The day after Cai Jiheng returned to Guilin Airport, he was called to the office of Major Yuan Jinhan, the Chinese captain of the 3rd Brigade. Cai Jiheng knew that he always had to give an explanation for flying the plane privately, but what kind of punishment the above planned to give him, Cai Jiheng really didn't know the bottom in his heart.

There are two captains of the 3rd Brigade, one is Lieutenant Colonel Bennett, the captain of the American Group, and the other is Major Yuan Jinhan, the commander of the Chinese Group. In addition to participating in the formulation of battle plans and piloting aircraft to participate in battles, Major Yuan Jinhan was also responsible for some of the day-to-day management of the 3rd Group.

Yuan Jinhan is a legendary air force hero and a spiritual idol for the young pilots of the 3rd Brigade. His left ear is only half of it, and it was injured in the "August 14 Jianqiao Air Battle" in 1937. In that air battle, his plane was hit, Yuan Jinhan parachuted and landed in the no-man's land of the confrontation between the Chinese and Japanese troops, he pulled his legs and ran wildly towards the Chinese defense line, the Japanese infantry concentrated on him, a bullet pierced his left ear, although Yuan Jinhan survived, but was also broken. Nine days later, Yuan Jinhan's left ear was still wrapped in gauze, and he participated in the Luodian air battle on August 23, and this time Yuan Jinhan's plane was hit again and crashed in the suburbs of Luodian. Yuan Jinhan, who was seriously injured, was rescued by Su Ke, deputy captain of the ambulance team of the Shanghai branch of the Red Cross Society of China, led by the team, and the Japanese army chased him, Su Ke and other team members were killed, and Yuan Jinhan was also stabbed in the chest.

Among the pilots of the Chinese Air Force in 1944, pilots like Yuan Jinhan who participated in the early air battles of the Anti-Japanese War were very rare, and pilots such as Gao Zhihang, Le Yiqin, and Yan Haiwen who died in the early days have become heroic legends and are admired by the younger generation of pilots. And Yuan Jinhan, an old pilot who has fought side by side with heroes, is naturally also sought after by young people.

When Cai Jiheng walked into Yuan Jinhan's office, he was studying the route in front of the route map. Yuan Jinhan glanced up at Cai Jiheng and said lightly: "Crocodile, you're causing trouble again, aren't you?" ”

Cai Jiheng said: "Captain, what kind of thing do you mean?" ”

"Oh, listen to you, you've caused more than one trouble, and a lot more that I haven't mastered, right?"

Cai Jiheng said very sincerely: "No, no, don't mistakenly understand what I mean, I mean, I recently did a more controversial thing, and some people think that I am doing a good deed and take the initiative to help the ground staff solve problems." Of course, there are also people who have a different view, thinking that I am suspected of violating military discipline by doing good deeds without asking for instructions. ”

Yuan Jinhan smiled: "Crocodile, they all say that you are clever and eloquent, and you really live up to your reputation, it is obviously a definite violation of discipline, and when it comes to your mouth, it becomes a 'controversial thing', which is called confusing the concept." Crocodile, I'm short on time, so I don't have time to talk nonsense with you! Let me tell you, you have been told a complaint against General Chennault, who has just called me and personally announced the decision to punish you. ”

Cai Jiheng muttered: "Captain, General Chennault won't shoot me for such a trivial matter, right?" Actually, I'm also quite wronged, that Hu Guangwen at Hengyang Airport is a guy who has always complained about it......"

Yuan Jinhan said officially: "There is a C-47 transport plane bound for Yangjie Airport in Yunnan tonight, and the take-off time is 19 o'clock, and you take this plane to report to the 23rd Brigade of Yangjie Airport. Did you hear me clearly? ”

Cai Jiheng jumped up when he heard it: "What? Transfer me to the 23rd brigade? Whose order is this? ”

Yuan Jinhan rolled up the drawings and replied: "Do you still need to ask?" General Chennault's order, of course! Crocodile, you hurry up and get ready to the tarmac on time at 18:30. After Yuan Jinhan finished speaking, he walked out of the office and left Cai Jiheng there alone in a daze.

The 23rd Fighter Group, like the mixed regiment of the Chinese and American Air Forces, is part of the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Cai Jiheng was puzzled, why did Chennault order him to report to the 23rd Brigade? Could it be that just because he committed a trivial matter, he was kicked out of the Sino-US mixed group? Cai Jiheng is reluctant to leave the Sino-US mixed group, because two-thirds of the Chinese pilots here are Chinese, and American pilots are only a minority, who doesn't want to stay among their own people? But if you get to the 23rd Brigade, 90 percent of them are American pilots, and only a very small number of Chinese pilots are there.

The predecessor of the 23rd Brigade was the famous American Volunteer Air Force, known as the "Flying Tigers". After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States officially entered the war, and the "Flying Tigers" were disbanded on July 4, 1942, and changed to the 23rd Fighter Group of the United States Task Force in China, and half a year later it was expanded into the 14th Air Force of the United States Army. At the beginning of the 23rd Group, most of the backbone of the 23rd Group, especially the group leader and squadron leader, were pilots of the former "Flying Tigers," and some of them were active pilots of the US Navy and Army who had withdrawn from the Philippines.

The 23 Fighter Group is the main force of the 14 Air Force of the United States, and the 14 Air Force was initially established with only the 23 Fighter Group and a B-25 light bomber squadron, and later added a B-24 heavy bomber squadron. This was the smallest air fleet in the United States during the entire World War II, with a total of more than five hundred aircraft. By comparison, the 8th Air Force based in Britain had more than 8,000 aircraft, so the pilots of the 23rd Group always self-deprecatingly called the 14th Air Force an air force "hanging on a shoelace."

For some reason, a small number of Chinese pilots were assigned to the 23rd Brigade and became some very embarrassing roles. They should be officially American officers, but their nationality is Chinese, and they also have the status of officers of the Chinese Air Force. Under the 14th Air Force's rotation system, American pilots can be repatriated to the United States after 400 hours of flight, a rule that American pilots consider unfair because the number of flight hours here is more than double that of the European theater. The Chinese pilots serving in the 23rd Brigade remained silent, they didn't care whether it was fair or unfair, and they would not compare their treatment with the European battlefield, because they did not enjoy the rotation system at all, and if they wanted to take leave, they could only talk about it after they died.

Of course, this kind of unfairness is not a big deal, but it always makes people feel uncomfortable, so no Chinese pilot is willing to go to the 23rd Brigade. Of course, Cai Jiheng was no exception, he muttered in his heart, is this Chennault's punishment for himself? If this is the case, this old man is a little unreasonable, even if I use your precious zero machine without permission, but I have eliminated hundreds of Japanese soldiers, shot down two enemy planes, and no reward is given, how can I be punished by transfer? You are a dignified major general of the Air Force, why can't you get along with my little captain?

