The morning glow reflected the towering steepness, accompanied by the coolness of early spring, making the mountains more magnificent and desolate. The wild grass and dead branches swayed frequently, and were brushed against and brushed by the eighteen hurried and tired figures. Occasionally, they made a rustling sound, as if they were very dissatisfied with the abrupt interruption of these travelers.
The team stopped on a ridge. The tall figure in the lead grabbed the kettle and took a few gulps. Then he took out a paper map from his pocket, compared it with the map, and began to scan the surroundings.
"Yes, it should be here."
"Captain, can we believe what that wicked girl said? Why do I feel like it's nonsense? Could it be that Team Nine is deliberately trying to trick us?"
"Stop talking nonsense. You go to the opposite beam and keep watch. Leave one eye on this beam as well. The rest of you follow me down to find the mark."
These people were the Second Company led by Gao Yidao. He got the map that Xiao Hongying had delivered as promised, and then applied to the regiment commander to lead the Second Company to Wuming Village to investigate whether the Japanese invasion had ended, and to check whether the bodies of the soldiers who died in the Second Company were properly handled. Although there were still a few lightly wounded soldiers in the Second Company who had not recovered, the regiment commander agreed to this well-reasoned request.
Reconnaissance was just an excuse, and there was no pretense in collecting the bodies of the Second Company. They arrived at Wuming Village last night. This place where the Second Company was defeated had now become a ruin with no one in it. Most of the bodies of the soldiers had been buried when the Japanese were cleaning up the battlefield. They buried the few bodies of the Second Company soldiers that the Japanese had missed in a large grave, and then rushed to the location marked on the map, the valley path north of Songjia Village, overnight.
Gao Yidao walked on the path, carefully observing the surroundings. Although it had been covered by wind and sand for many days, he still found many large patches of dried blood. This should be the battlefield. There were no bodies, so it should have been cleaned up by the Japanese afterwards. Gao Yidao was suspicious. Since this was the battlefield and the things were buried here, could it really be done by the four of them
"Company commander, we found it!" A soldier found a mark in a hidden place near the path, shouted to Gao Yidao, and then began digging with several people around him.
Equipment was packed in sacks, and guns were wrapped in sacks, all buried in this pit, the number was just as the wicked girl said. The dozen or so soldiers of the second company became more and more excited as they dug, and they forgot the fatigue and sleepiness of traveling all night. It's a fortune, it's a fortune this time, our second company is going to turn things around, haha!
Since the Nameless Village, the Second Company, like the Ninth Class, has become an idler in the Independent Regiment, especially the Third Company Commander Hao Ping, who always puts on a sympathetic face every time he meets them, comforting and sighing. In fact, the subtext is that the Second Company is yesterday's news, and now his Third Company is the strongest in the Independent Regiment, which makes Gao Yidao feel like he has eaten a mouthful of sand, and he has to say thank you for understanding. Now this fully equipped platoon is in front of him, which is the support for the Second Company of the Sharp Knife to make a comeback. Gao Yidao, the Second Company Commander, is more excited than anyone else.
However, although he was happy, Gao Yidao had not forgotten that this was obtained through business. The goods were fine, but he still had to clean up his mess. He rubbed a Type 38 rifle in his hand for a while, then put it down again. "Alright, stop gesticulating, bury the things again, you can't take them with you now."
"Why?" Some soldiers didn't understand.
"Why do you say that? They just carried it back like that and said it was blown by the wind?" Gao Yidao couldn't think of fabricating a battle, but he could accept saying that the spoils had a larger amount, so Gao Yidao had to fight a battle for this and fulfill his promise.
The Japanese were not difficult to find. There were some in Meixian County, but we couldn't defeat them even if we pulled out the entire independent regiment. There were also some in the mountains, but they were a mopping-up brigade with puppet troops. They almost crushed the Second Company to death in Wuming Village, and they were probably worried about not being able to find the Eighth Route Army in the mountains. How could they dare to go looking for this behemoth and die? Gao Yidao thought about it and decided that with just a dozen soldiers of his, the only thing he had a chance to do was to hold a gun tower.
Thirty miles east of Songjia Village, you will be out of the mountainous area and into the plains. Another thirty miles will lead you to Meixian County. The nearest artillery tower is at the junction of the mountainous area and the plains, blocking the passage in and out of the mountain. Since the Japanese occupied Meixian not long ago, the construction of artillery towers has not yet formed a network, and they are only built at some key pass locations. This artillery tower was also built not long ago. It is a brick and earth structure, and there is no time to dig trenches around it. It is ten meters high and divided into three floors. Nearly thirty Japanese and puppet soldiers are stationed in it.
A dozen soldiers huddled up behind the leeward mountain to sleep, while Gao Yidao and a sentry lay on the top of the mountain, observing the artillery tower in the distance. He had been lying on the top of the mountain, carefully observing for an entire afternoon, his brows furrowed deeply, and the situation was not optimistic.
This brick-and-mud turret was not big, but he only had a rifle and grenades in his hand, so he could not shake it from the outside. He had to get close to the bottom of the turret to have a chance. There was no trench dug around the bottom of the turret, but the area within a hundred meters was flattened, without even a single weed left. Even if he approached at night, since there was a moon nearby, he could only get within a hundred meters, and then he would have to charge. If there was no fire suppression or other means to divert the enemy's attention, this hundred meters could be a deadly distance. With himself as the company commander, there were a total of eighteen people, and even if he didn't count the sacrifice, his chances were slim.
Gao Yidao shrank his body back, turned over, and lay down, looking up at the sky and sighed.
The sentry next to him saw that the company commander was worried, so he comforted him: "Company commander, I think we can take it down. As long as we rush under their feet, we can use grenades and cook dumplings, and let them have a good New Year."
Gao Yidao shook his head: "You dozen or so are just the bottom line of our Second Company. We can't afford to fight you. The biggest problem is the lack of firepower. Damn it, at least one machine gun would be great."
The sentry fell silent for a while, then suddenly seemed to think of something and spoke again: "Captain, doesn't the 9th squad have a machine gun? Our 2nd Company is responsible for cleaning up the mess of the 9th squad, so why don't they contribute at all? I think we should bring them over as well."
Gao Yidao was silent for a while, then suddenly sat up and said, "That's right! This doesn't count as a breach of contract. Quick legs, I'll leave this matter to you. Go back immediately and tell the Ninth Squad that their butts are too big for the Second Company to handle. Ask them to come quickly, otherwise we won't do this deal."
When the morning glow appeared again, outside Dabei Village, the sentry of the independent regiment saw a familiar tired figure running towards them, sweating profusely.
"Hey, Quick Legs, why did you come back alone?"
"Ahem, ahem. I'm not feeling well. The company commander asked me to come back first." Kuaitui answered without stopping. He ran straight to the village and to the residence of Class 9.
The sentry looked at the back in surprise. Wow, he was running even when he was feeling unwell. He was indeed from the Second Company...