched an attack. In the end, with the approval of the headquarters, it was agreed that the supreme commander of the army in the county seat of Xiyang would lead the troops and withdraw from the county seat. So, just when Wang Benqing was putting on a posture and preparing to attack the city, he received the news that the army was retreating.

"Report to the brigade commander, the reconnaissance unit reported that just ten minutes ago, the army opened the west gate, with about 4,000 troops, without carrying any heavy weapons, hastily withdrew from the county seat, and is now retreating in the direction of Taiyuan" A soldier of the reconnaissance battalion, because of a long run, came to the front of the brigade commander Wang Benqing, and reported with a pale face.

"What are you talking about, the little devil ran away, then I'm not busy with it. Order the first and second regiments to follow me, throw down all heavy weapons, and prepare to pursue the enemy. The remaining three regiments, the heavy artillery battalion, immediately occupied the county seat and took over all the warehouses in the city to prevent malicious destruction" After listening to the report of the scouts, the brigade commander Wang Benqing looked at the 12 75-mm field guns that were about to open fire behind him, and couldn't help but curse. However, after scolding, Wang Benqing still reacted in the shortest possible time. At the same time, he loudly issued a combat order to the three regiment commanders beside him.

Immediately, the various units that had just prepared for the siege of the city, under the leadership of the brigade commander Wang Benqing, only carried various light and heavy machine guns, and joined the pursuit. However, fortunately, on the way of the little devil's retreat, there were constant harassment from the reconnaissance troops along the way. The troops of more than 4,000 people of the two regiments, under the personal leadership of the brigade commander Wang Benqing, finally caught up with the equally exhausted puppet army after almost a night of pursuit.

"Order: Commander Xu led one or two battalions to outflank from the left flank of the puppet army, and Commander Zhou led four or five battalions to outflank from the right flank. After returning to his position, he did not have to wait for my order to attack immediately. The remaining two battalions, under my personal command, began to attack behind the back of the little devils. Wang Benqing, the brigade commander on the horse, looked at the puppet army that was getting closer and closer, and ordered loudly to the two regiment commanders beside him.

"Yes, brigade commander" The two men took the order and left. Soon, two-thirds of the more than 4,000 troops behind Wang Benqing were taken away by the two, and only about 1,000 people remained, under the leadership of Wang Benqing, only following behind the little devil.

Of course, the change in the formation of the pursuit troops of the Third Brigade did not hide from the supreme commander of the army in front. Seeing that the two troops of the Eighth Route Army were quickly turning around towards his two flanks, Commander Zhongzuo couldn't help but be surprised: "Baga, the Eighth Route Army wants to outflank us in a roundabout way and annihilate us all here." ”

"Ah Taijun, then what should we do now" Hearing that the Eighth Route Army wanted to annihilate its own troops, the commander of the puppet army who followed closely next to the commander of the army couldn't help but be frightened and turned white, and hurriedly asked.

"Order, the first regiment of the puppet army launched an attack on the Eighth Route Army on the left flank, the second regiment launched an attack on the Eighth Route Army on the right flank, and the third regiment blocked the Eighth Route Army behind me. The rest of the troops immediately retreated. "Commander Zhongzuo, looking at the puppet army division commander in front of him, looking at the more than a thousand imperial soldiers behind him, immediately decided who should be abandoned and who should be taken away

"Ah, Taijun, you don't know the combat effectiveness of my soldiers, they can't stop the imperial army attacking by the Eighth Route Army at all, please, take us away" Hearing the words of the commander of the army, the commander of the puppet army immediately understood that the little devil in front of him had regarded himself and his troops as outcasts and abandoned them ruthlessly. However, when he thought of what kind of result would happen if he fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, he usually relied on himself and did evil among the common people. There was a chill in his heart, and he hurriedly pleaded with Commander Nakasa in front of him.

"Baga, isn't your soldier's" As he spoke, Commander Nakasa had already drawn his command knife, and a flash of knife light flashed, and the division commander, who had already turned pale with fright, fell to the ground and fell in a pool of blood. Seeing the commander of the puppet army in front of him, the commander of the army did not hesitate, pointed to the deputy commander of the puppet army in front of him, and ordered loudly, "I now appoint you as the commander of the Imperial Army, and with your subordinates, you must block the attack of the Eighth Route Army and cover the retreat of the imperial soldiers." As long as you can complete the task, when you return to Taiyuan, I will definitely report your merits to the Supreme Commander of Taiyuan. I think you will definitely get a great reward when the time comes" His Excellency Nakasa flashed the command knife that still had a trace of blood in his hand, and said with a smile at the deputy division commander of the puppet army in front of him, with a hint of intimidation.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Imperial Army, I will definitely block the attack of the Eighth Route Army" Looking at the command knife dripping with blood in front of him, the deputy division commander was agitated and quickly replied. Seeing Nakazo leave with more than a thousand and little devils, the deputy division commander of the puppet army breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shizao, what should we do now, the imperial army obviously treats us as outcasts" Looking at the imperial soldiers who swaggered away in front of him, a regiment commander next to the newly appointed puppet army division commander asked with a smile.

"Bastard, what can I do. Tell you, immediately order the brethren to launch a counter-charge against the Eighth Route Army, and hold back as long as they can. As for us, it is important to save our lives, hurt our own henchmen, and retreat closely behind the imperial army" The deputy division commander blurted out a sly look in his eyes.

"Yes, the division seat is just, the division seat, without the troops, we will return to Taiyuan," a regiment commander said worriedly.

"You fucking stupid, no one, let's arrest people, I don't believe it, such a big Taiyuan, we can't catch one or two thousand strong men. When the time comes, I will report directly to Taijun that in the process of blocking the offensive of the Eighth Route Army, the troops have suffered heavy losses, and we urgently need to add," the division commander scolded hatefully.

With the order of the division commander, the despair just now could no longer be seen on the faces of the three regiment commanders. He immediately turned around and issued an order to his troops, and watched the troops, under the leadership of battalion and company commanders at all levels, launch a counter-charge against the Eighth Route Army, which was getting closer and closer. The three regiment commanders and division commanders, with their henchmen, quickly disappeared behind these puppet soldiers and chased in the direction of the fleeing army.

"Brigade commander, it's a puppet army, and the little devil sent a puppet army to block us. What should we do with our hearts? Seeing the thousands of puppet troops who rushed past their troops in a daze, a combat staff officer who followed the brigade commander Wang Benqing looked at the little devil who was getting farther and farther away, and couldn't help but ask anxiously.

"Damn, cheap little devils. Order the reconnaissance battalion to kill and wound as much of the living force of these little devils as possible. The troops did their best to eliminate the puppet army in front of them. Looking at the army that was getting farther and farther away, and the puppet soldiers who were blocking in front of him, the brigade commander Wang Benqing ordered hatefully.

"Yes, Brigadier General"

(To be continued)