Li Gang held Ma Ming's hands tightly and said: "Old man, I really didn't expect that our Thunder Sword Regiment Commander is not in the only regiment, although I, Li Gang, were ordered to serve as the commander of the only regiment in the middle of the battle, but I am commanding the battle on behalf of Lei Regiment Commander, now it's okay, with your words, my Li Gang is much more down-to-earth,"

Ma Ming looked at Li Gang and said unceremoniously: "Commander Li, I don't feel that Commander Lei left us at all, he just led the guard platoon to carry out special tasks, and you were ordered to take the command on your behalf, I, Ma Ming, dare not disobey the orders of Commander Lei Jian." ”

Li Gang heard that Ma Ming, not only Ma Ming, but all the commanders and soldiers of the only regiment, they had become accustomed to the fact that after Commander Lei gave the order, he led the guard platoon to risk his life to carry out a new combat mission.

This kind of order to each unit and the command of the commander of each unit on the battlefield are all combat deployments of the commander of the Lei Jian Regiment when he leaves, and this kind of habitual engagement with the enemy has always been very full in the hearts of the soldiers.

Li Gang was appointed commander of the only regiment, and from the first order to the current combat deployment, not only did the troops not resist, but also carried out very smoothly.

Although he felt very smooth in his heart, he could feel that the cadres and soldiers of the army regarded him as a stand-in for Lei Jian, and they carried out Lei Jian's orders, so he carried them out so calmly and completely.

For Li Gang, this is a kind of pressure, but also a kind of invisible elevation, he does not want this situation, as the supreme military commander of a unit, living in the shadow of a person, very painful.

Once the cadres and soldiers of the only regiment thought from their hearts, Lei Jian, the commander of their only regiment, that he had really sacrificed, could the troops still be so stable?

Besides, Li Gang had already realized that the head of the Lei Jian regiment must have died heroically, otherwise the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region Command would not have just appointed him as the acting head of the regiment, and in less than eight hours before and after, it would have immediately appointed him as the head of the regiment.

Li Gang thought of this, tears flowed out of his eyes, and he couldn't help crying in a low voice: "Commander Lei, did you really sacrifice yourself heroically and leave the only regiment and never come back?" The soldiers of the only regiment can't live without you. ”

Fang Liqiang, the commander of the assault company next to Li Gang, heard Li Gang muttering in a sob, as if he heard a vague cry of 'Commander Lei, are you really a heroic sacrifice', Fang Liqiang nervously grabbed Li Gang and asked, "Commander Li, what did you say?" Did Captain Lei really die? ”

Li Gang was nervously wiped away his tears by Fang Liqiang's question, and said with a serious attitude: "Company Commander Fang, what are you talking nonsense?" Now that the enemy is present, if the soldiers hear you say that there is no shadow, the combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced, do you know? ”

"Then why did you just say that?"

"What kind of ears are you? The gunfire is so intense, can you hear me? Focus on directing the battle and don't think too much. ”

Although Li Gang said this, his heart was dripping blood, and when he realized that he was suddenly promoted to the head of the only regiment, the head of the Lei Jian was clearly removed from the position of the head of the only regiment.

There are two possibilities for dismissal, one is to be promoted and used when he has made outstanding achievements in battle, and the other is what Li Gang dare not think of, that is, the head of the Lei Jian regiment has really sacrificed, and the head of the military region will directly appoint Li Gang, the acting regiment commander, as the regiment commander so quickly, in less than eight hours

When Li Gang realized that the head of the Thunder Sword Regiment had really sacrificed, he shuddered suddenly, and in the face of the little devils who were frantically attacking at the foot of the West Mountain, Li Gang firmly and secretly determined that he must quickly grasp the ideological trends of this army, and in the process of slow guidance, he quickly picked up this heavy burden and took over the class of the sacrificial Commander of the Thunder Sword.

Just when Li Gang stared at the little devil attacking under the mountain with bloodshot eyes, suddenly the Japanese army stopped attacking, which made him frown and wondered why.

The Japanese troops attacking the West Hill and North Hill of the military city almost simultaneously stopped attacking the two positions of the Eighth Route Army's One Regiment and the Fifth Regiment, and for a while the positions slowly fell from the fierce gunfire of the guns.

Li Gang's abnormal command of the Japanese commander made a second monk, and even the commander of the Fifth Regiment, who led the main force of the Duyi Regiment and the Fifth Regiment and held on to the north mountain of the military city, was confused by the enemy's sudden withdrawal from the attack.

