under fire

Tang Dagou was a seasoned veteran. Standing in front of the pillbox, facing Kujo Masao and his group of Japanese soldiers, he wore a fawning smile on his face, thinking to himself how many Japanese soldiers he could kill if he had planted a few explosive charges on the road outside the pillbox beforehand.

As for the loss of grain due to the exposed territories, he could simply take his bunch of bastards and pull off a heist in a county town.
While regretting it in his heart, he kept talking: "A few days ago, a group of bandits, oblivious to their own mortality, sneaked into Donggu Town, robbed shops, stormed the town hall, and threatened the people, causing panic in the town."

The speaker's detailed explanation made some of the Japanese soldiers, who understood Chinese, feel as if they were there in person.
"However, our security forces are no pushovers. We quickly discovered their whereabouts and then swiftly mobilized, suppressing them all with lightning speed. Moreover, we followed the clues and captured quite a few anti-Japanese elements. Those people were all beheaded, which was truly gratifying!" Tang Dagou recounted vividly, as if he were the valiant security force that captured the anti-Japanese elements.

"Yesterday, we even assisted the Imperial Army from Guanxian County on their journey to the Western Paradise... uh, the western bank. Those places on the other side of the river are far from peaceful. Many people died along the canal and in the surrounding villages. Many villages were completely wiped out. It was a place where 'nine out of ten people were killed.'"

The Japanese soldiers of the Northern Special Police all knew about the Eighteen Autumns Operation Plan to release bacteria, and now that they were at the site of the plan's implementation, they listened with great interest.

Instead, the translator accompanying the army couldn't take it anymore: "Stop talking nonsense, I'm asking you to tell me about the Eighth Route Army on the other side!"

"Uh, before dawn today, we spotted a group of unidentified armed men on the other side of the river. They were a large group, carrying muskets and broadswords, and they looked very aggressive. I, the building manager, would venture to guess that they might be... perhaps... maybe Eighth Route Army guerrillas."

Tang Dagou deliberately slowed down his speech, his eyes revealing a hint of uncertainty, which made Kujo Masao and the others more interested in what he was saying.

"Tell me, how many Eighth Route Army guerrillas were there exactly?"

"We don't know the enemy's strength yet, because those Eighth Route Army guerrillas reached the other side of the river before dawn. We can't see them very clearly from the watchtower. Besides, the other side is the territory of those Taoist priests from Guantao, so we dare not send anyone across the river to scout. But we did our best and sent a few brothers disguised as civilians to go upstream to scout, but they haven't returned yet. So I don't know the situation you asked about, sir."

Tang Dagou shrugged, looking helpless: "However, I've already reported to the town's security command, but I haven't received any orders to cross the river and encircle them yet. I think we must hold the blockhouse for now. I never expected that heaven would smile upon us and finally send the mighty Imperial Army to us."

As Tang Dagou spoke, he deliberately puffed out his chest, pretending to be brave and fearless.

As Kujo Masao listened to Tang Dagou's words, his heart began to pound.
He always felt that Tang Dagou was very cunning and that there was definitely something fishy about what he said.

However, time was of the essence, and he didn't have time to verify whether Tang Dagou's words were true or false.

Besides, such a trivial matter could be thoroughly investigated by the military police; it's hardly the business of the elite special police of North China dealing with these petty issues.

"The Eighth Route Army is nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs, rats that can't stand the sun. The Imperial Army is just hoping they'll come and fight against them!" Kujo Masao thought to himself.

Therefore, even though he knew there were eight groups on the other side of the river, he still decided to cross the river at the ferry.

From another perspective, this is something that can't be helped.

Apart from the ferry group, the canal channels on both sides of the plain are either mudflats or swamps.

Flat-bottomed ferries are fine for transporting soldiers, but they can't transport cars.

Time is of the essence. The Eighth Route Army is launching a strong attack on the Ming Allied Army headquarters and must cross the river to provide reinforcements as soon as possible.

During the questioning, the radio operator made contact with the ferry that had been transferred from Tianjin.

The call will arrive at Donggu Ferry in one hour.

Kujo Masao climbed onto the roof of the car's driver's seat and began to examine the terrain on the opposite bank of the river using binoculars.

He carefully observed every corner, trying to find traces of the Eighth Route Army.

The engineers of the 63rd Division would handle the minor project of slightly modifying the dock to facilitate car crossings.

