This time, a squad of Japanese soldiers led a company of puppet troops to carry out a surprise charge.

Still at a distance of 100 meters, it met with stubborn resistance from the soldiers of the New Fourth Army.

But this time the enemy was fine, and the puppet army rushed forward, and then the Japanese army charged in place to take the position. After arriving at the position, the Japanese troops immediately established a position with machine guns and fired at the soldiers of the New Fourth Army at close range 100 meters away. The New Fourth Army's special service company, which had no machine-gun firepower, suffered a noticeable loss.

"Grenade ready!" The commander of the spy company ordered.

Immediately several fighters came up, and in front of them were ten grenades for one person. Prepare to blow up the Japanese machine-gun positions with grenades.

"Grenade ready! One...... 2. ......"

Before the number of three could be pronounced, suddenly, a battalion of soldiers of the Eighth Route Army rushed down from the opposite Matou Mountain, holding guns and shouting, and rushed towards the Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain.

In the other direction, to the right of the mountain beam, a battalion of soldiers of the Eighth Route Army also rushed out, and they fought into the ranks of the puppet army with bayonets in hand.

At this time, the soldiers of the New Fourth Army on the mountain beam asked: "Company commander, it is the Eighth Route Army that has come to support us, so should we throw out our grenades?" ”

The company commander scolded: "You loser, if you throw out your grenade, the machine gun will definitely be blown up." The machine gun will be ours in a moment. Be cherished. Ten sharpshooters came, staring at the machine gun position and shooting people with guns. ”

More than a dozen soldiers of the New Fourth Army immediately came, and their muzzles had sealed off the Japanese troops in the machine-gun position.

When the Japanese captain saw that there were so many Eight Roads, he knew that today was more than lucky, and immediately ordered the troops to retreat.

The Japanese puppet army that rushed up to the middle of the mountain had no fighting spirit. They were killed in the process of retreating. Five of the six Japanese soldiers on the machine-gun positions of those two machine guns had died. When the last Japanese soldier pulled out a grenade and was about to blow up the machine gun, he was hit by ten bullets at the same time and fell to the ground and died.

A small group of Japanese troops and a company of puppet troops who charged, by the time they withdrew down the mountain, there were only eight Japanese troops and five puppet troops left, and the rest were all left halfway up the mountainside.

"Company commander, let's charge too!" Several soldiers of the New Fourth Army were enthusiastic when they saw it, and they proposed to rush down the mountain to kill the enemy.

The company commander shook his head and said, "Our mission is to protect the chief!" ”

The Japanese captain at the foot of the mountain, after collecting the remnants of the army, found that there was now only one more than a squad of nearly sixty Japanese soldiers, and a little more than a company of puppet soldiers.

And there are thousands of people on the other side, and at a glance, you can see that it is not an ordinary Eighth Route Army.

Thirty-six plans, escape is the best plan, and the captain immediately made the most correct decision.

As a result, the Japanese puppet army fled towards the way they came, although the retreat was not chaotic.

As soon as they reached the valley, suddenly on the mountains on both sides, fierce bullets flew towards them.

The retreat was blocked, and the captain knew that there was more luck than luck.

He immediately ordered his troops to defend and fight back, but as the Eighth Route Army, which had caught up, finally closed the encirclement, there was nowhere to retreat.

After two hours of fierce fighting, all the Japanese puppet soldiers were killed.

The regiment commander did not want to take prisoners, they wanted to escort Li Xiang back to Yan'an, and they had no energy to take prisoners.

When Li Xiang and the soldiers of the New Fourth Army Special Service Company went down to the foot of the mountain. The political commissar and the head of the regiment saluted Li Xiang at the same time: "Report to the chief!" The Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters reports to you! ”

Li Xiang held the hands of the regiment commander and political commissar tightly: "Thank you for arriving in time!" ”

Soon, the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army handed over the escort mission.

The commander of the special service company gave one of the two machine guns to the Eighth Route Army, which in turn gave the New Fourth Army a batch of rifles, bullets, and grenades.

Everyone happily had a dinner with canned beef from the Japanese army. Then the two teams separated, the New Fourth Army returned, and the Eighth Route Army escorted Li Xiang to Yan'an.

Five days later, the team finally arrived in Yan'an.

As soon as Li Xiang arrived in Yan'an, he was immediately taken into a cave.

As soon as Li Xiang entered the cave, he found that there was someone waiting for him inside, it was Mr. Fang.

"Comrade Li Xiang, hard work!" Mr. Fang held Li Xiang's hand tightly.

"It's not hard! This is what I should do. Li Xiang Lizheng: "Report to Comrade Chief!" Spy 2 requests a handover mission. ”

After speaking, Li Xiang handed the worn-out handbag to Mr. Fang.

At the same time, May 21, Wuhan, official residence.

