The coal water wagon is the penultimate carriage of the armored train.

In the middle of each side of this carriage, there is a cylindrical machine gun nest that protrudes outward, and as soon as the armored train stops, the 7.7mm caliber Type 92 heavy machine gun on the machine gun nest immediately turns its muzzle and points to the platform.

The workers on the platform waiting to add coal and water to the train were suddenly silent, and the atmosphere did not dare to breathe.

Guan Dahu hurriedly "led" Wei Dayong and trotted to the door of the train, putting on a flattering face.

Then the iron door on one side of the coal and water carriage opened from the inside, and a devil second lieutenant stepped out of the carriage.

"Guan Sang." The devil lieutenant recognized Guan Dahu and said, "You only have fifteen minutes, quickly fill up with coal and water!" ”

"Hello!" Guan Dahu nodded again and again, and yelled at Wang Ye and other coal and water workers, "What are you still doing?" Why don't you hurry up and add coal and water to the train of the Imperial Army? ”

Wang Ye and more than a dozen workers immediately got busy.

The devil lieutenant was very vigilant and kept an eye on the workers.

Wei Dayong quietly stabbed Guan Dahu, and Guan Dahu had to take out a cigarette and hand it to the second lieutenant of the devil.

When the second lieutenant of the devil took the cigarette, Guan Dahu struck a match and was about to light the cigarette, the second lieutenant of the devil immediately came over, and his eyes finally left Wang Ye and the other coal and water workers.

Through this fleeting gap,

Wang Ye jumped into the coal water truck.

The lights at the station are not bright, and the light is not good.

But there are still a few workers who saw this scene, but they didn't say anything with the mentality that more things are better than less, after all, this is the person brought in by the head of the pipe, who dares to care about his business?

After Wang Ye ran into the coal car, he immediately took off the blanket tied to his waist, wrapped it around his body, and then turned into a pile of coal when he lay down in the corner of the coal pile! Even if you get closer, it's hard to spot.

Because this blanket is a camouflage carefully prepared by Wang Ye.

The color and texture of the surface of the blanket are almost indistinguishable from coal!

Fifteen minutes later, the coal truck was refilled with coal and water.

The devil lieutenant went back to the car and closed the door again, and the car went dark.

After another moment, Wang Ye heard a long whistle sound, and then the stationary carriage began to move, and the steel wheel ran over the rails, making a rhythmic kata sound.

……

Seeing the armored train drive out of the train station, Wei Dayong immediately stabbed the big tiger with his hand.

Guan Dahu could only "take" Wei Dayong out of the train station with a bitter face, and then walked to a secluded place next to him at Wei Dayong's instructions.

Then Guan Dahu knelt down with a puff.

"The eighth master spares his life." Guan Dahu was afraid that Wei Dayong would attack, so he took the first step to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy, "I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old son below......"

"That's enough." Wei Dayong shouted, "Where did you come from your eighty-year-old mother?" You don't have a three-year-old son, you only have one daughter studying in Beiping. ”

Guan Dahu's body trembled even more when he heard this.

To put it bluntly, this guy is a marketman, and he bullies the common people.

However, Wei Dayong's next sentence immediately put Guan Dahu at ease, and his body immediately stopped shaking.

Wei Dayong said: "We have already investigated your details clearly, there are many small mistakes, but no big mistakes have been made, so this time I will spare your dog's life for the time being." ”

"Thank you, Eighth Master, thank you, Eighth Master."

Guan Dahu kowtowed again and again, grateful.

"I hope you will be good in the future! Hum! ”

Wei Dayong snorted coldly and left with the foreign car.

Guan Dahu let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

It's not easy to live these days, the Japanese don't dare to offend, and the Eighth Road can't afford to offend, they all hold the handle of a gun, and they can kill him with their fingers, it's difficult.

……

Swallow ditch stronghold.

The battle has officially begun.

The attack on the Yanzigou stronghold had two regiments, with the new regiment taking the lead and the other regiment of the new 4th brigade pinning down and protecting the flanks of the new regiment.

Ding Wei was lying on a high ground, holding a telescope to watch the battle condescendingly.

It was found that the devil's firepower was very fierce, and dazzling tongues of fire erupted from the three cannon towers and more than a dozen pillboxes on the periphery, weaving into a fire net.

There are almost no shooting dead spots.

The offensive of the new regiment has been completely suppressed.

The battalions involved in the attack could not even lift their heads.

