Chapter 4: Luring the Enemy

  In the winter of southern Jiangsu, it was still a bit cold at night. A group of less than 100 people marched towards Zhangjiagou. This distance is only four or five miles away, which is not a big deal for these soldiers, but they are all panting with exhaustion because in the past there were ammunition squads and logistics squads carrying ammunition. However, according to Zhaiqin's regulations, all ammunition was distributed among each soldier.

  This way, everyone's weight increased by tens of pounds. Long distance no light load, although the increase in weight is not much, but it can be seen from a distance. Zhaiqin will not carry on the revolutionary tradition, he has been leading some migrant workers for many years and has long been accustomed to being a big boss. If he wasn't worried about his own life, he would have handed over all the guns on him to Zhai Gui.

  Less than five miles away, it took almost an hour to walk. As he walked, Zhaiqin thought that what he had been thinking about every day was how to complete the tasks assigned by the company and take care of his subordinates. Although the boss gave him a salary, he was not a second-in-command or a lackey, but also a worker brother, and maintaining the interests of workers was also a top priority.

  It's just that Zhai Qin has this kind of idea, so although he is very fierce, as long as the people working under him are willing to listen to his commands. The boss is not satisfied with him, but as long as the engineering tasks assigned to Zhai Qin are completed on time and with quality, it makes his superiors both hate and love him, and can't bear to let him go. Sometimes when he gets into trouble outside, the boss has to come out and help him solve the problem.

  Dai Qin works for a large real estate development company, and although he is only a small department head, ordinary project managers and department managers generally do not dare to offend him. He is notorious in the company as a "thug department head".

  Dai Qin looked up at the dark sky, sighed in his heart, and found that the problems he needed to consider had changed. It was no longer about how to complete his work, but how to survive, how to fight against the devils. His mother's wine, a car, had brought him to 1937, although time-traveling was popular now, but he hadn't prepared at all. Looking at the soldiers marching silently forward beside him, Dai Qin's eyes gradually turned them into migrant workers carrying iron shovels and sweating profusely.

  This is a battlefield, not a construction site, it's where people die. I'm not a soldier, but the battlefield isn't unfamiliar to me, in theory, I know quite a bit. How could I also be a fake military enthusiast, knowing more than an average young person? It's precisely because I know more that Zhai Qin feels uneasy at heart.

  Before the United States entered the war in 1941, China's War of Resistance was the most arduous, with defeats occurring every day. Chairman Mao said that it was a protracted war, which lasted for a long time, eight years!

  I don't know if I can survive on my own yet. But can I escape? Run to the US? That would be too humiliating, and I'd despise myself for it. Let's just take things one step at a time. This is also an opportunity, and I'm a member of the anti-Japanese war effort. There are advantages to this era, at least there aren't as many rules, the Nationalist Party is corrupt anyway, if I...

  Dai Qin's face revealed a triumphant smile. He suddenly felt that crossing over was an exciting thing. Being able to beat the devils and do whatever he wanted, anyway, he wasn't from this era. Relying on his limited historical knowledge, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. However, he needed to plan carefully and think things through thoroughly. Since he had come, he couldn't just die again in a sorry state.

  Just as Zhai Qin was indulging in wild fancies, the troop suddenly stopped advancing. Before he could ask, Cheng Shizhong, the scout platoon leader appointed by Zhai Qin, ran over and whispered: "Report to the company commander, we have approached the enemy's camp, and ahead is Zhangjiagou."

  Di Qin immediately tensed up, he himself had never been in a fight, the little devils had seen a few times before, but that was as foreign guests. Now they were enemies, and later generations would treat them as honored guests, but for now it was time to get rid of him.

  Dai Qin has already given the order, if anyone dares to make a sound and lets the devils discover us, they will be shot on the spot. In fact, even if Dai Qin didn't say anything, no one would dare to make a peep. They were still escaping and yet they launched an attack towards the devils' position, each of them was terrified in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do, it was an order. This originally timid company commander suddenly went mad, everyone was tense and crouching on the ground, not even daring to breathe.

