Lei Jian was ordered to lead the 'only regiment' to withdraw from the Tiger Leaping Gorge battlefield, quickly move closer to Lao Ye Mountain, and be sure to arrive before the enemy, so as to occupy the position, block the Japanese 9th Mixed Brigade, and reinforce Zhengtai Road.

Major General Yoshimaru Kiyotake, commander of the Ninth Brigade, received a telegram from the commander of the 180th Division, the Hino Division, to cross the Laoye Mountain as fast as possible, and reach Zhengtai Road, where he fought against the Eighth Route Army, which was attacking along the railway and highway of Zhengtai Road, and wiped out the Eighth Route Army in the section from Jingcheng to Niangziguan, and destroyed the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Tiger Leaping Gorge in the main battle.

The commander of the Yoshimaru Kiyoshi Brigade ordered the commander of the 581st Wing, Iizuka Asaki Daisa, to cross the Lao Ye Mountain at 15 o'clock on 23 August, enter the Taihang Pass, and destroy the newly formed independent regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

Not long ago, the 581st Wing of the Japanese Army, using the high ground as a blocking position, blocked the New 7th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army's Eastern Column at the foot of the mountain, and the New 7th Brigade launched more than a dozen attacks, but failed to break through the enemy's powerful blockade line.

Lei Jian was ordered to lead the team to send reinforcements, led the troops to the forward position, and was ordered to command the new Seventh Brigade and the 'only regiment' with the title of commander-in-chief before the battle, and carried out three strong attacks with the 581st Wing, and launched a battle to the death.

The chief of staff of the 581st Wing Sato Ken looked at the face of the captain of the Iizuka wing, and he not only asked carefully: "Your Excellency Iizuka, why are you so sad, depressed and ...... complexion. ”

"Sato-kun, this time my 581st Wing, the commander of the Eighth Route Army who fought with it is the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army who fought in the highlands a few days ago, whose name is Lei Jian."

"Your Excellency Iizuka, according to the information, the commander-in-chief of the Thunder Sword you mentioned was automatically dismissed after the battle, and now he is leading the newly formed independent regiment of the Jinchaji Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, is he really going to fight with this doll again?"

"Yes, this doll is not very cunning, decisive in command, ruthless in means, my captain who led a squadron in the high ground, and covered the retreat of the large army, was defeated by this doll himself, and the jade was shattered in the high ground.

I didn't expect to fight this mortal opponent again, and I couldn't help but think of my captain and the more than 100 warriors of the Imperial Japanese Army who died on the high ground. ”

When Iizuka said this, he gritted his teeth and scolded: "This bastard, I must kill this Shina doll with my own hands in this battle, and I must kill him." ”

He looked at Chief of Staff Ken Sato and ordered: "Order the troops to take the trucks, order the mechanized mixed squadron to open the road in front, and the target is Lao Ye Mountain, which must be arrived within seven hours." ”

At this time, Lei Jian ordered the cavalry battalion of the 'One Regiment' to rush to Laoye Mountain within three hours, and the four infantry battalions and a special service company should rush to Laoye Mountain by 14 o'clock in the afternoon at the fastest marching speed.

There is not much difference between the distance between the enemy and us from Laoye Mountain, but the Japanese army took a truck and quickly advanced along the Heng (Shui) Shi (Jiazhuang) Highway, sparing a big bend and more than 100 kilometers.

Lei Jian's only regiment crossed the mountains and mountains to take a shortcut, and the road was shortened by more than 50 kilometers, so that the distance between the enemy and us was nearly 100 kilometers, but the enemy relied on four wheels to march quickly, and the Eighth Route Army relied on two legs to travel long distances.

The cavalry battalion of the 'One Regiment', under the leadership of Deputy Commander Li Gang, handed over all the bulky weapons and ammunition to the follow-up troops in order to speed up the march.

Wang Xiaoliang led four main battalions and a special service company, running and marching, interspersed with green gauze tents, hills and mountains from time to time, and sometimes climbing steep mountains, the march was very difficult, but when the soldiers heard that they were going to fight with the Japanese 581st Wing again, the morale of the troops was high, and no matter how difficult and dangerous the march was, it was difficult for this tempered heroic unit.

Political Commissar Ma Mingshan led the regimental organs and subordinate departments to closely follow behind the large army and move forward rapidly with a spirit of perseverance.

