This time the battle lasted longer, taking a total of one hour and forty minutes, and the Eighth Route Army also suffered casualties of more than 30 officers and soldiers. However, the price was worth it. Through this critical battle, they learned corresponding tactics and the troops received actual combat training.
After this battle, the special operations team members still only replenished part of the ammunition and 5,000 yuan, and the rest was given to the officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army.
The 9th detachment suddenly obtained so many weapons and ammunition, as well as a large amount of property, and it also felt like a nouveau riche. Their morale was extremely high. Regardless of fatigue, they followed Xu Dalong and others to repel the Japanese and puppet troops who came for reinforcements. They once again annihilated more than 200 enemies and seized more than 100 guns.
According to Xu Dalong's unified deployment, the 9th Detachment launched an attack on the Japanese and puppets around the base area. Their learning ability is very strong, and with the help of special forces, they captured six strongholds in one go, wiped out the Japanese and puppet grassroots organizations, and annihilated more than 1,600 Japanese and puppet troops. The base area expanded rapidly, and more than 1,000 teenagers were mobilized to join the army. New Fourth Army.
At the same time, the 12th Detachment and the 9th Detachment cooperated with each other to eliminate the Japanese and puppet troops at the junction of the two detachment base areas, and the base areas of the two detachments were completely connected.
After this series of battles, Deputy Director Sun and the New Fourth Army officers and soldiers of the 9th and 12th Detachments admired Xu Dalong and others very much, and were full of confidence in the next battle.
Next, Xu Dalong began to deploy the second phase of the battle.
The Sixth Japanese Garrison Division suffered successive heavy blows and was now unable to invade the New Fourth Army's base areas. Xu Dalong proposed to seize the opportunity and develop toward Suzhou in the west.
With the help of Xu Dalong and others, the 12th and 9th detachments of the New Fourth Army achieved several major victories in a row. Deputy Director Sun, Huang Shuigen and others all trusted Xu Dalong. But after looking at the terrain, they still didn't quite understand Xu Dalong's idea of developing westward.
Deputy Director Sun said: "Captain Xu, Suzhou is located in a plain area with developed transportation and dense population. If we can occupy a place in this area, we will be able to obtain a large number of personnel and material supplies, which will be very beneficial to the development of the New Fourth Army.
But there are also great difficulties. First of all, the Japanese Fourth Division is stationed in Suzhou. This is a field force. Their combat effectiveness far exceeds that of the Japanese Sixth Division. Not only that, the waterway transportation there is more developed, which is detrimental to our army's combat operations. In addition, there is also the obstruction of the Qingling River. If our army rashly crosses the Qingling River and enters the plain area around Suzhou, it will encounter Japanese and puppet troops. The siege made it very difficult to retreat to the base area.
If you insist on doing this, you must have your reasons. Can you help us clear up my doubts? "
Hearing this, the captain of the 9th detachment said: "We do have a 200-person water brigade that can help the troops cross the Qingling River. However, the Qingling River is relatively narrow, and we dare not enter rashly. If it is blocked by the Japanese army, At both ends of the river, the water brigade may be in danger of being wiped out."
The captain of the 9th detachment thought that Xu Dalong had the idea of crossing the Qingling River because the 9th detachment was backed by the water brigade. He had to tell Xu Dalong the actual situation and reminded him that it was impossible to cross the Qingling River. of their water brigade.
Facing the doubtful glances from everyone, Xu Dalong smiled and said: "The questions raised by Deputy Director Sun have been carefully considered. I appreciate this cautious attitude very much. However, the situation is a little different from what you imagined. the difference.
First of all, I want to talk about the Japanese Fourth Division.
As we all know, the eight top-ranked divisions of the Japanese army are veteran divisions of the Japanese army, and their combat effectiveness can completely crush the Japanese sixth garrison division. But what everyone doesn't know is that this fourth division alone is a strange existence. "
Next, Xu Dalong introduced the situation of the Japanese Fourth Division.
The Fourth Division was established in 1888. Its soldiers were mainly composed of vegetable vendors. It was one of the oldest divisions in the Japanese army. This force has four regiments, equipped with first-class weapons and equipment, and can be called the "elite" of the Japanese army. However, not long after its establishment, the reputation of "coward" spread throughout the Japanese army. In particular, the Eighth Regiment, the core unit of the Fourth Division, was nicknamed the "Eighth Regiment Not Afraid of Defeat" because of its repeated defeats in the Russo-Japanese War.
