The rising sun dispelled the gray clouds on the horizon, and after a night of heavy rain, the blazing sun once again sprinkled the earth, and the mist rose from the ground and the river and was immediately dried, and all the scenery under the bright sun seemed to be distorted.

An Yi, Gu Changfeng, and Shen Fengdao stood outside the horse pen of the military camp by the West Canal in Shaji Town, and lamented their beloved horses to wash their bodies.

In the battle for several days, the horses of the whole division were either scattered or killed and wounded, and the ships were limited when Shawan retreated from the waterway, only 17 of the hundreds of horses were left, except for An Yi's beloved horses, all the others were assigned to Ding Zhicheng's special brigade.

The thick smell of blood had not yet dissipated, and the corpses of more than 150 defenders were piled up haphazardly in the dense groves to the south, and the exhausted 4,000 brothers were now all asleep.

The wounded brothers did not care about the blood stains on the two rows of low barracks, and fell asleep as soon as they stuck to the bed, and the special combat team members who had changed into enemy uniforms were scattered along the main roads around the town, and the brothers of the other special detachments who had no clothes to change took turns to stand guard and patrol the resting brothers, and the whole division of more than 4,000 people had the audacity to snore in the cracks of the enemy's heavy troops.

A rush of footsteps came, An Yi looked up a few times, the deputy Zong Xingzhen of the special brigade and the four brothers led two horses to quickly escort two enemy lieutenants into the camp gate, and when they saw An Yi coming up, they hurriedly whispered:

"These two boys are the heralds of the 19th Army of the Sun Army in Suqian, and when they came here, they were taken down by our brothers at the entrance of the village, and their mouths were very hard, and they could only be dragged back if they were not interrogated outside."

Gu Changfeng, who was full of resentment, didn't speak, took a step forward, put his hand on the shoulder of the captured captain, and with a "click", pinched his collarbone alive, quickly covered his mouth with his right hand, and then slapped the captain's head with his left hand, knocking him unconscious in a blink of an eye.

Gu Changfeng threw down the captain's limp body, turned to the half-frightened second lieutenant, and whispered, "Say, what orders are you going to pass here?" ”

"Friend...... Friendly cavalry at the fork...... Traces of a large army coming ashore were discovered, and the military headquarters ordered all departments to search strictly...... We just arrived and don't know about you...... Which part of the ...... are you" The captain was so frightened that he was incoherent, and he didn't dare to look at Gu Changfeng at all.

An Yi stepped forward, asked Gu Changfeng to lift his head, pointed to the major general's name tag on his chest and said, "You can be a commander, you can probably read and write, you can see for yourself." ”

When the second lieutenant saw the word "An Yi", he was immediately frightened and incontinent, and before he could scream, he was punched on the cheek by Gu Changfeng, several bloody teeth flew out in an instant, the second lieutenant's mouth was full of blood, and his whole body curled up in pain and he couldn't speak, Gu Changfeng grabbed his hair again and lifted him up:

"Don't be loud! Thousands of Lao Tzu's brothers ran away all night and were sleeping, and you dared to bark loudly, Lao Tzu cut out your tongue...... Okay, you can ask, especially the distribution of troops in the counties and towns of Suqian, I must find out, and I have to tell the brothers to get up and cook. ”

"Yes!"

Zong Xingzhen said with a blank face that he ordered his subordinates to take people to the depths of the humble barracks.

Half an hour later, the battalion commanders of each regiment gathered around An Yi, and An Yi pointed to the map and explained to everyone in detail:

"The enemy has not yet realized that we have fled here overnight, so the scope of the search is mainly in the area of Caizhuang and Guowangzhuang in the southwest area of Luoma Lake, and the defenders of Suining are the great enemy who killed more than 300 of our wounded brothers, the Luling Division of the Temporary Sixth Division of the Zhilu Army, and they have received a notification that our army has come ashore, and they have searched for the Liangji and Weiji lines in the north again, if it is not for the escape for his life, Lao Tzu really wants to cut off his head.

The two brigades of the 19th Army in Suqian searched from Suqian City to the north along the lake, and the formation was very long, and the other divisions were ready to reinforce at any time, but the scattered garrisons south of Suqian did not pay enough attention, which was good news.

