The arrival of reinforcements on the battlefield relieved the Doi Madoka Division from the danger of being encircled and annihilated. However, the Japanese army that suffered heavy losses was not ready to give up and immediately launched a retaliatory pursuit.
The Japanese army was invincible on the battlefield in China. The Chinese army, which they often defeated several times, was routed thousands of miles away. They were used to taking advantage but not suffering any losses. This time, a division was almost wiped out. They couldn't stand it.
Three elite Japanese divisions pressed forward across the entire line, with mechanized troops such as tanks and cavalry as the vanguard, and the main infantry as the backing. They attempted to annihilate the retreating Chinese troops on the Lanfeng battlefield and stage a beautiful counterattack.
In the plains of North China, the terrain is flat, which is very conducive to the movement of the Japanese mechanized troops. Not long after Yang Ling and the others retreated, the Japanese pursuers approached them.
"Captain Zhang! Order from the brigade!" Yang Ling and the others were moving and retreating in full swing when a messenger riding on a skinny horse caught up with them.
"The little Japs are catching up. The brigade commander ordered our regiment to sweep away the rear and cover the main force of the army to move."
After reading the handwritten military order, the regiment leader Zhang Handuo raised his head solemnly.
After their regiment captured Maogu Village, they had been resting and recuperating as a reserve force. Before the general offensive could be launched, the troops retreated across the entire line.
The rest of the brothers' troops had just come off the battlefield and had not even taken a breath before they began to retreat in large strides. They were already exhausted after several days of fierce fighting, so the task of blocking the pursuers from the rear fell on the shoulders of their regiment.
Those who block the enemy at the back of the palace have always fought hard, and if they are not careful, they will be eaten up by the enemies who are chasing them. Moreover, this is a flat plain area, which is a fatal job, and no one is willing to do it.
"Brother Yang, how do you think we will fight this battle?" Zhang Handuo, the regiment leader, held the warrant stamped with the brigade headquarters' seal and sighed helplessly.
They originally thought that the battle was over, and no matter they won or lost, they could retreat to the rear to recuperate for a period of time. Who would have thought that they would end up with such a narrow escape, which was really bad luck for eight lifetimes.
Yang Ling also knew how difficult it was to stop the Japanese pursuers in this plain area. This was a severe test for them. If they were not careful, all these thousand soldiers might have to stay here.
However, compared to the safe transfer of tens of thousands of their brothers in the 74th Army, these thousands of them were insignificant. As a commander, Yang Ling did not want to sacrifice the lives of his brothers in vain.
Yang Ling thought for a moment and then suggested: "Commander, you take the wounded and evacuate first. I will take a battalion of brothers to stay and block for a while."
"I agree to let the wounded evacuate first, but all the brothers who can fight will stay. With more people and more strength, we can hold off for a while."
Yang Ling shook his head and said: "This is a plain area. The large number of people will make it a target for the Japanese. Besides, we don't have to involve the entire regiment."
After hearing this, Zhang Handuo also felt that it made sense, but he was worried that the strength of a battalion was too thin and could not stop the Japanese pursuers.
"Master, don't worry. As long as the little devils dare to catch up, I guarantee that they will never come back. Please believe me." Yang Ling looked at Zhang Handuo's hesitation and spoke with murderous intent.
Seeing Yang Ling's confident look, Zhang Handuo agreed and warned: "The host just asked us to clean up the rear and retreat after repelling the Japanese. Don't be reluctant to fight. I will wait for you in the town ahead."
Yang Ling nodded and asked the deputy battalion elder Yanqiang to take the remaining 300 brothers of the third battalion and turn around and go back, preparing to stop the Japanese pursuers.
"Regiment deputy, let's just set up a blocking position on the spot. Why do we have to go back? What should we do if we run into Japanese soldiers?"
Captain Wang Huzi, the company commander, watched Yang Ling leading the team back and approached him with great confusion and asked.
