Deep in the mountains, an Eighth Route Army unit wearing khaki military uniforms marched toward the mountains at a very fast speed.
Three hundred meters behind, a group of little Japs in yellow military uniforms followed closely behind.
The two armies were marching at about the same speed. From the beginning of the pursuit until now, almost one soldier passed by, maintaining a distance of 300 meters.
More than 500 meters further back, a larger group of Japanese soldiers was also marching forward in a hurry, with more than 300 puppet troops mixed in.
Everyone carried a lot of load, either carrying heavy machine guns and mortars, or carrying heavy ammunition boxes, and some people worked in pairs to carry the wounded.
At first they could keep up with the infantry's pursuit, but over time they could no longer hold on. The marching speed became increasingly difficult, and the distance between them and the infantry became wider and wider.
"Captain, the little devils have divided their forces..." the mobile battalion reconnaissance platoon leader, now the real replacement squad leader, panted and caught up with Li Hao to report.
"Three infantry squadrons gave up their heavy weapons and pursued us with light weapons."
"A disabled infantry squadron, a garrison squadron, a battalion of the Imperial Army, protective artillery and heavy machine gun squadrons followed in pursuit."
"The fighter plane is coming..." These words quickly popped into Li Hao's mind.
He stared closely at the squad leader and asked, "How far apart are the two little devils?"
"We were together at the beginning, but the farther we chased the artillery, the slower it became. Now we are five hundred meters apart, and the distance continues to widen."
"God is really helping me..." Li Hao shouted excitedly, the tired expression on his face disappeared, and his whole person seemed to have been on stimulants.
"The Japanese must have seen the heavy weapons we left behind, and then judged that we were a lone army, running for our lives at all costs, like a lost dog. Otherwise, they would never have dared to divide their troops in the mountains and leave behind the heavy machine gun and mortar squadrons.
Lead a group of lightly armed infantry to pursue us."
"Since the Japanese have given us every opportunity to defeat them, we must seize them."
After taking a look at the time, he began to give orders: "Correspondent, return immediately along our route into the mountain and find the chief of staff."
"Tell the Chief of Staff about the situation here, and order the Chief of Staff not to join me, but to lead troops directly to Hulukou, where he will set up a pocket formation that can hold seven to eight hundred people."
"The persimmons are weak, so I decided to eat the artillery and heavy machine gun squadrons behind the little devil first."
More than five hundred Japanese soldiers followed behind the mobile battalion, panting heavily in pursuit.
Major Kuroki was also among them. Although he was an officer, his usual training was not lacking at all. He walked bow-legged and his speed was no worse than that of ordinary soldiers.
"Sir..." a second lieutenant ran over and reported.
"The Eighth Route Army's retreat speed is still as fast as before and has not weakened at all."
"Continue to pursue!" Major Kuroki ordered without changing his face.
"I believe that the Imperial Army's physical strength is definitely stronger than that of the Eighth Route Army. As long as we maintain speed and continue to pursue, they will definitely be unable to hold on before we do."
"When the fighting starts, they will be so tired that they can't even pick up their guns, and they will have to be passively beaten and eliminated by us."
"So I would rather they keep running than turn around now and fight us desperately while they still have the energy."
"In this case, the imperial army will definitely suffer heavy losses."
The squadron leader who was following him immediately complimented: "Sir, you are wise."
"The Chinese army doesn't even have enough food to eat, let alone nutrition. Every soldier is malnourished and skinny. No two of them can compare to an imperial army in terms of physical strength."
"I have a feeling that if they can hold on for another two hours at most, their physical strength will be completely exhausted and they won't even be able to pick up a gun."
"When the imperial army kills them, it will be as easy as killing a chicken."
The food quality of the garrison was one of the best in the entire Eighth Route Army, but compared with the Japanese, there was still a big gap.
Therefore, he was no match for the Japanese in terms of physical strength. Major Kuroki was right in his judgment on this point.
But he got one thing wrong.
There are not only mobile battalions in the mountains but also the Eighth Route Army.
And the heavy weapons he saw did have the effect of reducing the load on the troops and speeding up their retreat.
But there is another factor.
Let them think that the garrison can no longer hold on, relax their vigilance, and then lure the enemy deeper.
After an hour and a half, the speed of the mobile battalion slowed down significantly.
Although the Japs' pursuit speed was also slower, it was still much faster than that of the mobile battalion.
The distance between the two troops was directly shortened to more than two hundred meters.
"Yo Xi, the Eighth Route Army in front can't hold on any longer and has already begun to lose its machine guns and baggage ammunition." Seeing the quilts and ammunition boxes thrown on the roadside, Major Kuroki became more and more excited as he ran and shouted excitedly.
"Sir, the terrain ahead is getting more and more complicated. Should we send troops to search the ridges on both sides to prevent the Eighth Route Army from ambushing us?" the squadron leader reminded hesitantly.
"No need..." Major Kuroki refused decisively.
"The Eighth Route Army we are chasing is a lone force with no corresponding troops, let alone an ambush on us."
"Now they have thrown away their ammunition, baggage and rifles in order to escape, which further proves that our previous judgment is true."
"If we send troops to search the mountain ridges on both sides, the marching speed of the troops will definitely slow down, and the distance from the Eighth Route Army in front will widen again. The gains outweigh the losses."
"Order the troops to strengthen their vigilance and march urgently through this dangerous section of road."
Major Kuroki said there was no danger, but he was not as relaxed as he said.
The battlefield is changing rapidly, and any accident can happen.
Although Major Kuroki believed in his own judgment, he could not guarantee whether there would be any accidents.
The temptation of catching up with the defeated troops of the garrison and annihilating them was too great. And the chance of an ambush here was very small. After much thought, Major Kuroki decided to take a gamble.
Finally, he blocked it correctly and the troops successfully passed through Hulukou.
The distance between the two troops was also shortened to two hundred meters.
If this was a plain, Major Kuroki would now issue an order for the troops to attack with all their strength and directly cover and kill them.
But this is a mountainous area. Although 200 meters is not far, the mountain road is too rugged.
As soon as the forward troops saw the tail of the defeated garrison, in the blink of an eye, these people turned a corner and disappeared.
"The left wing of the 1st Squadron will outflank them, and the 2nd Squadron will outflank them on the right wing. The others will continue to pursue, trying to catch up and kill them within half an hour." Major Kuroki became more and more excited as he chased, as if he had already seen victory waving to him.
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the three-pronged group of little devils completed the Z-shaped division, just behind the mobile battalion.
It's like a pair of pliers, approaching the mobile battalion little by little, putting them into the mouth of the pliers, then pinching them and eating them in one bite.
“Boom, boom, boom… da da da…”
Suddenly, a burst of gunfire sounded behind him, very densely.
The excited smile on Major Kuroki's face disappeared in an instant, and he shouted in shock: "No, something happened to the follow-up troops."
"On the dangerous section of road we just passed, we heard gunshots and the enemy had at least one reinforced battalion, and it was also equipped with heavy mortars."
"Bageya Road, we have been fooled, and the following troops are in danger."
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