The platoon led by the commander of the spy company, Zhao Mutou, together with the twenty top soldiers he sent forward, were all Bergman*; By the time Zhao Mutou arrived at the forefront, the * in the hands of the spearhead had already fired, and the rifle that returned fire on the opposite side was a rifle.

"Company commander, there are a lot of cavalry on the dog day, and they put their horses behind, and a few of them wanted to steal from both sides just now, but they were strafed back by us." A sharp soldier reported to Zhao Mutou, who ran over to the cat's waist.

"How much is a lot?" Zhao Mutou was dissatisfied with the report of his subordinates: "Dozens? Hundreds? ”

"Not so much, just twenty or thirty rides."

"Is it a devil or a puppet Mongolian army?"

"It's not like a devil, it's not a yellow coat."

Zhao Mutou was suddenly relieved, and when he ran here, the bullets on his head were whizzing overhead, and he had already judged from the sound of gunfire that it was a Japanese 38-style cavalry gun.

He immediately ordered a platoon that came up with him to take the front position of the spearmen, and the twenty spearmen divided into two lines, one left and one right.

However, before the soldiers could start to move, a loud shout sounded on the opposite side-

"We are the Eighth Route Army! Who are you?! Which part?! ”

Zhao Mutou was startled, thinking that he had misheard: Eighth Route Army?! He hurriedly restrained his soldiers from moving, and at the same time ordered a ceasefire. Dozens of German-made* guns suddenly stopped their roaring, and the mounted guns on the opposite side apparently received orders for a cease-fire; The battlefield, where there had been a lot of gunfire just now, instantly became quiet, and only the disturbed crows hovered and made noise in the air.

"Lao Tzu is the 391st Regiment of the National Army! What are you eight-way? ”

"The Second Battalion of the Eighth Route Army Forest Division, Cavalry Company!"

Hearing the words of the second battalion of the Lin Division shouted from the opposite side, Zhao Mutou's heart jumped suddenly: The 391st Regiment rushed out before dawn today, for them! Unexpectedly, they met here, their deputy battalion commander also came to the 391st Regiment and had a good conversation with Qin Tuanzuo. However, there are cavalry in the second battalion of the forest division? I haven't heard of it.

The suspicious spy company commander ordered his subordinates to continue shouting:

"You send someone, come out, we promise not to shoot!"

After a while, the people who were lying behind the barren grass and the mound of dirt on the opposite side stood up, holding a 38-type riding spear in one hand, the muzzle of which was facing the sky, and slowly walked towards this side. After walking about seven or eight steps, seeing that there was no movement here, he stopped suspiciously.

But in Zhao Mutou's binoculars, he had clearly seen the military uniform of the comer, as well as the word "Eight Roads" on the armband of the military uniform. He immediately ordered a squad leader to walk over and make contact with the other party.

The two messengers walked to one place, and after a few brief conversations, they each turned their heads and waved vigorously towards their positions, and a large number of soldiers stood up on each side.

The Special Service Company of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army and the Cavalry Company of the Second Battalion of the Forest Division of the Eighth Route Army unexpectedly joined forces in this wasteland.

Xia Lianshan, the commander of the cavalry company of the second battalion, was already at the end of the crossbow at this moment, and the fierce battle of the night, the bleeding gunshot wound in the shoulder, made him in a state of near collapse. Zhao Mutou, the commander of the spy company, walked up and shook hands with him, obviously feeling the weakness of the other party's body:

"How's your estuary village doing? Why did the cavalry run in this direction? ”

"The Japanese puppet army launched a large-scale night attack, and the troops of the second battalion in Hekou Village should have withdrawn to Guanmen Mountain, and our cavalry company could not enter the mountain in order to copy the back road of the little devil, and was preparing to withdraw to the northern foot of Guanmen Mountain;" Xia Lianshan said with a strong spirit: "Company Commander Zhao, where are your troops going?" ”

"We know that you are besieged by devils, and on the orders of Qin Tuanzuo, we are going to rush to Hekou Village to help your field!"

