Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Zhao Yunwen walked up to the map and began to speak eloquently:

"The so-called defense of Pengcheng means that we must protect Pengcheng, a strategic location at the hub of the Jinpu and Longhai railways, and delay the Japanese attempt to open up the north and south battlefields and advance westward into Jiangcheng."

We will not fight at Pengcheng, that is, we will not engage in a direct confrontation in Pengcheng and the surrounding plains—the Japanese are highly mechanized and have superior firepower, and our army will surely suffer losses in a decisive battle on the plains; our main force will avoid the enemy's strength and attack their weaknesses, maneuver along the outer lines, and besiege key points to attack reinforcements.

The core principle is to trade space for time, supplement firepower with mobility, and prioritize the preservation of the main force, rather than engaging in attrition warfare with a superior enemy.

Pengcheng is the bait, the surrounding areas are the battlefield, and the main force is the foundation!

Zhao Yunwen's words struck a chord with Li Delin, resonating with a sense of shared understanding. However, these words were still too general and lacked concrete details. Li Delin, not intending to let him off the hook, continued to ask:

"The key to this battle is to hold a key point, attract enough Japanese troops to attack, and then concentrate a large force to surround and annihilate them when they are exhausted. In your opinion, where should this point be chosen?"

This is another test, and a crucial one. The person surnamed Zhao could be "Zhao Zilong" or "Zhao Kuo".

Without a second thought, Zhao Yunwen pointed his baton directly at Taierzhuang and said:

"Instead of holding Pengcheng, we can set up an ambush at Taierzhuang, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and attack them from both inside and outside. If we do well, we can annihilate a part of them. If we are even more ambitious, we can attract the enemy from both directions or even the entire 10th Division and annihilate them together."

Li Delin was deeply moved. His bottom line was to annihilate a portion of the enemy. He had originally placed his hopes for the final blow on Tang's army, but now, with the guerrilla column as a surprise force, he had an extra layer of insurance.

"General Zhao, in order to reduce the pressure on the defenders of Taierzhuang, we must weaken the enemy on the periphery as much as possible."

My request to you is not only to wear down the reinforcements from Sakamoto's detachment, but also to have your forward detachment intercept the Setani detachment on the Jinpu Railway and deplete their morale. Is that difficult?

This coincided with Zhao Yunwen's thoughts, and he immediately chimed in:

"Duke De, if you want to lure the Seibu Brigade over as well, you should kill as many of the Seibu Detachment's troops as possible. The Pingyi to Feixian line has many hills and passes, which are suitable for tiered defense and layered blocking."

Assigning this task to the Second Brigade of the Guerrilla Column will not only allow us to continuously wear down the Japanese troops, but also buy us a few more days to prepare for the Battle of Taierzhuang.

Li Delin was overjoyed and pressed for an answer:

"How many days can you hold off the Laigu detachment?"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Yunwen said:

"About a week!"

Li Delin waved his hand and said:

"It doesn't need to take that long, five days is enough. If it takes too long, things might change and it might scare away the big fish."

"Duke De, how long you need to hold them off is up to the command. The guerrilla corps just needs to follow orders."

After Zhao Yunwen finished speaking, they agreed on a way to contact each other, and then Zhao Yunwen left the headquarters. Not long after, Li Delin delivered the promised reinforcements and supplies. The only difference was that the 5 new recruits had been replaced with veterans, but they were unwanted Sichuan soldiers.

Zhao Yunwen didn't mind; the Sichuan Army was only poorly equipped and lacked nutrition, but these were not problems for the guerrilla column.

The 5,000 Sichuan soldiers were actually compensation for the guerrilla column. Every battle involves death, and bigwigs like Li Delin are very particular; they don't use people for free. Giving only 5,000 meant no compensation for greater losses, and if there were fewer, Zhao Yunwen would profit. Adding in food, ammunition, and other supplies, it was essentially a contract for labor and materials.

Both sides felt they had made a profit from the deal. After confirming the blocking of the Seya Detachment, Zhao Yunwen ordered the Second Brigade to advance again to the area between Pingyi and Feixian, to establish a defensive line in stages, and finally to defend Hutou Mountain outside Wohuyu.

Of the 5,000 Sichuan troops, 2,000 were given to the Second Brigade and 3,000 to the main force. After receiving the supplies, the main force continued to train and integrate the troops in the mountains. The key task was to promote the tactics of the original guerrilla detachment to the entire column. In addition, it was to unify thinking, strengthen military discipline, and enhance the cohesion of the troops.

