Chapter 1 The Xu Zhou Detachment

All day long, the Xu Zhou Detachment, with a full 20,000 Japanese soldiers in Tashan Town, did not send out a single team to search for or find the troops that attacked them last night.

It wasn't until Brigade Commander Suzuki returned to Tashan Town that Commander Yamasawa convened another military meeting. At the meeting, Brigade Commander Saito suggested that tomorrow they request the Xu Zhou aviation unit to search for the team that attacked them last night.

At this point, Commander Yamasawa realized: This was something that should have been done during the day.

The commanders present all thought it was a good idea, but now it was already dark, and any search plan would have to wait until tomorrow.

Moreover, the Xu Zhou Detachment's heavy firepower had suffered considerable losses. Only the six tanks brought back by Ishiki Ryosuke remained from the heavy firepower that retreated last night.

As for the infantry guns and heavy machine guns of the various regiments and battalions, the Japanese soldiers did not have time to bring them out when they fled.

Or perhaps the fleeing Japanese soldiers were afraid that these weapons would slow down their escape, so they threw away all the heavy weapons.

This situation was very embarrassing: This detachment had only been out of Xu Zhou City for one day and had already encountered such difficulties.

Brigade Commander Hyakutai Munifumi finally mustered the courage to make his first suggestion since the formation of the Xu Zhou Detachment: "We should go back to Xu Zhou to replenish our supplies before continuing!"

He had his own unavoidable difficulties: Hyakutai Munifumi's Fourth Cavalry Brigade had lost all its warhorses last night, and the Japanese soldiers under his command had all become infantry.

With the cavalry turned into infantry, the combat effectiveness was reduced by at least 70%. Continuing like this, Hyakutai Munifumi was afraid that he would follow in the footsteps of Brigade Commander Soratani Shunji.

He was worried that he would never be able to return to Beiping to enjoy himself. It was this thought that finally prompted him to speak up at the military meeting.

Therefore, he wanted to return to Xu Zhou for rest and reorganization. As long as he entered Xu Zhou City, he would not leave Xu Zhou City again until the warhorses were fully replenished.

Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro naturally supported this proposal. His brigade was entirely pieced together from a group of logistics soldiers, and its combat effectiveness was definitely the lowest.

Returning to Xu Zhou City would give them a few more days of delay, and they could train these logistics soldiers a little more, so that they could hold out and not run away when they went to the battlefield.

Brigade Commander Saito Takeo was now in high spirits, and he immediately stood up. His aggressive gaze turned to Brigade Commander Hyakutai Munifumi: "We've only been out of Xu Zhou City for one day, and we're going back like this?

What will the Manda Brigade think of us? What will Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi think of us?

What will those people in Xu Zhou City think of us?

They will definitely laugh at us behind our backs, and we will be ridiculed to death for the rest of our lives.

The Independent Mixed Infantry Fourth Brigade would rather fight to the death than die such a cowardly death."

Brigade Commander Saito's words were undoubtedly what Commander Yamasawa Jiro wanted to hear most.

He looked at Saito Takeo with a gratified gaze, his eyes full of encouragement, and he liked a fighter like him.

Brigade Commander Saito Takeo clearly received the commander's encouragement, and he continued with passion: "Although we were attacked last night, the troops that attacked us did not launch an attack overnight.

Even during the day, they were nowhere to be seen. What does this incident show?

It fully shows that their strength is not enough, and they only dare to carry out sneak attacks.

They don't dare to have a face-to-face decisive battle with us at all!

Therefore, we don't need to be afraid. We just need to establish a base here, find them, and annihilate them."

Commander Yamasawa Jiro couldn't help but stand up and applaud enthusiastically to show his appreciation for Brigade Commander Saito Takeo's speech.

His attitude was self-evident: Commander Yamasawa would not allow the Xu Zhou Detachment to return to Xu Zhou City.

Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro and Brigade Commander Hyakutai Munifumi could only reluctantly stand up, pretending to be enlightened and awakened, and applaud and echo Commander Yamasawa's praise with forced smiles.

