Thick smoke shrouded the sky like dark clouds for a long time. A group of exhausted Japanese soldiers entered the dilapidated village along the winding road. Soon, bunkers were piled at the entrance of the village and machine guns were set up.
Sentinel, this team of Japanese soldiers is going to spend the night in the village.
The houses made of mud and grass were low and simple, and all the people had already fled, leaving only some old baskets and broken bowls scattered on the blackened stove, deserted.
The Japanese soldiers carried dry food and lunch boxes, but they did not care about the items left behind by the common people. They just wanted to find a sheltered place to spend the night in the cold weather, because it was really difficult to sleep in the wilderness.
The brick house in the landlord's compound in the center of the village stands out like a flock of chickens among a pile of low mud and thatched houses. It is eye-catching and naturally became the temporary residence of the Japanese commander Major Higashi Shotaro.
Major Shotaro Azuma's face was unshaven and haggard, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. Even his military yellow uniform was stained with sticky mud and blood. He had long lost the high spirits he had when he set off. The pursuit along the way was really frustrating.
He exhausted all his efforts and was exhausted.
Fortunately, it was now time to close the net. Although the commander of the defeated China troops was as cunning as a fox, he could not escape from his grasp in the end. Thinking of this, Higashishotaro's face was filled with anger.
The defeated troops led by Yang Ling retreated all the way to the west, but the pursuit troops commanded by Major Higashi Shoutaro refused to let go. The two sides chased and fought all the way. Although Higashikata Taro frequently used his evil tricks, Yang Ling was not spared every time.
His escape made Higashi Shotaro crazy and at the same time he was excited to meet such a powerful opponent.
Yang Ling led the defeated troops to the left and right along the way, and even made ambushes from time to time. At night, he even fired cold shots near the Japanese soldiers' camp, which made the Japanese pursuing troops very uncomfortable.
But it doesn't matter. Major Higashi Shotaro is happy to tangle with Yang Ling and the others, because he has already sent a telegram to the 16th Division, which is attacking from Changshu. They have sent an infantry brigade to set up an interception line in front to intercept Yang Ling and the others.
This army was defeated.
In order to take precautions, Major Higashi Shotaro secretly sent two infantry squadrons to quickly detour from both wings two days ago. A large invisible net has enveloped Yang Ling and the others, and now Yang Ling and the others are far away from the interception line of the forward infantry brigade.
Getting closer and closer, this invisible network is shrinking inward, trying to compress the living space of Yang Ling and others.
…
In the bleak and humid wilderness, Yang Ling's gathered defeated troops were marching in a long team. After gathering along the way, the team became stronger and stronger, and now there were nearly a thousand people in the team.
They are already very close to Jiangyin. As long as they reach Jiangyin, they can get rid of the Japanese soldiers, get supplies and rest, and the wounded can also receive treatment. Although everyone is tired, their desire to survive is very strong, and they are still there.
gritted his teeth and persisted.
"Battal Commander, there are a large number of Japanese soldiers ten miles ahead." Jiao Chaoming, who was in charge of forward reconnaissance, rode back to the marching team and reported to Yang Ling the enemy situation ahead.
The Japanese's 16th Division quickly attacked Changshu after landing at Bai Maokou. Their division commander was very cunning. While the troops advanced in a straight line, they also sent dozens of infiltration troops to intersperse and make many detours.
As a result, many defenders who had withdrawn from Shanghai wanted to organize a defensive line to resist, but found that the Japanese had already captured the towns in the rear. As a result, their positions were in chaos. In order to avoid being surrounded, they could only continue to retreat.
Yang Ling was not surprised when he heard Jiao Chaoming's report. Instead, he was calm and composed. After all, he encountered countless Japanese infiltration troops along the way, ranging from dozens to hundreds. They were eaten by small groups and eaten by large groups.
He had already determined the principles of combat in order to bypass the stock.
"How many Japs are there?" Yang Ling raised his head and asked.
Jiao Chaoming replied: "There are at least a thousand people. I found the Japanese soldiers' positions several miles away."
Yang Ling frowned. He didn't expect that there were so many Japanese soldiers blocking the front. It was not easy to get through the defense line that was several miles away. Besides, there were more than a thousand of them now, and the target was too big.
It's not feasible to sneak through the Japanese defense line secretly. It would be difficult to break through forcefully. There are thousands of Japanese soldiers, which is an infantry brigade. Just the light and heavy machine guns are enough for them to drink a pot, not to mention the various other mortars they are equipped with.
And grenade launchers, and maybe Type 92 infantry artillery, they can only be used as living targets if they rush over like this.
"Order the team to turn to the northwest, and we will go around." Yang Ling gave the order immediately. If you can't get through, then go around.
Following Yang Ling's order, the team of more than a thousand people turned northwest, preparing to bypass the Japanese troops in front. However, not long after walking northwest, the reconnaissance cavalry who had gone out came back and reported that the Japanese had also been spotted in front.
force.
Because Yang Ling lacked useful intelligence, he didn't know that Major Shotaro Higashi had deployed a large net in a relatively wide area, covering their defeated troops, and was now beginning to compress and close the net.
At this moment, there were chasing troops behind, blocking in front, and Japanese troops appeared on the flanks. This made Yang Ling feel something was wrong. He immediately summoned Jiao Chaoming and ordered: "You will immediately lead people to search eastward. If you find the Japanese, they will come back immediately."
After Jiao Chaoming responded, he immediately called to his two brothers, got on their horses and headed towards the east, the only place where there was no movement.
"Why don't you leave?" Liu Ming, the regimental deputy, expressed concern about the sudden stop of the team. After all, the enemy is now on the backside, and staying for one more minute means more risks.
"I'm afraid we are in trouble. The Japanese have blocked us." Although Jiao Chaoming has not returned yet, Yang Ling already has a bad feeling.
The Japanese soldiers who had been chasing them in the past few days had slowed down. At first Yang Ling thought they were tired from pursuing them for so long, but now it seemed that it was a conspiracy on their part. They were deliberately slowing down their pursuit.
Liu Ming asked solemnly: "What are you going to do?"
Yang Ling took a deep breath and replied: "We have to wait for the news from the east to make a decision."
Soon, Jiao Chaoming, who was exploring to the east, returned in a hurry and brought bad news, that is, there were Japanese soldiers pressing down from the east, and it looked like they were part of the Japanese soldiers chasing them.
After gathering intelligence from all parties, the situation has become very clear. The pursuing Japanese soldiers deliberately slowed down to paralyze Yang Ling and the others, but secretly created a large net to catch them all. Now is the time to close the net.
The situation has deteriorated drastically. They are now completely trapped. No matter which way they go, they will encounter the Japanese. However, if they are entangled by the Japanese and cannot escape, that will be the moment of their destruction.
When several company commanders heard that they were now surrounded, they all panicked. Some suggested breaking out to the north, while others clamored to break out to the west. Li Tiezhu even suggested breaking up the enemy into pieces and trying to escape one by one.
"Why are you panicking? The sky hasn't fallen yet." Seeing the arguing company commanders, Yang Ling shouted coldly to stop their quarrel.