Coming out of Major General Hagiwara's brigade headquarters, Chief of Staff Kawabe Osa went straight to the Bunjo Railway Station.

In addition to the heavily armed Japanese soldiers standing guard and patrolling, there are also a large number of personnel of the plainclothes squad and the detective team of the secret service organs, lurking among the passengers and passers-by, staring at the vigilant eyes and looking for suspicious signs. Masao Kojima, the head of the secret service in charge of public security in Bunjo, is also underway in the process of organizing a large-scale manhunt against anti-Japanese elements.

When the three three-wheeled military motorcycles ridden by Riverside Dazuo and others roared into the tense square in front of the station, they stirred up a miasma of smoke left and right, and the pedestrians on both sides panicked and couldn't dodge. Jumping out of the sidecar of the motorcycle, Osa only glanced coldly at the crowd of people who were disturbed by him, and then got headlong into the train station, and several of his retinue followed closely behind the buttocks, and then the group appeared on the station platform, and then jumped on the railroad tracks, across the parallel Tongpu railway and road, and not far in front of it, a newly built temporary barracks, the main force of the Hagiwara Brigade Saijo Wing, had just entered here.

Wing Commander Shigehei Saijo, when he learned that the chief of staff was coming again, hurriedly came out on crutches and accompanied by two soldiers. Seeing this scene from a distance of more than ten meters, Dazuo waved his hand vigorously and motioned for the other party to return to the tent.

Kawabe himself still admires Wing Captain Saijo - especially Kosuke Otsuka, the other wing commander of the brigade, who prefers the subordinate in front of him who is on crutches and is likely to be lame and disabled. Shigehei Saijo was in his early forties, born in Lu University, and when he was stationed in North Korea with the famous division of Se, he was already a wing captain with the rank of Daisa.

In the eyes of the chief of staff of Kawabe, who is also Osa, Shigehei Saijo is extremely strategic and good at commanding operations, and is not as brave and resourceless as Kosuke Otsuka - the latter is just a reckless man who broke out overnight with the help of the Battle of Niangzi Pass!

They entered the wide military tent of the captain of the Saijo wing, and with the warmth of the charcoal brazier, Osa Riverside re-conveyed the latest decree of the brigade commander, Major General: The battle to attack Mt. Kanmon must be fought within two days! There is no room for manoeuvre.

Shigehei Saijo listened carefully, and nodded solemnly, expressing full understanding. This made the chief of staff particularly moved - this is also one of the advantages of his appreciation of the other party, knowing how to obey and know the general situation; If this matter is changed to the big mound in Fengdian County, I am afraid that I will be full of complaints again.

"Saijo-kun, thank you for your hard work! Thank you for your understanding, you can first organize a brigade-sized expedition to ensure that you arrive at the foot of Guanmen Mountain at noon the day after tomorrow, and launch a partial offensive of the Eighth Route Army against Xiping Village; Hebe Dazuo said with guilt: "As long as you make sure that the time after tomorrow can start, the brigade commander will be able to explain." ”

"Chief of Staff, my 1st Infantry Brigade guarantees to launch an attack within the specified time!" Shigehei Saijo swore and roared, "However, my possession of heavy weapons is insufficient, and my ability to attack fortifications will be limited because of this. ”

The chief of staff of the riverside decisively ordered Saijo to concentrate the heavy weapons of the entire wing and deliver them all to the 1st Infantry Brigade that was about to go out, giving priority to ensuring the firepower allocation for the attack on Xiping Village: "You can rest assured, as long as one of your brigades takes the lead in the direction of Guanmen Mountain, I will try to delay the time for your second brigade to attack Great Elm Mountain; Therefore, in terms of heavy weapons, you will not be stretched thin - two independent mountain artillery squadrons reinforced from Taiyuan, as well as mortars, heavy machine guns and other equipment, are being loaded, and they will arrive in Wencheng in a few days, and they will all be replenished to your wing at that time! ”

Shigehei Saijo couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Thank you to the chief of staff and the brigade commander for their love!" Saijo himself will personally lead the first brigade to the battle! ”

Hearing what the other party said, Kawabe Osa subconsciously glanced at his left leg, and had the intention of letting him stay in the camp temporarily to recuperate from his injuries, and appointed the deputy wing captain to lead the team, but also thought that this attack was actually part of the nine-way encirclement battle plan, not only did the commander of the Sena Division have high hopes, but I am afraid that the commander of the First Army, Lieutenant General Kazuki himself, is also paying attention, and he is really careless!

"Okay, Saijo-kun, it's rare that you're so loyal! You also know that the other three divisions of the First Army have already invaded the hinterland of Taihang Mountain, and the so-called Nine Roads Encirclement is on our side! I will no longer be polite to you, so I will ask Saijo-kun to take the wounded into battle, and in the future, I and the brigade commander Major General will ask Lieutenant General Sena for credit for you! ”

Next, the two of them sat down at the table again and had a special discussion on the offensive that would be launched the day after tomorrow. The chief of staff of the riverside once commanded an infantry brigade to attack Xiping Village at night, so he explained the topography of that area, the pattern of the Eighth Route Army's defense at that time, and the combat style of the Eighth Route Army to his wing commanders one by one, and the captains of the first brigade of the Xijo Wing and the captains of various squadrons were also called to observe.

