As the strongholds of the puppet army along the railway line were surrounded and eliminated by the Eighth Route Army one by one, the general headquarters of Baoding County rang with bursts of telephone ringtones.

"Hey Baoding County Headquarters, what's the matter?"

"Report to Taijun, I am the squadron leader of the garrison squadron of the Dongzhuang stronghold. The Dongzhuang stronghold was attacked by the Eighth Route Army, the offensive of the Eighth Route Army was very fierce, we couldn't hold on anymore, ask for support, ask for support boom" A violent explosion sounded in the microphone, and the microphone immediately became silent

"Baga Hey" Although the operator kept calling, the other side of the singular microphone was still silent, and there was no response at all.

"The stronghold of Baga Jizhen was attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and I asked for tactical guidance, and Baga ,,,, the Eighth Route Army called" Another call asking for support reached the headquarters.

In less than ten minutes, more than ten strongholds along the entire railway line were attacked by two regiments. What's more, after this is a stronghold that sends a message for help, it can no longer be contacted, and there is no need to think about it, these strongholds are undoubtedly occupied by the Eighth Route Army.

"What does the Eighth Route Army want to do when it falls to the ground?" I saw that the strongholds of the imperial army on the map were erased by the staff officers, and one by one the strongholds of the puppet army were occupied by the Eighth Route Army. Major General Katsuzo Kitamura, the supreme commander of Baoding County, couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, I think it was the Eighth Route Army in northern Hebei that wanted to take advantage of the fire to loot, when they learned that the main force of the Third Division of the Reading Division was attacking the county town defended by the Imperial Army, and we sent the Bantian Wing to reinforce it, they took advantage of the fire to rob when we did not have enough troops in Baoding. In addition, they can also introduce the operations of the Eighth Route Army of the 3rd Division of the Reinforcing Division, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone," the chief of staff next to him thought for a while and explained.

"Why doesn't the hateful Eighth Route Army of the Eight Grid Tooth Road have the courage to fight a positional battle face to face with the imperial army of the Great Empire? After Baga waits for the victory of the Sakata United, I will definitely send troops to wipe them out. Immediately order the imperial troops in each stronghold to stick to their strongholds, otherwise the military law will be engaged," the brigade commander, Major General Yokozo, ordered.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander. When we have enough troops, we will definitely be able to kill the Eighth Route Army, which is twice as large as the county seat of Baoding. The chief of staff next to him nodded approvingly, and at the same time, he patted his boss in vain.

And at this moment, another phone rang. An operational staff officer picked up the phone.

"Hey, this is the Baoding Headquarters, what's the matter?" the communications staff officer grabbed the phone and asked mechanically, obviously very impatient. You know, in one night, in less than half an hour, dozens of the same phone calls in a row, no one will be much better.

"Baga, I'm the North China General Headquarters, give me the phone in the hands of your commander, quickly" Before the operational staff officer could finish speaking, a burst of shouting and scolding came from the microphone.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, please wait" The communications staff officer replied cautiously with his feet together, turned around and ran towards the brigade commander next to the map.

"Report to Your Excellency Brigade Commander, the North China Command has called, please go and listen to the call"

"Nani, North China Command" Listening to the words of the operational staff officer, Kitamura Katsuzo's face was full of doubts, but he still walked to the side of the telephone and picked up the microphone.

"Moxi Moxi, I am the commander of Baoding County, Kitamura Katsuzo, may I ask Your Excellency?" The brigade commander asked cautiously.

"Baga, I am the commander of the North China garrison, Bin Sanyuan, Kitamura-kun, do you want to enter the military court?" Before Major General Kitamura Katsuzo finished speaking, the angry voice of the newly appointed North China Commander, General Bin Sanyuan, came from the other end of the phone.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I beg your pardon. I don't know it's you? What are the instructions for Your Excellency Commander? I don't understand what you're saying" Listening to the answer in the microphone, Kitamura Katsuzo was startled and quickly replied cautiously.

