"Report, the Third Garrison Brigade has been ordered to protect His Excellency the General, please instruct His Excellency the General." Soon, I saw a Shaozuo captain running in front of the two commanders to salute and report.

"Yo Xi, your mission is to keep Your Excellency General safe. From the north gate, His Excellency the General will be sent out of Taiyuan safely, and His Excellency will be sent back to Beiping all the way. How about it, and there is no confidence to complete this difficult task. Seeing the excited Captain Shaozo in front of him, Major General Kunizaki Noboru ordered loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I will definitely guarantee the safety of Your Excellency General" Shao Zuo replied loudly without any hesitation.

"Yo Xi, the two military police squadrons here will also be under your command in a moment. From now on, the safety of His Excellency the General will be entrusted to you, please ensure the safety of His Excellency the General, and if there is nothing to do, go now" Major General Noboru Kunisaki nodded and ordered.

"Hi Your Excellency the Commander, Your Excellency General, please"

And just when General Bin Sanyuan, under the protection of a brigade of elite imperial soldiers, was preparing to break through. The army that was sticking to the south gate had reached a critical juncture of life and death. After about five minutes of artillery fire, the fire of the 12 heavy howitzers of the entire heavy artillery battalion was now concentrated in the northeast corner of the city wall, which had collapsed.

Under the continuous bombardment of 12 heavy guns, the masonry on the northeast corner of the city wall was constantly blown away, and the loess wrapped in the masonry slowly revealed his most primitive face. What's more, the city wall, which was indestructible, began to slowly begin to crack in the explosion of nearly 100 shells from 12 heavy guns.

Finally, with a loud explosion, the scope of the collapse of the city wall became larger and larger. At the same time, the bombed earth bricks slowly piled up a slope under the city walls. In the explosion of dozens of shells fired again by the heavy artillery battalion, this section of the broken wall finally could not hold on. In a roar, it finally turned into a pile of ruins. The wall that stood in front of the fighters was finally opened by the artillery regiment.

"Order the artillery to extend to both sides of the city wall to prevent the breakthrough of reinforcements. Order the vanguard battalion to start the attack, seize the breakthrough, and open the passage for the follow-up troops' attack" Seeing that the breakthrough was finally blown open by artillery, Liu Hua breathed a sigh of relief and ordered to the chief of staff behind him.

"Yes, comrades of the division commander, rush" With the extension of artillery fire, more than 500 fighters of the pioneer battalion who had already moved to the edge of the trench had already moved. Under the cover of the intensive fire of dozens of light and heavy machine guns, they jumped up from the trenches where they were hiding, and quickly rushed towards the breakthrough 200 meters away along a passage blown out by the engineer battalion in the trenches.

"Baga, the Eighth Route Army is on the offensive, quick, machine gun fire, we must block the attack of the Eighth Route Army" Hearing the trumpet of the charge outside the city, the soldiers shouted to kill. The chief of staff of the army shouted an order to the surviving soldiers on the city wall. However, he didn't know that the dozens of light and heavy machine guns on the city wall had been almost completely lost in the shelling just now.

"Chief of Staff, our heavy weapons have basically been lost in the shelling just now. The firepower of the Eighth Route Army was so fierce that the rifles in our hands could not play any suppressive role at all. The captain of the brigade, who found the problem, hurriedly ran to the chief of staff and reported.

"Baga, bastard, what are the rifles in our hands for without heavy machine guns. Order the soldiers to open fire immediately, return fire to me, be sure to block the charge of the Eighth Route Army, quickly. The herald, immediately inform the expatriates of a squadron and a battalion of puppet soldiers that the breakthrough must be blocked. The chief of staff roared loudly at the captain whose face was full of gunsmoke.

"Hi, Your Excellency Chief of Staff," the captain commanded. However, with the remaining more than 300 little devils on the city wall, it was time to show their heads and prepare for the so-called counterattack. Not surprisingly, many of them were knocked to the ground by airtight machine-gun bullets fired from outside the city before they could shoot the bullets in the chambers.

