The first battalion commanded by Wang Shuanglong, with all three companies, left the banks of the Qinglong River near Zhaojia Village in the form of one advance in a second order, and pursued the Japanese troops retreating north at full speed. After fighting hard to repel a counterattack by the Japanese in the wilderness, they immediately advanced steadily, driving the large force of Japanese troops led by Saijo Shigehei Osa himself into Ewhaura.

On this night, the small village of Lihuapu on the bank of the Qinglong River has changed hands three times - at first, the first battalion of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army and the cavalry company retreated into the village from north to south, and it was the Japanese army Saijo Shigehei who pursued them; After that, the Eighth Route Army withdrew, and Saijo's troops occupied the village and soon left to continue the pursuit; Now, it was the turn of the Japanese to begin to retreat north and re-enter Ewhapo, and the pursuers became the first battalion of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army.

Although he had completely broken away from the joint operational command of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the Eighth Route Army was still lingering: the shelf of this joint operation was not small, and the 12th Brigade claimed to have dispatched the main force of an infantry regiment with a mortar company, but the so-called battle lasted only about 20 minutes; More than a dozen shells were scattered on the central position dominated by the Jin army, and an infantry exchange broke out in the area of its left flank position, although the battle scene could not be seen clearly in the night, but judging from the gunfire, it was very likely that the people of the 12th Brigade were defeated by the devils!

What annoyed Wang Shuanglong the most was that after discovering that this Japanese army began to retreat, the Jin army had no intention of attacking.

It is also puzzling why the Japanese, who had not fallen behind, suddenly shrank their formation and began to retreat in the direction they came. After a series of fierce battles tonight, Wang Shuanglong has mastered the strength of this large Japanese army - it should be admitted that the scale of the troops dispatched by the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army, coupled with the men and horses of the Eighth Route Army, can barely compete with it by virtue of its geographical advantages; If the devils with multiple 92-infantry guns launched an all-out attack, whether it was the central position or the left and right flank positions of the defense line around Zhaojia Village just now, they would undoubtedly be under tremendous pressure, and the final outcome would be unpredictable.

But the Japanese retreated. There is no reason to retreat.

Wang Shuanglong did not expect that the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army, which dared to set up an ambush to meet the enemy, was unwilling to send a single soldier into the pursuit, which also made the previous attempt of the Eighth Route Army to drag the Jin Army into the battle situation mostly failed. However, now is no longer the time to consider these gains and losses—from the calm and orderly retreat of this large group of Japanese troops, it can be seen that it did not go cowardly; If they were now preparing to retreat towards Xiping Village, then the most elite first battalion of the Xu Brigade detachment, which had jumped to the outside line to fight, must be dragged down, and such a large mass of well-equipped Japanese troops must not be allowed to rejoin the battlefield in Xiping Village.

With such a command idea, the commander of the first battalion of the Xu Brigade detachment gave a death order to the three company commanders under him, and a pursuit battle that could not but be called a risky fight began.

First, the Japanese retreated into Lihuapu Village, and they were consciously using the village to build a defensive line to block the advance of the first battalion of the Xu Brigade Detachment; Second, the troops of a platoon he had sent earlier and the men and horses of the Black Stone Cliff Cottage unexpectedly converged with Wei Xin, the commander of the second battalion defending Xiping Village.

The Japanese stopped retreating and set up defenses in the village of Ewhapo, indicating that they might not retreat northward; And the sudden appearance of Wei's big man undoubtedly added weight to the combat effectiveness of his first battalion.

However, the news sent by Wei Xin later made Wang Shuanglong's heart sink again: the battle in Xiping Village was nearing the end, the Japanese army had captured most of the village with heavy troops, and the detachment leader Wu Zijian and political commissar Liu Shu had already led the troops to retreat into the Guanmen Mountain Pass.

The commander of the first battalion of the Eighth Route Army was mentally prepared for the loss of Xiping Village, and the intelligence before the battle began had already shown that the Japanese army had sent out a contingent of no less than 1,000 people from the direction of Wencheng, supplemented by artillery. In the face of such a strong enemy, the head of the detachment set a flexible strategy for defending Xiping Village from the very beginning: if it could be defended, it would be defended, and if it could not be defended, it would be withdrawn into Guanmen Mountain. It was precisely on this basis that the detachment commander took the initiative to place the first battalion of the main force and the cavalry company on the outer line of the defense system of Xiping Village. Fully prepared to abandon the village.

It's just that when he heard that Xiping Village was really occupied by devils, Wang Shuanglong still sighed with a heavy heart - after all, it was the anti-Japanese base that the Xu Brigade Detachment had painstakingly managed!

