Chapter 64 Duel
The 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Army was preparing to return to Yangquan County.
Both Yangquan County and the western section of the Zhengtai Railway need to be protected, so the 3rd Infantry Regiment cannot stay in a small place like the Huting stronghold for a long time.
Hide Maeda decided to have the Kuroshima Brigade stationed at the Toutei base.
If one reinforced squadron plus a reinforced battalion of puppet troops can't hold on, then we'll have to use a regiment!
In short, the Huting stronghold, a forward base wedged into the heart of the Eighth Route Army's Taihang base, must not be lost.
Maeda Hidetoshi said, "Kuroshima-kun, the existence of the Tiger Pavilion stronghold is of great significance to our 4th Brigade and even the entire 1st Army. We cannot afford to lose it. You should know this."
Kuroshima Morita smiled and said, "I know, that's why the brigade commander asked our Kuroshima Regiment to stay behind."
"Yes." Maeda Hide said, "Only the Kuroshima Regiment can undertake this arduous task. If we continue to use infantry to garrison, we have to leave behind an infantry battalion."
"Otherwise, we will inevitably repeat the mistakes of Maeda Squadron."
"However, if we leave an infantry battalion to garrison, the manpower will be stretched to the limit. Right now, our 1st Army and even the entire North China Front Army are seriously understaffed, as you know."
"I know." Kuroshima Morita nodded slightly.
The occupied area in North China now covers more than 500 counties.
Even if one infantry squadron is stationed in each county, 500 squadrons will be needed, which is equivalent to about 10 Type A divisions!
But in fact, it is far from enough to station only one infantry squadron in a county, because in addition to the county seat, there are factories, mines, docks and many transportation points that need to be protected and garrisoned.
Therefore, there were very few counties in North China that the Japanese army could fully control.
More than 70% of the counties only controlled the county towns and a few transportation lines.
The vast majority of rural areas fell completely into the hands of the Eighth Route Army or secret societies.
Precisely because of its control over the vast countryside, the Eighth Route Army was able to flourish in the past two years, gradually becoming a thorn in the side of the invading Japanese army, and its threat level even exceeded that of the National Army.
That is why the North China Front Army launched a large-scale public security rectification campaign.
It’s a pity that the logistical support cannot keep up and we have to wait at least a year.
Because the war in the central China battlefield in the south has not yet ended completely, all combat supplies and personnel must be given priority to Okamura Yasuji's 11th Army.
"It's okay to stay." Kuroshima Morita said again, "But I have a request."
Maeda Hide's brows slightly frowned, but soon relaxed again: "You say."
Kuroshima Morita pretended not to notice Maeda Hide's unhappiness and said, "We are cavalry. For cavalry, the best defense is offense. It is extremely stupid to just passively defend."
"So, I hope to be able to take the initiative to attack when necessary."
"Okay." Maeda Hideshige agreed after a slight hesitation.
After a pause, he added: "But don't go too deep."
"Of course." Kuroshima Morita said, "I'm not so arrogant as to think that we can wipe out the entire Eighth Route Army in the Taihang Bandit Area with just our cavalry regiment."
"Yoshi." Maeda Hide said, "That's no problem."
"Well, goodbye, brigade commander." Kuroshima Morita said with a smile.
Maeda Hide immediately stood at attention and bowed to Kuroshima Morita: "Kuroshima-kun, I'll leave everything to you."
"Ha!" Kuroshima Morita also suddenly stopped his feet and stood at attention, bowing to Maeda Hide.
…
The large group of troops led by Maeda Hidekazu and the 3rd Infantry Regiment slowly disappeared on the road. Kuroshima Morita withdrew his gaze and was about to return to the base to rest when a sharp alarm suddenly sounded in the wilderness to the north.
The one who rang the alarm was the patrol soldier, who must have encountered the Eighth Route Army.
In a blink of an eye, hundreds of cavalrymen rushed out from the gate of the Huting stronghold.
Since they had only been on the defense for a few days, the Black Island Squadron was extremely vigilant.
The adjutant immediately brought the warhorse over, and Kuroshima Morita mounted the horse and caught up with the cavalry formation.
About two kilometers forward, Kuroshima Morita reined in his horse, and the hundreds of cavalrymen following behind him slowly spread out to both wings, forming a huge front with a width of more than 500 meters.
Only three cavalry squadrons, nearly four hundred in number, were dispatched urgently.
In the vast wilderness, nearly four hundred Japanese cavalrymen stood in the wind, in complete silence.
Only the war horses were snorting heavily one after another, spewing out clouds of hot air from their nostrils.
