The purpose of this sweep by the Imperial Army was not only to eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army, but also to completely destroy and disintegrate the entire Eighth Route Army Taiyue District base area, thereby destroying the Eighth Route Army threat from its roots.

Although this idea is a bit cliché, if we wait until now to eliminate the Eighth Route Army, every large-scale raid will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause.

They can complain about this idea in their hearts, but they cannot express it in their mouths, because the higher-ups have high hopes for every major sweep.

At this juncture, Huaide, who had always maintained good public security, made a mistake first, which was too obvious. Naturally, he could not let the Eighth Route Army continue to cause trouble under his rule.

However, he learned from the past that the moment Ogawa Sei was held accountable, this was a chain reaction caused by the imperial army's large-scale operation, so he handed over the problem and hoped that his superiors would handle the matter from an overall perspective. He would not be stupid and shoulder the responsibility on his own.

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With Uno Genryo's report, the follow-up to the Battle of Xinzhuang was fermenting. What was originally a local matter in Huaide was directly elevated to a regional matter related to strategy.

The upper echelons of the Japanese took it very seriously and immediately ordered Xiang Yuan, Qingyuan and other Japanese and puppet troops to encircle this Eighth Route Army and would never allow this Eighth Route Army to wantonly destroy the peripheral blockade.

Zhang Yunfei's intention to mobilize the enemy went more smoothly than expected with Uno Genryo's excellent cooperation.

While the enemy was focusing on Huaide, the New Ninth Regiment, which had completed the sneak attack on Xinzhuang, had quietly moved westward and entered Xiangyuan territory.

This time, Zhang Yunfei focused on Xiang Yuan's Shiquanhe stronghold. The function of this stronghold was similar to that of Xinzhuang.

By opening the Xinzhuang stronghold, you can enter the Huaide area, and by opening the blockade at the Shiquanhe stronghold, the troops can enter Xiangyuan's central and western regions.

Most of the Wilderness consists of plains and low hilly areas, and he will not go there.

But Xiangyuan is different. Except for the eastern area bordering Huaide, which has a basin and hilly terrain, the entire central and western areas are also mainly mountainous, which is more conducive to the next actions of his troops.

The attack on Xinzhuang was just a false shot by Zhang Yunfei, making the enemy mistakenly think that he was about to enter the Huaide area.

But Shiquan River was the stronghold he vowed to capture. It was related to the success or failure of their next actions, and even decided the fate of the entire New Ninth Regiment.

Once they failed to break through the blockade of the Shiquan River Stronghold, the Japanese and puppet troops on the eastern front were also mobilized by him.

Once the Japs' northern mopping up troops arrived, the New Ninth Regiment that was stuck here would be like prey caught in a trap. It would be difficult to break free. At that time, they would really become lambs to be slaughtered.

"Old Qian, have the troops settled down?" At this time, the Xinjiu Regiment was hiding several miles away from the Shiquan River. Zhang Yunfei, who was studying the map, saw Qian Deming coming over, and just glanced at him and continued to stare at his hands.

map, asked casually.

"Well, everything is almost settled. The teaching team and the special agent company that blocked the rescue this time suffered heavy casualties, and the first and second battalions also suffered considerable losses." Qian Deming said with a slightly serious tone.

In the past, when I was in the rear, I knew that the soldiers on the front line were in dire straits, but I only heard about it and never saw it with my own eyes.

Since I came to the front-line unit of the New Ninth Regiment, I have been able to come into contact with the real situation of the front-line units.

But after all, he is just a political cadre. He does not really do many things personally, and there is always a layer of separation.

But now as a political commissar, my feelings are different. I can only watch the wounded die because they were too injured to receive medical treatment. It's strange that I don't feel heavy when dealing with these things.

Zhang Yunfei naturally knew the reason for his depression, but he didn't have time to mourn the spring and autumn with him.

The medical conditions of the Eighth Route Army are already like this, and since they are currently on the move, the wounded cannot be properly accommodated.

Many times, those who died directly on the battlefield were not as many as those who died after receiving treatment for serious injuries after the war.

Wounded soldiers of the Japanese army can be treated, recover and return to the battlefield as experienced veterans.

But the Chinese soldiers, the wounded soldiers who survived on the battlefield, can only wait for the judgment of fate. This is the tragedy of the times.

No, this cannot be said to be sad. As a weak person, if you want to hold your head high, you must be prepared to shed the last drop of blood and pay a heavy price.

If you want to win dignity, no matter how hard it is, no matter how great the sacrifice, you have to fight bravely. Self-esteem and self-reliance are forged and forged with the blood of martyrs who have gone on to succeed.

History tells us that those who grovel and follow the crowd will not only not be recognized by their opponents, but will only be trampled under their feet.

It is true that the military can shape people. He once only wanted to live well in a war-torn era. Once upon a time, he had transformed unknowingly.

Now he should be considered a tough hawk. No matter how much sacrifice he makes, he will never stand still.

Regarding the casualties of the troops, Zhang Yunfei felt heavier than anyone else, but he had no choice.

Should we give up fighting because of casualties? The Japanese will not give up aggression and killing just because you give up resistance.

He could only use compassion to comfort and convince himself over and over again, and then lead them to the battlefield without hesitation, dyeing the battle flag red with his own blood, and rebuilding the backbone of the nation with the blood of the enemy's invaders.

As for comforting Qian Deming, he was not in the mood. He didn't even know who would comfort him. He was the political commissar. The way he looked now made people angry.

Zhang Yunfei was naturally unwilling to leave him. This time the Japanese raided the entire Taiyue District and the southern Taihang Mountains.

It can be seen from the Japs' mopping up route that their forces will eventually gather in the areas along the Qinghe River. The base areas of Qinghe, Pingchuan, Xincheng, and Jianyang are all targets for the Japanese and puppet troops' mopping up.

They just want to destroy this Taihang base area, cut off the entire Taihang Mountain base area, and cut off the connection between the two major base areas of Taihang and Taiyue.

This time the Japanese's raids were not aimed entirely at the main force of the Eighth Route Army as in the past, but aimed at the local government and the people in the base areas. The local anti-Japanese people were the foundation of the Eighth Route Army.

The kid had a good idea, but the superior leaders had already mobilized all the anti-Japanese people and local armed forces in response to the menacing Japanese and puppet troops.

Use all means to avoid the enemy's encirclement with flexibility, use sparrow warfare, harassment warfare, and spread all over the place to attack the enemies who invade the base area.

As for the outside troops, they attacked the main communication lines of the Japanese. Their New Ninth Regiment was responsible for the attack on the Xianghuai Highway.

Now the Japanese and puppet troops want to wreak havoc in the base area, but they want to make the enemy uneasy and take advantage of the Japanese to mobilize troops for mopping up. When the traffic blockade is empty of troops, they launch attacks on the blockade, forcing the Japanese to be unable to concentrate on mopping up.

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The troops in Taiyue District are not soft persimmons, and the Japanese are likely to hit the wall this time.
Chapter completed!