Chapter 5: Receiving orders in danger and offering plans is rejected

"Of course." The platoon commander stood up and pointed in the direction behind him and said:

"Company Commander Yuan, you see, there is a village a few miles south of this forest, as long as we withdraw into the village as soon as possible, we can get out of the current crisis and even come back to life. You must not fight a positional battle with devils in the plains. Company Commander Yuan, hurry up and talk to the regiment commander. Otherwise, if we miss the fighter again, we will wait for the total army to be annihilated. ”

Everyone got up and looked in the direction of the platoon leader's finger and agreed in unison.

"Huh? I'm going to say? The regiment commander just gave the order to resolutely stop the devils, and at this time I went to tell him that the troops had withdrawn into the village, would he agree? Besides, am I not attacking his leadership authority by doing so? No, no, I don't dare to go. ”

"Company commander, now is the time to burn your eyebrows and live and die. Can't you see that? Evacuated into the village to live, blindly fighting and fighting to the death. Now what leadership authority do you care? When we finish fighting, we are all glorious, what leadership authority does the regiment commander have? Yes?! ”

After listening to the words of Platoon Commander Fang, everyone talked and quarreled endlessly.

"Okay, okay, don't make any noise!" Deputy Company Commander Yuan drank the quarrel of everyone. "Platoon Commander Fang, my right arm is injured and I can't even lift a needle. Now you will take over my position as deputy company commander and lead the command of the sixth company to carry out the orders of the regiment commander. ”

"Huh? How can this work? Company Commander Yuan, no, no......" Platoon Commander Fang refused.

"Platoon Commander Fang, no! Deputy Company Commander Fang, Comrade Fang Jiren, the fierce battle is about to begin, so don't shirk it. This is a glorious and arduous task entrusted to you by the party, and it is also a crucial time to test you. I believe that with your abilities, you are fully competent. After we break out, I will ask the battalion commander to recommend you and fulfill the formal organizational appointment procedures, and I will also be your introduction to the party. Deputy Company Commander Yuan looked around at everyone with a serious expression, "Comrades! Do you think it's good to let Comrade Fang Jiren serve as the deputy commander of the Sixth Company? ”

"Good!" The crowd agreed.

"Well, since everyone can trust me, I'll do it. Company Commander Yuan, I want to recommend Comrade Ma Fucai, the squad leader, to be the platoon leader, do you think it will work? ”

"Why not? I agree. Comrades, immediately return to their respective posts and prepare for battle. After the battle began, it was necessary to resolutely obey the command of Deputy Company Commander Fang. ”

The crowd dispersed. Ma Fucai came over and stood beside Fang Jiren and whispered:

"Sixth brother, Deputy Company Commander Fang, I wish you a high promotion. This is another errand to die, you have to be careful, you must protect yourself, otherwise I will not be able to explain to the master when I go home, you have to have a little mistake, the old man has to pick my skin. ”

"Am I elevated? Hey, what is the deputy company commander, it's no problem to give me a battalion commander or regiment commander. You still say me? A long row, aren't you also elevated? Fucai, you have to firmly control a row, I will control the sixth company as soon as possible. In this way, our things will be much easier in the future. Do you understand? ”

"Understood. Sixth brother, I listen to you. ”

"Fucai, why are you becoming more and more rude and savage now?"

"Am I rude and savage? Hey, Sixth Brother, do you think I'm willing to do this? Didn't you have to let me pretend like that? But it's uncomfortable, have you forgotten? ”

"I haven't forgotten. Rich, you pretend to be true. Okay, just keep pretending. I'm not going to talk to you, I'll go to the second and third rows. ”

"Wait." Ma Fucai looked back and forth, left and right, raised his hand and quietly pointed to the woods, raised his feet and left. Francis willingly followed Ma Fucai out of the hidden department and into the woods.

"Sixth brother, when I was charging and fighting with the bayonet just now, I deliberately approached Takagi Hiroshi, and he asked our regiment's next move and what are your plans?" Ma Fucai whispered.

"I reckon the devils are going to attack. Fucai, when we were fighting with the devils and fighting bayonets, I took cover, and you took advantage of the chaos to find Takagi-kun and tell him that my plan was to 'decoct Chinese medicine'. Do you understand? ”

"Understood. I don't understand. Sixth brother, what does this 'decoction of Chinese medicine' mean? ”

"You asked, I don't have time to explain to you now. When I met Takagi-kun, he understood as soon as you said it, and this was what I agreed with him in advance. ”

"Oh. Ay? Sixth brother, can this work? Takagi-kun is only a second lieutenant in the Japanese army, will he be able to fully carry out your plan? What if not? ”

"I wonder if Takagi-kun will be able to carry out my plan? But I'm sure Takagi-kun will give it his all, no matter what. ”

"Alas! Sixth brother, I think this is the only way to go, whether it works or not depends on Takagi-kun. ”

"Say no more. Rich, let's go and prepare separately. ”

At the same time, deep in the dense forest, several male and female hygienists of the Eighth Route Army's supplementary regiment medical team were busy bandaging the wounds of dozens of wounded soldiers, militiamen, and fellow villagers, and more than 200 frightened and exhausted people sat on the grass in despair. At the edge of the woods, soldiers and militiamen lay in improvised trenches, ready for battle.