However, we can't move, if my guess is correct, the enemy's planes will soon come to reconnoitre, so we can only stay here for the time being, and make all emergency preparations, especially to guard against the enemy's cavalry brigade rushing north from the Sihong line. ”

"If we stand still, will we miss the opportunity to retreat south?" Yin Jinan asked.

"It's fine for now, at least until noon."

An Yi patiently explained: "The enemy's two heralds belong to the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division of the 19th Army, this division has no combat effectiveness, and usually serves as the task of garrisoning some places, they didn't expect Shaji to be taken by us."

From the interrogation, we learned that after they had finished giving orders here, they would rush to Gaozuo Town in the west to greet the garrison of the Temporary Sixth Division of the Zhilu Allied Army there, so as to facilitate mutual cooperation in the future, and it could be concluded that the position we are in now is exactly the intersection of the two armies of Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang.

Just now, Lao Ding had already sent two brothers from Anhui to put on the clothes of the herald and take their documents, and it was estimated that they would be able to return in an hour, and at that time they might be able to obtain some information about the enemy's garrison in the area of Lingbi and Sixian from Suining to the south. ”

Yang Bin nodded and pointed to Sihong: "From here to Sihong sixty-nine kilometers, it takes a day and a half to march urgently, the time arrangement is very problematic, the difficulty is not ordinary, especially the cavalry brigade stationed in Sihong, the speed of maneuvering is very fast, if we are discovered, we can't escape at all, can we go from the direction of Lingbi?" ”

An Yi shook his head: "Chu Yupu's army went south, it is said that it first went to Suining, and then to Sixian and Wuhe, it seems that he still has to return to Bengbu, where he was originally driven away, plus Xu Beng's first-line enemy army gathered, there are many villages and towns, and the traffic is even more accessible, it is difficult for us to hide our whereabouts, therefore, I personally think that it is not feasible to go south or southwest, only due east and southeast can go, and we can immediately retreat into Hongze Lake in a hurry, which is much more comfortable than being besieged by the enemy's heavy troops on land."

Hongze Lake is different from Luoma Lake, vast and hundreds of miles, there are many islands, the island is lush with trees, and the terrain around the lake is complex, we have been hiding in it for a year and a half, and the enemy can't help us. ”

Hu Jialin, who was more familiar with Hongze Lake, looked at the map carefully, then pointed to the route and asked, "You mean we drove here, here...... Hey, Taiping Town in Huxi? ”

"Exactly, I remember you said, Taiping Town on the west bank of Hongze Lake is a very wealthy land of fish and rice, and the three major families in the town not only have steamboats, ferries, and tugboats, but also do the business of grain, aquatic products, salt, and cloth in Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Jinan, and Shijiazhuang. Think about it, as long as there are steamboats and motorboats, where can we go in Hongze Lake, which connects the major waterways of the north and south for hundreds of miles? An Yi said with a smile.

The brothers were refreshed when they heard this, and they were talking enthusiastically about how to go, when they suddenly heard the roar of airplanes in the sky, and they all hurriedly closed their mouths, looking very nervous, An Yi couldn't help laughing when he saw this, and the brothers remembered that no matter how loud they shouted, it was impossible for the planes in the sky to hear, and they all laughed embarrassedly.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Shaji, which was completely blocked by the officers and soldiers of the Reading Division, was unusually calm, and the cries of summer cicadas and insects came and went.

In the courtyard of the Xu family in the east of the town, Xu Zhiqiu, the short and fat landlord in the front hall, paced back and forth irritably, the housekeeper and several maids stood aside, and after a while, Xu Zhiqiu finally made up his mind, waved his hand to let all the maids retreat, called the short housekeeper, and commanded in a low voice:

"Fourth, you can't trust others with this matter, you have to run in person, quietly climb out of the town from the ditch in the backyard, and then immediately rush to the county seat to report to the third master, and ask him to send a large army to clean up this revolutionary army hiding in the west of the town!"

"But...... But ......"

The housekeeper Xu Xianhe was extremely scared in his heart.

