As the Eighth Route Army expected, the accident of the 13th Division caused great shock to the two divisions on the front line that were still attacking. The 18th Division, which had fought with the First Division for a long time, even directly ordered the on-site defense and rest.

Originally, the front army transferred the 13th Division back to Xinyang, and many reasons were because their supply supplies had already been short of. Now the division with high hopes was annihilated, which means that the situation in the rear would become worse.

Although they were still in Zhumadian at this moment, they were not far from the rear-occupied area. But the generals and officers of the 18th Division knew that their rear-occupied area was far more dangerous than expected.

Even through the battle between Macheng and Tianmu Mountain, the Japanese army was basically confirmed. In the battle of Wuhan that ended earlier, the Eighth Route Army lost more troops than they thought, but they were hidden after the war.

Now they are launching troops to attack the hinterland of Henan, but these low-key hidden Eighth Route Army took the opportunity to come out. In this way, it is almost impossible to occupy the entire Henan with just the remaining two multi-division forces.

The 18th Division's continuous attack has made the combat effectiveness of the 1st Division of the New Sixty-Seventh Army, which is much stronger and tougher than they imagined. After a few days of attack, they consumed as much ammunition as amazing.

If there is no ammunition transported from the rear to replenish the supply, the 18th Division will face the embarrassment of guns without bullets. Even the ammunition of the crawler guns will be saved in the future, and they will dare to attack without consuming any more.

The 18th Division took the lead in ending the offensive and rested on the spot, and even contacted the remaining headquarters of the 13th Division, and the two troops planned to join together. Once the front army made a decision to withdraw, they would retreat to Anhui together.

The Front Command did not blame anything for the 18th Division's approach. But as soon as they stopped, for the 14th Division who was preparing to enter Zhengzhou, they undoubtedly poured them a plate of cold water.

If you continue to attack Zhengzhou, you may be surrounded by the Eighth Route Army. Giving up attacking Zhengzhou means that they will return empty-handedly this time. So much manpower and material resources are consumed, and it will eventually become a one-day trip to Zhengzhou. Tu Feihara is really unwilling to accept it.

In fact, not only Doihira was unwilling to accept it, but other Japanese generals who planned the Henan war were also unwilling to accept it. But while they were unwilling to accept it, they also knew very well that the current situation was already very unfavorable to them.

Compared to the Japanese army, the main force of the Eighth Route Army, which was advancing rapidly from Jiaozuo and Xinxiang, seemed to be full of fighting spirit. They all knew that they needed to compete with the Japanese now.

Whether the Japanese retreat or advance next, they must fight with the Japanese as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would be a pity to be transferred here from the Shanxi battlefield and not fight with the Japanese!

The 1st Regiment of the main force of the 116th Division, responsible for rushing to Zhengzhou, after receiving a telegram from the division headquarters, the regiment commander and the regiment political commissar also mobilized the troops in a timely manner, allowing all the officers and soldiers of the regiment to accelerate their advance towards Zhengzhou City again, night and night.

At present, an infantry brigade of the Japanese was already at the city. In Zhengzhou City, there was only a reconnaissance regiment of Li Xiangdong and the subordinate Zhengzhou garrison brigade. The former had too few troops, but the latter was still a little worried.

‘The comrades of the column have already taken Zhengzhou City in front of us. Now a division of the Japanese are forcing them to move towards Zhengzhou City. We cannot let the Japanese be ahead of us again.

Comrades, if you persist, victory is right in front of you. We must enter Zhengzhou before the main force of the Japanese arrived in Zhengzhou. Once we enter the city in front of the Japanese, victory will belong to us.’

Some officers and soldiers responsible for political propaganda also boosted the morale of the soldiers in a timely manner. Speaking of which, after setting off from Xinxiang, their mission was to rush to Zhengzhou as quickly as possible and defend Zhengzhou City.

Only in this way can the subsequent main force enter the city and have a place to settle down. It can even be said that if Zhengzhou is taken down and Zhengzhou is defended, the Eighth Route Army will be half the victory in this Henan Battle. What we have to do next is to recover Kaifeng, Shangqiu and other lost territory.

As for Jiang Dingwen's troops who retreated to Luoyang, the Eighth Route Army's instructions were to not fire the first shot. But as long as the territory they recovered would never be handed over to Jiang Dingwen's troops. The safety of the rear could not be handed over to such troops.

Even after Jiang Dingwen's main force entered Luoyang and other places, the Eighth Route Army also deployed heavy troops in Tongguan, Shangnan and other places. The intention of this was self-evident, which was to be wary of the National Government's use of insidious moves.

At this moment, the infantry brigade, which also ended the tentative attack, built the fortifications on site, and the entire brigade troops were quietly waiting for the arrival of the main force of the subsequent division. Regarding the Japanese army's choice, the Eighth Route Army, which was responsible for blocking, ignored it.

In a word, the Japanese army wanted to wait until the main force of their division arrived and then launch a corresponding attack. The troops guarding the blocking positions were also waiting for the main force coming from the rear. Once the main force arrived, they would be more confident in defending Zhengzhou.

