Chapter Sixty

  Intense gunfire was heard from the west, it seems that the Chinese army inside is fighting hard, I don't know if they are going to break through here! On the simple position made of straw bags, the pseudo-army waited nervously under the supervision of their officers, with mixed emotions.

  "Halt, who goes there!" The soldier in the wooden watchtower spotted a group of people approaching the camp and sounded the alarm. The soldiers' attention was drawn to them, completely unaware of a black shadow flashing by, quietly sneaking under the watchtower.

  "The Imperial Army is patrolling, what are you doing being so startled! All of you return to your positions, the Chongqing army across from us will be breaking through tonight, if we let them escape, our commander will be dead!" Xiao Ming shouted as he ran, his feet not stopping for a moment, and soon arrived at the position.

  These pseudo-army men had been mixed with the Japanese army for a long time, and at a glance, they saw something that didn't feel right: all were unfamiliar faces, and their equipment was very strange! Just as they were hesitating, two gunshots rang out from the watchtower, and the sentry on the tower cried out in agony as he fell down. At the moment when the pseudo-army men turned around to look back, Xiao Ming shouted loudly "Charge!" The submachine gun in his hand spat out flames, and the soldiers beside him rushed forward on horseback, the angry roar of machine guns and submachine guns filling the air.

  The fake army was on high alert, facing the opposite side, when suddenly gunfire rang out from behind and the firepower was extremely fierce. In an instant, it arrived right in front of them. Many soldiers hadn't even had time to turn around before being shot into sieves. Those who were quick-witted saw that things were not going well, flipped over the battlefield, and ran off in all directions with their legs spread wide. For a moment, the battlefield was chaotic, with people running wildly and disorderly.

  Xiao Ming arrived at the foot of the watchtower, and Ye Maozi shouted from above: "Boss, come up quickly, there's a machine gun!" Xiao Ming was overjoyed, threw the submachine gun in his hand to Shan Wazi, said "be careful", and climbed up with a few swift movements. He saw Ye Maozi fiddling with a Maxim heavy machine gun but couldn't figure it out, sweating profusely. Xiao Ming said "I'll do it!" turned the barrel around, pressed down on the cartridge belt, and opened fire at the distant puppet army position.

  At the same time, Ma Liu and Wu Dingbang also launched an attack on two other positions, with gunfire and shouts of killing ringing in their ears. Lu Dashan also rushed over with his men and saw Shan Wazi guarding under the watchtower, shouting loudly: "Where is your master?" Shan Wazi nodded upwards. Lu Dashan shouted loudly: "Xiao's master, come down! I've got this place!" But Xiao Ming was fully controlling the machine gun and didn't hear him at all. It was Ye Maozi who had sharp ears, patted Xiao Ming, pointed downwards, and Xiao Ming finally stopped and came down from the watchtower with Ye Maozi.

  "Protect our home! We'll take care of this place, you go and attend to your own business!" Lu Dashi said as he ordered the soldiers up onto the watchtower.

  "Commander Lu, there may be National Army troops breaking out from the west. If it's convenient for you, please receive them here, we'll go block the enemy reinforcements, see you later!" He gave Commander Lu a military salute, turned around and rode off on horseback.

  The fake army's position was quickly breached, Xiao Ming rushed up with the troops, leading them to charge towards the next position, where the gunfire was intense and both sides had opened fire. "Full speed impact, don't stop, kill!" Xiao Ming roared as he charged forward, the rest of the soldiers also fought bravely, their horses' hooves flying, like a flood rushing towards the enemy.

  The pseudo-army on the battlefield suddenly found itself in a very unfavorable situation, from blocking to being attacked by the enemy from both front and back. Seeing their own retreating troops and the pursuing enemy behind them, they were momentarily panicked and at a loss for what to do. Just as they hesitated, the enemy suddenly accelerated, crossed over the retreating soldiers, and charged in, followed by a burst of intense gunfire. The pseudo-army had no heart to fight anymore, ignoring their officers' angry shouts, and fled in disarray.

