"Old Wei, the terrain north of Jiexiu is too open and not conducive to long-term operations. We should retreat!"

Jiangdong pointed to the battle map and said:

"Abandon Jiexiu, withdraw all troops to Lingshi, and rely on the terrain to fight the Japs for a long time."

After Jiang Dong arrived with his troops, Wei Junru felt much more at ease, even though Jiang Dong only brought one regiment.

Wei Junru picked up the water bottle next to him and took a sip, then lowered his head and looked at the battle map with Jiang Dong.

"Withdrawing to Lingshi means that we have to give up Jiexiu and Pingyao. It will be even more difficult to fight back in the future." Wei Junru hesitated.

"Brother Jiang has more than 18,000 troops in his division. If we cooperate with my two army groups, can't we drive the little Japs back?"

Jiang Dong shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"When I came here, I collected a lot of supplies at the Mengcheng Railway Station, but unfortunately, all these supplies were destroyed by the Japanese bombing.

There are dozens of brand-new cannons. My brothers usually love them like their wives, but they were all destroyed without firing a cannon. Brother, my loss this time is too damn big!"

Wei Junru and the several staff officers beside him all had expressions of pain on their faces. If a heavy artillery regiment could successfully reach the battlefield, how dare the little Japs be so arrogant?

Jiang Dong said this not to blame anyone, he was just stating the facts.

"Without heavy artillery support, the Japanese mountain artillery, tanks, and armored vehicles can cause heavy damage to our brothers on the plains.

Also, it will be difficult for the troops to obtain supplies in the next two or three days. The brothers will not even have enough to eat, so they will not have the strength to fight with the little Japanese.

After retreating to Lingshi, the troops relied on the terrain to deal with the Japs, dragging all 20,000 to 30,000 of them to death here!"

The operations of the First Division had been carried out in secret. Jiang Dong had no intention of telling Wei Junru. After all, he was not sure if there were any Japanese spies in this headquarters.

"Commander of the Guard, the troops on the frontline suffered heavy casualties today. Some positions have run out of bullets and grenades, and we can only fight with the little devils on bayonets." The chief of staff also advised:

"Why don't we just listen to Commander Jiang's suggestion? After the troops withdraw to Lingshi, they can take a rest while dealing with the Japs. We can also collect the broken troops and make up for the losses last night and today."

"The two regiments I arrived later have started to build fortifications in Lingshi. The troops of the Fifth and Fourteenth Group Armies can retreat safely."

Wei Junru kept looking at the map and actually agreed with Jiang Dong's suggestion in his heart, but he was a little embarrassed.

"Old Wei, listen to me..." Jiang Dong lowered his voice and said:

"I have other battle plans, but I can't tell you at the moment. I will make the little devil's bullshit rat-catching operation a joke. Who is a zodiac and who is a tiger? It will not be clear until the end!"

Wei Junru looked into Jiang Dong's eyes and nodded slowly after a few seconds.

"Okay, just listen to Brother Jiang and retreat after dark!"

"yes!!!"

…

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, according to the soldiers who escaped, Koto is coming!" Yamashita Taro, the commander of the 41st Division, said in a serious tone:

"The fiery red military flag that appears behind is that of the 39th Army Corps. As for which unit of the 39th Army Corps it is, it is far away and the soldiers did not see it clearly."

After hearing Jiang Dong's name, the expressions of the officers in the 41st Division headquarters changed slightly.

Tanabe Moritake had been sitting at the table looking at the map. The chief of staff's words only caused his hands to pause.

"The aviation force previously destroyed the train Koto was riding on. According to the pilot's report, Koto's heavy weapons and various types of material losses were countless." Yamashita Taro continued:

"It is certain that Jiangdong no longer has heavy artillery, and we have an absolute advantage in terms of firepower.

It’s just that Jiangdong has always been cunning, we must be cautious!”

Tanabe Moritake raised his eyelids, as if he was not satisfied with Yamashita Taro's words.

All the officers in the headquarters were waiting for his order, but he sat there for five minutes.

"Regardless of whether the Chinese have a backup plan or not, I am certain that they will retreat tonight!" Tanabe Moritake began to speak, and everyone in the headquarters listened attentively.

"The order given to me by Your Majesty the General is to occupy Jiexiu and capture Wei Junru alive. If the Chinese start to retreat, this task will not be completed!

Can the cavalry of the 4th Brigade still run?"

"They have rested for a few hours and should be able to continue fighting!" Yamashita Taro replied seriously.

