After receiving the pursuit order from the Wencheng Brigade Headquarters, Captain Maori, the deputy captain of the Japanese army, who had been huddled in the carriage of the military train, immediately began to move.

One of the three infantry squads had already been sent by him to the county town of Lingshi and made contact with the garrison in the city - thankfully, the county was not conquered by the Chinese army in the end - Captain Maori left the second infantry squad on the column, which was personally commanded by the squadron leader, both to protect the columns wounded by artillery fire and to use the condescending carriages as a point of fire support in case of emergency. At the same time, Captain Maori led a third infantry squad down to the side of the road adjacent to the railway line, and formed a skirmish line to monitor the positions of the Chinese army on the opposite side, which were no longer moving.

When Captain Ushijima led the second group of reinforcements to finally meet the column, Captain Maori immediately ordered that Ushijima's squadron fully switch to the search and pursuit of the Shina Army.

The Ushijima squadron, which had just been ambushed on the side of the road, was in shock. The convoy of trucks carrying them roared across the railway lines and ducked behind the military columns. Squadron Leader Ushijima briefed his immediate superior, Captain Mori, on the attack and the breakout.

Knowing from Ushijima's mouth that the Shina army that ambushed them was first tight and then loosened, and that there was no desire to continue the pursuit after the convoy broke through the ambush position, Captain Maori had more and more confidence in his heart: the retreat of the Shina army was certain!

"Your squadron is in front, and I will lead a squad to follow behind you," Captain Maori ordered Squadron Leader Ushijima: "First send out the top soldiers to search and advance, so as not to fall into the halfway ambush trap of the Shina army; As soon as they found the retreating team of the Chinese army, they immediately stepped forward and bit it to the death, dragging them from escaping! ”

Squadron Leader Ushijima noticed the use of the word "bite" by the deputy group leader, which meant that the upcoming pursuit was not a full-scale operation, but a tactical maneuver of a sluggish nature; After all, counting the squad at the disposal of Captain Maori, the entire pursuit team was less than three hundred men, and the retreating Chinese army was probably two or three times its own strength. The Imperial Army had to rely on two other forces: the men and horses of Wing Commander Osa, who was intercepting at the front, and the reinforcements of the Kato Brigade that had arrived from Linfen.

After a hasty mobilization, the pursuit began. The deputy squadron leader of Ushijima's squadron led a squad to depart, Ushijima led two squads in the center, and Captain Maori led a squad to hold back. However, the squad that sent out first, and had just advanced less than a mile down the road, when the spearhead found a hazy figure in front of him—it was actually the 5th Company of the Second Battalion of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army that was taking over the defense area on the wasteland—the Japanese spearhead immediately fired the Type 38 rifle in his hand, and they were immediately fired back by the opposite side.

An encounter of pursuit and blocking broke out in an instant.

This was a battle that came as a big surprise to both the pursuers and the blockers, the Japanese did not expect that the Chinese army that had just attacked the railway line did not withdraw, and the Eighth Route Army was also shocked that the Japanese army, which had been defending the army so quickly, turned to the offensive.

Captain Maori, who heard the exchange of fire, quickly rushed from the rear to the center, and the squadron leader Ushijima nervously observed the blocking fire on the opposite side. Obviously, there were a large number of blockers, and light machine guns were mounted at the left, center, and right points, which was undoubtedly the Czech type that the Chinese army was generally equipped with. The infantry squad at the forefront had been suppressed by the opponent's powerful firepower and could not move in the wilderness.

"Fire, fire!" The Maori captain commanded urgently.

Two mortars of Ushijima's squadron were immediately erected and shells were fired; Soon, the two 92 infantry guns that followed the squad at the rear were also ordered to start firing on the spot.

When the roar of the Makqin heavy machine gun sounded on the opposite side, Captain Maori immediately made a judgment: this is the unit left by the Chinese army to act as a blocker, and its main force has fled the battlefield, and it must break through the front resistance as soon as possible to grab the tail of the main force of the Chinese army!

"Immediately mobilize the infantry squad outside Lingshi County, there is no danger in the county seat, and our department will immediately turn to the whole line of pursuit!"

