"Commander, the results of the fighters are good, if we continue to fight at this rate, the little devil will be eliminated by us, it will be a matter of time?" Glancing at the battle report in his hand, Staff Officer Wang Degui said with a smile.

"Read it to me," Sun Xingbang said without putting down the telescope in his hand.

"Yes, Commander, according to the reports of the various armies, in the battle just now: our army eliminated a total of 348 Japanese troops, captured more than 240 rifles, four light machine guns, and a batch of ammunition. Among them, 101 soldiers of our army were killed, 24 were seriously wounded, and more than 100 were slightly wounded, but it did not affect the combat effectiveness, and the rest was to report the current progress of the troops, which we can already see from here. Counselor Wang put down the list and replied.

"Good, well played. In less than an hour, two squadrons of imps were eliminated. It is one-fifth of their total strength, and I estimate that the commander of the army must be a anxious dog jumping over the wall at this time, and is sending a report for help to his commander. Sun Xingbang said excitedly.

However, Sun Xingbang really guessed correctly, at this time, Yuichiro Nagano's report for help had been transmitted to the temporary headquarters of the Fifth Division through the radio waves. At this time, the Fifth Division, although it left a heavy artillery brigade in Gongcun, left enough mules and horses, so that the baggage and heavy artillery finally kept up with the marching speed of the troops.

However, the guerrilla warfare of the troops in various places along the route, as well as the roads that have been destroyed, are ubiquitous with landmines. It can be said that the division commander Itagaki Seishiro was annoyed. Under these ubiquitous blows, not only did they lose a squadron of elite imperial troops again. More important is the speed of the march of one's own division. In three days, his Fifth Division only traveled less than 180 miles, and marched less than 60 miles a day on average.

"Chief of Staff Baga, today it is necessary to speed up the march of the troops in any case. By order of His Excellency the Commander, we have been delayed for at least a day. Early in the morning, the division commander who had eaten the marching breakfast, Seishiro Itagaki ordered to the chief of staff beside him.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Wing Commander. However, the road ahead was basically destroyed by these dirt roads, and there was a possibility that mines could appear everywhere, and we didn't have enough mules and horses to detonate the mines in front, so we couldn't move faster at all. The chief of staff nodded.

"Baga, the excellent imperial army of the Great Empire will definitely not bow down in front of these mines again. Order all the wounded soldiers in the army to walk in the front of the army and open the way for the main force," Seishiro Itagaki ordered. You must know that the more than 100 wounded in the unit now remain in the unit, which not only needs to be taken care of, but also affects the morale of the troops. It's better to let them go through the mines and make their last contribution for the sake of the empire.

"Hey, Your Excellency the Division Commander is wise" Even the Chief of Staff, listening to Seishiro Itagaki's attention, secretly applauded. It can be said that this method is the best tactic at present.

"Yo Xi, go and deliver the order immediately. Let these wounded soldiers, for the sake of His Majesty the Emperor, for the sake of the great cause of the Empire. All of them showed their courage and gave their last bit of contribution. The Great Empire will not forget their great exploits. The division commander nodded and said.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, telegram, urgent telegram from the 11th Infantry Wing" Just as the chief of staff was about to turn around and deliver the order, an exclamation came from outside the tent at the headquarters.

"What are you talking about, is it Nagano-kun's 11th Infantry Wing?" Seeing a communications staff officer who hurriedly ran into the headquarters, the division commander Itagaki Seishiro asked angrily.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander, it's an urgent telegram from Yuichiro Nagano Osa," the communications staff officer quickly replied.

