At the south station of Baoding City, excluding the two infantry squadrons that took over the city's defenses, most of the remaining brigade of Japs were allowed to enter and garrison here.
Before it got dark, seven to eight hundred little Japs got into the barracks and got ready to rest. As the division commander said, the troops traveled most of the night last night, and there were constant sneak attacks along the way. Every soldier was nervous and very tired, so he fell asleep in bed.
At eight o'clock in the evening, no one could be seen moving around Noda's camp, and snoring could be heard coming from the barracks.
In a courtyard about 500 meters away from the Japanese camp, two members of the special forces sat opposite each other. There was a detonator in front of them, connected to four telephone lines, which went underground along the corner of the wall.
This is a real gift prepared by Huang Yu and Okamura Neji. Five hundred kilograms of high explosives are buried in each station, specially buried in the barracks area with the most complex environment.
In order to confuse the little Japanese who entered the city and keep the secret, a large number of landmines were deliberately placed in the station to attract the attention of the Japanese and reduce the risk of explosive exposure.
The purpose of doing so has obviously been achieved. After hundreds of landmines were dug out by the engineers, not only the ordinary Japs, but even Neji Okamura was frightened and took a breath, thinking that the Eighth Route Army had no other means to threaten the safety of the garrison in the city.
"It's almost done..." A team member looked at the pocket watch in his hand and reminded in a low voice. The other team member nodded. After the two looked at each other, they simultaneously stretched out their right hands and pressed the detonator.
A ball of orange-red fireball soared from the ground of the sudden barracks. The roof was overturned at the same time and flew into the sky. Then came the second group, the third group... In the blink of an eye, the three rows of barracks in the south of the city were blown to pieces.
The rising flames and black smoke also formed dozens of huge mushroom clouds over the station.
"Boom..." Only then did the violent explosion reach the ears of the two team members. The ground beneath their feet shook twice, which showed how powerful the explosion was just now.
"Deploy booby traps...remove..." A team member pulled out the booby trap safety device that had been arranged in advance, stood up and walked out of the room.
The two team members moved in tandem and quickly disappeared into the darkness, as if they had never been here before.
Okamura Neiji was still awake at this time, and was contacting the front army headquarters through the radio to determine the specific time for the third wave of reinforcements and weapons and equipment to move south.
When the explosion sounded into the war room, Okamura Neji was drinking tea from this cup. He was so frightened that his hands shook, and the hot tea instantly spilled on his clothes, which made him grin and almost curse him.
He stood up from the chair, grabbed the telescope on the table and ran towards the door. The largest fireball rising from the station in the south of the city was more than 20 meters high. It looked particularly dazzling under the cover of night and could be seen clearly without a telescope.
Okamura Neiji's face instantly darkened, and his previous good mood disappeared at this moment. He judged in a voiceless voice: "It must be the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong that took action."
"I just said they won't give up Baoding to us easily."
"Sure enough, I have a backup plan."
"The explosion just now was very powerful. It was definitely not caused by artillery shells and landmines."
"Contact the garrison in the south of the city immediately to find out the situation. The sooner the better."
"The headquarters also sent people to investigate, a two-pronged approach, and I will receive relevant reports within ten minutes." Okamura Neiji had just turned around and returned to the war room, when the rapid ringing of the phone rang in the war room, and the operator listened for a minute with an expression on his face. Then he changed his mind and quickly covered the phone to report.
"Your Excellency Commander..."
"The explosion just now was caused by an unknown attack on the station in the south of the city."
"All the barracks were flattened in the explosion."
"The troops that took over the city defense have sent people back to the station for investigation. News should come back soon."
"It's gunpowder..." a combat staff suddenly shouted, with a look of realization on his face.
Seeing that Okamura Neiji was still looking outside with a confused expression, he quickly explained: "I saw a battle report when I was studying the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong."
"It said that the Eighth Route Army planted explosives at our military base in advance, and then suddenly detonated the explosives when the troops were stationed, causing us a large number of casualties, thus defeating the weak and defeating the strong."
"The explosion just now was definitely not caused by artillery shells and landmines, it could only be caused by gunpowder."
"The humble official suspects that the Eighth Route Army is repeating its old tricks."
"Before evacuating Baoding, not only were a large number of landmines placed in the camp, but a large amount of black powder was also buried in the barracks area."
"The reconnaissance force was focused on the mines and did not notice the mines."
"The Eighth Route Army could wait for all the garrison troops to go to their barracks to sleep, and then suddenly detonate explosives, killing and injuring them in large numbers." Apart from the explanation of the combat staff, Okamura Neiji could not think of any other reason, and he immediately believed it.
He quickly ordered several combat staff officers: "Quickly contact the troops stationed in the east, west and north of the city."
"Evacuate the barracks immediately and stay away from the station."
"The Eighth Route Army can bury explosives in its garrison south of the city, and it can also bury explosives in its garrison east of the city. We have to guard against it."
"Hurry up, or it'll be too late."
