On the road leading to Huaiyin County, flags were flying, and a group of guerrilla officers and soldiers with high morale were marching in three neat columns toward Huaiyin.
"Please keep your spirits up, hold your head high, and don't lose the prestige of our third guerrilla detachment!"
The company commander of the sharp knife company, Dao Zi, is carrying two shell guns loaded with bullets. The armed belt slanting down from his shoulders is tightly tied around his waist. A Japanese lieutenant's sword tied to his waist moves back and forth with sonorous and powerful steps.
Swinging around, head held high with pride on his face.
The guerrilla officers and soldiers who lined up and marched along the road also carried Qingyishui's 38-gauge rifles on their shoulders. Their bayonets were shining brightly, like a moving steel forest, and they were filled with solemn murderous intent.
The order given by the headquarters of the Ninth Guerrilla Column to Yang Ling and his third detachment was to clear out the enemies in Qinghe Town, and then unite the rest of the column to eliminate the Japs in Huaiyin County and recover Huaiyin.
Yang Ling and others successively eliminated the main force of the Japs in Qinghe Town by encircling the points for reinforcements, and then sent people to eliminate the Japs and puppet troops in various surrounding strongholds, which wasted a lot of time.
Therefore, after receiving the assembly order from the commander of the guerrilla column, Yang Ling did not dare to neglect. After letting Wang Huzi, who had just finished the battle at Yuzhuang, rest for a night, he led a battalion to go ahead and rush to Huaiyin to assemble.
Yang Ling, on the other hand, was planning to wait for Xiaowangzhuang's deputy detachment leader Zhang Liechen to arrive at Qinghe Town to hand over, and then lead the second battalion and guard platoon to follow.
After all, Qinghe Town has just been liberated, and the remaining enemy agents are unknown. It is necessary to treat the wounded, restore public order, and appease the people. These matters are complicated and complicated and will not be completed in a short while.
And Yang Ling didn't want Qinghe Town to turn into a mess as soon as he regained it. He wanted to use this place as the base of their third guerrilla detachment, so everything couldn't be careless.
The commander of the first battalion, Wang Huzi, was also very tired. He led his men to fight against Yuzhuang for five full hours before they captured Yuzhuang. When he rushed back to Qinghe Town, it was already dark.
One night when Wang Huzhu was resting in Qinghe Town, he gathered the three infantry companies of the first battalion at dawn and headed straight to Huaiyin without even bothering to eat breakfast.
After all, the commander of the guerrilla column gave their third guerrilla detachment an order to arrive at Huaiyin before dark. They had already been delayed all night and could not delay any longer, otherwise they would not be able to explain themselves.
However, Wang Huzi and the others did not know that it was because of their one-night stay in Qinghe Town that they escaped being surrounded and killed by the Japanese.
The sharp knife company where Daozi belongs is responsible for leading the entire battalion. Walking at the front of the team, their mission is to build roads and bridges across mountains and rivers, and also to conduct reconnaissance of the enemy.
However, along the way from Qinghe Town to Huaiyin, except for the slight resistance encountered by a few gun towers stationed by puppet troops, the rest of the battle was not worth mentioning.
The officers and soldiers of the Third Guerrilla Detachment have undergone several successive battles that have transformed them, and their military qualities have been greatly improved.
Faced with the resistance of the puppet troops in the artillery towers, they took it without any effort and advanced unstoppably towards Huaiyin.
The sharp knife company of the battalion where Daozi belongs is the old foundation of the Third Guerrilla Army. Many of the officers were brought out by Yang Ling from the 74th Army. They are naturally more powerful than those newly formed companies.
After a few battles, the 79 rifles they were equipped with ran out of bullets and basically turned into fire sticks. They were eliminated and given to the militia. The company where Dao Zi belonged to was the first batch of troops to be equipped with Japanese equipment.
Now, except for the yellow dog skins worn by Dao Zi and his fellow guerrilla brothers from the Jian Dao Company, which were not wearing the Japanese's yellow dog skins and their steel helmets, all the other equipment was captured from the Japanese.
