Chapter 19: Beheading the General and Snatching the Flag (Part 1)

  "What a regimental commander they encountered an entire cavalry brigade of devils!" After listening to the subordinate's report, the messenger who was sent by Wen Songyuan to ask for help said his last incomplete words in life. Cheng Jiaji loudly exclaimed.

  Earlier he had received Ma Siyuan's report, which detailed to Cheng Jiaji the circumstances surrounding Wen Congyuan leading a cavalry regiment in pursuit of the enemy.

  Cheng Jiakui was a bit worried about Wen Congyuan's safety, but he thought that even if the cavalry regiment couldn't win, they could still retreat. Considering the risks of launching a night attack in unclear enemy circumstances and the fact that the battle in the village had not yet ended, he did not dispatch troops to support Wen Congyuan. He never expected that a Japanese army cavalry brigade would be so interested in the small unit led by Wen Congyuan!

  "This restless Wen Congyuan has gotten himself into big trouble again, just chasing after a few dozen defeated Japanese soldiers and yet he managed to provoke an entire cavalry regiment of devils to chase after him relentlessly, isn't that too absurd?! As Cheng Jiaji thought about this, a sudden idea popped up in his mind 'Good heavens, could it be that he really did snatch the military flag of the 40th Regiment?!'"

  Why did a Japanese army cavalry regiment target Wen Songyuan's cavalry company?

  It all started with Wen Congyuan leading more than 60 cavalrymen out of the village to pursue, and the last few dozen people from the Japanese 40th Regiment.

  After driving out of Zhuangzi for six or seven miles, the troops led by Wen Songyuan finally found the trail of the remnants of the Japanese army.

  "Look, the Japanese team is just ahead." The person who spoke had a loud and wide vocal range, apparently having great potential to be a male soprano. If he had the chance to participate in a super male voice competition in the 21st century, he would definitely be among the top few.

  "Leper, what are you yelling about? Just rush up and hack him to death! You still dare to call yourself the Golden Eagle of the Grasslands!" Wen Songyu rebuked.

  Two hundred team cavalry regiment Ma Jiu Xiao, also known as the scoundrel in Wen Songyuan's mouth. This man is a genuine horse thief from the Gesui grassland. He was originally a cavalry platoon leader in the Northeast Army. A few months ago, he took his gun and left after disagreeing with his superior. A month ago, he got into a fight in Xuzhou City and accidentally killed someone, and was locked up in prison. Wen Songyuan led troops to storm the prison to rescue Tu San. At that time, Wen Songyuan's idea was to rescue several people at once, anyway, this time it was to save the old master's scolding. In the prison, he took away several prisoners who were carefully selected from the death row under the same name, including this scoundrel.

  He relied on his excellent riding skills to gain the appreciation of Wen Songyuan and became the cavalry company commander of the newly formed 200th Regiment.

  Ma Jiu also had a proud and arrogant personality, and after being provoked by Wen Songyuan, he couldn't sit still. As soon as he mentioned the horse head, he led a team of cavalry to charge towards the Japanese army that was faintly visible in the darkness. The horse team suddenly accelerated, kicking up dust and dirt that fell on the heads and faces of their own troops who were still waiting for Wen Songyuan's orders.

  "This kid, his temper is even more explosive than mine." Looking at the back of Ma Jiu Xiang, who didn't even bother to greet him before rushing towards the fleeing Japanese troops, Wen Song Yuan laughed and scolded. Of course, he wouldn't really get angry over this. This sentence was more a expression of his fondness for Ma Jiu Xiang. Which officer in the army doesn't like their brave subordinates?!

  Wen Songyuan did not order the troops to follow the route that Ma Jiu Xiang and his men had taken earlier, but instead commanded the platoon and company under his command to split into multiple routes and encircle the enemy from both flanks.

  He wasn't worried that the squad led by Ma Jiu would be unable to deal with three or four devils.

  In general, infantry who have lost their will to fight on the plains and do not have a neat formation, once they are attacked from behind by cavalry, their fate can be imagined. Not to mention that it is now pitch black at night, and it is difficult for the infantry to form a formation. The most urgent thing now is not to let these Japanese people scatter, if that military flag is lost again, Wen Songyuan himself cannot forgive himself.

  Ma Jiuqu's troops rushed with all their might and caught up with the Japanese army's defeated soldiers in just one or two minutes.

  "Kill." With this loud shout, the head of the last Japanese soldier running in the back was cut into two segments by Ma Jiu's sharp horse knife along with his body. The decapitated corpse of the Japanese soldier continued to run forward for several steps under inertia before falling down and twitching a few times before becoming still. The blood gushing out from the neck of this Japanese soldier like a fountain flowed onto the ground, and with the "selfless" irrigation of the unwelcome foreign visitor's fresh blood, this land would certainly become more fertile next year.

  The other Japanese troops mostly stopped and used their bayoneted Type 38 rifles and pistols to launch a desperate counterattack against the Chinese cavalry. Only seven or eight Japanese officers fled forward at high speed, covering themselves under the bodies of most Japanese soldiers, almost breaking the best record of Japanese long-distance runners in all sports events.

  At this time, the vanguard of the cavalry troops that had been flanking from both sides had just arrived, but were still a step too late. They only managed to intercept five or six devils, and two devils escaped the cavalry's encirclement line, using the cover of darkness to flee towards a small mound in front. At this time, Wen Songyuan had just rushed up, and seeing the situation, he hastily led more than 20 riders to chase after the two devils that were escaping. Sharp-eyed Yun Jiuxiao also brought several people to follow Wen Songyuan's team. Anyway, most of the Japanese troops here had already been annihilated, and leaving behind twenty or thirty people to clean up the remaining devil remnants was enough. The two devils who escaped must have been carrying the drool-worthy 40th Regimental Flag of the Japanese Army on their bodies, and Yun Jiuxiao did not want to miss the opportunity to personally seize this flag.

  When Wen Songyuan and others were about to catch up with the two Japanese military officers who had already escaped onto the slope, Ma Jiu Xiao, who was already at the forefront of the team with his superb riding skills, first felt that the ground beneath him was slightly trembling, and then heard a low, powerful and rhythmic sound like thunder coming from the other side of the slope.

  Ma Sanbao's face turned pale in an instant, he couldn't hear what this sound represented. He could bet his head that on the other side of the mountain slope, there must be a large cavalry marching, with no less than 700 or 800 horses.

  Ma Jiawu hastily turned his head to look at Wen Songyuan, who had already sensed something was amiss. He hoped that the team leader would make a decision immediately, either to give up on the two big fish in front and retreat quickly (it was still possible now, but if the two armies clashed, it would not be so easy to withdraw from the battle), or to accelerate the charge of the whole team to seize the military flag they had been pursuing all night.

  Wen Songyuan now fully understood the danger of their situation. (At this time, the noise on the other side of the slope was getting louder and louder.) Wen Songyuan had seen Jiang Feng's cavalry regiment training before, so he naturally knew that the large group of horses on the other side of the slope wouldn't be just a bunch of lost mountain goats. The large cavalry unit appearing in this place could only be the enemy's cavalry.

  Wen Songyuan understood in his heart that Ma Jiu Xiao was looking at him, letting this highest commander make a decision.

  With a determined heart and gritted teeth, Wen Songyuan was unwilling to accept defeat and made up his mind to fight to the end. He answered Ma Jiuxiao's question with his actions.

  Wen Songyuan fiercely whipped his mount several times, and the warhorse under him surpassed Ma Jiu Xiang's mount by half a horse's length in just a few breaths, becoming the vanguard of the entire cavalry. Wen Songyuan used all his strength to shout loudly: "Full charge!"