Time passed quickly.
The agreed time to launch the attack has come.
Kong Jie gave an order, and the three Type 92 infantry cannons in the New Second Regiment opened fire immediately, spitting angry shells directly towards the gun towers and bunkers outside the east gate of Shouxian County.
They had planned the shooting of Zhu Yuan in advance, and this salvo had a clear effect, blasting the Japanese heavy machine gun on a turret into the sky.
However, this firing also alarmed the little Japs in Shouxian County.
The defenders on the city wall immediately fired flares towards the outside of the county town. The bright light of the flares exposed the attacking figures of the soldiers of the New Second Regiment. The figures in gray military uniforms made the little devil's eyes widen.
"Enemy attack!
Tuba Road!
Hurry up, report to the squadron leader! "
On the city wall, the little devil's squad leader shouted in horror.
…
The little devils in Shouxian County never thought that Tubal Road would dare to attack the county town. Now they saw the soldiers of the New Second Regiment attacking fiercely, and they sent soldiers with loud voices to shout loudly through loudspeakers:
"Little devils in the city, listen, we are the new second regiment of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. Now our commander Kong orders you to put down your weapons and surrender immediately, otherwise you will break through the county town and kill without mercy!"
Immediately and quickly, he reported the situation to the wing headquarters in Shuiquan.
Currently stationed in Shuiquan is the 225th Regiment, which was devoured by Yang Yuanshan. The commander of the regiment is Colonel Zhenmu Takeshi.
In the previous series, his first brigade was annihilated by Yang Yuanshan in Heyuan County, which caused him to completely fall out of favor with the division commander Hirata Kento.
So this time, most of the 37th Division was taken away by Taketo Hirata to the front line of Nakajo Mountain to make meritorious service in battle, leaving only his 225th Regiment to continue to garrison Shuiquan.
And his 225th Regiment, the First Battalion Sato Battalion, was originally stationed in Heyuan County, but was swallowed up by Yang Yuanshan.
Later, the division commander Hirata Kento gave him some ronin and expatriates and asked him to rebuild the First Battalion on his own. Now there are seven or eight hundred people, which can barely support the First Battalion.
The second brigade, the Sanada brigade, has been stationed at Shuiquan, but it is intact.
The Inoue Brigade of the Third Battalion, the First Squadron was stationed at the Heyuan County Railway Station, and was swallowed up by Yang Yuanshan; the Brigade Headquarters led the Second Squadron and the Third Squadron to station in Shouxian County, but Qixia Town was attacked. On the order of the division commander, he The third squadron of the third brigade of Shou County was sent to the rescue, but was also swallowed.
So in fact, his wing now only has its own wing headquarters, the first battalion, the second battalion, and some troops directly under the wing headquarters, less than 3,000 people.
Among them, the first brigade is still the same.
It can be said to be extremely weak.
So when Zhenmu Takezhi received a telegram from Shouxian County saying that he was attacked by the main force of a regiment on Tubal Road, he couldn't help but scratch his head.
How can he have the troops to rescue him?
His regiment of less than 3,000 people must not only guard Shuiquan, but also keep an eye on Shuiquan Coal Mine. That is the top priority!
In desperation, he could only find his new chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Nakao Soichi.
"Nakao-kun, Shouxian County was attacked by the New Second Regiment of the 386th Brigade of Tubal Road. What do you think?"
As he spoke, he handed the telegram in his hand to the other party.
Nakao Satoshi had just been promoted to the chief of staff of the wing. He frowned a little when he heard this. He took the telegram and looked at it, and suddenly felt a little irritable.
After thinking for a moment, he said very cautiously:
"Your Excellency, Captain, I'm afraid we must be saved in Shouxian County."
"Oh, why did Nakao-kun say that?"
Zhenmu Takeshi was a little curious.
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, the previous defeat of Heyuan County was also the responsibility of our 225th Wing. If Shouxian County is also lost this time, is it necessary for our wing to exist?
Rescue of Shouxian County is related to the honor of our 225th Regiment! "
Hearing what he said, Zhenmu Takezhi also felt numb.
I completely agree with Nakao Soichi's view.
Since the locust army occupied Jin, the loss of the county seat has never happened!
The last time Heyuan County was lost, he let Chief of Staff Makino Yoo take the blame, but if Shou County is lost again now, he will definitely not be able to get rid of this blame no matter what.
Of course he could complain, saying that Shouxian County only had one squadron, which was too weak, but how could the division commander and corps commander above pay attention to his reasons?
He is considered lucky to be transferred to the reserve force. If he is not lucky, he will most likely be ordered to serve His Majesty Locust and commit hara-kiri!
Thinking of this terrible consequence, Takeshi Zhenki felt a chill down his back. He seemed to see former Chief of Staff Makino Yoo looking at him with pity, waiting for him to be buried with him.
He quickly said with some panic:
"Nakao-kun, what you say makes sense. But now our 225th Regiment is weak in strength, how can we save it?
According to the telegram from Mr. Inoue of the Third Battalion, the one attacking Shouxian this time was the new second regiment of Tubal Road 386 Brigade. Although this regiment looked at its designation, it was only the basic regiment of Tubal Road, but it actually had three Type 92 infantry cannons. It must have been The strength is not weak.
If we want to go to the rescue, we have to send at least a large force to be safe enough. "
Nakao Satoshi was scratching his head when he heard this. It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice!
Now in Shuiquan City, the military strength is too weak!
He thought for a moment and then said:
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, it seems that we can only send the rebuilt First Brigade out of the city for rescue.
