Chapter 692: Alone

Yan Xishan, who was beaten by the Japanese, lost the last of his capital, surrounded by more than 8,000 weak soldiers, surrounded by wolves and tigers of the Japanese, biting him and not letting go, in the barren northwest region of Shanxi, like a frightened bird, to eat or not, to drink or not, in a desperate situation, he had to ask Tang Qiuli for help, right in Tang Qiuli's arms, he racked his brains to do his best, did not hesitate to risk losing Shanxi, the army made a risky move, isn't it for the current result.

Yan Xishan quickly called back, and obeyed Vice Chairman Tang's arrangement, Tang Qiuli smiled coldly, he was still an acquaintance, otherwise, let him fend for himself, be a lonely ghost, he ordered the remnants of the Jin army to cross the Yellow River in the northwest of Jin or in the area of Baode, and the Dingbian garrison area would send troops to meet and send Yan Xishan, a Tumbler who had been in the political arena of the Republic of China for many years, to Dingbian, he was really afraid that Liu Hanzhang and Bai Chucai were not the opponents of this treacherous and cunning Yan Xishan.

For this reason, he formulated a sixteen-character policy for Liu Hanzhang and Bai Chucai to settle Yan Xishan, "respect but not use, strictly prevent changes, draw salaries from the bottom of the kettle, and clean the water and dried fish", hang it high, save Yan Xishan from always thinking about it, and gradually transfer the generals and thousands of remnants around him, leaving him alone, watching how he plays, it is also very interesting to think about it, Chairman Jiang locked Zhang Hanqing in indefinite confinement, and he held the former man of the moment Yan Xishan in his hands.

Solving the stumbling block of Yan Xishan, Tang Qiuli's heart was a lot easier, because he was worried about Meiling's safety, and he was depressed, but he also became cheerful, and suddenly remembered Mei Ting, and quickly instructed her to go to the military doctor immediately, she couldn't delay if she was sick, Mei Ting was a little twisted, Tang Qiuli was strange, what happened to this girl today? Isn't it just a doctor's visit? Just as he was about to make further inquiries, a staff officer ran over, and the Eighth Route Army reported that a small group of Japanese troops had been found at the Yongheguan Ferry, and General Xiao Jinguang, director of the rear guard office of the Eighth Route Army, asked the division commander to listen to the phone.

Ninji Okamura took the bait? Tang Qiuli was excited for a while, this old devil was bleeding from his head at the Wubao Ferry, and he wanted to find another way, so it would be good, at least within a few days, there was no plan to withdraw to Taiyuan, he followed the staff officer excitedly, and he didn't even finish his meal, looking at Tang Qiuli's back away, Mei Ting smiled and shook her head, this careless guy.

Mei Ting leaned over to her sister and asked in a low voice, "Sister, do you want to sue him?" Mei Ting's beautiful face, red for no reason, thought for a while, shook her head and said: "He is busy organizing the battle, let's not make trouble for him, wait until this battle is over, and make sure it, I'm worried that it's not accurate." Tang Qiuli, who had already gone away, couldn't hear the private words of the two wives at all.

The battle to defend the Yellow River was carried out in accordance with Tang Qiuli's plan, and after talking to Xiao Jinguang on the phone, he asked the Eighth Route Army troops guarding Yongguan to use Yongguan as usual, not to alarm a small group of Japanese troops, and to deliberately let a small group of Japanese troops cross the river to reconnoitre, and use the mountain road from Liulin to Yongheguan for hundreds of miles.

He has mobilized about 80,000 elite troops from the various units participating in the war, and formed seven new field brigades, except for Sun Zhenbang's corps, the rest are the local armed forces in Dingbian that participated in the battle this time, and this is the big meal prepared by Tang Qiuli for Okamura Ningci, once the troops outflanking the back road are in place, Okamura Ningci fails to cross the river to the west and retreat to Taiyuan, the newly formed seven field brigades will cross the Yellow River to the east and encircle the Japanese army from the east and west, and strive to take most or all of the Japanese army. Annihilated in the mountainous areas of Luliang and the southwest of Shanxi.

According to the plan, the troops marched to their respective designated areas, so that Tang Qiu left Meiling, who was worried about his stomach, but the situation was not good, he and a platoon of trainees had been chased by three squadrons of Japanese soldiers for a few days, Meiling and the six squad leaders who were temporarily transferred over, tried their best, but could not completely get rid of the pursuit of the Japanese army, and later, Meiling almost suspected that there were traitors in their ranks, and the Japanese army had a very accurate grasp of their whereabouts.

What's worse is that the radio station, together with the operator, in an encounter, was blown into pieces by mortar shells, lost contact with the outside world and the troops, and there was no way to even call for reinforcements, this was the first time that the cadet platoon was sacrificed, seeing that the comrades-in-arms who were still alive just now became broken pieces in a blink of an eye, and the cadets were no longer like at the beginning, full of passion and confidence, Meiling admitted that if it were not for the care of these six veterans with extremely rich combat experience, they would have been surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese army long ago.

