The desperate night battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese puppet army in Hekou Village was caught up by the liaison officer sent by the 391st Regiment of the Central Army not long after the battle began.

The liaison officer was the captain and company commander of the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment, and the last time he was ordered to go to Hekou Village to take the initiative to invite the Eighth Route Army to join forces. But this time, when they came again, they were driven back to the mountains by the Japanese army. Qin Zhongxiao's intention was to ask the liaison officer to inform the 2nd Battalion of the Lin Division of the sudden change in the enemy's situation, and the original plan to jointly capture Little Elm Mountain was postponed.

The entire 391st Regiment from top to bottom did not know that Wu Zijian had actually led an elite main force company to accurately wedge into the hinterland of the Japanese army in Little Elm Mountain, but in the end he returned in vain due to the defeat of the Central Army. And this captain, the company commander liaison officer, when he led people out of the mountains to Hekou Village this time, the Japanese puppet army that reoccupied Fengdian had not yet begun to transfer troops, so they walked on the way to Hekou Village, but they were completely unprepared for the imminent sweep there.

But then the puppet Mongolian cavalry from Fengdian swept past them, and then the Japanese trucks also whined past. The captain's liaison officer went out this time to change into civilian clothes and did not ride a horse—Fengdian was recaptured by the Japanese army, and the outside of Great Elm Mountain was full of enemies, and they no longer dared to wear military uniforms and ride horses—at this time, they could only lie on the wasteland in a daze, watching the Japanese puppet army pierce the night and hurry forward, not realizing that the destination they were going to be the same as their own. At that moment, the liaison officer and his subordinates were less than ten miles away from Hekou Village.

When they followed the fierce gunfire, they realized that the Japanese puppet army in Fengdian was aiming at the small village where the Eighth Route Army was stationed. Of course, the captain's liaison officer couldn't understand why the Eighth Route Army here annoyed the devils, so much so that the other party wanted to send a large group of men and horses to attack at night. Having visited Hekou Village, he clearly remembered that the 2nd Battalion of the Lin Division only placed a company of troops here, at best about 200 people; And the Japanese puppet army that opened up from Fengdian just now is afraid of no less than six or seven hundred people; By the headlights of the rear car, the liaison officer and his subordinates saw that two trucks were still dragging Type 92 infantry guns with wheels in the tail (there should be mortars in the cars!). ）。

The liaison officer felt that something was wrong, and he asked his subordinates in a low voice: It was our Central Army that attacked the county seat, but why didn't the little devil go into the mountains to retaliate against us, but instead ran to the territory of the Eighth Route Army to make a big move?

They couldn't guess why, so they decided to return the favor quickly. After all, the two armies are now friendly forces, and when one side is in trouble, the other side cannot stand idly by.

At this time, the colonel of the Central Army in the Great Elm Mountain had already learned the information that the Japanese army had opened the south gate of Fengdian overnight and that a large group of cavalry and cars had driven out. Qin Zhongxiao, who had not yet gone to bed, suddenly became vigilant - the Japanese had just transported a large number of troops from Fengdian, and now they were sending troops from the south gate, where was there any emergency and they had to be dispatched at night?

While asking people to quickly call the chief of staff, he recalled the telegram exchange he had just exchanged with the military commander agents who were lurking in Wencheng: he called the second intelligence group of Shanxi Station, first, to inform him of the news that Major Wang Suihua and Lieutenant Li Yan had left the 391st Regiment and returned, and secondly, to inquire about the situation of the battle on the front line of Nantongpu Road at this moment.

Liu, the elder of the radio station of the second intelligence group, replied to inform him that Linfen had just fallen, and the headquarters of the prefect of the Second War Zone had been forced to withdraw, and the relocation had not yet been determined.

The colonel of the Central Army was not surprised by the loss of Linfen, but since Linfen had been lost, the Japanese army should be in a winning posture now, why did it still transfer troops and horses from Fengdian in such a hurry and without stopping?

Aren't they going to the front line of Nantong Pulu?

