The puppet troops who had set out from Xuzhou City waited until the red glow reflected by the clouds in the sky above the airport had faded completely before sheathing their weapons.

They no longer fired into the dark night sky, as if the nonexistent enemies in the darkness had retreated.

The entire infantry regiment of puppet troops began marching towards Xuzhou Airport, this time with earnestness and without wasting any time.

By the time these puppet troops reached the airport, the fire in the oil depot was still burning. Although the towering flames dozens of meters high were gone, there were still raging fires several meters high.

It was thanks to this massive fire that the entire Xuzhou Airport was illuminated, allowing them to clearly see the current situation.

Right at the entrance of the airport, they could see corpses scattered all over the ground. Inside the airport, which had been so badly damaged that not a single complete wall could be found, there were even more Japanese corpses.

If it weren't for the outline of the runway, Regiment Commander Xie wouldn't have recognized it as Xuzhou Airport.

Several wrecked aircraft were parked on the runway, suggesting that the Japanese at the airport had struggled during the attack, though their struggles were futile.

The planes on the runway had clearly been burned by the fire, now only skeletal remains. The fire had completely died out.

More aircraft were on the apron, but they were in even worse shape than the planes on the runway. Many had not been burned, but they had been destroyed even more thoroughly.

Regiment Commander Xie even doubted whether there were any usable parts left on these planes.

After roughly surveying the entire airport, Regiment Commander Xie was certain that the force that attacked the airport had completely withdrawn.

Only then did he order the puppet troops to search for survivors and begin looking for the Japanese commanders among the corpses.

The corpses of ordinary Japanese soldiers didn't need to be distinguished so carefully. They would all be burned anyway, and a random handful of ashes could be put into a pottery jar and sent back to their families. No one would be able to tell what kind of ashes were inside.

But the Japanese were very concerned about the bodies of commanders, especially senior officers. These had to be found. Regiment Commander Xie's order was to find the commanders first.

The puppet troops quickly found Commander Awaya Masaya in the pile of corpses, as well as several company and platoon leaders from the airport.

This time, the Lunan Detachment only took away weapons and ammunition when they cleared the battlefield, so it was very easy for the puppet troops to find the bodies of the Japanese officers.

They could easily identify them by the clothes they were wearing. Regiment Commander Xie looked at the collected Japanese corpses.

He couldn't help but gasp. His puppet troops had been busy here for half an hour, and they hadn't found a single living Japanese soldier.

In previous battles, there would always be one or two who slipped through the net. Even if some Japanese soldiers died on the battlefield, it was possible to find two who could be revived when clearing the battlefield afterward.

The human body has an emergency mechanism. Sometimes people who are stunned by artillery shells on the battlefield are protected by this mechanism and slowly wake up later.

But today, Regiment Commander Xie and the puppet troops of the entire regiment believed that such a thing would not happen at Xuzhou Airport.

Because every Japanese corpse they saw in the entire airport had a bloody hole in its throat.

"What kind of force is this? So ruthless?" Every puppet soldier wondered.

They absolutely did not want to fight against such a force. It was a joke! In a battlefield like this, pretending to be dead would turn into real death. Who would want to go to the battlefield?

"Could it be that all the Japanese at the entire airport are dead? Not a single one survived? Not a single Japanese soldier escaped?" Regiment Commander Xie really wanted to find a living Japanese soldier now.

He had many questions he wanted to ask: What kind of force had come? He wanted to know so that he could slip away earlier next time he encountered them.

It is very difficult to achieve a complete annihilation in the literal sense on the battlefield. After all, the situation on the battlefield is complex, and achieving a "not one left" scenario is basically just an idea.

But today's scene seemed to be truly "not one left"!

Regiment Commander Xie couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had played a little trick after leaving the city: he had his guards pretend to discover guerrillas hiding in the darkness.

The entire regiment fought against the air in the dark night for several hours, perfectly avoiding encountering the force that attacked the airport.

