under fire

The sky is brightening.

The bad news came one after another.

The major suddenly received a new order from headquarters, instructing him to lead his troops to deploy defenses at Baidukou on the west bank of the canal.

The North China Transportation Sabotage Team was well-equipped with explosives and skilled personnel, and carried out blasting operations on the Pinghan Railway day and night.

A certain Eighth Route Army unit that came out of the Taihang Mountains carried out rampant damage to the railway line, tearing up the rails and digging up the roadbed, and even taking away the sleepers and ballast stones.

Just as the northern section was repaired, another mile of the southern section was torn up.

The railway line was too long. Although the Japanese and puppet troops had sufficient guards, they could not withstand the Eighth Route Army concentrating their forces to attack one point.

They concentrated their forces to ambush and lure the Eighth Route Army into a decisive battle, and for a short time, they could not find the Eighth Route Army's whereabouts.

All kinds of materials looted along the railway line and a large amount of grain collected after the autumn harvest needed to be transported to Tianjin Port for loading onto ships and sent to the Pacific battlefield.

The armored patrol vehicle was parked on the tracks, and the Japanese soldiers on board could only watch helplessly as the roadbed, with even the sleepers being moved, was left unattended.

The Japanese engineers, exhausted from working day and night to repair the train, could only keep moving intermittently.

Fortunately, the summer rainstorm caused the water level of the Weihe section of the Grand Canal, which had been closed to navigation for many years since the Yellow River breached its banks at Huayuankou, to rise.

Reopening the canal for transportation was of great importance to the Japanese invaders in North China.

They secretly deployed troops along the canal to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

Unlike railways, canals cannot be destroyed by even the most skilled local militia.

With gunboats and puppet troops escorting the convoy, plus aerial reconnaissance, it would be extremely difficult for the Eighth Route Army to ambush them.

The major was still unwilling to give up.

He assigned the task of pursuing the fleeing Eighth Route Army to his deputy, who led a company of Imperial Army soldiers and a battalion of puppet army soldiers who had not yet caught up, to continue the pursuit.

It is more than 20 li north of the east bank of the canal.

Neither Hu Yi nor Battalion Commander Li slept; they sat on the riverbank and talked all night until dawn.

First, a scout reported that a large number of Japanese soldiers had been discovered on the south side of the east bank of the canal.

Secondly, a huge explosion was heard from the south bank of the canal.

Hu Yi initially judged that Yang Chengzhi, who remained on the west bank, had engaged in a firefight with the Japanese soldiers pursuing him on the west bank of the canal.

With the combined strength of the Ninth Battalion and a company under Battalion Commander Li, they were simply no match for the large number of Japanese soldiers who suddenly appeared on both sides of the canal.

Since that's the case, the only option is to disperse and stay away from this place of trouble.

Before dawn, the Ninth Battalion left for Donggu Town.

Battalion Commander Li led his troops back to their base near the Japanese troops stationed on the east bank of the canal.

There are still over a hundred wounded people there who need to be transferred.
About two hundred miles south along the canal.

There is a village called Xiyongjian.

The village is located about 20 miles southwest of Neihuang County.

About eight miles to the west of the Grand Canal, the canal extends north for about eight miles before turning east at a right angle.

From an aerial view, the western and northern sides of Xiyongjian Village are both about eight li (approximately 4 kilometers) from the canal.

The canal forms a series of zigzag bends after it turns east.

At this time, a force of about one battalion from the Fifth Military Sub-district was hiding in the village.

The Weihe Detachment was actually a county brigade organized from several nearby counties.

Some time ago, the main force of the Eighth Route Army captured Huaxian County, where the puppet troops were changing garrisons.

The Japanese and puppet troops' autumn mopping-up operations were not completely over, and a counterattack could occur at any time.

After receiving the order to attack the Japanese fleet that was reopening the transport route through the Grand Canal, Yuan Jianxun, the political director of the Weihe County Brigade, directly took over Li Huanzhang, the most capable fighter in the brigade.

Before the Japanese arrived, Director Yuan decided to have Li Huanzhang, who had studied at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in the division, share his combat experience with the soldiers.

As the saying goes, "Even last-minute preparation can be effective."

More than two hundred people sat in the audience under the village stage.

Director Yuan raised his hand to urge everyone on: "Comrades, Comrade Li Huanzhang recently attended a training session at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. Today, instead of focusing on work, let's share some combat experience with you. Let's all give him a round of applause."

"it is good"

"Welcome, Comrade Li, to give your report."

Li Huanzhang strode onto the village stage.

The soldiers in the detachment widened their eyes immediately when they saw the person walking onto the stage.

They all looked on with envy.

He had a Mauser pistol slung across his shoulder, a Type 38 rifle on his back, binoculars hanging from his chest, a grenade on each side of his chest, leather military boots, and a Japanese-style leather belt. Was he here to show off?
This is not Li Huanzhang's fault.

Almost all the company and platoon commanders in the 9th Battalion of the Independent Regiment had this set of equipment, except for binoculars.

