Chang Kai-shek intended to transfer the newly developed soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade from Lin Fan's control to other units.

Including, but not limited to, Tang Enbo's 20th Army Group and Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army.

Even if they were assigned to the units of Sun Lianzhong and Pang Bingxun, it would be more reassuring than leaving them in Lin Fan's hands.

Although he greatly admired the Special Operations Brigade's combat performance against the Japanese, it did not prevent Chang Kai-shek from being wary of Lin Fan.

And this sense of wariness was rapidly intensifying with the performance of Lin Fan and his unit on the front lines.

The Special Operations Brigade had expanded more than tenfold during the Battle of Taierzhuang.

This battle was undoubtedly fierce, and there was no denying the Special Operations Brigade fought valiantly.

It was precisely because of their flawless performance that no one could find fault.

This caused even greater unease in Chang Kai-shek.

Even after the expansion, the combat effectiveness of the Special Operations Brigade had not decreased.

According to Lin Fan's standards, the combat power of the Lunan Detachment was definitely not as good as the regiments of the Special Operations Brigade in Jurong.

However, both Chang Kai-shek and the Fifth War Area only saw the Special Operations Brigade's invincibility, repeatedly annihilating the Japanese.

In Lin Fan's eyes, the Lunan Detachment used several times the enemy's strength today to attack the Japanese, employing swift and decisive tactics to encircle them.

This was how they achieved the complete annihilation of the Japanese.

In the eyes of the Fifth War Area and those who paid attention to the Battle of Taierzhuang, the ability to annihilate the Japanese was a demonstration of combat effectiveness.

The final effect was the same, which led to a misunderstanding.

Lin Fan, who had just returned to Taierzhuang, reported that the Lunan Detachment had once again annihilated the Japanese troops coming from Hanzhuang.

The news excited the Fifth War Area Command but also made Li Zongren feel conflicted:

Chang Kai-shek's order was still in front of him.

The order contained only one instruction: that the Special Operations Brigade send all the soldiers who had joined during the Battle of Taierzhuang to Xuzhou for reorganization.

What would happen to these soldiers after the reorganization?

The order did not specify.

The Fifth War Area dared not disobey the orders from above.

Today, Lin Fan led the Lunan Detachment in continuous combat but received not a commendation.

Instead, they received an order from the Fifth War Area to send the new recruits to Xuzhou for reorganization.

The order clearly stated: only the new recruits were to go for reorganization!

This was a special consideration by the Fifth War Area: if the veterans of the Special Operations Brigade went to Xuzhou together,

With their propaganda skills, the new recruits would still be difficult to reassign after the reorganization.

Lin Fan thought for a moment and immediately sent a reply: "There is a Japanese brigade directly north of Taierzhuang.

There is a Japanese regiment directly east, and the situation is critical.

Our forces are stretched thin and we are temporarily unable to send anyone to Xuzhou for reorganization."

The Commander of the Fifth War Area was not enthusiastic about this reorganization in the first place.

He was simply passing on Chang Kai-shek's request.

And Lin Fan's reason was very valid: the Special Operations Brigade now had to cover the retreat of the 75th Army.

In fact, they were covering the retreat of the entire front line, and reducing their forces was truly out of the question.

This was a practical problem.

Chang Kai-shek was arranging for the various units that had retreated from the Taierzhuang front to rebuild a defense line north of Xuzhou.

He had only one goal: to create another Taierzhuang-style victory on the northern front of Xuzhou.

Chang Kai-shek and the advocates for a swift victory in his staff believed that:

If there were two or three more battles like Taierzhuang, the Japanese invasion would be unsustainable.

At this time, both the National Revolutionary Army General Headquarters in Wuhan and the Fifth War Area Command in Xuzhou held this idea.

Therefore, even though the National Revolutionary Army had lost Linyi, Xiangdi, Lanling, and Hanzhuang in quick succession these past few days,

They remained committed to their original intention and continued to arrange for the next defensible position.

Preparing to replicate the Battle of Taierzhuang once more.

