Li Qiulin said: "I think there is a certain degree of certainty. First of all, the Japanese army can't figure out our location at the moment. They want to disperse and search, so their forces are not concentrated together now. In the process of breaking through, even if we encounter the Japanese The puppet army doesn't have many troops, and they can't stop us.
Secondly, the Japanese and puppet troops know that we are the Eighth Route Army and will definitely return to the Taihang Mountain base, so they will definitely intercept us in the east, so the strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in other areas will be relatively weak. If we don't break out to the east, is there a chance to break through the interception of the Japanese and puppet troops? "
The squad leaders said one after another: "Squadron Captain, what you said makes sense. What should you do? We all listen to you."
Li Qiulin said: "My opinion is that in order to catch the Japanese army off guard, we use the reverse march at night, first to the west. The Japanese army will never expect that we dare to return the same way, and the defense of the Japanese and puppet troops there will definitely be very weak, completely It is possible to cross the blockade of the Japanese and puppet troops at night. Even if a battle breaks out, we are capable of destroying the Japanese and puppet troops blocking the road."
Hearing this, the first squad leader had another question. He said: "Squadron Captain, let's break out to the west. If we are discovered by the Japanese and puppet troops, they will send troops to besiege us. The road leading to our base area has been blocked by the Japanese and puppet troops." There is a heavy blockade, how can we break out?"
Li Qiulin said: "We suddenly marched westward just to prevent the Japanese army from knowing where we were going. If we want to escape from the encirclement of the Japanese and puppet troops, we don't necessarily have to go directly to the anti-Japanese base area of our Eighth Route Army. Come and see."
Li Qiulin pointed at the map and said: "Let's go west first, then south, directly to the defense area of the Shanxi-Sui Army. The Japanese and puppet troops will never expect where we are going. Their heavy troops have been placed in the east.
Even if the Japanese and puppet troops discover our actions, we are all cavalry, and even if we move slightly slowly with the cadres sent here, the Japanese and puppet troops will not be able to catch up with us at all. We have every chance to break out of the encirclement of the Japanese and puppet troops. "
The captain of the first squadron now understood it completely, and he praised sincerely: "Squadron commander, your idea is a good one, and I agree with it. I didn't expect that we can avoid going to the Eighth Route Army's base area. We can completely catch the Japanese army by surprise."
The captain of the second squadron said: "If this is the case, that would be the best. We can break out of the encirclement directly and avoid a fierce battle between the captain and the Japanese and puppet troops. I agree with this opinion."
"I agree."
"I agree too." The other team captains expressed their support for Li Qiulin's action plan.
"Well, this matter has been decided." Li Qiulin saw that everyone agreed with his opinion, so he made up his mind.
He sent a telegram to Monk Wei, explaining his intentions, hoping that Monk Wei and the others would make a noise on the edge of the base area to attract the attention of the Japanese and puppet troops and cooperate with their breakout operations.
Monk Wei received the telegram from Li Qiulin and thought his opinion was reasonable. Instead of forcibly breaking through the blockade of the Japanese and puppet troops and engaging in a fierce battle with the Japanese and puppet troops, it would be better for Li Qiulin and the others to break out of the encirclement unexpectedly, which would give them a greater chance of success.
Monk Wei agreed with Li Qiulin's opinion and reported the matter to Xu Dalong. He asked Xu Dalong to contact the Jinsui Army and tell them that troops from the Eighth Route Army were passing through their defense area so that they could be prepared to avoid misunderstandings.
Monk Wei thought carefully. After all, Li Qiulin and the others were wearing Japanese military uniforms. If the Jinsui Army misunderstood and the two sides exchanged fire, they would be in big trouble.
Xu Dalong received the telegram from Monk Wei, studied the map for a while, and felt that Li Qiulin's decision made sense. Xu Dalong was very pleased with the wit and bravery shown by Wei Monk and Li Qiulin. He immediately responded to the telegram and agreed to their action plan.
After nightfall, Li Qiulin and others left the valley and marched westward.
Just as Li Qiulin expected, the Japanese commander judged that the Eighth Route Army troops entering the Japanese-occupied areas were preparing to enter the Eighth Route Army's base areas eastward and were unlikely to turn around and return to Shaanxi. The Japanese army did not build a blockade in the west.
Li Qiulin and others were all cavalry and moved quickly. They traveled more than 180 kilometers overnight without encountering any interception by the Japanese and puppet troops on the way.
Monk Wei led the special operations brigade to march overnight and arrived at the edge of the base area. He immediately launched a sheep attack with the local Eighth Route Army troops against the Japanese and puppet defense areas.
Their actions attracted the attention of the Japanese and puppet troops, and they also transferred the troops deployed in the west to the east for support.
Li Qiulin and others marched in the Japanese-occupied area as if they were in uninhabited territory, and at dawn they had arrived at the edge of the Shanxi-Sui Army defense zone.
The Japanese army and the Jinsui Army built defensive positions at the junction of the two armies to guard against each other's attacks. Li Qiulin and others knew that there would be Japanese troops setting up defenses ahead, so when they approached the Jinsui Army's defense area, they used the radio to communicate with the Jinsui Army in advance.