The old man and several generals were in a meeting to discuss the arrangement of troops for the Battle of Wuhan.

Bai Chongxi was speaking: "As far as we know, the Japanese army has stationed three divisions on the Jiujiang line, totaling more than 70,000 people, preparing to attack Huangmei and Qichun, and the troops are approaching our Xishui defense line under the city. We have a total of more than 130,000 troops in Xishui, and we have set up a defensive line to block them. It is estimated that it will be difficult for the Japanese army to break through from Xishui. ”

Everyone nodded in agreement, the * * Army and the * * Army are both elite units of the national army, and blocking 70,000 Japanese troops should meet their opponents.

Bai Chongxi continued: "Guan Jian is now in the direction of Xianning, and the Japanese army has already occupied Tongshan with three divisions, with the intention of capturing Xianning and cutting off the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway. They sent two more divisions from Nanchang to Xianning. More than 50,000 people in total. If they meet, then the total number of Japanese troops in Tongshan will reach more than 120,000 people. At present, the strength of our army is only more than 170,000 people in the Xianning defense line, and it will definitely not be able to defend it with 170,000 people to fight the Japanese army's 110,000 people. Therefore, I suggest that the strength of the two armies be immediately reinforced to the Xianning side, totaling 70,000 men, to hold the Xianning defensive line. ”

Chen Cheng stood up: "Which two armies are the key to send, and the troops that can fight." Don't be like those miscellaneous armies, numbering tens of thousands, and being defeated when they encounter a few thousand Japanese troops. ”

Bai Chongxi said with a smile: "I suggest sending the most elite * * army and * army of the Central Army to participate in the war and reinforce Xianning. ”

Everyone looked at the old man, this Bai Chongxi's move is powerful enough, these two soldiers are the hearts and minds of the commission, and now Bai Chongxi wants them to be cannon fodder.

can know that it is Bai Chongxi's calculation, but everyone can't say anything against it.

Bai Chongxi arranged his troops according to the battle situation. And he just suggested, the decision was in the hands of the old man.

Everyone speculated that the old man would definitely not agree to Bai Chongxi's suggestion.

"Agree to send the ** Army and the ** Army to participate in the battle, and Xue Yue will command the two armies in a unified manner."

Unexpectedly, the old man actually agreed to Bai Chongxi's suggestion.

After the meeting ended, the old man summoned Dai Li to his office.

Dai Li already knew Bai Chongxi's calculations, and said in front of the old man that Bai Chongxi was not. But the old man didn't react.

"Have you arranged what I asked you to arrange?" The old man asked.

Dai Li immediately reported: "Headmaster, two engineer regiments have been arranged to enter. And those who enter can't come out, they can only work inside. I also sent a gendarmerie regiment to enforce discipline and control those who wanted to come out, and if they broke in, they would be killed! ”

The old man nodded: "How is the progress of the construction?" ”

"Since it was on the basis of the original, the progress was fast! It can be completed in three days. And then there's the road. ”

"So fast? And what about quality? It's not going to collapse, is it? The old man was worried.

"The quality is no problem, they have all been tested for shock force, and they have passed." Dai Lian assured.

"Pay attention to secrecy, the winning chip in this battle is in this aspect. This is also the purpose of my agreement that Xue Yue led two elite armies with a total of 70,000 people to participate in the war. The old man drank a glass of boiled water.

"With such a large force, it must be difficult to block the news." Dai Li, to tell the truth.

The old man put down his cup and said, "That's why I want the ** army and the * army to participate in the war, and there are relatively few problems among them." Moreover, this plan, when the battle starts, will not be told to them, just let them stand by twenty miles away. ”

"I'm going to send another team of commanders into these two armies to supervise all the officers?" Dai Lian asked.

The old man nodded, agreeing with Dai Li's opinion. Soon, the Military Commission issued an order to transfer the * * Army and the * * Army in Henan to Xianning to support the Xianning defense line.

The day after receiving the order, the *th and ** armies set out.

Strangely, they did not have a military column, but marched to Xianning in the form of a field march.

May 22, four o'clock in the afternoon, Mingzhu, the headquarters of the Japanese dispatch army.

In the war room, a large number of Japanese generals and Osa gathered together.

The chief of staff of the lieutenant general spoke: "Ladies and gentlemen, now that the plan for the Wuhan campaign has been issued to all troops, what is the anomaly? ”

"Nope!" "Nope!" Here's a slice of no.

"What did the Air Force's aerial reconnaissance find?" The lieutenant general asked.

