Traveling through 1937, starting from the Battle of Songhu

Yuci is a big city. With the arrival of the newly-promoted 153rd Division, the Japanese army strength reached , while the main force of Gu Changfeng's side was around at most. It must be said that the heavy artillery gave him great confidence.

As the artillery positions formed by the three regiments were completed, under Gu Changfeng's command, fifty cannons fired at the same time, instantly covering the entire southern city wall.

Boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

After the first round of shelling, the Japanese in Yuci City could not bear it anymore. A round of heavy artillery attack made the city wall seem to collapse. How could they fight back?

"What, what..."

Lieutenant General Saku Genkichi called the headquarters and the news he conveyed left Yamaoka Michitake stunned.

"Commander, this is bad! Three regiments of the Independent Brigade have surrounded Yuci City overnight!"

"Yamaoka-kun, how dare you be so reckless! Are you still a samurai of the empire?"

Yoshio Shinozuka was very dissatisfied with Michitake Yamaoka for breaking into his office and his tone was very rude.

Yamaoka Michitake didn't care and said hurriedly, "Commander, the independent brigade has transferred dozens of heavy artillery pieces from somewhere, and now Yuci City is in danger."

"What? You said the independent brigade surrounded Yuci City? And they even had heavy artillery?"

Shinozuka Yoshio finally reacted and asked in panic.

He now understood why Yamaoka Michitake was in such a state of panic. The threat posed by dozens of heavy artillery pieces was self-evident. Although his First Army had made a lot of preparations, there were not many in Taiyuan and Yuci.

"Commander-in-Chief, General Saku said the enemy's artillery fire was extremely fierce. A conservative estimate is that there were no less than forty or fifty heavy artillery pieces. The walls of Yuci will not hold out for long."

Yamaoka Michitake once again emphasized the seriousness of the matter.

Shinozuka Yoshio was horrified and cursed, "Damn it! The Independent Brigade has already reached the gates of Yuci City, but why hasn't the intelligence department responded? What's the point of the Empire keeping these useless people?"

Hearing the commander's anger, Yamaoka calmed down a bit. After a moment's thought, he said, "Commander, all our spies near Taiyue Mountain were eliminated yesterday."

"As for the checkpoints between Taiyue Mountain and Yuci City, there was absolutely no news yesterday morning. I suspect the special forces of the independent brigade took action."

His words calmed Shinozuka Yoshio's rage a little.

In fact, it cannot be said that he did not make any arrangements. After Shouyang fell, he transferred the 153rd Division to Yuci for garrison. He thought that with nearly troops, nothing serious would happen.

He didn't expect that the independent brigade had prepared heavy artillery at some point, and it was configured as an artillery brigade, which was very uncomfortable.

"Mr. Yamaoka, do you think the Independent Brigade will attack Taiyuan City?"

Shinozuka Yoshio quickly shook his head after saying this and continued, "This is probably a cover. Their target should be the large amount of supplies and equipment in Yuci City, as well as banks and Japanese-funded enterprises."

Yamaoka Michitake frowned and looked at Shinozuka Yoshio. "Commander, you're probably right. However, it will take at least two days for our two divisions to reach Taiyuan. And during these two days, will Yuci be in danger of falling under the bombardment of the Independent Brigade?"

The new problem gave Yoshio Shinozuka a headache. At this time, he had no other troops to mobilize except for a division to defend Taiyuan.

Looking at the troubled Shinozuka Yoshio, Yamaoka Michitake tentatively asked, "Taiyuan City still has a flight formation. Can we let them go into battle?"

Shinozuka Yoshio pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Yamaoka-kun, we lost over 40 fighter planes during the campaign against the Gaojiazhen Empire. Now, after replenishment, we only have over 150 fighter planes. Even if we include the Shijiazhuang Airport, the total is only over 230."

"If the Independent Brigade is prepared, our air warriors will be in danger."

