The situation was urgent, Wang Haitao just explained the matter of the base to Tang Yisheng, and even Jonas and the others could not officially say goodbye, so they left the Jurong base overnight with all the troops that could be dispatched. As soon as Wang Haitao left with his troops, the defensive strength of the base was unprecedentedly weak, and Tang Yisheng told the two battalion commanders who stayed behind to first organize the recruits and distribute weapons and ammunition to the old and new ones into the base's defensive positions.

Besides, after Wang Haitao led his troops out of the base overnight, he marched all the way to the south, and he wanted to rush to Maolin with his troops in the shortest possible time. Wang Haitao didn't want to reveal his identity, so the troops he brought out did not wear military uniforms, but all changed into ordinary people's clothes. This time, Wang Haitao was preparing to intervene in the battle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the name of guerrillas.

Before leaving the base, Wang Haitao had already asked the base to notify Zhou Kui, the captain of the Jing County Security Brigade, through the Jing County liaison station, and asked Zhou Kui to lead the Jing County Security Brigade to wait for a rendezvous with him ten kilometers south of Maolin. Wang Haitao planned to intercept the New Fourth Army before the military headquarters arrived in Maolin, and then persuaded Commander Ye Ting.

The troops marched very fast, with a reconnaissance company in front of them to explore the way, and the troops passed through the Japanese-occupied area in only three days. On the afternoon of the third day, the troops had bypassed Xuancheng and continued southward, but not long after walking, the reconnaissance team returned to report to Wang Haitao that all the roads in front of them to the south had been blocked by the Nationalist army, and asked Wang Haitao how to act. Wang Haitao understands that in this place, it is not easy to report his identity, and it may be "eaten" by these national army troops.

Although there are not many national army troops on the blockade line, as long as they exert their own strength, these national army troops will not be able to stop them at all. However, it is easy to rush through the blockade line and attract a large number of national army troops to encircle and intercept it. At that time, Wang Haitao asked the scouts of the report if there was a road to bypass the blockade of the national army.

The scout's answer was that there were roads to bypass the blockade line in front of them, but they were all mountain trails, and they had to go more than 100 kilometers to climb over the mountains. The most important point is that if you take this path, you dare not guarantee that you will not encounter the troops of the national army. It is difficult for Wang Haitao to make a decision now. Wang Haitao ordered the troops to stand by and found a few of his subordinates to discuss.

While Wang Haitao was discussing with his subordinates what to do, a telegram came from the signal corps. In the telegram, the reconnaissance group reported to Wang Haitao that the military headquarters and logistics departments of the New Fourth Army, under the protection of the second column and the guard brigade directly under it, had set out from the base area and were advancing toward the Jingxian area.

After reading the telegram, Wang Haitao was anxious, and the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army actually set off ahead of schedule, from their station to Maolin, that is, a distance of more than 100 kilometers, no matter how slow they walked, they could get there in two days. And if he wants to reach Maolin, he can't make it for three days, and coupled with the blockade of the national army along the way, I am afraid that it will be difficult to intercept them before the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army arrives at Maolin.

Wang Haitao gritted his teeth and said to several of his subordinates: "The situation is very urgent, there is no need to discuss it anymore, I have decided to wait for the day to come down and we will carry out a surprise attack on the blockade line of the national army, and rush over at night and quickly shake off the pursuit of the national army." The operation was led by Feng Mingsheng and the guard company took the lead in the assault. Gui Zhong arranged for a battalion to hold the gap and cover the passage of the main force, and took on the task of breaking off after the passage of the main force. ”

Several of his subordinates responded and returned to the army to prepare, and Wang Haitao also suppressed his anxious mood and sat down to drink some water and eat some dry food. The warriors were also eating dry food and filling their water bottles. They know very well that once the battle starts, they don't know when they will be able to rest again. As the unit leading the assault, the guard company was not only well fed with dry food, but also carefully inspected the weapons in their hands.

The guard company had two-thirds of its automatic weapons, and in addition to the charges, sharp guns, and light machine guns, there were also four Type 67 heavy machine guns. In addition, the whole company has six 40 rocket launchers, 10 mortars, and 10 snipers and strikers here. The fighters, in addition to their spears, were each armed with a barge gun. Such firepower, without good preparation, is difficult to block their assault.

At about 10 o'clock in the evening, when it was completely dark, several reconnaissance groups, in cooperation with the guard company, quietly touched a place only 50 meters away from the national defense line. There were several bonfires lit by about a company of Nationalist troops in front, and under the light of the fires, the soldiers inside and outside the trench could be seen. The Nationalist troops did not expect that someone would launch a surprise attack on their positions now, and there was almost no defense.

Looking at the performance of the national army, Feng Zisheng spat on the ground with disdain, and muttered in a low voice: "It's all a rabble." Then he said to the commander of the guard company beside him: "All prepare for a surprise!" Soon after the order was transmitted, the watch in Feng Zisheng's hand pointed to eight o'clock, and Feng Zisheng shouted in a low voice: "All assault!" and then jumped up from the ground.