At this moment, they were crying in their hearts: These two brigade commanders both saw the tragic end of the entire Xu Zhou Detachment.

But they couldn't say anything, and they couldn't do anything.

Unifying thoughts was very important. After Brigade Commander Saito Takeo unified the thoughts of the entire detachment's high command, the next step was the actual combat deployment.

Although he was dismissive of the troops that attacked last night in his speech just now, Brigade Commander Saito Takeo did not dare to be careless when he really started to deploy.

He pointed at the map and talked eloquently: "The suppression of the Lu Nan base area starts now, starting from Tashan.

We will be stationed in Tashan and turn it into a solid fortress first, echoing Xu Zhou City.

The Xu Zhou Detachment will start from Tashan and search in the direction of Xu Zhou, and the Manda Brigade in Xu Zhou City will also come out of the city and search in the direction of Tashan."

When he said this, Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro interjected: "Will Brigade Commander Manda cooperate with our actions?"

This was indeed a problem, after all, the Xu Zhou Detachment could not order Brigade Commander Manda.

Brigade Commander Saito Takeo smiled slightly: "We don't require its troops to be too far away from the city. It shouldn't be a problem to let the Manda Brigade search within ten *li* (Chinese mile, approximately 0.5 kilometers) outside Xu Zhou City, right!"

No problem! There was absolutely no problem. Even if Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro wanted to object, he couldn't find a point to counterattack.

Ten *li* outside Xu Zhou City, if the Japanese soldiers of the Manda Brigade didn't dare to search, it would be equivalent to the entire Xu Zhou being tightly surrounded by the National Revolutionary Army.

Brigade Commander Saito Takeo's suggestion was impossible for Manda not to listen to.

Thinking of this, Brigade Commander Suzuki could only awkwardly ask Saito Takeo to continue his eloquent speech.

Brigade Commander Saito Takeo pointed to the 30-kilometer distance between Xu Zhou and Tashan and continued: "We need to build two more fortresses in the middle of this distance.

Every ten kilometers, we will build a fortress that can accommodate a company of Japanese soldiers to strictly block this road."

Brigade Commander Suzuki wanted to ask a question again. He wanted to ask: "Are we just building fortresses on this road, or are we doing this all around Xu Zhou City?"

Before he could ask the question, Brigade Commander Saito Takeo had already started to answer: "We have to do this all around Xu Zhou City, building a circle of fortresses every ten kilometers.

Building blockade lines one by one, so that the National Revolutionary Army troops and guerrillas cannot move freely in the areas where the fortresses have been built.

We will gradually expand this circle and eventually fill the entire map with our strongholds."

After finishing his plan, Brigade Commander Saito Takeo's face turned red, obviously thinking of the scene when the entire area was covered with Japanese fortresses in the future.

Commander Yamasawa Jiro approved of this plan very much. First of all, the entire Xu Zhou Detachment could be stationed in Tashan under a legitimate reason.

Not only could they wait for supplies from Xu Zhou, but they could also allow the Japanese soldiers to calm their busy hearts.

Secondly, suppressing the Lu Nan base area finally had a Xu Zhou model, which was a very good start.

It was precisely because of these thoughts that he thought this was a good idea. With Commander Yamasawa's approval, this matter had to be reported to Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi for his decision.

Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi, who had already sentenced the Japanese soldiers of the Xu Zhou Detachment to death in his heart, held the plan reported by Yamasawa Jiro.

He was still somewhat gratified in his heart: This team was still struggling to complete its mission.

This kind of spirit was worthy of recognition. As for their plan, how much materials and troops would be spent, hadn't these pig heads thought about it?

Hadn't they thought that if he had so many troops, wouldn't he have sent them reinforcements?

Although he had such dissatisfaction, Terauchi Hisaichi also saw the advantages in the plan reported by Yamasawa Jiro: Steady progress!

