Maogu Village was originally an inconspicuous village, but the Japanese troops who retreated here turned it into a solid fortification full of trenches and traps in a short period of time.
The Japanese engineers, who were shirtless and with their buttocks full of mud and water, were still digging trenches with undiminished enthusiasm. The dense fortifications were rapidly extending and expanding to the periphery.
These strong fortifications would cause huge casualties to the attacking Chinese army. Shunzi wished he could blow them up now, but when he saw the Japanese soldiers with guns on guard all around, he had to suppress his thoughts in his heart.
The Japanese who retreated to Maogu Village were defeated in large numbers. Although they were defeated and were in ragged clothes and in a state of disarray, they were not depressed. Their eyes were still firm and fierce, their faces were unconvinced, and they were still unruly.
Wang Dongming wore the rank of second lieutenant. While he was dealing with the conversation of the Japanese second lieutenant, his eyes were wandering around, looking around, looking at Yang Ling from time to time, waiting for Yang Ling's orders.
Yang Ling mingled among the retreating Japanese troops, covered in blood. An approaching Japanese man wanted to come up and strike up a conversation, but he glared at him with a knife-like gaze and walked away.
Along the way, he observed the Japs' defense situation in Maogu Village, looking at the Type 92 heavy machine guns covered with raincloths and the Japs' infantry artillery positions, and noted down all the important firepower points, which might be useful.
Heavy machine guns were set up on the turrets around the Maogu Village. The black muzzles of the guns directly blocked a large area. It could be said that one man could block the way and no one could open it. Yang Ling also secretly made a note of it.
The defeated troops, led by a captain, entered the village and stopped to rest in a spacious open space.
As the Japanese captain screamed, Second Lieutenant Wang Dongming stood up and whispered to Yang Ling: "The Japanese asked our officers to go over and gather. I will come back as soon as possible. Don't expose yourself."
Yang Ling nodded, and Wang Dongming walked towards the Japanese captain. Soon the officers disappeared from sight, leaving only some defeated soldiers sitting down in the open space to rest.
The wounded Japanese soldiers kept wailing, and the bandages covering their wounds were already dripping with blood. However, the wounded soldiers were soon taken away and should have been sent to rescue.
Yang Ling and the other defeated soldiers seemed to be abandoned, no one cared about them, no one asked about them, their wet clothes clung to their bodies, and now they sat down, feeling cold.
However, now that they were surrounded by Japanese soldiers with guns, they did not dare to act rashly. They could only wait patiently, and they would be able to take action when it got dark.
Just when Yang Ling and the others were waiting impatiently, more than 20 Japanese soldiers with dirty cloth strips around their waists came over carrying large buckets and started shouting.
The Japanese soldiers sitting in the open space were sleepy and hungry. When they saw the big barrels, they stood up and pushed forward. Yang Ling also pulled up several brothers who were about to fall asleep and moved forward together.
Soon, each of Yang Ling and the others received a box of tasteless gruel. Drinking the water-like gruel further confirmed Yang Ling's guess that the Japanese were almost out of food.
Tufeiyuan's 14th Division has been cut off from supplies since it crossed the Yellow River and returned to the Longhai line, and was surrounded in the Lanfeng area. Now that it cannot break out, all the supplies it carried have been almost eaten up.
Although the division commander Dohi Madoka Kenji requested airdrops of supplies, with more than 20,000 mouths to eat, the airdropped supplies were only a drop in the bucket and not enough at all.
Now General Xue Yue's East Henan Corps and Hu Zongnan's troops have re-established an encirclement around the Tufeiyuan Division. Now Tufeiyuan has become a trapped beast, restless and restless, while the reinforcements are blocked tightly from the outside and cannot pass through.
He is getting more and more irritable.
"How come this little devil's food is worse than ours?" Shunzi looked at the porridge in the lunch box, which was clear and watery.
Yang Ling looked around and lowered his voice: "I'm afraid the Japs have run out of food. Eat quickly and don't talk."
After Yang Ling and the others drank the Japanese gruel, they were gathered together, and Wang Dongming also came back. They were to be reorganized and put into the battlefield to strengthen the defense of Maogu Village.
Now Yang Ling and the others are pretending to be Japs and dare not speak to reveal their identity. They can only follow the crowd and hope to take action at night.
Under the order of the Japanese captain, Yang Ling, more than ten people, and more than ten other Japanese soldiers were assigned to a ridge east of Maogu Village, where they were asked to build a heavy machine gun bunker. Second Lieutenant Wang Dongming became the
Temporary Commander.
"Let's work here first. You wander around and feel the situation of the Japanese." Yang Ling fell behind the team, grabbed Wang Dongming and whispered.
Although Wang Dong, who can speak Japanese, is clearly wearing the uniform of a Japanese second lieutenant, in fact, Yang Ling is the real commander of their infiltration team, and all actions are decided by Yang Ling.
After Wang Dongming received Yang Ling's order, he loudly ordered the little devils to build a bunker. After winking at Yang Ling, he walked around slowly with a cigarette in his mouth.
The entire Maogu Village was full of Japanese soldiers, and Wang Dongming's second lieutenant grabbed a lot of them, so he kept nodding and bowing to make way for the Japanese.
Although the Japanese patrol saw him wandering around, he was a second lieutenant after all. They asked him a few questions, but Wang Dongming prevaricates him.
"Yours! Who is this?" Until Wang Dongming peered towards a heavily guarded courtyard, a major came from behind and asked loudly.
Wang Dongming broke out in a cold sweat, bowed his head hurriedly and explained: "Sir, I just got here and got lost."
The Japanese Major was very alert and asked to see Wang Dongming's ID while interrogating him.
Wang Dongming did not dare to be presumptuous in front of the Japanese Major for fear of revealing his secret, so he hurriedly and respectfully handed over his ID with both hands and reported his unit number.
The Japanese Major checked it carefully, his expression softened, and he returned the certificate to him, warning: "This is the command post, your troops are in the east, go back, don't wander around."
"Hai!" Wang Dongming bowed his head heavily, and then the Japanese Major strode up the steps and disappeared into the yard.
Wang Dongming looked at the radio antenna protruding from the wall of the courtyard, secretly remembered this place to avoid being exposed, and quickly turned around and left.
When Yang Ling and others sneaked into Maogu Village, the Chinese army responsible for the attack also broke through the Japanese blocking positions everywhere and advanced to the outskirts of Maogu Village.
As night fell, the short and powerful sound of rifles was mixed with the violent roar of heavy machine guns, and the two sides began a fierce exchange of fire in the outer positions.
The sky was flickering, and there were constant explosions. From time to time, large groups of Japanese soldiers ran through the streets in formation. Yang Ling and the others, who were guarding the heavy machine gun bunker, were secretly preparing.
The dozen or so Japanese soldiers who were digging heavy machine gun bunkers with them had their necks wiped off silently and were now hidden behind a pile of debris. It was difficult to find them in this dark night.
"Act!" Seeing the footsteps of the Japanese patrol disappearing, Yang Ling whispered the order behind him.
Thirteen brothers grabbed their weapons, quietly left the bunker where they were hiding, and headed straight for the Japanese command post.