"Yes, Commander, I'll go and deliver the order right away," Staff Officer Wang turned around and ran in the direction of the radio station.

Just five hours later, Commander Sun Xingbang, who had a simple lunch, came to the station where the troops were resting. At this time, after two companies were transferred from the Second Regiment to join a regiment, a full of 1,500 soldiers of the main regiment stood in front of Sun Xingbang in high spirits.

"Report to the commander, a regiment has been ordered to assemble. The regiment totaled 1,562 people, and the commander was asked to give an order for combat. I saw Commander Sun Xingbang walking over with Staff Officer Wang. He Zhiyuan, the commander of the first division and the first regiment of the first division who had just finished assembling the troops, ran over and reported loudly.

"Well, yes, every fighter is in good spirits. Commander He, have you brought all the equipment I asked to bring? Seeing a main regiment ready to go in front of him, Commander Sun Xingbang nodded with satisfaction. asked He Zhiyuan, the head of the regiment in front of him.

"Report to the head of the regiment, I have brought all the equipment according to your requirements. Rest assured, the commander assured that two mortar batteries and two regiments of all the heavy machine guns, and the grenadier cartridges also carried all the ammunition we captured and stockpiled, enough to withstand at least four large-scale operations. He Zhiyuan assured.

"Yes, comrades. I just received a telegram from the division commander, and now I say that the fifth division of the army, that is, the Itagaki division. There are less than five hours left before the ambush position of the rapid reaction brigade of our reading division, and according to the order of the division commander, our first division must send reinforcements from at least one regiment to reinforce Haseguchi, and completely annihilate the remaining thousands of people of the Itagaki Division. Do you have the confidence, do you have the confidence to go with me to Haseguchi and annihilate the Itagaki Division of the Army" Sun Xingbang walked to the front of the troops and shouted loudly at the more than 1,500 soldiers in front of him, who were ready to go.

"Yes" Immediately, when it was still a silent position, I remembered the roar that shook the sky. Countless birds hiding in the woods soared into the sky from the dense forest because of this murderous roar.

"Well, I'm sure everybody. I believe that the comrades will certainly be able to carry forward the fearless spirit of the revolutionary fighters, fight continuously, and completely annihilate the Fifth Division of the Chinese Army in one fell swoop. Now the order is that the guard company is the vanguard, the target is Haseguchi, and the troops immediately set off "to see more than 1,500 fighters in front of them." He did not lose his fighting spirit because of the two consecutive days of fighting, and the commander Sun Xingbang was also excited and ordered loudly.

"Commander Zhong, Gong Village will be handed over to you, you must take care of the materials we have seized. In particular, the 12 heavy artillery pieces and their shells must not be blown up by the little devil's plane," said Commander Sun Xingbang to his side, Zhong Wei, the commander of the Second Regiment, who came to see him off.

"Please rest assured, commander, even if I, Zhong Wei, give out my name, I will definitely guarantee that these heavy artillery pieces will be safely handed over to the division headquarters." Zhong Wei assured.

"Huh? I want you to give me a good life, although these cannons are important, but the lives of the soldiers are even more important. Tell me how you plan to make sure that the little devil's planes don't come to bomb these artillery. Listening to Zhong Wei's words, Sun Xingbang frowned and asked.

"Yes, Commander, I understand. I intend to have the remaining fighters move all these cannons to our trenches as much as possible. In addition, use wood to reconstruct a fake artillery position for the little devil's plane in the open space outside Gong Village, so that the little devil can blow it up well. When the time comes, how many shells and shrapnel can we collect? Listening to the commander's words, Zhong Wei hurriedly said his idea.

"Good, good way. Commander Zhong, as long as you can complete this task, when the battle is over, I will personally ask the division commander for credit to you. Listening to Zhong Wei's words, Commander Sun Xingbang breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly.

"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission." Zhong Wei's face was also full of excitement.

"Yes! Gong Village will be handed over to you. Staff Officer Wang, let's go too" Sun Xingbang nodded with satisfaction, said to Staff Officer Wang beside him, rode his war horse, and chased after the main force not far away.

The 20-mile journey took about three hours under the premise that Sun Xingbang deliberately slowed down the march. Three hours later, Sun Xingbang took Staff Officer Wang and He Zhiyuan, the commander of the first regiment, to the temporary headquarters of the Changgukou battlefield.

"Report to the division commander, Sun Xingbang was ordered to come and report" Just when the division commander Liu Hua was lying on the map, studying the possible loopholes on the entire Changgukou battlefield. A voice rang out at the door of the headquarters that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Sun Xingbang haha, Lao Sun, you are finally here. Come in and sit, what are you doing! Come in" Seeing Sun Xingbang at the door, Liu Huama showed joy. put down the pencil in his hand, ran to the door of the headquarters, and excitedly pulled up Sun Xingbang's hands and said.

"Commander, a few months have passed, and I finally see you again. Division commander, how is the political commissar, has his condition deteriorated" Seeing the division commander excitedly come out to greet him, Sun Xingbang was also excited and asked with concern.

