The county seat of Pingquan, where the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army is currently stationed, is almost the same as the southern end of Guanmen Mountain, which runs north-south, and is about five or six miles away from the foot of Guanmen Mountain. More than 30 miles to the west from this county seat, there is the Tongpu Highway and Railway Line that runs through the whole territory of Shanxi heavily garrisoned by the Japanese army.

It is precisely for this reason that the brigade commander Zheng Yuan and the officers under his command are most worried that the Japanese may come from Tongpu Road and approach the city - with the powerful mobile transportation ability of the Japanese army, it will only take about one or two hours to break through this distance.

In the face of the dangerous direction of Tongpu Road, the commander of the independent brigade of the Jin army deliberately released two battalions of troops and deployed a peripheral defense line in the western suburbs of the county to build a buffer for the main defense of the county.

These two battalions were the second and third battalions of the 570th Regiment. In the eyes of the regiment commander Tian Mingda, his two battalions were undoubtedly used as cannon fodder by the brigade commander, and if the devils pounced on Tongpu Road, the second and third battalions would bear the brunt.

But what I never expected was that on the night when the Japanese army attacked two days ago, the direction in which it appeared was not due west of Tongpu Road, where the Jin officers and soldiers had always been strictly guarded, but due north!

This sudden enemy situation directly caused the defense area of another battalion of Tian Mingda's 570 Regiment to unexpectedly become the forefront of the firefight: About one platoon of the third company of the first battalion was stationed in Zhaojia Village, about 20 miles north of Pingquan County, the village located on the bank of the Qinglong River, that is, the northernmost line of the entire 12th Independent Brigade defense area.

Although the battle had long since ended, Tian Mingda, who was sitting in the brigade headquarters for a meeting at the moment, was still afraid of the position resistance that night. The major general and brigade commander at that time, who didn't know which tendon his head had turned wrong, actually issued an operational order to unite the Eighth Route Army to block the invading Japanese army. Of course, in this combat order, the two battalions of the 570 Regiment (plus the troops of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army) were still at the forefront.

As a result, the commander of the 570th Regiment once again experienced the strength of the Japanese army's field combat ability at close range - his entire battalion was ambushed on the left flank, and the position was broken by the Japanese in just ten minutes since the exchange of fire, and the whole battalion was crushed. If it weren't for the fact that the devils had made up their minds at that time and took the initiative to withdraw soon, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Since the Japanese army has retreated, the battle of the 12th Brigade has been won, and this is the good news that has just been reported to the headquarters of the commander of the second theater. However, Tian Mingda, who was on the front line, was very clear about the moisture in this so-called good news, and he was still apprehensive about the danger contained in that battle: The reply from the Second War Zone Command has confirmed that this is not an accidental battle, but the First Army of the Japanese Army in Shanxi mobilized four divisions and regiments and sent troops from the east, west, south, north and south highways at the same time to encircle and suppress the Taihang Mountains in central and southern Shanxi. Theoretically speaking, the line from Da Yushu Mountain to Guanmen Mountain, which belongs to the remaining veins of Taihang Mountain, is in the west of the Japanese army's encirclement.

It is foreseeable that the defense area north of Pingquan County, where the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army was stationed, and the defense area of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army and the Guanmenshan Detachment of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army were all attacked. The headquarters of Commander Yan also reported the news of the fierce battle between the 84th Division of the Central Army and the Japanese army in Qinyuan County, southeast of Pingquan County. Only the 12th Brigade did not seem to be on the list of encirclement and suppression by the Japanese, but the brigade commander's impulse involved the headquarters in this war.

Now, the headquarters of Commander Yan in Xi County, southwest of Shanxi Province, did not offer any reward for the good news submitted by the 12th Brigade in the reply, but on the contrary, revealed the bad news that the Japanese Shanxi First Army had launched a large-scale siege. The siege has been going on all sides for some time, and no one knows how long it will last. Therefore, the 570th Regiment Commander Tian Mingda's idea of the possibility of retaliation by the Japanese because they were angry that the 12th Brigade was involved in the battle naturally caused a lot of panic in the entire brigade headquarters.

"The devils who withdrew that night include the Eighth Route Army, where are they now? What is the abnormal situation in the front position of Zhaojia Village? Brigade Commander Zheng Yuan frowned deeply and asked directly to Tian Mingda.

Commander Tian's face showed a little embarrassment - since the Japanese army and the Eighth Route Army had withdrawn from the headquarters defense area that night, he had not bothered to send scouts to follow and reconnoitre, so it was difficult to answer the question of the brigade seat: "Uh...... The staff is short of troops, and at present they can only hope to hold the forward line of defense without slackening......"

The major general's brow furrowed even tighter, and he glanced at his regiment commander with disbelief and disdain, and stopped talking.

"Luzuo, a grain collection squad of the third battalion of the Ministry of Inferior Duties, has just returned from Maicun at the southern foot of Guanmen Mountain and reported a new situation." The speaker was Zheng Guangqi, the young commander of the 569th Regiment, and the nephew of the major general and brigade commander in front of him.

"Wheat Village? What's new? Zheng Yuan asked puzzledly, Maicun is located at the southern foot of Guanmen Mountain, which belongs to the relatively safe rear of the headquarters defense area.

"A platoon of the third battalion, which is responsible for collecting grain in Maicun, witnessed the first detachment of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army passing outside the village and rushing to a large mountain pass at the southern foot of Guanmen Mountain two days ago." When Commander Zheng Guangqi said this, he deliberately paused, but he glanced at the head of the 570th regiment.

