Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 486 Shijiazhuang

The blocking battle outside Shijiazhuang was fierce. Since November 5, the fighting has not stopped. The arc-shaped position with Shijiazhuang as the center withstood the continuous attacks of 400,000 Japanese troops. The land of southern Hebei was filled with gunfire and smoke.

The troops of the six brigades of the ** Division, under the command of the division commander Tang Qiuli, adopted a strategy of fighting step by step and retreating step by step, gradually shrinking around Shijiazhuang.

Under the command of Xiangyue Qingji, the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force, the Japanese army pressed forward step by step and refused to let go. They were determined to annihilate Tang Qiuli's main force in the southern Hebei plain.

Not long after withdrawing from the position, the Japanese troops immediately occupied it and then pursued them without hesitation.

The Japanese troops who occupied the position did not seek favors. Before withdrawing, the Chinese *** troops often launched a sudden counterattack against the Japanese troops, and then immediately broke away from the battle and withdrew. They also laid a large number of booby traps on the position to allow the Japanese troops to pursue them.

The troops suffered greatly. This was still the specialty of the Tang Qiuquan Special Warfare Detachment. After actual combat testing, the effect was excellent, and it was quickly popularized and promoted among the main forces of the ** Division.

The fierce fighting lasted until the evening of November 10th, when the battle line was fixed near Shijiazhuang. After five consecutive days of attacks, the Japanese army was already a little tired. It lost the vigor and impact of the day of the attack. Xiangyue Qingji also felt this problem and continued to fight.

The several divisions that rushed to the front line and were beaten to death by the ** Division were replaced by several divisions that were just scratching their heads and were replaced by several divisions serving as reserves on the second line, preparing to attack the ** Division tomorrow.

defensive position.

After six days of fighting, everyone from Xiangyue Qingsi to the division commanders had to admit that Tang Qiuli's troops were a formidable enemy of the Imperial Japanese Army. Their ferocity and tenacity made these senior Japanese officers frightened, especially their firepower.

Even more than the imperial army's troops, the tactics were used more skillfully. They all had a consensus that this was the elite force of the Chinese devil Tang Qiuli. Even though Tang Qiuli later transferred half of the troops, the firepower was significantly weakened, and the Japanese army also

We dare not divide our troops to outflank the ** division's retreat.

In the words of Xiangyue Qingji, Tang Qiuli was ruthless and scheming. The sudden reduction in firepower may not be his trick to lure our troops into splitting up so that he can find an opportunity to encircle and annihilate my outflanking troops. This is his usual method. From July 7,

At the beginning of the incident, Xiangyue Qingsi suffered heavy losses at the hands of Tang Qiuli many times, and he was really scared of being beaten.

And he was quite proud of his iron roller tactics, which was to use heavy troop groups and press forward step by step to drive the army divisions out of the Pingjin area and gradually consume his strength.

Xiangyue Qingji was assigning tasks to the commanders of the divisions who would be the main attack tomorrow. Suddenly there was a violent explosion outside, and then several phones on the table rang rapidly almost at the same time. The content of the report was roughly the same, confrontation with the imperial army.

The ** division troops suddenly bombarded our positions with fierce artillery fire. An unknown number of large numbers of ** troops launched a full-scale counterattack against our positions and had already broken through many places.

Xiangyue Qingsi's first reaction was that reinforcements were coming from the army in front of him. Otherwise, taking the initiative to attack with troops far smaller than the imperial army would be stupid and courting death. Unless Tang Qiuli wanted to commit suicide, there was one

The question troubled him, did the reinforcements of the Japanese Army fall from the sky? Why were there no signs in advance? This question remained unsolved to him until his death.

The enemy's situation was unknown. Xiang Yueqingji ordered the front-line troops not to entangle with the Japanese division's attacking troops, and immediately withdrew to the second-line position. Relying on the fortifications, he inflicted a large number of casualties on the attacking Chinese troops, and also gave them a taste of the Japanese Emperor.

The weaponry is huge.

The Japanese troops who retreated to the second line had all their weapons pointed forward. Each artillery piece and the shells were loaded. They were waiting to see the Chinese soldiers, especially the Japanese soldiers who had been attacking in the past few days. They felt a sense of revenge.

, finally got the chance to hide in the fortifications and shoot the Chinese soldiers. They had been actively attacking in the past few days, but they were beaten miserably. The firepower of the ** division was like a copper wall, causing blood and flesh to fly to their companions.

The Japanese soldiers hiding in the fortifications opened their eyes wide. There was no sign of the Chinese soldiers, and even the sound of gunfire had stopped. They had been tense all night, and the sun was rising high. They did not wait for a chance to take revenge. Instead, they caused

The man is tired and the horse is tired, and the mind is tired.

After preparing for the fierce artillery fire, the cutting-edge Japanese soldiers rushed to the position abandoned last night, shouting like a roaring mountain and a tsunami. There was not a single soul. Instead, they ate a meal of landmines and grenades that were everywhere, leaving behind several corpses and missing bodies.

Wounded soldiers with missing arms and legs, a squadron of Japanese soldiers, fearfully entered the deathly quiet Shijiazhuang, without suffering any blow along the way.

At about 9 a.m. on November 11, the Japanese follow-up troops entered Shijiazhuang, an important town in southern Hebei and an important hub of the Pinghan-Hankou Railway. Shijiazhuang fell. This was the last big city occupied by the Japanese Army in the North China Plain. It was conquered by the Japanese army with a heavy concentration of troops.

, however, not a single soul could be seen in the urban area. It was a mess and it was completely an empty city. Further ahead, there were the rolling Taihang Mountains.

