Chapter 140 Earthwork, Digging Trench At the top position of Wangjiapo, inside the circular fortification of the Japanese devils of the Yamazaki Battalion, Gao Mu Xixiong sat on an ammunition box and observed the movements of the Eighth Route Army below. Gao Mu Xixiong looked over and found that the Eighth Route Army gathered below did not seem to launch an attack immediately. Instead, they began to dig trenches and make sandbags. "Hiss, Senior, look at the Eighth Route Army below and see what they want to do. Their main force has clearly surrounded us, but why haven't they launched an attack yet?" After seeing the actions of the Eighth Route Army below, Takagi Xixiong quickly found Yamazaki Jihei who was checking the fortifications in the back. After listening to what Takagi Xixiong said, Yamazaki Jihei quickly took the telescope, climbed to the high ground and began to observe the movements of the Eighth Route Army below the hillside. "Earthwork?" Yamazaki Jihei was also somewhat confused when looking at the actions of the Eighth Route Army below. Logically speaking, the main force of the Eighth Route Army had already arrived, and they should have launched a charge while their fortifications were still under construction. So why were they carrying out earthwork at the foot of the hillside? "They should be preparing for defense to prevent us from rushing down the hill to attack Heguzhen. It seems that the arsenal in Heguzhen is really the headquarters arsenal of the Eighth Route Army."
Thinking of the Eighth Route Army Arsenal in the ancient town, Yamazaki Jihei wondered why the Eighth Route Army built fortifications at the foot of the hillside. According to Yamazaki Jihei's guess, the Eighth Route Army's headquarters arsenal was preparing to move, but he was worried that they would rush down the hillside to attack the transport team and workers while the arsenal was moving. If the workers were beaten to death and the equipment was destroyed, it would be a huge blow to the Eighth Route Army's arsenal. Yamazaki Jihei immediately took the telescope and looked towards the direction of the ancient town. I saw a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers constantly loading wooden boxes onto carts and transporting them away. Various electrical wires and other items were also being quickly removed from the ancient town, and it was obvious that they were being relocated. Yamazaki Jihei also saw a team escorting several large carts moving towards Wangjiapo. Judging from the boxes on the cart, they should be some equipment, and it seems that they should be handed over to the Eighth Route Army troops at the foot of the hill. "Hmph, Gao Mu-kun, don't worry. The Eighth Route Army below wants to temporarily trap us so that the arsenal can be relocated. It seems that they don't have many troops here, and they can't guarantee that they can attack us while protecting the arsenal's relocation. I guess the Eighth Route Army must have thought that we had other hidden troops in the Shangdang area and was worried that their arsenal would be ambushed on the way of transfer, so they had to send troops to protect the transport team. With the capabilities of the Eighth Route Army, what would happen even if the arsenal began to move now? As long as we hold Wangjiapo, the Eighth Route Army will have to allocate at least two regiments to deal with us. By then, the reinforcements coming from Taiyuan will be able to break through the Eighth Route Army’s defense lines in Linyuan County and Shiquan County. In ten hours at most, the troops of the three brigades will be able to break through the defense line and advance straight into the enemy's territory. Given the speed of the Eighth Route Army, even if the arsenal is moved now, where can it be moved to? Moreover, with all those heavy machinery and equipment, it would be difficult for the Eighth Route Army to hide in the mountains!" After listening to Yamazaki Jihei's analysis, Takagi Xixiong seemed to suddenly understand and nodded slightly. Yamazaki Jihei had already analyzed the results. After all, he was an excellent graduate, so how could he not think of this aspect? But Yamazaki Jihei said that when he returned this time, he would apply to the higher authorities to transfer him to the Yamazaki Battalion as the squadron leader with the rank of major. In order to get a promotion, what's wrong with letting Yamazaki Jihei perform well? Otherwise, if Yamazaki Jihei knew that his level was no less than his, how could he get promoted?
Yamazaki Jihei transferred him to the Yamazaki Battalion because he saw that his ability was not good, but he respected him as a senior in everything and asked him about everything, right? Takagi Xixiong is now thinking about how to use Yamazaki Jihei's connections to establish some connections for himself. It's a pity that his old superior Masao Musashi died, otherwise he might have been able to rely on Masao Musashi's connections to turn the Yamazaki Battalion into the Takagi Battalion. Unfortunately, Yamazaki Jihei had no idea about Takagi Xixiong's psychological activities. He still believes that this junior who calls him "senior" all the time is a good person who can be used as his confidant, Gao Mu Xixiong, who truly respects and cares for him and always puts him first in everything. Gao Mu Xixiong was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of the Eighth Route Army below, which seemed to be making other moves. "Senior, look, the Eighth Route Army down there has made another move!" After listening to what Takagi Xixiong said, Yamazaki Jihei quickly raised his telescope and looked down. The Eighth Route Army, which was still digging trenches, suddenly piled sandbags in front of the position, and then continued to pile sandbags forward, moving up the hillside while piling sandbags. The Eighth Route Army soldiers even had to use the sandbags as cover to start digging trenches behind them. Yamazaki Jihei also saw the Eighth Route Army soldiers carrying wooden boxes from the transport convoy coming out of Hegu Town. The soldier opened the wooden box and took out everything inside. Although the distance was far, Yamazaki Jihei could still tell what was in the box from the Eighth Route Army's movements and the general shape of the items. Grenade! Judging from the shape of the carts and their approximate loading situation, if the three carts were loaded with grenades, then there would be at least fifty boxes of grenades! "What exactly does the Eighth Route Army want to do?" At the vanguard regiment command post at the foot of the hillside, Zhangye looked at the troops slowly advancing up the hillside and couldn't help but smile and turned back to speak to Qin Yangming who was smoking. "Captain, your method is good. First, let the logistics department create a false transfer to mislead the Japanese and make them think that we don't have enough troops and need to transfer the arsenal first, so we can't attack for the time being. The troops were also ordered to carry out earthworks to shorten the attack distance. In addition, defensive fortifications were constantly being built. The Japanese did not dare to charge and attack rashly without knowing the enemy's actual strength. By the time the Japanese discover the situation, our fortifications may have been built to within a hundred meters. If the Japanese still wanted to charge at that time, they would not have needed to use grenade launchers. Grenades alone would have been enough to cause them a lot of trouble. Moreover, at this distance, our grenade launcher can also fire grenades into the Japanese's circular fortifications. More than 6,000 grenades, even if they were made in the border area of the logistics department, would be enough to confuse the Japanese. " Qin Yangming also nodded with a smile: "That's right. Anyway, these grenades made in the border area are just stored in the independent regiment and the logistics department. If things go wrong, they will have to be dismantled and used as materials. It's just right for us to recycle them and save some small grenades." (End of this chapter)