After a day of exploratory offensive, the Japanese army paid a huge price of more than 2,000 casualties, and the top and bottom of the 23rd and 33rd Divisions finally realized the true strength of the New Second Army, put away all arrogance and prejudice, and dealt with it seriously.

The fighting was suspended for two days.

It was not until 22 June that Wu Ming calmly ordered the special detachments of southern Jiangsu, eastern Zhejiang, Taihu, and Pinghu, which had been concealed in the Tianmu Mountain area for training and had been supplied with weapons and ammunition, to march into the Japanese-occupied areas again, creating confusion for the Japanese army and opening up new base areas and guerrilla areas, that the two divisions and regiments facing the New Second Army resumed the offensive.

The morning dew had not yet dissipated, and the officers mobilized after their worst work, and the Japanese troops of the three brigades prostrate in the trenches, casting hateful glances at the positions of the new 2nd Division.

Seeing the officers and men under his command who had recovered their vigor and were full of fighting spirit, Lieutenant General Michitaro Komatsubara, commander of the 23rd Division, sighed a little with emotion, and the gains and losses were all young people who were easily seduced, and in exchange for those veterans who had fought in China for many years, although they would carry out their orders to the letter, they would never be as high-spirited as this.

Michitaro Komatsubara looked at his watch and called the commander of the 72nd Wing, Yoshimo Osa, who commanded the next wave of attacks, to give the most important instructions.

When the watch hand pointed to nine o'clock, the Japanese attack was officially launched.

The dense devils stood up, jumped into the trenches in turn, quickly widened the distance between each other, followed the officers and non-commissioned officers, and marched in a straggler formation towards the defense line of the New Second Army.

The Japanese did not advance quickly, and when they were halfway to the defenders' position, they voluntarily stopped and lay down on the spot, as if waiting for something.

In the telescope, Komatsubara-do only saw the Flying Tiger Flag of the New Second Army flying high on the opposite hill, and there were no soldiers walking back and forth in the front and rear trenches, only the telescopic lenses of some scattered observation posts reflected the light of the sun.

It's a pity that the distance is too far for the marksman to be effective, otherwise these observation posts are live targets.

Komatsubarado breathed a sigh of relief, according to the experience of several previous attacks, the soldiers of the opposite branch army should all be hiding in the defensive line, at most they are cowering in the anti-artillery holes, but this kind of move that seems to be more scientific and reasonable will lead to greater casualties among them!

Putting down the binoculars, Komatsubaramichi looked at the white-faced officer standing next to him: "Your Excellency Ishii, may I ask how many special bombs your unit has used this time?" I hope that this time I can wipe out the soldiers on the positions of the new Second Army in China in one fell swoop! ”

"Your Excellency Division Commander, the weather is very good today, there is no wind at all, and it is just right for the plane to drop special bombs." The white-faced officer was wearing the rank of military doctor, his face was very gloomy, and he answered the question: "The new second army on the opposite side is indeed very tenacious, and the special ammunition is used on them, but it is used to the fullest!" ”

"Thank you so much for Ishii-kun, you personally led the 'special forces' to the front line of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to help, our Central China Imperial Army will be invincible and invincible!"

Although the other party was just a military doctor, Komatsubara, who was a lieutenant general in the army, gave out his top hat one after another as if he didn't want money, but contrary to his mouth, his body couldn't help but take two steps back, and he was four meters away from the other party.

This pale-faced Osa is none other than Shiro Ishii, the advocate of Japanese bacteriological warfare, a dangerous figure that Japanese generals love and fear.

"It's nothing, the reaction of the human body under the shroud of poison gas is one of my research subjects. But I'm more interested in germ bombs than throwing chemicals! It's a pity that the enemy and the enemy are entangled here, and once the plague spreads due to the spread of germ bombs, I am afraid that it will affect the officers and soldiers of the Empire, so there is no way to put it into actual combat! ”

Shiro Ishii shook his head with some regret.