The situation on the battlefield was still very tense.

In fact, from a wider perspective, the most critical areas around Xuzhou were not Lunan or north of Xuzhou.

After all, the Fifth War Area had deployed significant forces there, and despite successive defeats, they could still organize resistance.

South of Xuzhou, the attacking forces organized by the Central China Expeditionary Army advanced rapidly, capturing cities and territories with the National Revolutionary Army offering virtually no resistance.

Even now, both Chang Kai-shek and the Fifth War Area continued to believe that the North China Area Army was the main force in the attack on Xuzhou, with the Central China Expeditionary Army playing a supporting role.

Unfortunately, the commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, Yan Junroku, did not share this view.

On the contrary, after taking office, he repeatedly suffered setbacks at the hands of the Special Operations Brigade. A new official was supposed to light three fires.

The first fire was originally intended to drive the Special Operations Brigade out of Jurong and occupy the entire Taihu Lake coast.

As a result, he was soundly beaten by the Special Operations Brigade, and his first fire was extinguished.

Commander Yan Junroku placed his second fire on internal affairs.

He treated the establishment of a puppet government as a major and important task.

In March, the puppet government, supported by the Japanese, finally cobbled together a few traitors, and the makeshift team was set up, so this fire was lit.

And it received full affirmation from the Japanese General Headquarters.

Originally, Commander Yan Junroku of the Central China Expeditionary Army did not know how to ignite the third fire.

The North China Area Army's difficulties in Taierzhuang suddenly gave him an opportunity to show off.

Therefore, Yan Junroku's third fire after taking office was to send troops to attack Xuzhou.

He devoted his main energy to this, determined to be the first to capture Xuzhou this time.

Of course, Commander Yan Junroku's idea was unknown to both Li Zongren and Chang Kai-shek.

Now the Fifth War Area was working hard to establish a new defense line behind Taierzhuang.

At this time, another fresh force arrived in the Fifth War Area.

This was the 60th Army led by Lu Han.

This unit was an elite force dispatched by the Yunnan Army after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.

They set out in October 1937 and marched on foot for more than forty days to Changde, Hunan Province, to await orders.

They were originally going to Nanjing to participate in the battle.

However, Nanjing had already fallen before they could set off.

Through numerous battles, Chang Kai-shek deeply felt that his own troops were not effective.

So he transferred the 60th Army to Nanchang for training and re-equipped the unit.

After three months of training and replenishment of weapons and equipment, the German officer in charge of training said proudly:

"The most powerful army in the world, first of course, is the German army, second is the Japanese army, and third is the 60th Army trained by me."

This shows the strength of the unit's combat effectiveness.

When the 60th Army arrived in Xuzhou, the army commander Lu Han first went to the Fifth War Area Command

And asked about the current situation on the battlefield.

Li Zongren said, "The northeastern front of Taierzhuang is tight! The 60th Army will be under the command of Commander-in-Chief Sun of the Second Army Group."

Bai Chongxi said: "Taierzhuang was a little tight a few days ago, but now it has eased.

I hope the 60th Army will complete its assembly in the northeast of Taierzhuang by April 24."

Lu Han then went to see Sun Lianzhong, who said, "The enemy's offensive is fierce, but we are fighting well, and the situation has become stable."

According to orders, the 60th Army assembled on the 24th in the area of Wafang, Lizhuang, and Puwang in the northeast of Taierzhuang.

What Lu Han did not know was that the 20th Army Group of Tang Enbo in the northeast direction had retreated.

When Tang Enbo's 20th Army Group retreated, Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army also quickly contracted its right wing.

He was afraid that his forces would be too dispersed and easily exploited by the Japanese.

However, after the 51st Army contracted, a huge gap suddenly appeared in the defense line in this direction.

The 21st Infantry Regiment and the 42nd Infantry Regiment of the Sakamoto Detachment immediately plunged into this gap.

They encountered the vanguard battalion of the 183rd Division of the 60th Army.

Battalion Commander Yin Guohua led his troops to eliminate the Japanese reconnaissance unit,

Then occupied Wafang.

