In the afternoon of the same day, the main force of the Eighth Route Army in central Hebei rushed to the vicinity of the Pinghan Railway, and tens of thousands of troops were ready to launch an attack at any time to forcibly break through the Pinghan Railway and retreat westward.

Liu Hong led the vanguard to reconnoiter the deployment of Japanese troops on the front line of the Pinghan Railway, and after synthesizing information from all sides, Liu Hong hurried to the temporary headquarters and reported the situation to Commander Lu.

Commander Lu was very happy when he saw Liu Hong, and said with a smile: "Comrade Liu Hong, you have done a very good job in this mission, and the headquarters is preparing to commend your vanguard." ”

"Thank you, Chief!" Liu Hong replied with a smile: "Actually, this is not our credit, the little devil further reduced his forces and arranged all the troops on the front line of the Pinghan Railway, which made our actions so smooth." However, it can also be seen from this point that the old devil of Gangcun Ningci is really difficult to deal with, and now the devil has gathered a large number of troops on the front line of the Pinghan Railway, and the reinforcements are still coming in a steady stream, it is not easy for our army to break through the Pinghan Railway! Moreover, the longer the time drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for our army, and if the 41st Division and other units that are pursuing it arrive later, it will be troublesome. ”

Commander Lu nodded and said, "You're right, we've been discussing this issue just now. You should have just returned from the front line reconnaissance and know the most about the deployment of the Japanese army on the front line of the Pinghan Railway, so you can tell us about the specific situation first! ”

"Yes! I'm about to report this to the chiefs! Liu Hong nodded, then walked to the front of the map, pointed to the map and said: "According to the situation we have detected, the Japanese army has gathered more than 5,000 troops in the area from Pengjiazhuang in the north to Zhoucun Town in the south, and this number is still increasing. So we must launch an offensive as soon as possible and break through the devil's defense. ”

Commander Lu nodded slightly and said, "Go on." ”

"Yes!" Liu Hong nodded, and then said: "According to the situation we have detected, the terrain around Zhoucun Town in the south is open, which is conducive to the movement of the army, but the devils have built a large number of artillery strongholds here, and this time the little devils have deployed more troops here. In the vicinity of Pengjiazhuang in the north, because the terrain is more complicated, it is not conducive to the movement of the army, and the devil defense here is relatively weak, but due to the limited terrain, it may not be easy for our army to break through from here. ”

Liu Hong paused slightly, and then continued: "And there is another most important point, there are only more than thirty miles from Zhoucun Town to Pengjiazhuang, and the little devil has mastered the railway and highway and can quickly maneuver, so no matter which direction our army attacks, the little devil will quickly reinforce, so that no matter which direction we attack, we will face the main force of the devil." ”

Commander Lu's brows furrowed even deeper when he heard this, nodded and said: "It makes sense, we also thought of this in our discussion just now, some people suggested breaking through from the north, some people said that they should break through from the south, and there was no result after arguing for a long time." It just so happens that you have come to this point, so let's talk about your suggestion, is it better to break through from the south? Or is it better to break through from the north? ”

Liu Hong said with some embarrassment: "The commander is really good at laughing, I was a small squad leader before, and I was a humble position, how dare I discuss military and political affairs." ”

"Hey~!" Commander Lu waved his hand and said, "You have a problem with this thought!" Our Eighth Route Army has always paid attention to the equality of everyone, as long as it is a good idea, no matter who proposes it, we will humbly adopt it! I heard that you even dared to beat your boss before, why don't you even dare to say anything today, this is not like your character! ”

Liu Hong said with a smile: "I wasn't ignorant before!" In front of the commander and the chiefs, I dare not be presumptuous. ”

"Haha~! I thought you kid was really bold, but I didn't expect you kid to be scared too! Commander Lu said with a smile: "Okay, don't say these useless things, let you say it, no one will laugh at you if you say it, and we will reward you if you say it right!" ”

"Alright then!" Liu Hong nodded, and then said: "As I said just now, most of these little devils are urgently transferred, they are very mobile, and they can rely on the rapid maneuver of railways and highways, so no matter where we attack, the little devils from other directions will quickly come to support." Therefore, I believe that the most critical point is to restrain these little devils, so that we can find weak points and make key breakthroughs. ”

Commander Lu frowned and said: "What you mean is to attack the east and the west, first feint in one direction to contain the main force of the devil, and then concentrate the elite troops to storm in the other direction and focus on breaking through." ”

Liu Hong shook his head and said, "The little devil is very shrewd, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to hide from the little devil." In this case, only by surprise can the little devil not figure out our true intentions, and it is possible to win by surprise. ”

"Get to the point!" Commander Lu asked with a frown.

Liu Hong stretched out his hands and pointed to the map respectively and said: "According to my shooting direction, we can attack from both sides and break through in the middle!" My advantage is that we have far more troops than the devils, so we can completely mobilize superior forces and attack from both the north and the south at the same time. And it's not a feint, it's a key attack, and strive to break through the devil's defense line, if either side breaks through, everything will naturally be fine, even if it can't be successful, the devil's forces can be firmly contained on the two flanks, and then concentrate the superior forces of three or four regiments to launch a strong attack from the middle, and strive to break through the devil's defense line from the center. ”

Before Commander Lu could speak, the chief of staff said: "This is not in line with common sense, if you break through from the center, even if you succeed in opening a gap, when the large army is transferred, the little devils on both wings will inevitably attack our army on both sides, and the consequences will be unimaginable at that time." ”

Liu Hong continued: "It is precisely because I think it is unreasonable that I can be surprised. I think that now I am strong and the enemy is weak, and our troops are several times that of the little devils, and there is no need for us to treat this battle as a breakthrough, we can completely treat it as an offensive battle. As long as we can open the gap from the middle, when the time comes, we will concentrate this force on both wings and sweep it, and cooperate with the frontal attacking troops to defeat the little devils on both wings in one fell swoop. I knew that this was a risky move, and that if it failed, it might be undone, but if it succeeded, it would definitely inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army and ensure a smooth breakthrough of the main force. ”