After Yan Guiwu left, Chiba Xunyi telegraphed the information he provided to Shinozuka Yoshio, saying that the Mawushan guerrillas had noticed that the Japanese army was about to attack, and the base area was actively preparing for war. He hoped that the commander could deploy the army as soon as possible.
, attacking Mawu Mountain did not give Xu Dalong and others sufficient preparation time.
Yoshio Shinozuka was very depressed. Although he knew that the large-scale mobilization of the Japanese army could not be hidden from Xu Dalong, he did not expect that the enemy would be prepared so quickly.
So he urged the various Japanese troops who participated in the siege of the Mawushan base area to speed up their assembly.
Guancheng County. Guerrilla Brigade Headquarters.
Two Japanese cavalry regiments transferred from the direction of Peiping have arrived at Lingao City, and a Japanese tank regiment has arrived at Yucheng. The Japanese 110th Division from the Yangquan direction has been replenished and is gathering towards Yangquan. Taiyuan
The Japanese Fifth Division in the direction has begun to gather troops.
…
Various news continued to come in, the Japanese army was gathering heavily, and there was a situation where dark clouds were pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.
Taiyue Military Region Headquarters.
The commander received a telegram from Xu Dalong, reporting the gathering of large Japanese troops. He decided to send a part of the troops to the Mawushan base area to cooperate with Xu Dalong's troops to repel the Japanese siege.
At this moment, he received an order from the headquarters to attend the combat meeting.
The combat meeting reported the latest trends of the Japanese army, saying that the Japanese army had plans to launch a large-scale attack on the Taihang base area, and reported intelligence from the Zhongtiao Mountain headquarters that the Japanese troops there also showed signs of a large-scale attack.
The head of the headquarters asked the Taihang Military Region, Taiyue Military Region, Luliang Military Region and other departments participating in the meeting to prepare for a large-scale Japanese attack.
The commander spoke at the meeting and said that the reason why the Japanese army launched a large-scale attack in Shanxi was a deceptive tactic. Their main purpose was to cover up their intention to attack the Mawushan base area. He collected Xu Dalong
The intelligence was reported, and an application was made to the headquarters to dispatch some troops from the Taiyue Military Region to the Mawushan base area to cooperate with Xu Dalong's troops to crush the enemy's massive siege.
The head of the headquarters believed that what the commander of the Taiyue Military Region said was reasonable and agreed to his request. At the same time, he also reminded the troops in each military region to prevent the Japanese from attacking them.
The commander returned to the Taiyue Military Region Headquarters and discussed with the chief of staff to decide to send Li Yunlong's newly formed First Brigade to the Mawushan base area to support Xu Dalong's operations.
Li Yunlong had been waiting for this day for a long time. After receiving the commander's order, he was very excited. After getting in touch with Xu Dalong, he led the main force of the newly formed First Brigade to the Mawushan base area that night.
Guancheng County.
Zhao Gang is also a very creative person. When he inspected the guerrillas digging tunnels, he found that the shovels, pickaxes and other tools they used were not very practical when digging tunnels, because the tunnels were very narrow and these tools were not practical at all.
Can't be deployed.
After repeated research, he invented a three-claw nail rake. This kind of nail rake is only more than a foot long. It can be swung vigorously in narrow tunnels. When digging into the soil, it can easily be done by using the principle of leverage.
It can dig out large pieces of soil, greatly increasing the speed of tunnel excavation.
Seeing that this kind of tool was very practical, Zhao Gang arranged for mass production in the arsenal, and at the same time notified the Zheng Mansion in Mawushan Central County to organize blacksmiths from various places to build it and distribute it to the local militia and the masses to speed up the excavation of tunnels.
On this day, the Zheng Mansion of Mawushan Central County held an experience exchange meeting on tunnel excavation, and Xu Dalong and Zhao Gang were invited to participate.
At the experience exchange meeting, a director of the Women's Rescue Society from Lijiazhuang, Ping'an County caught Xu Dalong's attention. This person's name was Li Xiuqin. She was a smart and capable female cadre with a good appearance and figure, but her skin was a bit dark.