"Is there any trouble with Nagano-kun? Read"

"Hi, Division Commander. The 11th Infantry Wing called: At around 12 o'clock last night, the troops were besieged by a large number of Eighth Route Army. After several hours of bloody fighting, the troops had lost a quarter of their strength, and now the two armies were in a stalemate stage. According to preliminary statistics, the Eighth Route Army surrounded our department exceeded 10,000 people and carried a large number of artillery, which is certainly the main force of the Eighth Route Army's Reading Division. Today, the defensive position of our 11th Wing is in danger, and it can only hold on for three days at most. Please ask Your Excellency the division commander to quickly return to help, surround the main force of the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army around them, and annihilate the joint captain of the division in one fell swoop, Yuichiro Nagano" The communications staff officer quickly finished reading the telegram in his hand.

However, after the telegram was read, the entire command became silent. Because everyone couldn't believe that the Reading Force Division of the Eighth Route Army, who had worked hard to encircle and suppress them, actually jumped to the periphery of their encirclement in an instant. If the situation is really as the telegram said, then the encirclement and suppression plan of the Great Empire, which consumed a lot of troops and material resources, will not be in vain again.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I request that the main force of the division immediately return to Gong Village. Gongcun has stored the only heavy artillery brigade of our Fifth Division, which must not be lost. In addition, according to Nagano-kun's report, the main force of the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army must have jumped out of our encirclement long ago and set its sights on our heavy artillery brigade. Otherwise, with the combat effectiveness of the local units of the Eighth Route Army, it would be absolutely impossible to fight the 11 Infantry Wing, which had a heavy artillery brigade to assist in the defense, like this. Finally, the chief of staff broke the silence of the command and reminded the division commander with a surprised face.

"Baga's cunning Eighth Route Army. Quickly, immediately send a telegram to His Excellency the Commander in Taiyuan, asking His Excellency the Commander to send planes to support the 11th Infantry Wing in Gongcun. Also, send a telegram to His Excellency the Commander requesting a change in the battle plan. Our Fifth Division will immediately return to the aid of Gong Village, give a counter-encirclement to the main force of the Reading Division attacking Gong Village, and destroy the main force of the Reading Division of Gong Village in one fell swoop," the division commander Itagaki Seishiro scolded for a while, and ordered to the chief of staff in front of him.

"Hi, division commander" Soon, the chief of staff left the command. However, less than ten minutes passed, and the chief of staff took a telegram and hurried into the headquarters.

"Division Commander, Your Excellency the Commander sent a telegram back, agreeing to the change of our division's battle plan, and ordering our Fifth Division to concentrate all its troops and destroy the main force of the Reading Division in Gongcun in one fell swoop. In addition, His Excellency the Commander has ordered a squadron of bombers to be at the disposal of our unit at all times. The chief of staff took the telegram in his hand and said excitedly.

"Yo Xi, Your Excellency the Commander is wise. Quickly call back to Nagano-kun and ask him to hold out for at least two days, and our main force will rush to Gongcun day and night to surround the main force of the Reading Division. When the time comes, we will attack from inside and outside and wipe out the main force of the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop. In addition, send a telegram to the aviation troops in Taiyuan, and ask them to immediately send planes to provide air support to our army in Gongcun, and quickly," the division commander Itagaki Seishiro ordered excitedly to the communications staff officer in front of him.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander" the communications staff officer turned around and left the command headquarters and went to send a telegram.

"Chief of Staff, immediately order the troops, the front team will change to the rear team, immediately return to the Gong Village and set off now" Itagaki Seishiro ordered excitedly. At the same time, with the help of the orderly, he sorted out his military uniform, picked up the general's command knife on the table, and walked towards the door of the headquarters.

However, the good times did not last long, and the entire Fifth Division followed the march road and walked back less than five miles. The road, which had already been leveled by its own engineering wing, once again appeared in countless large pits. The other is landmines, more dense mines, which were buried in these big pits by Zhao Dahe, the political commissar of the first division, and the soldiers.

"Bageya Road, why did the troops stop advancing" Seeing that the troops who were marching in a hurry suddenly stopped advancing, Seishiro Itagaki, who was in a hurry to return to Gong Village, couldn't help but scold.

