Yang Zhen's prediction was quite accurate. Judging from the follow-up actions of the Japanese puppet army, the first battle of Weihe County was really a hornet's nest. Even since the 918 incident, he has resisted Japan with his brother. Li Yanping, who went to the Soviet Union to study for several years with the middle, but was also considered to be an experienced man, also sighed to himself after this war, and he had never seen such a big move by a devil against a certain anti-coalition force in a few years.

After laying down the county seat of Weihe, Yang Zhen can indeed be said to have stabbed the hornet's nest. The intensity of the Japanese puppet army's encirclement and suppression of its subordinates is more than a big word that can be described. Judging from the deployment of the Japanese puppet army and the number of troops mobilized, dealing with a force like Yang Zhen that is only nearly 1,000 people can even be said to have made a bloody investment.

On the afternoon of the third day after Yang Zhen evacuated Weihe County, during the march, several reconnaissance planes appeared in the sky to reconnoiter and track Yang Zhen's headquarters in turn. On the ground, judging from only limited intelligence, the entire territory of Zhuhe, Weihe, Wuchang, and Acheng is full of convoys of Japanese puppet army transporting troops. Cavalry, infantry, and even chariot units were dispatched.

Although Yang Zhen, who entered the territory of Wuchang, defeated several group tribes, burned all household registration materials, and rescued a group of people. However, for the start of the pioneer group, it was always because of the rapid reinforcement speed of the Japanese puppet army and the large number of troops, so they did not find a relatively good fighter.

Yang Zhen, who was about to transfer from Wuchang to Acheng, looked at the reconnaissance plane hovering over his head, and his brows couldn't help frowning. Although he has his own tactical intentions and doesn't care about exposing himself, there is always a pair of eyes in the sky that tastes uncomfortable.

Moreover, Yang Zhen knew that if he wanted to survive in danger, he must take the initiative into his own hands. Always being watched by reconnaissance planes, his whereabouts will be grasped by the Japanese puppet army, and he will fall into passivity, let alone hold the initiative in his own hands.

After Yang Zhen raised his binoculars and carefully observed the track of the reconnaissance plane that was now hovering over his head, he called Li Mingrui beside him and pointed to a relatively tall hill two miles in front of him and said, "Mingrui, I will hand over the heavy machine gun company of the second battalion to you." You take these six heavy machine guns to the hill to form an ambush position. ”

"I'll order the troops to rest in place and create a Zào fighter plane for you. You will follow the method I have taught you on weekdays, and when the devil plane is gliding and circling, you will concentrate your firepower, calculate the amount in advance, and knock this devil reconnaissance plane down for me. Remember, be sure to calculate the amount of lead. The devil plane is thin-skinned, as long as it is caught, there is no problem at all in knocking it out with heavy machine gun fire. ”

Li Mingrui looked at the reconnaissance plane above his head, and after making a rough estimate in his heart according to the calculation method that Yang Zhen had specially taught him, he said: "Commander, don't worry, I will definitely dig out the thief's eyes of the devil for him." ”

Yang Zhen nodded, and stuffed his set of German-made high-powered telescopes from Shiro Ishii to him, and said, "Use this accurately when observing, don't use your little devil's product." ”

Li Mingrui took the telescope handed over by Yang Zhen, saluted, and hurriedly led the team to carry out Yang Zhen's order.

Looking at Li Mingrui's back, Li Yanping, who had specially caught up from behind because the troops stopped advancing, said with some curiosity: "What are they going to do?" How did you take only one heavy machine gun company? ”

Yang Zhen pointed to the reconnaissance plane in the sky and said, "I'll let him knock down those thief's eyes." Keep it on the lookout all day, and no matter how we change the marching route, it will be exposed. We are making a big move to cover our true intentions. If we let this guy stare all day long, we can't hide any intentions. ”

After that, Yang Zhen walked to a tree on the side of the road and opened the map and said, "Political commissar, our original plan to enter Acheng must be changed now." The devil's reconnaissance plane has already exposed our whereabouts, and judging from the devil's reaction speed, the devil may have mobilized heavy troops in front of us. If we continue to carry out the original plan, we will get headlong into the encirclement of the devils. So our original plan had to be changed. ”

"Then how do you see our next move?" After listening to Yang Zhen's analysis, Li Yanping nodded approvingly. Even if it has been fought for so many years, even if the command of the large corps and the ability to coordinate the overall situation are lacking, the basic military quality is still there. For Yang Zhen's words, he still agrees.

