Seeing that his subordinates had worried expressions on their faces, Major General Tsuda directly analyzed: "The Eighth Route Army operating in Yangquan plus the first detachment of their main force has a total strength of 10,000 people. After two nights of fighting, we did suffer a lot of losses. But the losses of the Eighth Route Army are definitely indispensable, and I believe in the combat effectiveness of my subordinates! ”

"According to the ratio of casualties that we have been fighting with the Eighth Route Army, even if it is the elite of the Eighth Route Army that attacks us, if we lose 2,500 imperial troops, the Eighth Route Army will lose at least 5,000 people. If it is replaced by other Eighth Route Army or other local troops in China, it is possible that our 2,500 elites will cause them a loss of 10,000 people! ”

"Therefore, there are at most five thousand Eighth Route Army in Shouyang County!"

"As long as the imperial army in the reinforcements exceeds two infantry brigades, Tubalu will not be able to help us!"

The chief of staff replied helplessly: "But, Your Excellency General, now we don't need to talk about two infantry brigades, even a complete infantry brigade can't be taken out!" ”

Major General Tsuda did not speak with a gloomy face, stared at the map for a full minute, and then called back: "Send a telegram to the military headquarters immediately, report our situation, and ask for operational guidance!" ”

"Ask the military department to dispatch at least two brigades that don't love you, two regiments of the Imperial Association Army, and march urgently to reinforce the county seat of Pingding!"

At the headquarters of the First Army of the Japanese North China Front in Taiyuan City, the commander of the commander, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, was resting.

Suddenly, a sharp knock on the door shattered his dream.

"Come in!" Yoshio Shinozuka shouted to the door with a frown, then sat up from the bed.

Soon, the chief of staff, Major General Tanaka, appeared in front of Yoshio Shinozuka with an apologetic face.

"Your Excellency Commander, Major General Tsuda of the 4th Mixed Brigade has sent an urgent telegram! Pingding Shouyang County was attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army, and due to the lack of strength of the Fourth Mixed Brigade, Taiyuan City was requested to send at least two infantry brigades to reinforce! ”

"Major General Tsuda is sure that it is the first detachment of the Eighth Route Army that has the strongest combat effectiveness to attack Shouyang!"

"I think that this is an excellent opportunity for us to eliminate the elite of the Eighth Route Army and inflict heavy damage on the Eighth Route Army!"

For Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, the two infantry brigades, if they were placed in peacetime, would not frown their brows.

But now it is different, don't look at yourself as the commander of the First Army, because the troops are scattered in nearly 100 surrounding counties, and the mobile troops that can be mobilized immediately are their own guard brigades and independent mixed into the Ninth Brigade.

In the case of the Imperial Army, the total strength did not exceed 10,000 people.

Now to draw 2,000 people from this mobile force of less than 10,000 at once, it is a personal hesitation.

"Let's go to the war room first! By the way, I have summarized all the combat messages sent to the military headquarters by the 4th Mixed Brigade in the past two days, and I want to read them! Yoshio Shinozuka didn't answer right away, but ordered with a frown.

Yoshio Shinozuka deserved to be the lieutenant general commander of the First Army, and soon he distilled an idea from more than a dozen telegrams.

"The Eighth Route Army, which attacked the 4th Mixed Brigade, was very cunning and knew that a head-on confrontation was no match for Major General Tsuda. Then he took advantage of Tsuda's underestimation and lack of attention, and consumed his forces little by little. Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka frowned and analyzed!

"By the time Major General Tsuda reacts, his Fourth Mixed Brigade has lost more than 2,000 people, and it is directly in a dangerous situation where there are no troops to send!"

"If we don't send reinforcements, Pingding County will definitely be lost. As long as the Eighth Route Army still has strength, they can completely use the speed of occupying a county town in one night, and gradually compress the scope of activities of Major General Tsuda in Yangquan, and finally occupy Yangquan! ”

"Unless Major General Tsuda directly abandons all the counties around Yangquan and concentrates all his troops in Yangquan City, there is no other way to hold Yangquan!"

"However, in this way, all the counties around Yangquan will be controlled by the Eighth Route Army."

"With the strength and means of the Eighth Route Army, it won't take too long for these county towns to become the base areas of the Eighth Route Army. When the time comes, it will be difficult for us to occupy these counties again! ”

"Also, once Tubalu controls these counties, even if Yangquan is still in our hands. With the means of Tubalu, it will definitely compress the living space of the Fourth Mixed Brigade in Yangquan step by step, and then squeeze the Fourth Mixed Brigade out of Yangquan! ”

"Your Excellency General, then we!" The chief of staff asked rhetorically with a frown.

"Because Ono despised the Eighth Route Army, he lost his troops and lost his generals, and now he is about to lose his territory. We must not make the same mistake! ”

"Also, Yangquan and the surrounding counties must not be controlled by Tubalu. Otherwise, the east gate of Taiyuan City will be completely exposed to the soldiers of Tubalu. When the time comes, there will never be a day of peace in Taiyuan City! ”

"Your Excellency the commander is wise, and he will immediately arrange troops to reinforce Shouyang County!" The chief of staff, Major General Tanaka, said with a flattering face, and then prepared to arrange the troops.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka immediately shouted, "Wait a minute, Major General Tsuda has made the mistake of underestimating the enemy, and he has lost his troops. We certainly can't afford to make the same mistake again. ”

"In addition to the two infantry brigades and the two regiments of the Imperial Cooperative Army, the reinforcements are reinforced with two mountain artillery squadrons, a chariot squadron, and a cavalry squadron, which are commanded by the chief of staff of the Ninth Independent Mixed Brigade Yuan Dazuo to reinforce Shouyang County!"

The Arsenal Guard Regiment and the Independent Brigade have been lurking outside Taiyuan for two days.

In addition to patrolling and guarding, the other troops were asked to stay still and not to light fires.

Fortunately, the weather is not very cold now, otherwise the freeze may cause a large number of non-combat attrition to the troops.

But even so, after two days of hard waiting, the morale of the troops was weakening little by little, and they began to be a little restless.

After a long day of waiting, although Cheng Xiao was very tired, he didn't feel sleepy at all.

At twelve o'clock in the evening, he was still guarding the temporary headquarters made of a tent.

"Lao Cheng, go to sleep! I'm guarding here, and I'm going to have you on duty here during the day tomorrow? Seeing Chen Xiao's already blackened pair of eyes, Wang Ping reminded again.

"I'll wait!" Cheng Xiao shook his head and refused.

"The first detachment attacked Shouyang tonight, and the fourth mixed brigade of Yangquan lost another number of troops. Not surprisingly, the devils of Taiyuan City are likely to be dispatched tonight! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a rush of footsteps reached the ears of the two of them.

Chief of Staff Yang Xiong walked in with an excited face.

"The regiment commander, the brigade commander, and the scouts monitoring the east gate sent a telegram back, and the puppet army with tanks and artillery had just left the east gate for more than 5,000 days, and the rapid march was in the direction of Shouyang to reinforce it!"

"Good! Lao Cheng, the opportunity we were waiting for has finally arrived. As long as the Japanese puppet army leaves Taiyuan City, the beginning of this operation will be good! Wang Ping exclaimed excitedly, and his face, which had been tense for several days, finally showed a smile that he had not seen for a long time.

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