The number of Japanese soldiers was, after all, somewhat smaller, and their morale was far inferior to that of the officers and soldiers of the First Regiment.

As the minutes ticked by, the casualties of the Ishide Kyohei Battalion mounted at an ever-increasing rate.

Just then, the last infantry company of the Ishide Kyohei Battalion arrived on the battlefield.

Without allowing this company, which had arrived on a forced march, to rest, Captain Ishide Kyohei immediately ordered them to join the battle.

He couldn't let these Japanese soldiers rest. The situation at the front was very unfavorable. Although the Japanese hadn't collapsed yet, it was clear they were at a disadvantage.

At this time, the addition of fresh troops might turn the tide! Captain Ishide Kyohei personally joined the battle, rushing into the battlefield with the last company.

Seeing the Japanese reinforcements, Regiment Commander Li Tianhao of the First Regiment had no choice but to follow suit.

He ordered, "The Fourth Company, charge down from the hillside and join the battle! The Tenth Company, charge up from the trenches and join the battle!"

Li Tianhao himself, along with a dozen guards, charged into the battle.

He had now committed all the First Regiment's forces—there was no turning back!

After rushing into the battlefield, Li Tianhao discovered that the highway was now a river of blood—truly a river of blood.

Although it had been clear for many days, the highway was now muddy and impassable, the soil softened by blood.

He couldn't worry about that now. He shouted to encourage the soldiers as he charged forward.

The soldiers of the First Regiment, hearing their commander's voice, were all as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Their strength in battle increased by a third.

For these ordinary soldiers, they usually only saw their commander speaking on the platform.

They had never seen him lead a charge. Today, the commander was actually waving his saber and charging into the battlefield!

These soldiers, who had already been fighting the Japanese with all their might, now spared no effort, determined to keep the Japanese here.

Captain Ishide Kyohei led the last batch of Japanese soldiers onto the battlefield, and then the Nationalists also pushed all their forces onto the highway.

Ten minutes later, the Japanese defeat was evident.

Captain Ishide Kyohei watched as the Japanese soldiers fell one after another. Although the Nationalists were also suffering losses, they had more men.

And the Nationalists' casualties were clearly much lower than his own. He finally realized that this couldn't continue.

If they continued to engage in bayonet combat with the Nationalists like this, his battalion might not have a single survivor.

Thinking of this, Captain Ishide Kyohei finally issued the order to retreat.

He had been the last to rush into the battlefield, so it was easy for him to retreat. He turned and ran.

Those Japanese soldiers who had followed his orders and charged forward were now deep within the Nationalist ranks.

They couldn't retreat for a moment. But those cowardly Japanese soldiers, who had been slacking off all along, immediately followed the captain and ran when they heard the order to retreat.

This group of cowardly Japanese soldiers closely protected Captain Ishide Kyohei, shielding him as they retreated.

The soldiers of the First Regiment, seeing the Japanese starting to flee, were even more emboldened.

The surrounded Japanese soldiers, who were already on the verge of collapse, panicked when they saw their captain leading the retreat.

They all looked around, searching for escape routes, with no morale left to fight the soldiers of the First Regiment.

They only wanted to find a way to escape, but their numbers were already smaller, and now they were surrounded.

No matter how they searched, they couldn't find a path to escape.

Despite this, these Japanese soldiers no longer had the will to fight to the death. They fell one after another in the face of the First Regiment soldiers' valiant fighting.

Captain Ishide Kyohei only cared about escaping, and completely ignored the cars, heavy machine guns, and machine guns they had left on the highway.

Regiment Commander Chen Tianhao of the First Regiment watched the hundred or so Japanese soldiers who had run three hundred meters away, knowing that it was impossible to catch up at this point.

He could only order the entire regiment to guard the remaining Japanese soldiers carefully, not letting a single one escape.

As he watched Captain Ishide Kyohei lead those hundred or so Japanese soldiers into the distance,

a burst of fierce gunfire suddenly erupted from ahead. The First and Second Companies emerged from the distance, charging directly into the Japanese ranks.

There were over a hundred Japanese soldiers, and the First and Second Companies now numbered over a hundred as well, making the numbers evenly matched.

