Chapter 1 The Desperate Telegrams

The four Japanese commanders, who had fled back to headquarters in a sorry state, hadn't even caught their breath when Commander Saburo Yamato ordered a telegram to be sent to the North China Front Army: "Request urgent airdrop of medicine."

When he had patted his chest in the wounded soldiers' camp, guaranteeing that medicine would arrive tonight or tomorrow morning, he had been thinking of requesting the North China Front Army to airdrop the needed supplies.

The Japanese officers at the North China Front Army headquarters, who were still discussing how to strengthen the defense of Xuzhou, were taken aback when they saw the telegram requesting an airdrop of medicine.

Commander Terasaki Shouichi suddenly remembered that he had dispatched two air wings to support the Manda Yuto Brigade that afternoon. Why hadn't there been any mention of it in their return telegrams?

He immediately ordered, "Ask Commander Tenkai Keigo at Jinan Airport what the status is of the two air wings' mission to Xuzhou."

Their communication with Jinan Airport was smooth, and the call quickly went through. Commander Terasaki Shouichi inquired personally.

He was shocked to hear Tenkai Keigo report: "It has been five hours since the two air wings departed, and not a single plane has returned. We have also received no reports from any source regarding the two air wings."

In times like these, no news was the worst news. The air wings had been gone for five hours. Even if they hadn't been shot down, they would have run out of fuel and crashed or made an emergency landing.

Hearing that another seventy-two planes had been lost in the Xuzhou area, adding to the dozens lost the previous night and the thirty-six lost in the preceding days, Commander Terasaki Shouichi immediately felt a chill. In just half a month, more planes had crashed in the Xuzhou direction than had been lost during the entire Battle of Wuhan.

Looking again at the request for an airdrop of medicine from Commander Saburo Yamato, the fire of anger in Commander Terasaki Shouichi's heart rose another three thousand zhang.

This Saburo Yamato had always been obedient to him when he was a staff officer at headquarters, a good hand at riding horses and playing ball with him. He had always been agreeable when opinions were given on operational plans. How had he become so useless the moment he was sent out to lead a team on his own?

He thought of how Saburo Yamato's discussions during their usual horseback riding and ball games had shown him to be a Japanese officer with great strategic vision! How had he suddenly changed? Could he be another armchair strategist?

Regardless, all the self-criticism that Commander Terasaki Shouichi was doing was now useless. He still had to respond to the Xuzhou Task Force's request. "Planes will be dispatched for an airdrop tomorrow morning," he said.

Whether there would be an airdrop or not, a telegram to stabilize morale had to be sent. Commander Terasaki Shouichi ordered, "Send a telegram to General Yuan, stationed in Xuzhou, ordering him to strengthen the city's defenses and prevent an attack by the Lunan Detachment."

He really didn't want to tell the puppet troops that the 17th Independent Infantry Brigade had been completely annihilated; it was too embarrassing.

However, in the current situation, they still needed the 37th Puppet Army stationed in Xuzhou to maintain order. It would be extremely detrimental to the current situation if they weren't told the truth.

Commander Terasaki Shouichi was silent for a moment before continuing, "Tell them that the 17th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade has been completely annihilated and to prepare for independent defense of Xuzhou."

After saying this, Commander Terasaki Shouichi slumped back into his seat, as if the sentence had exhausted all his strength.

But the matter was not over. The current predicament in Xuzhou had not changed in the slightest. How could they extract a force to send to Xuzhou?

This time, the staff officers at the North China Front Army headquarters tacitly used "stationed in Xuzhou" to precisely express their attitude: Sending reinforcements was for defense, not to relieve the Xuzhou Task Force at Tashan Town.

Even so, they still couldn't find a force that could get to Xuzhou the fastest. Commander Terasaki Shouichi finally had to make a difficult decision: to once again extract two mixed independent infantry brigades, which were maintaining order, to send to Xuzhou.