Yang Zhen stared at the map and pondered for a long time, then sighed and said, "Political commissar, there is too little information available to us now. Relying on Huang Dali's tactical reconnaissance alone is not enough. ”

"Lao Guo's current monitoring of the devil's radio station, because there is no special deciphering talent, can only rely on the captured passwords of some Japanese puppet army, and there are too few codes that can be deciphered by the Japanese puppet army. We were on the march all day, and we had very little time to set up the radio. In addition, the Japanese army's radio code was changed very frequently, and the information we could get through guò surveillance was really not much. ”

"Without intelligence sources, we are like a blind man, just groping for action. On the march, you can't just feel it. Achieving victory in a battle requires more than well-equipped and well-trained troops. More often than not, it needs the support of effective intelligence. ”

"How many troops have been mobilized by the Japanese puppet army around us to target us now? How is the equipment? What is the ratio of forces of the Japanese puppet army? How many ways to lay siege on us? We don't know that. Commissar, we can say that now we are faced with the most dangerous situation after the sortie. ”

Yang Zhen and Li Yanping were talking, and as soon as they entered the break, they set up a radio station to contact Peng Dingjie in the secret camp, and Guo Bingxun, who was monitoring the surrounding radio stations, came over and handed a piece of paper to Yang Zhen and said: "Old Yang, just now we heard a telegram on the radio about the communication between the Fourth Military Region and the Sixth Military Region of the puppet Manchurian Army. This is also the only Japanese puppet army telegram that we have deciphered with the few captured codes so far. ”

"The telegram reported that the 16th and 17th mixed brigades of the Fourth Military Region of the Puppet Manchurian Army stationed in Binjiang under him, the cavalry of the Sixth Military Region, and all the forest police units and railway police in Binjiang Province. Part of the forest police force and a regiment of the railway road guard army in Mudanjiang Province, and two infantry brigades of the 4th and 5th independent garrisons of the Japanese army stationed in Mudanjiang and Harbin surrounded and intercepted our unit. ”

"The specific deployment of the Japanese puppet army is still unknown to us. However, one thing is certain now, judging from the paper alone, the Japanese puppet army has mobilized at least 6,000 troops to eliminate our army. Moreover, the commander specially emphasized that the devil had transferred Sasaki, the former top adviser to the puppet Manchurian Military and Political Department, who had been transferred to the commander of the Third Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese North China Front, to the Kwantung Army as the commander of the Fifth Independent Garrison, and was fully responsible for the clean-up operation against us. ”

Speaking of this, Guo Bingxun raised his head and looked at the Japanese reconnaissance plane that was constantly circling in the sky, and then said: "This telegram sent by Yu Chencheng, commander of the Fourth Military Region of the puppet Manchu Army, to Wang Dianzhong, commander of the Sixth Military Region, also bluntly said that the devil not only mobilized heavy troops this time, but also mobilized the aviation troops stationed in Mudanjiang and part of the so-called automatic convoy that the puppet Manchu Army had just established. ”

Hearing Guo Bingxun's report, Yang Zhen and Li Yanping glanced at each other, and after seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes, Yang Zhen said: "Old Guo, did Huang Dali come back from reconnaissance?" ”

Guo Bingxun shook his head and said, "Not yet." But they've been gone for almost half a day, and they should be back soon. ”

Yang Zhen looked at the map and raised his head and said to Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun: "We can't stay here, we must move immediately." While the devils have not yet figured out our specific movements, we will move as soon as Li Mingrui knocks out the reconnaissance plane above our heads. It's getting dark, and at least until the early hours of tomorrow morning, we're going to jump north over the Hamasui line. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen pointed to the map and said: "I have a hunch that the Japanese puppet army should have rushed towards us now, and it should not be too far away from us now." ”

"Since the afternoon, the devil's reconnaissance plane has been hovering over our heads all day, and there is no secret of our whereabouts to the devil, at least until now. So we have to move right away. ”

Just as Yang Zhen's words fell, Li Mingrui, who was ordered to ambush the devil reconnaissance plane, also started. Li Mingrui did not disappoint Yang Zhen this time, and just when the devil's reconnaissance plane found that Yang Zhen's unit had suddenly stopped advancing, it lowered its flight altitude and was about to take a closer look at the reason, Li Mingrui commanded six heavy machine guns lying in ambush on the hill to suddenly open fire, and in one fell swoop, the reconnaissance plane that posed a great threat to Yang Zhen's unit exploded in the air on the spot.

