Dawangzhuang.
The main force of the independent regiment has arrived and is now resting at the entrance of the village.
Although Dawangzhuang is located on the outskirts of the Taihang base, it has a good mass base.
By the way, the five provinces in North China have a good mass base. The reason is very simple. Because the National Army, including the 29th Army, collapsed at the first blow, the people were extremely disappointed with the National Government. As for the Japanese, they were implementing the Three Alls Policy proposed by Tada Shun, burning, killing and looting everywhere. Naturally, the people hated the Japanese even more.
Therefore, the Eighth Route Army, which fought bravely and did not harm the civilians, became the savior.
When people in many places heard that the Eighth Route Army was coming, they beat drums and gongs as if it were a festival.
If it weren't for this, no matter how much publicity the Eighth Route Army did, it would not have been possible for it to expand from less than 40,000 people to more than 400,000 people in just two years!
Dawangzhuang is just one of the countless villages in North China.
After seeing the independent regiment arrive and rest at the village entrance but refuse to enter the village, the villagers brought the soldiers hot soup and even hot dumplings.
Today is New Year's Eve, but the soldiers of the independent regiment still have to fight the Japanese.
This made the villagers of Dawangzhuang very sad, as these were their own soldiers.
They are truly local soldiers. There are only a hundred people in Dawangzhuang, but more than a dozen young men are serving in the Eighth Route Army.
However, Zhao Gang declined the kindness of his fellow villagers. The people in the base were very poor. They finally had a chance to eat dumplings during the New Year, but if the dumplings were eaten by the soldiers, they would have nothing to eat.
Besides, their independent regiment has no shortage of food.
I just had a very sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner last night.
Li Yunlong said with emotion: "The people of Shanxi really support our Eighth Route Army."
"What you said," Zhao Gang said unhappily, "is as if there are still people somewhere who don't support our Eighth Route Army."
"That's hard to say," Li Yunlong said. "When our Fourth Front Army crossed the western border, the people living on the border did not support our Red Army. Not only did they not give us food, they also shot us with bows and arrows."
"That's really treating our brothers like rabbits."
"Damn it, I'm so angry that I really want to shoot the bastard."
"That was different. It was a special period." Zhao Gang said, "It is not comparable to now."
While the two were talking, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the road at the entrance of the village. When they looked back, they saw more than ten riders galloping towards them along the road.
Guard Xiao Zhang has sharp eyes.
He immediately shouted: "Captain, it's the Wolf Warrior Squad!"
Li Yunlong laughed out loud: "It seems that Lao Kong and his team succeeded!"
In a blink of an eye, the Wolf Warriors had already come close and jumped off their horses.
"Captain," Wang Ye shouted, "The 1st Battalion has surrounded the Japanese in Xiaoyi Village!"
"Haha, good, that's great!" Li Yunlong didn't even ask Wang Ye how many Japanese were surrounded in Xiaoyi Village, and whether the 1st Battalion's troops and firepower were sufficient?
Li Yunlong stretched out his hand and said, "Xiao Zhang, the map."
Xiao Zhang quickly took out the map from his bag and spread it out on the millstone.
Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Zhang Dabiao, Wang Huaibao and other battalion and company commanders immediately surrounded them.
Wang Ye glanced at the map and pointed at it, saying, "Here, Dishuiyan! There is only one road from the Huting stronghold to Xiaoyi Village, and Dishuiyan is the only way to go!"
Zhao Gang asked, "Dripping Rock? Is it a rock?"
Wang Ye said: "To be precise, it is a cliff."
After a pause, Wang Ye continued, "The terrain of Dishuiyan is most suitable for an ambush, because there is a cliff several dozen feet high on the left, and it is impossible to climb up without professional tools."
"On the right is a hundred-foot abyss."
"If a man or a horse falls down, he will surely die."
"The key is that the area of ​​the dripping rock is large enough."
"It's enough to accommodate more than a thousand people from the Black Island Brigade."
"As long as we block both ends, the Japanese will have nowhere to escape."
"Moreover, the valley is bare, with no trees, and the soil is very shallow. If the Japanese are trapped in the valley, not only will they not be able to find a place to hide, they won't even be able to build fortifications."
"Haha, God help me!" Li Yunlong laughed and said, "Now I order the 2nd Battalion and the Cavalry Company to enter the valley on the north side of the Dishui Rock and ambush, and the 3rd Battalion, the Artillery Company and all the direct teams of the regiment to enter the valley on the south side of the Dishui Rock and ambush. Remember, don't get too close."
