Twenty-eight

  That afternoon, Yan Wei and Wu Hanhuai carefully confirmed the location on the map and looked west with binoculars, finding that the distant mountains were no longer continuous but had gradually entered the plain. They realized that their destination, which they had traveled through countless hardships to reach, was now in front of them.

  Wu Han put down the telescope in his hand and said, "Shen Quan, it should be the border of Jingzhou ahead. If everything goes smoothly behind us, you and I will have fulfilled our mission."

  Yan Wei also put down the telescope in his hand and said with some worry, "Wen Xi brother, the revolution has not yet succeeded and comrades still need to work hard! Not to mention whether we can safely board the ship in Jingzhou, even if everything goes smoothly, there are still more than 500 miles of waterway to enter Sichuan. And it's still far from Chongqing."

  Wu Han nodded and said, "What Shuangquan said makes sense, but ahead has already entered the plain. My intention is to proceed another ten or so miles before setting up camp on the spot. I'll go to Jingzhou Wharf first to take a look around."

  Yan Wei appended his opinion: "It should be so, I have thought so."

  Before the whole team had gone a few miles forward, they vaguely heard the sound of gunfire coming from afar. As they marched further west, the sound of gunfire grew clearer and more intense, and it could be confirmed that there were two teams in fierce battle in the mountains to the west!

  Yan Wei ordered the troops to take cover and set up camp on the spot, while also sending out temporary sentry posts to observe the surroundings.

  Jiang Chen and Yu Tian came uninvited, rushing to Yan Wei's side. Jiang Chen said: "Please give instructions, Captain."

  Yan Wei smiled and said: "What's the point of talking about it anymore? Just get to the bottom of the situation for me right now."

  Wu Hanhua walked over, taking out a cigarette as he spoke: "Could it be that the little devils who were chasing us have become spirits? They knew we would take the route to Jingzhou by water and set up an ambush here in advance to intercept us?"

  Yan Wei lit the cigarette handed over by Wu Hanhuai and said, "That's what I'm afraid of! These days, I've always felt that we're too smooth sailing and my heart hasn't been at ease. Since leaving Youjia Village, it's been a calm and peaceful journey all along, as if the Japanese troops pursuing us had given up on this operation. Who would have thought they were waiting for us here?"

  Wu Han took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "Not necessarily, you don't have to think about the problem in such a complicated way. Even if the Japanese army has seen through our route, at least they're not targeting us for now. I reckon it's because of the leftover troops we left behind when we retreated from here earlier that they've clashed with. Now I just hope the number of troops engaging the Japanese isn't too high, and that we can resolve the battle in a short amount of time. Otherwise, it will attract even more Japanese troops to join the fight in this area! If that's really the case, then the situation is truly not looking good." After finishing his sentence, he took another deep drag on his cigarette, narrowed his eyes, and gazed into the distance, his worried expression evident.

  After listening to Wu Han's words, Yan Wei couldn't help but feel astonished at the way they thought and worked in intelligence gathering! At the same time, a sense of desolation also rose from the depths of his heart.

  It seems that Wu Han's intention is that if the two sides were to engage in a fierce battle at this moment, it would be best if the National Army was at a disadvantage, and even better if there weren't too many people participating. It would be best if they could be completely annihilated by the Japanese army in a short period of time! This way, it wouldn't attract large numbers of Japanese reinforcements to come here, and this way, he could protect himself from being exposed and implicated to the greatest extent possible!

  Yan Wei looked at his own smiling expression and had a different look, Wu Han Hui smiled and said: "What? Think I'm particularly cold-blooded?"

  Yan Wei smiled and said: "Brother Yong Xi's actions are truly magnanimous and righteous! Unlike me, who is only capable of petty kindness."

  Wu Hanhua smiled and said: "Everything is fine, as long as we can complete the task smoothly this time, the profound significance will be at least worth saving an army!"