Hearing the dense gunshots, Yang Zhen raised his head and looked at the devil reconnaissance plane that exploded in the air, and suddenly his heart moved.

Standing up, Yang Zhen carefully looked at the surrounding terrain, and then said to Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun: "I'll talk about the transfer later." Political commissar, Lao Guo, it seems that we have to fight here. ”

Hearing that Yang Zhen, who was about to transfer immediately, had quickly changed his mind in such a short period of time, Li Yanping and Guo Bingxun all looked at Yang Zhen with some puzzlement.

Seeing the puzzled eyes of the two, Yang Zhen shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I was a little negligent just now. I tried to find a way to take down the reconnaissance plane that had been following us, but I forgot that the gunfire when we ambushed the plane would also attract the pursuers of the Japanese puppet army. ”

Sure enough, before Yang Zhen could finish speaking, the gunfire of Li Mingrui's ambush devil reconnaissance plane died down for less than a few minutes, and the mountain where he was suddenly bursting with dense gunfire. Along with the sound of gunfire, there were also sporadic shell explosions from time to time.

Hearing the dense gunfire that rang out from Li Mingrui's place, he immediately understood that it was the nearby Japanese puppet army, and Yang Zhen, who heard the gunfire and outflanked him, did not hesitate at all, and immediately ordered two companies to quickly rush to the hill where Li Mingrui was located to support.

Just when Yang Zhen had just mobilized two companies to support Li Mingrui, Huang Dali, who had gone out to investigate, also rushed back at this time. Huang Dali, who was out of breath, couldn't take a break, and immediately reported the situation to Yang Zhen.

"Commander, political commissar, chief of staff, in front of us, the nearly 1,000-day puppet army dispatched from the Fifth Standing carried two mountain artillery pieces under the cover of some cavalry, and it is already less than thirty miles away from us."

Huang Dali hadn't finished his report yet, and Wang Guangyu, the deputy chief of staff who had been cut off and contained in the back, also rushed up and said: "Commander, we found a large number of Japanese puppet troops behind us who were rapidly pursuing our department. At this point, we should have reached this position. With that, Wang Guangyu pointed at the map that Yang Zhen had not yet put away.

Looking at the location of the devil chasers that appeared behind him pointed out by Wang Guangyu was less than fifty miles away from him, Yang Zhen couldn't help but gasp, only to find that his expectations were still a little light.

Devils were found before and after, and judging from the gunshots in Li Mingrui's place, the number of devils was not a few, and they were closer to their positions, and they could even be called under their noses. Judging from the directions in which the devil has been discovered now, he can now be said to have been surrounded by the Japanese puppet army.

Realizing that the situation was urgent, Yang Zhen did not hesitate at all. After accurately finding his current location on the map, Yang Zhen pointed to the map and said to Guo Bingxun: "Old Guo, you personally bring a radio station, lead a company and two mortars to block the enemy in front of us." ”

"Lao Guo, don't be your head when you block the attack, try to rely on the terrain to resist step by step, and be careful not to let the Japanese puppet army figure out our reality and reality. If you have to have a hard top, remember that the firepower and the allocation of troops should be heavy in the front and light in the back, and the allocation of troops should be light in the front and heavy in the rear, and rely on the ground to form an echelon blockade. Pay special attention to your flank protection. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen raised his head, looked at Guo Bingxun with a solemn face, and said: "Old Guo, our unit has not been formed for a long time, and not only the combat experience of the combat personnel of the unit is less, but even the combat experience of the company platoon commander is not much. ”

"Some of the old brothers who rushed out of Harbin with us may have experience in blocking battles, but they have commanded even platoon-level blocking battles. Therefore, there must be a competent man in front of you. I don't feel at ease when I hand it over to someone else, but I'm at ease only when you go. ”

"Lao Guo, I only want to ask you one thing now, under the condition of strengthening the firepower and fighting hard with immortality, do you have confidence in four hours on the top of the thirty-mile mountain road?"

