"Commander, Chief of Staff, Commander of the 37th Division, Lieutenant General Hirata, urgent call!"
A communications staff officer hurriedly walked into the war room, lowered his head and put his feet together in one breath.
"Read it!" Shinozuka Yoshio said with a wave of his hand.
The communications staff officer picked up the telegram and read: "The Eighth Route offensive is very fierce. Each mopping up force was attacked by several times the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army also dispatched tanks. The mopping up troops cannot hold out until reinforcements arrive. Please ask for tactical guidance!"
"Nani?" Shinozuka Yoshio and Kusuyama Hideyoshi's expressions changed at the same time.
Hirata Hideyoshi's telegram requesting tactical guidance caught Yoshio Shinozuka off guard, who originally thought he had a good chance of winning.
Is the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness really that powerful?
Or is it that the combat effectiveness of the imperial army has been seriously degraded?
Yoshio Shinozuka turned around and asked: "Kusuyama-kun, how long has it been since the 37th Division's mopping up troops encountered the Eighth Route Army?"
Kusuyama Hideyoshi raised his wrist and looked at his watch: "3 hours and 51 minutes!"
Shinozuka Yoshio suddenly went crazy and yelled: "In less than 4 hours, an army of 10,000 people was defeated?"
"Even if there were 10,000 pigs, the Eighth Route Army would not kill them all so quickly!"
"idiot!"
"idiot!"
"A bunch of idiots!"
Kusuyama Hideyoshi didn't care about the lives of those 5,000 puppet soldiers, but the other 5,000 were real Japanese soldiers.
This was only the second day after the sweep began. Thousands of Japanese soldiers were lost all at once, which made Yoshio Shinozuka very angry and sad.
Although the news has not yet come, Yoshio Shinozuka knows very well that it is only a matter of time before the troops defending the mountain are wiped out by the Eighth Route Army. The Yamazaki detachment is an example.
A few months ago, the Eighth Route Army only had the strength to eliminate one Yamazaki detachment, but now it has the strength to eliminate three Yamazaki detachments at the same time in a short period of time.
The growth rate of the Eighth Route Army's strength was so terrifying that it sent chills down the spine of Yoshio Shinozuka.
Yoshio Shinozuka paced back and forth in the headquarters with a livid face, his right hand tightly holding the Lieutenant General's sword given by Emperor Hirohito.
At this moment, he wanted to kill someone.
The 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade each sent telegrams, saying that they were blocked by the Eighth Route Army and the speed of rescue was slow.
The failure of the 37th Division in mopping up the troops made him very passive.
Shinozuka Yoshio glanced at Kusuyama Hideyoshi, who was thinking hard about countermeasures, and his expression suddenly changed.
Could it be that the Eighth Route Army knew in advance the imperial army's plan to steal and replace the enemy?
Is there a traitor next to me?
If the mopping up troops this time were all Japanese troops, instead of half Japanese and half Imperial Army, the Eighth Route Army would never have fought so easily.
Shinozuka Yoshio only kept his suspicions about Kusuyama Hideyoshi in his heart and would not really say them out.
After all, in the absence of evidence, even if he is a lieutenant general of the First Army, one cannot say that his chief of staff is an underground member of the Eighth Route Army.
"Commander, Chief of Staff!"
"The Intelligence Department just received a secret message!"
The sound of hurried footsteps was gathered, and intelligence staff officer Yasuda Nakazuo walked in, paused, and then reported.
"Put it there."
Yoshio Shinozuka waved his hand and said, now he is only thinking about how to fill the hole in the direction of the 37th Division, and has no time to read any information.
"Hi!"
Yasuda Zhongzuo put the information on the table and said hesitantly: "Commander, Chief of Staff, the information says that the commander of the Eighth Route Army of the 37th Division in this attack is Li Yunlong."
"Li Yunlong?" Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio's expression that had just softened suddenly turned gloomy again.
Kusuyama Hideyoshi, who was next to Shinozuka Yoshio, also changed his expression, and his eyes couldn't help but shrink slightly.
Even the busy Japanese combat staff suddenly raised their heads and looked at Yasuda Nakazuo in shock.
