As soon as the day dawned, the offensive began on an unprecedented scale. The heavy artillery and steel artillery of the Japanese puppet army continued to bombard the forward positions and Xiagangzi Village. The front trenches collapsed in many places, and the village of Xiagangzi was almost razed to the ground. Not to mention the brothers in the trenches, even the only remaining reserve company in the village suffered heavy casualties. The radio station was blown up, and Miss Wen, a second lieutenant operator, was martyred. Bai Jiefen was wounded, and the telephone line connecting the laid-off and the up-and-coming was blown up. The connection between the New Third Regiment and the Headquarters of the 23rd Route Army and the 1761st Regiment of Shanggangzi was completely broken.

At about 7 o'clock, nearly 2,000 Japanese puppet troops launched a group charge under the cover of light and heavy machine guns, and their left flank forward once forced more than 10 meters into the trench of the second battalion of the new third regiment. The commander of the second battalion, Lan Qianzhong, was forced to lead his brothers to jump out of the trenches and fight the enemy hand-to-hand, so that he could barely hold the defensive line. At about 8 o'clock, another Japanese puppet army, which was pressed by our machine-gun fire to the side of the main road at the foot of the mountain, used the embankment as a cover to build a temporary position, posing a great threat to our left flank position, and turning the offensive and defensive battle into a positional war in one fell swoop, forming a stalemate. At nearly 9 o'clock, three Japanese "96" bombers flew into the air to assist in the battle, and within 10 minutes they dropped no less than 20 bombs on the forward positions.

At this time, as the actual commander of the new Third Regiment, Xiang Gong already understood that the blocking battle could not be fought, the 1761 Regiment refused to go down the mountain to reinforce, and the forward position and the village of Xiagangzi were bound to be lost. The Japanese puppet army's will to attack is tenacious, and it seems that it will not give up if it does not cross Ma'anshan today.

Everything was expected by him. The new third group, which is not hurt by my father and not loved by my mother, was dumped and sold. It was one thing for Commander-in-Chief Han to save him back then, but now it is another thing to sell the new Third Regiment. The commander-in-chief loves soldiers, he is a soldier, and the brothers of the new third regiment are not soldiers at all in the eyes of the commander-in-chief, they are mobs. Commander-in-Chief Han did not have a good heart since he transferred the New Third Regiment to the direct command of the General Headquarters and sent it to Ma'anshan. The commander-in-chief wanted to consume the new three regiments and also consume part of the sharp energy of the Japanese puppet army in front of him. In fact, Commander-in-Chief Han did not expect the New Third Regiment to block the reinforcements of the Japanese puppet army, he was counting on the 1761 Regiment in Shanggangzi Village. He laughed at Jack for being fooled, but in fact he was also fooled, and his loyalty to Han Peige made him and the New Third Regiment helplessly go into a desperate situation. Now, he is also suspicious of the 377th Division in Hedong; Why was the defense line of the 377th Division crushed in just a few hours? Is there a Hedong defense line of the 377th Division? Why did the Yamamoto Brigade and Yang Huabo's Peaceful Founding Army cross the Xima River so easily?!

He's stupid! I thought that I had a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and I asked for trouble to come to the 1761 regiment before the war! - Of course, taking a step back, if Han Peige had to exhaust the new third regiment, he would not ask for reinforcements, and the 1761 regiment would still come, and it would still have to set up camp in Shanggangzi Village. Here's the trouble: the 1761 regiment was pressed down on Shanggangzi, and his only retreat was cut off. As soon as he retreated, the 1761 Regiment would definitely shoot and stop it. He and the new third regiment had only one future, and under the coercion of the 1761 regiment, they fought for their lives with the Japanese puppet army until they lost the last soldier and all died on this scorched earth.

As a lieutenant general and commander-in-chief, it is unjustifiable that he has such disregard for the overall situation of resistance against Japan and the general interests of the nation. Such a commander-in-chief is no longer worthy of his loyalty. It is clear that the fate of the New Third Regiment is linked to his fate. Besides, in the past three months, he and this group of brothers from the county town of Xijiadian have gotten along day and night and have a relationship, especially after yesterday afternoon, the relationship has deepened. These brethren, though they are loose and bad, are clean in heart, they are doing their best to carry out the orders of their superiors, and they are really fighting for their country and nation.

Fall back! Even if you are shot, you must retreat.

Having made up his mind, he gave three orders in a row within half an hour. Ordered the commander of the third battalion, Hou Shunxin, to offer a bounty to organize a death squad and condescendingly launch a strong attack on the Japanese puppet army entrenched on the embankment to eliminate the imminent threat. Ordered the regimental deputy Hojack to lead the guards soldiers to restore telephone contact with the 1761 regiment and organize the regimental headquarters and the retreat of the wounded. Ordered the rest of his subordinates to do everything in their power to hold their positions until the enemy retreated completely.

The order was carried out immediately, and the brethren knew the danger they were facing, and now they were not so much ordered to fight as to survive, to stop death. Hou Shunxin took his remaining bounty of 33,000 fiat currency, and actually organized a huge death squad of more than 200 people, under the cover of more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns, approached the embankment, charged three times, and destroyed the enemy's temporary position at the cost of nearly 100 casualties. The rest of the divisions were also good, and after the three bombers flew away, they stubbornly repelled the enemy who attacked in front of the formation. At the same time, he summoned Duan Renyi, Adjutant Huang, Zhang Fangzheng, and Lan Quanzhong to his side, guarded the telephone that was temporarily connected, and told them the plan to retreat in disobedience, making it clear that he was responsible for the public if something happened, and the 1761 regiment on the mountain dared to open fire, and the new third regiment would use the same means to deal with it.