The 1st Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment, which was at the forefront of the southward-bound 21st Infantry Brigade, received news from the front line.

The entire battalion swarmed up and attacked the battalion occupying Wafang.

In order to allow time for the main force behind them to deploy, Yin Guohua's battalion resisted stubbornly.

A regiment closest to Wafang immediately went to the rescue but was blocked by the Japanese at Xiaozhuang.

In the end, only Chen Mingliang broke through the encirclement, and all more than five hundred soldiers in the entire Yin Guohua battalion were killed in battle.

Lin Fan led the Lunan Detachment back to Taierzhuang, and at this time the 4th and 5th Regiments had taken over the defense line of the 75th Army.

Mao Wenxing's aerial reconnaissance revealed that the Japanese troops originally rushing towards Taierzhuang from the southeast were being blocked by a National Revolutionary Army unit.

What kind of unit was this?

Lin Fan did not know at this time.

It was getting dark!

The Special Operations Brigade, ordered to cover the retreat, had not received any orders to retreat.

Lin Fan had no choice but to deploy his troops again and establish his own defense line along Taierzhuang.

The defense line deployed by the Special Operations Brigade was not large, with the artillery regiment positioned on high ground, with cannons on both sides capable of providing support.

Thanks to the desperate resistance of the vanguard.

The 60th Army deployed along the Puwang, Xinzhuang, and Daizhuang lines.

The Sakamoto Detachment began to attack these defense lines fiercely on the 23rd.

The Seya Detachment, which had been attacking Taierzhuang, temporarily halted after suffering heavy losses yesterday.

There were no battles in the Taierzhuang direction on this day.

Lin Fan had already inquired from the Fifth War Area Command that the unit in his southeast direction was the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army.

From Mao Wenxing's aerial observations, there were more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 5,000 puppet troops.

More than 30,000 soldiers of the 60th Army were engaged in a fierce battle to the northeast of Taierzhuang.

Their battle position was ten kilometers away from Taierzhuang.

There were also more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers assembled in front of Taierzhuang, and it was somewhat risky for Lin Fan to send troops to reinforce them.

And the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade had been shuttling back and forth the day before and had limited energy.

That night, the Fifth War Area issued an order: launch a full-scale counterattack on Taierzhuang on the 26th.

Yu Xuezhong's troops advanced eastward, Tang Enbo's troops advanced westward, and Lu Han's troops advanced northward with all their might to annihilate the Japanese troops who had penetrated into the National Revolutionary Army's pocket.

On the morning of the 26th, the Fifth War Area's counterattack had just begun when it was beaten back by the intense Japanese artillery bombardment.

In the Taierzhuang direction, the Seya Detachment was as silent as the grave; they were right in front of Taierzhuang.

These days, the Japanese had set up camps in Liujia Village, Nanluo, and Beiluo.

But they had not launched an attack on Taierzhuang.

On the other hand, the Japanese had been attacking non-stop in the southeast direction of Taierzhuang.

The 60th Army continued to resist.

Every step forward by the Japanese came at a huge cost.

No soldiers retreated from any position lost by the 60th Army.

The Japanese could not withstand such a life-for-life style of fighting.

Liu Guitang, who had been driven out of Tengxian by the Special Operations Brigade last time, had returned with a replenished force this time.

When the master was tired of fighting, he came forward.

The puppet troops, dressed in the uniforms of the Yunnan Army, infiltrated the Hushanzhen position of the 60th Army.

In coordination with the Japanese attack, they captured Hushanzhen in one fell swoop.

That night, the puppet troops used this method to successively seize the positions of Hushan, Woshan, and Daizhuang.

The 60th Army retreated and continued to organize defenses.

Li Zongren said in a telegram to Chang Kai-shek, "Whenever a position is lost, few soldiers survive.

The 60th Army's twelve regiments, after ten days of fierce fighting, have suffered more than 14,000 casualties.

Including more than 5,000 killed in action."