And the bullets that can be fired can cause negligible losses to the vanguard charging outside the city. Slowly, amid the shouts of killing, the pioneer battalion was getting closer and closer to the breakthrough. Seeing that the platoon that rushed to the front was about to rush to the breach, an accident happened.

"Kill to give" I don't know where the shouts of the army suddenly sounded, and then I saw dozens of soldiers who rushed to the breakthrough falling in a pool of blood. In the blink of an eye, at the breakthrough that was still empty just now, countless puppet soldiers suddenly appeared, and among these puppet soldiers, there were still many people holding rifles and light machine guns.

The sudden accident surprised almost everyone. What surprised everyone even more was that these puppet soldiers, who had always flinched and had no combat effectiveness, brazenly launched a counter-charge against the vanguard battalion that rushed over. The puppet soldiers in front fell, and those behind continued to make up for it, continuing to charge, and no one was afraid of the enemy and retreated.

"What's the matter, when did the combat effectiveness of these puppet armies become so strong." Seeing that his vanguard battalion, under the counter-charge of the puppet army who was not afraid of death, he actually lost almost a company of troops. The rest of the fighters were lying tightly less than 50 meters away from the breach, and they were shooting at the puppet army at the breach. Liu Hua couldn't help frowning, and asked the chief of staff beside him, who was also observing his every move in front of the position.

"Division commander, you see, there is still a person in the puppet army, and he is not wearing a military uniform" Liu Hua's voice just finished speaking. The chief of staff reminded loudly, and Liu Hua was also shocked when he heard the three words himself, and quickly raised the telescope in his hand.

Sure enough, among these puppet soldiers, there were dozens of people wearing kimonos. Moreover, most of these people are holding light machine guns or command knives. However, the muzzles of their knives and guns were not pointed at the vanguard battalion not far away, but at the puppet soldiers in front of them.

"It seems that the little devil has no troops, and he has let the expatriates go out. The heavy artillery was ordered to continue to bombard the city wall, and the regular army of the Yue army must not be allowed to reinforce the breakthrough. The mountain artillery battalion concentrated my firepower and shelled the breach, and in addition, the distance of 50 meters inside the breach, I blew it all up. I'd like to see if my shells are harder or if theirs are harder.

In less than a few minutes, all 12 mountain guns of the mountain artillery battalion turned their muzzles. With the battalion commander's order, the 12 mountain guns roared together. 12 shells, with a huge whistling sound, flew quickly towards the breakthrough where almost a battalion of puppet troops was concentrated.

In a violent explosion, all 12 shells fell on the breach, and suddenly, the breach, which was still full of puppet soldiers, immediately fell into a sea of fire. The puppet soldiers, who were still stubbornly resisting just now, faced with shells that could tear their bodies to pieces at any time. Unable to care about the name of the light machine gun and the command knife behind him, they began to flee backwards.

Suddenly, the breakthrough that had fallen into a sea of fire immediately fell into chaos. The puppet soldiers running around, the shouting and scolding of the little devils, the ubiquitous gunfire, the resistance of the puppet soldiers Of course, no matter how chaotic it was, the war continued, and the shelling of the mountain artillery battalion still did not stop.

In the bursts of shell explosions, what was still a chaotic breakthrough just now slowly fell into silence. More importantly, the artillery fire of the mountain artillery battalion was far from over, and began to fire at a range of 50 meters within the breach. Immediately, the soldiers of the puppet army of the two regiments that had just been concentrated behind the city wall, as well as more than 2,000 armed expatriates, became the targets of the mountain artillery battalion.

As a mountain cannon shell fell into the crowd, it rained blood and severed limbs. These puppet soldiers, who had basically not experienced much fighting, showed a look of fear. Even some armed expatriates began to tremble in their legs when they saw the severed limbs that had fallen next to them.

