Blood-Red Front

Lin Zhiyuan was happy to let the 14th Brigade change its tactics and waste time.

The battle raged on until after 4 p.m. To avoid a night battle, the Chu Sheng Army halted its offensive early and switched to a full defensive posture, preparing to continue the attack the next day.

Inside the 14th Brigade headquarters, looking at the markings on the map of Lujia Town, Okazaki stroked his chin and shook his head repeatedly.

"Something's not right. Xia Jun has lost the position, but why doesn't he show any intention of retaking it?"

Regardless of the type of battle, the constant fighting for positions is the norm. However, in Lujia Town, although the 6th Regiment fought desperately in defense, there was not a single instance of a counterattack.

The chief of staff, who was standing nearby, realized what was happening and asked, "Brigade Commander, do you mean Xia Jun is going to run away?"

"Very likely." Okazaki nodded.

"Judging from Xia Jun's movements, they don't seem to be planning to hold out in Lujia Town to the death."

"When do you think they will break out?" the chief of staff asked.

"It'll probably happen tonight."

"Then I will immediately issue an order to the entire army, instructing them to defend the area at all costs."

"No." Okazaki raised his hand, stopping the chief of staff's movement.

"If we completely block the Xia army in Lujia Town, it will be too troublesome for us to clear them out, and it will consume a lot of our time."

Gang Qi clenched his fist in the air. "I think we should turn the tables on them, let the Xia army out of Lujia Town, and then surround and annihilate them in one fell swoop!"

"The brigade commander is brilliant." The newly promoted officers standing nearby all gave him a thumbs up.

Throughout the day, both sides fought fiercely for every inch of ground. The 14th Brigade suffered heavy casualties but did not advance more than a few meters. They were not worried about whether they would win, but they were very worried about the casualties.

However, as long as the Xia army leaves the intricate and complex town of Lujia, they are absolutely confident in their ability to fight in the field. Putting aside everything else, they can crush the Xia army with artillery alone.

"How can we lure Xia Jun out?" someone asked.

"This is simple," Okazaki said confidently.

"Order the 11th Regiment to transfer two infantry battalions and its subordinate mountain artillery company to reinforce the east of the town, and to make the posture of a strong attack."

"In addition, the First Engineering Battalion was ordered to build pontoon bridges at Wangjiawan and Yaogang to ensure that trucks could pass through."

"What?!"

The people around looked shocked.

"Brigade Commander, if we transfer all the main forces to the east of the town, the troops in the west and north of the town will be extremely scarce. These two directions are the main directions for the Xia army to break out."

"I have my own plans." Okazaki said with a hint of mystery, "To speed up the transfer, the supply trucks will also be sent to help."

"this……"

"Execute the command!"

"Hi!"

……

The newly promoted troops didn't understand Gang Qi's actions, and neither did Lin Zhiyuan and the others.

The newly promoted army swaggered through Zhennan. If it weren't for the arrival of the newly promoted army's planes, Lin Zhiyuan could have even ordered the mountain artillery battalion to bombard them.

"Commander, what's going on? What is the newly promoted army trying to do? Are they planning to launch a full-scale attack on Lujia Town from the east?"

This was the only possibility Guan Jianchu could think of.

Lin Zhiyuan shook his head. "Unlikely."

"Lujia Town is not Binxi. There is already a regiment in the east of the town. What does it mean to send another two thousand people there? The 41st Regiment is not completely wiped out yet."

Although Lujia Town is relatively large, it is still just a town, and the eastern part of the town cannot accommodate two detachments attacking at the same time.

"What does 'newly promoted to the rank of general' mean?" Guan Jianchu was completely baffled.

"I don't understand it either, but I don't need to."

Tonight is the scheduled time for the retreat. Lin Zhiyuan has been preparing for the breakout for a long time. Now that the Chusheng Army has suddenly mobilized a large number of troops to the east of the town, he will first attack the west of the town to test the waters.

As both sides prepared, evening soon arrived.

Looking at the setting sun, Okazaki turned around.

"It's time."

"Pass on my order: the 11th Regiment, which was transferred eastward, shall immediately return to the west of the town. The 41st Regiment shall send one battalion to reinforce the north of the town and one battalion to reinforce the west of the town."

"All personnel must be in position within two hours. Disobedience will be subject to military law!"

Okazaki's move once again caught everyone off guard.

"Brigade Commander, this..."

Looking at the operations staff officer who went to relay the order, Gang Qi explained with a smile: "There is an old saying in the Xia Kingdom, which is 'Openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass.' What I call this is 'Showing troops to the east while ambushing them to the west.'"

"Since Xia Jun is trying to break out, he will definitely choose to break out from the area where his troops are weak."

"I deliberately moved the troops from the west to the east. Xia Jun must think that our army will launch a strong attack from the east tomorrow. Tonight they will definitely break out from the west of the town or break out."

"However, my troops have already returned to the west of the town and set up an ambush, just waiting for the Xia army to plunge in."

"Of course, there is also a large brigade in the north and east of the town to prevent them from doing the opposite."

"I see! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

The newly promoted officers next to him were impressed by Okazaki's display of skill and all gave him a thumbs up.

Gang Qi pointed his sword diagonally at Lujia Town, "Hmph! A mere 6th Regiment dares to stand in my way? I'll slaughter them all!"

……

late at night.

The mountain artillery battalion changed its previous scattered state and concentrated all the mountain guns together.

In the west of the town, Lin Zhiyuan had already led the guard platoon and the 4th and 5th companies drawn from the north of the town to provide support.

Pointing to the ruins opposite, the Third Battalion Commander reported, "Regimental Commander, the position of the newly promoted army is just ahead."

Although the opposite side was pitch black, Lin Zhiyuan had already seen the situation of the newly promoted army through the mini-map.

Contrary to expectations, the newly promoted troops were not sleeping or resting, but remained in battle formation.

It was obvious they were lying in ambush.

However, Lin Zhiyuan didn't care. He put down his binoculars, glanced at his watch, and picked up the phone next to him. "Report the situation from each gun position."

"Anti-tank gun position number 1 is in place."

"Anti-tank gun position number 2 is in place."

"Anti-aircraft artillery position number 1 is in place."

"Anti-aircraft artillery position number 2 is in place."

"Very good." Lin Zhiyuan nodded and took a rifle from the side.

"Launch the attack as planned!"

"kill!"

The once silent darkness was suddenly filled with deafening shouts of battle.

Upon hearing the sound, the newly recruited soldiers immediately raised their guns; they had been waiting for a long time.

Both sides opened fire with their machine guns, and tracer bullets wove a dense net of fire in the darkness.

Among the many tracer rounds, one tracer fire line was very inconspicuous.

All the other tracer rounds were fired from machine guns, one after another, while this tracer round was fired intermittently, appearing to be harmless.

But Chu Shengjun didn't know that wherever the tracer bullet hit, it would be bombarded by artillery fire the next moment.

Sometimes they were anti-tank guns, and sometimes they were anti-aircraft guns.

This tracer round was fired from the rifle in Lin Zhiyuan's hand.

As long as it was a firing point of the newly promoted army, Lin Zhiyuan would direct artillery fire to strike them before they even opened fire.

In the darkness, the entire eastern part of the town was in chaos. Chu Shengjun was confused about the situation and dared not make any rash moves, but Lin Zhiyuan, who had access to the full map, had no such concerns.

He led his guard platoon straight into the abdomen of the newly promoted army.

……