Chapter 61: Fierce Battle at Eagle's Mouth Ridge (Part 1)

  Tang Qiuli was just thinking of gathering all the commanders together to discuss the matter of Guizi Songtian's troops, and seeing that they had all arrived, he busied himself bidding farewell to his father, second uncle, third uncle, and Zhang Dage, repeatedly reminding them to be careful with secrecy, not letting any unreliable outsiders know about the Tang family's village helping the Blood Hand Gang transport supplies, in order to prevent the Guizi from taking crazy revenge.

  He cannot be too careful, the Tang family's humble abode is his foundation, it is where his heart is. If something were to happen, even if he had won countless victories and eliminated countless devils, he would not be able to make up for such a loss, it would become an eternal pain in his heart!

  The commanders of the Red Hand gathered together in an empty room for their first full meeting after occupying Sanjiao River.

  Qiu Sheng first reported on the situation in his area. The biggest gain was that after opening the prison, more than 2,000 prisoners were released. Except for a part of ordinary civilians who had taken the fare given by the troops and returned home, there were still over 1,600 people who insisted on following the troops. Most of them were originally soldiers from the Northeast Army and many students and outsiders, including more than 40 bearded men who claimed to have been caught for fighting against the devils.

  What surprised Tang Qiuli the most was that there were more than 20 political prisoners, saying something, Autumn Life didn't know what it was about, but these political prisoners were guarded the strictest and punished the heaviest.

  Qiu Sheng didn't know, but Tang Qiu Li was clear in his heart that the members of this generation were all good, with firm revolutionary beliefs, lofty ideals, no high-ranking officials, wealth and power, revolutionizing with their heads held high, every single one of them was a spark, and with a bit of dry firewood, they could ignite, and they had found treasure.

  Liu Tiehan and Feng Jiwu also made a big haul on this side, which can be said to be a full load. The Japanese shops, homes, and storefronts were thoroughly looted, with everything from oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, daily necessities, and living essentials being taken. They completely carried out the commander's intentions and thoroughly implemented the "Three Alls" policy, directly reducing the Japanese merchants who had made a fortune in China through strong-arming and bullying to absolute poverty. In the end, nothing was left except for the pants they wore on their bodies and the false teeth in their mouths. Of course, even if the false teeth were gold, they would still be taken.

  These two people finished their report and were a bit worried, with so many things, how can they be transported back to the mountain?

  On this side, Zhang Quan had been holding back for a long time. A man in his 40s was so happy that the wrinkles on his face were all opened up. He is really good at mobilizing people from all walks of life, including tailors, tofu shops, and even a Chinese-run hospital, including the dean, doctors, and nurses. As for medicines and medical equipment, regardless of traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, they were all taken away or bought out. And he said with pride, "This time, the logistics team has finally been set up!"

  Wang Xu was relatively calm, but he couldn't stop wiping his glasses excitedly. His biggest gain was that there was a small arms factory of the enemy here. After the troops occupied it, except for the enemy factory director and several technicians who resisted to the end and were killed, the rest were all Chinese people. Upon further inquiry, they turned out to be workers from the Fengtian Arsenal who had been forced to come here. After Wang Xu's mobilization, they all agreed to follow the troops without hesitation. They were now busy dismantling machines and equipment, saying that not even a single screw would be left for the little devils.

  Apart from that, Wang Xu is also a meticulous person. All the machines, equipment and raw materials that can be used in the base were taken away. He even found a set of small hydroelectric power generation equipment, but it's unknown what the devils brought it here for. Anyway, it's useful for the base.

  He was as worried as Liu Tiehan, with so many machines and equipment, how to transport them back to the mountain, especially those large machine tools, a crawler tractor can't even carry one, so he came to ask everyone for advice!

  Everyone immediately surrounds the transportation and starts discussing this key issue.

  No need to say, the method was thought out quickly. All the livestock and sleds in the town were mobilized immediately, along with those captured, to transport supplies. There were over 1,600 people who had just been released, and they joined the transportation team right away. Four people, Autumn-born, Wang Xu, Zhang Quan, and Xiao Ling, formed a transportation command center, taking full responsibility for all transportation-related issues, and Commander-in-Chief no longer inquired about it. As for those large machine tools, they were easy to handle too - eight large sleds were fixed under each machine tool, making them into an ultra-large sled, which could be pulled by four strong horses, and still had room to carry some other things.

  Tang Qiulian made a rough estimate, even if they worked at this pace and transported all the supplies away, it would take until around midnight tonight to finish. Time was now the most critical factor, but no one knew when the Japanese army led by Lieutenant General Matsuda would arrive.

