"Well, that's the way the terrain is. However, if you can really defeat the Yue army, it is also a good choice. Of course, the best thing is to take this field division for me in one fell swoop... Chief of Staff, tell me about Wang Nanhu's specific troop deployment? Looking at the map of Jindong that had just been replaced in front of him, Liu Hua nodded and said, "Yes, Commander." Commander Wang Nanhu took advantage of various favorable terrain to set up a total of eight regimental-level and battalion-level blocking positions in the area from the garrison to Baita Mountain, constantly depleting the effective strength of the army. At the same time, in the Baitashan area, a total of 8 infantry regiments, 2 heavy artillery regiments, 2 air defense regiments, and 1 armored battalion were deployed to prepare for the total annihilation of the remaining strength of the army. Through the verification of the headquarters and the general staff, there are basically no loopholes in the entire battle plan. Chief of Staff Li Qing nodded and replied.

"Okay, great, now I can finally put my mind at ease, in the ward, quietly waiting for the two commanders, send me good news..."Liu Hua nodded, with a smile on his face. Obviously, after listening to the deployment of the two army divisions, he was full of confidence in the entire campaign.

And just when tens of thousands of soldiers in the entire Reading Division were quietly waiting for the little devil to take the bait on their own positions. The atmosphere of the North China Command is indeed very good. Because, the serious injury and coma of Liu Hua, the commander of the Reading Division, is a very big news for these commanders of the Yue Army who have suffered countless losses in the hands of the Reading Division, which is enough for them to have a big celebration.

More importantly, the telegram sent back to the General Staff Headquarters in Japan by the Headquarters, and after studying it by the General Staff Headquarters, there was no hesitation and it completely agreed to the plan of the surprise attack drawn up by Okamura Ninji. As long as the time comes, the two elite field divisions of the North China Army will immediately launch a rapid surprise attack on the Reading Force Division of the Eighth Route Army in front of them....

Similarly, Senior General Okamura Ninji, as the commander, is also in his command room at this moment, paying attention to the information sent from all directions. and pondered whether his two field divisions would immediately launch an attack. And just when Okamura Ningji looked at the small red flags representing the establishment of the various units of the Eighth Route Army's Reading Division, in the huge sand table in front of him, constantly changing. The chief of staff hurriedly walked into the command room, and it could be seen from his face that there must be some good news....

"Chief of Staff, is there any good news..."Since learning the news that Liu Hua was seriously injured in the attack, Okamura Ningji, who has always been known for his seriousness, has slowly started joking in the command headquarters.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, this is a telegram that I have just received from the commander of the 14th Division, requesting his troops to immediately launch an attack on the current Eighth Route Army's Reading Division....", the chief of staff replied, and at the same time, handed the telegram in his hand to the commander.

"Hehe, I really didn't expect that Liu Hua would have such a great influence among the readers. As the news spread that Liu Hua was seriously wounded, there was already a certain amount of confusion among the troops of the Eighth Route Army who were confronting our 14th Division. According to intelligence officers, the Eighth Route Army at this time was demoralized and morale was very low, and it was the best time for us to attack. Okamura said with a smile on his face after reading the telegram in his hand. It's as if this happened to him, and he had expected it to happen.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander. I also think that this is the best period for our army to attack. I believe that as long as we launch a surprise attack on the current troops of the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army in front of it, in the midst of our army's powerful offensive, will definitely be quickly defeated. And my heroic Imperial Army troops can quickly seize Taiyuan City with their fastest attack speed, before the Reading Division can react..."The chief of staff pointed to the huge sand table in front of him, and said with a face full of affirmation.

"Yo Si, that's a very good idea. Chief of Staff, now record the order: Order the 20th Division to always pay attention to the situation of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side, and report any changes immediately. At the same time, the 14th Division has been ordered to agree to your unit's request for operation, and as for the specific time of the attack, the division commander, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, will decide on his own according to the actual situation, and the headquarters will not interfere in any way. At the same time, your troops can call for air support at any time while marching in. We must break through all the blocking positions of the Eighth Route Army in the shortest possible time and seize Taiyuan City... Supreme Commander of the North China Garrison: Okamura Ninji...."After listening to the advice of the Chief of Staff. Commander Okamura Ninji no longer had any hesitation, and immediately faced the chief of staff in front of him and began to give combat orders to various troops.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander. I believe that Your Excellency, the commander of the division, will be very happy after reading this telegram. The chief of staff nodded in reply, turned and left the command room, and began to send telegrams.

Compared with the Supreme Command, the atmosphere at the headquarters of the 14th Division of Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara was indeed very tense. In the entire command room, a group of staff officers kept going in and out, constantly summarizing all the situations from the outside world into the hands of the division commander who was not saying a word at this moment.

"Your Excellency the division commander, the commander has agreed to our request for battle, is this a telegram?" Just when the division commander was anxiously waiting for the headquarters to call back, the chief of staff of the division, Tadashi Sano, rushed into the command room with a telegram on his face. And the conference room, which was noisy just now, was quiet at this moment. All eyes were on the telegram in the hands of the chief of staff at the same time.