The old guys of jellyfish skin, Du Hei, and Finnish knives also felt incredible, and they didn't understand it after discussing it for a long time. Jellyfish said indignantly, "Crocodile, or we will deliberately cause some trouble, and let Chennault transfer us together." ”

The Finnish knife asked, "Is the Zero still in the hands of the Rattlesnake?" Or let's get that Zero out again, fly it for an hour each, and give Chennault a law to blame. ”

Du Hei's thinking has always been very meticulous, disdainful of these carving tricks, he affirmed: "Chennault is not an idle person, and he will not make such a big move just to punish the crocodile, I think he has a deeper consideration." Crocodile, let's not jump to conclusions too early, let's go to the 23 brigade first. ”

Cai Jiheng sighed, nodded, and complained to complain, he didn't have the courage to disobey Chennault's order, so he had to go first, although he was very reluctant to these old friends, and he was reluctant to the mixed regiment of the Chinese and American Air Forces.

Yangjie Airport is in the northeast of Kunming City, Xundian County, this airport was just built in February 1943, where the 23rd Fighter Group is stationed, and there is a heavy bomber group with the number 308, the model is mainly B-24D "Liberator" bombers. Because the airport was built in a hurry, its equipment is very rudimentary, the control tower is temporarily built with wood, it does not even have the concrete runway that is common in modern airports, all the runways and taxiways including the apron are paved with triple soil, and then thousands of people drag huge stone mills to be manually rolled over, these stone mills with a diameter of two or three meters high are abandoned on the side of the runway after the completion of the project.

When Cai Jiheng's C-47 transport plane landed at night, he saw through the window that hundreds of old-fashioned horse lanterns commonly used by ordinary people were placed on both sides of the runway as runway indicators. Cai Jiheng was very surprised, this kind of primitive navigation equipment is extremely dangerous to large planes returning at night, and the slightest carelessness will destroy the plane and kill people. Could it be that both heavy bombers and large transport aircraft of the 14th Air Force take off and land on such runways?

After getting off the plane, Cai Jiheng carefully observed the facilities and environment of the airport, and he found that the airport did not have a concrete hangar, and rows of B-24 and B-25 bombers and P-40 and P-51 fighters could only be parked on both sides of the runway in turn. The headquarters of the 23rd Brigade and the dormitories of the ground crews were scattered among the bushes on the nearby hills.

Cai Jiheng carried a travel bag, and walked into the headquarters of the 23rd Brigade with a "Si Deng" style on his right shoulder, which is a temporary wooden room, with homemade wooden tables and chairs, and military maps, flight route maps and photos of Hollywood actresses Katharine Hepburn and Vivien Leigh on the wall. After all, it is an American, and I can't forget to spice up my life with photos of beautiful women.

Colonel Robert Scott, the commander of the 23rd Brigade, received Cai Jiheng, and he stretched out his hand and said politely: "My name is Robert Scott, a Pennsylvanian, and you are the famous crocodile?" ”

Cai Jiheng saluted: "Hello sir! Air Force Captain Cai Jiheng, report to you! ”

Robert's eyes were blue, he glanced at Cai Jiheng meaningfully, but asked an irrelevant question: "Crocodile, I don't seem to have seen a pilot with ***, by the way, do you also carry *** when you fly a fighter?" ”

Cai Jiheng replied: "Yes, sir, I have always brought *** into the cockpit, and the ground crew helped me install a fixed gun mount in the cockpit. ”

"Can you tell us why? Isn't it enough to bring a self-defense pistol? ”

"Sir, if one day I make a forced landing or parachute and land in an enemy-occupied area, this *** will come in handy, it can make up for the lack of pistol firepower." Cai Jiheng thinks that Robert's question is redundant.

"Crocodile, that's where our philosophies differ, I think that once a pilot makes a forced landing or parachutes, in a sense, he's done his mission, and it's time to quit the fight, but you obviously don't think so."

Cai Jiheng shook his head and said, "Sir, I really don't think so, my philosophy is that as long as I'm alive, I have to continue fighting!" ”

Robert shrugged his shoulders and said, "As a soldier, I appreciate your philosophy, and if the soldiers of your country have this tenacious will to fight, we have reason to be optimistic about the prospects of war." ”

In Cai Jiheng's view, Robert's words are clearly provocative, is he mocking the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army? Cai Jiheng felt speechless, and he himself admitted that since the beginning of the Battle of Henan-Zhong, the performance of the Chinese Army has been somewhat humiliating, and he does not want to discuss this issue.

Cai Jiheng touched his heels, straightened his chest and said: "Sir, according to General Chennault's order, Cai Jiheng, a captain pilot of the Chinese Air Force, came to report to the 23rd Brigade, please instruct!" ”

Robert stood up and said, "I'll send someone to take you to the dormitory right away, as for your work...... I'll talk about it tomorrow. ”

Cai Jiheng was motionless, he insisted: "Sir, I still have a question, my No. 002 fighter is still at Guilin Airport, may I ask, does the 23rd Brigade plan to reassign me a new one, or do you want me to use the original plane?" ”

Robert smiled and said: "Oh, since you are so anxious to work, then I will tell you now, according to General Chennault's order, your new job is to scrub the plane, water pipes and scrubbing tools will be given to you, there are more than forty P-40 and P-51 fighters at this airport, you start with the fighters, the bombers will not work for you." Good luck! ”

Cai Jiheng was stunned, he understood a little in his heart, Chennault's punishment of him began.

Shen Xingyun walked into the restaurant and met nutritionist Zhu Li, who greeted her with a smile on her face: "Hi, good morning!" Dr. Bellning just asked about you. ”

"Oh, is there anything Dr. Berning is looking for me?"

"That's right, there is a Chinese pilot who has just been transferred to the 23rd Brigade, and Dr. Belning said that the pilot's diet will be taken care of by you for the time being. This is his registration form, please file it according to the regulations. ”

Shen Xingyun looked at the registration form, this pilot is called Cai Jiheng, the rank is captain, born in 1920, and now he should be 24 years old. Shen Xingyun thought to himself, at the age of 24, he was a captain, this situation is not common, if this pilot has not made special combat exploits, it may be from a prominent family.

Shen Xingyun glanced into the dining room, and immediately spotted a new face, leaning against a table in the window, a young man was eating breakfast, he was wearing a Chinese Air Force uniform and a pilot badge on his chest.

Shen Xingyun raised his chin and motioned to Zhu Li and said, "It's the person sitting at the window, which unit is he transferred from?" ”

"I heard that it was transferred from the Sino-US mixed group, but the specific situation is not very clear."

Shen Xingyun glanced at the pilot carefully, and couldn't help laughing: "Yo, Zhu Li, this person's skin is so white, it's even more delicate than our woman's skin." ”

Zhu Li also took a look: "It's true, I was so busy just now that I didn't pay attention, did you find it, this young man is also very handsome." ”

Shen Xingyun said jokingly: "Zhu Li, don't you think that beautiful men are often embroidered pillows?" ”

Zhu Li smiled: "My dear, don't be so mean, a person's beautiful appearance is God's favor, not everyone has this kind of blessing, no matter what, beautiful is better than ugly, okay?" ”

In addition to Shen Xingyun, there are three female nutritionists in the air crew canteens of the 23rd and 308th Brigades, who are responsible for the nutrition and deployment of more than 400 air crews, and the workload is very large. The 23rd Group is a fighter group, and its air crew is relatively simple, all pilots. The 308 Brigade is a bomber group, and the composition of its air crew is much more complex, including pilots, navigators, bombardiers, as well as air mechanics and shooting non-commissioned officers, in a word, as long as it is a person on the plane, they all belong to the air crew, so many people's dietary nutrition work is only four nutritionists, each nutritionist is responsible for hundreds of people, and the heavy degree of its work can be imagined.