After hearing the news, Xiangyue Qingsi was full of bitterness and didn't know what it felt like. He fought bloody battles with Tang Qiuli's army for six days, losing the lives of more than 30,000 soldiers and sending back tens of thousands of wounded soldiers, but what he got was

It was an empty city. He didn't know what method Tang Qiuli used to make these Chinese people evacuate willingly. It was like this in Peiping, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang. With so many people, where did Tang Qiuli arrange them?

Surrounded by the generals, Xiangyue Qingji, who walked into the dead city of Shijiazhuang, did not feel the joy after victory. There was not a single Chinese citizen on the street. Only his own soldiers were searching house to house. The evacuation was so complete.

, all wells were filled up, and the water supply system and power supply system were completely destroyed.

According to the estimates of the staff around me, if the Imperial Army wanted to station here for a long time, all the infrastructure would have to be rebuilt, which would be equivalent to rebuilding a Shijiazhuang. What's even worse is that all the doors and windows would have to be dismantled and transported away.

All the things that were taken away were destroyed. Xiangyue Qingsi was filled with hatred that this devil Tang Qiuli had left a ruined and empty city to me.

What worried him even more was that not far ahead was the Taihang Mountains, which stretched for nearly a thousand miles. The Army Division troops that suddenly disappeared must have entered the Taihang Mountains. For Tang Qiuli, it was like a fish returning to the sea or a bird entering the forest, never to be seen again.

In the plain area, we have the opportunity to seize the main force of the *** Division, the hateful, abominable, despicable and cunning China Devil.

The sudden counterattack last night was to cover the retreat. Thinking of this, Xiangyue Qingji felt even more angry. His face turned livid, and his hand tightly held the chrysanthemum saber given by the emperor. He almost went berserk and had the urge to kill. However,

He did not admit that he had been fooled by Tang Qiuli, but thought that Tang Qiuli was too cunning.

Xiang Yue Qingji, who was in a bad mood, reported the results of the battle to Prince Zai Ren who was in Peiping. There was really nothing to show off. He walked all the way from Baoding to Shijiazhuang with difficulty. He also knew that his report would definitely not be accepted by His Highness the Prince.

Dharma Eye, what can I do?

He stood blankly for a while, and then suddenly remembered something. Isn't there a large coal mine near Shijiazhuang? What's it called Jingxing Coal Mine? It was the most scarce strategic material in the empire. Tang Qiuli could evacuate people, but he couldn't move away the underground coal. Occupy

The coal mine was also a victory. He immediately ordered a regiment of soldiers to quickly occupy the Jingxing Coal Mine.

In less than three hours, the Japanese commander came back to resume his duties. He hesitated for a long time, looking like he was hesitating to speak. He could see clearly that since entering Shijiazhuang, the commander's face was not very good-looking. He told himself the true situation

After the report, he might have to bear the wrath of the Commander. He was waiting, waiting for a few more people around the Commander, so that everyone could share it and he would suffer less.

Kozuki Seiji, who was waiting impatiently, looked at his subordinates who were squirming and couldn't beat a fart with eight poles. He looked like a captain of the imperial army. He was furious at that time. The anger that had been pent up for several days could no longer be suppressed.

He shouted angrily "Baga!" and rushed over. Without any explanation, he fired his bow from left to right, and was slapped with a big mouth. The more he beat, the angrier he became. The poor captain had to bear all the anger of the commander.

Seeing this unlucky captain, his cheeks were puffed up like a puff, his military cap was knocked off, his face was swollen like a pig's head, his mouth was bleeding, and his teeth were probably loose, but he still had his chest upright.

He raised his head, kept saying "Hai" in his mouth, and didn't dare to move. This was the rule. If the officer slapped himself, he was looking down on himself. Most people didn't have this kind of treatment.

Xiangyue Qingji was tired from fighting and had lost a lot of his energy. He was panting heavily and flexing his sore and numb wrists, and ordered him to report the situation. In fact, from the look of his subordinates, he had a bad feeling, otherwise,

Not to mention such a gaffe, the captain's lips were swollen and he couldn't speak clearly. He mumbled for a long time, and Xiangyue Qingji finally understood.

Daqing Jingxing Coal Mine has been completely destroyed. All machinery and equipment have been dismantled, all mine shafts have been blasted, and there is not even a soul in the mine. According to the most optimistic estimates, it will not be possible to resume production for more than a year and a half.

, not counting the time to reinstall the machine and equipment.

Xiangyue Qingsi sat down on the chair and was about to cry without tears. Tang Qiuli, you are so cruel! You destroyed my last hope. You deliberately left no thoughts for yourself. When you meet this opponent, you don't know.

Whether it was the empire's misfortune or his own sorrow, he had a hunch that his life in North China would be difficult.

Waving his hands feebly, the pig-headed captain tried his best to salute with his chest raised, and respectfully exited. Only when he got outside did he dare to touch his hot face. He felt very depressed and thought about finding something on his subordinate.

When you come back, this nasty beating cannot be in vain. This is also the glorious tradition of the Japanese army. If you are angry with your superiors, you can take it back from your subordinates when you come back.

Xiangyue Qingsi was sitting in a chair, confused. A staff officer came in to report that the soldiers searching the whole city had discovered Tang Qiuli's secret headquarters. Where has it been surrounded? The commander is asked to decide whether to search immediately.

where?

Xiangyue Qingsi came to be the spiritual leader. Tang Qiuli's secret headquarters was very attractive to him. "Open the way!" The staff officer led him. A large group of guards protected him in the middle, followed by many senior officers.

He walked huffing and puffing towards the southeast corner of the city.

(To be continued)