Cautiously moving forward all the way from the deep Taihang Mountain, the comfort women's military column personally seated by Hagiwara Akira finally touched the Niangzi Pass.

Prior to this, due to the very steep terrain after the Zhengtai Railway entered the Taihang Mountain section, it was difficult for the trucks escorted by the railway to pass, so the infantry of the Nara Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, who was in charge of the escort, stayed in Shouyang with the trucks; Otsuka himself only brought about 30 people to the military column, and all of them were machine gunners and grenadiers, carrying three Type 92 heavy machine guns, six Taisho Type 11 light machine guns, and six Type 89 grenadiers.

Then, the Iwata cavalry squadron opened the way in front of the railroad tracks, the cavalry company of the Mongolian Xinjiang Army swept behind the column, and the comfort women army continued to move forward. During this period, along the way, it was repeatedly attacked by a small group of Chinese troops in Taihang Mountain, relying on the powerful firepower configured on the military column, and only then did it staggered all the way to Niangzi Pass.

The receiving force sent by the North China Front was a fully equipped infantry brigade, and they blocked the section from Xinguan to Jiuguan at Niangzi Pass in advance, and the docking train had also stopped at the station at Xinguan.

For Niangzi Pass, Hagiwara Akira can be described as a revisit to the old place. Compared with the magnificent momentum of entering Niangzi Pass in October last year, this time I returned to Niangzi Pass from the direction of Shanxi, but I was trembling and walking on thin ice. The brigade commander, Major General, was well aware of the importance that the Front Army Command attached to these comfort women, and also knew the top-secret nature of the first batch of comfort women forcibly recruited in the Northern Branch Battlefield; Therefore, even when encountering a small group of civilian armed forces that were obviously from the Shina people, Hagiwara Akira was like a great enemy, and warned Otsuka to deal with it with all his might.

Fortunately, the firepower of the incoming army was very weak, and only once did the machine guns appear, and the rest were rifles or even *; There were no artillery, and occasionally they occupied favorable terrain and threw them at the columns, but never caused damage to the columns.

Under the command of Kosuke Otsuka, the light and heavy weapons on the military column opened heavy fire when attacked, and were always quick to repel the attackers.

This should be due to the fact that the secrecy is very good - the people of China do not know the secrets of the military columns, nor have they purposefully organized the regular army to strike at the military columns, and all attacks on the Korean military columns are temporary and general harassment - thank God!

Major General Suzuki, a senior staff officer of the North China Front Command, who was in charge of the command of the "Wind Plan," personally greeted the arrival of the comfort women's military column at the station of Niangziguan Xinguan. As soon as he met Akira Hagiwara on the platform, Major General Suzuki repeatedly expressed his heartfelt congratulations to Sena Division and Major General Hagiwara on the successful completion of the secret transfer of comfort women, and verbally conveyed the commendation of the front army.

In the waiting room, which had been closed and guarded, the two Japanese generals had a brief meeting.

Major General Suzuki first of all, Hagiwara Akira reassured that the Beiping Front Army Headquarters, after receiving an urgent report from the Sena Division Headquarters about the loss of Fengdian County, had agreed in principle that the Sena Division would continue to send back as many troops as possible on the premise that the Nantongpu Road Offensive was going on normally, so as to ensure the safety of the secret camp of comfort women in Songjiagou.

"Lieutenant General Sena immediately sent two squadrons to help, and now, two more squadrons have been added, and they are rushing along the road to Songjiagou in Little Elm Mountain. The strength of a whole brigade invested in this succession should be enough to stop the possible attack of the Chinese army on Little Elm Mountain. Major General Suzuki said confidently.

Hagiwara pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Perhaps, it's not enough to recover Fengdian, but it's enough to defend the East Mountain Pass of Little Elm Mountain and the Songjiagou secret camp." ”

"Next, I have to work hard with General Hagiwara, immediately lead the troops back, recover Fengdian, and completely remove the threat of the Songjiagou secret camp, it depends on the general!"

"The duty is to serve His Majesty the Emperor!"

The two generals arrived on the platform of the Xinguan railway station and continued to discuss the situation while witnessing the handover of the comfort women between the two military columns.

Hagiwara Akira asked about the recent situation of the North China Front's Xiayuan Division's special detachment entering Shanxi to reinforce the Sena Division's southward movement, and Major General Suzuki happily told the other party that this detachment of the Xiayuan Division, starting from Handan, Hebei, suddenly wedged in Shanxi's waist and lightly captured Licheng and Lucheng, without encountering effective resistance from the Shina Army; Arrived at the city of Changzhi, an important town in southern Jin, where there was a relatively fierce battle with the Central Army of the Chinese people, and has now conquered Changzhi.

"It seems that the will of the Chinese army to retreat to Jinnan is not very strong," said Major General Suzuki: "This detachment of the Xia Yuan Division, with an infantry wing to strengthen part of the strength of the special forces, will drive straight into the land of no one, as if entering a no-man's land, the central army of the Chinese people is either really undefended in that area, or their commander has decided to abandon Shanxi and retreat to Henan." ”

Hagiwara Akira had a smile on his face: "General Sena's main force is also in the same way on the Nantongpu Road, and it is already attacking Hongdong County, and the conquest is just around the corner, and they are all facing the central military defense area of the Shina Army in Shanxi. I agree with you that it is very likely that the people of China will be forced to abandon Shanxi. ”

"Well, at the moment, the position of the main force of the Sena Division, and the position of the special detachment of the Shimoto Division, are almost in line, and the battle is unfolding perfectly. Moreover, behind their flank, the Shangang Division was also about to launch a full-scale offensive against Jinxi. Jinxi is Yan Xishan's old nest, and the combat effectiveness of the Jin Sui Army is not the same as Chiang Kai-shek's Central Army. ”

"However, Yan Xishan is the head snake of the land, and it is unknown whether he will fight to the death in order to keep his hometown."

