At dusk, fierce gunfire rang out again from the west.
Hu Yi jumped off his bicycle, took the telescope handed over by Ma Liang, looked west, and then turned the lens south, carefully observing the cavalry who got into the river but was stuck in the river unable to advance or retreat.
Finally, I looked carefully at the side of the stone bridge close to the Japanese. In a small arch bridge hole next to the big arch, a bunch of explosive packets suddenly appeared in the telescope. I felt nervous and frowned.
"Brother, the troops have gathered together, and the people from the district team have to help carry the wounded." Ma Liang accompanied Hu Yi, also facing the south side of the bridge. His eyes looked further, and there were some dilapidated buildings to the east in the distance. The county seat is half hidden in the sunset, like a turtle.
Hu Yi did not look back, slightly adjusted the focus of the telescope, and asked casually: "How is Li Xiang's condition?"
"The two pieces of shrapnel on his back have been taken out, and they have been sewn and bandaged. The doctor in the district said that as long as he doesn't have a fever, he can rest for two months and he will be fine."
"How far away are the Japs behind?"
"Five miles away! Next...should we swim across the river?"
"It's not necessary. The Japs have buried explosives under the bridge. This is a bit troublesome." Hu Yi began to worry that the Japs would definitely blow up the bridge. Even if the veterans of the Ninth Company were able to swim across the river, many of the new recruits couldn't swim, so the situation was a bit complicated. .
"Ah?" Ma Liang quickly took the telescope from Hu Yi and looked at the stone bridge to find the location of the explosive pack.
"If the Japanese blow up the bridge, we...this armored vehicle can't cross the river, then it will be useless..." Ma Liang was startled.
"So, you immediately arrange for someone to remove the heavy machine gun from the armored vehicle!"
"Can you drive the armored vehicle north, find a place to dig a hole, and bury the armored vehicle?"
"The armored vehicle left the road, it's nothing. What's more, this time it's right under the Japs' noses. They will scratch the ground and find the armored vehicle..."
...
The division commander also held up the binoculars. Under the careful pointing of the scout, he also saw the explosive packets piled in the bridge hole under the stone bridge. Several division commanders who had just arrived next to him followed the commander's gaze. Point in the direction.
The staff officer withdrew his gaze from the map: "The Japs' leading troops behind are launching a full-scale attack. We can't stay here for too long. It will be more difficult for the Japs to get rid of them after the troops come up. We can either attack directly now or move north immediately. !”
"We have so many wounded people. It's impossible to get rid of the Japanese just by speed!" The commander put down his binoculars, took off his military cap and let the breeze spread.
"What should we do? Our Eighth Route Army does not give up on the wounded!" The staff officer looked worried.
"Even if the wounded man's wound is infected by water, he still has to go through the river!" The commander looked grim.
"Is this stone bridge really impossible to take down?" The staff officer held a glimmer of hope.
The commander shook his head: "The explosives under the bridge... I estimate it is at least one or two hundred kilograms. The Japanese are really generous. They probably want to wait until we get on the bridge before blowing up the stone bridge."
The staff officer was helpless: "Then... we don't need to attack now. Should I inform the troops to prepare to cross the river now?"
The commander suddenly seemed to have thought of something: "Wait a minute, it will be dark soon. Immediately ask the scouts to find out the distance of the large Japanese army behind. Then, order the blocking troops, even if they are all exposed, to keep the enemy's large forces at bay." Troops cannot attack within one mile of the stone bridge!"
"What do you mean?" the staff officer raised his head and asked.
The commander seemed to have suddenly made up his mind: "All the troops who arrived here early will immediately turn north along the river. The cavalry regiment will take the lead and find a place to cross the river at all costs. After dark, they will fight back south along the river and make an all-out effort. Defeat the enemy on the other side!"
"What you mean is: Let the enemy on the other side think that we are all crossing the river, and they won't blow up the stone bridge in order to make it easier for the Japanese troops behind to cross the river?"
"Yes, if we can capture the stone bridge by then, our wounded logistics team will kill a damn carbine and wait for an opportunity to cross the river before the Japanese army arrives."
"Then what if the Japanese still blow up the bridge?"
