March 28th, 1938, 6:30 PM:

In March, Lincheng was just beginning to darken.

The Special Operations Brigade had been marching out of Lincheng for an hour and a half.

Their ranks now included five hundred more civilian laborers and over a thousand mules and horses compared to when they had set out.

In that hour and a half, the Special Operations Brigade had covered less than ten kilometers from Lincheng.

This was already the fastest they could manage.

Lin Fan ordered a temporary halt at a place called Lizhuang.

Company Commander Gu Xiuming of the First Company and Company Commander Hua Deze of the Second Company arranged for sentries.

The five hundred civilian laborers were happily butchering the mule and horse meat.

Although today's battle wasn't fierce, thirty to forty mules and horses had still been wounded.

Mule and horse meat would be the main course for the troops tonight.

For these laborers, there was no better dish than meat.

If there was, it would be an unlimited supply!

Lin Fan hadn't said that the meat was unlimited, only that they should cook as much as possible so everyone could eat their fill and enjoy the meal.

Wang Duofu's family owned over twenty mu of land, and they lived decently.

Today, he had been semi-forced to serve as a laborer for the Special Operations Brigade.

In these chaotic times, no matter who came along to conscript labor,

ordinary people like them had no choice. Whether it was the Nationalists, the Japanese,

or even passing bandits who needed people to carry things, these common folk had to pretend to be happy to do the work.

This had nothing to do with faith; it was just the survival rule that ordinary people had learned over centuries.

Wang Duofu had behaved like this when working for the Special Operations Brigade:

Forcing a smile and following the group.

And he couldn't slack off. Among these ordinary people,

it was best to accept your lot.

Work hard, don't cause trouble, and hope that these officers would release them soon.

At this moment, hearing the Lin officer of this troop loudly tell everyone to cook as much meat as they could eat,

Wang Duofu's mood improved for no reason.

The five hundred laborers all felt better.

Although they saw many mules and horses that had been bled out on the carts,

they would be lucky to get a sip of the soup when the officers ate meat.

But this Officer Lin was actually telling everyone to cook more meat.

For ordinary people, meat was always a good thing.

For small landlords like Wang Duofu, meat was also a good thing.

These small landlords who had managed to save twenty mu of land had done so by scrimping and saving little by little.

A day like today, with enough meat to eat, was rare indeed.

The Special Operations Brigade's First Company had one hundred and fifty men, the Second Company had one hundred and seventy, and the platoon had fifty-two.

Adding the five hundred laborers, there were fewer than nine hundred people.

These laborers cooked a full four mules.

Just looking at the meat, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction filled the hearts of these laborers.

Some rejoiced, others worried!

When Lin Fan and his men left Lincheng,

two Japanese units set out from Teng County and Yixian County respectively, heading menacingly towards Lincheng.

Liu Guitang, the commander of the puppet Manchukuo Seventeenth Army stationed in Hancheng, also received an order from Lieutenant General Isogu Lianjie:

"A Nationalist troop of five hundred men is approaching Hancheng. You must annihilate them!"

Liu Guitang was very surprised to receive this order: What kind of troop was it that a mere five hundred men required the division commander himself to issue an order?

He knew that Nationalist troops now consisted of armies of tens or even hundreds of thousands of men.

At the very least, there would be divisions of thousands of men.

When had a troop of a few hundred men caught the division commander's eye?

Despite these countless thoughts, he only said two words:

"Hai!"

It was already dusk, not the time to send out a reconnaissance team.

But Liu Guitang dared not take Lieutenant General Isogu Lianjie's orders lightly.

He immediately ordered that security be doubled in all areas of Hancheng tonight.

In any case, attitude was paramount.

If he received an order and took no action, the supervisory officer stationed in the army by the division commander could file a small report,

giving Isogu Lianjie a bad impression of him, which could lead to dire consequences in the future.

For the Special Operations Brigade, ten kilometers away from Lincheng, the night of the 28th

was a peaceful, harmonious, and tranquil one.

Especially for the five hundred laborers, who were all stuffed to the gills.