As he gave the order, Maori sent an urgent telegram to the Brigade Headquarters in Bunjo to report the latest change in the situation.

The Hagiwara Brigade Headquarters, which received the telegram, became nervous again.

From the two telegrams of Kosuke Otsuka, commander of the comprehensive wing, and Captain Mori, deputy captain of the group, it can be clearly seen that the Shina Army has preset a blocking position in the forward area and on the retreat route of this operation, intercepting the frontal pursuit force of the Imperial Army on the one hand, and blocking the reinforcements from Fengdian County on the other. It can be said that the whole thing is balanced and the water is not leaky, thus proving once again that the battle they launched tonight is not a whim, but a long-planned and meticulous work.

"We obviously underestimated this operation of the Chinese Army, the various reinforcements sent before lacked unified and powerful coordination, and if we continue to fight like this, it is very likely that we will watch the main force of the Chinese Army escape smoothly!"

Brigade commander Hagiwara Akira held two telegrams in his hand and analyzed them to several operational staff officers with a heavy heart; There was silence in the brigade headquarters for a while, and the staff officers' eyes were staring at the sand table, and they were nervously thinking about the contingency plan in their hearts, lest they be suddenly asked by the brigade commander and major general.

"General, at present, it seems that the two directions of the railway line and Guanmen Mountain are in a situation of fighting against the bull, and if our army cannot form a breakthrough in a short time, then the only thing that can bring changes to this stalemate situation is the two infantry squadrons that the Kato Brigade is rushing in." It was a very young combat staff officer who spoke.

Hagiwara frowned and asked impatiently: Don't talk about it in vain, do you have any specific suggestions?!

The young staff officer's face suddenly turned red, but he still mustered up the courage to pick up the wooden stick on the edge of the sand table and poke at the area between the Nantongpu railway line and Guanmen Mountain:

"General, please see, the location of the obstruction indicated by the call from the deputy captain of the Maori brigade is only a few hundred meters away from the railway line, and this kind of open wilderness terrain is actually very unfavorable to both the blockers and the pursuers. If the reinforcements sent by the Kato Brigade from the railway line also join the offensive in this direction later, even if they break through the blocking position of the Shina Army, it will be nothing more than a situation of flat pushing; If the Chinese army that carried out the blockade fought to the death, it would be quite tricky. ”

Hagiwara's face sank like water, but his eyes were focused on following the wooden stick of the combat staff officer as it swammed over the sand table. The young staff officer felt confidence, raised his voice slightly, and continued:

"So I suggest that the two squadrons of the Kato Brigade not rush to Lingshi and join Captain Maori's team, but get off the car before they get close to Lingshi, and stab diagonally in the direction of Guanmen Mountain, so as to bypass the blocking position of the Kanna Army next to the railway line and directly engage in the combat operation of pursuing its fleeing main force!"

As soon as the words fell, an old-looking staff officer blurted out and asked: If the reinforcements of the Kato Brigade don't get off the train halfway to Lingshi, then wouldn't they be even farther away from the main force of the Chinese Army? How can we catch up with the Chinese army?

The young staff officer couldn't help but be stunned, and he was speechless, but the brigade commander, Major General, suddenly shouted with joy on his face:

"Why not!? The Ushijima squadron rushed over in a truck, and asked the truck team to immediately drive along the highway to the south of Lingshi and wait for the military column of the Kato Brigade next to the railway line! Also, there should also be trucks from our brigade and regimental station in Lingshi County, let them drive out together - the reinforcements of the two squadrons can be loaded with at least half of them, and no matter how fast the legs and feet of the main force of the Zhina Army are, can they still be faster than the wheels of the truck!? ”

There was a sudden stir in the brigade headquarters, and the solemn atmosphere just now became lively and enthusiastic, and the staff officers divided up their work for a while, and then began to divide up to convey orders.

