Chapter 439: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 449: Restoring Taiyuan

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"But... the Imperial Army has never had such a precedent of losing troops and territory. If I withdraw north to Datong, how do I explain to Commander Tada Toshin? How do I explain to the Imperial General Headquarters?" Xiao Zhukazuo feigned difficulty.

Ganqiao Jutaro was very impatient; the situation was hopeless, he belonged to the Garrison Mongolia Army, and he did not want to die inside Taiyuan City!

So he hurriedly urged again and again: "This is a strategic redeployment! It is to preserve Emperor Tenghuang's army!"

Xiao Zhukazuo sighed, feigning a sigh, waving his hand: "No, I should stay behind and share life and death with Taiyuan..."

"Commander! Your subordinates need your leadership; you cannot watch tens of thousands of brave warriors become ghosts under Lv Muzhi's guns!" Ganqiao begged again.

After such back-and-forth tugging three times, Xiao Zhukazuo seemed forced and helpless, leaning on the desk to stand up.

"Sigh! Fine!"

"Since that is the case, to prevent my subordinates from being slaughtered by that madman Lv Muzhi, I have no choice but to abandon Taiyuan City; I will withdraw north with you."

Xiao Zhukazuo put on a righteous appearance, but in reality, he had long been impatient to escape.

"Order the 26th Division and Independent Mixed 9th Brigade to depart immediately, covering my withdrawal northward."

"Two battalions of the Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade will hold Taiyuan City and block Lv Muzhi."

"Contact Commander Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo of the Garrison Mongolia Army; ask him to definitely send troops to meet us."

"Also, inform Commander Tada Toshin... the situation in Taiyuan has deteriorated to the extreme; the First Army is forced to withdraw northward."

With the issuance of Xiao Zhukazuo's order, the last will to resist in Taiyuan City completely collapsed.

The once-arrogant invader Xiao Zhukazuo led his troops and abandoned the city to flee.

Japanese troops withdrew from the North Gate of Taiyuan City; Xiao Zhukazuo looked back once at the city wall behind him.

"I am practically a sinner of Emperor Chuo..."

26th Division Commander Ganqiao Jutaro urged: "Hurry, Commander!"

On the city wall, soldiers of two battalions of the Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade were garrisoning on the city wall.

These Japanese soldiers left behind stared with wide eyes as Xiao Zhukazuo led the main force out of Taiyuan City, then fled northward.

The Japanese who escaped the city were like a pack of stray dogs, rushing northward in a panic to seek refuge with Commander Lieutenant General Okabe Naosaburo of the Garrison Mongolia Army.

When the news that Xiao Zhukazuo abandoned the city and fled north reached Lv Muzhi's ears, Lv Muzhi was stunned.

"He just abandoned the city and left like that? That is beyond my expectation."

In his estimation, since Xiao Zhukazuo could not retreat to Niangzi Pass and his main force was almost annihilated, according to the Japanese habit, he should have chosen to honestly fight a battle to the death with me in Taiyuan.

But now, Xiao Zhukazuo shamelessly ran toward the territory of the Garrison Mongolia Army.

Recalling the battles since entering Shanxi, the First Army under Xiao Zhukazuo was either in rout or on the road of rout.

From Fenglingdu to Yuncheng, from Yuncheng to Linfen, then to Taiyuan, truly from south to north, a rout of a thousand li.

Lv Muzhi walked to the map and marked it with a pencil.

Calculating, since the war in Shanxi began, the Youth Army had successively annihilated the 36th Division and Tank Division 3, and now surrounded the 37th and 41st Divisions.

The designations of four whole Reorganized Divisions would be completely swept into the trash heap of history.

The Shanxi First Army was almost entirely wiped out by me; Xiao Zhukazuo ultimately only took his own Independent Mixed 9th Brigade and the 26th Division reinforcements from the Garrison Mongolia Army to flee northward.

Lv Muzhi reviewed the entire battle situation in his mind.

Except for the Tank Division 3, converted from cavalry, which still retained some fighting spirit, the other Japanese troops were no longer what they used to be.

They were no longer like on the Songhu or Jinling Battlefields, where even if only one person remained, they would launch suicidal charges.

The morale of the Japanese army had obviously scattered.

Due to lack of reinforcements and continuous defeats, these once-arrogant invaders had only the desire for survival left in their minds and could no longer recall the bushido education they had received.

