At one o'clock in the morning, Xuyi City was full of exclamations and chaos, and more than 6,000 officers and men of the Second Brigade of the enemy's 39th Division, who had been reinforced, were terrified when they stepped on the corpses and blood stains all over the ground, and the enemy brigade commander shouted and ordered the captain of the guard under his command to rush to the west at full speed, ask the Temporary Sixth Division to immediately launch a comprehensive search and encirclement, and immediately use their radio to report the tragic situation of Xuyi City to Shangfeng.

At the same time, in the south of Heqiao Town, 21 kilometers southwest of Xuyi, more than 300 soldiers of An Yi's division were wielding shovels and crowbars, quickly demolishing the 20-meter-long wooden bridge, and then threw everything in their hands and fled south to chase the team.

Thirty minutes ago, under the leadership of Hu Jialin and Ding Zhicheng, the three hundred elites of the special brigade rode into the north of the town with a big grin, and the two sentries in the sentry at the intersection saw the cavalry of the main force that had just been driven back again, and they were very surprised to meet and ask, without waiting for the two to react, two crossbow arrows had been inserted into the throat, almost at the same time as the crossbow arrows flew out, more than ten cavalrymen flew off their horses, pulled out daggers and rushed into the hut next to the road, and in a blink of an eye, a squad of guards was slaughtered, and the twelve officers and soldiers who had just laid down did not see the enemy's appearance clearly, The blood was splashed and the five steps returned to the underworld.

The horse team rushed into the town with a thunderous force, and more than 200 elite men armed with flower machine guns turned over and dismounted, crashed into the largest courtyard, and shot and killed the enemy company commander and more than 110 enemy soldiers who hurriedly climbed out of the big bed.

A squad defender at the intersection of Zhennan Road was awakened by the sound of gunfire, just picked up the gun and wanted to resist stubbornly, more than 30 war horses galloped over, and the four light machine guns and more than 20 shell guns on the horse spewed out tongues of fire, and in a blink of an eye, more than 10 defenders turned into blood gourds, and more than 30 knights went south at a fast speed, and once again took on the reconnaissance mission of the former enemy, and there were no casualties in the entire special operation team.

At 3:50 a.m., the panting soldiers of An Yi stopped advancing on the trail five kilometers away from Jinli Town, rested in place, many exhausted soldiers collapsed on the ground and did not want to move, the brothers who still had physical strength ran to the side of the stream and brought a pot of water, and the chief officers whispered orders that everyone must sit up, seize the time to drink water and rest, and eat dry food.

Three horses galloped from the south, and the leading beard dismounted in front of An Yi and whispered the good news:

The wounded brothers escorted by the Second Regiment arrived safely at Jinli Town, rested for a while under the leadership of Ji Nan and Lao Yang, and then drove southwest. Lao Ding divided half of the men and horses to guard the front and rear, and it seemed that he could rush to the Sanzhuang village in the east of Mingguang City before dawn, which was only eight kilometers away from the Mazhuang Station in the east of Mingguang City, and it was relatively safe to hide in it. ”

An Yi's heart was relieved, and he turned around and asked Zhan Huanqi: "Huanqi, how far is this place from the nearest railway line?" ”

"The nearest is Mazhuang Station, and there are still 22 kilometers, mostly small roads." Zhan Huanqi replied quickly.

An Yi decisively ordered: "Xia Jian, tiger head!" ”

"Here!"

"Each of you has chosen two hundred brothers of good physical strength to personally lead the procession, and before seven o'clock tomorrow morning, you must occupy the horse farm and seal it completely, and no one will be allowed to slip out of the horse village!

Be careful, don't forget that you are wearing enemy clothes, and you must fight your wits when you are brave, and you must not reveal your identity until you have to. ”

An Yi looked expectantly at the two brothers of life and death under his command.

Gu Changfeng turned around and went to assemble the team, Xia Jian saluted and left in a hurry.

An Yi turned to Beard and whispered in his ear, Beard nodded and got on his horse again and left quickly.

Ten minutes later, An Yi led the more than 1,000 brothers left behind, and rushed to the southwest again, breaking his leg and leading his troops to catch up with the second regiment escorting the wounded brothers, and making every effort to rush to Sanzhuang before dawn - this was An Yi's last fight, success or failure has reached a critical moment, and if it fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.