The 60th Army fought hard, and the Japanese's three brigades also suffered heavy casualties.

Seeing that they could not win under these circumstances, the Japanese North China Area Army sent the 19th Brigade to assist.

However, this unit was blocked by the National Revolutionary Army's 110th Division and 30th Division and could not advance an inch.

The entire battle north of Xuzhou became deadlocked.

According to the plan formulated by the Japanese General Headquarters, the task of the 5th and 10th Divisions was to contain the main force of the National Revolutionary Army on the Taierzhuang line.

From the current point of view, they had achieved their goal.

The task of encircling and annihilating the main force of the National Revolutionary Army fell on the Central China Expeditionary Army south of Xuzhou.

The 9th and 13th Divisions dispatched by the Central China Expeditionary Army had fewer than 9,000 Japanese soldiers.

Yet they had been advancing unimpeded, approaching within a hundred kilometers of Xuzhou.

On May 16, the entire Xuzhou was completely surrounded by the Japanese.

More than 200,000 Japanese soldiers surrounded more than 700,000 soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army.

The Fifth War Area finally ordered a retreat.

The Special Operations Brigade, which had been stationed in Taierzhuang all these days without moving, received an order: the Special Operations Brigade was to establish a base area behind enemy lines and carry out guerrilla warfare.

The initial plan for the Special Operations Brigade was to have them retreat to the rear.

It was Chang Kai-shek who specifically instructed that this unit of the Special Operations Brigade in the Xuzhou direction should remain behind enemy lines.

Compared to Lin Fan's development in Jurong, Chang Kai-shek felt it was better to have him stay around Xuzhou.

Upon receiving the order, Lin Fan immediately led his troops towards Lincheng.

The main force of the Japanese was now concentrated near Xuzhou.

He could only avoid the main force of the Japanese by leading the Lunan Detachment north.

At this time, Lin Fan did not know that Chang Kai-shek had an intelligence report from Dai Li in front of him.

It was sent by a particularly excellent spy lurking within the Japanese ranks.

The full text was as follows:

"It is reported that, in order to capture Xuzhou, the supreme commander of the North China Area Army, General Terauchi Hisaichi, the commander General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander of the Jinpu Railway front, Lieutenant General Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, and the commander of the Jiaoji Railway front, Major General Mitsumao Kazuo, are all commanding operations on the front line in Lincheng.

Furthermore, the commander of the Pinghan Railway front, Lieutenant General Kasuki Kiyoshi, plans to personally lead the 14th Division across the Yellow River via Pu County and through Heze to Caoxian, echoing the enemy west of the Jinpu Railway.

Furthermore, the supreme commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, General Yan Junroku, and the commander, General Okamura Yasuji, have both established temporary command posts in Bengbu, personally supervising the battle."

Now, Lin Fan's decision to lead his troops to break through towards Lincheng was based purely on military considerations.

He knew that the Japanese had insufficient troops, and there were not many troops guarding their occupied areas.

Therefore, he decided to attack north.

Furthermore, the road to Lincheng was very familiar to the Lunan Detachment, having traveled it many times before.

There was another very important reason: Mao Wenxing had discovered from the air that the Japanese had concentrated a lot of supplies in Lincheng.

The Lunan Detachment, with more than 10,000 soldiers, was about to launch guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines.

If they did not gather more supplies, they would never find such a good opportunity for resupply again.

After all, there were now more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers on the front lines.

Their daily consumption was enormous.

The Lunan Detachment certainly needed these supplies.

Because they needed them, they had to go and take them.

That was how Lin Fan thought.

On the afternoon of May 16, Mao Wenxing planned the route to Lincheng for the Special Operations Brigade from the air.

With the National Revolutionary Army retreating, his plane also faced the problem of where to land.

Lin Fan entrusted this issue to Li Zongren.

Although the National Revolutionary Army was retreating, the Xuzhou Airport was still temporarily usable.

There were still National Revolutionary Army flying squadrons carrying out missions at the airport.

However, they were all going to evacuate on the night of the 16th.