Kujo Masao believed that as long as he could cross the river successfully, he would be able to defeat the Eighth Route Army guerrillas on the other side of the river with his powerful firepower.

The river embankment was much higher than the ground, and there were hardly any people in sight.

Kujo Masao guessed that those local Eighth Route Army guerrillas might be lying in ambush behind the river embankment, preparing to attack them.

After hesitating for a moment, he felt there was no need to have the radio operator call in a reconnaissance plane.

How many Eighth Route Army soldiers could be hidden on just one river embankment?
So he held up the binoculars and looked at them back and forth twice more, but still didn't see anything unusual.

Kujo Masao pondered for a moment, then handed the binoculars to the observer beside him, instructing him to continue observing. He then returned to the makeshift command tent, studying the map and the route to Weixian, calculating the arrival time based on the distance.
Meanwhile, on the opposite bank of the river, behind the embankment, the girl with her braided hair was gripping a rifle, frowning as she stared at Hu Yi: "The river is only about eighty meters wide. I'm absolutely confident I can take down that Japanese commander!" The girl said firmly, her eyes full of confidence.

"We need to ambush the Japanese when they cross the river." Hu Yi reached out and smoothed the little girl's messy braids. "Besides, there are more than twenty Japanese cars on the other side of the river. Aren't you afraid of losing the big picture for a small gain?"

The little girl pouted after hearing Hu Yi's words.
It is about 120 li southwest of Donggu Ferry.

In a village outside Weixian County.

Commander Lu held his back, feeling very aggrieved.

The order from the front-line commander was to launch a feigned attack on Weixian County, where the headquarters of the East Asia Alliance Autonomous Army was located.

We fought all night, wasting a lot of ammunition, and didn't even get close to the city wall.

Hu Yigao, one of his two henchmen, had even captured a county town with a single strike.
Gao Yidao is currently located south of Neihuang County, cooperating with the Yubei District to attack an enemy canal fleet.

Since the commander returned to the mountains, there has been little news about Hu Yi and the little girl after they entered the plains.

He independently captured Chengwu County, coordinated with the district to cleverly seize Qinghe County, and ambushed the Japanese armored vehicle convoy.
The commander of the front-line command even told him, the head of the organization, not to ask any questions.
Commander Lu felt as if his thriving chives were about to be harvested.
And there was nothing I could do about it.

As a garrison force, the Independent Regiment was like a watchdog, not a wolf out hunting for food. Its mission was to guard the gateway into the central Taihang Mountains.

According to normal troop deployment, after the main force was transferred westward, the Independent Regiment was not qualified to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Allied Autonomous Army.

Unfortunately, this task fell to the Independent Regiment, which only had two companies left.

I heard that Commander Chen of the Beishan Regiment in the north pleaded with his superiors to send a battalion to participate in the offensive operation.

It was still rejected without hesitation.

The Independent Regiment was even further from Weiqie, so it's no surprise that the higher-ups had their eyes on some role the Independent Regiment could play.

One by one, past events.

As the scenes unfolded, Commander Lu suddenly realized that the Independent Regiment, which was launching feint attacks, had the easiest job in this battle.

Footsteps came from outside the door, and a consumptive man covered in gunpowder rushed in.

Wu Yan turned around and closed the door, then took off his military cap and went to the broken table.

"Commander, something seems amiss?"

"Is the enemy going to counterattack?"

"No, they either lowered their guns and fired at the front of our positions, or they raised their guns and fired at the rear of our positions."
Commander Lu quickly realized that although his superiors hadn't said it, they must know that the Independent Regiment's combat effectiveness was lacking.

Therefore, the Independent Regiment was fundamentally unable to complete its mission.

In other words, the Allied forces knew that other units were also being attacked by the Eighth Route Army, yet the enemy did not launch a counterattack against the Independent Regiment's ineffective offensive.

So, did the Allied Command reach some kind of tacit understanding with the forward command?
Thinking of this, I quickly banished the thought from my mind.

The Independent Regiment's mission was to launch a feint attack; as long as they kept the Allied forces inside the city and prevented them from coming out, their mission would be accomplished.

If it were true that the Allied Forces and the Eighth Route Army were connected, it wouldn't be a good thing.

As the old saying goes, cleverness can sometimes backfire. This matter cannot be explained to the soldiers directly; if the news leaks, the consequences could be unpredictable. (End of Chapter)