"Commander, the casualty data has been counted. The anti-aircraft company lost 12 fighters and 6 were seriously wounded, and the ammunition carried by the two anti-aircraft machine guns was almost exhausted. In addition, the remaining fighters were basically wounded. The commander of the air defense company lowered his head and reported the casualties of his company to Liu Hua, the commander who was silent in front of him.

"Well, what about the machine gunners of the Guard Regiment?" Liu Hua nodded and turned his head to look at Bruce Lee next to him.

"Commander, the machine gunners have lost more than half, there were 320 machine gunners before the war, and now only 140 people are left to move. Of these, 132 were killed and 46 were seriously wounded. There are also light machine guns with a total loss of 15 units, heavy machine gun losses of 6 The results have been counted, we shot down a total of 14 imp bombers, and two more planes fell on the way back from the little devils. Bruce Lee, the head of the guard regiment, replied.

"Well, it is worth the sacrifice of these fallen soldiers and soldiers to bury them well, because they exchanged their lives for 16 fighters of the little devils. Okay, go down and take your troops, there will be more important tasks for you to complete next," Liu Hua sighed and ordered.

At the same time, he also followed the two out of the temporary headquarters and walked towards the headquarters in the back mountain. Because he knew that although the little devil's air force had lost, the more than 30,000 infantry were not vegetarians, and these infantry must be on their way to attack the base area.

"Commander, you are finally back, how is the battle situation in front, there is no radio on the front line, so I and the political commissar are so anxious in the back." Seeing Liu Hua coming back, Li Qing, the chief of staff who had been waiting anxiously, hurriedly greeted him.

"Well, it's okay, shot down 14 little devils and damaged 4. But the anti-aircraft company and all the machine gunners suffered heavy losses. What about the political commissar, is there any movement in the Taiyuan direction? Liu Hua replied simply.

"The commissar is waiting for you at the headquarters? The two divisions in Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang began to move early this morning. Just now, the intelligence officers in Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang have sent the movements of the two divisions of the Yue Army to the headquarters, and now everyone is waiting for you? The chief of staff replied with a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's go to the headquarters right away" After Liu Hua finished speaking, he followed closely behind the chief of staff and walked towards the temporary headquarters. At this time, although the headquarters moved to a simple house on the mountain, everyone was still working in an orderly manner, and the combat staff officers were constantly marking the latest enemy situation on the huge sand table of the headquarters.

"Commander, you're back, this is just a telegram from the Taiyuan intelligence officer. The Fifth Division of the Yue Army in Taiyuan has all been dispatched and is now marching towards Jinzhong. and the 109th Division in Shijiazhuang also followed closely behind the butt of the Fifth Division, and the encirclement and suppression operation of the devils has officially begun. "I saw the commander Liu Hua at the door. The political commissar, who was anxiously busy, immediately put down the work at hand and handed over several telegrams in his hand.

"Well, where have the rapid reaction brigade and artillery regiment been on now?" Liu Hua took a quick glance at the contents of the telegram, and then asked.

"Commander, the command has just contacted the main regiments. At present, the three main regiments of the rapid reaction brigade have caught up with the artillery regiment, and the four regiments want to go hand in hand, and it only takes two days for the four regiments to reach the edge of the first division and lay in ambush. The commissar replied, pointing to the mountains on the sand table.

"Okay, political commissar, as long as the troops of the four regiments can successfully lurk to the edge of our base area, then we will win half of this battle. It was ordered that all military divisions, all the main roads that the little devils might pass, must completely destroy the pavement of these roads, and slow down the enemy's advance. At the same time, a large number of company-platoon-level detachments were organized to constantly harass and exhaust these little devils around the main marching brigade of the devils. Liu Hua ordered to the chief of staff beside him, "Yes, commander, I'll go and convey the order." After the chief of staff finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the nearby telegraph room.

"Commissar, we're going to separate again now. Hehe, it's been less than a month since then. Alas, the affairs in the base area will be handed over to you" Seeing the departing chief of staff, Liu Hua replied embarrassedly to the political commissar in front of him.

"Commander, we are partners, you lead the army to pay attention to safety outside, as for the affairs in the base area, you leave it to me, if something really happens, I will send you a telegram immediately, you can take the soldiers on the front line to kill the enemy with peace of mind," the political commissar nodded and said

In this way, after the two of them were fully prepared for the encirclement and suppression operation in front of them, Liu Hua, chief of staff Li Qing, and the soldiers of the air defense company and two guard companies took them. That night, he resolutely embarked on the road of the expedition, and went to chase the rapid reaction brigade and cavalry regiment, which had been walking for several days.

Due to the sum of the Fifth Division of the Chinese Army, it has a total strength of nearly 20,000 troops, plus dozens of artillery pieces of various kinds and countless heavy ammunition. Therefore, the march of the troops was very slow, and for a whole afternoon, the whole army marched no more than forty miles.

However, Seishiro Itagaki of the Fifth Division, did not know that since his troops left the barracks, every move of the entire unit had been tightly locked by the intelligence officers of the Reading Division. Countless intelligence personnel clinged to the Fifth Division, which had a large number of troops, and continuously transmitted their every move to the headquarters of the base area and to the hands of various units in the base area.