"So as not to be discovered by the Japanese scouts."
"As soon as my signal gun sounds, the entire regiment will immediately take up position."
"After a round of rapid fire, try to kill half of the devils first."
"Then rush forward, throw pepper bombs first, and then fight with the devils with bayonets! Try to end the battle within half an hour, so fast that the devils can't react."
"Did you hear that clearly?"
"I heard it clearly!" Battalion and company commanders Zhang Dabiao, Wang Huaibao, Sun Desheng, Wang Chengzhu and others responded loudly.
Li Yunlong waved his hand, and several battalion and company commanders left separately, and soon set off with their respective troops.
After watching several battalions and companies leave, Zhao Gang said with a sigh, "Old Li, now I feel that our independent regiment finally has a chance of winning this battle."
"Old Zhao, look at what you said."
Li Yunlong smiled and said, "When has Old Li ever done a business that made a loss? If we really had no confidence in this battle, do you think Old Li would mobilize so many troops?"
Zhao Gang said: "But will the Black Island Team really come out?"
"It's hard to say." Li Yunlong said, "But based on my experience fighting the Japanese in recent years, the main force of the Black Island Brigade will definitely not stand by and watch us die."
Wang Ye said: "Commissar, rest assured, the Black Island Brigade will definitely come."
Zhao Gang was really surprised. He frowned and asked, "Xiao Wang, are you so sure?"
"Yes, that's for sure." Wang Ye nodded. "Because the Japanese army has very strict discipline, if the troops under their command are in danger and they don't do their best to rescue them, it's the same as if a soldier lost his weapon and didn't try to find it back. Both are unforgivable mistakes and will be severely punished."
"At the very least, he will be dismissed from his post, and at the worst, he will be ordered to commit seppuku."
"There is only one situation in which the Black Isle United will not come."
Seeing Wang Ye stopped talking, Zhao Gang asked, "What's going on?"
Wang Ye said: "The commander of the 1st Japanese Army in Shanxi, Yoshio Shinozuka, directly ordered the Kuroshima Regiment to give up the rescue, but I think this possibility is not great. If Yoshio Shinozuka has to personally take care of such trivial matters, he will be too busy to handle it even if he doesn't sleep all day."
Zhao Gang asked, "Can't the 4th Brigade Commander Maeda Hide give the order?"
"No." Wang Ye shook his head and said, "Because the Kuroshima Regiment is not affiliated with the 4th Brigade, but only cooperates with the 4th Brigade in combat, so Maeda Hide does not have the power to directly order the Kuroshima Regiment to give up the rescue. At most, he can only make a suggestion and ask the Kuroshima Regiment not to rush to Xiaoyi Village."
"Then there should be no problem." Zhao Gang finally felt relieved after hearing that.
Wang Ye said to Li Yunlong, "Captain, although the Black Island Brigade will definitely come, no one can predict whether the Japanese will follow the route we envision, or whether something unexpected will happen. So I want to take the War Wolf Squad to the front to keep an eye on them, so that we can notify the main force in advance if anything unexpected happens."
"Okay, then you, the Wolf Warrior Squad, will keep an eye on it."
Li Yunlong nodded and said, "As long as you don't mind the hard work."
"It's not hard, this is our Wolf Warrior Squad's duty." Wang Ye said, then turned around and shouted, "Wolf Warrior Squad, assemble, emergency assembly!"
…
At the Huting stronghold.
Several squadrons of the Black Island Wing were disbanded in the afternoon and then reassembled.
From seven in the evening to ten at night, several squadrons of the Black Island Wing had been on standby for three hours.
It was New Year's Eve, the temperature was so low, and more than a thousand Japanese soldiers of the Kuroshima Regiment were already exhausted and frozen to death after standing on the playground for three hours fully armed.
Even cotton coats and leather boots can’t resist!
Nishitake Ichiya also had a runny nose due to the cold.
But there is no way, I have to endure it no matter how cold it is.
Because Kuroshima Morita was rushing back at full speed.
In order to get back to the Huting stronghold as soon as possible, Kuroshima Morita did not even wait for the military train from Taiyuan to Yangquan, but marched directly with the guard cavalry squad overnight.
As for the armored vehicle squadron, it was previously left in Yangquan.
He should have received the order by now and is rushing back.
It is more than 160 kilometers from Taiyuan to Huting stronghold.
If it is a normal march, it will take about ten hours.