He understood that if the entire North China Front Army scraped together two mixed independent infantry brigades to send to Xuzhou, their forces in the entire North China region would be even more stretched, and many county towns would have to be evacuated.

But what could he do? Xuzhou was too important; he couldn't give it up, no matter what.

Xuzhou! The entire North China Front Army headquarters was racking its brains over this place.

General Ruan Lesheng, upon receiving the telegram that he was to be fully responsible for the defense of Xuzhou, was both happy and worried. The happy part was, of course, the Japanese army's recognition of his importance. Being fully responsible for the defense of Xuzhou meant that the entire city was under his jurisdiction.

Making money would be much easier. Ruan Lesheng was very clear that there was no future in following the Japanese, so he had been working hard to make money.

He had already resorted to any means to make money: deducting from the puppet troops' salaries, intercepting their living expenses, and skimming from their equipment.

It wasn't that he was putting all his money-making methods on these puppet troops. It was simply a case of living off the land. He was backed by the 37th Puppet Army, so of course he would exploit them.

But from now on, things would be different. Ruan Lesheng could make money from the entire city of Xuzhou. This was great news.

Ruan Lesheng's worry was: what if the Lunan Detachment immediately launched an attack on Xuzhou? Should he resist or not?

These puppet troops had always had only one principle: if you can't beat them, join them!

They had joined the Japanese when they couldn't beat them before, and they didn't feel ashamed at all. Now, if they couldn't beat the Lunan Detachment, joining them wouldn't be shameful either. The weak submitting to the strong—there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Ruan Lesheng even thought that if the Japanese army ever came back, it wouldn't be a big deal for him to rejoin with the same men.

Everyone cursed those who served three masters, saying they had no loyalty, no courage, and no integrity. But could those things keep him alive?

Thinking of this, Ruan Lesheng's horizons suddenly broadened: As long as I control this force and stay alive, I won't care about anything else. I'll just focus on making money.

Whoever attacks me, I'll join them! Only after completing the Xuzhou defense plan did he convene a meeting of puppet troops with the rank of regimental commander and above.

At the meeting, Ruan Lesheng took out the telegram from the North China Front Army headquarters and circulated it among the puppet troop commanders.

Their expressions were similar to his when he had first seen the telegram: a mixture of joy and worry.

Clearly, these people had already thought of many things. Ruan Lesheng waited until everyone had finished reading the telegram before saying, "Everyone, let's talk about what we should do next."

Regimental Commander Xie was the first to speak: "In the current situation, the first thing we need to do is to levy another bandit suppression donation throughout the city.

The purpose of collecting this money is to deal with the Lunan Detachment. We must make it clear to the people of the city that we must fight the Lunan Detachment. There's no choice."

Ruan Lesheng's eyes lit up the moment he heard the words "bandit suppression donation."

For the first time, he found Regimental Commander Xie so pleasing to the eye. "I never realized he had such wisdom!"

Ruan Lesheng secretly blamed himself for missing out on such talent in the past. After listening to Regimental Commander Xie's words, he said, "Regimental Commander Xie's suggestion is excellent. Let me add one thing: the bandit suppression donation must be donated. There's no choice!

Regimental Commander Xie, please trouble your brothers to work hard on this matter. You must do this good deed well.

Make sure that not a single household is missed, not a single person is missed, only the dead are left, and no corner is left untouched!"

"Yes!" When Regimental Commander Xie heard that he was responsible for collecting donations in the city, his face immediately flushed red, and he stood up and accepted the task in a loud voice.

"Everyone, continue to speak!" Ruan Lesheng said cheerfully to his commanders.

Regimental Commander Zhuo looked disdainfully at Regimental Commander Xie, who was taking the opportunity to make money. At the same time, he understood that making money was completely in line with Ruan Lesheng's preferences.

He stood up and said, "The Lunan Detachment, with tens of thousands of soldiers, is at Tashan Town, only sixty li from Xuzhou.

