NCCnovel Chapter 703: Recovering Zhengzhou
Chapter 703: Recovering Zhengzhou
Li Zongren put down the telescope. The mortars and machine guns of the Yimeng guerrillas moved into the city, and a large number of rocket artillery followed. This was to completely control the city gate! The next step was street attacks and alley fighting.
"The east side of the city has been breached. I don't know what the situation is in the other three directions. We can't be too embarrassed!"
"Brother Delin, don't worry! Even if we couldn't break through just now, now is the chance. We can use the tactics of breaking the surface with a point and using cold guns. It won't take more than half an hour."
After entering the city, the Yimeng guerrillas did not rush to attack inside. They suppressed three rounds of counterattacks by the Japanese. The commando team was divided into two parts and moved horizontally, using mortars and rocket launchers to destroy the remaining positions of the Japanese army one by one.
At the Japanese headquarters in the city, a Japanese lieutenant general was already wiping his command sword. The battle had exceeded his judgment. He had thought that the city could defend for ten days or half a month with the city fortifications, but he did not expect that more than 200 planes had arrived. The city defenses and heavy artillery were almost completely lost, and the soldiers in the barracks were also massacred. Upon learning that the Yimeng guerrillas had entered the city, Michio Tahara knew in his heart that there was no hope, and all that was left was massacre.
The Japanese army urgently mobilized its forces to defend eastwards, giving the other three divisions an opportunity. When the Yimeng guerrillas were about to reach the north and south gates, the western city wall was blown down, and the 122nd Division poured into the city like a tide.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the Yimeng guerrillas captured the city gates on the north and south sides, and the two divisions also poured into the city. The Yimeng guerrillas began to shrink, and the 78th Division of the Fifth War Zone took over the attack.
The four main divisions were compressed inward to the limit. At 5:30 in the afternoon, the Japanese army began to surrender in an organized manner. There was no hope in sight. The veterans still insisted on defending, but the new recruits began to gradually collapse.
The rest was just cleanup. After arranging the telegram, Li Zongren went to meet Chen Feng.
"Captain Lengqiang, thank you for your hard work!"
"Captain Li, how is things in Xinxiang?"
"The Eighth Army has sent a battle report, street fighting has begun, and it is expected that the remaining enemies will be eliminated before dawn."
"That's good. We have recovered the heartland of the Central Plains. This is worth celebrating."
"Let's go, everything is ready."
The whole country was in an uproar. Kaifeng was liberated, and Zhengzhou and Xinxiang were clearing out the remaining enemies. This news was really explosive! The National Army did not hesitate to publicize the achievements of the Yimeng Guerrillas. They were the first to attack Kaifeng and Zhengzhou. The Japanese defense system was completely vulnerable.
Leng Qiang, this name that had been silent for a while once again made its way across the country, and the Fifth War Zone also gained popularity. The early counterattack was good, but it was blocked in Xuchang, and the people were somewhat disappointed. Now, the Central Plains has been recovered, which is a great achievement.
It was dark, and a large courtyard outside the city was brightly lit. Chen Feng brought Song Zihan with him this time, who sat in the guest of honor seat and accepted the respect of a group of generals. They knew very well that although they vigorously publicized the merits of the Yimeng Guerrillas, the reward would eventually fall on them.
"Captain Li, don't rush to drink. I have something I want to tell you."
"you say".
"Time waits for no one. Tomorrow I will lead my team to Wuhan. I will take the Guard Regiment and the First Regiment with me. I also ask you to take over the defense areas of the two regiments and don't give the Japanese army any opportunity to take advantage."
Li Zongren was really confused. He had once judged that the Yimeng guerrillas would take over the Dabie Mountain area to plan for the future. It seemed that he had guessed wrong again! The First Regiment and the Guard Regiment were both going to evacuate. Were they really going to move south? There were so many people and so many eyes, so Li Zongren couldn't ask anything. He issued a few orders, ordering three armies to go east to take over the three major cities along the Fuyang line.
We drank until 11 o'clock in the evening. Reports came from the city that most of the Japanese officers had committed disembowelment. A colonel surrendered with more than 8,000 troops, more than half of whom were wounded.
"Captain Leng Qiang, what should we do with these people?"
"Captain Li, you can't ask me about this. I'm just here to help. You have to make the decision on such important matters yourselves."
"Give me some advice! There are no outsiders here, and your foresight in looking at problems is worthy of recognition."
There were only five people in the room, Li Zongren, Little Zhuge, Wang Mingzhang who was urgently recalled, and Chen Feng and Song Zihan.
"Commander Li, let me tell you my opinion."
After saying hello to Wang Mingzhang, Chen Feng continued his analysis.
"There is no need to be polite to the Japanese, but we can't kill them all. We can do that, but you can't. But you can't let them go back either, whether during the War of Resistance or after it, we can't let a single Japanese soldier return to the island. Countless historical facts have proved that they are a group of filthy hungry wolves who will bite us once they get a chance. The only way is to smash their teeth and break their spines. I personally think that prisoners of war cannot be fed for free, and they must repent. Nothing can make people repent more than high-intensity labor. This is what I did. Mining and road construction are both very suitable."
Li Zongren and the other two understood that Wang Mingzhang could not express his opinion in such an occasion. Li Zongren and Little Zhuge both expressed their agreement.
"Okay, it's getting late, the rooms have been arranged, and we have to travel tomorrow, so let's go to bed early! Li Hui, lead the way for Captain Lengqiang."
"Captain Li, let's go back to the barracks! There are so many things to do, and there are still many things to arrange."
"Okay, Li Hui, get the car ready."
Chen Feng returned to the barracks. Most of the soldiers were asleep, but the lights in the field hospital were still on. Liu Caiyun, who had just finished surgery, saw the captain coming in and looked a little tired.
"What are the casualties?"
"More than seventy were seriously injured, more than three hundred were slightly injured, and one hundred and thirty-six died."
"Just this time or all of them"?
"In total, for the whole day, the flight team lost eight planes in the afternoon. Fortunately, all the pilots parachuted."
"Fortunately, we did not participate in street fighting, otherwise the casualties would have been more than ten times."
Liu Caiyun was under a lot of pressure, so she took out a firework from Chen Feng's pocket and lit it.
"We will take the lightly injured away, but what about the seriously injured?"
Chen Feng also lit one.
"Free up three trucks tomorrow and take them all! It's not easy in Wuhan. The fight may take a week or two, or maybe a month or two. Then we'll find a small city to serve as a rear hospital for them to recuperate."
Chen Feng rested, and most of the guerrillas also fell asleep. However, the Kuomintang-controlled areas and the recovered areas were in an uproar, and the occupied areas were also celebrating wildly. The battle was over, and the Japanese troops in the Central Plains were completely wiped out. Eight thousand prisoners were captured in Zhengzhou City, two thousand in Xinxiang, and more than one thousand in Kaifeng in the morning. The rest were all dead.
The people of the whole country saw the dawn of victory. Not only in China, but also in the world, telegrams were flying. The front-page headline tomorrow morning will definitely be the victory in the Far East battlefield. This is not only the annihilation of more than 100,000 Japanese troops, but also a major victory in the anti-fascist war. At a time when the battlefields everywhere are extremely difficult, this victory is tantamount to a shot in the arm for the Allied Powers.