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

Zhao Yunwen was determined to take Yi County, as it was the supply base of the Seya Detachment. Once he captured it, he could fill it with supplies, such as artillery in the system warehouse, 12 105mm mountain guns, 6 75mm mountain guns, and a large amount of ammunition, which would free up warehouse space.

To achieve this goal, he moved his command forward to an area a few kilometers west of Yixian County, personally directing the encirclement and annihilation of the Setani Detachment, leaving as many Japanese remnants as possible behind.

The 648th Regiment acted swiftly. After receiving orders, they marched more than 20 kilometers and arrived north of Yixian County before 6:00 a.m., where they made contact with Zhao Yunwen.

At this moment, Zhao Yunwen's minimap showed that the defeated soldiers from Taierzhuang were only thirty li away from the county town, and would normally arrive in half a day.

Half a day was enough time for the 648th Regiment to capture the county town. Only three companies remained around the headquarters of the Setani Detachment. This number was not even enough to fill the 648th Regiment's teeth. It was up to Setani Kei to deal with it.

Zhao Yunwen gave the main force of the 648th Regiment an hour to catch their breath, and set the attack time at seven o'clock in the morning. At this time, the isolated battalion in the west of the city also stopped attacking.

The attack on the isolated battalion ended at 5 a.m., giving the Japanese two hours to rest, which was intentional.

When you're exhausted, you don't feel it when you keep fighting, but once you get a rest, you completely relax and it's hard to get your spirits up again.

Major General Seya spent a night in anxiety. The offensive in the west of the city finally subsided, and he dozed off on his cot, leaving the command post to the chief of staff, until he was awakened by the rumble of artillery fire.

Forced awakened from a deep sleep, Major General Seya's eyes were bloodshot as he roared:

"Damn it, what's going on? Where did all this cannon fire come from?!"

The chief of staff hurriedly replied:

"General, the main force of the Chinese army has suddenly appeared in the north of the city and launched a fierce offensive. They have more than five 75mm mountain guns, as well as a large number of Imperial Type 5 infantry guns. Judging from the weapon configuration, it should be the main force of Zhao Yunwen's 107th Division!"

Major General Seya broke out in a cold sweat. If that were the case, it meant that the 39th Infantry Regiment had been defeated or annihilated.

"That useless Numata has betrayed the trust placed in him by Tenko!"

Kei Seya couldn't help but curse Colonel Numata, but he knew it was useless; the most urgent task was to deal with the crisis in Yi.

"Where are the Warriors who transferred from Taierzhuang? Will they make it before noon?"

The chief of staff shook his head and said:

"Reporting to General, the county's defenses may not hold out until noon. The Chinese are launching an attack from the west and north. To the east are mountains, where the Chinese 20th Army Corps is located. Zhao Yunwen is trying to drive us south."

Besides the remnants of the 63rd and 10th Regiments, there were also a large number of Chinese pursuers to the south, intending to encircle and annihilate the Imperial Army!

Kei Seya roared as if someone had stepped on his tail:

"Chinese people don't have stomachs that big, aren't they afraid of their teeth breaking!"

The chief of staff didn't dare to say anything more; he simply stated the facts. Whether or not Major General Seya was willing to accept them was his business, as the encirclement from all sides was now complete.

A brief silence fell over the command room. After all, Kei Seya was a renowned general with rich combat experience, and was by no means an incompetent fool who dared not face reality.

He was thinking about how to break the deadlock. The chief of staff was right; Zhao Yunwen was notoriously ruthless and wouldn't give him any time.

He was unwilling to give up on the county town and head south now.

A dilemma!

"Everyone, take up arms and climb the city walls! We must hold out until the main force arrives!"

"Immediately send a telegram to the division commander requesting tactical guidance, and ideally, send air support to assist in the battle. Hold out until noon at all costs."

"Send a telegram to the 63rd Regiment and the 10th Regiment, instructing them to speed up their march and reach the area south of Yixian County before 11:00 AM."

"Send a telegram to the 5th Division..."

As he issued command after command, Kei Seya was making one last gamble; he was unwilling to give up the city's supplies.

Otherwise, even if they rejoined the main force, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long without supplies.

Only by joining forces with the main force can they hope to break through from the northern front and retreat to Zaozhuang.

At the 323rd Brigade headquarters, Zhao Yunwen was directing the battle when Xie Polu rushed in, holding a telegram in his hand.

Zhao Yunwen frowned subconsciously, sensing that this was not a good thing.

"Sir, a telegram from the Attendant's Office."

Zhao Yunwen finally realized where the problem lay, and the legendary micro-management skills came to the rescue!

Upon receiving the telegram, he found it to be exactly as he had predicted:

"Yunwen..."