This was even more satisfying than eating during the New Year!

They were eating other people's meat to fill their own bellies!

If such a day could be given a time limit,

these people could eat like this for ten thousand years!

Without a single complaint.

For the officers and soldiers of the Thirty-first Division inside Taierzhuang, it was another night of battle.

This night was no different from the past few days. Under the arrangement of Deputy Division Commander Wang Guanwu, the 185th Regiment, the 186th Regiment, and the 181st Regiment once again organized a dozen commando squads,

who snuck towards the Japanese troops who had already occupied three-quarters of Taierzhuang.

The fighting inside Taierzhuang never stopped, day or night.

The fighting on the outskirts of Taierzhuang was the same.

On this battlefield, the daytime was when the Japanese showed their strength.

Because the Japanese had superior firepower, and the visibility was good during the day,

it was the best time to unleash the power of their weapons.

At night, without good visibility, the threat of the Japanese's superior firepower to the Nationalist army would be greatly reduced.

So when darkness fell,

it was the time when the Nationalist army was most active.

Division Commander Chi Fengcheng once again organized twenty or so commando squads to charge into Taierzhuang.

The Thirty-first Division Headquarters had lost contact with those inside Taierzhuang for a day.

Listening to the incessant gunfire and artillery fire inside Taierzhuang,

blisters had appeared on the corners of Division Commander Chi Fengcheng's mouth.

With so many Japanese troops inside Taierzhuang, would Wang Guanwu be able to hold out with his soldiers?

He thought this was the most dangerous moment for the Thirty-first Division.

Little did Division Commander Chi Fengcheng know that the war's test for him had just begun.

There were situations ten times more severe than this yet to come.

People were like this; they never knew how much potential they had until they were in dire straits.

For the officers and soldiers of the Thirty-first Division, they also didn't know how well they could defend.

The Sakamoto Detachment had now moved from Linyi to Taierzhuang.

It was still night, and they had not yet bared their fangs.

These Japanese soldiers of the Sakamoto Detachment had not been having a good time these days.

One might even say they were miserable!

In the past half-month of fighting in Linyi, they had been in a tug-of-war with the troops of Pang Bingxun and Zhang Zizhong.

In the First Battle of Linyi, this unit, known as the "Steel Army," had actually retreated in defeat.

This infuriated Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro of the Fifth Division, who immediately organized the Second Battle of Linyi.

The Second Battle of Linyi was also extremely difficult.

Division Commander Itagaki Seishiro did not know that Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun, his opponents, had long entered the countdown stage.

The entire army had not yet collapsed only because these two troops were hoping to hold on until the last second.

As a result, Itagaki Seishiro's superiors couldn't hold on any longer and transferred the attacking Sakamoto Brigade during the Nationalist army's countdown.

Although the Sakamoto Brigade had now arrived on the battlefield, it was not capable of attacking immediately.

They needed rest!

Their departure

gave Army Commander Zhang Zizhong and Corps Commander Pang Bingxun, who were still defending Linyi, a happy day.

On this day, the Japanese on the Linyi front had given up their offensive.

All combat was the result of mutual action between the two sides.

If the Nationalist army had entered the countdown, how could the Japanese not be exhausted?

Therefore, on this day, the 28th, the Japanese also chose to rest.

Zhang Zizhong's Fifty-ninth Army and Pang Bingxun's Second Army Group had no strength left to organize an offensive.

These two troops were also healing in place.

Letting the soldiers who had been in intense fighting all day close their eyes for a nap could restore 5% of their combat effectiveness.

Sleeping for ten hours straight could restore more than 90% of the entire troop's strength.

On this day, there was no war on the eastern front.

But the best defense was offense!

Zhang Zizhong was very clear about this.

In any case, the Fifty-ninth Army would launch an offensive tomorrow.

A troop that dared to attack was the best defensive troop.

Happiness always came so suddenly.

Heaven had no favorites but always helped the virtuous!

Heaven helps those who help themselves!

