Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Suddenly, the deputy chief of general staff came over to the deputy commander with a telegram in his hand. "Deputy commander, Zeng Jiwen has sent a telegram. Please take a look." He then handed the telegram to the deputy commander.

The deputy commander took the telegram and read it quickly. After finishing, he began to mark on the map. In a moment, the deputy commander had completely marked the main attack routes of the Japanese army on the entire map with a blue pencil.

"Zeng Jiwen's guess is very accurate, and it's similar to what we thought. It is very likely that the Japanese army will start the attack along this route." The deputy commander stood up and said seriously to the division commander and the deputy chief of general staff.

After seeing the Japanese troop distribution and route map drawn by the deputy commander on the map, the two men fell into deep thought.

"Deputy Commander, Division Commander, it seems Zeng Jiwen is under a lot of pressure this time. The Japanese army has three divisions, surrounding him from nine directions, totaling 60,000 men, and they didn't even bring along the puppet army. It seems Zeng Jiwen has given the Japanese army a hard time before."

"You see, if what Zeng Jiwen said is really true, the Japanese army will eventually meet in Liaoxian and Heshun areas, and then start to return according to their respective predetermined routes." The Deputy Chief of General Staff said with a look of regret.

"Well, but how can he not be hated? Just think about it, since Zeng Jiwen entered Shanxi, the ambushes launched by Guangda have become bigger and bigger. The Japanese army has lost more than 30,000 people in the open, not to mention the ambushes of small Japanese troops by his troops in various counties." The division commander joked.

"Yes, so the Japanese army is ruthless this time. Our intelligence comrades have sent us news that Taiyuan Airport, Shijiazhuang Airport, and Handan Airport have all been expanded, and a large number of aircraft have begun to be stationed there. The purpose is very obvious." The Deputy Chief of General Staff echoed.

Suddenly, the deputy commander turned to the deputy chief of general staff and asked, "Zeng Jiwen didn't react at all? The Japanese soldiers almost had the rope around his neck, and he didn't even struggle?"

Upon hearing this, the Deputy Chief of General Staff suddenly smiled, as if remembering something, leaving those around him bewildered. Without waiting for anyone to question him, he explained, "He wasn't unresponsive; he was incredibly responsive. Between sending us a telegram, he sent another to Old Chen. The content was quite elaborate, saying he hadn't seen him in a long time and missed him terribly, and asking him to bring a regiment to Wuxiang for a chat."

Then the Deputy Chief of General Staff continued, "Zeng Jiwen probably saw that the Japanese army had too many troops and could not defeat them in a group fight, so he asked for external assistance."

Hearing this, everyone around him laughed. The division commander said jokingly, "It seems Zeng Jiwen has a plan. He's letting Old Chen do some short-term work again." After hearing this, the deputy commander asked in confusion, "Is Chen happy with this?"

"How could Old Chen not be happy? Last time we annihilated the 108th Division, Zeng Jiwen sent us equipment. Old Chen expanded it with a replacement regiment and an advance detachment, and even raised an artillery regiment."

"All the artillerymen in my division have been taken away by Old Chen." The division commander said with a smile.

"Old Chen has seven regiments under his command, plus Zeng Jiwen's forces. It seems Zeng Jiwen has some ideas." The Deputy Chief of General Staff suddenly became thoughtful. "Old Chen has nearly 20,000 men under his command. Add Zeng Jiwen's forces, and these two are going to make a big move."

"Let's wait and see what Zeng Jiwen does. The Japanese army is still gathering, and the actual attack will probably take another week. We can only cooperate for now." The deputy commander echoed.

At noon on the 14th, the headquarters of the 84th Regiment in Wuxiang.

At this time, Zeng Jiwen and others, accompanied by the commander of the 84th Regiment Liu Gancheng, the political commissar Wu Qingpei and the chief of staff Huang Zirong, received Lao Chen and the commander of the 772nd Regiment Ye Chenghuan and his party who rushed to Wuxiang from Qinyuan.

As soon as they met, Old Chen shouted from afar, "Mr. Zeng, you're addicted to hiring me for short-term work. What kind of wages are you offering this time?" Zeng Jiwen heard this and said with great sorrow, "I was thinking of you for good things, but I didn't expect you to say that to me."