The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 322 Tunneling Tactics (Bonus Chapter 1050 for the Emergence of the Color Master)

At 5:11 a.m., in the northeast direction outside Pingding County.

Hu Biao glanced quickly at the simple telegram in his hand, which only contained the three words "Tiger Tiger Tiger," and knew perfectly well that Annie and AT had already succeeded.

They actually created a miracle and destroyed one of the Japanese airfields.

In his excitement, this impulsive fellow slapped Xiao Cui hard on the shoulder with his right hand.

Just as he slapped the innocent girl so hard she almost fell to the ground, he shouted excitedly, "Well done! Annie and AT are done, now the rest is up to us."

Xiao Cui, immediately send a telegram to Mina, instructing her to take off immediately after dawn and prioritize destroying the Japanese artillery positions and ammunition depots.

"Yes, Commander Hu." Xiao Cui immediately accepted the order.

Before leaving to relay the order, he gritted his teeth and cursed, "You damn bastard, next time you get so excited, remember to take a picture of yourself, or I'll fight you to the death."

Just as Hu Biao was feeling extremely awkward, Zhao Zheng asked a crucial question: "What are your plans for the next battle? It seems that Pingding County will be difficult to take."

Zhao Zheng's concerns were valid. Even if the threat of the Japanese air force was eliminated, Pingding County would still be a tough nut to crack.

Although the county town is not large, it has a sturdy city wall that is more than four meters high, with earthen walls inside and blue bricks on the outside; plus the local garrison, there are three thousand soldiers.

After they appeared outside the city, the Japanese soldiers inside were terrified.

Ignoring their exhaustion after retreating from Zhangjiayu through the mountains overnight, they frantically set up firing positions on the city walls and strengthened various defensive fortifications.

Before long, a fairly tight network of firepower had been formed.

If the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were to launch a rash attack, heavy casualties would be certain, and whether they could breach the city's defenses was another matter entirely.

Fortunately, Hu Biao already had a plan in mind for this, and a rather bold yet highly feasible tactic came to him on the spot:

"Simple, immediately have the soldiers carry out earthworks outside the range of the Japanese rifles."

That is, dig trenches, dig many trenches, all the way towards the Pingding County city wall, until they are within a hundred meters; then set up all the unscrupulous cannons and fire at the city wall together.

If one round isn't enough, then two. It's just a small county town; how strong can its walls be?

Good heavens! This guy Hu Biao is practically foreshadowing the infamous scene of the heartless cannons being used in the Huaihai Campaign.

Since the Zhangjiayu Arsenal produced a considerable number of "conscience-insensitive cannons," which were easy to manufacture, they were not immune to the problem.

Zhao Zheng had even witnessed the test firing of this thing before; he believed that this equipment, apart from being a little lacking in accuracy, had no doubt about its power.

However, as long as there are enough cannons firing at the same time, the problem of poor accuracy doesn't seem to be that big.

Thinking of the Japanese soldiers gathered on the city wall, and the scene after they were bombarded by a barrage of heartless artillery fire, Zhao Zheng couldn't help but feel sorry for these unfortunate guys.

After a fleeting thought of mourning for the Japanese devils, Zhao Zheng excitedly made a suggestion:

“Many villagers spontaneously came to help fight the Japanese, and we couldn’t stop them; I might as well organize them and give them the job of digging ditches.”

The brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment can rest and recuperate a little longer.

“Alright! The brothers have been busy for most of the night, it’s good that they can get some rest.” Upon hearing this, Hu Biao immediately agreed.

After that, Zhao Zheng led his men to organize the villagers to work on digging the ditch; their efficiency in this kind of task was beyond doubt.

While busy at work, Zhao Zheng walked with a brisk pace, his whole being exuding an indescribable energy.

It's understandable that Zhao Zheng, usually so composed, would react so abruptly. You see, since the September 18th Incident, this country has consistently lost cities and territories in the face of Japanese invasion, never reclaiming a single city, not even a county, from the Japanese.

Therefore, in the time to come, the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment will be able to accomplish a great feat:
For the first time, a county town was recaptured from the Japanese.

In addition, their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, after wiping out a reinforced brigade-sized Seya Detachment half a year ago, is now going to wipe out an independent mixed brigade of the Japanese.

Even if this county town is to be retaken soon.

The above results represent another glorious victory for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

It could inspire the determination of the vast number of soldiers and civilians in our country to resist Japan, especially not long before, when the National Army had just suffered a defeat in the Battle of Wuhan.

Such a victory is more precious than gold...

******
At 6:17 a.m., the sky over Shanxi Province finally began to lighten.

At this point, the high command of the Japanese First Army in Taiyuan held an emergency meeting and reached a conclusion.

Compared to similar important meetings in the past, which often take half a day to reach any conclusion, the efficiency of these Japanese soldiers today is simply terrifying.

But there's nothing we can do about it, just as Lao Yu predicted:
The Japanese would never allow a complete independent mixed brigade to be completely annihilated by the National Revolutionary Army, not even the famous Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Therefore, the need for all-out rescue efforts is beyond any discussion.

What needs to be discussed is how to rescue them, how much effort to take, and what costs to incur.

In fact, if it weren't for the devastating news they received an hour earlier that the southern suburban airport had been attacked, all the pilots had been killed, and the aircraft had suffered heavy losses, they would have been even more devastated.

The high command of the Japanese First Army could have reached a conclusion at least half an hour earlier.

Before giving his final summary, Yoshio Shinotsuka, the old Japanese soldier, rubbed his aching groin, which had been aching recently due to the poor performance of the Independent Mixed Brigade No. 9.

I was woken up again in the middle of the night, which is making my head ache even more.

Only then did he rouse himself and say, "I order! Deploy trucks from various units in Taiyuan City to improve the mobility of the 39th Brigade of the 20th Division, and have them travel to Pingding County."

At the same time, an order was sent to the garrison troops in Shouyang, Yangquan, Heshun, Xiyang, Mengxian, and other places to send as many troops as possible to quickly move towards Pingding County at all costs.

In addition! I will contact the North China Area Army and request them to send reinforcements from Shijiazhuang.

As for air support, don't count on it, at least not today.

Under Yoshio Shinotsuka's strict order, the Japanese soldiers in various parts of Shanxi Province, whether they liked it or not, quickly sprang into action.

The Japanese could not hide such a large-scale commotion from various forces and related troops stationed nearby.

Faced with such a large commotion by the Japanese, some forces and troops knew what was going on.

Knowing that Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment actually dared to attack Pingding County and annihilate an entire Japanese mixed brigade, it was as if they were about to cause a major upheaval.

Some were completely bewildered and utterly confused.

However, not long after, from the direction these Japanese soldiers had set out, there was a major battle that had been going on for half a month between the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and the Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade No. 9.

They basically figured out one thing: the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was about to do something big again.

Under such circumstances, the various forces mentioned above made different choices and reacted; the greatness, selfishness, and greed of human nature were fully revealed at this moment...

(End of this chapter)