The corridor was in a mess, the sandbag walls were dug down, the water tanks were broken into pieces, and the blocked corridor was so easy for people to pass through.
Luo Fugui panted and looked inside the dark tower for a while, but he didn't rush in. The light was too poor. Who knew what was going on inside? Were all the enemies on the lower floors killed? Did the enemies above come down? It was pitch black in here. What if he made a mistake and regretted it forever
He didn't dare to go in first, and Wu Shitou was not cut out for it. Fortunately, there was a good candidate, Xu Xiao, who wanted to be a martyr. He didn't need to say much. He just said "go" to him, and the child was so happy that he was sniffling.
Carrying the rifle on his back and holding the Mauser pistol, Xu Xiao went in without saying a word.
This is really a good boy who doesn't know how to live or die. Luo Fugui couldn't help but whispered to him from behind: "Damn it, slow down! Check to see if they are dead. If there is any movement, hit them. And pay attention to the stairs. I will cover you."
Crouching down, he cautiously walked out of the corridor, and the ground floor space came into view. There was a faint glow from the shooting holes around, the light was very poor, and there were shadowy figures lying on the ground.
This was the second time Xu Xiao entered the artillery tower. Including this time, he had participated in two battles in total, and both times he fought at the artillery tower. Although this artillery tower was different from that other artillery tower, the two artillery towers in Luoye Village and Lushuipu were the same size and had exactly the same layout. So even though it was dark inside, Xu Xiao locked onto the stairs at first glance. However, there was no light at all, which made Xu Xiao a little confused, because he didn't know that the stairs were blocked by enemies on the second floor.
…
There was a row of thick wooden beams between the ground floor and the second floor, on which two layers of thick wooden boards were laid horizontally and nailed, and the position was also slightly higher, so the explosion of the grenades just now did not cause any casualties on the second floor. After the explosion, the Japanese sergeant estimated that the dozen puppet soldiers on the ground floor were finished, and then there was a digging sound at the entrance, which meant that the enemy was about to come in.
But the sergeant did not order the sealed staircase to be opened. Calculating the time, the reinforcements from Luoye Village should appear at any time. As long as the reinforcements arrive, the battle will end immediately, so the sergeant did not want to take risks in the last period of time. Since the Eighth Route Army has always wanted to set fire, it means that the Eighth Route Army has no explosives. As long as the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the west is firmly blocked on the periphery, then even if the bottom floor is occupied by the Eighth Route Army, "they still cannot take down the artillery tower in time, and the reinforcements should arrive soon, and the artillery tower will not be lost!
Therefore, the heavy machine guns on the second floor were also moved to the third floor. All three machine guns were moved up and continued to press westward unwaveringly. The staircase on the third floor was closed and blocked. The sergeant personally stayed on the second floor with a few Japanese soldiers to make emergency preparations. The purpose was still to delay time and hold on until help.
…
Click—the silver watch case jumped, and a dim light appeared on the dial. Hu Yi was silent for a while, closed the pocket watch again, and subconsciously looked towards the eastern sky.
Time was running out. In order to increase the suddenness of the attack, the battle was launched after midnight. However, the first fire failed to cause panic in the enemy, which was the first accident. When Runny Nose led the second group to charge, they caught fire halfway, which was the second accident. The mule was unable to withdraw, but attacked the bottom floor of the turret, which was the third accident. It was delayed again and again until now, when daybreak was approaching.
Mule only has the fool and Xu Xiao with him, three people in total. Can he take down the artillery tower
The enemy's machine guns had been suppressing the west side. The 9th Platoon had attracted the enemy's attention, but if the mules did not withdraw, the 9th Platoon behind would not be able to help. By daybreak, the situation would be more favorable to the enemy. However, it was impossible to let the 9th Platoon charge for this. Three machine guns, even if they were blinded, would still be a massacre.
The reinforcements were Li Youde from Luoye Village. They were called a battalion. It was said that he had taken in most of the bandits in the battle of Sanjiaji. Now they had at least 600 to 700 people. Just looking at the number of people, they could be considered a regiment. Ma Liang tried to intercept the messenger on the way. Did he succeed? Even if he did, were there any other loopholes? The worst result was that Li Youde might be here soon. The people of Lushuipu dared not go out at night, but the truth would be revealed at dawn. Sooner or later, the news would reach Luoye Village. The best result was that Li Youde's team would arrive in the morning.
But the key problem is that if they delay until dawn, Mule and the other three will have no chance to evacuate. What on earth is Mule thinking? He is definitely someone who can understand the situation. This is something that Runny Nose should have done. Hu Yi had a headache. There was nothing he could do at the moment. He could only watch and see.