Being able to let the Fifty-ninth Army rest for a day made Army Commander Zhang Zizhong feel that his troops had recovered 90% of their strength.

In the evening, friendly troops actually arrived quietly.

And two troops had arrived: the 333rd Infantry Brigade of the 111th Division and the Independent Cavalry Regiment of the Thirteenth Army.

Brigade Commander Sun Chongfa of the 333rd Infantry Brigade, Regiment Commander Li Daxiong of the Independent Regiment, Army Commander Zhang Zizhong, Corps Commander Pang Bingxun, and the commanders of each division and brigade held a pre-battle military conference in Linyi.

At the meeting, Army Commander Zhang Zizhong distributed the planned strategies one by one.

Benefiting from the First Battle of Linyi, his proper command and defeat of Itagaki Seishiro had an impact.

The tasks were assigned very smoothly.

With the addition of two fresh troops, plus the Fifty-ninth Army, which had rested for a day,

the counterattack plan that Zhang Zizhong had devised could be implemented tomorrow morning.

At dawn on the 29th, just as the faint light of dawn appeared on the horizon,

the Nationalist army's Linyi defense line began a full-scale counterattack.

War was always like this. Knowing that fresh troops had arrived on their side,

Pang Bingxun's Second Army Group, which had dwindled from more than twenty thousand men to just over two thousand,

could not hold back this time and joined the counterattack.

The Fifty-ninth Division and the Second Army Group attacked from the front.

The 333rd Infantry Brigade and the Independent Cavalry Brigade, led by Brigade Commander Li, launched an attack from the Japanese's flank.

This time, they not only recovered the positions that had been seized by the Japanese in recent days,

but also continued to pursue towards the Aishan-Yitang line.

The two Japanese battalions left behind in Linyi to contain the Fifty-ninth Army and the Second Army Group were attacked from both sides.

They could no longer sustain their defense.

The Japanese soldiers of the Goyu also Battalion had been exhausted after days of fighting.

Now that they had been defeated by the Nationalist army's heavy forces, their morale finally collapsed.

The Japanese soldiers of the Nobuyama Battalion were no different.

Just as these two battalions began to flee, they encountered the officers and soldiers of the Independent Cavalry Regiment.

Li Daxiong led the officers and soldiers of the cavalry regiment in pursuit.

On the plains, cavalry naturally had an absolute advantage over infantry.

Not to mention pursuing defeated infantry.

The Sakamoto Brigade of the Fifth Division, having rested for a night, had now recovered its energy.

They began to attack Xiangcheng, east of Taierzhuang.

This sudden appearance of troops made it even harder for Sun Lianzhong's Army Group, which was already barely holding on, to sustain.

The Sakamoto Brigade's transfer from the Linyi direction to the Taierzhuang direction had only one purpose:

to concentrate all forces to attack a single point.

Therefore, on this day, the 29th, both Regiment Commander Seya Keiji and Regiment Commander Sakamoto Jun,

put all their efforts into trying to defeat the Nationalist army still defending Taierzhuang.

However, something happened that discouraged both regimental commanders:

The Nationalist army, whose positions had been teetering on the brink of collapse, simply refused to retreat.

Entire companies and battalions of Nationalist soldiers would rather sacrifice themselves on the battlefield

than retreat or surrender.

Such resistance was very difficult for the Japanese to bear.

Their negotiators were sternly rejected by the Nationalist soldiers.

As such, the Japanese had to pay the price of blood and fire for every step they took.

At this time, Deputy Division Commander Wang Guanwu, who was commanding the battle inside Taierzhuang, once again requested Division Commander Chi Fengcheng to evacuate Taierzhuang.

Division Commander Chi Fengcheng asked Sun Lianzhong for instructions.

Sun Lianzhong only said one sentence: "If Taierzhuang falls, I will be dealt with by military law!"

Chi Fengcheng said to Wang Guanwu, "The Commander-in-Chief is angry and refuses to allow a retreat."

At this time, the defending troops inside the city, commanded by Wang Guanwu, had less than half their strength left.

The soldiers were too tired, too exhausted, and too sleepy!

