Although the militia in Fortress Village received military training, they had never really fought a war. Seeing so many Japanese, they suddenly became a little panicked.

On Mountain No. 67, the special forces member who came to convey the order was named Zhang Hongnian. He originally followed Shi Jianlong to join Gao Jiu's puppet security army. After many battles, he has grown into an excellent Taohua Mountain guerrilla.

Seeing that the militia in Gaojiazhuang on the mountain were panicked, he shouted: "Friends! Don't be afraid, these Japanese were driven out of Taohua Mountain by Jiu Ye. Jiu Ye was leading a large group of people to come here. We must block these Japanese and avenge the villagers who died in the village."

When it comes to revenge, the villagers suddenly turned red and heard that reinforcements would come soon. Everyone made up their minds and prepared for the battle.

The militiamen in Xiwangzhuang on Mount No. 66 opposite were similar and were ready for battle.

Soon the Japanese came over. Although the militia on the mountain had been mobilized, they were still very nervous. The hands holding guns were trembling, and their palms were covered in sweat.

With a "bang", Zhang Hongnian opened fire. A Japanese officer running in front of the team fell down with the gunshot.

Immediately afterwards, two light machine guns on both sides also opened fire, and seven or eight Japanese soldiers were hit and fell down.

"The devils are dead." The militia on the mountain saw that the devils in the valley could be killed. Their courage suddenly became much greater and began to shoot guns at the devils at the bottom of the mountain. They didn't have much time to train and their marksmanship were not accurate, but so many guns were shot by randomly, and many devils were still hit and fell down.

When the militiamen saw that they could kill the Japanese, their nervousness basically disappeared. They happily kept firing guns down the mountain.

The Japanese devils in the 18th Regiment of the Japanese Army were really strong in combat. They did not panic after encountering the attack, and immediately looked for hidden objects to fight back on the mountain.

The Japanese officers briefly judged the enemy situation and began to organize troops to charge against the enemy troops on the mountains on both sides.

The Japanese counterattack immediately caused casualties to the militia on the mountain. Several militiamen were shot, some died on the spot, and the injured screamed in pain, and the militia began to panic again.

Zhang Hongnian knew that the situation was critical. If everyone could not stabilize everyone's emotions, these militiamen were likely to collapse and turn around and escape.

He shouted loudly, "Don't be afraid, there are no one who can't die in war? You have also seen that the Japanese have died much more than us. Our relatives were beaten to death by the Japanese, so we have to avenge them."

The words of the special forces played a certain role. Everyone thought that they were on the top of the mountain, and it was not easy for the Japanese to rush up, so their emotions eased a little.

Seeing the Japanese rushing towards the mountain, Zhang Hongnian shouted loudly: "Don't panic! Don't shoot any more, prepare grenades, listen to my command and fire together!"

At this moment, the militia must not be allowed to fight on their own. They must exert their collective strength, otherwise the militia may collapse.

The Japanese climbed up the mountain and arrived at a place of seventy or eighty meters. Zhang Hongnian shouted: "Each of them aims at one target, listen to my command, and fire together."

He waited for half a minute and saw the team members aiming at the foot of the mountain with guns, he shouted loudly, "Prepare to fire."

The militiamen shot through the guns, and six or seven Japanese soldiers were immediately beaten to roll down the mountain, and the rest of the Japanese soldiers hurriedly lay on the hillside.

Seeing that this method was effective, the militia's mood became more stable. When the Japanese got up and continued to charge up, the second row of guns shot again, followed by the third row and the fourth row. The militia's shooting pace became faster and faster. When each row of guns was shot, unlucky Japanese soldiers were hit.

When the Japanese army rushed to a place more than fifty meters above the top of the mountain, Zhang Hongnian shouted loudly: "Prepare the grenades, listen to my command, prepare! Throw it."

With Zhang Hongnian's order, dozens of grenades flew down from the top of the mountain. Due to nervousness, several of the militia forgot to pull the strings and threw the grenades down.

Despite this, dozens of grenades exploded on the hillside, causing great casualties to the Japanese army.

