under fire

The sun had just risen, and a squadron of Japanese soldiers formed a line and marched south along the east bank of the canal towards the morning glow.

Behind them followed a large number of puppet troops, who carried out continuous sweeps and sweeps.

The purpose of the autumn security crackdown in western Shandong is clear: to open up canal shipping.

The means of this mopping-up operation were different from the previous ones. The devils drove the common people to the banks of the Luxi Canal, trying to replace all the people along the canal with good citizens!

However, the news that the mopping-up force had been ambushed and suffered heavy losses in Donglu Village quickly spread.

The Japanese and puppet forces quickly adjusted their deployment and mobilized nearby troops to provide large-scale reinforcements to western Shandong.

People from all walks of life were worried about the Japanese's measures to strengthen public security, and even the puppet army that followed the Japanese in the raids were dissatisfied.

The reason for joining the Japanese was to save one's life and to ensure that one's family could survive in the chaotic times.

So, when the puppet soldiers whose homes were along the canal heard that the Japanese were going to relocate their families, many of them began to think of ways to deal with it.

The timid ones can only accept their fate, while the brave ones just desert with their guns.

All Chinese people have a complex about being reluctant to leave their homeland, even if they move to a better place, they may not be willing!

The terrain of the plain is flat, and it is almost impossible to stay near home and avoid the Japanese's dragnet-style sweeps. The only way is to escape!

Come back after the Japanese raid is over!

The villagers along the canal are not the kind of people who work hard all day long. Some of them even take boats along the canal to Tianjin and Beijing. They are knowledgeable and can use their connections to find a place to hide temporarily.

Hu Yi is very clear about the role of the radio station.

But it is impossible for the front-line command to take an ordinary combat battalion seriously.

Therefore, the only one Hu Yi could contact now was the division. So, when the Japanese increased their troops along the canal, he was the first to receive the news.

To the west of the canal, there is a battalion of wounded soldiers led by Captain Li stationed in Kanzhuang, and the situation is not optimistic.

Even if you knew in advance that the Japanese were about to raid, it would not be easy to hide.

The canal flows quietly in the early morning.

After breakfast, gunshots suddenly rang out from the north. The gunshots were not just one or two, but soon became dense, and eventually even light machine guns began to fire, and finally explosions began to be heard.

The village was in chaos in the early morning, with children crying and adults shouting to carry food, catch chickens, drive dogs, lead cows and herd sheep.

A soldier ran desperately in the morning glow, panting as he jumped over the ditch between the green tents, ran across the bridge, and rushed into the noisy and chaotic village, shouting anxiously: "Battalion Commander, where is the battalion commander? Battalion Commander..."

A middle-aged soldier passed by the village and held the anxious soldier: "What happened!"

"A large number of Japanese soldiers are sweeping in from the north! Hurry up and organize the villagers to evacuate. There are too many Japanese soldiers. Our battalion will definitely not be able to stop them!"

Captain Li immediately turned around and shouted, "First and Second Company Commanders, take your men to the north to block the attack!"

The soldier who delivered the message looked anxious: "Don't block them. The underground comrades have sent us news that the Japanese are followed by armored vehicles. The trenches we dug can't stop them at all. Let's go!"

"We have to stop them even if we can't. Second Company Commander, take the villagers and evacuate them immediately. Special Agents Platoon, immediately organize the villagers who can swim to cross the canal and head west."

Captain Li’s reconnaissance platoon had just been established three days ago.

The Eighth Route Army's tenacious fighting style and strict military discipline won broad support from the people. A large number of young people rushed to join the army, causing its size to expand rapidly.

The large-scale reorganization of the troops initiated by the superiors has been going on for a long time, but some combat troops have not had time to reorganize.

Battalion Commander Li belonged to the type of unit that had not had time to be reorganized, and the organization of the battalion was almost entirely decided by the regiment.

However, if a reconnaissance platoon is temporarily added in the battalion based on actual conditions, there is no need to report to the regiment.

Your superiors won’t care how many companies you have in a battalion. As long as you have the ability to get people and guns, you can have ten companies.