"Boom..." Several combat staff members grabbed the microphone and were about to make a call when the explosion from the east of the city reached Neji Okamura's ears. Compared with the explosion from the south of the city, it was worse.
"Baga, the station in the east of the city must have been bombed by the Eighth Route Army..." Neji Okamura cried out, the solemn expression between his eyebrows becoming more and more serious.
"Rumble..." Two more bursts of explosions were heard in the war room. Okamura Neiji couldn't sit still anymore and went straight to the roof of the war room with his binoculars.
Standing here, you can see most of Baoding City clearly from a high position. The huge fireball rising into the sky from the station in the west of the city was clearly visible, and the billowing smoke rose into the sky at the same time. Just looking at this posture, you can imagine how powerful the explosion was just now.
"Haven't it been found out yet..." Okamura Neji asked while watching.
"How many explosives did the Eighth Route Army have buried in the four stations, and how many casualties there were among the troops."
"Except for the four stations, are there any other places where explosives are buried in the city?"
"A large number of landmines were also mined by engineers at the headquarters below us. Could it be that high explosives were also purchased?" Okamura Neiji didn't say that he was fine, but when he mentioned it to the guard captain next to him, he became anxious, for fear that something might happen to the commander here. .
His face suddenly turned pale, he turned around and gave orders to his subordinates.
"No, the headquarters is in danger..."
"Quick, protect the commander and move immediately."
"Inform the engineers to re-check the headquarters and confirm that there are no explosives here before they can come back."
"Faster..." Okamura Neji waved his hand and refused: "Stop for me."
"If the Eighth Route Army really planted explosives at the headquarters, do you think I would still have a chance to stand on the roof and observe the battle situation?"
"The Eighth Route Army will definitely blow up the headquarters first and not give me any chance to move."
"Don't worry, I was just making an analogy. The Yizhong Eighth Route Army should not plant explosives here."
"This place is different from other places. Engineers and guards will definitely search again and again. The risk of exposure of planting explosives here is too great to be worthwhile." Okamura Neiji said clearly, but the guard captain was still worried about the commander continuing to stay here and take risks.
Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the unexpected. As the captain of Okamura Neji's guard, he does not allow any accidents to happen within the scope of his duties, otherwise the commander will be put in danger and his hard-working military career will be ruined.
He walked up to Okamura Neiji again and asked for instructions: "Your Excellency, Commander...
""
"For your safety, for the future of the North China Front Army Command, and for the overall situation, you must get here immediately."
"Even if you send your humble position to the military, I will still accompany you to protect you when you leave." After saying that, he said to the guard on the side: "What are you still doing?"
"Hurry up to protect the Commander and leave the headquarters." Okamura Neiji was held up by the guards. As soon as he left the headquarters, bad news was delivered to him.
"Report to Your Majesty the Commander..."
"The Eighth Route Army buried at least 500 kilograms of high explosives in the south of the city..."
"All three rows of barracks at the base were razed to the ground."
"The two infantry squadrons left behind at the station, half a mortar squadron, half a heavy machine gun squadron, an engineering squad, an infantry artillery squad, a reinforced mountain artillery squadron... a total of more than 400 imperial troops were buried..."
"The rescue team found the telephone lines used by the Eighth Route Army to detonate explosives around the explosion site, and they were all buried deep underground."
"Pass mine cover and avoid engineer mine detectors."
"The troops are following the phone line to search for the detonator and should have results soon.
"Your Excellency, Commander..." A combat staff officer hurried over from the headquarters.
"I just contacted the city defense troops in the east of the city."
"Their station was also razed to the ground in the explosion just now. Except for the guard post and patrol team at the door, almost all the remaining troops were wiped out."
"Your Excellency, Commander..." A communications staff officer ran over after hearing the news and reported with a serious look on his face.
"The garrison in the west of the city was also razed to the ground in the explosion just now. The garrison in the west of the city suffered more than 700 casualties..." A call came and a report was rushed over.
"Found it..." A combat staff member wearing rough clothes ran over.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the garrison in the south of the city reported that they followed the clues and successfully found the Eighth Route Army detonator."
"But the Eighth Route Army deployed booby traps in advance, the detonator was destroyed on the spot, and the Eighth Route Army who detonated the explosive was not there."
"Bagya Road, do you think they are stupid pigs?" Okamura Neji cursed angrily.
"It took so long for the gunpowder to explode. If the Eighth Route Army didn't run away, why would they be waiting for you to catch them?"
"But no matter how they move, they can't escape Baoding City."
"Immediately transfer two more brigades from outside the city into the city. Using squadrons as units, I will search door to door. We must find the culprit who detonated the explosives."
"Four stations were bombed, and at least more than 2,000 of our soldiers were killed. Their deaths cannot be in vain, and Chinese people must be buried with them."
"Let's mobilize our troops now..."
"All the military police patrolled the streets. If they found mobile Chinese, they would be killed without questioning."
"I don't believe that with so many Kwantung Army troops, we can't even find a few Eighth Route Army troops."
"Go and make arrangements now. I want to see people when I am alive, and I want to see the body when I die."
