The Japanese rushed into Ruichang County, hoping to take the credit for capturing Ruichang again. However, little did they know that Ruichang County, which had been bombed into ruins, was full of traps and became dangerous.
Yang Ling and the others knew very well that they would definitely suffer a loss if they tried to confront these powerful Japanese soldiers, so in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices of their brothers, they began to engage in guerrilla street fighting in the ruins to delay time.
The brothers were scattered in small groups among the ruins, hiding from time to time, and fired cold shots at the Japanese search troops from time to time.
A Japanese detachment was carefully searching along the rubble-strewn ruins. Only the charred walls of the houses on both sides of the street were left, and the roofs were destroyed by the gunfire, turning them into open-air patios.
The two Japanese soldiers put their rifle butts on their shoulders, covering each other and kicked open the half-covered, charred wooden door. With a crash, the wooden door fell to the ground, sending up a cloud of smoke and dust.
A Japanese soldier held up a gun and carefully leaned out half of his body to look into the house. He saw that the house was completely burnt to black. He was about to return when a gunshot rang out.
"boom!"
A bullet flew over from a high place and hit the devil's arm, causing a splash of blood.
"Ah!" The injured Japanese howled like a slaughtering pig and rolled to the ground.
"There's that guy!" The dozen or so Japanese soldiers around reacted very quickly, looking for cover and lying down, raising their guns and moving around, looking for a place to shoot.
One of the Japanese soldiers wanted to drag his injured companion who was rolling on the ground behind the wall, but as soon as he leaned out, gunshots rang out again.
"boom!"
The Japanese man who ran over staggered, a fountain of blood spurted out from his neck, and fell to the ground twitching.
When the Japanese squad leader saw another soldier being knocked down, he cursed angrily: "Bagaya road!"
However, two consecutive shots had exposed a Chinese officer and soldier lying on a broken wall not far away, and the Japanese jumped up and started shooting.
"Ta-ta-ta..." The Japanese machine guns also roared, hitting the broken wall and sending mud and dust flying.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the Chinese officer and soldier jumped off the broken wall and ran towards the ruins in the distance.
"Kill him!"
Seeing that the Chinese officers and soldiers were about to run away, the Japanese soldiers got up to pursue them, and the sound of messy footsteps could be heard in the ruins.
"Outflank you on the left!" the Japs Sergeant shouted as he ran. The three Japs with guns quickly broke away from the team and rushed towards the ruins on the flank, hoping to outflank the fleeing attackers.
The three outflanking Japanese soldiers were running in a huffing voice. The Japanese soldier running in front was agile, trying to jump over a pile of debris blocking the way like a hurdle.
But when he just jumped forward, a wooden stick that was burnt black suddenly appeared across the sky and hit him hard in the stomach.
"ah!"
The Japanese soldier who jumped forward was hit so hard that his body was smashed into a bow shape, and he screamed and fell heavily into the ruins.
The two Japs who were following closely were shocked when they saw their companion in front of him suddenly flying upside down and falling to the ground. They rushed to grab him and were about to shoot.
However, two camouflaged figures suddenly jumped out of the ruins beside them and threw them to the ground. There was a crash and dust on the ground stirred up.
"Poof!"
The Japanese who were thrown to the ground tried to struggle and resist, but two gleaming bayonets had been stabbed hard into their stomachs, and then they twisted hard, and their curses turned into screams.
Another Japanese soldier who was smashed into the ruins by a wooden stick was so dizzy that before he could react, the black muzzle of the gun pulled the trigger on him. A bloody hole suddenly appeared on his face, his head tilted, and he died.
"Hey, let's take care of three more." The four disgraced brothers got down and started groping for the corpses of the Japanese to collect ammunition.
"Puff!" Bullets flew across the street, and more than a dozen Japanese soldiers heard the gunshots and ran over.
"Let's go!" A brother picked up the Japanese rifle, turned around and got into the ruins.
Another brother ran two steps, turned back and pulled up the canvas bag on the Japanese soldier, and then ran after him: "Damn it, wait for me!"
The Japs' campaign to clear the city was not very smooth. After the artillery attack, the city was full of ruins. The Chinese officers and soldiers were hiding in the ruins like ghosts, fighting with them in street fights, which made the Japs miserable.
The first wave of Japanese soldiers who hurriedly entered the city suffered heavy losses, and the second echelon of Japanese soldiers also did not gain any advantage.
Chinese officers and soldiers came into groups and pretended to be dead. As soon as the Japs approached, a few grenades were fired at them. Sometimes someone would jump out of the ditch on the roadside while walking, which made their nerves suddenly tense.
stand up.
Gunfire continued in the ruins of Ruichang County. From time to time, the corpses of brothers who had lost control were dragged out of the ruins by the Japanese, but the Japanese suffered even greater losses.
Looking at the seriously wounded officers and soldiers being carried out from the city, both the commander of the Japanese 111th Brigade and the commander of the 145th Regiment, Ichikawa Yozo, looked livid.
"Fire coverage!"
If they continued to struggle with the Chinese officers and soldiers hiding in the ruins of the city, they would probably suffer greater losses. The angry Japanese Brigade Commander Major General Shanchi Heng once again called for artillery support.
"How come all the Japs have withdrawn?" The brothers hiding in the dark were puzzled when they saw the Japs retreating out of the city one after another.
Some optimistic brothers also speculated: "Maybe the little Japs are afraid of being beaten by us."
"Whatever, our mission is to hold him off for two hours. If the Japanese retreat, we won't suffer any loss."
Just as the brothers were hiding in the ruins and relaxing, the messenger sent by Yang Ling rushed over.
"The regimental deputy has ordered everyone to evacuate," the ordering soldier shouted as he ran along the ruins.
"It hasn't even been two hours yet. Are you withdrawing now?" A brother stuck his head out of the broken window and asked the messenger who was running by.
The ordering soldier replied without looking back: "Withdraw as soon as the regimental deputy gives him permission. There is so much nonsense."
After receiving the order, the brothers began to evacuate to the predetermined assembly point one after another, and the Japanese artillery fire swept over them.
Ruichang County, which had been reduced to ruins, once again became filled with smoke and flames.
"The Japs have begun to move to the west and south of the city. Everyone should evacuate quickly, otherwise they will be made into dumplings."
When the observation post discovered the Japs' attempt, Yang Ling immediately changed his mind about holding the Japs in the city and prepared to retreat.
"But the command given to us by the brigade is to hold off the Japanese for two hours and cover the main force's move in. If we retreat now, we will be retreating without permission, and we will be punished by military law." Someone said worriedly.
Qin Shou, whose head was wrapped in gauze, cursed: "Why are you so stupid? If the Japanese make dumplings, you will be dead. Military law is of no use."
The disgraced regimental leader Zhang Handuo stood up and said: "If something happens, I'll take the responsibility. Everyone should evacuate quickly. It's important to save your life."
When the brothers who were originally worried heard what the regiment leader said, they all felt relieved. No one wanted to die, but they would rather die on the battlefield than be shot in the dark by their own people.
Now that they had a chance to survive, they all threw away their burdens and took advantage of the enemy's encirclement of Ruichang County, trying to break through the cracks.