Julie is an American woman in her thirties, with the rank of lieutenant, she comes from a devout Christian family in Pennsylvania, her husband is the captain of a destroyer in the Pacific Fleet, and is currently serving in the Pacific theater of operations. Zhu Li and Shen Xingyun have been working in the same department for almost two years, they are good friends who talk about everything, and Zhu Li always takes care of Shen Xingyun like a big sister.

Since the emergence of the Air Force as a branch of the armed forces, due to the particularity of the work of air crews, the armed forces of various countries have formed a set of systematic and scientific management methods for the diet of air crews, and full-time dietitians are generally responsible for them, and dietitians will arrange diets in strict accordance with the proportion of nutrients required by the human body. In addition, another responsibility of the dietitian is to control the picky eating habits of the aircrew, that is, the food that individuals like to eat cannot be eaten uncontrollably, and the food that they do not like to eat must be forced to eat under the supervision of the dietitian due to the need for nutrition, otherwise it will cause an imbalance in the nutritional ratio of the aircrew. For flight crews who do not obey management, the dietitian has the power to ground them. For example, some greedy pilots always want to hide some chocolates, canned food and other snacks in the dormitory, and the nutritionist often takes the form of surprise attacks to search the pilot's dormitory and confiscate these prohibited items, for which the two sides often have a very unpleasant quarrel.

The flight crew at Sheep Street Airport had different evaluations of the four nutritionists, with Julie being the worst, a woman who had a good temper but was meticulous in enforcing the rules, leaving no room for accommodation. They have the best evaluation of Shen Xingyun, thinking that she is not only beautiful, but also has a soft personality, and is the best to speak, and has never seen her blush with others. Even when confiscating the violator's items, Shen Xingyun discussed with the other party in a soft voice: Look, I am a novice and lack work experience, so I need your encouragement very much, if you agree, will I take these foods away? In fact, those pilots who are strong and strong are also very reasonable, and a beautiful girl begs you so softly, who is embarrassed to refuse?

Since Dr. Bellin had assigned this new pilot to his name, Shen Xingyun had to find out, and she decided to talk to the captain.

Shen Xingyun packed an apple on a tray and walked to Cai Jiheng's table, greeted him with a smile: "Captain, hello!" Welcome to the 23rd Brigade, I am your nutritionist Shen Xingyun, is there anything you need me to serve? ”

Cai Jiheng nodded politely: "Hello!" I didn't need anything, thank you! ”

Shen Xingyun sat down and said while peeling apples with his hands: "Captain, I noticed that you didn't eat fruit after the meal, do you not like to eat it?" ”

"Yes, I don't really like to eat fruit, it's just a personal habit."

"This habit is not very good, can you adjust it in the future? Look, how beautiful this apple is, can you taste it? Shen Xingyun handed over the peeled apple.

"Thank you! As I said, I don't like to eat fruit. Cai Jiheng refused.

"Okay, well, if you don't eat, you won't eat, we'll talk about this later. Captain, even if we know each other today, we will cooperate for a long time in the future, let's chat casually, okay? ”

Cai Jiheng had already stood up, and when he heard Shen Xingyun say this, he had to sit down again: "Okay, what are you talking about?" By the way, the weather seems to be pretty good today, doesn't it? ”

"Yes, the weather is sunny and the sun is shining, and we should be in a good mood too. In fact, the 23rd Brigade and the Sino-US mixed regiment are similar, both are mixed units of Chinese and American pilots, the difference is that the 23rd Brigade has fewer Chinese pilots, 80 percent of them are American pilots, but you will soon get used to it. ”

Cai Jiheng yawned lazily: "Miss Shen, I'm afraid I'm going to change careers, General Chennault has assigned me a new job, scrubbing fighter jets, and I'm trying to adapt to it." ”

Shen Xingyun said with a smile: "Let me guess, is it that Captain Cai Jiheng caused some small trouble in the Sino-US mixed regiment, so the current work has some punitive nature?" ”

"Miss Shen is so smart, she can see at a glance that I am an unlucky person, you guessed it accurately, that's what happened. Generally speaking, all pilots have a hoop on their head, and this hoop is grounded. In fact, General Chennault made a mistake of judgment, not all pilots took grounding as punishment, like me, what if I took it as a vacation? When I think about it, I feel much happier. When Cai Jiheng said this, he was a little proud.

"Well, your perspective is still very peculiar, and this is the first time I've met someone who thinks like this. In wartime, being disqualified from flying is equivalent to being disqualified from combat, and combat is to kill people, and in any case, wiping an airplane will not kill people. I'm also confused, is this a punishment for you, or a reward? Shen Xingyun asked suspiciously.

Cai Jiheng said unashamedly: "There is another possibility, maybe the 23rd Brigade still lacks a captain or something......

Shen Xingyun was amused to laugh, she thought this person was very interesting, and he was also serious when he teased, making people confused which of his words was true and which was false.

"Miss Shen, let me ask you a personal question, there are hundreds of air crew members in the 23rd Brigade and the 308th Brigade, have many of these bad boys pursued you?"

"Why do you ask me that?" Shen Xingyun asked rhetorically.

"Curious, I have experience, if a beautiful girl appears in any unit, it will definitely be chaotic for a while, and those bad boys will not be idle."

"Of course someone has raised it with me, but I haven't thought about it yet." Shen Xingyun honestly admitted.

Cai Jiheng said in a tone of pity: "War is a very cruel thing, it is better for women to stay away from it, even if it is at the rear airport, the appearance of women may not be a good thing." ”

"Why?"

"The reason is very simple, before a soldier goes into battle, it is best not to have too much concern in his heart, especially for women. So, I don't think women should be present in combat units, as this will seriously affect the morale of the unit. If I had the power, I would have unceremoniously purged women from combat units. ”

After Cai Jiheng finished speaking, he stood up and walked out the door.

Shen Xingyun was stunned and didn't react for a long time. She thought, this person is so strange, not only does his behavior show some cynicism, but his way of thinking seems to be different from ordinary people, he seems to be very repulsive to women, and actually thinks that women should not appear in combat units. Judging from Shen Xingyun's military experience, women should be very cared for in the army, and their enthusiasm often spoils a woman who is originally very mediocre, not to mention a beautiful woman, who has become the "queen" of the stars in the army. Shen Xingyun had never seen a person like Cai Jiheng, and he unceremoniously pointed out that the existence of women would affect the morale of the warriors, and he also claimed to expel women from the combat unit. Shen Xingyun was not angry at Cai Jiheng's vitriol, she was just wondering, how could there be such an alternative in the world? This fair-skinned young captain aroused Shen Xingyun's great curiosity.