In the evening, all the relevant deployments were in place, and the 1st Infantry Brigade began intense targeted preparations, which finally relieved the brigade chief of staff. Shigehei Saijo wasted no time in setting up a small table in the barracks for a sumptuous banquet and invited his chief of staff to have a few drinks.

With wine and food, the two Japanese soldiers chatted casually about the current situation in Shanxi.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Saijo Wing, the wing commander told the chief of staff about the operation in the southwest of Shanxi, and he called it a mountain nightmare: the Sena Division was a horse-pulling division (author's note: that is, a Japanese division that was good at fighting on the plains), and the infantry wing under his command suddenly went deep into the steep and heavy Luliang Mountain area in the southwest of Shanxi Province to fight, which seemed extremely uncomfortable; What's more, it is still under the command of the commander of the friendly army. In the face of the morale of Yan Xishan's soldiers who defended their homeland, the imperial army encountered the intensity of resistance there, which was not lost in the Battle of Niangziguan last year.

Now that the old words are heard again, the riverside Dazuo is still a sigh. Subsequently, he told Shigehei Saijo that the Otsuka Wing had not had a good time in the past two months, and that the Shina Army in the area of Mt. Elm and Sekimen Mountain had repeatedly coveted the county seat of Toyodian, and the county town had changed hands several times between the two armies of the enemy and ours, and that the first captain of the first brigade under Kosuke Otsuka, Fukutaoka Shaosa, had even been killed in battle, and Otsuka himself had been personally leading the brigade to retreat in the city, trembling and walking on thin ice.

Hearing this, Shigehei Saijo, who was also the captain of the wing, suddenly moved in his heart, pinched the wine cup and asked:

"Chief of Staff, what is the Otsuka Wing doing when he sends an entire infantry brigade to guard that hellish place in Fengdian? If I look at it on the map, it is far away from Tongpu Road and Zhengtai Road, and is surrounded by Big and Small Elm Mountains and Guanmen Mountain on three sides, so it is completely a dead place, what important strategic value can it have? ”

Kawabe Osa held the chopsticks to a plate of dishes, suddenly stopped in the air, through the gap between the two chopsticks, he glanced at the other party keenly, pondered for a while, and then replied quietly: "Perhaps, the brigade headquarters wants to make a strategic support along the railway line and outward." ”

Unexpectedly, his ambiguous answer aroused the suspicion of the captain of Saijo United: "Perhaps? You just used the word 'maybe', isn't that what you meant? As the chief of staff of the brigade and regiment headquarters, how can he not be sure of such an important deployment of troops? ”

Kawabe Osa was surprised by the other party's reaction and wisdom—which was also an important reason why he admired the co-captain—and at the same time secretly complained in his heart: whether the Otsuka Wing occupied Togadian or defended Little Elm Mountain, it was all for the top-secret "wind plan" of forcibly recruiting comfort women! And these inside stories must not be revealed to Shigehei Saijo.

"Well...... Belch...... If it's possible in the future, I'll talk to you again when I find time, and you'd better not ask too much for now. ”

After saying this, Kawabe Osa secretly held grievances in his heart for the injured wing captain in front of him——— how can Kosuke Otsuka, that bastard, guard the comfort women camp safely?

Shigehei Saijo was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that the chief of staff should have something unspeakable, and immediately changed the topic in acknowledgment. But this big question has taken root in his mind since then - what kind of reputation is that vulgar guy in Otsuka, nesting in Fengdian County?

While the chief of staff and the wing commander of the Hagiwara Brigade were hiding in the makeshift barracks eating and drinking, someone was secretly looking at them on the platform of the Bunjo Railway Station across the railway road.

He was a member of the enemy engineering team of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, who worked as a laborer in the south freight yard of the railway station during the day and sold cigarettes inside and outside the station at night with a wooden box around his neck.

At this moment, there was a man who was patronizing his business, and the hands of the young patron were picking through the wooden boxes, but his eyes were looking at the temporary barracks of the Japanese army on the other side of the railway.

"Are you sure they're all coming from the south?"

The young patron lowered his voice and asked, he was actually the top boss of this "cigarette vendor": Xiao Junping, the captain of the enemy engineering team of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army. Because of the report of the subordinates who were doing eyeliner in the freight yard of the railway station, a large Japanese camp was suddenly built on the outskirts of the city opposite the station, and Xiao Junping personally chose this dusk to sneak to the platform to observe.

"Absolutely," replied the enemy squad, in the same low voice, "there are military trains with trains, and there are large trucks carrying troops, all coming from the south along the railroads and highways. ”

In the twilight, the large camp was already lit up, and it looked quite spectacular. The captain of the enemy engineer estimated that there were at least more than a thousand troops! - Where did these devils come from? Linfen, or Yuncheng further afield? What is the purpose of being here?

Xiao Junping pondered nervously. The subordinates who sold cigarettes told him that the camp where the devils arrived was very tightly guarded, and the idlers could not get close to it, so it was difficult to figure out the number of their troops.

"Don't take that risk!" The captain of the enemy engineering team decisively ordered his subordinates: "I will go back to the silk village immediately and find another channel to investigate." Now the devils and spies in this area of the station have become frightened birds, and we must be careful. ”

After that, he hastily picked up a box of cigarettes, and Xiao Junping was sandwiched among the few passengers and left in a hurry.

He made up his mind that he was going to find out the background of this Japanese army from Meng Longsheng's traitor detective team.