"Yo Xi, gentlemen, Your Excellency the Commander has agreed to our army's request for battle. And he gave me the specific time to start the war. At the same time, we are authorized to call for air support at any time on the way to the offensive. Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for our 14th Division to attack and avenge the Empire. I hope that, from now on, all officers will be in place and stick to their posts. This attack must show the might of our imperial army. After reading the telegram in his hand, the lieutenant general's division commander was full of excitement, and he commanded loudly to the officers.

"Hi....Your Excellency Division Commander...."In an instant, an earth-shattering roar immediately sounded in the entire command room. Then, the entire command room was once again in a state of hustle.

"Chief of Staff, now I order, the intelligence department, to keep a close eye on all the situation of the Eighth Route Army troops opposite us, and if there is any abnormal movement, it must be reported to me personally at the first time. At the same time, the specific time for the attack of the entire unit was set at 8 o'clock this evening, and the 2nd Infantry Wing of Ishiguro Mazo Daisa launched the attack, and the artillery brigade to which the wing belonged was responsible for covering the artillery fire. Tell Ishiguro-kun. I will give him an hour, and within an hour, he must occupy the position of the Eighth Route Army in front of him. Looking at the busy staff officers, the commander of the lieutenant general's division nodded with satisfaction, and at the same time, ordered to the chief of staff in front of him.

"Hey, division commander, I'll go and deliver the order right away." The chief of staff took the order with a confident face.

With the issuance of the order of the division and regimental headquarters, the various units of the army immediately began to assemble. At the same time, the artillery brigade attached to the second wing and the artillery squads of each brigade, a total of 20 mountain artillery field guns, began to quickly build artillery positions in front of the soldiers' positions under the command of the wing commander. Between the two armies of the enemy and us, in an instant, the smell of gunpowder was filled, and a battle could break out at any moment..."Regiment commander, regimental commander, emergency. The Japanese army on the opposite side of our army has already begun to assemble, and at the same time, one artillery piece after another is also facing our position, and the whole battle is almost imminent...."Of course, it is impossible for such a big action of the Japanese army to hide the eyes of the observation posts of the Eighth Route Army on the position. Watching the army's every move, the commander of the first company of the third division of the reading force regiment stationed at the forefront rushed into the regimental command post in a hurry.

"What do you say, the army is beginning to assemble, and there is a possibility of attacking at any time... Damn, the little devil persisted for a month, and finally couldn't hold on anymore. The first battalion was ordered to immediately enter the forward position and prepare for battle. The second battalion immediately entered the second line of defense, and the third battalion served as a reserve. The regiment is a mortar company, which provides artillery support to various units at any time. Listening to the report of the company commander, the regiment commander Lin Wei shouted an order to the chief of staff beside him while being excited.

"Yes, Commander. The fighters haven't fought with the little devils for a month. This time, I must teach the little devils in front of me a good lesson. With a hint of sharpness in his eyes, the chief of staff turned and left the command.

"Political commissar, now that the battle is about to break out, someone must command the front line, and the regimental headquarters must also have someone to guard here, you immediately report the situation here to the commander, if the commander has any orders, you call the correspondent to inform me. I'll go to the front and have a look. As soon as the regiment commander Lin Wei finished speaking, before the political commissar could react from the shock, he rushed out of the command post with his personal guards.

And just when the regiment commander Lin Wei ran to the forefront of the position with the guards. All the officers and men of the first battalion have entered the position under the command of the battalion commander. A stiff light and heavy machine gun, under the command of the soldiers, constantly swinging the muzzle, as if showing off its might to the army.

"The regiment commander, all the commanders and fighters of the first battalion, have all entered the position after receiving the order, please instruct the regiment commander..." Seeing the regiment commander, the first battalion commander, and the instructor who had entered the position out of breath hurriedly ran over.

"Well, is there any movement in the Yue army on the other side now?" Seeing the two love generals, Lin Wei nodded. At the same time, he picked up his own telescope and began to observe every move of the Yamashita military station. Because the forward position of the troops was arranged on the mountain beam at an altitude of more than 100 meters, when Lin Wei raised his telescope, every move of the army under the mountain was completely displayed in his eyes.

At this time, the sky had slowly darkened, and piles of bonfires had been lit in the barracks of the Japanese army a few miles away. At the same time, the little devils, who don't want to be like usual, gather around the campfire, keep warm, and eat dinner over and over again. Instead, a small team sits together, quietly waiting for something.

More importantly, on the artillery position behind the barracks, more than a dozen black holes were facing their own positions. On the entire artillery position, there were several times more personnel than usual. Little devils, carrying ammunition boxes one by one, shuttled back and forth on the artillery positions....

"It seems that the little devil really intends to attack tonight, and it is an attack by a whole infantry wing. I really didn't expect that the army still looked up to us. "After watching every move on the position of the army. Lin Wei, the third regiment commander, was not affected by the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield, but said with a nonchalant expression.