At night, the whole city of Xuchang was plunged into a state of fierce scuffle, the whole city was full of gunfire and explosions like bursting beans, and several main streets in the city were burned in the fire. After the West Gate and South Gate were lost, more than 50,000 people of the 37th Division and the 110th Division of the Japanese Army entered the city, and the remnants of the newly formed 29th Division of the National Army did not give up an inch of land and carried out desperate and stubborn resistance. The Japanese attack force made great progress, and every street, every house, and every window in the city became a fire-breathing fortress, and only after the defenders were all killed could the Japanese advance a single step. The 226th Wing of the Japanese Army fought from the south gate to the cross street in the center of the city, a distance of 700 meters, and it took more than five hours.

In the evening, Company Commander Chen counted the number of people and found that the remaining strength of the 86th Regiment was only more than 40 people, and all the officers above the platoon level had been killed or wounded except himself. If the name of the 86th Regiment is still recognized, then Company Commander Chen at this time should be the supreme commander of the 86th Regiment.

The 3rd Company where Mantang was located had already suffered casualties, and only he and Tie Zhu were left in the whole company, and now these brothers around him were all from the old 86th Regiment, but there were only those from any unit. When the battle came to this, everyone's nerves were numb, could Xuchang hold on? What is the purpose of fighting with the enemy street by street and house by house at this time? None of us could tell, and we didn't bother to think about it, but the Brethren had become a part of the war machine, and as long as the machine was running, the parts would of course work.

Man Tang and Tie Zhu had already forgotten about their escape, and they couldn't even remember how they came to Xuchang City. It has only been a few days since the day he was arrested, and Man Tang and Tie Zhu feel as long as ten years have passed. It is a miracle to survive such a brutal battle. As far as war is concerned, the law of survival of the fittest also plays a role, and in addition to luck, the personal qualities of the soldier are also important.

They resisted and retreated from the south gate, and the reason why they kept retreating was because the streets and buildings held by the brothers had been flattened by Japanese artillery fire, and there were no longer conditions for defense. When Mantang and Tiezhu withdrew with seven or eight brothers to the south entrance of Cross Street, they were entangled by the enemy again, and by this time Company Commander Chen and some others had already separated from them. They occupied a barricade to block the Japanese infantry attacking from the north to the south, but they felt that it was wrong to fight, because there were enemies in front and behind, left and right, and bullets were coming from all directions, and they were pressed by fire behind the barricades for a while, unable to raise their heads.

A guy who claimed to be the former 1st Battalion of the 86th Regiment got a Japanese crooked machine gun out of nowhere, and he scolded while firing back, complaining that Mantang and Tiezhu didn't look at the back, and none of the people in the 2nd Battalion were smart, they were all damn bad goods.

Man Tang and Tie Zhu originally did not have a sense of honor in this regard, strictly speaking, they were just strong men, not soldiers, and they did not know that the 1st and 2nd battalions of the original 86th Regiment had always had contradictions. However, to openly denigrate the 2 battalion so brazenly cannot but be said to be a serious provocation. What do you call 2 battalions all underwhelmed goods? My brothers are from the 2nd battalion, what do you dare?

Mantang threw out a hand**, squinted at the guy and said, "Brother, is it okay to accumulate some virtue on your mouth?" Why did my 2nd battalion recruit you? ”

Tie Zhu also said dissatisfiedly: "That's it, who knows how the devil came up from behind?" I didn't recruit it. ”

The guy had a slumped nose and looked like a veteran oilman, and he was quite surprised when he heard that they dared to reply: "Hey, you two boys still dare to talk back?" Know who I am? ”

"Who knows who you are, anyway, like me, you're also a big-headed soldier, a cow?" The hall was full of non-stop shooting.

"Hey! How to speak? No one in the 86th regiment dares to talk to Brother Niu like this, you kid speak politely. A corporal glared at the room.

"? Count your kid right, Lao Tzu's surname is Niu, he was born a cow, you kid go and inquire, the boss of the 86th regiment, even the head of the regiment has to be polite to me. This veteran who called himself Niu Boss was indeed a veteran of street fighting, he kept changing the firing position with a crooked machine gun, using all short point shots, and every time he fired a point shot, he quickly held the gun and rolled away, not giving the Japanese snipers a chance to aim at all.

Man Tang was secretly surprised in his heart, no wonder this kid has survived until now, he is indeed a veteran with rich battlefield experience, not only is he in a hidden position, but also his marksmanship is extremely accurate, almost without missing a shot, in such a short time, there are more than a dozen Japanese soldiers who fell under his gun.

Tie Zhu couldn't help but be stunned when he watched Boss Niu play with the machine gun, obediently, the machine gun can play with this, it's really a god.

Man Tang admired it, so he changed his tone and said with a smile: "Boss, we are new soldiers, and we have just been soldiers for three or four days, what is wrong, you have learned more!" ”

Boss Niu glanced at them in surprise: "What, only three or four days as a soldier?" Ever touched a gun before? ”

"I've shot a few shots, I haven't played seriously, I've learned it in the past two days."

"That's good, I thought you were veterans, you are quite good at shooting and tactical movements, and your bombing skills are also good, but this little brother is thin and small, how did he become a machine gunner?" Boss Niu's tone also softened.

"The machine gunner of our company died, and the company commander asked him to carry the machine gun for two days first. He's my brother, and he likes machine guns. Man Tang leaned behind the sack fortifications and replied while twisting the lid of the ** hand.

Niu Boss suddenly stretched out his machine gun from the fortifications and fired a "da-da-da" point, only to see a Japanese soldier rolling down from the roof of a private house seventy or eighty meters away with a gun.

Boss Niu grinned: "Holy shit, this sniper has been calculating me for a long time, and he always wants to find a chance to blow up Lao Tzu's head, but Lao Tzu won't give him a chance, hehe, if you want to calculate Lao Tzu, he is still tender." ”

The surrounding gunfire fell silent, and the Japanese stopped their attack.

Tie Zhu asked curiously: "Big brother, what is a snipe...... What hand? ”

Niu Boss took out a paper cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it, and took a beautiful puff: "It's called a sniper, in our words, it's a sharpshooter, we don't have this in the team, there are special sharpshooters in the devil team, and there are a few in each squadron, usually don't do anything, just practice guns, and it's comfortable to fight, charging is someone else's business, snipers just hide and put cold guns, specializing in officers and machine gunners, Lao Tzu just let this kid target him." ”

Tie Zhu said: "Big brother, that devil is very well hidden, how can you find him?" ”

Boss Niu extinguished the cigarette roll, and carefully put half of the cigarette back into his pocket: "Little brother, you have to grow eight more eyes on the battlefield, even the back of your head; You also have to have a good memory, the first glance, you have to remember the surrounding terrain and landforms, and when you look again, you can see what is different from just now. The devil sniper was lying on the roof just now, he thought that I couldn't see him when it was dark, in fact, this kid was still tender, he didn't expect that there was a fire far behind him, and his position became a backlit position, I swept my eyes, and found that there was a semicircle on the ridgeline of the house, it was his steel helmet, dog's day, as long as I stared at him, I couldn't run, I don't believe you will go over and see it in a while, my three shots all hit him in the face, and none of them were ruined. ”

Mantang glanced at the private house and immediately understood what Boss Niu meant. The sniper was on the roof of the house, in a high position, so that the outline of his head was exposed against the background of the dark blue night sky, and became a live target for the bull boss; And it was not easy for the sniper to aim at Boss Niu, because the position of the barricade was low, there was no light source behind them, and there was no background for fear of a glimmer, so although the sniper wanted to kill Boss Niu with one shot, it was difficult to succeed, but he was cleaned up by Boss Niu. The hall thought with emotion, this veteran is really smart, he can find the slightest changes in the terrain and landform within a hundred meters of the surroundings, and the truth is deep.

