"How much food do we still have in hand?" the chief of staff asked the regimental leader.
"More than sixty thousand kilograms!" the group leader replied with a long sigh.
He also didn't expect that he would lose so much food along the way.
More importantly, there are still 20 kilometers away from Hunyuan County. The next march will definitely be full of sneak attacks and traps as before. According to the previous loss rate, it will be lucky to be able to bring 30,000 kilograms of grain into Hunyuan City.
.
The chief of staff also thought about this problem and ordered with a serious face: "It's too slow. Our marching speed must be accelerated. The faster the speed, the fewer the number of sneak attacks on the road and the smaller the losses will be."
The regiment leader smiled bitterly and replied: "Chief of Staff, I also want to go faster."
"But we carry too many supplies and wounded people, and we have to protect the mules and horses while marching, so we can't move fast at all."
A hint of helplessness flashed across the face of the chief of staff, and he thought for a moment and made a decision: "Mules and horses are more important. The grain transported by one mule and horse can be worth ten soldiers. As long as we protect the remaining mules and horses, we can at least provide food to the division commander."
Go get 30,000 catties of grain."
"The troops will continue to advance at the current marching speed."
"Divide some soldiers out and ask them to give up food and stay close to the mules and horses to protect the remaining mules and horses. They must not cause any problems again!"
“Rumble… da da da…”
A burst of gunfire interrupted the chief of staff's order. He could tell that the firefight was at least three kilometers away.
"Could it be that the commander and the Eighth Route Army are at war?" This was the first subconscious thought of the chief of staff.
But as soon as this idea came up, it was rejected by the chief of staff himself.
The division commander was short of men and horses, and the soldiers were so hungry that they couldn't even hold a gun. They would definitely not provoke a war and ask for trouble.
Quickly climb up a nearby mound, raise your binoculars and look towards the crossfire point.
The battle took place on a hilltop, right next to the road. Judging from the figure, it seemed that the Eighth Route Army was attacking the high ground on the hilltop, and even used mortars.
The chief of staff doesn't understand?
This place has long been a base for the garrison, and there should be no organized Japanese and puppet troops.
Even if there were still some Japanese and puppet agents and stragglers, the Eighth Route Army would not be able to use heavy weapons like mortars.
Then this battle has only one purpose, to demonstrate to myself.
Soon the forward company commander ran over: "Chief of Staff, there is an Eighth Route Army checkpoint blocking the way ahead."
"I went to negotiate, and they said there was a battle going on ahead. To prevent any accidents, they asked us to take a detour."
The chief of staff became more and more certain of his previous judgment: the firefight ahead was ostensibly a battle, but in fact it was a military demonstration, blocking the highway and preventing him from passing through.
He raised his eyebrows and asked dissatisfiedly: "Did they say what the specific battle was?"
"I'm asking about this!" the forward company commander reported quickly.
"Last night, an ammunition depot built by the Eighth Route Army nearby was attacked by Japanese spies. More than a thousand landmines and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition were lost. They followed the clues and found the lair of these spies."
"Investigation found that the secret agents had buried all the captured landmines on the road, intending to use the landmines to create panic."
"The Eighth Route Army mobilized two companies to encircle and destroy the Japanese and puppet agents, and also cleared the landmines on the road to avoid accidental damage!"
The chief of staff was still thinking just now. If he was sure that this was the Eighth Route Army demonstrating against him and there was nothing unexpected, he would lead his team to forcefully pass through the firefighting area and continue to Hunyuan County.
After hearing the word "landmine", a bad premonition suddenly arose in my mind.
After hearing the news that the Japanese and puppet troops had buried more than a thousand landmines on the highway, I gave up the idea of forcing through the war zone on the spot, and I also understood the Eighth Route Army's layout against me.
On the surface, the landmines were planted by Japanese and puppet agents who were being eliminated by the Eighth Route Army.
But the chief of staff can be sure: those so-called spies are all fake, deliberately fabricated by the Eighth Route Army to confuse itself.
As for those landmines, eighty percent were planted by the Eighth Route Army themselves.
When they want to pass here, the Eighth Route Army can tell them that there is a minefield laid out by the Japanese in front of them and they cannot pass.
If you don't listen to the advice and force your way through here, and are blown up by landmines, then the responsibility will be on you and the Japanese, and they won't have any trouble.
"What a brilliant move!" The chief of staff was so impressed that he fell to the ground.
Staring at the group leader, he asked: "Besides the official road, is there any other way to get around here?"
The group leader quickly spread out the map, pointed at it and replied: "There is a mountain road that can go around here, but it will take at least three hours of walking."
"And this mountain road is very rugged. It will be difficult to protect the remaining mules and horses from being attacked if we walk here."
The chief of staff was even more certain that the previous battle and minefield were deliberately caused by the Eighth Route Army.
The purpose is to let you walk on the mountain road, so that the gunmen who sneak up on you along the way can find opportunities to shoot the mules and horses that are already out of the army.
Moreover, the mountain roads are rugged, making them more suitable for setting traps.
If the troops really took a detour and rushed to Hunyuan County, there would definitely be more wounded and more food lost.
Thinking of this, the chief of staff denied it without hesitation.
"Can't walk on mountain roads!"
"Is there any other major road we can take? We must ensure the marching speed without going too far."
The leader shook his head and replied: "No more!"
The chief of staff looked back at the forward company commander and asked: "When will the Eighth Route Army's encirclement and annihilation campaign end?"
The company commander quickly reported: "They said there are not many Japanese and puppet troops on the mountain, and the battle can be over in half an hour at most. But the landmines on the road are difficult to clear. The more than a thousand landmines stolen by the Japanese agents include regular iron ones and some
Earthen mines with stone shells and ceramic shells can only be found out bit by bit manually using mine detectors, and it will definitely not be completed in less than three days."
The group leader shouted anxiously: "Three days are too long."
"Chief of Staff, if we arrive at Hunyuan three days later, the division commander's troops will have collapsed due to hunger, and our losses will be huge."
The chief of staff nodded in recognition, and then asked: "What do you mean?"
"Force through the minefield!" the regiment leader replied through gritted teeth.
"This must be a trap set by the Eighth Route Army. The purpose is to force us towards the mountain road and delay our time."
"We didn't get what they wanted, so we took the official route to Hunyuan."
The chief of staff frowned and asked, "What about the minefields on the highway?"
The regiment leader thought for a moment and replied: "The previous battle was fake. The so-called spies must have been deliberately fabricated by the Eighth Route Army. The minefield must also be fake."
"More than a thousand mines. I don't believe the Eighth Route Army has so many landmines?"
"And the official road is so wide that troops can march next to it. It is impossible for them to block the entire road with mines."
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