Suddenly, a dense burst of shells exploded in and around the woods, followed by a burst of gunfire, and groups of Japanese soldiers attacked and attacked the woods. The chief of staff and the political commissar got up and left Yugenshan and ran to the fortifications to direct the battle. At the edge of the woods, the soldiers and militia of the Eighth Route Army in the improvised trenches were waiting for them. When the two armies were eighty or ninety meters apart, the Japanese stopped shelling, the Japanese soldiers swarmed up, and the Eighth Route Army began to counterattack, machine guns and rifles fired at the enemy together, many Japanese soldiers fell to the ground and died, and other enemies lay on the ground, crawling forward, alternately covering. The gunfire was intense, the smoke was filled, and the fighting was fierce. When the two armies were forty or fifty meters apart, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army threw grenades at the enemy group, and the devils were dizzy and corpses were scattered all over the ground. When the trumpet sounded, some of the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army jumped out of the trench with bayonets and some with broadswords in their hands and rushed into the enemy formation to start a white-edged battle with the Japanese army.

Ma Fucai's big knife slashed left and right, and killed the enemy bravely. Suddenly, he spotted Hiroshi Takagi, a Japanese second lieutenant hiding dozens of meters away. So, he swung his knife and slashed the two Japanese soldiers in front of him, and pounced on them. Ma Fucai ran to Takagi Hongzhi and raised his knife to kill, Takagi Hongzhi waved his knife to fight, and the two of them fought back and forth. Fang Jiren also rushed over, wielding his sword to block four or five Japanese soldiers who were about to retreat to rescue Takagi Hirotoshi. Ma Fucai raised the big knife and slashed hard, and Takagi Hongzhi held the knife with both hands to block it. Two people compete with each other, one pressing downwards and the other pushing upwards.

Ma Fucai whispered: "Gao Mujun, Ji Renjun asked me to tell you about 'decoction of Chinese medicine'." ”

Hirochi Takagi replied in a low voice, "Understood." Fucaijun, go back and tell Ji Renjun 'hen hugging the nest', be quick! Nakagawa's brigade had already arrived at Bai'an Village to the east, and reinforcements from a squadron he had sent would arrive immediately. ”

"Understood, take care." Ma Fucai raised his foot and kicked Takagi Hirochi's stomach.

Takagi Hirochi fell sideways and rolled over, and then a carp stood up and pulled out a pistol, and raised his hand at Ma Fucai to shoot. Ma Fucai quickly rolled on the spot to dodge the bullets. Takagi Hirochi fired two shots and then turned around and ran away from the battlefield quickly, and Ma Fucai did not chase after him.

In an instant, Ma Fucai and the Japanese army Hiroshi Takagi successfully completed the exchange of information, and Ma Fucai swung his knife and fought with the Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese army gradually retreated, and finally the attack failed. As the gunfire thinned out, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army stopped their pursuit, quickly took off the bullet boxes and grenades on the corpses of the Japanese soldiers, and picked up the discarded Type 38 rifles. Shoulders and support the wounded comrades quickly retreated to the position on the edge of the woods, and repaired the fortifications to prepare for another attack by the Japanese army.

Franciscan and Ma Fucai sat in the hidden part of the trenches.

Fang Jiren looked around and asked in a low voice, "Rich, how is it?" Did you make it all clear and understood? ”

"Hmm. Sixth brother, I told Takagi-kun to 'decoct Chinese medicine', and he asked me to tell you 'hen hugging the nest'. In addition, the newly transferred Zhongchuan Brigade had already arrived in Bai'an Village to the east, and the reinforcements he sent a squadron would arrive immediately. That's it. Ay? Sixth brother, what do you mean by Takagi-kun's 'hen holding the nest' and 'decoction of Chinese medicine'? ”

"Good. That's great. This is the code word that I have agreed with Takagi-kun in advance. Let me tell you briefly, the 'decoction of Chinese medicine' is to ask him to collect and send me detailed information on all aspects of the Japanese army as soon as possible, and the first step of this 'hen nest' is that I must tell the regiment commander to order the whole regiment to withdraw to the village south of the woods immediately, and I will go to the regiment commander. Fucai, after a while, you will bring a few soldiers to me, see the opportunity, help me beat the side drum, and do a little bit of chaos, see what is going on with the regiment commander? ”

Yu Genshan stood on the high slope by the woods, holding binoculars in both hands to observe the battlefield that had just ended the fierce fighting, thinking about how to fight the battle in the future.