"Big brother, you are really amazing, as long as our brother does not die this time, he must worship his eldest brother as a teacher." Mantang said sincerely.

Who knew that Boss Niu didn't appreciate it at all, and he had a scoop of cold water on his head: "Hehe, don't die this time?" Don't think about good things, to tell you the truth, none of us will survive this night. ”

"Why?"

"Silly boy, don't you see that we are surrounded? It is not because of our fate that we have survived until now, but because the devil commander was also confused, and their artillery did not have time to keep up. Look, it's all here in a while, it's either 92 infantry guns or 82 mortars, and our sandbag fortifications are not enough for people to bombard. Boss Niu said casually, as if he was commenting on someone else's business.

"That'...... So what do we do now? Big brother, you have to think of a way. "Tie Zhu was a little nervous.

"There's a fart solution! Wait for death. Little bunny, come here! Give Lao Tzu a beating waist, and Lao Tzu will be a comfortable ghost when he is a ghost. Boss Niu stretched and lay down on the sack.

"Pillar, hurry up and give the eldest brother a beating on the waist." Man Tang commanded the iron pillar and poked his head out of the bunker to observe the situation, but as soon as he showed up, the Japanese machine gun went off, and the dense bullets made the sandbags dusty, and Man Tang quickly retracted his head.

The iron pillar is beating the cow boss in the waist. "A little heavier! Why the hell haven't you had enough to eat? Hey, hey, that's it......" Boss Niu snorted comfortably.

The hall looked at it with envy, this is a veteran who has experienced a hundred battles, people don't take death seriously at all, it's all come to this point, and they still have to be comfortable. Mantang didn't want to die, until now, he still thinks that this war has nothing to do with him, he and Tie Zhu are just unlucky to be caught by the strong men, and they were forced by the commander to get involved in this war with a gun. He hasn't had a good day, so why should he die?

Mantang took out all the bullets on his body and counted them carefully, thinking in his heart, he must find an opportunity to rush out with the iron pillar, and he must not wait here to die.

Suddenly, in the civilian house occupied by the Japanese army in front, a Chinese shouted with an iron horn: "Brothers of the newly formed 29th Division of the Nationalist Army, listen, I am Liu Jianxiong, squad leader of the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 85th Regiment, who was captured by the imperial army yesterday at the north gate, and my brother I received preferential treatment from the imperial army, and the imperial army asked me to tell everyone that Xuchang City had been occupied by four-fifths of the way, and most of the defenders had laid down their arms and received preferential treatment from the imperial army." Please cherish life! Stop making unnecessary resistance......"

Boss Niu turned over and grabbed the machine gun and rushed to the fortifications and shouted: "Fuck you, come up if you have a kind, Lao Tzu just won't surrender, what can you do with Lao Tzu?" He followed the direction of the shouting and shot a long shot.

The shouting died down, and there was silence all around.

Niu Boss threw down the machine gun and said to the soldiers: "Everyone lie down for me, I guess the devil's artillery has come up and is about to fire." ”

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a sharp whistling sound from far and near, and a mortar shell exploded in front of the sandbag fortifications.

"If you miss, they will correct the landing point, and the next shot will be off, and the third shot will fall into the fortifications, brothers, say goodbye to each other, and go on the road together in a while!" Boss Niu said to himself, looking like he was resigned to fate.

Sure enough, the second shell fell two meters behind the sandbag fortifications and exploded. Boss Niu is worthy of being a veteran, and he is not bad at all.

The brothers closed their eyes and waited quietly for the third shell......

Suddenly, there was a loud gunfire in front, and the sound of machine guns and *** was mixed with the explosion of the hand, and the third shell that everyone was waiting for never fell.

Boss Niu said strangely: "It can't be reinforcements, right?" It's impossible. ”

When the gunfire subsided, a nearby voice shouted, "Hey! Are there any brothers here who have been newly formed into the 29th Division? ”

Man Tang stood up and shouted, "Yes, we are from the 86th regiment, and there are seven people. ”

With a sound of footsteps, Cai Jigang, who was carrying ***, walked into the barricade with a few soldiers.

Two hours ago, the Japanese interspersed troops had approached the headquarters of the 29th Division from the north, and the battle broke out 50 meters away from the division headquarters. Cai Jigang organized the staff officers, guards, radio operators, cooks, horsemen and other logistics personnel of the division headquarters, plus the two guards of adjutant Shen Guangya and Cai Jigang, and formed a reinforced platoon, which he personally led the team into battle, and even Commander Liu Changyi and Division Commander Lu Gongliang also participated in the melee with ***.

At this time, there was a pot of porridge in Xuchang City, and the communication between the division headquarters and the regiments below was all cut off, and Lu Gongliang couldn't figure out how many troops he still had, he only had one judgment, where there were gunshots, there were soldiers of the national army fighting the trapped beasts. Although Lu Gongliang and Cai Jigang are friends, they have not worked together after all, and they don't know each other's command style, how they lead troops, and even their performance in actual combat. Since it was Cai Jigang who took the initiative to ask to lead his troops into battle, Lu Gongliang certainly wanted to see what the ability of this general who had drunk foreign ink was.

Cai Jigang's command style is really extraordinary, he led a team of only more than 50 people, most of whom are non-combatants, according to common sense, it is very good to be able to arrange these non-combatants well, and hold this street. However, Cai Jigang did the opposite, and after less than five minutes of firefighting with the Japanese army, he judged from the firepower of the other side that the number of Japanese troops was not large, they were one of several interspersed detachments of the Japanese army, and they did not know that this was the headquarters of the Xuchang defenders.

Cai Jigang looked at this small improvised unit and said, "Those who are officers have come to the front." ”

Five or six officers walked out of the ranks.

Cai Jigang recognized the officers' collar badges and picked out a major and a captain: "Please report your names and positions." ”

The major said: "My name is Li Yunzhou, and I am the operational staff officer of the division headquarters. ”

The captain introduced himself: "Sun Liangcai, communications staff officer of the division headquarters. ”

"Have they all fought?"

The major replied: "I have fought, I have been the commander of an infantry company, and I have participated in the Battle of Wuhan. ”

The captain said: "I did not participate in real combat, but I received military training at a military school. ”

Cai Jigang shook his head and sighed: "Haven't fought? That's not going to work......"

