The poignant sound of the emergency assembly call has been floating in the night sky of Xiping Village, and the two remnants of the second battalion of the Eighth Route Army's Forest Division struggled to break free from the entanglement of the Japanese army, fighting and retreating.

Feng Changzhi, the commander of the second battalion, had already issued an order to the departments at the head of the village, at the end of the village, and to the west of the village: the first step was to withdraw across the Qinglong River and continue to block the enemy at the preset positions on the opposite bank; In the second step, all of them withdrew into the Guanmen Mountain Pass one after another, turned into the mountain, and moved closer to the camp of the 8th Company of Hongxingxia.

Xiping Village is a large village, and the Qinglong River, which flows from north to south, passes through the center of the village, dividing the whole village into east and west halves. Feng Changzhi's deployment was to first withdraw the troops to the east bank of the Qinglong River, and use the courtyard walls of the houses on the east bank as a cover to block the Japanese troops who were chasing and killing from the other side of the river. The surface of the Qinglong River, which is covered by ice and snow, is more than 20 zhang wide, flat as a mirror, unobstructed, and once the Japanese army enters this open field, it will be severely attacked by the fire of the second battalion.

The captain of the Japanese army, Tyuming Shaozuo, who came to the west of the village to command, had already understood at this moment that the Eighth Route Army's non-stop trumpet was a signal to shrink its forces and retreat, and Shaozo couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy in his heart: This stubborn and die-hard branch of the army finally couldn't withstand the onslaught of the imperial army. In the past few fierce battles, his infantry brigade has lost its troops, and if it continues to fight, the outcome is unpredictable - he does not want to suffer heavy losses in the village at the foot of this mountain. Shao Zuo looked at his watch, just after midnight, if the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side retreated to Guanmen Mountain behind him, the battle would be over in less than two hours.

Tyumen Shaozo immediately issued an order: After the two infantry squadrons distributed on the left and right entered the village, occupy the commanding heights of the houses, and do not rush to pursue for the time being, and at the same time each team was divided into a squad to seize the head and tail of the village, and block the enemy's escape route to the north and south. In the center, an infantry squadron occupies the favorable terrain in the village and covers the machine gun squadron to set up firing points; Another infantry squadron, quickly intervening, went to meet the assault team that had infiltrated the village before rescuing the prisoners of war.

At this moment, the commanders and fighters of the 2nd Battalion of the Eighth Route Army Forest Division finally withdrew to the east bank of the Qinglong River, and under the moonlight, they could see the Japanese soldiers climbing on the roofs of village houses on the opposite bank and all the concealments that could be used. Feng Changzhi seized the slowed pace of the Japanese army, organized two platoons of the 6th and 7th companies, and arranged the second line of defense on the east bank. He had already arranged for the instructor of the 7th Company to lead the rest of the 7th Company's troops to the area of the Guanmen Mountain Pass to take over the new recruit company there to set up the third and final line of defense.

At this time, the commander of the second battalion received a report that a small group of Japanese soldiers had just been found near the village office, and the instructor had led people to besiege them, and some of them had been eliminated, and the rest might have fled and hid in private houses, and a search was underway. Feng Changzhi was taken aback: Where did the Japanese soldiers come from? How did you actually touch the village office!

When Feng Changzhi learned of this sudden situation, Liu Shu had actually led people to capture the village office, and safely rescued Zhang Xiu, a female soldier who had just been held hostage by the Japanese army.

After inspection, five Japanese corpses were found inside and outside the village office, one wounded soldier who was shot in the leg was captured alive, and an unknown number of Japanese soldiers escaped. Zhang Xiu took advantage of the chaos to hide in a small courtyard not far from the village office, and only ran out of the courtyard to ask for help until it was confirmed that it was the soldiers of the second battalion of the Lin Division who rushed over.

Seeing the instructor Liu Shu, who was carrying a pony pistol and looking anxious, and his comrades in the second battalion beside him, Zhang Xiu was filled with joy and sorrow, and cried out loud. Liu Shu handed the gun to the messenger beside him, hugged the beautiful female soldier who was crying and couldn't stop comforting her.

"Instructor, I thought I'd never see you and my comrades again!" Zhang Xiu, who was overly frightened, still had palpitations: "Little devils, little devils are so fierce." ”

Liu Shu gently patted Zhang Xiu's back with one hand to soothe her, and asked eagerly in her ear in a low voice: "Devil soldier, didn't you do anything to you?" At the same time, the other hand subconsciously touched the button on the collar of the female clerical cotton military uniform.

Zhang Xiu didn't understand the deep meaning of the instructor's question, so she just shook her head and didn't answer, she was still trembling, and she didn't notice the small movements that Liu Shu made on her neckline. This couldn't help but make Liu Shu more and more anxious, but at this time, the two of them were surrounded by soldiers, and of course Liu Shu was not good at asking further questions.

"That's right, instructor," Zhang Xiu suddenly raised the head that was originally lying on Liu Shu's shoulder, which also made her leave Liu Shu's embrace: "These little devils are here to find those captives!" It's the Japanese cavalry that we captured alive last time. ”

Liu Shu was stunned, reached out to get his pony back from the communicator's hand, and asked, "How do you know?" ”

"There was a traitor among them, and he asked me where the captives were." Zhang Xiu wiped the tears from her face and replied. The deputy battalion commander of the cavalry of the puppet Mongolian army who interrogated Zhang Xiu just now, although he was training in the cavalry company of the second battalion of the Lin Division in Xiping Village, Zhang Xiu had no impression of him, so he couldn't recognize him.