Company Commanders Hou Tianci and Song Yongsi both charged to the front. They saw the Japanese soldiers frantically fleeing back.

They immediately decided to launch an ambush first, then charge up and engage the Japanese in bayonet combat.

They were now addicted to fighting the Japanese with bayonets.

Captain Ishide Kyohei saw that the Nationalist soldiers charging towards him were about the same number as his current subordinates.

He believed that this time, with a one-to-one troop ratio, he could definitely win.

He loudly ordered, "Charge! Charge forward!"

The Japanese soldiers who had just been guarding him as they fled suddenly seemed to have contracted weak legs, and their charging speed slowed down.

Captain Ishide Kyohei instantly saw that only twenty or so Japanese soldiers were still charging forward bravely.

Most of the Japanese soldiers were hesitant, and the original fleeing team had now split into several tiers, with the fewest at the front.

The most Japanese soldiers were around him. Captain Ishide Kyohei was anxious. He loudly ordered, "You! Charge! Charge immediately!"

After his order was issued, the Japanese soldiers around him still followed unhurriedly. One Japanese soldier even said with conviction, "Captain! We can't leave you. The battlefield is so dangerous, we must protect you."

These Japanese soldiers who had fled with him were all cowardly and afraid of fighting. They had fallen behind during the bayonet combat with the First Regiment, which was why they were able to escape in the first place.

If it weren't for this, Captain Ishide Kyohei would have thought that these Japanese soldiers were all loyal to him.

How could he not understand now that of the hundred or so Japanese soldiers who had run out with him, only the twenty or so who had charged forward were true warriors.

These Japanese soldiers who were still around him were all cowards and weaklings. Da Feng Novel Network.

Thinking that his entire battalion had been wiped out today, and now was the time to fight for their lives, but these subordinates were only concerned with pleasing him and not going to fight,

Captain Ishide Kyohei's saber was no longer pointing in the direction of the First and Second Companies.

He roared, "Charge! Charge!" But his saber slashed at the Japanese soldier who had just expressed his loyalty.

The Japanese soldier's head fell to the ground, the ingratiating smile on his face still lingering.

Captain Ishide Kyohei suddenly attacking the Japanese soldiers around him startled them all.

They scattered in all directions, some charging towards the First and Second Companies, and some even charging towards the hillsides on both sides of the highway. The Japanese soldiers were now like a hornet's nest that had been blown apart!

Captain Ishide Kyohei saw the Japanese soldiers around him scatter, and he could only continue to charge forward with a group of Japanese soldiers.

When Hou Tianci and Song Yongsi charged, they saw that there were over a hundred Japanese soldiers on the opposite side, but when they charged halfway, they discovered that only twenty or so Japanese soldiers had broken away from the ranks and charged up, while the rest of the Japanese soldiers were watching from behind.

This was a godsend!

The soldiers of the First and Second Companies had already gained experience today, and of course they wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity.

Everyone quickened their pace and charged towards the twenty or so Japanese soldiers, as if afraid that the Japanese soldiers on the opposite side would change their minds.

The two sides quickly collided. The First and Second Companies, with over a hundred men combined, immediately surrounded the twenty or so Japanese soldiers.

Like a swarm of silkworms pouncing on a mulberry leaf, wherever they went, the twenty or so Japanese soldiers all fell to the ground, like mulberry leaves that had been eaten, leaving only a pile of leaf stems.

At this time, Hou Tianci and Song Yongsi discovered that another twenty or so Japanese soldiers had charged up.

The remaining Japanese soldiers were either running back, or had already charged off the highway and were running around on the mountains, the Japanese soldiers were now like a hornet's nest that had been blown apart!

The two company commanders were overjoyed. They didn't rush, but just like before, the soldiers of the two companies swarmed towards the twenty or so Japanese soldiers. It was another scene of locusts crossing the border. Wherever they went, there was not a single living Japanese soldier left.

Captain Ishide Kyohei's rank insignia exposed his rank as a colonel, and he became the top priority target for the officers and soldiers of the First and Second Companies. At least ten soldiers charged up.

