"Division commander, something happened!" Without waiting for Lieutenant General Ito to speak, the chief of staff hurriedly reported.

"Xiangning County is in an emergency, a large number of troops of the Eighth Route Army have appeared in their territory, and when the telegram was sent, several strongholds outside the city had been captured, and the casualties of the imperial army had exceeded 100 people!"

"They are worried that these Eighth Route Army will attack the county seat after beating these strongholds, so please send us troops to reinforce them immediately!"

Lieutenant General Ito quickly walked to the map and found the chief of staff who had just said that Xiangning County.

Then he frowned and asked: "How many garrisons are there in Xiangning, and they only lost more than a hundred imperial troops to ask for help, where did their courage to bully the Chinese people run to!" ”

The chief of staff immediately replied: "A garrison brigade of the Imperial Army, a garrison regiment of the Imperial Cooperative Army~"

"However, this garrison brigade is not a reinforced brigade, but a mixed brigade with three infantry squadrons, a heavy machine gun squadron, and a mortar squadron, and the infantry artillery and other artillery are not equipped, and the total strength is less than 700 people."

"Together with the Imperial Army, the total strength is more than 1,600 people, of which more than 900 are stationed in more than a dozen large and small strongholds outside the city, and the remaining more than 600 people are stationed in the county seat!"

"If the Eighth Route Army can really kill more than a dozen strongholds outside the city in a short period of time, and enjoy more than 600 people in the city, it will definitely not be able to hold the county seat!"

"Bageya Road, when is it now, and what are you going to do with those strongholds? Telegraph back to them, abandon all strongholds outside the city, and concentrate forces to defend the county seat. As long as the county seat is saved, Xiangning County will still be ours! Lieutenant General Ito ordered with a calm face.

"Hey!" The chief of staff immediately replied.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then do you want to send them reinforcements!" ”

Lieutenant General Ito did not answer, but stared at the map in deep thought.

It took nearly half a minute before he replied: "No, we don't have any extra troops to send out!" ”

The division commander's answer must have been perfunctory, and although the division lost its troops, more than 10,000 people still gathered in Linfen City. Not to mention too much, it is still no problem to randomly draw out two or three thousand people to reinforce Xiangning County.

However, the division commander actually said that there were no soldiers. The chief of staff immediately realized that there was something in the words of the division commander, and there must be something that was not spoken.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Division Commander, did you think of something?" ”

"Not bad!" Lieutenant General Ito did not hide it.

Pointing to Xiangning County and Hepu County on the map, he analyzed.

"If the Eighth Route Army occupies these two counties, what kind of consequences will it have for our imperial army, have you ever thought about it!"

The chief of staff was stunned for a few seconds, and then suddenly reacted, "Linfen City, where we are located, will become a lonely city, and our division will also become a lonely army!" ”

"There are Eighth Route Army troops everywhere around, and neither materials nor equipment can be brought in. If the Eighth Route Army occupies these two counties and blocks all roads leading to Linfen City, the large amount of food that needs to be consumed every day alone can drag us down! ”

Lieutenant General Ito replied with a shake of his head.

"You only see one aspect and ignore the other!"

"After the Eighth Route Army occupies these two places, not only will we become a lone army, but another division left in the southwest of Shanxi will also become a lone army! This is related to the safety of the 30,000 or 40,000 elites of the North China Front, and there must be no accidents! ”

The chief of staff was frightened, and then asked: "Division commander, what do you mean is that Tubalu is carrying out this plan, blocking us and the troops left behind in the southwest of Jin, turning it into a lone army, and slowly consuming us!" ”

"Quite possibly!" Lieutenant General Ito replied with a calm face.

"Although there is no direct evidence yet, this period of engagement has made me realize that our opponents are more cunning and difficult to deal with than we thought. If we can think of that, they will certainly think of it too! ”

"Also, we just lost the battle and the morale of the troops is low. If I were the commander of the Eighth Route Army, I would definitely seize the opportunity and take these places! ”

"We must not let the Eighth Route Army's purpose succeed...... These places must not be occupied by the Eighth Route Army, and our back roads must not be cut off! The chief of staff exclaimed directly.

Then he asked: "Division commander, now that we know the battle plan that the Eighth Route Army is likely to implement, can we prepare now and hold these county seats, or directly send troops to reinforce them to defend the county seats!" ”

"I believe that even if the front army knows about this plan, they will order us to hold these county towns at all costs!"

"Reinforcements must not be sent!" Lieutenant General Ito replied very decisively.

"The Eighth Route Army is too cunning, and so far we don't know their true losses in this encirclement and suppression! Not only that, but they also captured a large number of artillery pieces that should have belonged to us in this great battle. ”

"Troops, equipment, ammunition, they have everything!"

"When there is no heavy artillery, they can concentrate their forces and take out one of our wings at a time. Although they lost a lot of troops, they were replenished with a lot of heavy weapons, especially heavy artillery. There is definitely the strength to take out one of our wings. ”

"In this case, how many troops do you want me to send to reinforce them!"

"If this is a conspiracy of the Eighth Route Army, and we send fewer troops, it will be a sheep into the mouth of a tiger."

"There are more troops sent out, and we don't have so many troops ......"

"So, reinforcements must not be sent!"

The chief of staff continued to ask: "Then how do we defend these county seats!" ”

Lieutenant General Ito immediately decided: "Send a telegram to the garrisons of these prefectures immediately." ”

"All the garrisons have abandoned their strongholds outside the city and concentrated their forces inside the city to hold on!"

"In order to ensure the control of these places by the imperial army, we can temporarily hand over these strongholds to some Chinese who cooperate with our actions, and let them assist us in controlling the places!"

This was the only solution the chief of staff could think of, and just as he was about to turn around and give the order, a communications staff officer rushed in.

"Sir, Hepu County Emergency Electricity!"

"They have found a large number of troops of the Eighth Route Army in their territory, and they are attacking the strongholds in their jurisdiction, and now they have lost three strongholds, continue to reinforce!"

Lieutenant General Ito's face sank and he scolded, "Eight Ge Yalu...... Our response was still a step slower! ”

"Go and send a telegram immediately, retreat one minute earlier, the garrisons in those places will lose dozens of people, and the troops protecting the county will be dozens more......

The chief of staff did not dare to slack off, and immediately replied: "Humble and give orders now!" ”

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