The sudden offensive of the Japanese army in Junling against Fengdian was soon reported to the headquarters of the Second Theater Commander in Linfen, southwest of the Shanxi Dynasty. The one who reported the intelligence was the 12th Independent Brigade of the Jin Army.

Zheng Yuan, the commander of the 12th Independent Brigade, sat anxiously in the brigade headquarters of Wencheng, quite puzzled by the Japanese army's move to choose Fengdian first for the southward attack.

Wencheng, and Junling, which has been occupied by the Japanese army at the end of last year, are all located on the Tongpu railway line, if the Japanese army in Junling wants to wave their division south, the most convenient thing is to hit Wencheng a hundred miles away along the Tongpu line, but what is puzzling is that they avoided the railway line and made a bend to attack Fengdian County in the deep mountains.

What kind of medicine is sold in the gourd of the Japanese?

Zheng Yuan's 12th Brigade has two regiments, the 569th Regiment is in Wencheng, and the 570th Regiment is stretched forward in Fengdian, one guards the railway and the other guards the highway, which are horns of each other, which can be called the two gateways of central and southern Jin. However, although it is the same gateway, Wencheng is located on the Tongpu line, and if Wencheng is captured, it can attack Lingshi, Hongdong and Linfen along this railway artery that runs through Shanxi, and finally Linfen, where the headquarters of the prefect of the Second War Zone is located: judging from the mobile combat expertise that the Japanese army is good at, this should be their first choice for launching a new offensive in Shanxi.

But the Japanese actually went straight to Fengdian.

An urgent report from Tian Mingda, the commander of the 570th Regiment, indicated that the Japanese troops under the city of Fengdian suddenly numbered in the thousands, carrying heavy artillery and cavalry. Why would such a huge elite attack a county town that was isolated on the front line of the two armies? It's puzzling.

The independent 12th Brigade can only be regarded as a second-line army in the Jin Army, before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the brigade was already stationed in Wencheng and Fengdian, at that time, the whole Shanxi was still under the control of Yan Xishan, so the location of the Independent 12th Brigade was not as prominent as it is now. Today, they are at the forefront of the confrontation between the two armies, but they have not directly participated in the war against Japan. However, Zheng Yuan was deeply shocked by the successive defeats of Chief Yan and the Central Army in Northern Jin, Xinkou, Niangziguan and Taiyuan: The Japanese are really too powerful.

Can Fengdian hold up? Fengdian can't hold it, and it's no big problem, but if the Japanese army takes Fengdian and then comes out of the mountains to attack Wencheng, it will be a disaster.

After receiving the alarm from the 570th Regiment, Zheng Yuan immediately reported to the Commander's Department of the Second War Zone, but a whole day passed, and the Commander's Department did not send any instructions and reply. Of course, the brigade commander of the 12th Brigade of Du would not take one of his own regiments to fight to the death with the Japanese army, and he hinted to Tian Mingda at the first time, if the county town does not follow the rules and withdraw the main force of the regiment to the brigade headquarters, and fortify Wencheng - anyway, Fengdian still has the retreating Central Army in the way, and the strategic position of Wencheng is far from being comparable to Fengdian.

What the commander of the 12th Brigade did not expect was that the speed of the retreat of the commander of the 570th Regiment under him was amazing, and it seemed that the Japanese had not yet taken Fengdian, and the commander of the Tian regiment fled with the whole regiment to Wencheng! What's worse is that in the last call with the brigade headquarters, Regiment Commander Tian reported that the communication squad and escort company sent by the brigade headquarters overnight encountered Japanese cavalry this morning and failed to enter Fengdian County, and their whereabouts are now unknown!

Zheng Yuan was so angry that he scolded: He didn't care much about the loss of a communications squad and the escort company, but it was Captain Xiao Junping, the effective intelligence staff officer of the brigade headquarters, who led the communications squad to the front line in Fengdian! Staff Officer Xiao studied the battle sequences and tactics of the Japanese army, and was a rare Japanese expert in the brigade headquarters and even the entire Jin army. Tian Mingda, this bastard!

