Kong Jie said anxiously: "It is because it is difficult to fight, so we have to start early! If the brothers are allowed to take the lead, wouldn't we bet on the brand of our brigade? Can the brigade commander spare us?"

"Hey, no, the brigade commander will definitely not say anything to you."

"But I will be scolded by the brigade commander."

Li Yunlong said: "You can talk less nonsense. If I don't give orders, no one is allowed to move."

"I ordered everyone to rush up, including your new second regiment. I will take down the train station in one go!"

"Um?"

"What?!"

Zhao Gang and Kong Jie's faces changed drastically.

Want to take down the railway station in one go?

So Kong Jie stopped quarreling, but Zhao Gang became even more worried.

Zhao Gang had suspected that Li Yunlong had hidden something from him before, but now he is no longer suspicious, but he is sure that Li Yunlong had hidden something, but he refused to say it when asked.

Zhao Gang could only be anxious.

...

Yangquan, the 4th Brigade Regiment Headquarters.

The map has been changed, and more than 100 small blue forks on both sides of Zhengtai Road have disappeared, but replaced by twelve large blue forks.

However, there are still no arrows behind the twelve blue forks.

Because the battlefield was blocked, the Japanese army could not figure out the troops and unit numbers of the Eighth Route Army opposite, and the staff of the combat division could not mark them on the map.

Hide Maeda and Aoki Kimura could only face such an incomplete map.

Kimura Yuki said: "The brigade commander, except for Niangziguan Railway Station, all the other twelve first-level strongholds along the Masahiro Road were attacked by the Eighth Route Army!"

"Nani? Twelve strongholds were attacked?" Maeda Hide said in a deep voice, "It seems that our previous judgment is correct. The Eighth Route Army in the Taihang Bandit District must have come out in full swing."

Kimura said: "But it is still a bit surprising that the Eighth Route Army has expanded so quickly."

"Yes." Maeda Hide sighed, "less than two years ago, the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi had only 20,000 to 30,000 people. However, now the Eighth Route Army in Taihang Bandit District has expanded to more than 100,000 people. It is actually capable of launching attacks on more than 100,000 second-level strongholds along Zhengtai Road at the same time. Now it is even more daring to attack twelve first-level strongholds!"

Kimura Aoku: "Brig Commander, have you ordered Yamazaki Brigade and Okazu Brigade to go for reinforcements?"

"Don't worry." Hide Maeda waved her hand and said, "Although the number of the Eighth Route Army has increased, their training and equipment level cannot be improved so quickly, especially the lack of heavy firepower in the attack cannot be solved, so they cannot threaten all first-level strongholds in a short period of time."

"Sodes." Kimura Yukura said, "The thirteen first-level strongholds along the Masato Road not only have strong fortifications, but also have at least 500 garrison troops in each stronghold. It is no problem to stick to it for three or five days."

Maeda Hide said: "So, let the 11th Armored Train Convoy provide firepower support to the strongholds along the route first."

"As for Yamazaki Brigade and Okazu Brigade, it's not too late to wait until the veterans of the Eighth Route Army Division were tired before counterattacking."

"Hayi!" Kimura Yu paused his head and said to the Communications Division Chief, "Immediately send a telegram to the 11th Armored Train Convoy and order them to provide fire support to the strongholds along the route."

...

Taiyuan, 1st Army Command.

Yoshio Shinozuka thought to the sand table.

Tanaka Takakichi came over and said, "Your Excellency Commander, you have just received an urgent telegram from the North China Front Army, and the strongholds along Pinghan Road and the Jingzhang Line were also attacked."

"Is that true?" Shinozuka Yoshio said sternly, "So, the Eighth Route Army in North China has started to move?"

Tanaka Takayoshi said: "Except Shandong, almost all the Eighth Route Army in North China were mobilized, and at the same time launched a fierce attack on the strongholds along the five main traffic lines of our traffic."

Yoshio Shinozuka looked back at Yamamoto Ichiki and said, "Yamamoto, have you discovered anything?"