The commander of the Eighth Route Army was actually Li Yunlong?
These combat staff officers are naturally aware of Li Yunlong's evil reputation. However, according to the investigation of the Japanese intelligence department, four major generals and one lieutenant general have died in the hands of Li Yunlong. The losses this man caused to the Empire of Japan are simply indescribable.
estimate.
Yoshio Shinozuka's tone was both angry and confused: "Isn't Li Yunlong just the commander of a regiment? How could he command such a big battle?"
"What is the Eighth Route Army doing?"
The current strength displayed by the Eighth Route Army is at least 2 divisions and 3 artillery regiments, which can be regarded as the size of an army.
And Li Yunlong is just a regimental commander, how could he command so many Eighth Route troops?
This is as outrageous as a Japanese army captain jumping up the ranks and commanding two divisions to fight.
Kusuyama Hideyoshi, on the other hand, shrank, and suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and said in a hurried tone: "Your Excellency, Commander, if the commander of the Eighth Route Army is Li Yunlong, then the 37th Division will be in danger!"
Shinozuka Yoshio said: "Kusuyama-kun, you mean that Li Yunlong's goal is to eat the 37th Division?"
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Kusuyama Hideyoshi nodded: "Yes, we have fought against Li Yunlong so many times. With his mad dog fighting style, the 37th Division has now lost four to five thousand troops. Li Yunlong will never miss the opportunity to eat the 37th Division.
!”
Hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka's face suddenly darkened. This possibility is very high.
At the beginning of the battle at Cangyunling, Li Yunlong only had a thousand men at his disposal, so he dared to take the initiative to attack the Bantian Alliance head-on.
Li Yunlong now has at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops in his hands. Not to mention the crippled 37th Division, even if the enemy is a full standing division, he dares to take the initiative to attack head-on.
In the eyes of Yoshio Shinozuka and Hideyoshi Kusuyama, Li Yunlong is a lunatic when it comes to fighting, and he really doesn't care about his life when fighting.
"Perhaps Li Yunlong's goal from the beginning was to eat the 37th Division." Kusuyama Hideyoshi added.
Yoshio Shinozuka sternly ordered: "Order, the reinforcements of the 37th Division to withdraw immediately!"
Kusuyama Hideyoshi said: "Your Excellency, Commander, once the hole is released, the Chinese people in the Eighth Route Bandit Area may flee to southern Shanxi..."
Yoshio Shinozuka said: "No problem, just wait until the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese people have fled to southern Shanxi, and then order the troops to pursue them. The Eighth Route Army carries people and baggage, and it will definitely not go fast. This time, the raiding troops have sufficient supplies and supplies, and they will conduct continuous raids."
Even if we pursue them for a month, there will be no problem. Even if the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese people flee to southern Shanxi, they will inevitably end up dead."
"Hi!" Kusuyama Hideyoshi paused and said no more.
…
"Reporting team...commander-in-chief, political commissar!"
Huang Erhu put down the high-power walkie-talkie: "Ding Wei's attack group has just captured Mahu Mountain and has wiped out all the Japanese!"
Li Yunlong's expression changed and he said: "Order Ding Wei to stay on standby and make statistics on annihilating the enemy and counting casualties as soon as possible."
"Yes!" Huang Erhu picked up the radio and called.
Li Yunlong frowned and stared at the map. The team members sent by the Sharp Sword Squadron just sent out news.
The Japanese who came to rescue had already retreated, which made Li Yunlong, who was preparing to eat the main force of the Japanese 37th Division, a little regretful.
If these more than 5,000 Japanese soldiers really dare to come for help, it is no exaggeration to say that they can be eliminated in up to 5 hours.
These 10,000 Japanese soldiers are basically the main force of the 37th Division.
The remaining baggage regiment, engineer regiment and mountain artillery regiment of the 37th Division are just meat on the felt board, you can eat them anytime you want.
Li Yunlong prepared 144 cannons and more than 20,000 rounds of artillery shells. So far, a total of more than 3,000 artillery shells have been fired.
