Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

During the defense of Changzhi, the 108th Division sent a Nakamura unit with about a regiment's strength to the south to attack Jincheng from Henan. The remaining Japanese troops all marched to Changzhi from the places mentioned above.

After several staff members discussed the matter, they decided to send the vanguard of the 108th Division to ambush near Wujia Nao and Gouyaoling in front of Dongyang Pass, in order to lure out the main force of the Japanese division for reinforcements.

After cutting off the retreat of the Japanese vanguard and occupying Shexian County, the Wuan 108th Division would immediately start a rescue operation upon learning the news. At the beginning of the Japanese division's exit from the city, they would lay mines along the way and harass the Japanese army's route through guerrilla warfare and sparrow warfare.

After the main force of the 108th Division arrives at Yetao, in order to rescue the front-line troops, it must take the mountain road directly to Piandian. In order to force the 108th Division to split up, two regiments can be sent to establish blocking positions in Dajing Village and Balaling near Yetao.

Once the Japanese army was blocked, they would inevitably start to split up and take detours. When the Japanese army took a detour and went south along the Shuiyi River, they would directly send troops to Paiwei Town to block the retreat of the 108th Division, and at the same time let other regiments appear in the mountainous area northwest of Yetao to encircle it.

At the same time, in order to prevent the Japanese army from breaking through Jincheng and moving north, the blocking mission in the south could be handed over to the 47th Army. After Zeng Jiwen and his team discussed the battle plan, they drafted a telegram and sent it to their home and the front-line headquarters.

At this time, the Japanese 20th Division had previously captured Linfen as a front-line salient in southern Shanxi, and began to mobilize troops to attack Puxian and Yicheng, attempting to attack Yuncheng from the final three directions.

At this time, the 129th Division had been looking for opportunities to ambush the Japanese army in the enemy's rear battlefield, so various front-line news were summarized and distributed. The command center was busy and the sound of telegraph machines kept ringing.

Suddenly, a telegraph operator came towards the deputy chief of staff with a telegram, saying it was a request from the 389th Brigade, and that the situation was urgent. The deputy chief of staff took the telegram and read it, and was immediately shocked. He hurriedly walked towards the deputy commander and others, interrupting the discussion of the staff.

"Deputy Commander, Zeng Jiwen has a message. It's very important. Please take a look at it immediately." He then handed the message to the deputy commander. The deputy commander took the message and read it with confusion. Before long, his expression gradually became serious.

After the deputy commander finished reading the message, he passed it to the others. After reading it, the others were all surprised by the content of Zeng Jiwen's call. Then, he turned to look at the deputy chief of staff.

"Zeng Jiwen has also sent this news home. This kid has given us a difficult problem. If things go wrong, our Eighth Route Army will be dragged into the spotlight."

"Yes, only Zeng Jiwen would dare to think of this. To encircle and annihilate an entire division, no one would think of doing that even on the front battlefield." The deputy chief of staff said with an expression of agreement.

"What do you think of what Zeng Jiwen said? His actions this time are quite radical. Although the telegram he sent indicates that the 389th Brigade is capable of encircling and annihilating the 108th Division, this is also different from the strategy we initially used when we entered Shanxi."

"Let's not even talk about whether it can be done. If it succeeds, the guy in the south might have new ideas," the deputy commander said sternly. "We've just made peace with them, and I'm afraid they'll turn against us the next day."

The deputy chief of staff was also very serious and continued, "Furthermore, if this battle draws the Japanese army's attention to our Eighth Route Army, it will be dangerous later. Moreover, our current strength is not enough to fight the Japanese army head-on."

Others were also talking about it. Some felt that this was an opportunity to dispel the rumors spread by the other side that the Eighth Route Army was just wandering around without fighting, and to boost the morale of the anti-Japanese war.

Others felt that they should conserve their strength and continue to grow and develop behind enemy lines, rather than attracting the attention of the Japanese. Neither side could convince the other, and because the matter was so serious, everyone felt it was a difficult matter. After some thought, they decided to ask their families, and considering that the 389th Brigade was still some distance from the headquarters, they asked Zeng Jiwen to send another telegram to express his views.