At this time, Feng Changzhi came with people, and Liu Shu immediately exchanged this information with the battalion commander.

Feng Changzhi's first reaction was that there were Japanese puppet traitor spies in Xiping Village, or that the Japanese puppets had infiltrated traitor spies into the village, otherwise, the fact that there were prisoners of war of the Sena Division's cavalry wing would not reach the ears of the Japanese army, so that the other party would send troops to rescue them.

"Battalion commander, the devil is attacking at night tonight, will it be just to rescue the prisoners of war?"

Feng Changzhi hesitated for a moment, and then denied the instructor's speculation: "It's unlikely, Lao Wu's side of Hekou Village was also attacked at night, and their side still started before our side. ”

"It's wishful thinking that the devil wants to save people. The captives were all escorted into the mountain pass by the soldiers of the recruit company I had sent, and they were bound up with all kinds of flowers, and they could not escape; No, I caught another one just now! Liu Shu pointed to the Japanese soldier lying on the ground who was wounded in the leg, and said hatefully.

Feng Changzhi took two steps towards the wounded soldier but suddenly stopped: It's a pity that there is no one here who understands Japanese, it would be nice if Xiao Junping, the captain of the enemy workers, was here. His move was seen by Zhang Xiu on the side, and the female clerk and the battalion commander's inner thoughts at this time were surprisingly consistent.

Suddenly, on the bank of the Qinglong River not far away, gunshots rang out again, and people looked in that direction; Feng Changzhi understood that the Japanese army might be about to force the river, so he briefly informed the instructor of his new defense plan and steps, and asked Liu Shu and Zhang Xiu to immediately withdraw lightly to Guanmen Mountain.

Unexpectedly, the wounded Japanese soldier who fell to the ground, listening to the increasingly fierce gunfire coming from the river bank, suddenly began to roar, and shouted words that others did not understand with a hideous face, and struggled to stand up. Before other soldiers could react, Liu Shu had already strode towards the wounded Japanese soldier, and at the same time, the pony pistol in his hand pulled the bolt with a bang, raised his hand and shot the wounded soldier in the back of the head, shooting him on the spot.

Zhang Xiu, who was close at hand, screamed in fright.

Feng Changzhi shook his head and stopped, simply waved his hand and asked Zhang Xiu and the others to withdraw quickly with the instructor, and turned around and ran towards the riverbank.

As expected by the commander of the second battalion, on the other side of the Qinglong River, a group of Japanese soldiers emerged from the bunkers of houses and courtyards, bent their waists, and stepped on the frozen Qinglong River. Wang Shuanglong and Wei Xin immediately ordered to open fire, and more than a dozen Japanese soldiers were instantly put down on the unconcealed river, and the others quickly shrank back when they saw this.

Immediately afterwards, the Japanese troops on the opposite side fired heavy machine guns, and several Type 92 heavy machine guns erected on the roofs and walls fired a rain of bullets, spraying over, forming a powerful suppressive fire network.

Under the cover of machine-gun fire from a high place, the Japanese soldiers who had just retreated came out again and squirmed towards the riverbank.

Feng Changzhi asked a few soldiers around him to quickly pass the order: all the machine guns of the 6th and 7th companies should be well hidden, ignore the enemy's heavy firepower, and specifically aim at the Japanese troops who are trying to cross the river, and absolutely not let the enemy cross the river.

Unexpectedly, the commander of the second battalion, who was in a hurry to give the order, did not pay attention to conceal it deeper, and a platoon of bullets from the Type 92 heavy machine guns swept over, and several of them hit him violently in the abdomen.

Feng Changzhi stumbled and fell on the frozen ground on the shore.

"Battalion commander! Battalion commander! ”

Several fighters, including the communicator and the bugler, rushed up in surprise and dragged their battalion commander behind the concealment. Feng Changzhi's waist was already covered with blood, and he struggled to say only one sentence to the communicator: I want the commander of the 6th company to be in charge of commanding-he immediately passed out.

Wang Shuanglong, who rushed to hear the news, was shocked and painful when he saw the battalion commander who was seriously injured and unconscious, and he ordered to immediately find a stretcher to carry Feng Changzhi and retreat, and at the same time urgently notify the instructor; He picked up his rifle and slammed it in the opposite direction. The commander of the 6th company had already mastered the blocking plan previously arranged by the battalion commander, and while he was firing, he sent people to inform Wei Xin's position: after repelling the enemy's cross-river offensive, the 7th company quickly retreated.

At this time, all the villagers in Xiping Village who chose to flee had already entered the mountains from the Guanmen Mountain Pass, and the non-combatants of the 2nd Battalion of the Forest Division, as well as the main baggage, including the artillery squad that had run out of shells, were also transferred into the mountains one after another. Instructor Liu Shu asked the instructor of the 7th Company to take the recruits to accompany the team to protect the team entering the mountain; He commanded three platoons of the 7th Company and personally sat on the mountain pass, waiting for the troops of the 6th and 7th Companies to retreat here.

However, the first thing he waited for was the commander of the second battalion lying in a pool of blood on a stretcher!

Liu Shu couldn't believe his eyes, he threw himself on the edge of the stretcher, desperately shaking Feng Changzhi, who had fallen into a coma, and shouted hoarsely, asking people to immediately go into the mountain to find someone from the health team to come to help.

"Battalion commander! Lao Feng! Wake up! I'm Lao Liu, open your eyes and look at me! ”

By the end of the shout, the instructor could not stop crying.

The gunfire on the other side of the river became more and more intense and intensive, and Wei Xin, the commander of the 7th company, ran over with his subordinates.