Chen Hanzhang's words fell, and the boss who had been looking at Yang Jicai on the side suddenly interjected: "This time, not only your own reconnaissance troops, but also the entire county and district armaments of the Jinsui Military Region can also be mobilized at any time. I have asked the commander of the 8th Division, who cooperated with you in Taiyuan, to rush to the Xingxian Headquarters to stand by and ask him to cooperate with you in this operation. ”

"Comrade Yang Jicai, although we have not been in contact for a long time, you have left a deep impression on me. Your cousin in Taiyuan was very unexpected to me. Such a young cadre, in such a tense situation, was able to be so calm and calm, and successfully completed the task assigned by his superiors. We hope that this time we can continue to work hard and surprise us again. ”

After listening to the words of the boss and Chen Hanzhang, Yang Jicai did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the large map of the northwest of Jin in front of him, and then looked at the boss and Chen Hanzhang around him, and pondered for a long time before saying to the boss and Chen Hanzhang: "Chief, I think this left detachment is not in the northern foothills of Guanshui Mountain and Luya Mountain now. ”

"In other words, it is extremely likely that they are no longer south of Shenchi and north of Baishizhang in Luya Mountain and Guanshui Mountain. If it is in this position, under the situation that our army in the north of Jin is gathered, it is impossible to find their location. No matter how well they are hidden, it is impossible for them not to be exposed at all in the border area between the two armies. ”

"Unless they're not in this area at all, they've moved south to other directions. Therefore, I think we should focus our search on the southern foot of Luya Mountain, south of Gou Lan and Ninghua Fort. If we follow the possibilities considered by several leaders, then we should focus mainly on the Weifen River and the Lanyi River. ”

"If we can mobilize more forces, we can also search the line of Heicha Mountain in the upper reaches of the Huanshui River. There is no need to consider the north of Baode, where the terrain is very complex and there are many fjords, which are not suitable for large armies to cross the river, especially not for heavy weapons. ”

"And the area south of Baode is three miles and one crossing in Xingxian County, and one is five miles away. In particular, there are nine large-scale ferries in Xingxian alone, which are extremely suitable as the starting point for attacking the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region. From Xingxian to Jingle line, there are highways connected, and the traffic is barely convenient. ”

"If this left detachment really intends to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, whether it is to feint the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area, or to sweep the hinterland of our Jinsui Military Region, and attract our army to go south. The hidden area where they are located should be near Jingle, or even between Linxian, Fangshan, Lanxian, and Loufu. ”

"This is at the southern foot of Luya Mountain, which is connected to Guandi Mountain. Not only are the mountains high and densely forested, but they are also not densely populated. If the Japanese army can solve the problem of some sources of provisions, that area is extremely suitable for a large army to stand by for a long time. Not to mention the thousands of people in the left detachment, even if there is another division, there is no big problem. ”

"Boss, commander, in fact, it is not very difficult to find out where they are. There is a way that is the easiest. That is, when the Japanese army carried out a sweep of our Jinsui base area last year, that area was consciously slaughtered by the Japanese army the worst, and that area had been created into a no-man's land by the Japanese army, and at the same time, some small and conspicuous advance bases were left. This left detachment may be hidden somewhere. ”

"Because even if the main force of the Jinsui Military Region has jumped out of the outside line to fight, with our army's control over the base areas, as well as the strict local political power and armed forces at all levels. Even if there are only a few thousand people in this left detachment, these thousands of people are still a lot of people. Coupled with a large number of pack horses carrying heavy weapons, it is almost impossible that they have not been discovered by our army for such a long time. ”

"The county towns of Wuzhai, Shenchi, and Ningwu are indeed still in the hands of the Japanese army. But the whole village, with the exception of some strongholds, is still in our hands. Moreover, the two counties of Shenchi and Ningwu are the most densely populated in the entire northwest of Shanxi. To be honest, I don't think there will be too many places in these counties for the Japanese puppet army to hide. ”

"In the entire base area, the area that can be concealed by them, except for the high mountains and dense forests of Luya Mountain, there is only the no-man's land they created last year, which can be used for these thousands of Japanese troops to hide for a long time. The entire northwest of Jin Province is mountainous, Guanshui Mountain in the east, Luya Mountain in the west, and Guandi Mountain in the south. ”

"Two chiefs, as for the issue of food, I feel that the Japanese army should have deliberately left some secret grain depots in this area during the sweep last year. My speculations are not groundless conjectures. This time in Taiyuan, except for the headquarters of the First Army, all the Japanese puppet organs were captured, and some war reports of the Japanese army's sweep of our major base areas last year were very captured. ”

"During my time in Taiyuan, I took a detailed look at these files. In the spring of last year, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, although the Chongqing side also put up some resistance. But for many reasons, most of the time it is still a touch of a button. ”

"The Japanese army captured tens of thousands of national prisoners of war in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. Last year, we swept up our major base areas and plundered a large number of young and middle-aged people. At the same time, in the various base areas of our army, a large number of military and political personnel were also captured in the continuous and unprecedented sweeps of the Japanese army. ”

"But I am far from the number of people I have rescued from the archives of the Japanese army, as well as from the Taiyuan prisoner of war camp and the coal mines around Taiyuan. Even if the Japanese army handed over a part of the national army prisoners of war to the puppet army in order to establish a puppet army, the sum did not add up to such a large number. ”