Li Xiaoxian said: "The little devil's firepower is still fiercer than ours." ”

"Of course." Ding Wei said, "Don't look at the rapid expansion of our troops in the past two years, from 30,000 to more than 400,000 in the blink of an eye, but the training has not been able to keep up, let alone the level of equipment." ”

"Our new regiment is not bad, with the old foundation laid by Li Yunlong, other regiments can't look at it."

"Therefore, on the whole, the strength of our Eighth Route Army is still a lot worse than that of the Japanese army."

"That is, the Japanese army in Shanxi is relatively empty now, and the focus of the Japanese army's operations is in Central China, so we have the opportunity to launch such a large-scale offensive."

"Otherwise, which round will our Eighth Route Army attack?"

Li Xiaoxian said: "But even if the army is empty, the little devil is still not easy to provoke." ”

"If it's not easy to mess with, you have to mess with it." Ding Wei said, "There is no turning back when the bow is opened, this time the headquarters has put up such a big battle, if we can't hurt the Japanese army in Shanxi, then we will lose a lot." ”

"Messenger, pass on my order, all battalions are not allowed to attack head-on."

"First fill in the three-story trench on the periphery of the stronghold, and tear down the barbed wire."

"The devil's firepower is fierce, but I want to see how many bullets they have!"

"Yes!" The signal corps quickly conveyed Ding Wei's order to the three main battalions.

After receiving Ding Wei's order, the various battalions and companies of the new regiment no longer rushed forward, but began to fill the triple trenches on the periphery of the stronghold with soil on their waists.

……

Niangzi closed the railway station, but the independent regiment did not move.

Zhao Gang looked at the Roman watch and asked puzzledly: "Lao Li, it's almost one o'clock in the morning, why haven't you given the order yet?" The order from headquarters was to attack at zero hour. ”

"The order of the headquarters is the order of the headquarters."

Li Yunlong took a puff of cigarette and continued: "But Lao Tzu is the front-line commander, and I have the right to revise the combat order according to the actual situation." ”

"Lao Li, this can't be done." Zhao Gang said.

"The orders of the headquarters must be resolutely carried out!"

"Lao Zhao, the two of us have a division of labor."

Li Yunlong said: "I have the final say on the war. ”

When the two were arguing, Kong Jie rushed to the scene.

"Li Yunlong, what are you rubbing against on a dog day? Why not go on the offensive yet? ”

From afar, Kong Jie's loud voice came: "The brother troops have already made a pot of porridge, and there is no movement in our two regiments, what do you want to do, eh?" ”

"Kong Er was stunned, what are you yelling, what are you yelling?"

Li Yunlong would not be as polite to Kong Jie as he was to Zhao Gang.

Zhao just happens to be an intellectual, what are you Kong Er?

"When will it be your turn to teach Lao Tzu how to fight, eh?"

"This is really a bedbug from the melon seeds, and Lao Tzu is full of people here?"

"You ......" Kong Jie was half angry and said angrily, "You don't dare to attack on the dog's day, do you?" That's okay, Lao Tzu took the new second regiment to do it alone! ”

"You dare!"

Li Yunlong said: "Although we are both regiment commanders, the brigade commander has clearly said that our independent regiment will take the lead in the first battle of Niangzi Pass, and your new second regiment is only an auxiliary!" ”

"You don't know what it means to assist, do you?"

"So, you Kong Er is stunned and you have to obey Lao Tzu's command!"

"You dare to take the new second group to work alone, Lao Tzu is not finished with you!"

Zhao Gang also persuaded: "Head Kong, you dissipate your anger, don't be like Lao Li." ”

Kong Jie was so anxious that he stomped his feet and said angrily: "Li Yunlong, what the hell do you want to do?" If you delay the attack, if you delay the fighter plane, and as a result, the brother troops have completed the task, and our two regiments have not been able to complete it, you are not ashamed, Lao Tzu is still ashamed, and I Kong Jie can't afford to lose that person! ”

"Hehe, Lao Kong, don't worry."

Li Yunlong, who was still scolding just now, suddenly laughed.

This is really a dog's face, and if you don't say a word, you will turn your face, and inexplicably change back to a smiley face.

Li Yunlong continued: "The small strongholds that are easy to fight have all been fought last night, and the remaining dozen or so large strongholds are all hard bones to gnaw, how can they be so easy to gnaw down?" ”

Kong Jie hurriedly said: "It's because it's difficult to fight, so I have to start early!" If we let the brother troops take the lead, wouldn't it be a smack of our brigade's brand? Can the brigade commander spare the two of us? ”

"Oh no, the brigade commander will definitely not say anything to you."

