Are you a spy? Killing the enemy is too cruel.

Central Plains, Xuchang.

The battle in the city was over. Without taking the time to clean up the battlefield, Ye Feng issued orders to the commanders of various regiments:

"Captain Niu, you lead 5000 people to Ruzhou in the west, open the passage between Xuchang and Ruzhou, scan the enemy's strongholds, and take down those artillery towers and bunkers. Anyone who dares to resist our anti-Japanese armed forces will be killed on the spot."

"Remember, after taking Ruzhou, immediately build a defense line, and make sure the defense position is deep."

"If you don't have enough manpower, you can just hire common people. As for the money and food, I don't need to teach you, right?"

Niu Chujun stood up and saluted, shouting a slogan to ensure the completion of the mission.

Where does the money and food come from?

Naturally, they were the local gentry and wealthy people in Ruzhou. In those days, most of the people were hungry and cold, but those local forces who were dependent on the Japanese lived a very comfortable life. They worked for the devils, provided them with intelligence, and made a fortune.

Ye Feng continued, "To the north of Ruzhou is Luoyang City. According to my estimation, once you 5000 people take action in Ruzhou, the devils from Luoyang will definitely come out of the city to attack. Captain Niu, your mission is simple, but also difficult. You must be like a nail. Nail it to Ruzhou and stop the devils from Luoyang City. Do you understand?"

Niu Chujun promised, "Yes, I will ensure that we will stay in our positions and will not retreat a single step."

Ye Feng said, "Don't worry, I have already informed Division Commander Song that he already has two regiments with 10,000 people attacking northward from Nanyang. If all goes well, they will be able to reach Ruzhou and join you in about seven days."

Nanyang, where the Song domain is located, is surrounded by countless counties and towns, which must be attacked and recaptured one by one.

Why did Ye Feng let Niu Chujun defend Ruzhou instead of launching an offensive against Luoyang City?

the reason is simple.

Firstly, they could not capture the city. According to intelligence, the Japanese had deployed more than 100,000 troops to defend Luoyang City. Even if Niu Chujun’s troops were exhausted, they would never be able to capture Luoyang City.

Secondly, the ancient city of Luoyang is a holy city in the hearts of everyone in China. As a thousand-year-old city and the imperial capital of countless dynasties, this city contains unimaginable profound cultural heritage. It must be well protected and it is best not to be damaged by artillery fire, so the battlefield was placed in Ruzhou.

Thirdly, Ye Feng planned to use the tactical strategy of "defense first and then attack". Since the Japanese had assembled a large force and were determined to defend Luoyang, he would transfer these devils out, open up a battlefield outside the city, fight in the wild, try to destroy the enemy's manpower, and wait until more than half of the devils in Luoyang City were killed. At that time, Luoyang City would not have to attack on its own, and the Japanese devils on the opposite side would retreat on their own.

"Captain Zheng."

Ye Feng looked at Zheng Hua and gave an order, "Take the other 5000 people with you and join the two regiments that will arrive later. With a total strength of people, set out from Xuchang and attack eastwards to recapture Fugou, Taikang, Zhoukou, Shangqiu and other places first. Remember, when attacking, be on guard against the Japanese devils in Kaifeng City in the north. It is best to send three times the number of reconnaissance soldiers to guard against the devils in Kaifeng City."

Before Zheng Hua could speak, Ye Feng waved his hand, signaling him not to worry, and analyzed the map:

"Cities like Taikang and Shangqiu are not easy to attack. They are both large cities in the eastern part of the Central Plains."

"If we storm, let alone 15,000 people, even 50,000 people wouldn't be enough."

"Your siege strategy can only be successful if you cooperate with both the inside and the outside."

"The 500-man special agent action team from Shanghai has arrived. They are all experts who are selected from hundreds of thousands, and are good at assassination, blasting, beheading, poisoning, contact, intelligence, etc. What you need to do is to make full use of the 500-man special agent team, arrange the tasks in advance, and coordinate the time to launch the attack."

The order to send 500 outstanding agents was secretly issued by Ye Feng when he led his troops out of Shanghai to attack Jiangsu and Anhui.

