"Nani?" Tengyuan Ichiro subconsciously clenched the microphone, glanced at the map hanging on the wall, and then said: "Immediately send someone to follow and investigate to determine the Eighth Route Army's intentions!"
After hanging up the phone, Ichiro Tengyuan stood in front of the map. Heze area towns and villages were in front of him at a glance, and the topography of the occupied area was all on the map.
I saw Tengyuan Yilang pointing at Anxing Town and Shatuji. Shatuji is located on the north side of the road from Heze to Juye, and Anxing Town is on the north side of Shatuji.
The two towns were more than ten miles apart, but traces of the Eighth Route Army were discovered in both towns. A bad thought immediately emerged in Tengyuan Ichiro's mind: "Baga, is it really that the Eighth Route Army is coming for Heze County?"
Then Ichiro Tōgen rang the bell on the table, and the adjutant in the adjutant's room pushed open the door and entered.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
"The main force of the Eighth Route Army has appeared in the territory. Please notify us immediately. All troops in the city will go to the city wall fortifications. The defenders at the strongholds in the suburbs will be on guard and be on guard!"
"Hi!"
After the adjutant left, Toyuan Ichiro became more and more uneasy. His right hand kept flicking over the phone, thinking about whether to make a call to the brigade headquarters in Shangqiu.
Although there were the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Dingtao and Cao County under Heze County, there were very few Eighth Route Army activities in the suburbs near Heze County. At most, there were some guerrillas.
In the past, the puppet troops under their rule often lied about their military situation. It was clearly a guerrilla attack of dozens of people attacking a stronghold, but it was said that the main force of the Eighth Route Army of several hundred people was present. Ichiro Tengyuan had long been used to this.
.
Moreover, the Eighth Route Army appeared from the east, which is not consistent with the current confrontation between the Japanese army and the Eighth Route Army.
Tengyuan Ichiro gritted his teeth and retracted his hand that was lingering on the phone, preparing to investigate the situation before making a report.
At the same time, gunshots were heard from the southern suburbs of Heze.
Although they were sneaking at night, the target of the independent group of more than 1,300 people was too big. The Japanese army blocked the area south of Heze even more tightly, and they were eventually discovered by the local security team.
Upon seeing this, Xin Tiebing immediately ordered the security team, the vanguard force, to be eliminated. Then the large force directly diverted to the road that was convenient for marching, and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese strongholds along the way.
The sudden outbreak of fighting south of Heze finally made Tengyuan Ichiro realize that the Eighth Route Army was serious.
"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, I am Touyuan Ichiro!" Touyuan Ichiro put the microphone to his ear and said in a respectful tone.
"Teng Yuanjun, what's the reason for calling me late at night?" Kojima Yoshizo asked on the other end of the phone.
"The brigade commanders, He Zedong and Nan, have discovered traces of the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Their number is estimated to be more than a thousand people! I suspect that the Eighth Route Army intends to attack Heze County. I have ordered all strongholds to guard and defend to the death!,"
"Nani?" Kojima Yoshizo was stunned. Although the Eighth Route Army's cavalry troops wandered around the ruling area, they never dared to launch an offensive against the Japanese garrisoned county. I felt that what Tengyuan Ichiro said about the Eighth Route Army's attack on Heze County was very serious.
absurd.
"Impossible. The Eighth Route Army in southwest Shandong was defeated by the imperial army not long ago. How dare you launch troops against Heze County!"
"Commander of the brigade, this is absolutely true. Two groups of Eighth Route Army troops are advancing toward the county town one after another. Their intentions are very obvious. Our department is in urgent need of reinforcements!" Ichiro Togyuan said urgently.
"Are the Eighth Route Army crazy? How dare they do this..."
"Tengyuan Lord, in this case, immediately shrink the troops from the strongholds outside the city into the city. Heze County cannot afford to lose anything. At dawn, I will personally lead the imperial army to reinforce Heze!" Kojima Yoshizo said in a deep voice.
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That night, all the Japanese and puppet troops in the Heze area were suffering. At the Japanese strongholds on the advance route, those with better luck survived, while those who took the initiative to provoke were easily eliminated.
"Boom!" an explosion sounded, and another Japanese artillery tower was annihilated in the flames. Under the darkness, countless Eighth Route Army soldiers rushed forward.
"Communicator, let me know. You don't have to save me any artillery shells, but I'll take out all the Japanese strongholds in front of you. You must speed up the march!" Brigadier Han said decisively.
"Yes!" the correspondent responded.
"Old Han, please save your shells. If we get to Heze City and there are no shells, will we really use our teeth to chew them?" Political Commissar Tan said distressedly.
"Now is not the time to feel distressed. We can't give the little devil time to react!"
Before they reached Heze City, the only two Type 92 infantry guns of the New Third Brigade had consumed more than 30 rounds of artillery shells. Although the Korean brigade commander did not say anything, how could he not feel distressed in his heart.
"Don't worry, the brothers' troops in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region are very rich. They have twenty or thirty cannons. How many artillery shells do we still need?" Brigadier Han said.
While the two were talking, a war horse galloped over.
The correspondent of the Seventh Regiment stood up and dismounted: "The brigade commander, political commissar, and regimental commander asked me to come and report that the Japanese troops at the Zhuzhuang and Wangzhuang strongholds ahead had retreated before our troops arrived!"
"What? You kid reacted very quickly. Pass my order and all the Seventh Regiment will press forward. The Eighth Regiment will follow closely behind. Speed up the march and try your best to retain the Japanese troops!" Brigadier Han said.
"Yes!" The correspondent took the order and left.
"Old Han, it's night now. Isn't it too hasty to attack with all the troops? If the enemy sets up an ambush in advance, you may suffer a loss!" Political Commissar Tan reminded.
"The situation does not allow us to hesitate. Besides, all the troops are deployed, spanning nearly ten miles from north to south. Once a battle breaks out somewhere, we can outflank it from both sides of the north and south!"
It's still dark the next day.
The Japanese and puppet troops in Shangqiu were all assembled. Japanese officers and officers from the Appeasement Corps and above came out of the conference room one after another and returned to their respective command positions according to orders.
"Let's go!" Kojima Yoshizo waved his hand. Although this dispatch disrupted the original general plan, Kojima Yoshizo was very confident and immediately got into a Type 97 tank.
Accompanying him were the brigade headquarters of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, the 25th Cavalry Regiment, the tank squadron of the 35th Division, and most of the infantry brigade reinforced by the 21st Division.
In addition, the two puppet troops of Sun Liangcheng and Zhang Lanfeng, and under the strong pressure of Kojima Jizang, the two appeasement army troops were quickly reorganized into eight regiments.
Among them, 5,000 elite soldiers were selected from more than 7,000 puppet troops under Sun Liangcheng and organized into three regiments.
Zhang Lanfeng's puppet army was already strong in strength and well-equipped with weapons and equipment. Among the more than 10,000 puppet troops under his command, more than 8,000 were selected and formed into five regiments.
These eight regiments are the elite ones that Kojima Yoshizo will use to maintain security in southwestern Shandong in the future. Each regiment has dispatched Japanese as consultants and has tactical training instructors at the battalion level.
These Japanese soldiers were placed in the puppet army. Although they were in the name of advisers and instructors, they had great authority.