But if we march at full speed, five hours will be enough.
So from now on, Kuroshima Morita may arrive at any time.
If Kuroshima Morita comes back and decides to send troops to rescue, but the Huting stronghold is not ready yet, it would be a serious dereliction of duty for him as the deputy commander of the regiment.
So no matter how cold it is, you have to wait.
Time passes by every second.
Just when Xi Zhu felt that he was about to be frozen to death,
Finally, a little light appeared on the road in the direction of Yangquan. Xi Zhuyi and the Japanese soldiers in line were cheered up. It must be the arrival of the regiment commander and the guard cavalry squad.
These bright lights are the reflections of the flashlight shining on the road.
As expected, the Black Island Regiment returned with the Guard Cavalry Squadron.
"Captain!" Nishi Takeichi hurried to Kuroshima Morita and bowed to him.
"Nishitake-kun." Kuroshima Morita dismounted and threw the reins to his adjutant, saying, "Has the armored vehicle squadron returned to the base?"
"Not back yet."
Xi Zhu shook his head and said, "Something must have gone wrong on the way."
"That doesn't matter. There are no roads in the Taihang Mountains anyway." Kuroshima Morita snorted and then asked, "Have the scout cavalry been sent out?"
"It has been sent out."
Xi Zhu nodded slightly and said, "But there is no reply yet."
"Not a single one has come back?" Kuroshima Morita frowned and said, "That means we haven't figured out where those damn idiots went, right?"
"Yes, I haven't found out yet."
Xi Zhuyi bowed his head slightly, looking ashamed.
"Baka." Kuroshima Morita cursed with a dark face, "What do you guys do for a living?"
"Hai." Xizhu nodded sharply and said, "Captain of the regiment, should the main force of the regiment attack in the direction of Yang Village first? If nothing unexpected happens, Jiro and his men should have gone in the direction of Yang Village."
As they were talking, the sentry suddenly shouted, "Captain, there are imperial soldiers escaping!"
When Kuroshima Morita and Nishi Takeichi looked back hurriedly, they saw three Japanese soldiers running towards them from the wilderness in the north. At this time, dozens of bonfires outside the stronghold were still burning, so they could see them clearly.
The only difference is that these three Japanese soldiers were not riding horses, their uniforms were torn, and their faces were covered in blood.
It was not until he entered the gate of the base that Nishi Takeichi recognized that one of them was Kuroshima Jiro.
Kuroshima Jiro and two guards crossed mountains and hills, passed through thorn bushes, and finally escaped back to the Hu Ting stronghold.
"Jiro?" Xi Zhuyi asked in surprise, "Why are you in this state? What happened?"
Kuroshima Jiro was so impatient that he didn't even notice Kuroshima Morita. He shouted directly at Nishitake, "Instructor Nishitake, quickly order the main force of the regiment to rush to Xiaoyi Village!"
"Sato-kun, Onoda-kun and others were trapped in Xiaoyi Village by the Eighth Route Army."
"We must rush to their rescue as soon as possible, otherwise their lives will be in danger!"
"Xiao Yi Zhuang?" Xi Zhu turned his head and looked at Kuroshima Morita.
"Instructor Nishitake, why are you still standing there..." Kuroshima Jiro followed Nishitakeichi's gaze, and when he saw Kuroshima Morita, he was also stunned on the spot.
After a long while, Kuroshima Jiro finally said hesitantly, "Captain, you're back?"
"Come here!" Kuroshima Morita didn't say much, turned around and walked towards his dormitory.
From the moment he saw Kuroshima Jiro, Kuroshima Morita had a stern face and showed no emotion at all.
"Captain!" Kuroshima Jiro said with a dark face without moving his feet, "It is important to go to Xiaoyi Village to rescue people first. If you want to teach me a lesson, you have to rescue people first, right?"
Kuroshima Jiro obviously felt that Kuroshima Morita was preparing to teach him a lesson.
Kuroshima Morita did not turn around, and said coldly: "Don't worry, the imperial soldiers trapped in Xiaoyi Village will be fine, at least nothing will happen before dark tomorrow."
Seeing that Kuroshima Jiro was still standing still,
Xi Zhuyi whispered, "Jiro, go quickly!"
Only then did Kuroshima Jiro follow reluctantly.
When I entered the dormitory, I saw Kuroshima Morita standing with his back to the door.
Kuroshima Morita didn't turn around, but said coldly: "Close the door!"
