Thankfully, after the second attack of the day, the Japanese did not launch a new offensive for the rest of the day and at night, and Fengdian entered the first dark night of the war in fear.

It was a real sleepless night.

Qin Zhongxiao was sure that the Japanese army had suspended its siege plan due to successive defeats during the day, so he adjusted the strength of the army at hand overnight, and he mixed the Jin soldiers who were unwilling to flee with the 570th Regiment (including only one second lieutenant platoon commander), a total of 273 people, into the existing three battalions of the 391st Regiment, which could not only allow them to regain the command of their commanders, but also prevent them from concentrating in one place and changing again.

After the adjustment, the layout was as follows: the third battalion guarded the north city, the second battalion guarded the east city, the first battalion was changed to the west city, and the special service company focused on guarding the south gate of the south city. The south gate is the farthest from the Japanese army, unless the Japanese army changes the attack plan and turns to a siege, the south side of the defense pressure is the least, the spy company has less than a hundred people, although it is not enough to defend a city wall, but it is enough to defend a city gate.

About 2,000 young and middle-aged people in the city were temporarily requisitioned to the walls of the four cities in the evening to assist in the defense. Here was Xia Lily's husband, the shopkeeper Wang, and he and five or six hundred other young men were assigned to the walls of the southern city to monitor the movements under the city. After going up to the city wall, the king shopkeeper found that there were no soldiers in the entire southern city wall, and he only saw the familiar spy company Zhao Company Commander leading his subordinates to guard the top and bottom of the city gate tower.

At present, the 391st Regiment has completely lost contact with the outside world.

In fact, after the 391st regiment retreated to Fengdian at the end of last year, it has never contacted Shangfeng. The Central Army Division to which it belonged had been dispersed, and the radio could not contact the brigade headquarters and division headquarters; Its remnants retreated with the rest of the Central Army to the southernmost tip of Shanxi.

At that time, the 391st Regiment had faithfully carried out the order of fighting in the field outside Taiyuan City and assisting Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army to defend Taiyuan, so it retreated relatively late, and was almost besieged by the Japanese army in the mountains east of Taiyuan.

In the past two months in Fengdian, Qin Zhongxiao and the 570th Regiment of the 12th Brigade of the Independent Brigade have made a division of labor, each guarding the city defense on both sides; And in this daytime when the guns were roaring, the 570th Regiment of the "Sitting Households" who had not fired a single shot also despicably said goodbye, and the 391st Regiment of the Central Army in the dark night became a completely lonely and lonely brigade.

……

At night, Xia Lily and Sun Nier's master and servant hid in the master's bedroom in the backyard, relatively silent. After dinner, the king's shopkeeper asked someone to bring a message: he and a group of young and strong people were sent to the south city wall to guard, and they did not return all night. Xia Lily was frightened and called Sun Nier from the wing room as a companion. The four-year-old child was already asleep, and Xia Lily began to bow her head and silently chant the Buddha.

Sun Nier suddenly said: "Madam, my right eyelid keeps jumping, could it be that this county town can't be defended?" ”

Xia Baiyi was startled, looked up at the maid, and then lowered his head and silently read more urgently.

Sun Nier paused, and said to herself: "Our whole family is nested in the house, I don't know the news that Nancheng will open in the afternoon, otherwise we should also escape from the city and run to Pingquan's mother's house, which is a hundred and ten miles away from here, and the little devil can't beat it for a while." I heard that when the 570th Regiment fled during the day, the south gate was wide open, and many ordinary people took advantage of the chaos to run out. ”

Xia Lily raised her head and whispered to the maid in distraught: "Dead Nizi, what's the use of saying this at this time!" ”

How did Sun Nier know that when the Jin army fled during the day, her hostess was in this bedroom and her husband Yushui was having a good time. The heartless maid continued to nag: "Our mother's family in Pingquan County still has more than a dozen fast guns, and they can hold on to it for a while." It's like this, I don't even have a big knife, the little devil really came in, what can we do? ”

Xia Lihe shouted with a crying voice: "Don't say it, okay!" ”

Sun Nier was taken aback, and then realized that she was open-mouthed, and hurriedly stepped forward to hug the beautiful housewife and comfort her. Xia Lily's suddenly raised crying voice may have frightened the child on the kang, and the babbling cry rang out.

……

Even across the yard, Qin Zhongxiao in the regiment headquarters faintly heard the cry of a child coming from the backyard, which was particularly breathtaking on this dangerous winter night. Qin Zhongxiao calmed down and asked the chief of staff how the task of re-erecting telephone lines to Xicheng and Nancheng was going: In the afternoon, Tian Mingda shamelessly fled with his subordinates, not only dismantling the telephone, but also cutting many telephone lines. This son of a bitch!

The chief of staff finally informed Qin Zhongxiao that the phones in Xicheng and Nancheng were connected, and Qin Zhongxiao immediately wanted to call Zhao Mutou in Nancheng. He wanted to ask his spy company commander if he still had confidence in going out of the city at night to attack the devil's camp?

The reason why Qin Zhongxiao still remembered the night attack plan planned during the day under the grim situation that a regiment of the Jin army had escaped, was also because in terms of the current strength of the enemy and our army, it was difficult to hold on to the county seat to the end. The devil entered the mountains with heavy artillery this time, undoubtedly to conquer this lonely city in the mountains (as for why, the colonel of the Central Army has no time to think about it). In the battle between artillery and non-artillery, the city wall was the only trump card of the defenders, but after only two rounds of shelling during the day, the wall of the northern city had collapsed in many places, one of which almost became a breakthrough for the Japanese army to enter the city in the afternoon. If this continues, as the gaps in the walls become more and more numerous and wider, the defending line will eventually collapse under the repeated onslaught of the Japanese infantry.

We must find a way to deal with the devil's heavy artillery!

Zhao Mutou still had a resolute attitude, and the spy company commander standing in the gate tower of Nancheng City, holding the telephone in one hand and his cotton military hat in the other, was making a generous statement to the regiment commander. He was not as far-sighted as the colonel of the Central Army, but he felt that it was too much to shrink into the city and let the little Japanese shells smash around, so he should release a surprise army and deal with it fiercely.

Hearing that the spy company commander was so aggressive, Qin Zhongxiao had a number in his heart. Time is running out, and if you don't do it tonight, it's hard to say whether the city defense will be able to hold up until dark tomorrow. He didn't want the old and serious chief of staff to get in the way, so he ordered the chief of staff to go to Dongcheng in person, mobilize and lead a company there to the south gate to change the guard; Zhao Mutou and his spy company, after receiving the change of guard from the chief of staff, immediately left the south gate to report to the regiment headquarters!

The chief of staff knew what Qin Zhongxiao's purpose was in making such a transfer, and he had the intention to dissuade him, but in the face of the regiment commander with a frown and a murderous face, he finally shook his head and left with a sigh.

The colonel of the Central Army, who is in a desperate situation, is ready to make a desperate bet tonight!