The commander of the Japanese Hagiwara Brigade, Shigehei Saijo, commanded two squadrons of the 2nd Infantry Brigade under his command, and pursued the retreating footsteps of the Eighth Route Army directly in front with difficulty and stubbornness.

Of course, the artillery squadron reinforced by the wing headquarters to the 2nd Infantry Brigade was also in pursuit, and the seven 92nd infantry guns (two from the artillery squad of the 2nd Infantry Brigade) pushed against the vast night mosaic, and from time to time fired blind shells at the front and flank, thus making this night battle particularly rumbling.

According to rough estimates, the pursuit has so far traveled about a dozen miles, and the direction has always been due south. The small group of scouts who were on guard on the left flank confirmed several times that the entire force was moving south along the eastern bank of the Qinglong River.

For Shigehei Saijo, both the Seiryu River itself and the downstream area of the river are extremely unfamiliar. The military map of the operational staff officer marked six or seven villages south of Xiping Village and on both sides of the Qinglong River, and there is no doubt that the area and population of these villages are of a certain size before they will be identified on the map. In addition, there are many more small villages scattered among them. Further south, the only important town is Pingquan County, forty miles away from Xiping Village, where a separate infantry brigade of Yan Xishan is said to be stationed.

"We must speed up the pursuit, and we can't let this group of soldiers drag us south indefinitely!" Wing Captain Saijo gave instructions to the squadron leader who was rushing to the forefront through the walkie-talkie.

At this time, his two infantry squadrons, one in pursuit, the other followed with the truck team, ready to outflank the main force of the Shina army after the front team bit it. However, the infantry squadron in front was never able to get close to the Chinese army, and the distance between the two armies was maintained less than a mile.

The squadron leader who received the order began to complain on the walkie-talkie, saying that the night was too dark to see the formation of the Chinese army fleeing in front. What's even more odious is that the other party just took advantage of the cover of the night, stopping from time to time to turn around and make a block in the process of evading. It makes the pursuers shrink back, and it is difficult to let go of the chase in great strides.

The Japanese wing captain was so angry that his nostrils smoked - this situation seems to be more and more like a "drag knife plan" by the Eighth Route Army envoy! But until this moment, Saijo Shigehei never believed that the enemy would have a well-planned heavy army with a pocket formation in front.

Soon, the squadron leader at the front came with information again, and the Eighth Route Army reopened its blocking position, but this time it seemed to be different, and the opponent's position and firepower became more calm and open than before. Saijo Daisa's heart moved, and he immediately ordered the people in the wing headquarters around him to quickly transport the few remaining flares to the forward squadron in order to find out.

When the two flares rose into the air one after the other, the Japanese finally understood: a large river bay appeared in front of them, which was formed by the alluvium of the Qinglong River from the river channel to the right; Along the bend of the river, a village sits impressively in the eye. After several examinations against the military map, Saijo Daisa and his subordinates confirmed that the troops had arrived outside a village called Ewhaura. It was from this village that the fire of the Chinese soldiers came from, and it was clear that they had entered and occupied the village, relying on the buildings and the terrain to prepare for a more resolute resistance.

However, the Japanese wing commander and his subordinates did not know that in this Lihuapu village built by the river bay, there had been a conflict between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army in the previous period, and a capture team with a secret mission collided head-on with a cavalry of the Eighth Route Army here. But at that time, Saijo Shigehei and his wing were still trapped in the lofty mountains and mountains of southwest Jin, so they knew nothing about the small intensity of the encounter.

What they didn't know was that at this moment, there was still the original team of cavalry of the Eighth Route Army, quietly moving to the east bank of the Qinglong River, monitoring the swarming Japanese army through the shallow water surface that could flood the horses' hooves.

With the light of the flares that erupted in the air just now, Captain Saijo and his two infantry squadron leaders and an artillery squadron leader all noticed the not-so-small scale of the village in front of them, and also saw the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army nervously deployed at the edge of the village.

Could it be that this is the lair of the Eighth Route Army?! Shigehei Saijo was faintly excited, and if his guess was correct, it might mean that this long chase, which had been fought hard in the dark night, had finally reached its end.

He asked one of the staff officers next to him to turn on the flashlight, looked at the watch on his wrist, and was a little unconvinced of the arrival of this good fortune - damn the dirt eight roads, don't run anymore, the imperial army will dig your final grave here!

Another flare rose into the sky, which Captain Saijo used to observe and chart the route of the impending attack - not unlike the scene on the banks of the Qinglong River in the village of Saiping, where the shallow water in front of them became a fear for the Imperial infantry, and no one would want to wade their heavy suede shoes into the water this season, if not out of necessity.

"The artillery set up positions here and bombarded the village across the river," Shigehei Saijo, who loved the soldiers, gave the order: "A squadron of infantry bypasses the river bend and attacks from the right flank of the village!" Another squadron, acting as a reserve, stood by behind the artillery positions. ”

Several Japanese commanders unanimously agreed that the total strength of the Eighth Route Army should be in the hundreds, but they lacked heavy weapons, and apart from a few light machine guns, they were completely unsupported by artillery fire and heavy machine guns. This meant that they would have little success in holding the village on the edge of the river bend - after struggling for half the night, it was time to gather them together and annihilate them in one fell swoop!