Adjutant Shen beside him stepped forward: "Sir, and me, I have commanded an infantry company and participated in more than twenty battles, please send a mission!" ”

Cai Jigang nodded: "Okay!" Now listen to my orders, Major Li Yunzhou, you take 10 men, attack from the left, and quietly go around to the back of the courtyard. Adjutant Shen, you take 10 people to go around from the right, block the street with machine guns, and not a single devil is allowed to run away. Got it? ”

"Understood!" The two officers stood on the right path.

Lu Gongliang was leaning against a short wall, pressing bullets into the magazine, he looked at Cai Jigang and smiled and said, "Brother Yunhe, looking at your posture, do you want to fight a war of annihilation?" ”

"That's right, it's better not to fight than to defend passively, since you have to attack, this gang of devils is not numerous, surround and eat it, and kill one is one." Cai Jigang threw off his shirt, revealing a row of hands tied to his abdomen**.

Lu Gongliang was shocked by Cai Jigang's offensive awareness. The battle was lost to the last moment, four-fifths of the entire city had been occupied by the enemy, even the command headquarters was not guaranteed, and the defenders were almost killed and wounded. This kind of psychological quality and offensive consciousness are really not ordinary, and if other commanders were changed, I am afraid that they would not even dare to think about it. Lu Gongliang found that he really underestimated Cai Jigang before.

"Yunhe, you command, I'll listen to you!" Lu Gongliang pulled the bolt of the gun and pushed the bullet into the chamber.

"Then I'm not welcome, anyway, just these dozens of people, I occasionally command, it's not like stealing your job, right?" Cai Jigang joked.

"You're welcome, brother, I'm just giving you the position of division commander at this time, and you may not accept it, all the strength of the new 29th Division is combined, and it would be good to have one or two companies."

Under the cover of machine guns, the Japanese soldiers on the opposite side jumped forward alternately, and Lu Gongliang commanded the remaining soldiers to open fire and fire at the enemy.

Cai Jigang selected a few capable soldiers, swapped their weapons into ***, each of them was filled with spare magazines and hands**, and then went up to the roof along the ladder. Using the ridge as a cover, he jumped forward house by house, jumping more than a dozen houses in a row. Cai Jigang observed the street under his feet, the tracer bullets fired by both sides pierced the night sky like a meteor shower, the attacking and defending sides were throwing hands at each other**, and the fire of the explosion illuminated the street as bright as day.

Cai Jigang finally found the commander of the Japanese army, he turned his back to Cai Jigang, hiding behind a low wall, and was using a light machine gun to fire tracer bullets to indicate the trajectory, and the two *** heavy machine guns of the Japanese army not far away adjusted the direction of fire at any time according to the guidance of tracer bullets.

Cai Jigang made a gesture to a few soldiers around him, and then raised his head to fire, and a point shot hit the back of the Japanese commander, his body was shocked, his head hung down, and he didn't move. At the same time, the soldiers threw their hands ** and blew up the two heavy machine guns along with the shooters, and the Japanese firepower suddenly weakened.

Major Li Yunzhou and his people had already returned to their positions, and they were carrying the ass of the Japanese army. The Japanese soldiers who only cared about the attack did not expect to be copied from the back road, and were suddenly knocked down by more than a dozen, and the rest of them looked for concealment in a panic, trying to escape the firepower behind them, but no matter how they hid, they couldn't avoid the firepower of Cai Jigang and others standing on a high place. In order to save bullets, Cai Jigang set *** in a single-shot shooting state, shooting Japanese soldiers unhurriedly like hunting. Using a 45-caliber Thompson *** for a single shot requires a high level of shooting literacy, and the lethality of large-caliber bullets is great, but the recoil of the gun often makes it difficult for the shooter to quickly capture the target. However, Cai Jigang fought in an orderly manner, as freely as his peers, he rhythmically pulled the trigger, one by one bullet casings flew out from the right side of the gun body, clanging and splashing on the roof, a magazine was not finished, and more than a dozen Japanese soldiers had been killed.

The death of the Japanese commander left the soldiers leaderless and retreated to the street in a hurry. Unbeknownst to him, a group of soldiers led by Adjutant Shen had blocked the street entrance with firepower, and the retreating Japanese soldiers happened to hit the muzzle of the gun. The battle lasted eight minutes, and more than 50 Japanese soldiers were wiped out.

Lu Gongliang affectionately punched Cai Jigang: "Brother, I really convinced you, you are a buried tactical genius, the Military Commission is really blind, what kind of war supervisor do you want to be?" I don't think it's a problem for you to command an army group. ”

Cai Jigang listened to the gunshots in the distance and said lightly: "Brother has won the award, the contemptible person entered the wrong school, I knew it was so, I should go to Huangpu to mix a graduate." ”

Lu Gongliang smiled: "I can hear it, your brother is complaining." ”

Cai Jigang waved his hand: "Don't talk about this, I just saw on the roof that the two streets in front of me were also exchanging fire, I'm afraid that our people are entangled, I'll take someone over to answer it." ”

Cai Jigang led the team to defeat the Japanese assault detachment that surrounded Man Tang and others, and after uniting with Man Tang and others, he received more than 20 people led by Company Commander Chen. Cai Jigang calculated the strength at hand, there were more than 90 people in total, which was all the remaining strength of the new 29th Division. Now Cai Jigang has nothing to do, there is no need for a war supervisor here, he can only devote himself to the battle as a soldier, defend this street, and fight to the last bullet, the last person. From a tactical point of view, this move does not make any sense, and it is completely a battle of trapped beasts. When the last soldier fell, Chongqing's major newspapers and even the Allied propaganda machine would publish a front-page headline in large lead: "Xuchang is lost!" More than 3,000 defenders were all martyred, and none of them survived! ”

Cai Jigang thought sadly that the whole significance of the defense of Xuchang was to erase the name of the newly formed 29th Division from the roster of the Military Commission.

The first Japanese attack was repulsed, leaving more than thirty corpses strewn across the streets. The Japanese commander was cautious about the last position of the Xuchang defenders, and he decided to use a psychological offensive in order to resolve the battle without bloodshed.

Man Tang, Tie Zhu, Niu Boss and others who were guarding the forefront saw that the Japanese attack was very quiet, there was no roar of tanks, no artillery cover, no shouts of charge, and the Japanese army lined up in a long snake formation, quietly and step by step forward.

Man Tang felt that the Japanese army's attack formation was a little strange, and he slowly poked his head out of the fortifications to take a closer look, which didn't matter, and the cold hairs on his body stood up all at once. There was a person walking at the front of the Japanese army's long snake formation, and it was actually the platoon commander of the pockmarks! The pockmarked platoon commander held his hands behind his head, limped and dragged his right leg, and walked in front of the Japanese army with difficulty, the pockmarks on his face turned purple due to excitement, and the big mouth with knife marks grinned slightly, his eyes were blue and purple, and his eyes were swollen to the point that there was only a thin slit left, and the upper body of ** was covered with bleeding knife wounds......

