Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 674: Precarious

Okamura Neiji assembled heavy troops and launched a fierce attack on the unsuspecting Jin army's Wuxiang defense line. On May 9, just over two hours after the battle began, the first Wuxiang defensive position was breached, and more than 20,000 Jin troops

The soldiers were killed. The more than 30,000 Jin soldiers on the second line of defense were shaken after the officers fled in panic. They fled without firing a shot. The Japanese army easily occupied the second line of defense.

Wuxiang City was crowded with more than 50,000 Jin soldiers. People were panicked. All kinds of rumors were flying everywhere. The Jin soldiers who fled into the city could not even find their own officers. Many Jin army commanders at all levels

The officer had long since fled to Taiyuan with his horse, either on horseback or on foot, leaving his troops behind and fled.

In the city of Wuxiang, the rebels were fighting like headless flies. The common people also learned of the bad news from the front. The wealthy families quickly collected their gold and silver, took their wives, caught up with the carts, and fled towards Taiyuan. Ordinary people

The people stared blankly at the chaos on the street with frightened eyes. They wanted to run for their lives, but they were reluctant to part with their little possessions and didn't know where to go.

Outside the city of Wuxiang, bursts of gunfire were getting closer and closer. A shocking news finally broke the last bit of the Jin army's will to resist. Liang Peisu, the former enemy commander-in-chief of Wuxiang and commander of Wuxiang city defense, gave up.

He fled from the city. Following him were more than a dozen senior generals of the Jin Army on the front line of Wuxiang and more than 50,000 Jin soldiers with all weapons. They were leaderless and had only Wuxiang's solid city defenses, but could not organize an effective attack.

resistance.

The officers ran away, and the remaining soldiers had no intention of fighting anymore. The streets were full of broken soldiers who took off their military uniforms and forced the people to take out their clothes. Guns and ammunition were scattered all over the streets, and the soldiers were busy running away.

, the common people were even more homeless. They took their families, the old and the young, and carried the few belongings they had on their backs, running north through the city for their lives. The streets were full of people fleeing for their lives.

At the north gate, the sun flag flashed, and a group of Japanese soldiers rushed in. Okamura Neji's vanguard did not receive the slightest resistance and rushed directly into Wuxiang City. Although every Japanese soldier was sweating and panting,

His expression was extremely excited, and it seemed that he hadn't felt like this in a long time.

The people running in panic on the street caused the Japanese soldiers to howl like wolves, and it immediately became a slaughterhouse for these ferocious beasts. Bullets were fired mercilessly at the unarmed people, and more Japanese soldiers rushed into the armed forces.

In Xiangcheng, massacres were staged everywhere. In Wuxiang City, fires broke out, gunfire continued, blood flowed into rivers, the corpses of innocent people were scattered in the streets and alleys, and the bestial laughter of Japanese soldiers spread to every corner.

Wuxiang, this ancient city, fell into an unprecedented catastrophe. The red-eyed Japanese soldiers vented their bestiality and bloody lust. Okamura Neji stepped on the blood everywhere, stepped over the corpses of innocent Chinese people, and

With the posture of a victor, surrounded by a large number of followers, he entered Wuxiang. Wuxiang was lost, and the southern gate of Taiyuan suddenly opened. From here to the north, there is the vast Jinzhong Plain, and Taiyuan is within easy reach.

The victory came so quickly, which made Neji Okamura somewhat uncomfortable. He launched an attack in the early morning. In less than five hours, Wuxiang, which was defended by more than 80,000 Jin troops, collapsed like paper and stepped on the Imperial Japanese Army.

At the foot, according to Okamura Neiji's prediction, although there is no suspense about the final victory, after all, there are more than 80,000 Jin troops defending, and it will definitely be a bloody battle under Wuxiang City.

He planned to use two days and about 10,000 casualties to capture Wuxiang and open the southern gate to Taiyuan. As a result, the battle went surprisingly smoothly. Except for some weak resistance at the beginning, the rest

, that is, the warriors of the Japanese Empire chased and defeated them all the way

The fleeing Jin soldiers entered Wuxiang City without any obstruction. With less than 2,000 casualties, they broke through three lines of defense defended by 80,000 Jin troops and easily opened the southern gate of Taiyuan. Okamura Neji was surprised.

In addition to disbelief, there should also be overwhelming confidence.

He gave a solemn military salute to the sun flag that had been raised above the city of Wuxiang, and then issued an order: "The troops immediately pursued the Chinese soldiers who fled north to Taiyuan. They must occupy Taiyuan before this evening, and the Japanese soldiers took them with them.

Wuxiang, with his hands stained with blood, ran through Wuxiang City like a vicious wolf, pursuing the Jin army along the route of their retreat.

Liang Peisu, the commander of the Wuxiang front line of the Jin Army, was so panic-stricken that he fled for his life. He was so frightened that he forgot to report the battle situation in Wuxiang to Commander Yan Xishan in Taiyuan.

In the official residence, he looked at the telegram sent by Zhao Chengshou with a smug look on his face.

"Commander Yan Xunjian, after a fierce battle in the sun, our troops have compressed the Japanese army in Zhangjiakou in the southwest corner. Judging from the current battle situation, we can fully recover Zhangjiakou and annihilate the remaining Japanese troops before this evening. So far, we have

By the end of the war, our troops had a total of more than 40,000 casualties, and more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, wounded and captured. At that time, the commander-in-chief is invited to come to Zhangjiakou to celebrate the recovery of the lost territory by our Jin army and to strengthen our army's power. Zhao Chengshou, the enemy commander-in-chief of the Jin army in Zhangjiakou, sent a telegram

Present."

