Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 7: There are no cowards in the land of Shanxi

The next day at dawn
Zhao Fangyuan, dressed in a neat military uniform, walked slowly into Wang Feng's room.

"Commander, secret message from Yanggao!"

Wang Feng leaned his hands on the wooden table and kept drawing on the battle map with a pencil.

"read."

"Yesterday evening, the Pseudo-Mongolian Cavalry Division under the Chahar Special Corps took advantage of the 61st Army's defeat to raid Yanggao County, causing heavy losses to the garrison troops."

"Yanggao has fallen. Currently, the remnants of the 61st Army are retreating towards Yanmen Pass."

Wang Feng stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

That's right.

Tianzhen is only thirty kilometers away from Yanggao.

For the cavalry, the journey was basically within reach, and if they traveled at full speed, it would take at most four hours.

The distance between Yanggao and Julebao is only more than 20 kilometers.

It's like sticking it directly on your face.

"Which garrison is guarding the Julebao area?"

Zhao Fangyuan said calmly, "It's General Wang Jingguo's 19th Army."

The 19th Army...

Wang Feng looked at the battle map.

At this point, the Datong Campaign, which was planned by Yan Laoxi, can basically be declared aborted.

The Julebao area was the key area for encircling and annihilating the Japanese army in this battle.

In the original battle plan, the 61st Army was to delay the Japanese army in Tianzhen to create time for the construction of national defense fortifications in the rear.

And now, the 61st Army was defeated in the battle.

The rear defense fortifications had not yet been completed, and the 19th Army was unable to resist the frenzied attack of the Japanese army.

The loss of Julebao means the fall of Datong.

Wang Feng sighed and stretched his muscles: "Are there any other battle reports?"

"Itagaki Seishirō led the 5th Division and set out from Huai'an on September 6th. They have now arrived in Weixian."

"The troops stationed here are General Liu Ruming's 68th Army."

"After a night of fighting, the 68th Army began to retreat."

Zhao Fangyuan spoke in a heavy tone, with his eyes lowered, and read the telegram to the end, spitting out each word one by one.

despair.

Up to this point in the battle, an atmosphere of despair permeated the entire Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

The Japanese army is really too strong.

Under the dual attack of air-ground integration, a troop that goes forward will be crippled in less than two hours.

Another shot was fired, and the result was the same.

In medium and long-range fire, the soldiers of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army were basically killed in seconds if they showed their heads. Even if they stayed in the trenches, they would be blown into powder by the overwhelming aerial bombs and artillery shells of the Japanese army.

The weapons and ammunition were soon used up.

But in close hand-to-hand combat, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was no match for the Japanese.

Since the Japanese invasion of Shanxi, the front line has been completely defeated and morale has dropped to the lowest point.

Most of the troops did not even have the confidence to resist stubbornly.

So much so that after just firing two shots, he started thinking about retreating.

Wang Feng stood in front of the door and window, and heard dense footsteps outside the house.

"Have the troops assembled?"

"Commander, all soldiers are ready to fight at any time!"

Zhao Fangyuan came to his senses and stood at attention in front of his superior.

Wang Feng turned around and said with a determined look: "Okay, notify the troops and set off immediately!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Fangyuan saluted and then walked quickly out of the house.

No matter what the other friendly forces are like, at least the 414th Regiment still has the determination to fight.

After Zhao Fangyuan left, Wang Feng began to formulate the next battle plan.

The fall of Datong is a foregone conclusion, there is no need to continue to resist.

The current situation of the 414th Regiment is very embarrassing.

Caught between two parallel lines of Japanese attack.

To the north was Hideki Tojo's Chahar Task Force.

To the south is Itagaki Seishirō's 5th Division.

Although none of them were targeting the 414th Regiment, no matter which direction they advanced, they would be constrained.

According to Wang Feng's memory, after the Japanese army captured Datong, they would head south and the Battle of Xinkou would begin.

In that case, let’s head south!

Follow the Japanese army and attack them by surprise.

……

Eight in the morning.

All the soldiers of the 414th Regiment were reorganized and began to move slowly southward.

