Chapter 291 The Key to Attacking Ping'an County
"Hahaha……"
After listening to what Brigade Commander Chen said, the boss and Brigade Commander Chen looked at each other, and then they both laughed at the same time.
"Alright, alright, tell me what you think. According to your second battle plan, no matter how you look at it, you won't be able to gain enough benefits.
As I said, whether it is Li Yunlong, or Qin Yangming and Ding Wei, they are all guys who will not do anything without benefits.
It would make them take the initiative to attack Ping'an County. If there were no sufficient benefits to attract them, they would never ask to attack Ping'an County.
But no matter how you look at it, whether from the perspective of their four regiments or from the perspective of our entire Eighth Route Army, they cannot gain enough benefits.
As for their four regiments, the best I can think of is that they can capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold at best.
But as I said just now, it was a complete loss-making deal for them to take over the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
From the perspective of the entire Eighth Route Army, they took the lead in launching an attack on the county seat of Ping'an County. No matter what the outcome, it would definitely disrupt the Japanese troop deployment in Shuiquan, Jinzhong and other areas.
Especially the 11th Brigade, they are mainly resting in Shuiquan, but if Li Yunlong, Qin Yangming and others attack the county seat of Ping'an County.
Then it goes without saying that the 11th Brigade would have to send troops to support Ping'an County.
By then, the 11th Brigade will have no chance to rest and regroup before the war begins.
After the war began, the combat effectiveness of the 11th Brigade dropped significantly due to incomplete rest and recuperation of the troops. Our Eighth Route Army can find a way to defeat the 11th Brigade again. At the same time, the 11th Brigade will move south, so Shuiquan and Luyang will be short of troops.
Calculated in this way, it is indeed of great benefit to the Eighth Route Army.
But if the price of this benefit is the price I just mentioned, then it is better not to have this benefit.
Because if the four regiments had no losses and had adequate rest before the war, they could still obtain this benefit, and the losses would be even smaller.
Tell me, what do you think? You are so sure that Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming will use your second battle plan. Why are you so sure? Is there any other information that I don't know? Tell me.
Otherwise, I would be thinking about it every day and wouldn't be able to sleep well at night. You must know that Xiao Qin will play a very important role in my battle plan.
If a big problem occurs to the Vanguard Group at this critical moment, how can I let Xiao Qin carry out the plan with confidence?
If Xiao Qin is unable to carry out that plan, it will have a significant impact on the overall situation.
If Xiao Qin's plan can succeed, then the pressure faced by our entire Eighth Route Army and the casualties of the troops will be reduced, and we can also achieve greater results."
The boss lit another cigarette and looked at Brigade Commander Chen, waiting for him to tell him his reason.
Hearing the boss's question, Brigade Commander Chen, who had been thinking about the second combat plan for a long time, spoke to the boss.
"Boss, from a normal perspective, my second battle plan cannot generate enough profit, and it is even a losing deal."
"Right, that's right. That's what I think. This is a completely unprofitable business, especially now that Zhangzhuang's defense force has been greatly strengthened. I don't see how this business can make money."
Listening to what Brigade Commander Chen said, the general nodded and expressed that he agreed with what Brigade Commander Chen said.
Brigade Commander Chen took a sip of tea and continued speaking to the boss.
"Boss, from a normal perspective, this is indeed a losing business...
But what if we don’t look at it from a normal perspective?”
The boss was a little confused by what Brigade Commander Chen said. From an abnormal perspective?
Is there any abnormal war?
"My great brigade commander Chen, what do you mean by this?"
After listening to what Brigade Commander Chen said, the general immediately asked back, and then without waiting for Brigade Commander Chen to continue speaking, he looked at Brigade Commander Chen with a serious face.
"Don't tell me you're gambling. You're gambling that Xiao Qin and his men are lucky and can fire their shells into the firing holes of the Japanese's artillery towers, and then blow up a tower or a bunker with one shot.
