Guantai Village, independently mixed into the 4th Brigade Station. Chief of Staff Kitaro Shimizu hurriedly walked outside the room of the brigade commander Kawamura Dong, and was about to push the door in, but he didn't expect some strange noises to suddenly come from inside.

Kitaro Shimizu hesitated for a moment, reached out and gently knocked on the door twice, and said, "Your Excellency Brigade Commander, I am Kitaro Shimizu, and I have urgent military affairs to report to you!" ”

The door was opened suddenly, and the disheveled Major General Kawamura Dong stuck his head out, and said a little unhappily: "Qing Shui-kun, didn't I say don't bother me if you don't have anything?" ”

Kitaro Shimizu hurriedly bowed his head and saluted, and said eagerly: "Please forgive me for being rude, Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, Xinxiang City has been attacked by the Shina Army!" As he spoke, he handed over an urgent telegram.

Kawamura Dong took the telegram and looked at it for a while, his face was cloudy, and he said, "Let's go, let's go to the war room!" ”

Kitaro Shimizu had already informed the commanders of his subordinate units to come to the war room for a meeting before he came, so when they entered, it was already full of officers.

The staff officers and unit commanders of the brigade headquarters were discussing the current war, but they were not yet aware of the attack on Xinxiang in Ludao, and they were all optimistic that the 14th Division south of the Yellow River would be met within a week.

If history has not changed, they are not wrong to be optimistic, and even slightly cautious. Because a day later, the 14th Division was on the edge of the ferry.

Kawamura Dong and Kitaro Shimizu walked in one after the other, and the officers hurriedly stood up and saluted. Kawamura Dong sat on the first seat and said, "Gentlemen, please take a seat!" Shimizu-kun. Tell them all about it! ”

Kitaro Shimizu bowed his head towards Major General Dong of Kawamura and said, "Hayi! Then he turned to the officers and said, "Everyone, please be quiet! To tell you a bad news, Xinxiang City was attacked by unidentified Chinese forces, and now the situation is very serious. ”

The officers were taken aback, for the "law and order" had been good since the capture of Xinxiang three months earlier, and there had been no strong resistance.

Kitaro Shimizu put the telegram for help on the table and said, "This is an urgent telegram from Matsukawa-kun from Shingo, you all have to take a look." ”

Seeing that the officers took turns to look at it, Kawamura Dong said, "Gentlemen." Say what you think! ”

The officers were more reserved at first. As he spoke, he let go. Some asked for full reinforcement, and some suggested that the Matsukawa brigade should hold out for two days first. Soon someone began to quarrel due to different points of view......

In Yingju Town, Fengqiu County, the 34th Brigade was lying in ambush on both sides of the road. Li Dazhuang took the telescope and observed for a while. Still no movement of the devil. I'm a little anxious. couldn't help but say to Zhang Haiyan: "Haiyan, do you think the little devil will send troops back to help?" ”

Zhang Haiyan was not sure, and said, "It should be." After all, if the brigade headquarters is terminated, it will be a shame, isn't it? ”

Li Dazhuang smiled and said, "I think so too!" But why hasn't the devil come yet? Will it go another way? ”

Zhang Haiyan said: "That won't! This is the only road leading from Xinxiang to Guantai. They don't go here, they only take a longer time, they take a longer detour, and the car is not easy to maneuver. Besides, there are our cavalry sentries all around here, can the devil still escape? ”

The two were talking energetically, when a colonel came over and said with a smile: "Haiyan is right, if the Japanese army wants to return to Xinxiang, they must leave here!" ”

Zhang Haiyan and Li Dazhuang hurriedly got up to greet each other and said, "Yo, Director Xiong is here!" Are you here to inspect the troops? ”

Director Xiong shook his head and smiled: "It is not my turn to inspect the troops, I am ordered to go to the front line to confirm the enemy's situation." In fact, his visit was in the nature of the inspection, but he didn't want to make the commanders of the troops disgusted, so he deliberately didn't say anything.

