After the scouts were sent out, Li Qiufan followed with a large force. When they reached a position two kilometers away from the battlefield, the soldiers from the reconnaissance battalion returned.
"Report to the brigade commander, the Japanese and our Eighth Route Army troops are fighting in front. There are about three to four thousand friendly troops, but I don't know the troop number."
"How is the situation with friendly forces?"
"I don't know the specific situation, but it seems that the casualties are quite large. The Japanese artillery on the opposite side has been bombarding the position."
After understanding the situation, Li Qiufan decided to go for reinforcements. It seemed that the 35th Division should have encountered the Japanese, otherwise they would not be suppressed and beaten.
"Lao Ma, build an artillery position. You don't need to wait for orders. Just fire directly at the Japanese position!"
"Everyone else, attack the Japs from the flanks and relieve the pressure on the friendly forces. Quick!"
Without much delay, Li Qiufan directly led his troops to move forward and moved to the flank of the Japanese.
There happens to be a small slope on the flank. Although it is not very high, it is enough for Li Qiufan and the others to use as a bunker.
"beat!"
After arriving at the position, Li Qiufan did not hesitate and directly ordered the attack. The Japanese were stunned for a while.
Li Qiufan's sudden joining not only confused the Japanese, but also the Eighth Route Army, who didn't know whose unit it belonged to.
Li Qiufan could not care about this at this time and commanded the troops to continuously attack the Japanese positions.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
At the stalemate moment of the fight, shells fell on the Japs' position, immediately suppressing the Japs' edge.
"Damn it, Lao Ma is finally done!"
Li Qiufan cursed and said that he was already convinced that this group of devils was the 35th Division, because the independent brigade that could suppress them could not hold its head up, thanks to Lao Ma's artillery support, otherwise it would really be impossible to defeat them.
"Brother, the Japs on the position seem to be running away and starting to withdraw from the position!"
Heizi noticed the movements of the Japanese on the battlefield and immediately shouted to Li Qiufan.
"Don't worry about them, we can't eat these devils! Just rescue the friendly forces!"
Li Qiufan looked at the retreating Japanese with some hesitation, but in the end he did not order the pursuit because he knew that he could not keep this group of Japanese.
The same is true for the friendly forces on the other side. Let alone pursuit, if Li Qiufan didn't come, it would be difficult for them to protect themselves.
After the Japanese withdrew, Li Qiufan began to count the casualties, but the commander of the friendly forces on the other side rushed over.
"Wang Zhiyuan, the commander of the 23rd Regiment of the Security Brigade, has met the leader!"
When Wang Zhiyuan arrived at the position of the Independent Brigade, he discovered that they were also members of the Eighth Route Army. Judging from the strength and weapon configuration, they must be older than his officers, so he did not hesitate to salute them directly with a military salute.
"Li Qiufan, commander of the 129th Division Independent Brigade."
Li Qiufan also returned a military salute.
"Brigadier Li, it's all thanks to you this time, otherwise my troops would be eaten by these devils."
Wang Zhiyuan was a little excited because Li Qiufan actually rescued them, and his 23rd regiment really came around the corner of hell.
"It's just a casual job. We are all our own people. There is no reason not to save them. By the way, how can your regiment fight with a Japanese division?"
Li Qiufan waved his hand, and then asked about the doubts in his heart. No matter how confident Wang Zhiyuan was, he would never be able to defeat the division with one regiment.
"Well, it's my fault. We saw a group of fleeing puppet troops in the east and chased them."
"Who would have thought that while chasing me, I would encounter a Japanese division. After being bitten by them, my troops could not withdraw, so I had to fight with them."
Wang Zhiyuan shook his head, with regret on his face. If he hadn't been eager for quick success, the troops would not have suffered such heavy losses.
"East?"
Li Qiufan was a little surprised when he heard the direction of the defeated puppet army. Isn't that the position he rushed to? Could it be the group of puppet troops he defeated.
"Yes, they came from the east. Brigadier Li, did you also see that group of puppet troops?"
Wang Zhiyuan nodded and asked after hearing Li Qiufan's words.
"Well, if my guess is correct, I defeated that group of puppet soldiers and escaped."
Li Qiufan was a little embarrassed, but he didn't expect that he was the culprit.
Wang Zhiyuan was stunned after hearing this. He didn't expect the source to be right in front of him, but Li Qiufan couldn't be blamed for this.
"I am more or less responsible for this matter. What, I don't want the Japs' weapons. Commander Wang, please lead your people to clean up the battlefield."
Li Qiufan eased the embarrassing situation and took the initiative to give up the spoils.
This move made Wang Zhiyuan feel better, and he nodded in agreement.
"By the way, what is the combat mission of your regiment?"
Seeing that Wang Mingyuan accepted his apology, Li Qiufan continued to ask.
"The task given to me by the superiors was to launch an attack on the puppet troops in the Lin County area. Unexpectedly, I encountered a Japanese division as soon as I entered."
Wang Mingyuan secretly scolded himself for being crippled before even meeting his target.
"In this case, your regiment should follow my troops. The order I received is also to attack Lin County."
Li Qiufan nodded and then sent out the invitation.
Wang Mingyuan nodded and agreed. His regiment had already suffered heavy casualties, so following Li Qiufan would give him some protection.
Then the two troops merged into one and continued their mighty march towards the county seat of Lin County.
The troops soon arrived at a place called Hengshui. The scouts sent out reported back that a large number of puppet troops were far ahead and had built defensive positions.
After hearing this, Li Qiufan asked someone to bring Wang Mingyuan over and prepare to listen to his opinion.
"Commander Wang, my scouts came back and said that there are a large number of puppet troops stationed ahead. Do you have any ideas?"
Li Qiufan asked straight to the point.
"A large number of puppet troops? How many people are there specifically?"
Wang Mingyuan frowned and looked at Li Qiufan.
Li Qiufan turned to look at the soldiers who came back to report. He did not ask how many there were.
"Report to the brigade commander, there are about 10,000 people, probably the main force of the puppet army."
"Ten thousand people, is that much?"
Wang Mingyuan's frown deepened when he heard the number of puppet troops. He was a little unsure. There were only about a thousand people in his army that could fight now.
"Ten thousand people is not a lot."
Li Qiufan didn't take it seriously. If there were ten thousand Japs, he might have a headache, but as for the puppet army, it was just two words.
Wang Mingyuan rolled his eyes. After understanding it, he also knew the strength of Li Qiufan's independent brigade.
What he didn't expect was that Li Qiufan's brigade actually had the strength of a division, and there was also an artillery regiment. The artillery regiment was equipped with howitzers, which instantly made him feel like a bumpkin.
But then he figured out that if he hadn't relied on this strength, he would not have been able to rescue himself from the Japs division before, and he could also have defeated the Japs.
