The reckless general was surrounded, but with careful planning and clever tactics, he launched a surprise counterattack.

  This is a picture of the well-trained 11th Division led by Liu Chenzhou

  Gaofei Hua and Jiang Zhifei had a big argument, and even Xinmei was dissatisfied with Jiang Zhifei. Jiang Zhifei was speechless and couldn't express his grievances. This storm finally passed, but the marksmanship of the cavalry team's warriors had significantly improved. He Gang was secretly delighted, thinking that the two whips he received were not in vain. Unbeknownst to him, another month had passed. One day, Jiang Zhifei said to He Gang: "This time you've gained a great advantage." He Gang asked: "What advantage have I gained?" Jiang Zhifei replied: "Although you were whipped by me twice, everyone's heart is with you." He Gang was furious and scolded: "Damn it, Jiang Zhifei! You whipped me twice and still say I've gained an advantage? What kind of logic is this? Fine, I'll whip you twice too, and let you gain an advantage!" Jiang Zhifei smiled and said: "Actually, I'm more miserable than you. Xinmei and Gaofei Hua didn't speak to me for half a month. I had no choice but to ask Feixue to tell them the truth, and only then did we make up." He Gang said: "You deserved it! Who told you to be so impatient? There's a Chinese proverb that says: 'Haste makes waste, and impatience can't eat hot tofu.'"

  Jiang Zhi said: "I'm not doing it for our Flying Tiger Cavalry, am I? Haven't you noticed that the soldiers' marksmanship has improved significantly over the past month?" He Guang smiled and said: "That's all because you've been pushing them hard." Jiang Zhi said: "Exactly. Only by putting pressure on them can we stimulate their progress." He Guang said: "I wonder how Commander is doing in Qingzhou." Jiang Zhi said: "Half a month ago, I sent him a telegram to ask about the battle situation, and he replied that the 11th Division had won a great victory." He Guang said: "Really? It seems that Commander really has some skills." Jiang Zhi said: "Of course. How could I say that my father-in-law is not a great hero?" This is what they call 'strong general, no weak soldiers'." He Guang said: "Go away, go away! I hate it when you brag." Jiang Zhi said: "Commander really is an extraordinary hero."

  Liu Chen Zhou was indeed extraordinary. As soon as he left the Flying Tiger Cavalry Regiment's headquarters, he rushed to the Qingzhou front line. Chen Yi Ming repeatedly urged Liu Chen Zhou's 11th Division to hurry to Qingzhou to relieve the 13th Division, because Chen Gang was Chen Yi Ming's nephew. In fact, Chen Gang was only in his early forties and had risen from a small platoon leader to division commander under Chen Yi Ming's strong promotion. This young man had become somewhat arrogant. To say that Chen Gang wasn't all bad, his troops hadn't harmed the ordinary people much, and overall, Chen Gang's troops were quite good in terms of quality and combat effectiveness. However, Chen Gang was a glory-seeker who wanted to be a national hero. After the Japanese captured Qingzhou, Chen Gang immediately ran to Chen Yi Ming's military headquarters, repeatedly requesting to go and retake Qingzhou.

  Chen Gang didn't know how many Japanese troops were stationed in Qingzhou, nor did he know what kind of weapons and equipment they had. He just thought about killing the enemy and making a name for himself so that he could show off his military achievements later. Chen Gang found his uncle Chen Yiming and begged him to let him attack Qingzhou. Chen Yiming couldn't resist Chen Gang's persistence, so he said: "You can go and attack Qingzhou, if you can take it down, that would be great, but if you really can't take it down, come back immediately." Chen Gang was overjoyed when he heard this, and he immediately led the 13th Division to Qingzhou. The 13th Division had more than 10,000 people, but the Japanese troops occupying Qingzhou were a whole division of more than 30,000 people, called the Kumamoto Division. The commander of the Kumamoto Division was Kumamoto Kōichi. When he heard that Chen Gang's 13th Division was going to attack Qingzhou, he became extremely excited. Kumamoto was also a famous arrogant person who looked down on everyone else. It was no wonder that he was so arrogant and self-conceited. The Kumamoto Division had been undefeated since arriving in China, and most of the Chinese troops were defeated as soon as they encountered the Japanese army. The reason for this was that the Chinese commanders were incompetent and the soldiers' morale was low. Therefore, the common people said that the reason why the Chinese army always lost battles was because both the high-ranking officials and the ordinary soldiers had contracted a "disease" called "fear of Japan disease".

