Night, around four o'clock.

The time is the middle of April, the season is the end of spring, according to the regular alternation of the seasons, the first ray of light in the early morning in the northwest of Shanxi is about half past five to six o'clock.

Yamaguchi, the commander of the Japanese brigade with a strong sense of time, remembers that it was 5:37 a.m. yesterday when the sky was bright and the sky was completely brightened at about 5:50.

Thinking of this, Yamaguchi raised his wrist again, looked at the time indicated by the hands on his watch, and looked at the distant sky, still gloomy, waiting for the dawn with some anxiety and some anticipation.

"In less than two hours, maybe less than an hour and a half, the sky will gradually brighten."

Yamaguchi spoke slowly, with some emotion in his words.

The night of fear, mixed with great humiliation, was completely over after the sky was bright.

Hideo Nakajima, the chief of staff on the side, said, "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, we have already made contact with the reinforcements to the periphery, and so far, the Imperial troops reinforced on the periphery have reached the strength of eight brigades. ”

"After the sky is bright, reinforcements from all walks of life can launch a strong attack in the direction of Niukou Village, and change the current decline of our army."

"Maybe after the reinforcements from all walks of life attack, we can also join forces with the outside and destroy the independent regiment in one fell swoop."

When Nakajima said these words, his emotions were faintly mixed with excitement.

For Yamaguchi, if it were not for the constant setbacks at the hands of the independent group since the Great Sweep, he would not hesitate to choose to agree with Nakajima's suggestion.

But at this moment, there was obvious hesitation on his face.

In the end, perhaps ashamed of his inexplicable retreat, Yamaguchi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Okay, pass the order, all departments prepare for a counterattack, once the reinforcements advance, we find an opportunity to immediately attack from the back of the Eighth Route Army." ”

"Hey!" Nakajima replied, This is the general he has in his impression of being decisive, iron-blooded and wise.

The voice did not fall......

Boom –

The shells exploded on the fortifications of the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, which directly broke the dead silence of the dark night descending from the mountains and forests, and together broke the peace of the hearts of the Japanese soldiers, as well as the determination that Yamaguchi had managed to accumulate in his heart.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

Around the temporary headquarters where the pass was located, officers and soldiers were already chanting.

Yamaguchi, whose face changed slightly, asked what was going on, and soon a signal soldier returned to report: "Report to the chief, the troops of the Eighth Route Army have been found at the foot of the mountain, and they are bombarding our positions with artillery. ”

This is indeed artillery, and the sound of shells is not unfamiliar to Yamaguchi, which is the shelling of the 75-millimeter mountain guns that belonged to the original artillery unit of his 4th Mixed Brigade.

But in less than two hours, the sky will be completely bright.

What does it mean that this independent regiment suddenly attacked, and bombarded with mountain artillery?

Could it be that he wanted to destroy his Fourth Mixed Brigade in one fell swoop like the destruction of the Ishii Wing, taking advantage of the bright sky and before reinforcements arrived?

The lessons of the past are in front of us, and Yamaguchi cannot afford not to think about it.

Yamaguchi looked up and glanced at Chief of Staff Nakajima, who saw the same intense worry in Nakajima's eyes.

At this moment, his Fourth Mixed Brigade is still in the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army, and the soldiers of the Independent Regiment stationed at the surrounding nodes have not yet withdrawn, and relying on the defense of the nodes is also an excellent means to block the Japanese army.

Yamaguchi didn't dare to have any other thoughts, and immediately ordered: "Order all units to stick to the fortifications, rely on the anti-artillery fortifications to avoid the enemy's artillery attack, and be ready to guard against the Eighth Route Army troops to launch a strong attack at any time." ”

"Hey!"

The temporary headquarters where Yamaguchi is located was built inside a large internal cat's ear hole anti-artillery fortification.

"At present, the enemy is strong and we are weak, no matter what the purpose of the independent regiment's current offensive is, we can only block it with troops, cover it with water, hold the position to the death, and wait until the reinforcements after dawn to reinforce it."

Yamaguchi gave his own judgment, and Chief of Staff Nakajima nodded approvingly.

The two came to the right side of the anti-artillery fortification of the cat's ear hole, opened the wooden protective door, and were about to see the situation of the fortification with their own eyes, when a hurried cry came in their ears:

"Mustard gas, it's mustard gas, the enemy used poison gas bombs!"