In the face of falling shells, in the face of increasing casualties. Although the chief of staff knew that if he ordered the troops to retreat, then what awaited him would be the rout of the entire army. However, he could not tolerate the death of more than 2,000 Hashiona in enemy fire because of his own command mistakes. If this incident is reported back to China in the future, there is no doubt that his family will be insulted by the people

Thinking of this, the chief of staff could no longer care about the vanguard battalion of the Eighth Route Army that had rushed to the side of the city wall, and immediately ordered the puppet army and overseas Chinese who were hiding behind the city wall and were being shelled by the Eighth Route Army to disperse and hide.

Sure enough, the situation was as the chief of staff had thought. With the order issued, those puppet soldiers who had already been so frightened that they were about to pee their pants could no longer care about the restraint of the commanders around them. Pick up the weapon in your hand and run quickly towards the city. What's more, he even threw away the weapon in his hand and fled to the city empty-handed.

Scattered and hidden, at this moment, it turned into a rout of the whole army. More than 4,000 soldiers had not fired a single bullet at the Eighth Route Army outside the city, and they were beaten in this dense rain of bullets. It can be said that the combat effectiveness it should have lost has been lost.

"Comrades, rush" The puppet soldiers who saw the breakthrough were almost completely lost in a burst of artillery fire from their own artillery regiment. The commander of the forward battalion grasped this advantageous fighter very well. Jumping up from the ground, he shouted an order to the remaining warriors of less than 400 people.

"Chong Ah" was ordered, and these were basically vanguard battalions composed of party members. Without any hesitation, they jumped up from the ground and launched a new round of charge towards the breakthrough fifty meters away. At the same time, dozens of light machine gunners and submachine gunners who rushed to the front also shot a dense rain of bullets at the moment of getting up.

The shouts of the fighters, the strafing of machine guns. From far to near, they soon rushed to the edge of the breakthrough. With the sound of explosions covered by grenades, the fighters climbed along the slope of the explosion and towards the city. As a result, it was not surprising that after the heavy shelling just now, coupled with the explosion of a round of grenades from the fighters, there was almost no resistance from the Japanese army at the breach.

Light machine gunners, submachine gunners, who rushed to the front of the whole team. Quickly occupied a breakthrough with a width of more than ten meters, and with the help of favorable terrain, quickly set up the machine gun in his hand, ready to cover the landing of the follow-up troops.

As for the troops of the Eighth Route Army who rushed to the breakthrough, although there were still a few hundred remnants of soldiers left on the city wall. However, at this time, the hundreds of remnants of the soldiers, under the fierce shelling of the heavy artillery battalion, were too busy to take care of themselves, and how could they have the energy to pay attention to the breakthrough not far away. I could only watch as the Eighth Route Army, which had more than two companies, quickly seized the entire breakthrough.

"Division commander, the pioneer battalion has occupied the breakthrough, do you want to order the follow-up troops to attack" Seeing that the soldiers had already climbed the city wall at the breakthrough, the chief of staff standing beside Liu Hua hurriedly reminded.

"Okay, the pioneer battalion fought well, and ordered the follow-up troops to attack immediately. As long as the city wall is broken, then Taiyuan City is a piece of fat on our lips. Let's eat little by little, slowly. Order the follow-up troops to immediately destroy the army on the city wall, open the city gate, and slowly advance under the cover of the mountain artillery battalion. Remember, as long as it's a devil, whether it's a bridge name or a soldier, as long as they resist, they will be eliminated immediately. Liu Hua ordered excitedly.

"Yes, the division commander rushed and ticked" Immediately, the follow-up troops of a regiment ambushed on the position, under the leadership of the regiment commander Shen Qinghua, quickly rushed out of the position and reinforced, reinforcing the vanguard battalion at the breakthrough.

"The first battalion attacked from the right flank, the second battalion from the left. The third battalion, the vanguard battalion, attacked from the front, advanced a hundred meters, opened the city gates and rushed under the breach. The head of the regiment, Shen Qinghua, ordered loudly.

