Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 694: Prelude to the Battle

After a few days, there was no news about Mei Ling and the others. Tang Qiuli couldn't help but feel anxious. In front of Mei Ting and Mei Xue, he didn't dare to reveal anything. What he was afraid of was that they were worried that after receiving the telegram from Qiuquan, he had already

He personally led four special operations units into the Cang'erhui area and saw many traces of battles along the way. He has ordered each special operations unit to expand the search area and there will be news in the near future.

Qiuquan's telegram reassured Tang Qiuli a lot. At least it showed that Meiling and the others were still alive and had not been annihilated by the Japanese army. Sometimes, Tang Qiuli found it strange to think about it. More than 20 companies were released, and Meiling alone was

Something happened to his company, and it was as if God wanted to make him worry. He forced himself to put aside his worries and devote all his energy to the battle that was about to begin.

If this battle goes well, the day when the problem of North China will be completely solved is not far away. The main force of Neji Okamura's army in Shanxi will be completely annihilated. Compared with the strength of the Japanese army in North China, there will be fundamental changes. He cautiously

Commanding all the troops, the seven newly formed field brigades based on Sun Zhenbang's Corps on the bank of the Yellow River are being combined and organized, and the required heavy equipment is gradually arriving at the troops for installation.

There was no new news in other aspects, but a telegram came from Yan Xishan. In addition to thanking Vice Chairman Tang for helping him and taking him in during the most critical moment, there were a lot of words of gratitude that made people feel numb, and there was another message.

With a small request, he was allowed to recruit 5,000 soldiers in Dingbian to enrich his security force and lay the foundation for the recovery of Shanxi. As for the funds required, Tang Qiuli generously donated his money for a temporary loan. After he recovers Shanxi, he will definitely repay it double.

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After reading Yan Xishan's telegram, Tang Qiuli couldn't laugh or cry. This officer, Yan, was still dreaming of returning to Shanxi to become the local emperor. He wanted to cultivate his own private power in Dingbian and pay for it himself. He came to recruit troops. It was a good idea.

, the abacus is very good.

Well, he also knew the dilemma Yan Xishan was facing. He fled Taiyuan in a panic. He didn't have time to bring out much of his huge family. He was already stretched thin to feed the thousands of remnant soldiers. If he wanted to recruit more troops, he would have to shamelessly reach out to himself.

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After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Tang Qiuli generously agreed to do everything as Yan Xishan said, and the funds were immediately sent to him. Compared with the huge Shanxi, this small amount of money was nothing. Besides, Tang Qiuli

Li is not afraid of what Yan Xishan will do in Dingbian.

This is the territory he has managed for many years. In the hearts and eyes of the people in Dingbian, Tang Qiuli is the only one who cannot be used by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, let alone Yan Xishan. If he is allowed to plant a recruiting flag, no one will take care of it.

It was just a sweet dream to surrender to him and rebuild the Jin army.

This was an obvious matter. Tang Qiuli also issued secret instructions to Shen Jun's Investigation Department and Gao Chuangshan, director of the Dingbian Secret Service Bureau, to deploy agents and police forces to closely monitor all the actions of Yan Xishan and his subordinates. If any abnormalities were found,

The situation must be reported to him, and he must not act without permission. It will never be a problem if this Bodhisattva is placed by Dingbian. Tang Qiuli is already thinking about finding a good place for Yan Xishan.

The bait that Tang Qiuli put for Okamura Neiji at Yonghe Pass has already shown results. The Japanese troops across from Wubao Ferry were secretly transferred to the direction of Yonghe Pass. Even though it was done secretly at night, they could not escape the trap set by Tang Qiuli.

Eyes, the 40,000 Japanese troops who had arrived at Fenglingdu for a few days, because of Okamura Neiji's strict order, were not allowed to launch an order to cross the river to attack Xi'an. They had nothing to do all day long and simply set up artillery to bombard the beachhead on the other side.

Not to be outdone, the river defense troops of the ** Division fired back. In the first few days, because it was a newly formed artillery regiment, it was no match for the well-trained Japanese artillery in terms of tactics and tactics. It suffered several small losses.

Everyone held their breath. When the incident was reported to Tang Qiuli, he only gave instructions with a few words: "Look for opportunities to wipe out the Japanese artillery and clear the way for subsequent battles." Sun Zhenbang thought about it and understood what the division commander meant.

Then they started to get busy, mobilizing artillery from several other secondary defensive areas, and secretly transported the newly equipped large-caliber howitzers from Dingbian to Fenglingdu. Then, they found General Jiang Baili, the president of Dingbian Military Academy, and he didn't know.

The two of them made a deal in private. After muttering for a long time, all the students from the artillery department of Dingbian Military Academy formed a full artillery regiment and headed for the Fenglingdu position.

Sun Zhenbang was busy for two days. The artillery troops gathered at Fenglingdu actually amounted to six regiments, including a heavy artillery regiment with a range of 15 kilometers and a caliber of 155 mm. As usual, at 8 a.m.

After a few minutes, the Japanese artillerymen, who were tired of eating and had nothing to do, began a routine bombardment.

The artillery of the ** Division on the other side of the river also immediately launched a counterattack. What was different from the past was that the artillery fire this time was much denser and more violent. The Japanese artillery, which had had the upper hand for several days, was furious and beat China like a sheep.

The artillery dared to provoke the dignity of the Imperial Japanese Army's artillery. The Japanese artillery commander gave an order, and all Japanese artillery units began to carry out devastating artillery bombardments.

