Chapter 524: The Fall of Anyang

The troops in the front, what do they want, the two division commanders who are bent on making a fortune, are unhappy with this kind of thing that costs money and effort, and they have no benefit at all, and those officers who have not yet lost the conscience of the Chinese, know the responsibilities of soldiers, and are assigned to the front, can only order the soldiers to take materials on the spot, barely build a few fortifications, staring at the biting cold wind, looking at the water of the Zhanghe River, and even asking for a few more artillery pieces on the front, the division commander did not agree, the officers were cold, and the hearts of the soldiers were scattered.

On 5 November, the war in North China broke out again, and the faint rumbling sound of artillery frightened Tang Enbo, the two close division commanders, and hurriedly asked the corps commander to immediately adjust the defense, Tang Enbo was really interesting, and hurriedly transferred the two divisions to the south bank of the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, and the war was fought for a while.

These two division commanders regretted it again, reluctant to Anyang's piece of fat, and asked to adjust Anyang again, Tang Enbo's heart was like a mirror, knowing that these two people were cautious, there was no way, and they usually did not eat less of their filial piety, besides, these two division commanders were very loyal to themselves, and it was not good to hurt their feelings, just like that, after more than ten days of fighting in North China, these two divisions were transferred back to Anyang.

After such a toss back and forth, a discerning person can see the mystery, but Tang Enbo has a good idea of the command ability of these two money-making experts, and the combat effectiveness of the troops, once the fight starts, these two people will definitely not be able to parry, and they will deploy the strength of two divisions behind Anyang, and deploy the 61st and 67th divisions of his cronies' troops, and the 130th Division, which has the strongest combat effectiveness and the most capable of fighting, in the Xinxiang defense line as a barrier for Zhengzhou.

This 130th Division, in the Eighth Army, is well-known for being able to recruit and fight, the division commander Cao Guangtu is very commanding, upright, graduated from the Baoding Military Academy in his early years, is a typical professional soldier, and the troops are also well-trained, but he does not recruit Tang Enbo to be proud, if it is not for the 130th Division at a critical time, desperate for himself, Cao Guangtu's position as division commander has long been taken by Tang Enbo, replaced by his own henchmen, and the 130th Division is sandwiched in the middle with two cronies, implying the intention of surveillance.

Cao Guangtu also understood in his heart that as soon as he arrived in Xinxiang, he would pay close attention to the reorganization of the army and build fortifications, he was an old man of the Eighth Army, and he knew what kind of goods the corps commander placed in Anyang, and the two lines of defense in front of him, only the 53rd Division of Hebi could fight to the death with the Japanese army, and the division commander Liu Zhaoyu had been friends with him for many years, and he was also not happy with the corps commander Tang Enbo.

Cao Guangtu was busy preparing for war in Xinxiang, counting the days with fear, he judged with the intuition of a soldier that the whole of North China was full of fireworks, and Henan was so calm, which was abnormal in itself, but the Eighth Army Corps, the money was made of money, the pleasure of pleasure, a leisurely scene, the commander of the corps, Tang Enbo, did not take the order of Tang Qiuli, the commander-in-chief of the theater, seriously, and if it went on like this, once there was a war in Henan, the situation would be worrying.

He grabbed the phone, wanted to get through the 53rd Division, and his friend Liu Zhaoyu poured out his worries, Liu Zhaoyu's opinion was the same as him, but the two of them were in the Eighth Army Corps, both of them belonged to the marginalized generals, if it weren't for the combat effectiveness of the troops, they would have been driven home by the corps commander Tang Enbo, the two made an appointment, if the Japanese army really entered Henan, even if there was the last soldier left, they would have to fight to the death, and the development of the war situation was really unfortunate for him, Zairen and Xiangyue Qingji chose Anyang to do it, Cao Guangtu and Liu Zhaoyu, He also fulfilled his promise.

At midnight on 13 December, the Japanese army Masato Koyama Masao's special task force, which had infiltrated Anyang, took advantage of the cover of night to divide its troops into two routes, and quietly lurked at four key points in Anyang City all the way, and when the main force of the Japanese army began to cross the river, they immediately captured the city gate and opened a passage for the main force to attack Anyang.

One route was led by Xiaoshan himself, along the embankment, to the direction of the Zhanghe wharf, it should have been a day on the moon, but it was blocked by thick dark clouds, the night became darker and more dull, in the distance, I saw a sentry shed, standing alone on the shore, there were two faint fires, and there was a high and low voice.

Xiaoshan waved his hand, and the members of the Japanese Special Task Force immediately leaned on the dark place by the river embankment with agility, like poisonous snakes, peeking at the front, the Japanese soldiers who knew Chinese roughly understood the content of what was being said in front, it was two soldiers of the Central Army, standing guard at night, idle and bored, chatting hotly there.

"Brother Li, it's very cold this day, and in more than ten days, the Zhanghe River should be closed, right?" "No, at this time in previous years, I have long seen the ice ballast, and I don't know what to do this year" replied to this Brother Li, it seems that he is a local, and he doesn't know why he entered the troops of the Central Army.

"Alas, the company commander and platoon commander and a few squad leaders, in a warm room, after drinking soju, Zhengmei slept a lot, and sent our brothers here to be frozen, it's really unreasonable" "Reasonable, do you have the money to honor these officials?" Those who can lie on the hot kang and don't have to stand guard at night are the ones who can make money, our brothers, there is no such blessing" After speaking, he let out a long sigh.