They completely preserved the lives of the entire regiment of puppet troops and perfectly completed the military commander's task of being safe, of ensuring safety.

Otherwise, if they had rashly barged into the airport, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Regiment Commander Xie didn't believe that the combat power of his puppet soldiers could be stronger than that of the Japanese soldiers at Xuzhou Airport.

Commander Awaya Masaya was known for his harsh training of his Japanese soldiers, and even those rigorously trained Japanese soldiers were now all dead.

His regiment of puppet troops might not be good at fighting, but they were very efficient at collecting corpses and connecting telephone lines.

As soon as the telephone line was repaired, Regiment Commander Xie immediately reported to Ruan Lesheng: "My regiment was attacked by guerrillas as soon as it left Xuzhou City.

The entire regiment of officers and soldiers fought back bravely and heroically, repelling the ambushing guerrillas along the way, while advancing towards the airport through a hail of bullets.

Finally, we arrived at Xuzhou Airport at 3:30 AM and discovered that the airport had been completely destroyed.

All the buildings were completely destroyed, all the aircraft were blown to pieces, the oil depot was still burning, and all the Japanese devils were dead.

So far, we have not found a single living Japanese soldier!"

"What about our people? What are the casualties?" This was what Ruan Lesheng was most concerned about.

"My regiment suffered just over a hundred minor injuries, two serious injuries, and no deaths!" Regiment Commander Xie quickly reported.

If there were not even a single injury after fighting for a whole night, it would be impossible to hide it from Brigade Commander Manda Yuto.

Hearing this casualty report, Ruan Lesheng immediately understood that Regiment Commander Xie's report of fierce fighting with the guerrillas and insisting on advancing to the airport through a hail of bullets was all false.

He immediately said, "We must guard the airport and not allow anyone to destroy it again. We must collect the bodies of the Japanese devils and ensure that they depart with dignity."

"Yes!" Regiment Commander Xie heard the three "musts" and laughed inwardly. At this point, even if you asked people to come to the airport, no one would be willing to come.

Even though the barbed wire surrounding the airport was completely gone and there were so many corpses on the ground, ordinary people would not dare to come, and the guerrillas would not be willing to come either.

This task was very easy to complete!

Regiment Commander Xie ordered: "Line up all the Japanese corpses one by one on the runway, with the officers in the front, ranked according to their positions.

Clean the dust and blood stains off their faces, hands, and bodies with clean water.

We must make them presentable. The Japanese devils only care about appearances, so let's give them appearances!"

According to Regiment Commander Xie's orders, Commander Awaya Masaya was of course placed at the very front, followed by Company Commander Ninai Ryota and Company Commander Fujiyama Yuto, and then by Platoon Leader Tanino Eita and the other Japanese soldiers.

After that, they were lined up according to the ranks of sergeant, corporal, and private. The corpses of the Japanese soldiers were lined up very neatly.

These puppet troops who had come overnight from Xuzhou City to reinforce the airport were lucky enough to escape with their lives.

They were very enthusiastic about doing this work, and even looked a little gleeful.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto did not get a good rest that night. He had been waiting for news from Xuzhou Airport.

When he called, all he heard was a dial tone. When he sent a telegram, he received no reply.

It was not until Ruan Lesheng relayed the latest report that he finally got some news.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto suppressed his anger and said, "These puppet troops are always like this, not reporting to me first.

Instead, they report to their superior officer. Are they trying to please Ruan Lesheng? Don't they know whose territory Xuzhou is?"

After listening to Ruan Lesheng's report, Brigade Commander Manda Yuto immediately connected to the airport's phone line.

He personally questioned Regiment Commander Xie, asking what the situation at the airport was like.

He still didn't quite believe what Ruan Lesheng had relayed. Getting the news from Regiment Commander Xie was more real, and also more despairing for Brigade Commander Manda Yuto.

The Xuzhou Airport that he had carefully protected was gone. Or rather, the airport was still there, but the planes, the pilots, and the Japanese soldiers guarding the airport were all gone.