"Hayi!" Yamamoto Iki said, "Judging from the degree of attack at the strongholds along the five main lines including Masata, Tongpu, Bai Jin, Pinghan and Jingzhang, there were at least 100 regiments of the Eighth Route Army participating in this offensive operation, which does not include the so-called guerrilla armed forces that cooperate with the cooperation."

"Baga, at least one hundred groups?!"

Yoshio Shinozuka said, "Unclearly, has the Eighth Route Army expanded to such a level?"

Yamamoto Kazuki said: "So, Commander, I think the threat of the Eighth Route Army has exceeded that of the Shanxi Sui Army and even the Central Army. If the 1st Army stationed in Shanxi does not adjust its focus as soon as possible and innovate its tactics, if the Eighth Route Army continues to develop like this, the situation will soon be out of control!"

"That's what happened in the future."

Yoshio Shinozuka said, "I will pass this level first."

"The problem is not big at the moment." Yamamoto Ichiki said, "The Eighth Route Army's offensive operation seems to be overwhelming, but in fact it is just a large number of people and the threat is not great."

"Is that true?" Shinozuka Yoshio said, "Is there any basis?"

"Of course." Yamamoto Ichikidao, "because the Eighth Route Army expanded its troops too quickly in the past two years, resulting in a significant decline in training and equipment levels, so the combat effectiveness declined very seriously. With the current strength of the Eighth Route Army, it is not enough to capture the strongholds guarded by the Imperial Army in a short period of time."

Yoshio Shinozuka said: "You mean, it is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to capture a first-level stronghold in a short period of time?"

"Yes." Yamamoto Kazuki said, "The outer second-level strongholds not only have few garrison forces, weak firepower, but also lack strong fortifications, so they are easily captured by the Eighth Route Army with its superior strength. However, the First-level strongholds not only have many garrison forces, but also have strong firepower, and also have strong fortifications. They can even obtain support from the 11th Armored Train Convoy. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for the Eighth Route Army to quickly capture each First-level stronghold."

Yoshio Shinozuka said again: "So, do you have any good suggestions?"

Yamamoto Kazuki said: "I suggest that the mobile troops of each brigade should not attack easily, and the 9th Brigade, as the general reserve team, should not act rashly. When the Eighth Route Army cannot capture it for a long time and the veterans of the teacher are tired, they will definitely cause severe damage to the Eighth Route Army in various bandit areas in Shanxi, and may even destroy the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi in one fell swoop."

"Yamamoto, the analysis is very good." Shinozuka Yoshio nodded happily.

Then he said proudly: "Although the Eighth Route Army accidentally reached an obstruction of the battlefield information, causing the Imperial Army to be passive for a while, this is not enough to make up for the huge gap in strength between the two sides!

"Although the Imperial Army is still unclear about the specific deployment of the Eighth Route Army, this is no longer important."

"Because no matter what the Eighth Route Army deployed, the result was the same. They would inevitably hit the first-level stronghold along the main line and would collapse when the Imperial Army launched a counterattack!"

...

In Baijia Village, the 386th Brigade and Tourism Department.

The Chief of Staff would look out from time to time.

The brigade commander asked, "Chief of Staff, what are you looking at?"

The Chief of Staff said: "It's nothing, I'll just take a look."

The brigade commander smiled and said, "Are you waiting for news from Li Yunlong and the others? You are really, what time is it? It's only two hours since the battle started, so how could the news be heard back so soon? This time I was fighting a large stronghold, which is not the same as the small stronghold I fought last night."

"That's true." said the Chief of Staff, "I'm too greedy."

"Wait." said the brigade commander, "In my opinion, this battle cannot be fast. It will take at least three or five days. It is entirely possible to delay it for ten or eight days."

The Chief of Staff said: "But Xiao Wang said it takes one to two days."

"That's just the ideal state." The brigade commander shook his head, "but there will always be various emergencies in actual combat, such as the surprise attack of the armored train by the Wolf Warrior Squad. I think it's unlikely to succeed."

"This is indeed." The Chief of Staff also said, "I also think that Xiao Wang's entire surprise attack plan is too ideal and it is easy to fail due to various emergencies. However, considering that it cannot suppress Xiao Wang's enthusiasm and Xiao Wang still made a backup plan, I didn't say much at the time."
Chapter completed!