Yan Xishan has already seen the victory. Although the casualties of more than 40,000 troops make him feel distressed, compared with Zhangjiakou, the price is still worth it. Zhao Chengshou, a young man, is still quite capable of fighting, but he does not understand politics and is not interested in the Japanese.

, don’t kill them all, let them live. As long as the Japanese abandon Zhangjiakou, let the remaining 30,000 people return to Peiping or Tianjin.

Don't do anything absolutely, and keep your words to yourself. This is my old man's philosophy in dealing with things. It is the same when dealing with the Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek, and Tang Qiuli. There are more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers. How can the Japanese not talk about their own mistakes?

Good thing, he called his secretary and dictated

He sent a message to Zhao Chengshou secretly, but if he didn’t tell Zhao Chengshou clearly, this stupid young man might have wiped out all the Japanese. If he couldn’t make a fatal connection with the Japanese, he might even sit on the same bench one day. Besides, he would have to

Hidden from Tang Qiuli's eyes.

He captured Zhangjiakou by surprise, sold the Japanese a huge favor, and left Tang Qiuli unable to say anything. This matter was done with no leaks and everything was perfect. Commander Yan picked up the tea on the table.

, the refreshing fragrance entered the nostrils, the study door was slammed open, and an adjutant barged in with a look of panic. The loud bang made Yan Xishan's hands tremble in fright, and the tea cup almost fell to the ground.

Chief Yan was furious, blind and unruly, "Mr. Yan, something serious has happened. The Japanese have broken through the Wuxiang defense line. The forward troops have arrived in Taigu. In the southeast of Jinzhong, a large number of Japanese troops are also found approaching Taiyuan."

What?" The tea cup in Yan Xishan's hand suddenly fell to the ground, and the hot tea soaked into the dress and tight shoes. She stood up suddenly and knocked over the desk in front of her.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The Japanese are still far away in the Taihang Mountains, fighting to the death with Tang Qiuli's soldiers. Why did they end up in Taikoo and Jinzhong?" Yan Xishan didn't believe it at all. The adjutant tremblingly handed over two telegrams, one of which was

It was from Liang Peisu. This guy didn't know when he woke up. If he didn't report this big thing to the old man, he would lose his head. He quickly sent a telegram to Yan Xishan, which was no less than an eight-magnitude earthquake.

In the telegram, Liang Peisu certainly would not say that he had not seen the Japanese yet. Just hearing the sound of gunfire made him so frightened that he abandoned tens of thousands of troops and fled, "Commander Yan Xunjian, today

At about 5 o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army, under the command of its North China Expedition Force Commander Okamura Neiji, launched an attack on our Wuxiang defense line with about 400,000 troops.

After a fierce attack, Beizhong led his troops to fight fiercely with the Japanese army on the front line. However, neither the troops nor the firepower were the enemy of the Japanese army. Our soldiers on the front line suffered more than 50,000 casualties. The headquarters of Beizhong was also bombarded by the Japanese army. Helplessly, Beizhong had no choice but to lead the remaining troops.

Retreat to the direction of Taiyuan in an attempt to block the Japanese attack. Please ask Commander Yan to make clear the next course of action."

Liang Peisu was so shameless that he more than doubled the strength of the Japanese army, more than doubled his own casualties, and dressed himself up as leading his troops to bravely fight against the Japanese army. In the end, he was outnumbered and had no choice but to retreat. Venus was flying in front of Yan Xishan's eyes.

, the handwriting on the telegram was blurry, and only one sentence kept echoing in my ears, "Wuxiang is lost."

He cheered up and read the telegram sent by Sun Chu, the garrison in central Shanxi. It was not good news either. In the telegram, Sun Chu reported that Japanese troops were found in the Beitian area of ​​Changning, southeast of central Shanxi. This morning, Sun Chu's troops were fighting with the Japanese troops.

A fierce battle broke out between the troops and the call was stopped. The battle was still going on fiercely. Sun Chu was very determined to block the Japanese army on the front line of Jinzhong and ensure that the southeast of Taiyuan was safe.

Yan Xishan finally recovered from the initial blow and said, "Quickly send a telegram to Zhao Chengshou to abandon Zhangjiakou and return to Taiyuan immediately. Hurry." Commander Yan, who always boasted that Mount Tai was about to collapse without changing his expression, was now in confusion.

Position, he knew that most of Liang Peisu's words were not credible. Where did the Japanese come from so many troops? But one thing was certain. Wuxiang was lost, the southern gate of Taiyuan was opened, and the Japanese were heading towards Taiyuan.

.

Losing Taiyuan, wouldn’t that cost my old man’s life? This bastard Liang Peisu, with 80,000 troops in his hands and backed by Wuxiang with strong fortifications, couldn’t even resist the Japanese for a day. Yan Xishan couldn’t wait to get there immediately

After cutting off Liang Peisu's head, his only hope now is to pin it on Zhao Chengshou. As long as the troops attacking Zhangjiakou return to defend Taiyuan in time, he will be able to save Taiyuan.

Yan Xishan is very aware of Taiyuan's defense situation. He only has three personal training brigades with more than 36,000 troops. This is his imperial army, which is well-trained and well-equipped with weapons and equipment.

A force of 40,000 people cannot protect Taiyuan no matter what. There are less than 400,000 Japanese, and there will always be at least 200,000. There are also Japanese coming from the direction of Jinzhong. Together, there will always be 30

About ten thousand people.

After all, Yan Xishan was experienced. He at least judged the approximate strength of the Japanese army. As for Sun Chu who was defending Jinzhong, he did not doubt his commanding ability and loyalty to himself. However, Sun Chu only had two divisions in his hands.

With a force of 8,000 men, to stop the Japanese, one must rely on strength. Without soldiers, Sun Chu was powerless.

(To be continued)