Twenty-nine

  Yan Wei and Wu Hanhuai had not yet reached their desired position when they saw that the Japanese army had already made contact with Du Pin and Zhang Liao's two positions. Seeing this situation, Yan Wei thought it was better this way, as having the two units in front attracting and pinning down the Japanese troops would make it more advantageous for them to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese!

  When they were less than fifty meters away from the Japanese army, Yan Wei and Wu Hanhuai looked at each other after seeing that the surrounding terrain was almost without cover. They both thought that it would be better to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army rather than continuing to sneak up on them. Moreover, from the continuous casualties of the Japanese soldiers in front, it was not difficult to see that Zhang Liao and Du Pin's troops had already laid a good foundation for their raid! What was even more precious was that now the entire Japanese army's two merged small teams couldn't even see a sergeant! It seemed that Qu Fei and He Lan had easily completed their mission! And facing the sixty or so Japanese soldiers who had lost their commanding officers and were in a state of panic, launching a surprise attack at this time might not necessarily be without hope of winning.

  Yan Wei nodded at Wu Hanhuai, and Wu Hanhuai tacitly conveyed the command to his team members in a way that only they could understand.

  Everyone who saw Wu Han Hua had received the order to build momentum and wait for the opportunity. Yan Wei raised his rifle, took a glance, and shot down a Japanese soldier who was shouting loudly without even aiming!

  Last time, it was too dark to see clearly what Wu Hanhuai's team was capable of. Moreover, long-range ambushes are not something that can be done with just a submachine gun. But this time, Yan Wei truly felt the power of these so-called special warfare personnel from Military Intelligence.

  With the massive killing power generated by the MP18 submachine gun's high-speed continuous shooting, combined with the fearless and swift advance of Wu Hanhuai's troops! Many Japanese soldiers were shot multiple times and fell to the ground before they could even turn around! And what Yan Wei is doing now has become holding an M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle in his hand, covering Wu Hanhuai's team from the side! If he sees someone who hasn't been hit, he'll take a shot at him! If someone isn't dead yet, he'll give him another shot to send him on his way!

  In an instant, a large number of Japanese troops had died under the MP18 submachine guns of Wu Han's unit and returned to their hometown. As the Japanese attacking troops had previously launched a fan-shaped attack on our troops from a distance, now only some remaining soldiers were left in the west, lying on the ground and resisting.

  Yan Wei's troops, judging from the remaining number of Japanese soldiers, had absolutely no possibility of threatening themselves and their troops, so they ordered Wu Han to start retreating northwards to meet with the Communist forces. However, before the order was given, a loud explosion suddenly occurred just 20-30 meters away, and a shell burst forth! For a moment, the massive shockwave generated by the explosion sent mud flying everywhere, raining down on their heads like raindrops.

  As soon as Wu Hanhui opened his eyes after being splashed with mud and air waves, the two of them almost simultaneously grabbed the binoculars hanging from their waists and looked in the direction where the shells were flying from the south. Wu Hanhui said to Yan Wei while looking, "Shenquan, it seems that you're going to lose a lot this time! The Japanese army has reinforcements arriving again, although we haven't seen them yet, but apparently this batch of reinforcements is accompanied by artillery troops!"

  Yan Wei put down the binoculars and said, "No need to look, it's a Japanese 70mm caliber Taisho 11th year infantry mortar! This type of artillery is usually only equipped by units at the battalion level or above in the Japanese army. But judging from the number of reinforcements that have arrived so far, there aren't even enough for a full battalion. It's clear that the nearest adjacent unit has been ordered to bring their artillery and provide support ahead of time. There will definitely be more reinforcements arriving later. In this terrain, it's impossible to fight against the main Japanese force! Take advantage of the fact that the Japanese haven't closed in yet, hurry back and tell the kids to quickly head north and rendezvous with * unit. I'll go ask what kind of unit this Communist army is, and if they have a so-called base here that we can use to outmaneuver them."

  Yan Wei had not retreated far when he saw Du Pin and Zhang Liao's troops coming forward to respond. Apparently, the two troops had seen Yan Wei's troops being attacked by the Japanese army's artillery at the same time and came to support and rescue them!

  "Zhang Liao led the men to quickly return to the camp and reunite with Wu Chonglang, together covering the children's retreat to the northern high ground to meet up with Lan Gang's troops. The others will follow me. Qu Fei and He Lan are in charge of covering the rear, ensuring that not a single person can catch up." Yan Wei said this and immediately sprinted towards the high ground where the army was stationed.

  As they ran closer to the Communist army's position, they saw Lán Gāng and another person walking towards them from afar.

  "This man had long stretched out his hands and rushed towards Yan Wei, grasped Yan Wei's hands and excitedly said: 'You are Commander Yan, right? I represent all comrades of the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army of China, the Huazhong Anti-Japanese Column, to thank Commander Yan for remembering the same Chinese ancestry and not bearing old grudges to lend a helping hand! I am Fu Daojun, commander of the First Branch, paying respects to Commander Yan and all officers and soldiers!' After that, he gave Yan Wei a standard military salute!"

