At three o'clock in the morning, when the entire army camp fell into silence, a company of the Eighth Route Army began to move. Carrying mines on their backs, under the cover of night, the soldiers quietly crept forward and stopped at a distance of less than 100 meters from the entrance of the military camp. Under the command of the company commander, everyone brought dozens of iron shells, stone shells, and clay pot mines in an orderly manner, and buried them at the door of the military camp, and then left a squad of soldiers to observe, and the rest of the soldiers retreated quietly.

Early the next morning, just when the east was just shining with a glimmer of light, the quiet military camp began to slowly become noisy. After a night's rest, almost every soldier felt a burst of refreshment. Under the orderly organization of commanders at all levels, various squadrons and brigades began to eat breakfast. In less than half an hour, the soldiers of the entire barracks had already finished their breakfast and were waiting for the order to leave.

"Assemble the order of the commander of the Baga Division, and all the troops will assemble at once, ready to set off, ready to go" Soon, in the chaotic barracks, the loud voice of the herald was remembered. Suddenly, under the command of the squadron leaders, group leaders, and wing leaders, more than 10,000 troops gathered together in an orderly manner. The baggage soldiers quickly attached mules and horses to the baggage carts, and the artillery units hung a cannon with a cannon covered with artillery clothing behind the car's mules and horses.

"Avant-garde squadron, let's go immediately" Soon, the voice of the herald was heard again in the entire ranks. Immediately afterwards, the soldiers of one of the squadrons, who served as the vanguard, led by the squadron leader, walked out of the barracks. After a night's rest, almost every soldier had a radiant face and walked out of the makeshift camp with high morale and walked to the next destination.

"Boom" Just when the avant-garde squadron had just walked out of the camp less than 100 meters, a huge explosion sounded at the front of the avant-garde squadron, breaking the dreams of all the soldiers. Immediately afterward, there was a thick smoke of gunpowder, which enveloped the dozen or so soldiers at the front of the avant-garde squadron.

"Baga, the enemy attack is hidden, quickly hide" Hearing the explosion, the squadron leader's first reaction was that he was attacked by the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army, and hurriedly ordered.

"Report to the captain, our soldiers stepped on a mine, there are mines on the road ahead" When the smoke cleared, a squad leader who ran to the front of the team to investigate the situation ran to the squadron leader out of breath and reported.

"Baga, how can there be mines at the gate of our barracks? Eight grid tooth road, immediately report to the team leader to request engineer support. Listening to the squad leader's words, a nameless anger rushed to his heart, and the squadron leader ordered loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency Squadron Leader" The squad leader hurried to report the situation to his squadron leader. Soon, a squad of sappers, carrying mine detectors on their backs, came to the vanguard squadron. Dozens of little devil sappers did not hesitate, took their equipment, dragged the remains of several soldiers and the wounded next to the explosion point, and began to detect mines.

The three mine detectors extended forward little by little, and in less than a minute, the three sappers reached a distance of 5 meters. At a distance of 5 meters, the mine detectors barely reacted, and just when the sappers thought that there were no more mines on the road and breathed a sigh of relief. Another huge explosion sounded, and a little devil sapper, along with the mine detector in his hand, was thrown into the sky.

A few "ding dong" sounds sounded, and the mine detector, which had been blown up and distorted, fell to the ground, along with the stumps and severed arms of the army engineers who had been blown to pieces. The two sappers next to the explosion point were also knocked to the ground by the huge wave of air generated by the explosion of the mine, and the flying shrapnel of the mine easily cut through their military uniforms and inserted into their bodies.

"Ahh How can this be" The smoke of gunpowder cleared. The two little devil sappers lay on the ground one after another, covering their legs, and began to howl wolf howls. He told the soldiers behind him about the pain of the wounds on his body.

"Baga Bageyalu, shut up for me, or I'll die," he saw that his sappers were blown to the ground again by a mine. The leader of the engineer squad took a sharp breath, walked over to the wailing soldier, and scolded loudly with a frown. Immediately, the two engineer soldiers, who saw the murderous eyes of the squad leader, immediately gritted their teeth and stopped wailing.

"Yo Xi, the warriors of the empire are not afraid of any pain" Seeing that the two soldiers stopped howling, the squad leader nodded with satisfaction and began to examine the wounds of the two soldiers.

"Captain Matsuda, what's the matter, didn't the mine detector already probe the road just now? Why are there still mines? Seeing that the military engineer was blown to the ground by a mine, the squadron leader of the vanguard squadron was also taken aback and followed curiously.

"Nani, I don't know why? I need to examine their wounds and determine the shrapnel inside the wounds" replied the squad leader, seeing the wounds on the soldier's body. Ignoring the red flesh that was moving, the team leader jerked out a piece of shrapnel from the wound and frowned.

"Squadron leader, this mine is made of clay pots, and the mine detectors in our hands don't play any role at all, and now we have to carry out manual demining. The pace will be very slow, please forgive the squadron leader. The leader of the engineer squad raised a piece of pottery in his hand and said.