The women in Lijiazhuang are very well organized. They have participated in various tasks in the village, even digging tunnels. This time, as an advanced representative of tunnel digging, she imparted her experience in organizing women's work.
"Li Xiuqin of Lijiazhuang, Ping'an County", this information reminded Xu Dalong of a person, that is, Li Yunlong's first wife Li Xiuqin. It is said that due to the arrival of Xu Dalong, history has changed, and Li Yunlong's troops have already left Ping'an County and moved to
After going to the Taihang Mountain base area, he probably wouldn't be acquainted with Li Xiuqin anymore.
Perhaps by God's will, Li Yunlong is leading the troops of the new brigade towards Guancheng County. Maybe there is some chance for them to meet again, and maybe there will be a spark of love.
Thinking about this matter, Xu Dalong became a little distracted for a moment.
It wasn't until Zhao Gang reminded him that it was his turn to give a speech. Only then did he wake up and delivered a passionate speech, fully affirming the grassroots organizations at all levels affiliated to the Zheng Mansion in Mawushan Central County for their achievements in tunnel excavation.
He affirmed their experience and encouraged them to keep up their efforts, not only to do a good job in digging tunnels, but also to actively strive to be advanced in other aspects of work.
After the meeting, Zhao Gang found Xu Dalong staring at the back of a young woman.
He felt a little strange, because during the meeting today, Xu Dalong was a little distracted. Now he was staring at the back of a person, not understanding what this guy wanted to do.
He walked up to Xu Dalong, coughed, and asked: "Captain, what are you looking at?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "Zhao Zhengwei, you said that our group leader is quite old. When he comes to our base this time, shouldn't we introduce him to a partner?"
Zhao Gang said: "We thought of going together. There are many young women in our base area now, and I have this plan to help Lao Li introduce one."
After hearing what Zhao Gang said, Xu Dalong must have introduced a knowledgeable and educated young woman to Li Yunlong, so that he would not have any intersection with Li Xiuqin. But maybe, some things are destined by God.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said: "Commissioner Zhao Zheng, I have a suggestion. Don't introduce him to our group leader when he comes. Our group leader is a man who is popular with women. Anyway, we have many young women here. Maybe he will see it."
Whoever it is, we can just go with the flow when the time comes."
After Zhao Gang thought for a while, he said: "What you said makes sense. Anyway, the new brigade will not leave in a day and a half, so it depends on Lao Li's own fate. If it doesn't work, we can help him introduce it.
.”
Having said this, he asked: "Captain, is it time for your personal problems to be solved? Director Lin or Miss Chu, which one do you like?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "I am still too young to consider this matter for the time being. But you, Zhao Zhengwei, are older than me. You are the eldest brother. If you don't take the lead in this regard, I will fall in love and get married first. It's really
It doesn’t make sense.”
Zhao Gang said: "Now that the war is coming, how can I have such thoughts?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "It's over now. I don't have the heart to think about this matter now."
The next morning, Xu Dalong received a report that the people who participated in the tunnel excavation experience exchange meeting in Zheng Mansion, central county of Mawu Mountain, had left the county and returned to their respective villages. At this time, Li Yunlong's new first brigade had not arrived yet
When we arrived at the Mawushan base, it seemed that Li Xiuqin and Li Yunlong had no chance to get to know each other.
Northeast of Taiyuan, Liujiazhuang, Yangcheng County.
That night, the dogs in the village suddenly started barking wildly. Some villagers were upset by the barking, so they got up to check and suddenly found a large number of Japanese cavalry entering the village.
There is no difference in equipment between these cavalry and the cavalry of other cavalry units of the Japanese army, except that the saddles are covered with a thick sheepskin. These Japanese troops are the Takashima Cavalry Regiment from the Chahar Expeditionary Army.
Regiment Captain Takashima, following Yoshio Shinozuka's instructions, led the cavalry regiment to travel day and night, specifically picking up paths, or passing directly through the fields, and suddenly appeared here.
In order to cover up their intentions, the Japanese army sealed off the entire village and did not allow anyone to go out.
