Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Li Guotao immediately called the team to an emergency meeting and then headed to Tianma Mountain.

Along the way, we kept seeing civilian workers carrying the wounded retreating from the front line. The fierce fighting also caused a large number of casualties.

Due to insufficient manpower, the military has even begun mobilizing some lightly wounded soldiers to return to the front line.

The battle had reached this point, the 10th Army had suffered heavy casualties, and the lightly wounded were forced to stay on the front lines and fight the Japanese. There was nothing they could do about it.

Tianma Mountain is located in the southwestern suburbs of Hengyang City. In order to prevent the Japanese from invading Hengyang, the defenders also built a large number of defensive fortifications in this area.

While the team was marching, Yang Jihe received another order from his superiors.

Yang Jihe then found Li Guotao and said to him as they hurried on their way: "We have just received the latest order. Our army is retreating across the board and shrinking the defense line."

"But these damn Japanese devils took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, hoping to use this opportunity to completely defeat us."

"The Japanese are biting too hard. Our superiors have ordered us to move out of the Tianma Mountain position and support the retreating troops."

Li Guotao looked up and said, "The Tianma Mountain is ahead!"

Tianma Mountain is just a small mountain, not much different in size from Zhangjia Mountain.

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "Yes, Tianma Mountain is ahead."

Li Guotao nodded and said, "In that case, let's just bypass Tianma Mountain."

"Brothers, speed up and keep moving forward."

"Yes!"

Under Li Guotao's command, the troops quickly bypassed Tianma Mountain along a small path. At this time, dense gunfire could be heard ahead.

Yang Jihe looked up and cursed, "Damn it, the Japs are really fast."

Li Guotao observed the situation for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed, saying, "Over there!"

The direction Li Guotao pointed to was exactly where the gunfire was most frequent, so under the leadership of Li Guotao.

The troops marched quickly and approached the battlefield rapidly.

At this time, the situation on the battlefield could be seen. There was a small hill in front and a troop was guarding there.

On the other side, hundreds of Japanese soldiers were attacking this inconspicuous hill.

The Japanese attack was fierce and the defenders were trapped on the mountain. Even if they wanted to retreat, they couldn't.

Li Guotao observed the situation and then ordered: "Occupy this hill first and help the brother troops to repel the enemy's attack."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "They were bitten to death by the Japanese. If we don't take action, they won't be able to hold out for long. We must act as soon as possible."

Li Guotao immediately ordered: "Zheng Mingyuan, set up the mortar immediately and provide us with fire support."

"Company 2, Company , follow me and charge forward to support our brother troops."

"Yes~!"

The soldiers responded quickly.

Without saying a word, Li Guotao picked up a gun and quickly rushed towards the nameless hill. The brothers from the first and second companies also followed him and rushed out.

At this moment on the battlefield, the two sides were fighting fiercely, and the Japanese soldiers kept rushing towards the mountain.

Company Commander Zhang, who was guarding the position, organized his brothers to defend while constantly raising his gun and shooting at the Japanese soldiers who were rushing up.

"Brothers, hold on for me and beat those damned Japs down."

Under the tenacious resistance of the defenders, the attacking Japanese also suffered heavy casualties.

However, these damn Japanese devils were like crazy, constantly rushing towards the mountain.

As the battle progressed, the number of soldiers under Captain Zhang's command decreased, and they were on the verge of collapse.

At this time, Li Guotao arrived in time with a battalion. Under Li Guotao's personal leadership, the soldiers rushed directly up the hill from the back.

Li Guotao ran forward and shouted loudly: "Get into the position immediately and beat the Japanese down for me."

When Captain Zhang saw the reinforcements had arrived, he was overjoyed and shouted, "Brothers, beat them hard for me."

The morale of the defenders was greatly boosted. They fired fiercely at the Japanese soldiers rushing towards them and threw grenades at them continuously.

Li Guotao and his men quickly entered the blocking position and began to block the attacking Japanese invaders with all their might.

Li Guotao held a submachine gun and fired at the Japanese soldiers who were rushing towards him.

