Chapter 1 Sou Ta Watanabe, Sergeant

Sou Ta Watanabe, a sergeant, was one of those who were being urged to charge forward. Looking at the twenty-odd machine gun nests ahead that were constantly spitting fire, he asked with some difficulty, "Machine guns! Where are our machine guns?"

Captain Ren Tanaka roared behind him, "A true samurai is never afraid of the enemy's firepower ahead!

A true samurai dares to face the hail of bullets head-on. No matter what lies ahead, we will charge forward without hesitation! Charge!"

His squad still had over twenty devils left, and under the captain's urging, they had no choice but to rush forward.

These devils knew in their hearts that Captain Ren Tanaka was a man of his word. Last time, he led the entire squad to charge forward regardless of the cost, and only then did they capture a hilltop that two infantry companies had failed to take.

Captain Ren Tanaka's squad was not alone; there was also a company of devils charging alongside them. These devils followed the team commanded by Captain Riku Sato and launched an attack, rushing directly towards the front.

The power of twenty-odd machine guns sweeping across soon caused half of the charging devils to fall. At this time, they had only charged out twenty-odd meters, and there were still sixty or seventy meters to go.

Captain Ren Tanaka loudly encouraged his subordinates, "Once we charge up there, they're finished! Hurry up and charge!"

With him and the督战 (dū zhàn, supervisor) behind them, none of the devils in the front dared to turn back. They could only continue to charge forward.

The further Sergeant Sou Ta Watanabe charged, the more frightened he became. He realized that the faster he charged, the more devils died. The closer they got to the opposing Nationalist army's defense line, the denser the bullets became.

He intentionally slowed his pace, wondering if he should retreat a little and not charge so fast anymore. Just then, he felt a pain in his forehead, his vision went dark, and his body fell forward.

Sergeant Sou Ta Watanabe was the last one in the squad to die. He was truly lucky, having charged more than seventy meters before a bullet struck him squarely in the forehead, killing him without any pain.

Captain Riku Sato was also motivating his devils, and they charged forward through the hail of bullets.

Captain Ren Tanaka died earlier; he died early on the road of charge. Captain Riku Sato stood helplessly where Sergeant Sou Ta Watanabe had fallen.

Captain Riku Sato's organized assault team was down to just him. By now, he knew that breaking through was hopeless.

He drew his command刀 (dāo, sword) for the last time, and as he was about to swing it forward, several bullets struck him, and Captain Riku Sato fell without a word.

The actions of these devils all fell into the eyes of Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda.

He watched nervously as this actively attacking company charged forward fifty meters. At this point, there were less than twenty devils still able to maintain the charge.

Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda sighed. "This path is a dead end!" At this point, he had made up his mind. "Retreat! Retreat back to the mountain pass."

He had just received a report from Major Taiichi Nakamura, informing him that they were attacking West Gu Mountain. Now, from the fate of Captain Riku Sato's company, Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda could already foresee the end of Major Taiichi Nakamura's battalion.

Furthermore, his current position was in the rear half of the entire regiment. The hail of bullets he would have to go through to retreat would definitely be less than the hail of bullets he would have to go through to charge forward.

With this comparison, Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda finally issued his first order since encountering the ambush.

As soon as his order was given, the rear of the regiment immediately turned around and began to break out towards Bridge Head Bear.

After receiving the order to retreat, Major Hayato Ito immediately ordered his troops to turn around. In any case, the Nationalist troops on both the left and right sides were just staying in place without moving. They were only constantly sweeping with machine guns, maintaining long-range attacks.

The devils of Major Hayato Ito's battalion who were still able to break out were not many. They did not dare to gather together, fearing that they would be wiped out by bombs suddenly falling from the air.

Because of this, these devils could only bend over and摸 (mō, grope) back along the way they had come, which was in stark contrast to their high-spirited discussions and constant reminiscing about the glorious battles of the past few days.

Sergeant Yangdou Saito carefully crawled backwards. He had heard Major Ito's order to retreat, but the risk of standing up at this time was too great, and he was unwilling to die in vain.

He wanted to crawl to a position where there were fewer bullets and then stand up and break out. Sergeant Yangdou Saito's idea was correct, but the distance he had to crawl was a bit far.

Major Hayato Ito led the troops, changing from the rear to the front, and rushed to the front. Following behind them was Major Shota Suzuki's battalion, and Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda led the regimental headquarters behind Major Shota Suzuki's battalion.