"Comrades, kill" With the goal of attacking, the soldiers, who had already held back their strength, quickly killed their own targets under the leadership of their respective battalion commanders. Of course, the few hundred remnants left on the city wall, under the stormy attack of the warriors, did not cause many casualties to the soldiers. In front of the dense net of fire of the fighters, all fell in a pool of blood.

However, the fighters who advanced into the city met with stubborn resistance from the armed expatriates of the city. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that the commander had received an order not to retreat. On the other hand, it is because the families of these expatriates are basically in Taiyuan City, if Taiyuan is occupied by the Eighth Route Army. Then, the fate of their families and their own property can be imagined

Half an hour passed, when the hundreds of remnants of the enemy on the city walls were cleared by the fighters of the two battalions. The two battalions advancing into the city, after paying nearly a company of casualties, advanced less than 50 meters. Basically, the distance of not advancing a meter was carried out, and at least two fighters were killed and wounded. More importantly, in front of these expatriates who are familiar with the terrain. The fighters were like blind men, surrounded by these diaspora.

"Camp Commander Zhou, what's going on? Why did the troops advance less than 50 meters away, and there were so many casualties" Shen Qinghua, the regiment commander who came to reinforce with two battalions of troops, saw the remains of the soldiers who fell to the ground, and asked Zhou Guohua, the commander of the third battalion in front of him, without anger.

"Report to the head of the regiment, the little devil's resistance is too fierce. They were all too familiar with the terrain inside the city, and the warriors were like headless flies. In just half an hour, we lost almost a company of troops. However, only less than a squad of devils were killed. Seeing that the head of the regiment finally rushed over, the head of the regiment Zhou Guohua breathed a sigh of relief and said with his head down.

"What, the loss of a company's strength killed less than a squad of devils, and it was also a devil expatriate" Listening to Battalion Commander Zhou's words, Regiment Commander Shen Qinghua's eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Captain. The devil expatriates were in the houses next to the highway, and from time to time they fired a bullet. Although the fighters knew that there were devils inside, they could not use grenades at all, taking into account the common people in the houses. Basically, all of them are the price that the soldiers paid for with their lives," after listening to the question of the regiment commander, Battalion Commander Zhou continued.

"Bastard, my soldiers ordered everyone to stop attacking and organize a defense on the spot. As long as we occupy the dwellings, we must not let the little devils reoccupy them. I'll go and ask the division commander immediately to see if the division commander has any good methods" After listening to the introduction of the battalion commander Zhou Guohua, the regiment commander Shen Qinghua hurriedly ordered, turned around and ran out of the city.

"Division commander, division commander" Just when Liu Hua and Chief of Staff Li Qing took the remaining two battalions around the headquarters and the mountain artillery battalion to the city, the commander of the regiment, Shen Qinghua, hurriedly ran in front of Liu Hua.

"Commander Shen, you are not on the front line to command the battle, why did you come here Is there something wrong with the attack" Seeing the regiment commander Shen Qinghua with an anxious face, division commander Liu Hua hurriedly asked.

"Yes, division commander, chief of staff, the enemy forces on the city walls have been completely wiped out by us. However, in the process of advancing into the city, we encountered big trouble, the casualties of the soldiers were very large, but the results of the battle were indeed very small" After listening to the question of the division commander, the regiment commander Shen Qinghua hurriedly said.

"Having trouble? If the miscalculation is not wrong, it seems that there are not many troops in the city. Let's talk about what happened during the advance of the troops. Listening to Shen Qinghua's words, division commander Liu Hua frowned and asked anxiously.

"Division commander, it's like this, although there are not many regular armies of little devils in the city, there are still a lot of armed expatriates in the army. These overseas Chinese, with the help of their familiarity with the terrain, "In this way, Shen Qinghua slowly told the situation encountered by the troops.

(To be continued)