The Japanese soldiers' eyes were fixed on the Eighth Route Army cavalry in front of them, and they did not notice the dangers around them at all. When they passed a cornfield, dozens of Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers suddenly emerged from the cornfield. By the time they realized it, it was already too late.
The special operations team members opened fire fiercely at the Japanese officers and soldiers. The Japanese second lieutenant and the Japanese soldiers of that squad were all wiped out before they could fire a single shot.
The squad leader led his team members to quickly clean up the battlefield, then mounted their horses to chase Li Qiulin.
After Li Qiulin learned that he had thrown away his tail, he immediately ordered the troops to leave the road and walk directly through the crop fields.
In order to speed up the march, the special operations team members abandoned the carts and just unloaded the horses. Some of the special operations team members dismounted and let the young cadres ride on their horses. The team members led the horses and marched.
About an hour later, a large group of Japanese troops arrived. They saw the bodies of the Japanese second lieutenant and the soldiers on the road, and ordered the troops to search around, but found nothing.
They sent a telegram to notify their superiors, and then led the troops to continue the pursuit along the road.
The Japanese commander led his team in pursuit for about an hour and met a Japanese unit head-on. They were also ordered to intercept.
After the two Japanese troops saw each other, they immediately stopped advancing and prepared for battle.
The Japanese commanders all heard that there were Eighth Route Army troops disguised as Japanese troops nearby. Therefore, when the two Japanese troops saw each other wearing Japanese military uniforms, they did not dare to identify each other. Of course, the Japanese army was also very cautious. They did not fire blindly, but sent cavalry to communicate with each other.
After the identities of both parties were clear, the commanders of both parties met. Neither Japanese army found any trace of the Eighth Route Army, so they knew that the Eighth Route Army must have left the road and turned to other directions.
In order to find traces of the Eighth Route Army, the two groups of Japanese troops returned the same way and searched carefully.
Half an hour later, traces of a large group of people passing by were finally found in the cornfield. The Japanese commander immediately used the radio to report to his superiors, and then began to pursue and intercept Li Qiulin and others in the direction where they disappeared.
Mawushan base area.
Out of trust in Li Qiulin and the special forces members of the 3rd Squadron, and considering that they were in enemy-occupied areas and kept radio silence as much as possible to avoid increasing the chance of exposure, Xu Dalong and Wei Monk did not require Li Qiulin to report their information every day. The relevant situation only reminds them to report to their superiors in a timely manner when encountering an emergency. Therefore, although there was no news about Li Qiulin and the others these days, Xu Dalong and Monk Wei did not ask about their itinerary.
That evening, Li Changshui sent an urgent telegram. In the telegram, he said that a traitor had appeared in northern Shaanxi and that the traitor had been arrested. He also told the Japanese army that he had dispatched young cadres from northern Shaanxi to the Taihang Mountains. The Japanese army will definitely pursue and intercept them. Li Qiulin and the others are likely to be in danger. Please ask Xu Dalong to try to organize a rescue.
Monk Wei was a little anxious when he heard the news, and was about to lead his troops to the rescue.
Xu Dalong is familiar with every soldier in the special force, and he knows the squadron leaders very well. He trusts Li Qiulin.
He said: "Don't worry. Li Qiulin has rich experience, and you have to believe that he has the ability to deal with situations on the spot. Since he hasn't sent a telegram yet, let's wait patiently. You can notify the special forces to be ready for rescue at any time. ready to go."
"Yes, Mr. Long. I'm going to inform the team members to get ready to go."
After saying that, Monk Wei left in a hurry.
After Monk Wei left, Xu Dalong looked at the map and estimated the approximate location of Li Qiulin and the others. Seeing that it was very close to the defense area of Huang Xiejun's 4th Division, he sent a telegram to Yan Guiwu, asking him to inform Huang Xiejun of the 4th Division. The local troops of the Fourth Division sent people to investigate the situation related to Li Qiulin and others. If the situation is urgent, ask them to help.
Yan Guiwu received the telegram from Xu Dalong and did not dare to neglect. He sent a telegram to a local regiment commander of the Fourth Division, asking him to send his cronies to lead a reinforced company to the adjacent defense area of Huang Xiejun's Fifth Division. Go investigate the relevant situation. If you find that the Eighth Route Army troops are exchanging fire with the Japanese army, launch a rescue operation.
Over the years, Yan Guiwu and Xu Dalong have become friends from their original rivals. As Xu Dalong became more and more powerful, Yan Guiwu became more and more dependent on Xu Dalong. He clearly knew that the Japanese army in Shanxi was no match for Xu Dalong. For the future of himself and the Huang Xiejun Fourth Division, it was better to rely on Xu Dalong than to rely on the Japanese army. Therefore, he responded to Xu Dalong's requests.