They worked together to break out towards the mountain pass. The Ito Hayato Battalion, which rushed to the front, had already broken through the defense line of the Second Company at this time.

Company Commander Junxia Shi laughed loudly and said to Company Commander Jing, "Finally waited for him!" These two companies had now directly deployed heavy machine guns on the road.

In order to use the directional mines that had been buried long ago, there were still two hundred meters of empty space in front of the temporary fortifications built by the two companies on the road.

Although these locations were empty, they were still within the range of the Second Company's heavy machine guns and machine guns. When Major Hayato Ito led his troops into this area, the amount of打击 (dǎ jī, blow) they received was much less, no matter what.

However, these devils looked at the fortifications that suddenly appeared in front of them, and they also knew that the road ahead would not be easy to walk. They had to break through the defense line in front of them.

Looking at the battalion with only a hundred devils left, Major Hayato Ito was not in a hurry to launch an attack. He was waiting, waiting for the devils behind him to come out.

Major Hayato Ito said to Major Shota Suzuki, "As long as we break through the last line of defense, there will be no danger. My battalion does not have enough troops now. We need to increase the number of troops!"

Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda quickly arrived here with the devils of the regimental headquarters. After hearing Major Hayato Ito's request, he immediately ordered, "Suzuki Battalion, Ito Battalion, attack immediately! We cannot wait any longer."

Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda was anxious: every minute these devils stayed here was a minute they were dying. Not only were there machine guns and heavy machine guns sweeping, but there were also mortars and infantry guns bombarding them.

This was not a place where a regimental commander like him should be staying. He wanted to leave this hell as soon as possible. The two battalions now had nearly three hundred devils together. These devils gathered together and rushed towards the Nationalist defense line two hundred meters away.

The Nationalist army on the opposite side was obviously scared. Their machine guns were sweeping, and the soldiers were also trying their best to fire. This relieved Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda: at least now he didn't have to worry about the enemy's mines.

He watched Major Hayato Ito personally lead the devils in the charge. With the major leading the way, the morale of the devils had recovered somewhat.

Looking at this demoralized team, Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda suddenly remembered how high-spirited this team had been half an hour ago. Each devil was still vying to compare the victories they had fought in the past.

It had only been a short while, and they had turned into this. The morale of these devils came quickly and faded quickly!

Sergeant Souta Yamamoto had not charged with Captain Ren Tanaka's squad just now, and he finally saved his life. This time, when he heard Major Hayato Suzuki order the battalion to retreat, he dared not pretend to be dead again.

Now, he was finally able to see the hope of survival. They only needed to break through the defense line in front of them, and they could escape.

This task did not seem difficult. Sergeant Yangdou Saito thought the same way, especially when he saw Major Hayato Ito personally leading the team to charge, this idea became even more firm.

These devils had just rushed to a position 150 meters away from the Special Brigade's defense line when they encountered the machine gun扫射 (sǎo shè, strafing) from the opposite side.

Major Hayato Ito led the troops to continue charging forward. This time, he was leading the devils to charge with the mentality of succeed or die.

This was also their most擅长 (shàn cháng, skilled in) pig突战术 (tū zhàn shù, charge tactic). In this situation, they needed to break through the blockade network composed of countless bullets, then rush into the Special Brigade's阵地 (zhèn dì, position) and defeat this blocking team.

Major Hayato Ito could feel the chill of the bullets whizzing past his ears, and he could also hear the dull sound of bullets hitting his body, but he was still insisting on leading the devils to charge.

He knew that if he fell, a large number of these charging devils would fall, and the morale of the entire team would be severely打击 (dǎ jī, hit).

Therefore, until now, he could not fall. The blocking defense line in front of him was very close, only thirty or forty meters away. Major Hayato Ito could not help but smile on his face. If he persisted a little longer, he would rush into the opponent's工事 (gōng shì, fortifications).

Company Commander Junxia Shi looked at Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda, who was watching the battle in the distance with dozens of devils. This devil was very狡猾 (jiǎo huá, cunning): he only sent his subordinates to charge and did not personally take the field.

Two hundred devils were blown up, and hundreds more devils would be blown up the same way! It was a pity for those devils in the distance! Company Commander Shi's regret was also felt by Company Commander Chengxuan Jing.

But what else could they do now? Although only two hundred devils had rushed to the front, even if there were fewer devils, they still had to be blown up!