Seeing the Japanese army being blown down by the explosion, the militia became more courageous. Zhang Hongnian commanded the militia to drop four grenades each, and the Japanese on the hillside suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat.

Seeing the Japanese were defeated, the militia cheered, and their emotions became more stable.

However, Zhang Hongnian became even more anxious at this time. He put a shed in his hand and looked out of the mountain, hoping to see the reinforcements as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he could not see a figure for a while.

He knew that the Japanese were about to fire artillery, and if these militiamen were bombarded by the Japanese artillery fire, the possibility of collapse was extremely high.

He shouted loudly: "Everyone is lying farther away from each other, and the Japanese may fire artillery in a while. Don't be afraid, find a place to hide. The Japanese don't have many shells, and they have to stop after they can't hit them for a while, and then send people to rush up. Then we'll hit them down. Don't be afraid, and quickly hide."

In order to prevent the militia from collapsing when they are bombarded, Zhang Hongnian shouted loudly: "When the Japanese are bombarded later, don't run around. The shells are the same as grenades, and they are used to kill people. As long as you lie on the ground and don't run around, you will not be easily beaten to death. If you run around, it will be dangerous.

Remember! When the Japanese bombarded, you should cover your ears with both hands, close your eyes, lower your head and lie on the ground. The lower your head, the better. Don’t run around!”

This move was taught by Gao Jiu. When encountering enemy shelling, the recruits lie on the ground like ostrichs. As long as they cannot see the tragic situation of others being killed, their panic will be reduced a lot.

Sure enough, the Japanese army began their old tactics again, erected mortars under the mountain, and began to bomb the hills on both sides.

"Boom boom boom boom boom." The explosion of shells kept ringing from the top of the mountain, smoke and dust rolled, and shrapnel flew everywhere.

The method Zhang Hongnian took was still effective. Since the distance had been scattered in advance, the casualties of the militia were reduced a lot. The militia were very scared, but they were deceived by Zhang Hongnian and closed their eyes and covered their ears. They could not hear the screams of other team members, nor could they see the tragic situation of others being killed. The fear in their hearts was reduced a lot.

After a round of artillery bombardment, seven or eight militiamen were killed and injured. No matter what, the militias persisted.

When Zhang Hongnian saw that the Japanese stopped shelling and knew that the Japanese were about to start attacking again, he shouted vigorously: "The Japanese will not shoot artillery! Everyone returns to their original positions and prepare to attack the Japanese again."

Under Zhang Hongnian's calm command, the militia persevered.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaomei and others had already arrived outside the mountain. When they heard the gunshots and explosions in front of them, they hurriedly led the troops to run forward desperately.

The subsequent large troops of the Japanese arrived. Nakajima Fenggo realized the situation was critical and immediately joined a large number of troops and attacked the two hills.

The militia on the mountain were panicked when they saw so many Japanese soldiers. They felt that they could not kill these dozens of guns at all.

The militia captain of Gaojiazhuang was afraid of being surrounded by the Japanese, so he said, "Brother Zhang, there are too many Japanese, so I can't beat you! If not, please withdraw first."

The militia were already panicked, and when they heard the militia captain say this, they became even more scared. Some militia had already stood up and prepared to escape.

Zhang Hongnian had no choice but to know that he could not force these militiamen, and maybe these guys would shoot him if they were anxious. He held a glimmer of hope and shouted vigorously: "Friends! Hold on for a while, the reinforcements will arrive soon."

Unfortunately, this move was no longer effective. Zhang Hongnian said the reinforcements would arrive soon after the first time. More than half an hour has passed, and the shadow of the reinforcements has not been seen.

The militia captain saw that the militia had almost 20 people died, and felt that he could not explain to the villagers when he returned, and he was already very scared. He turned around and looked down at the foot of the mountain. Seeing so many Japanese soldiers, they were almost climbing up, he immediately made up his mind and shouted: "Friends! There are too many Japanese soldiers, so let's retreat quickly."

Zhang Hongnian felt very helpless and thought to himself: "Master Jiu, I'm really sorry, I've really tried my best." Thinking of this, he closed his eyes and then opened it suddenly, hoping to see a miracle.