  It's not in harmony, half a sentence more, that's a kind of persistence for literati. Obviously now, neither Yan Wei nor Wu Hanhua has the qualification to defend their own personality. On the one hand, they smoke and wait for the investigation results of Jiang Chen and others, on the other hand, they seize the time to discuss countermeasures for all possible subsequent developments.

  After both of them finished their second cigarette, Jiang Chen and Yu Tiancai returned to report: "Report to the commander, the two sides that exchanged fire are the Japanese army and the New Fourth Army led by the Communist Party!"

  "The National Revolutionary Army's New Fourth Army! How could they possibly take the initiative to openly engage in combat with the Japanese army? This is completely unreasonable! Are you sure it's the Communist Party's New Fourth Army?" Wu Hanhuai, upon hearing the distant sounds of intense battle coming from the Communist forces, immediately sought clarification from Chiang Kai-shek.

  Chiang's minister looked at Wu Han and continued: "It should be okay. We risked approaching the outer circle of the battlefield to confirm the identities of the combatants on both sides! I clearly saw the three characters 'New Fourth Army' on the sleeve badge of the Communist troops!"

  "In fact, the equipment is messy and the uniforms are disorganized! From a distance, it's clear that they're CCP troops. The 18th Army Corps must be stationed in the north, and it's definitely not the New Fourth Army. But we really did see their sleeve badges clearly." Yu Tian added from the side.

  "The number of combatants on both sides, the composition of troops, equipment and combat situation." Yan Wei asked without looking at them, as if he was already calculating the next deployment.

  "Commander, the Japanese army is roughly a platoon in size, no artillery, only two grenade launchers and two light machine guns. It's about a company, with two light machine guns, and the rest are miscellaneous troops. Currently, they have been repeatedly repelled and attempted to retreat from combat, but were suppressed by the accurate shooting of the Japanese army and unable to withdraw. Estimated... estimated that at most, they can hold on for another half an hour, either running out of ammunition and surrendering or being completely annihilated!" Chiang reported with a hint of sadness.

  "Assemble the troops, prepare for battle."

  Wu Han didn't wait for Yan Wei to finish speaking, and he had already grasped his arm and said: "It's really possible that they're coming for us. We have a mission on our shoulders, don't get distracted!"

  Yan Wei looked at Wu Hanhui and said after a brief silence, "Wu Creek brother, our country is currently undergoing a national war! As a national soldier, apart from the Japanese army, I can no longer distinguish between you and me." After that, he nodded to Wu Hanhui, indicating for him to let go.

  Yan Wei's mind was made up, Wu Han Hua let out a light sigh and said to the people beside him: "Leave twenty people for all-around vigilance, the rest follow Team Leader Yan to prepare for battle."

  Before they arrived at the battlefield, they suddenly heard a burst of gunfire on the battlefield, accompanied by the sound of grenade explosions. As they walked out of the last patch of forest, the scene before them suddenly opened up, and in the vast open hills ahead, there was no longer any cover of trees. The Japanese army occupied the southern terrain and was launching an upward attack on the * troops occupying the northern slope. However, their numbers were far from what Chiang's men had reported earlier - a small infantry squad. Just looking at it, they didn't have less than two squads. This also explained why there was suddenly a burst of gunfire on the Japanese position earlier - it must be that the Japanese reinforcements had arrived quickly to support them. If not for the unfavorable terrain and being in a low-lying position, the * troops in the north would have been unable to withstand it long ago.

  Looking at the troops on one side, without mentioning the good or bad of their combat quality, a company of over 100 people has already been killed and wounded nearly half of its personnel. And this situation is still trying to take advantage of the terrain to conduct defensive counterattacks! I'm afraid that even bullets are not sufficient! Judging from the current situation, the Japanese army's deployment of troops for the final encirclement is just around the corner! If Yan Wei's unit does not take action now, the annihilation of this Communist army unit has become a foregone conclusion!

  Wu Han looked at the scene in front of him and said to Yan Wei, "How's that? With this terrain, we don't have light machine guns or artillery support. There isn't even any terrain that can provide cover. If you want to join the battle now, thinking about retreating unscathed is just a fool's dream!"

