Due to the total annihilation of the 20th Cavalry Wing of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army and the heavy damage to the 1st Brigade of the 19th Brigade of the 16th Brigade of the Japanese Army, and the thwarting of the Japanese army's attempt to capture Heshun County and open up the Pingliao Highway, the 115th Division's eastward advance brigade could march eastward along the Xingyu Highway after setting out from Shiguai Town. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Considering the shortage of grain in the Taihang Mountains, when the advance brigade set out, in addition to carrying 10 days of dry food per person, all the excess rice, flour and oil were left in Shiguai Town and handed over to the Jinzhong Special Committee and the Qinlai Detachment to reduce the transportation burden.

As for the machinery, equipment, weapons, and ammunition smuggled out of Taiyuan City, the advance brigade took all of them with them, and they had to take all these equipment, weapons, and ammunition with them if they wanted to march eastward to create a base area behind enemy lines.

The reconnaissance company led by Wang Quanyou, that is, the original reconnaissance platoon, had already set off before dark. Due to the large number of war horses, all the reconnaissance companies were mounted and turned into cavalry reconnaissance companies, and the speed was naturally much faster.

After the reconnaissance company, there was a battalion led by Deputy Captain Huang Hua, who served as the vanguard of the advance brigade.

The second battalion is the second echelon, and Hu Qingyun, chief of staff of the brigade, moves with the team.

After the second battalion, there were the third battalion, the artillery battalion, the heavy machine gun battalion, the engineer battalion, the baggage battalion, the recruit battalion, the three rack battalions, and the organs directly under the brigade led by the brigade commander Xiao Siming, political commissar Wang Lushui, and director of the political department Huo Cheng.

The last to set off was the cavalry company.

The cavalry company originally consisted of only about two dozen people, less than a platoon. With war horses, riding rifles and sabers, Liu Zhaoming, Ma Ming, and Wu Peng ran to the first battalion, the second battalion, the third battalion, the artillery battalion, the engineer battalion, and the baggage battalion to pull people, and even Chen Desheng's guard company did not let go, and finally went to the Qin Lai detachment to pull people.

There is no way, Xiao Siming supports the cavalry company to pick people from each battalion and company, and he made it clear that the cadres and soldiers below the platoon are selected by the cavalry company, no matter which unit or person is picked, they must be released unconditionally!

The Qin Lai detachment now has five or six thousand people, and the strength is large enough, but the combat effectiveness still needs to be honed. Seeing that the advance brigade needed cavalry, the leaders of the Qin Lai detachment were broad-minded, and even launched a call in the whole detachment to send cavalry talents to the main force, selected 60 soldiers who could ride horses, and sent them to the cavalry company of the advance brigade.

Liu Zhaoming was so happy, he went directly to pester Xiao Siming and Wang Lushui, in addition to the rice and flour oil that he had promised to stay, he supported the Qin Lai detachment with 100 Jin-made rifles and three Jin-made Czech light machine guns, with 100 rounds of ammunition per rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition per light machine gun!

In this way, the cavalry company was fully loaded at once!

The reason why Xiao Siming let the cavalry company, which should have been in the first echelon, walk at the end, was to let them hurry up and train the formation, so that when they encountered a battle, they would not even be unable to control the war horses!

The surplus horses of the cavalry company were temporarily handed over to the baggage team to serve as pack horses.

On the spring night of Taihang Mountain, the moon was bright and the wind was clear, and the main force of the 115th Division's eastward advance brigade and 2,000 recruits marched on the Xingyu Highway under the moonlight.

With this alone, the advance brigade can be called the main force!

In this eastward advance, Wang Lushui, Huang Hua, Hu Qingyun, and Huo Cheng knew how thick the family background of the independent battalion was. The pack horses pulled artillery wagons, high-level dual-purpose guns, infantry guns, and rapid-fire guns, and more than 40 rubber-tyred carts were all loaded with equipment, equipment, and ammunition. The rest of the pack horses, including more than 100 war horses that the cavalry company did not need for the time being, were loaded with ammunition and gasoline drums.