Then a large number of Japanese soldiers moved into people's homes, forcing them to provide them with food and accommodation.
These Japanese beasts would not stop. Soon after they entered the village, the cries of women came from the village, followed by the sound of gunshots and the screams of men. These two-legged beasts bullied the village.
He killed the women who tried to resist one by one, causing a tragedy and incurring a blood debt to innocent people.
The Takashima United Team rested for a day in Liujiazhuang and reported to Yoshio Shinozuka. The next night, they left Liujiazhuang and entered Ping'an County.
Chiba Xunyi's intelligence source was not only the Fourth Division of Huang Xiejun, but also the gendarmerie of each county. The Ping'an County Gendarmerie received a report that a large force of underground anti-Japanese armed forces had entered Ping'an County, so they reported to Ping'an County.
Chiba Xunyi made a report.
After Chiba Xunyi received the report, he reported the situation to Shinozuka Yoshio.
Yoshio Shinozuka also informed the Takashima Cavalry Regiment and issued an order, asking them to avoid direct contact with the underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces passing through Ping'an County.
Li Yunlong's newly formed First Brigade also adopted the method of traveling day and night, passing through enemy-occupied areas and entering Ping'an County.
That night, a large group of troops from the New 1st Brigade was marching when they were suddenly attacked by a large group of enemy cavalry.
Guancheng County.
Xu Dalong was woken up from his dream. He read a telegram from the newly-organized First Brigade, saying that they encountered a sneak attack by the Japanese cavalry in Ping'an County. Although they repelled the enemy's attack, the troops suffered three casualties.
More than a hundred people. What's even worse is that Li Yunlong was injured and has been temporarily placed in Lijiazhuang to recuperate.
Xu Dalong was shocked and quickly informed the field hospital and sent the best doctors to Lijiazhuang to rescue Li Yunlong.
A large Japanese cavalry unit suddenly appeared, which aroused Xu Dalong's vigilance.
According to intelligence, two Japanese cavalry regiments coming from the direction of Peiping have now entered Lingao City. So where did this Japanese cavalry unit come from?
Xu Dalong issued an emergency order, notifying all troops, county brigades, and militiamen in the Mawushan base area to strengthen combat readiness to guard against enemy sneak attacks. He also notified Chu Yunfei's 358th Brigade of the situation.
After arranging all this, Xu Dalong and Zhao Gang led Wei Monk's special operations squadron and Wang Pao's motorcycle squadron to Lijiazhuang, Ping'an County, to visit Li Yunlong.
Xu Dalong, Zhao Gang and others arrived at the entrance of the village, and officers and soldiers of the newly formed First Brigade in charge of security greeted them.
Zhao Gang asked anxiously: "Where is your Brigadier Li now?"
The sentry said: "The brigade commander is at the home of the director of the Women's Rescue Association in the east of the village. I will take the leaders there right now."
When Xu Dalong heard this, his heart moved, and he felt that Li Yunlong and this Li Xiuqin were really destined, and they had indeed crossed paths again.
Xu Dalong, Zhao Gang and others arrived at the yard of Li Xiuqin's house. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Zhang Dabiao who was guarding outside, as well as the main cadres of the newly-organized First Brigade.
Seeing Xu Dalong and Zhao Gang, everyone gathered around them.
Zhao Gang asked: "Chief of Staff Zhang, how is Lao Li?"
Zhang Dabiao said: "The brigade commander was not hit by the Japanese. The bullet hit his horse and knocked him off the horse. He happened to hit a rock and broke three ribs. The doctor is treating him. He should
It’s nothing serious.”
Hearing this, Zhao Gang, Xu Dalong and others breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Gang said: "That's good."
Xu Dalong, Zhao Gang and others were waiting in the yard and soon talked about the situation of the newly formed First Brigade being attacked by Japanese troops tonight.
The newly formed First Brigade suffered considerable losses, Li Yunlong was injured again, and Zhang Dabiao was in a bad mood.
