The pursuit and annihilation battle began to spread from the mountainous areas to the hilly countryside near Ruichang County. The retreating Japanese soldiers retreated in small groups along the ridges of paddy fields and vegetable fields.
The pursuing troops seemed to be determined not to give up until they killed all the little Japs. They clung to the Japs and gave them no chance to recuperate and fight back.
Every time when the Japanese officers wanted to stop for a drink of water and regroup, the Chinese officers and soldiers would chase them from behind with shouts of death, forcing the Japanese soldiers to rush for their lives, and eventually they were defeated.
The Chinese officers and soldiers almost fell down from exhaustion. An infantry company's pursuit force pursued the Japanese along a dirt road. They had already pursued the Japanese into a gentle hilly area.
The able-bodied officers and soldiers ran ahead panting, while the weak brothers supported each other and chased after them. The entire infantry company was dragged out for more than a mile.
If the Japs had to turn around and charge back now, all the brothers in this infantry company would definitely be wiped out. But now that the Japs have run out of bullets and food, they will have no energy to fight back.
In countless fields and wilderness, both sides were chasing each other. Many people fell to the ground and couldn't get up while running. They were too tired.
In order to survive, the Japanese even threw away their unloaded 38-meter rifles, while the pursuing brothers stared with blood-red eyes and gritted their teeth as they chased after the defeated Japanese soldiers.
The Maruyama Brigade had fallen apart under the desperate attack of the 74th Army. The officers could not find the soldiers, and the soldiers could not find the officers. They just tried to escape for their lives.
The same was true for the Chinese officers and soldiers. The death squad led by brigade commander Zhou Zhidao broke up, and there were only about 20 people following him. They did not stop after chasing out of the mountainous area, and continued to pursue in the direction of Ruichang.
All Chinese officers and soldiers understand that this is a battle that has been won with great difficulty. Naturally, they must win thoroughly. If they can eliminate one more Japanese, they will eliminate one more.
The pursuit of the troops was in chaos, and not even an organized unit was left. However, the officers were not worried at all, because the Japanese were no longer able to fight back.
Yang Ling and the others were not very physical. Although they were chasing the Japanese, they needed to stop and rest from time to time to replenish their physical strength.
They also chased out of the mountainous area and pursued in the direction of Ruichang. Along the way, the ditches and rice fields were littered with corpses. Most of them belonged to the Japanese, but also their brothers.
Some Japanese soldiers could no longer run away, so they turned around and fought with the pursuing troops with their bayonets drawn. However, they only struggled to the death and were quickly wiped out.
When the Japanese are dispatched in organized form, the Chinese army will generally avoid their attack unless they are fully confident, let alone the unarmed civilians.
But when the Japs were defeated and fled in panic in droves, those usually honest farmers would take the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the lone Japs.
Everyone hated these invaders. Five or six hungry and shambling Japanese invaded a small village. Their eyes were glowing green and they pounced on the fat pigs in the pig pen, causing the fat pigs to become fat.
There was a piercing scream.
"There are pig thieves!" A burly farmer heard the pigs braying and rushed out grabbing a pole. When he saw the Japanese soldiers who looked neither human nor ghosts, he was stunned.
"Baga!" The Japanese still showed a fierce look on his face, which frightened the peasants to stop and did not dare to move forward.
But when he saw the fat pig he had worked so hard to raise being stabbed by the Japanese with bayonets and howling, he became angry, raised his pole and rushed forward, wrestling with the Japanese.
When more villagers heard the noise and rushed over, they helped one after another. The Japanese were beaten with bloody heads and were howling with teeth and claws.
The Japanese wanted to resist, but their legs were weak and their whole bodies were weak. At this moment, they were no match for the well-fed and drunk Japanese.
"They are the devils!" Hearing the devils' cries, the villagers finally saw their dirty military uniforms clearly.
"Kill them!"
The identity of the Japanese did not bring them the slightest sense of security. Instead, their identity as invaders aroused the anger of the villagers. They didn't know who made the move first, and everyone pounced on them.
These unlucky Japs did not die in the hands of Chinese officers and soldiers, but were beaten to death in this remote village.
It wasn't until the Japs were dead and immobile that the villagers stopped. They had long hated these invaders. Many of their children died on the battlefield fighting the Japs. When they saw the Japs being beaten to death, they had a feeling.
The feeling of revenge.
"We killed the Japs. If other Japs find out, the Japs will definitely take revenge and massacre the village." Some people started to get scared.
When I beat these invaders to death just now, I felt only hatred, but now I think about the consequences, and my face suddenly turns pale.
"Hurry up and bury them. We won't say anything, and the Japanese won't know that we killed them." Someone came up with an idea.
In order to worry about encountering an outbreak of Japs, the villagers carried the Japs into the fields, dug pits and buried them, destroying the corpses and destroying any traces.
"No one is allowed to tell anyone, otherwise our village will be destroyed."
"We promise not to tell anyone!"
The villagers swore one by one not to say that they had killed any Japanese, and the place soon returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
The 6th Japanese Brigade was completely defeated. The scattered Japanese troops that broke out suffered devastating blows. Facing the murderous pursuing troops, many Japanese soldiers did not escape this time.
After the troops chased through Ruichang County, they could no longer run away. The Japanese planes roared over and bombed and strafed the pursuing Chinese officers and soldiers.
The officers who have won the battle also know that the hilly and gentle areas of Ruichang are not as good as the mountainous areas. The troops are now too scattered and chaotic. Even if the Japanese rush to reorganize a brigade, the entire army will probably be defeated.
If that were the case, then this hard-won victory would turn into a huge defeat, so they began to gather troops and control the battlefield.
Blood and corpses were spread all over the road, and the commander's order was also passed down: search for Masao Maruyama with all possible means, and whoever catches him will be rewarded with a reward of 500 yuan!
The news quickly spread on the battlefield of the pursuit, and the brothers became excited as if they had been given a shot in the arm. They formed countless search teams, some of which continued the pursuit, and some turned back to search with nets.
There were Chinese officers and soldiers with guns and ammunition everywhere, and the Japanese who had been dispersed were running around like rats crossing the street, being eliminated.
"Everyone, keep your eyes open! Don't let every Japanese go!"
The officers and soldiers who returned one after another formed a search team under the orders of their superiors and began to sort out the area from Ruichang to the mountainous area.
Because the troops were chasing the Japs, many Japs hid in the fields and wilderness when they could not run away. As soon as the search team pulled the net, many Japs revealed their true colors and had to take risks and start running again.
The dull sound of gunfire echoed in the fields from time to time. The devils who looked like clay monkeys were covered in blood and fell into the ditch. They were then shot by the brothers who chased them.
"Damn it, you hid it so well, you almost got fooled." Seeing the dead Japs, the brothers groped for their loot and cursed.
A dirty brother rushed from a distance along the dirt road and shouted from a distance: "There is a big fish in the village ahead! Go over and help!"
Hearing fierce exchanges of fire coming from the village ahead, the team of searching brothers became excited when they heard the shouts.
"Brothers! Follow me!"
The platoon leader who led the team kicked the Japanese corpse away, and with a wave of his hand, he led his brothers towards the village ahead.