In the Battle of Baihu Pass, coupled with the previous ambush on the Kawashima Brigade, more than 1,200 Japanese from the Kawashima Brigade and the Nakata Squadron were annihilated, and a brigade's equipment was seized, including more than 1,000 long and short guns and more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition, especially in Baihu Pass A large amount of ammunition and logistics supplies are stored, which is enough for an independent battalion to be used for a period of time.
Baihu Pass is a military fortress. Its purpose is to serve as a barrier for Zezhou City. If Baihu Pass is not captured, no one will dare to attack Zezhou City. Side fire is very fatal.
Now it's good, after taking Baihu Pass, Zezhou City can be manipulated at will.
Zezhou City is a county town. The permanent population in the city alone exceeds hundreds of thousands, but there are only two gates, front and back.
In order to prevent the Japanese from evacuating through the back door, Chu Xiong sent the third company with the largest number of troops to block the north gate, also known as the back door;
The first and second companies attacked the south gate, which was the front gate. The task of the Tigers was to place a small team on the outside and keep an eye on the Japanese reinforcements. The other two teams were led by Chu Xiong himself and look for opportunities to break into the city.
A large city with hundreds of thousands of people, with walls stretching for several kilometers, the Japanese couldn't defend it at all, and it was okay against ordinary troops. There were loopholes everywhere in front of the tigers, and Chuxiong didn't feel any pressure at all to get in.
There won't be much time left for them. The Japanese reinforcements can be back in three days at the latest, or even two days at the earliest. It depends on whether the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the base area can hold them back.
Division commanders and brigade commanders are also temperamental people. They rush into the base area to burn, kill and loot without any reason, and then they want to run away. It's not that easy!
In fact, the division commander and brigade commander were looking for fighters, preparing to take care of the Japanese and ambush them.
News of the loss of Baihu Pass quickly spread to the city. Now even the old Japanese in Chaoxiang became nervous and instructed Lieutenant General Okamoto to notify the main force of the 25th Division to abandon the security war and quickly return to Zezhou City to aid.
"Okamoto-kun, do whatever it takes!"
Chaoxiang was anxious. Currently, there are only two brigades of the 138th Regiment and one regiment of the Imperial Association Army in Zezhou City. It is indeed a bit stressful to guard the entire Zezhou City. His life and that of his colleagues in the observation group are precious, especially is his!
The withdrawal of troops will not be possible in a short while. The troops of the 25th Division are scattered everywhere, and some even go deep into the mountains of the base area. There is no radio station, so it is difficult to assemble the troops. You have to be conservative. It only takes two or three days.
For the time being, they could only rely on the existing troops in the city for support. A call for help was also sent from the direction of Taiyuan. General Xiao Zhuoyinan sent aircraft to support, and at the same time, he also mobilized nearby garrison troops to support Zezhou City.
The great movement in Zezhou City not only alarmed the Japanese, but also alarmed the Eighth Route Army. Although they could not understand what happened in Zezhou City, this did not prevent them from blocking the returning Japanese soldiers at all levels.
As long as the devils want to do something, they will try their best to destroy it. This is correct everywhere!
Outside Zezhou City, the First and Second Companies began to attack the city. Two infantry cannons and three mortars blasted at the city wall, and dozens of light and heavy machine guns fired wildly at the city wall.
The main force of the 138th Regiment has been attracted to the city wall. The two sides are shooting at each other across the city wall. The Eighth Route Army is already cutting down wood to make ladders for siege. This time they are not playing around.
In particular, two infantry cannons fired fiercely at a city wall. The wall built hundreds of years ago in Zezhou City could withstand several cannons. Even the Japanese had no confidence.
At around 11 o'clock in the morning, Japanese planes visited the Zezhou battlefield for the first time and dropped a large number of aerial bombs on the positions of the 1st and 2nd companies. Fortunately, the attack formation of the 1st and 2nd companies was wide enough, so the casualties were not too great.
The first and second companies seemed to be fighting fiercely, but in fact they were just bluffing and feinting. With only a few hundred men from the two companies, they couldn't attack Zezhou City. They were trying to attract the Japanese to the city defense as much as possible, so that Chu Xiong had the opportunity to sneak attack on the Japanese. headquarters.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, under the continuous bombardment of infantry artillery, a gap of more than ten meters was blown down in the wall. The gap was only more than two meters from the lowest point on the ground.
In order to put pressure on the Japanese in the city, one company after another began to carry ladders and launch a battle to the gap. Others were covering outside the city. The Japanese were even more nervous now because they did not know how many people came from the Eighth Route Army.
The Eighth Route Army, which had several cannons and dozens of light and heavy machine guns, was at least the size of a regiment, or even more.
I wasn't worried about two large groups of Japanese soldiers dealing with a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers, but the people they were protecting were too important to tolerate any mistakes, so I became nervous!
The Eighth Route Army's siege was naturally known to Zhou Weiguo and others. This was a great opportunity for them. The Imperial Association Army in the city was also inextricably linked to the National Army. Many people were betting on both sides. , euphemistically called the curve to save the country.
It was precisely because of this relationship that Zhou Weiguo and others were able to blatantly sneak into the puppet army. With the Eighth Route Army's siege, he was even planning an uprising of the puppet army in the city.
The Zezhou garrison of the Imperial Association Army, Zhou Weiguo and others have become the guests of the regiment leader Zhao Sihu. These puppet soldiers are like a nest of snakes and rats, and many of them are members of the Tsing Yi Club themselves.
Because the matter was so important, the Japanese did not even dare to send them to the city wall to help defend the city. They only strictly ordered them to control the order in the city and maintain public security in the city.
Wang Han, who was responsible for investigating the news, finally figured out whose troops were outside the city, and excitedly said to Zhou Weiguo:
"Captain, we've found out. It's our old acquaintance Chu Xiong. He didn't know he smelled the fishy smell and came here to grab food!"
Zhou Weiguo immediately smiled knowingly when he heard this. This was so in line with his style. It would be strange if he didn't come!
If he guessed correctly, this kid might have sneaked into the city and let the main force attack the city on the outside so that he could cause trouble inside the city. This kid really understands the essence of special operations.
Before Zhou Weiguo could speak, Zhao Sihu answered:
"Director Wang, who is this Chu Xiong? He is so brave. He dares to attack Zezhou City, which is heavily guarded by Japanese troops, with hundreds of people?"
Zhao Sihu is also a member of the Tsing Yi Club. Wang Han's rank in the Tsing Yi Club is not low. At the director level, Zhao Sihu is not under the leadership of Wang Han.
Many of these puppet soldiers were ordered to join the Japs. On the one hand, they could gather information about the Japs, and on the other hand, they could assist the Japs in curbing the development of the Eighth Route Army. They had two appointment certificates in their hands.
A few of them even had three cards. The third card came from the Eighth Route Army or the New Fourth Army. They made long bets and left themselves a way out.
Wang Han couldn't help but smile after hearing this, and thought to himself:
"Where are you from? There are so many timid places."
Then he said to Zhao Sihu:
"Captain Zhao, it doesn't matter what kind of brat he is, as long as you know that their offensive outside the city is beneficial to our actions!"
After Zhou Weiguo knew it was Chu Xiong, he decided to mobilize Zhao Sihu to launch an uprising. He couldn't miss the opportunity. If he waited for the Japanese reinforcements to arrive, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
"Captain Zhao, you should know better than me how much credit you have for wiping out the old Japs in Chaoxiang. As long as you complete this task, my brothers will have to call you Master Zhao from now on!"
In order to persuade Zhao Sihu, Zhou Weiguo began to place heavy bets!