When the "轰隆隆 (hōng lōng lōng)" explosion sounded, Major Hayato Ito could no longer hold on. He was吓 (xià, scared) by the scene in front of him: flames flickered, smoke billowed, and countless black shadows flew towards them.

He himself was hit by a dozen iron pellets. Lying on the ground, Major Hayato Ito heard the moans and wails of injured devils all around. He knew it was over!

Yangdou Saito was also hit by the suddenly flying iron pellets and was now lying on the ground struggling in pain. He did not understand why this charge was like this?

These devils had already passed through here once, and they were all safe. These devils had already been bombed once in front, and this time it was the same as the bombing just now.

It was equivalent to these devils falling in the same pit twice, which was unreasonable!

"This is impossible!" Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda, who was standing in the distance watching them attack when Major Hayato Ito's battalion was bombed, blurted out.

Too many impossible things had happened today, completely subverting Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda's cognition. He could not accept such a打击 (dǎ jī, blow).

The road ahead was still there, but his road had been cut off. Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda looked at the devils who were struggling on the ground. He had seen the same scene once before.

Last time, he had three thousand devils, and after being bombed like this, there were still hundreds of devils left, and they could still fight.

This time, Major Hayato Ito led more than two hundred devils to launch an attack. After being bombed like this, how many devils would still be able to fight?

The smoke from the explosion had already covered the front. The two company commanders simultaneously issued an order to attack. The heavy machine guns were at the front, and the soldiers followed behind.

The soldiers rushed into the smoke-filled battlefield and attacked the devils lying on the ground and those who were still resisting.

Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda watched the front nervously. He could hear the shouts of killing coming from the front. He could ignore these sounds, but what should he do?

Having no other choice, Colonel Tatsuhiko Tsuda could only point his command刀 (dāo, sword) forward and shout, "Kill!" He had no way out. He could only charge up like this.

Surrounding him were all the devils in the regimental headquarters. These dozens of devils started charging with shouts.

In another direction, Major Taiga Nakamura was leading a team of devils to attack West Gu Mountain. These devils had charged hundreds of meters through the hail of bullets before they rushed to the foot of West Gu Mountain. The Company led by Takumi Takahashi had already tested it before them: This Road Does Not Work!.

The devils of Company Takahashi were at the foot of the mountain when they were shot at by machine guns from the mountain, and the hail of bullets from the left and right sides did not decrease.

This allowed the Takahashi Company, which already did not have many devils, to quickly die. When Major Taiga Nakamura led the devils to rush up, there were only corpses lying on the ground.

The anti-aircraft machine guns from the mountain started again. This was not the end. The two companies of the Fifth Battalion who were only shooting on both sides of the road had now begun to launch an attack.

There were not many devils resisting on the road. Company Commander Rongcheng Jin had already ordered the troops to launch an attack, and Shangguan Zhiwen, who was commanding on West Gu Mountain, had also issued an order for the entire army to charge.

Several companies were all charging towards the battalion led by Major Taiga Nakamura. Obviously, there were only about a hundred organized troops left around him. Who would they not charge towards if not them?

This charge immediately made the devils of Major Taiga Nakamura's battalion at a loss. Major Nakamura could only order, "Fix bayonets!"

These devils could only make a last-ditch effort, although their fate was already doomed. Sergeant Saburo Takashima nervously watched the Special Brigade soldiers who were charging up, and retreated a little in fear.

He took two steps back, and his back was already against the butt of a devil's gun. There was no way to retreat.

Sergeant Taiji Ikuta asked in a low voice, "What should we do?" What idea did Saburo Takashima have at this time? What could he do?

Sergeant Saburo Takashima could only say, "Rest in peace! We can't live, none of us can live." His words immediately resonated among this group of devils. Looking at the Special Brigade soldiers who were charging up around them, there were nearly a thousand people, while there were only a hundred of them.

How could they fight? When Major Taiga Nakamura heard such discouraging words, he immediately scolded loudly, "Silence! It is your blessing to die for the Empire! What else is there to say, let's work together!"

In this ambush battle on West Gu Mountain, the two rocket artillery companies did not fire a single炮弹 (pào dàn, shell). They just watched from the top of the mountain how the brother companies were打鬼子 (dǎ guǐ zi, fighting devils).

There was also cleaning up the battlefield at the foot of the mountain. The Special Brigade's combat efficiency was too high, and the three thousand logistics队员 (duì yuán, personnel) were simply too busy. Fan Lin received a report from Regiment Commander Zhiwen Shangguan, informing him that the battle on West Gu Mountain had ended and that all the devils who had entered the ambush circle had been annihilated.

