As the day began to dawn, the Fifth Division had been attacking in successive batches all night, but it was still not an inch close. The tank shock force lost more than 20 vehicles, all of which were blown up by the Chinese defenders in the most primitive way of human bombs.

Itagaki Seishiro's eyes were bloodshot, it had been the fifth day of the battle, but the tenacity of the Chinese army was beyond his imagination, and it was completely desperate to defend it.

His headquarters was smashed three times by him in a fit of rage, and the staff officers kept their distance from him, and no one dared to approach him at such a time.

Similarly, the 10th Division encountered unprecedented resistance from the Chinese army, losing more than 1,000 men in the night. Not only did they not take a single step, but they were also beaten back by the Chinese troops who were counterattacking and retreated five kilometers, and even lost a piece of their position.

Yoshio Suzuka's face was also embarrassed as he had never been, and he originally planned to follow the Fifth Division to pick up the bargain. Who knew that Seishiro Itagaki had mobilized so many forces to attack the positions of the Chinese defenders, but it had no effect at all, and he was also caught in this melee.

"What the hell is going on with the Chinese army? I've never seen them so tenacious! "Yoshio Suzuka was moving around in the headquarters, and there were seven divisions on the opposite side blocking them, twice as many as them.

It's very difficult to defeat the other party. Now they are alone in the depths, and the reinforcements in the rear are still some distance away from them, and if they do not attack again, they may be surrounded by the Chinese army.

"Seishiro Itagaki ah, Seishiro Itagaki doesn't you usually behave aggressively, what's wrong now, a line of defense stopped you?" Yoshio Suzuka turned around angrily, but the battle reached such a point that it was impossible to retreat. As soon as they retreated, they might be immediately counterattacked by the Chinese army, and the casualties would be immeasurable.

Just when the two generals were anxious, there was a sudden good news from the front. A gap was opened in the front of the Chinese army, the Chinese army, which had suffered heavy losses, was retreating, and they did not have the slightest reinforcement.

Seishiro Itagaki who got the news was like a whole cup of chicken blood being beaten, and the whole person almost jumped with excitement. The five-day battle finally progressed, and he opened a gap in the seemingly impregnable Chinese defenders.

It may have been too depressed for a long time, and the joy of suddenly succeeding made him forget to think. Itagaki Seishiro didn't even think about it carefully, why did the Chinese army hold out for so long, and then suddenly failed?

Regardless, the gap was finally opened, and Seishiro Itagaki immediately ordered his troops to pursue the retreating Chinese army with all their might, trying to crush them all. At the same time, heavy fire weapons continued to bombard the Chinese troops on both sides of the gap, so that they could not stop the advance of the Fifth Division.

Yoshio Suzuka then gave the same order, and his order was very simple, that is, the whole army immediately followed behind the Fifth Division and marched towards Xuzhou. He came here to pick up the bargain, and since Itagaki Seishiro opened the gap, it means that Xuzhou is just around the corner. With such a great achievement, he will not give up.

As for staying and entangled with the remaining Chinese troops, he is not a fool, so he will not sacrifice the lives of a large number of soldiers to do this senseless thing in vain.

The artillery fire on the battlefield became more intense, and the 5th Division quickly passed through the gap vacated by the Chinese defenders' positions under the opening of the tanks, and pursued the retreating defenders at full speed. At the same time, the 10th Division followed, the same tanks opened the way, followed by the infantry, and all the heavy firepower followed.

When the 5th and 10th Divisions rushed through the positions, the Chinese defenders closed the gap and cut off the Japanese rear. But Seishiro Itagaki and Yoshio Suzuka didn't take this to heart at all, they just thought about impacting all the way. What are you going to do in the back road? They simply won't retreat.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Chinese army has surrounded our two flanks, and we have two divisions of Chinese troops on each of our left and right flanks. But it seems, they have no intention of attacking. ”

An adjutant hurriedly came to report to Seishiro Itagaki, and Seishiro Itagaki only smiled slightly after hearing this: "Let them stay there, no one can stop our Fifth Division." Xuzhou must be the first to be captured by us, and no matter how many Chinese troops there are, they are just a bunch of waste in my eyes. ”

His arrogance affected the entire force, and almost every soldier of the 5th Division did not take the Chinese troops on both flanks into account. They all believed that the Chinese troops were just bluffing and did not dare to attack them at all. In their eyes, the Chinese army is nothing more than a waste that can only defend its positions, and if it really fights face to face, it will not work at all.

Under this psychological effect, the Fifth and Tenth Divisions marched directly in the direction of Xuzhou with great arrogance. They were so fast that heavy fire weapons and troops pulled an extremely long distance.

"Your Excellency General, there is Taierzhuang ahead. The reconnaissance team reported that there did not appear to be a Chinese army defender there. "The chief of staff reported to Seishiro Itagaki in the car.