  Seeing the performance of these soldiers under his command, Zhai Qin really couldn't understand. Weren't National Army soldiers also very stubborn in their resistance? After three months of fierce fighting on the Shanghai battlefield, with over 300,000 casualties, why were these soldiers so afraid to die?

  Diqin didn't know the peculiarity of the battlefield, the passion for battle was inspired, otherwise why would there be a swearing-in ceremony before the war, why would there be battlefield propaganda, and why would there be dare-to-die troops. Everyone is nervous before the battle begins. The victorious army is better off, while the defeated soldiers are even more terrified.

  The Shanghai evacuation was disorderly and chaotic, with a rout all the way to the Xuzhou-Dezhou defensive line, which did not play its due role. The retreat continued directly to Nanjing. However, the capital city of Nanjing only held out for five or six days. Then came the great rout, with even more chaotic withdrawal order.

  The shadow of defeat has already formed in the hearts of these soldiers, and now they are counter-attacking the Japanese army. How can they not be afraid?

  Zhangjiagou is not a mountain valley, I don't know why it's called that name, probably because of the terrain. This is the outer area of Tianmu Mountain, which is a shallow hill and hilly terrain, with not much flat land but no high mountains either. Zhangjiagou is a small village, smaller than Yangjiapu.

  Diao Qin is not a regular soldier and has no concept of time. His ambush was just an impression in his mind, so his plan was very rough. Along the way, he only instructed Zhang Meng on what to do. He couldn't tell him the details because Diao Qin didn't know the terrain of Zhangjiagou either.

  When he saw the terrain here under the starlight, Zhai Qin, this two hundred and fifty battalion commander, finally had his own plan. He called over three platoon leaders and Zhang Meng and said: "Do you see that mountain valley? Zhu Hou, lead your second platoon to attack the village. Remember, once the devils come out, immediately retreat and run into that mountain valley. Run fast, don't let me clean up with you together. But also bring the devils in."

  Zhu Hou nodded and said: "What if the devils don't chase?"

  Dai Qin slapped Zhu Hou's head hard: "Stupid pig, if he didn't chase you, he wouldn't turn back to hit him again, idiot."

  Seeing Zhu Hou being beaten, Wang Biao and Li Le immediately burst out laughing. Di Qin hit each of them on the head, saying: "Keep your voices down, damn it! Do you want to summon the devils ahead of time? Want to die?"

  The two of them were so scared that they immediately looked around, as if the devils were right next to them. In fact, Diqin's heart was also tense, and he didn't know whether his tactics would work or not, it was just a matter of drawing a picture from a gourd. Of course, Wang Er Xiao could lure the devils into the Eighth Route Army's ambush circle, and so could he.

  Dai Qin said to Wang Biao: "You take your squad to that mound, I'll give you the four machine guns. When the devils catch up, hold them off for me, don't save bullets, just don't let them advance. As long as we can hold on for ten or twenty minutes, it's okay."

  Wang Biao was originally afraid of being asked to fight a blocking battle, but when he heard it would only be for over ten minutes and that he would have four machine guns, he immediately patted his chest and said, "No problem."

  Dai Qin said to Li Le: "Your troops will be stationed behind that mountain ridge, and if the devils retreat, you'll immediately pursue and kill them with Zhu Hou's men, striving to not let a single one of them return."

  Can't even go back? Three platoons don't understand why the devils won't fight back. The devils have strong combat power, sometimes one squadron can defeat an entire National Army regiment. However, at this time, no one can say they won't do it, this is the army. Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Zhu Hougang was about to leave, when Zhai Qin said: "Slow down, I forgot to tell you, don't attack from a distance, sneak up quietly and launch a surprise attack, that way you can also eliminate some of them first."

  Zhu Hou wasn't inexperienced in battle either, he basically knew the basics, nodded and turned around to call over his own squad, heading towards Zhangjiagou.

  Inside Zhangjiagou, it was quiet and still, like death. The village wasn't big, with less than a hundred households. Scattered on this low-lying flat land, most of them were thatched cottages.