He couldn't help complaining: "Brother Dalong, Commissioner Zhao Zheng, according to your intelligence, the Japanese cavalry troops are in Lingao City. How could they suddenly appear here?"
Xu Dalong took the initiative to take responsibility and said: "This was my mistake. Our intelligence is basically accurate. The two Japanese cavalry regiments from Peiping are still in Lingao City. This group of Japanese cavalry did not know
Where do they come from, and what are their characteristics?"
Zhang Dabiao shook his head and said: "There is nothing special. Their military uniforms and equipment are the same as those of other Japanese cavalry."
Xu Dalong asked: "Are there any Japanese prisoners?"
Zhang Dabiao said: "No, I killed some Japanese and captured several Japanese war horses."
After finishing speaking, he said to the guard company commander beside him: "Go and get all the belongings of the Japanese cavalry."
The guard company commander responded and walked out.
Soon he came back, and the soldier behind him was holding a captured Japanese war horse and an identity plate taken from the Japanese soldier.
Xu Dalong first checked the identity plate of the Japanese army. He noticed that the beginning of the number above did not belong to the Japanese army in the Shanxi sequence.
Then, he checked the war horse again and saw the brand on the horse's buttocks written in Japanese: "Military Inspector."
Xu Dalong couldn't figure out what this word meant for a while. He carefully observed the war horse and found the sheepskin on the saddle. These sheepskins were different from the common sheep and goatskins in Shanxi. They were the sheepskins of sheep unique to the grassland.
Xu Dalong recognized this very clearly because he had lived in Inner Mongolia for more than two years and was very familiar with it.
He thought of the grassland, and then thought of the word "cha" on the buttocks of the war horse. Xu Dalong was basically certain that these Japs came from the grassland. The Japanese troops there were affiliated with the Chahar Expeditionary Force, so it was correct.
He said: "These Japs are from the grasslands, people from the Chahar Dispatch Army. It seems that the Japs have also hidden some troops. They entered Shanxi quietly, so they missed relevant intelligence. It seems that intelligence work still needs to be done."
Strengthen it further.”
When Zhao Gang heard this, he was a little surprised and said: "There are enough Japanese troops from Shanxi, plus those transferred from Peiping. I didn't expect that there are also Japanese troops from Chahar. This battle will be even more difficult to fight."
Already."
Zhang Dabiao heard that these Japs came from the grasslands and that Xu Dalong and others failed to report the situation in time, so the dissatisfaction in his heart disappeared.
He said: "So that's it. Even the little devils on the grassland dare to come here to make trouble. Sooner or later we will deal with them and avenge the sacrifice of the brothers of the New First Brigade."
While everyone was discussing, the door opened and Su Xiaoyan walked out.
Xu Dalong asked: "Dean Su, how is Brigadier Li?"
Su Xiaoyan smiled slightly and said: "Captain, Brigadier Li is not seriously injured. The injured part has been treated. As long as he rests peacefully, he will recover in a short time."
At this time, Li Yunlong's voice came from the room: "Is it Brother Dalong? Come in."
Xu Dalong looked at Su Xiaoyan and asked for her opinion.
Su Xiaoyan nodded and said, "It's okay, you can go in."
Xu Dalong, Zhao Gang and others entered the ward. They saw that in addition to a military doctor and a nurse, there was also a young woman, Li Xiuqin.
Everyone came to Li Yunlong's hospital bed and asked about his condition.
Li Yunlong smiled and said: "It's nothing serious. It's just a pity that Laozi's horse was gone. I had been with Laozi for so long, and I had a lot of feelings for it. It's gone like this, which makes people feel uncomfortable."
Zhao Gang said with relief: "Lao Li, just be fine. It doesn't matter if the horse is gone. We have many good horses here. We'll just give you two more."
Li Yunlong felt a little embarrassed about being attacked by the Japanese army.
He said with some embarrassment: "Brother Dalong and Commissioner Zhao Zheng have always been responsible for sneak attacks on the Japanese. Unexpectedly, they were attacked by the Japanese. It's really unlucky."