Dressed in muslin civilian clothes, with a belt around his waist and a military hat of the Eighth Route Army, covered in blood, his eyes were red, and his expression was anxious, Fang Jiren quickly ran to Yu Genshan's side, panting and eagerly pleading:

"Commander, you can't fight anymore! If we continue to fight like this, we'll run out. ”

Yu Ne put down the binoculars and stared at him angrily and asked, "Why?!" ”

Fang Jiren said resolutely: "Regiment leader, we can't fight like this anymore, the current battle situation is obvious, the devils are fighting a decisive battle, and they are fighting the war of attrition and positional warfare that they are good at with us, and the terrain here is extremely favorable to the devils, but it is very unfavorable to us, which is exactly what the devils can't ask for." We can't afford to fight like this, so we should avoid the war and move immediately. Now we don't have enough ammunition, and we haven't had a rest or a serious meal for a few days. We can't attack the enemy's strengths with our own shortcomings, and guerrilla warfare, movement warfare, and melee and night warfare are our best tactics. Regiment commander, in order to reverse the critical situation of being passively beaten, it is necessary to immediately change the tactical style of play. For the sake of the county party committee and the county government offices in the woods, as well as the wounded and more than 200 people, it is time to move immediately, regiment commander, hurry up and give orders. ”

"Presumptuous! Are you ordering me?! Transfer? Where are you going?! You're going to run away! Now this situation can only fight to the death and resolutely fight to the end! ”

"Then you can't be hard with the old book, right? How is this a cowardly escape? Chairman Mao's 16-character policy for guerrilla warfare is very clear: 'When the enemy advances, I retreat, when the enemy is stationed, I disturb, when the enemy is tired, I fight, and when the enemy retreats, I pursue. 'If you can win, you will fight, and if you can't win, you will run,' and Commander-in-Chief Zhu also said, 'Fight according to strength.' So, it's not a cowardly escape, it's a strategic shift. Regiment commander, we have to change our tactics quickly, we can't fight so hard anymore, we should attack the enemy's shortcomings with our own strengths. Commander, stop being stubborn and hesitating, and give the order to transfer. ”

"Are you teaching me a lesson? Am I not clearer than you about Chairman Mao's guerrilla warfare policy? When I was a soldier and fighting, you still wore open crotch pants to breastfeed! If you don't dare to fight or fight, the little devils will be even more rampant. You know a! Go and go, stop grinding your teeth and talking nonsense with me, you go back immediately and lead your warriors to repair the fortifications, set up the fortifications, and prepare for battle. Yu Genshan said irritably.

"Commander, why can't I tell you? Now is not the time to be angry! If we continue to fight like this, we will really fight out, which is irresponsible. Fang Jiren paused for a moment, and then said in a soothing tone: "Regiment Commander, please calm down, I know you are very anxious now, but as the head of a regiment, you should judge the situation, be flexible, and change tactics in time." The military guiding principle of all actions, or the essence of war and the purpose of war, is to preserve one's own strength as much as possible and destroy the enemy's strength, which is the basic law of war. Adapting to changes and flexibly using forces is the most important means to change the posture of the enemy and us and gain the initiative. Regiment commander, we have already fallen into a desperate situation, we must survive the desperate situation and turn the danger into safety, it is still too late to transfer immediately, and it will be really too late to drag it out, so that the losses of the troops will be even greater, and even the whole army will be annihilated. ”

Yu Genshan raised his head and looked at Fang Jiren in front of him dressed as a militiaman with a puzzled face, he didn't expect him to say such a military theory. He asked angrily:

"Are you giving me a lesson in military theory? I don't need you to say it, I know it. Well? Who are you after talking for a long time?! What village are you a militiaman? ”

Fang Jiren replied immediately: "Report to the regiment commander, I am Fang Jiren, the commander of the first platoon of the sixth company of the second battalion. ”

Yu Genshan looked at Fang Jiren up and down, and asked puzzledly: "Fang Jiren?" Are you a platoon commander? Why haven't I seen you? Why do you dress like this? Why don't you wear a military uniform?"

"Regiment commander, I haven't been in the army for a long time, and I haven't had time to issue military uniforms, the company commander only issued me an old military hat, but Battalion Commander Du has already promised me, he said that he will issue me a new military uniform after this counter-sweep is over."

Yu Genshan asked sharply: "You are from the second battalion?!" What about your battalion commander?! Why didn't he come? What is he doing? Did he let you come? ”

Francis replied sadly: "No, no, I came by myself." Regiment commander, a few days ago, our battalion commander Du was seriously injured again, and his body was still very weak after being rescued. ”

Yu Genshan asked sharply again: "Where is your company commander?!" Why didn't he come and tell me?!"