Therefore, this time his attitude was also very firm:

"The city can no longer be defended.

I will bear the responsibility for abandoning the city, and will never implicate you!"

Chi Fengcheng had long been exhausted from days of hard work.

He had been forcing himself to hold on.

Now, hearing Wang Guanwu say so resolutely that he wanted to give up,

he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Wang Guanwu was originally just a staff officer in the division, and he didn't have to go to the front lines to fight.

Nor did he have to bear such heavy responsibilities now.

Even the responsibility for abandoning Taierzhuang was to be borne by him.

Wasn't he hurting him?

He had asked him to act as the commander of the 186th Regiment, and later appointed him as the acting deputy division commander to command the defense of Taierzhuang.

He had never said a word of complaint.

If he really gave up defending Taierzhuang this time, the Thirty-first Division's hard-fought battle of so many days would be in vain, and he would also have to bear the responsibility of military law.

At this moment, Chief of Staff Qu Shen snatched the phone.

He was Wang Guanwu's direct superior and of course knew this person's character.

He shouted loudly into the microphone, "Guanwu! Whether Taierzhuang can be defended is not only related to the safety of Xuzhou,

but also has a great impact on the overall situation of the war against Japan.

We have been fighting bitterly for ten days, sacrificing five thousand brothers, just to hold the Japanese back.

If we give up Taierzhuang at this time, we will not only be letting down the martyred brothers,

but also the country and the people.

We would also be letting down those officers and soldiers who died in Teng County before.

To give up Taierzhuang at this time would be to betray the country and the people.

Moreover, General Li has already deployed the Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-second Army Groups around us.

They may launch an attack on the Japanese at any time.

The longer we hold on here, the more difficult it will be for the Japanese to fight.

Now we are competing with the Japanese to see who can hold on until the last second.

Taierzhuang can only be defended to the death and cannot be retreated from.

Tell the brothers inside Taierzhuang that the division headquarters will withdraw into the city tomorrow.

We will never let the brothers sacrifice themselves while the division headquarters is still alive.

Now convey the division commander's orders: Taierzhuang must be defended to the death!

Anyone who says they will give up Taierzhuang will be executed without exception!"

Without putting down the microphone, he said to Brigade Commander Nie:

"From now on, any troops in the city who retreat without permission, whether on duty or injured, will be killed!

From the brigade commander and regimental commander down to the soldiers, they will be killed first and reported later!"

Deputy Division Commander Wang Guanwu was silent for a long time, before finally saying one sentence:

"Please rest assured, Division Commander!"

After putting down the phone, Wang Guanwu organized a suicide squad of seventy-two officers and soldiers.

They were to destroy the Japanese stronghold on the Wenchang Pavilion, which threatened the entire west city from a high vantage point.

Without destroying this stronghold, the west city could not be defended.

The seventy-two members of the suicide squad were all armed with short guns and broadswords.

Everyone carried a bag filled with soil on their back.

They charged to the bottom of the Wenchang Pavilion and piled up the soil bags.

Regardless of everything else, they focused on climbing upwards.

Defending the Wenchang Pavilion was the Kato Kaede Squad.

In the darkness, they could only hear movement below the Wenchang Pavilion.

Knowing that Nationalist troops were coming to attack, they could not determine from which direction these Nationalist troops were charging.

The Japanese soldiers of the Kato Kaede Squad could only fire their machine guns everywhere.

Suicide Squad Captain Deng Zimin led the seventy-two members of the suicide squad in attacking, braving the Japanese machine gun fire.

They advanced layer by layer, fighting desperately with broadswords in the darkness.

After three hours of fierce fighting, they finally captured the entire Wenchang Pavilion at midnight.

All of the Japanese soldiers of the Kato Kaede Squad, except for four who were captured alive,

died under the swords and guns of the suicide squad.

Fourteen of the seventy-two members of the suicide squad were sacrificed.

At dawn on the 29th, the First and Second Companies of the Special Operations Brigade, along with the five hundred laborers, had breakfast.