This sudden realization of the train of thought suddenly made Qin Zhongxiao think of the Eighth Route Army, and thought of Wu Zijian of the Second Battalion of the Lin Division - it's bad, the Japanese puppet army in Fengdian may be going to attack them!

The last time Wu Zijian took people to Fengdian for a meeting, he once talked about how the second battalion of the Lin Division had ambushed the cavalry of the Japanese Sena Division, and also defeated a cavalry of the puppet Mongolian army at the foot of Guanmen Mountain. Perhaps, it was the fight against the puppet Mongolian army at the door of his own house that attracted the attention of the enemy army in Fengdian.

"The sixth company commander hasn't come back yet? Is there any news from the Eighth Route Army? ”

As soon as Chief of Staff Zhang Hong came in, Qin Zhongxiao asked. Zhang Hong also came to Dao and just learned that the Japanese puppet army in Fengdian left Nancheng overnight, but he didn't think that they were going to the Eighth Route Army: the Eighth Route garrison of only one or two hundred people was worth the Japanese puppet army making such a big move in the middle of the night?

"Didn't come back. You know, they wear civilian clothes and carry guns, and they don't dare to go to these mountain passes in the west anymore, for fear that they will bump into devils near the county seat when they go out of the mountains; It should be in our big elm mountain all the way to the south, from the southernmost mountain, and then to Guanmen Mountain. I'm afraid it will take an extra day. But I guess I'm almost to the small village where I'm camping on the Eighth Road. ”

"I suspect that the Japanese puppet army that left Nancheng tonight is going to attack the Eighth Route Station, and maybe they chose this hour to attack at night."

"Can't it be to support Nantong Pulu?" Zhang Hong still held an attitude of disbelief.

"I don't think it's possible," Qin Zhongxiao had already walked to the sand table with a few horse lanterns hanging above: "If you want to support Tongpu Road, you should take the Little Elm Mountain Benwen City, and then go south along Tongpu Road, whether it is a railway or a road, it is very fast." The Japanese army that drove away before was exactly this number. ”

The chief of staff pointed to the gap between Guanmen Mountain and Little Elm Mountain on the sand table, and retorted: "If they go out of the south gate and take this route, they can also reach the towns along the Nantongpu Road." ”

Qin Zhongxiao shook his head contemplatively: "Theoretically, it works, but have you considered it, this route is all wasteland wilderness, even if you ride a horse or a car, it is far better to take the Little Elm Mountain Road to Wencheng, and then turn south into it is easier and faster." This group of Japanese puppet troops dispatched at night, if it was for the purpose of fighting with the front line of Pulu, it should be urgent, and there was no reason to march on the difficult road. What's more, the Japanese army had just conquered Linfen, and the defense that the Wei commander could support was already quite limited, and the Sena division did not need to be so anxious to ask for troops to the rear. ”

The chief of staff was silent, his eyes were still fixed on the sand table, but in his heart he already agreed with the analysis of the regimental seat.

Zhao Mutou, the commander of the spy company, ran in excitedly: "Tuanzuo, I heard that the devils in Fengdian County have withdrawn again, should we kill Guisun again?!" ”

The colonel of the Central Army couldn't help but laugh. This bamboo pole can always guess what is on his mind, and it seems more appropriate for him to be his chief of staff: "You are in the county, don't you have any information back?" ”

"My Lord Tuanza, the little devil doesn't open the city gate, you let my people fly out from the city wall to spread information?" Zhao Mutou asked with a grin.

The chief of staff couldn't get used to Zhao Mutou's casualness and presumptuousness in front of Qin Zhongxiao, this kid was spoiled by the regiment seat and sent by the division headquarters, so he has always been unruly: "If the city gate is not opened, the information will not be transmitted?" Then what do you want your subordinates to do in the county? Helping the beef and mutton shop kill pigs and sell meat? ”

"Chief of Staff, the beef and mutton shop doesn't kill pigs, be careful when you speak, the backers will make trouble for you when they hear it." Zhao Mutou kicked his nose in the face, and simply teased the chief of staff again.