Stabbing this colonel to death and taking back his saber was something the regiment commander had said they would give as a gift to the division commander and army commander.

After stabbing the largest group of Japanese soldiers to death, Hou Tianci and Song Yongsi then ordered the soldiers to chase after the fleeing Japanese soldiers along the highway. As for those Japanese soldiers who had run off the highway, there was no need to pay attention to them anymore.

Li Tianhao, seeing another officer's sword being delivered, was overjoyed and ordered, "Go and carry back the body of that Japanese colonel. His body can be exchanged for money from the Japanese."

The First Regiment held its ground here until the morning of the next day, and no Japanese soldiers came to attack. This was because the commander of the Japanese Second Army Group, Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, had a new direction for his attack.

The Third Division had already attacked Gushi County, but this wasn't the most important thing. What was important was that the Japanese suddenly received a large amount of intelligence provided by Chinese traitors.

These traitors knew everything about places like Gushi, Huangchuan, Xinyang, Shangcheng, and Macheng. They offered advice to the Japanese, suggesting that they first take Gushi, and then attack Shangcheng.

It was this suggestion that led Commander Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni to decide that the Thirteenth Division should suspend its attack and rest.

Division Commander Tateki Hozumi was in a sorry state after being caught off guard by the sudden outbreak of the National Army. After receiving the order, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Having lost an entire infantry regiment, the commander didn't delve into the matter.

The training of the Special Brigade's Aviation Corps allowed the several regiments in Jiangbei to finally have some free time.

On this day, Zhang Shun's men finally transported the grain to Lizhuang and Xiezhuang.

The people in these two villages were finally relieved. They didn't have to go out begging for food this month before the autumn harvest.

Lin Fan strongly supported the establishment of three guerrilla teams in Zhangjiazhuang, Lizhuang, and Xiezhuang.

Jia Shusheng left a platoon of soldiers in these three villages, and distributed three hundred guns to each village, letting a platoon of soldiers train them.

This was one of the guerrilla teams that the Special Brigade began to establish after arriving in Jiangbei. Next, the Special Brigade would organize guerrilla teams in Shucheng, Tongcheng, Luxian, Qianshan, and even Wuhu.

Lin Fan wanted to establish a guerrilla team in every village in the base area and the enemy-occupied area.

So that in future operations, every step the Japanese army took would be under the watchful eyes of the guerrillas.

With these two days of respite, the Special Brigade in the Hefei area all rushed to their designated combat locations:

The First and Fourth Regiments were in Hefei, and the First Aviation Corps was at Hefei Airport. The Second and Sixth Regiments had arrived in Huoshan County, cutting off the roads from Huoshan to Luan, and from Huoshan to Tongcheng.

The Third and Thirteenth Regiments, after converging in Zhangjiazhuang, were expected to arrive in Luan today, completing the encirclement of Luan County.

The Tenth Regiment was in Qianshan, and had already set off towards Wuhu. They were closely monitoring the Japanese in Wuhu, preventing them from attacking Tongcheng and Luxian.

The Fourteenth Regiment was stationed in Tongcheng, and the Fifteenth Regiment had entered Shucheng. They were all kept as reserves in the rear.

Regiment Commander Tang Youwei led the five-thousand-man logistics team and had now arrived in Hefei. Lin Fan judged that the Japanese offensive against Hefei would be the most intense.

He had now decided to strike first. The Special Brigade had decided to take the initiative.

The two regiments and the logistics team in Hefei would move south and north, occupying Tianjia'an to the north along the railway, and Chaoxian to the south, preparing a strategic depth for the upcoming defense.

The task of the four regiments in the other two directions was to capture Huoshan and Luan, and then hold them firmly like nails, not allowing a single Japanese soldier to pass through here.

The rails that the First Regiment had dismantled when they first arrived in Hefei were now reinstalled exactly as they were. According to Lin Fan's order, the First Regiment would attack north along the railway line, occupy Tianjia'an, and then continue to capture Bengbu and hold it.

The Fourth Regiment would move south. The Fourth Regiment's task was relatively easy, only needing to occupy Chaohu and maintain pressure on Wuhu.