Zhao Gang saw what Li Yunlong was thinking and asked: "Old Li, are you thinking that it would be great if you could eat the 5,000 Japanese who came to rescue you?"
"What do you think?" Li Yunlong said, "If we can capture these 5,000 Japs, our business will be considered completed. At most, the 37th Division will be crippled, which is far from the level of serious damage. If it is seriously damaged, it will at least be enough."
We have to kill two-thirds of the Japs."
Zhao Gang asked: "Then you mean... you still want to order the troops to continue the pursuit?"
"Of course." Li Yunlong said, "Our mission is to capture the 37th Division. Where can we go?"
Zhao Gang asked: "If the Japanese from the 37th Division hide in Xiangyuan, what will happen to the two counties in Licheng?"
"Then attack the county seat."
Li Yunlong threw the pencil on the map, and his tone was unquestionable: "I, Li Yunlong, will decide on Hirata Kenkichi's head!"
"Report, the Kong Jie attack group has captured Xiling, and the enemy has been completely wiped out!" Huang Erhu straightened up and reported.
"Order the second attack group to stand by and count the results and casualties as soon as possible!" Li Yunlong ordered.
Huang Erhu: "Yes!"
Li Yunlong added: "Ask Cheng Shifa's third attack group and order him to speed up and deal with the enemy."
Huang Erhu: "Yes!"
About an hour later, Cheng Shifa sent news that Xiantang Mountain had been occupied and that more than 200 Japanese soldiers had escaped.
Li Yunlong did not blame Cheng Shifa.
Xiantang Mountain is several times larger than Xiling and Mahu Mountain. Although Cheng Shifa had 4 regiments, he still didn't have enough troops to surround Xiantang Mountain.
The escape of more than 200 Japanese was within the acceptable range of Li Yunlong.
When a large corps fights, just over 200 enemies are nothing.
What's more, if a monk can escape, he can't escape from the temple. If he wants to attack the county town anyway, these 200-odd Japanese are just the difference between dying early and dying late.
Soon, the casualties and enemy annihilation data of each attack group were reported.
Li Yunlong said: "Old Zhao, immediately prepare a telegram and send it to the headquarters, attaching the information on the enemy's annihilation and casualties, indicating that our Taihang column will continue to pursue and completely annihilate the enemy's determination."
"Okay!" Zhao Gang took his notebook and started writing.
…
Eighth Route Army Headquarters.
After the chief of staff read the telegram sent by the Taihang column, the headquarters burst into thunderous applause.
"Li Yunlong fought well, annihilating most of the 37th Division's mopping up troops in less than half a day."
After reading the telegram, the boss breathed a long sigh of relief, a smile appeared on his face, and he looked extremely satisfied.
Ever since the enemy raided the base area yesterday morning, the boss has not slept a wink all day and night.
After all, he is the commander-in-chief, and he is responsible for protecting the safety of more than 3 million soldiers and civilians in the entire base area.
A lot of pressure.
However, Li Yunlong's good news immediately relieved the boss's pressure a lot.
"More than 8,300 enemies were wiped out and there were 1,200 casualties. It was really unexpected." Commander Liu said in a surprised tone.
The Japanese and puppet troops of the 37th Division were about 10,000 in mopping up troops. In addition to the more than 8,300 that were annihilated, the remaining 1,700 or so Japanese and puppet troops were scattered. It looked like there were 1,700, but in fact they were scattered over dozens of kilometers.
Mountainous areas are no different from annihilation.
"The 37th Division's mopping up operations have been crushed."
The chief of staff said: "Looking at what Li Yunlong means, does he want to continue the pursuit and eat the 37th Division?"
"It's not like you don't understand this boy's fighting style." The division commander smiled, "This boy has always been known for his bravery in battles, his flexible tactical thinking, and he only takes advantage and does not suffer any losses. With such a good opportunity, how can Li Yunlong
Maybe give up?”
The boss looked fierce and his eyes were firm: "Call back to Li Yunlong immediately, and with just one sentence, I will kill the son-of-a-bitch Hirata Division!"
"Then order all blocking troops to block the enemy's reinforcements at all costs and buy time for Li Yunlong!"