For breakfast today, it was still white rice and large pieces of meat.

Having eaten two consecutive meals of their fill, these laborers were walking much faster.

Not only the people, but even the mules and horses pulling the carts were moving much faster.

Liu Guitang, the commander of the puppet Manchukuo Seventeenth Army stationed in Hanzhuang, had long been looking forward to dawn.

As soon as it was light, he immediately sent out the Independent Cavalry Regiment under his command,

ordering them to advance towards Lincheng in search.

His cavalry regiment had five hundred and fifty-five cavalrymen.

Using such an elite cavalry to deal with the five hundred or so infantrymen mentioned by Isogu Lianjie was completely like catching a turtle in a jar, an easy task.

Regiment Commander Liu Benshun of the cavalry regiment had received the order last night

and had planned the marching formation early on.

The main force of the entire regiment would move in the center, with a platoon of troops on each side for scouting.

The only purpose was to prevent missing the Nationalist army troop along the way.

In fact, until now, they did not know what kind of troop Isogu Lianjie wanted them to annihilate.

In any case, any troop that came from Hanzhuang to Lincheng would be annihilated.

The distance between Hanzhuang and Lincheng was not actually long, only twenty-odd kilometers.

For cavalry, it was only an hour's ride at full speed.

Of course, Liu Benshun's troops could not start sprinting right away.

If they did, the men could endure it, but the warhorses could not.

They advanced unhurriedly, and after an hour,

the puppet army's cavalry regiment finally discovered a tank troop heading towards Hanzhuang.

These were Japanese tanks, although each tank had a tiger painted on the front.

This could not change Liu Benshun and his puppet army's understanding of their masters.

Of course, they had to respect their masters.

Regiment Commander Liu Benshun personally dismounted, stood by the side of the road, and smiled broadly to make way for the tanks.

Feng Ruili felt that this kid's attitude was really good.

But he was not moved by it.

The ten tanks, divided into two rows, with the leading tanks already at the tail of the puppet army cavalry troop,

the tank soldiers of the First Company lifted the hatches.

Grenades and machine guns were all put into action.

Regiment Commander Liu Benshun, with a smile on his face, was blown into the air,

still not understanding how the Nationalist army was standing up inside the master's tanks.

The warhorses that had been standing quietly by the side of the road scattered in all directions.

Tanks in the lead, infantry in the rear.

The five hundred-plus cavalry regiment of the puppet army was encircled and suppressed by ten tanks.

Not a single one escaped.

When the First and Second Companies following behind arrived at the battlefield,

the warhorses that had just been startled by the machine guns returned to their owners' sides.

They neighed sadly, gently nudging the fallen puppet soldiers,

trying to get their owners to stand up again.

Their efforts were doomed to be in vain.

Company Commander Gu Xiuming and the veterans of the First Company were familiar with warhorses.

In Jurong, each of them had a warhorse.

Now, looking at the bodies all over the ground and the standing warhorses,

the soldiers of the First Company cheered and slowly approached the warhorses,

gently grooming their manes,

and slowly soothing their frightened hearts.

First Company in the front, Second Company in the rear.

This puppet army troop had generously sent over three hundred warhorses to the Special Operations Brigade.

This time, the veterans of the First and Second Companies were overjoyed.

Lin Fan was even happier in his heart: With these warhorses,

on this plain, their mobility would be greatly increased, and one company could be used as a battalion.

Although many warhorses had escaped and had not been hit by the machine guns,

there were still more than a hundred warhorses injured and killed.

These warhorses excited the five hundred laborers who were following the Special Operations Brigade:

Meat! More meat!

But this time, Lin Fan ordered: "Clean up the battlefield, only fifteen minutes.

The entire army will set off in fifteen minutes."

In any case, Lin Fan wanted to take Hanzhuang as soon as possible.

He was very clear about how much pressure Taierzhuang was facing.

For these five hundred laborers,

as long as there was meat, they could butcher all of the warhorses in five minutes.

The Japanese cavalrymen who had fallen to the ground had sabers in their hands.