Xu Zhiqiu scolded in a deep voice: "But what? Forgot how your son died? Forgot how my two sons died? I spent tens of thousands of oceans for my three sons and nephews to go to the army middle school, and then went to the martial arts hall, and went to Baoding to study for three years before getting an official and a half position, and even your son became a major battalion commander, we are counting on them to soar and prosper, and glorify their ancestors, but all of them were killed by the revolutionary army in the first battle of Gaoyou, and this revenge must be avenged!

Now that the opportunity for revenge is in front of you, are you willing to let it go? Have you forgotten how your son died? ”

Xu Xianhe cried bitterly, quickly wiped away his snot and tears for a while, and shouted with some exhaustion: "Second master, I'll go!" ”

"Good! Good! When I come back, I will marry Cui'er to your youngest son. ”

Xu Zhiqiu patted Xu Xianhe's emaciated shoulder movingly, Xu Xianhe turned his head and left, quickly walked through the middle courtyard, and disappeared into the big woods in the backyard.

Just after four o'clock in the afternoon, the officers and men of the Reading Division, who were ready to go out, were eating in all the places where they could hide, in case the enemy reconnaissance planes discovered them. The 300 soldiers of the special brigade were still blocking all the traffic arteries in Shaji, and Sun Xiaowang, the leader of the fourth detachment, led eight brothers to walk around the town, closely monitoring possible changes, and a child about seven years old with shabby clothes looked nervous but reluctant to leave, which immediately attracted Sun Xiaowang's attention.

Sun Xiaowang strode towards the child, squatted down and asked with a smile: "Little thing, you followed me all the way for half a street, did you take a fancy to the gun on me?" ”

The child hurriedly shook his head, looked around and stopped talking, Sun Xiaowang asked strangely: "If you have something to say, a manly man, don't be like a girl, let's say, there is nothing to eat at home?" ”

The child shook his head, as if he had mustered up a lot of courage, before he timidly said, "My sister...... My sister told me to tell the revolutionary army, run...... My sister said that the housekeeper had secretly entered the city to complain, and the army was about to kill you, and he was here to beat you, my sister said, ......"

Sun Xiaowang's face turned pale with fright, and he held the child's hand tightly: "Tell me quickly, child, who is your sister?" Who is the butler? ”

"My sister's name is Cui'er, my name is Zhuzi, the housekeeper is from Xu Yuan's family, my sister said, the housekeeper went to the city in an hour, and it will be too late if you don't leave, my sister ...... Ouch......"

Where can Sun Xiaowang stay, he hugged the pillar and rushed to the west of the town, several subordinates were taken aback and quickly followed.

Ten minutes later, An Yi and the generals were extremely angry, Gu Changfeng pulled out the big knife behind his back and strode away, An Yi immediately stopped him, turned to Ding Zhicheng and Chen Zhibiao and hurriedly ordered:

"Lao Ding, Zhibiao, gather your team to move forward immediately, overcome all difficulties, run along the canal for fifty-seven kilometers, be sure to take Taiping Town, and then collect all the ships, go to the three docks in the north of Taiping Town, and meet the large army at any time, I authorize you to use all means!"

"Yes!"

Ding Zhicheng and Chen Zhibiao almost shouted in agreement, and both saluted and ran away.

An Yi turned to Gu Changfeng, who was full of murderous face, and waved his hand to let Sun Xiaowang, who was standing on the periphery, come over: "Tiger head, you lead your three regiments to rush into the Xu family's compound for me, none of the men are left, the women are driven out, and after collecting all of them, set a fire to me!" ”

"Understood!"

Gu Changfeng replied in a deep voice.

An Yi grabbed Gu Changfeng, who was about to leave, and told Sun Xiaowang: "You go over with the pillar, take the pillar's sister Cui'er with you, and follow the three regiments of the tiger head to the southeast to flee for their lives, and a few of us will lead the brothers of the other regiments to meet you three kilometers south of the town!" ”

"Yes!"

Sun Xiaowang picked up the pillar that was so frightened that he couldn't speak, and followed Gu Changfeng away.

An Yi sighed heavily: "Requisition all the horses in the town to transport the wounded brothers, and go!" ”

"Yes!"

The generals and colonels agreed with a bang.

(To be continued)