The day after the 4th Division was deployed, Qiao Youhua, Zuo Quan and others also led the four ace units directly under the column, the tank armored brigade, the heavy artillery brigade, the air defense brigade, and the guard regiment, and embarked on the journey.

As for the various military supplies needed by these combat units, as early as the past six months or so, Guo Meng's logistics office has been continuously transporting and hoarding them to Cangzhou, Baoding, Suning, Hejian and other places on the front line.

It can be said that not counting the military supplies carried by the combat units themselves, the various materials hoarded on the front line are at least enough for the consumption of the main army of more than 100,000 for half a month.

Of course, after Qiao Youhua and them all opened, Guo Meng and others also commanded the personnel of the logistics department to organize militias from all over the base area, and the people mobilized one after another, and they all worked together to continuously deliver various military supplies for the front-line troops.

By September 1, 1940, the fighters in the base area of the Dragon's Tooth Column were in full operation.

Needless to say, the popularity of the Dragon's Tooth Column in its anti-Japanese base areas was that the common people were all enthusiastic when they learned that the army was about to go north to recover Pingjin and other vast lost territories.

When the army went north, the local people sent off the soldiers to the north one by one.

The soldiers felt great support and encouragement, and their morale was greatly boosted.

Qiao Youhua and Zuo Quan sat in a jeep, looking at the fathers and villagers in the base area on both sides of the road, and said with emotion: "Since ancient times, those who have won the hearts of the people have won the world, and the Japanese devils are brutal and unkind, and they vainly try to conquer our country by force, which is really stupid!" With the strong support of 40,000 fathers and villagers, we have the most powerful backing!

The officers and men of the three armies are all encouraged, and their morale is like a rainbow. ”

Zuo Quan nodded and said: "The relationship between the army and the people is fish and water, and if we get the support of the people, it is equivalent to being like a fish in water, but Youhua, this Northern Expedition to Pingjin, we must not be careless, you and I both know the importance of Pingjin, and the Japanese army will naturally not know it, so we will never give up this most important strategic place in North China lightly." Therefore, this battle must be a vicious battle! ”

"Well, I naturally understand this, but the battle has not started yet, and we should also be full of confidence to face it." Qiao Youhua said with a smile.

…………

Ten days later, the 4th Division, all the units directly under the column, have all arrived at the front line, Qiao Youhua and Zuo Quan temporarily set up the headquarters in Suning County, the column directly under the troops, air defense brigade, heavy artillery brigade stationed in Hejian County, tank armored brigade guard regiment with the command headquarters stationed in Suning.

When the appointed dispatch time arrived, the first, second, and fourth divisions of the first division, the second division, and the fourth division, immediately dispatched one after another.

The first to engage the Japanese army were Jiang Haidong's 1st Division Tank Regiment and 1st Division 1st Corps, which set out from Baoding and marched fully mechanized, so they quickly rushed to the outside of Xushui County.

At this time, Xushui County, after the last time it was captured by the first division of Longya, the Japanese army reoccupied it, but because it was too close to Baoding, the important place where the Longya column was heavily stationed.

On the devil's side, they basically gave up the defense here, and only sent a small number of devil scouts and puppet army to symbolically garrison and control zhì, mainly as a forward guard.

When Li Xiangtian, commander of the tank regiment of the 1st Division, led 50 tanks and an infantry battalion of the whole regiment to the outside of Xushui City, the Japanese puppet army in the city immediately gave up resistance and retreated from the north gate all the way to Dingxing.

Li Xiangtian ordered the first battalion of the first regiment to capture Xushui County, waited for the arrival of the main force of the division, and personally led the tank regiment to chase and kill the fleeing Japanese puppet army.

At the same time that the first division regained Xushui County without blood, the forward troops of the Fourth Division finally arrived at Renqiu, which was similar to the situation in Xushui County, and the Japanese puppet army did not deploy much garrison force in Renqiu.

After a symbolic resistance, the defenders fled north in a hurry and retreated in the direction of Bazhou.

The Fourth Division also took Renqiu along the way, and at the same time, the other main forces of the two divisions also advanced rapidly.

After capturing Renqiu and Xushui counties, Jiang Haidong, Li Yunlong and others immediately ordered the whole division to speed up the march, and formed a mechanized pursuit forward with a tank regiment supplemented by some infantry, and closely pursued the defeated Japanese army all the way north.

Beiping City, the headquarters of the North China Front of the Japanese invasion of China.

"Your Excellency General, according to the exact news from the front line, the Longya Column of the Chinese Army suddenly launched an attack on the area of Xushui and Renqiu where the imperial army was stationed, and has now captured these two frontier counties, and the troops are approaching Bazhou and Zhuozhou!" When the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Mamoru Iizawa, received the news, he immediately reported to Commander Tada.

Tada Jun was always on guard against the dragon's tooth column heading north, so he was not flustered when he heard this, and immediately ordered: "Order the aviation to immediately send reconnaissance planes to reconnoiter the movement of the Chinese army, and at the same time order the garrison troops of Bazhou and Zhuozhou to immediately enter the combat state, and be ready to meet the Chinese army at any time!" ”

The reason why we are not panicking is that in addition to the huge reinforcements of the Kwantung Army, the homeland and the navy as the backing, in the past six months, the Japanese army of the North China Front has built a permanent fortification from Zhuozhou in the west to Tianjin's Nanjing Sea in the east through Bazhou.

In addition, 80,000 troops (40,000 Japanese troops, 40,000 imperial allegorical troops) were deployed at the important communication arteries on the defense line of Bazhou and Zhuozhou and Jinghai, and there was a second line of defense in the suburbs of Beiping and Tianjin, consisting of 60,000 Japanese troops and 100,000 puppet troops.

There were still 60,000 puppet troops and more than 30,000 Japanese troops, military police, and agents in Beiping and Tianjin.

20,000 cavalry were in the city of Beiping.

Originally, the North China Front still had more than 100 fighters and bombers left, but now it has been supported by 100 fighters from the base camp, so that the number of fighters has soared to more than 200, and the strength of the air force has greatly increased.

The airspace from Baoding, Cangzhou to Tianjin, and Beiping is within the absolute combat radius of all Japanese fighters, which means that Japanese fighters can provide air support for ground forces as much as possible.

In addition to this, there are more than 200 sea-based carrier-based fighters of the 1st and 3rd fleets of the Navy, and it can be said that the air power now possessed by the North China Front is unprecedentedly powerful.

Coupled with the strong fortifications, Tada Jun is confident that he will be able to block the attack of the Dragon's Tooth Column, and as long as he holds on for a month, the newly formed army of 150,000 on the ground will be able to rush to participate in the battle, and when the time comes, with the support of the Army Aviation, Marine Corps, and Aviation, he will be able to turn defense into offense, launch a counterattack against the Dragon's Tooth Column, defeat them in one fell swoop, and recapture the vast area of Hebei.