Early morning on November 9th.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

…

The tranquility of the early morning was broken by the sounds of chaotic footsteps and banging on the door.

Japs in shit-yellow military uniforms, led by puppet soldiers and translators, rushed into every house. They looked ferocious, and their shining bayonets had already been thrust into the stomachs of four or five villagers.

"Folks, young and old, the imperial army needs people to help build the pontoon bridge. Don't resist, don't hesitate, take your door boards and bed boards and follow me..."

The village chief's voice floated over the village, and only then did many people understand the Japanese's intentions.

Many Japanese soldiers looked at the women in the village with vulgar expressions, and even had some animalistic impulses in their eyes, but they restrained themselves and kept urging people from each house to remove the door panels.

The land around Fenshui is rich and the products are richer than other areas. The population density in this area is very high, and the Japanese army's operations are carried out in more than a dozen villages at the same time.

From the second half of 1937 to 1939, the people accepted Japanese rule.

Except for the fact that the grains to be paid are slightly more than when Yan Xishan was in power, the normal life of the people is not much different from the past.

Japanese soldiers and puppet soldiers sometimes went to the villages to do evil, but only a few families suffered.

Most of the people farm the land steadily and live in poverty and confusion.

After the National Army regained control of the Fen River Basin, the people's lives were even more difficult than under Japanese rule.

Although most of the national army troops are not close to the people, they will not persecute them.

However, there are always some rats in the huge team, such as Fu Yue and his like. The 244th Brigade was stationed in Pingyao in the north before. Few people in Pingyao Jiexiu County were oppressed by Fu Yue.

Young men were arrested in every village and village, and the lives of ordinary people became increasingly difficult in the past six months.

When they heard the news that the Japanese had invaded again, many ordinary people chose to escape into the mountains or flee south.

Because in the eyes of these people, both the Japanese and the national army need someone to farm the land and provide food, and it is impossible to kill them all, otherwise the fertile land on both sides of the Fen River will be desolate, and those gentlemen who can only sing and dance all day long will be desolate.

There is no way to eat.

When the Japanese rushed into the village, many families did not realize the danger was coming.

The security chiefs and village chiefs who were suppressed when the national army was in power suddenly emerged from the crowd. They acted as vanguards for the Japanese and encouraged the few poor men in the village to help build the pontoon bridge.

There were very few prime-age people and could not meet the Japanese army's numerical requirements. They quickly focused on children aged thirteen or fourteen and elderly people in their late fifties.

Every household remembered the sounds of begging and crying, but the Japanese army remained unmoved. If anyone disobeyed or resisted, they would massacre them without hesitation.

From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., the Japanese captured thousands of men from dozens of villages.

More than a thousand people carrying door panels, wood and other things gathered on the east bank of the Fenshui River.

The engineering troops of the 41st Division had already made preparations to build the pontoon bridge. After more than a thousand Chinese people arrived with materials, the Japanese army began to direct them to erect the pontoon bridge.

The water of the Fen River in winter was bone-chillingly cold. The Japanese did not regard these old people and children as human beings at all. They threatened the people with weapons in their hands and asked them to jump into the cold river to build bridges.

Almost every moment, people are frozen by the cold river water. They lose control of their bodies and fall into the deep water, losing their lives in the embrace of the river water.

The Japanese regarded these more than 1,000 Chinese people as expendable goods. They did not care about those who were washed away by the river, and instead forced more people to enter the cold river water.

"How long will it take to build the pontoon?"

Yamashita Taro jumped down from the armored vehicle, his eyes were lifeless and his tone was extremely cold.

The 237th Regiment and the Engineer Group have been abandoned, but their officers and soldiers know nothing about it. They really think that what they are doing will save the division commander and the entire 41st Division, so

Worked extremely hard.

After hearing the question from the Chief of Staff, the engineer brigade leader hurriedly replied:

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, it will take at least 6 hours!

In 6 hours, I promise to build a pontoon bridge that can pass armored vehicles to the other side."

Yamashita Taro nodded coldly, and then waved to a senior officer behind him.

"Mito-kun, deploy a guard team in the north and south directions. If there is a Chinese army approaching, the warriors must block it!"