And all the facilities at the airport were gone. When he heard that even the barbed wire fences surrounding the airport runway were all gone,

he deeply understood what kind of force had come tonight: This was a force that would not leave any supplies behind!

In fact, his understanding was not deep enough or clear enough at this time.

If the First Regiment, Second Regiment, Seventh Regiment, and Eighth Regiment did not have new battlefields to go to tonight, Regiment Commander Xie and his men would only have seen white corpses when they arrived at the battlefield.

There would not be a single thread of clothing on the corpses, and there would be no wreckage of aircraft on the apron. All of those things would have been dragged away.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's understanding of the Lunan Detachment was only superficial at this point.

But even such a superficial understanding was enough to surprise him.

The North China Area Army Headquarters had also received the telegram for help sent by Commander Awaya Masaya.

They also could not contact Xuzhou Airport, and could only ask Brigade Commander Manda Yuto for information.

When the North China Area Army Headquarters received the report that Xuzhou Airport had been completely destroyed, they felt that the problem was serious.

They had to wake up Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi, who had just fallen asleep, and listen to the long report from his staff officers.

When he heard that the entire army at Xuzhou Airport had been wiped out, and that not a single plane or Japanese soldier guarding the airport had survived,

Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi's sleepiness disappeared completely, and he paced anxiously back and forth in the command post.

He had decided to abandon the entire Xuzhou Task Force in order to have them hold off the Lunan Detachment in the Xuzhou direction, so that they would not attack everywhere.

But tonight, the Lunan Detachment had actually attacked and completely destroyed Xuzhou Airport. What was he going to do?

Although Brigade Commander Manda Yuto did not know who had attacked the airport, and the North China Area Army Headquarters did not report who had attacked Xuzhou Airport,

Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi was very certain that it was the Lunan Detachment who had done it. He pointed to the Lunan base area, which had been marked in large sections on the map, "This! It must be eliminated as quickly as possible!"

At this point, he really regretted it! He regretted that he should not have hastily encouraged the Japanese soldiers to launch the Battle of Wuhan so quickly.

If there had been no Battle of Wuhan, his army would have had enough troops to carry out a sweep and suppression operation in the Lunan area.

Central China would also have had enough troops to clean up the interior and stabilize the security in the occupied areas.

The most enthusiastic advocates of the Battle of Wuhan were the division commanders in the North China Area Army and the China Expeditionary Army. Now, the consequences of doing so had already appeared.

Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi stroked his forehead, thinking about what he should do. Was he going to abandon Xuzhou like he had abandoned Hefei?

If Xuzhou was occupied by the Lunan Detachment, even if it was only for one day, it would be a huge blow to the empire's international reputation.

Because it would prove to the world that the National Army still had the ability to counterattack and the ability to counterattack large cities.

This was absolutely not allowed!

Thinking of this, Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi finally made up his mind to temporarily abandon the area around Xuzhou and gather his forces to protect Xuzhou.

As long as Xuzhou was protected, when the Battle of Wuhan was over and the various units of the North China Area Army returned to their established formations, he would have enough troops to clean up these counties in the rear.

Thinking of this, Terauchi Hisaichi ordered, "Convene a military conference immediately!"

At this late-night military conference, the North China Area Army Headquarters discussed in detail the new plan proposed by Commander-in-Chief Terauchi Hisaichi: The Xuzhou Task Force would suspend its attack on the Lunan base area, return to Xuzhou City, and assist the 17th Independent Mixed Brigade in defending Xuzhou.

With more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers defending Xuzhou, Xuzhou should be safe!

The North China Area Army Headquarters' new operational orders were issued to the Xuzhou Task Force overnight.

Commander Yamawaki Tsugiro never thought that happiness would come so suddenly. Of course he wanted to go back to Xuzhou.

Not only did he want to, but who in the entire Xuzhou Task Force didn't want to?

It was just that he, as the commander, had not done a single thing right since the establishment of the Xuzhou Task Force, and he had no face to return to Xuzhou!