Lin Fan ordered Mao Wenxing to evacuate with the National Revolutionary Army flying squadron.

At the same time, he ordered the team at Xuzhou Airport to go to Long Zaitian in Longjia Village.

The Lunan Detachment had not yet decided where its base area would be.

However, Longjia Village had a guerrilla force of more than 300 men that had developed, and Lin Fan had long promised Old Man Long that he would send instructors to him.

The squad at Xuzhou Airport was the instructors.

Lin Fan specifically instructed, "Be sure to bring the radio!"

This would facilitate communication.

On the night of the 16th, the Lunan Detachment quietly passed under the nose of the Seya Detachment.

The roads around Taierzhuang were well-connected in all directions.

It was too easy for the troops to pass through.

This time, Lin Fan did not plan to poke at the heavily guarded strongholds of the Seya Detachment.

This was because the battlefield situation was different; there were Japanese troops appearing in all directions.

At this time, the Lunan Detachment still had to be low-key.

In fact, Lin Fan and his men only had to be careful for the first few miles after leaving Taierzhuang.

There were Japanese-built fortresses around these few miles.

After these roads, there were no more Japanese troops.

With more than 200,000 Japanese troops wanting to surround more than 700,000 soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army,

They could only barely deploy some Japanese troops on the front line, and they were completely unable to deploy behind them.

Lin Fan led his troops on a forced march all night, arriving on the outskirts of Lincheng on the morning of May 17.

The artillery regiment deployed south of Lincheng.

This position was also carefully selected by Lin Fan; from here, they could support the troops attacking Lincheng and bombard the Japanese troops coming from Yixian.

When the First Regiment of the Lunan Detachment, under the command of Gu Xiuming, began to attack Lincheng,

The Japanese troops in the entire Lincheng were stunned.

In fact, in order to protect those commanders in Lincheng, the Japanese had stationed two full battalions in Lincheng.

However, the supreme commander of the North China Area Army, General Terauchi Hisaichi, the commander General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander of the Jinpu Railway front, Lieutenant General Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, and the commander of the Jiaoji Railway front, Major General Mitsumao Kazuo, were all in Lincheng.

With so many Japanese generals here, as soon as the gunfire rang out outside the city, Captain Fujito Taiji, who was in charge of the defense of the south gate, immediately panicked.

He quickly asked, "Where is the shooting?"

Soon, news came that National Revolutionary Army troops were attacking the south gate.

Neither Gu Xiuming nor Lin Fan had expected that the Japanese would react so strongly this time.

The previous two attacks on the city had gone very smoothly.

This time, as soon as the First Regiment began its attack, the Japanese at the south gate had brought up heavy machine guns and infantry artillery.

The artillery regiment, which had long established its positions, was certainly not for show.

They immediately suppressed the Japanese artillery fire.

At the same time, the mortars and infantry artillery of the First Regiment also began to bombard the Japanese positions.

All ten tanks and six "native tanks" of the First Regiment were deployed.

Captain Mizuno Keita, on the city wall south of the city, felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Of course, he knew how important Lincheng was to the entire Japanese army right now.

All the commanders of the North China Area Army were here. If the south gate were breached,

His own death would be insignificant, but if so many generals were captured by the National Revolutionary Army, even his relatives back home would suffer.

While urgently calling Captain Fujito Taiji for reinforcements, he loudly mobilized the Japanese soldiers under his command:

"Commander Terauchi is watching everyone, don't retreat.

Try hard!"

His squadron of Japanese soldiers fired with all their might at the First Regiment attacking the city from the outside.

Inside Lincheng, in the temporary headquarters of the North China Area Army:

The supreme commander of the North China Area Army, General Terauchi Hisaichi, the commander General Umezu Yoshijiro, the commander of the Jinpu Railway front, Lieutenant General Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, and the commander of the Jiaoji Railway front, Major General Mitsumao Kazuo,

They were discussing how to fight the upcoming Battle of Xuzhou.

How to encircle the main force of the National Revolutionary Army in Xuzhou and annihilate them all.