All mountain artillery and field artillery were used. The Yellow River ferry on the other side of Fenglingdu was bombarded by intensive Japanese artillery shells. The ground was shaken, smoke and dust were everywhere, and fire was flashing. The bombardment lasted for more than an hour, and the result was the same as usual.

China's artillery gradually became mute and lost its right to speak. It continued for more than half an hour before the Japanese artillery stopped triumphantly.

The sound of artillery had just stopped, and the filled gunpowder smoke had not been blown away by the spring breeze. The satisfied Japanese artillerymen were leisurely wiping the smelly sweat on their faces. On the other side of the river, there was a loud earthquake and the faces of the Japanese artillerymen were "swish".

All of a sudden, they turned pale. They are all experts. They can judge the caliber of the artillery just from the sound of the artillery. It was a salvo of countless large-caliber artillery.

"Chinese artillery fire, evacuate the position," the Japanese artillery commander yelled hoarsely. The Japanese artillerymen hurriedly pushed the artillery. A scream tearing the air came from far and near. The air was filled with the scream of death and the black shells.

It fell from the sky and hit various Japanese artillery positions hard. The ground shook and mountains shook, smoke and dust rose into the sky. The explosion points were connected in one piece and it was difficult to distinguish the number. The Japanese artillery positions were shrouded in gunpowder smoke.

I don’t know the outcome of this artillery battle, but from that day on, the Japanese troops on the other side never fired a single artillery shell across the river. Just after the artillery battle, Sun Zhenbang hurriedly climbed up the hill. He was eager to see his carefully planned artillery bombardment.

As a result, I saw through the telescope that the sun was covered in artillery fire.

On the army artillery position, dug-out loess, huge craters, bent gun barrels, broken gun bodies, gun wheels scattered here and there, and trees emitting wisps of smoke, Sun Zhenbang

Grinning, judging from his experience, the Japs' artillery was finished.

After Tang Qiuli saw the report, he gave instructions: "Very good, closely monitor the actions of the Japanese troops on the other side, and make all preparations for an attack across the river." Okamura Neiji learned that the troops in the direction of Fenglingdu and all the artillery had been tricked by the Chinese.

Destroyed, he was so angry that he cursed the Japanese commander in the telegram. He had no choice but to transfer artillery from two regiments from the troops in the direction of Wubao and supplement it in the direction of Fenglingdu, although the artillery in his hands was not very good.

Generous.

The artillerymen of the ** Division, who had taken advantage, really wanted to have another round of fun, but the Japanese artillerymen became more honest than rabbits. No matter how they called the formation, they would not show their heads, so they had to give up in frustration. The Japanese artillerymen were honest, and the infantry was not idle.

, leaving most of the troops to confront the ** Division troops across the river at Fenglingdu, waiting for an opportunity to cross the river to attack Xi'an.

The remaining troops began to invade Ruicheng, Yongji, and Yuncheng in southern Shanxi, expanding the occupied area. The Japanese army burned, killed, raped, and looted wantonly. Wherever they went, villages and towns were reduced to ruins, and unarmed people became targets of Japanese soldiers.

The people in this area were the target of venting their anger. The soldiers across the Yellow River saw the fireworks everywhere in southern Shanxi. They knew that the Japs were harming the people again. They were so angry that they gnashed their teeth and wanted to cross the river immediately.

Meiling, who was seriously injured, did not know what was happening now. He did not have the necessary medical conditions. His injuries did not improve. He could only lie on a stretcher and be carried by others during the march. Following the advice of his comrades, he immediately went to the bank of the Yellow River.

Get closer, take the shortcut back

Returning to Dingbian, Mei Ling's injury could no longer be delayed. After several days of marching in the mountains, no Japanese troops were encountered, and no other troops were encountered. Only then did everyone realize that they were too far away from the main force and were basically separated.

The original combat area.

In the evening, the troops camped in a valley. In the Luliang Mountains in May, although the spring was warm during the day, at night, the chilly mountain wind blew people to the core. Fortunately, they found a cave to escape the cold mountain breeze.

wind, soldiers surround

Resting next to several bonfires, everyone was frowning and worried about Mei Ling's injury. Mei Ling woke up from a coma, hearing the "cracking" sound of the bonfires burning in his ears. He felt dry in the mouth and burning all over his body.

It was so severe that I couldn't help but moan softly.

The voice was soft and did not alert other comrades. Mei Ling looked at the entrance of the cave. In the deep night sky, the stars were blinking indifferently. He didn't know if he could return to Dingbian, return to his parents, on the east bank of the Yellow River.

, there are Japanese troops everywhere, several major ferries, and even key areas for Japanese defense. The possibility of these comrades crossing the river with them is extremely small. Up to now, Mei Ling's heart is full of attachment to life and fear of death.

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Thinking of this, Mei Ling shed tears silently. After all, he is only an eighteen-year-old boy. There is no need to be harsh. He has experienced the test of war for the first time in his life. When the blood in his heart cools down, his attachment to life and his longing for the future years

, will naturally hover in my heart, and I will become more aware of the preciousness of life.

Mei Ling, who was distracted by his thoughts, suddenly heard a series of dense but extremely light footsteps. He turned his head in the direction of the sound. His heart tightened and his hair stood up. Under the dim starlight, groups of Japanese soldiers appeared.

On the surrounding hillsides, he had no time to shout, so he struggled to pick up the submachine gun that was always beside him and pulled the trigger. The gunshot broke the tranquility of the night, and a sudden encounter began.

(To be continued)