"Even if the wounded among the captured people and some of the young adults were brutally killed by the Japanese army. Some of them were sent back to Japan as laborers to work as coolies. But there are still nearly 10,000 of them, whose whereabouts are still unknown, and they can't be accounted for at all. These people are all young and middle-aged, and it is still impossible to find out where they were sent by the Japanese army. ”

The Japanese army's sweep of the Jinsui base area lasted for more than half a year. In addition, for a whole winter, the Japanese army created a large number of no-man's land in our Jinsui base area. This area is also located in the Luliang Mountains, and there are quite a few places where secret warehouses can be built. A place to store food and ammunition for a short period of time does not need to be built too strongly. ”

"The caves that are widely used in Shanxi, a large number of caves in the Luliang Mountains, and even the temples and Taoist temples where monks and Taoists have been killed, can be used as reserve sites. With only a large number of laborers, the Japanese army could have completed a similar reserve before the freeze last year. ”

"When it is finished, kill all the laborers, leaving a small number of troops to garrison in the name of the forward base. However, the vitality of our army has not yet recovered, and even if the Japanese army does not have many personnel left, it will be difficult for our army to pull out these strongholds. Therefore, it is difficult for us to find out whether these strongholds are what the Japanese army proclaimed. And with the consistent style of the Japanese army, this possibility is quite large. ”

"Moreover, when the Japanese army swept our Jinsui base area, they snatched a large amount of grain from the base area. These grains can be stored nearby, and they don't even need to be transported from outside. Of course, before the Japanese army's sweep last year, we did not expect such a move this year. These plans should not have been prepared for this campaign. ”

"Therefore, if my judgment is true, then these preparations made by the Japanese army should be to continue to sweep our Jinsui base area and prepare to cross the Yellow River to attack our Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area. The Japanese army tried to attack the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border area many times before, but they were all cut off from the rear route and finally returned in vain. ”

"Their sweeps of various base areas in North China have also been unable to last for a long time due to supply difficulties many times, so that their sweeps have not achieved the results they expected. I am afraid that the Japanese army also learned the lessons of the past this time, so they began to prepare in advance. As for the current situation, it is just an unintentional insertion. ”

Regarding Yang Jicai's judgment, the boss and Chen Hanzhang both fell into contemplation. The Japanese army's sweep of the Jinsui base area last year was not as tragic as other base areas such as Taihang and Jinchaji. However, in the entire Jinsui base area, there are not a few areas that have been killed and burned.

In particular, many villages have been razed to the ground in the southern foothills of Luya Mountain between Gou Lan, Xing County, and Lan County, which is the gateway to Xing County. This area is located at the intersection of Lanxian to Xingxian and Lanxian to Wuzhai Highway. Although the traffic situation is not ideal, it is relatively convenient.

This is also the place where the Japanese army swept last year and suffered the heaviest losses. The entire estuary area from Jingle Yong'an to Lanxian County has basically become a no-man's land. It is not the situation in Taihang and Beiyue District where there is no village and no smoke, and there is no household and no filial piety, but the whole village and the whole village are killed.

Or all the people in a village were forcibly pulled away by the Japanese army. And these areas are now more or less occupied by the Japanese army. However, the local armed forces in Jinsui could only withdraw from this area because they had lost the cover of the masses. If the main force of this left detachment is really hidden in this kind of place, it is really difficult to find it.

Thinking of this, the boss immediately asked his secretary to draft a telegram to the Jinsui Military Region and the Jinsui Border District Administration. Let them immediately dispatch capable armed carrying radio stations to search the southern foot of Luya Mountain between Jingle, Xingxian, and Goulan. And immediately do a good job of clearing the field in the deep area of the northwest of Shanxi, including the county seat of Xingxian County.

All the industrial equipment that has been evacuated to the Jinsui border area, as well as all the workers and their families, must be safely evacuated to northern Shaanxi within two days. In short, the quicker these people and equipment are transferred, the better. Even if these equipment are piled up on the wasteland of the Yellow River in northern Shaanxi after being transported across the river, they should not be left in the northwest of Shanxi.

After giving orders to the Jinsui Military Region and the Jinsui Border District Administration, the boss drafted a telegram to the commander of the Jinsui Military Region. They were urged to speed up their actions, and within three days, all the main forces of the Jinsui Military Region, except for a part that was left to cooperate with the battlefield in northern Shanxi, the whole army must return to the base area in the northwest of Shanxi and deploy on the whole line.

At the same time, he ordered the commander of the Eighth Division, who had rushed back to the headquarters of the Jinsui Military Region in Xingxian County to stand by, to immediately take capable local armed forces and go north to the Mitsui area between Wuzhai and Gou Lan to stand by. He also ordered the local armed forces of Wuzhai, Goulan, and Shenchi to immediately prepare for battle.

After successively drafting the telegram to the Jinsui Military Region, the boss pondered for a while and still sent a telegram to northern Shaanxi. The river defense units in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region were asked to immediately prepare for battle. Regardless of whether the situation is true or not, and whether the situation has deteriorated to that point, the whole army must be prepared for a surprise attack by the Japanese army to prevent being caught by surprise by the Japanese army.

While the boss drafted a telegram to all parties, Chen Hanzhang also immediately made certain arrangements. In addition to constantly urging the marching speed of a heavy artillery regiment and a 122 rocket artillery battalion transferred to northern Shaanxi. He directly asked for an order from the commander of the air force who was in charge of commanding operations on the Western Front, and asked him to send planes to conduct a detailed aerial reconnaissance of the entire northwestern region of Shanxi. He also ordered the air force stationed in northern Shaanxi to be ready at any time to support the river defense battle.