This time he really didn't disappoint. He saw the figure of the Independence Camp. The Jiang Xiaomei in red at the front, who was like a fire of hope, suddenly lit up his eyes.

Jiang Xiaomei is now a regular Eighth Route Army. She usually wears military uniforms. Because the female general in red is very famous, the soldiers of the Independence Battalion hope that she will wear a red dress when fighting. As soon as her figure appears, it can not only boost morale, but also scare the enemy. Therefore, Jiang Xiaomei specially wore a red coat when fighting. Sure enough, Zhang Hongnian saw her at a glance.

Zhang Hongnian shouted desperately: "Friends! The reinforcements are really coming. Look over there, look at the woman in red. The woman in red is coming, and Master Jiu will come soon."

The militia looked in the direction of his finger and saw the brigade of men coming. Now, the militia became more courageous, so they all ran back and lay in their original position.

Jiang Xiaomei and others arrived at the battlefield in time and used the forces of two companies to block the enemy head-on, while the troops of another company went to support the militia on the mountain respectively.

While sending troops to attack the tops of the mountain on both sides, Nakajima commanded other troops and forcibly rushed out of the mountain through the valley, but was hit by the incoming independent battalion.

The soldiers of the Independence Battalion are now considered to be experienced in many battles and well-equipped. With one encounter, they will beat the very tired Japanese to the point of falling.

Seeing that it was difficult for a moment to rush over, the troops were attacked by firepower on the hillsides on both sides, so they had to retreat the troops helplessly.

Soon after, the soldiers of the Independence Battalion occupied the 66th and 67th hills, and also sent some troops to occupy the 65th and 68th hills, and set up blocking positions on the front of the valley, cutting off the northern exit of the Japanese army.

This time, Tomogo Nakajima really began to worry about the fate of the 18th Regiment. He summoned several captains to study countermeasures and decided to launch a strong attack immediately to break through the enemy's blocking position and escape from Taohua Mountain as soon as possible.

After discussion, several Japanese brigade captains immediately organized troops to attack the independent battalion, and Nakajima sent a telegram to Hamada Yoshihiro again.

When Jiang Xiaomei, Yang Jiong and others saw that the Japanese army were blocked, they were very happy and immediately sent a telegram to Gao Jiu and reported to him about the situation here.

Soon, Gao Jiu replied to the telegram and told them good news, asking them to stick to their support. The cavalry battalion led by Wang Zhankui could soon rush to support them.

It turned out that Gao Jiu received a telegram from Zhang Quan that the Japanese had broken through to the north. He immediately sent Wang Zhankui to lead the cavalry battalion to the north to cut off the Japanese army's retreat. At this moment, they were not far from Mountain No. 67.

Gao Jiu also sent a telegram to Guan Lie and others, ordering the 24th Regiment and the Independent Regiment to immediately encircle the 67th Mountain area.

Zhang Quan and others were not idle either. After they saw the Japanese retreat, Du Shengxi led a squadron of special forces to follow the Japanese army to harass them.

Last night, Hamada Yoshi-sama couldn't sleep well. He carefully recalled his experience of dealing with Gao Jiu. He decided not to adopt similar tactics to deal with Taohua Mountain again. He believed that Gao Jiu and others had established a solid foundation in this area, and relying solely on the troops to encircle and suppress the enemy would not work.

He believed that the only way to break through Taohua Mountain was to block the entire Taohua Mountain area after the army participating in the Wuhan Battle returned to Shandong in the future. Just like in the Northeast, it would take the method of merging villages and garrisons to move all the people around Taohua Mountain, and then siege heavily to siege the people around Taohua Mountain, cut off their personnel and supplies, and force them to jump out of Taohua Mountain to fight the main force of the Japanese army.

After understanding this, his mood improved a lot.

At this time, he received a telegram from Nakajima Bongo. He had just gotten a little better and became depressed again. However, he still felt a little grateful. Thanks to his cleverness, he did not follow Nakajima Bongo and was surrounded by Taohua Mountain.

He knew that he had to take on a lot of responsibility this time, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and sent a telegram to General Matsuda.

