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

Just as Zhang Yi had predicted, the Japanese soldiers were licking their wounds before nightfall and did not launch a new offensive.

At midnight, the 322nd Brigade withdrew as planned, first abandoning Lanfeng City, then Luowang Station. By daybreak, Lanfeng had become a ghost town.

Soon the Japanese discovered the anomaly and reported it up the chain of command to Kunisaki Noboru. The old Japanese soldier breathed a sigh of relief. The 107th Division had finally given up, and he could withdraw from Guanlanfeng without bloodshed.

Thinking of this, Major General Kunisaki raised his voice and said:

"The 11th Regiment will advance from east to west, take over Lanfeng City, and send a telegram to the 63rd, 41st, and 38th Regiments. Request that they quickly reorganize their forces and advance in parallel with the 11th Regiment, first occupying Luowang Station, and then advancing into Kaifeng City."

Major General Kunisaki, holding the highest rank and position, was designated as the person in charge and temporarily commanded the 63rd and 38th Regiments.

Four infantry regiments of the Japanese army advanced along the Longhai Railway. Although they were a group of defeated and remnant soldiers, they were still very aggressive.

First they took control of Lanfeng City, then Luowang Railway Station, their advance pointing directly at Kaifeng. After the delay, this was already the sixth day since the 107th Division received its rearguard mission.

At the 107th Division headquarters, after several days, Zhang Yi and Zhao Yunwen reunited. Many of the contingency plans they had previously devised were not needed. Although the 322nd Brigade suffered over two thousand casualties, it still managed to withdraw intact and successfully rejoin the main force.

"Commander, our brothers suffered heavy casualties this time, with a total of 739 killed, more than 400 seriously wounded, and over a thousand slightly wounded. Many of them were old brothers brought from Nanjing."

Zhang Yi wasn't in a good mood, so Zhao Yunwen comforted him:

"You have done very well. I am already mentally prepared for you to break through to the north and fight guerrilla warfare on the North China Plain."

Casualties are inevitable, as long as we eliminate the Japanese! There are still many battles to fight. Your 322nd Brigade has been fighting fiercely for several days and urgently needs rest. You will temporarily serve as a reserve force, operating alongside the division headquarters. The seriously wounded will be transferred to the field hospital.

"Commander, have they not given up on their plan to wait for us with water?"

Zhang Yi's question was somewhat sensitive, but as an old comrade of the Ironclad Gang, Zhao Yunwen trusted him implicitly and said in a deep voice:

"The reconnaissance battalion has reported that they are preparing to take action, and the timing should be just before the fall of Kaifeng, or it may be earlier. We must be on guard."

Zhang Yi's neck was flushed red, and he slammed his fist heavily on the command table, showing that he had been suppressing his emotions to the extreme.

"Commander, what can I do?"

Zhao Yunwen empathized with Zhang Yi, stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Just wait! Don't worry, with my 107th Division here, they won't succeed. For the sake of millions of people, we're ready to fight!"

Zhang Yi sensed Zhao Yunwen's determination and his anxiety subsided; there was nothing Zhao Yunwen couldn't do.

Since Zhao Yunwen had already made arrangements, Zhang Yi said no more and focused on resting.

The 322nd Brigade suffered a total of 1200 casualties. Before the defense of Lanfeng, Zhao Yunwen gave him more than 900 replacement soldiers, leaving a shortage of less than 300 men.

Once the seriously wounded recover and return to their units, the organization can be restored.

After returning to the brigade headquarters, he added these 900-plus people to two regiments, and then went to rest and recuperate, becoming an observer.

After the 322nd Brigade returned to its original unit, Zhao Yunwen had more options. Two regiments of the 323rd Brigade were guarding Kaifeng, one regiment was guarding the front and the other was guarding the north of the city. The south of the city had a cavalry regiment, an independent regiment, and the 322nd Brigade as a reserve force. They were not afraid of the Japanese flanking from the south.

Lanfeng City had been destroyed. The Kunisaki Brigade stayed in the city for a day to clear the railway line and take a rest. The civilians who stayed in the city and were unwilling to leave their homeland were all massacred by the Japanese to vent their anger.

The distance from Lanfeng City to the outer defenses of Kaifeng is about 23 kilometers. Normally, it would take a day to march there, but the main force advanced even more slowly, taking a full day and a half before finally reaching the city.

Qiu the Madman had been waiting for them for a while, and excitedly said to the Chief of Staff:

"Tell Li Xikai that the eastern position is now in the hands of their 645th Regiment. It'll be a good opportunity to meet those damned Itagaki Division."

No one is to retreat a single step without my order, or they will be court-martialed!

There was no need for mobilization to attack the Itagaki Division; they had long been the target of everyone's anger, and any arrogant general wanted to meet them.

The battle for Kaifeng began as scheduled, and the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released.

Xie Polu pointed to the map and explained:

"In the central route, the 645th Regiment deployed along both flanks of the railway line, relying on its strong fortifications to withstand the 11th Infantry Regiment."

On the northern front, the offensive of the 63rd Infantry Regiment has been blocked by the 646th Regiment, and they will be unable to do anything until the main force of the 10th Division arrives.

On the southern front, the 41st Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division and the 38th Infantry Regiment of the 16th Division, totaling about 5,000 men, advanced in parallel with the railway line. My Independent Regiment launched a series of blocking attacks on both sides of the Huiji River and at the north and south Shengang, with the cavalry regiment providing support.