Who among the villagers doesn’t know what kind of people the Japanese are?

Even so, there are still people who don't believe it!

Seeing two soldiers shouting in a yard, Captain Li couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you leave?"

The soldier looked aggrieved: "They said the Imperial Army came for the Greater East Asia. Co-prosperity, they won't leave"

Another soldier nearby quickly explained: "Mr. Ma's son is a company commander in the puppet army. If he says he wants to leave, then we leave."

Captain Li walked into the yard and said, "Mr. Ma, you should know how cruel the Japanese are. Pack up and leave here."

An old man in his 50s in a long gown in the yard drank tea leisurely: "If you want to leave, go ahead. I don't believe in your nonsense."

"you"

"If you guys hadn't been causing trouble all the time, would the Imperial Army have killed people?" Captain Li was dumbfounded: "You mean, the little Japanese soldiers hold their butcher knives high, and we have to stretch out our necks for them to chop?"

"Don't quibble. You just want to take advantage of us to rob the crops in my field." Mr. Ma curled his lips and said, "The Qian family across the river suffered a great disaster because of your attack on Qinghe County."

"The people who robbed their house were the Qinghe County Security Force."

“Even if you tell me a lot, I won’t believe you. If you hadn’t attacked the county, would their family have suffered such a disaster?”

Captain Li was furious and waved his hand to the soldiers: "Take them away!"

Mr. Ma opened his gown and pulled out a grenade: "Try it!"

Captain Li was stunned and stamped his feet: "Since you are unwilling, you will bear the consequences yourself!"

After speaking, he turned around.

The figures of the soldiers quickly disappeared into the village alleys.

The panicked crowd ran south along the green gauze road on the east bank of the canal.

Some people entered the reed marsh and quickly pushed out the large and small boats hidden there.

Grain and livestock were loaded onto the boats first. In order to increase the one-time transport capacity, those who could swim jumped into the water, holding onto the side of the boat with one hand and paddling with the other. More than ten small boats soon drifted to the other side of the canal.

A company of more than a hundred people quickly ran towards the north where there was intensive gunfire.

"Second Captain, immediately arrange for the Fourth Platoon to organize militiamen to carry the wounded away." Li Ying gave the second captain a new order, then started running north with the guard platoon.

Having experienced many raids by the Japanese, the surviving villagers all had experience in escaping.

You don't need to bring too much food, just enough to last for ten days or half a month.

The rest of the grain was buried in a cellar that had been dug earlier and covered with soil. No one could find it unless the Japanese and puppet troops scraped the ground three times.

The key is efficiency. In just over ten minutes, all the villagers had been evacuated except for two families who were unwilling to leave.

It was already bright, and the few families who remained in the village had their doors closed.

Although I'm not afraid in my heart, I'm still a little scared.

When Captain Li arrived at his company's blocking position where the smoke had not yet dissipated, the company had just repelled a vanguard squad of the Japanese.

He walked from the left to the right of the team, patting the soil in the trench from time to time.

Cheer up the soldiers.

According to his previous combat experience, he should hold the line here for a while longer.

Buy more time for the villagers to transfer.

Suddenly, he thought of something and said, "Gombardier, place booby traps in the trenches immediately. Everyone else, retreat to the second line of defense."

The first line of defense we are now in is actually just slightly raising the northern side of the irrigation canal.

The second line of defense is naturally another canal running parallel to it.

"Isn't it a waste to put mines in the trenches?" the bombardier looked puzzled.

"Hey, when the enemy comes up and we open fire, do you think they will have to find cover?"

"The devil, it seems that he is not that afraid of death"

"Follow the order!" After saying that, he ran towards the canal about a hundred meters south.

He growled hoarsely, "Shovel the soil from the south side of the ditch to the north side, and make sure it is compacted."

A soldier ran over and said, "Report to the battalion commander, the Japanese are coming around from the east."

"What did you say? The Japs didn't continue to attack from the front?" Captain Li was dumbfounded.

"Report, a Japanese motorboat was spotted north of the canal" (End of this chapter)