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

At the Fifth War Zone headquarters, everyone wore a smile, and the staff officers walked with a brisk pace, as if they were on springs.

With each piece of good news arriving, Li Delin, who usually kept his emotions hidden, was all smiles. The situation was settled!

Chief of Staff Xu Yanmou even brought a congratulatory telegram from the Adjutant's Office, along with the latest instructions. Chiang Kai-shek once again indulged in his habitual boasting.

After reading it, Li Delin smiled faintly and said:

"At this stage, we do not yet have the conditions to win the Battle of Pengcheng and hold the Jinpu Railway. Commander Chang is determined to launch a major attack, and we soldiers will obey his orders and fight first."

Xu Yanmou continued, saying:

"Commander Chang only saw the victory, but he did not know that after the previous stage of high-intensity combat, the resources were consumed in great quantities, the soldiers were exhausted, and it was not in line with the established strategy to fight a big battle."

"Militarily, there is no need to continue fighting, but politically, we still have to fight. Once the victory at Taierzhuang is announced, the morale of the army and the people will be greatly boosted, sweeping away the decline since the loss of Shanghai and Nanjing."

The public's call for victory will urge the government to continue fighting in the Yellow and Huai River regions. At this point, anyone who dares to abandon the Jinpu Railway will be condemned as a traitor.

Li Delin saw through the essence of politics, which is why he decided to give it a try. He was not a simple soldier; he had to obey and serve the needs of politics.

Xu Yanmou didn't want to say much. Commander Chang was going to send a large number of troops to the Jinpu Railway, which was like preparing for a decisive battle with the Japanese. Even Commander Li couldn't stop him, so it was best for him to keep his mouth shut.

Li Delin turned his gaze to Yi County and said calmly:

"Yanmou, is there anything blocking the retreat route of the Seya Detachment from the direction of Yixian?"

"Yes, Lord Huide. General Zhao led the 648th Regiment to easily capture Yixian. Although they did not capture the old devil Seya Kei, they intercepted the supplies they had stockpiled in the city, making Seya Kei a stray dog."

The remnants of the Seya Detachment then arrived south of Yixian City and launched a fierce attack on the 648th Regiment's defense line, but were easily repelled by the 648th Regiment. The battle is still ongoing.

The 52nd Army of Tang's regiment is pursuing and advancing. Before nightfall, it will be able to complete the encirclement of the remnants of the Seya Detachment, and together with the 648th Regiment, launch a pincer attack to annihilate them beneath the walls of Yixian City.

Li Delin nodded, then turned his gaze towards Linyi City:

"How is the encirclement and annihilation of the Itagaki Division progressing?"

Mentioning the Itagaki Division, Xu Yanmou said with renewed vigor:

"The 107th Division deployed its main force. They first severely damaged the Kunisaki Brigade at Tangtou, and then sent a regiment to launch a feigned attack on Yishui, which frightened Itagaki Seishiro so much that he immediately ordered the Kunisaki Brigade to return to reinforce.

Kunisaki, taking advantage of the situation, led his remaining troops to break through towards Yishui. The 643rd Regiment pursued them relentlessly, leaving behind many Japanese soldiers.

The worst off is the Sakamoto Detachment, which has been abandoned and is being pursued and intercepted by our 59th Army, 85th Army, and 107th Division. Its remaining strength is less than four thousand, and annihilation is only a matter of time.

Li Delin finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Japanese army had no chance of turning the tide in the Battle of Taierzhuang. The only difference was whether or not the Setani and Sakamoto detachments could be completely annihilated.

In Yixian County, south of the city, the offensive of the 63rd Regiment was once again repelled, leaving more than 300 corpses behind. The 1st Battalion of the 648th Regiment suffered only 100 casualties, most of whom were wounded.

Kei Seya has taken over command, and the chief of staff came to report with a grim face:

"General, the main force of the Chinese 52nd Army has caught up with us. Their vanguard is only a few miles away from the Imperial Army. We can't fight any longer and must retreat immediately."

Major General Seya's face paled with fright. This was a trap; Yixian was no longer a viable route. He had to find another way. He immediately gave the order:

"Abandon all baggage and burdens, and cross the mountainous region west of Yixian!"

The burden that Major General Seya mentioned naturally included the seriously wounded. With several hundred seriously wounded soldiers, let alone breaking out, even marching would be a major problem.

Discarding casualties is a cardinal sin in warfare. The chief of staff glanced at Major General Seya, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Major General Seya instantly understood the chief of staff's concerns; it certainly wouldn't sound good if word got out. But that didn't faze him. He said in a deep voice:

"Leave the wounded warriors behind to cover the retreat, give each of them a grenade, and tell them that the holy war needs them, and that the time has come to serve His Majesty!"

Major General Lai Gu's decision showed the chief of staff the ruthlessness of those in power; if he dared to say anything more nonsense, he might be left to command.

The Chief of Staff bowed deeply.

"Hey, I'll get right on it!"