This time, the Xu Zhou Detachment was really making steady progress. They were dragging on near Xu Zhou, preserving their strength, and protecting Xu Zhou was also good.

Everything could only wait until the end of the Battle of Wuhan. As soon as the Battle of Wuhan was over, he would send troops to sweep through the entire North China again.

Terauchi Hisaichi had secretly made up his mind. With this kind of determination, he only replied with one word when he replied to Yamasawa Jiro: "Good!"

Being able to obtain the approval of the North China Front Army Command, Yamasawa Jiro was of course ready to take action.

That night, the remaining residents in Tashan Town were harassed by the Japanese soldiers once again.

When the Japanese soldiers first arrived last night, they dealt with it haphazardly for one night. Today, they had time and were in the mood, and each brigade, each regiment, all the way down to each company and squad, were looking for suitable houses to live in.

Originally, there were only a few thousand people in Tashan Town, but suddenly, 30,000 Japanese soldiers had to live there, which was very difficult.

The original residents of Tashan Town were all driven out of their houses and told to go to the streets.

As for their houses, they were all occupied by the Japanese soldiers. Mother Li had always been a shrew.

Ever since she married into the Li family, even when she was still a daughter-in-law, she dared to argue with her mother-in-law and quarrel with her father-in-law.

Now that she was older and was the oldest member of the Li family, her temper not only did not subside, but became even more stubborn.

Before it was completely dark, the entire family was driven out of the house by the Japanese soldiers. How could she admit defeat?

She started scolding outside the house. Although the Japanese soldiers couldn't understand what she was scolding, at first, they found it interesting to watch her gesticulate and scold.

Later, after a little longer, Captain Yamada, seeing that Mother Li's movements were always so monotonous, got annoyed.

His face changed, and he issued an order. Immediately, two Japanese soldiers rushed out and stabbed Mother Li with their shining bayonets.

Ever since she married into the Li family, Mother Li had always used her words and not her hands. Now that she was old, she was forced to use her hands by the Japanese soldiers.

She didn't even have time to react, and she was stabbed to the ground by the Japanese soldiers. She still wanted to continue scolding a few words, but as soon as she opened her mouth, blood gushed out of her mouth.

She couldn't speak anymore. The Li family, who had been watching from the side, had been carefully trying to persuade Mother Li to endure it for a while.

Now, they could only endure it, and Mother Li was gone!

The dozen or so members of the Li family didn't even dare to cry loudly. They only dared to carry Mother Li's body to the street corner and sob softly around it.

Mother Li was dead, and the news spread throughout Tashan Town like the wind. Those who couldn't bear to leave their homes and jars and pots now had no home. Their homes had all been occupied by the Japanese soldiers.

As for those jars and pots, they had also become the property of the Japanese soldiers. This time, even if they didn't want to leave, they had to leave.

If these ordinary people who were stranded in Tashan Town didn't leave, they would probably starve to death here.

The next morning, Jiang Liming's reconnaissance platoon saw many people coming out of Tashan Town.

A few of these people were heading towards Xu Zhou City, but most of them were heading north.

Jiang Liming waited until they had left Tashan Town for more than ten *li* before showing himself to inquire about information.

When they learned that he was from the Lu Nan base area, the people who came out of Tashan Town were immediately happy.

They were going to the Lu Nan base area. A few days ago, they had heard that the Lu Nan Detachment was taking in a large number of refugees from the Yellow River flood area.

Now, they were similar to the refugees from the Yellow River flood area. They had nothing to their names and were completely leaving with nothing.

Jiang Liming asked them about the situation in Tashan Town. The people all told him everything.

From their mouths, Jiang Liming learned that the Japanese soldiers in Tashan Town had no food and had only been able to eat by robbing the people in the town yesterday.

In order to live comfortably, the Japanese soldiers had requisitioned all the houses in the town, along with everything in the houses.

In the entire Tashan Town, there were only a few families of traitors living there besides the Japanese soldiers. No ordinary person could live in Tashan Town.