If they come to attack Xuzhou, I'm afraid we won't even have collected the donations before they break into the city.

I think the most important thing now is to strengthen the outer defenses of Xuzhou, build more bunkers and trenches, station troops, and send out reconnaissance teams to gather intelligence in the direction of Tashan Town."

When Ruan Lesheng heard Regimental Commander Zhuo's words, he also slammed the table. "Well said! That's how we should defend Xuzhou! Lao Zhuo, the defense of the north of Xuzhou city will be entrusted to you.

Sending troops to Tashan Town for reconnaissance should be done as soon as possible. You should arrange for people to go out and gather intelligence immediately.

Sitting in Xuzhou city, we're completely in the dark about the current situation. We don't know what's happening outside."

Now, all the regimental commanders understood: whoever proposes it, does it! Who would dare suggest defense?

The puppet army's organization was modeled after the Japanese army's: one army, two divisions, four brigades, and eight regiments. The entire 37th Puppet Army had sent two infantry regiments half a month ago to rescue the Fukagawa Daishi Battalion trapped on Huangtu Ridge. As a result, just like the Japanese they had sent out, not a single one returned.

Those two regiments had not been replenished to this day. The entire 37th Puppet Army now had only six regiments. The remaining four regimental commanders, four brigade commanders, and two division commanders were all racking their brains to think of more ways to make money.

Division Commander Wen suddenly slapped his forehead with joy and said, "Reporting, Military Governor! It's the autumn harvest season now. We can organize the brothers to go outside the city to collect this year's taxes."

Many people had actually thought of this method, but combined with Ruan Lesheng's method of assigning tasks just now: whoever proposes it, is responsible for it!

Going outside the city to collect rent was certainly a lucrative job, but the Lunan Detachment was also outside the city! Who knew when they might run into them?

Wouldn't that be life-threatening? It's better to have no money to earn than no life to spend! That's why no one was willing to bring it up at the meeting.

Now that Division Commander Wen had brought it up, Ruan Lesheng was naturally happy. "Division Commander Wen is still standing tall and has a broad perspective.

The landlords and gentry outside the city have just collected their land rent and are flush with money.

Going out of the city to collect rent, we can't leave out the bandit suppression donation. Division Commander Wen proposed this matter, so he must have specific measures for it.

Let Division Commander Wen take the lead, sit in Xuzhou, and send his brothers to work hard and move around outside the city."

Division Commander Wen had thought that he would have to personally lead people out of the city to collect rent. Hearing that he could stay in the city, remotely command, and only send his men to do the work, joy immediately rose from the bottom of his heart.

He stood up suddenly and said, "Military Governor, rest assured, Lao Wen will do everything he can to collect the money and ensure that not a single cent is lost."

This was the attitude that Ruan Lesheng liked to see the most. He smiled and said, "Good! Good! That's how it should be. Only in this way can our troops be more combat-effective."

Brigade Commander Qiao's two regiments had all been annihilated by the Lunan Detachment in the preceding days. His position was already precarious. Today was originally the time when he should have shown some initiative.

But until now, he hadn't come up with a good idea. He didn't need to think about defending the city. Ruan Lesheng wanted ways to make money.

But Brigade Commander Qiao couldn't think of a way to make money for a while. He was anxious.

Just then, he suddenly thought that there should still be some things left in the camps in Xuzhou left by the 10th and 17th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigades.

He excitedly stood up and reported: "Military Governor! There should still be a lot of supplies in the camps in Xuzhou of the Japanese Independent Mixed Infantry Brigades.

Now that the situation outside Xuzhou is urgent, we can take over these supplies for use, and I don't think the higher-ups will object."

Ruan Lesheng slammed the table and stood up. "Good idea! Good method! The warehouses of the two mixed independent infantry brigades must have a lot of supplies.

The Xuzhou Task Force also left a lot of supplies at the railway station. This matter will be presided over by Brigade Commander Qiao.

