After Xie Guangtang withdrew from Gangshang Town with the Gaocheng County Brigade, he saw that Gangshang Town was in flames, and he knew that the little devil had killed people and set fire to the town. Looking at the cavalry that the devils quickly caught up, Xie Guangtang sighed, and sent two soldiers back to Gaocheng to report to Song Zhenheng, saying that the first squadron and the second squadron could not go back, and asked him to quickly mobilize the masses to transfer and report the enemy situation to his superiors. He took two squadrons of fighters to plant mines in the trenches and waited for the devil cavalry to come up.

It stands to reason that Xie Guangtang should retreat quickly, but he was born as a red imp and has rich combat experience, so he knows that on this endless plain, people can't outrun the cavalry, let alone the tanks and armored vehicles behind the cavalry. can only keep fighting, and when you get to a place where there is a green gauze tent, you can take the opportunity to get out. Besides, they may be the first troops in Jizhong to meet the enemy, and they have the responsibility to block the lagging enemy and gain early warning time for the large army.

The devil cavalry came up, and in the trench was a column chasing after each other, and in the freshly harvested wheat field above the trench was a cavalry straggler. Xie Guangtang knew that most of the soldiers in the county brigade were not good at marksmanship, and it was unrealistic for them to fight the cavalry on horseback, so he told the soldiers to aim at the cavalry horses south of the trench as a squad to shoot a platoon of guns, and he commanded machine gun fire to hit the cavalry on the north side of the trench, and he must beat the devil cavalry back before retreating.

There are not many devil cavalry chasing after them, and there are only more than 100 people, so they should be devil search cavalry. But for the county brigade, these more than 100 cavalry are the enemy, and once they catch up, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Seeing that the devil cavalry had already entered the firing range, Xie Guangtang shouted "hit", and the heavy machine gun in his hand fired. A heavy machine gun and the firepower of the four-stop light machine gun beat the devil cavalry on the north side of the trench into a daze, and they fluttered and lay down like dumplings, and the living devil cavalry hurriedly turned their horses back. Only then did Xie Guangtang calmly order the machine gun to turn and support the battle on the south side of the trench.

As soon as the devil cavalry in the south of the trench was repulsed, the devils in the trench stepped on the mine, Xie Guangtang took advantage of the situation and came to a machine-gun fire assault on the devils in the trench, this time the results were great, the trench was very narrow, it could only accommodate one person and one horse, and the devils had nowhere to hide, so they were naturally killed and wounded.

As soon as Xie Guangtang shouted "withdraw", the devil's shells came over. In a few moments, more than a dozen warriors were sacrificed. At this time, Xie Guangtang couldn't care about carrying the corpses of the martyrs, and led the soldiers to run all the way along the trench.

Just ran three miles away, and the devil came up again. This time, the little devil learned well, and several armored vehicles and cavalry crossed Xie Guangtang and them, blocking the retreat of the troops.

Xie Guangtang saw that this was over, it was surrounded, the devil's armored car was not easy to deal with, and it would become a live target for the armored vehicle when it came out of the trench. In that case, let's fight with the little devils!

Xie Guangtang called out to the two squadron leaders, and the three of them crawled on the edge of the trench and watched the devils swarming like ants.

The captain of the first squadron said: "Captain, you can't run away, give an order, let's fight with the little devil!" ”

The leader of the second squadron said: "We only have trenches to rely on, and there is no deep position, and as soon as the devil fires the artillery, it will be miserable." The troops must be dispersed so that they can escape the artillery fire of the devils. Then I fought hard with the devil, killing one was enough, and killing two would make money! ”

Xie Guangtang nodded, and ordered the two squadron leaders to draw a squad each to leave him as a reserve, and then each bring two light machine guns, and organize the troops to disperse in small teams to block the attack.

After giving the order, Xie Guangtang shouted loudly in the trench: "There is nothing important for people to come to the world except death, comrades, don't panic, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army will die in glory, and they will be a good man again in 20 years!" Shoot again if you aim accurately, there are so many devils, it's enough for everyone! ”

This battle was tragic but not fierce, and it didn't last long, because the strength of the enemy and us was too disproportionate, and the little devils were already angry when they were beaten by Xie Guangtang, and in the case of excessive casualties in the infantry attack, the devils concentrated artillery fire on the trenches that Xie Guangtang and they were holding onto, so that the gunfire of the county brigade was completely silent.

Later, Xie Guangtang, who was seriously wounded, was picked up from the pile of dead by the common people at night, but all the other soldiers died in the trenches.

Song Zhenheng and He Kunshan led the third and fourth squadrons to run all the way to inform the villages along the road, and when they withdrew to Gaocheng County, the vanguard of the devils also arrived. Song Zhenheng felt a pain in his heart, knowing that the first and second teams led by Xie Guangtang were all finished, otherwise the devils would not have been able to rush to the county seat so quickly.

