When it was almost dark, an order came from the regiment: Because the Tax Pavilion did not occupy it as scheduled, the 25th Division had lost its initiative, and the 52nd Army headquarters had to adjust its deployment and ordered the 25th Division to move east of Jiushan, and finally connected with the 2nd Division's position to form a front from south to north.

As soon as the sky was getting dark, the 145th Regiment and the 146th Regiment began to be ordered to move. The Japanese army opposite did not notice it at all, and the two regiments retreated very smoothly. At nine o'clock in the evening, the 145th Regiment entered the temporary camp.

Just as the officers and soldiers counted the number of people and were tidying up their tents to rest, the second battalion commander Xi Yaozhi and the third battalion commander He Peide quietly returned to the camp.

Early the next morning, the regiment reported the 150th Regiment to the 25th Division headquarters of the occupation of the Tax Pavilion, and reported the brigade headquarters of Xi Yaozhi and He Peide's escape on the battlefield. The 145th Regiment lost more than 200 people in this battle and stayed for the time being to reorganize. In fact, the 145th Regiment only had one day to rest. On April 15, the 145th Regiment received an order to defend the company and defend the mountain.

In the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese army did not achieve their goal on both the north and south sides. Especially the Fifth and Tenth Divisions in the north, they first went south in a fierce manner, but later fell into a hard battle. Finally, they lost their armor and fled. This was a defeat.

But the Japanese Command said with a shy face: "This is not a defeat, it is just a small mistake by the commander. On the fifth and tenth divisions, the remaining troops did not flee in the defeat, but made a new strategic transfer."

The Japanese base camp was very tough and still realized in his heart that this was a crushing defeat, which was a humiliation that the Japanese army and the Japanese government could not bear. The Japanese base camp could no longer consider the issue of strategic depth and dispersion, because the Japanese army in China had to defeat the Chinese army immediately, and they had to use a victory to prove the myth of "the invincible of the imperial army."

The failure of the Taierzhuang Battle also shocked the Japanese Emperor. He made a decision: quickly increase troops on a large scale to China, launch a larger attack, and swear to avenge the defeat of the Taierzhuang Battle.

In order to achieve the goal of completely annihilated the elite troops of the national army in Xuzhou, in mid-April, the Japanese invaders North China Front Army and the Central China Front Army gathered three divisions in Ping, Tianjin, Jin, Sui, Sui, Sui and Anhui areas, a total of about 300,000 troops. This includes the Fifth and Tenth Divisions after the defeat of Xuzhou, and were equipped with hundreds of heavy weapons and aircraft. These Japanese troops adopted the tactic of advancing north and south, flanking detours, and formed a large encirclement circle against Xuzhou, attempting to encircle and annihilate the main force of the National Army's Fifth War Zone gathered near Xuzhou.

The 52nd Army was urgently transferred to Pi County. It was when the Japanese army attacked south again after replenishment, waiting for an opportunity to encircle and annihilate the elite troops of the 500,000 national troops in Xuzhou.

The Japanese Itagaki Division did not attack Linyi. In addition to sending the Zhuangye Detachment to meet with the Isoka Division, they continued to send the Sakamoto Brigade to the south. This unit had reached the southeast of Zaozhuang. Because of the failure of the attack on Taierzhuang, they bypassed Taierzhuang and joined the troops of the Sakago Division, they planned to capture Pi County, then cross the Longhai Railway to head south, and then seize Xuzhou.

The 52nd Army was ordered to defend the Yanzi River in Pibei this time, connecting the Fangshan Mountain to the west of Aishan Mountain. On April 16, the various units of the 52nd Army arrived at the predetermined positions one after another.

In the early morning of April 17, the 145th Regiment entered Lianfang Mountain. Lianfang Mountain is a large village with nearly four or five hundred families. It is surrounded by soil enclosures that are more than three meters high. Outside the soil enclosure is a trench formed by the soil taken when building a wall, and it is filled with water. Outside the trench is wheat fields, which are wide and flat, with a great view. There are streets, shops, etc. in the village, and many houses are brick and stone structures. As long as you add fortifications and organize a fire network, you should stick to it very well.

Lianfangshan is located directly in front of the entire army's position and is an important forward stronghold for the entire army. As long as you defend this place, the positions of the entire army will be covered. Therefore, almost all the artillery fire of the 25th Division is set up to defend this stronghold.

The 145th Regiment was glad that he had a good place and the troops were preparing to build fortifications. At this time, a new order was issued, and the division ordered the Lian Daoshan to be defended by the 150th Regiment of the 75th Brigade, and the 145th Regiment was transferred to Banbudianzi and Hupishan to defend.

Banbudianzi is five hundred meters west of Lianfang Mountain. It is a small village of more than twenty families. From Banbudianzi to the west, it is Hupi Mountain three or four hundred meters west. The one connected to the south of Hupi Mountain is Ai Mountain, which is a continuous hill.

Hupi Mountain cannot be called a mountain. At most, it can only be considered a small hill, because its highest point is only twenty meters and is about one thousand meters long from east to west. Hupi Mountain is low and slow, with few trees on the mountain, and it is bare everywhere. There are more stones and less soil on the mountain. If you want to build a shelter, you must take soil from the bottom of the mountain and transport it up, so it is extremely difficult to build fortifications.

The fortifications of Hupi Mountain are so difficult to build. The Lianfang Mountain, which has village walls and solid houses to defend, was handed over to the 150th Regiment. Last time, the 150th Regiment reported that the tax cabinet had been occupied, causing the 1455th Regiment to suffer major casualties. Therefore, the 145th Regiment was extremely awkward.

As noon approached, Wu Cheng and Zhao Shuanzhu came, and they brought supplementary recruits who were urgently transported from Luoyang, as well as a notice issued by the division.

The notice stated that Xi Yaozhi, the commander of the Second Battalion of the 145th Regiment, ignored military law, was timid and afraid of the enemy, and fled at the last minute. He was now tried by the Military Law Department in accordance with the law, and Xi Yaozhi was executed on the same day to correct the military discipline.

The officers and soldiers of the 145th Regiment were very dissatisfied with this announcement. In the battle of Chen Cen of the tax cabinet, Gao Peng, the commander of the 150th Regiment, lied about military information, and then Xi Yaozhi and He Peide escaped at the last minute. According to military rules, all three of them should be dealt with by military law, but now they only shot one of Xi Yao, which is extremely unfair.

Li Qinglin held the notice for a long time without saying anything. Wu Cheng asked, "Boss, what do you think about this?"

Li Qinglin was silent for a while and finally said: "The last time the 146th Regiment reinforced us, I talked about this matter with their commander. They said Gao, He would never have any trouble this time, only Xi could not escape death. It seems that this is true now."

Zhang Ergou said angrily: "The day before yesterday, I went to the regiment headquarters to receive supplies and ammunition. The regiment headquarters' quarantine officer said, Gao, He is from Shaanxi, he is a commander, a fellow townsman and a close confidant of the division commander, and he will be covered even if he is guilty."

Zhao Shuanzhu interjected: "Our Fifty-two Army has an unwritten rule. Those who make meritorious service, receive awards, and promote are the Shaanxi people first. Even the others are 'yellow jackets and cuckolds'. Those who come from the 10th Division, one is not their fellow countrymen, and the other is whether they have yellow jackets and cuckolds. So they are placed in front every time they fight, and are placed in back when they retreat, just like they are raised by a little girl."

It was clear that this was the case. Everyone shook their heads and sighed, and they all returned to their own battle positions.
Chapter completed!