Chapter 688: Leading the Nose

Tang Qiuli, who was far away at the Wubao ferry on the bank of the Yellow River in Shaanxi, did not know what happened in the city of Nanjing, and all his thoughts were on Okamura Ningci, and his strategy of "showing it tangible" really made Okamura Ningci react, and the intelligence personnel lurking in Taiyuan City sent information that the Japanese occupation army in Shanxi was gathering troops in Taiyuan.

Okamura Ningji couldn't help but be anxious, he analyzed, Tang Qiuli had already judged the direction of his next attack, realized the emptiness of the Yellow River defense line, the first step was to pull the civilian armed forces up to save the emergency, the next step, is to mobilize regular troops, strengthen the Yellow River defense line, he mobilized forces with great fanfare, it also shows that he is bluffing, the army is empty, this is a good opportunity, if according to the original plan, wait for the Kwantung Army to enter Shanxi, and then take action, Tang Qiuli will be deployed.

Losing such a great opportunity, Okamura Ninji will not forgive himself for the rest of his life, and when Tang Qiuli is deployed, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the next battle, he decided not to wait for the arrival of the Kwantung Army troops, while gathering troops to Taiyuan, and on the other hand, sending telegrams to the southbound troops of the Kwantung Army, urging them to speed up the pace of entering Shanxi.

Lieutenant General Gangmura Frame, commander of the southward unit of the Kwantung Army, knew that although the troops of the independent division were no longer tough and did not give an inch, his troops were also exhausted, and their steps were difficult, and they could not advance more than ten kilometers a day.

Okamura Ningji made a move, Tang Qiuli naturally took corresponding countermeasures, he telegraphed Tang Qiusheng, Sulu Mobile Corps, continue to delay the southward advance of the Kwantung Army, to ensure that during the Yellow River defense battle, not from the interference of other Japanese troops, at the end of May, Okamura Ningji finally assembled troops, this time, he spared no expense, the most elite eighth, eleventh, and twenty-second divisions, Katayama Brigade, Nishino Brigade, Takashima Chariot Wing, Ichi Chariot Wing and other troops, a total of 100,000 people, to form the Shaanxi occupation army, Liulin and Fenglingdu were selected as the breakthrough points to break through the Yellow River defense line in one fell swoop and occupy the strategic rear of the independent division.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to give up the pursuit of the remnants of Yan Xishan, give up the plan to march into the northwest of Shanxi, and stop the large-scale expansion of the occupation area, after the loss of Zhangjiakou, he also understood the situation he was facing, and it was no longer necessary to march into the northwest of Shanxi.

Although he can't be sure, Okamura Ninji still felt this by virtue of his fox-like cunning, so it was his best choice to capture Shaanxi and get rid of the unfavorable situation, and it was his biggest regret that the southbound troops of the Kwantung Army could not enter Shanxi in time, open up the connection between Shanxi and Pingjin, and relieve him of his worries.

After Tang Qiuli learned the news of Okamura Ningci's gathering of heavy troops, he once again adjusted the battle plan and ordered the entire special operations detachment, led by detachment leader Tang Qiuquan, to immediately enter Shanxi, and the combat target was the Japanese strongholds and small units scattered in various places, mainly to kill and injure a large number of Japanese troops, and the Changfeng Taihang Mountain Field Corps, with the strength of four brigades, covertly advanced to the west and south of Jin, preparing to cut off the retreat of the Japanese army in the Yellow River defense line attacked by Okamura Ningci.

He was prepared to eat the 100,000 Japanese troops along the Yellow River, and the situation in Shanxi would be much more favorable, and the Japanese troops who started from Taiyuan and attacked the Wubao ferry would inevitably pass through the Luliang Mountains, and of course they could not be allowed to walk comfortably, so they could not be allowed to walk comfortably, and some elite troops were drawn from the river defense troops, and the company was used as a unit to cross the Yellow River and enter the Luliang Mountains, harassing the Japanese troops along the way, striking at their transportation and supply lines, and exhausting the Japanese troops.

On the afternoon of the day the order was issued, Sun Zhenbang's troops were busy preparing for this, and General Jiang Baili, commander of the cadet brigade of the Dingbian Military Academy, unexpectedly came to the door and submitted a report on the request for war, and the cadet brigade asked to participate in this operation deep behind enemy lines.

The reason is very sufficient, this is a rare opportunity to exercise, can test the learning results of the students, Tang Qiuli politely refused, the reason is also very good on the table, this group of students, is the future grassroots commanders of all units of the independent division, if they carry out such a dangerous task, it is irresponsible to the carefully cultivated talents.

To tell the truth, these trainees are Tang Qiuli's baby bumps, he is reluctant to let these future officers take risks, go deep behind enemy lines, disperse actions, each company is in a state of lonely combat, any unexpected situation may happen, the whole army is wiped out, how many people can come back, no one can say, you can't eat tomorrow's seed food for today's famine.