Brigade Commander Qiao! Are your brothers sufficient? Do you need me to send some people to assist you in completing the work?"

"Military Governor! The brigade headquarters and the directly subordinate company are fully capable of completing these tasks."

"Good! Good! Raise the problem, solve the problem, very good!" Ruan Lesheng smiled so widely that his mouth was almost stretched to the back of his ears.

This meeting was a success, a meeting where the entire 37th Puppet Army created revenue. As for how to defend Xuzhou, except for Regimental Commander Zhuo being sent out to build bunkers, there were no adjustments made to the original defense area.

Ruan Lesheng didn't even think about defending Xuzhou. He knew very well that he couldn't defend it, so he didn't bother to think about it.

He focused on finding ways to make money, but he didn't suppress those regimental commanders who took the initiative to defend Xuzhou. He supported you in whatever you wanted to do, because defending the city was also a proper thing to do.

After the meeting, everyone in the 37th Puppet Army was happy, each getting what they needed.

Brigade Commander Qiao was, of course, the first to see results from the methods he had proposed. It was already dark, and the suggestions made by others could not be implemented for the time being.

But he was different. Even if it was dark, he could still take over the camps. He just needed to take his troops to take over the camps of the two Japanese brigades and directly move the things.

As for the things still at the station that belonged to the Xuzhou Task Force, he would also be able to dispose of them for the time being.

Brigade Commander Qiao understood Ruan Lesheng. He didn't stupidly bring back the supplies he found.

Instead, he directly found merchants on the spot and asked them to bid for the things. He sold all the tables, chairs, canned goods, dry food, and bedding left in the camps of the two brigades.

Doing this kind of business at night was most suitable. The merchants also liked it. There were no Japanese soldiers in Xuzhou city tonight.

During the day, these sensitive merchants had already sensed something unusual. There were no Japanese soldiers in the entire city.

Only puppet troops were moving around. To their surprise, there were such good things happening at night. They did business with the puppet troops, paying cash on delivery.

Money came, goods were moved. Both sides were straightforward people. Some merchants even dared to ask Brigade Commander Qiao if he had any weapons for sale.

It wasn't that there weren't any, but Brigade Commander Qiao hadn't received any news from Ruan Lesheng that they could be sold yet.

He only told the merchant who inquired to come back for news later. In fact, for the puppet troops, now was the right time to sell weapons.

Anyway, the Lunan Detachment was active outside the city. They only needed to report the battle losses to the North China Front Army to squeeze out a lot of weapons for sale.

Brigade Commander Qiao had already thought of his next way to make money, but now he still needed to send the gold he had exchanged to Ruan Lesheng to make this matter perfect.

Among the merchants who came to buy supplies, Shopkeeper Bai, who owned a pawnshop, offered the highest price for the supplies sold by Brigade Commander Qiao and was very generous.

This, of course, made Brigade Commander Qiao very fond of him. After dealing with the things in the camps of the 10th and 17th Brigades, it was already midnight.

He decided to continue with the supplies at the railway station tomorrow. Shopkeeper Bai specially invited Brigade Commander Qiao to have a drink outside.

He only said that he wanted Brigade Commander Qiao to let him choose the things at the station in advance tomorrow.

This, of course, had a price. The big gold bar that was pushed over on the table immediately made Brigade Commander Qiao agree.

The two immediately became confidants who could talk about anything. In the midst of the drinking, Brigade Commander Qiao told all his grievances for the past half month: "Two infantry regiments were drawn from my brigade, and none of them came back.

I suddenly became a lone wolf. No one under me had any influence, and no one listened to me when I spoke.

Fortunately, the Japanese Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade was also completely annihilated outside Xuzhou city today. An idea struck me, and I proposed to dispose of all the legacy they left behind.

That's how I got this opportunity. Brother, do you know? The supplies at the station were only recently transported by the Xuzhou Task Force.