The Air Force replied: "The Chinese army is still in the original layout, and it has not changed. ”

The lieutenant general nodded: "Did the intelligence department find anything?" ”

Ozaki stood up: "The news sent back by our intelligence officers is that the Chinese believe that our Imperial Japanese Army will first point at Xianning and break Xianning to force Wuhan. ”

Yamada also stood up and said, "My intelligence officer is the same as reporting. The Chinese leader has ordered more than 70,000 troops of China's most elite * * army and * * army to go south to rescue Xianning. ”

A major general scolded: "A herd of pigs, they are not worthy to fight with us." ”

"If you were the one in China, you would have made the same decision as him. It's not him's fault, it's that our imperial army is too shrewd and martial. Another major general said with a smile.

The lieutenant general looked at the military map and said, "These two armies are the most capable troops in China. We'd better wait for them to cross Jigong Mountain before launching a campaign. ”

"Your Excellency! Why wait for them to cross Jigong Mountain before starting the fight? A major general asked.

"Come!" The lieutenant general pointed to a large Zuo and said.

"Yes!" Dazuo stood up: "Jigong Mountain is the longest mountain in the central part of the country, with a total length of 500 kilometers, and there is only one entrance in the garden. The deeper you go, the bigger the mountains. If the Chinese army enters the mountains three hundred meters to start the battle. Because the mountains separated Jigong Mountain from Daye, they could hear the sound of cannons, but they couldn't come to support. ”

"This mountain is an import?" A general asked.

"There's only one place out of the Jigong Mountain Range: the Garden. At that time, the Chinese naval gunboats sealed the garden with artillery fire, and the two Chinese armies could only see their comrades destroyed, but could not rescue them. Osa replied.

"After stopping these two armies, we will quickly transfer the two divisions that were transferred to reinforce Xianning, totaling more than 50,000 people, back to Jiujiang and let them serve as the second echelon of the campaign. In this way, on the Xishui front, we have more than 120,000 troops, and it is not a problem to take the other side's 130,000 troops. The lieutenant general said excitedly.

"That's right! After breaking the muddy water, entering Huangzhou and passing through Echeng, you can approach Wuhan. A group of Japanese generals became excited.

On the intelligence front, you have me, and I have you.

The news of more than 70,000 people from China's most elite army and army marching south to rescue Xianning was soon known by the Japanese.

The Japanese ordered the troops supporting Xianning to halt their advance, and the information was also reflected in Wuhan.

The Battle of Wuhan was at the beginning of the battle. Both sides are waiting for a chip.

The news that more than 70,000 people from the Japanese and other China's most elite armies and armies entered the depth of Jigong Mountain for 300 miles.

Wuhan is also waiting for the news that the most elite * * army and * * army have entered Jigong Mountain.

May 25, ten o'clock in the morning, Mingzhu, the headquarters of the Japanese dispatch army.

In the war room of the Japanese Dispatch Army Headquarters, many Japanese troops surrounded the sand table.

"Report! The aerial reconnaissance plane reported: China's two armies have entered the depth of 300 kilometers of Jigong Mountain. "A communications staff officer reports.

"Report! Our spy personnel found that the two Chinese armies had already entered the 300-kilometer area of Jigong Mountain, but they had already stopped advancing and were in the process of turning back. "Another communications staff officer reports.

"Return? Not good! The Chinese must have guessed our intentions. They were to return the two corps to support the Xishui defensive line. A Japanese major general said.

The chief of staff of the Japanese lieutenant general immediately entered the inner room and reported to the commander.

"How's the preparation at the front?" The commander asked.

"The troops are ready! Ready to attack! The chief of staff replied.

"Command the troops! The Battle of Wuhan has officially begun! The commander of the Japanese army ordered.

After receiving the order, the chief of staff immediately returned to the war room and gave the order: the battle of Wuhan officially began.

The beginning of the battle was: three divisions of the Japanese army in Xianning, in a triangle, launched an attack on the positions of the Chinese troops on the periphery of Xianning.

At one time, it broke through the Chinese army's defense line three times, but was soon recaptured by the Chinese army. The battlefield in Xianning has attracted the attention of many military strategists at home and abroad.

At the height of the battle in Xianning, the three divisions of the Japanese army in Jiujiang and Huangmei crossed the river all the way to occupy Daye, occupied the crosscar of Qichun all the way, and killed them all the way from Xima.

Three divisions, more than 70,000 people, fought in three ways to the Xishui defense line.

All of a sudden, the front line was in an emergency, and the Chinese army also divided into three routes to fight against the Japanese army.

The battle lasted two days, with casualties on both sides, and the Chinese soldiers suffered twice as many casualties as the Japanese.

On May 28, two divisions of the Japanese army, which were supposed to support Xianning, were suddenly inserted into Tieshan, directly threatening Echeng, and one division of the Japanese army on the first road, totaling more than 70,000 people in three divisions, attacked more than 50,000 Chinese defenders.

The situation is critical, and Echeng will be lost in a few hours.

Echeng is dangerous! Wuhan is dangerous!