"Clay pot mine Bageya Road, the cunning and cunning Captain Matsuda of the Eighth Road, please organize sappers to clear the mine as soon as possible, and I will report this situation to His Excellency the division commander immediately." Listening to the words of the engineer squad, the squadron leader also frowned and scolded loudly.

"Hey, our engineer squad will definitely clear a safe passage for the main force in the shortest possible time." Captain Matsui replied immediately.

"Yours, send them to the rear for treatment. On the second demining team, all the demining was carried out by hand, and after saying that, Captain Matsui began to assign tasks to dozens of sappers under his command.

"Baga, what happened to the avant-garde squadron, why is it still blocking the gate of the barracks. The chief of staff immediately sent someone over to take a look, "seeing that it has been more than ten minutes since his order was issued, and the entire army is still not moving." Raising the binoculars, it turned out that his avant-garde squadron didn't know what the reason was, and they were all blocked at the door of the barracks. Seeing this, looking at the sun getting higher and higher in the sky, the division commander, Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki frowned and said dissatisfied.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Division Commander" Soon, he saw the chief of staff come to him with a lieutenant squadron leader.

"Your Excellency, Commander of the Reporting Division. I was a captain squadron leader in the avant-garde squadron. The entrance to our barracks was heavily mined by the Eighth Route Army, and the avant-garde squadron had just stepped on the mines, losing three Imperial soldiers, and the troops were now unable to pass. Just now, in the process of clearing mines by the engineering team, it was discovered that these mines were all made of its clay pots and stones. Our mine detectors do not play any role at all, and now the engineer squad is organizing the sappers to carry out manual demining, which will take about an hour., please forgive your Excellency the regiment commander," said the commander of the vanguard squadron.

"Baga's cunning Eighth Route Army actually made mines out of stones and clay pots, Baga. No, demining is taking too long, we don't have that long. I ordered the commander of the 11th Wing of the Guard, Yuu Nagano-Lang Daisa, to concentrate all the grenadiers and blast a safe passage for me to get out with artillery fire. No matter what the price he pays, the avant-garde squadron must be out in less than half an hour. Seishiro Itagaki ordered loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Division Commander, the Advance Guard Squadron will definitely set off within half an hour, please rest assured Your Excellency the Division Commander." After the squadron leader of the vanguard squadron finished speaking, he turned around and ran towards his troops, preparing to organize artillery fire to open the way, and use artillery fire to open the way for the troops to advance.

With the order of the division commander, the commander of the 9th Wing, Noyou-Lang Dazuo, did not dare to slack off. Immediately, a brigade of nearly 30 grenadiers was concentrated, and artillery fire began to cover the road in front of them. Immediately, under the explosion of these grenades, all kinds of mines buried on the road were detonated one after another, and in less than 10 minutes, the vanguard squadron of the Chinese army cleared a safe passage with artillery fire, and more than 50 mines were almost completely detonated by these grenades. Only a few mines were lucky enough to escape the bombardment of the grenadiers of the Japanese army, causing a lot of damage to the vanguard squadron of the Japanese army.

In this way, although the more than 50 mines of the second battalion did not cause many casualties to the Yue army (only 14 were killed, 4 were seriously wounded, and 13 were lightly wounded), they dealt a good blow to the morale of the Yue army. At the same time, the main force of more than 10,000 people of the Yue Army was delayed in the barracks for at least half an hour, which can be said to be only profitable and not losing.

More importantly, during the half-hour delay of the army, the second battalion, which was responsible for delaying the march of the army, was not idle. Instead, they began to destroy the highway on a large scale with the company as a unit. In one morning, in less than an hour, about two kilometers of road were destroyed by the fighters. And in the middle of these roads, from time to time there is a mine buried, waiting for the little devil to take the bait.

At this time, after opening a safe passage with artillery shells, the main force of the Japanese army finally walked out of the camp last night. The entire army of more than 10,000 people, stretching for several kilometers, embarked on the road to the county seat of Jinzhong. However, the good times did not last long, and just when everyone thought that they could have a smooth ride today, the avant-garde squadron, which was at the forefront of the team, stopped again. At the same time, the squadron leader rode a war horse and quickly came to the position of the division headquarters in the center of the troops.

"Bage Yalu, why did the troops stop advancingWe have been delayed for more than half an hour, order the vanguard squadron to move forward quickly" Seeing the troops that stopped, the division commander sitting in the car frowned, and ordered loudly to the chief of staff beside him. However, before the chief of staff could answer, a squadron leader on a war horse came to the side of the division commander Seishiro Itagaki.

"Report to Your Excellency the Division Commander, the road leading to Jinzhong County in front has been completely destroyed by the Eighth Route Army, and the troops cannot advance, please instruct Your Excellency the Division Commander" I saluted the squadron leader before and reported immediately.