Xia Lianshan's gaze became dull, and he shook his head slowly: "Don't go, the deputy battalion commander led the troops to withdraw, and the estuary is full of devils and puppet Mongolian soldiers......"

After saying this, the cavalry company commander could no longer hold on, his body shook, and he fell straight to the ground; Zhao Mutou's eyes were quick, and he supported Xia Lianshan, who was already unconscious, in mid-air. At this moment, the commander of the spy company of the 391st Regiment suddenly felt that this person's face seemed familiar, and he had definitely seen it somewhere!

Qin Zhongxiao initially received a walkie-talkie report from the forward spy company, saying that he had encountered enemy cavalry and had exchanged fire. The colonel of the Central Army immediately ordered the advance to be stopped, and the two companies of the 1st Battalion were deployed horizontally to form a temporary position, and the two captured Type 92 heavy machine guns were mounted in the center of the position. Fighting cavalry in the wilderness, he was confident that he would not suffer, but he did not know the number of enemy cavalry.

He heard Bergman*'s collective rage, but soon calmed down again. Qin Zhongxiao, who was confused, was wondering, and new news came from the walkie-talkie: I misunderstood, the person who came was the cavalry company of the second battalion of the Eighth Route Army Forest Division!

The colonel of the Central Army and his own spy company commander felt the same doubts, how did the people from the second battalion of the Lin Division come in this direction? But soon he gave his own answer: in Hekou Village, at the western foot of Guanmen Mountain, the Eighth Route Army may have been lost.

He confirmed his judgment in the following time - Zhao Mutou sent someone to send the unconscious cavalry company commander of the Eighth Route Army and his remaining subordinates. From one of the opposing platoon commanders, Qin Zhongxiao learned about the detailed battle situation that took place in Hekou Village; When he learned that Xiping Village, which was more than ten miles away from Hekou Village, was also attacked by the Japanese army at night, the colonel of the Central Army realized the seriousness of the situation.

It seems that the Japanese puppet army dispatched heavy troops and purposefully swept the two camps of the Eighth Route Army at the western foot of Guanmen Mountain. Originally, he wanted to join forces with the Eighth Route Army, but now the life and death of this friendly army are unknown.

The battalion commander on the side was also very disappointed, and anxiously asked what to do next. Qin Zhongxiao felt that it was meaningless to send troops forward. The main force of the 2nd Battalion of the Lin Division is stationed in Xiping Village, so the troops sent there by the Japanese puppet army must be much stronger. In this way, the Japanese puppet army that he will face before he moves forward may not be less than a few thousand, and this battle cannot be fought. The chief of staff and the commander of the second battalion should still be vigorously feinting Fengdian at this moment, presumably the devils in the county town have desperately called for help, and the main force of the Japanese puppet army attacking the village of the Eighth Route Army will return to help at any time.

"Withdraw!"

Qin Zhongxiao issued an order to retreat. The officers and men of the 391st Regiment, who were eager to try to fight, inexplicably began to turn around and return to the division.

Qin Zhongxiao did not expect badly, the Japanese army in Fengdian County was desperately defending the city, and at the same time, they had been calling for reinforcements. And the Japanese army wing commander Kosuke Otsuka, who received the urgent report, was directing the troops to attack the Guanmen Mountain Pass, and he shook his head in disbelief: This area is really not peaceful, the Eighth Route Army has just been defeated, and the Central Army has run out again. The comfort women's camp arrived here, which was a real mistake.

After a night of fierce fighting, his command almost let the Eighth Route Army end up again, and the wing commander Dazuo also made a lot of mistakes. His men had sacked the small village of Hekou while they were resting, and the villagers were almost gone, and the Eighth Route Army did not capture any prisoners except the corpses: their remnants ran into the mountain pass while Nara Shaoza was withdrawing from the village; The cavalry that had counterattacked their headquarters also fled without a trace.