After Lei Jian gave the order, he ordered Qu Jiaming, the commander of the reconnaissance platoon, and Song Tiedan, the leader of the guard squad: "You two take the troops, follow closely by my side, and set off immediately." ”

Ma Mingshan saw that Lei Jian led these dozens of cavalry to act alone, he urged the horse to chase after him uneasily, rushed to the front and suddenly reined in the horse's head to block Lei Jian, and said with a serious face: "Commander Lei, the future is treacherous, you will lead dozens of cavalry and take risks, I, as the political commissar of the 'only regiment', will never agree with you to disregard your personal danger and lead the small troops to act alone." ”

Lei Jian didn't expect Ma Mingshan to say this to him suddenly, and his tone was very harsh, which had never been done before, but he knew in his heart that the reason why Ma Mingshan did this, the 'only regiment' at this time was already the main force with four main battalions and more than 4,000 cadres and soldiers, plus the regimental organs and departments, it had exceeded 5,000.

With such a huge main combat regiment, the regiment commander said that he would throw it off, and only led a few dozen soldiers to sacrifice their lives and take risks, and once there was danger, he, the political commissar of the 'only regiment', should be held accountable.

Ma Mingshan is not afraid of accountability, but afraid of this heroic army, once it loses Lei Jian, a decisive commander, witty and brave commander, then this team will face a disaster, what to do?

Lei Jian said with a smile: "Commissar Ma, don't worry, I lead the reconnaissance platoon and the guard squad, just behind the cavalry battalion, which is also the middle of the troops, the front is the cavalry battalion, and the back is the main four combat battalions, so the command will be more flexible and mobile, you say yes Commissar Ma?" ”

"Regiment Commander Lei, you are still under the influence of me, I was formerly the chief of the operations department of the Eastern Column, and I am very familiar with the rules of your actions after a period of contact, so I don't believe that our 'only regiment' will fight head-on with the strongest combat force of the Ninth Brigade and Regiment alone, and you will be able to calm down, not rush to the front to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and formulate the most detailed combat plan?"

Lei Jian shook his head by what Ma Mingshan said, and then said with a smile: "Political Commissar Ma, although we have not been together for a long time, it is still you who understand me, you are right, the opponent we are facing is very strong, although the 581 Wing was hit on the high ground, but it did not hurt the muscles and bones, and it is still our 'only group' enemy, if you want to defeat a powerful enemy, you must know yourself and your enemy."

For the safety of the lives of more than 5,000 cadres and soldiers of the 'One Regiment', and in order to complete the tasks assigned by the superiors, I took the risk of reconnoitring the enemy. Commissar Ma, don't you want to do this? ”

Ma Mingshan was speechless by Lei Jian's words, he sighed deeply and asked: "My good brother, I, Ma Mingshan, have nothing to ask for you, I just ask you to live well, can you promise me?" ”

"Okay, Commissar Ma, I, Lei Jian, promise you that I will live well, wait for you in Lao Ye Mountain, and see my old brother again."

Lei Jian slammed the horse's head, rubbed Ma Mingshan's war horse and galloped away, and dozens of horses behind him stepped on the ground, bursting into the sky and dust, and the dust was gone.

A battalion of the Eighth Route Army was fighting fiercely with a squadron of devils on the eastern slope of Laoye Mountain, and both sides wanted to occupy favorable terrain and carry out firepower strikes against the enemy, but they did not give in to each other, and they were stuck in the middle of the mountain on the east side of Laoye Mountain, and it was difficult to solve the problem.

The Devil Squadron Leader asked for reinforcements many times, and received a reply that within three hours, the reinforcements would arrive, but more than four hours had passed, and no friendly reinforcements had been seen.

The 1st Battalion of the Eighth Route Army, which was entangled by the enemy in Lao Ye Mountain, received an order to retreat to the top of the mountain, blocking the enemy and waiting for the long-distance attack of Lei Jian's 'One Regiment', blocking the enemy at the foot of Lao Ye Mountain, and ensuring the smooth progress of the general attack on the Zhengtai Railway.

The commander of the first battalion led the troops, and had blocked the enemy for a day and a night in Lao Ye Mountain, at this time the troops suffered heavy casualties, if they could not get reinforcements in a short time, I am afraid that they would not be able to support it, and Lao Ye Mountain would be lost.

He ordered the company commanders: "Preserve strength, cross cover, and retreat to the top of the hill while holding back the enemy." ”

The Devil Squadron Leader found that the Eighth Route Army was steadily retreating, and he knew very well in his heart that once the Eighth Route Army withdrew to the top of the mountain, used the cover of the mountain position, and condescendingly carried out a fire attack, one of his squadrons would definitely suffer heavy losses.

He shouted to the devil's squads: "The Tubalu should retreat to the top of the mountain, order a squad to contain it, and the two squads will surround it from the flank, and you must block the Tubalu retreat and kill it——。 ”

(End of chapter)