…
Although he didn't have a watch, Ma Liang knew that dawn was not far away. Although he was between Lvshuipu and Luoye Village, he was closer to Lvshuipu. There was a faint red light in the sky towards the mountain pass, indicating that there was still a fire burning there, and the faint sound of gunfire was still ringing, indicating that the battle was still going on.
Why wasn't the battle over yet? Why had it dragged on until now? What happened? All this made Ma Liang anxious.
The mission was to intercept the enemy who reported the news and delay the enemy reinforcements. From the beginning of the battle to now, more than one person had been captured, and they were all tied up in the dense forest beside the path.
The first one was a puppet soldier who ran out of the artillery tower and wanted to seek reinforcements from Luoye Village.
Soon, another one was caught. He was wearing black clothes and carrying a box gun. After being caught, he confessed in a panic that he was a security guard and his name was Tail. Ma Liang knew that he must be Li Youcai's subordinate in Lushuipu. He was too lazy to expose his lies and tied him up directly.
Not long ago, another person was arrested. He was neither a puppet soldier nor a traitor. He was a commoner from Lushuipu. His purpose was simple. He could get two catties of millet if he reported the news. For this reason, he bravely went out in the dark and took the initiative to deliver the news to Luoye Village. As a result, he ran into the village and was tied up like a dumpling while crying.
Ma Liang also began to have a headache. The situation was more complicated than he had imagined. Two kilograms of millet made some people forget about the enemy and us, dare to take risks, and dare to be traitors. In this situation, are all the obstacles blocked? Will someone slip through
Thinking of this, Ma Liang no longer hesitated and whispered to a soldier beside him: "Go to Luoye Village immediately. If you don't encounter any reinforcements along the way, stay outside Luoye Village and watch from a hidden position. If any enemy comes out, report immediately."
The soldier took the order and hurried into the darkness.
…
The new barracks was located outside Luoye Village, but the battalion commander Li Youde lived in his own Li family compound every day.
It was almost dawn, and the light was still on in Li Youde's study because he had been sitting there without closing his eyes.
There was a pot of tea on the table, which had long gone cold. A puppet army officer sat at the table, fiddling with the empty teacup in his hand. His name was Li Yong. He used to be the militia captain of the Li Family Compound, and now he was the deputy battalion commander of the Fallen Leaf Battalion. He was a real confidant of Li Youde.
"It's almost dawn, right?" Li Youde, who was reading under the lamp on the other side of the table, suddenly asked without looking up.
Li Yong looked out the window: "It's almost there." He put down the empty tea bowl in his hand, secretly glanced at Li Youde, hesitated for a moment, smacked his lips: "Master, the people I arranged near Lushuipu will definitely not dare to lie. There were gunshots and fire, so something must have happened. Why don't you believe it? Otherwise... I'll take a company to take a look first. It won't delay anything if there is something wrong."
Li Youde finally put down the book in his hand, tilted his head to look at Li Yong for a while, and suddenly smiled.
"Li Yong, let me tell you clearly, if I can't wait for Lushuipu to send a letter, I will definitely not send troops."
"Then... maybe the messenger had an accident? Isn't the Green Water Tower dangerous? Isn't the mission assigned to us by the Imperial Army..."
"Haha, the telephone hasn't been installed yet, and the messenger hasn't come yet. I haven't received any news. It's not my responsibility that the turret was lost, right?"
Li Yong was a little stunned after listening to this. He was stunned for a while and suddenly said, "Uncle, do you mean..." He didn't dare to finish his words.
Li Youde didn't mind: "Yes, I am just waiting for the Eighth Route Army to take over the Green Water Shop Artillery Tower."
"Even if the Imperial Army doesn't blame us, what good will this do us?"
Li Youde stood up from the table, walked to the window, paused for a while and then said: "Li Yong, what do you think will happen if the artillery tower is taken by the Eighth Route Army?"
"What will happen next?" Unable to guess the answer, he had to ask in return.
Li Youde laughed again: "You, you only know how to use guns and cannons all day long, and you don't have a brain. Then... the imperial army will be unhappy, and they will retaliate and intimidate to prove the strength of the imperial army. However, Lushuipu is too far away from the county town, and it is not worth mobilizing troops for a cannon tower. We are here, aren't we a ready-made team?"
"But... what good will it do us to fight the Eighth Route Army?"
"balance."
"Balance?" Li Yong couldn't understand.
"Yes, balance. Everything needs balance. Only with balance can we have scales, and only with scales can we have business."
The more Li Yong listened, the more confused he became, until he finally became dumbfounded.
Li Youde seemed to have forgotten that Li Yong was still staring at the table, and continued to mutter to himself: "Autumn is almost here!"
…