Frightened screams came from all directions, violating international conventions, using poison gas bombs, and knowing the horror of poison gas bombs, the little devils who were frightened by the mustard gas changed their faces, and one by one they frantically fled in all directions, looking for a way to escape.

At this moment, even the calm Yamaguchi couldn't sit still, and his face changed dramatically.

The point is that in the battle with the Eighth Route Army, there has never been a precedent for the Eighth Route Army to use poison gas bombs.

Naturally, the troops do not prepare gas masks in advance.

Sometimes they bring some gas masks, and that is because the Japanese troops have prepared poison gas bombs to prevent accidental injuries in the process of use.

This time, the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Devils did not carry gas bombs, so the number of gas masks in the team was very small.

This mustard gas is different from ordinary poisonous gas, the terrible thing is that it is pervasive, and even penetrates deep into the skin through all the pores on the body surface, destroys the body cells, makes the skin or mucous membranes foam and erode, and thus leads to systemic poisoning until death.

Known as the terrifying name of the King of Poisonous Gas.

It's no wonder that the little devils are so frightened one by one.

Gas masks were quickly delivered, and as brigade commanders and chiefs of staff, Yamaguchi and Nakajima naturally had this privilege.

A limited number of other gas masks are also distributed according to the rank of the officer, down until the gas mask is distributed.

It was still dark night, and no one could see clearly what was going on with the mustard gas, and could only see the thicker smoke disperse.

The devil soldiers were so frightened that they couldn't get the gas masks, and the experienced ones hurriedly shouted: "Cut strips of cloth from your body, wet them with urine, cover your mouth and nose, quick!" ”

With regard to poison gas bombs like mustard gas, many devil officers have a relatively deep understanding of them in their studies at military academies.

Even if you are exposed to mustard gas in an unprotected state, as long as you make sure not to let too much mustard gas be inhaled from your mouth and nose, then it will take at least 30 minutes for mustard gas to penetrate into the skin through the pores of the body, and there is usually an incubation period of two or three hours.

The body does not react during the incubation period.

It is possible to prevent mustard gas from being inhaled through the mouth and nose to gain more survival time.

So some devil officers proposed to cut off strips of cloth, wet them with urine, and cover their mouths and noses.

Note that urine is used here, not water, because mustard gas is insoluble in water.

Urine is different, because the vast majority of devil soldiers can't eat much high-protein food containing fixed acids, so their urine should be alkaline.

And it is precisely this alkaline urine that can play an alkaline hydrolysis role on poisonous gas, which can greatly relieve mustard gas inhalation into the mouth and nose.

The little devils who came back to their senses no longer have the image of a soldier on weekdays, one by one they took bayonets to cut strips of cloth from their clothes in embarrassment, and then quickly took off their pants and squeezed pee.

Then, ignoring the long-term defense of the fortifications, and lacking the smell of urine caused by the lack of drinking water, he put the strip of cloth soaked in urine on his mouth and nose.

All of a sudden, the fortifications where the 4th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army was located were in a commotion.

But the gas bomb in the devil's mouth came too suddenly, and there were still many little devils who didn't have time to react, and after coming into contact with that smell, perhaps it was a preconceived fear, and they grabbed their necks one by one, as if they might die from inhaling the poison gas at any time.

Nakajima, the chief of staff of the devil, had already hurriedly put on a gas mask, and then urged Yamaguchi on the side: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, the poison gas will come soon, please hurry up!" ”

There was already a faint poisonous gas wafting first.

Yamaguchi sniffed and sniffed.

"Your Excellency Brigade Commander......" Nakajima was so anxious that he took off the anti-drug area again, and was about to persuade.

Yamaguchi said: "Nakajima-kun, it doesn't seem right, you smell the smell of this gas carefully, although there is a bit of garlic smell, but it is more of a choking of chili powder, and there is no mustard smell, this should not be mustard gas." ”

"Not mustard gas?" Nakajima was also confused, and tried to inhale some gas into his mouth and nose, and sure enough, he noticed that something was wrong.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, how do you suspect this?"

Yamaguchi said: "The Eighth Route Army should not have a poison gas bomb like mustard gas in its hands, in addition, the wind direction in front of you is blowing down the mountain, if the Eighth Route Army throws poison gas bombs, won't it also harm itself?" ”

"I was suspicious, and I tried to smell the gas, and now it seems that these abominable dirt roads have been mixed with chili powder and garlic in the shells."

