under fire

After the team left the village, they marched for more than three hours and the soldiers were already exhausted.

After crossing a small river, we finally received the order to rest.

The messenger shuttled back and forth among the people lying on the ground and shouted loudly: "Everyone, please pay attention. You are not allowed to go to the river to fetch water, wash your face, feet or hands in the river."

"Liu Platoon Leader, I finally found you," a voice shouted in the darkness, "The Battalion Commander asked you to go to the meeting immediately."

Liu Yuanqing rolled off the stretcher and trotted with the communicator to the makeshift tent.

Liu Yuanqing directly positioned himself as a staff officer, squeezed past the squad leaders who had arrived at the tent first, stood next to the little girl, and smiled at Hu Yi.

The little girl looked around and said, "Almost everyone is here."

"Our current position." Hu Yi said without further ado, pointing to the north of the small river on the simple map placed on the ammunition box: "The first step of the plan is completed, the second step is to quickly get rid of the devils, and the third step is to change everyone's clothes into devils, puppet troops, and the detective team."

Seeing Hu Yi's gaze turning to him, Liu Yuanqing knew it was his turn as the staff officer to take action.

He cleared his throat and began to add details: "Everyone has worked hard in the first step of the forced march. In the second step, you just need to continue running according to the plan. The key is the third step. We will use the enemy's passwords that we have already mastered to directly attack the enemy's weak points of poor communication. We will sneak into the enemy-occupied target area's artillery towers, strongholds, township puppet army camps, township offices as puppet troops. After completing this task, we will use the enemy's telephone system to keep in touch with code words."

Xiao Hongying frowned. Liu Yuanqing was indeed capable, but he was too long-winded. She interrupted him directly: "To put it simply, it's just a cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest."

"That's right..." Liu Yuanqing didn't feel embarrassed at all, and glanced at the squad leaders: "They may not understand what the dove fights the magpie's nest."

"Who among us hasn't seen a turtledove robbing a magpie's nest?" a soldier muttered.

"You're the only one who talks too much." Liu Yuanqing raised his hand and gave the squad leader who was speaking a big slap: "As for how to avoid arousing the suspicion of the puppet army, blend in with them and seize their weapons, repeat the steps!"

The squad leader who was called out had a nervous expression, but his tone was fearless: "First, set up a guard around the artillery tower and the stronghold, then cut the telephone lines that the artillery tower and the stronghold use to communicate with the outside world, and then use the squad as a unit to sneak into the enemy's artillery tower and stronghold under the pretext of checking the telephone lines. If there are Japanese in the artillery tower or stronghold, kill them directly."

Liu Wuqing turned to the squad leaders and asked, "What should we do if we encounter a traitor from the detective team or an unscrupulous citizen who informs us during the perimeter security?"

"Give them false information or just take them to the turret."

"If there are those who resist or refuse to repent, we will enforce battlefield discipline!"

"."

"As long as we can survive the day, the Japanese will know our strengths and weaknesses by night."

"Those puppet troops who are still defending on the spot are still thinking of taking advantage of the situation by waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out. We must make them cry this time!"

"Speaking of the main point!" Liu Yuanqing's face turned black. These bastards always strayed from the main topic when speaking in meetings.

The traffic officer of the division was fortunate enough to be present and said: "It seems easy to deceive the Japanese and puppet troops in the artillery towers and strongholds, but it is actually very difficult. Everyone must be careful."

"What are you worried about? I'll tie a circle of explosives around my chest when we enter the turret. If they doubt our identities, I'll just rip off our clothes and those cowards will surrender."

The courier said seriously: "What will you do if the enemy still refuses to surrender?"

"I'll pull the fuse directly!" The squad leader looked determined.

"I like your fearless character!" Liu Yuanqing patted the shoulder of the squad leader who spoke again: "After this incident, if you are not blown to pieces, come to my side and be the deputy platoon leader."

The monitor was delighted: "If you keep your word, you are a puppy if you go back on your word!"

"You are now the acting deputy commander of the reconnaissance platoon!" Liu Yuanqing didn't waste any more time: "Next, I will tell you the details of how to get rid of the Japanese chasing behind you."

A voice suddenly sounded outside the tent.

"Reporting to the battalion commander, the platoon of security forces that had been chased ahead could no longer run and hid in the reeds along the riverbank. After being discovered, they all surrendered."