He wrote a long, rambling piece of paper, with only one purpose besides reminiscing: to ask him to stop the fleeing enemy at all costs and cooperate with Commander Tang to annihilate the Setani Detachment.

Chiang Kai-shek was trying to reap the benefits, claiming all the credit for the Battle of Taierzhuang for the Central Army.

Zhao Yunwen could guess with his bare hands that he must have also issued an order to the Second Army Group to stop the pursuit and rest in place, with a plausible and irrefutable reason.

Xie Polu was waiting for Zhao Yunwen's reply. After all, this was the principal's military order, and he dared not neglect it.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yunwen said:

"Chief of Staff Xie, record: The Commander-in-Chief reports that the 323rd Brigade has suffered heavy losses after more than a month of fierce fighting; especially in the Battle of Baoniugu, although they narrowly defeated the 39th Infantry Regiment and annihilated 2,000 enemy troops, the unit's structure was severely damaged. Yixian is the headquarters of the Seya Detachment, where a large amount of supplies are stockpiled. The Command will do everything in its power to capture the county seat and destroy its supplies. We will fight to the death!"

Xie Polu couldn't help but give Zhao Yunwen a thumbs up, he was truly brilliant!

Zhao Yunwen also wanted to annihilate the Setani Detachment, but this was not something he could decide alone. He only had four or five thousand men. How could he possibly annihilate thousands of Japanese soldiers who could roam around freely?

There is no hope unless the 20th Army Corps and the 2nd Army Group cooperate fully. He should just do his job and cut off the main road from Yixian to Zaozhuang. If the Japanese break out from the mountains, the 323rd Brigade really can't stop them with its small number of men and guns.

In the north of the city, the 648th Regiment's artillery preparations were completed, and several breaches had been blasted in the city wall, opening up a passage for attack.

Hundreds of soldiers from the battalion surged toward the breach like an overwhelming tide, with infantry artillery, 20mm mortars, and heavy machine guns providing long-range fire support.

The Japanese soldiers hastily opened fire to block their advance, and a barrage of fire from several Type 92 heavy machine guns blocked the troops' path.

The two infantry guns of the battalion's artillery company were pushed forward to target the Japanese machine guns one by one, hitting them accurately every time.

It must be said that the Type 92 infantry gun was an excellent siege weapon. In the hands of the Chinese, it was even more powerful, and the Japanese finally tasted the bitterness of being crushed by their own weapons.

Twelve rocket launcher teams also provided support at the front. The hastily constructed brick and stone fortifications of the Japanese were no match for them, resulting in heavy casualties.

The advance of the skirmisher line by the 1st Battalion was very smooth. In less than an hour, they destroyed most of the Japanese heavy firepower and stormed into the city.

At the same time, the isolated battalion in the west of the city also successfully breached the city walls, eliminating over a hundred Japanese soldiers.

At the Setani Detachment headquarters, the sound of gunfire drew ever closer. The chief of staff, with a mournful face, shouted:

"General, the Chinese have invaded! They number in the thousands! Our warriors are still fighting desperately to hold them off in the city. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"

Keiji Seya didn't want to be the first general captured, nor did he want to die for the holy war, so he disregarded his pride and coldly shouted:

"withdraw!"

This single word almost exhausted all his strength. The defeat at the Battle of Taierzhuang was inevitable, and he would be nailed to the pillar of shame of the empire.

He no longer cared; preserving his life was the most important thing. He had made enough money in China to last a lifetime, so he could accept returning to China to retire.

But he was still unwilling to give up, as he was just one step away from success.

"General, should we send men to blow up all the supplies in the city? We absolutely cannot leave any for the Chinese!"

The chief of staff's suggestion was immediately rejected by Major General Seya. He was joking; if the supplies were really blown up, Zhao Yunwen would pursue him relentlessly.

He's someone who's about to retire and return to his home country; he wouldn't be foolish enough to cut off his own escape route. That's called buying life.

Seya Kei led the remaining troops in the city to break out towards the south of the city. The main force of the 323rd Brigade was in the north, and Zhao Yunwen could only watch them leave helplessly, unable to intervene.

「统子，将系统仓库内的12门105毫米山炮、6门75毫米山炮，外加1000发105山炮弹、5000发75毫米山炮弹，放入鬼子辎重仓库中。」

[Host, your instructions have been completed, freeing up some warehouse storage space. Current available storage space is 3.752 cubic meters.]

The Japanese warehouses were full of artillery shells. The Taierzhuang incident resulted in huge losses. The warehouses contained food and infantry shells, but were missing mountain artillery shells.

After completing this operation, Zhao Yunwen waved his hand and said:

"Enter the city!"