Chapter 189 Li Yunlong’s great gift, the Japanese officers’ observation group! "I really don't know what Shinozuka Yoshio wants us to come and see? When we arrived in Taiyuan, they didn't even let us take a break and sent us directly here. Damn it, Yoshio Shinozuka lost Shangdang, why don’t he just hand over the First Army to our Commander Yoshio Iwamatsu? What else does he want to do? " Inside the truck, several Japanese soldiers dressed in officers' uniforms were talking to each other. At this moment, they were filled with resentment towards Yoshio Shinozuka. After traveling all the way from Changshan in North China to Taiyuan by train, what awaited them was not the luxurious reception prepared by Yoshio Shinozuka as they had imagined. Instead, it was Yoshio Shinozuka who asked them to continue to rush to another county town. Not only was there no reception, they were not even allowed to rest. They were sent directly to the front line to observe Yoshio Shinozuka's so-called special operations. They were all major-lieutenant-level officers and had never been treated like this before. They were immediately filled with resentment towards Yoshio Shinozuka. “There is an idiom in China called the dying struggle.

In my opinion, this is the situation of Vice Admiral Yoshio Shinozuka now. "The loss of Shangdang is such a big responsibility that Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio will probably be held accountable after returning to Japan. Even if he keeps his rank of Lieutenant General, he will probably no longer be able to command the troops and will be marginalized and lose his power." "Sodersler, what you said should be correct. Now Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio has placed all his hopes on Yamamoto's special forces. He hopes that Yamamoto's special forces can eliminate the Eighth Route Army's headquarters and retake the Shangdang area." "I really don't understand why Yamamoto-kun is so persistent in setting up a special forces team. With Yamamoto-kun's ability, he is fully capable of leading a regiment of field troops." "Yamamoto-kun was born a commoner. If he had taken an ordinary path, he would not have been able to become a general, even with the help of Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio. After all, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka also has his own children. Only by taking a path that we have never taken before can we become a general." Accompanied by the constant conversations of the Japanese soldiers on the trucks, a convoy of nearly twenty trucks arrived at the Linjiaji stronghold. The convoy stopped in an orderly manner at the Linjiaji stronghold. Hayamura Akechi, who had been waiting at the Linjiaji stronghold, quickly ran forward and began to look for his immediate superior, Hattori Naoomi. Hattori Naoomi, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a truck in the middle, looked down after his adjutant opened the door for him, and then got out of the truck. At this time, Hayamura Akechi also saw Hattori Naoomi and quickly ran to him. "Sir, Captain Hayamura Akechi of the 5th Infantry Battalion of the 21st Brigade reports to you." Hattori Naoomi glanced at Hayamura Akechi, then nodded and said to him, "Hayamura-kun, who is the head of the 4th Brigade's escort team? Why don’t you come see me?” Hattori Naoomi was naturally familiar with Hayamura Akechi, and he also knew that one of the troops escorting the observation group this time was under his command. Hayamura Akechi listened to what Hattori Naoomi said and quickly reported to him. "Sir, the 4th Brigade's Chief of Staff, Colonel Yonekura Taro, is waiting for you at the Dawangzhuang stronghold ahead. Our 5th Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Independent Infantry Battalion of the 4th Brigade carried out the mission in sections.

