under fire

At night, there are lingering clouds, a crescent moon and a gentle breeze.

The wilderness is like ink.

Insects chirped constantly.

A dark figure on a bicycle was speeding along the bumpy dirt road.

Hurrying through one sorghum field after another.

A village with bright lights appeared ahead.

The black shadow did not slow down at all. He only jumped off the bicycle at the village entrance and whispered for a while with the person who was on guard at the entrance.

Then he pushed his bicycle with one hand into the village and came to the gate of a courtyard where the sound of finger-guessing games and shouting could be heard.

He leaned the bicycle against the wall and went forward to knock on the gate.

Soon, someone opened the gate from the inside, and the yard was brightly lit.

The shadow looked carefully and found that there were more than ten tables in the yard, and nearly a hundred people were sitting around the tables.

Most people didn't pay attention to the arrival of the shadow.

The shadowy figure came to the main table where people were drinking and playing drinking games, and whispered to the man with a face full of flesh and bare chest pouring wine into his mouth: "Captain Ma, don't drink yet."

"Hei San?" The fat on Captain Ma's face trembled, and he quickly put down his wine cup: "Is the lady here to check the sentry?"

"Not really." The man nicknamed Heisan answered in a low voice, "It was the regiment commander who gave us the mission."

"I came out to sweep the place and I can't even drink the wine. It's really bad luck." Captain Ma picked up the wine cup on the table and drank it all. He exhaled and asked, "What's the mission?"

"The regiment commander said that hundreds of Eighth Route Army soldiers broke through the blockade of the Imperial Army to the north and are heading towards our defense zone. The Imperial Army is chasing them. The regiment commander ordered our entire regiment to deploy defenses on the spot overnight." Hei San lowered his voice: "The regiment commander also said that if we find the Eighth Route Army, we should not fight them head-on, but just block their way."

"Hundreds? How come so many Eighth Route Army soldiers came out?" Captain Ma was half sober: "Are you sure the Eighth Route Army soldiers are coming our way?"

"I'm not sure about that. The higher-ups just said that the Eighth Route Army ran north, and they also said that they might be disguised as the Imperial Army. The regiment commander asked me to inform everyone in our regiment not to sleep tonight and to spread out to the fields to set up defenses. Oh, and the regiment commander also said that not even a fly can be let go."

"Stop drinking, everyone! Let's get to work!" Captain Ma slammed his hand on the table and said, "Listen to me, everyone! Get dressed immediately and gather at the grain field outside the village. We have a mission!"

As soon as Captain Ma finished speaking, a burst of complaints was heard in the yard.

Someone quickly picked up the wine jar and ran to the side, while someone put the peanuts on the table into their pockets.

Then he hurriedly put on the military uniform that was on the stool next to him, and hurriedly pulled the rifle that was leaning against the wall.

After a while.

Captain Ma paced back and forth in the grain field, watching his men finally line up in a chaotic formation. "Damn it, listen carefully, spread out to the east and west with the village as the center. The first row goes to the east of the village, the second row goes to the west of the village, and the third row stays in the village as a reserve. Don't let even a fly go."

After thinking for a while, he gave another order: "Hei San, when you go to notify the Second Company stationed in Dongcun, tell them to form a line with our defense line."

Hei San, who came to report the news, grabbed a chicken leg, turned around and ran out of the courtyard, and rode his bicycle out of the village in a hurry to the east.

The platoon leader under Captain Ma looked worried: "Captain, what if these hundreds of Eighth Route Army soldiers really come towards us?"

Captain Ma shook his head and said, "It's dark, even if we fight them, who knows who will not give them face."

"Well, why don't we just light up a house and let the Eighth Route Army know we are here?"

"Your brain is full of tofu dregs, if the imperial army knew that we deliberately exposed ourselves, would there be any good consequences?"

Time passed by minute by minute.

After a long wait.

There was not even a shadow of a soul to be seen from the security forces lying in the ditch outside the Yewai Village.

Some people began to doze off.

...

The moon is dark and the wind is high.

Tang Dagou pulled the shoulder strap of his rifle and walked slowly towards the north.

His eyes were constantly scanning the darkness ahead.

The plain was dark after nightfall, and the village far ahead was dark and silent.

Occasionally there would be the barking of dogs, but there was nothing unusual in the wilderness except the chirping of autumn insects.