They must all be the best and newest things, all good stuff! But the Xuzhou Task Force won't be able to hold out for a few days in Tashan Town. That's why I dared to dispose of their things together."

The two had gone from being business partners to brothers. Brigade Commander Qiao returned drunk. When Shopkeeper Bai heard the news that Brigade Commander Qiao had mentioned, he immediately sent the information to Wuhan.

Because it was midnight, his telegram was not considered particularly urgent military intelligence and was being passed on normally.

After a night of rest, the six regiments led by Commander Gu Xiuming were all fully rejuvenated. The 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th Regiments had followed him in fighting a battle at the Xuzhou Airport overnight, then marched urgently to Tashan Town to participate in a wave of sniping at the Xuzhou Task Force, and then marched another twenty li to snipe at the Japanese 17th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade. All these battles were fought within twenty-four hours.

The soldiers had indeed worked hard yesterday. Last night, Commander Gu specially arranged for the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Juxian Security Forces to take on the duty of guarding the entire camp after cleaning up the battlefield.

At six o'clock in the morning, all six regiments rose on time and began regular daily training.

In the meantime, Commander Gu requested to Commander Lin Fan that the regiments here also participate in the operation to encircle and annihilate the Xuzhou Task Force.

Commander Lin Fan had no reason to reject Commander Gu's request. According to the Lunan Detachment's training, the soldiers were able to continue fighting after a good night's sleep.

Commander Gu Xiuming announced the new mission of participating in the encirclement and suppression of the Japanese in Tashan Town after half an hour of bayonet training for the six regiments.

Tens of thousands of soldiers cheered. Their morning exercises had just warmed them up, and now was a good time to have a ten-kilometer cross-country run, so they could train and go to the battlefield.

That's what Commander Gu Xiuming thought too! Training and fighting should go hand in hand.

The soldiers of the six regiments were all fired up at this time. Hearing the commander's order, they all ran towards Tashan Town. Da Feng Novel Network

The team marched in neat steps, shouting slogans that shook the sky, and ran towards Tashan Town with high spirits.

Commander Gu Xiuming led the six regiments, running and shouting slogans, entering the area from afar. The Japanese in Tashan Town saw the smoke and dust covering the sun on the road to the south, and still had some wishful thinking.

They hoped that reinforcements might be coming from the sky, but of course no miracle would happen.

It made Commander Shan Chengfu of the 4th Regiment a little dissatisfied. He greeted Commander Gu Xiuming and complained, "Commander Gu! You've already raided the airport at night and annihilated a Japanese infantry brigade.

Now you're running over to rob us of meat. If you do this, the southern side of my regiment's defense will have to give way."

Commander Gu said with a smile, "Good old Shan Si, yesterday you completely annihilated two Japanese battalions here, completely defeated a Japanese brigade, and annihilated several thousand Japanese soldiers.

You've already had your fill of meat after watching this good position for a day temporarily. Why do you want to stay and not leave?"

In fact, Lin Fan hadn't yet arranged where to place the six regiments that Gu Xiuming had brought back.

The reinforcements from the direction of Xuzhou had been completely annihilated, and the Xuzhou Task Force that was being surrounded no longer had the idea of breaking through towards Xuzhou at all costs, as they had yesterday.

Now, the desire to fight was very high among all the regiments, and Lin Fan couldn't suppress such enthusiasm. Just like Shan Chengfu's 4th Regiment, which had fought well on the southern side yesterday.

It really wasn't a good idea to move them at this time! Lin Fan met with Gu Xiuming first, and after discussing, they reached a happy consensus: the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th Regiments would be strengthened in the four directions surrounding Tashan Town. The 7th and 8th Regiments would join the directions defended by the 3rd and 4th Regiments, and the 1st and 2nd Regiments would join the directions defended by the 5th and 11th Regiments.