Song Zhenheng gritted his teeth and ordered the third squadron to close the west gate, south gate and north gate, go to the city wall to block the devils, and let He Kunshan lead the four brigades to cover the masses to break through from the east gate.

Although Song Zhenheng is not a military cadre, he also knows that the current situation has reached a critical time of life and death, the devil is too powerful, if he abandons the city and moves, he will still be caught up by the devil outside the city, I am afraid that it is impossible to kill a few more devils. At present, the most feasible way is to hold on to the city and drag it out for a period of time, so that the people in the city can escape.

This decision was stubbornly defended, but Song Zhenheng calmed down, calmly burned the documents, organized the cadres to bury the materials, and then took the guards and the cadres of Gaocheng County to resist the Ming Dynasty and the political axe on the city wall, and commanded the third squadron to block the attack.

When the devil's vanguard arrived at the west gate of Gaocheng, the city gate had just been closed, and then grenades were thrown on the city wall, and the machine gun and rifle fire of the third squadron immediately turned around and retreated.

When Song Zhenheng arrived at the West Gate City Wall, the Third Squadron had already repelled the tentative attack of the devils, and there was a brief calm on the battlefield.

Song Zhenheng looked at the large army of devils who were coming one after another outside the city, sighed, and said to himself: "God, are you drunk, how can you let there be a two-legged beast like a little devil in this world?" If it weren't for these invaders, how beautiful this Jizhong Plain would be! ”

Before he finished speaking, he heard He Kunshan laughing beside him: "Old Song, I see that you are just drunk!" Is there any god there? If there really is, I'm afraid that I will trample on Xiao Yueben with one kick, so that all these dogs will die, and they will never be able to come out to harm people again! ”

Song Zhenheng was a little angry when he saw He Kunshan coming back, so he asked him why he didn't withdraw with the masses?

He Kunshan asked rhetorically: "Where to retreat?" There are devils everywhere, we are here to defend it, so as to buy time for the masses to retreat, and if we all withdraw, we will all have to die! What you can think of may not be what my surname is! ”

Song Zhenheng knew that He Kunshan had the same thoughts as him, so he didn't say more, the two shook hands, and then went to the third and fourth squadrons separately to command the soldiers to fight.

The devils began to attack the city, and six enemy planes flew over, dropped bombs and strafed the city walls, and blew the city walls into sharp teeth. Fortunately, the commander of the third squadron saw the opportunity early and quickly ordered the soldiers to withdraw from the city wall, which avoided heavy casualties.

After the bombing of the enemy planes, the artillery of the army began to shell, in addition to the city wall was blown open a few openings, the devil's tank guns also blasted the city gate open, the leader of the third squadron shouted loudly that the soldiers let go of the devil tank to fight the devil infantry, grabbed their own grenades and threw five in a row, and simply blew up the devil on a gap.

As soon as Song Zhenheng saw the devil entering the city, he knew that Gaocheng County had been lost. I can't help it if I think about it, there are more than 300 people in two squadrons, guarding a huge county town, and the devil is a division, where can I hold it! However, attracting the county seat is a victory in itself, and it can be dragged on for as long as it takes. It's a pity that there is still too much disparity between the enemy and us, and the little devils swarmed into the city, and soon divided and surrounded the third and fourth squadrons of the county brigade.

Song Zhenheng retreated with the 3rd Squadron to the City God Temple. This time, the soldiers did not think about blocking the devil outside the temple, but let the devil in and fought with the devil in the compound of the Chenghuang Temple. Immediately, the small City God's Temple became a Shura field, the devil's artillery and tanks were temporarily useless, and the grenades of the Eighth Route Army were flying all over the sky, blowing up the little devil crying and calling his mother.

There were too many devils, and the third squadron couldn't support it in the end, there were only a dozen or so people left, and there were not many bullets, so they retreated to the main hall of the City God Temple.

At this time, the little devil moved the idea of capturing the Eighth Route Army, and a Han annihilation shouted outside: "Listen to the Tu Balu in the house, the imperial army admires your courage, now give you a way to live, as long as you lay down your arms, the imperial army can spare you from death!" ”

The leader of the third squadron raised his hand and shot the man in the mouth.

The devil's machine gun followed with a shuttle, dusting the house.

Song Zhenheng was already injured at this time, curled up against the base of the wall, panting heavily, and said to the third squadron leader: "Stop shooting and let the devil in." ”

The captain of the third squadron said: "Political commissar, I didn't protect you well, let's go on the road with you!" ”

Song Zhenheng nodded, and the soldiers immediately took out all the grenades and tied them into several bundles, several fighters put the rings on their hands, and several other fighters held guns in front of Song Zhenheng. There was a sudden silence in the hall.

