Soon Li Qiufan arrived at the bell tower. After several climbs, Li Qiufan reached the top of the bell tower and looked around.
Crouching on the bell tower, Li Qiufan had a panoramic view of the entire Shangyang County. He quickly found the location of the Japanese artillery position in the east corner of the city.
But because it was too dark, I could only see the firelight over there and the heavy cannons placed there. I couldn't see exactly how many people there were.
Moreover, Li Qiufan not only discovered the Japanese artillery positions, but also discovered the location of the Japanese headquarters and the blockades set up by the Japanese.
Li Qiufan recorded all this in his mind as much as possible, and then returned to the location of the guard camp.
After returning to the guard camp, Li Qiufan first found a clever soldier and drew the main roads in the city on the ground. He also pointed out the Japs' blockade and headquarters, asking him to remember them and find the main force. Tell Lu Ming.
After doing this, Li Qiufan led the guard battalion to the east of the city, heading towards the Japanese artillery positions.
According to the memory in his mind, Li Qiufan led the guard battalion to avoid the Japanese blockade and arrived not far from the artillery position without any danger.
Li Qiufan signaled everyone to hide, then quietly went out and observed the Japanese troop deployment.
After some observation, Li Qiufan found that there was something wrong with these Japanese soldiers. They did not look like serious artillerymen.
There were a total of six guns on the position, but the Japanese only used two of them, and the other four were covered with tarpaulins.
There were quite a few shells on the ground, enough for six cannons to fire at the same time, but Li Qiufan didn't understand why the Japanese only used two cannons.
After the observation, Li Qiufan returned to the guard camp and then issued a combat mission.
"In a moment, everyone will be targeted and hit. Don't use grenades! Those are my cannons and shells! If they blow up, I will shoot you!"
"Use the sound of my gun as a command to end the battle as quickly as possible and occupy the position!"
Li Qiufan asked the platoon leaders of each company to inform the soldiers, and then led the troops to prepare for an attack.
"boom!"
Li Qiufan squatted in the dark and killed a Japanese artilleryman with an M1935 pistol. Then the entire guard camp started shooting.
Nearly half of the unsuspecting Japanese were killed immediately. They never expected that Li Qiufan and others could find the artillery position. By the time they realized it, it was already too late.
Li Qiufan rushed forward with the guard battalion. The strong firepower sent the Japanese scurrying around, and they quickly retreated under the pressure.
After the Japanese retreated, Li Qiufan finally saw clearly what kind of heavy artillery it was. It turned out to be a Type 89 150mm field cannon. This thing was a huge weapon, and Li Qiufan's eyes lit up when he saw it.
"Build a defensive position immediately! The Japanese will not give up these heavy artillery easily! They should be able to fight back soon. All we have to do is hold on until the main force arrives!"
Looking at the six brand-new field cannons, Li Qiufan probably guessed something.
These six cannons were supposed to be transported to Taiyuan. It happened that they encountered Li Qiufan's siege after they were transported to Shangyang County.
Moreover, because the artillery was too big and heavy, the Japanese had no time to move. In addition, Li Qiufan and others attacked too fiercely, so the Japanese commander in Shangyang County had no choice but to use heavy artillery to fight back.
But since the cannon was shipped to Taiyuan, there were only two Japanese artillerymen accompanying it who knew how to operate it. There was no one in Shangyang County who knew how to operate it.
Therefore, only two of the six cannons were used, but these two cannons still blasted Li Qiufan's troops so hard that they could not lift their heads, which is enough to illustrate the power of this cannon.
Knowing that it was such a powerful weapon, Li Qiufan certainly couldn't give up, and it seemed that these six cannons were still brand new. This was probably the first time they were used, so they couldn't return them to the Japanese.
Under the command of Li Qiufan, the guard battalion quickly set up defensive positions and waited for the arrival of the Japanese.
Sure enough, after the captain of the Japanese regiment learned that the artillery position was lost and the heavy artillery destined for Taiyuan was lost, he immediately sent a brigade to retake the position.
The mobilization of a large group of Japanese soldiers instantly relieved the pressure on Lu Ming, who was on the front battlefield, and led his troops to charge crazily against the Japanese soldiers.
Although he didn't know why the Japanese troops suddenly transferred some of their troops, Lu Ming guessed that it had something to do with Li Qiufan.
Moreover, he must eliminate the Japs in front of him as soon as possible and seize the time to support Li Qiufan. After all, he only has one guard battalion around him.
On Li Qiufan's side, the Japs arrived not long after waiting. There was a whole brigade of Japs, one-third of the Shangyang County garrison.
Facing the attack of more than a thousand people, Li Qiufan and the soldiers in the guard camp were also struggling.
Fortunately, because there was a field cannon behind them, the Japanese did not dare to use any weapons of mass destruction, but only fired with rifles and machine guns.
"Brigadier! If we continue to fight like this, our brothers will not be able to hold on any longer!"
Facing the fierce Japanese attack, the guard battalion was unable to bear it. After all, it had nearly twice as many troops as its own.
"Damn it! Come and follow me! I want to teach these devils a lesson!"
Li Qiufan cursed angrily, then led a few people to the artillery position at the back, and directly operated a cannon.
You must know that before Li Qiufan was selected into the special forces, he was an artilleryman himself. He was comfortable operating various artillery pieces, and this kind of cannon was naturally not a problem.
After adjusting the angle of the cannon, Li Qiufan directed a soldier to load the cannon and fired directly at the Japanese on the opposite side.
The Japs never dreamed that someone from the Eighth Route Army opposite could operate a cannon. The shells landed on the wall where they were hiding, directly blowing up the limbs of dozens of Japs.
Seeing that the effect was surprisingly good, Li Qiufan asked the soldiers to continue loading the shells, while he kept adjusting the angle and bombarded the Japanese on the opposite side, making the Japanese miserable.
As time went by, the gunshots in the distance were getting closer and closer to the artillery position. Li Qiufan knew that Lu Ming was about to arrive with his troops, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brothers! The army will be here soon! Hold on, everyone!"
Li Qiufan shouted, cheering up the two hundred or so people left in the guard camp, giving them hope.
Sure enough, after Li Qiufan finished shouting, the soldiers still alive in the guard camp felt confident and withstood the Japanese's crazy attack.
"Bang bang bang..."
Huangtian paid off. Lu Ming finally arrived with a large force and launched an attack from the rear of the Japs, directly attacking the Japs from both front and rear.
"Brothers, the big army is here! Fight with me!"
Seeing Lu Ming arriving, Li Qiufan picked up a rifle, attached a bayonet and led the charge.