Colonel Yonekura Taro arranged for my Fifth Infantry Battalion to escort the observation group to the Dawangzhuang stronghold, and then the Fourth Brigade escorted the observation group from Dawangzhuang to Tongshi Town. " Hattori Naoomi listened to what Hayamura Akechi said, glanced around at the Japanese soldiers who were standing straight and looked very energetic, nodded, and then spoke to Hayamura Akechi. "So, the soldiers who were on guard all along the way are all brave warriors of the Fifth Infantry Battalion?" Hayamura Akechi listened to what Hattori Naoomi said, and was secretly delighted and nodded quickly. "Hey, sir, they are all the brave warriors of the 21st Brigade led by you!" "Yoshi, you look very energetic. Come on, you lead the way, and we will go to Dawangzhuang together. The Fifth Infantry Battalion will be temporarily handed over to the deputy captain for command. You follow me to observe the new tactics that Commander Yoshio Shinozuka mentioned that can change the war. Let's see what's so magical about special operations." Hearing Hayamura Akechi say that those soldiers on guard were all soldiers of his 21st Brigade, Hattori Naoomi couldn't help but pat Hayamura Akechi on the shoulder happily, and then prepared to take Hayamura Akechi to observe Yamamoto Ikki's so-called special operations. Hayamura Akechi nodded excitedly after listening to what Hattori Naoomi said, and then under Hattori Naoomi's instructions, he led a small team of soldiers and drove a truck in the lead, leading the convoy towards Dawangzhuang. …… At the ambush position north of Dawangzhuang, after hearing the roar of a truck engine, Ding Wei and several others who had binoculars raised their binoculars and looked towards the end of the road. A truck appeared in everyone's sight, and before everyone could react, they saw the Japanese soldiers on the truck jumped off the truck and began to stand guard around the road. "No, what do the devils want to do? Arrange someone to stand guard at this time?" Ding Wei was a little disappointed when he saw that what came was not the great gift that Li Yunlong had promised, but two trucks carrying ordinary Japanese soldiers. At the same time, Ding Wei couldn't understand why the Japanese didn't arrange personnel to stand guard earlier or later, but arranged personnel to stand guard at this time. If the Japanese searched the nearby mountains, the ambush position they had just established would be discovered immediately, and everyone's work in the middle of the night would be in vain. "Damn it, everyone get ready. If the Japs come up to check, ignore them and just shoot them. Monk, help me send a message to the battalion commander. If the first sound is a gunshot from our side, then attack Dawangzhuang immediately. If it is the sound of artillery fire, then we will prepare to surround the point and attack the reinforcements as planned." "no problem." After listening to what Ding Wei said, Wei Dayong immediately arranged for the communicator in the assault team who was carrying a radio to send a message to the battalion commander of the New 1st Regiment. The radio carried by the commandos was naturally not the original radio of the Independent Regiment. It was also a lightweight radio that Li Yunlong got from the Pioneer Regiment, the kind that could be carried by one person. Fortunately, after arranging the personnel to stand guard, the Japanese soldiers below did not search the surrounding area, but quickly stood in position. Two trucks also drove quickly towards the Dawangzhuang stronghold. As the Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain stood up again, less than ten minutes later, the roar of trucks came again from the direction of Linjiaji. Soon, a huge convoy consisting of eighteen trucks appeared on the road. "Wow, that's a really great gift! After this battle, I will definitely treat Li Yunlong to a nice drink!" Ding Wei looked through a telescope at the group of Japanese soldiers in officer uniforms in the truck compartment, and his expression became extremely surprised. This time, Li Yunlong really gave Ding Wei a big gift.

Wei Dayong standing by was also shocked. "They are all high-ranking Japanese officers, Captain Ding, look, the Japanese soldiers on guard are saluting the Japanese soldiers on the truck!" Ding Wei glanced at the rising sun behind him and quickly began giving orders to the soldiers beside him. "Get the grenade launchers and mortars ready!" "As soon as the first car in the Japanese convoy reaches the last bend, open fire! Everyone listen up, don't save ammunition, get rid of these Japs as quickly as possible! Damn it, these little Japanese devils are boneless fat meat. If our New 1st Regiment can't even eat this piece of boneless fat meat, then everyone should stop fighting the little Japanese devils and go home." "Captain Ding, do you want to make a quick decision?" Wei Dayong listened to what Ding Wei said and asked Ding Wei. Ding Wei shook his head: "No, there is no need for a quick victory. I still need these little devils to help me lure out the little devils in Dawangzhuang. At first I was worried that the Japanese soldiers in Dawangzhuang would not come out. Now that there are so many Japanese officers here, I don’t believe that the Japanese soldiers in the Dawangzhuang stronghold will not come to rescue. Monk, your assault team will launch an attack with our New 1st Regiment later. Anyone killed by your assault platoon will be counted as belonging to the Independent Regiment." After listening to Wei Dayong's proposal for a quick victory, Ding Wei directly rejected the suggestion. Dealing with a group of Japanese devils who had few heavy weapons, Ding Wei was confident that he could eliminate all of them within ten minutes. We are also confident that we can eliminate the following Japanese invaders before their reinforcements arrive. What Ding Wei wanted to do was not only to get rid of these Japanese devils, but also to use them to lure out the Japanese devils in Dawangzhuang. In this way, it would be much easier to attack the Japanese without fortifications than to attack the Japanese with fortifications. …… Dawangzhuang stronghold. Dalang Yonekura walked back and forth on the top of the artillery tower with a worried look on his face. He had already received notice that the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group had left the Linjiaji stronghold, and that it would take at most half an hour for the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group to arrive at his Dawangzhuang stronghold. Taro Yonekura could never have figured out why the Eighth Route Army did not attack the officers' observation group at such a long distance? You know, in order to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army to this side, so that the Eighth Route Army can discover the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group, and then use the Eighth Route Army to kill the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group. However, Yonekura Taro specially dispatched some troops with machine guns and grenade launchers to continuously fire guns and artillery along the way to remind the Eighth Route Army that they were making big moves on this road. At the same time, soldiers were sent to stand guard near the road, which was almost telling the Eighth Route Army that important supplies or people would soon pass through this road, so they should hurry up and attack. That’s right, those operations that Ding Wei suspected did not seem to be those of the Japanese were actually deliberately done by Yonekura Dalang in order to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army. This would allow the Eighth Route Army to get rid of the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group, and finally put the blame on the North China Front Army Officers Observation Group. However, the officers' observation group had already passed the Linjiaji stronghold, but had not been ambushed by the Eighth Route Army. Yonekura Taro was wondering whether the Eighth Route Army was completely unaware of this situation. Thinking of this, Yonekura Dalang turned his gaze towards the direction of the Linjiaji stronghold. In that direction, there was an area deliberately left by Yonekura Dalang, which was extremely suitable for an ambush.

