Okamura Neiji stopped talking nonsense and directly ordered to the deputy chief of staff: "Send a telegram to Mr. Fujita immediately, and the middle-road sweep troops will march forward in a sudden attack and surround Pingyang Town as quickly as possible."
"Gather the Eighth Route Army troops defending Pingyang Town and annihilate them."
"Let the central sweep force capture more strong men, dig trenches around Pingyang Town, and cut off all underground passages from the town to the outside."
"The mopping up troops from the left and right will immediately reinforce Pingyang Town, wait there, and eliminate all the Eighth Route Army reinforcements in Pingyang Town."
"The Eighth Route Army can encircle us and provide reinforcements, and we can also treat others in their own way."
】
"Kill the Eighth Route Army in Pingyang Town and then attack Chenzhuang."
"Take down one tunnel fortification and destroy the other."
"The tunnels are the only way for the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong to fight against us."
"By destroying the tunnel, the Eighth Route Army in Yi Zhong will have no hiding place and will have no choice but to fight us on the ground."
"Yizhong is located in a plain, and the terrain advantage is very beneficial to the imperial army. No matter how powerful the Eighth Route Army is, they can't even think of taking advantage of us in ground battles."
…………
The Japanese mopping up troops on the middle road had been on the road all morning, and finally won a short break during lunch.
Although Major General Fujita was the brigade commander, he did nothing special during the march. He took dry food and boiled water to satisfy his hunger.
Before he finished eating, he saw the operator running toward him in a hurry with a complicated expression. No one could tell whether he was bringing good news or bad news.
"Brigade leader..."
"Your Excellency, the Commander, asked us to terminate the original raid plan and eliminate the Eighth Route Army in Pingyang Town first, and then raid Chenzhuang."
"Eliminate..." Major General Fujita felt like he had heard a big joke.
He frowned and asked, "Commander, don't you know that the Eighth Route Army dug tunnels underground?"
"The Eighth Route Army in Pingyang Town can use tunnels to withdraw from the battle at any time. How can we eliminate them?"
The operator immediately handed the telegram to Major General Fujita and continued: "The Commander mentioned a method of attack in the telegram..."
Major General Fujita had little experience in fighting tunnel warfare and was worried about this matter along the way.
Okamura Neiji has stayed in North China for a long time and must know tunnel warfare better than himself.
As if finding a life-saving straw in despair, he quickly took the telegram and looked at it.
Then he laughed: "Your Excellency, Commander, is indeed a veteran in the army. He can come up with such good ideas."
"Spread out the map and ask the captain of the cavalry brigade and the fourth brigade to report to me immediately. There are important tasks for them."
Ten minutes later, two cavalry squadrons quickly left the road and headed straight for two villages four kilometers away.
Four infantry squadrons broke away from the team at the same time and rushed to the nearest villages in four directions.
Major General Fujita continued to advance towards Pingyang Town with the main force, and the marching speed was obviously much slower than that in the morning.
…………
At the enemy headquarters of the Shunping Garrison Regiment in Pingyang Town, Huang Yu was holding a telescope to observe the hurriedly approaching Japanese and puppet troops.
Wang Lin stood aside, his brows suddenly twisted into a big "Sichuan" sign, and then he said nervously.
"There is a situation..."
"Commander, a large number of ordinary people suddenly appeared behind the Japanese and puppet troops..."
Huang Yu quickly looked in the direction of Wang Lin's finger.
More than 300 ordinary people were driven into view by the Japs. If anyone walked a little slower, they would be beaten and kicked by the Japs.
A bad premonition flashed through Huang Yu's mind: "Do the little devils want the common people to be cannon fodder for them, and have them rush forward to block bullets when they attack?"
"It's very possible that the kid is worse than a beast!" Wang Lin answered with a stern face.
At this moment, more and more people came into view, and soon there were more than 2,000 people.
Just when everyone didn't know what the Japanese and puppet troops were planning, the Japanese and puppet troops blocked at the entrance of the town began to divide their troops.
Two reinforced squadrons formed a group and led the common people to quickly move towards Pingyang Town and outflank them.
"Captain, what are you doing, little devil?" Wang Lin couldn't help but ask as he looked more and more confused.
"We have tunnels. Even if the Japanese and puppet troops surround the town with iron walls, they can't trap us."
"They have already suffered a loss in Taipingzhuang, why don't they learn a lesson from the price increase?"
Huang Yu also failed to see the real purpose of the Japanese and puppet troops. He shook his head, held up his binoculars and stared at the Japanese and puppet troops outflanking them, and decided to wait and see what would happen.
If they don't take action before dark, the battlefield will turn into the Junpei garrison after dark, and you have to fight to find out their true purpose.
Twenty minutes later, the Japanese and puppet troops were outflanked and began to dig trenches around the town. Nothing unusual happened.
"Is it possible that the Japanese and puppet troops captured so many civilians just to dig trenches for them..." Wang Lin was even more confused than before. He frowned and racked his brains to figure out the real reason why the Japanese and puppet troops did this.
Half an hour later, the trench surrounding the town was basically formed.
More than an hour later, the trench had been dug to a depth of more than eight meters.
But the Japanese and puppet troops continued to dig deeper without any intention of stopping.
"Captain, do you think the little Japs will be frightened by the night attack at Taipingzhuang?" Wang Lin expressed his thoughts again.
"I was afraid that the outflanking troops would be like the day before yesterday. After being attacked, they didn't even have a hiding place, so they had to recruit a large number of ordinary people to help dig trenches."