  Simple fortifications could not stop the fierce footsteps, and they rushed through the enemy's three defense lines in a row. Xiao Ming and his men finally arrived at the front line position. At this time, the puppet army could no longer withstand the double pressure from both inside and outside. The regiment commander saw that people and horses were rushing towards him like crazy, and if he continued to fight, he might not be able to hold the position even if the whole army was destroyed. He hastily ordered a withdrawal to the two wings.

  Xiao Ming saw the enemy's defense line loosen, and he shouted loudly: "Quickly, chase them and beat them, don't let them catch their breath!" Ma Liu and Wu Dingbang chased after the enemy's buttocks and gave a fierce beating. The puppet army changed from retreating to thoroughly routing.

  The defense line was torn open for a kilometer, and the National Army soldiers rushed out. Xiao Ming shouted: "Which part are you from? Where is your commander?"

  The soldiers rushed forward without caring about their lives, and one of them, who looked like an officer holding a submachine gun, stood out and said: "We are from the 15th Army, I am Colonel Yu Zhenzhong, the regiment commander. Which part are you from?"

  "Commander Xiao Ming of the Feihu Mountain Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Corps! Director Yu, how many more men do you have behind you?"

  "Sir, there are still three to four thousand people behind!" Yu Zhenzhong hesitated for a moment and gave Xiao Ming a salute. This guerrilla major general was indeed inferior to the regular army colonel in terms of quality, but since he had just risked his life to save himself, this gesture wasn't excessive.

  Xiao Ming returned the courtesy and said: "Director Yu, to the east is a big mountain, where there are people waiting for you. The enemy's reinforcements will arrive soon, we'll go block the devils' cavalry, farewell!" After finishing speaking, he didn't care about Yu Zhenzhong's surprised face, and chased after Ma Liu and his men on horseback.

  Ma Liu and Wu Dingbang had just caught their breath, the warriors were busy replacing the gun barrels, seeing Xiao Ming come over, they asked in a hurry: "Boss, what's next?"

  "Find a place to hide, the Japanese army won't let our troops escape into the mountains. I estimate their cavalry will arrive soon. Let's launch a surprise attack and then retreat!"

  The expected large enemy force did not appear, and the National Army broke through in different directions, causing the Japanese army to be busy blocking all the holes everywhere. A cavalry brigade rushed here, but by then there was only one battalion left.

  Xiao Ming led his men to hide behind a thicket, and then divided the team into two routes. He led one route to launch a surprise attack when the Japanese army had passed by halfway, while Wu Dingbang led another route to cover their backs.

  "Remember, don't get entangled with the enemy, hit and run, go north, into the mountains!" Since the National Army had successfully broken through, even if there was a handover, Xiao Mingmeng felt like retreating because this battlefield really didn't suit his taste, and he might easily fall into the enemy's encirclement!

  The order received by this Japanese army was: to intercept their way before the Chinese army entered the mountain. Once in the mountains, it would be difficult to eliminate them and disrupt the pre-planned combat plan, while they could launch a surprise attack on the Imperial Army at any time. The commander was anxious and urged the soldiers to speed up, without noticing that a cavalry was approaching: the Chinese soldiers were busy escaping, perhaps it was the reinforcements of the Imperial Army!

  Only thirty meters away from the Japanese army, Xiao Ming shouted "Fight", and instantly the sound of gunfire erupted, bullets pouring down on the rapidly running horse team like raindrops. The Japanese army was thrown into chaos, with people and horses tumbling to the ground in disarray. Behind them, Wu Dingbang also rushed over, launching a surprise attack from behind the Japanese lines. With submachine guns blazing a trail ahead, the soldiers charged forward, their left hands clutching pistols and their right hands wielding sabers, shooting and slashing with abandon, cutting down anyone who stood in their way. The battlefield was filled with the sounds of gunfire, screams, and cries for help, all blending together in a chaotic din. Xiao Ming ordered the machine gun unit to maintain continuous fire, pinning down the Japanese vanguard as they tried to turn back and rescue their comrades. Once Wu Dingbang's troops had joined forces with them, they turned their horses around and began a desperate, life-or-death retreat.