"But Lao Tzu will inevitably be scolded by the brigade commander."

Li Yunlong said: "Don't talk nonsense, Lao Tzu doesn't give an order, no one is allowed to move." ”

"Lao Tzu ordered, everyone must rush up, including your new second regiment, Lao Tzu will take the Niangziguan Railway Station in one go!"

"Huh?"

"What?!"

Zhao Gang and Kong Jie's faces changed greatly.

Do you want to take down the Niangziguan Railway Station in one go?

So Kong Jie stopped arguing, but Zhao Gang was even more worried.

Zhao Gang had suspected that Li Yunlong was hiding something from him before, but now it was no longer a suspicion, but an affirmation, he was sure that Li Yunlong was hiding something, but he refused to say anything when asked.

Zhao Gang could only be in a hurry.

……

Yangquan, 4th Brigade Headquarters.

The map has been changed, and more than a hundred small blue forks on both sides of Zhengtai Road have disappeared, replaced by twelve large blue forks.

However, there are still no arrows behind the twelve blue crosses.

Because the battlefield was blocked, the Japanese army was never able to figure out the strength and unit number of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side, and the staff officers of the combat division could not mark it on the map.

Shu Maeda and Isamu Kimura can only face such an incomplete map.

Kimura Yong said: "Brigade commander, except for the Niangziguan Railway Station, the remaining twelve first-level strongholds along Zhengtai Road have all been attacked by the Eighth Route Army!" ”

"Nani? Twelve strongholds were attacked? Maeda Xiu said in a deep voice, "It seems that our previous judgment was right, the Eighth Route Army in the Taihang Bandit Area must have poured out." ”

Kimura said: "But the expansion of the Eighth Route Army is still a little surprising. ”

"Yes." Maeda Shu muttered, "Less than two years ago, the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi was only twenty or thirty thousand people, but now the Eighth Route Army in the Taihang Bandit Area has expanded to more than 100,000 people, and it has the ability to attack more than 100 second-level strongholds along Zhengtai Road at the same time, and now it dares to attack twelve first-level strongholds!" ”

Kimura Yu: "Brigade commander, did you order the Yamazaki Brigade and Okazaki Brigade to go to reinforcements?" ”

"There's no hurry." Maeda Xiu waved his hand and said, "Although the number of the Eighth Route Army has increased, their training level and equipment level cannot be improved so quickly, especially the problem of lack of heavy firepower cannot be solved, so they cannot threaten all first-level strongholds in a short period of time." ”

"Sodax." Kimura said, "These thirteen first-class strongholds along Zhengtai Road not only have strong fortifications, but each stronghold has a garrison of at least five hundred people, and it is not a problem to hold on for three or five days. ”

Maeda said, "So, let's let the 11th Armored Train Fleet provide fire support to the strongholds along the line." ”

"As for the Yamazaki Brigade and the Okazaki Brigade, first hold the troops still, and it is not too late to counterattack when the veterans of the Eighth Route Army Division are tired."

"Hello!" Kimura said to the head of the communications section again, "Immediately send a telegram to the 11th armored train fleet, ordering them to provide fire support to the strongholds along the line." ”

……

Taiyuan, headquarters of the 1st Army.

Yoshio Shinozuka looked thoughtfully at the sand table.

Takayoshi Tanaka walked over and immediately reported: "Your Excellency, you have just received an urgent telegram from the North China Front Army, and the strongholds along the Pinghan Road and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Line have also been attacked. ”

"Really?" Yoshio Shinozuka said awe-inspiringly, "So the entire Eighth Route Army in North China has moved?" ”

Takayoshi Tanaka said: "Except for Shandong, almost all of the Eighth Route Army in North China was mobilized, and at the same time launched a fierce attack on the strongholds along our five main transportation routes. ”

Yoshio Shinozuka looked back at Yamamoto Kazuki and said, "Yamamoto-kun, did you find anything?" ”

"Hello!" Yamamoto Kazuki said at a moment's notice, "Judging from the degree of attack on the strongholds along the five main routes, namely Zhengtai, Tongpu, Baijin, Pinghan, and Jingzhang, there were at least 100 regiments of the Eighth Route Army participating in this offensive, and this does not include the so-called guerrilla forces that cooperated with the operation. ”

"Baga, at least a hundred regiments?!"