"Captain, look!" Kuroshima Jiro pointed and Kuroshima Morita looked over.
Although they are brothers, Kuroshima Morita still requires them to be addressed according to their positions in public.
In fact, there was no need for Kuroshima Jiro to remind him, because Kuroshima Morita had already seen a patrol cavalryman fleeing hastily from a small woods, still shaking the sirens desperately.
Then, a group of Eighth Route Army cavalrymen chased out from the grove.
One rider, only one rider! There are no other Eighth Route Army soldiers behind.
The Eighth Route Army soldiers had obviously seen the lined-up Japanese cavalry, but without any hesitation, they continued to quickly chase the fleeing Japanese patrol cavalry.
"Bagayalu, you dare?!"
Kuroshima Morita's face fell instantly.
At such a long distance, the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side naturally couldn't hear it.
In fact, even if they heard it, the Eighth Route Army cavalry probably wouldn't care.
In a blink of an eye, the Eighth Route Army cavalry had caught up with the Japanese patrol soldiers.
Then there was a flash of cold light, and the Japanese patrol cavalryman fell off his horse, covering his neck.
The alarm that had just resounded through the sky suddenly stopped, and a strange and brief silence filled the wilderness.
Kuroshima Morita's face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. This damn Tubalu was too arrogant! They didn't take their Kuroshima United seriously at all!
You dare to kill his cavalry in front of the entire regiment?
This Eighth Route Army cavalryman has been put on Kuroshima Morita's kill list.
Kuroshima Jiro said angrily: "Captain, I will take the guard team to kill him."
"No hurry." Kuroshima Morita waved his hand and said, " Let's see what he has to say."
"Huh?" Kuroshima Jiro was stunned for a moment, and when he looked back, he found that the Eighth Route Army cavalryman had actually taken out two pieces of cloth from his bag, one white and the other black. Is this a signal flag?
Then, the Eighth Route Army cavalry sent out a series of flag signals.
The Eighth Route Army used universal flag signals, which simulated letters and combined them into words.
The flag signal soldiers quickly interpreted it: "The Eighth Route Army is saying: I am a Chinese cavalryman. I heard that the Japanese cavalry advocates the spirit of Bushido, so I hope to have a fair one-on-one duel!"
Hearing this, the eyes of dozens of cavalrymen on the left and right became eager.
It was obvious that these Japanese cavalrymen were very interested in this duel.
Kuroshima Jiro could no longer hold back and said, "Captain, I request to go into battle!"
Although the Japanese soldier Kuroshima Jiro is extremely bloodthirsty, he is one of the best in horseback riding and stabbing.
Kuroshima Morita ignored Kuroshima Jiro, turned his head and looked at a major officer beside him, and said: "Tojo-kun, this Tubalu is in your hands, don't let me down."
"Haha!" The major nodded slightly.
Then he shouted again: "Master Qingfang!"
The warhorse under him immediately raised its head and neighed loudly.
He slowly walked out of the queue carrying the major.
…
Needless to say, the Eighth Route Army soldier on the opposite side must be Wang Ye.
Wang Ye was actually sweating at this time, he was also afraid.
It’s definitely a lie to say that you’re not afraid. One person against hundreds of Japanese cavalrymen, would you try it?
However, Kuroshima Morita in the drama "Bright Sword" still had some samurai integrity. At least after Sun Desheng and the soldiers of the cavalry company were killed in action, he praised Sun Desheng and his men as real soldiers.
Finally, the soldiers were ordered to collect and bury the fallen Eighth Route Army soldiers.
So, Kuroshima Morita might agree to his duel invitation.
As for why they had to duel? Of course, it was to provoke the Japanese army.
Only by angering the Japanese army could they be led into the preset ambush circle.
Only then would it be possible to coordinate with Zhang Dabiao's 2nd Battalion to severely damage or even completely annihilate the pursuing Japanese cavalry.
That’s right, Zhang Dabiao’s 2nd Battalion had already set up a pocket formation in a narrow valley more than ten kilometers away.
Of course, Wang Ye also made preparations in secret. In case the old Japanese devil Kuroshima Morita did not abide by the moral code of martial arts and used a rifle or even a heavy machine gun to attack him, he would run away as soon as possible.
A distance of more than a thousand meters should be achievable.
After all, he now possesses legendary horsemanship.
Just when Wang Ye was worried about the outcome, a horseman slowly walked out from the Japanese army formation.
"Okay!" Wang Ye immediately grinned, revealing two rows of big white teeth.
As expected, Kuroshima Morita did not disappoint him and sent an officer to duel with him.
However, this Japanese officer seems to be someone who is not easy to mess with?