The Fifteenth Regiment was cleaning up the battlefield. Fan Lin ordered Regiment Commander Zhiwen Shangguan to establish a defense line on West Gu Mountain before leading the team down from East Gu Mountain to gather in this direction.

Not only the five companies of the Second Regiment came down from East Gu Mountain, but also a logistics team of one thousand people. These队员 (duì yuán, personnel) carried full of seized materials with the team.

They brought a lot of materials, but they could not compare with the logistics队员 (duì yuán, personnel) who cleaned up the battlefield in Xingzi. In this place, the devil's炮艇 (pào tǐng, gunboat) Squadron had just sent a batch of supplies to the 101st Brigade, which had not yet begun to be sent to the rear.

Now, all these supplies were便宜 (pián yí, cheap) to the Special Brigade, and just now the Fifteenth Regiment had also歼灭 (jiān miè, annihilated) a devil's cavalry battalion here, a total of seven hundred horses, all of which had to be cleaned up, horse skins, horse meat, and horse internal organs had to be collected and taken away.

The Special Brigade had nine thousand people eating along the way, and hundreds of horses could also be eaten for several days.

The team that was cleaning up the battlefield in Xingzi also came to West Gu Mountain at this time. The two teams alternated to cover the retreat to West Ji Mountain.

According to Lin Fan's plan, they were to打 (dǎ, fight) all the way back to Dean from the direction of the mountain pass. Although they had killed many devils of the 101st Division, Lin Fan did not dare to relax at all.

The position of the Special Brigade now was still very dangerous. There were devils in front of them, and there were devils behind them. The Special Brigade was in the middle of the two teams of devils, and it was easy to be attacked from both sides at any time.

Fortunately, the Special Brigade had already frightened the devils behind them. An infantry regiment and a cavalry battalion behind them had been completely歼灭 (jiān miè, annihilated), and they were afraid.

The horses that died on the battlefield in the devil cavalry battalion were cleaned up very carefully by the logistics隊 (duì, team). Seven hundred war horses were skinned and skinned, unlike in Mahui Ridge, where they only cut off the horse legs and took them away.

The Special Brigade's team withdrew from East Gu Mountain. The devil reconnaissance team that had been quietly observing their actions immediately reported this situation to Chief of Staff Futarou Nishiyama.

Was there any hesitation about this? Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou immediately ordered the devil reconnaissance team to go up the mountain. Less than two hours after the Special Brigade left East Gu Mountain, Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou brought the 101st Division headquarters back again.

Although all the materials they had stored here were taken away by the Special Brigade, they finally came back, and only lost East Gu Mountain for six hours before returning. This was something to be happy about.

Immediately afterwards, these devils discovered that the Special Brigade team that had occupied Xingzi had withdrawn. Did they still need to ask for instructions?

Immediately, a devil reconnaissance team ran over to check the scene. They looked at the battlefield in Xingzi, which was full of horse skeletons. After roughly counting the horse heads, there were more than seven hundred. The devils in the reconnaissance team immediately knew that the cavalry battalion led by Kyuchu Oshima had been completely灭 (miè, destroyed).

They also found two large pits dug out by the Special Brigade's logistics隊 (duì, team). The soil on the surface was fresh and very conspicuous.

These devils thought that there were some good things of the Special Brigade buried inside, so they quickly found tools to dig, only to find that those large pits were full of devil corpses.

This situation was also reported to Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou. The chief of staff instructed all the buried devils to be dug out to see how many devils had died.

Such a large operation could not be completed by dozens of devils in the reconnaissance team alone. Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou sent a team over, and only then did he dig out all the thousands of devils buried in the mud.

These devils were all stripped naked, and they could no longer recognize their original faces. After roughly counting, all the devils of the entire Kotaro Fukui Regiment were here.

Although Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou was determined to find the corpse of Regiment Commander Kotaro Fukui, there were no clothes or any marks on these dead devils, so it was too difficult to find the corpse of Regiment Commander Kotaro Fukui.

After Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou personally inspected it, he could only sigh at the thousands of corpses: "Regiment Commander Kotaro Fukui will always be with his team."

After ordering the devils to bury the Kotaro Fukui Regiment again, it could be clearly known from the number of corpses that the Kotaro Fukui Regiment had been completely灭 (miè, destroyed).