The ammunition for the mortars and the 92 infantry guns had been exhausted, and there were heavy machine gun fortifications for the Eighth Route Army in the mountain pass, and the two heavy machine guns that fired downward from the well-concealed fortifications turned out to be the 92 heavy machines used by the Imperial Army! Enraged, Kosuke Otsuka prepares to forcibly attack the mountain pass without artillery support. He mobilized all the grenadiers for bombardment, but the grenadiers were not powerful enough to destroy the fortifications, which were apparently made of rock.

At this time, the commander of the Japanese wing received an urgent telegram from the defenders of Fengdian: troops of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army of China appeared in Beicheng, carrying artillery to attack the city. Soon, Deputy Wing Commander Aso Nakasa telegraphed again: The 391st Regiment also appeared in Nancheng.

Kosuke Otsuka has a splitting headache - the 391st Regiment of the Central Army seems to be competing with Fengdian, and has repeatedly attacked and harassed the county seat. Osa knew that after sending troops to Kawaguchi Village last night, the number of people left in the city for Aso Nakasa was indeed limited. Could it be that the Central Army and the Eighth Route Army colluded and rushed out to attack the county seat at this critical time?

Fengdian must not have any more mistakes, otherwise he will not be able to face it at the brigade commander. Otsuka glared angrily at the Guanmen Mountain Pass in the distance, where puffs of black smoke were being blown up by grenadiers, but the tongues of fire from the heavy machine guns of the Eighth Route Army were still spraying outward from the fortifications, pressing the soldiers of the Mongolian Xinjiang Army who were attacking upwards to lie on their stomachs in the dry ravines and unable to raise their heads.

The unwilling wing captain Dazuo gritted his teeth and gave the order to withdraw the troops. He asked the Mongolian army to withdraw from the mountain pass, enter Hekou Village, and completely destroy and burn the village. In the night battle, the Eighth Route Army here should be almost annihilated, and the mountain pass is there, waiting for the future to bring enough shells to destroy it!

When the men of the Mongolian army had just set fire to Kawaguchi Village, Kosuke Otsuka and two squadrons of the Nara Brigade had already boarded the truck and started. One truck was damaged by the counterattacking Eighth Route Army*, and the rest were able to move. At this time, Kosuke Otsuka received a third call from Aso Nakasa: The 391st Regiment of the Central Army, which appeared in Nancheng, visually had five or six hundred infantry, and did not attack the city, but marched to the south, and did not rule out the possibility of attacking Osa's night attack troops.

Kosuke Otsuka laughed cruelly: It's just in time! The Imperial Army is enough to have one enemy and three, only five or six hundred soldiers, and with these two squadrons of Nara Shaosa, he can completely give a head-on attack!

It's a pity that the number of imperial troops guarding Xiaoyushu Mountain and Songjiagou is too small, otherwise they can take the opportunity to send a force from there and immediately cut off the rear road of the 391st Regiment - the Eighth Route Army at the foot of the mountain was not completely wiped out last night, and if the main force of the 391st Regiment can be surrounded and annihilated in the wilderness today, it can be regarded as a relatively complete end to this dispatch. Aso, the bastard, didn't say how many people there were in the Central Army attacking Fengdian Beicheng, and in his own opinion, there would not be too many enemy troops over there, because it was obvious that the 391st Regiment that was coming towards him was their main force.

Mountain artillery!

Suddenly, Kosuke Otsuka thought of the two 75 mountain guns arranged in the East Pass of Little Elm, and couldn't help but get excited, he asked a staff officer to immediately telegraph to the defenders of the East Mountain Pass, pay attention to the situation outside the lookout mountain pass, and if the 391st Regiment of the Central Army escapes to the Great Elm Mountain through there later, it can immediately open fire to strike at it!