Fight all the way, go all the way, from Cangerhui to Zhongzhuang, and then to Hengjian, step by step retreat into the hinterland of Luliang Mountain, into the mountainous areas around Guandi Mountain and North Wudang Mountain, the population is gradually sparse, there are strange rocks everywhere, the peaks of cliffs, very few trees, can not provide a place to hide or hide, standing on the hill, the telescope can be seen far away, Meiling believes that their figures, in the eyes of the Japanese army chasing after them.

In the past few days of fighting, there have been three dead and eight wounded in the platoon, these are all classmates who get along day and night, and they closed their young eyes in front of them, so that these students who experienced the war for the first time realized that the real battlefield is by no means as passionate as they imagined, so enthusiastic, so simple, and life can be lost at any time, Meiling even began to doubt whether it was correct to insist on taking on the task of covering at the beginning.

If it weren't for his repeated insistence, the company commander would not have handed over the task to the cadet platoon, and there would be no classmates who died in front of him, he was not afraid of death, but he was afraid that he would not be able to take his comrades with him, and he returned to the spacious and bright classroom in Dingbian, and he could not see their parents and relatives, Meiling, who was already relatively taciturn, had fewer words, and he saw that he had lost weight, but the battle was more ferocious, and every time he fought, he rushed to the front, and in a battle yesterday, his back let the mortar shrapnel cut a long wound.

With the wounded, climbing one mountain peak after another, it increased the difficulty of the march, the sky darkened, and another night came, and the group that served as the spearhead found a big cave in front of them, which could hide a lot of people, and the tired students, a burst of excitement, you can sleep well tonight, damn little devil, you shouldn't be able to find here.

When he arrived at the entrance of the cave, these were still eighteen or nineteen-year-old children, just about to get in, and were shouted by several squad leaders, Meiling also shouted to everyone, he knew what the veterans meant, if this is a cave without an exit, once it is discovered by the Japanese army, the whole platoon will be blocked inside and unable to get out, as long as the Japanese army sets up a machine gun at the entrance of the cave, no one wants to run out, even if it is not regarded as a live target, it is also starved to death, it is similar to killing yourself.

Everyone stopped at the entrance of the cave puzzled, two veterans took four students to explore the way, Meiling was busy arranging sentry posts, he did not expect this cave, not to be discovered by the Japanese soldiers, only hoped to take advantage of the weakness of the Japanese army was not good at night fighting, and strive to rest for a night, restore the body, to be honest, how to act next, Meiling did not have any rules in his heart, he also commanded the whole platoon, took advantage of the dangerous terrain to ambush, cut off the way to pursue the soldiers, and took the opportunity to get rid of these Japanese soldiers who were like maggots on tarsal bones.

But the Japanese army is like having clairvoyance and ears, and when they arrived at the ambush site, they were not fooled at all, first they bombarded with grenadiers and mortars, and then sent troops to search along the two wings, the ambush could not be defeated, and there was a danger of being flanked by the front and rear, so they could only withdraw from the battle.

The comrades-in-arms who explored the road came back, and finally brought back good news, this cave is very large, the big hole is covered with small holes, like a labyrinth, there is a small stream in it, there is a mountain wind blowing in the hole, there should be another exit, I am afraid that everyone is worried, I did not go further, it is really a good place, Meiling discussed with the six squad leaders, and decided that the troops would camp in the cave tonight.

On the cool spring water, eating a few mouthfuls of the remaining dry food, Meiling leaned against the rock, although he was extremely tired, his muscles were sore, and his eyelids were fighting, but his brain couldn't stop at all.

The whispering of the mountain wind sweeping through the treetops, the slight breathing of the comrades at the entrance of the cave, hazy and distant into his ears, the sound of spring grass sprouting on the hillside, was clearly heard, Meiling was startled, thinking that he was dreaming, he opened his eyes suddenly, as before, the slight snoring of his comrades, the painful moans of the wounded deliberately suppressed, Meiling closed his eyes again.

Tomorrow, what will it be like tomorrow, it is nothing more than continuing to be chased by the Japanese army, he sighed, if only his brother-in-law was here, he would definitely have a way, every word Tang Qiuli said to him echoed in his ears, and he quietly recalled a conversation with him in the study after his brother-in-law proposed to the second sister at Dingbian's house.

Tang Qiuli's wise eyes, calm demeanor, and an indifferent smile appeared in front of him from time to time, although Tang Qiuli was only a few years older than Meiling, but, in Meiling's mind, his brother-in-law was like a mentor, like a wise man and a senior, and he was the idol and target he followed.

By the way, my brother-in-law said that at any time, don't put yourself in a passive situation, even so, you have to find a way to reverse it, so you can take the initiative from passivity, otherwise, you can only lose the battle and lose your life, Meiling's heart, suddenly another very strange idea, he wants to see, what are the Japanese soldiers not far from them doing in this dark mountain night?

Dominated by this strange thought, Meiling no longer sleepy, he suddenly became excited, maybe he would find something he didn't find, his eyes widened, and it took a while to get used to the darkness in front of him, he groped and walked towards the place where the six squad leaders were resting.

(To be continued)