Xiao Qin was able to successfully lead the special forces to infiltrate Ping'an County, carry out a decapitation operation on the command center in Ping'an County, and then open the city gate. The vanguard regiment was also able to blow up the Japanese arsenal and other things in the county.
If you think so and are prepared to explain it this way, then there is nothing more to say. Call those four groups back to me immediately.
How can you gamble on luck in a battle like this? This isn't an unnecessary battle, so gamble on luck is absolutely not allowed.
Relying on luck to fight? Who do you think you are? The king of heaven? Are you greater than the king of heaven? You still want to rely on luck to fight? Anyway, I have never seen or heard of anyone who relies on luck to fight in all these years.
This has never happened before, in ancient and modern times, in China and abroad."
"Hey, Boss, don't be impatient, wait for me to finish what I'm saying."
After listening to the boss's words, Brigade Commander Chen hurriedly spoke up and told the boss to let him finish what he was saying first.
The boss listened to what Brigade Commander Chen said, nodded, and signaled Brigade Commander Chen to continue explaining his reasons.
"Boss, where do you think the most critical part of Xiao Qin's attack on Ping'an County is? In other words, where is the key node of this battle?"
The key points of a battle are like the vital parts of a person.
When two people fight, whoever hits the other's vital point first has a great chance of winning.
There is a difference between war and fighting alone.
Sometimes the key node of a war may not be in the central area where the war breaks out.
It is even possible that it is not near the place where the war broke out, but rather in another place, a place far away from the place where the war broke out.
For example, in the Battle of Xinkou in Shanxi, the key node of the Battle of Xinkou was Niangzi Pass.
If the Central Army had been able to hold Niangzi Pass, the final outcome of the Battle of Xinkou would have been different, and the Japanese Fifth Division would have had to stay on the Xinkou front.
The general naturally understood what Brigade Commander Chen meant. Listening to Brigade Commander Chen's questions, the general pointed to the location of Zhangzhuang on the map and spoke in a decisive tone.
"Zhangzhuang, the key node of the war in which Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming attacked Ping'an County was in Zhangzhuang.
Zhangzhuang is the key node of this war.”
"That's right, the key point of the war in which Li Yunlong, Qin Yangming and his men attacked Ping'an County was not in Ping'an County, nor in the New 1st and New 2nd Regiments that were blocking the enemy.
It was the Zhangzhuang stronghold attacked by the independent regiment. Even in this war, the key to whether Li Yunlong, Qin Yangming and others could gain huge benefits was in the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
Whether they can gain enough benefits to make the four regiments rich depends on how the independent regiment performs in attacking the Zhangzhuang stronghold. "
The boss understood something after listening to what Brigade Commander Chen said, but did not speak. Instead, he let Brigade Commander Chen continue to explain his reasons.
"Boss, we were just discussing this from a normal perspective.
If we analyze this battle from a normal perspective, especially from the current situation.
So no matter how you look at it, whether from the perspective of our entire Eighth Route Army or even the country, or from the perspective of our Taihang Military Region or from the perspective of Qin Yangming, Li Yunlong and their four regiments.
We were not able to gain enough benefits, but suffered heavy losses and lost a lot of our wealth. Especially the artillery shells in the vanguard group... Although our Eighth Route Army had plenty of artillery shells, they were all captured.
Apart from the small grenades used in grenade launchers, our Eighth Route Army is unable to produce other artillery shells, especially those 75mm mountain artillery shells.
Every shot you fire means one less shot.
If the Vanguard Regiment's stockpile of artillery shells were all lost and sufficient results were not achieved, then this loss would be a huge loss for our Eighth Route Army.
Boss, this is your idea, right? "
"Yes, that's what I thought, so I'm very curious about what ideas you have that can allow the four groups to gain enough benefits, even benefits big enough to take such a risky thing."
The boss nodded and had no objection to what Brigade Commander Chen said. He had always thought so, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.
I always felt that something was missing, but what Brigade Commander Chen said just now made the boss realize something, and the doubts in his mind became clearer.
However, it is still unclear what Brigade Commander Chen’s real plan is.
