"We have too few pilots..." the chief of staff replied with a bitter look on his face.
"Only 12 people were found in total."
"All cavalry escorts are rushing to Taiyuan..."
"The fastest one, Taiyue Military Region, will arrive tomorrow night, and the slowest one, Shandong Military Region, will take five days to arrive at Taiyuan Airport."
"The temporary airport runway has been cleared and is being reinforced..."
"The hangars hidden in the mountains are still undergoing repairs, but they have built many temporary hangars in the woods."
"After the plane arrives, it can be temporarily parked in the temporary hangar and disguised to avoid Japanese aerial reconnaissance."
"We will transfer the aircraft to the mountain after the hangar in the mountain is completed."
"Kong Jie also asked the headquarters for instructions."
"To ensure the safety of the airport, I hope the headquarters will agree to set up another garrison group and declare to the outside world that the Chenjiazhuang garrison group will not allow any enemy to approach the airport!"
"Huang Yu also sent a telegram..."
"After the flying team was established, the use of aircraft to attack the Japanese and puppet troops was secondary. The main purpose was to train our own pilots and ground staff for the Eighth Route Army."
"After all, we have a limited number of aircraft."
"When the troops have enough reserve pilots and seize enough aircraft from the Japanese army, it will not be too late to use the aircraft to attack the enemy."
The deputy commander immediately nodded: "Huang Yu's positioning is very good!"
“It’s the hardest to start anything from scratch.”
"As long as our Eighth Route Army reserves a sufficient number of pilots, we won't be afraid of not having any aircraft to fly in the future."
"It's like now..."
"Who would have thought that we could seize more than 20 aircraft from Taiyuan Airport in one battle..."
"It's still the old rule. It's better for people to wait for equipment than for equipment to wait for people..."
The chief of staff continued to report: "Xiao Huang has another suggestion..."
"After the flying unit is established, it is impossible to station it in the wing forever."
"Especially after the aviation force is expanded, it is best to station them in several bases separately."
"If an airport is exposed, it won't be blamed by the Japanese. I hope that several other base areas will also build airports secretly."
"Once the flying force forms a combat effectiveness and has enough aircraft to participate in the battle, it will immediately divide its forces and move to another location."
The deputy commander continued to nod: "It's a good idea to prepare for a rainy day..."
"Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi... can all build a secret airport..."
"Yan'an cannot be left out. In addition to the Yan'an Airport that everyone already knows, it is best to re-locate and build a secret airport that only a few people know about..."
"I personally sent a telegram to Yan'an about this matter."
…………
At the Japanese Army's Shanxi Garrison Headquarters, listening to the constant sound of firefights coming from the city, Yoshio Iwamatsu was lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
Although all evidence proves that the Eighth Route Army outside the city does not have the strength to threaten Taiyuan's security.
But the battlefield is not another place, and any accident may happen.
Tonight was the first time the Eighth Route Army outside the city took the initiative to attack Taiyuan, and almost deployed most of their troops.
As long as the Taiyuan garrison successfully defends the city fortifications and repels their attack, it will further prove that the Eighth Route Army outside the city cannot attack Taiyuan, and that it can defend Taiyuan without the return troops from northwest Shanxi. Only then will he be truly relieved.
"Your Excellency Commander..."
The chief of staff rushed back from the front line and reported excitedly without even drinking a sip of water.
"The fighting in the east of the city was very fierce...The Eighth Route Army's offensive was also very fierce...mortars, mountain artillery, large-caliber mortars, and the flying thunder cannon they developed themselves..."
"They were all used...causing huge casualties to the city defense troops and blasting a huge gap in the city wall."
"But the Eighth Route Army has too few troops..."
"Every time we reach a gap in the city wall, we are unable to follow up and are beaten back by our troops..."
"So far they have destroyed four chariots, and their corpses are piled in the gaps in the city wall."
"The greater the casualties, the weaker their offensive will be. The remaining few hours will definitely not threaten Taiyuan's security!"
Iwamatsu Yoshio breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Taiyuan City is safe..."
"There is no need to retreat for the mopping up troops in northwestern Shanxi."
"Immediately report this good news to the commander of Gangcun... Notify the front line of northwestern Shanxi and tell them not to worry. They will drag the Eighth Route Army of northwestern Shanxi to death..."
…………
In the headquarters less than two kilometers away from Taiyuan Airport, Huang Yu was discussing with Li Yunlong how the troops could continue to confuse the old Japanese soldier Yoshio Iwasatsu.
"Xiao Huang..." Li Yunlong said proudly.
"I almost believed the scene I performed at the East Gate of Taiyuan last night. That old devil Yoshio Iwamatsu would definitely not doubt it."
"As long as our thousands of infantrymen lurking outside the city continue to stand still, Iwamatsu Yoshio will always think that our troops are insufficient, we are weak in attacking Taiyuan, and we cannot threaten Taiyuan's security..."
Huang Yu looked at the map and replied: "Since the troops cannot capture Taiyuan, continuing to pretend to attack Taiyuan tonight will arouse Yoshio Iwamatsu's suspicion."
"We might as well use our strategy to spread out our troops and take the opportunity to sweep all the Japanese and puppet troops around Taiyuan."
"After the plane returns to the base, we can concentrate all our troops and firepower to attack Taiyuan without worrying about our back..."
Li Yunlong was excited when he heard about the big battle, and looked forward to analyzing: "If we can't defeat Taiyuan, we will change the direction. By attacking the small and medium-sized strongholds around Taiyuan, we will force Yoshio Iwamatsu to send troops from northwestern Shanxi to return reinforcements."
"Normal people will think about things this way, and that old devil Yoshio Iwamatsu is no exception."
"But in the eyes of Yoshio Iwamatsu, those small and medium-sized strongholds are obviously not as good as Taiyuan."
"Just throw it away."
"As long as their frontline troops successfully capture the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army and return to Taiyuan, as soon as we withdraw, those small and medium-sized strongholds will naturally return to their hands."
"This creates a God-given opportunity for us to sweep across these strongholds..."
"This is a good suggestion, I support this fight..."
"Keep away all the little Japs, puppet soldiers, and traitors who defected to the Japanese... all within a radius of forty or fifty kilometers."
"Mosquitoes are small but they are also meat."
"Even if we can't kill a few Japs, we can still seize a lot of loot."
"This is Taiyuan after all. Although it is not in the city, there are still a large number of traitors and spies living there."
"They have been plundering the local people all year round and must have accumulated countless wealth."
"Before, I had little devils on my back. I thought that since I lived near Taiyuan, our Eighth Route Army could not do anything to them."
"Yoshio Iwamatsu doesn't care about them now, it's the best time for us to deal with these people..."
After that, he pointed to the map and expressed his thoughts: "We can set up three mixed camps..."
"Chariots, artillery, and infantry work together to eliminate all surrounding Japanese and puppet forces in one fell swoop."
"We will also dedicate some tanks and artillery to guard the Taiyuan city gate. As long as the Japanese and puppet troops come out, they will be eliminated immediately."
"It makes Yoshio Iwamatsu feel that what we are doing is forcing him to mobilize troops from the front line in northwestern Shanxi, but these losses will not affect Taiyuan's security."