As soon as Kuroshima Jiro closed the door, Kuroshima Morita slapped him in the face.
"Brother!" Kuroshima Jiro subconsciously stretched out his hand to block the slap.
"Shut up, I don't have a brother like you!" Kuroshima Morita roared and slapped him again.
"Brother, I'm not a child anymore." Kuroshima Jiro once again raised his hand to block him, saying angrily, "If you do this again, I will fight back!"
"Fight back? Haha." Kuroshima Morita sneered, "It seems that you have a deep misunderstanding of your own abilities? What on earth gave you unrealistic confidence?"
"You think you can beat me?"
After saying that, Kuroshima Morita started punching him one after another.
Kuroshima Jiro barely blocked a few punches, but couldn't block any more.
In the blink of an eye, Kuroshima Jiro had been punched several times in the face, leaving him with panda eyes.
Only then did Kuroshima Jiro suddenly realize that the gap in strength between him and his brother was beyond his imagination.
But this naughty kid was really spoiled. Since he couldn't win with his fists and feet, he just used a knife. He pulled out the saber from his waist and chopped at Kuroshima Morita without any hesitation.
"Baka!" Kuroshima Morita dodged at the last moment.
After taking a step back, Kuroshima Morita became completely furious.
He then drew his sword and knocked away Kuroshima Jiro's sword with just one strike.
If he didn't use weapons, Kuroshima Jiro could barely hold on for a few rounds, but once he used weapons, Kuroshima Jiro couldn't even hold on for a single round under Kuroshima Morita's sword.
With just one move of his sword, Kuroshima Morita knocked away Kuroshima Jiro's sword.
Then he took a step forward and pushed Kuroshima Jiro against the wall, with the blade of the saber against Kuroshima Jiro's neck.
"Go ahead, kill me if you can!" Kuroshima Jiro still didn't hold back, and roared in frustration, "Just kill me, I shouldn't have come to this world."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Kuroshima Morita growled.
"Are you still going to deny it?" Kuroshima Jiro roared, "Everyone knows that I am not your brother at all? You are the only one who is deceiving yourself! Right? My father!"
"Idiot, you believe such rumors?"
Kuroshima Morita said coldly: "I can tell you clearly that things are not as the legend says, but you are indeed unworthy of the glory of the Kuroshima family. After the New Year, you will get out of here and go back to Tokyo."
"Why?" Kuroshima Jiro said angrily, "I won't go back."
Kuroshima Morita didn't bother to say more and knocked Kuroshima Jiro unconscious with one punch.
After taking a breath, Kuroshima Morita sent an orderly to call Nishi Takeichi into the dormitory.
Seeing Kuroshima Jiro knocked unconscious, Nishi Takeichi said with some guilt: "Captain, Jiro can't be blamed for what happened in Xiaoyi Village. If anyone is to blame, it's only me who got drunk and messed up."
"I was careless and drank a few more glasses."
"That's why we couldn't stop Jiro and the others..."
When Nishi Takeichi wanted to say more, he was interrupted by Kuroshima Morita.
"Xizhu-kun, you don't have to feel guilty about this." Kuroshima Morita said, "Do you think I'm angry because Jiro and the others attacked without authorization?"
"What?" Xi Zhu said, "Isn't it?"
"Of course not." Kuroshima Morita said, "I'm angry because his ambition has surpassed his command ability. If he only brought a small team with him, I wouldn't be angry at all."
"But this idiot encouraged six squad leaders to go to the bandit area with him."
"You are only a squad leader, but you want to command a cavalry squadron. This is overestimating your own abilities."
"If we let it go on like this, one day it might cause irreparable damage to our entire regiment or even the entire First Army. That's why I taught him a lesson and told him to learn his lesson."
"Sodesnai." Xi Zhuyi nodded suddenly, and then said, "Captain, then shall we save Xiaoyi Village?"
Kuroshima Morita smiled slightly when he heard this, and answered the question irrelevantly: "Nishitake-kun, you know, I actually rejected Commander Shinozuka's invitation to the New Year's Eve dinner at the beginning."
"I know that." Xi Zhu said, "It was General Maeda who repeatedly invited you, the captain, to attend. You couldn't refuse his kindness, so you changed your mind and decided to attend the New Year's Eve dinner."
Kuroshima Morita said: "Then do you know why General Maeda repeatedly invited me to the New Year's Eve dinner?"
"This..." Xi Zhuyi pondered for a moment and then said, "Is it to show your respect for the captain of the detachment?"