Zhang Dabiao said: "Brigadier, Brother Dalong has already investigated the situation you mentioned. These little devils who attacked us are not local devils in Shanxi, but people from the Chahar Dispatch Army from Inner Mongolia. They sneaked into Shanxi
Yes, Brother Dalong and Zhao Zhengwei were not able to grasp the movements of these Japanese."
Li Yunlong said: "As long as we know the origin of this group of devils, Lao Zi will deal with them sooner or later."
Having said this, Li Yunlong struggled to sit up. Unexpectedly, his movements were a bit big and affected the wound. The strong pain made him frown.
Zhao Gang hurriedly supported him and said, "Lao Li, what are you doing? Just stay here, you are so dishonest even though you are injured."
Li Yunlong said: "Old Zhao, I can't stay here, so I will go to Guancheng County with you."
Su Xiaoyan said: "Commander Li, your ribs are broken and have just been reattached. It's best not to move them. You need to rest peacefully. If the movement causes dislocation again, it will be troublesome."
Xu Dalong said: "Captain, the deployment of the Japs' offensive base has not been completed recently, so there won't be any big moves for the time being. You can rest peacefully for a few days, and when your injuries are healed, we can deal with the Japs together when there is enough time."
Everyone tried to persuade Li Yunlong, but Li Yunlong had no choice but to agree to stay here to recuperate.
Zhao Gang already knew Li Xiuqin's identity at this time, and he said: "Miss Xiuqin, I have caused you trouble. I hope you can take good care of Brigadier Li. Brothers of the new brigade, Captain Xu and I will be grateful to you.
"
Li Xiuqin said cheerfully: "Commissioner Zheng, Captain, please rest assured. I am the director of the Women's Rescue Society in the village, and I am considered a member of the organization. I don't need to see anyone outside. I will definitely take good care of Brigadier Li."
Xu Dalong told Su Xiaoyan to leave some medical staff from the field hospital to take care of the wounded in the New First Brigade, then bid farewell to Li Yunlong, and led the main force of the New First Brigade to Guancheng County with Zhang Dabiao and others.
Xu Dalong found it very interesting to see all the coincidences between Li Yunlong and Li Xiuqin.
He asked: "Commissioner Zhao Zheng, what do you think of Li Xiuqin from the Lijiazhuang Women's Rescue Association?"
Zhao Gang didn't quite understand for a moment and asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said, "Do you think the group leader and Li Xiuqin look like husband and wife?"
Zhao Gang was a little confused and didn't understand why Xu Dalong asked this.
He asked: "Captain, why do you ask this? Is there any problem between Lao Li and this girl Xiuqin?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said, "You will know later."
Taiyuan City.
Yoshio Shinozuka received a report from Captain Takashima that they attacked the anti-Japanese armed forces of the underground party at night, eliminated hundreds of anti-Japanese elements, and severely damaged the enemy.
Yoshio Shinozuka felt a little unhappy, because Takashima United was his hidden killer move, and he didn't expect that they would reveal their target so quickly.
Although Shinozuka Yoshio felt a little dissatisfied, he couldn't blame the commander of the Takashima regiment. After all, he was a guest army and came to help the First Army fight the war.
Since the Takashima Regiment was able to take the initiative to seek battle, Yoshio Shinozuka still praised the Takashima Regiment captain and encouraged them to fight bravely and make new achievements.
Yoshio Shinozuka became alert to the emerging anti-Japanese armed forces of the underground party.
He checked the map and saw where the underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces appeared and the direction in which they came. He judged that they should be sent from the direction of the Taihang Mountains to reinforce the underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces in the Mawu Mountain base area. This meant that the underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces appeared.
They had already prepared that the Japanese army was about to deal with not only the Mawushan guerrillas and the 358th Brigade of the Shanxi-Sui Army, but also the reinforcements from the Taihang Mountain base area.
Yoshio Shinozuka immediately sent a telegram to Chiba Xunichi, asking him to find out the origin of this underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces and their strength.
Lingao City.
After Chiba Xunyi received the order from Shinozuka Yoshio, he felt very depressed when he heard that reinforcements from the underground party had been added to the Mawu Mountain base area.