"Da da da~!"

Intensive gunfire rang out, and each beautiful burst of fire sent the Japanese soldiers directly into hell.

With Li Guotao's superb marksmanship, every shot hit the target in the head, and the Japanese were immediately killed or wounded.

At this time, the soldiers of the first battalion also quickly entered the battlefield and joined the battle.

The defenders' firepower suddenly increased several times, and the Japanese were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties.

Faced with the powerful firepower of the defenders, the Japanese were immediately stunned and suffered heavy casualties in a short period of time.

Seeing that they could not advance, the Japanese soldiers were defeated one after another.

With the assistance of Li Guotao's first battalion, they finally repelled the Japanese attack.

This small group of Japanese soldiers had several hundred people. They were just an assault force of the Japanese. They attacked too quickly, resulting in the main force behind them not being able to catch up.

Therefore, these Japanese soldiers did not dare to continue their attack for the time being and prepared to wait for subsequent reinforcements.

Captain Zhang saw the Japanese retreating and said excitedly, "Luckily you arrived in time, otherwise we would all have died here."

Li Guotao said: "Brother, you guys retreat first, we will cover you."

Captain Zhang said somewhat embarrassedly: "This is not very good."

Li Guotao said: "It's time to stop being polite. Our superiors have ordered us to retreat to the next line of defense. You should retreat directly to Tianma Mountain and wait for orders."

"We are here to support you. If you don't withdraw, we can't leave."

Captain Zhang was no longer polite after hearing this and said, "In that case, we will withdraw first. You better be careful."

Li Guotao nodded, and Captain Zhang took dozens of his soldiers and took the opportunity to evacuate the position carrying the wounded.

Song Weiguo pointed at the foot of the mountain and said, "Captain, those damn Japanese retreated to the village at the foot of the mountain. Now they are all hiding in the houses in the village, probably waiting for follow-up support."

Li Guotao held up a telescope and observed the situation. He saw a small village at the foot of the mountain. The village was full of dilapidated wooden houses.

It turned out that this was a gathering place for a group of fleeing refugees, and these wooden houses were all built temporarily.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, many people in the occupied areas fled everywhere and became refugees. Hengyang has been relatively peaceful in recent years, so many refugees have gathered here before.

But now the Japanese have reached Hengyang, the people have already evacuated in advance, and the houses here are empty.

Li Guotao carefully observed the small village at the foot of the mountain and sneered, "These damn Japanese devils are looking for death. It's not my fault."

Song Weiguo was surprised when he heard this and asked, "Captain, are you still planning to attack?"

"I think we should withdraw as soon as they retreat."

"Retreat to Tianma Mountain first."

Li Guotao pointed to the village at the foot of the mountain and said with a smile: "Look at this village, it's only 200 meters away from here."

Song Weiguo nodded and said, "The Japanese will definitely secretly observe us. Once we all retreat down the mountain, they will be able to catch up quickly."

Li Guotao waved his hand and said, "That's not what I'm talking about."

"What I mean is that we are in a commanding position here. To the east of the village is an open area with no obstructions. At such a close distance, we can just set up machine guns on the east side of the mountain and fire at them. If the Japanese run out of the village, they will all be within our range and be shot dead by our machine guns."

Song Weiguo nodded.

At this time Chen Jianghe said: "But the Japanese are not fools. They will definitely hide in the village and not come out. Why come out and die?"

"Then we will force them out." Li Guotao said with a smile.

"Force them out? How to force them?" Song Weiguo asked first.

Li Guotao pointed to the village at the foot of the mountain and said, "Look, the village is full of these dilapidated wooden houses and thatched houses."

"The weather has been nice and dry these past two days, and there's even a westerly wind blowing. Isn't this God's help?"

"If we set fire from the west, the fire will be driven by the wind and the whole village will be turned into a sea of ​​fire in an instant. Will they be able to stay in the village by then?"

"There was a cliff to the south of the village, estimated to be more than ten meters deep, with no way out. So in a panic, they could only flee eastwards and escape from the village from the east."