  This is the battalion led by Battalion Commander Yoshida Ichiro, who was the vanguard. Originally, the main force was to attack Hangzhou, but the National Army retreated in this direction. In order to ensure the safety of the flank, the 18th Division decided to send a brigade to attack southward and cover the main force's attack on Hangzhou.

  Easily occupy Nanjing, the devils don't take the Chinese army seriously at all. The 3rd Squadron Leader Matsubara didn't rush, he waited for the rear supplies to come up and stopped in Yixing. But the arrogant 4th squadron advanced very quickly. Along the way, there was no obstruction at all, and the Shina army retreated backwards.

  Although their logistics had improved after occupying Nanjing, the Japanese army, who were already addicted to looting, began to burn, kill and loot without any scruples. As the vanguard unit, they naturally benefited greatly. Captain Yoshida Ichiro's 4th company came out in Lishui, but only focused on looting villages and towns, so their advance actually slowed down. When they arrived at Zhangjiagou, they received a report from the scouting party that there was a Chinese army blocking position in front of Yangjiapu.

  Captain Yoshida Ichiro didn't advance, it was almost dark, although the Chinese army didn't resist, they couldn't attack at night either. This Zhangjiagou was just right for a robbery. It's said that the Expeditionary Army Headquarters had already issued an order, worried about the intervention of the British and American powers, ordering troops not to loot casually, taking advantage of this opportunity to loot a part quickly.

  The people of Zhangjiagou have all run away, only a few old and weak are left, there is nothing to plunder, which makes Captain Yoshida Ichiro very angry, killing a few people to vent his anger, deciding to rest for one night, and attack Yangjiapu tomorrow. As long as the defending troops in front are defeated and Yangjiapu is occupied, they can attack Gaochun, that would be a great fortune.

  Two sentries were left at the entrance of the village, while the others occupied the civilian houses and began to rest. Yoshida Ichirō was overconfident, knowing that five miles ahead was the National Army's troops, yet he had no defenses in place.

  He absolutely did not expect that the defeated and fleeing Chinese army would dare to launch a surprise attack on his troops. Zhu Hou's squad of over 40 people had less than 20 people taken away by Di Qian, leaving more than 20 people. They were approaching the village, seeing the Japanese sentry swaying at the entrance of the village, Zhu Hou was not worried now, his goal was to lure the devils out, seeing that they were close to the sentry, he raised his gun and shouted: "Fire."

  More than 20 people fired a round of shots. It has to be said that the National Army troops were really too timid, with two Japanese soldiers, more than 20 people opened fire together.

  Yoshida Ichiro was careless, and his subordinates were equally careless. The two sentries were not too concerned, so they did not discover the second row that had already approached within 100 meters. This burst of gunfire, the two people who were shot, even if the shooting was not accurate, would still hit them like a blind cat hitting a dead mouse. The two sentries were immediately knocked down.

  Zhu Hou shouted: "Charge." More than 20 people immediately stood up and rushed towards the village.

  The attack was too sudden, and Yoshida Ichiro was awakened by the sound of gunfire. By the time he reacted, he was furious. Those damn Chinese, how dare they launch a surprise attack on the Great Japanese Imperial Army? There were no other large Chinese troops around, and Yoshida Ichiro never thought that the opposing army could come to block them. They didn't even have time to run away, let alone counterattack.

  This must be the scattered Chinese guerrillas, immediately getting up to pass on orders, eliminating these attacking Japanese troops. The devils in each house grabbed their guns and rushed out. It has to be said that the Japanese army was indeed well-trained and had strong combat effectiveness. Their individual combat capabilities were even stronger, with the squad leader immediately commanding his soldiers to launch a counter-charge against Zhu Hou's advancing troops.

  Zhu saw all the devils rushing out and immediately shouted: "Quickly, retreat."

  About twenty people immediately turned their heads and ran back. The devils behind shouted and chased after them. Yoshida Ichiro judged that the attackers were not many, estimated to be around twenty or thirty people. When he knew that two sentries and several soldiers who rushed out were killed and wounded, he was furious and ordered to chase and eliminate these damn Chinese troops.