The plains of eastern Henan are flat and ideal for cavalry warfare. Although the Japanese had 5,000 troops, they were mostly remnants of defeated soldiers, and their advance was slow. They failed to keep up with the pace of the 11th Regiment in the central route, and the longitudinal distance between the two units widened to more than ten miles.

The situation is clear: the most suitable place on the southern front to block the enemy is Tubogang. The Independent Regiment had previously annihilated a battalion of the 16th Division there. This loess hill can be used to build earthen fortifications.

While the Independent Regiment was blocking the enemy on both sides of the Huiji River, thousands of soldiers of the 322nd Brigade rushed to repair fortifications on the post, digging several defensive lines. As the core position on the southern front, it was only 10 miles away from Kaifeng City.

Zhao Yunwen nodded and said:

"Judging from the current situation, as long as the Japanese do not reinforce their troops on a large scale, the Kaifeng area can hold out for a few more days;

My strategy is to stabilize the defenses on the central and northern lines, while the southern line is suitable for opening up new opportunities and taking the initiative to give the higher-ups hope.

The Independent Regiment was instructed to feign weakness and allow the leading 41st Infantry Regiment to advance into the rear positions, spreading out to both flanks of the Huiji River.

The 322nd Brigade deployed in an inverted V-formation on both sides of the North-South Shengang official road. The cavalry regiment hid in the villages and groves on the south side of the official road, keeping a distance of two kilometers to avoid being detected by the Japanese in advance. The artillery regiment was deployed on Tubogang on the south side of the official road, so that the 41st Regiment would experience the taste of artillery fire!

The Independent Regiment's mission was to cut off the connection between the two Japanese forces, preventing them from reinforcing the 41st Infantry Regiment. The cavalry regiment was to cooperate with the 322nd Brigade to encircle and annihilate the 41st Regiment.

We must fight a battle that will inflict a heavy blow on the Japanese, so that they will never dare to pursue us again. Only then will the defensive operations in Kaifeng and Zheng County become easier.

This is called "striking first to avoid a hundred punches later!"

Everyone was very excited after hearing this, thinking to themselves that it was really exciting to fight alongside the division commander. They would never be on the defensive and would always take the initiative to attack when they had the chance.

The offensive on both sides of the Longhai Railway in the central route was met with strong resistance from the 645th Regiment. The 11th Infantry Regiment fought very hard and then requested tactical guidance from Major General Guo Zhi.

After receiving the telegram requesting assistance, Major General Guozhi immediately ordered the 41st Infantry Regiment on the southern front to speed up its assault, and the 38th Regiment of the 16th Division, which had previously suffered heavy losses, followed suit.

The two regiments maintained a distance of about five kilometers from each other, with the latter ready to support the former at any time.

On the south bank of the Huiji River, the Japanese had lost patience with the blocking position of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment and had brought in a mountain artillery company to assist in the battle.

The battalion's positions consisted only of natural riverbanks, slopes, graves, and depressions where they could hide, which was a field battle situation, a combat tactic that the Japanese were most adept at.

The soldiers of the First Battalion had fought quite tenaciously, but after several rounds of artillery shells rained down, the blocking force collapsed instantly, abandoning their armor and fleeing south for their lives.

The Japanese battalion commander laughed triumphantly as he watched the defending troops flee in disarray.

"The cowardly Chinese will run away; chase them down and kill them all!"

The adjutant quickly tried to dissuade him, saying:

"The regimental commander's mission for us is simply to rout the enemy in front of us and cover the main force's reinforcement of Kaifeng. We can't let pursuing the remaining enemy forces delay our main task!"

"Baka yarou, the 11th Infantry Regiment is a bunch of useless trash, they can't even break through a small city like Kaifeng."

Despite the scolding, the battalion commander still knew what was important. They were the vanguard of the 41st Infantry Regiment, and there were many ambushes along the way. They couldn't always pursue them far from the main road.

After defeating the resistance of the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment, the Japanese vanguard battalion continued to advance rapidly along the official road. Colonel Hashimoto was very satisfied after receiving the good news and ordered the main force to follow, maintaining a distance of several hundred meters from the vanguard battalion.

Not long after, the Japanese troops were again ambushed by the Second Battalion, but were easily defeated. This boosted the morale of the 41st Regiment, which accelerated their advance and drove straight in.

Soon the Japanese troops arrived at the Nanbeigang area and advanced along the official road. The vanguard battalion was the first to enter the inverted V-shaped formation.

Chief of Staff Lin Zheng excitedly asked Zhang Yi for instructions:

"The Japanese vanguard has entered the pre-selected position. Should we make a move?"

Zhang Yi shook his head and said:

"No rush. Let the vanguard of the Japanese advance. A few hundred Japanese soldiers are nothing; they can't cause much trouble. We'll deal with the main Japanese force that's bringing up the rear!"

Lin Zheng could only wait patiently. A quarter of an hour later, the main force of the Japanese troops entered the ambush. They carried a large amount of supplies and artillery, with hundreds of mule carts alone, forming a long snake formation two kilometers long on the official road.

Under Lin Zheng's expectant gaze, Zhang Yi dropped his hunter's smile and coldly shouted:

"fire!"