The arrangement of the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Jushan Security Forces was much easier. They would fight with the 1st and 2nd Regiments, respectively.

At seven o'clock in the morning, when the Lunan Detachment saw the Japanese in Tashan Town starting to move around stealthily, they immediately launched a wave of artillery bombardment.

The artillery bombardment didn't last long, only about ten minutes. At eight o'clock, the ground attack aircraft of the Lunan Detachment's air wing came again.

This time, they came specifically to cooperate with the ground forces to completely annihilate the Xuzhou Task Force. The Japanese, who had been bombarded by the Lunan Detachment's artillery in the morning, were now being strafed by planes again.

They had already been subjected to such attacks twice yesterday, and now these planes were coming again, with the same familiar sound, and even the smell of gunpowder in the air was the same as yesterday.

The difference was that the Lunan Detachment surrounding the Japanese outside Tashan Town was shrinking the encirclement.

In fact, the Lunan Detachment wasn't shrinking the encirclement, but was directly attacking. With air cover in the sky, all sixty infantry regiments of the Lunan Detachment on the ground were advancing.

Suzuki Goro, commander of the 3rd Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade, was stunned when he saw the Lunan Detachment soldiers charging at him from the front.

It was said that the Lunan Detachment had a total of 20,000 men, but at this time, there were already more than 10,000 soldiers charging on the front line.

Thinking about the four directions of Tashan Town, Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro immediately felt his head explode. "We've been fooled!"

"We've been fooled!" Commander Saburo Yamato was listening to the reports from the various brigades on the periphery.

After a little calculation, he had already concluded that there were at least 80,000 soldiers in the Lunan Detachment surrounding Tashan Town.

Getting this number made him feel a little relieved and a little sad. The relief was that it wasn't unfair for his Xuzhou Task Force, which consisted of 50,000 Japanese soldiers, to be defeated by the Lunan Detachment, which had 80,000 soldiers.

The sadness was that today was the day the Xuzhou Task Force would die. He no longer had any thoughts of escaping.

The North China Front Army headquarters had forwarded Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's last telegram last night.

It was only when he read that telegram that he understood that the 17th Independent Mixed Infantry Brigade had really been surrounded and completely annihilated by the Lunan Detachment.

At that time, he was still wondering how the Lunan Detachment had completed such a feat with only 20,000 men.

Now he understood: the Lunan Detachment wasn't 20,000 men at all. They were 80,000 or even 100,000, or even more.

Unexpectedly, he had seen Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's last telegram last night, and today it was his turn to send a last telegram.

Thinking of this, Commander Saburo Yamato ordered, "Send a telegram to Commander Terasaki Shouichi: The Xuzhou Task Force is trapped in Tashan Town, and the Lunan Detachment is attacking with all its might today.

There are planes strafing from the air, and 80,000 Lunan Detachment soldiers charging on the ground. The Xuzhou Task Force is unable to break through and has decided to fight the Lunan Detachment to the death.

I am determined to live and die with the entire task force and will not fail to live up to the commander's kindness in promoting me."

When the telegram reached Commander Terasaki Shouichi's hands, he was not at all surprised by the complete annihilation of the Xuzhou Task Force.

He was only very shocked by the number 80,000. Commander Terasaki Shouichi couldn't understand why Wang Jinwei would deceive him.

As for what Saburo Yamato had said about not failing to live up to his promotion, what Terasaki Shouichi regretted most now was appointing him as the commander of the Xuzhou Task Force.

That last sentence was the deepest cut to Commander Terasaki Shouichi. There was no need to mention the airdrop of medicine that he had talked about last night.

It was now imperative to send Japanese troops to Xuzhou for reinforcements, which was the most pressing issue he needed to resolve.

Also, the 80,000 Lunan Detachment soldiers was already the strength of an army group. No wonder they were able to annihilate the Japanese troops that had been sent there time and time again.