Armed with a Mauser pistol and a rifle, Li Huanzhang's equipment finally surpassed that of a platoon-level commander in the Ninth Battalion through his efforts.

No matter where they are, they are always fully armed whenever they are on duty.

He never felt that being fully armed was a burden.

It's not for showing off.

Instead, they subconsciously believed that they must learn from the Ninth Battalion.

Almost everyone who came into contact with the Ninth Battalion was easily influenced by it.

Therefore, he automatically made equipping the Ninth Battalion commander a routine matter.

Li Huanzhang even picked up a smattering of the shameless behavior of that bear from the Ninth Battalion.

Looking at the soldiers in the detachment with envious eyes as they wore patched-up uniforms, he said, "Ahem, comrades, you may envy my equipment, but as long as we work hard, I believe that after this battle, everyone can reach this level!"

The applause was sparse.
"That's a huge exaggeration."

"If I had this equipment, I could take on three Japanese soldiers by myself, no questions asked!"

Li Huanzhang ignored the discussions among the soldiers of the detachment below; some things, no matter how much you say, may not be believed by anyone.

"My biggest takeaway from my studies in the division is that learning makes you progress." He paused here, then continued, "If I were to talk about theory, I doubt my comrades would be interested. I'll focus on the combat experience I learned from other units."

"I like hearing this," the soldiers in the detachment quickly shut up.

They're all soldiers in the same unit, and his gear is so flashy—what if his dream comes true?
Li Huanzhang's voice became calm, unlike the impassioned speeches of many leaders: "Mobile warfare is mainly divided into infiltration warfare, ambush warfare, and positional warfare. This time, we are facing a very strong enemy, so I want to emphasize one word to everyone, which is speed. We must seize the initiative on the battlefield, concentrate our forces to form a local advantage, and launch a rapid offensive against the enemy with superior firepower."

"To complete a combat mission, a prerequisite is to understand the enemy's situation in advance, which is what we commonly call reconnaissance."

Li Huanzhang studied combat theory against the enemy at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University during his time in the division. He also assisted the Ninth Battalion in launching several ambushes against the Japanese and puppet troops, accumulating considerable practical experience.

Since its departure, the Ninth Battalion has continued to lead its soldiers in independent counter-offensive operations against the enemy.

He finally realized that the combat experience he learned from the Ninth Battalion was completely different from what he had experienced when he could only passively cover and move around to fight guerrilla warfare during enemy sweeps.

They launched numerous ambushes and mobile infiltration operations, achieving victory on every occasion.

His command skills are far superior to those of ordinary company-level commanders in the brigade.

He is now one of the most competent company commanders in the Fifth Military Sub-district.

Even the division commander, Zhu Chengsi, intended to appoint him as the company commander of the Fifth Division's Special Service Company after the enemy's autumn mopping-up operation this year.

The dispersed group walked along the east bank of the canal, where yellow sand filled the sky.

The leading Imperial Army lieutenant had a scar on his face.

The lieutenant would occasionally raise his binoculars to look towards the canal to the west.

"Reporting, Captain Ma, a call from above: the Fifth Division has set up an ambush at the continuous backwater bend of the Xiyong Jianwei River." A Japanese soldier jogged up to the imposter Lieutenant Ma Liang.

“The fleet has Japanese gunboats, and there are puppet troops escorting them on foot on both banks. The Fifth Military Sub-district has no heavy firepower, so they can’t stop the Japanese fleet.” Ma Liang shook his head. The water level of the canal has risen, and the river has become wider. Ambushing on the canal is a joke.

He pondered all the way and considered every possible solution.

No one had considered the possibility of ambushing the fleet on the river.

To attack the fleet, the first step is to deal with the scouts who set out to reconnoiter ahead of time.

We also need to deal with the puppet troops escorting people on both sides of the strait first.

Light machine guns and rifles were also reinforced.

Their combat capabilities are extraordinary.

Because the puppet troops had gunboat artillery support, the Japanese would even call in planes for reinforcements after the battle began.

The district and the Second Battalion of the Independent Regiment, led by Gao Yidao, set up ambushes along the way several times, but all their attempts failed.

Wounded puppet soldiers could be sent directly to the ships, where food supplies were provided without requiring excessive weight, allowing the convoy to travel very quickly.

Ma Liang stared blankly at the blurry figures of the puppet troops on the distant riverbank...

The further north you go, the flatter and more open the ground becomes.
Looking down through the binoculars at the plains that resembled the Gobi Desert, I couldn't help but slowly stop.

For no apparent reason, I thought of the Ninth Battalion. If my brother were here, what would he do?

Landmines could not be laid on the river surface because the reconnaissance team would conduct reconnaissance of both banks of the canal ahead of the fleet, in addition to a large number of puppet troops escorting the boats on foot along the riverbank.

It was impossible to set up an ambush on the riverbank.

Even if the wooden boats of the local people along the canal were gathered together, they would be no match for the Japanese gunboats.

Even sending naval warriors on a night raid couldn't evade the heavily guarded Japanese sentries of the fleet. (End of Chapter)