"Your Excellency, the road ahead has been damaged once again by the dirt road. In addition, there were a large number of mines planted on the roads, and I would not have been able to move forward without the repair and mine-clearing of the engineering wing. At this moment, the squadron leader of the vanguard squadron came to him on a war horse and said.

"Eight grid tooth roads, weren't these roads already repaired when they came? Why was it destroyed again, Baga, the cunning Eighth Route Army ordered that the engineer wing must level the road in the shortest possible time, and quickly" Listening to the report of the former squadron leader, Itagaki Seishiro let out a curse again, and ordered to the engineer wing commander beside him.

"Hi, Your Excellency," said the Wing Commander of the Engineer Wing, although he was very dissatisfied with this arrangement. But in the face of the anger of the division commander, he had to take his troops and run to the vanguard of the troops.

"Division Commander, please don't be angry. In fact, the destruction of the road surface by the Eighth Route Army is not necessarily a bad thing? Seeing the departing engineer wing, the chief of staff hurriedly comforted.

"Nani isn't a bad chief of staff, don't laugh. Now the 11th Infantry Wing is under siege by more than 10,000 people of the Eighth Route Army. If we can't get to the battlefield in time, the 11th Infantry Wing may be shattered at any time. How can it not be a bad thing? The division commander Itagaki Seishiro responded unhappily.

"Division commander, it is precisely because the road surface has been damaged that we are more certain that our decision is correct. The complete destruction of the road on which we reinforced Gong Village can only indicate one problem. That is, these dirt roads want to buy enough time for their main forces to encircle and annihilate our 11th Infantry Wing. The chief of staff replied.

"I know what the chief of staff said. However, the road in front of us has been completely destroyed by the dirt road, how can we reinforce Gongcun in the shortest possible time? The division commander nodded, agreed with the chief of staff's analysis, and then asked rhetorically.

"The commander of the division, and now the main force of the Reading Division, is besieging our 11th Infantry Wing. That is, there were not many units of the Eighth Route Army around us at all. Therefore, we can abandon the road and march directly from both sides of the road. Rapid reinforcements of Gong Village, surround the main force of the Reading Division. "The chief of staff suggested.

"Nani? Chief of Staff, although this will speed up the march. However, what should be done with our artillery and baggage, we must not give up! The division commander nodded and continued to ask.

"Division commander, there is basically no main force of the Eighth Route Army around us. We can leave a baggage wing, a field artillery company, an engineer company, and part of the infantry to march slowly along the main road. The main force of our division carried only light weapons and quickly reinforced Gongcun. I think that our more than 10,000 elite infantry, with the heavy artillery brigade in Gongcun and our air support, are enough to wipe out more than 10,000 Eighth Route Army in Gongcun. The chief of staff affirmed.

"Yo Xi, the main force of the Reading Force Division has gathered in Gongcun, and our artillery baggage troops will not encounter any danger at all. However, in Gongcun, we can get the support of the heavy artillery brigade and the air force. That's a really good idea. Chief of Staff, very good, if this time, our Fifth Division can wipe out the main force of the Reading Division in one fell swoop, I will definitely personally ask His Excellency the Commander for your credit. The division commander, Seishiro Itagaki, thought about the chief of staff's proposal and nodded with satisfaction.

"Hey, thank you, Your Excellency the Division Commander, it is an honor to be able to share the worries of His Excellency the Division Commander" After listening to the praise of the division commander, the chief of staff was also overjoyed and said excitedly.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, you're welcome, this is what you deserve. Now I order, leave the baggage wing, the field artillery wing, the engineer wing. All under the command of the Chief of Staff, they made a slow march along the road. The remaining three infantry wings, carrying enough ammunition, were under my personal command. Quickly reinforce Gong Village along both sides of the road, and wipe out the main force of Gong Village's Reading Division in one fell swoop. The division commander, Seishiro Itagaki excitedly ordered.