Jinan, Japan Military Police Command.

General Matsuda was in a very bad mood. He felt a headache when he heard the three words "Taohua Mountain". He was a very calm person, but when he heard Gao Jiu's name, he couldn't help but feel a little irritated. However, he was a person with a strong sense of responsibility and a person who was brave enough to take responsibility. He calmed down his mood and reported to the 12th Army Command.

"Baoge, what are these bastards in the army doing?" said the commander of the Japanese Air Force Third Air Force commander in dissatisfaction.

Yesterday, the Air Force had already received a request from the Army and sent four bombers to bomb Taohua Mountain this morning. More than two hours ago, they received a notice that the Army had evacuated Taohua Mountain and cancelled the bombing mission. Now, they have applied again, asking the Air Force to send bombers to Taohua Mountain to support the 18th Japanese Regiment there. Of course, the Air Force was very dissatisfied with the Army's tossing.

After being dissatisfied, the third Japanese air force sent four bombers to the direction of Taohua Mountain.

Taoyuan Town.

Guo Hengming and others escorted a large number of supplies and followed the 187th Division's troops to Taoyuan Town.

Gao Jiu had received a telegram from Jiang Xiaomei, saying that the Japanese army had been blocked near No. 67 Mountain. Gao Jiu asked Guo Hengming to leave some people to take care of the supplies, and the rest followed him to the area of ​​No. 67 Mountain.

Among the supplies transported back by Guo Hengming and others, the two French Hatchcas 1930 13.2mm anti-aircraft machine guns given to him by Lin Yanni's father Lin Wenhan.

Gao Jiujiu liked the feeling of shooting anti-aircraft machine guns, so he didn't let them unload the car. He took these two anti-aircraft machine guns to Mount No. 67.

Ouyang Xue had already agreed to give Gao Jiu a batch of anti-aircraft machine guns. Unfortunately, Gao Jiu left this time so he could only ask Ouyang Xue to help him transport it to Zhiyuan County and then transport it back to Taohua Mountain.

Seeing that the number of enemy troops blocking the road was increasing, he was already anxious and immediately launched two brigades of troops. One brigade launched an attack on the No. 66 and No. 67 on both sides of the valley. The other brigade's troops directly attacked the blocking positions of the independent battalion blocking the exit of the valley.

The first and third companies of the Independent Battalion were responsible for the frontal blocking at the Gukou. There were a total of 240 soldiers, as well as the mortar platoon of the Independent Battalion. After they arrived here, they repelled the charge of the vanguard troops, and then seized the time to build simple fortifications to prepare to repel the large-scale attack of the Japanese army.

The Japanese were anxious this time, and a whole group of Japanese soldiers rushed over. Jiang Xiaomei and others were happy about this situation.

The Japanese attacks have their own offensive tactics. If they follow their routines, they will first bombard, and the soldiers of the Independent Battalion do not have strong fortifications and are prone to great casualties. Then the Japanese army sent small groups of troops to crawl forward and throw grenades. It is also difficult for the soldiers of the Independent Battalion to kill a large number of enemies.

The Japanese army was anxious this time and rushed up in a hurry, which made it easier to deal with. The Japanese army always paid great attention to the rules of attack, and now they have no choice.

First, because time is tight, they hope to rely on the large number of people to quickly break through the enemy's positions. Another important reason is that their artillery basically has no shells in their hands, and they can't do it even if they want to adopt the original offensive tactics.

The Independent Battalion is now well-equipped. Each infantry squad has a light machine gun. Each company also has a special machine gun squad. The entire company has a total of 16 light machine guns, and the two companies have a total of 32 light machine guns. It is simply easy to block the valley that is only a few dozen meters wide.

The general Eighth Route Army troops have very difficult ammunition supply, and each soldier usually only has a few bullets. They usually fire three shots and then rushed forward to fight with the Japanese army. The Independent Battalion is different, with Gao Jiu's support behind them, so there is no need to save bullets at all. Seeing the Japanese rushing over, the soldiers of the Independent Battalion just pulled the trigger and fired the bullets out like a heavy rain.
To be continued...