"No..." Major General Kawasaki shouted with a stern face after hearing this.
"The cavalry unit is probably in trouble.
"According to the agreement, if the troops are attacked, the commander leading the troops must report it to the brigade headquarters."
"They were equipped with three radio stations and marched in a dispersed manner. It is impossible for accidents to happen at the same time."
"But we haven't heard anything about the cavalry."
"It means that the cavalry unit has had an accident."
"The Eighth Route Army along the railway has the strength to kill a thousand cavalry, so it will be very easy to encircle and annihilate the patrols along the way."
"The patrol team on Bagya Road and the middle road is also in danger."
After saying that, he ordered to the communications staff officer on the side: "What are you doing standing still here?"
"Send a telegram to the Central Patrol immediately."
"Let them divide their forces and break out immediately."
"We must not wait for help. Just break out as many as you can."
"The Eighth Route Army along the railway is too strong and equipped with a large number of artillery."
"There is no high ground to defend on the battlefield, not even a hiding trench."
"There is no difference between waiting for help and dying there."
"A sudden artillery attack by the Eighth Route Army can cause them heavy casualties and lose their combat effectiveness."
"By the way, send a telegram to the other two patrol teams and ask them to return to Baoding immediately along the railway line."
"We underestimated the strength of the Eighth Route Army along the railway."
"If they don't return to Baoding quickly, they may be defeated by the Eighth Route Army one by one."
After saving the order, he returned to Major General Kawasaki and asked: "General..."
"If the cavalry unit really encounters something unexpected on the battlefield."
"The middle patrol also suffered heavy losses."
"The Baoding garrison was defeated and nearly 2,000 people were killed."
"What do we do next and how do we protect the southbound rail line."
"If the Eighth Route Army knows that we dare not send troops to inspect the railway line, they will definitely continue to attack the artillery towers and checkpoints along the line, blow up the railway line, and interrupt the southbound railway."
"The loss would be huge, and it would be hard to explain to the commander."
Major General Kawasaki smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Without troops in hand, no matter how many countermeasures are in mind, they cannot be used.
Facing his subordinates' expectant eyes, he said helplessly: "There's nothing I can do."
"The top priority is to rescue the middle patrol team and reduce losses."
"I immediately contacted the front army headquarters and asked for punishment myself."
"Only the commander can help us solve the crisis the troops are facing now."
…………
At the former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, Li Yunlong felt like he had eaten candied fruit. The smile on his face never stopped from the moment he entered.
When meeting everyone, he would brag about how powerful he was in the battle last night and how many little Japs he had killed...
I was so happy that I could hardly find the north.
Chief of Staff Shen Quan rushed in happily, with a bigger smile than Li Yunlong's.
While panting, he reported: "Captain, Commander Li..."
"Last night, the participating troops successfully completed all combat plans.
"Successfully captured the Tanwan stronghold, eliminated the Japanese cavalry troops, severely damaged the Japanese patrols, and destroyed a three-kilometer-long railway line."
"At the speed at which the Japanese are repairing the railway, it will take at least three days to reopen it to traffic."
Li Yunlong's reaction was very dull.
He was one of the direct commanders of this battle. No one knew better than him how many Japanese soldiers the troops had destroyed, and his focus was not here.
He immediately showed an expectant expression and asked: "Where is the loot..."
"After fighting the cavalry, I will go and fight the Japanese infantry."
"How many war horses have we collected on the battlefield? Are they enough to form a cavalry battalion for me..."
Chen Quan counted the treasures and said: "Excluding those who were killed, injured, and those whose legs were broken by being trapped in horse pits, we found a total of 369 intact horses..."
"One thousand and sixty-one sets of cavalry equipment were seized."
"The anti-Japanese patrol team seized 6 mortars, two infantry guns, 7 heavy machine guns, 41 light machine guns, 813 rifles, and more than 100,000 rounds of various self-propelled and artillery shells."
"Kong Er is stupid..." Li Yunlong laughed after hearing this, turned to look at Kong Jie, and rubbed his hands.
"All the captured war horses belong to me..."
"All the weapons and ammunition belong to you. The cavalry plays a great role on the plain battlefield. I must form a cavalry battalion."
Kong Jie objected without hesitation: "You have a beautiful idea."
"My only regiment took so long to build a cavalry company. You want to build a cavalry battalion when you come up. It's just a daydream."
"I will give you at most 120 horses to form a cavalry company."
"The three garrison regiments still have no cavalry companies."
"The remaining war horses are divided into three. First, form a simplified version of the cavalry company for each company, with two cavalry platoons under its jurisdiction."
"Weapons and ammunition give priority to replenishing the losses of troops participating in the war."
"If there is more, we will distribute it proportionally."
"I, Kong Jie, won't take advantage of you, and you kid, don't even try to take advantage of me."
Huang Yu, who was standing aside, suddenly interrupted: "Chief of Staff..."
"Are there many casualties among the troops?"
"How many people from the three regiments can continue to fight?"
Li Yunlong was still preparing to compete with Kong Jie, but Huang Yu realized that there was something in his words as soon as he opened his mouth. He decisively swallowed the words that had reached his lips and watched him speak first.
"Xiao Huang..."
"The cavalry losses were very small, and the casualties were mainly caused by the patrols."
