"Lao Yuan, you take the brothers from the first company and the machine gun company to take a small road to meet the surrounded brothers. Most of the Japanese have returned. I guess there are not many Japanese left in the countryside. You can handle it."
When Yang Ling evacuated Baoying, he asked deputy captain Yuan Guangtao to lead people to rescue the brothers who had been trapped by the Japanese.
"After the brothers were rescued, some local brothers were left to form guerrilla detachments with the militia and stayed in the local area to fight guerrillas. The main force withdrew to Huaiyin for rest and defense."
Although Yang Ling and the others fought several battles with the Japs in Baoying territory, there were no victories or defeats for each other. The guerrillas also suffered heavy losses in this battle and were in urgent need of rest and replenishment.
Therefore, Yang Ling could only leave some guerrilla detachments to continue to contain and harass the Japs in Baoying. The main force of the regiment withdrew to Huaiyin to rest and recuperate. He guessed that the Japs' next attack target might be Huaiyin, so he wanted to prepare early.
"Sir Yang, where are you and your brothers from the Fourth Company?"
When he heard that he was asked to take a group of people away, the deputy captain was very curious about the whereabouts of Yang Ling and others.
Yang Ling explained: "My brothers from the Fourth Company and I are covering you. We made such a big noise in Baoying, and several brigades of Japs surrounded us. If no one attracts the Japs' attention, these Japs will soon
No one who can detect our retreat will be able to evacuate by then."
"Sir, it's too dangerous. Leave the task of attracting the Japanese to me. You can take the people back to Huaiyin first."
After hearing what Yang Ling said, the commander of the fifth battalion, Liu Zhi, stood up and took the initiative to take over the task.
Yang Ling smiled and shook his head: "Don't argue. There is no one here who is more suitable for this job than me. You don't have to worry."
Facing the persistent Yang Ling, after repeated persuasion by everyone failed, they finally accepted the order helplessly.
"After you have safely withdrawn to Huaiyin, you must cooperate with Zhang Liechen to immediately start setting up defenses. I will go back after I lure the Japanese away." Yang Ling did not forget to tell deputy captain Yuan Guangtao in the end.
Now another deputy captain, Zhang Liechen, is staying in Huaiyin, and Zheng Gang's "Patriot Battalion" is also in Huaiyin. Now that the main force has withdrawn, Huaiyin's defense will be greatly strengthened.
"Let's go, the Japanese will be here in an instant. If we don't leave, we won't be able to leave." Yang Ling urged the brothers.
"Sir, take care!"
"We are waiting for you to come back in Huaiyin."
Everyone saluted and said goodbye one after another. Deputy Captain Yuan Guangtao and Fifth Battalion Commander Liu Zhi quickly took their brothers through a small road and headed straight for Shanyang Town.
"Sir, where are we going?"
After everyone evacuated, the deputy battalion commander of the fifth battalion, Wang Dongming, and the fourth company commander both cast inquiring glances at Yang Ling.
Yang Ling squatted down and began to tighten his leggings again: "Let the brothers prepare for a long march. We will retreat south later."
"Withdraw to the south? Isn't that the direction of Gaoyou? That's getting further and further away from Huaiyin." The fourth company commander frowned.
Deputy Battalion Commander Wang Dongming reacted quickly and explained: "Only if we lead the Japs to the south and withdraw the main force in Huaiyin to the north can we be safe."
After hearing this, the fourth company commander suddenly realized and said immediately: "Then I will notify the troops to evacuate."
Yang Ling waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, prepare a gift for the Japanese."
Since he wanted to lure away the Japs, Yang Ling naturally had to be thorough, otherwise the troops retreating north would be discovered by the Japs.
"Take out all the military detonators we got from the Japanese warehouse, and I'll teach you how to make booby traps." Yang Ling ordered them.
While Yang Ling and his brothers from the Fourth Company were busy beating Baoying to pieces, the Japanese reinforcements also rushed back in a hurry.
"Report, the Japanese have arrived outside the city."
The brothers standing at the top of the city as observation posts saw a large group of Japanese soldiers trotting along the road from a distance, and immediately rushed to report to Yang Ling.
"withdraw!"
