Director Xiong's suggestion was to spare the 10th and 16th Divisions in front, and then concentrate his forces to deal with the remnants of the 14th Division, which was at the bottom of the line. The problem is that with the strength of the 97th Army, it is not sure that it will eat the remnants of the 14th Division. What if the situation is at a stalemate and the main forces of the Japanese army rush to reinforce again?

Not only Chief of Staff Zhou expressed resolute opposition, but almost none of the officers present agreed with it. Oh, there is still one, Li Dazhuang took the case and shouted: "I support Director Xiong's plan." How can you fight a war without taking a risk? ”

Finally someone was willing to support him, Director Xiong grinned happily, but was depressed to find that there were more people who opposed it than just now. It turned out that Li Dazhuang was a reckless man in everyone's minds, stunned and not stable enough. He expressed his support, which shows that this plan is not reliable.

At this time, Zheng Weiguo stood up and said, "Everyone, I think this plan is feasible. The reason is simple, what you can't think of, the Japanese can't even think of. We took this battle by surprise. ”

Longhai line, Kaifeng section. A large group of ragged Japanese troops slowly poured onto the railroad and then moved eastward one after another. Just looking at their military appearance, they would definitely not have imagined that this was the famous 14th Division. Of course, it would be more accurate to add the word "remnant" after it. Thanks to Chang Kaishen's care, they had just withdrawn from the Zhongmu front line and were preparing to return to Xuzhou.

Speaking of the Battle of Lanfeng, the most unlucky was the 14th Division. First, he was sent to Shangqiu to block the gun's hole, and before he reached the ground, he was forced to move westward by the First Army. As a result, he was surrounded by the national army and almost wiped out.

It's hard to wait for reinforcements to lift the siege. Eager for revenge, they were trapped in Zhongmu County by the flood, and due to the interruption of supplies, this army almost starved to death.

Tohihara rode in the middle of the group. Although he escaped, he had a gloomy face and looked very unhappy. He thinks highly of himself, and always feels that there is nothing in this world that he can't play, and even people like Chang Kaishen are played by him.

Supposedly, the achievements in the intelligence system are enough for him to lie on the credit book for a lifetime, but he is not satisfied. He hoped to continue to climb up, because the Japanese army had regulations that the lieutenant general and above must have experience in commanding troops. That's why he did everything possible to win the position of commander of the 14th Division.

When I first became the head of the guru. Tu Feiyuan is really proud, and a bright future beckons to him. If this continues, maybe he can become a land minister, and the ambition of Tu Feiyuan is getting bigger and bigger. But at this juncture. He is inexplicably involved in the struggle between Shouichi Terauchi and Kiyoji Kazuki. Scapegoat.

Although the Battle of Lanfeng caused the Chinese army to lose face. But Tu Feiyuan was also beaten to the point that his head was full of bags and became a laughing stock in the Japanese military circles. He was not reconciled, so as soon as he got out of trouble, he launched a frantic counterattack. Completely ignoring the exhaustion of his subordinates. However, a flood undone his efforts.

"God bless me!" Dohihara lamented sadly.

Chief of Staff Sano Tadayoshi Osaku suddenly hurried over and said, "Your Excellency Division Commander, we are still in a dangerous zone, do you inform the troops to speed up the march?" ”

Tu Feiyuan looked around and found that the speed of the march was indeed relatively slow, which had never been done before. He sighed and said, "The soldiers are tired, just keep it up at this speed." ”

Subconsciously, he didn't want the fight to end like this. Because he's more of a loser now than the other way around. He even thought how nice it would be if the Chinese army caught up, and I would definitely let them taste it!

Phew, Bah! Suddenly, a few gunshots rang out from the flanks, and at once they pulled Tu Feiyuan back from fantasy to reality. The guards hurriedly guarded him, for fear that something might happen.

"Baga, what are you doing here? Let's go and see what's going on! Tsuchihara angrily pushed everyone away and shouted.

"Hello!" A group of Japanese soldiers quickly left the main force and launched a search on both flanks.

Not long after they had gone, the flanks erupted again with fierce gunfire, but quickly subsided again. The small force that had sent out lost contact and never returned.

Sano Tadayoshi Osaku said worriedly: "Your Excellency, division commander, from time to time there are gunshots on both flanks, and our scouts are constantly losing contact. I suspect that the Chinese army intends to eat us! ”

Dohihara narrowed his eyes and asked rhetorically, "Sano-kun, as you said, where did they get their army?" According to the reconnaissance of the army aviation, the people of China were also stopped by the Yellow Flood Area and did not catch up at all. ”

Sano Tadayoshi Osa said, "You forgot? There is still a 97th Army on the north bank of the Yellow River! Now that the Yellow River is out of flow, they can cross the river at any time and attack. In fact, some time ago they had blocked the 10th Division. ”

Tu Feiyuan snorted and said, "Yo Xi! They came just in time to get the troops ready. If you want to be ashamed, it's today! ”

Sano Tadayoshi's face was full of sorrow, and he persuaded: "Your Excellency, the soldiers are very tired now, and I am afraid it will be difficult to show their strength. In my opinion, it is better to immediately move closer to the 10th Division. ”

Tu Feiyuan said nonchalantly: "Can't you hold on for half a day?" "The biggest advantage of the 14th Division is that the 10th Division is not far away and can quickly return to help. In his opinion, no army would dare to block between the two main divisions, otherwise it would definitely be crushed.