The deputy battalion elder Yanqiang pushed Wang Huzi and urged: "Huzi, go away quickly, you are talking so much nonsense."
Wang Huzi saw that Yang Ling was silent and didn't speak, so he closed his mouth angrily, and with doubts, he turned around and followed the team for a few miles.
"Stop." When they reached a small river, Yang Ling gestured for the team to stop.
Although this small river is not deep and is only more than ten meters wide, compared to the unobstructed plain, it is more suitable for blocking the Japanese soldiers who are chasing after them.
When Wang Huzi saw the flowing river, he immediately understood Yang Ling's intention. When he was about to call on his brothers to dig foxholes along the river bank and prepare for blocking positions, Yang Ling shook his head.
Before Wang Huzi could ask questions, Yang Ling had already begun to assign tasks: "Wang Huzi, you bring three machine guns to ambush me in the bushes. Your task is to block the bridge after the fight begins."
"Shunzi, take one hundred and fifty brothers to ambush me in the fields over there, and follow my orders to fire."
"Wang Zikun, bury all the landmines on the road over there for me, and at the same time send people to place a few explosive charges under the bridge."
After Yang Ling ordered them, he asked Lao Yanqiang to lead some people to ambush along the river embankment, blocking the entire river, preparing to ambush the Japanese.
Yang Ling didn't want to confront the Japanese head-on. After all, this was just a blockade, and there was no need to fight to the death, because once the blockade turned into a war of attrition and there were more and more Japanese, they would be the ones who suffered.
In this case, the only way is to take advantage of the enemy's paralysis to eat the opponent's pursuing troops in one bite. If they can't be eaten, then there will be a small river blocking them, which can also slow down the enemy's pursuit and prevent them from falling into a passive situation.
The brothers quickly got busy. Those who laid mines and placed explosives, and the rest of the brothers were hiding everywhere. They were covered in flowers and plants to camouflage themselves. When they lay down on the ground, they almost blended in with the surrounding environment.
Yang Ling and the others did not wait long when a rumbling sound came from across the river, and soon a group of Japanese cavalry appeared in the brothers' field of vision, sending up smoke and dust that filled the sky.
Yang Ling looked out through the gaps in the grass and estimated that the Japanese cavalry numbered about a hundred. He patted Hu Zi next to him and said, "Tell the brothers to let them all come over before firing."
Huzi understood and conveyed the order in a low voice. The brothers quietly lurked everywhere, watching the Japanese cavalry riding Japanese horses appear in the field of vision with great force, and lightly fired their bullets.
The Japanese cavalry commander was ordered to command the retreating Chinese army. He reined in his horse in front of the small wooden bridge and looked around, but found nothing unusual.
Looking at the discarded materials and cooking pots scattered around the wooden bridge, the Japanese cavalry commander showed a knowing smile. It seemed that the Chinese army had retreated. He clamped his legs under the horse's belly and rushed onto the wooden bridge first.
More than a hundred Japanese soldiers followed their commander and rode across the wooden bridge slowly. Suddenly, a Japanese soldier noticed a reflection in the bushes more than a hundred meters away. He suddenly became alert. He pointed over there and shouted loudly.
stand up.
It turned out that a brother did not pay attention, and the sunlight reflected by the bayonet was noticed by the Japanese cavalry. However, the Japanese had already entered the ambush circle, and it was too late to notice now.
"Shoot!" Yang Ling decisively gave the order to attack. He pulled the trigger and the gun shook. The hot bullets flew out quickly and burrowed into the chest of the screaming Japanese.
A stream of blood spurted from the chest of the Japs on horseback, and his body was hit by bullets, and then he fell off the horse involuntarily.
"There is an ambush! Retreat! Retreat!" The Japanese cavalry commander also noticed the ambush soldiers covered with weeds and branches, turned his horse's head and shouted to retreat.
Bullets shot out from all directions, heading towards the Japs cavalry crowded at the bridge. The sound of bullets piercing flesh kept resounding. Japs kept falling off their horses, and the bridge was in chaos.