"Intelligence from the secret services shows that this Yan Xishan has been moving factories and schools to Shaanxi on the other side of the Yellow River, and their provincial government is also mobilizing to relocate. After saying this, the senior staff officers of the front army command burst out laughing.

Hagiwara Akira couldn't help grinning, and on the platform, the hearty laughter of the two Japanese generals floated in the sky above the mountain breeze. Amid their laughter, a group of Chinese women dressed in Japanese infantry uniforms: comfort women, silently boarded the new military column under strict escort.

After the handover, the two Japanese major generals quickly parted ways after saying goodbye.

Boarding the military column that had re-hung the front of the car, Hagiwara Akira ordered the cavalry of the Imperial Army and the cavalry of the Mongolian Army to follow and rush to Songjiagou and Fengdian to rebuild; Then, the train started at full speed and returned at full speed. At the same time, he telegraphed the Nara Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, which had been stationed at Shouyang Station on the Shotai Line, to immediately rush to Taiyuan by truck, where they would wait for the military train.

In the box, Brigade Commander Akira Hagiwara and Wing Commander Kosuke Otsuka, around the map, began to nervously deploy the reconquest of Toyoden.

Hagiwara was extremely excited. The verbal commendation given by Major General Suzuki on behalf of the Front Command will soon be turned into official documents, and it will open up a great page for the Imperial Army that will go down in history. The first batch of comfort women was like a hot potato, and he finally handed it over to the front army in its entirety; According to General Suzuki, the all-out attack of our North China Front on Xuzhou is imminent, and these comfort women are like Ganlin after a long drought, which will greatly boost the morale of the two divisions of the Second Army - damn, cheap Itagaki Seishiro and Isoya Ryosuke's subordinates!

"General, are we going back to Rescue Fengdian in three ways?"

Otsuka Kosuke's sudden question immediately dragged the thoughts of the brigade commander Major General back, and he looked at the position pointed by his wing commander's thick fingers on the map: It was the ancient city of Junling, less than a hundred miles south of Fengdian. He asked Kosuke Otsuka to make a specific explanation.

"Yes general," said Kosuke Otsuka, pointing on the map, "Now that Fengdian has fallen, it must be that the army of China has a heavy army in the county seat; According to the combat records of our wing and the 391st Regiment of the Chinese Army, the combat capability of this unit is first-class in the Central Army; What's more, according to Aso's report, a section of the Eighth Route Army also participated in the attack on Fengdian; For this reason, I suggest that for the sake of prudence, the troops can be divided into three ways to carry out a counteroffensive against Fengdian. ”

From the mouth of the always arrogant co-captain, the word "cautious" actually appeared, Hagiwara Akira felt a little funny, but he nodded and smiled in response with encouragement, and motioned for the other party to continue.

"As you just said, Lieutenant General Sena has successively transferred the strength of an infantry brigade from Nantongpu Road to remedy and strengthen the defense of Xiaoyushu Mountain Pass, and the main force of this brigade, plus a squadron of my Futian Brigade temporarily transferred to defend Dongshan Pass, can launch a main attack on the south gate of Fengdian nearby. The heavy firepower directly under which our wing was stationed in Wencheng can be fully strengthened in this direction. ”

Hagiwara Akira frowned: "The mountain pass of Little Elm Mountain is adjacent to the south gate of Fengdian, and now it is directly threatened by the Zhina army that occupies Fengdian, which area do you mean to choose as the main direction of attack?" If there is a loss, won't Little Elm Mountain and even Songjiagou be exposed under the noses of the main battlefield? ”

"General, this is an offensive strategy - it is precisely because there is the greatest threat to our Songjiagou secret camp that we are precisely going to launch an attack from there to remove the nearest threat with a strong offensive."

Major General Hagiwara stared at the map, thought about it for a while, and nodded slightly. Seeing that he had received the approval of the brigade commander, Kosuke Otsuka continued to make a generous statement: "The Nara Brigade of our wing, which is now rushing from Shouyang to Taiyuan, will take a truck in Taiyuan and go straight down to the Junling. I'll personally direct the attack along the way. ”

"This is exactly the route of your team's first attack on Fengdian at the beginning of the month." Hagiwara shifted his gaze from the map to the face of the Wing Leader, and nodded more frequently.

"That's right, the subordinates will lead the headquarters to attack again, and the shame of discarding the defense area just happened in the snow!"

"Excellent! What about the third way? ”

"The third way, ask for the approval of His Excellency the brigade commander, and then transfer two squadrons from Wencheng to attack Guanmen Mountain along the southern foot of Little Elm Mountain, and sweep away the Eighth Route Army there!"

When Kosuke Otsuka said this, his face became hideous: the cavalry squadron under his command and the cavalry units of the Mongolian Xinjiang Army assigned to him were successively hit hard by the Eighth Route Army, and it was time to report this revenge!