Iron Pillar put down his machine gun in astonishment and couldn't help but cry. He sobbed and shouted, "Yellow Platoon Leader......"

The Japanese soldier on the left side of the platoon commander of Mazi gestured and muttered a few words, the platoon commander of Mazi nodded quietly, he took a step forward and shouted: "Brothers of the national army!" I am Huang Yucheng, the second lieutenant platoon commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the 86th Regiment, do you know me? ”

Tie Zhu shouted: "Platoon Commander Huang, I'm machine gunner Shi Tiezhu." ”

"Okay, Iron Pillar, are you still alive? Iron pillars, brethren! The devil's translator was killed just now, and none of these devils know Chinese. The devil officer asked me to shout and persuade you to surrender. I agreed, so that I could have a few words with the brothers. I want to say a word from my heart to you, brethren! Don't put down the gun, if you have a gun in your hand, you are a master, and the enemy will not dare to stab casually; If you don't have a gun in your hand, you're just a pile of rotten meat, and people can clean it up as they want. The brothers who were captured with me were stabbed to death with bayonets by the devils, and they had no intention of taking them prisoner. Brothers, Hengzhi is a death, and you must not exchange guns......" The platoon leader shouted hoarsely.

There was silence on the battlefield, as if even the air had frozen.

Seeing Boss Niu gritting his teeth and putting down the crooked machine gun, the hall whispered: "Brother Niu, you can't put down the gun!" ”

Boss Niu stretched out his hand: "Where is all this nonsense?" Give me your gun! ”

Mantang handed the 38-style rifle to Boss Niu. Boss Niu quietly moved behind a ruined wall, slowly stretched out his rifle, and aimed at the devil Shaozuo......

The platoon commander of Mazi was still shouting: "Tiezhu, you little rabbit cub, hold the machine gun steady for me, fight according to Lao Tzu, if you want to be soft, you won't be beaten by people, fire, don't care about me......"

A "pop" of gunshots rang out, and Boss Niu fired.

Half of the Japanese soldier Shaozuo behind the platoon commander was knocked off by a bullet in his forehead, and he fell to the ground on his back. The platoon commander of Asako reacted very quickly, he turned around like lightning and crashed into the Japanese soldiers behind him, the Japanese soldiers were knocked on their backs to the sky, the platoon commander of Mazi pounced on the Japanese soldiers and fought, the Japanese soldiers around him immediately reacted, two bayonets stabbed into his back at the same time, the platoon commander of Mazi let out a wolf-like howl, he raised his right hand, at this time everyone saw it, he was holding a Japanese soldier who pulled out the safety pin**, with an explosion, several Japanese soldiers fell down......

Witnessing this tragic scene, the Chinese soldiers went crazy, they howled loudly and opened fire, and the machine gun of the iron pillar and the boss of the cow screamed wildly, and the hands of the locusts were as dense as flying locusts......

The hall scolded and threw off his arms, throwing out eight hands in a row, the open space in front of the barricade was full of gunsmoke, shrapnel flew sideways, and the Japanese soldiers threw down more than 20 corpses and fled.

The Chinese soldiers were still wheezing, and the gunfire had not completely stopped, only to see the hall swooping out of the barricade and running to the bloody corpse of the pockmarked platoon leader, crying and struggling to carry the corpse.

Cai Jigang's eyes turned red suddenly, and he shouted: "Danger, come back quickly!" ”

The whole house ignored it and dragged the corpse to himself.

The soldiers of the national army in the fortifications finally couldn't stand it anymore, and seven or eight soldiers jumped out of the barricade regardless of the danger and brought back the body of Mantang and the platoon leader of the pocks.

Man Tang took off his military uniform and put it on the face of the yellow platoon leader, he and Tie Zhu both knelt down and kowtowed to the pockmarked platoon leader, and Man Tang shouted: "Platoon leader, you saved my life, I owe you Tong Mantang, this life is not over, I will pay you back as a cow and a horse in the next life!" ”

Tie Zhu knocked his head loudly, and he cried: "Platoon commander, big brother, I swear, I won't go anywhere!" Don't run anymore, I'm fighting with the devil! ”

Cai Jigang, Company Commander Chen and the soldiers were moved, took off their military hats one after another, and bowed their heads and stood solemnly.

There was silence on the battlefield, save for the cries of the two cousins......

On April 30, the Japanese army did not take Xuchang.

In the evening, a communications staff officer finally received a telegram from the headquarters of the 1st Theater Commander: With the approval of Deputy Commander Tang, the breakthrough plan of the new 29th Division of the Xuchang garrison will be approved to be implemented tonight!

Cai Jigang tiredly untied the hands tied to his abdomen, and complained in his mouth: "Originally, these hands were reserved for the last, but since Deputy Commander Tang didn't approve it, then I would keep a whole corpse." ”

Lu Gongliang issued a plan to the officers to break out of the siege in three ways: the breakthrough troops went all the way out of the north gate and all the way out of the east gate; After the breakout battle began, Company Commander Chen led 12 people to protect Liu Changyi and Cai Jigang quietly out of the south gate and retreated from the gap in the Japanese defense.

Cai Jigang resolutely disagreed: "It is better for me to lead part of the troops to break through from the east gate, and it is appropriate for Division Commander Lu and Army Commander Liu to secretly go to the south gate." The enemy situation at the north gate is unknown, it is better not to go, I have a hunch that the enemy is likely to have an ambush. ”

Liu Changyi asked: "What do you think is dangerous to walk from the north gate?" ”

Cai Jigang pointed to the map and said: "Before I came to Xuchang to supervise the battle, according to the pilot's report, I had a general understanding of the offensive positions of the Japanese troops, but the location of the 3rd Infantry Wing, which was subordinate to the 27th Division of the Japanese Army, was unknown. The Theater Commander's Department combined aerial reconnaissance and intelligence analysis from ground agents, but still did not find the location of the 3rd Wing. I used the method of elimination to arrive at a judgment that this 3rd Wing was most likely in a position north of Xuchang, perhaps at this time spreading its net and waiting for its prey. ”

Lu Gongliang's face was solemn, and he said undoubtedly: "Commander Cai, I want to draw your attention to it, I am the supreme commander of the field with command, please don't say more, I finally emphasize one point, the gathering place of the breakout troops is Yuncheng Black Dragon Pond, please execute the order immediately!" ”

Cai Jigang looked at Lu Gongliang and was silent.

Before the breakout, all the surviving officers and soldiers of the new 29th Division lined up to salute the military flag, and Lu Gongliang burned the military flag with tears. He straightened the yellow tweed general uniform on his body, and said slowly: "Although Xuchang was lost, my new 29th Division fought hard so far, most of the officers and soldiers died heroically, we did our best to have a clear conscience for the country and the nation, although the officers and soldiers of my city were defeated, their reputation cannot be disgraced!" ”

Major Li Yunzhou took a step forward: "Division, you are wearing a general's uniform to break through, there are many inconveniences, please break through in plainclothes." ”

Lu Gongliang said awe-inspiringly: "Joke! I am a Chinese soldier, a dignified lieutenant general, even if I die on the battlefield, I have to wear the collar badge of the lieutenant general to die, how can I pretend to be a common man and be ridiculed? ”

Man Tang and Tie Zhu, who were standing in the team, heard the words of the division commander, their faces turned pale and trembled, the brothers lowered their heads and did not dare to look up, and Lu Gongliang's words pierced their hearts.