Hearing the fierce gunfire outside the city, they were initially able to remain calm.

Major General Mitsumao Kazuo, the lowest-ranking officer, said, "This must be the guerrilla force of the National Revolutionary Army in the surrounding area.

They will soon be defeated."

Ten minutes passed, and not only did the gunfire not stop, but gunfire also rang out in the east and north of the city.

This suddenly changed the faces of the Japanese troops in the headquarters.

Of course, they knew their importance.

If Lincheng were breached, whether they died or were captured,

It would have a great impact on the entire empire's operations.

Terauchi Hisaichi, the supreme commander of the North China Area Army, ordered, "Order Division Commander Isoya Renke:

Have him immediately send troops to Lincheng.

They must annihilate the National Revolutionary Army troops attacking Lincheng."

Terauchi Hisaichi was now truly angry: a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.

Now he was already under the artillery fire of the National Revolutionary Army.

The supreme commander of the North China Area Army, with all the senior officers of the command headquarters, was trapped in Lincheng.

This news was instantly transmitted to the entire Japanese army through radio waves.

This time, the Beiping Xiyuan Airport could no longer remain silent.

Two flying squadrons immediately took off, having received the order: at all costs, they must stop the National Revolutionary Army troops attacking Lincheng.

The Seya Detachment had only discovered this morning that the National Revolutionary Army troops in Taierzhuang had retreated.

Just as they were rejoicing, they suddenly received an order from Division Commander Isoya Renke:

"Immediately organize a regiment, return to Lincheng, and rescue the commander and headquarters of the North China Area Army.

Be quick, use the fastest speed.

Lincheng is in danger!"

The only Japanese troops that could reinforce Lincheng now were the Seya Detachment.

The puppet troops in Tengxian also received an order: "Urgently reinforce Lincheng."

The troops stationed in Lincheng were still Liu Guitang's puppet troops, but this time he only had one regiment here.

Upon receiving the order, the entire puppet regiment immediately set off.

Lin Fan was somewhat puzzled by the Japanese resistance. There were too many Japanese troops in Lincheng this time.

And the Japanese troops' weapons and equipment were obviously much better than those of ordinary units.

Lin Fan only thought that the Japanese had been repeatedly robbed of their supplies and equipment, so they had strengthened the defense of Lincheng.

In order to capture it as soon as possible, Lin Fan personally operated a 150mm howitzer, aiming at the city wall south of the city and bombarding it.

After three consecutive shots, the city wall was immediately blasted with three gaps.

Lin Fan did not stop and continued to bombard it, until the entire city wall south of Lincheng collapsed.

The Mizuno Keita squadron, which had been guarding the city wall, had just been firing non-stop.

The city wall they were guarding was blasted down by Lin Fan, and most of the squadron was buried in the ruins of the city wall.

Although only a few Japanese troops remained in the entire squadron, they were still divided and surrounded on more than a dozen independently standing remnants of the city wall.

Captain Mizuno Keita shouted loudly, directing these surviving Japanese troops to continue fighting.

Only a few dozen Japanese troops were still stubbornly resisting.

They were approached by ten tanks from the First Regiment, and the Japanese troops still guarding the city wall could not cause any damage to these tanks.

The positions guarded by these Japanese troops were blown up one after another by the soldiers of the First Regiment following behind the tanks, who threw grenades at them.

The reinforcements sent by Captain Fujito Taiji watched helplessly as the tanks of the Lunan Detachment rushed into Lincheng.

The First Regiment had already rushed into the city, and the Japanese troops immediately began to resist step by step in the city.

These Japanese troops all knew that the supreme commander of the North China Area Army, Terauchi Hisaichi, and others were all in the city.

They could not retreat, and dared not retreat.

The officers and soldiers of the First Regiment shouted and rushed into the city, beginning a street battle with the Japanese troops.

The Japanese troops' fighting will had always been high, but today their performance did not attract any special attention from the Lunan Detachment.

The south gate had been breached, and the situation in the east and west of the city was now also very critical.