At a distance of 50 meters, it only took a few seconds for a trained soldier to rush through, and in the dark, the officers and soldiers of the guard company charged forward another 20 meters before alarming the national army on the defensive line.

The national army troops on the defense line did not fire a few shots in total, and they were rushed to the position by the guard company, and after killing several soldiers who resisted desperately inside and outside the trench, all the national soldiers of this company put down their weapons and surrendered, which made Feng Zisheng, who was full of energy and wanted to do a big job, have nowhere to go. After the follow-up troops came up, Huang Guizhong arranged for a battalion to be deployed on the left and right sides to prevent attacks by other national army troops, and the company commander of the national army who surrendered was brought to Wang Haitao.

As soon as Wang Haitao opened his mouth for interrogation, the company commander poured beans into a bamboo tube, and all the explanations of 1510 were made clear. It turned out that this company belonged to the 413th Brigade of the 150th Division of the Sichuan Army. The 150th Division was originally stationed in Tongling, but after the 40th Division was transferred from Nanling County to Jing County, their division was also ordered to send the 413th Brigade to garrison Nanling County.

The Japanese army in Xuancheng has only one infantry brigade, and there are two regiments of puppet troops, usually only dare to move around Xuancheng, and do not dare to enter the mountains in the south at all.

The company commander also explained that the two regiments of the 413th Brigade, one regiment was stationed in Nanling County, and the other regiment headquarters was located in Wenchang Town, and that there was only one battalion of troops in this front-line position, and the battalion commander was not on the position, and he was still drinking flowers and wine in Wenchang Town. After passing the position of his own company, he went to Jing County and went to Yangliu Town, which was the defense area of the 40th Division, and a battalion of the 40th Army was stationed in Yangliu Town.

The 150th Division, the Sichuan Army Division, was still reorganized by Wang Haitao at that time, and his former subordinates have now become opponents, which really makes Wang Haitao feel a little more emotional. After finding out the situation of the national army's defense, Wang Haitao immediately decided to insert it through the gap between the defense areas of the 150th Division and the 40th Division, and then bypassed the defenders of Jing County and went straight to Maolin.

Wei Changxing, who led the reconnaissance company, was familiar with the terrain in this area of Jing County, and many soldiers in the reconnaissance company had fought and lived in southern Anhui, and they were also very familiar with the terrain type. Therefore, under the leadership of the reconnaissance company, Wang Haitao bypassed the county seat of Jing County in two days and arrived near Dingjiaqiao Town in the south of Jing County. After Dingjiaqiao Town, it is only more than 30 kilometers away from Maolin.

It was here in Dingjiaqiao Town that the reconnaissance team of the reconnaissance company found that the national forces had strengthened the blockade, and that patrols of the national army had appeared in the mountains. According to the confession of a second lieutenant platoon commander, the 40th, 52nd, 108th, and 170th divisions of the Nationalist Army had surrounded more than 10,000 people from the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Maolin, and the two sides had already fought fiercely for two days and two nights.

Wei Changxing immediately reported the situation to Wang Haitao, and Wang Haitao was anxious when he heard it. Now the two sides have been fighting fiercely for two days and two nights, and the casualties of each other will not be small, and the thousands of people joining in will not play a big role, how to deal with it now, Wang Haitao made a mistake again.

After thinking about it for a long time, Wang Haitao didn't come up with any good way, but Wang Haitao still decisively ordered the troops to continue to move south, and first move to the south of Maolin and the team of the Jing County Security Regiment before thinking of a way. After a short rest, the troops continued to move south, and after a day and a night of arduous marching, they avoided several blockade lines of the national army before they reached the south of Maolin, and the reconnaissance team of the reconnaissance company also made contact with the Jing County Security Regiment.

After converging the Jing County Security Corps, the head of the regiment, Zhou Kui, personally reported the situation in Maolin to Wang Haitao, and Wang Haitao completely figured out what the situation was like in Maolin now. It turned out that more than 18,000 people of the New Fourth Army, including the military headquarters, encountered the blockade line of the 40th Division, which had been prepared for a long time, when the New Fourth Army sent people to negotiate with the 40th Division, the 40th Division refused to let the New Fourth Army pass through and took the initiative to open fire on the New Fourth Army, and the two sides started a battle.

Just when the 40th Division could not stop the attack of the New Fourth Army and retreated one after another, the 52nd and 108th Divisions of the Nationalist Army and the 170th Division of the Gui Army surrounded them on all sides, and with the help of the other three divisions, the 40th Division also retreated. Seeing that the momentum was not right, the New Fourth Army also occupied several hills here in Maolin, built defensive positions, and killed four divisions of the Nationalist army.

The two units had been fighting fiercely for three days and nights, and the Nationalist troops had not been able to capture the hill occupied by the New Fourth Army in turn, and the New Fourth Army could hardly break through the encirclement of the four Nationalist divisions. Now that the three divisions of the Nationalist Army on the periphery have been reinforced, the 171st Division, the 103rd Division, and the 121st Division, according to Zhou Kui's opinion, it is only a matter of time before the New Fourth Army in the encirclement is wiped out.