Commander Terasaki Shouichi's heart was bleeding. "If I had known that the Lunan Detachment had so many troops, I would never have let Sora Toshiro go on a raid, nor would I have let him go to support Tian Jia'an. The Xuzhou Task Force wouldn't have been sent out of Xuzhou city, but would have been directly stationed in Xuzhou city to defend."

While Commander Terasaki Shouichi was reviewing the final telegram sent by Saburo Yamato, the Nationalist Army headquarters in Wuhan was also looking at an intelligence report.

This intelligence report was sent by Shopkeeper Bai. When Dai Li saw this telegram, he finally understood the intention of the telegram that Lin Fan had intentionally sent out in cooperation:

Lin Fan was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger! He had intentionally underreported the number of soldiers in the Lunan Detachment to lure the Japanese into thinking that the Lunan Detachment was short of troops.

He lured the Japanese troops in Xuzhou city out of the city and annihilated them outside the city.

"Is this what they usually call mobile warfare?" Chang Qishen was looking at the staff's review of the battle outside Xuzhou city.

Annihilating a Japanese independent mixed infantry brigade in one day could be called a campaign no matter what.

"Mobilizing the enemy, letting the Japanese come out of their solid fortresses, and annihilating them in the wilderness.

Good plan, good method, good Lin Fan!" Li Zongren said repeatedly in the 5th War Zone headquarters.

At this moment, he received a telegram from the headquarters: "Order Lin Fan to occupy Xuzhou! He must complete this task.

The war in Wuhan is urgent. If we can recapture a large city from the Japanese at this time, it will be a huge morale boost to the soldiers and civilians of the entire country.

It can also prove to the whole world that we are capable of winning and that victory will be ours!"

Chang Qishen knew very well that Li Zongren had recognized Lin Fan's talent. The Lunan Detachment didn't even count as an auxiliary unit, and he didn't want to continue to increase Lin Fan's strength.

In this situation, if he wanted Lin Fan to listen, he could only let Li Zongren issue an order in the name of the 5th War Zone.

Lin Fan was commanding his troops and was attacking Tashan Town when he received a telegram from the 5th War Zone.

It stated that only the 37th Puppet Army was stationed in Xuzhou city now, and that this force had no will to fight at all.

The telegram finally ordered the Lunan Detachment to occupy Xuzhou!

Lin Fan attached great importance to the contents of this telegram. He had no objection to occupying Xuzhou.

In fact, in this situation, it was very advantageous for the Lunan Detachment to occupy Xuzhou. Xuzhou was originally a transportation hub.

After the Lunan Detachment occupied Xuzhou, it would definitely advance north along the railway line all the way to Jinan.

To the south, it could advance all the way to the Yangtze River, and the Lunan base area and the Jiangbei base area would be connected into one piece.

Such a situation would certainly give great encouragement to the soldiers and civilians who were determined to resist the war.

Lin Fan put away the telegram and replied with one word: "Okay!"

Receiving this one-word telegram, Li Zongren was finally relieved. In fact, he really felt a little sorry for Lin Fan.

He had only given him a verbal appointment, but he had made him risk his life, and he didn't give him any support.

But he had no other choice now. The other troops in the 5th War Zone wanted some supplies and a position.

As long as he reported it, they could all be satisfied. Only the Special Forces, any application about them would not be approved.

In fact, Lin Fan didn't care about these things. In fact, Lin Fan was still a little happy that the National Army treated him like this. At least this way, he didn't have to feel like he owed the National Army anything.

Captain Dongyang Hua led twenty ground attack planes and strafed non-stop from south to north and from north to south.

In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese trapped in Tashan Town was not comparable to that of the Manda Yuto Brigade.

The only Independent Mixed Infantry 4th Brigade that could fight here had long abandoned its heavy weapons.

A team without heavy weapons had no power to fight back against the Lunan Detachment, which was armed to the teeth.

The other infantry brigade was directly adapted from the logistics soldiers and had not formed any combat effectiveness at all.