  Wu Han's words made Yan Wei understand. In the absence of machine guns and artillery support, it would be unwise to engage in the battle at hand with his current firepower configuration, at least not without any advantage!

  "Brother Yongxi, what you said makes sense, but we can't just watch this group die right before our eyes! Lan Gang, take ten men and climb up to the high ground on the north side of the right flank to assist the Communist army in blocking their advance. He turned to Zhang Liao beside him: "You take ten men out from here and find a place to hide in the middle section to harass the Japanese with guerrilla tactics, try to tie down the Japanese attack and give us time. Qu Fei and He Lan will follow you, be sure to use precise sniping to make the Japanese cautious, try to attract the direction of their attack, take out all the commanders in your line of sight."

  Yan Wei said and then turned back to find Du Pin, a squad leader under Zhang Liao. In Yan Wei's impression, this was the only one among the current team members who could remain calm and take charge alone, except for himself and Lan Gang.

  Actually, Yan Wei had no impression of this person before. It was only a few days ago in the battle near Old Li's house that Du Pincai, who commanded calmly and decisively, entered Yan Wei's line of sight. At that time, it was Du Pincai who led a few people to successfully take out many Japanese soldiers at the forefront when the troops were moving east-northeast towards a small mountain peak, ensuring the smooth transfer of the entire team before bringing up the rear and leading the team to retreat smoothly. Now, at the moment of dividing forces, Yan Wei immediately thought of him.

  Yan Wei looked at Du Pin and, as usual, stretched out two fingers to the front and swung them, saying to Du Pin who immediately stepped forward: "I want to hand over the remaining people to you. Is there a problem with that?"

  "Please give orders, Commander." The voice was neither loud nor fast, but Du Pin's response had already made Yan Wei feel a surge of confidence.

  "Lead the team to that position." Yan Wei pointed to a small hill on the right side of the Japanese army and said to Du Pin.

  "That position is very close to the Japanese army, be careful to keep a low profile while sneaking in. After arriving at the position, don't rush to open fire, wait for Zhang Liao's unit to open fire first, and the Japanese army will definitely charge towards them. What you need to do is form a double crossfire with Zhang Liao's unit and block the Japanese army! Once the battle starts, your position will be at the forefront of the Japanese army's attack route! If you really can't hold on, I permit you to retreat."

  "Now proceed with grouping, and immediately enter the designated positions." Yan Wei felt a sense of solemnity as he gave his final order, knowing that this battle would come at a great cost.

  As Wu Hanhua was about to speak, Yan Wei took the lead and said: "Yongxi brother, it's a great honor to fight alongside you again!"

  Suddenly hearing Yan Wei's sentence, Wu Hanhuai didn't want to say anything else, and just looked at Yan Wei with a smile: "Say, what are we going to do?"

  "We're doing the most dangerous job, we'll take your men to the rear of the Japanese army. When the Japanese and my men are fully engaged in a stalemate, we'll use the powerful MP18 submachine gun to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese!" He then looked at Wu Hanhuai and said: "Hand over your men to me, if something happens to me this time, I'll leave all the kids to you, Brother Xunxi."

  "The kids have my people watching, and fighting with you won't necessarily make it true! You've always looked down on our submachine guns, this time let you see the power of this thing firsthand." After that, he ignored Yan Wei's arrangement and prepared to take him away directly.

  Wu Hanhua was also unequivocal at the critical moment, and Yan Wei said: "Then let's go together to make a lively scene. However, submachine guns are not rifles after all, and once the distance is far, they really don't work. Therefore, try to shorten the attack distance, the closer the better! This is the key to our success or failure in this sneak attack! Once the fight starts, don't save bullets! If the drum is empty and the battle still can't be solved, immediately switch to pistols and find cover to counterattack! The outcome is up to fate!"

  People who saw Wu Han Hua nodded to indicate that they understood their intentions. Yan Wei looked at the troops who had been assigned and said, "This may be our last battle this time, let's finish it and prepare to go home." After that, he led the way into the woods, moving southward.

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