"Now that there are no puppet troops running ahead, it would be more troublesome to run into plainclothes teams or detective teams."

"We now have the enemy's passwords and know the numbers of nearby enemies. What's the difference between disguising as puppet soldiers and chasing after them?" "This is the enemy's core occupied area. The puppet soldiers are familiar with the place and they are still useful." Liu Yuanqing had a plan in the morning: "Seize all their ammunition and bayonets, keep their rifles for now, and notify Dagou to escort them to continue running. If there are those who really can't run, enforce battlefield discipline on the spot!"

The traffic officer was stunned for a moment: "Killing prisoners?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Our Ninth Battalion firmly implements the Eighth Route Army's policy of treating prisoners well." Xiao Hongying paused here and said, "Wang Shun's troops have not been formally incorporated yet."

After saying that, the little girl stuck her head out and gave orders to Wen Wuquan who came to report the news, telling him to get out immediately.

The squad and platoon leaders of the Ninth Battalion immediately understood what he meant.

The courier exchanged glances with the divisional spy platoon leader who came over to communicate: Can you do this?

The meeting continues.

Liu Yuanqing emphasized the details of the plan: "The plains are vast and sparsely populated. When attacking the enemy's artillery towers, the scouts in each team must catch the enemy's tongue and find out the enemy's situation. If they encounter a puppet army battalion-level or above team, they should bypass it, and directly capture the puppet army guarding the company-platoon level.

If there is no chance to capture the enemy's artillery towers and strongholds, you can choose to find a village to temporarily station.

There is no need to worry even if a battle breaks out in broad daylight. We have people all around, and we can basically ensure that news of the battle will not get out within a five-mile radius.

Even if those traitors found that something was not right, they could not report the situation to the Japanese by phone, and it would take at least one or two hours for the news to reach the county on foot. The Japanese would need time to verify the news, and then inform the mopping-up Japanese puppet army team. It would take at least half a day for them to assemble and move to our hiding place, and by that time, it would be almost dark.

The team should remain dispersed but not disbanded. After the team is dispersed, they should hide according to the actual situation and should not move to a new place without the permission of the commander at the next higher level...

In addition, the teams that occupied enemy artillery towers, strongholds, and township offices immediately restored telephones and used codewords to keep in touch with nearby teams. The liaison officers of the troops stationed in the village disguised themselves as detectives riding bicycles.

Liu Yuanqing didn’t spend much time telling the story.

After the meeting, Hu Yi immediately arranged to disengage from the pursuing Japanese troops, and the brief meeting was declared over.

The platoon leader of the division exchange walked out of the tent with an excited look on his face: "Only one squad of soldiers disguised as devils captured half of the puppet army company without firing a single shot. We learned something!"

"We captured two platoons of puppet soldiers and seized more than 60 rifles, two light machine guns, and countless bullets." The courier looked envious.

"Captain Li asked us to come here for an exchange, so this trip was not in vain." The exchange squad leader envisioned the future: "Many teachers in our division can speak bird language. We will do the same when we return!"

"Some things can be done, but they can't be done in a big way," the traffic officer shook his head.

"What?"

"The superiors have issued strict orders many times that the Eighth Route Army should fight against the Japanese with dignity and not encourage assassinations or espionage activities."

"The superiors said it was not encouraged, not prohibited." The platoon leader of the division shook his head and said, "The 9th Battalion has opened my eyes. During this exchange, I feel that my ideological awareness has improved rapidly."

The traffic officer looked worried: "I think you might be going in the wrong direction."

"Haha, in the past, we captured Kuomintang prisoners, gave them travel expenses, and then let them go. That was really a loss."

"Those people in the old reactionary army are very bad."

"I heard that Instructor Liu was also a member of the National Army."

"Shut up!" The traffic officer said sternly, "The subdistrict is trying to rectify the situation. You'll have to keep this to yourself forever."

The visibility under the moonlight is not very far.

Li Laosi followed behind the team with a Mauser pistol in his hand.

Looking at the communicator's receding back, he stopped and looked back carefully at the road he had come.

A dark figure ran up from behind: "Report, the Japanese scouts are less than a mile away from us, and the enemy's main force is not far behind them."

"The Japanese have been chasing me for so long, it's time to teach them a lesson." Li Laosi turned around and said in a low voice: "Execute the blocking mission!" (End of this chapter)