Colonel Mito, commander of the 237th Regiment, bowed to accept the order.

Yamashita Taro looked at the armored vehicle he brought over, thought for a moment and then continued to the two of them:

"After the pontoon bridge is built, order the tank squadron to send three armored vehicles across the river to establish a cordon. The other three armored vehicles are under the command of Mito-kun. Before the main force of the division crosses the river, the defense lines in the north and south must not be lost!"

"Hiyi!"

The two shouted and ran to their respective posts.

In these days of fighting, more than half of the dozen armored vehicles of the Japanese tank squadron have been lost.

Tanabe Moritake's true intention was to retreat to the vast mountains on the eastern front and preserve the vitality of the division.

The chariot is a big thing, and it certainly cannot drive into the mountains. Rather than being destroyed in a meaningless battle, it is better to use it to increase the weight of the bait.

Even tanks were sent to the western front. Jiangdong and the Chinese army would definitely misjudge the direction of the 41st Division's breakout.

Tanabe Moritake was quite proud of his plan. He had temporarily failed in the military competition, but in terms of intelligence and planning, he would definitely be better than Jiangdong.

As the commander of the 41st Division, Yamashita Taro should sacrifice his life for the sake of the empire and the emperor without hesitation.

But every time he thought of the scene when he was talking to the division commander in the division headquarters, his heart felt cramped.

The feeling of being abandoned is so despairing!

He works conscientiously on weekdays and racks his brains to make suggestions for the division commander, but at the most critical moment, he is the first one to be abandoned. It is pitiful, deplorable, and ridiculous.

"Perhaps only a ruthless person like the division commander can lead the empire to strength!"

Yamashita Taro comforted himself in his heart.

He looked at the west bank of the Fen River with a telescope. It was quiet on the other side, with no birds, animals, or people. His brows furrowed involuntarily.

The momentum for building the pontoon bridge was so great that it was impossible for the Chinese not to notice it.

"Where are you all hiding?"

He muttered to himself.

…

…

"Boom!"

A little boy who was building a pontoon lost his footing and fell headfirst into the Fen River.

On the west bank, a withered grass swayed slightly, as if it was nodding due to the blowing of the north wind.

An angry voice sounded from the withered grass,

"They are like dogs. If this continues, these folks will not survive."

Lying in the withered grass was a man in full camouflage. One of his eyes was fixed on the quadruple scope on the rifle. His finger was placed on the trigger and then moved away. This action was repeated four or five times.

"Don't be impulsive, the information has been sent back." Another voice said:

"You must wait for the commander's order to shoot, otherwise something bad may happen!"

"Damn it! Are we just going to watch like this? Do nothing?"

"Wait for orders. Have you forgotten what the instructors taught you before? Obeying orders is a soldier's bounden duty!"

"Grandma Sun!"

The conversation between the two ended here.

They belong to the 98th Army and are the first batch of snipers trained with the help of the Hunter Brigade.

The sniper rifles held by the two men with a quadruple scope were also seized from the Japs.

There was a group like ** on the west bank of the Fen River, and their main task was to observe the movements of the Japanese troops.

They had sent the information back an hour ago. Old people and children kept falling into the cold water, but they could only watch, their fists turning white.

…

Fruit Temple.

Jiang Dong saw the intelligence coming from the 98th Army. He walked to the battle map to see the situation between the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"The Japanese army must have received the news that the 98th Army had reoccupied Fenyang, but why did they still head there?

Are you really confident that you can defeat the 98th Army in a short time and take a detour back to Taiyuan?"

"That's probably what Tanabe Shengwu had in mind." Lu Zhuoran didn't dare to say too much, and expressed his opinion after careful consideration.

"They may want to use the tank squadron as a forward, defeat the 98th Army, cross the railway, and reach the occupied area in just one night."

The west side was a hole deliberately opened by Jiangdong. Jiangdong was a little unsure whether Tanabe Moritake was so stupid.

"What's going on with the 7th and 9th independent mixed brigades today?"

"According to the report of the First Division, the offensive of these two brigades was not as fierce as the previous two days. They did not seem to be in a hurry to rescue the 41st Division. Zhang Shengqing was also a little confused."
To be continued...