At the same time, the 33rd Brigade, the 34th Brigade, the 35th Brigade, the 36th Brigade, the 4th Cavalry Division, and the 14th Cavalry Brigade all sent reports to the military headquarters, saying that they had moved in place. The big war is on the verge of breaking out!

The current situation is that the 34th Brigade is in the south-west of the 14th Division, the 36th Brigade is in the north, and the 33rd and 35th Brigades are in the southeast and north-east. The latter two units could close the door between the 14th and 10th Divisions at any time.

"Commander, according to your plan, all the departments have been mobilized in place, do you want to attack immediately?"

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said: "Let the various ministries send more small troops to harass the Tufei Yuan Department, and don't expose their firepower." It's still early, so let's put it off a little longer and wait until four o'clock in the afternoon to start again. ”

One advantage of doing it in the afternoon is that the Japanese planes don't dare to stay too long. Other than that. The flood washed the terrain of eastern Henan beyond recognition, and if it was dark, the Japanese army was likely to get lost and fall into chaos.

Chief of Staff Zhou thought for a moment, frowned, and said, "But the longer the time drags on, the closer the 14th Division and the 10th Division will be." With our strength, we can't destroy two divisions at the same time. ”

Zheng Weiguo said with a smile: "Don't worry, the 10th Division will definitely take care of itself when the time comes." As he spoke, he looked at his watch, and the mechanical hands were clattering forward, already pointing to twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Time passed minute by minute, and soon it was afternoon. The 14th Division still looks like it is going to die. But Tohihara was already secretly gathering troops. Prepare to give the Chinese army that dares to come and take offense a head-on blow.

"Sano-kun, what do you say is the person who hasn't taken action? Could it be that we have already seen through our plans? Seeing that the fish was slow to take the bait, Tu Feiyuan also began to get irritable. In his opinion, this is only a small action. But it's about his face and reputation.

Tadayoshi Sano thought for a moment. "Our deployment is very thorough. It is unlikely that the people of China will find out. Could it be that they didn't have enough strength and took the initiative to give up? ”

After thinking about it, Tu Feiyuan felt that there was some truth. "It would be a pity if that was the case," said regretfully. ”

Sano Tadayoshi persuaded: "Your Excellency, don't worry, we have just set foot on the land of China, and there will be opportunities in the future." ”

Tu Feiyuan smiled and said, "Suoga, I hope they can live a little longer." ”

Rumble! As he spoke, a loud bang suddenly came from ahead. Before the Japanese soldiers could react, the overwhelming artillery fire quickly covered the entire ranks. The artillery fire had not yet stopped, and a loud charge had already sounded throughout the four fields. Immediately afterward, under the guidance of the fierce tiger and sheep flags, a large number of soldiers poured out from the horizon.

Sano Tadayoshi exclaimed: "Oh my God, the enemy is attacking, quickly protect His Excellency the commander of the division!" ”

Tu Feiyuan was shocked and angry, and struggled: "Leave me alone, quickly organize a counterattack." ”

At this time, the 14th Division appeared in front of the 97th Army in the form of a decoy. Tu Feiyuan was still too careless, although he gathered a lot of troops, but the main force still formed a long snake formation along the Longhai line. This formation is the easiest to split.

Of course, Tu Feiyuan was also forced to do this. If you increase the lateral width, the defensive surface will be larger, and the troops will become more dispersed and more easily divided and encircled......

"Brothers, kill me!" Li Dazhuang flew a command knife and shouted to lead the soldiers to charge.

Zhang Haiyan hurriedly grabbed him and said, "Remember the deployment of the military seat, don't just rush to a crowded place." ”

"I know the way!" Li Dazhuang impatiently pushed Zhang Haiyan away and quickly rushed to the enemy formation.

Zhang Haiyan had no choice but to let go of his hand, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This second stunned! ”

Zheng Weiguo's previous deployment was to divide first and then annihilate. It is necessary not only to separate the 14th Division from the 10th Division, but also to break up the various units of the 14th Division, so that they cannot take care of the end of the day.

In order to achieve this goal, Zhang Haiyan transferred four battalions as soon as possible, leaving only one first battalion in his hands. The commander of the first battalion watched the brother troops fighting in full swing, not to mention how itchy his heart was, and hurriedly ran over and said, "Brigade seat, when will our first battalion start?" ”

Zhang Haiyan said: "Don't worry, wait and see!" ”

Tu Feiyuan wanted to take the bait, but he didn't expect that it was a prehistoric giant crocodile that was eyeing him, not only to eat the bait, but also to eat him as a fisherman.

