Seeing that his subordinates were all solemn and silent, Zhou Tao continued: "If I remember correctly, you also hid a lot of useless treasures in your hands during the previous counter-sweep."
"Bring it all out to me tonight, don't be reluctant to part with it."
"Puppet troops account for half of the more than 4,000 puppet troops in the base area. They are our best supplementary troops and can restore the troops' combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time."
"I have decided that from now on, whoever captures the puppet soldiers will belong to him."
"If a main force company can capture two hundred puppet troops and mobilize half of them to join our Eighth Route Army, then the main force company can be restored to full strength immediately, and its combat effectiveness can be quickly increased to more than 80% of the pre-war level."
"One more thing. In the next battle, everyone will use one bullet. After the battle, I will replenish two bullets for you."
"If you use up one shell, I'll give you two more."
"If one heavy machine gun is destroyed by the Japanese, I will give you two more after the battle."
"The First Battalion must have seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition in Datong, so you don't have to worry about me trying to overshadow you."
"As long as one battalion returns to the team, I promise you that there will be no shortage of weapons and ammunition."
With captured soldiers, weapons and ammunition, no matter how painful or miserable the next battle is, no one is afraid.
Zhou Tao's words were like a tranquilizer, instantly eliminating his subordinates' worries.
The second battalion commander was the first to pervert: "Commander, give me more than 1,500 days of puppet troops in the east. The second battalion promises to drag them until tomorrow night!"
"No, it will be postponed until the morning after tomorrow!"
"We are good at fighting at night. We managed to drag them until dark. We will definitely not let them go easily."
"But I have two requirements: all the local troops and guerrillas in the east of the base area will be under my command."
"If possible, I hope the regiment headquarters can support us by giving us 300 landmines."
Zhou Tao smiled and answered with satisfaction: "I will give orders to the local troops, guerrillas, and local cadres there to cooperate with you unconditionally."
"I don't have that many mines, so I can only give you a hundred. The remaining mines can be replaced with thirty rounds of artillery shells, two hundred grenades, two hundred hand grenades, and two hundred kilograms of explosives."
The second battalion commander became more confident and answered confidently: "That's enough!"
"With the cooperation of local troops and the ammunition supported by the regiment headquarters, the Second Battalion will definitely be able to complete its mission."
Dongwan Town, five kilometers away from the headquarters of the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment, has become a temporary base for the Japanese and puppet troops' mopping up troops since the day before yesterday.
Machine gun positions are scattered at several town entrances, and patrols and guard posts are densely scattered around the town to prevent sneak attacks.
The largest courtyard in the east part of the town is the Japanese Army Headquarters.
The only generator in the headquarters was humming, providing power to the war room and radio station.
The captain had gone back to his room to rest, but the war room was not quiet.
This place is located in the hinterland of the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment. There are crises everywhere and may be attacked at any time. The staff on duty must always remain vigilant, summarize the enemy information continuously sent by patrol teams and reconnaissance troops, and analyze the hiding place of the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment...
…
"Sir, there is an urgent call from the military headquarters..." The operator suddenly walked in and found the deputy captain on duty to report.
"How could the military send us a telegram?" the deputy captain showed an expression of disbelief.
"It is true that the military headquarters bypassed the commander of the regiment and sent us a telegram directly: it contains the latest combat orders for us." The telegraph operator replied with certainty.
The vice-captain was a captain, six or seven levels away from the military commander, and he didn't believe that he would have a chance to deal with the military.
After being shocked, his expression quickly returned to seriousness, he quickly stood up from his position, and carefully took the telegram with both hands, as if a military commander was standing in front of him.
After reading the telegram, I was suddenly confused.
Although the troops' raid on the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment was full of twists and turns, it was overall smooth.
According to the current attack rhythm, the mopping up troops will definitely be able to kill the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment in ten days.
To put it more directly, the imperial army's raids against the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment have reached the most critical moment.
If you persist a little longer, the balance of victory will tilt towards the imperial army.
The military is now ordering the troops to withdraw. Doesn't that mean that the results of everyone's hard work for a month will be instantly wiped out, and the soldiers who died in the raids will also die in vain?
The deputy captain didn't understand, but the orders from the military department must be carried out.
Frowning, he ordered: "Contact Your Excellency the Commander immediately and forward the telegram from the military headquarters to see what orders the Commander has."
"I'm going to see the captain now. This matter is too big and only he can make the decision."
Telegrams from the group commander and wing headquarters arrived in the war room at the same time.
"Sir, before the order given to us by the military headquarters has been forwarded, the telegram from the commander of the regiment has arrived."
"It's exactly the same as the military command. Let us retreat overnight and return to the no-man's land!"
After reading the two telegrams, the captain suddenly woke up and made a judgment on the spot: "Something must have happened to the more than 5,000 troops in our attacking garrison, otherwise the no-man's land would not have been attacked."
"Order the troops to assemble immediately and prepare to retreat."
"The 1st Battalion of the Imperial Association Army and the 2nd Squadron of the 1st Infantry Squadron will set off ten minutes later with all their weapons and equipment and rush to a position one kilometer north of Dongwan Town to establish a defense line. Regardless of whether they are attacked or not, they cannot retreat until dawn."
"All reconnaissance troops were dispatched to expand the search area and ensure that there were no Eighth Route Army scouts within three kilometers of us."
"The Fourth Company of the Second Battalion of the Imperial Association Army will continue to stay in Dongwan Town under our banner. After daybreak, we will retreat with the rear troops and catch up with us."
The deputy captain knew that the commander was cutting off a strong man's wrist.
If the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment does not want to sweep away the troops and easily withdraw from their base area, the rear troops must withstand all attacks from the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment so that the main force has time to retreat.
At that time, 80% of the rear troops will become the targets of the independent regiment's revenge, and will eventually be wiped out.
Although he was very reluctant to give up, the vice-captain still gritted his teeth and replied: "Captain, don't worry, I will make arrangements now for my humble position."
Outside Dongwan Town, the commander of the Second Battalion was leading his troops on the only way the puppet troops had to retreat.
In addition to carrying their own weapons and ammunition, the soldiers also carried the ammunition just replenished by the regiment headquarters.
They had been marching continuously for an hour, and everyone was breathing heavily and their faces were red.
Fortunately, the Japanese and puppet troops were still in Dongwan Town and did not retreat.
Everyone is bypassing the Japanese and puppet army garrison and rushing in front of them.
It's night now, which is especially suitable for troops to engage in guerrilla warfare with the enemy, using night attacks to attack them and slow down their march.
Therefore, the second battalion commander planned to have a head-on confrontation with the Japanese and puppet troops tonight, hand over the mines to the local troops who came to respond, and use them to hold back the enemy after dawn.
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