Matters ranging from personnel selection to training are all handled by Ling Wei and Chang Qingqing.

Now this group of agents have really taken to the field.

Zheng Hua said, "Commander, we need heavy weapons to attack the city, but we didn't bring any heavy firepower weapons when we attacked Xuchang?"

Ye Feng said, "Don't worry, a batch of heavy artillery will arrive later, and you will be equipped with enough artillery shells."

The two regiments that arrived later were actually escorting various weapons and equipment along the way.

At this time, Luo Daqian, who was in charge of the reconnaissance mission, asked in confusion, "Commander, now that all these people have been sent out, who will guard Xuchang?"

Ye Feng said, "I will be in charge personally."

As the highest military commander in the Shanghai, Jiangsu and Anhui regions, and a commander above the army commander, he was naturally equipped with guards.

In Ye Feng's opinion, three hundred guards were enough.

Half a day later, the two regiments, which had rested, led by Niu Chujun and Zheng Hua, set out in two directions, one east and one west.

"Xiao Zhang, prepare to contact Nanyang. I want to send a telegram." Ye Feng had no time to rest.

"Commander, everything is ready." Zhang Ye replied.

"Tell Song Yu that I will leave the remaining four regiments in Nanyang. With these 20,000 men, let him build a defensive line with Xinyang-Nanyang as the axis, mainly to block the Japanese troops in Hubei."

"If the southern part of the Central Plains is lost, I will throw him, Songyu, into the military court for punishment."

This is the reason why they left behind the Song domain, which had stronger command and combat capabilities, when they attacked Xuchang.

Southern Central Plains region.

It borders the northern part of Hubei, and there are nearly 20 Japanese main forces in Hubei.

Once these main forces attack northwards, their 12th Army will be attacked from both sides, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

It is not very realistic to rely on 2 people to defend the entire defense line.

"Commander, Commander Song sent back a telegram." Zhang Ye came over and saw Ye Feng nod, then he read the contents of the telegram:

"Commander Song responded that the four regiments were too few and the area to be defended was too large. He needed more troops."

"Commander Song estimates that at least 5 troops are needed to effectively build a defense line."

Ye Feng smiled helplessly.

Troops are needed everywhere. Where can he get 5 troops for Song Territory?

This time when they advanced into the Central Plains, they only brought one division. Although they later expanded it by three regiments and increased the strength of each regiment to 5000 people, the total number was only around 5.

"Xiao Zhang, where do you think we can recruit another 3 people for Commander Song?" Ye Feng asked.

Zhang Ye thought for a moment and said, "Commander, Xuchang is the largest city in the central part of the Central Plains and has the largest population. If we have a large amount of military pay, food, weapons, ammunition, etc., we can indeed raise a division of troops in a short period of time."

Why did Ye Feng have to stay in Xuchang?

He didn't just want to stay here to defend. What he wanted to do was to fight the local tyrants, divide the land, and recruit new soldiers...

According to his original plan, he wanted to complete these plans within half a month by cutting the Gordian knot.

However, the defense line in the southern part of the Central Plains must be set up as soon as possible and there is absolutely no delay.

"Time!"

Ye Feng frowned. If he wanted to quickly defeat the local gentry and local tyrants, the situation would definitely cause considerable turmoil. At that time, he would definitely have to spend a lot of time traveling around to suppress the rebellion.

"Xiao Zhang, in my name, send a notice to the wealthy and powerful forces, big families, and big chambers of commerce in Xuchang and the surrounding areas, and tell them that I will be waiting for them at the temporary headquarters tomorrow."

"You can come or not!"

After Zhang Ye finished recording, he asked, "Commander, can you include some threats when you convey this?"

Ye Feng said, "Okay, tell those people who are on both sides of the fence that I, Ye Feng, usually kill all the running dogs and traitors without mercy!"

Zhang Ye asked again, "If those local gentry and other powerful forces ask us what price we are willing to pay to save our lives, how should we answer?"

Ye Feng said firmly that if anyone dared not agree, I would have to bring the troops, carry guns, and go door to door to greet everyone.