"The commissar is still the same. Since following us, his condition has not improved. I often advised him to rest, but as you know, his stubborn temper alas, I thought that after this anti-encirclement and suppression, I plan to report to the Central Committee, and let the Central Committee forcibly order the political commissar to return to northern Shaanxi to recuperate. You don't have to worry. Liu Hua patted Sun Xingbang's shoulder in front of him and said.

"Yes, Commander. Division commander, I brought a total of 1,500 people over this time, and this is He Zhiyuan, the commander of the first division and the first regiment. In addition, I also brought all the mortars, heavy machine guns and shells of the division, whatever you have the task, just assign it! Sun Xingbang nodded and reported to Liu Hua.

"What? You brought all the mortars? Great, the firepower of our ambush Itagaki Division is even stronger. In this way, Lao Sun, immediately transfer all the mortars in your hands to the artillery regiment of the division headquarters and put them under the command of Regiment Commander Chen Guangrong. As for the main regiment you brought, how about I plan to keep it as a reserve, and am I satisfied with this arrangement? Listening to Sun Xingbang's words, Liu Hua was happy for a while and ordered loudly.

"Yes, division commander, I'll go and deliver the order." Sun Xingbang replied loudly.

And just when Haseguchi's reading division was stepping up to arrange the battlefield. The three wings led by Seishiro Itagaki had already reached a distance of less than 20 miles from Haseguchi. After a day and two nights of continuous marching, almost every little devil had black circles under his eyes and his legs moved forward mechanically.

More importantly, after more than a dozen hours of continuous shelling. The army was almost numb to the shells that kept falling overhead. Although the shells kept falling in their own columns or around themselves, and constantly took the lives of their comrades.

But for those soldiers who were killed or seriously wounded by the shelling, these little devils no longer have the pity they had a day ago. Instead, he indifferently carried the corpses one by one to the side of the road, even if they were seriously injured, the little devil did not hesitate, and after a simple bandage, he was ruthlessly thrown on the side of the road by those medical soldiers. And this kind of thing, for the morale of a unit, the blow can be said to be very huge.

However, the reason why such an order was issued by the division headquarters was also a last resort. Because, after more than a dozen hours of marching. The shells that kept falling overhead, and the sporadic bullets that kept coming from the side, had already caused hundreds of seriously wounded in this unit.

If, in accordance with the past practice, all of these seriously wounded were to be carried. At least one brigade of troops is required, which means that at least one brigade of the Imperial Army will be incapacitated around these seriously wounded. And such a result is a very big problem for the division commander Seishiro Itagaki, who is currently in short supply.

Therefore, in order to speed up the marching speed of the troops, and also to put pressure on the troops, it is also to ensure that these jade soldiers will not die in vain. Seishiro Itagaki gave this cruel order.

"Your Excellency, Commander of the Reporting Division, we are now less than 35 miles away from Gong Village. At our current marching pace, it will take less than 4 hours. That is to say, at eight o'clock this evening, we will surround the Eighth Route Army in Gongcun. "Hideosa Kuriiihara, who had lost his own unit and served as the interim chief of staff of the division, ran to the division commander with a sad face, Seishiro Itagaki and reported.

"Well, it's finally almost time to Gong Village. Chief of Staff, go down and tell me that there are soldiers, and the Eighth Route Army is in front of us in Gongcun. Let all the troops speed up the march, surround the Eighth Route Army in Gongcun, and avenge the imperial warriors who died under the fire of the Eighth Route Army. Listening to the words of Kuriihara Hideosa, the division commander Itagaki Seishiro breathed a sigh of relief and ordered loudly to the temporary chief of staff in front of him.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander"

"Yo Si! Li Rice-kun, how many people are left in the army now, and what is the situation of each brigade now? Are we in contact with the Taiyuan General Headquarters and Nagano-kun in Gong Village" Seishiro Itagaki nodded and continued to ask the temporary chief of staff in front of him.

"Division commander, so far. Our radio station still hasn't received any signals. and the general headquarters of Taiyuan, the 11th Infantry Wing of Gongcun, and the chief of staff behind him have lost contact. It is not good to do things in a humble position, please punish His Excellency the division commander" Kuriihara Hideosa lowered his head and replied embarrassedly.

"Baga, cunning Eighth Route Army. They must have used something more advanced to make our radio station useless. Bagaya Road, Kuri Rice-kun, is there any news from the heralds we sent out? Listening to the answer of the captain of the Kuri Rice Wing, Itagaki Seishiro was annoyed for a while and scolded loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander, I also think that the Eighth Route Army has received more advanced equipment from the Soviet Union. In the middle of the morning, I had sent out a squad of heralds. However, so far, not a single herald has been seen returning. I estimate that these heralds were wiped out by the special operations brigade of the Reading Force around us, and the whole army was shattered. Chief of Staff Kurikani Osa nodded and replied.

"How many people are left in the main force of our division in Bagana. Later, after arriving at Gong Village, is there enough troops to surround the Eighth Route Army in Gong Village and destroy them" Listening to the words of Chief of Staff Kurifi Daisa, Itagaki Seishiro frowned and continued to ask.

