At the end of the road, a scout figure suddenly appeared, riding a fast horse towards him.
He rushed until he was five meters away from the captain before turning over and falling off his horse.
"Sir, the attacking troops were killed. On the mountain road nearly 20 kilometers away from us, the entire army was wiped out. I found more than two hundred corpses of the Imperial Army and the Imperial Alliance Army on the mountain road. All their equipment and ammunition were lost..."
"Still...still..."
"What else? Tell me clearly!" The captain asked anxiously as he did not expect that the battle would turn out as the deputy captain expected. His face sank on the spot.
"We also found the body of the leader of the 1st Squadron!" the scout replied bravely.
"Baga..." The captain was completely angry. He drew his command knife and struck a tree next to the road hard.
The tree trunk, which was as thick as a wrist, was cut into two pieces in an instant.
He cursed for almost half a minute before calming down, and then fell into deep thought with a sullen face.
The vice-captain is much more anxious.
Although I had already guessed this result, I was not happy at all.
The troops suffered heavy casualties, and they were surrounded by the Eighth Route Army and guerrillas. They continued to fight towards Huaiyuan, and there must be many dangers.
According to the current casualty rate of the troops, they may all be killed before they reach Huaiyuan.
Without troops, everyone's attempt to avenge their past humiliation by recapturing Huaiyuan is tantamount to wishful thinking. Maybe even self-protection will be a problem.
So facing the fact that he had already guessed the result, the vice-captain was not only not happy, but also worried.
Quickly remind: "Sir, minus the attacking troops, we still have more than 1,300 people left."
"If we continue to attack Huaiyuan, we must be cautious in the next few dozen kilometers to prevent us from falling into the trap again."
The captain had to put away his contempt.
He ordered with a stern face: "Bring back all the reconnaissance troops sent out."
"For the next march, all reconnaissance troops will escort the troops around to ensure that there is no Eighth Route Army within 500 meters of the highway."
The deputy captain continued to remind: "Sir, searching for the advancing troops along the way will definitely slow down the marching speed. They will definitely not be able to reach Huaiyuan before dark. Marching at night is dangerous. Please be prepared for this in advance."
"Map!" the captain jumped off his horse and ordered.
The subordinates reacted quickly, and in less than half a minute, they laid a map on the table made of ammunition boxes.
The captain didn't speak. He glanced at the map and finally fixed his sights on a village called Luojiawan. He pointed at it and ordered.
"We'll camp here tonight!"
"The Eighth Route Army is too cunning and well-equipped. If it marches at night, the casualties will definitely be greater than during the day. The troops have already suffered heavy casualties, and we cannot afford to lose them."
"Luojiawan is located between us and the county seat. We can kill it with a forced march in three hours, and we can reach it in four hours with a normal march."
"There are still five hours until dark."
"The troops will definitely reach Luojiawan safely before dark."
"The terrain there is flat and there are no mountains for miles around. As long as the army sends more patrols and guard posts, the Eighth Route Army will not even think of sneaking up on us at night."
"Tomorrow we will walk another morning, arrive at the county seat before noon, and then capture it."
The solemn expression on the vice-captain's face became more and more relaxed.
I had to admit that the captain's method was the best, and he replied with admiration: "Sir is wise, as long as we can bring the main force to the county safely, we will win this battle!"
Li Hao led the garrison regiment and the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment to the vicinity of Luojiawan at twelve o'clock in the evening.
After understanding the enemy's situation, Li Hao directly ordered: "Commander Zhou, Chief of Staff, I have decided that the troops will eat the more than a thousand puppet troops in Luojiawan tonight."
"The troops rest for three hours to replenish their strength, then launch an attack, and end the battle before dark."
Peng Shaofeng, the guerrilla captain who was standing by, mustered up the courage to interrupt and said: "Chief, think twice!"
"The Japanese have deployed a large number of sentries around the camp and built several machine gun fire points. The security is very tight. It is difficult to sneak attack on them. How to attack them?"
"Strong attack!" Li Hao replied confidently.
"Now we have the superiority in troops and firepower. There is no need to fight secretly with the Japanese."
"The reason they deployed so many light and dark sentries and patrols is probably to prevent us from sneaking up on them at night."
"In this case, we will do the opposite and attack directly from the front."
"In the face of absolute strength, light and dark sentries and patrols can only serve as a reminder and cannot change the situation of the war."
The Japanese captain slept very soundly tonight.
Tomorrow he can capture Huaiyuan County and avenge his previous humiliation.
As for the future safety, he is not worried at all.
The force of more than a thousand people was divided into three, each responsible for four hours of patrolling and vigilance.
More than 400 imperial troops and imperial association troops were patrolling and alerting the area. No matter how well-equipped and cunning the Eighth Route Army was, they could never take advantage of the situation at night.
The captain's idea is very simple, seize the opportunity to have a good night's rest, replenish your strength, and face tomorrow's victory with the fullest spirit.
At three o'clock in the morning, the third wave of Japanese and puppet troops began patrolling and guarding.
Although the nearly seven hours of rest did not make them full of energy, everyone recovered nearly 80% of their physical strength.
So everyone stared at the surroundings with their eyes wide open, holding the rifle tightly in their hands, and were highly nervous, ensuring that they could react immediately to any movement around them.
At the edge of the forest nearly two kilometers away from the station, Li Hao stared at the Japanese and puppet army station with a solemn and solemn expression.
The security of the Japanese and puppet troops was tighter than I expected.
In order to prevent mortars from threatening the garrison, the Japanese and puppet troops have always placed guard posts at the edge of the forest.
As soon as the troops emerge from the woods, they will be exposed.
"Captain, the time is almost up!" Hong Linfeng warned in a low voice next to the station.
"Captain Zhou..." Li Hao turned around and asked.
"Are the strike forces all ready?"
Captain Zhou understood: "I have selected a hundred veteran cadres from the entire regiment. Ten soldiers are equipped with a light machine gun and two box cannons. They can advance, attack, retreat and defend. They can definitely serve as pioneers.
."
Li Hao nodded and then turned his attention to Hong Linfeng.
"Captain, the reconnaissance company is also ready for an assault."
"Very good!" The serious expression on Li Hao's face relaxed a lot, and then he began to give orders.
"The artillery and heavy machine gun units are all ready for assault. They must follow the commandos and offensive troops closely and stop at any time to provide them with fire cover."
"Use the shortest time to get to the edge of the station, prepare for the general attack in the shortest time, and don't give the Japanese any time to react."
"I understand..." Hong Linfeng replied seriously.
"The faster our assault speed, the less time the Japanese and puppet troops have to react, the smaller our attack pressure will be, and the smaller the troops' losses tonight will be."