"Yaga, when did the Chinese army become so strong! Sano-kun, what are you doing in a daze, why don't you ask for reinforcements right away? Looking at the soldiers of the 97th Army rushing from all directions, Tu Feiyuan finally felt scared. He shouted in horror, and even "request for reinforcements" shouted without blushing, knowing that the Japanese army has always been called "tactical guidance".

Sano Tadayoshi was also panicked at this time, and hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, I have already sent a telegram asking for help to the army aviation, the commander of the Second Army, and the 10th Division. ”

Tu Feiyuan finally calmed down a little and said, "Yo Xi, well done!" However, reinforcements take time, so you command your troops to counterattack right away, and be sure to hold out until reinforcements arrive. ”

Tadayoshi Sano bowed his head and said, "Hai! ”

Under the command of Tadayoshi Sano, the Japanese army soon began to counterattack. Although they have been hungry for so long, they have been training for a long time and have kept them at a very good tactical level. After a fierce battle, they managed to recapture a large part of the position.

The biggest problem of the 97th Army is still in the control of the grassroots, and it is good to fight a good battle, but once it encounters a setback, it is not easy to recover. This is also a matter of no choice, expanding too fast will inevitably have such and such problems.

Zhang Haiyan also discovered the abnormality of this Japanese army, and scolded: "Grandma, this old devil still has a hand!" ”

The commander of the first battalion hurriedly asked for battle and said: "Brigade seat, let's go up, and promise to drive the devil back!" ”

Zhang Haiyan shook his head and said, "No, do you see that slope?" From there, you plug in and hit the gap behind the devil. ”

The commander of the first battalion thought that it would be enough to have a battle, and hurriedly said: "Yes, brigade seat." ”

Zhang Haiyan didn't realize that it was Tufeiyuan's headquarters at this time, he just wanted to force out the Japanese counterattack force, and then divide and encircle it again.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, it's not good, there is an army coming directly to our side." A staff officer rushed to the makeshift command post in Tohihara in a panic to report.

Tu Feiyuan was shocked and hurriedly ordered his direct troops to launch a counterattack. The combat effectiveness of the subordinate team is indeed good, but it arouses the ferocity of the soldiers of the first battalion. They, under the command of a battalion commander, launched an even more ferocious attack.

Sano Tadayoshi Dasa's face turned pale with fright, and said: "Your Excellency the division commander, you can't resist it, you turn east immediately, and I will stay here and hold on." ”

Tu Feiyuan didn't want to die, so he didn't pretend to be pretentious, and quickly fled with a team of guards. When the soldiers of the first battalion rushed into the command post, they found that a big fish had been released.

"What! Destroyed the command of the 14th Division? Okay, okay, did you catch the soil and fertilizer? What the! Ran away? If you run, don't chase it quickly! ”

The information was uploaded level by level, and even Chang Kaishen, who was far away in Wuhan, and the Japanese emperor who was far away in Tokyo, knew about it. Both sides of the enemy and the enemy urgently increased their forces and searched for a guy with a meaty face and a fat head and big ears.

Chief of Staff Zhou flipped through the reconnaissance of the various units and said, "Commander, as you expected, the 10th Division did not succeed in counterattacking in time. But tomorrow morning, we may not know. At that time, maybe the Fifth Division will also come to reinforce it. ”

The biggest problem facing the 10th Division is logistics, and the food consumed by tens of thousands of men and horses every day is extremely terrifying. In addition, the lack of ammunition forced them to act cautiously.

The most nonsense was the Fifth Division, they had already arrived in Shangqiu, but after the Tenth Division successfully broke through, they were ordered to return to Xuzhou. If they rushed to Lanfeng, the 97th Army would not dare to be so arrogant.

Zheng Weiguo nodded, and asked again: "Is there any news from the front line, hasn't Tu Feiyuan been caught yet?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou sighed and said, "Alas, this old devil is so slippery, we have interrogated many prisoners and have not found his whereabouts. ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "If you can't find it, forget it, anyway, we've earned enough." "After fierce fighting in the afternoon, the remnants of the 14th Division have been completely defeated.

According to the estimation of Instructor John, who came to observe the battlefield, at least 4,000 Japanese soldiers were killed or captured on the spot, and the remaining 1,000 or 2,000 managed to escape, but all of them were stragglers and lost organized resistance.

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled: "Yes, this is probably the biggest defeat of the Japanese army since the start of the war." ”

As he was talking, there was a sudden commotion outside the door, and someone cheered: "Capture the soil and fertilizer alive, come and see, capture the soil and fertilizer alive!" ”

Zheng Weiguo and Chief of Staff Zhou glanced at each other, both surprised and delighted. Zheng Weiguo hurriedly said to the pillar: "Go and see what's going on!" (To be continued......)