The two soldiers of the Central Army standing guard were whining, cursing the officials, smoking head-to-head, as if a tiny fire could bring them a trace of warmth, but they didn't feel it at all, a group of Japanese soldiers were staring at them viciously, and their time in this world had entered the countdown.

Suddenly, there was a cold wind in front of their necks, and the severe pain instantly drowned their consciousness, and when they were dying, the last thing they saw was a bright dagger, pulled out of their necks, and their ears seemed to hear the subtle sound of the blood rushing of their carotid arteries, and one by one black shadows, like raccoon cats, entered the dock, and the color of life disappeared from the eyes of the two soldiers of the Central Army.

The Japanese soldiers touched into the station of a company of the Central Army, except for the two sentries at the door, there was not a single sentry in the huge barracks, it was pitch black, and they all slept peacefully, bursts of snoring came from the house, and occasionally there was the murmur of dreams, which was their last words in the world, and the Japanese soldiers coldly pulled out the dagger they carried with them, and touched them separately into each room.

The dull sound of the blade entering the body, mixed with a low scream, this is the painful groan of letting the quilt cover the head, and then being assassinated, the heavy smell of blood, wafted throughout the barracks, when the Japanese soldiers came out with bloody daggers, everyone's body and face were covered with blood, like a demon from hell, but they all looked excited, and boasted in a low voice in Japanese that they had slaughtered a few pigs.

A company of soldiers of the Central Army, more than 150 living lives, was slaughtered by the Japanese army in this way, the wharf completely fell into the hands of Koyama, more than 100 wooden boats of different sizes, so that Koyama thought that Amaterasu and His Majesty the Emperor Xià apparitions, especially favored him, there were four small steamers, and several barges were towed.

On the north bank of the Zhanghe River, Katayama was anxiously waiting, behind him was a large group of officers, and then behind were tens of thousands of heavily armed Japanese soldiers, tens of thousands of people gathered by the river, without even a sound, revealing a tense atmosphere, Katayama looked at the watch on his wrist from time to time, the hour hand was gradually moving towards the specified time, close to the sound of ticking, it seemed to be a heavy hammer, and the sound was beating his nervous and anxious heart.

Katayama had great confidence in Xiaoshan's raid, but there was no sound on the other side of the river, which made his confidence a little shaken, how could a squadron of more than 200 soldiers go over, how can it be so quiet, could it be that Xiaoshan They fell into the trap of the Chinese army and were wiped out?

Katayama waited anxiously, almost crazy, all his hopes were in this operation, a motor sound, coming from the river, Katayama's spirits lifted, and he walked quickly to the shore, Koyama Masao was full of victory pride, and reported loudly to Katayama: "Report to Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, Koyama Special Task Force has fulfilled its mission and completed its mission"

Katayama Hirono said excitedly, "I want Xixiaoshanjun to capture Anyang, you have made the first contribution, this classic battle example can be promoted in the whole dispatch army, you have worked hard, let's rest" Xiaoshan straightened his chest, "Your Excellency the brigade commander, my subordinates are still on the other side, how can Xiaoshan slack off, I implore Your Excellency for approval, Xiaoshan followed the first batch of river-crossing troops and entered Anyang"

Katayama really appreciated this adventurous guy this time, this is the real imperial warrior, he glanced at the original captain of Xiaoshan, and ordered: "Your brigade, the first to cross the river, you have to accept Xiaoshan-kun's orders, understand?" In the last sentence, Katayama had a vicious tone, full of coercion, this captain had been slapped and scolded by His Excellency the brigade commander.

It was this stupid pig who almost buried a talent and delayed a big event, but it turned out that it was my own discernment, and Masao Koyama did not disgrace his mission, so that he had the current favorable situation, he didn't even look back, and ordered loudly: "Boarding" The Japanese soldiers boarded the ferry in a group according to the sequence, and soon, more than 100 boats of all sizes were stuffed to board, and the Japanese soldiers who crossed the river first were two fully manned brigades, nearly 4,000 people.

The four small steamers, under the construction of Xiaoshan, were loaded with eight tanks and two squadrons of artillery, Xiaoshan's idea was that the use of tanks as an assault force would increase the deterrence of the imperial army and cause greater panic to the Chinese troops in Anyang City.

Two brigades of Japanese soldiers, along the south bank of the Zhanghe River, sleeping in Anyang City, did not know that there was already a group of wolves to the side, the battle started suddenly, a soldier of the Central Army in the front line, got up a little relief, inadvertently looked up, saw the dawn of the twilight, the Japanese soldiers swarmed, instantly petrified, to react, did not even mention the pants, turned around and ran back, with a terrible movement shouted: "Oh no, the Japanese have come in"

A few gunshots, his shouting stopped abruptly, and he fell to the ground, and when the soldiers of the Central Army who heard the gunshots woke up from sleep, the Japanese had arrived in front of them, flashing cold bayonets, like poisonous snakes into their chests, with the sound of gunshots, Anyang City was agitated, and the gunshots rang out in the night sky.

This ancient city, facing an imposed war, is it fate or man-made?

(To be continued)