After the Fourth Division entered the Chinese battlefield, its performance was also very strange. Whenever there is a war, the number of sick people among officers and soldiers will surge. In many cases, the number of sick people can exceed half, so that their commanders have to personally sit in the infirmary to supervise whether the soldiers are pretending to be sick. During the war, these guys were even more greedy for life and fearful of death. They would turn around and run away if anything went wrong, and their combat effectiveness was not worth mentioning at all.
But these guys also have strengths, that is, they are good at doing business. Not only do they deal in smuggled items, but they also basically have no restrictions on who they can do business with. Many prohibited items even appear in Guojun's place.
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "This kind of army is just a paper tiger. It looks like it is showing its teeth and claws, but in fact it is not vulnerable at all." Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Huang Shuigen said with admiration: "Captain Xu, I didn't expect you to know so much about the situation of the Japanese army."
Deputy Director Sun and the other commanders of the two detachments of the New Fourth Army were also a little puzzled. They really couldn't figure it out. Xu Dalong was far away in Shanxi and he actually knew the situation here so well. They couldn't help but secretly marveled.
Xu Dalong did not continue talking about this topic.
He said: "Now let me come to the second question. According to the information you provided, the average width of the Qingling River is 60 meters, and the average water depth is about 1.8 meters. Such water depth will indeed hinder the actions of our army, but as long as we are slightly With some modifications, it can be used for free.
The Qingling River is close to Lianhua Mountain. There are many stones on the mountain. If you collect stones from the mountain and throw them into the river to raise the river bed one or two feet, you can ford it on foot. "
After hearing this, everyone suddenly realized.
The captain of the ninth detachment said excitedly: "This is really a good idea! We can build a few more underwater passages on the Qingling River. It is not visible at all from the outside, but our army can quickly cross the Qingling River. In this case, not only will the Qingling River not become an obstacle, but the stones laid on the bottom of the water will form a reef, blocking the Japanese waterborne troops from entering the Qingling River. Kill two birds with one stone."
Everyone also talked about it and said that this method was feasible.
Deputy Director Sun said with emotion: "Captain Xu is meticulous in his observations and quick in thinking. No wonder you can often win battles. Now I have no doubts."
The commanders also expressed their agreement with Xu Dalong's war plan to develop westward.
After three days of preparation, the officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army used the night to lay four underwater passages in the Qingling River. After another day of preparation, they mobilized more than 3,200 officers and soldiers from four brigades to cross the Qingling River in the early morning of the next day. to the Qingling River.
The ensuing battle was as Xu Dalong expected. The Japanese Fourth Division performed extremely poorly in the battle and almost collapsed at the first touch.
After three days of fighting, the New Fourth Army conquered three county towns in succession, captured dozens of small and medium-sized Japanese strongholds, swept away the Japanese and puppet grassroots organizations, annihilated a total of more than 2,600 enemies, and seized a large amount of weapons, ammunition, funds and supplies. , mobilized more than 1,300 young and middle-aged people to join the New Fourth Army.
The Japanese Fourth Division moved very slowly, and it took six days to gather a large number of troops for a counterattack. At this time, the New Fourth Army officers and soldiers had successfully crossed the Qingling River and returned to the base area.
Two days later, the officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army crossed the Qingling River again at night and launched an attack on the Japanese army, annihilating a Japanese infantry brigade and a puppet army battalion.
The Japanese Fourth Division was hit and had to shrink towards Suzhou. The vast rural areas in the four counties east of Suzhou have since become the new guerrilla zones of the New Fourth Army.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Dalong and others have stayed here for 20 days. According to the plan, they planned to stay for another ten days.
Deputy Director Sun and the commanders of the two detachments cherished these ten days and discussed with Xu Dalong and others to plan to launch another large-scale offensive campaign.
At this moment, a telegram was sent from the Taiyue Military Region, asking Xu Dalong and others to return to Shanxi as soon as possible.
Xu Dalong felt a little surprised. It turned out that he had already agreed with the commander that he would stay here for a month. The time has not yet come. He didn't understand why he was urging them to go back now? But he didn't think much about it. After receiving the telegram, he said goodbye to the officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army.
Deputy Director Sun and the commanders of the two detachments worked hard to persuade Xu Dalong and others to stay for a few more days. '
At this time, the military subdivision also sent a telegram. The telegram was jointly sent by Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang, and they told the truth.