But now, the North China Area Army Headquarters had ordered him to return to Xuzhou to defend Xuzhou!

With this order, no Japanese soldier would dare to say anything if he led the team back to the city.

If any Japanese soldier dared to say anything, he would slap the order in his face: I am returning to the city under orders! If it weren't for the orders of the superiors, I would have definitely killed everyone and swept away the Lunan base area.

He had already decided that he must return to the city! That was why he had called a meeting of officers above the rank of company commander in the Xuzhou Task Force overnight.

An emergency meeting! Brigade Commander Saito Takeo, Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro, and Brigade Commander Hyakudai Korefumi knew nothing about what was going on.

They were awakened from their sleep and came to attend the emergency military meeting!

At this meeting, Commander Yamawaki Tsugiro first conveyed that Xuzhou Airport had just been completely destroyed by a force tonight.

He also specifically explained what "completely destroyed" meant: Not a single wall of the airport buildings was intact, not a single plane was intact, and not a single Japanese soldier was alive.

Then he took out the order from the North China Area Army: Ordering the Xuzhou Task Force to return to Xuzhou City to defend it.

After hearing the order, Brigade Commander Saito Takeo's face turned red and he said excitedly, "My Iron Wall Encirclement plan is like this. That's what I've always thought."

The expressions of the other two brigade commanders were even more excited: They could finally return to the city.

This time, once they returned to Xuzhou City, it would not be easy to get them to come out again.

The regimental commanders and company commanders of each brigade all had expressions of escaping death.

These Japanese soldiers had been scared out of their wits in the bombing a few days ago and had long wanted to return to the city.

It was just that they had been stopped by Commander Yamawaki and Brigade Commander Saito Takeo. When these commanders heard Brigade Commander Saito Takeo shamelessly saying that this was what he had always thought,

the faces of many company commanders turned pale. If their positions were not so different, these Japanese soldiers would have erupted on the spot.

Commander Yamawaki Tsugiro clearly saw that the expressions of his subordinates were not good, and he knew what the reason was.

If he had not stopped them, the entire Xuzhou Task Force would already be drinking and dancing in Xuzhou City.

As the supreme commander of the entire force, he felt that it was necessary to explain things to these company commanders.

Commander Yamawaki Tsugiro said with a smile, "Xuzhou Airport is a full sixty *li* away from Tushan.

Judging from the methods used to attack the airport tonight, they first bombarded it with fierce artillery fire.

The density of the artillery fire was at least that of a heavy artillery regiment.

This fully demonstrates that the force that attacked the airport was the same force that attacked us the other day.

It was just that we responded properly the other day and retreated immediately after being attacked, which is why we did not suffer greater damage.

Commander Awaya Masaya of Xuzhou Airport was too confident and did not retreat immediately after being bombarded by such dense artillery fire.

That is why they were completely wiped out.

But none of that is important. What is important is that the airport is sixty *li* away from Tushan, and there is no way they could have gotten here tonight.

We will set off to return to Xuzhou City tomorrow morning!

Our safety is completely assured!"

Safety! This was what all the Japanese soldiers were concerned about. Hearing Commander Yamawaki Tsugiro's analysis,

those who had had pale faces just now finally understood that they could sleep peacefully tonight, and that they could dance, drink, and enjoy themselves as they pleased when they returned to Xuzhou City tomorrow.

While they were holding the meeting, the four regiments led by Gu Xiuming were marching rapidly in the pouring sweat.

The barbed wire that the Second Regiment had carried back from the airport had been placed in a mountain pass, and the captured weapons and ammunition were also stored there.

Gu Xiuming left a company from the Seventh Regiment to guard the area, and the speed of the entire force increased significantly.

Looking at the hands of his watch and estimating the distance ahead, Gu Xiuming's heart finally relaxed. There were only five *li* left to the designated battlefield.

At this moment, a sentry's challenge came from ahead: "Password!"