"Your Excellency the division commander, the casualties of the main force of the division and regiment" Listening to the division commander's question with an angry face, the temporary chief of staff, Kurihan Daisa, also frowned, and he didn't know whether to continue.

"Baga! Immediately answered, what happened to the casualties of the main forces of the division? Looking at the chief of staff, Seishiro Itagaki, who was already very unhappy, was even more unhappy and asked loudly.

"Hi, division commander, our troops have been shelled since yesterday afternoon. In the jungle battle that afternoon, we lost a total of two brigades. In the continuous artillery bombardment of the Eighth Route Army that night, our army again lost half a brigade of troops. In addition, in the night attack of the special operations brigade of the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army last night, our army once again lost two squadrons of troops. In today's artillery bombardment and sporadic sneak attacks by the Eighth Route Army, our army lost more than half of its troops. That is, so far, our army has lost almost four brigades. Chief of Staff Kurihan Osaku replied in a low voice.

"Baga's cunning Eighth Route Army, I am inseparable from you." The commander of the division, Seishiro Itagaki, suddenly pulled out his general's command knife and split the small tree with the thickness of a bowl around him in half.

"Chief of Staff, how many people are left in our army now. There is no certainty of victory in tonight's battle. Listening to the words of the chief of staff, the division commander Itagaki Seishiro was furious and asked Kuriihara Hideosa loudly.

"Division commander, according to the statistics just now. We still have 6,800 troops left. Together with the 11th Infantry Wing of Gongcun, it is almost the same as the main force of the Eighth Route Army in terms of strength. However, after dozens of hours of continuous shelling, the guerrilla attack of the Eighth Route Army. The morale of the soldiers was very low. Therefore, the relative combat effectiveness will also be reduced by at least 30 percent" Speaking of this, the temporary chief of staff Kuriihara Hideosa did not continue.

"Chief of Staff Baga, now order, the troops hurry up and march. At a distance of 5 miles from Gong Village, the troops rested for an hour, and after the morale of the troops had recovered, they continued their march to Gong Village. Strive to unite with our 11th Infantry Wing and Heavy Artillery Brigade in one fell swoop to eliminate the Reading Division of the Eighth Route Army in Gongcun. The division commander, Seishiro Itagaki, ordered loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. In my opinion, in order to boost the morale of the soldiers of the Imperial Army. Not only do we have to have a certain amount of time to recuperate, but more importantly, we have to achieve a certain victory. Only victory, only the blood of the Shina people, can arouse the morale of the soldiers of our imperial army. At this time, the temporary chief of staff, Hideosa Kuriiihara, also began to propose.

"Yo Xi, what Kuri Rice-kun said is very correct. Only the blood of the Eighth Route Army can arouse the morale of the Imperial Army of the Great Yue Empire. Li Fanjun, I don't know if you have any better suggestions that can solve the current predicament of our Fifth Division. Seishiro Itagaki put away the anger in his heart and said sincerely.

"Hey! Division Commander. I think the best way for us to solve the morale problem of the soldiers at the moment is to arrest a few soldiers of the Eighth Route Army. In front of the imperial army, let the soldiers, with bayonets in their hands, personally execute these soldiers. Kurikiihara Hideosa nodded and said.

"Nani, catch a few Eighth Route Army chestnut rice kings, don't say that the living Eighth Route Army is the corpse of the Eighth Route Army, and we can't find it" After listening to the chief of staff's idea, thinking of the elusive Reading Division Special Operations Brigade around him, the division commander Itagaki Seishiro was a wry smile. Shaking his head, he said.

"What the division commander said is very correct, we really can't catch the surrounding Reading Division Special Operations Brigade. However, if we can capture the common people, we can use the common people to put on the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army and replace those cunning Eighth Route Army. In short, restore the morale of the soldiers in any case. Chief of Staff Kuriihara Hideosa continued to suggest.

"Yo Xi, Kuri Rice-kun, your suggestion is very good. Now I order, you and the guard squadron of the division must capture at least 10 "Eighth Route Army" for me in the shortest possible time. Use the blood of these "Eighth Route Army" to arouse the morale of the officers and men. The division commander nodded with satisfaction at Kuriihara Hideosa's answer and ordered loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Division Commander" Captain Kuri replied excitedly, and with the most elite guard squadron of the division, he left the main force of the march and walked towards the surrounding villages Soon, the guard squadron of more than 200 people disappeared from the field of vision of the division commander Itagaki Seishiro.

As the division commander expected, in less than half an hour, the temporary chief of staff, Hideosa Kuriihara, returned to the main force with the guard squadron. What made the division commander Itagaki Seishiro even happier was that the guard squadron also brought back 13 people who were tied up with flowers, and several of them were wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army.

"The report is Your Excellency the Regiment Commander, and I take the guard squadron with me. In the village, which is less than two kilometers away, 13 people were successfully caught. According to my estimate, they are all militiamen from the base area of the Eighth Route Army," and the captured prisoner, the temporary chief of staff, Hideosa Kuriaira, ran to the division commander Seishiro Itagaki with excitement on his face and reported.

(To be continued)