。

"Whew! Call! Call! ……”

Half-kneeling on the river beach, Li Jie's panting was as rough as an old cow. The index finger of his right hand was bleeding from the trigger.

"Battalion commander! The devils from the direction of Donggao are coming up! ”

It was at this time that the scout reported to him the latest movements of the enemy.

"Donggao...... The devil's artillery must have joined them. Integrate the troops, there is no time to clean up the battlefield. ”

Li Jie exhaled a long breath and used the butt of his gun as a crutch to prop himself up. He wasn't actually worried about the devils in the direction of Donggao, and during the time when Sasaki's highway advance tactics were going on, Li Jie knew very well how many devils there were in each village.

There were not many devils east of the Nanzhang River, and although there was a big battle, if the third battalion wanted to leave, the devils would not be able to catch them at all. And if Li Jie had been more courageous, he might have gained something else.

"Battalion commander, the devil's new reinforcements have arrived at the Dragon King Temple! There were about 500 people, and they came by truck! ”

However, at this time, Li Jie received another news that made his eyes black.

Longwang Temple, located in the north of Nanzhang, is at the foot of Jianshan, it is a key road connecting the north and south of Nanzhang, because the terrain is dangerous, after the devil occupied there, he built a small station there.

The reason why the Xicun Brigade was able to rush over a few hours after the battle of Nanzhang was able to come over quickly was precisely because the area in charge of Xicun was the two counties of Lubei and Lunan, and the road he took after gathering his troops was the road of Longwang Temple.

"His grandmother's! Why do these little devils' feet look like they've been smeared with oil! Remove! ”

The sudden arrival of devil reinforcements from the rear dispelled all of Li Jie's careful thoughts. If it was just Donggao's devil, he might still have the courage to fight, but now there are devils behind him, and both the number and mobility are quite strong. Li Jie is not a fool, he can't do this kind of egg touching a stone.

"But, battalion commander, where are we going! I'm afraid I can't go back! Ahead is the devil of Donggao! ”

It was Yao Gang, the deputy battalion commander who spoke, he was not injured by the mortar of the devil in the previous battle, but in the final white-knuckle battle, he was cut off a piece of flesh from his leg by a bayonet, although he had been bandaged, but now he kept oozing blood.

"This ......"

Li Jie was asked by Yao Gang when he was sluggish, this question is indeed very critical, now the situation of the three battalions is that there are wolves in front and tigers in the back, and because of the previous battle, the soldiers are now scattered on both sides of the Nanzhang River, that is to say, no matter which road is chosen, the top priority is to cross the river first, but where is there enough time for them to cross the river smoothly in the current form

"Take it one step at a time! Where to walk, where to go! At this time, ask for more blessings. We can't take care of Bai Lin's kid, help him solve the devil's cannon, whether he is dead or alive depends on his creation.

Tell the commander of the eighth company that now all the troops on the west bank of the river are under his command, but the river is gone! Just advance parallel to the south along the river, when there is an opportunity, when to merge the troops! ”

In a hurry, in this case, Li Jie simply made such a seemingly child's play. The teams on both sides of the river retreated south at the same time, stepping on watermelon rinds and slipping.

……

"Dazuo, our artillery positions are lost! Squadron Leader Akiyama, who broke away from the battle with only one squad and a few mortars, converged with reinforcements from the direction of Donggao.

And our vanguard also came into contact with the soldiers of Kawakami's squadron, their morale was very poor, and the squadron leader Kawakami was also broken. ”

Koike's tone was full of incredulity when he said this.

When he didn't go out of the territory of the deer, he always thought that the Wing Commander's worries were meaningless, and instead of going to Nanzhang to inspect the results of the battle, the five hundred of them should play a greater role in an important position.

But after leaving the deer realm, the telegrams that were not good news made Koike almost begin to doubt his life.

Once upon a time, the Imperial Army would encounter such a tricky opponent in Shanxi, but despite this, Koike still had a hint of luck in his heart, he hoped that in the end, Kawakami and Akiyama would still be able to overcome the strong enemy, and then when they reached Nanshan, they were just sharing the victory of the two. But now, the facts are in front of us.