Terauchi Hisaichi was somewhat anxious.

He stared intently at the map in the command headquarters, not saying a word.

He ordered, "The Uchiyama Battalion, open the north gate and prepare to break through."

Now he had to consider breaking through.

All the Japanese troops of the Uchiyama Kazuma Battalion were concentrated in the north of the city.

Attacking the north of the city was Shan Chengfu's Fourth Regiment.

His direction was the easiest direction for the Japanese to break through.

Shan Chengfu directed his troops to attack while planting bombs.

The Uchiyama Kazuma Battalion, defending on the city wall, had fierce firepower.

This had prevented the Fourth Regiment from climbing the city wall until now.

The Fourth Regiment's own mortars and infantry artillery had been bombarding the city wall.

The Japanese artillery was not to be outdone and also bombarded the Fourth Regiment.

Just as the two sides were fighting fiercely, the city gate opened, and a team of Japanese troops actually rushed out of the city.

They actually launched a counterattack on the Fourth Regiment.

Captain Uehara Daiki led his entire squadron of more than 180 Japanese troops, rushing towards the city gate.

The Japanese troops on the city wall immediately provided covering fire.

This group of Japanese troops from the Uehara Daiki Squadron kept charging through the Fourth Regiment's hail of bullets.

When they rushed to a point 300 meters away from the city wall, they were bombarded by a series of directional mines.

Of the more than 180 Japanese troops, fewer than 50 survived by chance.

They were no longer able to continue their attack and had to stand their ground.

Hoping to provide a support point for the subsequent troops to come out and meet them.

Shan Chengfu was unwilling to let the Japanese bury a nail here.

He concentrated the Fourth Regiment's mortars and infantry artillery to bombard this group of stubborn Japanese troops who refused to retreat.

In the command headquarters, General Terauchi Hisaichi received the report that one squadron sent by the Uchiyama Kazuma Battalion had been annihilated.

All the Japanese generals in the entire command headquarters were stunned.

The National Revolutionary Army's offensive was so fierce that they felt a strong sense of crisis.

What to do?

Just then, the roar of aircraft engines came from the air.

The two flying squadrons urgently dispatched to reinforce them had arrived in Lincheng.

Japanese planes had not appeared in the sky over Taierzhuang for many days.

Now that they had come, Lin Fan would certainly not be polite.

He operated an 88mm anti-aircraft gun and opened fire on the planes in the sky.

The Japanese's two flying squadrons had a total of 42 planes.

When they had just flown to Lincheng and had not yet begun to dive, planes had already been hit in the air.

This time, the attack on the Japanese planes was because the various regiments of the Lunan Detachment were too far apart.

In order to protect the distant regiments, they had to open fire on the Japanese planes in advance.

Originally, Lin Fan thought that these Japanese planes, after being hit by artillery fire,

Would have some planes turn around and run away.

What he did not expect was that the enemy plane flying in front was blown up.

Those enemy planes following behind only avoided the exploding plane in front by flying high and low.

They did not turn around and run away.

This was truly a very strange sight.

Those new recruits who had just joined the Lunan Detachment, although they had been training and fighting together for half a month,

But they had never seen their own troops shooting down Japanese planes so powerfully.

Watching the enemy planes in the air falling one after another,

Those Japanese troops actually continued to fly forward like fools, completely as if they were seeking death.

The soldiers of the Lunan Detachment would certainly only find this good-looking and relieving.

Commander Terauchi Hisaichi watched the planes in the sky falling one after another in the command headquarters.

With a heavy expression, he asked, "What kind of weapon is this for the National Revolutionary Army?

It's so powerful?"

No one answered!

The Japanese troops present did not know what was going on.

They did know why those planes dared not retreat.

Although the Japanese planes were two squadrons, in fact, with them intentionally seeking death,

Lin Fan did not spend much time and quickly shot down all 42 planes.

At this time, the First Regiment, which had entered the city from the south, kept advancing under the cover of tanks.

The Japanese troops of the Fujito Taiji Battalion could not hold on at this time.