As for the cavalry brigade, could a cavalry brigade without warhorses still be called cavalry?

A cavalry brigade without warhorses was not even as good as infantry.

Such a team was now facing the charge led by the 1st and 11th Regiments, and behind these two regiments, there were also soldiers from ten security regiments following the charge.

Commander Hyakutai Soobumi of the cavalry brigade had always been very careful, but at this time, no matter how careful he was, he could not cope with such a scene.

Fukuju Daijiro, commander of the logistics team, was staring at the charging 2nd Regiment, watching the pushcarts that could block bullets in the front, and there was nothing he could do.

Its team was professional if it was herding cattle and driving horses, but fighting was completely forced on them, and they were forced to come up.

What else could Fukuju Daijiro do when facing tens of thousands of charging soldiers at this time?

He could only order all the Japanese to hold on and not run away. Even if these Japanese did not run away, they stayed in the trenches, watching the soldiers of the Lunan Detachment charging closer and closer.

At this time, some Japanese could not help it, threw away their guns and ran. Captain Fukuju Daijiro took out his pistol and aimed at the Japanese who were running away.

In the end, he did not fire. He took back the muzzle and pointed it at his own head and fired.

The commander committed suicide on the battlefield! The Japanese on this defense line threw away their weapons one after another, climbed out of the trenches, and ran quickly towards Tashan Town.

It was not just one defense line outside Tashan Town that collapsed.

All the defense lines outside Tashan Town that Commander Saburo Yamato had deployed collapsed at this time, and there was no team that did not resist desperately.

Like the Matsutake Fumio Company of the Independent Infantry 4th Brigade, led by Brigade Commander Saito Oo, who personally commanded the battle on the front line.

They deployed the strength of three battalions on the east side of Tashan, and Brigade Commander Saito Oo and Company Commander Matsutake Fumio personally guarded the front line, and the three battalion commanders were also commanding the battle on the front line.

Their resistance was the most intense, but these Japanese soldiers had planes strafing them back and forth, and the pushcarts in front of the charging team on the ground could block bullets.

It just so happened that the Japanese soldiers did not have a way to deal with those pushcarts, which made the Japanese soldiers in the three battalions feel embarrassed:

They guarded the position, braving the strafing of the machine guns on their heads, and the machine guns of the attacking team in front of them, but they could not hit the attacking team.

Brigade Commander Saito Oo could only put his hope on close combat.

He knew that as long as the bayonet fight started, the strafing of the planes above would have no effect at all.

At this time, they only needed to face the fight after the battle. Brigade Commander Saito Oo was confident in the bayonet skills of his Japanese soldiers.

He believed that his Japanese soldiers, who had undergone formal training, would definitely let the Lunan Detachment soldiers who charged up know what a real team was.

It was just that every strafing of the planes above could take away the lives of some of his Japanese soldiers, which was what made him most heartbroken.

The number of soldiers in the Lunan Detachment charging up was already more than the number of soldiers in the entire Infantry 4th Brigade, and now they had to withstand the strafing of the planes, and the number of Japanese soldiers was decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

If the strafing of the planes above was not too fierce, if the strafing of the heavy machine guns on the pushcarts of the charging infantry in front of them was not too fierce.

Brigade Commander Saito Oo had already ordered the entire company to charge here, but the distance to the charging infantry was still one hundred meters, and they could not launch a charge for the time being.

Brigade Commander Saito Oo was still waiting. This time, the 3rd Regiment led by Commander Yama Kachan and the 7th Regiment of Matsukoku An were attacking together.

Their opponent was this defense line guarded by Brigade Commander Saito Oo, and the distance to the Japanese defense line was only one hundred meters.

The sharpshooter squad of the 3rd Regiment was also in position, and those Japanese soldiers on the front line who were holding pistols and command swords were their targets.

Yang Yong was the first to discover a Japanese soldier holding a command