"Well, I already know. Despite the reluctance to accept it, it has happened. And I won't tell you anything, Koike-kun, I was mentally prepared to accept all this before.

Yue Siliang is a cunning opponent. When we broke through to the White Horse, this cunning fox deceived us old hunters with a sound of sound.

If he were just a general, then I wouldn't have to come here myself. Yue Siliang, this person will be a stepping stone for me to go further. ”

Sasaki's last sentence was not understood by others, but Koike immediately understood it and asked Sasaki with a look of surprise.

"Captain, you're finally going to be a general!"

Sasaki's military rank is Osa, and the next step is Major General. He has always been the pride of the 21st Brigade, and Seishiro Itagaki is also very important to him. Even before the Battle of Taiyuan, there were voices that Sasaki would be awarded the rank of major general.

If this happens, imagine a general in his early thirties! It is so dazzling wherever it is placed, and it is likely to grow into a generation of famous players in the future.

However, the battle of Lingqiu made Sasaki's originally bright future bleak. The matter of the rank of major general has since been put on hold.

Today, Sasaki brings up the old story. This is enough to show Sasaki's confidence in this battle and his belief in wanting to return to the top!

"Well, the brigade commander hinted at it. Therefore, I must use Yue Siliang's head to make my general star even more dazzling! ”

Sasaki said loudly, but soon he returned to his normal state and straightened the military hat on his head. This new uniform made him somewhat unaccustomed.

"Back to the present, the 424th regiment is somewhat combative. But to this extent, it is already the limit.

According to the previous battle report, the number of the Eighth Route Army stationed in Nanzhang Castle and defeated Nishimura should be between 800 and 1,000 men. The establishment should be two battalions or one reinforced battalion.

After defeating Nishimura, they were subjected to heavy shelling from the Akiyama squadron, so I have reason to believe that this unit has now become a complete history. Even if there are still people alive, there will definitely be no more combat effectiveness! ”

Listening to Sasaki's analysis, Koike raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of Nanzhang Town.

It was their destination, and with the meager morning light of more than seven o'clock, the south ridge was full of ruins and ruins as far as the eye could see, and the smoke of gunpowder had not dispersed.

Wisps of gunpowder smoke rose, and under the sun, a path of light was formed.

Seeing this, Koike put down the telescope and shook his head. In such a tragic battlefield, he simply didn't believe that anyone would survive from it.

Sasaki's analysis continues.

"The two squadrons of Akiyama and Kawakami were fought between 300 and 400 men, and this unit was well armed, with rifles, machine guns, mortars, grenadiers and even motorcycles being put to good use. It has strong combat effectiveness.

There is no doubt that these, together with the Eighth Route Army in the town before, are definitely the main force of the 424th Regiment. And after dispatching such a main force of more than a thousand people, the strength of the 424 regiment has been exhausted.

can cause today's effect, even I have to praise Yue Siliang. However, having experienced the losses of this battle, the 424th regiment has completely turned into a toothless tiger.

Now, they're just fish on a chopping block for us. ”

Sasaki's analysis impressed Koike at once.

"The Wing Commander is right, since this is the case, then let's speed up and pursue the rest of the 424th Regiment! They've started to flee south now! We must never let go of these hateful Eighth Route Army again! Captain, give the order! ”

When Koike said this, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he wanted to vomit all the blocks in his chest when he thought that the 424th Regiment, the opponent who had fled from their hands, would finally be destroyed today.

"No, the priority is not to pursue the remnants of the 424th Regiment. Of course, this is also important, but not the most important.

All the eight roads in the town were wiped out, and the south ridge was lost and recovered. We must try to restore order to the south as quickly as possible.

After the Eighth Route Army occupied this place, they drove all the people here out of the town, so we will invite them back.

It is necessary to make Nanzhang a transportation hub back into operation, and at the very least, to repair the highway and restore traffic. ”

Speaking of which, Sasaki and his troops, who got out of the car and walked, had already reached a distance of two kilometers from the town.

"In this way, Kato took a part of his soldiers to pursue the Eighth Route Army. The rest of the army followed me into the town to clear the battlefield and repair the road. ”

"Hello!"

Listening to the uniform response of his subordinates, Sasaki nodded with satisfaction. Straightened out his military uniform and walked in the direction of the town.

……