"Nani, the road is destroyed," the division commander said in disbelief, turning his head to look at the chief of staff beside him.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, it must have been the work of the cunning Eighth Route Army, who wanted to organize our Imperial Army to invade their base area, and even thought of destroying the road. What a hate, Your Excellency the Division Commander, I request that the Engineer Wing be transferred as the vanguard of the troops, and that it be responsible for making a road out of the artillery baggage of the main force. Seeing the inquiring eyes of the division commander, the chief of staff hurriedly replied.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, immediately order the Wing Commander of the 5th Engineer Wing, Oda Kaoji Daisa, to immediately rush to the front of the troops with his troops, pave the way, and prepare for the advance of the main force." Seishiro Itagaki nodded with satisfaction and agreed.

"Hey, Your Excellency Division Commander, I'll go and deliver the order right away." After the chief of staff finished speaking, he turned around and rode his war horse and ran towards the cavalry wing behind the troops. Soon, under the leadership of the wing commander Kaoji Daisa, more than 2,000 troops of the engineer wing, carrying shovels and other digging tools, ran to the front of the team.

The main force of the army, which stretched for several kilometers, stopped because the engineer wing needed time to repair the road. Take the squad as a unit and start to recuperate. Immediately, a strange scene occurred on this highway. The 16,000 soldiers of the Chinese army sat on the ground chatting, while the more than 2,000 sappers carried shovels and struggled the road that stretched for several kilometers.

However, will the second battalion of the Reading Force Regiment allow these little devil sappers to repair these ruined roads so easily? The answer is no.

Just when the little devils of more than 2,000 people in the engineering wing, under the leadership of their respective squad leaders, flocked to this section of the highway that had been destroyed. A huge mine explosion sounded on the road, and then a dozen explosions rang out one after another. In an instant, the little devils who were swarming towards the highway were stunned by the dozen explosions and lay on the ground.

"How can there be mines on the eight-grid road, notify the engineer troops to come and clear the mines. Also, immediately report this matter to His Excellency the division commander, and soon "see that more than 100 soldiers of his engineering wing were suddenly enveloped in the smoke of the explosion of more than a dozen mines." Wing Commander Kaoji Osa, with red eyes, shouted an order to the heralds beside him.

Soon, however, while the soldiers were cleaning up the bodies of the soldiers who had just been killed in the explosion and the wounded, the herald, who had just left for less than ten minutes, ran back in frustration.

"Nani, why didn't the sappers come, and what orders does His Excellency the Division Commander have?" Seeing the frustrated herald, Wing Captain Kaoji Osa asked suspiciously.

"Hi, Your Excellency Wing Commander, the division commander has ordered our engineer wing to build the road within half an hour at any cost. Otherwise, if His Majesty the Emperor personally apologizes to His Excellency the Captain, we will not have a single engineer to support us. The herald replied dejectedly.

"Your Excellency the Commander of the Baga Division, do you want to let the heroic imperial army go to the front to mine it, Ba Ge Yalu" Listening to the order of the herald, the wing commander and Tian Kaoji Dazuo were annoyed for a while, but they still had to carry it out unconditionally. However, fortunately, when the commander of the second battalion learned that the army had detonated a mine with artillery fire at the gate of the barracks. I know that the dense laying of mines will not only not cause huge casualties to the army, but will also waste the idle mines in our hands in vain.

As a result, the 2nd Battalion planted less than 30 mines on this two-kilometer stretch. After paying more than 100 casualties again, the entire engineering wing finally cleared the entire road surface of the mine threat and began to build the road.

Twenty minutes later, although the road was not as smooth as it had been before the destruction, it was enough to pass through the wagons and artillery of the troops. After paying more than 200 casualties, the engineer wing successfully completed the task assigned to them by the division commander Seishiro Itagaki.

"Report to Your Excellency the Division Commander, the Engineer Wing has successfully completed its mission, and the troops can continue to advance." The herald ran up to Seishiro Itagaki and reported.

"Yo Xi, Hetian-kun is good, when this encirclement and suppression is over, I will definitely truthfully report the merits of the engineer wing to my superiors. The order was that the avant-garde squadron continued to open the road in front, and the engineer wing, following the rear of the avant-garde squadron, encountered the road damaged by the Eighth Route Army, and immediately repaired it. The division commander, Seishiro Itagaki nodded with satisfaction and ordered.

"Hi, Your Excellency Division Commander"

In this way, the Yue army, which had been delayed for half an hour again, once again embarked on its own journey and slowly drove towards the county seat of Jinzhong, however, did the soldiers of the second battalion let them go so easily? There is also a battalion that has not shown its face, where are they lying in ambush?

Due to the two encounters with landmines, the main force of the Chinese army was delayed for more than an hour. In the face of the strict order of the division commander, the troops must make up for all the lost time by means of a rapid march between noon. Although a quick march can quickly make up for the lost time. However, such a rapid march caused great difficulties for the cavalry wing, which was patrolling around the main forces. Many of the hilltop ravines less than 500 meters from the road were overlooked by these limited cavalry. And this gave a good opportunity to serve as a battalion to harass the tired army.

At this time, it was on a hill less than 500 meters away from the road under the feet of the army. The heavy machine gun platoon of the battalion headquarters, led by the commander of the first battalion, was quietly lying in ambush on the top of the hill, staring closely at the dense marching brigade of the Yue Army not far away, waiting for the battalion commander's order.

(To be continued)