"Regiment commander, do you want us to take advantage of the fact that the army has not yet launched an attack, transport the mortar company to the surroundings of the artillery position of the army, strike first, and give the little devil a few shots..."

"I want to too, but the entire mortar company has 9 mortars, but the only fire support of our regiment in the battle, there must be no losses. Sending artillery out may really be able to destroy a lot of artillery in the Japanese army. However, in front of an infantry wing of the Japanese army, it was almost impossible to withdraw safely. So, don't think about it, the mortar battery must not move. After thinking about the chief of staff's suggestion, Lin Wei denied it without hesitation.

"Commander, I'm just saying....I don't really want the mortar company to die..."

"Battalion Commander Wang, how is your battalion prepared, can it block several attacks of the Yue army?" After listening to the chief of staff's answer, the regiment commander Lin Wei didn't say anything anymore, and looked at the commander of the first battalion on the other side with a pair of eyes.

"Commander, you can relax about this. In our forward positions, in order to guard against enemy shelling, according to the requirements, a large number of anti-artillery holes have been dug, and the artillery of the little devils is basically nothing to us. In addition, our entire battalion, because it was at the forefront of the entire position, was fully reinforced with six heavy machine guns and a small number of grenadiers, and there was absolutely no problem in holding the position...."After listening to the regiment commander's question, and seeing the sophisticated equipment and solid blocking position of his first battalion, the first battalion commander replied with a confident face.

"Okay, then the forward position will be handed over to you, if you have any needs, call the regiment headquarters immediately, and the regiment headquarters will definitely try to meet you..." Lin Wei was very satisfied with the answer of the first battalion commander. At the constant request of the commander of the first battalion and the instructor, he and the chief of staff left the forward positions where the battle could be fought at any time.

And at this moment, when Lin Wei left, there was less than half an hour left before the time of the final attack of the Yue army. Wing Commander Ishiguro Daisa, who was in charge of the first wave of offensive missions, was quietly observing what was going on at a distance of about 2,000 meters from the forward positions of the Third Division and the Third Regiment with a group of staff officers, "Your Excellency Wing Commander, it seems that the Eighth Route Army has discovered our combat intentions. On their forward positions, at least one battalion of units was combat-ready, but also armed with a large number of light and heavy machine guns. After a few minutes, the chief of staff of the wing slowly put down the binoculars in his hand and said to the wing commander beside him.

"Yo Xi, it will be a matter of time before the Eighth Route Army discovers our combat intentions, after all, it is impossible for us to gather troops and build artillery positions to hide from their eyes. However, no matter how much preparation the Eighth Route Army made, it would not help. Because, in order for our infantry to be able to capture the positions of the Eighth Route Army at one time, I have prepared twenty artillery pieces. I believe that under the intensive shelling of our army's 20 artillery pieces for half an hour, the position of the Eighth Route Army will be completely destroyed by our artillery fire..."Regarding the reminder of the chief of staff, the wing commander did not pay attention to it, but replied with a confident face.

"Hey, Wing Commander Yingming....I am now very much looking forward to what kind of scene will appear in the position of the Eighth Route Army in the preparation of artillery fire for a while and a half? Your Excellency, I request that the First Brigade take the first attack of the whole battle," and as soon as the Wing Commander had finished speaking, the Captain of the First Brigade, who thought that there was something to be taken advantage of, replied preemptively.

"Yo Xi, I agree. Half an hour later, our artillery will prepare for half an hour of intensive artillery fire on the positions of the Eighth Route Army. As soon as the shelling stopped, the 1st Brigade immediately launched an offensive and occupied the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, taking advantage of the victory, he pursued and followed closely behind the possible rout of the Eighth Route Army, breaking through the second defensive position of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop. "For the sycophants of the captain of the first brigade, Wing Captain Ishiguro Osa is very useful. Without giving it any thought, he agreed to the request of the captain of the first brigade. Because, in his eyes, any army, under such intensive artillery fire, will collapse without a fight, and the only task of the first brigade is to occupy positions and pursue the rout of the Eighth Route Army.

"Hey, please rest assured, Your Excellency the Wing Commander, I will definitely occupy the forward position of the Eighth Route Army in the shortest possible time..." However, what he didn't expect was that it was because of his arrogance that his first brigade lost almost half of it in the first wave of attacks... Finally, in the anxious waiting of everyone, the time for the final attack is getting closer and closer. The artillery brigade, which was responsible for the preparation of the initial artillery fire, had twenty guns neatly placed on the artillery position. At the same time, the artillery crews are also ready to open fire at any time ... As the commander-in-chief of the entire attack, Wing Captain Ishiguro Osa, was standing in front of the huge sand table in the command room, quietly looking at the watch on his arm, waiting for the arrival of eight o'clock..."Start the attack...."Just when the pointer of the watch just pointed to the position of eight o'clock, the corner of the wing captain's mouth showed a smile, and he ordered loudly to the staff officers around him who were waiting for his orders. Immediately, the order to 'start the offensive' was transmitted by telephone to all the positions of the Japanese army.

(To be continued)