With these swords, each of the laborers had a sword in their hands.

Everyone was working.

Fifteen minutes later, not only had the meat of those hundred-odd warhorses been completely butchered,

but even the internal organs had been cleaned out.

Although they had not been carefully cleaned yet, they would definitely take care of it when they stopped to rest.

Today, there would be another sumptuous lunch.

At ten o'clock in the morning, ten tanks arrived at the outer positions of the puppet Manchukuo Seventeenth Army's First Division in Hanzhuang.

The division commander of the First Division, Liu Guijun, recognized the master's tanks.

He completely opened up the defensive line that he had set up on the front line outside Hanzhuang to the ten tanks.

Regiment Commander Liu Bense of the First Regiment of the puppet army watched the ten tanks drive onto his position,

and was very happy: the masters had sent reinforcements.

But as soon as these ten tanks drove onto the position, they immediately rampaged across the position.

When these tanks began to strafe, the First Regiment of the puppet army was thrown into chaos.

When had these puppet soldiers ever been trampled by tanks like this?

They didn't hesitate and turned around to run.

Of course, Regiment Commander Liu Bense wouldn't be foolish enough to stay on the position.

He didn't run slower than anyone else.

While the ten tanks were wreaking havoc on the position,

Liu Guitang and Liu Guijun inside Hanzhuang were completely stunned.

They couldn't understand what was happening.

Liu Guitang couldn't understand where the cavalry regiment he had sent out had gone.

No matter where they had gone,

Liu Guitang had to provide reinforcements immediately!

In fact, the combat effectiveness of his troop was not weak.

They had withstood several attacks from Sun Zhen's Twenty-second Army Group in recent days.

But this time, there were tanks among the attacking troops.

This made him instinctively afraid.

Upon receiving the news of the rescue of Hanzhuang, Regiment Commander Seya Keiji, who was trying to intensify the attack on Taierzhuang, had no choice but to send two companies from the attacking troops for emergency relief.

Half an hour later, the subsequent infantry of the Special Operations Brigade arrived.

The ten tanks were bombarding Hanzhuang.

The fighting that had taken place on the north side of Hanzhuang was discovered by the Twenty-second Army Group, which had been trying to attack all these days.

Their scouts discovered that ten Japanese tanks were bombarding Hanzhuang.

What was going on?

Was it a dog-eat-dog situation?

Upon receiving the intelligence, Commander Sun Zhen of the Twenty-second Army Group also could not understand what was going on.

In any case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The Twenty-second Army Group immediately sent a regiment out of hiding,

probingly launching an attack towards Hanzhuang.

Their attack had not yet begun.

The infantry of the Special Operations Brigade had arrived, and the real attack had begun.

First Company in the main attack, Second Company protecting.

The First Company had only a hundred or so soldiers left at this time.

The rest of them were traveling by water.

When these hundred-plus Nationalist soldiers followed behind the tanks and attacked Hanzhuang,

Commander Sun Zhen of the Twenty-second Army Group, who was in the dark, received an accurate report:

Attacking Hanzhuang were the First and Second Companies of the Special Operations Brigade.

The tanks were captured by them after they captured Lincheng yesterday.

Hearing this news, the Twenty-second Army Group was simply unbelievable.

As one of the worst-equipped troops in the Nationalist army,

they had been attacking Hanzhuang for a long time without success.

It wasn't that they didn't know how to fight, nor that the soldiers' morale was not high.

It was just that the weapons of the puppet army were several levels better than those of the Sichuan army.

In the first attack, the Sichuan army had paid a huge price, but they could not break through the puppet army's firepower defense.

Now, seeing that the friendly army had tanks to help,

Commander Sun Zhen immediately increased the number of troops attacking Hanzhuang.

From one regiment, it was directly increased to one division.

With infantry cooperation, the tanks immediately advanced.

The soldiers of the First Company, when they didn't have tanks, could use their earthen tanks to capture the cities occupied by the Japanese.

Not to mention that now that they had real tanks, they were attacking Hanzhuang, which was defended by the puppet army.