At four o'clock in the morning, the big camp in the city of Five Rivers.

The conference room was brightly lit, smoky, and the rich smell of opium smoke wafted everywhere, Chu Yupu and more than 20 generals under his command gathered around the big table, extremely anxiously waiting for the information from the departments in front of them.

The news that An Yi's remnants had slaughtered more than 2,100 Zhilu officers and soldiers in Xuyi City shocked everyone, and Cheng Guorui, who was originally not dedicated to the siege, finally saw the horror of An Yi and realized the bloody and ferocious nature of this outlaw remnant.

As early as in the Willow Springs Resistance Battle, Cheng Guorui knew the strong combat effectiveness of An Yi's reading division, but he had always been high, and he never thought that the army where the "Model Battalion" was located would be so cruel and ruthless, not only acting secretly and coming and going quickly, but also fighting for so many days in a row, still with such super endurance, this kind of unbelievable performance beyond the norm made him really shocked.

Cheng Guorui attaches great importance to it at this moment, and he no longer dares to laugh at the annoyance and anger of the veteran Chu Yupu in his heart, because all the people in Xuyi City who were slaughtered were the headquarters of the 39th Division under Cheng Guorui.

The generals and commanders were divided around the map, some said that the stubborn enemy must have won a blow, and then retreated into Hongze Lake; Some said that it was likely to flee to the Wuhe area in the southwest, because it was once the place where An Yi's division flew and dominated, and they were familiar with the terrain and people's conditions; Others speculate that An Yi's division is likely to sneak southeast and quietly drive from the junction of the Anhui army to Gaoyou Lake...... At this time, no one thought that An Yishi dared to go south directly, and they forgot that An Yishi also had a high-powered steamboat, the most important reason was that the 2nd Brigade of the 39th Division rushed to Xuyi City and did not encounter An Yishi, so it is generally believed that it is unlikely that An Yishi absconded directly from the south.

The Provisional Sixth Division, Wang Dongjun and a brigade rushed to Xuyi City were all searching in a wide area, and no trace of the enemy had been found so far, and the generals in the hall were so anxious that their anger suddenly rose, and their words were out of shape, Cheng Guorui's chief of staff actually quarreled with Xu Yuanquan for a possible judgment, Chu Yupu, who was already angry, smashed the cup again, glared angrily, and the two quarrellers woke up and immediately apologized in a low voice.

"Report: Commander Lu of the Provisional Sixth Division sent an urgent telegram, the enemy killed all the brothers of a company in Heqiao Town, demolished the wooden bridge in the south of the town, the cavalry battalion of the 39th Division is searching south, and the 2nd Brigade of the 6th Division has sailed south to the line of Nüshan Lake!" The communications staff officer shouted anxiously, took a deep breath, and his body trembled.

The fact that the generals were shocked that the enemy had fled from the most unlikely direction was like a big slap in the face to the generals.

Cheng Guorui sighed loudly: "If only every brigade was equipped with a radio, I don't know how long it took for the enemy to break through Heqiao Town, which is 20 kilometers away from Xuyi, and after the brothers of the 39th Division discovered the enemy's situation, they had to jump down and jump on a fast horse to find the Temporary Sixth Division and report it on the radio, and I don't know how many hours have passed, and the fighter plane will be delayed!" ”

Chu Yupu slapped his palm on the table, and when the hall was silent, he said coldly: "Everyone, this is not the time to complain to each other, since you have discovered the enemy's whereabouts, you should concentrate all your energy on finding countermeasures, and then let Ben Shuai hear the words of complaining, and don't blame Ben Shuai for not being emotional!" Jingwu, you first tell me your opinion. ”

Cheng Guorui's old face turned red, he looked at the desktop map, pondered for a moment to adjust his mood, and said unhurriedly: "My subordinates think that the remnants of the enemy only have two directions to go, one is the area around Nushan Lake, and the other is Mingguang City...... Dong Xian? ”

"Here!"

Cheng Guorui's chief of staff, Dong Xian, replied loudly.

"Liao Mingyi, the thirty-ninth division of Mingguang City, let him lead his troops to the north to search closely!" Cheng Guorui didn't wait for Chu Yupu to say anything, and took the lead in making a decision.