Seeing that there was no gunfire in the house, the devil thought that the machine gun just now had killed the Eighth Route Army, so a few little devils rushed to the door of the main hall, blew open the door with a grenade, and rushed in. As a result, only a few fluttering sounds were heard, and the fighters killed the devils with bayonets.

The devils outside didn't know what was happening inside, so they poured in. The soldier with the gun crackled and opened. At such a close distance, the devil had nowhere to hide, so he was naturally shot to death.

The distance was too close, and there were many devils, and after the soldiers fired a shot, they could only pounce on them with bayonets, and the hall was immediately filled with the sound of bayonets entering the flesh.

When the devils from behind poured in, there were only a few Eighth Route Army with grenade bundles in the main hall.

Looking at the ghosts pouring in, Song Zhenheng closed his eyes, and the scene of listening to Liu Yimin's speech in Nangong came to his mind: "The Chinese people will definitely win the victory of the War of Resistance and build a new China that is free and prosperous!" ”

Boom, boom, boom, after a few loud bangs, the main hall of the City God Temple was shaken down, and the roof was pressed down, burying Song Zhenheng and his comrades with the devil. It's as if nothing ever happened here.

On the evening of 9 June, the 23rd and 24th Divisions of the Chinese Army met at Cangshi Road, achieving the operational goal of opening up Cangshi Road and closing Jizhong. Early in the morning of 10 June, the southward assault group of the Chinese army, under the cover of aircraft, began to attack Hejian, Suning, Lixian, and other county seats. The garrison of our army had to withdraw from the county under the pressure of the enemy's heavy army group.

After receiving the order from the headquarters to give up the county seat and the avenue, the main force to enter the tunnel fortifications, and prepare to persist in the struggle behind enemy lines, Chen Guang, Meng Qingshan, and Lu Zhengying were all surprised.

Chen Guang wanted to call the headquarters and state his proposition of fighting the enemy all the way, but reports from various places told him that the army was fierce, and it was the best policy to fight hard to get into the hands of the devils, and to avoid the enemy's edge for the time being. However, the enemy was already surrounded on all sides, and it was very difficult to break through, so he could only temporarily conceal the main force and wait for the army to attack the edge before hitting it in the back. So, Chen Guang ordered our army to enter the tunnel fortifications and let the devils occupy the county seat and the main transportation routes.

This time, the devil's attack speed was faster, but the county towns occupied by the devils were basically empty cities, and the larger market towns and villages were also empty. By the evening of the 10th, the various armies had already controlled most of the central Hebei region, but they did not capture the main force of the Eighth Route Army in central Hebei.

After receiving the report, General Terauchi Shouichi looked at the map again and again, and felt that the Eighth Route Army must have retreated the main force between Anping, Raoyang and Shenxian, which was the core area of the Eighth Route Army's base area in central Hebei, and the last sweep was also in this area where the main force of resistance was found. If it weren't for the damned Liu Yimin's sabotage, these resistance forces would have been eradicated long ago.

Lieutenant General Tada Jun had already flown to Xuzhou to command the troops on the southern front, and after discussing with Lieutenant General Naosaburo Gangbe, he believed that it was necessary for the central Hebei forces to encircle Anping, Raoyang, and Shenxian and completely pacify the central part of the country.

Gangbe Naosaburo asked cautiously: "Your Excellency Commander, what if you can't find the main force of the Tsuchihachi Road in these three places?" ”

Terauchi Shouichi was also worried about this matter, afraid that he would not be able to find the main force of the Eighth Route Army and would not be able to explain to the base camp, however, Terauchi Shouichi had a good brain, and after thinking about it, he felt that it might be that the Eighth Route Army got the news in advance and slipped to southern Hebei or Luxi early.

Thinking like this, Shouichi Terauchi waved his hand and said, "The big net has been rolled out, where can they run?" It's a big deal to run to southern Hebei and Luxi, that's where we want them to go. Now is the time of the summer harvest, as long as we occupy the three big granaries of Jizhong, southern Hebei, and Luxi, it is useless to run anywhere in North China, and they will starve to death if they are hungry! ”

Okabe Naosaburo felt that what Terauchi Shouichi said was reasonable, and even said a few times to the commander Gao Ming, and added: "After occupying Jizhong, we left a public security division and Manchurian Defense Army to carry out thorough governance of Jizhong, build up the local political power, police force, and security team, and implement the joint sitting method. ”

Terauchi Shou nodded a little, said yo Xi, and asked Naosaburo Gangbe to urge the armies from all walks of life to act quickly.

(To be continued)