Upon hearing that the Japs had arrived, Yang Ling did not hesitate at all and ordered the brothers of the Fourth Company to evacuate south.
The first to rush back was an infantry squadron of about 200 people under the Tanichuan Infantry Brigade. Because of the rapid march, the team ran sparsely and stretched very long.
"stop!"
When he could see the black smoke billowing from Baoying City in the distance, the gasping Japanese squadron leader made a gesture and raised his telescope to observe.
Through the telescope, the entire dilapidated city wall of Baoying City was clearly visible. Some of the corpses lying across the city had not yet been cleaned up. There were traces of battles everywhere. A row of Japanese officers hanging on the city wall were particularly conspicuous.
"Bagaya road!"
When he saw some corpses wearing their military uniforms hanging on the city wall, the Japs squadron leader's face suddenly darkened. It seemed that the guerrillas had already entered the city.
"Battle formation, open the way!"
Soon, the Japanese squadron leader drew his southern pistol, and with a clatter of hundreds of soldiers spread out in three echelons, they pressed towards Baoying.
The Japanese soldiers were prepared to fight as if they were facing a formidable enemy. The closer they got to the city wall, the more traces of battle remained on the ground.
The road has been pockmarked by the bombing, and many turfs have been torn away, leaving craters one after another. The remaining blood has solidified into a dark black color.
The Japanese soldiers approached the city wall cautiously, but they found that except for the bodies of their companions, not a single guerrilla was found.
"The first and second teams went into the city to check, while the rest stayed on guard."
The Japanese squadron leader did not dare to be careless for fear of being ambushed, so he just sent two small teams into the city to test.
Soon, two teams of more than 110 Japanese soldiers hunched over each other and headed into the city to investigate the situation. The remaining Japanese soldiers lay on the ground, set up their machine guns, and were ready to fight.
"Squadron leader, you see, he is the detachment leader."
At this time, the Japs remaining outside the city were only a few dozen meters away from the city wall. The sharp-eyed Japs soldiers finally discovered something was wrong. Why were the corpses hanging on the city wall so familiar?
The Japanese squadron leader looked up. When he saw the familiar faces of the bloody Japanese squadron leader Watanabe Shouichi and a group of staff officers, his heart skipped a beat and he was stunned on the spot.
He had also seen these corpses through the telescope just now, but he did not expect that it was the corpse of their commander, hanging here in such shame.
"Baga ya road! The Chinese people are dead!"
The Japanese squadron leader's facial muscles twitched violently, and he was filled with anger.
When all the Japanese soldiers saw this scene, they were filled with righteous indignation. They did not expect that their beloved commander would be killed just like that. They clutched the guns in their hands and wished they could fight for the guerrillas now.
"Put them down quickly." Seeing the dead commander hanging on the top of the city, the Japanese squadron leader ordered his subordinates to put them down.
"Hiyi!"
A squad leader waved his hand, and more than fifty Japanese soldiers stood up in unison, stepping on the ruins and rushing to the top of the city.
When the Japanese soldiers were carefully trying to put down their commander, they didn't know that Yang Ling and the others had placed booby traps on these corpses.
"Boom! Boom!"
As soon as the Japanese pulled the rope, the booby trap exploded, and in the rising smoke, countless fragments swept around.
The first ones to bear the brunt of this were the Japanese who tried to remove the corpses. They were blown away with almost no chance to react, and rolled down the city wall violently.
The Japanese squadron leader and the Japanese soldiers were also startled, and subconsciously lowered their heads to avoid the flying fragments.
But when they looked up again, their noses were crooked with anger. An infantry team standing on the city wall, with more than fifty Japanese soldiers, had all been blown away. The smoke was filling the air, and their commander's body was also deformed by the explosion.
Became broken into pieces.
Seeing this scene, the Japanese soldiers could no longer hold back their anger and cursed one after another, wanting to go up and save their comrades who were killed and injured.
"Don't go up, be careful of booby traps!" The Japanese squadron leader recovered from his anger and stopped the soldiers who were about to pounce.
"Let the engineers clear mines!" the Japanese squadron leader ordered through gritted teeth.
"Immediately report the situation to the Captain."