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The soldiers of the 30 tanks have been almost fully trained and have also experienced the battle of Pu County. They are capable of dealing with the Japanese. After all, they have cross-level suppression. Otherwise, they will need another month of training.

10月3日，666团从梅洞山整装出发，陪同20辆59式坦克从堡子洞的公路向乡宁进军。388旅的野战炮营紧随其后，最后则是667团。

In Pu County, no one was allowed to enter or leave unless there was something extremely urgent that needed to happen. Several fortifications outside the city were filled with mortars and machine guns, waiting for the arrival of the Japanese.

.....

At the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters, the voice of the Japanese soldier came from outside Shinozuka Yoshio's office:

"report!"

Shinozuka Yoshio was still concentrating on writing, and whispered, "Come in!"

"General, there's an urgent telegram from Xiangning County!"

"Xiangning? Isn't that in southwest Shanxi? Even if there is something wrong, you should report it to the General Staff Headquarters. There is no need to report it to me!"

"General, Chief of Staff Kusunokichi asked me to show you the telegram, saying that you need to make the decision!"

Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka put down the pen and took the telegram from the Japanese soldier. He knew Hideyoshi Kusuyama's ability and would not have disturbed him if it was not an important matter.

After a moment, he put down the telegram and said, "Notify everyone to hold an emergency meeting!"

.....

Ten minutes later, more than a dozen Japanese generals who stayed in Taiyuan gathered in the conference room.

Shinozuka Yoshio spoke first: "According to the intelligence sent back by the Special Agents Department, we already know some basic information about the Tang army in Pu County. It is the 176th Independent Division of the Kang Army. It was this unit that fought in Zhaozhuang before. It was also this unit that surrounded Linfen last month and severely damaged tens of thousands of soldiers in our empire!"

Naturally, it was Xu Le who asked Yamaguchi Keiko to reveal this information. Anyway, the troops no longer had to hide it, and the Japanese would find it out themselves in no time. It would be better to let Yamaguchi Keiko take it back. Otherwise, it would be a bit unreasonable if she disappeared for such a long time without bringing back any useful information.

A Japanese lieutenant general immediately stood up in confusion: "Kang Army? Is it the local force of Xikang Province in the Tang Dynasty? How is this possible? Sichuan Province and Kang Province are very backward. Their soldiers can't even have a rifle. How can they have such strong firepower!"

However, no one cared about his words, and many people even looked down on him, simply because this person was Numata Norishige, the former commander of the 1th Division.

Yoshio Shinozuka took great pains to save it, but before Norishige Numata could return to his troops, the Linfen Campaign broke out, and only about one regiment of troops was left in the entire division.

After discussion, the Tang Expeditionary Force Command, far away in Shanghai, decided to disband the 114th Division. Its original troops were incorporated into the 21st Division, which was responsible for garrison work around Linfen.

Numata Norishige, who was left alone, had no choice but to stay in Taiyuan and wait for the next arrangements.

The Chief of Staff of the First Army, Kusunokichi Hideyoshi, said with a hint of displeasure: "Numata-kun, the combat effectiveness of the Independent 176th Division is obvious to all. We do not doubt your ability, but if you still refuse to admit your failure, then you are too unworthy of your status as an Imperial Lieutenant General!"

Although Kusunokichi was only a major general, one rank lower than Numata Tokushige's lieutenant general, he was the army chief of staff and held a very important position. Even Numata Tokushige had to give him face and could only sit down with his head down.

Shinozuka Yoshio raised his hand and said, "Okay, now is not the time to talk about this! Half an hour ago, Xiangning sent an urgent telegram, saying that its forward observation post discovered that the main force of the 176th Division was advancing towards Xiangning, and they should be attacking Xiangning."

The commander of the 37th Division, Hirata Kenkichi, also interrupted: "General, the 176th Division just experienced the battles of Linfen and Puxian. How could they organize another siege in such a short time? Are their logistics really that sufficient?"

His 37th Division cooperated with the 21st Division to counter-encircle the 388th Brigade in Linfen, but was bombarded by field artillery and suffered heavy losses. With such ammunition consumption, the 176th Division was hiding in their occupied area, and it was impossible for logistics and ammunition to be replenished so quickly, so it was normal for him to think this way.

Shinozuka Yoshio spoke again; "I don't know about that either. They dared to march deep into my jurisdiction alone, so they must have made sufficient preparations. Let's not talk about that for now. Now, how are we going to deal with the siege of Xiangning!"

Kusunokichi: "The road from Xiangning to Hejin has not been officially completed, but it is barely passable. I guess the purpose of the 176th Division should be to open up this traffic line, and then the road from the Luliang Mountains to southern Shanxi will be unobstructed. At that time, the rest of the Tang army can take advantage of this to go north, which will be a great threat!"

Shinozuka Yoshio: "Kusuyama-kun's analysis is the same as mine when I saw the telegram. I originally thought that we could temporarily ignore the 176th Division. After all, the roads are not yet complete, and they will not make any major moves in southwestern Shanxi in the short term. Until I saw this telegram!"

After saying that, a Japanese soldier nearby distributed telegram copiers.

Hirata Kenkichi said in surprise: "Dozens of tanks, how is this possible? The Xiangning defenders must have seen it wrong. With so many tanks, how did they get into Shanxi Province? And if they had so many tanks, why didn't they take them out in Linfen?"

The other generals were so surprised that they were speechless. This completely refreshed their three views, because the telegram said that there were not only dozens of tanks, but also hundreds of motor vehicles. Judging from the marching speed, the 176th Division could reach Xiangning in an hour at most.

If they knew the specific data of the Type 59 tank, they would probably be even more surprised.

It’s not that the Tang Dynasty was without tanks, but the number was pitifully small, and they were almost all lost in the first two years of the War of Resistance. This was why Kusunokichi Hideyoshi could not make up his mind. All of this was too bizarre.

Finally, it was Shinozuka Yoshio who spoke up: "Whether you believe it or not, the 176th Division is indeed doing this now. If the 176th Division's goal is really to open up the Hejin transportation line, they will launch an attack tomorrow at the latest. We must stop them at all costs. Now I am issuing the combat order!"

All the Japanese officers stood up.

“Numada-kun, I appoint you as the captain of the Luliang Temporary Guard. Go to Luliang immediately and reorganize the surrounding troops to attack Pu County and relieve the pressure on Xiangning!

Telegraph order to Linfen 21st Division, ordering it to immediately attack Pu County from the east!

He ordered the Hejin garrison to support Xiangning, and ordered Yuxiang and other units in southern Shanxi to enter a state of combat readiness to prevent the Tang army from taking the opportunity to move north.

Order the Taiyuan Air Force to take off and attack the Xiangning 176th Division!"

..........

Yoshio Shinozuka issued a series of orders, mobilizing almost all the troops in southern Shanxi, and even dispatched aircraft from Taiyuan, just to preserve the only transportation line between Xiangning and Hejin.