If the Eighth Route Army did not ambush its troops there to attack the Officers Observation Group, it would mean that the Eighth Route Army did not know anything about the Officers Observation Group. If the Eighth Route Army cannot be asked to help get rid of the Officers Observation Group, then the only thing they can do is wait for the Officers Observation Group to be attacked by bandits after leaving Dawangzhuang. Thinking of this, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Dalang Yonekura's eyes. "Notify Ono-kun and have him get ready. Once the signal is received, immediately launch an attack on the target." Although the bandits were asked to eliminate the officers' observation group, there were no bandits nearby at the moment. Therefore, Taro Yonekura directly mobilized a force from the 4th Brigade that was entirely composed of the true confidants of the officers at all levels. The troops were then disguised as bandits and attacked the officers' observation group. But doing so would be too risky. In order to avoid being discovered, the bandits were disguised as soldiers of the 4th Brigade, which eventually affected Hiraru Isamu or Shinozuka Yoshio. Therefore, this group of troops disguised as bandits were eventually killed in the battle with the Eighth Route Army. Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, Yonekura Dalang really didn't want to send out the bandits. "boom!" Just as Yonekura Dalang was looking anxiously at him, a loud explosion suddenly came from a distance. Hearing the sudden explosion, Taro Yonekura quickly looked in the direction where the explosion came from. Looking at the smoke and dust vaguely visible in the distance, and after confirming that that place was the location of the ambush position he had seen, Taro Yonekura smiled. "chief of staff! There were intensive gunshots and artillery fire coming from the direction of Linjiaji. I guess it is very likely that the officers' observation group was attacked. Should we send troops to rescue them?" Before Yonekura Taro could feel happy, the captain of the 3rd Independent Infantry Battalion ran up and asked Yonekura Taro. "Wait a moment, the Officer Observation Group has a battalion from the 21st Brigade to protect them, so there won't be any problems in the short term! We need to defend the Dawangzhuang stronghold. If the Eighth Route Army takes advantage of the fact that we send reinforcements to support the officers' observation group, they will suddenly attack the Dawangzhuang stronghold. We cannot afford to lose the Dawangzhuang stronghold. First, observe the surroundings to see if there are any ambushes of the Eighth Route Army. This is an order, go quickly!" After listening to what the captain said, Dalang Yonekura decisively rejected the other party's request for support, and then gave an order to the other party to observe whether there were any ambushes of the Eighth Route Army nearby. After the captain left, Taro Yonekura immediately spoke to his trusted communicator who was carrying a radio beside him. "Send a telegram to Ono-kun right away, and have him lead his troops to Dawangzhuang. After confirming that there are no ambushes of the Eighth Route Army around, immediately launch an attack on Dawangzhuang!" Mi Cang Dalang didn't know whether the Eighth Route Army had an ambush targeting Dawangzhuang. Even if the Eighth Route Army did not send an ambush to attack the Dawangzhuang stronghold, he had to set up an ambush to attack the Dawangzhuang stronghold. Support the officers' observation group? How is that possible? He just wanted to kill the officers' observation group, so how could he send troops to rescue the officers' observation group? At that time, as long as Dawangzhuang was attacked, even if the North China Front Army Command held him accountable, he could simply use the reason that Dawangzhuang was attacked by the Eighth Route Army and it was impossible to allocate troops to support the Officers Observation Group. (End of this chapter)