The deputy captain under Major Kuroki suddenly reminded: "Sir, I have another concern for my humble position!"
"Okada-kun said that the Eighth Route Army was well prepared to attack Cangyun Ridge, so they must have been prepared to attack Cangyun Ridge. As soon as we chased the new group of breakout troops and left Cangyun Ridge, they would launch an attack!
"
"It can be seen that from the moment we encountered the new regiment, we fell into a trap carefully laid by the Eighth Route Army!"
"Now the commander of the regiment has died in battle, the troops have suffered heavy losses, ammunition is in short supply, and all heavy weapons have been lost. If we pursue the pursuit rashly, I am worried that there will be more traps waiting for us ahead!"
Upon hearing this, Major Kuroki also hesitated, and his idea and determination to immediately pursue the Eighth Route Army were not as firm as before.
But it was impossible to let the Eighth Route Army escape from under his nose with the spoils of war.
If what his subordinates just concluded was false, then he would have missed a good opportunity to recapture the artillery and supplies.
"The escaping Eighth Route Army must be pursued, otherwise none of us can bear the responsibility of throwing away so many weapons and ammunition!" Major Kuroki made the final decision.
Seeing the worried expressions on his subordinates' faces, he changed the subject and continued: "But your analysis just now is also very reasonable!"
"In order to prevent the troops from encountering danger in the next operation, I decided to divide my forces to pursue and kill the Eighth Route Army who raided Cangyunling!"
"An infantry squadron advanced with light equipment and set off first, with the main force following two kilometers behind."
"In case there are other traps in the mountain, we will only lose one infantry squadron!"
The first company of the Independent Regiment, the guard company, and the machine gun platoon totaled more than 220 people.
They were all motionless and hidden in the anti-gun holes dug by the troops in advance.
Kong Jie and Huang Yu were hiding in a cave, watching Huang Yu and the more he thought about it, the more something was wrong.
It felt like he knew that the Independent Regiment would definitely raid Cangyun Ridge and seize a large amount of weapons, ammunition and supplies. Otherwise, why would he have repeatedly asked him to take the mules and horses of the baggage company with him?
Letting mules and horses help transport the wounded and reduce the load of the troops can indeed speed up the retreat of the troops to a certain extent.
Before the raid on Cangyun Ridge, Kong Jie felt that this reason was very convincing.
After the raid on Cangyun Ridge, if you think carefully about this reason, you will find many things that cannot be explained.
Covering the new regiment to escape the Japanese pursuit does not mean that the independent regiment has to fight hard on the position with the Sakata Regiment. As long as the retreat is timely, the casualties of the troops will definitely be very limited.
Even if there are casualties in the troops, he will let them withdraw from the battle as usual, without any impact on the subsequent battles of the troops behind him.
A pair of eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, staring at Huang Yu and asking thoughtfully.
"Tell me the truth. Ever since you proposed the independent regiment to take over the new regiment, have you already been eyeing the artillery and baggage of the Sakata Regiment?"
"In order to transport all the captured loot back, I was specially persuaded to take the mules and horses of the baggage company with me!"
Huang Yu was too young. As soon as Kong Jie said what he was thinking, his eyes started to twinkle and he did not dare to look at him.
Although he quickly regained his composure, Kong Jie still captured this fleeting change.
A smile immediately appeared on his face, waiting for Huang Yu to explain.
"Captain, how can I do this? You think so highly of me!" Huang Yu explained with an innocent expression.
"I don't even know where the Sakata Regiment and the New Regiment fought, how could I target their artillery and baggage!"
"I asked you to take the mule and horse teams with me to speed up the retreat of the troops. There is absolutely no other reason!"
"Editor, you continue to make it up for me!" Kong Jie said with a smile.
"Even if you didn't target the artillery and baggage of the Sakata Regiment, you still had your sights on the Sakata Regiment. Otherwise, why didn't you dare to look into my eyes just now!"
"The mules and horses of the baggage company are definitely not here to transport the wounded!"
"The rule of the Eighth Route Army has always been that the wounded retreat first. Even without the help of the mules and horses, the wounded will not affect the rear troops!"
Huang Yu had no choice but to admit a few small things that would not reveal that he could see through the future.
He answered bravely: "Captain, to be honest with you: I did keep an eye on the Sakata United team at the beginning and wanted to get some benefits from them!"
"I just didn't expect Captain Li to be so powerful. He could kill Sakata with one shot and break out of the encirclement from the front, creating a good opportunity for us to raid Cangyun Ridge!"
After saying that, he kept silent and even when Kong Jie asked him, he said he didn't know anything.
"Captain, there are little Japs coming towards us!" The scout on position alert suddenly got into the anti-gun hole to report.
"How many people are here and how are their equipment?" In front of business, Kong Jie had no choice but to give up questioning Huang Yu and turned to stare at the investigator.
"An infantry squadron, not equipped with heavy weapons!" The scout immediately told what he saw about the enemy.
"The next two kilometers are followed by a large Japanese army, more than 2,000 people, equipped with a large number of heavy machine guns and mortars!"
"The Japanese are afraid of being beaten by us!" Huang Yu blurted out.
"Captain, the Sakata Regiment was afraid of being attacked by the New Regiment. They were afraid of falling into the trap again and did not dare to pursue us together. They deliberately sent an infantry squadron to the front to test us!"
"In the event of an accident, only one infantry squadron will be lost, and the large force can retreat quickly!"
Kong Jieshen agreed: "Huang Yu's analysis makes sense!"
"The Japanese are most afraid of dividing their troops when fighting with us, especially in mountain warfare!"
"They must be unwilling to take the risk of being defeated by each of us and divide their forces to pursue us!"
"The most likely reason is that they are afraid of us, worried that there are traps ahead!"
"Then the next battle will be easy to fight!"
"As long as we eat up their forward squadron with lightning speed or severely damage them, the main force of the Japanese behind will be frightened and will not dare to continue the pursuit!"
"If they stay here for half an hour, we will be gone. If we want to pursue them again, we will have no chance!"
"Just do it!"
"Inform all the troops to enter the position, and the machine gun platoon will set up all the heavy machine guns and mortars..."
"Guard company machine gun squad, guard company platoon, machine gun squad one company, company platoon, defend the frontal position!"
"The second and third platoons of the guard company are lurking in the ambush position on the left wing and are on standby. The second and third platoons of the guard company are in ambush position on the right wing and are on standby!"
"Put the Japs fifty meters in front of the position, fire mortars, light and heavy machine guns, and guard companies one row at a time, and use the strongest firepower to hit them hard!"
"After a minute, all the ambush troops will attack and launch a counterattack against the Japanese..."
"No matter what the final result is, the battlefield must be cleaned and withdrawn from the battle in five minutes..."