  Yan Wei saw that this man was a deputy commander of the Communist army, although he couldn't figure out what level of organization they were on the Communist side. But if according to the National Army's organization, a deputy commander at the brigade level should be equivalent to a deputy regimental level. If slightly higher, it would have already reached the full regimental level. A regimental officer could be so polite and sincere in saluting him first, which was enough to show that this person had a generous personality and was definitely not pretending! Secondly, it also showed that they were indeed at a critical moment of desperation, and therefore extremely grateful for his rescue. He immediately pulled down his military uniform jacket with both hands, stood at attention, raised his arm, and saluted Fu Daojun with a standard military salute. However, he couldn't help but wonder in his heart, how could a dignified regimental officer like you end up in such a desperate situation, almost being wiped out by a small Japanese squad in this desolate hill area with only one company of men?

  Yan Wei Xing immediately pulled Fu Dao Jun down to squat and said: "Fu Zhi, the situation has changed. The Japanese army's reinforcements have arrived with a company of troops and artillery! Judging from the terrain, our current forces are no match for the enemy. I ask you, how many troops does your unit have stationed here? Can they arrive in time to reinforce us? Does your unit have a camp to rely on? The situation is urgent, please forgive my impertinence."

  Fu Daoren immediately said, "Director Yan, how can you say that? You and I have already become sworn brothers in this one battle! Where did all these pleasantries come from? Our detachment has over 1,300 people, with a base in Pingjiatun Town, fifteen miles away. We also have many strongholds on the mountain to prevent the Japanese army from launching a large-scale attack and surrounding us. But we don't want the Japanese to have radio transmitters that can call for support at any time, nor do we want them to be able to transport troops so quickly with trucks! Recently, the Japanese who newly entered Jingzhou City suddenly launched a large-scale search operation in our area, and our intelligence department in the city was unclear about what they were doing. So today, I brought a company out to see what the Japanese were up to and also wanted to go into the city to contact our intelligence department. Unexpectedly, we encountered the Japanese here! I immediately sent messengers back to the base to call for reinforcements, but it's over 30 miles away, and judging from the current situation, they probably won't arrive in time to join the battle! It's really shameful to say that a company of our troops was almost wiped out by dozens of Japanese soldiers! If Director Yan hadn't come to our rescue, oh... the consequences are unthinkable!"

  Yan Wei immediately picked up his binoculars to observe the situation of the Japanese reinforcements in the south, but saw that the vanguard of the reinforcements was busy rescuing their wounded personnel and did not see any signs of a reckless attack. If the Japanese search operation over the past two days was aimed at him, then today's battle with * was obviously an unexpected encounter. Looking at the attitude of the Japanese reinforcements now, it is clear that they had received orders to reinforce colleagues who encountered a small local armed force, and not to intercept the ultimate target!

  "Captain Fu, these children are all war orphans who have lost their homes during the fall of Wuhan! My unit was entrusted with the mission to escort them from Wuhan, trekking through mountains and waters, to bring them here. Our ultimate goal is the great rear base in Chongqing! In this matter, high-ranking leaders of your party, such as Comrade Wang Ming's wife Meng Qingchu and Premier Zhou Enlai's wife Deng Yingchao, also attach great importance to it! Moreover, judging from the current situation on both sides, there is no chance of winning a decisive battle! I suggest that your unit provide logistical support and immediately escort this group of children to transfer to your base. Meanwhile, my unit will conduct resistance against the Japanese army and retreat accordingly!"

  Fu Daojun, although he didn't understand the situation, listened to Yan Wei's words and immediately changed his expression: "So General Yan has such a heavy responsibility! I really didn't think that General Guan, who has been fighting with us for five or six years, would be willing to lend a hand despite past grievances. It's truly precious! Let's do as General Yan says, I'll send someone to escort the children to our base and I'll stay behind with you to cover our retreat."

  Yan Wei looked at Fu Daojun and said, "Fu, you are a commander who can see the big picture and put aside personal differences. I, Yan, am deeply grateful! Take all your men with you, just leave me a few guides and that's enough! We'll meet again in your base."

  As soon as the words fell, the Japanese artillery troops had already launched a bombardment against them! A large number of Japanese infantry also launched a massive assault under the cover of artillery fire!

  Yan Wei hastily gave a brief explanation to Wu Hanhui, who had just arrived, and didn't have time to discuss further with him. He said: "Wu brother, the children are now in your care. I will take advantage of the opportunity to break away from the Japanese army and catch up with you as soon as possible. Take care!"

  Wu Han heard this and thought that Yan Wei was too bold. Although it's the period of cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists, after all, soldiers and bandits have never coexisted since ancient times! Now Yan Wei not only helps the Communist bandits in battle but also wants to cooperate with them to complete this enormous task! He couldn't help but think: "This Yan Wei really has the tradition of their old 25th Division! If this were put on that Taiyuan Yang Ju's body, I estimate nobody would find it strange now! But now Yan Wei is actually doing the same thing! Huh! Following Yan Wei in his reckless behavior like this, even he, a professional anti-Communist and bandit-suppressing special agent, fears that black and white will no longer be clearly distinguishable!"

  But Wu Han was not a muddle-headed pedant, seeing that he had already stepped into this muddy water and his target was exposed. If he didn't follow Yan Wei's words now, it would be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Japanese army! So he looked at Yan Wei with a smile: "Wait for me to free up my hands and personally tie you up to the military court in Chongqing!"

  Yan Wei also smiled and said: "Brother, I will definitely keep my life waiting for you!"

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