It turns out that the outstanding performance of Xu Dalong and others attracted great attention from the New Fourth Army. They admire talents like Xu Dalong very much and have the idea of keeping Xu Dalong in the New Fourth Army. They wrote a report to their superiors, explaining the current development difficulties of the New Fourth Army and its desire for talents. The superiors really had the idea of keeping Xu Dalong in the New Fourth Army.
However, they sought the opinions of the superiors of the Eighth Route Army stationed in Shanxi. Officer Sling was shocked when he heard the news. Although he is a senior commander with an overall view and an open mind, talents like Xu Dalong are really rare and he will not let them go no matter what.
So he asked his superiors for instructions, saying that Xu Dalong was more familiar with the situation in Shanxi and had established strong connections with the local Zhongyang Army, Jinsui Army, and even the Japanese and puppet troops. The role he could play would be Others are irreplaceable, so he can better play his role by staying in Shanxi. I hope the superiors will still keep Xu Dalong in Shanxi.
At the same time, he urgently sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, asking him to return to Shanxi quickly. After Zhang Wanhe heard the news, he became a little anxious. While he sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, he also sent a telegram to Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang, asking them to also send telegrams to urge Xu Dalong to come back quickly.
Deputy Director Sun and the commanders of the 9th and 12th Detachments also heard the news. They tried their best to retain Xu Dalong in order to buy time for their superiors to negotiate with the Eighth Route Army and let Xu Dalong stay in the New Fourth Army.
For this matter, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in Shanxi started a lawsuit. The lawsuit went to the superiors. In the end, the superiors believed that Xu Dalong would be more effective if he stayed in Shanxi and declined the New Fourth Army's request.
Xu Dalong and others are really leaving. After getting along with each other for a period of time, Deputy Director Sun and the New Fourth Army officers and soldiers of the 9th Detachment and the 12th Detachment have developed a deep friendship with Xu Dalong and others. Full of regrets, they reluctantly bid farewell to Xu Dalong and others.
The military commanders were also very concerned about the safety of Xu Dalong and others. The military commanders headquarters notified the military commanders along the way to provide convenience for Xu Dalong and others. Soon after, Xu Dalong and others returned to Chongqing.
After returning to Chongqing, the military boss personally hosted a banquet to welcome Xu Dalong. He said with emotion: "Brother Dalong, you did a great job on this trip to Nanjing. The Americans are very satisfied. In terms of Guofu, I am also very proud. You are really my good brother. I am grateful. I won't say anything else, let's do it together as brothers." After saying that, he raised the wine glass in his hand, clinked it with Xu Dalong and drank it down in one gulp.
You Yukun and Lin Zhongmin who were accompanying him were also very happy and toasted to Xu Dalong one after another.
You Yukun said: "To express my gratitude to Brother Dalong, the boss specially ordered to prepare a gift list for you." After that, he took out a gift list written on red paper and handed it to Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong saw a lot of supplies written on it, including sniper rifles, scopes, time bombs, high explosives and other agent equipment, the value of which was definitely not less than 60,000 to 70,000 oceans.
Xu Dalong was very happy and said: "The boss understands my preferences, brother. These things are treasures and cannot be bought with money. I like them very much."
Seeing Xu Dalong happy, the boss was also very happy.
He nodded, and You Yukun took out another brocade box, placed it on the table, and motioned to Xu Dalong to open it and take a look.
Xu Dalong opened the brocade box, and the contents in the box shone brightly under the light. Xu Dalong's eyes lit up and he quickly took it out and played with it in his hand.
This is a special Browning pistol with a bright yellow body that is actually gold-plated. The handle of the gun is made of ivory and is beautifully carved with patterns.
This gun is not so much a murder weapon as it is a beautiful work of art.
Everyone was very happy to see Xu Dalong couldn't put it down.
You Yukun said: "Brother Dalong, this gun was given to the boss by an important person in the United States. He has always kept it close to him. Usually we don't have the opportunity to appreciate it. However, the boss gave it to you. Yours is The face is really too great.”
Xu Dalong looked at the boss and said sincerely: "Thank you, brother. I will always treasure this gift."
Xu Dalong is smart, capable, considerate, and very popular with everyone. The banquet was filled with people drinking and drinking, and the atmosphere was very lively.
(End of chapter)