This was the Security Regiment that Lin Fan had sent to guard the outer perimeter of the battlefield in this direction.

"Annihilate! Response!" "Japanese devils!"

The password was correct, and someone came up to greet them. When they saw Company Commander Feng Ruili, they immediately recognized him: "Company Commander Feng! We are from the Third Security Regiment of Yixian."

Feng Ruili said with a smile, "We have to keep moving forward. The battlefield ahead is waiting for us."

The soldier quickly led the way, and soon the commander of the Third Security Regiment also came and greeted Company Commander Feng, "Company Commander! We arrived last night.

We first dug two lines of defense according to the previous method. You can go in now."

"Lao Huang! You're a good man! I'll have to treat you to a drink next time!"

"It's what we should do! It's what we should do! You've come all the way on a long march, so it's only right that we do some work in advance." Commander Huang said with a smile.

After the four regiments entered the trenches that had already been dug, Gu Xiuming immediately reported to Lin Fan, "We have entered the battlefield."

"Prepare immediately to bombard Tushan Town at six o'clock! Your ammunition replenishment will arrive soon." Lin Fan knew that the four regiments led by Gu Xiuming must have consumed a lot of ammunition during the night attack on the airport tonight.

The supplies for them had already been prepared, and they were just waiting for them to arrive at the battlefield to replenish them immediately.

"Haha! Brigade Commander, you've thought of everything. I made a special effort to conserve ammunition during the bombing of the airport tonight,

because I was afraid that we wouldn't have enough ammunition when we saw the Japanese devils here. Now, we can fire our cannons as much as we want." Gu Xiuming said with a smile.

"Were there many casualties in the attack on the airport?" Lin Fan asked.

"Thirty-three minor injuries, no serious injuries or deaths." Gu Xiuming said in a relaxed tone.

Hearing him say that, Lin Fan was relieved!

When he had just heard Gu Xiuming say that he was afraid that there would not be enough ammunition, and that he had conserved ammunition during the attack on the airport, he had been afraid that he would use the lives of the soldiers to force the attack.

Now, hearing about the casualties, he knew that the battle tonight had gone very smoothly.

He asked with a smile, "Tell me how you attacked the Japanese devils when there wasn't enough ammunition."

"Brigade Commander! Through the battle tonight, we discovered the benefits of using anti-aircraft machine guns to attack infantry.

This gun is too powerful! It can even break stone walls. The fortifications that the Japanese devils built with sandbags can't withstand point attacks either.

Anti-aircraft machine guns are almost like cannons!"

Lin Fan said with a smile, "You have to learn from experience in battle! Didn't we also use our anti-aircraft guns to attack Japanese tanks and fortresses?

Don't be bound by names. You've done a good job on this, and this experience must be passed on.

All the regiments of the Special Operations Brigade must understand this. After you come down, write a lesson plan and convey it to the various regiments."

"Yes!" Gu Xiuming's tone was obviously very happy.

The encirclement of the Xuzhou Task Force, which was still cowering in Tushan Town, had been completed. The last weak point had been filled by the First and Second Regiments, which had just arrived.

The Lunan Detachment had gathered sixty infantry regiments and one artillery regiment in Tushan this time.

In terms of numbers alone, this was the largest concentration of forces since the creation of the Special Operations Brigade.

With a full 120,000 troops, just to annihilate the 30,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched in Tushan Town, Lin Fan still did not dare to take it lightly, even though he was confident of a complete victory.

No one can know the final result of a war until the very last moment.

During the later stages of the Battle of Xuzhou a few months ago, 200,000 regular troops of the National Army, all of whom were the most elite, had surrounded the Japanese 14th Division in Lanfeng.

In the end, the 20,000 Japanese soldiers of the 14th Division, commanded by Doihara Kenji, still broke through successfully, and Lanfeng was lost.

Lin Fan did not want such a thing to happen again in Tushan, which was why he insisted that the First and Second Regiments hold the Japanese devils' retreat.