He recalled the emotions of political commissar Liu Shu when he faced the possibility of annihilation in the base area at the pre-war preparation mobilization meeting, and the heartache and anger were understandable now that he thought about it - only after surviving the current hurdle, everything should be started all over again. This is war.

Forcing himself to settle down, Wang Shuanglong began to lay out a plan to attack Ewhapo. It's a bit ridiculous to say that about two hours ago, he was still holding a battalion in Ewha Pur to block the Japanese troops who were chasing them from the north; Now the offense and defense have changed hands, and the Japanese have retreated to this village built on the river bay to defend, and the attacking side has become the Eighth Route Army.

Although it was the attacking side, the commander of the first battalion of the Eighth Route Army was not only not excited, but was wary - when his side had a geographical advantage to occupy just now, the Japanese army could rely on powerful artillery fire to attack the fortified position (they did so in actual combat); At present, the Japanese occupy a favorable position, but there is no artillery support for the offensive on their side. The infantry of the three companies was completely distributed on the unobstructed plain, and if they were forced to attack the fortification, they would undoubtedly be heavily killed by the heavy fire of the Japanese (in the chaotic night, the Japanese not only had plenty of shells, but also damned flares), and the final outcome was self-evident.

And, considering the latest changes in the situation that Xiping Village has just received, how to fight here in Ewhapo must broaden the horizon and lengthen it.

Once again, there was a moment of panic in the village of Ewhapo, and the officers and men of the Hirai Advance Brigade were forced to stop the search for women and fled in a hurry.

They rushed to the place where the trucks were parked more than a mile away, where two trucks, one was a transport for the advance party and the other was carrying a detachment of heavily armed infantry.

The leader of the advance team, Hirai Teriichi, told the captain of the infantry detachment about the encounter with unknown militants in the village of Ewhapo. He judged that although the advance party was not followed or pursued when it withdrew, one of the three unknown people with military rifles escaped from the guns of the advance team members, and he could not rule out the possibility of attracting more militants.

"Maybe it's the militia in the village?" The commander of the infantry detachment analyzed suspiciously: "Some villages where the people of China are relatively wealthy will organize self-defense militia groups to protect lives and treasures. ”

But one of the veterans of the Hirai advance team denied it, and it was he who took the lead in firing at the three uninvited guests: "When we carried the women out of the village, we clearly saw that the three people came from outside the village, and at this hour in the second half of the night, they should not be the residents of the village. Moreover, two of the three of them were armed with military rifles. ”

"Not necessarily, there was a fierce battle around this village before, maybe they fled to hide;" The commander of the infantry detachment was a member of the Nara Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, and he had participated in the operation of sweeping villages in the Jinzhong area at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, so he came into contact with the spontaneous armed forces of the militia group: "The people in Shanxi are rich, arms smuggling is very common, and it is not unusual for the militia group organized by the wealthy and big families to have military firearms. ”

Hiraiji didn't want to get caught up in such a controversy, whether those men were from the militia or some other armed group, they had already revealed a dangerous call, and it was obvious that it was not appropriate to stay here for long. He hurriedly examined the prey looted by the advance team with a flashlight, and the two women were a little older, and the other was still unconscious, but a young Peugeot woman—he should be content!

Captain Hirai gave the order to return. Two trucks started one after the other, and one of them also had its headlights on.

At this moment, a crisp gunshot suddenly exploded, and a Japanese soldier standing near the front of the first truck was shot in the upper body and fell to the ground screaming. Immediately afterward, a more dense rain of bullets flew in!

The Japanese were instantly stunned. The attacker was located south of the truck and could not be identified in the dark; But judging from the density of the fire, there were no less than a few dozen guns.

The captain of the infantry detachment in charge of the armed guard shouted and organized his subordinates to return fire, and soon a Type 96 light machine gun mounted on the roof of the truck they were riding in rang off, and fiercely returned fire in the direction of the attacker's ambush, suppressing the enemy's firepower. Taking advantage of this respite, the Hirai advance team scrambled to climb into the car.

Soon, the truck carrying the advance team members started first and roared away at full speed in the direction of the Tongpu Railway. The truck of the infantry detachment moved slowly in order to meet the Japanese soldiers who were still on the ground and returned fire with guns. It was not until the entire detachment, including the casualties, had moved into the compartment that the driver slammed on the accelerator and accelerated away.

Hirai Terakaichi huddled in the cab of his first truck, praying in horror that he would be able to escape safely. This time there is no need to argue: the attackers could not have been armed with militias, and the dense and accurate firepower undoubtedly came from the professional army!

Thankfully, the wheels of the truck are fast. After galloping about two or three miles, he completely got rid of the attackers. After driving another distance, someone in the back compartment was eagerly knocking on the cab, and Hirai Nakasa ordered to stop.

The members of the advance team in the carriage reported in frustration that one of the two women who had just been captured was missing!