After the Second Brigade entered Hutou Mountain, Qiu Fengzi sent the Sixth Regiment, which was skilled in harassment warfare, to set up defenses, while the Fourth Regiment rushed to repair fortifications on Hutou Mountain.

Wang Guohua personally led two infantry battalions and a directly subordinate artillery company to launch a raid, while another battalion stayed behind to guide the Fourth Regiment in constructing fortifications.

The guerrilla column was fully prepared for battle, and Zhao Yunwen was stationed at the Second Brigade to take command. He also spent more time with Qiu Fengzi to deepen their relationship and train as generals while fighting.

The longer Qiu Fengzi stayed by Zhao Yunwen's side, the more he realized the gap between them was widening, completely different from Gui Yongqing.

Not only him, but also the fourth regimental commander and several battalion commanders under his command benefited greatly from Zhao Yunwen's teachings.

At the same time, Brigade Commander Zhang Yi also frequently organized training sessions for regimental and battalion commanders, with himself and Lu Ping as instructors, which were then extended to company and platoon level officers. The guerrilla column received its most systematic and longest round of training since the breakout, resulting in a qualitative improvement in its combat effectiveness.

In Pingyi City, the Japanese finally couldn't resist moving south. This time, the 23rd Infantry Regiment, which was officially called the Taierzhuang Expeditionary Army, was leading the charge. The troops that had been annihilated by Yamamoto were also replenished.

The Japanese troops had barely left their hideout when the headquarters sent the latest battle report, which Xie Polu was reading aloud to Zhao Yunwen and others:

「支队长濑谷启少将，辖步兵第10联队、第63联队，配属作战的有野战炮兵第10联队、野战重炮兵第2联队（欠1大队）、驻华日军炮兵联队第3大队，独立机关枪第10大队、独立轻装甲车第10、12中队，工兵第10联队第1中队等部，总兵力超过一万人。」

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath. The firepower was too strong. Not only was the 10th Field Artillery Regiment reinforced, but there was also a heavy artillery battalion, an artillery battalion directly under the army group, and nearly a hundred artillery pieces of various types.

Zhao Yunwen waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry too much. The area from Pingyi to Feixian is mostly hilly and mountainous, so the Japanese heavy artillery can't be deployed and won't advance with the vanguard."

The Second Brigade would only face a Japanese infantry regiment at most, plus part of the 10th Field Artillery Regiment, which was not a threat.

The command gave us the task of holding off the Japanese for five days. My plan was to delay them on the perimeter for two days and hold them off at Tiger Head Mountain for three days…

North of Tiger Head Mountain, in an unnamed valley, lies the ambush position of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Regiment.

Qin Haitao arranged the troops in an inverted V-shape on both sides of the valley, with the opening facing north. Their mission was to eliminate the forward search squadron.

The reconnaissance platoon has reported that more than 100 Japanese soldiers are searching for them, followed by a large force of several thousand men.

Qin Haitao was very pragmatic. The large group of Japanese soldiers behind them was beyond their ability to eliminate. The search squadron was just the right choice. They would withdraw as soon as they succeeded and would not linger in battle.

Several hundred meters away, Shinohara Squadron was advancing cautiously. They were arranged in two columns, with two machine gun teams at the front. They would stop every so often to fire at the mountains on both sides for reconnaissance.

On either side of them, two squads searched along the way, throwing a few grenades at any suspicious spots, being very cautious.

Having learned from their mistakes, the 63rd Regiment was on guard against guerrilla warfare, and the Shinohara Company was more like bait.

The Japanese were getting closer and closer. The characteristic of the inverted figure-eight ambush formation was that the front opening was large, and the ambush troops were nearly two hundred meters away from the main road. The Japanese simply did not have time to search that far. If they could reach a hundred meters, that would be quite impressive, after all, there are time constraints for marching.

When the Japanese troops penetrated deep into the rear exit, the lateral distance narrowed to a few dozen meters. At this point, they were already trapped in an ambush, and whether they were discovered or not was no longer important.

Qin Haitao had already given the order to fire, and the machine guns that were lying in ambush on both sides of the mountain ridge fired first, spraying a dense hail of bullets at Shinohara Squadron.

The "Double Dragons Emerging from the Water Formation" was struck in the middle, resulting in heavy casualties. Captain Shinohara screamed in terror:

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

Major Fu Rong, the regimental commander who was lagging behind, not only did not panic, but excitedly gave the order:

"Quickly, order the Second Battalion to reinforce immediately. They must keep the Chinese pinned down. The main force should follow up later. Don't let them escape!"