  Kumamoto learned that Chen Gang was coming to attack Qingzhou, and Kumamoto burst out laughing. He didn't take Chen Gang seriously at all, so he only sent a small portion of his troops to eliminate Chen Gang, leaving the majority to guard Qingzhou. Because of this, Chen Gang ordered all light and heavy firepower to open fire, resulting in Kumamoto being defeated and fleeing in disarray in the first battle. This was because Chen Gang had beaten Kumamoto for the first time, and his tail was raised high. Although Chen Gang won a small victory, he became arrogant and forgot everything, not knowing east from west or north from south.

  Chen Gang ordered the 13th Division to rush to Qingzhou immediately. As a result, they were ambushed by Xiong Ben's troops when they were still 50 miles away from Qingzhou and surrounded by Xiong Ben's heavily armed forces. Chen Gang resisted fiercely, but the 13th Division suffered heavy casualties. Chen Gang had some national integrity and refused to surrender, so he ordered his troops to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements while sending an urgent telegram to Chen Yiying for help. That was why Chen Yiying hastily urged Liu Chenzhou to rush to Qingzhou to rescue the 13th Division.

  Liu Chenzhou was a cunning old man. The 11th Division, with 25,000 soldiers, was a reinforced division. His three brigade commanders were all veteran generals who had been through many battles: Brigade Commander Chen Hanyan, Brigade Commander Ge Wangshan, and Brigade Commander Qin Ming. Not only did the 11th Division have a large number of troops, but they were also well-trained and battle-hardened. They had over 500 light and heavy machine guns, and the division also had an artillery battalion known as the "God Cannon Battalion". The God Cannon Battalion was equipped with 100 Type 97 howitzers, which was a staggering number considering that at the beginning of the war, all the troops of the Eighth Route Army combined might not have had so many howitzers. These howitzers were lightweight, high-performance, and easy to carry, and the artillerymen in the God Cannon Battalion were all crack shots who could hit their targets with every shot.

  The Divine Artillery Battalion was a trump card in Liu Chenzhou's hand. At that time, the 11th Division's weapons and equipment were quite advanced, and apart from the Central Army, it was unlikely that any other unit had such advanced weapons and equipment. The 11th Division not only had rigorous training and extensive combat experience but also extremely advanced weapons and equipment, making its combat strength extremely powerful. It was precisely because Liu Chenzhou possessed such powerful forces that he dared to be fearless. Liu Chenzhou was an old fox with deep calculations, thinking that if he openly went to Qingzhou to rescue the 13th Division, Xiong Ben would definitely engage in a fierce battle with him, and at that time, his family's accumulated wealth over several decades would be exhausted. Therefore, Liu Chenzhou thought hard along the way, wanting to minimize casualties and achieve a surprise victory. How could he achieve this effect? He had to quietly approach the enemy without being detected and then deliver a fatal blow.

  Liu Chenzhou was well aware that the Japanese army's technology was far more advanced than China's, and as soon as he turned on the radio, the Japanese could quickly capture the location of the radio station, not to mention deciphering the 11th Division's radio password. If the Japanese discovered Liu Chenzhou's intentions, all his deployments would be in vain. Therefore, Liu Chenzhou ordered the wireless telegraph to remain silent and cut off all contact with the outside world. This way, even if the Japanese had extraordinary skills, they would not be able to know the specific location of the 11th Division.