The devils could not accept such a result at all. What could Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou do now?

It could only notify Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato of the First Brigade of the One Hundred and First Division at the first time, so that he should be careful that the Nationalist army team this time was particularly strong in combat effectiveness and particularly fierce in firepower.

Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou specially reminded Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato to be careful and careful at this time.

Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato did not know how to express his feelings. There were ten thousand imaginary creatures running through his heart.

Its Infantry One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment had already set off, and according to time, it should have arrived in Xingzi at this time.

However, there was no news of the Infantry One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment from Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou at all. Unable to bear the uneasiness in his heart, Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato finally sent a telegram: "Has Regiment Commander Tatsuhiko Tsuda arrived in Xingzi?"

Regiment Commander Tatsuhiko Tsuda was the regiment commander of the Infantry One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment. When he heard this question, Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou felt an ominous預感 (yù gǎn, premonition) in his heart and quickly replied: "Did not see him. How long has Regiment Tatsuhiko Tsuda been out?"

"Six hours!" There were only twenty miles from the mountain pass to Xingzi, and even if they were爬 (pá, crawl), they should have gotten together at this time.

Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou and Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato both thought of the same problem: "Regiment Tsuda was attacked!"

Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato was anxious, and immediately ordered a reconnaissance隊 (duì, team) to be sent out to偵察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) the Infantry One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment it had sent out along the road.

A reconnaissance队 (duì, team) sent out by Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou had news back: they found a large Nationalist army force in the East Gu Mountain position and could not continue to偵察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) forward.

However, it was observed from a distance that there were traces of fighting on the road from East Gu Mountain to Qiaotou Xiong, and many devil corpses were being thrown into large pits.

What else could Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou do now? It could only report the current situation of the One Hundred and First Division to Commander Neiji Okamura, meaning to ask for help.

Commander Neiji Okamura did not have any troops to派 (pài, send) at all. Yesterday, the Heavy Cavalry Brigade was severely damaged in Mahui Ridge, and more than 4,000 devils had died in the entire division.

This made Commander Neiji Okamura feel very distressed. The new鬼 (guǐ, devil) soldiers he had just added to the Heavy Cavalry Brigade had all died this time.

According to their consumption of supplementary soldiers as firewood, the originally small number of troops in the Empire would be even smaller.

However, the架子 (jià zi, framework) of the Heavy Cavalry Brigade could not倒 (dǎo, fall), and Commander Neiji Okamura's Wuhan battle had not ended yet. In any case, it had to protect the organization of the Heavy Cavalry Brigade.

Now the Infantry One Hundred and First Division was also joining in the fun, and it had lost 8,000 devils in one day. What else could it do?

It could only let Staff Officer Nishiyama Futarou find a way by himself. What other way could Nishiyama Futarou have? It quickly informed Shozaburo Sato of the fighting in front of East Gu Mountain, so that he should be careful.

At the same time, it also told the entire predicament of the 101st Division. The general idea was: of the entire 101st Division’s infantry, only the 101st Regiment, which was still on the front line in De’an, was left. Please protect this team carefully.

Lin Fan was worried that the Special Brigade was now surrounded by devils. Why wasn't brigade General Ito Shozaburo the same? There was a Nationalist army defense line in De'an in front of them, and an elite force like the Special Brigade behind them.

Holding the telegram from the chief of staff, Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato asked the devils in the headquarters, "What should we do now?"

Staff Officer Ryosuke Tanaka said loudly, "We have a field artillery regiment and an infantry regiment. Immediately turn around and bomb the Nationalist army on West Gu Mountain to pieces.

Then let the remaining troops of the division launch an attack from the east, attacking from both sides. We will definitely be able to殲滅 (jiān miè, annihilate) this team.

We can also ask for guidance from the aviation brigade at Jiujiang Airport."

Staff Officer Ryosuke Tanaka had heard that the air force had made great efforts in rescuing the Infantry 106th Division in Wanjialing. The more than 100 aircraft that had just been sent from the country were also announced to the entire army by Commander Neiji Okamura to boost morale.

Now, Staff Officer Ryosuke Tanaka felt that it was time to use those aircraft. It did not know when it made this suggestion: those aircraft that made it feel proud had all turned into a pile of wreckage, and were now on their way to Wuhan.

