After Qiao Youhua and Guo Meng returned the military salute at the same time, they took the lead and walked to the point platform, and glanced at the thousands of dragon tooth soldiers in the audience with a keen eye.

He said in a deep voice: "Brothers, the reason why I ordered you to assemble urgently today is because we have a new mission, and this combat mission is to enter the Jin Dynasty, assist the fraternal troops in Shanxi, recover the entire territory of Shanxi, and open up our contact with the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region!" ”

As soon as the soldiers heard that they were going to Shanxi to fight devils, they couldn't help but be enthusiastic, and their eyes were full of expectation and eagerness, everyone knew that Shanxi was next to the headquarters of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Red Base Area, and Shanxi was the first battlefield of the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance.

Where can I go, join forces with some brother troops of the Eighth Route Army to fight against the Japanese invaders in Shanxi and recover the land of the Three Jin Dynasty, which is really a great joy in life.

Immediately afterwards, Qiao Youhua said something to encourage the morale of the army and boost morale, and the political commissar Guo Meng also joined in.

Subsequently, under Qiao Youhua's order, he drove out of the playground in an orderly manner, and under the farewell of tens of thousands of people in the base area present, he embarked on the journey of entering the Jin operation.

The battalion commander Zhao Tiezhu was also transferred from the original deputy commander of the tank regiment to the deputy commander of the guard regiment, and concurrently served as the commander of the cavalry reconnaissance battalion.

Behind the cavalry battalion was a huge convoy of hundreds of military trucks and motorcycles of the Guard Regiment and the Artillery Brigade.

At the rear is a fleet of logistical transport personnel and supplies.

Pingshan County was not far from Jingcheng Pass, and the troops directly under the column commanded by Qiao Youhua were all riding horses and had strong mobility, so it only took half a day to rush to Jingcheng County, which was outside Jingcheng Pass.

Zhao Youde, the commander who was ordered to be stationed here, and the deputy commander of the Third Division, got the news early and took his military commanders out of the city to greet him.

Seeing the arrival of the convoy of the directly subordinate troops, Zhao Youde, who was waiting outside the city gate early, led a group of his subordinates and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them, and the troops received Qiao Youhua's instructions and did not enter the city, and stopped advancing outside the city gate.

The military truck that Qiao Youhua was riding bypassed the convoy and cavalry in front of him, came to Zhao Youde and the others, and stopped abruptly.

Qiao Youhua saw Zhao Youde and his party, and immediately pushed the car door with Li Yansan, the adjutant who was the driver of his car, and walked down.

Zhao Youde and his entourage hurriedly trotted to Qiao Youhua, and under his leadership, they all stood up and saluted Qiao Youhua. "Commander."

After Qiao Youhua saluted back, he nodded and said, "Well, time is pressing, I won't enter the city, are you all ready?" ”

Zhao Youde immediately responded loudly: "Report to the commander, all the garrisons in Jingcheng Pass and the county town have been prepared and can set off at any time, just waiting for your order." ”

Qiao Youhua nodded and said: "Very good, I asked Zhao Tiezhu to lead the cavalry reconnaissance battalion as a spearhead, and your department will follow, and immediately set off to our first target, Yangquan!" ”

"Yes!" Zhao Youde and the others all stepped forward in unison, and then turned around and quickly acted according to the order.

…………

Yangquan, located in the central and western part of the Taihang Mountains, passes through the Zhengtai Railway, and has a very important stop. Because of the existence of this railway and the Jingcheng Pass itself, the geographical location of this place is even more important.

Guarding the main roads and railways has become a battleground for soldiers.

However, before attacking Yangquan, there was still a dangerous pass that needed to be captured before it could continue to advance southward. This Xiongguan is one of the nine passes in the world.

Niangzi Pass is located in the northeast of Yangquan in the territory of Pingding, in the early days of the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, when the Japanese army invaded Shanxi, captured the Jingcheng Pass that was in disrepair for a long time, and was negligent in defense, it waved south along the Zhengtai line, it was in Niangzi Pass encountered the stubborn resistance of the Central Army and the Jin Sui Army and the defense force composed of the Eighth Route Army, but in the end, the Chinese army was finally captured by the Japanese army because of the disparity in strength between the enemy and us.

However, although Niangziguan and Yangquan were lost one after another, the Japanese army also paid a lot of casualties. Moreover, from the point of view of the Chinese defenders, the holding and loss of Yangquan and Niangzi Pass, the former bought time for the deployment of the Battle of Xinkou and the Battle of Taiyuan, and provided flank protection.

The latter, after the loss of Yangquan, the Japanese army was able to drive straight into Taiyuan along the Zhengtai railway line from the north road, and the Japanese army attacking in the Datong area formed a two-way attack on the western front and the northern line, and directly led the Battle of Xinkou to end with the defeat of the Chinese defenders.

In the Battle of Xinkou, the Jin Sui Army and the Central Army, which resisted the hundreds of thousands of frontal battlefields of the Japanese army on the Western Road, withdrew because the rear was not secured, and was chased and killed all the way by the old devil Itagaki Seishiro, with only half a division of strength, and suffered heavy casualties and defeat.

What's more, it directly led to the failure of the follow-up defense of Taiyuan.

also created the reputation of Itagaki Seishiro, an old devil famous Japanese general, and the honor of the 5th Division Steel Army, but now, Itagaki Seishiro and Qiao Youhua beat him back to his hometown in the East, and he has not been able to regain military power.

The 5th Division was also wiped out by Qiao Youhua's entire army more than once or twice, which was a shame.

Therefore, if you want to recover Taiyuan, you must first capture Yangquan, and whether you can capture Yangquan depends on whether you can capture the strategic place of Niangzi Pass.

Niangzi Pass is about fifty or sixty kilometers away from Jingcheng Pass, Qiao Youhua and Zhao Youde led more than 20,000 horse infantry troops, marched all the way, and finally arrived outside Niangzi Pass in the evening.

As soon as Qiao Youhua, Zhao Youde and others got off the car, there were cavalry galloping all the way along the official road from the south, and the war horses galloped wildly to drive smoke and dust, rolling like thunder, and soon galloped in.

The person who came was none other than Zhao Tiezhu, who commanded the cavalry reconnaissance battalion to open the way in front, he stopped his horse, quickly turned over and dismounted, came to Qiao Youhua, and stood up and saluted: "Commander." ”

Qiao Youhua nodded and asked, "Deputy Head Zhao, did you get any useful information?" ”

Zhao Tiezhu said: "Commander, we came all the way and did not encounter any enemies, however, in front of Niangzi Pass, there are a large number of Japanese troops stationed and well defended. ”

Qiao Youhua said: "Niangzi Guan Naiyangquan can even be said to be the last barrier in the north of the entire Jinzhong, and it is not surprising that the Japanese army has stationed heavy troops here.

This attack on Yangquan is mainly in the battle of Niangzi Pass, come to us, and discuss how to fight this battle. ”