Chen Jianghe said: "But how to set the fire?"

Li Guotao pointed and said, "We already have Molotov cocktails. Let a few brothers carry them and quietly slide down the hillside on the west side. But be careful."

"There are a lot of trees over there, so we should be able to avoid the Japanese."

"As long as we get within a few dozen meters, we can throw Molotov cocktails from the mountain onto the houses on the west side of the village, which is enough to set the whole village on fire."

"When the time comes, we can deliberately attract the attention of the Japanese on the mountain, and it should be successful." At this time, Yang Jihe also went up the mountain. After listening to Li Guotao's suggestion, he asked, "Does everyone have any opinions?"

Chen Jianghe, Song Weiguo and others all shook their heads.

Li Guotao said: "Since everyone has no objection, then it's settled. Let's prepare immediately."

"We can't delay too long. If we wait until the Japanese reinforcements arrive, we'll be in trouble."

"Yes!"

Then, following Li Guotao's instructions, the brothers began to make preparations as quickly as possible.

Soon the brothers were ready, and several thin brothers were selected, each carrying a few simple Molotov cocktails.

They slid down the mountain carefully from the west, under the cover of bushes.

At this time, Li Guotao and other brothers started making noise on the mountain to attract the attention of the Japanese.

First, Li Guotao ordered his men to use mortars to bombard the village at the foot of the mountain.

More than a dozen artillery shells fell into the village one after another, and houses were blown to pieces.

The Japanese soldiers thought that the defenders were going to launch an attack and they were so scared that they hid everywhere.

Captain Nakamura, who was in charge of the team, hid in a safe place and shouted loudly: "Notify everyone to avoid the artillery."

"Hayi~!"

"Sir, is the enemy about to attack?"

Captain Nakamura frowned and said, "It shouldn't be like this!"

"They have been defeated and are starting to shrink their defenses. How can they have the guts to launch an attack at this time?"

"If they really don't know how to live or die and really dare to rush down the mountain, we can just wipe them out."

However, Li Guotao and his men were unwilling to waste artillery shells, so they just fired a dozen or so shots and then stopped.

The brothers on the mountain began to shout loudly, and for a while the shouts of killing were deafening.

The Japanese thought they were really going to attack, and they were so scared that they ran out from their hiding places and prepared to resist.

But before they could see any human figures, several more mortar shells fell.

"Boom~! Boom~!"

Several Japanese soldiers were blown to the ground and killed on the spot.

Captain Nakamura hid again out of fear. At this time, a Japanese soldier ran over and said, "Report to the commander, the enemy has not launched an attack at all."

Captain Nakamura couldn't help cursing, "Bagayalu, these damn bastards, they are just bluffing on purpose. I told you, they don't dare to go down the mountain to seek death."

"Everyone, hide in a safe place. Unless the enemy really enters the village, we will not go out and will not fall for their trick."

A Japanese soldier asked: "What if the enemy really rushes down the mountain?"

Captain Nakamura sneered and said, "That's a good opportunity for them to see the power of the locust army's bayonets."

Hearing this, all the Japanese soldiers present became excited.

These Japanese devils were extremely confident in their hand-to-hand combat skills.

However, Li Guotao never thought about going down the mountain, at least not now.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the brothers successfully arrived at the designated location, then lit the Molotov cocktails and threw them down one after another.

More than a dozen Molotov cocktails fell on several houses at the west end of the village.

"Boom~! Boom~!"

Flames shot up into the sky. The Molotov cocktails were filled with kerosene, which burned a large area. The thatched roof was dried by the sun and would catch fire as soon as it came into contact with fire.

Soon these houses were completely engulfed in flames, and the fire became more and more intense.

The wind fanned the flames, and the fire gradually spread throughout the village, catching fire on more and more houses.

"what happened?"

Captain Nakamura couldn't help but be shocked.

A Japanese soldier ran over in a panic and shouted, "It's on fire, sir, it's on fire."

Captain Nakamura was so frightened that he almost fainted, because he realized that this village was made up of wooden houses and thatched houses. Now they were just sitting on a pile of dry firewood. Once the fire spread, they would all become roasted pigs.