Staff Officer Ibuki Miki said loudly, "This Nationalist army team took East Gu Mountain, occupied Xingzi, and ambushed Regiment Tatsuhiko in just one day.

Have we encountered such a team before? No!

They can completely occupy East Gu Mountain and not leave, or they can keep守 (shǒu, guarding) Xingzi, and they can still launch an attack on us, but they didn't.

The reason for this is that I think: they are just passing by! Just passing by, we only need to make way for a road, avoid its edge, and then continue to attack De'an."

Staff Officer Ryosuke Tanaka asked loudly, "How do we avoid it? Hide in the mountains? If they chase into the mountains, that will be our end."

This was indeed a problem: the devils present all remembered the encounter of the Infantry 106th Division in Wanjialing. They went into the mountains and ended up like that.

Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato waved his hand to stop the two staff officers from starting another war of words, and asked the other devils: "What are your opinions?"

Some of these devils supported Staff Officer Ryosuke Tanaka, and some supported Staff Officer Ibuki Miki, and there was no conclusion for a while.

Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato finally made up his mind: "I have decided to wait at the mountain pass. The entire army will wait for them to come.

The field artillery regiment will immediately deploy behind the mountain pass, leaving a large team to maintain the pressure on the Nationalist army in the direction of De'an,守 (shǒu, guard) the rear, and the rest of the team will go to the mountain pass and prepare to fight this suddenly appearing team."

Staff Officer Ibuki Miki reminded, "Our army's supply route has been cut off! If the two sides are deadlocked for ten and a half months, we will be in a state of无粮无弹 (wú liáng wú dàn, without food or ammunition)."

Brigadier General Shozaburo Sato sneered: "We won't be like this in half a month, ten days. But if our reinforcements are willing to come over, it will only take a few hours to land from Poyang Lake.

Attacking from both sides, even an iron army will not be able to stand it."

It turned out that the brigade leader was still thinking about the reinforcements. Of course, the devil officers present believed that as long as they encountered danger, Commander Neiji Okamura would definitely not stand idly by.

The tactics had been formulated and immediately began to be implemented!

Regiment Commander Hide之助 Yamada could not help but sigh when he received the order: its field artillery regiment had just driven over from the mountain pass yesterday, and dozens of artillery had just entered the position, and had not fired a single shot, and it was about to retreat.

Sergeant Fujikawa Kinoue lowered the barrel of a 150mm榴弹 (liú dàn, howitzer) while asking in confusion, "We have not been attacked on the front line, why are we suddenly retreating?"

Sergeant Fujikawa Kinoue put the prepared炮 (pào, artillery) jacket on the lowered artillery barrel and said in a low voice: "What are you doing asking so much as an ordinary鬼 (guǐ, devil)?

The officer will let you retreat if he lets you retreat. Why are there so many questions? Do you want to be slapped?"

Sergeant Fujikawa Kinoue was often訓 (xùn, taught) by 小隊長 (xiǎo duì zhǎng, squad leader) Tanaka because of his many questions, and this has become a fixed routine of the entire squad.

Hearing Fujikawa Kinoue say this, Fujikawa Kinoue quickly looked around and could not find the shadow of the squad leader, and then he felt relieved.

He said with a smile, "I am used to being slapped a few more times, it is no big deal."

Sergeant Kinyosuke Fujikawa said in a low voice: "I heard that there is a big problem with the 102nd Brigade in Xingzi, and we need to go back to sit鎮 (zhèn, guarding)."

Captain Akira Nishi of the 4th Battalion of the 101st Regiment led the team to guard Panjia Mountain. They were the devils that Shozaburo Sato ordered to守 (shǒu, guard) the rear.

At this time, Captain Yamada Takeru of the First Battalion had already led the team to withdraw from the front line. It had to quickly retreat to the mountain pass to strengthen the defense and prepare to welcome the possible battle.

While the devils were busy defending, the Special Brigade was resting. After fighting continuously for a whole day, the soldiers needed to stop and rest.

With today's休整 (xiū zhěng, rest), there was enough horse meat, and after警戒 (jǐng jiè, guarding) teams were sent out in all four directions, the Special Brigade began to stop.

While the main force stopped, the偵察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) platoons of each連 (lián, company) were busy. Jing Liquan, the 偵察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) platoon leader of the First 連 (lián, company) of the Second Regiment, was the first to report the news of the devil's 149th Regiment's調動 (diào dòng, transfer).

