After the devil captured Pengze, the squadron guarding Hukou had about 12,000 people directly under the 43rd Army and Liu Yuqing's division of the 26th Division, 10 artillery pieces and about 800 people in 2 batteries under the jurisdiction of Hukou Fortress, 14 guns of 2,500 people in 2 garrison corps, 4 guns of 900 marines, 4 guns of 10 artillery regiments, 4 batteries of 1 company of artillery regiments, 4 artillery regiments of 1 company, 1 battalion artillery of 7 regiments, 1,200 people of Jiangxi 12 regiments, and more than 8,000 people of the 77th Division, a total of 26,000 people and 48 guns.

And these are not counting the headquarters of the 11th Division urgently transferred in the theater, but the Chinese and Japanese armies fought at Hukou for nearly three days, and the loss of the squadron was very large, and there were not a few guns left that were blown up by the devils, corresponding to a large number of casualties among the troops.

The troops directly under the 43rd Army and the 26th Division headquarters stuck to Hukou County and did not dare to move lightly, while the 26th and 16th Divisions suffered more than sixty percent casualties in the battle with the devils, and as for the 12th Regiment of Jiangxi, which was a security regiment, it was also hastily classified into the 77th Division, under the unified command of the 43rd Army, and let them be responsible for attacking Longtan Mountain and Meilankou, and the theater command wanted to clear the Japanese army in this area as soon as possible.

July 4 is the most crucial day to determine the fate of Hukou. On this day, the Theater Command ordered all units to continue to block the Japanese army, and at the same time urgently transferred all units to assemble in the eastern suburbs of Hukou. The 16th Division failed to succeed in its counterattack on Longtan Mountain from morning to noon, and was fighting fierce battles with the Japanese army at Fenghuang Village and Liujiajia.

At this time, there was a snoring sound in the 11th Division barracks in Sanli Town, and even the rice fragrance for breakfast failed to wake them up.

"Boom la la ......"

Summer rain is coming, especially at the mouth of the Yangtze River, where it only takes a cloud to move here to usher in a heavy rain.

"Haven't the brethren woken up yet?"

Peng Shan was sitting in the temporary division headquarters, eating breakfast, and he also overslept.

"Not yet."

The staff officer on duty replied, putting a stack of telegrams on the table, and Peng Shan looked at the telegrams and kept eating.

"Let the trumpeters blow their trumpets, and command the brethren to eat at once, and to be ready to be plucked after the meal."

Peng Shan looked at the war briefing in his hand, and no longer had the heart to eat, so he ordered the staff officer to wake up the tired brothers.

"Doodoo ......"

The loud wake-up call sounded in the summer rain.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, it's all up to labor!"

Hearing the trumpet, the officer was the first to react, urging the brothers in the same barracks.

"Bang Bang Bang ......"

The brethren were all dressed together, put on steel helmets, took their rifles at the door, and hurried out of the barracks.

"The division commander ordered that all regiments and battalions should immediately have dinner and be ready to be ready to open at any time......

The soldiers of the military police company of the division headquarters held a bullhorn and ran back and forth in the rain, shouting incessantly, making these sleepy brothers nervous, in order to gain time, Peng Shan even saved the time to gather and speak, of course, it may have something to do with the rain in the sky.

"Purr ......"

Feng Ye held the clay bowl, a bowl of warm rice porridge reached the stomach in a few clicks, refilled a bowl of porridge, Feng Yi grabbed two steamed buns and squatted on the ground, and ate them with the brothers.

"Sit down and eat slowly!"

"Take advantage of this time to inform you of the war situation; Staff Officer Li, let's get started! ”

Inside the division headquarters, all the officers above the regimental commander sat around a long wooden table, on which their breakfast was placed, and Peng Shan sat on it, holding steamed buns in his hands, taking bites from time to time.

"After the 11th Division withdrew from the battlefield last night, Meilankou and Longtan Mountain were attacked by the Japanese army again, and the positions were lost again, and the 77th Division, 16th Division, and 26th Division of the 43rd Army were attacking, but there was still little progress so far......

A young staff officer pointed to a map hanging on the wall and briefed the officers.

"Now the weather conditions are favorable to us, as long as the heavy rain does not stop, it will be impossible for the devil's plane to take care of us, but our artillery will also be affected, if we receive the order, I am afraid that our artillery battalion will not arrive at the battlefield so soon, which requires you regiment commanders to play the spirit of Whampoa and launch a surprise attack on the devils......"

After the staff officer finished speaking, Peng Shan knocked on the table, the 11th Division gained a lot in the first battle in the Meilankou area, and the captured devil field artillery happened to be merged with the mountain artillery battalion of the division headquarters, so that the 11th Division finally had two fully equipped artillery battalions, as for the shells, it was not a problem at all, because the caliber of the mountain artillery of the 11th Division was also 75 mm, and their shells could be used universally.

"Chief of Staff, send a telegram to the Theater Command with a request to replenish the shells of the Seventh and Fifth Artillery."

After Peng Shan finished saying his thoughts, he asked Peng Zhancun to personally urge the cannonballs to be replenished.

Peng Shan's expected order to attack did not come, and the brothers of the 11th Division lay back on the plank one by one after they were ready, but they were all ready to set off.

"Didi ......"

In the long rain, the radio waves shuttled back and forth, and under various combat orders, the Chinese defenders, like the devils, were adjusting their operational deployments.

"Division commander, urgent order from the military headquarters."

Inside the division headquarters, the table is already empty, Peng Shan and all the officers have been discussing the battle situation, and they are also waiting for Peng Zhancun's news, Peng Shan is now very eager for the war zone to replenish himself with enough shells, he now has artillery, but the average shells are not even two bases, that is to say, if a larger battle is fought, his cannon will become a decoration.

"Oh? Have the shells fallen? ”

Peng Shan looked at Peng Zhancun happily, wanting to see something from his expression.

"No, it's an order from the military department, take a look!"

Peng Zhancun handed the two pages to Peng Shan.

"His female horse, it's really iron that our 11th Division is iron, and now it's two o'clock, let's launch an attack on Meilankou and Longtan Mountain at five o'clock, how can we have enough time? Is it still raining? ”

Peng Shan yelled and expressed his dissatisfaction, starting from Sanli Town and arriving at the front line of the attack, even if it was a rapid march, it would take three hours, not to mention that now the rain was falling, the road was slippery, and it would not be possible to reach it at all without four hours.

"Divisional commander, what about the telegram?"

Peng Zhancun pointed to the telegram in Peng Shan's hand, and now the military department is still waiting for a reply.

"Report to the military headquarters, the 11th Division will set off immediately, and will launch an attack on Longtan Mountain and Meilankou as soon as possible; Also, tell them that the rain shows no signs of stopping, that the roads are slippery, and that the 11th Division may not reach the line of attack so quickly. ”

Peng Shan waved his hand, his anger just now was just to make him feel better, and the order he still had to carry out.

"Tell your deputy commander to straighten out the troops and set off in fifteen minutes."

"Director Peng, you are responsible for staying behind, all the artillery will be left behind for you, if there is a situation, report it immediately."

Peng Shan then issued an order, when Peng Zhancun didn't come and went out.

"Doodoo ......"

"Collection, Collection......"

The emergency call sounded again, this time without the gendarmes, who stood straight in the rain, letting the rain slip down the edge of the steel helmets, waiting for the brethren of the regiments to reach the flat ground in the middle of the barracks.