Frowning, he said to himself: "Since the Japanese have decided on Zengbing County, there is no need to continue the scene we are playing."
"Zhou Liang, immediately send a telegram to the Chief of Staff, Commander Zhou, and Commander Zhou of the Cavalry Battalion."
"The Japanese army has noticed that we are going to attack the county town and is thinking of ways to attack the enemy."
"They were asked to immediately divide their troops, use squads and platoons as units, and with the cooperation of the guerrillas, take small roads to rush to the front of the Japanese and puppet reinforcements, and resolutely block them outside the city."
"When the Japanese planes leave the battlefield at nightfall, the troops will quickly kill them and then attack the county town."
"If I remember correctly, more than a hundred Japanese and puppet troops will pass by us in an hour. The three battalions and eight companies and the fire company will be dispatched immediately. First, slow down their marching speed, and then wipe them out after dark."
At the Japanese garrison headquarters in the county seat, the regimental commander ran in with an expression of admiration.
I found the chief of staff and was happy to report: "Your Excellency, chief of staff, your judgment is correct."
"Something really happened to the three reinforcements. Half an hour ago, the troops on the battlefield suddenly dispersed and disappeared from under the nose of the plane."
"I judge from my humble position that these troops are all pretending to be the Eighth Route Army."
"I didn't expect that there would be so many Eighth Route Army troops in Huaiyuan. If you weren't vigilant enough, Chief of Staff, and decisively ordered the surrounding garrisons to abandon their strongholds and reinforce the county, we would have been in great danger tonight."
The chief of staff did not show any joy. He stared at the happy commander and replied: "No, our crisis has not been resolved yet."
"When the reinforcements enter the county, our crisis will really disappear."
"These missing Eighth Route Army troops will certainly not allow reinforcements to easily enter the county."
The commander's smile instantly froze, and he raised his brows and asked: "Chief of Staff, you mean, these Eighth Route Army troops have killed the reinforcements."
"Eighty percent so!" the chief of staff analyzed with a stern face.
"An hour ago we issued a retreat order to nearby strongholds, and half an hour later the Eighth Route Army pretending to be reinforcements disappeared. There must be some connection."
The captain was anxious.
The chief of staff's guesses and judgments were correct from the beginning, so he had no doubts about the chief of staff's judgment.
If there is an accident to the reinforcements, they cannot enter the county.
It is too difficult to defend such a large county with only more than 1,400 garrison troops in the city.
If it is not defended, the mountains of supplies in the city will definitely fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, and the more than 20,000 attacking troops on the front line will also lose their ammunition supplies.
As time goes by, they will run out of food and ammunition, and eventually have to withdraw from the garrison base and hastily end the counter-mopping up...
At that time, everyone here will become the sinners of the empire...
The captain didn't dare to think about it anymore and immediately suggested.
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I will send a telegram to these returning troops now, asking them to abandon all their baggage, march lightly, and march back to the county seat."
"There are plenty of supplies and ammunition in the county. As long as we can get back safely, those things will be lost."
The chief of staff shook his head and cursed: "What's the use of sending a telegram?"
"The most powerful return force only has one infantry squadron, so it is impossible to equip it with a radio station."
"Send people on horseback to inform them directly, send more messengers, and take separate paths. Someone will definitely be able to escape the guerrilla attack and find them."
The commander of the unit quickly replied: "The chief of staff is wise, and I will make arrangements now for my humble position."
On a small road leading to the county seat, more than thirty soldiers were lined up and running wildly on it.
The platoon leader shouted while running: "Comrades, our speed must be accelerated, and we must get in front of the Japanese and puppet troops."
"If the Japanese and puppet troops don't enter the city, we can kill them by sacrificing dozens of comrades."
"Once they enter the city, the cost for us to eliminate them will increase exponentially, and the number of comrades sacrificed will also be several times greater."
"I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die, so I have to compete with the Japanese for time and get in front of them."
"Anyone who doesn't want to die, rush me and speed up!" a squad leader said.
The platoon leader continued to shout: "Throw away everything except weapons and ammunition."
"As long as we take over the county seat tonight, I will replace all the things that are thrown away with new ones for everyone."
On the pipeline leading to the county seat, more than a hundred Japanese and puppet troops were also on their way.
Compared with the lightly-armed Eighth Route Army, each of them carried an ammunition box on their shoulders, or two people carried an ammunition box.
Although the march was very fast, due to the heavy load, I started to out of breath not long after running.
"Captain, we carry too much ammunition. If we keep running like this for half an hour at most, some people will be unable to hold on." A commander, Cao, ran to the lieutenant captain and said.
Seeing that the captain also had a solemn look on his face, Captain Cao continued: "I suggest that some of the baggage and ammunition should be given up and the troops should move forward lightly. This will ensure that everyone's speed is not reduced and they can hold on to the county seat."
The lieutenant hesitated for a long time and refused: "No, abandoning ammunition supplies without orders from the commander will be punished by military law."
"Although the imperial army has sufficient ammunition, due to the lack of resources in the empire, every bullet is important to us, and there are not enough to be wasted casually."
"Order the troops to maintain marching speed, rest for ten minutes after half an hour, and then continue on their way."
"According to the current marching speed, we will definitely be able to reach the county seat before dark."
"As long as we don't walk at night, we are not afraid of the guerrillas."
An hour later, dozens of Eighth Route Army soldiers, breathing heavily and with red faces, finally arrived in front of the Japanese and puppet troops.
At this time, the Japanese and puppet troops were less than six kilometers away from the county seat, and they could enter the city in an hour's hasty march.
At the same time, the messengers sent by the county also found them.
It didn't take half an hour to get here, but in order to avoid the guerrillas lurking outside the city, it took them an hour. Moreover, less than 20% of the messengers who came out escaped the attack of the guard company.
The messenger jumped off his horse, rushed to the lieutenant, and breathed heavily and reported: "Sir, orders from the headquarters."
"The returning reinforcements gave up all their baggage and ammunition and marched back to the county seat without any delay."
Commander Cao on the side immediately suggested to the lieutenant: "Sir, I would like to arrange for someone to blow up the ammunition we are carrying."
The lieutenant shook his head and refused: "Doesn't it take time to blow them up?"
"The command headquarters ordered us not to delay for more than a minute and must obey the order."
"Tell the troops to throw away everything except their weapons and ammunition and march back to the county seat..."
Once dozens of boxes of ammunition were thrown away, the troops' marching speed accelerated significantly.
When we were only five kilometers away from the county seat, the lieutenant was completely relieved.
This place is close to the county seat, so there will definitely be no accidents.
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