After receiving Li Qiufan's order, Li Yunlong arranged for one division to follow the two corps of the newly formed 7th Corps, and then the other two divisions rushed to Qishupo to intercept the 5th Corps.
The two armies of the newly formed Seventh Corps did not know that a unit was following behind them, and the First Army was also ready in Taoshuba.
After the two armies arrived at Taoshuba, the People's Liberation Army, which originally planned to raid Taoshuba, opened a gap and assisted the 18th Corps in breaking through.
Unexpectedly, the First Army had already prepared and arranged a division of troops on the rear line of defense.
Not long after the two sides exchanged fire, the division of the Third Army following behind also followed up, and cooperated with the First Army to form a pincer attack on it.
In this way, Taoshuba turned into a double-layered meat sandwich. The First Army was in the middle and cooperated with the troops of the Second Army and the Third Army to surround the 18th Corps and the newly formed 7th Corps. .
"Brother Li, you really opened my brother's eyes. You actually surrounded two entire enemy regiments!"
After seeing what happened on the Taoshuba battlefield, Wang Huzi was shocked to see Li Qiufan. He did not expect that he would dig two pits for the enemy in Taoshuba.
"It's not two corps. If we wait a little longer, I'm afraid the enemy's fifth corps won't be able to escape!"
After hearing what Wang Huzi said, Li Qiufan smiled at him and said.
"The Fifth Corps? Have you arranged a back-up team over at Qishushupo?"
Wang Huzi didn't know Li Qiufan's layout. He thought that Li Qiufan's third army was here at Taoshuba, and he would kill these two corps before attacking the fifth corps.
"My Third Army only has one division on Taoshuba, and the other two divisions have rushed to Qishupo!"
Li Qiufan didn't keep it secret this time and told Wang Huzi the situation of the Third Army.
"Good guy, you are going to eat up three enemy regiments in one go!"
Only now did Wang Beard know Li Qiufan's plan, which was to wipe out three enemy regiments of 150,000 to 60,000 people at once.
"Since it's a decisive battle, we can't delay the fight. If we want to fight, we have to be ruthless and not give the enemy any chance to counterattack!"
Li Qiufan nodded towards Wang Huzi, and then said to him loudly.
"Correspondent, send a telegram to Third Army Commander Li Yunlong and ask where they are!"
After talking to Wang Huzi, Li Qiufan turned to the correspondent and asked him to send a telegram to Li Yunlong to confirm the position.
After receiving the telegram, Li Yunlong immediately responded. They were not far from Qishu Slope at this time.
But not long after Li Yunlong replied, Li Qiufan received a telegram from the Fourth Army. The enemy's Fifth Army wanted to run away.
"Call back to the political commissar and ask him to hold off the enemy's Fifth Corps no matter what, until the two divisions of the Third Army are in place!"
After reading the contents of the telegram, Li Qiufan immediately asked the correspondent to reply.
After receiving the order from Li Qiufan, Zhao Gang immediately ordered Li Xiping to take the initiative to attack the Fifth Corps, which wanted to retreat.
At this time, the Fifth Corps had received orders from the old fox to withdraw from Qishushupo as soon as possible and go south to meet up with the approaching 20th Corps and other troops.
Because the old fox had received a telegram from the new Seventh Corps and knew that the Eighteenth Corps and the new Seventh Corps were surrounded in Taoshuba.
Now that the corps of the 20th Corps and the 19th Corps have not arrived yet, he has no extra troops in his hands, so he can only stop losses in time and save the 5th Corps.
But what he didn't know was that Li Qiufan had no intention of letting go of the Fifth Corps, and had already sent about 20,000 troops to cut off the retreat.
The Fifth Corps was taking turns to cover the retreat. Suddenly, a charge horn sounded from the People's Liberation Army position at Qishupo, which made the commander of the Fifth Corps feel a thump in his heart.
He didn't know that Li Yunlong was heading here with two divisions, but something went wrong. When they retreated, the other party actually launched an attack, which was obviously to contain him.
Seeing this, the commander of the Fifth Corps quickly ordered the troops not to entangle with the People's Liberation Army and quickly withdrew from the Qishupo battlefield.
But the Fourth Army would not let them go. Li Xiping directly sent a division to press forward, forcing the Fifth Corps to engage in the battle.
The Fifth Corps had no choice but to stop and fight back, because if it didn't fight back, it would have to be chased and beaten, and the casualties would be even greater.
Seeing that the troops could not escape, the commander of the Fifth Corps became increasingly anxious and had a bad feeling.
And Li Yunlong did not disappoint him. It didn't take long before he arrived at Qishupo and appeared at the rear of the Fifth Corps.
"Corpser, blow the charge horn for me!"
After Li Yunlong led his troops to Qishupo, he immediately asked the bugler to blow the charge horn, and then launched an attack on the Fifth Corps.
Hearing the charge horn of the People's Liberation Army from behind, the commander of the Fifth Corps turned pale with fright. He finally knew why the other party wanted to contain them.
But now it's too late to say anything. The early attack on the Qishupo position has already caused many casualties, and now the number of troops is not even as large as that of the People's Liberation Army.
Moreover, Li Yunlong's Third Army has not fought yet. Although the journey has consumed a lot of energy, the soldiers' energy and spirit have not been affected.
As the Third Army launched the offensive, the Fifth Corps also fell into a situation of being attacked from both sides. So far, all three regiments deployed by the old fox in Chengkou County have been retained.
On the other side of Taoshuba, Li Qiufan issued new orders to all combat troops.
The troops of the Second Army and the Second Corps cooperated with the two divisions of the First Army to besiege the 18th Corps. They only conducted defense and did not launch an attack for the time being.
Then, the first division of the First Army and the division of the Third Army will first eliminate the two armies of the newly formed Seventh Army.
The situation faced by the two armies of the newly formed Seventh Corps has already made them lose hope.
Coupled with the strong firepower of the First Army and the Third Army, they were annihilated not long after.
Then the division of the Third Army was temporarily commanded by the First Army and entered the Taoshuba position.
Regarding the destruction of the two armies of the newly formed Seventh Corps, the commander of the Eighteenth Corps could only watch from a distance but could do nothing.
And after those two armies are eliminated, it will be their turn next.
"These 70,000 to 80,000 people still have a certain fighting capacity. Do you want to arrange for someone to persuade them to surrender? If you can succeed, unnecessary casualties will be avoided!"
Looking at the enemy troops in the encirclement, Wang Huzi suggested to Li Qiufan beside him.
"Brother, what you said makes sense. No matter whether it works or not, try it without losing money!"
After hearing what Wang Huzi said, Li Qiufan nodded in agreement.
Because the battle has reached this point, victory is certain, and what we have to consider now is how to reduce losses.