Li Dazhuang said anxiously: "Director Xiong, can you guarantee that the little devil will definitely pass here?" What time is it, it's really going to kill people to death! ”

Director Xiong said, "Hey, I can't guarantee that. However, even if the Japanese army returned to Xinxiang from other places, it would not be a bad thing for our army. ”

When Zhang Haiyan heard this, he immediately came to his senses and hurriedly asked, "Director Xiong, what do you mean by this?" ”

Director Xiong broke a branch, gestured on the ground, and asked, "Brigade Commander Zhang, why do you say that our army should divide troops to fight Xinxiang City?" ”

Zhang Haiyan said: "Isn't it just to force the enemy to divide his troops? ”

Director Xiong nodded and said, "Yes, as long as the enemy divides his troops, it will be beneficial for our army to seize the Guantai Ferry, and whether it can destroy its reinforcement troops is still secondary." If the Japanese army has a lot of reinforcements, then we can completely abandon Xinxiang and then concentrate our forces to take Guantai. On the contrary, if the Japanese army has fewer reinforcements, then we can ignore it and let the 35th Brigade in Xinxiang deal with them. ”

Zhang Haiyan was convinced when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Is it this Li'er, or Director Xiong's brain!" ”

Director Xiong smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "I'm just talking about it, if you really want me to command the battle, it's not okay!" ”

The two laughed for a while before Director Xiong said goodbye and left. Back at the military headquarters, Zheng Weiguo asked, "How are the mood of the soldiers?" ”

Director Xiong said: "I am a little impatient, and I have asked the ministers to send troops to pacify." Hey, I don't know how Hecun Dong did it, the reinforcements have not been sent out yet, do they really want to give up Xinxiang? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled: "He is just a small major general, how dare he give up a brigade garrison and an infantry brigade?" Aren't you afraid of court-martials! In my opinion, he was also in a dilemma at this time, or there was no unity of opinion within the army. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "What the chief of staff said is very reasonable!" I think I can let Wu Quanfu add another fire, and say that the situation in Xinxiang is precarious, and if you don't send reinforcements, you can't hold it. Look at the cunning guy of Kawamura Dong, he can't sit still! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said: "Military seat, doesn't the Eighth Route Army have troops operating in northern Henan? You can also ask them to help create a momentum and give the Japanese army a false impression that the rain is coming! ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "It should be possible." You should immediately go to the communications battalion and get in touch with Division Commander Liu of the 129th Division, report the situation on our side, and ask them for assistance. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said, "Okay, I'll go now!" ”

After receiving the telegram, Wu Quanfu immediately sent a telegram in the name of Matsukawa Shaozuo to the Fourth Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade, in which he described the dangerous situation in Xinxiang as incomprehensible. At the same time, in the name of the Japanese consul in Xinxiang (the Japanese army has a consulate in Xinxiang), he sent telegrams to various Japanese institutions in China asking for help.

At this moment, Kawamura Dong finally couldn't sit still, and the responsibility for losing Xinxiang was something he couldn't afford. In particular, there were Japanese diplomats in the city, and once captured, the consequences would be unimaginable.

A reinforced brigade quickly set off from Guantai in more than a hundred cars. Gallop along the road to Xinxiang. Originally, a separate mixed brigade would not have had so many cars. However, this time he was ordered to transport supplies for the 14th Division, and the North China Front transferred 200 vehicles from the transport team of the military station to Kawamura Dong.

This is probably the origin of the mechanized brigade mentioned in some sources, in fact, the automobile unit is not mechanized at all, it can only be called motorized. Moreover, the 4th Separate Mixed Brigade had to transport a large amount of supplies. Soldiers still rely mainly on their legs to maneuver. It's not even motorized.