Behind him, a team of "Imperial Army" walked in an orderly manner.

Suddenly a dark shadow ran back from the front.

Panting, he came to the big dog and stopped, turning sideways and pointing at the hazy village under the faint moonlight: "There's something going on ahead!"

The big dog stopped and looked at the soldier from the division: "Are you sure?" "Yes, my home is in this village." The soldier quickly replied: "There are people in the fields outside the village, and there are quite a few of them."

"how do you know"

"When I was young, I often played in the fields after the autumn harvest. I knew exactly which crickets in the east of the village were male or female."

"Boy, you have a bright future. Follow me in the future."

"Hey, platoon leader, I want to go into the village for some reconnaissance," the soldier said anxiously, and wanted to run towards the village.

"Wait." Dagou stopped him: "During this raid, the Japanese moved all the villagers away every time they arrived at a village. Something must have happened in the village."

"I know the Japanese have already moved all the villagers away." The soldier looked in the direction of the village and said hurriedly, "The distance between the Japanese blockade and the second defense line will not be too far, so there may be security forces stationed in this village. I want to find out which bastard did this."

"We are heading north with great fanfare. The Japs must have spread the news. Are we going in now to get killed?"

"Platoon leader, please let me sneak into the village and take a look." the soldier begged.

The big dog shook his head: "You idiot, what are we wearing now? It's the Japanese military uniform. Is it necessary to sneak into the village?"

soon.

A squad of Imperial Army soldiers, armed with flashlights, hurried toward the village.

The big dog shouted in a low voice: "Listen carefully, everyone follow me and chant Etskanishama"

"I eat the card and you kill the horse."

When the news reached the back of the team, several soldiers kept muttering: "I'll eat your mother to death!"

"Instructor Hong, what does this bird language mean?"

Xiao Hongying explained with a stern face: "It means thank you for your hard work."

"Everyone shut up." When the team was about 200 meters away from the village, Big Dog began to give orders in a low voice: "March in order. Wenwuquan, you take two people to the east of the village to guard. The other three go to the west of the village."

In the ditch east of the village.

The security forces who were lying on the ground were a little confused as they looked at the neat team coming towards them with flashlights in the moonlight.

A security soldier whispered: "Why are the imperial troops here?"

A security soldier who was on a reconnaissance mission crouched down and crept across the open ground. "Platoon leader, there's something wrong with this group of imperial soldiers. I vaguely heard them saying our language."

"In other words, those people are the Eighth Route Army pretending to be the Grand Master?"

"It must be!" the security force in charge of reconnaissance insisted.

"What are you waiting for? Kill them!" Platoon Leader Zhi gritted his teeth and became ruthless.

"They have quite a few people," the squad leader reminded him, "and we are a bit far away from them now, aren't we?"

"The company commander and the others are still in the village and may not know about this situation." After thinking for a moment, Platoon Leader Zhi raised the Mauser pistol in his hand and fired two random shots towards the south of the village.

Bang. Bang.

The sudden sound of warning shots from the east of Yuexia Village broke the silence of the night.

After firing a warning shot, the platoon leader immediately stood up from the ditch and said, "Brothers, follow me and surround that group of Eighth Route Army soldiers in the south of the village."

The sudden sound of gunfire from the east of the village startled the big dog: "Lie down."

When the voice ended, his body had already fallen to the ground, the butt of the gun against his shoulder, the muzzle pointing to the open space to the east.

Then he yelled, "Damn it, where the hell are you?"

"Platoon Leader, what do you mean by that?"

"Stupid, there is an ambush." ​​The big dog explained the meaning of the bird language just now.

"What? An ambush?" The squad leader was shocked and ordered his men directly: "The machine gun team will cover the attack of the first squad and occupy the village first."

The big dog was speechless and cursed in a low voice: "You idiot, what I just said was: idiot, there is an ambush. I said it on purpose for the security forces in the village to hear."

"Ah?" The squad leader was a little confused.

A team of nearly 200 people followed a platoon of large dogs disguised as Japanese devils for about a mile.

Hu Yi was speechless after hearing the gunshots coming from the north.

"Da Gou and the others might have been discovered by the enemy." Liu Yuanqing, who also heard the gunshots, trotted to Hu Yi's side.

"It should be." Hu Yi thought for a while: "Everyone attack, surround the village, and fight quickly and decisively!" (End of this chapter)