At this time, Qiu Qingquan and Sun Liren walked into the command post with joyful faces.

"Commander-in-Chief! The 37th and 41st Divisions are finished!" Sun Liren puffed out his chest and reported loudly.

"We captured a total of over six thousand officers and men of the 37th and 41st Divisions; Division Commanders Hirata Kengo and Tanabe Katsutake were both captured."

"Also, we captured three intact regimental flags."

Lv Muzhi nodded upon hearing this; the battle situation was as expected.

"Well done; handle it by the old rules; transport all prisoners to Henan South to serve as laborers; that side needs people for land reclamation and water conservancy."

"Also transfer two thousand young and strong men to Jiaozuo in Henan North; the coal mines there lack miners."

"Since they like stepping onto the land of Xia Guo, let them dig coal for a lifetime in that black hole."

Qiu Qingquan hehe laughed, rubbed his hands, and interjected: "Commander-in-Chief, I also captured over nine hundred Japanese soldiers of the 36th Division, and moreover, Taiyuan City before our eyes is about to be taken!"

"Xiao Zhukazuo fled in defeat, taking his own Independent Mixed 9th Brigade and the 26th Division of the Garrison Mongolia Army; the remaining two battalions of the Independent Mixed 3rd Brigade responsible for guarding the city have become headless flies."

"My troops have breached the South Gate and are carrying out mopping-up operations; it is estimated that by tomorrow noon, you can sit securely in Taiyuan City."

Lv Muzhi sighed in relief; thus, Shanxi was basically pacified.

"Inform Chongqing: Xiao Zhukazuo, with the 26th Division and Independent Mixed 9th Brigade, fled north to Datong; after our troops capture Taiyuan, we will continue north to attack Xinzhou and Yuanping, recovering the Shanxi land south of Yanmen Pass!"

Qiu Qingquan excitedly said: "After taking Shanxi, going north can annihilate the Garrison Mongolia Army around Jinbei and Suiyuan; advancing east can enter Hebei through Niangzi Pass; we can attack or retreat as we please! The balance of war tilts further toward us!"

Lv Muzhi's gaze shifted to the east on the map, that was the throat connecting Ji and Shanxi—Niangzi Pass.

"Which Japanese unit is defending the Niangzi Pass direction now?"

A staff officer of operations opened the intelligence report: "Report to Commander-in-Chief, although Xiao Zhukazuo did not withdraw into Niangzi Pass in time, the North China Area Army still sent other troops to garrison Niangzi Pass."

"The troops garrisoning Niangzi Pass consist of one division plus two mixed brigades."

"They are respectively the 35th Division garrisoned in Tianjin, the Independent Mixed 15th Brigade garrisoned in Beiping, and the Independent Mixed 8th Brigade garrisoned in Zhengding; these three units were urgently transferred to Niangzi Pass."

"The terrain there is steep and dangerous; Fan Hanjie's 27th Army is attacking it, suffering heavy casualties, and is currently in a stalemate."

After listening, Lv Muzhi remained silent for a moment, then gently waved his hand.

"No need to rush. Our army has been fighting continuously for over twenty days; it's time for rest and reorganization."

"Today is already Lunar December 28. I promised the officers and men that we would spend the New Year inside Taiyuan City."

"The whole army will rest for a few days, eat a proper New Year's Eve dinner, and then we'll rush out of Shanxi again to reorganize our offensive."

"Also, send a telegram to Zhang Fei and the others at the Xubeng Battlefield: their task is not to annihilate the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops on the Xubeng Battlefield, but to delay them as much as possible."

"Without absolute certainty, do not risk attacking, to prevent excessive casualties and the situation being reversed."

"I have already taken Shanxi. The ones who should be anxious are the Japanese Army, not us."

"Provided that we pin the Japanese Army's main forces inside the Pass firmly in Xubeng, this black hole, and prevent them from returning to defend Beiping, that is the greatest victory."

The next day at noon, the sound of gunfire and cannons inside Taiyuan City completely ceased.

The remnants of the Independent Mixed Brigade, having lost their commander, walked out of their cover one after another in despair and laid down their weapons.

As all the Sun Flags inside Taiyuan City were torn down and burned.

This ancient city, weathered by frost and wind, finally welcomed the moment of its liberation.