When they were about to break up, Lu Gongliang hugged Liu Changyi tightly: "Military seat, take care!" ”

He turned around and opened his arms to Cai Jigang: "Yunhe, good brother, let's say goodbye." ”

The two hugged tightly. Cai Jigang didn't say anything, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

At 3 o'clock in the morning, Lu Gongliang issued an order to break out, and the two breakthrough troops acted at the same time, and fierce gunfire immediately broke out in the east and north of the city. When the shouts and fighting gradually faded away, Cai Jigang, Liu Changyi and the others quietly set off.

Man Tang and Tie Zhu were incorporated into Company Commander Chen's ranks, and these dozen officers and soldiers escorted the two generals out of the south gate. Since all the Japanese troops had entered the city, only a few bonfires were burning outside the south gate, and the Japanese mobile sentinels routinely patrolled between the fires.

The team marched in groups of three, and when the Japanese searchlight swept over, they lay down and did not move, and when the searchlight had passed, they leaped forward in groups. Cai Jigang saw from a distance that there was a road ahead, and Japanese tanks and trucks full of soldiers were driving from north to south with their lights on. Cai Jigang crouched under the roadbed and observed carefully, and he found that there was a 300-meter gap between each Japanese tank, and on the other side of the road was a dark field. It seems that this is the last blockade line, as long as you grasp the distance between the tanks and seize the opportunity to jump across the road, it will be safe.

Cai Jigang and his party passed the highway without much difficulty, and disappeared into the dark night in a blink of an eye.

Lu Gongliang led a team of people to break through from the north gate. In order to attract the attention of the enemy, Cai Jigang, Liu Changyi and others who covered the south gate broke through, Lu Gongliang deliberately wanted to make the movement bigger, he led the team to conceal the north gate, suddenly launched an attack, the front was opened by three light machine guns, and the soldiers behind threw dozens of hands at a time, in the violent explosion, Lu Gongliang took the lead to lead the team to charge.

The Japanese army did not expect that the remnants of the defenders would suddenly launch a counter-assault, and the encirclement was torn open in an instant, and Lu Gongliang led his troops to highlight Xuchang City.

At the same time, another small breakout unit commanded by Zhang Liyong, deputy commander of the 85th Regiment, also started at the east gate of Xuchang City, and broke out of the encirclement after a short fierce battle.

Cai Jigang's premonition was unfortunate that among the three breakthrough troops, the people from the south gate and the east gate successfully broke out of the encirclement and entered the safe zone, and only the people led by Lu Gongliang were wiped out.

Cai Jigang estimated accurately, the Japanese 3rd Infantry Wing was digging a trench between Xuzhuang and Guozhuang in the northeast of Xuchang City at this time, quietly spreading the net and waiting.

The remnants of Lu Gongliang, who had just rushed out of Xuchang City, crashed headlong into the encirclement of the Japanese army.

The 3rd Infantry Wing, which was subordinate to the 27th Division of the Japanese Army, was included in the battle sequence of the Kwantung Army, and the Japanese base camp considered before the war that the troops participating in the Battle of Central Henan were insufficient, so it was decided to transfer the 27th Division of the Japanese Army to Kannai and incorporate it into the 12th Army of Eitaro Uchiyama for use as a reserve. The 3rd Infantry Wing did not participate in the battle to attack Xuchang City, and at this time it was eager to fight, and when it saw the remnants of Lu Gongliang entering the encirclement, it immediately launched an encirclement with powerful firepower.

The fire network composed of dozens of machine guns of the Japanese army pressed Lu Gongliang's small army in a narrow area, and the overwhelming **** fell into the ranks of the national army, and the breakthrough troops suffered heavy casualties. The Japanese infantry launched a charge and divided the encirclement. In the darkness of the night, the remaining soldiers of the national army resisted desperately and stubbornly.

Lu Gongliang knew that there was no hope of breaking through, and all he could do now was to fight the trapped beasts, and he hoped that the battle could continue until his first ammunition was exhausted, so that he could kill and injure some more enemies.

In the battle sequence of the National Revolutionary Army, the new 29th Division has always been called a miscellaneous unit, and it is this miscellaneous unit that makes those high-ranking officials of the Military Commission look away, they broke an upset in the defense of Xuchang, and after inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, they became a heroic unit that will be famous in history at the cost of the annihilation of the whole army.

Lu Gongliang, who was lying behind the rock, finally emptied all the magazines, he raised *** and smashed it on the rock, *** wooden *** was smashed, and the barrel was also bent. He threw away the *** and pulled out the **** to look at it carefully.

He remembered Cai Jigang, the former owner of this pistol. At that time, Cai Jigang said that he bought this pistol in a century-old gun shop in Lexington, USA, and the famous ivory handle **** of General George Smith Patton Jr., an old alumnus of the Virginia Military Academy, was also ordered at this gun shop. General Patton said that pistols with a caliber of less than 9 mm are all toys of girls, and that a real man should play with a large-caliber pistol, and that it is the most tiresome thing for a soldier to blow off an enemy's head with a 45-caliber bullet. Cai Jigang said that he completely agreed with General Patton.

Lu Gongliang thought with regret that his attitude towards Cai Jigang was too blunt when he broke up, would it hurt this brother's self-esteem? In fact, Cai Jigang's judgment is very accurate, and Lu Gongliang has to admit that in the military field, Cai Jigang has amazing intuition and accurate judgment, which is a rare general. It's a pity that I didn't heed his advice, so I'm now under siege. But...... Brother, one day, you will understand my Lu Gongliang's hard work.

Several Japanese soldiers surrounded him with guns. Lu Gongliang stood up abruptly and raised his gun to shoot. A Japanese soldier was hit in the forehead, and a 45-caliber bullet instantly knocked off half of his head, and the Japanese soldier was hit by the powerful impact of the bullet and flew backwards two meters backwards, falling on his back.

The Japanese light machine guns opened fire, and Lu Gongliang fell with four bullets in his body.

Several Japanese soldiers rushed to Lü Gongliang and shouted in stiff Chinese: "Surrender!" Surrender! ”

Lu Gongliang suddenly turned over and sat up, and shouted loudly: "Lao Tzu will not surrender!" Trying to support himself, he raised his hand and fired two shots in succession, and two Japanese soldiers were shot and fell.

The Japanese soldiers were furious, they shouted and shot repeatedly, and Lu Gongliang finally fell......

A Japanese lieutenant led the soldiers to surround him. He flipped Lu Gongliang's corpse, and his movements suddenly froze, and the two golden stars on Lu Gongliang's collar badge looked very eye-catching in the moonlight.

The lieutenant shouted in surprise: "Oh my God, this is a lieutenant general!" ”