Although, at this time, the rapid reaction brigade was several hundred kilometers away from the Fifth Division, the main force of the army. However, the strength of the Reading Regiment of the First Division was more than 2,000 people. Under the leadership of Xie Guohua, the head of the Reading Power Regiment, he was stationed in the dense forest less than ten miles away from the camp of the Yue Army.

"The reconnaissance platoon of the commander of the report has figured out the location of the main force of the Japanese army, which is less than five kilometers away from our camp." The chief of staff walked into the dimly lit temporary headquarters with only a lantern and said to the regiment commander who was lying on the map studying the enemy's situation.

"Hehe, although the little devils are numerous, this has caused them a huge shortcoming, that is, the slow marching speed. According to the speed of the march, coupled with the destruction of all the roads that can be used by our army, the marching speed of the army is not slower than that of a snail. But it gave us plenty of time to prepare. The head of the regiment, Xie Guohua, patted the map in front of him and said.

"Commander, how are you going to clean up these little devils. You know, there is a little devil of the division in front of us," the chief of staff reminded worriedly when he saw the high-spirited regiment commander.

"What's the solution? The old way, what our Eighth Route Army is best at is guerrilla warfare, and we can't forget our housekeeping skills. The head of the regiment, Xie Guohua, said with a smile.

"This is our job, we can't do anything to amuse, I lost my job. Regiment commander, I immediately gave orders to the three battalion commanders to organize small units to attack the marching brigade of the Japanese army. Listening to the words of the regiment commander, the chief of staff breathed a sigh of relief and immediately replied.

"Alas, Chief of Staff, don't worry, I haven't finished talking yet?" Seeing the chief of staff in a hurry, the regiment commander Xie Guohua immediately grabbed the chief of staff who wanted to leave.

"Commander, is there anything else?" The chief of staff asked puzzled.

"Well, I'm not done yet? In addition to guerrilla warfare, which we are good at, I plan to fight these little devils hard. Some time ago, didn't our reading group have been practicing some street fighting, and I plan to try my hand at testing the training results of the soldiers on this batch of devils. Xie Guohua said.

"What, Captain? You're saying you're going to fight in the streets with the little devils. Regiment commander, don't scare me, they are more than 10,000 little devils, are you crazy" Hearing the words of the regiment commander Xie Guohua, the chief of staff was taken aback, opened his mouth, and asked in disbelief.

"Chief of Staff, what's so surprising, isn't it just a little devil of a division. Besides, I fought in the streets, not with a division of nearly 20,000 people, but with a brigade of the army at most. Also, there are clear instructions on the telegram sent to us by the command. Each unit must choose an appropriate place and time to fight several frontal battles with the Japanese army. Let these little devils know that our rapid reaction brigade is still in their encirclement, covering the actions of the rapid reaction brigade. Looking at the chief of staff's wide open mouth, Xie Guohua hurriedly comforted.

"I'm relieved, I thought you were going to fight street battles with the 2,000 soldiers and 20,000 little devils in the regiment? Regiment leader, I also think that our reading force group should use these little devils to practice their hands, you know, this is not much live-fire drills. You see, our Reading Force Regiment is already better than most of the main regiments of the Eighth Route Army in terms of equipment, and it is also equipped with a company of mortars, so we can't just fight guerrilla warfare. Our Reading Force Regiment will also be able to fight positional warfare, and I agree to fight this battle in the street fight, one is to verify the training results of our previous time, and the other is to fight with the little devils, confuse them, and complete the task assigned to our Reading Force by the Headquarters. The chief of staff thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, since the chief of staff has agreed, then let's have a tough fight with the little devil." Seeing that the always cautious chief of staff actually agreed to his risky battle plan, regiment commander Xie Guohua said excitedly.

"Commander, I agreed to this battle plan. However, we must choose a suitable terrain, otherwise, the 2,000 people in our hands are not enough for a little devil to stuff his teeth with a division? Seeing the happy regimental commander, the chief of staff reminded again.

"Well, don't worry, Chief of Staff, I already have a battle plan in my heart. Chief of Staff, look here, Gong Village. Gong Village is located on the edge of our first sub-district, 30 kilometers away from the county seat of Jinzhong, surrounded by mountains, and it is the place where the army must pass through to enter our base area. Under such terrain conditions, it is impossible for the army to send too many troops at one time, at most one brigade. And this number is exactly within the range that our reading group can bear. The regiment commander pointed to the map and continued, "There is also a very advantageous condition, that is, because Gong Village is located in a key area and has very complete tunnel fortifications. With these tunnels, even if the little devils can't drain the water surrounding the entire village, our troops fighting in the streets can safely withdraw from the village. The head of the regiment, Xie Guohua, analyzed.

"Okay, regimental commander, it's really a good place like this, let's report to the division headquarters now and ask the commander to approve our battle plan." Listening to the words of the regiment commander, the chief of staff anxiously wanted to send a telegram to the headquarters.

