Taierzhuang

— General Li ordered General Sun to proceed to Taierzhuang to prepare defence works in the hope that the Japanese could be tempted to penetrate the Chinese lines along the railway and expose themselves to Chinese attack. 'I was certain,' General Li afterwards recalled, 'that a man as proud as General Isogai would not wait until the Japanese armies marching forwards from Bengbu had come within supporting distance but would fall on Taierzhuang immediately, in the hope of taking Xuzhou with a single stroke and gaining the honour of being the first to clear the Tianjin-Nanjing railway line. 'My intention was to lay a trap for the enemy when he did so. As soon as our defenders at Taierzhuang were fully prepared, I would order Tang’s army to come south secretly, attacking the enemy from behind, encircling him and finally annihilating him.'