"Hey, Your Excellency the Division Commander, I will definitely bring the three wings to Gongcun in their entirety and join His Excellency the Division Commander." Hearing that the division commander had made himself the supreme commander, the chief of staff was surprised and replied excitedly.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, I believe in your abilities. These three wings will be handed over to you, and you must bring them back to Gongcun victoriously," the division commander Seishiro Itagaki encouraged.

"Hey, Your Excellency the Division Commander, I will definitely complete the task." The chief of staff replied excitedly.

"Yo Xi, without further ado. Now the 11 Infantry Wing is fighting bloodily, and there is not much time for us to waste. Chief of Staff, farewell, goodbye to our Gong Village," the division commander patted the chief of staff on the shoulder and encouraged.

"Hi, division commander, I wish His Excellency the division commander success in the horse, and completely annihilate the main force of the Reading Force Division in Gong Village," the chief of staff nodded and replied.

"Yo Xi, Yamada-kun, order the three infantry wings to immediately carry enough ammunition along the fields on both sides of the road, march quickly, and go straight to Gong Village" The division commander nodded with satisfaction with the chief of staff's answer. Commanded to the Wing Commander of the 41st Infantry Wing.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Division Commander" Soon, the three infantry wings were given orders. He abandoned his heavy weapons and carried only three days' worth of dry rations and plenty of ammunition. Under the personal leadership of the division commander Seishiro Itagaki, he walked off the road and began a rapid march along the road towards Gongcun.

And the remaining three wings, more than 3,000 little devils. Under the leadership of the chief of staff, they marched while repairing the roads that had been completely destroyed. More importantly, it is necessary to guard against cold guns from the cornfields on both sides of the road

"Bang bang More than a dozen soldiers of the baggage wing were caught off guard and fell in a pool of blood.

And hearing these gunshots, look at the Imperial soldiers who fell in pools of blood. The soldier next to him could not do anything other than lie on the ground and start to fight back. Because they, as a technical branch, simply don't have much combat power to allow them to attack.

Because just now, the chief of staff really couldn't stand this kind of passive beating. A squadron of artillery crews of more than a hundred people was ordered, armed with small arms, to counterattack. As a result, not only did not achieve any results. In the messy gunfire of the Eighth Route Army, the corpses were left on the ground and retreated in embarrassment.

At this time, in the face of these dirt and eight road harassment and guerrilla tactics, these artillerymen, baggage, and sappers that they are usually proud of. There is no longer the usual arrogance, and they all keep their heads down as much as possible and march. I was afraid that if I was not careful, I would be hit by bullets that appeared on both sides of the highway at any time.

"Bagatu 8 Road, I'm going to kill you" Seeing that it was the corpses of ten more Imperial soldiers, the soldiers carried it onto the wagon that had piled up several truckloads of corpses, and the chief of staff couldn't help but curse at the cornfields on both sides of the road

"Chief of Staff, from the division commander to leave the road now. In less than four hours, we had 84 Imperial soldiers fall under the guns of the Eight Roads of China. Chief of Staff, now we have to come up with a solution. Otherwise, the three wings, before they reached Gong Village, would be wiped out by these cold guns of the dirt and eight roads. Looking at the corpses of the imperial army in several carts behind him, the captain of the baggage wing, Shinichi Harada, said anxiously.

"Takeda-kun, I also know that continuing like this is not an option. However, you also saw our counterattack just now. More than 100 soldiers of the Imperial Army, under the blow of less than a company of troops from the other side, actually suffered heavy losses and retreated in embarrassment, do we still want these soldiers to launch a counterattack again and make unnecessary sacrifices," the chief of staff also said depressedly.

"Hi, Chief of Staff. The chief of staff is very correct in saying that we cannot afford to waste the limited military resources we have. However, Chief of Staff, until we think of a solution, I think we should stop moving forward and stick to the spot," said Captain of the 5th Engineer Wing next to him, Ota Kaoji, who immediately agreed.

(To be continued)