Chapter 26: The Eve of the Battle for Xinghe County's Defense (New)

  "Reinforce Tianzhen!" Li Wensheng and others were shocked, all feeling surprised by Chen Feng's command.

  "Commander, you mean our security team will mobilize all its forces to rescue the 61st Army?" Yang Yi asked with a frown.

  Chen Feng sighed and said, "Do you think that by pulling all of us up there, you can stop the Japanese army from occupying Tianzhen? Ah, you're wrong. The Japanese army attacking Tianzhen has three infantry brigades and two detachments, plus nine puppet cavalry divisions, with a total strength of over 90,000 people, known as the "100,000-strong army". Li Fuyuan's 61st Army only has more than 13,000 people, and our total strength is no more than 14,000 people. The enemy is three times stronger than us, and with the gap in weapons and equipment, this battle can't be fought."

  "What shall we do then?" Li Wensheng asked in puzzlement.

  "Pin down the Japanese army and occupy strategic locations!" Chen Feng explained: "The Japanese army's current goal is Tianzhen, and Tojo Hideki should put his main force outside Tianzhen City. The defending troops will deploy along the Tianzhen-Yanggao line to prevent the Japanese army from attacking Datong. So, the Japanese army's main effort is still on the Tianzhen-Datong line for now, but this is only temporary. If the Japanese army occupies Tianzhen, they will definitely send a detachment northward to capture our Xinghe. Therefore, we must occupy all strategic locations along the line before the Japanese army sends troops. Moreover, with our pinning down, the pressure on the defending troops in Tianzhen will be greatly reduced, and I hope they can hold on for a while longer until the arrival of reinforcements."

  The sentence behind is just Chen Feng's self-comfort, in fact he also knew that Li Fu-en's 61st army would not have reinforcements. As mentioned earlier, the so-called Datong Conference was an excuse for Yan Xishan to block Chiang Kai-shek's entry into Shanxi, although after achieving his goal, Yan Xishan did indeed order Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army, Wang Jingguo's 19th Army, and Zhao Chengxi's Cavalry First Army and other main forces of the Second War Zone to gather in the Datong area, preparing for a possible compromise with the Japanese or a last-ditch battle.

  However, just as the above troops entered the defensive position, they received a telegram from Yan ordering them to quickly withdraw south and return to defend Ximen Pass, preparing for the "Yan Mountain Battle". It turned out that after the Itagaki Division and Chahar Army joined forces in Zhangjiakou, they split into two routes, one route directly taking Tianzhen towards Datong, and another route led by Itagaki himself heading south to Wei County and Laiyuan, swiftly capturing Guangling and Lingqiu. At this time, Yan Xishan finally realized that the main direction of the Japanese army's attack was not in Datong, but at Pingxing Pass. Therefore, our commander Yan urgently ordered the troops gathered in the Datong area to quickly withdraw south to Ximen Pass, changing their preparation for the "Yan Mountain Battle". In this way, the so-called "Datong Battle" became a bubble.

  Just as Chen Feng decided to reinforce Tianzhen County, the voice of the intelligent spirit suddenly sounded in his mind: "The Japanese Chahar Expeditionary Army is making a big move, Tianzhen County is in crisis, Xinghe County is in crisis, an automatic branch task has been generated, defend Xinghe County."

  Mission requirements: The host must use all available forces to resolutely resist the Japanese army's conspiracy to occupy Xinghe County, defend Xinghe County for one month or until the arrival of reinforcements, and automatically end the mission.

  Hearing the cold voice of the intelligent spirit, Chen Feng couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head, leaving Li Wensheng and Yang Yi bewildered. The commander was puzzled, unable to figure out what was going on.

  It's easy to say now, but once Tianzhen is occupied by the Japanese army, whether it's Yan or Fu, neither of them will be able to take care of Xinghe, and reinforcements are destined to be just an illusion.

  "Commander's consideration is thorough, Tianzhen is indeed the northern gate of Shanxi Province and cannot afford to lose. If Tianzhen falls, Xinghe will soon become the new combat target of the Japanese army," said Chief of Staff Yang Yi.

  "Commander, what should we do? It's not feasible to open up the formation and engage in a field battle with the devils, the casualties would be too great." said Hu Tiesheng, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Security Regiment.

  Chen Feng nodded and said, "Tie Sheng's words make sense. We can't engage the enemy in a field battle with the Dragon Gate formation; that wouldn't be advantageous. The enemy has just taken down Zhangjiakou, and their military strength is at its peak. We shouldn't clash head-on with them. Xinghe and Tiantown are 50 kilometers apart, with mountains stacked up along the way, making it a difficult road to travel. We should take advantage of the terrain to build defensive positions, lure the Japanese army into attacking, and then block their advance at every turn, relieving some pressure on the Tiantown front while also inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy's effective strength."

  Historically, Li Fu-en led six regiments to defend Tianzhen, and after a fierce battle of seven days and nights, the troops were reduced by half. Almost every day, one regiment was crippled, and in the end, they had no choice but to withdraw their army.

  Although Chen Feng believed that the combat effectiveness of the Security Regiment should be much stronger than Li's 61st Army, he still didn't have the guts to engage in a field battle with nearly 100,000 Japanese troops, nor was it necessary.

