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

Inside the command post, several staff officers were nervously marking the latest enemy and friendly situation around a huge sand table.

"Report!"

A communications officer rushed in, beaming with joy:

"Our communications soldiers crossed the open fields and finally connected the telephone line with Linyi City."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes lit up, and he immediately threw down the red and blue pencils in his hand.

"Okay, connect me to Commander Pang immediately."

"Yes."

A few seconds later, a noisy static came from the crank telephone, followed by a slightly tired voice with a heavy Northwestern accent.

"Hey? Is that Commander Lin? Oh, it's Pang Gengchen."

"Brother Pang, it's me, Lin Feng."

Lin Feng held the receiver, his tone tinged with concern:

"What's the situation in Linyi city? How many brothers have been killed or wounded?"

On the other end of the phone, Pang Bingxun let out a long sigh:

"Brother Lin, on behalf of the tens of thousands of brothers in the Third Legion, thank you."

Your strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" was simply a stroke of genius.

You don't know, these past few days, that old Japanese devil Itagaki has been attacking the city like a madman. My position has almost been flattened by the Japanese heavy artillery.

"If you had arrived even half a day later, Pang Bingxun would have personally led a counter-attack, shirtless and wielding a large sword, to perish together with the Japanese devils."

Lin Feng listened to Pang Bingxun's heartfelt gratitude, smiled faintly, but his tone was very sincere:

"Brother Pang, you flatter us. We are all fighting against the Japanese and protecting our country. It is only right that we support each other."

Besides, the reason we were able to defeat the puppet troops outside the city so easily was entirely because you held off the main Japanese regiment on the front lines.

Lin Feng paused for a moment, then dropped a bombshell:

"By the way, Brother Pang."

According to my preliminary statistics, our army has annihilated more than 2,000 enemy soldiers and nearly 1,000 Japanese soldiers in the two days of flanking attacks.

They also captured nearly four thousand puppet troops.

I have already had this battle report of great victory drafted.

This achievement deserves the greatest credit from Brother Pang and the brothers of the Third Army Corps.

Upon hearing this, Pang Bingxun on the other end of the phone was instantly stunned.

Several seconds passed before Pang Bingxun reacted, his voice trembling slightly:

"Brother Lin... what did you say?"

How... how can this be done?

"You're the one who killed the men, you're the one who captured the prisoners. Our Third Army was just taking bombs in the city, how can we steal your credit?"

At this moment, Pang Bingxun was truly deeply shocked and moved.

In the current military system of Great Xia, it is common for friendly forces to fight each other and refuse to help those in distress.

When they lose a battle, they shift the blame to each other; when they win a battle, they might even draw their guns on each other to claim credit.

But what about Lin Feng?

Not only did he not seek personal glory, but his extremely fierce flanking attack routed the Japanese and puppet troops, leaving them in disarray.

Now, they're even offering to give this incredible credit to him, the ragtag army commander who's about to be crippled.

"Brother Pang, please don't refuse."

Lin Feng's tone left no room for argument:

"Without your bloody battles under the walls of Linyi, which kept Itagaki's attention firmly in check, how would I have had the opportunity to flank them from the side?"

I have already sent the battle report to the Jiangcheng command.

Next, I need Brother Pang to continue to stay in Linyi and properly rest and reorganize the troops.

"The two of us brothers joined forces and completely crushed that tough nut, the Japanese 5th Division."

"well!"

Pang Bingxun was so excited on the other end of the phone that he kept cheering:

"Brother Lin, I will remember your kindness."

"Just say the word, and our Third Legion will fight to the last man without hesitation."

After exchanging a few more polite words, the two hung up the phone.

Lin Feng put down the receiver, turned around, and his gaze fell once again on the huge battle map.

On the map, the marker representing Itagaki Seishiro's main force looks like a hedgehog curling up in fright.

It remained firmly anchored on the plains surrounding Tangtou Town, motionless.

The expected reinforcements were the Japanese 10th Division and other main forces that were supposed to be mobilized from the Jinpu Railway to reinforce the Linyi battle.

However, it remained north of Teng County, showing no signs of moving eastward.

"That old fox, Rensuke Isogai, actually stood by and watched someone die without offering any help?"

Lin Feng stroked his chin, a chilling smile creeping across his lips.

This presents an extremely wonderful situation.

The 5th Division was completely isolated.

Fighter jets have appeared!

Since Isogai Rensuke isn't coming, Lin Feng won't stand on ceremony.

First, concentrate your forces and kill Itagaki Seishiro.

"Advisor, get a pen and jot down my latest deployment!"

Lin Feng suddenly sat up straight, and several combat staff officers around him immediately took out their notebooks, preparing to take notes with solemn expressions.

"Order the independent artillery division directly under the corps to break camp immediately."

Move rapidly towards Linyi City, construct heavy artillery positions outside the city, and be ready to provide fire support for the assault troops at any time.

"Zhang Wenzhong's newly formed 8th Army main force immediately disengaged from direct confrontation."

"Advance in a wide encirclement around Itagaki's flank and rear, and tighten the encirclement."

"Xu Zhiming's newly formed 16th Division was immediately deployed to the battlefield."

Taking over the offensive front from the original newly formed 8th Army, they continued to maintain high pressure on Tangtou Town.

Lin Feng slid his finger across the map with great force, and finally, he pointed heavily to a place called "Baitu Town".

"Order Zhao Dashan's Honorary First Brigade."

Immediately redeploy all undefeated, combat-ready armored forces and motorized infantry.

In coordination with the newly formed 8th Army, a surprise attack was launched on Baitu Town.

Lin Feng stared at the map, deep in thought.

Baitou Town was a highway node connecting the 5th Division with Qingcheng Port in the rear.

According to aerial reconnaissance, the Japanese probably had an infantry regiment stationed nearby.

Cutting off this route would completely sever the 5th Division's logistical supply and retreat.

"I will make Itagaki Seishiro a real turtle in a jar."

"yes!"

The staff officers loudly accepted the order and immediately turned to issue combat commands.

An invisible, giant steel net is slowly tightening on the plains of southern Shandong, closing in on the once-arrogant "steel army."

The battle lasted until March 20th.

Seishiro Itagaki sat in the stolen armchair, staring at the thick stack of battle reports in his hand, his face ashen.

He realized that something was extremely wrong.

The enemy's firepower was truly overwhelming, far exceeding his comprehension.

"Baka! Those idiots in the intelligence department!"

Seishiro Itagaki slammed the battle report on the table in a fit of rage and roared:

"Isn't it said that Lin Feng's troops are all recruited veterans and defeated soldiers?"

Didn't they say they still have a large number of new recruits who have never seen blood?

"These are defeated soldiers?! These are new recruits?!"

In just a few days, the enemy had taken over several key strongholds that he had carefully built on the outskirts of Tangtou Town with overwhelming force.

Although the reports submitted by the brigade and regimental commanders who were obsessed with saving face still claimed with certainty that "thousands of Chinese officers and soldiers were killed".

But Itagaki Seishiro was no fool.

The front lines never lie.