You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

After ending his call with Zhang Wenzhong, Lin Feng immediately had someone connect him to Zhao Dashan, the commander of the First Honorary Brigade, via radio.

"Dashan, how's the situation on your end? Have the troops made their covert maneuvers reached their positions?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency."

Zhao Dashan's extremely rough voice came through, tinged with a hint of helplessness:

"The troops have secretly arrived and assembled in the Lanling County area."

However... these past few days have seen continuous spring rains, making the roads extremely muddy.

Our armored forces suffered greatly.

Many tanks and self-propelled artillery broke down on the march, their tracks stuck in the mud.

Currently, the maintenance company is working through the night to carry out repairs, while the troops are resting.

Lin Feng frowned. The extremely poor traffic conditions in Great Xia were indeed the biggest enemy of mechanized forces.

"Restore combat capability as soon as possible."

Lin Feng gave the order in a deep voice:

"In addition, you should first select the best-performing tank battalion and a motorized infantry battalion from the brigade."

"Be ready at any time; I have a great use for you."

"Yes, mission accomplished."

Meanwhile, in Tangtou Town.

The atmosphere inside the 5th Division headquarters was extremely oppressive.

Seishiro Itagaki looked at the red arrow representing Lin Feng's army on the sand table, which resembled an extremely sharp pair of pliers, tightly gripping the neck of his 5th Division.

"Your Excellency, the 41st Regiment has blocked the vanguard of the Chinese at Lijiacun."

Chief of Staff Takeshi Sakurada reported:

"However, the enemy's artillery fire was extremely fierce, and their troop strength was constantly increasing."

Itagaki Seishiro's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected Lin Feng to have such a big appetite and to act so quickly.

"Relay my orders."

With gritted teeth, Itagaki Seishiro issued the order to consolidate the defensive line with great difficulty:

"All sectors contracted."

They abandoned the siege of Linyi.

With Tangtou Town as the core, each unit dug bunkers on the spot, forming an extremely tight ring-shaped defensive fortification.

Tell the warriors that I will engage the Thirty-Third Army in a decisive battle in the wilderness.

Seishiro Itagaki gripped the table tightly with both hands, his eyes flashing with an extremely crazed light.

He reassured himself with absolute certainty:

"As long as I stay here like a nail, I can hold back Lin Feng's main force."

Wait for the main force, including the 10th Division on the neighboring Jinpu Road, to arrive.

We can then join forces to surround Lin Feng and completely eliminate this major threat to the empire.

Everything will be alright!

-----

However, Itagaki Seishiro's extremely beautiful wish was destined to be in vain.

The Jinpu Railway front line, north of Tengxian County.

Inside the 10th Division headquarters.

Division Commander Lieutenant General Rensuke Isogai was looking at the announcement that had just been sent by the North China Area Army, his face filled with confusion and anger.

"Lin Feng's main force has actually appeared on the left flank, towards Linyi?!"

Rensuke Isogai stared wide-eyed in utter disbelief:

"That madman! Why is he abandoning my tens of thousands of main forces to attack Itagaki's detachment?!"

What angered him even more was that the army headquarters ordered him to immediately detach a portion of his main force and cross the extremely muddy Lunan Plain to reinforce the besieged 5th Division.

"Baka yarou".

In a fit of rage, Isogai Rensuke slammed the telegram on the ground and began to curse:

"In the past few days, my troops have paid an extremely heavy price in order to attack Teng County."

They charged into the city multiple times, only to be driven out each time by the extremely tenacious Sichuan army.

The troops were exhausted from fighting, and their ammunition consumption was extremely high.

Now you want me to send troops to rescue Itagaki?

Why should I?!

A glint of extreme selfishness and cunning flashed in Rensuke Isogai's eyes.

Should I go help?

If Lin Feng is truly annihilated, will this enormous achievement be attributed to Itagaki Seishiro or to me, Isogai Rensuke?

Given Itagaki's extremely arrogant personality, he would definitely take all the credit for himself.

"Hmph, let's just ignore him."

Rensuke Isogai gave a cold laugh and made a decision with extreme decisiveness:

"Reply to the army group, saying that our army is at a critical moment in the capture of Tengxian and cannot divide its forces."

Since Itagaki has tied down Lin Feng's main force, that's good.

Now we can finally unleash our full power to capture Teng County and then march straight to Pengcheng.

The greatest credit must go to my 10th Division.

-----

March 19th, early morning.

The forward command post of the 1st Regiment of the 107th Division was located in a dilapidated temple less than two kilometers away from Lijia Village.

"Commander, look here."

Company Commander Xu Fei strode to the table and pointed to the military map on it.

He was covered in half-dried mud, and murky water was still dripping from the hem of his military uniform.

"Yesterday evening, we encountered extremely fierce crossfire from the Japanese soldiers, even here, here, and behind the big locust tree at the village entrance."

Xu Fei picked up a red and blue pencil and quickly drew several circles on the map:

"The Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun positions were very cleverly constructed, consisting entirely of hidden bunkers."

besides……"

Xu Fei's pen plunged heavily onto a high point on the edge of the village:

"here.

The two 150mm heavy guns that destroyed our armored vehicles yesterday are most likely hidden on this reverse slope.

The Japanese were extremely cunning; after firing a few shells, they covered the area with camouflage netting, making it impossible for infantry to break through.

The regimental commander stroked his stubble, looked at the map, and nodded with great satisfaction.

"Very good, Xu Fei, your tactical skills have indeed lived up to Huangpu's reputation."

The regimental commander straightened up, patted Xu Fei on the shoulder, and grinned:

"However, we won't use human lives to fill the Japanese bunkers today."

The Emperor has decreed that today we have been paired with celestial brothers.

"The air force will help us deal with these tough nuts!"

The commander glanced at his watch and gave the order in a deep voice:

"In a little while, the regiment's mortars will fire smoke grenades to mark these locations for you."

After the planes finish bombing, the division's artillery regiment will conduct three more rounds of artillery fire.

"Once the artillery fire stops, your 1st Company will continue to be the spearhead. Charge in fiercely and slaughter all these Japanese devils."

It was exactly 8:00 AM.

Xu Fei lay prone on the wet sandbags, holding up binoculars and staring intently at the village ahead.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

On the rear positions, several 82mm mortars roared first.

Several specially made white phosphorus smoke bombs streaked across the sky and landed precisely near the firing points that Xu Fei had previously marked.

"laugh--"

A blinding plume of white smoke shot up instantly, standing out starkly against the gloomy sky.

"Buzz—Buzz—"

Immediately afterwards, a very deep engine roar came from the horizon.

Six Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers, in neat formation, roared in, breaking through the clouds.

"Here it comes, our plane is here."

The soldiers roared excitedly.

The Stuka aircraft group circled halfway over Lijia Village and quickly locked onto the targets emitting white smoke.

The next second, the navigator suddenly pushed the control stick, its nose pointing straight at the ground, and entered a near 90-degree vertical dive.