The five thousand men of the logistics team were in Hefei, ready to support the offensives in the north and south at any time. At the same time, they also had to mobilize the masses around Hefei to develop guerrilla teams.

Lin Fan knew in his heart that the War of Resistance was never just a matter for the army, it was a matter for the entire people to participate in. Only when these masses in the cities and countryside were developed would the day of victory in the War of Resistance arrive.

Lin Fan certainly knew the current situation. The National Army's operations were purely regular army operations. They disdained explaining the reasons to ordinary people.

This made their troops lack both respect and care for ordinary people.

They treated the people this way, and the people treated them the same way. This was why, despite both fighting guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, the National Army's guerrilla warfare could never get off the ground.

In any case, by September 2nd, the Special Brigade had launched simultaneous offensives against Luan, Huoshan, Chaohu, and Tianjia'an.

During these few days, Division Commander Keihosuke Fujioka of the Japanese Sixteenth Division, who had been worried all along, finally felt relieved after a brigade of the Tenth Division was stationed in Huoshan.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinohara, commander of the Japanese Tenth Division, stationed two brigades under his command in Luan and Huoshan respectively.

His division's artillery regiment was stationed in Luan, and the Sixteenth Division's artillery regiment, which was still intact, had been reinforced to the Tenth Division and was still stationed in Huoshan, cooperating with the Tenth Division.

Division Commander Yoshio Shinohara personally went to Huoshan to meet Division Commander Keihosuke Fujioka, and learned from him about the destruction of the Sixteenth Division.

Although he was very dismissive of the annihilation of the two infantry brigades of the Sixteenth Division, Division Commander Yoshio Shinohara still decided to learn from it.

After analysis by him and his staff, they believed that the Tenth Division's infantry was ambushed by the National Army's artillery while moving, and then mishandled, which led to them being completely annihilated by the National Army.

In order to effectively deal with the National Army's heavy artillery regiment, which was of unknown location, Division Commander Yoshio Shinohara decided that the troops would temporarily hold Huoshan and Luan, and send a large number of Japanese soldiers and traitors to the surrounding areas to scout out the National Army's situation.

What they lacked most under their command were traitors. Hundreds of traitors were eager to perform in front of the Japanese soldiers, but they couldn't find the opportunity.

Now that they had such an opportunity, of course they didn't want to miss it.

They set off from Luan and Huoshan one after another, scattering to the surrounding areas to inquire about intelligence.

At the same time, Division Commander Yoshio Shinohara also requested Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni: The main force of the National Army around Luan and Huoshan is currently unknown, so the Tenth Division will temporarily not attack in the direction of Hefei. After the main force of the National Army lurking around Luan and Huoshan is eliminated, Hefei will be recovered.

The Japanese Second Army Group had suffered heavy losses in Fujin Mountain, which had dampened their arrogance. If Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni had received such a request ten days ago, he would have immediately cursed and rejected it.

Now, he had put away his invincibility from the beginning of the war, and had become cautious. After thinking for an afternoon, he approved the Tenth Division Commander's request.

Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who already felt that he did not have enough troops, had to ask for help from Commander-in-Chief Uichi Terauchi of the North China Area Army.

Although the Japanese Second Army Group was now under the jurisdiction of the Central China Expeditionary Force, they were ultimately only temporarily transferred here for the Battle of Wuhan.

In the end, they would still return to the jurisdiction of the North China Area Army, so Commander-in-Chief Uichi Terauchi attached great importance to their request for help.

He immediately drew the Independent Mixed Third Brigade from the 114th Division of the First Army Group, and drew the Third Tank Division from the Twelfth Army, forming a special detachment to go to Hefei to assist the Tenth Division in capturing Hefei.

Regiment Commander Ye Dadan of the Sixth Regiment had been waiting in Huoshan for several days, and had long ago sent people to scout out the surrounding area of Huoshan. He also had a good grasp of the situation of the Japanese soldiers guarding Huoshan.

He didn't know until he inquired that this Tenth Division was actually the same team that had been defeated by the Special Brigade in Taierzhuang.

It's just that the current division commander had been changed from Isogu Renjie to Shinohara Yoshio.