The tanks were in the front, blocking the hail of bullets.

There were also six earthen tanks following in the middle.

The regiment placed by Liu Guijun on the north city wall of Hanzhuang

had been bombarded by tanks for half an hour.

Morale had long collapsed.

Three gaps had also been blasted in the city wall.

The officers and soldiers of the First Company followed behind the tanks and charged to the moat of Hanzhuang.

They threw the tripods in one by one, piling them up.

They laid the springboards on top.

Six bridges that could allow the passage of tracks and soldiers were set up.

Ten tanks drove past, charging in from the gap.

At this time, the puppet soldiers who were stubbornly resisting on the city wall could no longer hold back.

They turned around one after another.

These puppet soldiers did not have any weapons to deal with the tanks.

They were unwilling to use their lives to hold grenades and explosive packs to blow up these tanks.

Of course, the only way to go was to run.

Seeing that one side was being attacked, the puppet soldiers defending the other three sides no longer dared to defend.

Commander Liu Guitang of the puppet Seventeenth Army had no choice but to lead his troops to flee towards Taierzhuang.

Lin Fan had come to relieve the pressure on Taierzhuang.

Not to drive these puppet soldiers to Taierzhuang to increase the pressure.

In this situation, he could only order: "The tank team, the First Company, and the Second Company will continue to pursue this puppet army.

Even if we chase them into Taierzhuang, we must chase them!"

The officers and soldiers of the puppet Seventeenth Army were all panicking.

They knew in advance that they had to run, so they ran first.

But what was chasing after them were tanks, and these iron lumps were born not to be tired and ran faster than people.

This was going to kill the puppet soldiers.

Although Liu Guitang had a warhorse and ran faster than the average soldier,

the tanks were not slow either.

When the puppet soldiers began to flee, the tanks chased after them, shouting all the way: "Kneel and you will not be killed! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

Those puppet soldiers who were fleeing on foot could not outrun these tanks.

In order to survive, they had no choice but to kneel on the ground.

They threw their guns far away,

buried their heads in the ground, and stuck their butts high up,

not daring to look up.

Company Commander Gu Xiuming of the First Company ordered the Third Platoon to gather these puppet soldiers.

Hearing the orders from the Nationalist army, these puppet soldiers dared to stand up with their heads bowed.

The Special Operations Brigade chased all the way, receiving the surrendered puppet soldiers along the way.

The puppet Seventeenth Army's First Division had four regiments under its command.

Except for the officers above the regiment level who had warhorses, these officers desperately whipped their warhorses to escape faster,

the Special Operations Brigade had gathered as many as four thousand and three hundred of the remaining puppet soldiers.

Commander Liu Guitang of the puppet army finally encountered the two Japanese companies that had come to reinforce him on the way to escape.

Leading the way was the Yamada Yuto Company.

Company Commander Yamada Yuto saw that Liu Guitang's warhorse was covered in sweat,

and knew that this puppet army commander had escaped.

He asked coldly, "Where are your troops?

Is Hanzhuang still there?"

Liu Guitang took a few breaths before reporting, "It's not that our army can't fight.

It's just that the attacking Nationalist army is too cunning.

They have ten Japanese tanks.

These tanks made it impossible for us to distinguish them.

We mistakenly thought that the Japanese were here to support us.

Therefore, Hanzhuang was taken by the Nationalist army at once.

Morale was lost, and the troops could not be brought out.

Seeing that the situation was not good, we could only escape first.

When the Japanese army fights back,

I will gather the troops again."

Hearing that the Nationalist army had ten tanks, Yamada Yuto's face changed at once.

The Nationalist army's combat effectiveness was not high.

But with things like tanks, his company only had grenade launchers that could resist them.

But the success rate was not high at all.

If the enemy had ten tanks, he would not be able to resist them at all!

Retreat?

He didn't dare!

Company Commander Yamada Yuto could only order the troops to build fortifications on the spot and prepare for defense.

In this plain, there was a small hill fifty meters in front,

which was already a good defensive high ground.

