After the other main brigades learned that Qin Dongsheng's Second Brigade had successfully intercepted part of the retreating Japanese troops, they accelerated their pace.

When passing by the county town, the puppet troops abandoned by the Japanese army in the county town took the initiative to surrender, and the advancing troops did not have time to deal with them.

"The troops are moving forward at full speed. Don't worry about these puppet troops. The brothers in the Second Brigade are fighting the Japanese army desperately. The sooner we arrive, the less pressure will be on the brothers in the Second Brigade." Gao Cang shouted.

The marching team of the First Army Division seemed to have not seen the puppet troops who surrendered out of the city, and kept marching eastward.

The puppet soldiers who were thinking of surrendering were surprised when they saw this scene. They all opened the county seat and surrendered, but no one paid any attention to them.

It's not that Gao Cang didn't want to take care of them, the Second Brigade had to face more than just the pressure brought on them by the retreating Japanese troops.

The Japanese army on the east bank concentrated almost all their artillery fire on the Second Brigade on the west bank. Japanese bombers also came to help the Japanese army, hoping to open a way for the Japanese army on the west bank to retreat.

Unfortunately, no matter how fierce the Japanese artillery fire on the east coast was, no matter how many Japanese planes were in the sky, it was difficult to shake the Second Brigade's position.

Moreover, the Japanese troops stranded on the west bank had little desire to fight.

When retreating, they were in a hurry and carried few weapons and ammunition. Moreover, the Japanese troops who were blocked were all Japanese troops far away from the Yuntuo River.

After running around all night, I found that I was blocked and there was no way to retreat. The Japanese army had long since lost much enthusiasm for fighting.

But the little Japanese still organized a death squad, hoping to rush to the Chinese army's position and die together with the soldiers of the Second Brigade.

The soldiers of the Second Brigade showed these Japanese soldiers that they were not even qualified to die.

With the strongest firepower of the Second Brigade, they continuously suppressed the Japanese army and repelled the Japanese charges one after another.

Two hours later, other troops arrived along the Yuntuo River in time and completely surrounded the Japanese army.

With absolutely superior troops and absolutely superior firepower, they launched the final attack on the Japanese army that did not occupy the terrain advantage.

This battle was not conducted with the intention of capturing prisoners. In the end, only a few dozen of the more than four thousand Japanese soldiers survived.

The Japanese troops who arrived at the front line of the Yuntuo River immediately deployed defenses on the west bank of the Yuntuo River, guarded the front line of the Yuntuo River tightly, and imitated the Japanese troops on the east bank to launch a counterattack.

After deploying the defenses on the west bank of the Yuntuo River, Gao Cang arranged for troops to go to various counties to accept the surrender of the puppet troops.

"In this operation, we can say that we achieved a complete victory. With less than a quarter of the casualties of the Japanese army, we completely controlled the east bank of the Yuntuo River, and even many Japanese soldiers did not react," Tian Kezhi said.

A quarter of the casualties were only what they could count, not counting the soldiers who jumped into the river and drowned and the soldiers who were killed by the Japanese army.

"Our defense area has been expanded by almost half, and a large number of Japanese military assets have been seized from various counties." Matthew Wen said, "Our logistics transportation team is stepping up its transportation of supplies to the troops stationed on the west bank of the Yuntuo River."

"In addition to the road position, we still need to leave some troops behind, and the rest of the combat troops should move closer to the Yuntuo River line."

The front line of the highway position was no longer threatened by the Japanese army, but just in case, Zhao Zhiguo still left some troops behind.

Most of the troops have to advance to the front line of Yuntuo River to confront the Japanese army. If the time is right, they can take the opportunity to cross the river.

"What to do with the captured puppet troops?" Tian Kezhi asked.

Most of the puppet soldiers were coerced by their superiors to become puppet soldiers.

"No officers above the battalion commander level of the puppet army will be retained, and officers below the battalion commander level will undergo labor reform for a period of three years." Zhao Zhiguo said, "As for the puppet army soldiers, they will be intensively educated for seven days, and after seven days, they will be released back to their hometowns."

It was impossible for Zhao Zhiguo and the others to keep too many prisoners. The tens of thousands of Japanese prisoners had already consumed a lot of food in the First Army Division. The gain outweighed the losses by raising another group of pampered puppet troops.

"Just follow the commander's method and let several processing groups dispatch instructors from each battalion to educate the puppet soldiers. Most of the puppet soldiers are bewitched, and we can't kill them with a stick." Ma Xiuwen agreed with Zhao Zhiguo.

opinions.

"Commander, what should we do in Xing County? As we regain the surrounding areas, Xing County is already surrounded by our defense zone."

"We have no evidence that Chi Zishen collaborated with the enemy, so we can only let Chi Zishen go and tell Yao Pengju to let him withdraw with his people. However, we must leave surveillance personnel in Xing County to watch Chi Zishen's every move.

" Zhao Zhiguo said.

"Old Zhao, should we expand our army?"

"Don't worry, let's pull up the Sixth Brigade first. Let Captain Qi serve as the commander of the Sixth Brigade and let him be stationed near Xing County."

Xing County has become part of the hinterland of the First Military Division, but Zhao Zhiguo and the others cannot rashly attack the Xing County Security Brigade and can only monitor it.

The First Military Division has reached the Yuntuo River. Crossing the Yuntuo River can threaten the Japanese army's dependence on the north-south transportation artery.

Zhao Zhiguo's actions exceeded the expectations of all parties.

Almost overnight, everything west of the Yuntuo River came to an end.

The Eighth Route Army headquarters did not even respond. The boss said to the chief of staff beside him: "What kind of battle is Zhao Zhiguo fighting? We haven't received any information. How come he has captured the west bank of the Yuntuo River?"

"And that Huixian County Security Brigade, what happened?"

"I have already sent a telegram to the First Military Division and asked them to send a telegram as soon as possible to explain clearly," the chief of staff said.

"This Zhao Zhiguo has done such a big thing quietly. I want to reward him, but I don't know how to reward him," the boss said.

"Zhao Zhiguo wants to be rewarded and has already sent you a telegram to show off. However, the First Army Division moved so quickly, which put a lot of pressure on the Japanese army."

Suddenly regaining such a large area of ​​land, the Japanese army was forced to retreat to the east bank of the Yuntuo River. The most uncomfortable thing must be the Japanese army.

"The little Japs have been bullying us for so long, but they have only been in pain for a few days. It's time to make them feel uncomfortable." The boss said, "But if the Huixian County Security Brigade doesn't handle it well, I'm afraid there will be some trouble."

The headquarters has long heard that two troublemakers came near the First Military Division.

"With Matthew Wen here, I don't think there is any big problem. Zhao Zhiguo is not the kind of person who takes the initiative to cause trouble. In recent years, he has been very thoughtful in doing things and his thinking is no worse than Matthew Wen."

The Chief of General Staff has great trust in Zhao Zhiguo. Since Zhao Zhiguo did what he did, it means that Zhao Zhiguo is fully confident.

"Who do you think is suffering the most now? The Japs or the Central Army?" the boss said with a smile.

"I guess it's Mr. Yan. He originally had a treasure in his hands, but he didn't know how to cherish it, and we picked it up." said the Chief of General Staff.
Chapter completed!