Dong Xian explained in a low voice: "Military seat, Mingguang now has only one regiment stationed, do you ask Yushuai to urgently transfer a new army from the railway from the front line of Bengbu to help?" ”

Chu Yupu saw Cheng Guorui looking at him, and immediately ordered without hesitation: "Pass on the order of the marshal, order Bengbu Station to send a special train to Fengyang, load the Gao Guanying temporarily fourth division stationed in Fengyang and go to Mingguang at full speed, temporarily under the control of Liao Mingyi, the commander of the 39th Division!" ”

"Yes!"

Chu Yupu glanced at Cheng Guorui meaningfully, and turned to his adjutant Qin Shanhu to give an order: "Urgently send a telegram to Lu Ling, the Sixth Division, make every effort to launch a large-scale search in the Nüshan Lake area, and requisition all ships to block the mouth of Nüshan Lake and Qili Lake; ordered Wang Dong to immediately lead a division under his command to cross the river and go to the front line of Liuxiang to closely monitor! ”

"Yes!"

Chu Yupu took out the exquisite pocket watch with a gold chain in his pocket, opened it and saw that the time was 5:20 in the morning, sighed deeply and issued an order again, instructing his subordinates to call the Anhui army on the eastern front to closely monitor the line from Lai'an to Tianchang.

Chu Yupu knew very well in his heart that although the order had been issued, the troops who had received the notice had to get up at the time when it was best to sleep in the second half of the night, and they still needed to prepare for the expedition, and they could not move without an hour's buffer, and they could only temporarily hope that An Yi's remnants would flee into the Nüshan Lake area - even if An Yi escaped quickly, as long as he retreated into the two narrow lakes in the east and west, he could be forced out through aircraft reconnaissance and bombing, and then besieged and annihilated by heavy troops.

I'm afraid that An Yi really grew wings and rushed to the Mingguang area, so that he jumped over the wall and fled to the Dingyuan area in the south, where the mountains are undulating, the lakes and marshes are all over the place, and the distance from the river is getting closer and closer, and it will be difficult to besiege it again, not only can the troops not keep up, but the time is not allowed, the war in the north is becoming more and more intense, and most of the main forces of the Zhilu army are being transferred north.

At six o'clock in the morning, the three surnamed Zhuang.

The sky was dark, and more than 2,000 exhausted officers and men of An Yi's Division quickly crossed the main road and entered the forest path to the south, carrying a pair of improvised stretchers, or carrying or supporting wounded and sick brothers.

On the side of the road, An Yi was whispering to the two villagers who got up early and went to the field, asking these two hard-working villagers who carried plowshares on their shoulders and led ploughing oxen into the forest with him, and repeatedly promised not to hurt anyone.

Under An Yi's smiling face and the muzzle of the black hole on the side, the two villagers carried the plow into the forest in a panic, and the two guards helped them lead the cattle in, and went straight into the dense forest for more than 300 meters before stopping. The two villagers were extremely surprised to see the acquaintance of Beicun among the fifty or sixty civilians sitting under the big tree, and just sat down next to the acquaintance, the two guards strode over, stuffed each of the two villagers with an ocean, and then left.

The two villagers stared blankly at the ocean in their hands, dazed and at a loss, and the forty-year-old brother of Beicun on the side pulled the clothes of the two villagers, and said in a low voice: "Brother Guan, don't be afraid, it's okay, just accept the money and keep quiet." ”

The middle-aged fellow who was called Lao Guan hurriedly put away the money, and then asked in a loud voice: "This ...... Where did this soldier come from? ”

"I don't know, I look like the Northern Army in my clothes, but I hear the accent in the Southern Army."

The villagers of Beicun explained in a low voice: "I got up to pee and saw the army passing through the fork, and the family was brought here in a daze, but these military masters didn't embarrass us, gave each of us a big ocean, and said sorry vigorously, let us sit here until they leave before we can go home." ”

Lao Guan looked around in a panic, and couldn't help but be surprised to see the wounded soldiers in the south who were groaning in a low voice, but no one around could take care of them except for a dozen or so friendly military masters with guns.

This group of honest folks gradually became bolder, got together, and guessed with their mouths.

(To be continued)