Chapter 56: The Attack on the Jia Family

  Wei Dong smiled and said: "Then he has gone into Gao Da Ge's pocket."

  Takahashi said, "Isn't that so? So I took a few bottles of good Chinese wine over. You know, the sake Japanese people usually drink has a very low alcohol content, but China's baijiu is much stronger than sake. The wine I brought was smooth and mellow at first sip, but packed a punch afterwards, haha, our beloved Commander didn't know this trick and got drunk quickly."

  Yè Tú Fēi said: "And so, Mr. Gāo calmly and unhurriedly took out his camera."

  Tall Bridge waved his hand and said, "You really got it wrong. The phrase 'thief's heart is virtual' really makes sense. At that time, my hands and feet were not listening to orders, they were soft!"

  Ye Tu Fei said: "I can understand this matter, when I first arrived at Jia's house penniless, I had a sumptuous meal at Jia Dage's mutton restaurant, and afterwards, I had a fight with several colleagues and that Zhan Jinbiao from the Jia family, it was exactly your kind of feeling, guilty conscience!"

  Wei Dong continued: "Fortunately, Gao Ge still took a photo of it."

  Takahashi said: "I'm not convenient to stay for long, I'll go back now. Little Wei, you must take good care of that thing in your hand, it's more precious than your life!"

  Wei Dong looked at Takahashi and nodded vigorously.

  That night, the snow stopped.

  Less than a week after the first snowfall, the second major snowstorm arrived, this one even bigger and with lower temperatures.

  This weather is very unfavorable for the three-party coalition army that is preparing to attack Jia's house. The most important thing in an offensive battle is momentum, and momentum needs speed to support it. The heavy snowfall and thick ice on the ground will have a great impact on the speed of the attacking side. If the snow melts before the 14th day of the first month, the impact will be even more severe. This is because the muddy ground not only affects the speed of the soldiers' charge but also causes them to slip when charging.

  Looking up at the gray sky, Peng Youming prayed to God, just let the snow keep falling like this! He would rather choose to fight in the snowy ground than charge in the muddy field.

  However, God did not seem to be moved by Peng Youming's prayers. On the eleventh day of the first month, the snow stopped, and within half an hour, the sky cleared up, the sun came out, the temperature rose rapidly, and the accumulated snow on the ground also melted quickly.

  In less than a day's time, all the snow had melted away, leaving behind a world of mud.

  "Or shall we adjust our schedule?" Yan Xiwen suggested to Peng Youming.

  "No!" Peng Youming flatly refused, his tone firm and unyielding. "We don't have time to drag this out any longer. On the fourteenth of next month, we must launch an attack on Jiajia Bay and take it down in one fell swoop!"

  Perhaps the heavens were moved by Peng Youming's firm conviction, and on the night of the thirteenth day of the first month, a cold wave suddenly struck, and the muddy roads that had been everywhere disappeared in a very short time.

  "Thank heavens! It seems you also know what's good for you!" The next morning, Peng Youming braved the cold and stretched out his arms, shouting towards the sky.

  At 10 o'clock that night, the battle broke out.

  Han Hongxun's troops formed a combat team with one battalion and one regiment as the assault spearhead, while Peng Youming's unit used the Weihuang Dong Dui as the vanguard for the attack. The two forces formed a 45-degree angle and simultaneously launched an attack on the Japanese army in Jiajiawang.

  Ten minutes later, Ye Tufei's unit also joined the battle, using their own camp as a starting point for the attack, and coordinating with Han Peng's two units to form an internal and external pincer movement against the Japanese army, creating a three-sided encirclement.

  Ye Tufei's troops delayed their attack for ten minutes, mainly because Ye Tufei hoped to use the frontal assault of Han and Peng's two divisions to attract the Japanese army's main force to fight, and then he would attack the Japanese from behind, catching them off guard.

  After the battle unfolded, the attack of both Han and Peng's troops went very smoothly. In just over ten minutes, they broke through the two outer defense lines of the Japanese army. At the same time, Ye Tufei's troops also achieved a surprise effect, attacking all the way and breaking through to the rear of the Japanese main defense line with almost no trouble.

  The three parties almost simultaneously sent out signals, indicating that the other two parties had completed the first phase of combat objectives and reached the general offensive position.

  Five minutes later, the general offensive began.

  Contrary to everyone's expectations, what was thought to be a tough and difficult battle turned out to be an instant collapse of the Japanese army. The general offensive lasted less than five minutes, and the three parties successfully joined forces.

  Outside the village, about five miles away from the meeting point of the three armies of Han, Peng and Ye, on a small hill, a simple tent was set up. Under the tent stood Yamashita Kōgo and Takahashi Shin.

  "Congratulations to you, Kao Chiao-jen. I have just received a telegram from Chia Wang-tau's garrison commander, reporting that the enemy has broken through the last line of defense at Chia Wang-tau. If they wish, they can now enter Chia Wang-tau with impunity."

  Takahashi's face was very calm, he asked: "What is the casualty situation of the defending army?"

  "19 people were killed in action and 46 wounded, including 14 seriously injured."

