Two houses in the bridge village were affected by the fighting and burned fiercely, with orange-red flames flying in the night wind.
The remaining Japanese soldiers, covered in blood and with charred faces, sat weakly at various shooting points, feeling deeply depressed and no longer as arrogant as before. Although they endured the heat waves that came from time to time, they had no strength to put out the fire.
They had already received orders from Captain Hirayama Kei. After a short rest to regain their strength, they would break out of the encirclement. The Japanese officers were dividing the ammunition evenly.
The day and night of fighting consumed a lot of ammunition for the Japanese soldiers, and each of them only had five bullets left. Of course, there were also bayonets covered with blood and dust that could be used as weapons.
Those lightly and seriously wounded Japanese soldiers were even more miserable. Although the medical soldiers tried their best to bandage their wounds and stop the bleeding, there were too many wounded and not enough medicine. They could only watch the wounded soldiers wailing and moaning in pain and could do nothing.
Japanese Private Suzuki Takeshi was very lucky. He accidentally followed a group of defeated soldiers and fled to this village. He met Captain Hirayama Kei and others. The two sides joined forces and repelled the attacking soldiers of the North Jiangsu Corps. Only then did he catch his breath.
One breath.
Suzuki Yi was so silent that he put on his leggings to prepare for the breakout. The painful howls of the wounded Japanese soldiers could be heard from time to time, filling the village with a low mood. After all, no one could be happy after such a defeat.
.
Suzuki Yi really wants to go home now. Facing the shivering cold, he especially misses his warm hometown. But in this chaotic battlefield, all longing is a luxury.
When the remaining Japanese soldiers were making preparations for a breakout in the village, they heard that a group of Japanese soldiers were surrounded, and more and more officers and soldiers of the North Jiangsu Corps came in for reinforcements from all over.
"The other Japs are out of bullets. This Japs' firepower is still very strong. We can't even attack them after several attacks. There must be a big fish here..."
The veterans in the reserve camp were lying behind the grassy field bank, analyzing rationally.
These veterans are the backbone of the reserve battalion transferred from the main battalion under the Northern Jiangsu Corps. They are usually responsible for training the reserve battalion, but now they have been appointed as officers.
"Platoon leader, what is the big fish?" The immature recruits in the reserve camp had doubts on their faces.
The veteran who was spitting like a man who had seen the world raised his hand and hit the recruit on the head, laughing and scolding: "You are such a bumpkin who has never seen the world. Big fish don't even know that."
"The big fish is the high-ranking Japanese official. If you catch the highest-ranking Japanese official, you will make a fortune..." The veteran platoon leader looked very excited.
"You all listen to me. When I break in and see the Japs wearing Nizi Army coats and white gloves, I will grab them no matter life or death. If you are lucky enough to catch the Japs' captain, the reward will be
It's ours." The veteran warned the brothers from the reserve camp who were surrounding him carefully.
"Platoon commander, don't worry, we promise to be the first to rush forward!" the brothers in the reserve camp said eagerly.
Now this group of Japanese soldiers has been surrounded by them in the village. Although the brothers have been repulsed after several attacks, they know that with so many troops around, it is impossible for the Japanese soldiers to escape.
Now surrounding the village, there are both brothers from the reserve battalion who came for reinforcements, as well as officers and soldiers from the main battalion who are red-eyed. Everyone is staring at the village, ready to rush forward and tear off a piece of flesh from the Japanese to vent their hatred.
.
"The Japs set up two light machine guns and a grenade group at the bottom of these two slopes. The Japs' marksmanship was accurate. We went up in a row, and in the blink of an eye, we lost more than ten casualties and came down dripping with blood.
…”
Zheng Gang, the commander of the 1st Preparatory Battalion, was lying behind a pile of withered grass, pointing at two gentle slopes a few hundred meters away, almost gnashing his teeth.
Next to Zheng Gang, Yang Ling, the commander of the Northern Jiangsu Corps, had his arm bandaged around his neck, but he was also close to the line of fire.
On the previous battlefield, although Yang Ling was unable to get close enough to stab him, he still managed to kill five or six Japanese with a shell gun, which undoubtedly boosted the morale of the officers and soldiers in the corps.
Seeing that the commander-in-chief was personally wounded and went into battle to kill the enemy, all the officers and soldiers screamed and charged towards the Japanese. They managed to hold on until the reinforcements from the reserve camp arrived, and finally defeated the Japanese.
Now Yang Ling heard that there was a place where the Japanese were still resisting, so he came over personally to check the situation and try to eliminate the last remaining enemy.
"What are you going to do next?"
Yang Ling did not take over the command of encircling and suppressing the remaining enemies in the village. After listening to Zheng Gang's report, he actually asked a question.
Zheng Gang was stunned when he faced Yang Ling's rhetorical question. He thought that Yang Ling listened to his report and wanted to understand the situation and help command and defeat the enemy. But looking at Yang Ling's appearance, it was not because of his feelings that he was here to help.
But Yang Ling was the commander, so Zheng Gang couldn't say anything. After being stunned for a few seconds, he expressed his attack idea.
"I will personally lead the brothers up and attack with force. Even if we all die, we will still destroy all the Japanese!"
The reason why Yang Ling didn't want to interfere with Zheng Gang's command was because he wanted to train the commanding abilities of junior officers like them. After all, they were the backbone officers of the North Jiangsu Corps, and they would always have to stand alone.
After hearing Zheng Gang's answer, Yang Ling shook his head helplessly. The officers under his command still have a long way to go.
"Have you considered the casualties of our brothers?" Yang Ling looked at Zheng Gang and asked seriously.
Zheng Gang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.
"You are also a battalion commander now. You have hundreds of brothers under your command. You are no longer the small platoon leader with dozens of brothers. Every decision you make is related to the lives of the brothers. You must be cautious, brothers.
I choose to fight with you because I want to win, not to die with you." Yang Ling taught with sincerity.
"As commanders, we must use our brains when fighting. If we can solve the battle with small casualties, then we should not show off our bravery and let our brothers bleed and die. Now that the little devil has been covered in the pot, you are anxious to lift the lid.
What to do?"
After listening to Yang Ling's words, Zheng Gang, the murderous commander of the first reserve battalion, also reacted. Chief Yang was teaching him how to fight.
"Sir, I understand. I will take my brothers to find cannons and kill these sons of bitches!" Zheng Gang immediately turned around to find cannons.
Yang Ling shook his head with a wry smile and called out to Zheng Gang: "You are the battalion commander. Just ask for the artillery and send people. You have to stay here to keep an eye on the command. What if the Japanese take the opportunity to break out and escape? Wouldn't that be the case then?
Fetching water from a bamboo basket is all in vain?"
Zheng Gang reminded himself of Yang Ling, scratched his head in embarrassment, and then returned to his position.
"First company commander, take people to the back to find an infantry cannon. A mortar will also work. Bring it over as soon as possible."
"The second company blocked the open space on the left, and the third company set up defenses across the river ditch. The defense on the left was handed over to the brothers of the third guerrilla battalion. My eyes widened. If a little Japanese was allowed to escape, I would question you.
!" Zheng Gang reminded sternly, restoring the dignity that a commander should have.
Seeing that Zheng Gang had entered the state after being reminded by him.