"Then swim across the river!"
"But many warriors don't know how to swim!"
"Let someone who can swim take it with you."
"Can we allow the soldiers to break away from the northern branch?"
"The Japs' skirmishers are so wide open. Even if they temporarily leave the battlefield, will they be able to outrun the Japs' cavalry in the end?"
"With our Eighth Route Army's marching ability, we should have no problem covering seventy or eighty miles in one night!"
"There are blockades and strongholds everywhere in the north. Those Japanese soldiers must have strengthened their defenses long ago. It will be difficult to escape."
"Sooner or later, the Japanese will dig trenches and build strongholds in this area."
"As soon as the team gathers together, head north immediately. You can make arrangements!" The commander did not expect that the puppet army and a dozen Japanese soldiers who had thought they were about to collapse would actually blow up the bridge, and he couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
The commanders nearby immediately dispersed and went back to their units to make arrangements for heading north.
...
On the city gate.
The city tower had long since been demolished, leaving behind a small temporary shed erected by the puppet troops to shade the city from the sun.
On the earthen city wall, three layers of sandbags were laid out as bunkers in several gaps where there were no arrow stacks.
It was still hot up there after being exposed to the sun all day, but it was much cooler than in the afternoon.
Tang Dagou held up the telescope borrowed from Xiao Hongying and observed the situation at the stone bridge in the west of the city in boredom.
Outside the suspension bridge on the moat, there is a large open space, 400 meters away. Most of the policemen from the Japanese and puppet army reconnaissance teams are lying in temporary ditches dug on both sides of a fan-shaped machine gun position at the east end of the bridge. A dozen puppet troops are still going on. dig.
The telescope lens happened to be facing the sunset that was about to set. The scene was a bit blurry and most details could not be seen clearly.
The cavalry wearing Japanese uniforms was almost two miles away. With his many years of experience, he was a little confused.
Those cavalrymen were in battle formation. Could it be that the cavalrymen who had passed by in the morning were back?
But the attack direction of the cavalry battle formation turned out to be Shiqiao. These devils really knew how to play. Did they start fighting among themselves?
Could it be that the Japanese knew his true identity? Ready to fight back?
Did the Japs in the city escape on purpose because they were short of troops?
Then let yourself follow him out of the city and have a massacre?
But building a machine gun fortification next to a stone bridge and digging trenches? What does this mean?
Dagou felt that his mind was in a mess, and he suddenly discovered that being an official didn't seem so prestigious!
There is no way to be a big-headed soldier!
You don’t have to think about anything, just follow the orders and send reinforcements wherever the gunfire is sparse. How great!
"Did you see any tricks?" Xiao Hongying grabbed the telescope and asked.
"What the hell, judging from the formation...the Japanese are going to fight among themselves!" Big Dog had to express his opinion.
"Your judgment is really innovative! Except for three special words, what you said to me is exactly the same!" Tian Sanqi couldn't help but sarcastically said.
"What time has it been? Are you talking about this? The troops below have been gathering for a long time. If we don't leave the city, the Japanese will doubt us!" Old Zhou next to him frowned.
"You are so impatient. When have you ever seen... a security team that can be assembled within half an hour?" The big dog didn't care.
"There are cavalry on the opposite side, and the people guarding the bridge are the enemy. There is a lively fighting to the west. Could it be our people coming? Are they going to set up defenses along the river?" A pigtail on her head, holding up a telescope to view the scenery, how could she know that she was also someone else? eye-catching scenery.
"Hey...that...Boss Hu, look...there is a person holding a telescope on the county wall. She really looks like a girl..." Luo Fugui, who was bored and probably almost recovered from his injuries, was sitting Playing with telescopes on a stretcher.
"Hehe, do you really think that with a telescope, you become a clairvoyant? You can see from a hundred or two hundred miles away?"
"It's your grandma's, I mean that person has an evil thing on his head, it looks a bit like..." Luo Fugui put down the telescope, three miles away, with a four-fold Cao long mirror, he saw a ghost when he could see it.
"Then... lend me the telescope and see if you can see my mother in my hometown..." Wang Liujin felt that this joke was not funny at all.