"Bageya Road, Beicun-kun, how do you manage the security around Baoding, you must know that you have an elite brigade of the Great Empire in your hands. Could it be that the railways around Baoding were stripped by the Eighth Route Army, don't you know? Just now, a column of troops and supplies from the empire to the south derailed under your jurisdiction, and all the imperial troops were shattered, and the materials were lost, don't you know about this? The commander asked angrily.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I have not received news about this matter, please forgive Your Excellency, Commander. I will immediately send troops to destroy these Eighth Route Armies and repair the damaged railways. Please rest assured, Your Excellency, that I will give an account to those fallen Imperial warriors. Listening to the commander's words, beads of sweat began to appear on Kitamura's forehead.

"Yo Xi, before dawn, if you can't fix the railroad yet, you just wait to go to court-martial" After saying that, the commander hung up the phone.

"What did the Eighth Route Army want to do when it fell to the ground? Eight Geya Road, immediately connect me to all the strongholds along the railway, quickly" The brigade commander, Major General Kitamura Katsuzo, put down the phone in his hand and said angrily.

"Report to Your Excellency, Commander, all but the Wuzhen stronghold have lost contact. In addition, the Wuzhen stronghold was besieged by a large number of troops of the Eighth Route Army, and the headquarters was requested to quickly send reinforcements," the communications staff officer fearfully told the shocked news to the angry Major General Kitamura Katsuzo.

"Nani, isn't there a garrison of two squadrons of the Imperial Army holding the stronghold? Could the elite Huang Jun of the two squadrons still be able to withstand the attack of the poorly equipped Eighth Route Army? "Major General Katsuzo Kitamura scolded loudly in disbelief.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander. I think the most important thing for us at the moment is to send troops to reinforce the Wuzhen stronghold and eliminate these Eighth Route Army. Then quickly repair the railway damaged by the Eighth Route Army and resume the opening of traffic" Seeing the angry commander, the chief of staff beside him hurriedly reminded.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, immediately order Wing Commander Matsui to send a brigade with a mountain artillery squadron to immediately reinforce the Wuzhen stronghold and restore the railway transportation of the Imperial Army. Tell him that the commander of the North China garrison, General Bin Sanyuan, is very concerned about this matter. If he can't complete this task before dawn, then he will wait to go to the court-martial" After listening to the advice of the chief of staff beside him, the brigade commander, Major General Kitamura Katsuzo, nodded approvingly and ordered.

"Hey, Your Excellency Commander, it's just that there are only two brigades in the county, and if one brigade is drawn from the Matsui Wing, then there will definitely be a large number of vacancies in the ready-made defense, please make a decision on Your Excellency the Commander."

"Nani, isn't there a pseudo-legion in the city, pull them up. Although these people have no combat effectiveness, they are still more than enough to use them for defense, not to mention, there is also a baggage wing of our brigade in the county seat, let the baggage wing strengthen the vigilance and prepare for battle" Kitamura Katsuzo thought for a while and ordered.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I'll convey your order to Matsui Daisa" After saying that, the chief of staff who was Osa's left the headquarters and ran towards Matsui's wing headquarters.

Due to the dual orders of the headquarters and the North China Command, Wing Commander Matsui Daisa, after receiving the order, did not dare to slack off. After learning about the strength and weapons and equipment of the Eighth Route Army from the Wuzhen stronghold, he immediately ordered the defensive material warehouse and the second brigade around the wing headquarters to assemble. In addition, the heavy machine gun squadron of his own wing was also strengthened to his first brigade.

In this way, more than 1,000 people of the Yue army, armed with heavy machine guns, mountain artillery and other heavy weapons, drove out of Baoding County, aiming directly at the Wuzhen stronghold ten kilometers away from the county seat. Of course, as soon as this military brigade left the county seat, this information was transmitted to Liu Hua by the special operations brigade that had already entered the county seat.