  After thinking it over, Tang Qiuli began to calculate the gains from this time. With these gains, he could support a team of about 5,000 people for two years. Now, his troops, including new recruits, didn't even add up to 3,000 people. This battle was too enjoyable, and he secretly laughed to himself. After his own looting, the economic foundation of San Kao River had at least regressed by ten years. Let the little devils worry about it!

  Just as the meeting was about to adjourn and everyone was preparing to take separate actions, a scout rushed in, panting heavily, and whispered something into Autumn Spring's ear.

  After a moment, Qiuquan told everyone that the scouts who stayed in Songjiang City to monitor the Japanese army's Matsuda regiment had sent accurate news. The Japanese Matsuda regiment with more than 3,000 people rushed out of the city this morning and headed towards Sancaohe River, all on horseback, with two tanks and four armored vehicles, and they have been out of the city for over an hour now.

  After listening to Qiuquan's report on the enemy situation, Tang Qiulian let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the ghost's actions were good, otherwise, her heart would always be hanging.

  Next, the meeting's focus shifted to how to deal with the incoming Ghost Squad led by Matsumoto.

  This is the first time that the Anti-Japanese Blood Hand Team has clashed head-on with a large enemy force since its establishment, and it's a hard-fought battle. If there's even one link in the plan that isn't considered, the troops will suffer heavy losses, and there's even a risk of total annihilation.

  Tang Qiuli immediately made specific deployments.

  The arsenal, hospital and logistics personnel immediately followed the transport team back to the base, drawing two hundred members to be responsible for escorting and guarding.

  Qiuquan led the temporarily assigned team members and scouts, a total of 150 people, to set out immediately, advancing to the only way from Songjiang City to San Cha River, ambushing the devils along the way, slowing down the devils' marching speed, bringing more explosives and long-range weapons, assigning more sharpshooters, not allowing hard fighting, and covering the main force's safe retreat when necessary.

  The transportation command, must transport all materials into the mountain before 11 o'clock tonight. The segmented transportation method can be adopted to speed up the transportation pace. If some materials cannot be transported, they can be destroyed. The specific decision is made by the members of the transportation command. The members of the command will withdraw from Sanhe River with the last batch of transportation team.

  Tang Qiuli, Liu Tiehan, Feng Jiwu, and Shan Hu led 300 robust soldiers to block the devils. The troops were fully equipped with automatic weapons, maintaining a high density of firepower. In addition, 20 sharpshooters followed the troops, mainly targeting the devils' commanding officers.

  At this time, Xiaoling was a little hesitant, wanting to speak but stopping herself, constantly staring at him with her beautiful big eyes. Tang Qiuli understood what the girl was thinking - she wanted to stay behind with him. What nonsense! Not to mention the injury on her arm, just this battle of resistance alone was brutal beyond imagination, facing a Japanese field army, it wasn't child's play!

  He stopped Xiaoling's thoughts with a stern gaze and told her that transportation was equally important, taking good care of her own work was the greatest support for him. Xiaoling listened and had to dispel this idea, this girl also understood in her heart that at this time, she should not add trouble to Qiu Li, the deep kiss before parting, the worry and concern in his eyes made Tang Qiuli's heart tremble. Everyone else also understood Xiaoling's concerns and found excuses to leave, leaving space for the couple.

  After all this was arranged, it was already nine o'clock in the morning. Tang Qiuli didn't have time to bid farewell to his father and others, so he set off with his troops.

  Ying Zui Ridge, located fifteen miles south of San Cha River, is the only way to enter and exit San Cha River. Of course, there is another road, but it takes two more days than taking Ying Zui Ridge. Therefore, in order to arrive at San Cha River as soon as possible, Songtian Lian Dui must take this road.

  The terrain of Ying Zui Ridge is treacherous, with a ten-mile stretch up the ridge and another ten miles down. A main road winds its way over the ridge, flanked by steep cliffs and dense forests of pine trees and thickets of shrubs. From a distance, it looks like an eagle's open beak, which is how the locals came to name it Ying Zui Ridge. It's easy to defend but hard to attack, making it an ideal place for an ambush.

  Tang Qiuli led the troops to this place and immediately deployed his forces. On both sides of the cliff, he arranged 50 soldiers each and gave strict orders that they were not allowed to expose themselves before the main force opened fire in front. He also allowed them to prepare a large amount of explosives and hand grenades, and arranged three heavy machine guns on each side. As for light machine guns, almost every soldier had one, since there were plenty of them left behind by the Japanese soldiers.

  The remaining 200 team members were all arranged at the highest point on the ridge, like a big gate, firmly blocking the main road. Tang Qiuli put all the howitzers in the front position, and set up an artillery position behind the main position, with sufficient ammunition, enough for the devils to drink a pot of it.