34 Brigade positions. The signal flag shook for a while, and someone immediately shouted: "Coming, coming." The devil is coming! ”

Zhang Haiyan picked up the binoculars and took a look, and what appeared in his field of vision were more than ten three-wheeled motorcycles. He hurriedly gave the order and said: "Inform me, this is just the enemy's reconnaissance unit, don't do it without my order!" ”

If the troops were full of veterans, there would be no need for such an order. What should be fought and what should not be fought, their hearts are bright! But now that the army has expanded, a large number of recruits have poured in, and I won't tell you to stab Lou Zi in a few words.

Some of the Japanese motorcycles were equipped with light machine guns, and they strafed around from time to time to prevent ambushes on the side of the road. Because there are many weeds on the side of the Yellow River, which are more than half a person deep, it is impossible to search them one by one, so they can only be tested in this way.

There are also heavy machine guns on some motorcycles, and once the light machine gun motorcycle discovers the enemy's situation, the heavy machine gun motorcycle can rush up to suppress the fire, so as to buy time and a favorable situation for the follow-up troops to arrive.

The soldiers lay quietly on their positions, even if they were hit by bullets, they stood silent. The Japanese scouts did not notice anything unusual and continued to rush forward.

Behind the 34th Brigade is the 36th Brigade led by Qi Sixian, and the reason why two brigades are arranged to set up ambushes is because the Japanese army has a long team with more than 100 vehicles, and it is necessary to have sufficient troops to set up this pocket formation.

Qi Sixian looked at it and said with some joy: "Let the brothers try not to break those motorcycles, maybe they will be useful in the future." ”

Deputy Brigade Commander Xu Chengshan was also a little greedy and said: "Well, it's a good thing, as long as the road is good, you can run faster than a horse!" ”

The Japanese troops were quite nervous at first, and as soon as they found something abnormal, they desperately strafed with machine guns. But after walking for a while, I was a little relaxed. Except for the soldiers who drove the car, the others yawned profusely, and some of the machine gunners even fell asleep with their heads tilted in the sidecars.

Qi Sixian noticed this situation, felt a little strange, and said: "Old Xu, the military discipline of the little devil has always been very strict!" Look at this army, will it be an impostor! ”

These days, the 4th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade has been busy transporting supplies, which is a month's combat consumption of the 14th Division, and it is piled up like a hill. Coupled with the fact that they themselves also need a lot of provisions, it is conceivable that they will be tired. Now they think they are in a "safe place" and are drowsy.

Deputy Brigade Commander Xu observed it and said with a smile: "It can't be fake!" Look at it like that, mouse eyes, toad mouth, Ren Dan beard, Luo ring legs, can this image be fake? ”

Qi Sixian smiled and said, "If the little devils are all of this virtue, it will be easier to fight in the future!" ”

Deputy Brigade Commander Xu said: "Brigade seat, don't be careless, I think these devils are still well-trained." You can see how far and at what speed they have, and they are very tightly controlled. The soldiers were short, but they were all strong, and if they were to fight with bayonets, they would certainly be much stronger than our troops. ”

Qi Sixian snorted, picked up the goggles and took a closer look.

After the motorcycle detachment of the Japanese army, there was a troop carrier composed of trucks, which was divided into sections in squadrons. Heavy machine guns, infantry guns are already on the carriage and ready for battle.

The independent infantry brigade under the independent mixed brigade group has a smaller strength than the ordinary formed brigade. With only three infantry squadrons and a heavy machine gun squadron, Kawamura probably felt uneasy, and reinforced an infantry squadron and an infantry artillery squadron.

Zhang Haiyan, who was guarding the front, counted carefully, felt a little regretful, and said: "There are too few people, if there is more infantry brigade, it will be more certain to penetrate the platform." ”

Li Dazhuang couldn't wait any longer, and said, "No matter how small the mosquito is, it's meat, brigade commander, let's fight!" ”

Zhang Haiyan said: "Don't worry. Four squadrons. Let's be half of the 36th Brigade family, so as not to have a fight! ”

Li Dazhuang rolled his eyes, looking very unhappy, but Zhang Haiyan was the brigade commander. He can only obey. The Japanese soldiers who were hurrying along the highway did not know that they had become someone else's bowl. One by one, they are not singing as if they were in estrus. It's just leaning on the side of the carriage and falling asleep.