In addition, the Locust Alliance Army regiment in the city was also arranged, so that they had nearly a thousand people. As long as they reached Shouxian County and held firm, a basic regiment on Tubal Road would never be able to capture Shouxian County. "
Zhenmu Takezhi knew that the regiment of the Locust Association Army he was talking about was the 1st Regiment of the Third Group of the Locust Association Army, and its leader was named Jiang Tiangui.
"Yoshi, this is the only thing we can do at the moment."
Although Zhenmu Takeshi felt that this plan was not very reliable and that the First Battalion that was rebuilt by Ronin and expatriates had no combat effectiveness at all, now he could not think of a better plan and could only nod.
After all, the second brigade that still has combat effectiveness in his hands has to guard Shuiquan and Shuiquan Coal Mine. If these two are lost, he will definitely die!
When Satoshi Nakao saw that his first suggestion after becoming the chief of staff of the wing was accepted by the wing captain, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and became bolder. He quickly said:
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, I suggest that we go to the division headquarters immediately to inform you of the attack in Shouxian County and report our response plan.
If possible, you can ask the division commander to coordinate with your colleagues in Yuci and send reinforcements from the direction of Yuci for support. If both groups come out together, maybe this group of daring Tubal Road can be wiped out under the city of Shouxian County. "
"Yoshi, let's do it!
Nakao-kun, please go down and make arrangements immediately! "
Zhenmu Takeshi nodded.
If there is a situation, it is definitely the right thing to do to pass the blame to the leader.
Although your boss will think you are incompetent, Takeshi Zhenmu is already desperate for promotion and doesn't think it's a big deal to expose his incompetence.
…
Soon, the telegram from the 225th Regiment was sent to the 37th Division Commander Hirata Kento.
When Kento Hirata saw that the Tubal Road was causing trouble again, he couldn't help but be very angry. He wished he could immediately order the entire army to turn around and go back to wipe out this group of Tubal Road first.
Fortunately, he still had some sense and knew that leading his troops to the front line of Zhongtiao Mountain was the top priority now, so he restrained himself forcefully.
He didn't want to be treated as a chicken who disobeyed military orders by General Okamura who had just taken office and was killed by the monkeys.
Calling the chief of staff, Iyoko Keishi, Hirata Taketo handed the telegram to the other party and asked:
"Jing Hengjun, you think this group of Tuba Road is attacking Shouxian County at this time. What is their motive?"
After reading the telegram, Iyoko Keishi immediately pondered:
“Maybe it’s for supplies?
Shouxian County is not a critical place, and Tubal Road obviously does not have any big plans to attack here.
I guess they may just launch an attack when they find that our troops in Shouxian County are weak and they have an opportunity to take advantage of us.
It was winter now, and Tubal Road was short of military supplies. Maybe they were in urgent need of supplies, so they had to launch an attack forcefully.
Moreover, this new second regiment is unknown, so it must not be a main force with fierce combat effectiveness. "
"Hey Xi, what Mr. Jing Heng said makes sense.
Then do you think we need to send a message to Mr. Yoshizawa of the 3rd Brigade and ask him to send people from Yuci for support? "
Taketo Hirata asked again.
“Humble job feels necessary.
Although this new second regiment is not a strong opponent like the independent regiment, the first group of the 225th Regiment was formed from ronin and expatriates. It was formed in less than two months and has almost no combat effectiveness.
I'm worried that they may not be able to block the attack of this Tubal group. It would be much safer if they could have support from the Yuci direction.
It would be best to annihilate this Tubal group in one fell swoop, which can be regarded as cleaning up the stain on our 37th Division. "
Iyoko Keishi replied.
"Yoshi, let's do it.
When this battle is over, if our 37th Division can be transferred back, I must request General Shinozuka to use the strength of the division to sweep through northwest Shanxi and wipe out all these earth rats who dare to offend the honor of our 37th Division. , can I eliminate the hatred in my heart! "
Taketo Hirata pulled out his sword and slashed twice in the air, venting his anger.
…
Soon, Yuci's little devils formed an independent third brigade, and the brigade leader, Lieutenant General Yoshizawa Shigeo, received a telegram from Hirata Kento.
He was originally bored when he was not taken to participate in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. As a result, a group of Tubal guerrillas suddenly came to Yuci City in the past two days and killed several officers under his command one after another. I was so annoyed that I wanted to tear those earth rats into pieces!
But no matter what, this group of thugs came and went like the wind, and they always made sneak attacks in the middle of the night, so he couldn't catch anyone at all.
As a result, the anger in his heart became more and more intense, and he wanted to catch whoever he wanted to bite.
Now he received a telegram from Hirata Kento, asking him to destroy the Tubal Road who dared to attack Shouxian County. He immediately called back very excitedly and agreed.
Since we can't catch the troublemaking rats in Yuci City, then going to Shouxian County to catch the main force of Tubal Road in that regiment can also make him feel bad!
So, at dawn, he personally assembled a brigade of troops, and brought two additional Type 41 75mm mountain guns with him, and rushed towards Shouxian County.
The chief of staff of the brigade, Teramoto Tomomi, advised him not to risk his life, but he did not agree. Instead, he said arrogantly:
"Don't worry Teramoto-kun, I'm just going hunting. I'll be back in three days at most!"
Obviously, he regarded the elimination of this group of Tubalu as his own hunting.
But what he didn't expect was that he himself had already become the prey of the spy camp!
(End of chapter)