  When building the forward blocking position, the soldiers encountered a problem. The icy weather and frozen ground made it harder than stone to dig into the snow. With one shovel strike, the soldiers' hands would go numb, leaving only a small white dot! It was really difficult for the soldiers to build the position, facing the enemy's fierce firepower, they were at a disadvantage. What to do?

  Tang Qiuli also felt embarrassed, suddenly, he had a brainstorm and came up with a brilliant idea.

  Order the team members to collect a large amount of wood, burn it on the position, thaw the frozen soil, melt one layer, dig down one layer, pile up the excavated soil in front of the trench as a breast wall, set up several large pots, melt the snow, wait for the snow water to cool down, and then pour it onto the piled-up snow and soil. With the weather in Northeast China, it will freeze immediately after pouring, ensuring that it is more solid than reinforced concrete.

  The warriors got busy, all knowing that this was a life-saving business. In a short while, they would rely on this to withstand the enemy's shells. How dare they not do their best? This trick really worked and the progress accelerated greatly. The warriors all secretly praised the commander for being clever and wise!

  Taking advantage of the momentum, several more shelters were dug, with a layer of thick pine boards on top, covered with branches, snow, and then water, layer by layer, even aircraft bombs could withstand it.

  By the time it was past four o'clock in the afternoon, a complete blocking position had been built. The communication trench connected to the main position, and many anti-tank caves were dug inside the trenches. A section of road in front of the position was watered by soldiers, making it as slippery as an ice rink. The breast wall was at a certain angle, mainly to eliminate the enemy's armored vehicles. Even the positions on the cliff had anti-tank caves built.

  Against the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles, Tang Qiuli deliberately asked the warriors to prepare many Molotov cocktails. This thing is very effective against tanks and armored vehicles. Tang Qiuli was inspired by a classic battle example from the Soviet-German battlefield during World War II, and that's how he came up with this idea.

  Everything was ready, and it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon. Zhang Quan arranged for a sumptuous dinner to be sent over, with plenty of fish and meat, and also prepared three days' worth of dry rations for each soldier.

  For this point, Tang Qiuli was secretly surprised, how didn't he think of it himself? Zhang Quan considered the problem thoroughly, and his team might have to play a guerrilla war with the devils in the mountains and forests in the next few days. The people in charge of his own troops were not simple!

  After eating and drinking enough, the warriors wrapped themselves in sheepskin coats, hiding in the artillery trenches to take a nap. In a moment, who knows how fierce the battle will be? Hurry up and get some rest, recharge your energy, and beat those Japanese devils hard!

  At this time, several commanders had a dispute. Liu Tien-han and Feng Ji-wu were both old veterans who understood the way of fighting in this terrain and knew that it was the most dangerous place. They wanted to lead their troops to make a frontal assault as commanders. In short, they asked Commander-in-Chief Tang Qiu-li to go up the cliffs on both sides. The reason is that the commander-in-chief is the highest commander and cannot afford to make any mistakes. Tang Qiu-li understood their kindness, but could he leave the most dangerous place to his comrades?

  The result of the dispute was that Liu Tiehan and Feng Jiwu went to the cliffs on both sides to command the battle, while he and Shantou stayed at the front blocking position in charge of commanding. According to Shantu's opinion, it would be enough to leave only one person, and the commander-in-chief didn't need to stay at the front either. Tang Qiuli couldn't agree, how could he bear to let his good brother take on the danger alone? In the end, they still followed Tang Qiuli's deployment and went to their respective command posts.

  The sun has set, and the dusk is shrouding the earth. Tang Qiuli stands at a high point, holding binoculars, carefully observing the highway on the other side. After a while, there's no movement, he shifts his gaze to the Sanjiao River behind him.

  The town was still dotted with lights, a long dragon made of lanterns winding its way into the mountains, and Qiu Sheng and others were busy rushing to transport goods.

  The night grew darker, the wind picked up, and the rustling of pines sounded in waves. The biting cold air swept across the ground, and suddenly, Tang Qiuli's sharp senses caught a hint of unusual movement, faintly visible and coming from directly opposite.

  He peered intently through the binoculars in the direction of the movement, Mountain Tiger hastily crouched down to the ground, pressed his ears tightly against the earth and listened carefully. After a moment, he quickly sprang up and said to Tang Qiuli: "Commander, they're here!"

  Just as Shan Hu finished speaking, a rumble of engine noise came faintly from afar.

  After a while, the sound of the engine became clearer, and in Tang Qiuli's telescope lens, a light appeared, followed by one, two... The lights gradually connected into a line, like a poisonous snake, winding towards this side. Then, the roar of the engine clearly reached the ears of all team members.

  Matsuda Alliance, you've finally arrived. The entire army is ready for battle. Tang Qiuli has given the order.

  The warriors stared intently at the ferocious venomous snake, gripping their guns tightly.

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