His worries were not without reason. The independent brigade's anti-aircraft guns posed a great threat to them. If the other party prepared a trap for them to fall into, they would be the ones who suffered losses.

In fact, it was mainly because he was frightened by the sudden appearance of dozens of heavy artillery in the independent brigade, otherwise he would have ordered the flying formation to attack in the first place.

For a long time, the two people in Shinozuka Yoshio's office stared at each other, feeling really embarrassed. Yamaoka Michitake couldn't guarantee that there would be no accidents when the flight formation went out.

Finally, Shinozuka Yoshio gritted his teeth and said, "Yamaoka-kun, there is no other way. We must buy time for the two divisions to return to support us."

"Order the air warriors to attack. Send one squadron up first to see if the independent brigade has prepared anti-aircraft artillery!"

Yamaoka Michitake breathed a sigh of relief, bowed his head and agreed, then went down to make the arrangements.

On the other side, Gu Changfeng clapped his hands and saw that the situation was almost over. He directly ordered all the troops to retreat. It was almost time to play around, and it was not the right time to take over Yuci.

Of course, he was originally planning to take Yuci directly, but was stopped by the boss. The reason was very simple. They received news that the 36th and 41st divisions were returning for reinforcement.

Gu Changfeng thought for a while and did not disobey the order.

It was not just because this was the order from headquarters, but also because he felt that if two more divisions were added, if the time dragged on and two Japanese divisions joined the battlefield, his limited force would not be able to withstand it. It would be better to attack from a roundabout way. Dividing and annihilating the enemy was much better than a head-on attack.

What's more, the boss also told him to cooperate with other divisions of the Eighth Route Army.

The three regiments came quickly and left quickly. Before the Japanese flying squadron attacked, Yoshio Shinozuka received the news that the independent brigade had retreated, which made him confused. What did this mean?

However, since the independent brigade retreated, there was no need for the First Army's aircraft to go out, and the main reason was of course the same as before.

At night, in the temporary meeting room at the Taiyue Mountain Second Regiment’s headquarters.

Gu Changfeng smiled and said, "We have revealed our trump card by deploying so many heavy artillery this time, but I think it scared the Japanese quite a bit."

As soon as he said this, there was laughter in the conference room.

After everyone finished laughing, Gu Changfeng continued, "Since Yuci won't be fighting for the time being, we shouldn't be idle."

"Three regiments will split up and attack the enemy's targets at various locations. Deep into the towns and villages, destroy the so-called blockade line of the enemy!"

After saying that, he looked at Xiao Wu and said, "I will take half of the special forces team, and you will be in charge of the others. Our target is the Japanese airport in Taiyuan. We have a month to kill them. Don't be impatient. Wait until the right time is right to strike."

He had never thought of attacking the Japanese airport before, but until now the Japanese planes have always been a threat to the independent brigade. It would be best if they could be destroyed.

It just so happens that the headquarters has ordered not to attack Yuci first, which also gives the special forces time. Otherwise, it is hard to say when Gu Changfeng will need to use the special forces.

Xiao Wu heard this and nodded without saying anything.

Wu Mazi thought for a moment and then asked, "Which direction is our main target?"

Gu Changfeng said directly: "Our main focus is to deplete the enemy's strength, so our strategic goal is to attack the surrounding towns and even the county. You can do whatever you want within a radius of one hundred to two hundred kilometers."

"Remember, it's best if your three regiments don't exceed fifty kilometers. If you find an opportunity to annihilate the enemy at the brigade level, the three regiments can completely unite."

Wu Mazi smiled and said, "Now we understand. Don't worry, with our strength, if we separate the Japanese, we will be able to crush them!"

With the current firepower configuration of the independent brigade, there is no need to worry too much about a few Japanese regiments. One regiment is enough to destroy them. He still has confidence in this.

"Alright, divide the heavy artillery among your regiments. It's up to you from now on."

Gu Changfeng still has to go to the 386th and 385th Brigades, so the next period of time will almost depend on how each regiment performs.