At this moment, Dohihara, who led the main force of the division to Zhengzhou, was also frequently contacting the Central China Front Army Command. In Dohihara's opinion, it was only a matter of three. If you miss the opportunity to win Zhengzhou this time, it would be difficult to attack Henan in the future!

As many people know, the Eighth Route Army attaches great importance to the base area. Now, because of their attack, the Kuomintang troops retreated, but the Eighth Route Army took advantage of the situation. In the future, the front line from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng will be difficult to fight.

Once the Eighth Route Army recovers most of Henan, their troops in Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, Hebei and other places will be threatened by the Eighth Route Army. Such a result is undoubtedly something that the Japanese army does not want to see.

Plans are not as good as changes!

Many Japanese generals lamented that when they formulated the plan for the Battle of Henan, they had fully considered that the Eighth Route Army might enter Henan to engage in a real main battle with them. But they seemed to underestimate the Eighth Route Army's strength in central China.

Judging from the current situation on the battlefield, in the eyes of the Japanese army, the Eighth Route Army column, which was severely damaged in the Battle of Wuhan, continued to perform miracles like a magical one. In the entire rear, the supply line in the rear of the Japanese army was turned upside down.

‘Baga! It’s this He Zhengdao again, damn it! How could he have so many troops?’

When the Japanese army was cursing He Zhengdao again, Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing was also furious. In his opinion, he seemed to have been fooled by He Zhengdao again. The New Sixty-Seventh Army did not suffer as severely as expected!

Looking at Gu Zhutong and others who had made the idea in the previous episode, Lao Jiang said with dissatisfaction: "Who said that the main force of the New Sixty-Seventh Army would be lost? If their main force really would be lost, how did these troops come out now?

Niangxipi, their current strength in central China is much more armed than our enemy behind enemy lines. Who said that the Eighth Route Army would fight the Japanese army in Henan? Give them out of Henan and let the Eighth Route Army pick up the ready-made ones?"

After some questioning, no one dared to say anything. The reason is very simple. Judging from the current situation, they did underestimate the strength of the Eighth Route Army in central China. Even though they seemed to suffer a loss, they had to swallow their teeth.

The Eighth Route Army marched into Henan, which was also acquiesced by Chiang Kai-shek. Now the Eighth Route Army has repelled the Japanese army and successfully regained the territory they gave up. It is almost impossible to give up the fruits of victory that the Eighth Route Army has won.

Thinking of this result, Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he was so angry that he was not as determined by the Eighth Route Army. Otherwise, why did they give up Zhengzhou earlier?

Even if the public propaganda is "strategic abandonment", the people do not understand this at all. They only know that the National Army gave up Zhengzhou, but the Eighth Route Army sent troops at critical moments and even repelled the invading Japanese.

‘Commissioner, in this situation, we might as well fight back in time. At present, the 18th Japanese Division is in Zhumadian area, and our troops in Nanyang may launch a counterattack at any time.’

Some generals who were summoned knew that it would be easy to have a conflict with the Eighth Route Army when Jiang Dingwen sent troops to Zhengzhou at this time. However, they had the ability to send troops to recover the troops.

After all, the troops stationed in Nanyang are the first army of the Central Army, which is the real elite army of Chiang Kai-shek. As long as he is willing to fight with the Japanese, I believe that it should be no problem to recover the Zhumadian area.

But soon someone said, "Commissioner, I think that letting the First Army rise at this time will only allow the fisherman to reap the benefits. The most important thing is that if we want to participate in the war, it will take time to raise all kinds of materials and ammunition.

Although the Eighth Route Army has gained a certain advantage now, the Japanese army has also deployed a lot of troops in central China. In order to ensure the victory of the Henan Battle, I think the Japanese army will dispatch heavy troops to Henan in the next time.

At this time, I think we should adhere to the previous defense policy. As long as we arrive outside our defense zone and fight in other places, let the Eighth Route Army fight with the Japanese, that will be the most beneficial to us."

Everyone knows that Hu Zongnan's first army was the heart of Chiang Kai-shek. At this time, he was sent out to fight against the 18th Japanese Division. Even if he wins, his own strength will probably be greatly damaged.

Most importantly, many generals of the National Army knew that the Japanese were not jealous of revenge. At present, they were surrounded and annihilated nearly one division of troops by the Eighth Route Army, and it was unlikely that they would not be able to recover this place.

Therefore, after some debate, Chiang Kai-shek finally maintained the previous decision and continued to watch the situation. However, he still sent a questioning telegram to the Eighth Route Army, accusing the New Sixty-Seventh Army of falsely reporting the crime of war damage.

But the Eighth Route Army quickly sent a call to report: "The damage to the war is well documented, but there is no false report. The troops currently fighting in central China are all troops that have been reconciled and expanded by the New Sixty-Seventh Army, and this accusation is unfounded.

In addition, due to the unfavorable previous battle, our headquarters has decided to revoke He Zhengdao's position as commander. In the future, the New Sixty-Seventh Army's operations in central China will be held by Deputy Commander Xiao Jinguang. Therefore, He Zhengdao cannot go to Chongqing to report his duties!"

He Zhengdao was removed from office?
Chapter completed!