Chapter 39: A Shocking Explosion (4)

  "How long did the guerrilla's four defense lines resist?" Yang Jiong asked a seemingly irrelevant question.

  "Except for the fourth line of defense which lasted a bit longer, all the others retreated within ten minutes." A staff officer said, "Mainly because the political commissar said the devils were too powerful and was afraid that the guerrilla troops would suffer heavy casualties."

  "What about the casualties of the guerrilla troops now?"

  "Generally speaking, there were no casualties."

  Yang Jie took a look at the map, "Order Qin Yahai to deploy a regiment and a battalion of reserve troops in Shiliu Hezi, fight fiercely against the devils, and listen to our command for the time of withdrawal."

  Zhou Shicai took a glance at the map and immediately understood Yang Ke's intention. The stone lychee valley was less than three miles away from Matian Ridge. If they could gather the devils here, then it would be easy to control them on Matian Ridge.

  Mt. Motian is also known as Blind Man's Ridge, with the saying "Strangers don't take Ghost Plateau Road, Familiars don't take Mt. Motian Cliff". The terrain of Mt. Motian is extremely treacherous, with steep cliffs and many narrow paths leading to the outside world. There are no tall trees, but wild grasses and shrubs can be seen everywhere. In Mt. Motian, there is a place called Mt. Motian Cliff, where even experienced mountain climbers dare not venture alone, only hunters and herbalists from the mountains dare to climb here. Below Mt. Motian Cliff is a slightly flat open area, then it converges into a single line of sky, leading to Kangjiatun Town in Wei County.

  That vast expanse of land was known to the locals as Fanzi Valley, where the terrain was slightly flatter than the ridge but still featured a forest of strange rocks and boulders. The pomegranate grove was less than three miles northeast of Maotian Ridge, and the mountain road was very rugged, almost connecting the two places seamlessly. Hao Qiang received the order at dawn when Regiment Commander Jia Zhenhuan was inspecting the front line. As the political commissar of a regiment, Hao Qiang took great pride in being able to partner with Jia Zhenhuan, and he felt fortunate to be working alongside him. Not to mention Jia's relationship with headquarters, but just his personal experience alone was enough to command respect. Hao Qiang gazed out at the sky outside, which was gray and overcast with a hint of gloom, but the dawn light still managed to squeeze through the gaps in the clouds, enveloping the earth in a half-bright, half-dark haze that reduced visibility to less than 15 meters.

  Squad leader Jia Zhuohuang was originally a veteran of the Red Army, with a strong and bold style. Upon receiving Hao Qiang's notification, he immediately ordered his troops to proceed to the left side of Shi Liu Hezi and wait for orders, while he himself hastily returned to the command center, "Political Commissar, what does Headquarters mean?"

  "Headquarters didn't say anything, just let us fight fiercely and hold on until the retreat order from headquarters is transmitted. I reckon it's probably that the devils haven't followed headquarters' intention to gather here, but want us to fight a bit and lure the devils over."

  Jia Zhenhao took a look at the map, where both enemy and friendly forces were accurately marked. A staff officer explained, "According to messages from the front line, after the devils broke through the guerrilla's four defense lines, they showed signs of expanding their attack on both flanks. The special warfare team is trying to enlarge the scope of their attack, but with little effect."

  "So, Commissar's analysis makes sense, pass the order to each battalion, to make a proper charge, best if we can swallow those devils in front."

  At the same time, as a special operations group directly under the General Reserve Corps, it had already been deployed on the right side of Shi Liu Hezi, and the regiment commander Weng Changdong had dispatched two companies to attack and respond to the special warfare team.

  Yano was supported by two devils and walked into the depths of the mountain. Although Matsumoto's team and the defenders of Dongjia House had bitten off the retreating special forces, he was still very dissatisfied, and actually let the sneak-attacking small team retreat completely! This damn terrain, this damn map! The map made by the imperial spies said that there was only one road in Dongjia House! How did so many enemies circle around to the back of Dongjia House? When he heard Matsumoto say that his own rapid reaction team was annihilated by the special forces ambushing here in less than 15 minutes, Yano couldn't help but curse loudly, although he also knew that the map was drawn by imperial spies who had been secretly surveying the countryside for many years, with key areas even marking village wells clearly, rivers, bridges, bridge load-bearing capacity and so on. But what about the terrain of this mountain?

  Dongjia House indeed has no special roads, all the participating special forces teams detoured and descended from the cliff using ropes. This is also why Yang Jue demanded that the retreat route of Dongjia House must be guaranteed. So many troops cannot climb up again on the ropes.

  The special warfare team that had been biting back retreated, and Matsuda no Suketsu personally directed the operation. There were several times when he was saved from being shot by a sniper only because his bodyguards sacrificed themselves to protect him. He had to follow the advice of the commander, Shōzō ōta, and command from behind. As the sky gradually brightened, Matsuda no Suketsu's heart also began to feel more at ease. Once daytime arrived, the Imperial Army's combat strength would be even more powerful. Since entering the mountains, his four battalions had all reported victories, encountering enemy response units of varying degrees on the four roads, but they were all defeated by the Imperial Army. They were now pursuing the fleeing enemy with all their might. Matsuda no Suketsu looked down on the fleeing guerrilla troops, who, apart from the snipers that made him feel hateful and fearful, had nothing special except for running away. The pursuit teams on various roads broke through the enemy's so-called ambush circles almost effortlessly, which was more like a real battle than the previous fight. This was the true feeling of the Imperial Army in China.

  But Yano was not as optimistic, gazing at the gradually whitening sky, although somewhat dark, but still unable to block the brilliance of the sun that was about to rise. Matsuda's good news did not make him very happy, and instead, he had some hidden worries. Ishii Masaji had been by his side all along, and for Yano, Ishii Masaji was a person who was both respectable and hateful. His refinement and erudition were worthy of Yano's respect, but his benevolence and lack of principle made Yano look down on him. Looking at Ishii beside him, Yano shook his sore neck, "Ishii-kun, you said that with such a formidable special forces team, how could their support troops be so vulnerable?"

  Ishii Masami sat on a rock, his troops had two battalions following Okamura to the west to launch a surprise attack on the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Zhuolu. Now one of his battalions was defending at Dongjia House, and after being impacted by the special forces, only less than three companies were left. Another battalion was responsible for the rear wing of the entire action, and he himself accompanied Yano as a temporary staff officer, saying that he was a temporary staff officer, but in fact, he knew very well that Yano was empty-minded and wanted to find someone who could talk to him and discuss problems with him. If Takahashi and others hadn't been ambushed and killed, Yano would never have sat down with someone like him. When Yano asked himself, Ishii Masami replied frankly: "No, I think our current situation is very dangerous."

  "Huh?" Yano was taken aback, "What did you say?"