The Jinsui Army troops stationed in this area are troops of the 65th Army. Xu Dalong has contacted them through the World War II Zone Headquarters and asked them to cooperate. The troops of the 65th Army of the Jinsui Army sent a reinforcement group to the edge of the defense zone, ready to assist Li Qiulin and others to break through the Japanese defensive positions.
Li Qiulin and others came to the dividing line between the enemy and ourselves and stopped advancing. He personally led people to the front for reconnaissance, and sure enough he found a Japanese defensive position ahead. The Japanese army dug trenches here and built several bunkers.
It was still dark, and there were no Japanese troops guarding the trenches, only scattered surveillance posts.
Li Qiulin and others arrived at the Japanese defensive position and all dismounted. The squad leader led a squad of special forces members to clear the way in front, and the people behind followed them with their horses, quietly approaching the Japanese defensive position.
Just as the special operations team members approached the Japanese trenches, the Japanese lurking sentries spotted them, yelling loudly and asking for passwords.
The captain of the first squad raised his hand and fired a shot, killing the Japanese surveillance post.
Li Qiulin knew that he had been exposed and shouted: "Everyone mount up and charge for me."
The special operations team members got on their horses and galloped toward the Japanese trenches.
They were only a few dozen meters away from the enemy's trenches. They galloped as hard as they could, crossing the enemy's trenches in an instant and rushing towards the Jinsui Army's defense area.
The Japanese soldiers were awakened by gunfire in their sleep. They took the time to put on their clothes, pick up their weapons and rush out to prepare for battle. Some Japanese soldiers ran out without clothes.
Even so, the speed of the war horses was too fast. By the time they came out, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army had already run hundreds of meters away and were soon out of the range of the Japanese army.
The commander of the Japanese and puppet troops guessed that these Eighth Route Army troops were the small troops reported by their superiors. In order to avoid being reprimanded by his superiors, he did not care that the Jinsui Army's defense area was opposite, so he led the disheveled Japanese soldiers in pursuit. Come up.
The commander of the Jinsui Army who was in charge of the response heard the gunshots from the opposite side and watched the situation in front closely.
When they saw a cavalry unit galloping towards here, although the visibility was not high and they could not see clearly what military uniform the other party was wearing, they also knew that this cavalry unit must be the Eighth Route Army unit that their superiors asked them to meet. , so they did not fire and opened a passage to allow the Eighth Route Army troops to enter their defense area.
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Soon after, the chasing Japanese troops appeared. The Jinsui Army, which had been waiting for a long time, set up artillery and machine guns and beat the Japanese and puppet troops hard. Dozens of Japanese and puppet troops were killed and injured.
They saw that the enemy was on guard and knew that it was impossible to catch up with the fleeing Eighth Route Army unit, so they had no intention of fighting and retreated.
Li Qiulin met the leader of the Jinsui Army and expressed his gratitude to him.
The commander of the Jinsui Army knew that these were Xu Dalong's soldiers. He admired Xu Dalong very much, so he was very enthusiastic about Li Qiulin and others. He held a reception banquet for them, sent military doctors to check their health, and provided barracks for them. rest.
Monk Wei led his troops in a fierce battle with the Japanese and puppet troops. When he received a telegram from Li Qiulin and learned that they had escaped safely, he led the special operations brigade back.
Xu Dalong has also been waiting for Li Qiulin's telegram. When he learned that the special operations team members escorted the Eighth Route Army cadres and had safely entered the Shanxi-Sui Army defense area without any casualties, he was very happy.
Li Changshui was relieved when he heard that the group of cadres had been sent over safely.
He expressed his gratitude to Xu Dalong, praised the special team's strong combat effectiveness, and said that he would definitely find the commander to ask for credit from Li Qiulin and the others when he returned.
Li Dalong never let his friends help in vain. This time the Jinsui Army was of great help. Xu Dalong gave Li Kun 20,000 yuan and asked him to thank the Jinsui officers and soldiers who provided help to the Eighth Route Army.
At the same time, he also sent a telegram to Yan Guiwu, asking with concern about the safety of the troops sent by Yan Guiwu.
Yan Guiwu responded with a telegram, saying that they had sent a reinforced company of troops. Hearing that Li Qiulin and the others were out of danger, they also returned to their original troops and there were no casualties.
Xu Dalong expressed his gratitude to Yan Guiwu and sent someone to send him 10,000 yuan.
Li Changshui felt a little embarrassed when he saw that Xu Dalong had paid such a high price for the enemy's Ministry of Industry to complete the mission of escorting Eighth Route Army cadres, and expressed his gratitude to Xu Dalong again.
After Li Qiulin and others returned, Xu Dalong visited them in person and spoke highly of their resourceful, courageous and proactive behavior in completing their tasks.
He, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang and others also held a special commendation meeting, calling on all Eighth Route officers and soldiers in the Mawushan Military Division to learn from Li Qiulin and the Third Special Forces Squadron, cultivate this kind of fighting style of bravery, bravery and tenacity, and further improve their The combat effectiveness of all officers and soldiers.