After the Kitakaze Fubuki Company came up, they heard that the Nationalist army actually had ten tanks

and was still pursuing in this direction.

He immediately organized the grenade launcher soldiers of his company

and strengthened the small hill of the Yamada Yuto Company.

The Japanese soldiers of the Kitakaze Fubuki Company began to build defensive fortifications not far away.

Their fortifications had not yet been built.

The tanks in the distance had already revealed themselves.

This time, Feng Ruili did not charge directly.

Not only did he not charge, but he also led the tanks back a few hundred meters.

Because he saw that the enemy on the opposite position was Japanese.

The Special Operations Brigade's combat troops had been pursuing all the way.

Five hundred large carts were moving slower.

Even so, they had left Hanzhuang and caught up.

The Twenty-second Army Group had taken over Hanzhuang.

Lin Fan had to write a letter, telling Commander Sun Zhen of the Twenty-second Army Group

that his supply train would come to Hanzhuang by water, and he hoped that the Twenty-second Army Group would take care of it.

The Special Operations Brigade would thank them with a thousand Type 38 rifles!

Commander Liu Guitang of the puppet Seventeenth Army looked at the tanks a thousand meters away.

He was very angry: This troop was too bullying to the puppet army.

As if they knew that he would not fight the tanks,

they dared to rampage as soon as they arrived at Hanzhuang.

Now that they saw the Japanese, they were actually retreating!

Was there any justice in this world!

Originally, when he saw ten tanks charging over,

he wanted to see how the masters would show their power and how they would blow up these tanks.

As a result, they retreated directly.

Now, not only had those tanks retreated thousands of meters away,

but they had also begun to bombard the position.

Artillery shells?

The Special Operations Brigade was not short of them now!

They had captured a lot of artillery shells, enough to use.

When dealing with the Japanese, Feng Ruili would not rush forward alone without infantry following.

The puppet army did not have the courage to rush up and blow up the tanks with their lives.

Feng Ruili believed that the Japanese would not hesitate to rush up with explosive packs.

In this regard, the Japanese's fighting will was indeed not weak.

But I will not give you the opportunity.

Along the way, Lin Fan saw that they had gathered several thousand puppet army prisoners.

He was happy: These puppet soldiers, truly heinous people were always in the minority.

Most of the puppet soldiers were just going with the flow.

As long as they turned over a new leaf and returned to the people,

and were willing to pick up a gun and fight the Japanese, they were their own people.

Those who were unwilling to fight the Japanese were of course not good people.

Their own people! The Special Operations Brigade was concerned and cared for.

The bad people among the puppet soldiers, the traitors, could no longer be considered people.

The anti-Japanese force could be strengthened.

Lin Fan caught up with the combat troops who were walking in front.

He also heard the sound of artillery fire coming from the front.

It was the sound of shells fired from tank guns.

Gu Xiuming led the troops to the front line.

Looking at the Japanese position in front,

he ordered, "Everyone rest for fifteen minutes!"

They had been chasing all the way, and although they had warhorses to travel on, the soldiers were still a little tired.

They were about to start charging again, so let the soldiers rest for a while.

Lin Fan came up and looked at the Japanese position in the distance, estimating it:

Two companies of Japanese soldiers!

This was another piece of fat meat!

Two companies of Japanese soldiers, less than four hundred people.

Letting the current First and Second Companies fight them was just too suitable.

After fifteen minutes of rest, the tanks started and the infantry followed.

The artillery took over the bombardment.

Lin Fan was not idle either. He was operating an 88mm anti-aircraft gun.

With the shells sent from Jurong last night,

he didn't have to use this gun so sparingly now.

The officers and soldiers of the artillery platoon also operated mortars and infantry guns and joined the bombardment of the Japanese position.

Company Commander Yamada Yuto's heart was now icy cold, and his mouth was bitter.

The Nationalist army's ten tanks' bombardment had already made him distraught.

Now the ten tanks were charging, and there was also a troop of infantry moving with the tanks.

Was this kind of tank-infantry cooperation really Nationalist