Realizing the other party's gaze and words, Tian Mingda's heart jumped, and he hurriedly explained vigilantly: "It was a detachment of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army that fought jointly with our army that night. Brigade seat, I have informed the brigade headquarters of this. ”

Zheng Yuan nodded towards Tian Mingda, and then looked at his nephew with an inquiring gaze, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in his gourd.

"What Commander Tian said is exactly that the Eighth Route Army passed through our defense area by the road, which was nothing in the first place. But according to the report of my third battalion grain collection team, the Xu Brigade detachment that appeared outside Maicun Village that day was still carrying a large number of bandits in the Black Stone Cliff of Guanmen Mountain, including Liu Wumei, the well-known female bandit leader——"

Hearing the words "Liu Wumei" spit out of Zheng Guangqi's mouth, the face of the head of the 570th regiment suddenly changed color, and his heart beat faster and faster.

"What do you mean?" The brigade commander of the unknown major general impatiently asked, "The Eighth Route Army openly befriended bandits?" ”

The commander of the 569th regiment smiled slightly at his uncle and brigade commander, and said with a mysterious expression: I'm afraid I have to ask Commander Tian.

At this moment, Tian Mingda couldn't wait to swallow the young colleague with the same rank and position as him in one gulp - but he still didn't know how much of the entanglement between himself and the female bandit leader of Guanmen Mountain had mastered by this brigade lord, especially the peach-colored entanglement that occurred on the night of the battle.

In fact, Zheng Guangqi, the commander of the 569th Regiment, only received the news that the commander of the third battalion under his command had been transferred, which was reported by Li Mancang, a second lieutenant platoon commander of the Eighth Company, who led the third platoon of the Eighth Company to collect grain in Maicun, and focused on reporting on the situation of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army carrying a large number of bandits and gangsters in Guanmen Mountain; At the same time, Xiao Junping, an intelligence staff officer of the brigade headquarters who claimed to be convinced of the loss in the battle of Little Elm Mountain at the beginning of the year, may now be serving in the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army.

As for the fact that the commander of the brother group forcibly came out to make a hostage deal with the Black Stone Cliff bandits, Li Mancang only reported it truthfully, but he didn't know about the embarrassing incident that happened between the female bandit leader Liu Wumei and Tian Mingda in Longwan Village. And Zheng Guangqi, who received the report, just wanted to take the opportunity to impeach the other party with the fact that the head of the 570 regiment knocked on the bandits' bamboo poles, and at least forced him to spit out part of the dividends; He also didn't know the scene of Tian Mingda's intention to possess the female bandit's leader.

But the head of Tian, who was a thief, was already in chaos at the moment, and shouted angrily: "Brigade, the department...... The staff department received a request from the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army, offering to redeem the captured Guanmen Mountain bandits with money, so ......"

Unexpectedly, the brigade commander of the Jin Army, a major general, slapped the table angrily and accused the Eighth Route Army of being a bandit and colluding with the notorious bandits!

"Later...... Later, the Eighth Route Army withdrew halfway and stopped being this peacemaker, so Liu, the female bandit leader of Guanmen Mountain, personally came to my Longwan Village League Headquarters to pay for ransom. Division...... The ministry didn't want to give the bandits this face, but they just ...... Just ......"

"You said the Eighth Route Army withdrew halfway? Then how could the bandits from Guanmen Mountain be wrapped up in the marching column of the Xu Brigade detachment and appear outside Maicun Village? Zheng Yuan couldn't wait to intercept Tian Mingda's words and asked aggressively.

The commander of the 570th Regiment, who was incoherent and difficult to justify, was suddenly asked by the brigade commander, as if grasping a life-saving straw, and hurriedly said that the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army had always announced that they had incorporated the Black Stone Cliff Gang in Guanmen Mountain, so they stood up for them. And considering the relationship with friendly forces, he had to agree to the bandits' request for money to ransom people. The Guanmen Mountain bandits who were let go were mixed in the marching ranks of the Xu Brigade detachment and fled together.

When the chief of staff of the 12th Brigade heard this, he also began to be filled with righteous indignation, and bitterly reprimanded the Eighth Route Army for passively resisting the war, guerrilla but not attacking, and hiding in Guanmen Mountain to make friends with bandits, and suggested that the brigade immediately report to the headquarters of Chief Yan.

As soon as the topic changed like this, the commander of the 570 regiment couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with his hand.

The possible whereabouts of Xiao Junping, a former intelligence staff officer of the brigade headquarters, reported by the commander of the 569th Regiment have aroused more and more serious concern among the officers present. By the time Zheng Guangqi finished relaying the report of the bearded second lieutenant Li Mancang in more detail, no one paid attention to Tian Mingda's deal with the Guanmen Mountain bandit gang anymore.

"Commander Zheng, this matter is not trivial, where is the second lieutenant platoon commander under you?" The chief of staff of the 12th Brigade of the Independent Brigade glanced at Zheng Guangqi and his uncle at the same time: "I suggest that he come to the brigade headquarters and report in person." ”

The brigade commander of the Jin Army, a major general, nodded quickly, and ordered his nephew to do the same immediately - this Eighth Route Army, which is adjacent to the defense area of the headquarters, not only made friends with bandits, but also dared to kidnap and detain the intelligence staff officers of friendly captains, and then thought that the department was organized by a battalion and changed its number to a detachment without authorization, all of which was no different from rebellion! Once it is confirmed, it must be reported to the Commander's Department of the Second War Zone and severely punished!

"Where is the Xu Brigade detachment of the Eighth Route Army, which has been transferred along the southern foot of Guanmen Mountain, now? Did they really enter Guanmen Mountain from the mountain pass? Is it possible to take a false shot and wander to the rich villages east of Maicun to grab territory? ”

Brigade Commander Zheng Yuan asked with a gloomy face, and there was already a fierce light in his eyes.