"Hey!" Tanabe Moritake had a cunning and proud look on his face, "Order the 4th Cavalry Brigade to bypass the Chinese defense line from the west, and try to turn south before dark, before the Chinese

Seize the commanding heights between Mianshan and Lingshi!

Fighting at night, the Chinese cannot figure out the detailed strength of the Fourth Brigade. We must create the illusion that all Chinese are surrounded, first destroy their morale, and then divide them and annihilate them!"

"Bang!"

After Tanabe Moritake finished speaking, he punched the combat map with his fist, his eyes shining with excitement.

After reading the instructions on the map, Yamashita Taro and other officers all nodded in agreement.

Although some people are still worried about Jiangdong, they cannot speak in such an atmosphere.

The only cavalry unit left in the North China Front was the 4th Cavalry Brigade. Sugiyama Gen, Tanabe Moritake and others regarded this cavalry unit as a sharp knife that would not be blunt, and would strike wherever needed.

"Each unit will attack again before dark, trying to test the number of Jiangdong troops on the position!"

Tanabe Moritake issued another order.

The officers all bowed their heads and said hello.

…

…

Headquarters of the 3rd Division of the 39th Army Corps.

He Dingyuan just walked back to the office after dinner. With a satisfied look on his face, he made a cup of tea by himself without asking the orderly for help.

He had no family or relatives, and had nowhere else to go after eating, so he simply went back to the office to continue working on his unfinished work.

The tea leaves slowly spread out in the boiling water, and the color of the tea becomes thicker and thicker.

He Dingyuan picked up the tea cup and blew gently. Just as he was about to put it to his mouth, he felt that the vision in front of him dimmed. After a pause at the door, a person stepped in.

Seeing the face of the visitor clearly, He Dingyuan's good mood immediately dissipated without a trace.

"Deputy Commander He, this is the ammunition consumption of each unit in the past week. Please check it."

Hu Cheng said loudly, with a playful expression on his face.

He Dingyuan pretended to turn over the pages and asked:

"Is something wrong?" He looked very indifferent.

"I just received the news from over there..." Hu Cheng bowed and pretended to be discussing a document.

"I ordered you to immediately find out how many troops Jiang Dong brought to Pingyao?

The information we have received so far is that there is only one Guards Division, and I am worried that Jiangdong has other preparations there, and I ask you to find out."

He Dingyuan glared at Hu Cheng fiercely,

"We are far away in Licheng and have not received any combat orders. How can I check!"

"Go find Feng Jinzhang, he may know the news."

"I discussed this matter with him when we were having dinner, and he didn't know the specific deployment of troops. I'm sure of this."

The only people who knew the specific situation were Xie Chengrui and Wu Zhan. Hu Cheng also suggested that He Dingyuan call these two people, but they were all rejected by the latter. So blatantly, what else is it if he is not seeking death?

"No matter what method you use, the original message over there is to let you pass on the information within 20 hours."

He Dingyuan didn't know what Hu Cheng did before. He was curious about why this man worked so hard for the Japanese?

"What will happen if we fail to complete the task?" he said deliberately provocatively.

"Haha..." Hu Cheng sneered,

"Then what happened at No. 17 Meiyuan Lane will happen again..."

All the muscles in He Dingyuan's body suddenly became tense, and anger and fear appeared in his eyes at the same time.

Hu Cheng looked at him with a smile, as if he was looking for death.

He Dingyuan clenched and unclenched his fists, but in the end he was helplessly defeated.

"I will do my best..."

"very good!"

The usually majestic deputy division commander could only act like a defeated rooster in front of him, and Hu Cheng's twisted and perverted psychology felt crazy and happy.

He put away the first document, took out another one like a treasure from his arms, and said with some excitement:

"Lin Yu, we can do what that idiot Fu Yue did.

Jiangdong is not in Jincheng, so we can take advantage of this gap to open a hole in Beiyuan's defense line, let the imperial army in, and then completely drive Jiangdong out of Shanxi.

By then we will be the biggest contributors to the entire North China Front, and we can have as much beauty, gold and silver as we want."

Hu Cheng's Adam's apple moved, looking very hungry.

He Dingyuan's brows furrowed into a big "Sichuan" sign. He thought to himself that if one day he was exposed, it would be because of the fool in front of him.

"We can't do Fu Yue. Jia Dalin and Wang Laohu are not Wu Tinglin. You should use more brains in your words and deeds in the future, otherwise I will ask for a replacement."
To be continued...