This military doctor seems to be polite and respectful, but the more this happens, the more Komatsubara Michi, who has served in the Kwantung Army for a long time, feels that Shiro Ishii is unfathomable, and he is convinced that the most dangerous person is often a guy like Shiro Ishii who does not smile.

During the conversation, the Japanese aircraft group had arrived, about 30 fighters covering more than 20 bombers, and the sky was densely packed, and it seemed that the Japanese army was bound to win.

Approaching the sky above the position of the New Second Army, the fighter group dispersed and wandered around the perimeter on alert, and the bomber group adjusted its angle and dived down one after another, dropping bombs at the defenders' positions like fish laying eggs in water.

After a while, a dense yellowish gas appeared on the position of the New Second Army, which spread rapidly.

Yoshimo Daisa, the commander of the 72nd Wing of the Japanese Army, who was attacking the rear of the Japanese army to supervise the battle, waved his hand and shouted at the herald: "Quick, order the troops to wear gas masks!" Actually, without his orders, seeing the pale yellow gas spreading, the devil soldier hurriedly took out the gas mask from the backpack behind him, quickly put it on, and then got up and resumed his progress.

Komatsubara-michi who witnessed all this clapped his hands excitedly, such a large-scale poison gas bomb exploded, and the unprepared Shina army must have suffered heavy losses, and then it was time for the imperial army to perform. Just as he wanted to shout a few joyfully in celebration, he was suddenly surprised to see officers and soldiers wearing gas masks jumping up from the trenches from time to time on the opposite defender's position and fleeing backwards without looking back.

Komatsubara's mouth opened wide in shock, looking at everything in front of him in disbelief, and after a long while, he stomped his foot in annoyance and scolded at the defenders' position: "The new second army of China is really a coward, it has been prepared for a special bomb attack for a long time, and depending on the situation, there are not many people on the position!" ”

Shiro Ishii secretly despised it - the main force of the new second division withdrew ahead of schedule, and it was okay if he didn't find it, did he still expect the enemy to obediently stay in the position and wait to be annihilated?

Thinking of this, Shiro Ishii walked to Komatsubara's side and said expressionlessly: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, I don't even know the exact location of the enemy's main force, so I rashly asked our Unit 731 to take action...... So many gas bombs have been done uselessly, which is a huge waste of the limited strategic resources of the Empire! ”

"Ishii-kun, please pay attention to your identity!"

Komatsubara's heart was on fire, and he suddenly remembered something, raised his head and collided with Shiro Ishii's cold eyes, and couldn't help but feel tight, took a few steps back, and rushed out of the command headquarters as if he had escaped.

The new 2nd Division was located at the command post in Mae Chi Ling.

Seeing the yellow smoke billowing from the male crane's nose to the front line of Caowu, Luo Yuming was overjoyed, and said to the deputy division commander Lu Dazhong: "If we hadn't withdrawn the troops last night, we would definitely have suffered heavy casualties this time!" ”

"It's still the military seat that has the foresight, and I expected that the devil would make a trick. Now that I looked, sure enough! Lu Dazhong smiled, pointed to the forward position and said to Luo Yuming: "Division, the Japanese army has ascended to the forward positions of Xionghebi and Caowu, and all units of our division are retreating to the preset position between Meichi Ridge and Kengwu Mountain...... Are we executing our next action plan? ”

"Good!"

Luo Yuming nodded, and said: "Report the situation at the front to the military department immediately, and act according to the plan...... Let's withdraw too, and wait for the little devils to let our command post out in an orderly manner! ”

The Japanese reconnaissance planes soon discovered that the New Second Army was retreating to the south of the Kengwu Mountain, and immediately transmitted the news back. In view of the fact that the defenders had fled, Komatsubara-michi, who had climbed to the top of the Iron Cap Mountain at an altitude of more than 80 meters to observe the enemy's situation, did not have time to wait for Shunroku Hatata's order, and directly asked the 72nd Wing to follow and bite the tail of the New Second Army.

The occupation of empty positions made the young soldiers of the 72nd Wing feel aggrieved, and now the order of the division commander to continue the offensive came from the commander of the wing, Yoshimo Daisa, and the whole wing was boiling.