In addition to Yang Ling's special care, another important reason for being able to complete the change of clothes among the first batch is combat effectiveness. Only those with strong combat effectiveness can have this honor.
After all, the sharp sword company of the knife was fed with the blood of the Japanese on the battlefield. After these few battles, almost everyone had a Japanese life in their hands.
Nowadays, whenever you see guerrilla brothers equipped with Japanese weapons, they will be envied by the brothers who have not changed their uniforms, and they will privately call them "living kings of hell".
Now the entire Ninth Guerrilla Column has been ordered to gather the Japanese who will attack Huaiyin under the city of Huaiyin. This is an opportunity to show their faces.
Yang Ling is also an ordinary person, so he is naturally bound to do so. He sends out his strongest company to go in front, which is also to gain face for himself.
After all, in these war-torn times, only fists and strength can convince people. Even if ordinary people join the army, they will choose troops with good treatment and good equipment.
Yang Ling also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity for the entire Ninth Guerrilla Column to assemble to advertise himself, after all, it would be easier to recruit troops and various talents in the future.
Because the development of the base area requires not only troops capable of fighting, but also various medical personnel, craftsmen who can blacksmith, repair weapons, and other talents.
If we were fighting against the Japs in this occupied area and relied on the supplies from the top, we would have starved to death long ago.
Yang Ling has a very grand plan. After fighting a few more good battles and stabilizing the surrounding area, he will definitely build a series of arsenals, clothing factories, and field hospitals, and talents are the most important.
Only by establishing a series of factories that are self-sufficient can their guerrillas develop and grow, and can they better fight against the Japanese and puppet troops.
With the support of a large amount of weapons, ammunition and supplies, let alone expanding into a column, even if they form a separate combat army, it is not impossible.
However, all of this is Yang Ling's plan, and what he needs to do now is to show off the prestige of their third guerrilla detachment, build their reputation first, and pave the way for the subsequent development of various affairs.
The commander of the sharp knife company, Dao Zi, was naturally called by Yang Ling to give special instructions. As the vanguard, they naturally could not let their friendly forces look down upon them, and they had to show off their prestige as an ace unit.
And Dao Zi was also a living dead who came from a vicious battle. He followed Yang Ling's orders to the end, so he lined up and drove in halfway.
A company of officers and soldiers wielded their knives in a mighty manner, as if an army of thousands of horses were advancing, with smoke and dust billowing.
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
"Da da da......"
Just as Daozi and the others were heading towards Huaiyin County with their heads held high, the clear sound of rifles and machine guns suddenly sounded from ahead.
"stop!"
The company commander raised his big hand with a knife above his head, and the beaming team suddenly stopped.
Without any instructions, the brothers loaded their guns and loaded their guns one after another, all staring ahead with solemn expressions.
Knife stood on his toes and looked towards the road, unable to see anything, but the sound of gunshots was getting closer and closer.
"Disperse!" Dao Zi waved his hand, and all the brothers on the road dispersed and hid in the reeds and ditches on both sides of the road.
"Report! There is a group of our brothers in front being chased and beaten by dozens of Japs!"
Soon, three figures in gray military uniforms from the east side of the road rushed over to report the situation. They were the scouts walking in front.
"Our brother?" Company Commander Daozi frowned, stared at the scout and asked, "Are you sure?"
The scout replied: "There are people wearing yellow military uniforms, and there are also people wearing coarse gray military uniforms. They should also be guerrillas."
Since it was a friendly force that ran into the Japanese, Dao Zi would not stand idly by.
"You report the situation to the battalion commander quickly, and the rest are ready to fight!"
Daodao gave the order, and the brothers hiding in the reeds and ditches on both sides of the road quickly took action, moved to the low rolling hills on both sides of the road, and lay down, ready for battle.
The two communication soldiers rushed westward along the road to report the enemy situation to the battalion commander behind them.