The fighters of the 34 Brigade were a little impatient, and the same was true of the 36 Brigade. Deputy Brigade Commander Xu said: "Brigade seat, Brigade Commander Zhang, why don't they do it over there." Do you want to eat alone? ”

Qi Sixian smiled: "If you eat alone, you won't have to wait so long." Don't worry, Brigade Commander Zhang is a good person, and he will give us half of it, if it is Li Dazhuang, maybe it will be. ”

Deputy Brigade Commander Xu smiled: "That's! It seems that he also has a deep understanding of Li Dazhuang's character of eating more and occupying more.

"Hit!" Seeing that the Japanese army had completely entered the encirclement, Zhang Haiyan hurriedly issued a combat order. Three red flares quickly rose into the air, and the dense sound of gunfire burst out in an instant.

Boom Boom Boom ...... Shells whizzed towards the moving vehicles, and the entire section of the road was soon covered by artillery fire. The lucky shell happened to land on the carriage, and half of the Japanese soldiers were blown up into the sky on the spot. Of course, most of the shells were not so accurate, and only fell on the road causing limited damage to the car.

In the face of the sudden blow, the Japanese motorists panicked and drove their cars on the highway one by one. Some cars also tried to rush out of the wasteland on both sides, but the weeds in the wasteland were too deep, and the perennial river erosion produced many large pits.

It was also dangerous to stay on the road, and the 34th Brigade concentrated all its flat-fire fire on the Japanese vehicles. The Japanese army trucks during World War II could reach the level of Toyota in later generations, and they were all inferior goods. Besides, even the Toyota Tantu could not stand the bombardment of flat-firing guns.

Boom Boom Boom ...... A 37 rapid-fire gun aimed at a car was a sudden attack, which smashed the car into a pile of destroyed iron on the spot, and exploded violently, blasting the Japanese troops on the carriage into the sky.

Seeing that one truck after another was destroyed, the remaining Japanese troops were also in a hurry, and hurriedly turned the two infantry guns to prepare to return fire. Unexpectedly, as soon as they turned around, they were attacked by a burst of intensive artillery fire, and the two guns were blown up by the artillery and the car before they could adjust the firing target.

Li Dazhuang's heart ached, and he said angrily: "Grandma's, why did the artillery bunnies blow up so hard, and I don't know if the road is still repaired well!" ”

Zhang Haiyan stared at the battlefield and said angrily: "Don't talk nonsense, if you don't repair well, let's talk about it after this battle!" ”

To their west, the 36th Brigade was also engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Japanese. The Japanese reconnaissance detachment on motorcycles had been swept to the ground by the fighters with machine guns, and the Japanese trucks in front of them realized the danger and rushed over with the accelerator, probably trying to rush out of the ambush circle directly.

The soldiers of the 36th Brigade had long been on guard against this move, and there were many lacquered hoes buried on the road west of the ambush circle, with blades facing upwards and extremely sharp. If the motorcycle is run over from above, it is generally fine because it is relatively light. A truck full of soldiers will not work, the outer tire will burst when it runs over, and the inner tire will be just as fun if you run a few steps away.

Bang! Rumble! The snipers don't have time to snipe the Japanese officers right now, they are all busy with one thing - hit the gas tank! Hit the fuel tank with a drag bullet, nine out of ten, and as soon as the fire burns, it will explode if it is not done well. In addition, hitting the engine with a steel core is also a good choice, but it requires more sniper skills and is not something that ordinary people can master.

In addition to artillery and snipers, Zengtong Company also used grenades and grenade launchers to target cars and bombard, although this power was smaller, but it was also unbearable for the Japanese army. Especially against the devils hiding behind the car.