How could the two commanders of the Eighth Route Army not be confused by the battlefield situation in front of them? At the moment before, the enemy was still using the most fierce artillery fire to cover a large number of little devils and attack the positions of the Eighth Route Army in the west and north mountains of the military city; under the situation of the huge disparity in strength and firepower between the enemy and us, the two positions of the Eighth Route Army were in very danger, and the forward positions were about to be broken through by the enemy.

The cavalry battalion of the only regiment led by Li Gang and three special companies launched a frantic attack from the bottom of the mountain with the absolute superiority of two brigades, and they had formed an encirclement momentum and quickly compressed the position on the top of the mountain.

If they did not withdraw from their positions immediately, the troops led by Li Gang would be completely annihilated, and at this critical juncture, the arrogant Japanese commander suddenly stopped attacking.

Li Gang and Regiment Commander Pang felt at the same time that less than five minutes before and after the gunfire in the west and north mountains of the military city, the enemy suddenly stopped shelling and attacked with a large force, and there must be ghosts among them. In order to find out the situation, the two regiment commanders telegraphed to each other, and for a while no one could tell what the Japanese commander was thinking.

Commander Pang said: "Commander Li, is there any big move in the enemy's sudden abnormality?" Do you immediately ask the Military District Command for details? ”

Li Gang immediately reported on the battlefield situation when the enemy suddenly stopped attacking at the most brutal time of the fierce battle with the enemy in the military city, and asked for instructions on how to act next.

An urgent telegram sent by Li Gang, a staff officer of Tang and the only regiment of the General City of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, was handed to Commander Nie, who was commanding the breakout.

Commander Nie frowned at the telegram, and asked after a moment of silence, "Staff Officer Tang, have you received any information on the movement of enemy troops from the underground organization?" For example, enemy fighters ....... ”

"Report to Commander Nie, according to the telegram sent by the Shijiazhuang underground organization, the Japanese Third Aviation Brigade, twenty-four fighters are urgently equipped at the airport, and other large Japanese troops are moving in the direction of Xuzhou."

"Enemy fighters at Shijiazhuang Airport found abnormalities? Is it possible that the enemy will dispatch a large number of warplanes to carry out aerial fire strikes on the Beiyue District, the anti-Japanese base of our Eighth Route Army, and wipe out the organs and garrison units of our Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region in this area? ”

Commander Nie's brows became tighter and tighter, and the idea of the enemy using powerful firepower from the air and ground to launch the largest 'sweep' against the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region became clearer and clearer in his mind.

He grabbed the phone and shouted into the microphone: "Connect the phone of the second, third, and sixth regiments on the front, and I will talk to their regiment commanders immediately." ”

A few minutes later, Commander Nie's face had a very cold expression, and he said to Staff Officer Tang: "The second, third, and sixth regiments covering the breakthrough of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region are engaged in a life-and-death battle with the enemy, and the situation is very urgent. Commander Li Gang and Regiment Commander Pang of the First Regiment and the Fifth Regiment of the Military City were ordered to hold the enemy in the frontline positions of the Military City for four hours, no matter what conspiracy the enemy had, so as to prevent the Japanese Fourth Brigade and the 26th Brigade from meeting up and flanking the organs of the Military Region to break through.

They were ordered to closely monitor the enemy fighters in the air, be ready to fight a life-and-death battle with the enemy at any time, and after completing the task, quickly move to the King Kong Warehouse on the southern slope of Wutai Mountain. ”

When Li Gang and Regiment Commander Pang received the latest operational order from the Military Region, they felt a heavy burden on their shoulders, but they were firm in their confidence that they would definitely block the Japanese Fourth Brigade from breaking through the defense line of the Eighth Route Army at the forward position of the military city, quickly advance to Chengnanzhuang, and flank the security of the head of the Eighth Route Army's Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the smooth transfer of the military and civilians from Fucheng.

Commander Nie predicted that the 24 Japanese fighters would step up their equipment at Shijiazhuang Airport, and it seemed that they would soon take off to carry out combat missions, and the most direct blow would be the positions of the 1st Regiment and the 5th Regiment that would block the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Army in the military city and march to Chengnanzhuang.

The troops of the Eighth Route Army in Chengnanzhuang will break through to the outside and will also be the main target of the enemy's key strikes.

At this time, the large Japanese army, which had an absolute advantage and attacked the positions of the One Regiment and the Fifth Regiment, suddenly stopped moving, and it was the commander of the cunning Fourth Brigade Katayama Brigade who stopped the attack and built fortifications on the spot in order to wait for fighter reinforcements and stabilize the troops of the Eighth Route Army in Xishan and Beishan.

As soon as the Japanese fighter group was in the air, he immediately ordered the troops, under the cover of aerial firepower, to break through the positions of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop with the most frantic attack, and to wipe out all the Eighth Route Army guarding the positions in Beishan and Xishan.

(End of chapter)