"Sir, the fire is getting stronger and stronger. It can't be put out at all."

Captain Nakamura observed the situation and saw that the west had been engulfed by fire, which was gradually spreading towards this side. Japanese soldiers kept running over from that side in a panic.

Feeling waves of heat coming towards him, Captain Nakamura's old face was burning with pain. The black smoke blown by the wind choked the old Japanese and made him cough violently.

"Bagaya Deer~!"

Captain Nakamura cursed angrily. In order to avoid being roasted, the old Japanese soldier quickly shouted, "Retreat immediately, evacuate the village, and run east. As long as we are out of the village, we will be safe."

"Hayi~!"

Following Captain Nakamura's order, the Japanese soldiers began to flee eastward in panic.

But the fire spread too quickly, and the wind blew black smoke all the way. Some Japanese soldiers who were slow to escape were directly knocked unconscious by the smoke, and then unsurprisingly became roasted pigs.

However, most of the Japanese soldiers were still alive and kicking at this moment. They were trying their best to flee eastward for their lives.

Soon the first group of Japanese soldiers ran out from the east entrance of the village.

Li Guotao saw the right moment and shouted, "Fire!"

Three heavy machine guns and six light machine guns opened fire simultaneously.

"Da da da~!"

Intensive gunfire rang out, and bullets poured down on the Japanese like water, covering the enemy continuously.

"Puff puff puff~!"

The bullets hit the Japanese, splashing blood.

There was a large open area near the entrance of the village, with no cover or obstruction. The Japanese soldiers ran out of the village without even a place to hide, and bullets fell from the mountain like raindrops, smashing the Japanese soldiers into pieces with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

"Sir, the enemy's firepower is too strong. It has blocked our route out of the village."

Captain Nakamura cursed loudly: "Bagayadelu, we can't care about so much now. If we don't rush out, we will all be burned to death."

"Rush out with all your strength. You must rush out no matter what."

In fact, he didn't need to give any orders. The Japanese soldiers all knew what to do now and could only rush out desperately.

But these Japanese soldiers simply couldn't get out. They all fell down about 20 to 30 meters away from the village entrance, and their bodies covered the ground.

Captain Nakamura was also on the run when a machine gun bullet blew his head off and he died instantly.

Some who did not dare to rush out were eventually swallowed by the fire and turned into roasted pigs.

In this way, all the more than 300 Japanese soldiers hiding in the village were killed without exception.

At this time, the whole village had turned into a sea of ​​fire. Li Guotao smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad!"

"We killed several hundred more Japanese soldiers, and if we're lucky, we can seize another batch of weapons and ammunition."

"First, pick up all the weapons and ammunition left behind by the Japanese on the hillside. If there are any Japanese still alive, execute them all on the spot."

"Yes!"

Chen Jianghe responded and went out with a group of brothers to clean up the battlefield.

During the previous Japanese attack, many corpses were left on the hillside, and weapons and ammunition were scattered all over the ground.

Chen Jianghe led these soldiers and carefully picked up the weapons and ammunition.

However, most of the weapons and ammunition were actually scattered within a few dozen meters outside the village at the east end.

But the fire was too big. Under the influence of the wind, the fire in the village formed a huge tongue of fire that stretched to the east, and thick black smoke rolled in, making it impossible for people to get close.

Li Guotao naturally would not let his brothers take risks. He only asked them to pick up some weapons and ammunition in a safe area. As for the part at the foot of the mountain, they could wait until the fire was a little weaker and then pick them up. It should not be completely burned.

But the prerequisite is that the Japanese follow-up troops have not arrived.

That’s why Li Guotao said just now that if they are lucky, they should be able to pick up some weapons and ammunition.

However, Li Guotao and his men were really lucky this time. For some unknown reason, after a few hours, they did not see any follow-up Japanese troops arriving, and the fire had weakened.

So Li Guotao took his brothers down the mountain and picked up a batch of weapons and equipment.

Overall, the harvest this time was quite rich. (End of this chapter)