Under the fierce attack of the 97th Army, the Japanese side was not to be outdone. One by one, they were like crazy tigers, using good tactical ability and accurate marksmanship to desperately fight back. The fighting between the two sides did not end with the burning of the car, but intensified.

In Guantai Village, Kawamura Dong was so shocked that he knocked over all the wine glasses after hearing the news. He did not expect that the troops would be attacked as soon as they were dispatched, and in a panic and rage, he drew his katana and slashed indiscriminately, so frightened that the courtesans who accompanied the wine screamed and hid in the corner.

Chief of Staff Kitaro Shimizu hurriedly stopped Kawamura Dong and said, "Your Excellency, now is not the time to be angry, please send reinforcements immediately, otherwise the Okamoto brigade will be finished!" ”

Kawamura Dong stared at Kitaro Shimizu, his eyes were red, his nostrils were panting, and he said viciously: "Reinforcements, where are there still soldiers to send?" All sent out, what should I do with the Guantai ferry? What to do with supplies! ”

Kitaro Shimizu was also anxious, and shouted loudly: "But we can't watch Okamoto-kun and them be wiped out!" Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, if both the Matsukawa Brigade and the Okamoto Brigade are annihilated, the War Department will not let you go! ”

Kawamura Dong flew with a big knife in his hand, and scolded wildly in his mouth: "Baga! You bastards, it's all your bad idea, you shouldn't have sent Okamoto-kun to support in the first place! Well, now Matsukawa-kun hasn't been rescued, and Okamoto-kun can't come back! If I'm ordered to be disemboweled, I'll kill you first, and we'll all be done together......"

Kitaro Shimizu was frightened by Kawamura Dong's crazy appearance, and he was stunned for a while and didn't dare to speak.

After Dong Kawamura vented, he finally calmed down and said, "Qing Shui-kun, how many troops can we draw out?" ”

Kitaro Shimizu stammered, "Two, two brigades, Your Excellency!" ”

Kawamura Dong shook his head and said, "Is there only one brigade left that can still hold Guantai Village?" This batch of supplies is very important, and there must be no shortfall. ”

Kitaro Shimizu said: "Your Excellency the brigade commander, don't forget, we still have an engineer unit!" ”

Kawamura shook his head and said, "Sappers? They can't fight hard! ”

Kitaro Shimizu said, "But they can repair the fortifications, Your Excellency!" He took a topographical map of Guantai Village, pointed to it and said, "Your Excellency, look at this, we only need to build a fortification along this place, which is enough to ensure the safety of the materials." Besides, we still have ground aviation to cover. ”

Kawamura Dong patted Qing Shui on the shoulder and said, "Yo Xi, Qing Shui-kun, then I'll rest assured!" I will immediately take two brigades of infantry and some artillery to support Okamoto, and the platform and supplies will all depend on you. ”

Qing Shui was startled and said, "Your Excellency, you can't take this kind of risk, Guantai needs you even more!" ”

Kawamura Dong smiled bitterly and said: "It doesn't matter if I take the risk, if Okamoto is martyred, the military department will not give me a way to live, and the best result is to transfer to the reserve!" As he spoke, his gaze became firm, and he continued: "In today's battle, you will either succeed or become a god!" Shimizu-kun, please! ”

Qing Shui hurriedly bowed solemnly and said, "Haiyi! ”

Kawamura Dong came out of the headquarters, changed his previous decadent appearance, and neatly ordered two independent infantry brigades and a mountain artillery squadron. He stood on the stage murderously and said: "Gentlemen, today's battle may be the last battle of my Kawamura Dong, please work hard!" ”

All the subordinates were startled, and hurriedly said in unison: "Hai! ”

Kawamura Dong pulled out his command knife, pointed to the west, and shouted: "Disc card open the way!" (To be continued......)

PS: I'm very sorry, but I can only add one chapter today. Yesterday I went out to play, went to the hot springs to swim, but today I was sore, tomorrow, uh, I don't dare to talk too much, try to double it!