Later it turned out that this temporary adjustment made by the Japanese Hagiwara Brigade Headquarters posed a fatal threat to the main force of the Eighth Route Army of the Nationalist Army, which was engaged in joint operations. More than a dozen trucks inside and outside Lingshi County drove along the highway that had no longer had any attack to a position about ten miles south of the county seat, and met two infantry squadrons hurrying by small train from Linfen by the railway line; It not only avoided the overturning of the military column from hitting the stone trunks piled up on the railway line, but also saved time, so that the reinforcements of the two squadrons were directly engaged in the oblique pursuit of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army.

The 2nd Battalion of the 391st Regiment, which was the first to withdraw from the main battlefield, turned into the vanguard from the very beginning, and rushed towards the blocking position of the 7th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Xu Brigade of the Eighth Route Army at the western foot of Guanmen Mountain.

Prior to this, Qin Zhongxiao had already learned of the report that the Japanese Fengdian garrison sent reinforcements to the direction of Tongpu Road, and he was very worried about whether a company of the Eighth Route Army could withstand this Japanese puppet reinforcements, so he ordered his second battalion commander to personally lead the troops of the two companies to set off first, and be sure to help the Eighth Route Army stabilize the support surface, so as to ensure the safe transfer of the main force of the regiment to the direction of Xiping Village in Guanmen Mountain: since the enemy army in Fengdian was disturbed, it was impossible to withdraw to the regimental headquarters of Dayushushan from the original road; The colonel of the Central Army decisively began to implement the backup retreat plan, and all of them withdrew to Xiping Village, entered Guanmen Mountain from the mountain pass behind the village, and then considered returning to Dayushu Mountain from the northern foot of Guanmen Mountain.

Of course, in view of the fact that the 391st Regiment carries heavy weapons such as mountain artillery, and it is inconvenient to walk through the steep and rugged Guanmen Mountain, Qin Zhongxiao and Wu Zijian also had a record before the war, after the main force of the 391st Regiment withdrew into Guanmen Mountain, it temporarily stayed in the vicinity of the mountain pass for observation, if the Japanese army did not follow into the mountain, they could rest there for a few days, and after the limelight passed, they would take advantage of the night to go out of the mountain and sneak back to the Great Elm Mountain station along the original road and flat wasteland.

It can be said that until this moment, the colonel of the Central Army did not overestimate the situation. In his opinion, the Japanese army on the railway line only seeks self-protection, and will not rashly launch a cover-up killing; At this time, the Fengdian Japanese puppet army, which was blocked by the Eighth Route Army at the foot of Guanmen Mountain, may also have just run out to make a show in order to deal with the orders of the Japanese chief of Wencheng; As long as the two companies led by the second battalion commander arrived in time, it should not be a problem to hold that line of defense together with the Eighth Route Army. Although this joint operation failed to achieve the ideal result of besieging the city and sending reinforcements, after all, it jumped onto the Tongpu Railway and stabbed the Japanese in the ribs, and it was also a help to the Central Army of the Wei Commander, who was struggling to support the Jinnan front.

"Tuanza, Deputy Company Commander Deng of the Special Service Company has an emergency report!"

Qin Zhongxiao, who was immersed in reverie on the way home, was suddenly interrupted by the adjutant's report. It was not Deng Shoushan himself who claimed to have reported the emergency, but the platoon commander of the special service company, and a platoon of the special service company led by him had just caught up with the footsteps of the main force of the regiment.

"Regiment commander, Deputy Company Commander Deng led our platoon to complete the change of defense with the Eighth Route Army, but not long after the withdrawal of the main position, there was a fierce exchange of fire in that area, Deputy Company Commander Deng suspected that the Japanese army began to attack the Eighth Route Army after the change of defense, he took a few brothers to turn back to find out, and asked me to lead the whole platoon to meet the main force first!"

Colonel Central Cloud's heart jumped suddenly: fierce firefight? Could it be that the Japanese army on the railway line turned from defense to attack so quickly?!

The first battalion commander also learned of this sudden situation from the mouth of the first platoon commander of the special service company, and began to use walkie-talkies to ask the regimental headquarters for a contingency plan, saying that he could take a company back to kill and assist the Eighth Route Army to break off together.

Qin Zhongxiao, who was holding a walkie-talkie, fell into hesitation for a while.