General Jiang Baili's attitude was very resolute, officers who had never been on the battlefield and had heard the sound of guns and artillery were not up to the responsibility of a grassroots commander, and sooner or later they would have to go through this process, as if they had expected Tang Qiu's resignation and refusal, and had already made preparations and came up with a plan, that the cadet brigade would not form a separate combat company, but would be organized at the platoon level, dispersed to various companies, and accepted the command of the field troops.

Tang Qiuli was embarrassed, he admitted that what General Jiang Baili said was reasonable, but he couldn't rest assured, he was hesitating, there was a neat and loud password sound outside, and he walked out of the tent, he was stunned, the cadets of the Dingbian Military Academy, lined up in a neat queue, fully armed, the star officer gave a command, a forest of arms in front of him, thousands of pairs of eyes stared at him, the eyes were eager and expectant light, and there was an indescribable meaning that the newborn calf was not afraid of the tiger, he understood, this was a collective invitation to fight, but the way was a little different, The corners of General Jiang Baili's mouth hung with a satisfied smile.

Jiang Baili left satisfied, Tang Qiuli looked at the list of combatants, Meiling was impressively listed, and also held the position of platoon commander, the night was low, with the breath of loess in the spring breeze, hundreds of small boats, taking advantage of the night, quietly crossed the Yellow River eastward, carrying more than 5,000 soldiers from more than 20 mixed companies.

The Yellow River in the night, the waves are gone, only countless small black dots are faintly seen, bumped in the soft whistling of the yellow water, until it can no longer be seen, Tang Qiuli turned around abruptly, Mei Ting and Mei Xue's beautiful faces, with a hint of melancholy, he knew why, just before the troops set off, he specially called Meiling to the division headquarters, carefully explained a qiē, and gave Mei Ling the Colt pistol that had been following him to fight, this qiē, he did not tell the Mei sisters.

Before the soldiers set out for the battle, the tears when they said goodbye were too sad, he didn't want his beloved woman to have any shadow in his heart, in fact, the worries and worries in his heart were no less than the sisters, but Mei Ting and Mei Xue still appeared in the crowd of people seeing them off, stronger than he imagined, the bumpy boat, Mei Ling looked back at the other side, there was no light, but he clearly felt that the eyes of his brother-in-law and two sisters burned his heart.

Brother-in-law's encouragement, sister's worry, Meiling's nose was sour, she touched the pistol on her waist, stared at the other side with wide eyes, everywhere was a dark and dreary night, the darkness on the other side was even thicker, and the hazy mountains seemed to be a group of crouching beasts, ready to devour a qiē at any time, the hull trembled slightly, touched the land, and had reached the opposite shore.

Meiling's heart was nervous, excited, nervous, longing and fear of the unknown world, this nineteen-year-old boy, for the first time knew the taste of trembling all over his body, the company commander's whispered order, it sounded so far away, there was an unreal feeling, following his comrades to jump off the boat, the river was knee-long, cold and biting, with the chill of spring, Meiling's mind suddenly sobered up, he remembered his position, and was busy following the pre-specified signals, contacting his comrades-in-arms, counting the number of people, and then, dozens of companies, according to the battle plan, Shooting in different directions like arrows, Meiling took a deep breath, led his troops, and threw himself into the unknown darkness, and the boat returned, and all of them regained their calm.

The troops that went deep into the Luliang Mountains were advancing against the Japanese army, and Okamura Ningji did not know that there were already more than 5,000 soldiers of the independent division who had entered Shanxi, and he gave only one word to the troops attacking the Wubao ferry, "fast" to grab time, and Tang Qiuli to grab time, Wubao was his key offensive area, and it was best to drive directly to the border, and it was best to attract Tang Qiuli's main garrison troops to this direction, so as to attack the troops of Fenglingdu and create conditions for the assault on Xi'an.

Okamura Ninji in the direction of Wubao Ferry, invested 60,000 troops, three field artillery wings, and personally served as the commander, in the Luliang Mountains, was subjected to continuous harassment and attacks by the Chinese army, Okamura Ninji learned the lessons in the Taihang Mountains, did not entangle with a small group of enemies at all, and in the event of an attack, immediately sent a force slightly more than the enemy, to carry out a close pursuit of encirclement and suppression, the brigade did not make the slightest pause.

But this kind of attack is too frequent, every few kilometers forward, you will eat bullets, damn the mountains of China, everywhere is suitable for ambushes, the despicable China coward, will only hide and secretly shoot the work of the gun, almost all the Japanese commanders are thunderous, are cursing viciously, this kind of uninterrupted small-scale harassment, so that the Japanese commanders who are accustomed to the main decisive battle are very uncomfortable, and the anger of not finding the opponent almost burns their nerves.

Only Okamura Ningji maintained a peaceful attitude, a similar situation, in the Taihang Mountains have been taught, Tang Qiuli can't play any new tricks, he did this, nothing more than to delay the advance of the imperial army, for his own mobilization of troops to buy time for the fact that he garrisoned the Yellow River and found that the army was empty, there is an idiom in China that says well, "want to cover up." ”

Along the way, a lot of corpses and soldiers with missing arms and legs were left behind, and three days later, Okamura Ninji finally saw the endless Yellow River, the wheat-like rapids, rolling thin waves, and whirlpooling eastward.

(To be continued)