This operational staff officer of the 391st Regiment had once listened to the intelligence meeting between the female major of the military commander and the commander of the regimental seat and the special agent company, so he knew the superficial situation of Qin Zhongxiao's preparation to send troops to attack Little Elm Mountain at the invitation of Major Wang.

However, in the face of Li Tianlin, chief of staff of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, he couldn't say more reasons - even at the meeting of the 391st Regiment Headquarters, this topic was secretive, half-light and half-dark. In addition, both the military commander and the regimental seat have had internal orders: not to disclose any information about the activities of the agents of the Shanxi Station of the military commander in the 391st regiment to friendly forces, including the Eighth Route Army.

Seeing that the staff liaison officer of the Central Army was stammering and unable to answer the question, Li Tianlin quickly nodded assumedly, saying that Colonel Qin's battle plan may be to cut off the communication between Fengdian and Wencheng, besiege and trap the Japanese troops in Fengdian County, and bring a soldier who will surrender without a fight.

"You know what? The road in Little Elm Mountain has been opened and widened by the Japanese, and there are large trucks on the road, telephone poles and street lights on the side of the road - this is what I saw with my own eyes after our detachment leader and I sneaked into the mountain! This paragraph told by Li Tianlin is an old incident of a joint attack on the Xiaoyushu Mountain Pass with the 391st Regiment of the Central Army a long time ago, when they were still called the Second Battalion of the Xu Brigade, and the number of the Guanmenshan Detachment had not yet been established. It's just that the joint attack plan was finally declared a failure because of the sudden retreat of the 391st Regiment.

"That's great," the combat staff officer of the 391st Regiment gave a thumbs up to the other party: "Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, a hundred battles will not be defeated, it seems that our regiment took the initiative to unite with your detachment to attack Little Elm Mountain, and we really found the right person!" ”

At this moment, the chief of staff of the Xu Brigade Detachment, who was not without pride, suddenly realized that his speculation that Qin Zhongxiao was trying to occupy Little Elm Mountain and cut off the Japanese military communication between Fengdian and Wencheng was actually unlikely to be true-it was obvious that the Japanese had spent a lot of effort in Little Elm Mountain to arrange garrison troops to guard the highway connecting the military towns at the east and west ends; How could such a critical transportation artery be easily cut off by the Chinese military? What's more, the area around Wencheng and Fengdian County are all stationed with heavy Japanese troops, if Xiaoyushu Mountain is lost, the Japanese will definitely send troops from the east and west to frantically squeeze over, in that case, even if the strength of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army and the Xu Brigade Detachment is superimposed, it is still undoubtedly at a disadvantage, and finally falls into a critical situation.

So, what is the real purpose of this Colonel Qin, who insists on uniting with the Eighth Route Army to attack Little Elm Mountain?

Just in confusion, his subordinates suddenly came to report that the Hongxingxia base had sent a communication soldier!

Li Tianlin jumped up directly from his chair - this was the news he had been waiting for for more than ten hours.

The person who came was a soldier of the communications platoon of the Xu Brigade Detachment Headquarters, and he carried a handwritten letter from the detachment leader Wu Zijian to the chief of staff, which read as follows:

First, the defensive battle of Xiping Village had ended, the village was lost, and the Japanese army sent heavy troops to occupy it; The detachment headquarters of the Guanmenshan detachment, the 4th and 5th companies of the 2nd Battalion, and the 8th company of the 3rd Battalion, including the 6th company of the 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment of friendly reinforcements, were all transferred to the Guanmenshan Mountain;

Second, the detachment commander personally led the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion and the 8th Company of the 3rd Battalion to establish two lines of defense within the Guanmen Mountain Pass behind Xiping Village to prevent the Japanese army from entering the mountain to pursue and suppress, and at the same time waiting for an opportunity to counterattack Xiping;

Third, Liu Shu, the political commissar of the detachment, led the detachment headquarters and other non-combatants, as well as the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the detachment and the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment, to move to the Hongxingxia base area from now on;

Fourth, after the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the detachment arrived at Hongxingxia, it immediately went to the camp at Guanmen Mountain Pass in Hekou Village and stationed there. At the same time, Chief of Staff Li Tianlin judged the current enemy situation in the vicinity of Hekou Village, and if conditions permitted, he immediately sent people to Hongxingxia to guide the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment out of Guanmen Mountain and return to Dayushu Mountain as soon as possible.