In the entire marching procession, except for the reconnaissance company, the first battalion, the second battalion, and the third battalion, which were responsible for combat missions, the soldiers of other units not only carried dry rations, weapons and ammunition, and backpacks, but also had to carry an ammunition box on their shoulders.

Only doctors from field hospitals and technicians from arsenals, enjoying care, could act on horseback. Others, including the captain Xiao Siming, were carrying ammunition boxes for anti-aircraft shells on their horses. Xiao Siming himself carried a Type 97 sniper rifle on his back, a Type 96 light machine gun on his shoulder, a Wang Ba box hanging from his waist, and a shell gun on his back.

Xiao Siming is like this, and Wang Lushui, Huang Hua, Hu Qingyun, and Huo Cheng, who were born in the old Red Army, must also be like this. It's just that everyone's physical strength is different, and they don't need to carry as many weapons as Xiao Siming.

Originally, the female soldiers of the field ambulance team, including Yan Rou and Xing'er, who were acting with the team, were all looking forward to being able to march on horseback, and as soon as the logistics department and the baggage team moved, these girls were stupid, where are there any extra horses, and they have to march on foot! It's just that the girl's family is weak and didn't let them carry the ammunition box!

Walking in the team, Wang Lushui finally understood why Xiao Siming was thinking about going east to create his own base behind enemy lines from beginning to end, without a base area, these equipment and equipment could only be on the back of pack horses and rubber-tyred carts, not only could they not play a role, but they also had to worry about not being discovered by the little devils and snatching them back, troublesome!

Wang Lushui thought at that time that he had to increase the speed of the march and reach the destination as soon as possible. As long as the Jinpu Road is crossed and a base area is created, the equipment of the arsenal, the equipment of the field hospital, the ammunition and gasoline that are not needed for the time being, will no longer have to be carried by horses and men.

Marching in the base area, there is no need to worry about encountering the Japanese army. That's it, in addition to the reconnaissance company that set off earlier, the first battalion, that is, the first company, the top soldiers, and the flank search detachment, were all meticulous and not a little paralyzed.

There is no light load on the long road!

At the beginning, the troops marched very fast, basically eight or nine miles an hour, and it was not good to walk, and the soldiers were tired. After walking for an hour, you have to stop and rest. When I saw it at dawn, I only walked out of 60 miles after a night march!

Heshun County is 75 kilometers wide from east to west, and at this speed, you can't go out of Heshun County for three nights!

The Taihang Mountains and ravines are deep, which is convenient for the troops to conceal, but the advance brigade carries a lot of equipment, equipment, and ammunition, and if it is discovered by Japanese planes, the consequences are unimaginable, and the troops can only march at night.

As a result, when the cavalry company caught up, Xiao Siming ordered all the cavalry companies to dismount, and all the war horses were changed to pack horses to reduce the burden on the soldiers!

Including the reconnaissance company that had previously set off on horseback, it also received an order to leave the war horse behind, change it to pack horses, and the troops reconnoitred and advanced on foot.

At dawn on the third day, the troops hurried and finally arrived at Songyan Town, southeast of Heshun City. It is very close to the ground in Hebei, and you can get out of Taihang Mountain at night after a day of rest!

I didn't expect there to be a problem with the camp!

Feng Li, the head of the security section, came to Xiao Siming and Wang Lushui with a black face, and reported that he had caught two deserters, and he had to enforce battlefield discipline and shoot them on the spot!

Due to the separation from Mei Ying, Xiao Siming became a stuffy gourd on the march, and basically didn't speak. Feng Li's report, Huo Cheng, director of the Political Department, sweated in his palms, for fear that Xiao Siming would be in a bad mood, and really approved Feng Li to shoot the two soldiers who were caught deserting!

Since ancient times, Ci has not been in charge of the army!

No matter what kind of troops you are in, you will never be soft on deserters!