In order to satisfy Xu Dalong, he sent a rescue team, hoping that he could help Xu Dalong.
After the Japanese army discovered the traces of the Eighth Route Army, they followed it all the way. After tracking for several kilometers, we entered a hilly area. The ground here is dry and hard, and the horses cannot leave any traces after passing by.
The Eighth Route Army had disappeared, and the Japanese commander could only report to his superiors and request to expand the search scope.
After Li Qiulin led the special operations squadron to escort the young cadres out of the crop fields, in order to speed up the march, he distributed the materials carried on the horses to the special operations team members. This freed up some of the horses, plus the supplies from the carts. The horses that were unloaded allowed the young cadres to also have horses, and the troops marched much faster.
If it weren't for the fact that many of the young cadres couldn't ride horses and the special operations team members were required to hold the reins of the horses, they would be able to travel at high speed and enter the defense area of the Huang Xiejun's Fourth Division in no time.
Li Qiulin led his troops to walk on dry, hard ground to avoid exposing traces. Even so, during the march, he kept changing directions and soon got rid of the enemy troops who were following him.
Although he was not familiar with the local terrain, the guide sent by Li Changshui was very familiar with this area. Under his leadership, Li Qiulin and others entered a valley, hid, and then sent scouts to monitor the enemy's movements.
Li Qiulin checked the map and saw that this place was about 220 kilometers away from the defense area of Huang Xiejun's fourth division. There are many Japanese and puppet troops in this area, including a regiment of Huang Xiejun's fifth division and an infantry regiment of the Japanese army. If the battle breaks out and they cannot leave the battlefield quickly, their situation will be extremely dangerous if so many Japanese and puppet troops surround them.
If it were just the Third Squadron of the Special Forces, Li Qiulin wouldn't care about the enemy at all. Not only could he get rid of the enemy quickly, he could even launch an attack on the Japanese and puppet troops. But now that they have so many young cadres with no fighting ability, they must avoid fighting with the Japanese and puppet troops as much as possible.
Although Li Qiulin didn't want Xu Dalong and Monk Wei to worry, considering the safety of these young cadres, he decided to send a telegram to report their current situation.
After Xu Dalong received the telegram, he sent a telegram back to Li Qiulin, asking him to do a good job of concealment and try not to expose himself. He would immediately send Wei Monk and the main force of the special operations brigade to reinforce.
At the same time, he was also informed of the troops of Huang Xie's 4th Division going to rescue. He told Li Qiulin how to contact him and asked him to directly contact Wei Monk and the troops of Huang Xiejun's 4th Division.
Monk Wei was already ready to go. After receiving the order, he immediately led the Pegasus, the main force of the special operations brigade, to the rescue.
After Li Changshui notified Xu Dalong, he still couldn't sit still, so he rushed to the Mawushan Military Division to meet Xu Dalong.
Seeing that Xu Dalong had made rescue arrangements, he stayed here and waited for news.
After Li Qiulin received the telegram from Xu Dalong, he summoned several squad leaders to discuss countermeasures.
Some of the captains suggested that they should stay here and hide, waiting for Captain Wei to lead the troops to come over; some people thought that they should not stay here. The mountainous area in this area is not too large. If the Japanese army searches the mountains, they will be able to find them soon. They should try to move to other places, and then contact Captain Wei and wait for them to come to rescue.
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Li Qiulin said: "Can we break out of the encirclement on our own without waiting for the captain and others to come to the rescue?"
The first squad leader said: "Didn't the captain ask us to wait for reinforcements? If we force a breakout and are intercepted by the Japanese and puppet troops, it may be difficult for us to break through the encirclement with those cadres who have no combat effectiveness."
Several other squad leaders also suggested that they should follow Captain Xu's advice and hide here, waiting for response.
Li Qiulin said: "Let me ask you a question. We are trapped in enemy-occupied territory. Will the Japanese army think that someone will come to rescue us?"
The first squad leader said: "It should be expected."
Li Qiulin said: "If this is the case, will the Japanese army set up a blockade to intercept our reinforcements?"
The first squad leader said: "It should be possible."
Li Qiulin said: "It's not that it should be, but it must be. Although the special operations team that rescued us is powerful, the Japanese army has a large number of troops. Even if the Japanese and puppet troops can be defeated after the two sides fight, the brothers of our special operations group will probably have a great impact. Casualties. Do we have to watch them pay a heavy price to rescue us?"
Several squad captains said one after another: "Absolutely not. Captain, what do you think we should do?"
Li Qiulin said: "My opinion is that before the captain and the others enter the enemy-occupied area, we can break out of the encirclement ourselves."
The captain of the first squadron said with some doubts: "Squadron Captain, I agree with your idea. But can we break through the Japanese army's encirclement with just our squadron?"