Fifth, the first battalion and cavalry company of the detachment that jumped to the outer line of Xiping Village to fight have lost contact with each other, and it is expected that this unit has been transferred to the lower reaches of the Qinglong River and the defense area of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army.

Sixth, Wei Xin, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the detachment, and a platoon of the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion were missing during the defensive battle of Xiping Village last night, and it is very likely that they have protruded from the end of the village and withdrawn to the lower reaches of the Qinglong River.

Seventh, in order to base themselves on a tight defense, the troops of Hekou Village must ensure that the position of the Guanmen Mountain Pass in Hekou Village is not lost. On this basis, it is possible to reconnoiter the movements of the enemy forces between Hekou and Xiping as appropriate, and make preparations to cooperate with the main force of the detachment to counterattack Xiping Village.

Under the dimly lit horse lamp, Li Tianlin carefully read the detachment leader's handwritten letter twice, and finally knew it by heart.

He hurriedly informed the staff liaison officer of the 391st Regiment, who was about to leave, the whereabouts of Zhu Xingyun's company, and said that he would send the company back to the camp on Great Elm Mountain in the near future, and asked the liaison officer to inform Colonel Qin to reassure him; And thank the friendly forces for extending a helping hand in times of crisis.

After seeing off the guests, Li Tianlin immediately summoned the staff officers of the detachment headquarters - at present, the detachment headquarters of the Xu Brigade was divided into three, and the detachment leader, political commissar and chief of staff each brought some personnel by his side - as well as Lu Dajiang, the commander of the third battalion, the commander of the 7th company of the 3rd battalion, and the commander of the 6th company of the 2nd battalion held an emergency meeting to convey the instructions of the detachment commander.

At this moment, the troops under Li Tianlin's control were only the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion and the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion. The 7th Company focused on the position of the Guanmen Mountain Pass, and at the same time sent a platoon to the village of Hekou below the mountain pass, forming a horn with the mountain pass position. The 6th Company was stationed as a mobile force in the camp behind the mountain pass position.

So far, no enemy situation has been found below the mountain pass position or around the village of Hekou. It can be judged from this that the Hagiwara Brigade of the Sena Division of the Japanese Army participated in the encirclement operation of the First Army this time, and its edge did not point to the estuary.

"Why didn't the devil come to our estuary village?" The chief of staff of the Xu Brigade detachment looked at the military map on the table and was puzzled.

The commander of the third battalion, Lu Dajiang, said angrily: "Maybe our mountain pass position is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is difficult to take advantage; It is not located on the plains like Xiping Village, which is conducive to their large army to carry out offensives, so the Japanese pick up persimmons and pinch them. ”

Li Tianlin looked at his old comrade-in-arms in a daze, and nodded for a long time: "It also makes sense." In addition, Colonel Qin of the 391st Regiment has always believed that the devils in Shanxi are insufficient, and the focus is on guarding along the highways and railways, and there are not many mobile troops that can be used for encirclement and suppression. It seems that this time the Japanese concentrated their superior forces and aimed at Xiping Village. ”

"It's a pity, the detachment leader strictly ordered us to stay still, otherwise, at least our 6th Company could sneak out to the periphery of Xiping Village last night and stab the devil's side and back!" It was the commander of the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion who spoke, and he felt as aggrieved and depressed as Li Tianlin in the past two days. In particular, the friendly 391st Regiment also reinforced a company and rushed to Xiping Village to help in the battle, and the number turned out to be the same 2nd Battalion and 6th Company, which made him feel even more ashamed and even ashamed.

Li Tianlin is the chief of staff after all, and he knows how to be restrained on formal occasions, so he did not follow the whining words of the 6th company commander to vent it. He only ordered the other side to immediately dispatch a reconnaissance team to the direction of Xiping Village in the south and Fengdian County in the north to keep abreast of the enemy's latest movements.

Then, he ordered to send a signal corps to Hongxingxia, on the one hand, to inform the political commissar Liu Shu and copy a series of important information just sent by the detachment leader Wu Zijian and the 391st Regiment of the Central Army; On the other hand, the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army was brought forward.