Yamaguchi looked around as he spoke, but saw that the officers and soldiers on the fortifications were still in a panic, and some even fought with each other for strips of wet cloth stained with urine, and then covered their mouths and noses.

The chaotic fortifications were mixed with the sound of coughing.

Many devil soldiers even rolled on the ground, as if they were about to die.

Great shame and anger arose, and Yamaguchi erupted:

"Yaga, how can this still have a little bit of the appearance of an imperial warrior? Stupid, it's not mustard gas, it's just an eight-way trick, some chili powder. ”

At this time, the sound of artillery had already stopped, and Yamaguchi rushed out of the temporary headquarters in anger, and rushed at the officers and soldiers on the fortifications in front of him, firing his bow left and right, and slapping him a few times.

I'm really angry.

The devils didn't believe it at first, and the angry Yamaguchi exposed his mouth and nose to the gas in front of the devils, and sucked a few times, except for choking on the chili powder and coughing violently for a while, there was no reaction.

The truth was quickly revealed.

The gas at the moment is not poison gas, but a self-made cannonball mixed with chili pepper and garlic by the Eighth Route Army.

One by one, in the so-called poisonous gas, convulsions on the ground in pain, and the devil soldiers fighting for the strips of cloth soaked in urine in a panic, were dumbfounded.

All imaginary pain recedes like a tidal wave.

The devils tried to sniff again, and the gas in their mouths really didn't react except for the pungent smell of chili powder.

The little devils suddenly realized - they were fooled!

The strip of wet cloth soaked in urine that was still being fought for suddenly became unfragrant, and became a disgusting thing to be spurned, and was quickly thrown out by the devil soldiers far away.

But the taste in the mouth and nose is lingering.

The devils wiped their sleeves one by one, and then they were full of humiliation.

……

At the foot of the hill behind the slope.

Wang Leihu, the commander of the first battalion, looked at the direction where the devil's position was located, saw no movement for a long time, and asked the howitzer on the side, "Howitzer, what do you say the little devil is doing here?" ”

The howitzer said: "First battalion commander, do you need to talk about this?" As soon as our chili and garlic shells hit it, most of the devils thought it was a poison gas bomb, maybe they were covering their mouths with a wet cloth stained with urine! ”

Not long after, the scouts sent out by the first battalion commander returned, and reported to the first battalion commander with a smile:

"Battalion commander, it's funny to me, as soon as our shells smashed over, the little devil was frightened, as if he was urinating everywhere and covering his mouth, good guy, the smell of urine wafted from afar, and I couldn't stand it when I smelled it."

Hearing this, the cadres were stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

After laughing for a while, Wang Leihu changed his words and said:

"The order of the regiment commander, the devil's reinforcements are on the periphery, and the day will soon be bright, if the devil's fourth mixed brigade does not take the initiative to leave the fortifications, we can't brave the fire to attack."

"Next, the main focus is on blocking the advance of Japanese reinforcements layer by layer, as for the fourth mixed brigade, in the words of the regiment commander, it is now a bird with a frightened bow, and it is enough for us to leave part of the troops as a containment."

Lei Dasheng, the commander of the fourth battalion, said: "It's not difficult to contain the fourth mixed brigade of the Japanese army, and we have planted a lot of mines around the devil's position in the past two days. ”

"Yamaguchi, this old devil has been completely lost temper by us now, I don't believe that he dares to take the initiative to leave the position with the team."

……

Time continues to move forward.

As the fourth battalion commander speculated, after experiencing the coaxing of chili noodles and garlic-smelling shells.

Although Yamaguchi felt great humiliation, he still held on and continued to be his shrinking turtle.

The excuse said:

"Kong Jie's move is just to humiliate us and others, force me to lose my mind, and take the initiative to launch a counterattack, so as to destroy my 4th Mixed Brigade in one fell swoop."

Nakajima, the chief of staff on the side, agreed, "What Your Excellency the Brigade Commander said is very true. ”

"Therefore, even if the reinforcements arrive at dawn, our counterattack must be thought twice, with the cunning of Kong Jie, even after dawn, he will definitely set traps around our army's position, and if he takes the initiative to attack, he may fall into it."

Nakajima nodded convincingly.

As for the plan agreed upon by the two before, to take the initiative to attack and use the middle flowering tactics to join the reinforcements to destroy the independent regiment, the two did not mention anything in their tacit understanding......

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