"Commander, the special operations team reports that the army has sent a reinforced brigade to reinforce the Wuzhen stronghold, this is a telegram" Still in the temporary command post of Shenxian Mountain, Chief of Staff Li Qing hurriedly ran to Liu Hua with a telegram he had just received and said.

"Wuzhen stronghold, chief of staff, how many troops are there in the 129th Division besieging Wuzhen, and the reinforcements of the army are a reinforced brigade, can they afford it?" Seeing the deployment of the reinforcements of the army, Liu Hua asked worriedly.

"Commander, I'm worried about this too, and I think we have to send them a telegram right away, a reminder," said the chief of staff.

"Well, send the troops of the army together and let them pay attention. However, one thing will not change, that is, after they engage the enemy, no matter what method they use and how much price they pay, they must delay this brigade for two days, and they must not let this brigade return to Baoding County. Liu Hua nodded and ordered.

"Yes, Commander"

Soon, two regiments of the 129th Division received telegrams from the Reading Division. In addition to leaving the necessary troops to continue to besiege the Wuzhen stronghold and sabotage the railway, they took most of the troops, totaling more than 2,000 people, and began to meet this reinforced army brigade.

Therefore, less than half an hour after leaving the county seat, the brigade of the Yue Army began to be attacked by the guerrilla warfare and sparrow warfare of the Eighth Route Army

Just when the reinforcements of the Eighth Route Army were mired in guerrilla warfare between the two regiments of the Eighth Route Army, a meeting on the deployment of the next stage of combat intent was being held at Liu Hua's temporary headquarters.

"Comrades, according to the intelligence of the special operations brigade, the reinforcements of the Yue Army have been completely trapped in the mountains north of Baoding by two regiments of the 129th Division. The following combat missions are up to us. Chief of Staff, give the regiment commanders present a briefing on the current troop deployment in Baoding County," Liu Hua said as he looked at the dozen or so cadres in front of him with gunpowder on their faces.

"Yes, commander, according to the intelligence of the special operations brigade, there is now an infantry brigade of the Yue Army, a regiment of the Imperial Association Army, and a baggage wing of the Yue Army attacking more than 3,000 people in Baoding County. Among them, the infantry brigade of the army is 1,000 people, mainly defending the city wall of Baoding County, and the puppet army is defending the material warehouse in the city. In addition, in the barracks 500 meters south of Baoding County, there is an artillery wing of the Japanese army, with about 800 people, including a heavy howitzer brigade and a field artillery brigade. Baoding railway station stationed a dissatisfied army brigade, a total of more than 800 people, equipped with heavy machine guns and mortars and other heavy weapons, this is the current Baoding county town of all the troops" the chief of staff finished speaking, and sat down.

"Commander, let's fight. There are less than 4,000 people, let's fight, avenge the sacrificed soldiers" As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, Wang Hu, the cavalry commander who had sacrificed more than one company of cavalry in the raid just now, shouted for revenge.

"Yes, commander, let's fight, avenge the soldiers, the soldiers can't sacrifice in vain, we must make the little devil pay the price" In the entire campaign, the commander of the second regiment, who suffered the most losses and the soldiers sacrificed the most, Luo Zhihui, echoed.

"Comrades are quiet" Seeing that the cadres below were eager to fight one by one, Liu Hua was also very happy and stopped everyone from being excited.

"Comrades, to fight Baoding, we must fight, otherwise, we will sacrifice so many soldiers in vain, but after all, there are 4,000 well-trained little devils in front of us, and there are strong city defenses. Therefore, we must be cautious and fully prepared. Next, I will assign specific combat mission orders to you," Liu Hua shouted loudly.

As Liu Hua blurted out the two words of the order, more than a dozen cadres below at or above the regimental level stood up one after another.

"Divisional cavalry regiment. The cavalry battalion of the 3rd Division was an attack group, and the commander-in-chief of the cavalry regiment was Comrade Wang Hu. Your task is to raid the artillery wing of the army after the battle has begun, and make sure to capture all the weapons and ammunition of the artillery wing. Do you have the confidence to complete the task? Liu Hua ordered loudly.

