In a village less than 20 kilometers away from Xiangfen County, the middle army where Lieutenant General Ito is stationed here.

When almost all the tents in the camp were pitch black, only the tent where Lieutenant General Ito was still brightly lit, and there were roars of angrily curses from time to time.

It took a long time before the chief of staff who was guarding the tent of the communications squadron walked in carefully.

"The division commander... the situation is indeed similar to what you infer... The Eighth Route Army is too cunning. It uses the tactics of besieging the city to attack reinforcements and encircle and annihilate our subsequent reinforcements an hour ago~ including the two squadrons in front. In just a few hours, we lost a full infantry brigade and a mountain artillery squadron!"

"Also, this Eighth Route Army lost all its heavy weapons when it broke through our blockade line. After this battle tonight, not only did it have light and heavy machine guns and mortars, but also infantry artillery and mountain cannons, and its firepower is much stronger than before the breakout!"

"Now we have only one left-behind army in the rear of our army. The Eighth Route Army's equipment is more sophisticated than the remaining one of ours, and there are heavy weapons. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, the remaining infantry brigade can only temporarily trap the county town!"

"But, in this way, the supplies sent to us from Linfen will have no safety on the road. They may be intercepted or destroyed by this Eighth Route Army..."

"Bang..."

Lieutenant General Ito's clenched fist slammed hard on the table in front of him, and then cursed.

"Don't they understand such a simple truth... When they set off, I repeatedly explained that the Eighth Route Army was too cunning. The place they defended was the Eighth Route Army base, and they might fall into a trap. Therefore, no matter when or in any situation, the troops cannot divide their troops!"

"If the troops they attacked Zhanglianggu Village were an infantry brigade, even if the Eighth Route Army arranged a net for them there, they could easily break through..."

"Not only did not kill the Eighth Route Army, I lost an infantry brigade~"

"Now we don't even have a stable rear, and even the logistics supplies required for troops to fight may not be sent to the troops in time... How can we fight in this way? How can we continue this encirclement and suppression battle!"

The Chief of Staff immediately proposed: "I suggest that a reinforcement brigade be drawn from our central army to return to the aid!"

"There is also a brigade of guard troops in the Heavy Artillery Corps that can be drawn, and a cavalry brigade will be drawn, plus the remaining infantry brigade in the rear, that is, nearly 3,000 imperial troops, which should be able to control the situation, gain a new advantage, and then find a way to kill this Eighth Route Army!"

"How to kill it!" Lieutenant General Ito answered angrily.

He is very rational and tries to take the problem into consideration no matter what he does, and then prepare relevant things in advance.

He frowned and analyzed: "When there are no heavy weapons, these Eighth Route Army can kill our reinforced infantry brigade in two battles. Now they have whatever they want, and they have sufficient ammunition. I am sure that we will send an infantry brigade to fight them, and they will also have the courage to kill our infantry brigade!"

"When none of our infantry brigades are opponents, you can draw an infantry brigade back to help, wouldn't you let them die?"

The Chief of Staff did not agree with the analysis of the division commander, shook his head and asked, "Teacher Commander, you seem to have forgotten something..."

"The Eighth Route Army killed a reinforced infantry brigade when its equipment was not as good as ours. Even if they used tricks, casualties would definitely be small. Even if the Eighth Route Army seized all the equipment of our infantry brigade, they would not use it without soldiers, and their combat effectiveness would not be improved!"

"Two brigades plus one cavalry brigade. Each time two brigades are dispatched, one brigade remains behind, which should be able to ensure safety!"

Lieutenant General Ito did not answer this question immediately, but his face became surprisingly serious at this moment.

After glanced at the subordinates in the tent, he said seriously: "You guys, I have reminded you more than once that our targets are the Eighth Route Army, not the Jinsui Army and government troops we attacked in the past!"

"And more than once, I would like to remind you to study the Eighth Route Army more and understand the Eighth Route Army..."

"Now it seems that you are all too arrogant and don't take my words seriously!"

"The Eighth Route Army had only tens of thousands of troops when it sent troops. One of the important reasons why it could grow and grow under the nose of the Imperial Army and became a major concern for the North China Front Army step by step. It is that the Eighth Route Army claims to be the ranks of the people. When they encounter war, they pick up guns, they are soldiers. Without war. Put down guns, pick up hoes, they are ordinary people..."

"Everyone has seen the guerrillas who sneaked into our sneak attack along the way! These people do not really belong to the Eighth Route Army, but once the Eighth Route Army we attacked suffered huge losses, they will directly join the Eighth Route Army and become a member of the Eighth Route Army!"

"Although we have eliminated a lot of guerrillas, compared with the total guerrilla forces in the Eighth Route Army base, it is definitely a drop in the bucket!"

"Our rear was a base of the Eighth Route Army a few days ago, and a large number of guerrillas lurked in it. As long as the Eighth Route Army hidden in our rear shouted, I promise that in a few days, all the soldiers they lost would be filled, and these soldiers were all soldiers with certain combat experience!"

"There are soldiers, and there are also equipment and ammunition... Do you still think that we can stabilize the situation after we only draw one infantry brigade back to the rescue?"

"No..." The Chief of Staff responded helplessly with a calm face.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he couldn't help asking: "But, the division commander, in order to ensure the next encirclement and suppression, our rear must be stable! The combat supplies urgently needed by the encirclement and suppression troops must also be sent up in time... What should be done, please inform the division commander!"

His own idea was rejected and he could not think of any other way for the time being, so the Chief of Staff could only kick this problem to the division commander.

"Get two infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade back... No matter what action is, we must ensure that the two infantry brigades and cavalry brigades act together, so that I can rest assured!" The division commander made a decisive decision.

The Chief of Staff immediately reminded: "But we don't have that many troops at all... Unless the main forces involved in the encirclement and suppression are mobilized, once they move, the entire encirclement and suppression plan may have an accident!"

"No, there is still another army!" the division commander replied.

"Our Central Army also has a direct guard brigade of division, which is a reinforcement brigade, and its combat effectiveness is comparable to that of two brigades of ordinary troops. We can draw a brigade from the 137th Regiment of the Central Army to return to the aid!"

"With ordering Major General Miyazaki to unify all the troops left behind, stabilize the situation, and ensure the main logistics supply line, kill the Eighth Route Army that is operating there!"

"Aren't the Chinese people in the occupied areas recently found us and willing to serve the Imperial Army? Organize them, let them pay, the Imperial Army produce weapons, and form a security regiment to help the Imperial Army stabilize the situation in the rear!"

"Use those Chinese who serve the Imperial Army to form the intelligence networks in all occupied areas for me, keep abreast of the situation of the people in the occupied areas, find out the Eighth Route Army and the guerrillas, and directly eliminate them. I want to completely eliminate the resistance forces in the occupied areas!"

"Also, I would like to remind Major General Miyazaki that the Eighth Route Army in the occupied area, the guerrillas that resisted the Imperial Army, and local assembly, he could kill as many people. However, I don't want the saber in his hand to chop at ordinary people. After all, the New Eighth Route Army Regiment still holds the lives of more than a thousand Japanese imperial expatriates in his hand!"

"Finally, tell Miyazaki that I have no soldiers to send. I hope he must be cautious when fighting in the rear and not be fooled again!"

"Hi... I'll do it right now!"
Chapter completed!