Jiang Liming had only brought the reconnaissance platoon out and could not provide assistance to this group of people. He could only tell them to walk faster and that someone would meet them when they reached Li Lou and Zhao Village.

When the originally uneasy people heard that someone would meet them thirty *li* away, everyone's confidence immediately increased.

People were always like this. Once they had a visible goal, their motivation would come out.

Lin Fan led the troops to rest in Li Lou and Zhao Village. The fifty security regiments mobilized by the entire Lu Nan base area were continuously converging on these two places.

In the past few days, the security regiments that were relatively close had already arrived at the battlefield.

Although combat troops valued quality over quantity, Lin Fan still decided to train the entire Lu Nan Detachment.

And facing the 40,000 elite Japanese soldiers, it was not an exaggeration to mobilize 100,000 security regiments.

When Gu Xiuming attacked the Japanese soldiers the night before, he killed more than 8,000 Japanese soldiers in one battle. When the good news came, there was cheering in Li Lou and Zhao Village.

Although Lin Fan subsequently canceled the aviation brigade's continued attacks, it did not affect the people's enthusiasm for celebrating the victory in the slightest.

This morning, he received news from Jiang Liming that the Japanese soldiers had driven all the residents out of Tashan Town.

This was a tragic event for the people in Tashan Town, who were forced to leave their homes.

For the Lu Nan Detachment, this was a great thing: They no longer had to be afraid of accidentally injuring them, and they were no longer afraid of being constrained.

Lin Fan immediately ordered: "Gu Xiuming's four regiments will move to the Xu Zhou Airport tonight and attack the airport overnight.

It is imperative to ensure that none of the Japanese planes can take off tomorrow morning.

After bombing the airport, return to the south of Tashan Town and block the road for the Xu Zhou Detachment to retreat.

At the same time, snipe at the Japanese soldiers who are coming to rescue from Xu Zhou."

Each of the seven regiments that had been resting in Li Lou and Zhao Village sent out an advance company to block the roads leading from Li Lou and Zhao Village to Tashan Town.

Allow no one to enter or leave, and do not let anyone go in the direction of Tashan Town, to prevent the Lu Nan Detachment's actions from being exposed.

The main forces of each regiment and the 35 newly arrived security regiments immediately set off for Tashan Town.

Enter the position tonight, and be sure to surround Tashan Town by tomorrow morning. This time, Lin Fan was preparing to annihilate the entire Xu Zhou Detachment.

Lin Fan also ordered the fifteen security regiments that were still on their way to speed up their march and be sure to report to Li Lou before 6:00 p.m. today.

After arriving at Li Lou, they would rest for eight hours, continue marching at night, and arrive at Tashan Town before 6:00 a.m. tomorrow to participate in the encirclement and attack of the Japanese soldiers.

For Commander Yamasawa Jiro of the Xu Zhou Detachment, he finally waited for the supplies sent from Xu Zhou this day.

In any case, Brigade Commander Manda Yuto had prepared and sent a batch of food and weapons.

Although it could not completely make up for the loss of artillery and machine guns of the Xu Zhou Detachment, he at least sent five Type 92 infantry guns and twenty heavy machine guns.

It should be known that these weapons were all taken from the reserves of its 17th Brigade. The Xu Zhou Detachment's supply application was still being approved by the North China Front Army Command at this time.

The problem of food was solved, but his request for aviation reconnaissance had not been answered. The search team that was sent out had roughly searched the area within ten *li* nearby, but found nothing.

As for the request for Manda Yuto to search for National Revolutionary Army troops within ten kilometers outside Xu Zhou City, it also received a positive response.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto was also very surprised and afraid that the Xu Zhou Detachment had been bombed only thirty *li* away from Xu Zhou City.

When he received Commander Yamasawa Jiro's request to cooperate with the search, this time he really took action.

Japanese soldiers and puppet troops walked out of Xu Zhou City in teams, which once again caused a lot of rumors to fly around in the city.