Platoon Leader Jing and his men did not return to合 (hé, joining) with the First 連 (lián, company), but set off again, and found a devil侦察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) team in Jiangjiazui in front of Qiaotou Xiong.

小隊長 (xiǎo duì zhǎng, Squad Leader) Ayumu Nikko led twelve devils under his command to偵察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) along the road towards Xingzi. They were carrying out the order of brigade General Shozaburo Sato to see how the Infantry 149th Regiment, which had been sent out earlier, was doing.

They had been walking for more than an hour, and Sergeant Ryosuke Kitakaze suggested, "Captain! We have been marching hurriedly all the way, let's rest for a while!"

This was an acceptable proposal. The thirteen devils stopped on the side of the road, drinking cold water and sitting on the ground to catch their breath.

Sergeant Ryosuke Kitakaze said, "We haven't seen a single person along the way, and the same is true in the villages on the side of the road. Except for some empty houses, there is nothing."

小隊長 (xiǎo duì zhǎng, Squad Leader) Ayumu Nikko was a little interested, and接 (jiē, answering), "This is the Nationalist army's坚壁清野 (jiān bì qīng yě, scorched earth), just wanting us to not find a person to ask for directions on this land, and not find a grain of food to fill our stomachs.

They want to use this method to stop our attack."

Sergeant Ryosuke Kitakaze laughed when he heard the captain say this: "It would be good if they didn't do this, we can hit wherever we go and find food to eat locally."

"What is it called finding food locally? That's called以战养战 (yǐ zhàn yǎng zhàn, supporting the army with war), this is the best way. No matter how we fight, we won't lose money, and we can编 (biān, weave) the prisoners into the fighting team.

In that case, the more we fight, the more teams there will be, and the more food there will be. That is the real 以战养战 (yǐ zhàn yǎng zhàn, supporting the army with war)! It is said that this was the case in Shanghai, but unfortunately it can no longer be done here." 小隊長 (xiǎo duì zhǎng, Squad Leader) Ayumu Nikko said遗憾 (yí hàn, regrettably).

The dozen or so devils around him sighed together. When these devils were fighting smoothly in the first few months, not only was the battle easy, but they could also燒 (shāo, burning) kill and plunder along the way. Lucky devils could also find some gold treasures.

In the past three months, there has been no such good thing. Every day, they were拼命 (pīn mìng, fighting desperately) with the Nationalist army soldiers, and if they were not careful, they would lose their lives. None of the devils wanted to live such a life anymore.

This was not the end. The water here, the mountains here, the insects here, and the weather here were all unfriendly to them. After drinking the water here, a particularly large number of devils contracted malaria. The mountains here were almost the same, and it was easy to get lost when you went in. The insects here were not big, but the itch after being bitten made the devils want to挖 (wā, dig) that position. The weather here was always stuffy, making the devils unable to breathe.

In short, everything here did not welcome them. These grass-roots devils had long不想 (bù xiǎng, did not want) to continue fighting. They stopped here for a while, and 小隊長 (xiǎo duì zhǎng, Squad Leader) Ayumu Nikko stood up: "Let's go! It will be West Gu Mountain in a while, be careful, everyone."

It was telling its devil soldiers to be careful, but it did not know that their every move was in the eyes of Platoon Leader Jing Liquan.

Platoon Leader Jing looked at the thirteen devils in the分队 (fēn duì, detachment) through the telescope, and ordered: "Get ready! Open fire first in a while, don't let a single devil run away." There were 50 soldiers in his platoon, and of course, fifty against thirteen would not let a single devil run away.

This gang of devils in Nikko continued to walk for more than ten minutes, and finally entered the ambush circle of the侦察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) platoon. Platoon Leader Jing shouted, "打 (dǎ, attack)!"

"砰砰砰 (pēng pēng pēng)!" A burst of gunfire, and the dozen or so devils walking on the road all fell to the ground, without a single devil running away.

Platoon Leader Jing rushed out, and the entire platoon cleaned up the battlefield. No useful information was found from these devils.

This was not surprising. Anyway, the侦察 (zhēn chá, reconnaissance) platoon was打鬼子 (dǎ guǐ zi, attacking devils). The most important thing was that the devils died. He dragged the thirteen devils to a偏僻 (piān pì, remote) place, cleaned up the battlefield, and the platoon continued to摸 (mō, grope) forward.

They had handed over all the maps from De'an to the mountain pass to Lin Fan, and now they were just going over