"Dear compatriots in Pingding, the Japanese army has recently gathered heavy troops, and there are rumors that our army will evacuate Pingding County, which has brought great panic to the compatriots, and my new second brigade commander Sun Weiguo solemnly promised that the new second brigade troops will never evacuate Pingding, and we will actively build fortifications, and we will definitely fight to the death with the Japanese troops in Pingding County. In this battle of our army, all the officers and men will repay their death, and our battle will be carried out until the last moment.

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has been going on for a year, since the establishment of the new Second Brigade, our army has relied on the support of our compatriots several times, and has made some achievements, but these achievements are inseparable from the support and help of our compatriots, the compatriots have supplied us with food, provided soldiers, and helped us day and night.

Even if our army is all killed in battle, we must protect the national character and the personality of the soldiers, but the Japanese army has a large number of troops, and I hope that the compatriots can be transferred as much as possible to avoid being oppressed and slaughtered by the Japanese army, and the help given by the compatriots in Pingding will be kept in mind. All the officers and men of our army hope that the compatriots will carry forward the national spirit and persist in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and victory will definitely belong to our country.

Compatriots, we will not forget the martyrs who sacrificed, let alone the innocent and tragic people, even if we die in battle, our souls will surely fly in the sky over China, we look forward to the day when the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression is won, we believe that the War of Resistance will be victorious, and the Japanese army will be defeated. -- Brigade headquarters of the new 2nd Brigade. ”

In various towns and cities of Pingding County, some people began to pick up tin loudspeakers and read out the "Letter to the Compatriots in Pingding" temporarily drawn up by the headquarters of the New Second Brigade.

The people gathered on the outskirts of the brigade headquarters in the county have begun to return to their homes, and the people have begun to make different preparations.

In the headquarters of the new Second Brigade, Sun Weiguo stood silently in front of the map, and his eyes were looking towards the map.

There was silence, there was silence in the brigade headquarters, there was no sound, Shen Wei and the others looked at Chief of Staff Ni and other heads of the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan Military Region Headquarters.

"Comrade Sun Weiguo, I want to apologize to you, I used to look at you with colored glasses, I hope you can forgive me. You are right, the troops of the Eighth Route Army are fish, and the common people are water, this sentence is correct, our troops of the Eighth Route Army are the people's soldiers, and we have the responsibility to protect the people. I thought you were thinking you were acting in personal heroism, but I was wrong, so please forgive me. ”

The silence was broken, and the first to speak was Deputy Commander Wang, who looked at Sun Weiguo and said in a heavy tone.

Deputy Commander Wang's words surprised all the personnel of the brigade headquarters, and everyone knew that Deputy Commander Wang was very dissatisfied with Sun Weiguo.

But no one expected that this time Deputy Commander Wang would take the initiative to apologize to Sun Weiguo and say such a thing.

"Deputy Commander Wang, I have never felt that you have done anything wrong, you are an old qualified commander, I know that you think differently from me, everyone's thinking is different, but our starting point is the same, we are all thinking about how to preserve the strength of the anti-Japanese troops and better fight the little devils. So I don't think you've done anything wrong, Deputy Commander Wang, I will ask you to supervise me more in the future, and if I make mistakes, please bring them up, and I will correct them if there are mistakes, and I will encourage them if there are no mistakes. ”

Sun Weiguo looked at Deputy Commander Wang with a sincere face, and he said with a smile.

"Wei Guo, what you said makes sense, I will contact the headquarters immediately on this matter, but you have thought it through, even if you win this battle, the headquarters will still hold you responsible, and once the worst happens, the new second brigade will be wiped out. You officers should also think clearly, this is a matter of life and death for the troops of the New Second Brigade. ”

Chief of Staff Ni sighed, his eyes first glanced at Sun Weiguo, and then at Shen Wei and the others.

"Commander, we have made a decision." Sun Weiguo replied with an oath.

"Weiguo, your intentions are good, but this time is too risky, have you ever thought that the Japanese army may wipe you out, but the people will still be slaughtered by the Japanese army, why can't you save your strength and wait until you start an operation against the Japanese army in the future?" Huang Zhen looked at Sun Weiguo and said.

"Political commissar, the Japanese slaughtered the people too much, we couldn't predict the previous things, but this time we can imagine it, our troops surrounded and annihilated the Japanese army in Xiyang County and independently mixed into the fifth brigade, and killed the commander of the lieutenant general brigade Qin Yashang, the Japanese troops will definitely go crazy, if we evacuate, the Japanese army will definitely slaughter the people, we can't watch the people being slaughtered, we are soldiers, I have to do my duty, if the Japanese army wants to slaughter the people, they must step over our corpses, in that case, We are worthy of our conscience. If we live and the people are slaughtered, our conscience will be troubled for the rest of our lives. ”

Sun Weiguo looked at Huang Zhen, and he said in a serious tone.

Huang Zhen looked at Sun Weiguo, he nodded, he didn't say anything, obviously he was persuaded by Sun Weiguo.

Chief of Staff Ni began to send a telegram to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and in this telegram, Chief of Staff Ni gave a detailed account of the situation of the New Second Brigade.

At the same time, Shijiazhuang, the headquarters of the First Army.

At this time, in the headquarters of the First Army, Umezu Mijiro was waiting for the arrival of the division commanders and brigade commanders of the various participating units.

Iida Shojiro stood in front of the map, he was marking the troops of the Japanese army and the Eighth Route Army on the map, and Iida Shojiro had a grim expression on his face.

The Japanese were full of confidence in this battle, they thought that their troops would definitely win, and they also knew that this time they had to win, and if they failed again, then they could not bear this responsibility.

"Your Excellency Commander, what if the troops of the new Second Brigade withdraw from Pingding County ahead of schedule, at present, our encirclement has not been completely completed, if they withdraw, I am afraid that the situation will be very unfavorable to us, Sun Weiguo is a very smart commander, he will definitely be aware of our actions."

At this moment, an Osa's staff officer looked at Umezu Mijiro, and he raised his doubts.

"We have troops to monitor Sun Weiguo's new Second Brigade troops, even if they evacuate Pingding County, we will bite them, as long as they dare to evacuate Pingding County, we will first launch a disciplinary action against the people of Pingding County, so that the people of China know what the consequences will be if they support the troops of the Eighth Route Army." Umezu Mijiro said in a cold tone.