  Takahashi's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "The cost is not small! Did they all withdraw safely?"

  "Ah, yes, Takahashi-san, they have already retreated to a safe place."

  Takahashi's mouth twitched a few times, and he said: "Order Lieutenant General Matsubara to immediately seal off the surrounded area. Tell him not to make any rash moves without my orders."

  Yamashita Keigo said, "Kouhei Takahashi, with the fighting power of the Matsumoto Alliance, defeating these three thousand armed men from Zhina shouldn't be a big problem. Are you being too cautious?"

  Takahashi's mouth corners rose again, he said: "What I want is not to defeat them, but to annihilate them, not a single one left."

  Yamashita Keigo's heart skipped a beat, startled by Takahashi Nobuaki's sinister expression, but just in the blink of an eye, Yamashita Keigo regained his complex feelings of admiration and dependence on Takahashi Nobuaki.

  "General Kō, apart from the first encirclement by the Matsumoto detachment, we also have the Fukuda and Nakazawa detachments forming the second and third encirclements. Unless the Chinese troops grow wings, it is absolutely impossible for a single one to escape from General Kō's iron-clad encirclement."

  Takahashi Nobumichi's face was expressionless, gazing in the direction of Jiajia Wang, muttering to himself: "As long as he is there, everything will be possible, Ye Tufei, I really don't want you to die at the hands of the Imperial Army."

  Kao Ch'iao said these words at the same time, Yeh Tzu-fei's heart suddenly shook violently, a very ominous premonition struck his joy of victory.

  "Is it that easy? Is it that simple? Didn't the Japanese army have three battalions of garrison troops stationed here? Nearly six hundred Japanese soldiers were defeated and retreated so easily?" Ye Tuofei asked himself a string of questions.

  "No! It must be a trap!" Ye Tufei made his final judgment.

  Yan Xiwen also felt suspicious at this time, and he quickly gathered Peng Youming, Han Hongxun, Wei Xiangdong and Ye Tufei, etc. Yan Xiwen said: "In my opinion, the Japanese are withdrawing voluntarily, I suspect there is a problem with this."

  Ye Tufei said: "It's not a problem, it's a trap. I estimate that we are now surrounded by the Japanese army. Secretary Peng, we can't hesitate at all. We must immediately withdraw from Jiajiawang and take advantage of the fact that the Japanese encirclement has not yet closed in to find a gap and break through."

  Han Hongxun held an opposing view, saying: "Since we've already come, we should at least go take a look. Even if the little Japanese devils have some defenses, they think they can swallow our over 3,000 troops in one gulp? Ha! Unless that little Japanese devil brings all the garrison troops from Xuzhou City."

  Peng Youming agreed with Han Hongxun's opinion, saying: "In the past half month, we have been closely monitoring the Japanese army in Jiajiazhuang and Xuzhou. We haven't found any signs of large-scale troop movements. In my judgment, even if the little devils had made preparations beforehand, their forces would be at most at the regimental level. To think that they could surround us with such a small force and swallow us whole is really too arrogant."

  Wei Dong said: "I believe in Gao's character, I think the Japanese are not fighting because they want to avoid casualties. The Jia family is easy to attack but hard to defend, the Japanese must be thinking of withdrawing first and then organizing a counterattack."

  Peng Youming agreed with Wei Xiangdong's analysis, saying: "Our goal is that batch of treasure, and the Japanese combat troops may not necessarily know about this matter. Therefore, they are very likely to consider it from a tactical perspective, retreat first and then attack!"

  Yè Tú Fēi thought for a moment and said: "From my understanding of Japanese people, it shouldn't be like this."

  Han Hongxun interrupted Ye Tufei's analysis and said, "Brother Ye, you've seen that batch of treasure with your own eyes, haven't you? In these days, the Japanese didn't transport that batch of treasure right under your nose, did they? So, never mind what conspiracy or not, let's seize that batch of treasure first."

  The treasure was mentioned, and the main goal of this operation was mentioned, and everyone stopped arguing.

  Peng Youming made the final decision: "All combat units will rely on the Japanese army's position, quickly set up an external defense line. Wei, the battalion commander, arrange a few people to follow us to Gaoqiao Xin's residence and seize that batch of treasures."

  Deep down, Ye Tufei had a strong desire for those treasures, especially the golden jade clothes. So he didn't raise any objections and instead actively ordered his brothers to immediately set up defensive formations around Jiajia's outer walls.

  A group of people, under the escort of a team of warriors from Wei heading east, rushed into Gaoqiao Xin's residence, a large empty courtyard devoid of any living things.

  Ye Tu Fei still remembered where Gao Qiao Xin's darkroom was located. He led everyone to the entrance of the darkroom very smoothly.

  Entering the dark room, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and all the treasures were intact and stored in their original place.

  Ye Tu Fei suppressed his excited emotions, walked to the side of the golden silk jade garment, and extremely carefully stretched out his hand to touch the crystal clear jade piece.

  "Fake! It's actually fake!" Ye Tufei's hand had yet to touch the jade piece when Peng Youming suddenly shouted loudly beside him.