"Tell your reconnaissance team," Li Tianlin grabbed the commander of the 6th company who was about to leave: "Pay special attention to the whereabouts of the first battalion and the cavalry company of the search detachment, as well as the whereabouts of your second battalion commander Wei Xin - they may not be able to go far, maybe they will be cruising on both sides of the Qinglong River south of Xiping Village." I am worried that the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army has a normal relationship with our Xu Brigade detachment, and may not allow the Eighth Route Army to delay too long in their defense area. ”

The location of the brigade headquarters of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army: Pingquan County, has just held a battle celebration to celebrate the successful ambush of the unit and the defeat of the invading Japanese army in one fell swoop.

According to the relevant battle report, the brigade headquarters has telegraphed to the headquarters of the commander of the Second Theater Yan Xishan in Xi County, southwest of Shanxi Province, and all the officers participating in the battle, from the brigade commander down, have already reported their merits.

However, after the celebration party was full of wine and food, they received a telegram from the headquarters of Commander Yan, which contained the content of Wen Yan rewarding the 12th Brigade for its exploits, and another piece of information revealed during the period made the brigade commander, Major General Zheng Yuan, take a heavy startle: The headquarters of the First Army of the Japanese army in Shanxi is organizing four divisions and one division to encircle and suppress the Taihang Mountains in central and southern Shanxi on all sides!

Only then did Zheng Yuan understand that the Japanese army that was defeated by them at night two days ago was the Sena Division that participated in the battle on all sides! In addition, in Qinyuan County, which is only about 60 miles southeast of Pingquan County, the 84th Division of the Central Army, which is defending the army, was also fiercely attacked by another division of the Sena Division, and the attack is still ongoing.

After a while, fear swept through the heart of the commander of the independent brigade of the Jin army - thank God, Pingquan County did not become the target of the devil's attack this time! They should have focused on encircling and suppressing the territory of the Eighth Route Army forty miles to the north and at the western foot of Guanmen Mountain, so the infantry cavalry of the Xu Brigade detachment retreated into the defense area of the Jin army at night. As a result, in a daze, he set up an ambush with the Eighth Route Army to meet the enemy, and even succeeded in one blow, which can be regarded as God's blessing!

Brigade Commander Zheng Yuan immediately summoned the regimental and battalion-level officers under his command, collectively consulted the telegram from the headquarters of Commander Yan, and focused on the direction of the Japanese First Army's Shanxi First Army to encircle and fight on all sides.

"From Zhengtai Road in the north, Pinghan Road in the east, Tunlin Road in the south, and Tongpu Road in the west, the little devil's move this time is really not small!" Pointing to the huge military map, Zheng Yuan said to his subordinates uneasily: "The other three roads are far away from us, and only the Tongpu Road directly threatens our army. ”

The chief of staff of the brigade headquarters added that based on the comprehensive analysis of the telegrams from the commander's department, it can be determined that the Sena Division of the Japanese Army on the same road and the two brigades under its command each sent troops from their strongholds—the Hagiwara Brigade stationed in Wencheng sent troops to attack the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army at the foot of Guanmen Mountain; The Kato Brigade, stationed in Linfen, made a long-distance attack on the 84th Division of the Central Army in Qinyuan County. From this point of view, it seems that the 12th Brigade of our independence is not included in the scope of the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression.

When Tian Mingda, the commander of the 570th regiment, heard this, he suddenly slapped his head and shouted loudly: "There is a debtor who has been wronged, and the Japanese are taking revenge!" A few days ago, the Headquarters of the Second World War Zone Health Commander just commended the attack troops that attacked Tongpulu, and the 84th Division of the Central Army and the 2nd Battalion of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army were not on the list! Now they have changed their name to the Xu Brigade Detachment. ”

As soon as the words fell, the officers present suddenly shook each other and nodded their heads one after another.

Brigade Commander Zheng Yuan suddenly said: "Then the 391st Regiment of the Central Army must have also been attacked-the last time they attacked Tongpu Road, they were the absolute main force." ”

The chief of staff of the brigade headquarters pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "It seems that it is still the best policy for us to garrison Pingquan County, and to maintain obscurity, at least we will not attract the active attack of the Japanese troops along the Tongpu Road that are close at hand." However, the battle we fought two days ago, in retrospect, was it a bit risky? ”

As soon as these words came out, the officers of the 12th Brigade of the Independent Brigade, who had been immersed in the festive atmosphere of the great victory of defeating the Japanese army, were in a bad mood all of a sudden, looked at each other, and no one could speak.