"Almost half of the frontal blocking troops suffered casualties."
"After deducting previous losses, the two thousand men brought to Baoding by the only regiment only have 1,023 left to continue fighting."
"I reduced them into three battalions and six companies, each with 120 men."
"Although the number of people is reduced by nearly half, the combat effectiveness has not been reduced much."
"Since the troops were sent out, as long as the new recruits in the team are still alive, they have basically killed the Japanese and become veterans."
"Veterans are also getting stronger with the experience of combat."
"Although the team is missing three companies, and each company is missing twenty or thirty people, the overall combat effectiveness has not dropped much."
Chen Quan followed: "The losses of the Duer Regiment are about the same."
"There are 1,158 people left in the regiment to continue fighting."
"The new recruits have basically formed combat effectiveness, and their equipment is better than before. The overall combat effectiveness has not been reduced much."
Huang Yu finally spoke: "Shunping Defense Regiment has 674 people left to continue fighting."
"The situation is similar to that of a main force group."
Li Yunlong didn't wait for Huang Yu to finish speaking and asked expectantly: "Xiao Huang..."
"You kid has a new idea."
"Tell us quickly and don't be too pretentious."
"Although the soldiers fought all night, they all won the battles and their morale is strong. Let everyone hold on. There will be no problem in fighting two more battles."
Kong Jie also looked at Huang Yu with an expectant expression, waiting for him to continue.
"Captain...Captain Li..."
Huang Yu didn't keep them waiting for long.
Pointing to the map on the table, he analyzed: "After the defeat of the Baoding garrison, only two excited brigades are left to patrol the railway line."
"We pulled out the tiger's teeth and ate nearly two thousand of their cavalry in one night.
"If I were the commander of the Baoding garrison, I would definitely not dare to let the two brigades continue to patrol the railway lines."
Kong Jie immediately supported: "That's right."
"If I were sitting in that old devil's position in Kawasaki, I would definitely not dare to send troops again."
"Two thousand infantry and cavalry combined are no match for us, let alone two thousand little Japanese infantry."
"Continuing to leave the city is tantamount to hitting our guns and seeking death."
Li Yunlong suddenly interjected: "I really want to understand Xiao Huang's meaning."
"Japan mobile troops withdraw to Baoding."
"There are only some garrison troops left along the railway line."
"We have mountain artillery and infantry artillery. We must hit them accurately."
"You want us to seize the time to attack the south-going railway, eliminate all the Japanese and puppet troops stationed along the railway, and take the opportunity to weaken the strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding."
Li Yunlong's eyes are indeed very vicious.
As soon as he got up, he analyzed the entire battle plan, which was very impressive.
Nodding and answering seriously: "Captain Li..."
"Unless the kid really doesn't want to go south to the railway."
"Otherwise, that old devil from Kawasaki would send troops for reinforcements if he knew there was danger outside the city."
"We can not only take the opportunity to destroy the railway line and eliminate the garrison along the railway, but we can also conduct another encirclement and reinforcements, continue to severely defeat the Baoding garrison, and create opportunities for the future attack on Baoding."
"After we left the base area, the remaining troops in the base area have been recruiting and training new soldiers."
"Encircling points for reinforcements, attacking railway lines, and attacking strongholds along the railway lines. The initiative in combat is in our hands, and the scale of the battle is not large. It is the best way to train for power."
"We can take this opportunity to replenish the army with the new recruits just recruited from the base area."
"Two veterans lead a new recruit."
"Go directly to the battlefield to train new recruits."
"Let them form combat effectiveness as soon as possible."
Kong Jie suddenly asked, "What if that old devil from Kawasaki decides to abandon the southbound railway?"
"Then blow up the entire railway..." Huang Yu drew a circle on the map.
"This railway is the only way for Okamura Neji to quickly reinforce Baoding."
"Blow up the railway, and the Japanese and puppet troops going south can only use roads to reinforce Baoding."
"If we destroy the highway and send troops to block it along the way, the Japanese and puppet troops marching south from Peiping and Tianjin will not be able to reach Baoding for three or four days."
"We will have enough time to storm Baoding."
"Take this military town as your own."
Having said this, Huang Yu punched Baoding City on the map directly, with a look of determination on his face.
Li Yunlong was already persuaded. After staring at the map for a minute, he said: "Lao Kong."
"I think Xiao Huang's proposal is feasible."
"The Japanese will not give up the railway line going south. We will continue to encircle the points and provide reinforcements, severely defeating the Baoding garrison."
"The Japanese abandoned the southbound railway line and defended Baoding."
"Then let's take the opportunity to capture Baoding City."
Kong Jie nodded in agreement: "Including the temporary recruitment of new soldiers from the base area, our three regiments have more than 3,000 people."
"Relying on the advantages of equipment and firepower, it will definitely be no problem to surround the point and provide reinforcements."
"But if we want to storm Baoding, our troops are still a little short."
Huang Yu interjected again: "If we really want to attack Baoding."
"We can transfer the Wangdu Defense Group and the Mancheng Defense Group."
"The two regiments have been training in the base area. There is no big battle. There must be 4,000 people."
"In total, there are more than 7,000 elites."
"The field artillery battalion can also come over to join the battle, and we have a higher chance of winning."