What Huo Cheng didn't expect was that Xiao Siming, who had a black face along the way, actually said to Feng Li: "Bring people here, I'll ask what's going on!" Don't shout at every turn to enforce battlefield discipline, the head is not a leek, and it won't grow if it's cut! ”

When Feng Li left, Xiao Siming confessed again: "Find out which unit it is, and bring their company commanders, instructors, platoon commanders, and squad leaders!" ”

When Feng Li brought the two deserters to Xiao Siming and Wang Lushui, Yang Cheng, the instructor of the baggage battalion and the commander of the second company of the recruits, Song Yaoxian, the deputy commander of the baggage battalion and the instructor of the second company of the recruits, Fan Jianxin, the first platoon leader of the second company of the recruits, and He Shishi, the squad leader, hurriedly came over.

After shouting the report, He Shishi, who was full of anger and red face, directly took out the shell gun, and the muzzle of the gun pressed against the forehead of a deserted soldier, and shouted: "Mother's ****!" When you eat, I count how much you eat, but I didn't expect the whole class to count you! From Zong Ai Zhen to Songyan Town, you haven't beaten a little devil yet, you fucking will be a deserter! You've lost the face of the whole class! Lao Tzu killed you! ”

He Shishi is a soldier of the National * Army rescued from Yuxian County, after education and transformation, he has made rapid progress, fought bravely, and has grown into the squad leader of the Eighth Route Army!

In front of the captain and political commissar, without an order, He Shishi would never shoot, he was anxious and anxious to scare the soldier!

Xiao Siming ordered He Shi to put away the gun and retreat, and then gently asked the names of the two deserted soldiers and why they deserted!

The second company of recruits was recruited by the baggage team to expand its army in Zongai Town, and it has been on the march and training, and has not yet participated in the battle!

The two soldiers said that the reason for their desertion was that they did not want to leave Yuxian, let alone Shanxi, and wanted to go back to Yuxian to join the Eighth Route Army to fight devils.

It is human nature that the homeland is difficult to give up. After asking the reason clearly, Xiao Siming pulled the two soldiers to sit down and started the ideological work.

Xiao Siming personally did the ideological work, and the effect must be good!

When the two warriors finally left, they repeatedly expressed their determination that they would rather die with the little devil than desert!

After asking the instructor Song Yaoxian to bring the two soldiers back, Xiao Siming criticized He Shishi, saying that He Shishi's squad leader was incompetent and did not fulfill his responsibilities!

Xiao Siming said that when the squad leader is to do "four know, one to keep up", that is: "The squad leader to the soldiers, the first is to know where the soldiers are at any time, the second is to know what the soldiers are doing at any time, the third is to know what the soldiers are thinking at any time, and the fourth is to know what the soldiers need at any time." Then, ideological work and management have to keep up. ”

According to Xiao Siming's statement, only by achieving these "four knowing, one keeping up" can the squad leader know the situation of the whole class well and talk about the tactics of the infantry squad. The core of "four know, one to keep up" is two words: love soldiers!

Xiao Siming said that the Eighth Route Army is different from any other **** and is a real soldier of the people. The most valuable asset of the Eighth Route Army is not weapons and ammunition, nor captured equipment, but soldiers! To be a squad leader is to organize and unite the soldiers of the squad to jointly complete the tasks assigned by the superiors. Relying on the old army's method of scolding soldiers will not work, and the discipline of the Eighth Route Army is not allowed!

This is teaching He Shi how to do it hand-in-hand, but the squad leader!

He Shishi listened to it and was convinced, and he did an examination on the spot.

Because of this episode, Xiao Siming ordered the troops to stop advancing and once again concentrated on the campaign of complaining about grievances in Songyan Town, and all the cadres of the departments directly under the brigade and the battalions and companies went down to their shifts to further carry out ideological mobilization work.

It was not until the evening of March 12 that the advance brigade left Songyan Town and continued its march.

In the early morning of March 13, the eastward advance brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army finally crossed the Taihang Mountain and entered the Shishui River in the west of Xingtai.

When they went down the mountain, the cadres and soldiers of the advance brigade all cheered and jumped out: it turned out that the mountain was already full of flowers and willows, and the garden was full of spring! (To be continued.) )