After Guo Bingxun looked at the terrain marked on the map, he pondered for a moment and said, "There shouldn't be any major problems. However, there is no absolute in Lao Yang's matter, I can only say that I will do my best to drag the devil for four hours and buy time for the main force. ”

Yang Zhen nodded and said, "Lao Guo, I'll leave it to you in front." Remember not to fight to the death, and use cold guns and cannons to kill and injure enemies. It's not that you want to resist to the death, as long as you contain the Japanese puppet army. And Lao Guo, you must be careful, no matter what, you must give me back alive. ”

Guo Bingxun smiled when he heard Yang Zhen's words of concern, didn't say anything more, just saluted a military salute, then turned around and led a company to cross the marching army column and rush forward quickly.

After sending Guo Bingxun away, Yang Zhen pointed to the place on the map where Wang Guangyu had just pointed out that the Japanese puppet army was chasing the soldiers, and said to Wang Guangyu: "Lao Wang, you also take a company, and according to the method I gave to Chief of Staff Guo just now, to stop the Japanese puppet army that is following." Again, I need four hours of my time. How about it, does Lao Wang have confidence? ”

Wang Guangyu heard Yang Zhen's explanation, nodded and said, "Please rest assured, commander, I will do my best to win four hours for the main force." Even if I die, I will not hesitate to do it. ”

Hearing Wang Guangyu's answer, Yang Zhen said without thinking: "Okay, Lao Wang, you will personally choose this company you bring." If you fancy that company, take that company with you. If there is someone who does not obey the command, you can cut it first and then play it, and you don't have to ask for instructions. ”

Wang Guangyu is also a happy person, and when he heard Yang Zhen's words, he said without the slightest ambiguity: "Commander, don't be embarrassed, Liu Changshun's one is not bad even in my opinion." ”

"Okay, no problem. I said that if you fancy that company, you will give you that company. In addition, Lao Wang, you also remember to give me back alive. Regarding the company that Wang Guangyu named Liu Changshun, Yang Zhen didn't feel too much surprise.

After sending Wang Guangyu and Guo Bingxun away, Yang Zhen rolled up the map and said to Li Yanping beside him: "Political commissar, let's go to Li Mingrui." With that, he immediately got up and walked quickly towards Li Mingrui.

Seeing Yang Zhen and Li Yanping coming up, Li Mingrui, who was commanding Li Mingrui on the top of the mountain, immediately ran over and said, "Commander, political commissar, why are you here?" It's not safe here, and this time the little devil can bring artillery. ”

Yang Zhen took the telescope that was handed to Li Mingrui before, glanced at the simple blocking position that Li Mingrui had chosen, found an observation point, raised the telescope and said, "How do you know what your situation here is if I don't come?" We don't have time to ink, so you should report back quickly. ”

Hearing Yang Zhen's tone a little stern, Li Mingrui didn't dare to hesitate, and leaned down to Yang Zhen and Li Yanping and pointed to the battlefield and said: "Commander, political commissar, we just shot down the enemy plane, and the devil pounced, and the action was very fast. If I hadn't placed the guard post at the bottom of the mountain to find the devil first, they would have almost been killed. ”

"However, judging from the state of the little devils who are also in a hurry, they should not be far from us, but they have not found our specific location. It should have been the sound of our gunfire that drew them in. ”

"I took a closer look just now, the devil's strength is at least one squadron, the puppet Manchu army and the puppet Manchu police are about 100 people, and there are four infantry guns to provide fire support. Whether these Japanese puppet troops are the vanguard or the main force is still unclear for a while. ”

However, although the Japanese puppet army can be regarded as a hasty response, the offensive is very fierce. As soon as it came up, it pressed all over the line, leaving us with almost no breathing room. In a short period of time, we have repelled two attacks in a row. ”