Zhang Hong's face darkened, and he was about to have a seizure, but Qin Zhongxiao suddenly said:

"People can't fly out, so it's okay to get a few pigeons to fly out. In ancient times, the flying pigeon passed the book, but it was exquisite. ”

Zhao Mutou's eyes suddenly lit up: "Why didn't I think of it?" Ahh One of my subordinates in the company was a Shanghainese, and before he joined the army, he used to play with pigeons on the roof of the alley, and according to him, he was very good at raising them. As soon as this guy is idle, he will be able to talk to the people around him about raising pigeons, and he should be able to understand what you said about flying pigeons! ”

Qin Zhongxiao praised it greatly, and felt that there was a lot of hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the spy company, so he immediately asked Zhao Mutou to take this matter as a serious matter.

"Then we still can't hit Fengdian?" Receiving the approval of the group, Zhao Mutou became more and more encouraged: "I estimate that there are so many little devils who have been pulled out, and there are only one or two hundred people left in the county right now. When the time comes, my brothers who remain in the city will certainly take the initiative to join forces with the outside and find an opportunity to open the gates of the city. ”

"Don't make a mistake," Zhang Hong didn't want the spy company commander to perform like this, after all, he was still the chief of staff of the regiment, how could he allow a small captain and company commander to point fingers in front of the regimental seat: "Our machine gun company has just been formed, and the firepower for coordinated attack is insufficient, in case the Japanese army uses heavy weapons at the head of the city, it will cause heavy casualties to our troops deployed in the wilderness." ”

"Can't the two gaps in the north wall be used to make a fuss?" Qin Zhongxiao looked directly at his chief of staff and asked.

Zhang Hong resolutely shook his head in denial, pointing out that the 391st Regiment had just defended the two gaps in the northern city wall as a defender, and the Japanese Otsuka Wing who was besieging the city at that time used two 92-step guns to carry out the bombardment, which had proved to have little effect. If it weren't for our army's decision to take the initiative to give up Fengdian, the Japanese would have wanted to fight the wishful thinking of those two gaps, but I am afraid that it would not be so easy.

Now that the attack and defense have changed hands, and the two sides have changed their identities, the 391st Regiment only has one Type 92 infantry gun for flat fire, and the other is a mortar, and both guns are captured by the Japanese army, and the shells are not abundant. Such weak artillery firepower is a drop in the bucket to support the infantry who are attacking. Even if the Japanese troops defending Fengdian were insufficient, in terms of firepower, there should be a sufficient number of rifle guns and mortars, grenadiers, and light and heavy machine guns, and let them play a condescending role, and the 391st Regiment, which lacked experience in attacking fortified positions, would surely suffer a lot of casualties.

If the 391st Regiment could not be attacked for a long time, the Japanese army took advantage of its communication advantage to dispatch troops back to reinforce and attack from inside and outside, which would inevitably cause great confusion in the hearts of our army, and even be defeated under the city, and even the chance of retracting back to Big Elm Mountain was very slim.

Listening to the chief of staff's analysis, everyone in the room, including Qin Zhongxiao, fell silent. Although Qin Zhongxiao did not look down on the chief of staff's sleek sophistication, he still admired and relied on his military talents. The above well-founded analysis almost gives a death sentence to the possible assault on the county, and there is no room for manoeuvre. Zhao Mutou was already licking his chapped lips and began to scold his mother with his mouth.

In peacetime, based on the judgment of the chief of staff alone, Qin Zhongxiao would have completely canceled the attack according to his words. However, a few hours later, the situation took a shocking turn - the commander of the sixth company sent to Guanmen Mountain to contact the Eighth Route Army ran back from the main road at the risk of death, bringing with him a situation that confirmed the accuracy of Qin Zhongxiao's judgment:

The Japanese puppet army attacked Hekou Village at night, and the second battalion of the Forest Division of the Eighth Route Army has fully met the enemy!