  In addition, Liu Chenzhou ordered his troops to march at night and rest during the day in order to achieve a surprise attack. He often sent out scouts to observe the movements of Japanese reconnaissance planes. As soon as one was spotted, Liu Chenzhou immediately ordered his troops to hide, and once the plane left, the 11th Division continued its rapid advance.

  This made Chen Yiming anxious, as he could not receive any radio signals from the 11th Division and did not know their specific location. Therefore, Chen Yiming sent out several small teams to gather information about the whereabouts of the 11th Division, but it seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

  Chen Yiming, who was on the verge of collapse, shouted loudly in the military department office. Liu Chenzhou's 11th division was gradually approaching the Japanese army's position, and the sound of gunfire could be vaguely heard. On the second day at dawn, Liu Chenzhou ordered his troops to find a hidden place to rest, and by nightfall, he hastily ordered them to march urgently again. The 11th division gradually approached the Japanese army's position.

  The intense and extremely dense gunfire shook the eardrums. At this time, Chen Gang was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, repeatedly asking and urging Chen Yiming if the reinforcements had arrived. Chen Yiming comforted Chen Gang while urgently dispatching the 12th division to reinforce. Chen Yiming cursed Liu Chenzhou nonstop, shouting: "Damn it, Liu Chenzhou! Where the hell did you go? When you come back, I'll shoot you dead!"

  As for Chen Gang's 13th division, they still had considerable combat power. Chen Gang said, "Even if there's a glimmer of hope, I'll hold on." Therefore, he ordered his troops to defend their position to the death, waiting for reinforcements, even if it meant holding out until the last man. However, Xiong Ben was laughing loudly in his command center, thinking that Chen Gang was a turtle in a jar, doomed to die.

  Kumamoto was so confident because he had received intelligence from the Japanese military headquarters that, up to now, neither the Eighth Route Army nor any other unit had come to reinforce Chen Gang. Kumamoto thought this battle would be a sure win and ordered 50 mountain guns to bombard Chen Gang's position fiercely. The mountain guns were large-caliber artillery with long range, strong firepower, and high lethality. Kumamoto hoped to end the battle by dawn the next day. Chen Gang's 13th Division was already being suppressed by the Japanese artillery fire and could not lift their heads. Just as Chen Gang thought all was lost, Liu Chenzhou's troops were quietly approaching Kumamoto's division. When the time was ripe, Liu Chenzhou ordered one regiment to attack Kumamoto's left wing, another regiment to attack his right wing, and a third regiment to open up a gap in the middle. The commander of the third regiment, Qin Ming, was a seasoned veteran who had been through many battles. He was originally from Liangshan, but shared the same name and surname as the hero from Water Margin, so everyone called him "Thunderbolt Fire".

  Lightning Fire Qin Ming ordered the sniper company to take out Kumamoto's artillery first, to alleviate the pressure on Chen Gang's 13th Division. The sniper company quietly approached Kumamoto's artillery position, only more than 50 meters away from Kumamoto's artillery position. The intense explosion sound had already covered up all the sounds, so the sniper company arrived at the back of Kumamoto's artillery position without being detected. Kumamoto's artillery was still unaware of it. At such a close distance, the sniper company could be said to have hit every shot, and with one burst of gunfire, Kumamoto's artillery position suddenly became silent. Immediately afterwards, shouts of killing erupted from all directions, Liu Chen Zhou ordered the 11th Division to open fire with all light and heavy firepower except for the God Cannon Battalion. As a result, this instantly stunned the little devils. The little devils probably didn't even dream that someone would attack them from behind. Kumamoto was in high spirits when he suddenly heard shouts of killing and explosions ringing in his ears. Kumamoto hastily asked what was going on, and immediately had soldiers explain the situation to him. Kumamoto shouted: "Impossible! Did Chen Gang's reinforcements drop from the sky?" Chen Gang, who was surrounded, suddenly felt that the little devils' big guns were silent, and Chen Gang instantly felt much more relaxed.