  The Japanese commander did not order a pursuit, his mission was to intercept the breakout troops, and for such a small force, it could only be considered a minor setback, so he reorganized his troops and continued on.

  The team ran wildly, running out of twenty or thirty miles in one breath, feeling that they had almost reached the entrance to the mountain. Xiao Ming ordered them to stop and identify the direction. After circling around for a few laps, Xiao Ming found that he was lost! He couldn't help but burst into anger: "Damn it, Ma Liu, how did you lead us on this road?" Just now, Xiao Ming had also followed blindly and ran over.

  Ma Liu Zheng was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, and hastily said: "At the time, the situation was urgent, I didn't think much, I just ran towards where it was bright, who knew I would end up here! You all wait here, I'll go east to take a look." After finishing speaking, he wanted to leave.

  "Wait! Are you saying that the way we're going is a bright place?" Xiao Ming's heart chilled: No need to say, ran in the opposite direction, maybe ran into the Japanese army's encirclement!

  Ma Liu nodded, suddenly realizing, and said with hatred: "Damn it, won't he have run to the devil's den?"

  "It's very likely!" Xiao Ming smiled, "Ma Liu, arrange the guards and have the brothers take a rest for a while. Old Cat, take a break and scout out the road. We'll try to make it out before dawn, with one swift effort!"

  Found a small grove, the warriors finally came down to stretch their limbs, sat down to drink some water, and simply bandaged the wounded. Xiao Ming made an exception not to take stock of casualties, he had taken a glance earlier, about thirty or forty brothers did not follow, in fact everyone understood in their hearts, it's just that no one wanted to mention it!

  Ye Maozi and Wu Dingbang went out for a stroll, but when the sky was slightly bright, they hurried back, panting and saying: "Master, it's not good! We're surrounded by devils!"

  After a night of fighting, the National Army successfully broke through in large numbers, and the Japanese army expanded its encirclement, completely sealing off the roads leading into the mountains, preparing to send out troops to sweep and clear out the trapped enemy.

  Unfortunately, Xiao Ming's team was among them. The enemy had already built machine gun fortifications behind them, and it was impossible to turn back or advance into the mountains, only to go north and west!

  Just as he was hesitating, Ma Liu rushed over: "Master, a large number of Japanese cavalry were found in the north, they seem to be charging towards us, you'd better take a look!"

  As Ma Liu arrived at the edge of the forest, he looked through his binoculars and saw 400 to 500 Japanese cavalrymen gathered on a small hill across from them, apparently targeting him. Xiao Ming was shocked and shouted loudly: "Quickly, prepare for battle!" The soldiers immediately became tense.

  Returning to the woods, Xiao Ming calmed down and said slowly: "Brothers, we are surrounded by the Japanese army! The east and south sides are impassable, the west side is definitely a trap, only the north side may have a way out!"

  "Can we get out with so many Japanese cavalrymen to the north of our house?" Everyone was puzzled, and at this time, only Ye Mao could dare to ask.

  Xiao Ming sneered coldly: "They're waiting for the artillery! If there's still a defensive line behind the devils, they would have launched an attack long ago and wouldn't wait for us to regain our strength! Tell the brothers to throw away everything useless, tidy up their gear, and prepare to break out from the north!" He turned his head and asked: "Artillery company, how many shells do you have left?"

  This time, the artillery team didn't bring many shells. They thought they could get some from the Japanese army, but they were too busy running and didn't have a chance to do so. Instead, they lost quite a few. After counting, there were only twenty-four left.

  "That's enough!" Xiao Ming said, "Later you follow behind, find a suitable place to set up the cannon, when we launch the charge, open fire and use up all the shells. Then you start charging too. Remember, don't spare the cannon!"

  "Command: Cavalry company in front, machine gun company behind, special task force on both wings, artillery company at the rear, prepare for battle!"