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"This time I agree with Lao Liu. If we want to fight, we have to fight big and hit the Japs where it hurts. And judging from the firepower of our troops now, we can defeat them even if two Japs divisions come!"

Wang Dafu rarely stood on the same front with Liu Quanhua. Given his temperament, he would never have dared to express himself so decisively a week ago. But now it is different. As Liu Quanhua said, the troops have 72 105mm cannons, which can easily break through the walls of ordinary cities!

This is how war works. If there is cowardly behavior, it is either because the person is afraid of death or because there is insufficient firepower!

72 105mm howitzers. Even several armies of the National Guard may not be able to gather so many!

The remaining two regiment commanders and several brigade chiefs of staff also expressed their opinions, indicating that they would focus on attacking Linfen. They were all colonels and lieutenant colonels, and did not dare to speak in front of those big guys!

"Okay, it's settled! Without further ado, let's work out a detailed battle plan and start this battle as quickly as possible!"

After an hour's discussion, the troops' operations were finally determined.

The 665th Regiment is still responsible for the security of the headquarters.

The 664th Regiment suspended its work at the iron mine and used the 665st Battalion and the artillery battalion of the th Regiment to feint an attack on Pu County. The nd Battalion, the rd Battalion and the Mountain Artillery Battalion sniped at the Japanese reinforcements in Baozidong, Jiangjiayu, Xueyi and other places around Pu County.

The two infantry regiments of the 388th Brigade went to Linfen, using the Tongpu Railway as their battle line, and rushed to Hongdong north of Linfen and Xiangling and Quwo south of Linfen respectively.

Although Xu Le said that the 176th Division was not a main force, in fact, judging from the arrangements for the two previous battles, anyone with a brain could see that Xu Le paid more attention to the 388th Brigade.

But no one said anything. After all, all the members of the 388th Brigade came from the Acropolis, and their loyalty was definitely the highest.

And Xu Le was indeed biased in this regard. There was no absolute fairness in this world. There was only one Linfen, and there must be only one person who could take on the main battle.

But he instead handed over the safety of the headquarters to the 387th Regiment of the 665th Brigade. For a unit, the safety of the headquarters is more important than any battle. After all, the core of any unit is the headquarters. As long as the headquarters is still there, the battle can continue.

So from a different perspective, Xu Le actually did not favor any particular brigade.

Because Xu Le had already anticipated this battle, he had ordered his troops to be prepared for 24-hour combat.

That afternoon, September 9, all troops took an emergency rest.

夜晚8点，664团2营4连率先赶到堡子洞接替667团的防御阵地，其余营趁着夜色赶往各自狙击阵地。

The 667th Regiment returned to Meidong Mountain, and together with two field artillery battalions, rushed from the direction of the mountain village to Pu County, taking the highway and heading towards Linfen with high-speed mobility. The Second Battalion of the 665th Regiment temporarily took over the defense of the mountain village.

The 666th Regiment set out half an hour earlier.

Before the Japanese attacked Shanxi Province, transportation between Linfen and Pu County was of paramount importance, and the Shanxi Army spent a huge amount of money to build the road.

Later, when the Japanese came, they repaired the road, making it appear exceptionally flat in the mountainous area.

There were definitely many Japanese checkpoints and strongholds on the road, but with the jeep assault troops of the 666th Regiment leading the way, these checkpoints mainly guarded by puppet troops were like blank sheets of paper and could be broken with a slight poke.

Linfen is where the Japanese 114th Division is stationed. Due to the failure in the last battle, less than two-thirds of the troops are left. The artillery regiment and the cavalry regiment were completely wiped out, and the combat effectiveness is less than one-third of the original!

In the eyes of the Japanese, the 176th Division was an elite force equipped with dozens of mountain artillery.

However, they did not know that in just a short period of time, the 176th Division already had 72 large-caliber field guns.

They continued to fight in the same way as before, and took advantage of the information gap between the Japanese and the enemy. The Japanese might try to defend against the 75mm mountain artillery, but they would never have thought that there were dozens of large-caliber artillery pieces.

The two regiments lowered the muzzles of their mountain artillery and pretended to attack Linfen, making an offensive to capture Linfen. After confirming the density of the artillery, the Japanese would certainly think that the entire 176th Division had been dispatched and would definitely ask Taiyuan for help.

However, the Japanese did not know that the two field artillery battalions were deployed with high mobility on the two main lines of reinforcement from the north and south of the Japanese. As long as the large number of Japanese reinforcements arrived, they could catch them off guard!

.....

The commander of the 114th Division, Tokushige Numata, went to Taiyuan to report on his work due to heavy losses caused in the battle. He has not returned yet. The remaining troops of the 114th Division have been commanded by the commander of the 127th Infantry Brigade under its command, Okisaburo Akiyama.

At 12 o'clock in the night, when he received a report from the stronghold and was about to send someone to check, the 666th Regiment had already crossed the Fen River and launched attacks on three important Japanese towns, Jiaquan, Gaohedian and Duandian, north of Linfen.

"What? All three places were attacked by the main force of the unknown enemy? How is this possible? Aren't they attacking Pu County? How come they suddenly appeared under our noses?

It’s only been half an hour since the last base reported. Did they fly here?”

Colonel Katsumi Okamura of the 66th Infantry Regiment said: "Your Excellency, this must be the Tang army from Meidong Mountain. We have seen their mobility with our own eyes. They are definitely capable of doing this!"

Maruoka Kangping of the 102nd Infantry Regiment said, "We haven't even gone to settle accounts with them yet, but they actually came to us on their own initiative! What's their purpose in doing this? Do they want to capture Linfen with their limited forces?"

Akiyama Osaburo: "Jiaquan, Gaohedian and Duandian are important defensive fortifications outside Linfen, and important military bases protecting Linfen. They attacked here at the same time, it must be for Linfen!"

He seemed to have thought of something when he sensed something was wrong. He hurriedly ordered: "Mr. Okamura, lead your troops to support us immediately. We must not lose our position! If their target is Linfen, then several important towns in the south will definitely not be spared. Mr. Maruoka, lead your troops to Bozhuang and Chakou as soon as possible to strengthen the deployment!"

However, just as he finished speaking, a Japanese signalman next to him hurriedly stood up and reported: "Report, Bozhuang is under heavy enemy artillery fire, requesting support!"

"It's over, it's over..." Akiyama Chongzabulang sat down on the chair and said, "They want to cut off our front and rear roads in Linfen, so as to block the Tongpu Railway transportation line. They must be coming for Zhongtiao Mountain! You quickly lead the troops to defend!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The two Japanese colonels left in a hurry, and Akiyama Osaburo shouted to the signalman again: "Connect to the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters!"

.......