Duan Renyi was quite frightened, and said in a hurry:

"Yes...... If you don't do that, it's ...... It's better not to do that. Be...... Do you want to discuss it with Commander-in-Chief Han again? ”

He sneered:

"There's no need to negotiate anymore! Miss Wen was martyred, and the radio station was blown up! Besides, it's useless to discuss it, and now that the matter is over, can't you Duan Tuan still see the fame here?! ”

"That'...... Then you have to talk to Head Zhao on the phone, big ...... The enemy is current, and ...... and 1761 Regimental Fire ...... Fighting is not always the way to go! This...... The leader of the new three regiments is me after all! ”

He really wanted to give Duan Renyi two slaps. The head of this wrecked regiment was probably stunned by the unloading of the Jiadian incident, and he was so indecisive in the face of a desperate situation.

However, the two battalion commanders Zhang Fangzheng and Lan Quanzhong simply supported his disobedience plan.

Zhang Fangzheng said:

"Brother Duan, what kind of head are you? You're the county magistrate! If our brothers listen to you in Shajiadian, we will have to listen to the counselors here, and you will have to listen to the counselors! Staff Officer Fang is thinking about us! ”

Lan Qianzhong also said:

"That's right! Listen to the staff of the party! As long as the 1761 regiment of the dog day dares to poison us, we will fight it! We have already struggled with the Jiadian Artillery Battalion, and what can we do with the 1761 Regiment?! ”

Adjutant Huang calmly persuaded Duan Renyi:

"Captain Duan, it's not that we want to fight, it's that people want to fight, people have already pushed us into the trap, if we don't fight, we can't do it!"

Duan Renyi nodded again and again and said:

"Good! Good! I...... I listen to everyone! Om, listen to everyone! No...... However, I want to electric...... After the phone was connected, it was still ...... It's better to make a phone call first, can you ...... Can you not hit the most ...... Best ......"

At this moment, the phone rang, and Staff Officer Fang urgently touched the phone and immediately heard the voice of the head of the 1761 regiment, Zhao.

On the phone, Regiment Commander Zhao first complained about why he didn't connect the phone quickly after it was blown up, and then asked about the current situation of the New Third Regiment. He exaggerated his reply that there was no new Third Regiment left, that the situation was very bad, that the entire regiment had suffered more than 1,200 casualties, that the village of Laigangzi no longer existed, and that the position might be lost at any time.

Regiment Commander Zhao was silent for a long time before he said, in this case, ask him, Adjutant Huang, radio station, and telegraph operator to immediately withdraw to Shanggang, and said that this is what General Han Peige meant.

The conspiracy was thus exposed.

Suppressing his anger, he asked as calmly as he could:

"So, what should we do with the remaining hundreds of people in the New Third Regiment? Is it also withdrawn to Shanggang? ”

Head Zhao refused:

"No! The new three regiments will fight to the last man, the front line will be held until the last moment, if it retreats on its own, our troops will be ordered to block and annihilate! ”

He couldn't hold it back anymore and scolded into the microphone:

"Bastard! You're all! After this battle, as long as Lao Tzu survives, he must go to Chongqing Chairman Jiang and General He to sue you! ”

He dropped the microphone and ripped the phone cord in a frenzy.

Duan Renyi asked tremblingly:

"How...... What's going on, ...... How...... What's going on? ”

His eyes widened:

"Don't ask! Remove! All to the top! Concentrate machine guns, prepare ammunition and prepare to fire at the 1761 regiment! ”

Duan Renyi was stupid:

"Really...... Really hit? ”

He almost cried:

"It's fake?! The 1761st Regiment will not only not come down to reinforce you, but will also annihilate you! Just let me and Adjutant Murray withdraw! Aren't you going to fight? ”

Duan Renyi was stunned for a moment, and said dementedly:

"That'...... Then you and Adjutant Huang will leave! I...... We can't drag you two down any longer! ”

Zhang Fangzheng also said:

"Staff Officer Fang, Adjutant Huang, let's go, the brothers of the New Third Regiment don't hate you!"

Lan Qianzhong hugged him with red eyes:

"Put ...... Take County Magistrate Duan away too! He shouldn't have suffered with us! This...... I'm the loser brother here...... I cleaned up with Battalion Commander Zhang and Battalion Commander Hou, and I wanted to fight the 1761 Regiment on the dog day, and I ...... It's up to us to fight! ”

He can't go. Moreover, I didn't even think about leaving.

He raised his head and said:

"None of us are leaving, none of us are leaving. I took you to fight this battle, and now you're gone, what do you say?! ”

Adjutant Huang also understood the righteousness, and immediately took over and said:

"That's right! Or live together, or die together! From now on, I will share the fate with the staff officers of the same party and the new third regiment! ”

Zhang Fangzheng burst into tears and shouted:

"Good! If this is the case, attack the gangzi, and Lao Tzu's battalion will charge."

Lan Duzhong said:

"It's still my second battalion! I have a lot of veterans here! ”

Xiang Gong thought about it and said:

"Stop fighting! We have to deal with the 1761 regiment on the post, and we must continue to block the Japanese puppet army and cover the retreat of the whole regiment. I don't think so: Battalion Commander Zhang took the first battalion to fight with me, and the second battalion of Battalion Commander Lan stayed behind to continue the attack, and when Battalion Commander Zhang and I broke through the defense line of the 1761 Regiment, we followed up, and turned back to let Battalion Commander Hou's third battalion organize the retreat of the wounded. ”

He asked Duan Renyi's opinion, and Duan Renyi looked at him with trust and said:

"My brothers and I listen to you!"