Captain Tokugawa Yuto looked at the tanks approaching in front.

His face was full of despair: he had tried his best.

But the National Revolutionary Army on the opposite side was too powerful.

Sergeant Yanashita Hideki was a grenade launcher, and he had taken on a task from Captain Tokugawa Yuto:

Ambush the corner of the street and destroy the tanks that the National Revolutionary Army was rushing over.

This was a glorious and arduous task.

Captain Tokugawa Yuto said, "In the entire squadron, only Yanashita-kun can destroy the tanks in front."

This sentence gave Sergeant Yanashita Hideki 100% courage.

He agreed to the task without hesitation.

Of course, Yanashita Hideki did not know that Captain Tokugawa Yuto had said the same thing to at least seven Japanese troops.

Among these Japanese troops, there were not only grenade launchers but also infantry.

The assigned infantry was to rush up with explosives and blow up the tanks.

Now it was Sergeant Yanashita Hideki's time to perform.

He had long taken a fancy to a position at the corner of the street, where he could hide very well.

As long as the tank appeared at the head of the street, he could attack very easily.

The roar of the tank moving forward was approaching.

Sergeant Yanashita Hideki gradually became nervous.

He stared at the front, finally seeing the tank appear.

Captain Tokugawa Yuto, watching the grenade launcher he had placed high hopes on, had just fired the first grenade at the corner of the street,

When he was immediately jointly killed by the National Revolutionary Army's machine guns and infantry artillery.

Sergeant Yanashita Hideki was blown up by the infantry artillery.

The first grenade he fired only hit the house next to the tank.

It collapsed half of the wall, that's all.

Of course, Tokugawa Yuto had deployed more than just one Japanese troop.

But what disappointed him was that there were too many National Revolutionary Army soldiers around the tanks.

These soldiers were wholeheartedly protecting the tanks.

The Japanese troops of the Tokugawa Yuto Squadron were always forced back by countless bullets as soon as they showed their heads.

When those Japanese troops retreated a step, there would be a bombardment of infantry artillery or tank guns next.

No Japanese troop could succeed, and no Japanese troop could survive the artillery bombardment.

The Japanese troops of the Tokugawa Yuto Squadron were rapidly decreasing.

Captain Fujito Taiji was now very flustered.

His battalion was guarding the three city walls of Tengxian.

Ten minutes after the south gate was breached, the east and west gates were breached one after another. Da Feng Novel

More than 5,000 National Revolutionary Army soldiers had rushed into Lincheng.

This made Captain Fujito Taiji very desperate.

The North China Area Army Headquarters kept urging the Seya Detachment to reinforce Lincheng.

Colonel Akashiya Yaezo, who was rushing to Lincheng by train, received news on the train that Lincheng had been breached.

The two battalions in the city were resisting desperately.

They only wanted the reinforcing troops to arrive as soon as possible.

The Anping Fifth Regiment, ambushing on the railway line, was guarding less than five miles from Lincheng.

In the distance, a train with a locomotive emitting thick smoke was rushing towards them.

During this time, the entire railway line had been filled with the transportation of strategic materials.

There was no mistake in attacking them no matter what.

Anping and his men had removed 50 meters of track ahead and planted explosives at the end of the track.

In fact, Lin Fan did not know when he arranged for the Fifth Regiment's mission whether the Japanese troops would retreat from the front line.

Arranging a team to guard the railway line was just to prevent any eventuality.

He did not expect that the real fierce battle would actually be with Anping's Fifth Regiment.

Looking at how long the Japanese train was, Anping was puzzled: how could the Japanese have such a long train?

No matter how puzzled they were, they would never reach their destination.

The train conductor, who was rushing at the fastest speed, was constantly being urged by the Japanese to speed up, and to speed up at all costs.

As a result, when he saw the track disappear ahead, he could not stop the train even if he tried to brake urgently.

The locomotive derailed, and four of the following carriages overturned.

The 30-odd carriages further back were still firmly on the tracks.

Colonel Akashiya Ya