Yoshio Shinozuka said: "Unknowingly, has the Eighth Route Army swelled to such an extent? ”

Yamamoto Kazuki said: "So, Your Excellency Commander, I think that the threat level of the Eighth Route Army has surpassed that of the Jin Sui Army and even the Central Army, and if the 1st Army stationed in Shanxi does not adjust its center of gravity as soon as possible and innovate its tactics, if the Eighth Route Army is allowed to continue to develop like this, the situation will soon get out of control!" ”

"That's for later."

Yoshio Shinozuka said: "Let's talk about passing the eye pass first." ”

"It's not a big problem at the moment." Yamamoto Kazuki said, "This offensive operation of the Eighth Route Army seems to be monstrous, but in fact, there are only a lot of people, and the threat is not big. ”

"Really?" Yoshio Shinozuka said, "Is there a basis?" ”

"Of course." Yamamoto Kazuki said, "Because the speed of the Eighth Route Army's expansion of troops in the past two years has been too fast, resulting in a significant decline in the level of training and equipment, the decline in combat effectiveness is very serious, and with the current strength of the Eighth Route Army, it is not enough to attack and occupy the stronghold of the Imperial Army in a short period of time." ”

Yoshio Shinozuka said: "You are saying that it is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to capture a first-level stronghold in a short period of time? ”

"Yes." Kazuki Yamamoto said, "The second-level strongholds on the periphery not only have few garrison troops, weak firepower, but also lack solid fortifications, so it is easy for the Eighth Route Army to capture them by virtue of their superiority in strength, but the first-level strongholds not only have a large number of garrisons, but also have strong firepower, and even have strong fortifications, and can even get the support of the 11th armored train fleet, so it is absolutely impossible for the Eighth Route Army to quickly take all the first-level strongholds." ”

Yoshio Shinozuka said again: "So, do you have any good suggestions?" ”

Yamamoto Kazuki said: "I suggest that the mobile units of all brigades and regiments should not attack lightly, and the 9th Brigade, as the general reserve, should not act rashly, and when the Eighth Route Army cannot attack for a long time and the division veterans are tired, it will definitely be able to inflict heavy losses on the Eighth Route Army in various bandit areas in Shanxi, and may even destroy the Shanxi Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop." ”

"Yamamoto-kun, the analysis is very good." Yoshio Shinozuka nodded happily.

Immediately, he said proudly: "Although the Eighth Route Army inadvertently achieved battlefield information blockade, which made the imperial army fall into passivity for a while, this is not enough to make up for the huge gap in strength between the two sides after all!"

"At present, although the imperial army is still unclear about the specific deployment of the Eighth Route Army, this is no longer important."

"Because no matter what the deployment of the Eighth Route Army is, the result will be the same, they will inevitably hit their heads in front of the first-level strongholds along the main line, and they will collapse when the imperial army launches a counteroffensive!"

……

In Baijia Village, the 386 Brigade Brigade Headquarters.

From time to time, the chief of staff would look out.

The brigade commander asked, "Chief of Staff, what are you looking at?" ”

The chief of staff said: "It's nothing, I'll just take a look." ”

The brigade commander smiled: "Are you waiting for Li Yunlong and their news?" You're really, what time is it? It's only been two hours since the battle began, how could news come back so quickly? This time it was a large stronghold, and it was not the same thing as the small stronghold that was fought last night. ”

"That's right." The chief of staff said, "I'm too greedy. ”

"Wait." The brigade commander said, "In my estimation, this battle will not be fast, to say the least, it will have to be fought for three or five days, and it is entirely possible to drag it out for ten days and eight days." ”

The chief of staff said: "But Xiao Wang said that it will take one to two days. ”

"That's just the best of it." The brigade commander shook his head and said, "But there will always be all kinds of emergencies in actual combat, such as the surprise attack of the wolf warrior squad on the armored train, and I don't think it is likely to succeed." ”

"It does." The chief of staff also said, "I also think that Xiao Wang's entire surprise attack plan is too idealistic, and it is easy to fall short due to various unexpected situations, but considering that it can't dampen Xiao Wang's enthusiasm, and Xiao Wang still made a backup plan, I didn't say much at the time." ”

The brigade commander said: "That's why I said that sweeping all the large strongholds along Zhengtai Road in one to two days is just the result of an ideal state, but the actual result is definitely not so idealistic, and it is not impossible to drag it out for ten days and eight days, but fortunately, we have made the most adequate preparations for this." ”

(End of chapter)