On this night, battle reports from the three battlefields were frequently collected through radio waves to the headquarters of the Japanese Hagiwara Brigade in Bunjo.

And as time passed, Akira Hagiwara, the brigade commander who was squatting in the headquarters like a trapped beast, had more and more ominous premonitions.

The chief of staff of the brigade, Kawabe Daisa, also returned to Major General Hagiwara after deploying the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing to the county seat of Toyodian in the western suburbs of Bunjo. As for Masao Kojima, the head of the secret service in Bunjo, he has been stranded in the brigade headquarters.

What these three Japanese chiefs were most concerned about at this time was undoubtedly the sudden exchange of fire inside and outside Little Elm Mountain.

Kosuke Otsuka, the co-captain of Toyodian County, is the commander-in-chief responsible for urgently encircling several mountain passes at the eastern foot of Xiaoyushu Mountain, however, judging from the situation reported by Co-Captain Otsuka one by one, it can be said that it is becoming more and more anxious and worrying. The Zhina Army, which suddenly appeared under Fengdian City and at the eastern foot of Little Elm Mountain, could basically be judged to be the main force of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army.

This sudden military situation was even more surprising than the sudden appearance of a small group of Chinese troops near the Songjiagou secret camp in Xiaoyushu Mountain.

"The heavy artillery bombardment of the county is definitely a feint!" The sensitive brigade commander Akira Hagiwara suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted: "Snatching the exit of Little Elm Mountain is the real purpose of the Shina Army!" ”

As soon as Hagiwara Akira said this, he immediately affected the head of the secret service agency: "General, then the situation is already clear - the small force that attacked Songjiagou tonight should be sent by the 391st Regiment of the Central Army!" That's why the ministry was able to appear at the eastern foot of Little Elm Mountain in time, in order to meet the small force in the mountain! ”

There was a moment of silence in the brigade headquarters, and one of the major generals and two Dazuo present looked at each other, all of them quickly assessing the severity of this result in their hearts.

After a long time, the chief of staff of the riverside first broke the silence and said in a worried tone: "The 391st Regiment of the Central Army...... Could it be that they have insight into the situation in the Songjiagou comfort women's secret camp? That's why I'm ready to do ......."

Unexpectedly, this sentence was a specious speculation, and it deeply struck the hearts of the commander of the Hagiwara Brigade and the head of the Kojima Agency, and the faces of the two Japanese chiefs appeared with painful expressions almost at the same time.

Masao Kojima's inner shock was particularly intense, before that, he had always believed that the anti-Japanese organization Blue Coat Society, which was active in the underground of Bunjo, had captured the clues about the "Wind Project"; However, the firefight that occurred inside and outside Little Elm Mountain tonight clearly pointed to the 391st Regiment of the Central Army! This is undoubtedly an even greater omen - no matter how cunning and difficult the Blue Coat Society is, after all, it belongs to a latent spy organization, and it is lonely; But once the army of the Chinese army is involved, the situation will suddenly be much more critical, if they want to open the secret near the Songjiagou railway station in Xiaoyushu Mountain, they can directly send heavy troops to carry out the siege! What's more, there is already intelligence that the 391st Regiment of the Central Army, which is shrinking in Great Elm Mountain, is closely in collusion with the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army entrenched in Guanmen Mountain, and can act together at any time.

Kojima Masao expressed his concerns worriedly, and as he listened, the bloodshot eyes of the brigade commander on the opposite side, Major General, couldn't help but slowly release a fierce light: "There is a saying in the people of China, it is called that if you are not enemies, you don't get together!" If the 391st Regiment of the Central Army is indeed playing the idea of the Songjiagou secret camp, then tonight is the best fighter to completely solve this hidden danger! ”

Chief of Staff Kawabe Daisa immediately nodded vigorously: "That's right, General!" At this moment, the Otsuka Wing and the Saijo Wing, intentionally or unintentionally, exchanged fire with the 391st Regiment of the Central Army and the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, which may be the will of heaven - if our troops seize tonight's fighter and annihilate the main forces of these two Zhina armies in one fell swoop, the public security situation in this area will be too peaceful from now on! ”

With the spiritual support of his subordinates, the commander of the Japanese brigade suddenly stood up from behind the table, and slammed the table with his hands into fists: "Then play out all our hole cards!" The herald ordered the Nara Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing in the eastern suburbs of Wencheng to immediately mobilize and load trucks and rush to Xiping Village, Guanmen Mountain, to reinforce the encirclement and annihilation of the Eighth Route Army! ”

The Nara Infantry Brigade mentioned by Hagiwara Akira is currently the last mobile force of the entire Hagiwara Brigade, and it is stationed in the barracks on the eastern outskirts of Bunjo on weekdays, instigating the security of Bunjo and the mountain passes at the western foot of Little Elm Mountain. In addition, the infantry brigade is not fully manned, and a squadron has been dispatched to the southern outskirts of Wencheng to support the secret capture of the women of China, and only three squadrons are left on standby at the moment.

The commander of the Japanese brigade ordered this card to be played, and it did have the flavor of a desperate bet.