Zhao Yunwen did not miss the Japanese retreat. He immediately ordered the First Battalion to leave the city to pursue them, mainly to collect the equipment and supplies abandoned by the Japanese and kill all the seriously wounded soldiers abandoned by the Japanese. He was worried that other units would treat the wounded Japanese soldiers as treasures, which is a common problem among Chinese people.

"Chief of Staff Xie, immediately send a telegram to Brigade Commander Qiu, ordering him to intercept and kill the remaining Japanese troops along the way, leaving as many alive as possible, skinning them alive layer by layer, and absolutely not engaging in a direct confrontation!"

The brothers of the 107th Division are all battle-hardened elites. The Japanese will go crazy to escape, so there is no need to fight to the death. Layered blocking is the most cost-effective approach.

After receiving the order to pursue, Qin Haitao personally led a battalion of soldiers out of the city, chasing the Japanese for several miles before stopping to clean up the battlefield.

When they appeared inside the Japanese field hospital, the hundreds of wounded Japanese soldiers had resolute expressions on their faces, their fists clenched tightly, and their eyes flashing with ferocity.

Qin Haitao shouted coldly:

"What are you all standing there for? The Japanese devils would rather die than surrender! Annihilate them all!"

The machine guns fired like popping beans, and grenades rained down on the spot where the Japanese soldiers were lying. They attacked from a distance, not giving the Japanese a chance to take their men down with them.

"You idiot! You're not a true samurai!"

Captain Asano was unwilling to give up. He strapped himself with high explosives and waited for the Chinese to get closer.

The script didn't go as Asano had hoped. The Chinese had no intention of capturing prisoners, causing the Japanese plan to fail. Asano detonated the explosives with all his might, demonstrating his determination to die even if it didn't harm the Chinese.

The massive shockwave blasted a deep crater in the ground, tearing the wounded to shreds and leaving no trace of their bodies.

"A bunch of lunatics!"

Qin Haitao shook his head, then ordered over a hundred more grenades to be thrown before sending someone to finish off the culprit and clean up the mess.

Shortly after the First Battalion finished cleaning up the battlefield, the main force of the 52nd Army arrived. By this time, the remnants of the Japanese army had already entered the mountains. They had no interest in searching the mountains and thus withdrew their troops.

After the remnants of the Setani Detachment entered the mountains, they were constantly harassed and ambushed by the 646th Regiment. Their morale was low and they had no will to fight. In the end, only a thousand or so men escaped, and all their equipment and supplies were lost. When they returned to western Shandong, they were no different from beggars.

The situation in Linyi has also been settled. Most of the Sakamoto Detachment was annihilated, with only a small number of survivors escaping. Heavy equipment and supplies were also completely lost.

After the victory at the Battle of Taierzhuang, Lu Ping received Zhao Yunwen's advice and led the main force to return to Yixian County, handing over Tangtou to the 59th Army.

According to the latest deployment by the headquarters, the 107th Division's mission is to defend the Yixian front line and rest on the spot.

The announcement of the victory at Taierzhuang caused a sensation both at home and abroad, with the whole country celebrating. International public opinion overwhelmingly supported China and ridiculed the defeated Japanese.

China has demonstrated its strength, and the theory of national subjugation has lost its foothold. Instead, the theory of swift victory has taken its place. Many people believe that with more than 200 million well-equipped Nationalist troops, a swift victory can be achieved on the main battlefield, driving the Japanese out of China in one fell swoop. Some have even shouted the slogan of a great counter-offensive, and there are many supporters.

Chiang Kai-shek was even more ambitious, planning to mobilize 600,000 troops to defend the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, fight a decisive battle in the Yellow River and Huai River regions, and then launch a counterattack on North China to recover Beijing and Tianjin.

In Yixian County, at the 107th Division headquarters, high-ranking officers gathered together. This was the first time they had all come together since the division of forces. All officers above the regimental level were present, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Influenced by the general environment, there was also the erroneous idea of ​​"quick victory" among the soldiers of the 107th Division. This meeting served two purposes: to summarize the experience and to reach a consensus.

The summary, prepared by Chief of Staff Xie Polu, was over a thousand words long and essentially detailed the number of enemy troops killed, the amount captured, and the number of casualties. It included both experiences and lessons learned, but more importantly, it highlighted the achievements—after all, it was a victory, and everyone shared in the pride.

To deflate the argument for a quick victory, Zhao Yunwen didn't focus on the summary, only touching on it briefly. He waited until Xie Polu finished reading the report before taking over, saying:

"The brothers fought very well, annihilating tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and severely damaging the Japanese. The results and military achievements have been reported to the command."

I want to remind everyone that the Battle of Pengcheng is not over yet. The Japanese suffered heavy losses at Taierzhuang, but they will not give up easily. They are currently mobilizing a large force to encircle Pengcheng from the south, north, and west, and their total strength will increase to 300,000. So now is far from the time to celebrate.

Everyone took a deep breath. Three hundred thousand troops—just hearing about it was terrifying. The atmosphere in the hall became tense again, and all eyes turned to Zhao Yunwen.