However, this day's search did not yield any specific results. When the Nakaishi Junta Company searched Zhou Village, they routinely asked the villagers: "Have you seen the National Revolutionary Army troops?"

Many people shook their heads and said that they had not seen a single mosquito from the National Revolutionary Army for several months.

Company Commander Nakaishi Junta looked at the honest faces of these villagers, and thought that Zhou Village was only twenty *li* away from Xu Zhou.

He thought that the National Revolutionary Army would not be so bold as to lie in ambush here. Just as he was about to leave with his troops,

He saw a villager carrying a hoe watching the excitement on the side, not afraid of the Japanese soldiers at all.

As if he had something to say, Company Commander Nakaishi Junta smiled and stepped forward, took out a cigarette from his pocket.

He handed it to the villager and asked the translator to ask: "Have you seen the National Revolutionary Army recently?"

When Zhou Jun saw the foreign cigarette handed over by the Japanese soldier, he was so excited that he trembled all over. He stretched out his hands and respectfully took the cigarette.

He lit it from the lighter in Nakaishi Junta's hand and took a deep breath, feeling that all 108,000 pores in his body were stretched out, which was indescribably comfortable.

Only then did he say: "I saw a large group of National Revolutionary Army troops passing through the village a few days ago. Some of them even stayed in the village for two days. I don't know where they went these days."

At this time, when Company Commander Nakaishi Junta looked at the faces of the villagers in Zhou Village, they all changed their appearance.

The old village chief was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he beat Zhou Jun with his crutches: "When did you see it? When did you see it? Are you a traitor trying to kill the whole village?"

Zhou Jun took two blows with the crutches and immediately hid behind Company Commander Nakaishi Junta, poking his head out and saying: "How could you not have seen it? I clearly saw it a few days ago. They even said they were from the Lu Nan Detachment."

Company Commander Nakaishi Junta's face was livid. He felt the pain of being insulted in his intelligence, and his face was burning with pain.

He was still thinking that these villagers were honest and simple farmers.

He waved his hand, and the Japanese soldiers of the entire company immediately set up their machine guns and raised their rifles, ready to fight at any time. The old village chief was so frightened that he stopped hitting people.

He said in a trembling voice: "Sir! It's a misunderstanding! We really haven't seen the National Revolutionary Army recently.

What he said was about what happened a few months ago. A few months ago, when you were fighting the National Revolutionary Army, there were quite a few National Revolutionary Army troops passing through the village.

Thousands of National Revolutionary Army troops came and went. Since you entered the city, we haven't seen the National Revolutionary Army again.

You are right?" The old village chief turned his head and asked the other villagers in the village.

"Yes! We haven't seen the National Revolutionary Army for several months."

Company Commander Nakaishi Junta felt that he had been deceived. These people had two stories, and one of them was a lie.

Thinking of this, he took a step to the side and brought Zhou Jun out: "You! Have you seen the National Revolutionary Army?"

"Yes! Sir! I really saw them, just a few days ago!"

"Which day was it?" Company Commander Nakaishi Junta asked.

There are no years in the mountains, and they never remember the year. Most people in this village also only live their lives and don't remember the date.

Company Commander Nakaishi Junta's question stumped Zhou Jun: Which day was it?

If there were no weddings or funerals in the village, who would pay attention to the ordinary days? Zhou Jun couldn't answer at once.

He was an honest man, but he just felt that this Japanese soldier had given him a cigarette and wanted to repay him.

He thought for a long time pitifully, but he still couldn't think of it, and he just kept repeating: "It was a few days ago! I saw them, you all saw them!"

He had just heard the word "Sir" from the old village chief. Usually, everyone called them "Japanese devils."

He also learned to say: "Sir! What I said is true, they are lying! You are all liars! You are all lying.

That's right! Sir! My Dabao also saw them. Children don't lie. I'll call him over and ask him."

The expression on Company Commander Nakaishi Junta's face was livid. He already believed what this person said.

Zhou Jun shouted loudly: "Dabao! Dabao! Come out quickly and testify for your father."