"No defenders?" Hearing this, Seishiro Itagaki frowned. He's not a fool, he's a military genius to be exact. The importance of Taierzhuang to Xuzhou is clear to the discerning person, and the Chinese army blocked him for five days to keep the place.

But now, there are no defenders stationed here, which makes Itagaki Seishiro immediately suspicious.

"Immediately send a reconnaissance team to find out the movements of Taierzhuang for me. It is impossible for the Chinese army to leave an empty Taierzhuang to us, they must have ambush troops. Seishiro Itagaki said with a calm face.

"Hay!" The chief of staff immediately went to give the order. Immediately, a reconnaissance unit quickly advanced in the direction of Taierzhuang, and the 5th Division did not slow down. In Itagaki Seishiro's view, even if the Chinese army had an ambush, with the ability of the Fifth Division to move quickly and the powerful firepower of the accompanying army, it could still quickly defeat the opponent.

Half an hour later, they were less than five kilometers away from Taierzhuang, and they could already see the outline of Taierzhuang from a distance. The reconnaissance troops also reported at this time, Taierzhuang was empty, not to mention the defenders, not even a civilian could see it.

"Li Zongren, what tricks are you playing?" Seishiro Itagaki sat in the car and said in a deep voice.

He knew that the opponent this time was Li Zongren, and he had studied everything about him, so he could be said to have a certain degree of understanding of this opponent. He knew that Li Zongren was good at resourcefulness and was very cunning. Seishiro Itagaki was suddenly a little unsure whether he wanted to enter Taierzhuang or not.

"Your Excellency, how about you try it with artillery?" The chief of staff suggested from the sidelines.

Itagaki Seishiro thought for a moment, then nodded: "Although it will slow down the march, this trick can let us see what the Chinese are doing!" The bombardment of Taierzhuang lasted for an hour, covering it with full firepower, leaving no dead ends. ”

At this time, the artillery units of the 5th Division were still far behind, and they were still more than an hour away. Therefore, Itagaki Seishiro's orders were carried out by tank troops and a small number of mountain artillery, and the firepower was suddenly greatly reduced.

The roaring cannon sound resounded in the sky, and Taierzhuang was suddenly in a sea of fire. Seishiro Itagaki stood on the command car, carefully observing it with a telescope.

There was a calm in Taierzhuang, and it seemed that it was really an empty place. The shelling lasted for a long time, but I didn't see half a figure appear.

"Is it really empty?" Itagaki Seishiro hesitated, but he was not at ease, Li Zongren's cunning was famous, and he did not want his troops to suffer losses by his rash advance.

So he continued to observe, and the 10th Division, which was following him, did not know what was happening in front of him, and saw the 5th Division launch an artillery bombardment, thinking that they had already launched an attack.

Yoshio Suzuka hurriedly ordered the tank troops to take the lead in attacking and seize the main passage of Taierzhuang. A wing of infantry followed, and the remaining large forces were divided into three groups to follow quickly, and it was absolutely impossible for Itagaki Seishiro to take all the credit.

The 10th Division suddenly attacked, which made Itagaki Seishiro froze for a moment, but then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Yoshio Suzuka, you old slippery head." I think about making war exploits every day, and since this is the case, then I will give you the task of this temptation. You have to behave well, don't let me down. ”

Where did Yoshio Suzuka know what Seishiro Itagaki was thinking, at this moment he came to the front line in a hurry and commanded the troops to quickly advance towards Taierzhuang. He had even thought of the glory of the Chinese defenders he had annihilated and the emperor himself awarding him a medal.

Suddenly, his smile froze on his face. A violent explosion suddenly came from the direction of Taierzhuang, and dozens of his tanks were all engulfed in the explosion.

And his wing was also affected by the bomb, and the explosion extended hundreds of meters from the front of Taierzhuang, like a fire dragon quickly engulfed him almost a brigade.

Yoshio Suzuka almost didn't fall out of the car, his head was in chaos, and he couldn't figure out what the hell was going on as he looked at the raging fire and the tank that had turned into scrap metal in the fire.

But Itagaki Seishiro had a smile on the corner of his mouth, and slowly put down the binoculars in his hand: "Sure enough, there is an ambush, Yoshio Suzuka, thank you so much for removing the last threat to Taierzhuang for me." ”

Then, his eyes flashed with coldness: "Li Zongren, it's really okay, you actually thought of a series of mines to destroy my tank troops, so as to reduce the threat to you, right?" You're thinking too simply! ”

"Order the tank troops to storm at full speed and occupy Taierzhuang. The infantry followed, finding out the Chinese army and then eliminating it. Let the Chinese see how the elite of the Imperial Japanese Army fought the war. Seishiro Itagaki waved his hand fiercely.

The outside of Taierzhuang, after the raging fire. Lin Fan and Ergou emerged from behind a house and looked at the Fifth Division that was advancing towards Taierzhuang in the distance.

"Inform everyone, get ready for battle. Little devil, hooked. Lin Fan smiled coldly, and his body quickly shrank back.