Okamura Neiji also wanted the Shanxi garrison to turn defeat into victory at the last moment, so he immediately ordered: "Give them..."
"Notify the aviation force: Cooperate unconditionally with the Shanxi garrison to intercept the Eighth Route Army in Yinzhong."
"Even if they cannot be eliminated, we must destroy all the tanks, weapons, ammunition, and military equipment they snatched from Taiyuan. We must not take advantage of the Eighth Route Army to increase their strength."
After finishing speaking, he strode to the sand table and ordered: "After the Yizhong Eighth Route Army withdraws from Shanxi, there is still a long way to go in Hebei..."
"Let the troops stationed along Hebei be ready for battle..."
"If the Yizhong Eighth Route Army escapes the pursuit of the Shanxi garrison, the Hebei garrison must do its best to stop them and destroy them!"
"Taiyuan City is the Shanxi garrison headquarters and has great influence."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, as the chief culprit in the conquest of Taiyuan, brought shame to the North China Front Army and must pay the price for their actions."
"chief of staff……"
"I want to use the fastest time to sweep the Yi Zhong base area of the Eighth Route Army for the third time."
"Their presence poses a huge threat to the North China Front."
"Originally, I only had some influence in Yi Zhong, but now I have reached out to northwest Shanxi."
"Without them, the Shanxi garrison's sweeping campaign in northwestern Shanxi would not have been completed halfway..."
The chief of staff was embarrassed to answer: "Commander, please think twice..."
"The current North China Front Army does not have the strength to sweep away the Eighth Route Army's base area in the wing for the third time..."
Okamura Neiji had already guessed this result, but he did not give up the idea and stared at the chief of staff and continued to ask.
"I know……"
"But the headquarters must start planning the third major sweep against the Eighth Route Army's wing center base area from now on."
"Whether it takes one month, three months... or even a year, I will destroy the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong."
"Kill them and then we can attack the other Eighth Route Army."
"Otherwise, if we attack any other Eighth Route Army, we will be flanked by the Eighth Route Army in the center, and we will be attacked from the front and back."
The chief of staff was convinced and immediately promised to Chaogangcun Neiji: "I will arrange several combat staff officers to follow up on the third major sweep against the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong."
"At the same time, we need to recruit more troops and equipment from home, make up for the losses of various troops as soon as possible, and gather enough troops to sweep the Eighth Route Army's base areas in the wings."
…………
The former enemy headquarters and deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army are also paying attention to this retreat.
The level of nervousness in my heart was no less than when I was transferring a plane from Taiyuan Airport a few days ago.
"Chief..." Before the operator even ran into the headquarters, the excited voice reached the deputy commander-in-chief's ears.
"Is there any news about Huang Yu..." The deputy commander walked quickly to the entrance of the command department, almost bumping into the operator, and asked anxiously.
"Captain Huang has an urgent call..." The operator quickly turned around.
"They have passed through Niangzi Pass, left Shanxi, and entered Hebei..."
"Our three main regiments operating in southern Shanxi successfully completed the escort mission..."
"Captain Huang of the Special Regiment handed over the promised weapons and ammunition to them as agreed..."
The deputy commander turned back to the map. When he found Niangzi Pass, he said happily: "Okay..."
"After passing Niangziguan... Hebei will be easy to leave..."
"We have a lot more troops active here."
"As long as they safely escape the Japanese air raids after dawn... they will be able to return to the base smoothly tonight..."
The operator continued to report: "There is also good news..."
"It was the escort force that entrusted the special group to report it to us."
"In order to block the special forces, Yoshio Iwamatsu strictly ordered the Japanese and puppet military strongholds along the highway to destroy the highway at all costs."
"Many of the strongholds here are tough, and our troops don't have heavy weapons to attack them. There's nothing we can do against them."
"The Japanese and puppet troops were ordered to attack tonight, which gave us a good opportunity to eliminate them outside the stronghold."
"According to statistics: the three main regiments participating in the war killed a total of 956 Japs and 1,586 puppet soldiers through ambushes and raids while protecting the highway, and 956 puppet soldiers were captured..."
"Conquered three medium-sized strongholds and six small strongholds that had been difficult to conquer for a long time... and seized a large amount of weapons, ammunition and supplies."
"There are still two regiments that connected the base areas together during the battle..."
"The gain is greater than if we launched a medium-sized attack."
"The casualties are still very small."
"Especially the troops operating in Niangziguan."
"The Japanese and puppet troops brought a large amount of explosives to destroy the highway..."
"Our troops used machine guns to detonate explosives... and wiped out a reinforced Japanese squadron without spending a single soldier."
"I even took the opportunity to take down Niangziguan!"
"We have seized all the weapons and ammunition used by the Japanese army to rebuild the Niangziguan garrison, including five hundred rifles..."
The deputy commander was dumbfounded, and then his whole face was replaced by a smile.
Unexpectedly, the special escort team would deliver such an unexpected surprise.
Immediately ordered to the chief of staff on the side: "Quickly notify the troops escorting the special regiment along the Hebei line..."
"Not only must we protect the highway and prevent damage by the Japanese and puppet troops... we must also seize the opportunity to expand the results of the battle, take the opportunity to consume a large number of Japanese and puppet troops along the route, expand base areas and guerrilla areas, seize more weapons, ammunition and materials, and accumulate accumulation for the next counter-mopping up strength."
"Contact Li Yunlong again..."
"They took the mountain road back to the Yizhong base, traveling day and night. They should be ready to rest now. Ask them where they are..."
"Let them be prepared for air defense and never expose the target..."
…………
On the official road more than 30 kilometers east of Taiyuan City, more than 5,000 little devils were rushing forward.
It's been a long time since Iwamatsu Yoshio suffered as much as he did tonight.
Ever since I became a major general, I have always taken a car wherever I went.
It's not like tonight, when I was riding a horse all the way, my thighs were all red.
But he did not dare to let the troops stop and rest.
In order to stop the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong and keep the position under his buttocks, he gritted his teeth and pushed through several times when he wanted to rest.
"Your Excellency Commander..."
A messenger rushed towards him on horseback with a very solemn expression. He almost fell to the ground when he dismounted. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and stood up in time with his hands on the ground.
When he ran to Yoshio Iwamatsu, he gasped and reported: "The Eighth Route Army convoy successfully passed Niangzi Pass and evacuated Shanxi..."
"The troops blocking the convoy and damaging the road were all attacked by the unknown Eighth Route Army..."
"Not only were all the attacking troops wiped out, but the strongholds they were stationed in were also lost..."
"Niangziguan was also occupied by the Eighth Route Army for the second time."
"But it wasn't captured by the Wing Center troops."
"In order to hold back the convoy, the garrison in the pass came out in full force and wanted to completely destroy the road near Niangziguan."
"An Eighth Route Army hid outside the pass and set up an ambush. They wiped them out in less than an hour and took the opportunity to seize Niangzi Pass..."
"Intelligence shows..."
"After the Eighth Route Army convoy passed through Niangzi Pass, the Eighth Route Army that occupied Niangzi Pass immediately retreated... and blew up the city wall of Niangzi Pass..."