The one guarding Huoshan was the Eighth Infantry Brigade of the Japanese army, and the brigade commander had not changed, it was still Major General Takehira Se.

It's just that the current Tenth Division had restored its original number of soldiers, and its morale had also recovered.

In the Battle of Xuzhou after Taierzhuang, the 63rd Regiment of the 33rd Infantry Brigade had defeated 40,000 Yunnan troops in one fell swoop in Yuwang Mountain, which made the Japanese soldiers of the entire Tenth Division feel that they had regained their former glory.

The 39th Regiment and the 40th Regiment, who were guarding Huoshan, had also sent a large number of traitors to the vicinity of the positions of the Sixth Regiment and the Second Regiment, and intentionally or unintentionally inquired about the situation of the Special Brigade by selling small commodities to the villagers.

Division Commander Shinohara Yoshio also learned from traitors in the high-level Wuhan that the team that caused such harm to the Japanese army was actually the same team from Taierzhuang.

He immediately went crazy: During the Taierzhuang Battle, the Special Brigade almost captured all the high-level officials of the North China Front Army alive, and also turned the entire Tenth Division into an empty shell.

Knowing the opponent, Division Commander Shinohara Yoshio was not afraid, but became even more excited.

He believed that this was a good time to avenge himself. He notified the information he had collected to the battalion commander level, ordering them to defeat and destroy the Special Brigade.

This was the best opportunity for the Tenth Division to cleanse its past shame.

On September 2nd, the Second and Sixth Regiments of the Special Brigade launched an offensive against the Japanese army from the directions of Houchong and Ranfang at the same time.

The Japanese army had set up defensive positions in Meishuling and Zhujiachong on the front.

Defending these two positions were the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Japanese 39th Regiment.

Battalion Commander Fujita Yoshio of the Japanese 3rd Battalion had some resistance when he took over the defense mission.

He believed that his team only needed to attack when facing the National Army, and keep attacking, without the need to defend at all.

When he learned that the team on the opposite side was the Special Brigade that had killed four battalion commanders of the 39th Regiment, he began to take it seriously.

During these days, they had captured ordinary people everywhere, forcing them to help the Japanese army build trenches.

Now Battalion Commander Fujita Yoshio was hiding in the headquarters, feeling the sound of artillery shells exploding outside.

He finally truly experienced what the Japanese soldiers of the 16th Infantry Division had said: The National Army has heavy artillery, and the bombing comes quickly and fiercely!

The attack on Meishuling was by Liu Laopao's Second Regiment, and he was now commanding the rocket launcher company of his regiment to bombard the Japanese positions on the front.

Meishuling was a string of mountain peaks, and the main attack direction of the Second Regiment was the Meishuling in the middle.

The Second Regiment had already contacted the Second Aviation Battalion, and they would use rockets to bombard first, and then the ground attack aircraft would come here to assist in the attack.

A few days ago, the Second Aviation Battalion cooperated with the National Army to fight the defensive counterattack in Fujin Mountain, and finally received a personal commendation from Chiang Kai-shek. However, it was still only a telegram commendation, without promotion, salary increase, or increase in personnel.

It was just a piece of commendation order.

In fact, the Second Aviation Battalion was not in the National Army's sequence at all, and was still considered a black household, not recognized by the National Army.

Privately, Chiang Kai-shek had issued an order to Dai Li: Send excellent agents to work with the aircraft manufacturing designers and soldiers in the aviation team of the Special Brigade.

Let them come to work for the National Army. For talents like them, the National Army was willing to offer high salaries.

For pilots who could drive the Special Brigade's aircraft to join the National Army, a reward of a thousand taels of gold could be given.

At the same time, he also talked to Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth War Zone: He hoped that he could talk to Lin Fan and sell the ground attack aircraft produced by the Special Brigade to the National Army!

At this time, Lin Fan was still concentrating on planning to complete the plan to encircle the Japanese Second Army.

September 2nd was the day when the various teams of the Special Brigade in Jiangbei acted at the same time.

For the attack on the Meishuling line of defense, the Second Regiment simultaneously arranged for five companies to charge against the five positions of the Japanese army.

The First Company was responsible for attacking the main peak!