"Report to the commander, artillery regiment, cavalry battalion to ensure the completion of the task." The two of them answered cleanly together.

"Okay, the first regiment of the third division, the second regiment, and a mortar battalion of the artillery regiment are an attack group, and the commander-in-chief Comrade Li Yong. Your task is to attack the Baoding Railway Station, be sure to occupy the railway station in the shortest possible time, and annihilate all the little devils in the railway station, so that no one can be caught. Then deliver as many strategic materials as possible to the various strategic materials hoarded in the station, and protect him. There is also an important task, that is, when the troops withdraw from Baoding, blow up all the military facilities at the railway station, and be sure to paralyze the railway transportation of the little devils. How's it going, do you have the confidence to complete the task? Liu Hua ordered again.

"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission." The two regiment commanders stood up together.

"The rapid reaction brigade, the artillery regiment is an attack group, under the personal command of me and the chief of staff. Attack the county seat of Baoding. For specific tasks, the remaining personnel of the Second Regiment carried two mortar companies to feint at the north gate of Baoding County. The 1st Regiment, the 3rd Regiment, and all the remaining artillery of the Artillery Regiment followed me to storm the south gate of Baoding County from the front. Before the battle begins, the electronic detachment must cover all radio communications in the county town, so that the county town cannot send the distress signal of the army."

"Yes, Commander, guarantee to complete the mission"

"Okay, after the meeting is over, the troops can set off and rush to Baoding County. Launch an attack on time at three o'clock in the morning tonight, and we will be caught off guard by the army," Liu Hua stood up and said.

"It's guaranteed to get the job done"

As soon as the meeting was adjourned, the regiments began to assemble, and after handing over the wounded to the militia that had come to support, they began to advance lightly, carrying only enough ammunition. Each main force regiment, like a fire dragon, goes straight into Baoding County. After several hours of continuous marching. Finally, in the early hours of the evening, all the units arrived at their designated positions. Begin to build positions in accordance with the pre-battle deployment, and quietly wait for the final time to attack.

At this time, it was already more than two o'clock in the morning, and it was the time when people were most likely to get sleepy, and the same was true for the army. And Liu Hua, as well as the thousands of soldiers behind Liu Hua, were indeed not sleepy at all, and everyone was full of excitement and fighting spirit. Liu Hua lay on the hillside, quietly looking at the city wall of Baoding County, 500 meters away.

At this time, most of the Yue army had returned to the barracks to rest because of sleepiness, and there was only less than one squadron of Yue troops on the entire Baoding city wall, tirelessly patrolling back and forth on the city wall. Looking at the artillery camp 500 meters away, several bright searchlights brightened the entire artillery camp station, and 24 cannons of various kinds held high their muzzles. About a squadron of infantry imps patrolled back and forth around the barracks. The train station farther away was busy, and under the illumination of searchlights, hundreds of little devils patrolled back and forth in various important places of the train station

Finally, there were less than ten minutes left before the final time of the attack, and the 18 mountain guns of various kinds that the artillery regiment had just captured began to slowly raise their muzzles under the efforts of the soldiers. Heavy shells were transported to the forefront by the fighters. Under the order of the regiment commander Chen Revolution, the shells were loaded into the barrels of the guns in advance by the soldiers, and the soldiers pulled the fire rope tightly, waiting for the order to open the cannon.

"Start attacking" With the arrival of three o'clock in the morning, Liu Hua, who was staring at his watch, gave the order. Soon, this order passed through the field telephone and reached the ears of every commander, and the whole battle began at this moment.

"Artillery regiment, open artillery" Of course, there is no doubt that the first to fire is still the artillery regiment in Liu Hua's hands. With the order of the regiment commander Chen Revolution, the mountain artillery in two rows roared at the city wall one kilometer away. Eighteen shells of all kinds, with a loud roar, flew to the city wall of Baoding County, in the barracks

(To be continued)