The young soldiers who were full of expectations for their achievements did not need to be urged by the officers at all, and followed the soldiers of the New Second Division who "escaped" to the summits of Xionghebi and Caowu Peaks, and then quickly descended the mountain towards the Meichi Ridge in the south and the Kengwu Mountain in the rear. Every devil soldier swore in his heart that he must teach the bastards of the New Second Army a good lesson, so that they can know that although the 23rd Division is a young division, it is not easy to bully.

Kengwu Mountain is not majestic and steep, and the highest point is only more than 300 meters above sea level, but the rolling hills and dense woods are excellent hiding the ambush troops of the New Second Army.

The headquarters of the Independent Division of the New Second Army was set up in a simple thatched hut halfway up the northern foot of Kengwu Mountain, and a rickety table was full of maps.

Division Commander Yin Dizhong held a telescope and observed the 72nd Wing of the Japanese Army as it entered the pocket formation between Mae Chi Ling and Kengwu Mountain.

Yin Dizhong's face was gloomy as water, and he said to the herald while watching: "Order the 1st Independent Brigade, just wait for all the Japanese troops to enter the encirclement, seal the mouth immediately, and never let the devils break through." Order the 2nd and 3rd Independent Brigades to move forward with all their might, and they must bite this Japanese army to death! ”

Seeing the 72nd Wing gradually disappearing from the top of the mountain, Komatsubara-do suddenly felt a palpitation, and this ominous feeling became stronger and stronger.

The confidential staff officer handed over the telegram order of the commander of the front army, Shunroku Hata to the hands of Komatsubara, who felt a chill in his back after reading it, and Shunroku Hata's order was very simple, just one sentence: The imperial army occupies a place to consolidate a place, and do not pursue, so as not to be trapped by the Second Army of China and New Zealand.

Komatsubarado suddenly woke up, slapped his thigh, and many operational characteristics of the New Second Army appeared in his mind like lightning, among which ambushes and jungle operations were the specialties of the New Second Army.

Komatsubara-michi hurriedly asked the combat staff to send a telegram to the Yoshimo Wing to withdraw, and after thinking about it, Komatsubara-michi asked the staff officer to add a sentence at the end - 100,000 urgent!

At this time, most of the Jimao United had rushed down the Mae Chi Ridge and entered the canyon area.

Seeing the wounded soldiers of the New Second Division who had fled in front supporting each other and trying to escape to the front, the ghost soldiers of the Jimao Wing couldn't help but be excited.

Since the formation of the wing, there has not been a decent victory, and the wounded soldiers in front of them are also soldiers, which is just right for the newly enlisted soldiers to taste the taste of blood.

As soon as Yoshimo Daisa wanted to order the troops to speed up, he saw the signal soldier waving a telegram and rushing over, shouting as he ran: "General Komatsubara-do telegraph, ordering His Excellency the Wing Commander to immediately lead his troops to retreat!" ”

"What?"

Yoshimo Osa didn't hear clearly for a while, blinking his eyes and listening.

"Boom-"

A burst of fire flashed around the communications troops, followed by a series of explosions, and in an instant the flames were everywhere and the smoke filled the air.

The 72nd Wing of the Japanese Army was suddenly attacked, many devil soldiers panicked, and the commander of the Wing with rich combat experience, Yoshimo Daisa, immediately checked the hills on both sides, and there was a wave of figures shaking in the woods, and halfway up the mountainside on both sides, countless light and heavy machine guns removed the camouflage that covered them.

"Bang bang—"

There was a burst of artillery bombardment, and Yoshimo Dasa looked back to see that the mortar shells that fell like hail exploded in his own troops, and many devil soldiers scurried around like headless flies.

Yoshimo Daisa quickly made a judgment, slashed down a panicked recruit, shouted to suppress the riots of the surrounding Japanese troops, raised his saber and pointed to the northwest canyon exit, and ordered the troops to rush out of the city.

But it's easy to get in, but it's hard to get out!