"Well, you go, after receiving the call back from the headquarters, immediately order the three battalion commanders and the artillery company commander to come to the headquarters for a meeting, let's arrange the combat mission as soon as possible, and let the soldiers prepare for a while." Seeing the excited chief of staff, regiment commander Xie Guohua nodded with a smile.

In less than half an hour, the three battalion commanders of the Reading Regiment and the commander of the artillery company arrived at the dimly lit headquarters under the leadership of the chief of staff.

"Regiment commander, the command has already called back and agreed to the combat operations of the Reading Regiment. The comrades have arrived, and now is it time to hold a meeting. The chief of staff said to the regiment commander Xie Guohua standing in front of the map.

"Okay, let's all sit down and call you over so late, if not for anything else, but for the little devils of a division less than ten miles away from us. Now the political commissar is not here, I have just discussed it with the chief of staff, and with the consent of the division commander, we have decided to move the little devil of a division in front of us. The regiment commander Xie Guohua didn't talk nonsense, and said to the commanders of several companies in front of him.

"Commander, it's finally time to do it. You don't know, the fighters are suffocating. Now all companies have received a lot of petitions for war, and they have asked to go to war to drive these unconscionable little devils out of our base areas. Regiment commander, chief of staff, you give orders" Listening to the words of the regiment commander, the commander of the first battalion said excitedly.

"Yes, regiment commander, chief of staff, you just give an order, these days, the soldiers have come to the battalion headquarters and asked when we will go to battle, and now we can finally give an explanation to the soldiers." The commander of the second battalion and several other company commanders also chimed in.

"Good. Comrades, after my consultation with the Chief of Staff, it was submitted to the Divisional Commander for approval. I decided that in addition to using sparrow warfare and mine warfare to disturb the march of the Yue army along the way, I also wanted to fight a street battle with the little devils in Gongcun to test the results of the training of our troops some time ago. At the same time, the purpose of confusing the little devil is achieved. The head of the regiment, Xie Guohua, said solemnly.

"Well, there's finally a tough battle to fight. Regiment commander, give an order, our first battalion will definitely not drag the hind legs of the Reading Force, and it will definitely make the little devil look good. Listening to Xie Guohua's words, the first battalion commander said excitedly again.

"Commander, give the order, the soldiers can't wait for a long time," the rest chimed in.

"Okay, now I'll order" Xie Guohua stood up and said loudly.

"The first battalion, starting tomorrow morning, must disperse the troops. With the company and platoon level as a unit, he constantly used sparrow battles along the way to disturb the marching army columns, so that these little devils knew that the bullets of the Eighth Route Army would reach his head at any time, so that they could not eat, could not sleep, and tortured their nerves. The head of the regiment, Xie Guohua, ordered.

"Yes, regimental commander, the first battalion is guaranteed to complete the mission." Battalion Commander Zhang stood up and returned loudly.

"The second battalion, starting tomorrow, we must be ahead of the marching column, destroy the road, lay mines, and use the mine warfare we are good at to slow down the devil's march as much as possible. The task of your battalion is, no matter what method you use. From here to the 120-mile road to Gongcun, it must take at least two days for the little devil to walk. Xie Guohua ordered.

"Yes, regimental commander, the second battalion guarantees the completion of the mission."

"The third battalion, the artillery company directly under the regiment, will set off early tomorrow morning and go straight to Gongcun. After arriving at Gong Village, each company took turns and began to build fortifications. It is required to build a defensive trench at the entrance of the village on the basis of the tunnels in the village, which is enough to resist the bombardment of the Little Devil Mountain artillery. In addition, the village had to build enough street fortifications to complete the task within two days. ”

"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission"

Early the next morning, there were only a few traces of camping left in the entire reading group's station. The troops of more than 2,000 people, after hurriedly eating their marching breakfast at dawn, withdrew from the camp last night one by one and marched towards their goal.

What is unthinkable is that among these troops, the first to come into contact with the main force of the Yue army was the second battalion, which delayed the march of the Yue army. It turned out that after receiving the order, the commander of the second battalion gathered the three company commanders under his command together to discuss how to successfully complete the tasks assigned to him by the regiment commander at the minimum cost.

However, just as the third battalion commander finished finishing his battalion's mission, one of his company commanders came up with a ghost idea. That is, with a company of troops, they brought a large number of mines, and when the defense of the army was most lax in the middle of the night, they secretly buried the mines at the gate of the military barracks, so that the troops were unlucky at the gate of their own barracks.

Faced with the ghost idea of his company commander, the remaining few people agreed. So, under the leadership of a company commander, two platoons of soldiers, with forty or fifty mines of various types, set off overnight. Finally, at more than two o'clock in the morning, they rushed to the periphery of the military camp.

Due to the strength of 20,000 men in one division of the army, plus a large number of baggage artillery, the entire barracks can be said to stretch for several kilometers. However, such a large barracks must have caused the barracks defense to be full of loopholes. Only one brigade of soldiers was sent to patrol the periphery of the barracks, and it was impossible for the limited patrol force to guard the barracks within a radius of several kilometers. In addition, three o'clock in the morning is the time when people are most likely to get sleepy, and the defense of the army at this time is even more lax.

(To be continued)