Huang Yu couldn't think of any other explanation and could only nod in approval: "This possibility cannot be ruled out."
After saying that, he frowned and his face became more and more solemn.
Know yourself and know your enemy and you will win every battle, but as a result, you can't even understand your opponent's moves. Huang Yu felt at a loss when facing the Japanese and puppet troops for the first time.
We can only continue to wait and see, staring at them, hoping to find some flaws.
An hour passed quickly, and the trench surrounding Pingyang Town had been dug to a depth of more than one meter, which was enough to serve as a bunker.
But the people did not stop and continued to dig deeper.
An idea flashed through my mind, and I suddenly thought of something, but when I thought about it seriously, I came up with nothing.
"Rumble..."
A series of explosions suddenly sounded like thunder, instantly bringing Huang Yu, who was deep in thought, back to reality.
A series of black smoke rose up from the trenches that the Japanese army had just dug, and they were lined up in a row ten meters apart, very neatly.
"Blast..." Huang Yu said with a look of shock on his face when he finally knew why the Japs were digging trenches.
"Use explosives to deepen the trenches, dig out all the underground passages connecting Pingyang Town to the outside, completely block us in Pingyang Town, and then gather together to annihilate them."
"It's a stupid approach, but it's very useful."
"As long as the trenches are deep enough, the tunnels we dig will be exposed to the Japanese and puppet troops."
"The combat effectiveness is over, and the troops cannot retreat from the tunnel even if they want to."
"We can only stay here and fight to the death with the Japanese and puppet troops."
"What a cunning opponent who can think of such a way to break the situation."
Wang Lin became anxious after hearing this and immediately asked for instructions: "Captain, we can't let the little Japs cut off our retreat."
"I suggest that the troops abandon Pingyang Town immediately and go to the next tunnel fortification to attack the little devils."
"Once we are held back by the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops, the tunnels will be dug and we will be unable to leave even if we want to."
"Rumble..."
Violent explosions were also heard in the south of the town, with thick smoke billowing and mud flying.
Huang Yu became more and more determined in his previous judgment, and Wang Lin became more anxious than before. He couldn't help but give orders to the company commander of the guard at the door without waiting for Huang Yu to nod.
"What are you still doing? Protect the captain and enter the tunnel immediately."
"While the Japanese haven't dug the underground passage yet, all the participating troops in Pingyang Town will retreat immediately."
"Can't withdraw..." Huang Yu waved away the two guards who rushed towards the door.
"The Japanese can dig trenches here and cut off our retreat."
"Trenches can also be dug in other villages."
"Should we abandon our position and run away when we see the little devils digging trenches?"
"The land is so big and there are only so many tunnel fortifications. Where can the troops go?"
"Is it possible that the base area is no longer needed and the villagers no longer care about it, and they have completely become a bunch of deserters."
"The Japanese will first cut off our retreat, and then gather and annihilate us here. It's a good idea, but I just don't know if they have such a big appetite."
"Our Shunping garrison is not a vegetarian. We also have reinforcements sent by the regiment commander to assist in the battle. Don't be too full to death by then."
"The battle plan remains unchanged, but we still don't know who will win?"
"If something unexpected happens here, we will knock out a few of the little devil's teeth before we die to create an opportunity for the main force of the regiment to gather and annihilate the mopping up troops in the middle."
…………
"Rumble..."
Another series of explosions sounded at the back of the town, sending smoke and dust flying.
It was a few puppet soldiers who rushed towards the explosion point first, and a cry of surprise came out from the smoke.
"The bombing happened, the tunnel was blown out by us..."
The puppet company commander immediately rushed to the explosion point, followed by the little Japanese squadron leader.
The tunnel had been blown into two sections, and it was dark inside. Several puppet soldiers pointed their guns at the tunnel, and no one dared to go in.
Not long after, after receiving the news, Major General Fujita also rushed over. After looking at the tunnel, which was more than five meters deep, he ordered: "The Eighth Route Army is really cunning. They dug the tunnel so deep. No wonder artillery bombardment and aircraft bombing are useless to them."
"Order: All trenches around Pingyang Town must be dug six meters deep. The places that are difficult to dig should be blown up with explosives. All tunnels connecting the town to the outside must be found."
"General, why don't we blow them up now..." the squadron leader standing aside suggested.
Although he had never fought in a tunnel battle, he had heard rumors during the Taipingzhuang battle that two reinforced squadrons disappeared after entering the tunnel.
The tunnel entrance in front of us is like a bloody mouth. It is too dangerous. It is safest to blow it up directly.
Major General Fujita thinks much more far-term than his subordinates.
During the few hours that the troops were digging trenches, he had been analyzing the battle at Taipingzhuang, studying ways to break the situation, and how to fight to minimize the threat that the tunnels posed to him.
After a few hours, he really came up with some ideas.
Although it can't be put on the table and consumes a lot of ammunition, it is still more cost-effective than sacrificing the lives of his subordinates.
Looking at the squadron leader, he shook his head and ordered: "Don't blow up..."
"Blowing it up directly would be too cheap for the Eighth Route Army inside."
"The engineers and infantrymen cooperated with each other and blasted into the town along the tunnel we found."
"Blow me up section by section and force out all the Eighth Route Army soldiers in the tunnel."
"During the operation, two machine guns were placed at the entrance of the cave to prevent the Eighth Route Army from suddenly coming out of the tunnel and catching us by surprise."
"I will arrange another brigade to surround the village and establish a defensive line on the ground to prevent the Eighth Route Army from breaking out from the ground under the cover of night."