Fang Jiren replied sadly: "Company commander, company commander, he died a few days ago. Now, Deputy Company Commander Yuan is also wounded and can no longer participate in the battle. He didn't have time to ask the regiment commander to temporarily take over the post of deputy company commander and command the sixth company. ”

Yu Genshan: "What about the original platoon length?" ”

Francis: "The original platoon leader also died. ”

Yu Genshan lowered his head sadly, thought for a moment and then raised his head and asked, "You said you can't fight like this anymore, so what should we do now?" Do you have any good ideas? ”

Fang Jiren raised his hand and pointed to the south of the woods and said: "Commander, you see, a few miles south of this forest is Shengcang Village, we should immediately withdraw into the village to rest and recuperate our troops, adjust our deployment, treat the wounded and the masses, find some food to restore our strength, and then find a way to ...... after dark."

Without waiting for Fang Jiren to finish speaking, Yu Genshan categorically shouted: "Nonsense! Aren't you talking nonsense! How is this possible?! Withdraw the troops and the masses into the village and wait for the devils to come around and make dumplings?! ! Hurry back and organize the fighters to prepare for a counterattack! ”

Francis retorted: "Still ready to fight back? No, I can't. Regiment commander, go and see the improvised fortifications that our soldiers have built in a hurry, only more than one meter deep, no concealment department, no anti-artillery holes, that is equivalent to the live target of the devil's artillery, the devil's mountain artillery, mortars shelled a burst, our soldiers will have casualties. ”

Yu Genshan: "Then we'll lead the devils into the woods and fight bayonets." This is a brutal war of life and death, and it is inevitable to be wounded and sacrificed. If you want revolution and resist Japan, you can't be afraid of death! ”

"Commander, what you are saying is angry, this is not a question of being afraid of death or not being afraid of death. I believe that our fighters are not afraid of death, but we do not have an advantage in fighting with devils with bayonets. Commander, can't you see that? The vast majority of devil soldiers are shorter than our fighters, but the individual combat ability of devil soldiers is generally higher than that of our soldiers, and the skills of devils fighting bayonets are also higher than that of our soldiers. There are soldiers in our regiment who have been soldiers for less than a year, and two or three people can't fight a devil. After a battle is fought, the casualties of our soldiers are about three times that of the devils, is it worth three for one? Besides, many of the bayonets in the hands of our soldiers are curled, and some of the soldiers are barefoot and fight with the devils holding the 38 big cover with their bare feet. Commander, why can't we effectively preserve our strength while killing and injuring a large number of devils? As long as we change our tactics and style of play, our fighters can greatly reduce casualties. ”

Hearing the quarrel, many fighters gathered around.

Yu Genshan glared and scolded loudly: "! You are the majesty of the enemy, and you will destroy your own spirit. The little devils were also born and raised by their parents, and they also grew up eating and, are you afraid that you won't be able to fight them? “

"The head of the regiment is right! We're fighting with the little devils! ”

"Fight! Killing one is enough to make one, killing two to earn one. "Fight!"

"The Eighth Route Army is not afraid of death!"

The fighters were excited, their fighting spirit was high, they shouted in unison, and actively asked for battle.

"Regiment commanders, comrades-in-arms, it's not a question of whether you're afraid of death or not. When did we not fight to the death with the devil? However, how to fight it depends on tactics and tactics. Regiment commander, our weapons and equipment are far worse than those of the devils, and the individual combat skills of our soldiers are not as good as the little devils, and the devils also have mountain artillery, mortars, and grenadiers. These are disadvantages that we must acknowledge and face. In a situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak, it is taboo for soldiers to fight positional warfare, a war of attrition, and a desperate fight with the enemy, and the devil is wishing that we would fight to the death with them. Commander, you can't be fooled. Francis said patiently.

"That's right." "Makes sense." "That's what happened." "I think you're scared of little devils." "If you're afraid of death, don't be the Eighth Route Army." The onlookers were divided into different opinions.

Looking at these brave and fearless young and lovely soldiers, Fang Jiren said earnestly: "Comrades-in-arms and brothers, I know that you are all heroes who are not afraid of death. However, there is a spelling, and there is a way to die. Our lives are much more precious than the lives of devils, and our lives are no longer our own, they belong to the common people, the Eighth Route Army, and the country. Aren't we living to resist Japan and save the country and drive out the Japanese devils? Therefore, we must not only kill more devils, but also protect ourselves as much as possible to reduce casualties. Commander, you said yes, right? ”

"Okay, okay, stop grinding your teeth with me. Everyone knows what you're talking about. The most important thing now is how to defeat the devil in front of you. Company Commander Fang, I order you to go back immediately and prepare for battle! Yu Genshan ordered the onlookers again: "Go back, go back quickly!" Be ready for battle. The onlookers took a few steps back and did not leave.