Unexpectedly, the troops were blocked by villagers at the entrance of Xiajiashan Village just as they were marching.

Wang Feng was riding on a horse, and at first he thought that the villagers were trying to cause trouble.

After all, the 414th Regiment had occupied a large area of civilian houses after entering the village, and the people would definitely not agree if they left now. But the result was not what he expected.

"General, my two sons want to go with you to fight the Japanese!"

"The shopkeeper was killed by the Japanese devils in the county town. Let my son follow you to join the army and kill the devils to avenge his father!"

"I'm begging you on my knees!"

"Master Jun..."

Listening to the sobbing of the people, Wang Feng jumped off his horse and walked forward quickly.

The crowd that had originally gathered together consciously made way for a path.

"Master Jun..."

Seeing Wang Feng coming, the people in the crowd opened their lips slightly, but dared not speak any more.

The women looked frightened and did not dare to take another step forward.

During the war years, society was in turmoil and ordinary people were very afraid of soldiers.

The sky is big, the earth is big, but the gun is the biggest.

Wearing a military uniform means you have the ability to take someone's life at any time.

The period of warlords' fighting.

Many ruffians relied on the guns in their hands and raped women wherever they conquered a place.

The brutality and looting left an indelible impression on the people.

Wang Feng stepped forward.

After capturing Tianzhen, the Japanese army carried out an inhumane massacre.

At this time, he heard a little bit. Because the city was not closed and killing was not carried out, many people ran out and scattered to various villages.

"Zhao Fangyuan."

"To!"

"Bring out the roster and record which young and strong men in which households want to join the army."

"My subordinate understands!"

Upon hearing this, the people present all smiled.

Even the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was used to being domineering in Shanxi.

Nothing like the troops in front of us.

After entering the village, they do not disturb the locals, and when occupying houses, they do not evict them violently.

He even went to the house in person to talk to the man and gave him a lot of money.

Looking at the young and strong people who actively and enthusiastically signed up to join the army, Wang Feng showed a gratified expression.

What happened today really surprised him.

He knew the situation in Xiajiashan Village very well.

The village has a small population and not many soldiers of military age.

Moreover, these young and middle-aged people, who are the only ones in the village, have to engage in many matters such as agricultural production.

Although the 414th Regiment suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Matsushita Battalion.

But after considering many factors, we did not recruit soldiers on the spot when we stopped here yesterday.

Today, we saw that there were at least two hundred people who actively signed up to join the army.

This is a place with a lot of young people from all the nearby villages.

"Fellow villagers, I am Wang, and I would like to thank you all for your trust."

"I also made it clear that the Japs can kill us physically, but they will never destroy our will to fight to the end!"

"There is no such thing as a cowardly person who loves life and fears death in this land of Shanxi!"

"The Japanese want to annex Shanxi. Impossible!"

"As long as I, Wang, and all the soldiers of the 414th Regiment are still alive, we will never allow the Japanese to slaughter our compatriots on our land, plunder our resources, and enslave our spirits!"

Wang Feng stood in the crowd, raised his arms and shouted, his voice getting louder and louder.

"Drive away the Japs!"

"revenge!"

"We want revenge!"

As the saying goes, national hatred and family and country hatred.

The people were encouraged and tears welled up in their eyes.

Many of these people were family members who suffered inhumane massacres by the Japanese army.

They are all victims of this war.

Hatred towards the Japanese reached its peak.

In addition to sending their children to join the army, these people

They also brought a lot of food from home. The richer ones brought a basket of eggs, while the poorer ones brought a few handfuls of vegetable leaves.

Anyway, no one comes empty-handed.

The food in the hands of the people was not meant for their families who were about to join the army to fight the Japanese invaders.

Instead, it was directly given to the 414th Regiment.

In times of war, joining the army became the best way to avoid starvation.

Although it is a bit dangerous, you don't have to worry about food and clothing.

Wang Feng couldn't bear to reject the people's kindness, so he accepted it all.

And the debts of each household should be registered so that they can repay the debts later.

(End of this chapter)