  "Now assign combat tasks, temporarily keeping the 2nd and 3rd Security Regiments as well as the cavalry units from exposure. The task of reinforcing Tianzhen by marching south is to be carried out by the 1st Security Regiment alone. The defense of the county seat is handed over to the Command Headquarters Guard Battalion. The 3rd Security Regiment sets off overnight for the Daqing Mountain base, hiding and waiting for orders. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Security Regiment is responsible for the section north of Xinpingbao, the 2nd Battalion is responsible for the defense line from Xuanjiatuo to Xinpingbao, and the 3rd Battalion together with the regimental headquarters is responsible for the defense between Xuanjiatuo and Tianzhen County. Each battalion must build defensive fortifications along the mountain terrain, with at least three lines of defense per battalion. Strictly prohibit each battalion from engaging in mortal combat with the enemy; after inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese army's effective strength, they can retreat on their own."

  "At the same time, we must do a good job in clearing the walls and fields. Starting from tomorrow, the security team will work together with the county police station to mobilize the folks in the county seat to evacuate. Once we start fighting against the devils, the county seat is likely to become a target for their air raids. Also, let County Magistrate Feng mobilize the folks in each township to find shelters, preferably by opening up backup living areas in the mountains and forests, and be prepared to evacuate at any time. As soon as the devils are spotted, we will immediately evacuate." Chen Feng gave orders in an orderly manner.

  "This is an unavoidable measure, the Japanese invaders are beasts, they are not human, and will not treat us as humans. Once we can't resist, our fellow villagers will suffer. Since July 28th, when the Japanese launched a formal attack on Beiping, they have committed numerous bloody massacres, many villages have been razed to the ground, and brutal slaughters have occurred repeatedly. The relocation of our fellow villagers must be done promptly."

  "After the order was given, Chen Feng looked at these officers in the command post and said: "Brothers, the Japanese devils are brutal and cruel. This war is different from the past, victory will bring prosperity to our country, while defeat will lead to its downfall. The four provinces of Northeast China (including Rehe) are a warning example. The Japanese have forgotten that we are Chinese and their treacherous hearts are exposed. If you don't want to be slaves of a defeated nation, you must resist. This is our land, this is where our families and friends are. Don't expect those bureaucratic warlords to save us, only we ourselves can save us. This battle is the first battle between our Security Regiment and the Japanese devils. Brothers, you must fight well, show off the prestige of our Security Regiment, and give a lesson to Chiang Kai-shek's Central Army and Yan Xishan's Shanxi Army on how to fight against the Japanese devils. Are you all ready?"

  "The first battle uses me, and I will surely win! Always ready!"

  "Alright! Let's go!"

  .........

  On September 1, under the command of Chen Feng, this city defense commander, the security team, a not-so-large war machine, was fully activated. The troops stopped training, distributed ammunition, and strengthened defensive fortifications. Government officials, following Chen Feng's orders, began to forcibly order the villagers in the city to evacuate, while ordering each township to do a good job of clearing the walls and fields.

  At the same time, Chen Feng also waited for the long-awaited September system reward. Compared to the July and August system rewards, the September system reward was somewhat disappointing, with only a 2x increase in agility. Chen Feng's current personal attributes were Strength 30, Agility 30, Intelligence 19, which were already very powerful, plus that inexplicable Spiritual Power. A few days ago, Chen Feng experimented with it and found that even when his Agility was still at 15, he could single-handedly take down the entire Special Forces Battalion of 38 soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

  According to the system settings, a healthy ordinary person has all values of 10. Chen Feng's various values far exceed those of normal people, and with his enhanced combat skills and that awesome bulletproof vest, his overall combat power is increasing exponentially. Now Chen Feng feels that if he had a handy sniper rifle, he could take down an entire Japanese infantry battalion by himself.

  Xinghe and Tianzhen are not far apart, the straight-line distance is less than 50 kilometers, but almost all the way is winding mountain roads, so it's actually not easy to get from Xinghe to Tianzhen.

  On the night of September 6, Chen Feng led the Security First Regiment, the Garrison Command's Special Warfare Battalion and the Artillery Regiment to rush to Tianzhen overnight. In order to ensure the speed of the troops' march and maintain their physical strength, Chen Feng allocated more than 3,000 reserve war horses from the cavalry units for the use of the Security First Regiment.

  The arrogant Japanese army didn't take the Chinese military seriously at all. As the northern gate of Tianzhen County, Xinpai Fortress had been occupied by the Japanese three days ago. However, such an important stronghold was guarded by only one infantry platoon and a puppet cavalry regiment with a total force of less than 120 men.

  "Commander, the special warfare team just sent a telegram. There are more than 100 Japanese puppet troops stationed in Xinpingbao, and their vigilance is very lax." Yang Yi said as he ran over on horseback.

  "Send a telegram to Xu Bao, ordering them to immediately clear the obstacles along the way, fight quickly and decisively, and absolutely cannot let the enemy of Xinping inform the devils in Tianzhen." Chen Feng commanded.

  "Yes!"

  Half an hour later, Yang Yi reported again that the enemy in Xinping had been completely cleared out. A small team of Japanese troops and a regiment of puppet cavalry were annihilated, with none escaping. The special warfare unit continued to search southward.

  At the same time as receiving Yang Yi's report, Chen Feng's mind once again echoed with the voice of the intelligent spirit: "Annihilate a Japanese army infantry squad, host obtains the title of Squad Terminator, reward one lottery draw! Does the host want to conduct the lottery immediately?"

  Since he was on a military expedition, Chen Feng chose no. Anyway, the system could save data, and he could draw lots when he had free time later.

  "The host chose to save data, saving data... Data saved successfully!"

  ......