After seeing that the boss had no objection, Brigade Commander Chen continued to speak to the boss.
"Boss, just now, we were all looking at this battle from a normal perspective.
But what if we look at it from another perspective?
Boss, you see, the key to this war lies in Zhangzhuang.
It can be said that Li Yunlong's attack on Zhangzhuang was entirely related to how much benefit the four regiments could gain from it.
In other words, the sooner Li Yunlong captures Zhangzhuang, the greater the benefits their four regiments will gain.
The shorter the time to capture Zhangzhuang, the less profit will be gained, and it may even be a loss-making business.
Boss, you just set the goal as ten hours. Without taking into account any variables, the Independent Regiment will need at least five or six hours to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold... let's say seven hours, seven hours to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold... and then reorganize the troops and rush to Ping'an County to meet up with the Vanguard Regiment.
About ten hours.
But what if the independent regiment could capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in advance?
Or, the independent regiment can take over the Zhangzhuang stronghold in just a few hours?"
"I calculated that if the independent regiment can capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold within four hours, not only will at least half of the independent regiment's supplies be preserved, but a lot of the troops' spirit and energy will also be preserved.
By the time the independent regiment captures the Zhangzhuang stronghold, morale will definitely be restored to its strongest state.
Under such circumstances, the troops could be reorganized in less than an hour.
In other words, after taking over the Zhangzhuang stronghold, the independent regiment could reach Ping'an County within two hours at most and attack the county seat of Ping'an together with the vanguard regiment.
Although there are more people in the Japanese Ping'an County than in the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
But the county's defensive fortifications were just that.
After the independent regiment rushed to Ping'an County with those artillery pieces, even though they failed to seize those 88mm field guns.
However, relying on the 75mm mountain cannon, the Independent Regiment and the Vanguard Regiment could use heavy firepower to directly blow a gap in the city wall within an hour!
By that time, without the outer city wall defense, could the Japanese and puppet troops be a match for the Vanguard Regiment in close combat?
The vanguard regiment's submachine guns, pistols and other weapons were enough to give the Japanese and puppet troops a hard time, not to mention the independent regiment providing support.
After taking Ping'an County, the Vanguard Regiment was responsible for clearing out the remaining enemy forces in Ping'an County, and the Independent Regiment quickly went north to support the New Second Regiment.
At the same time, the new regiment began to shrink its blocking range.
By then, there will be at least 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers left in the four regiments. I will push the 771st Regiment to Zhangzhuang, and then let the guerrilla squads go around and harass the enemy's transportation lines.
The Japs should either start fighting us again or retreat honestly.
Our Eighth Route Army was able to capture the county town of Ping'an without causing much loss to the troops.
Boss, there is still at least half a month before your battle plan starts, right?
Half a month is enough time for the four regiments to rest and regroup.
At worst, I will let these four regiments defend the Ping'an County area to contain the Japanese 11th Brigade... and then after the Wutaishan Military Region launches an attack on Shuiquan, I will let the 771st and 772nd Regiments go around and directly surround the Japanese 11th Brigade!"
Brigade Commander Chen’s meaning was very simple. If Li Yunlong, Qin Yangming and others wanted to gain enough benefits, they must capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold as quickly as possible.
The faster you capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold, the greater the benefits you will gain.
After all, war is not a game of house. If a battle lasts too long, the morale of the participating troops, the spirit of the soldiers, and the consumption of supplies will increase significantly.
The longer the rest time after the war.
If the Independent Regiment fought the Japanese in the Zhangzhuang stronghold for seven or eight hours, when the battle was over, the Independent Regiment would probably not have much ability to support the Vanguard Regiment.
After fighting for such a long time, let alone restoring the morale and energy of the soldiers in the army, even recovering their physical strength will take a long time.
If we go directly to support the Vanguard Regiment without resting, that is not support, that is adding a group of burdens to the Vanguard Regiment. Not only will it not help the Vanguard Regiment to attack Ping'an County, but it will also drag down the Vanguard Regiment.
(End of this chapter)