The last situation obtained from the direction of Fengdian is that the Japanese army is shelling and using infantry to storm the defense of Fengdian City, and the 391st Regiment of the Central Army may not be able to support it. After that, it was no longer possible to call Fengdian: obviously, Tian Mingda had already left the camp. Zheng Yuan had no choice but to order the whole city to be on alert, and on the other hand, he sent a small number of troops along the highway to Fengdian to respond, and tried to find the whereabouts of Xiao Junping's staff officer and the female soldiers of the communication class.

……

At the temporary station of the Second Battalion of the Eighth Route Army, Xiao Junping woke up.

It was already early morning the next day after the Battle of Dawangyu.

When Xiao Junping woke up, he found himself lying in a cave with a hastily built bed underneath him. This is actually one of a large row of caves, and the reason why the second battalion chose to camp in this small village is precisely because of these caves under the soil slope at the head of the village, which were used to burn bricks back then, and the scale is equivalent to a brick kiln field. At present, these dozens of caves have become temporary barracks, filled with commanders and fighters of the second battalion.

By the light of the poorly obscured hole, the captain of the Jin army gradually saw the figures walking around in this hole brick kiln, they were wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army, and one of them had a white towel tied on his arm: it was a female soldier, a female health soldier.

Knowing that Xiao Junping woke up, Wu Zijian was the first to come to visit, Xiao Junping still remembered the deputy battalion commander of the Eighth Route Army, and when they were cleaning the battlefield in Dawangyu yesterday, they had a brief exchange.

"Staff Officer Xiao, you have finally woken up, it seems that you and our eight roads are still fateful." Wu Zijian said with a smile.

Xiao Junping felt that he was still very weak, and he had the heart to sit up from a flat lying position, but he didn't succeed: "Chief Wu, where am I?" What about the brethren who have come with me? ”

Wu Zijian explained in a few words the situation after Xiao Junping fell into a coma yesterday. Knowing that he was carried to this small village by the Eighth Route Army alone, Xiao Junping was anxious: "Chief Wu, I have to go to Fengdian immediately, if the county seat has been lost, I have to rush back to the brigade headquarters to resume my life." ”

Wu Zijian pressed the staff officer of the Jin army who was struggling to get up: "One of your legs has been broken, you can't even walk without help, and the knife wound on your shoulder and head also has signs of infection, I heard from our health soldiers, you still had a fever last night." Now you're leaving, I'm afraid you won't even be able to save your life! ”

Xiao Junping lifted the quilt and tried to move his left leg, which was wrapped in bandages and planks, and it was really painful, and he remembered that it was kicked by the hooves of the Japanese cavalry in Dawangyu yesterday, and he didn't expect to have a broken bone.

"Fengdian, is Fengdian still in the hands of the national army?"

Hearing Xiao Junping ask, Wu Zijian paused in a deep groan, and replied: "This, we don't know very well, in the second half of last night, there was a cannon sound in the direction of Fengdian, turn around...... We'll send someone to scout when we get back. ”

The sound of artillery in the second half of the night that Wu Zijian mentioned was actually the blasting sound of the 391st Regiment's night attack on the Japanese army.

At this time, someone from outside the cave walked in and said to Wu Zijian: "Deputy battalion commander, breakfast has been opened in advance." The commissar and the battalion commander said that it was not safe here, and the whole battalion immediately opened after the meal. ”

Wu Zijian replied to the comer, and was about to say a few words to Xiao Junping, but unexpectedly, the staff officer of the Jin Army became alert: "Open up? Where are you going? Why is it not safe here? ”

Wu Zijian rubbed his hands: "Staff Officer Xiao, you also saw it, yesterday we fought with the devil cavalry in Dawangyu, and you also judged from the armband that they were from the Sena Division." The devil has suffered a loss, and he will not be able to kill back to Dawangyu to take revenge, and it is only ten miles away from Dawangyu, so we are ready to evacuate. ”

"Evacuate?! Don't you go to Fengdian? The Japanese army is attacking Fengdian, don't you know? Xiao Junping was anxious, and his tone became sharp.

Wu Zijian was a little embarrassed: "Well, we, we know that the Japanese army is attacking Fengdian, but, but we have our own mission-"

Xiao Junping sharply interrupted Wu Zijian's words: "Chief Wu, your Eighth Route Army is also fighting in the National Army now. Right now, the Japanese army attacking the southern gateway of our Jin Dynasty is close at hand, where are you going to run if you don't meet the enemy?! ”