As the world passage opened, Fang Er watched Li Shimin lead his imposing entourage through.
To his surprise, the man had made other preparations.
A brigade flag of the 387th Brigade fluttered proudly on Yu Chide's shoulder.
The scene shifted, and everyone appeared in Zhao Family Creek.
As the morning sun rose here, looking at the ruins and the villagers collecting bodies, Li Shimin's expression instantly soured.
"Damn, that kid An Zhi is unreliable, we're actually late!"
"Looking at the situation, my grandson must have already been attacked. I just don't know if Ping'an County has been fought yet!"
Cheng Yaojin and the others were all bewildered. They only knew they were here to fight the Japanese, not the cause and effect.
Li Shimin didn't have the patience to explain to them. In his opinion, war was a man's business, and involving women was absolutely not allowed!
"Xiao Wang, go ask if Ping'an County has started fighting!"
Since Fang Er had to go to modern times to find Huang Tagu for military supplies, the errand fell to Wang Xuance.
The sudden appearance of a large number of troops, vehicles, and tanks terrified the villagers who were collecting bodies in the village, making them think the devils had come back.
As Wang Xuance reached the village entrance, he saw them drop the bodies and run away.
A small child ran past him, and he stepped forward to grab the child.
"Why are you running, I'm not a bad guy!"
The child clearly didn't believe him, turned his head, and stubbornly cursed, "You little devil, I'll curse your ancestors for eight generations. If you dare let me go, see if I don't rip out your guts~"
Wang Xuance: ...
You old rascal, in terms of years, I'm your ancestor, alright?
If you curse like that, what do you want to achieve?
He lifted the child from the ground and pointed at the main force.
"You little brat, look there. Do you recognize the flag of the 387th Brigade?"
The child was illiterate, but he could distinguish between the red flag and the Japanese flag.
"You, you, you are really from the 387th Brigade?"
Wang Xuance nodded, then urged, "Quickly, tell me what's going on now. Where is Li Yunlong of the Independent Regiment of the 386th Brigade? We're here to support him."
The child quickly said, "A few days ago, a group of devils came to the village and killed many people. Even Commander Li's wife was captured."
It's been several days?
Wang Xuance's heart sank. Before coming, Fang Er had briefly told him some of the plot of "Drawing Swords."
A few days after Zhao Family Creek was attacked, Li Yunlong gathered all his forces to attack Ping'an County.
Damn it, could it be that they came enthusiastically only to miss the heat of the bathwater?
He quickly pressed, "What about Ping'an County? Has the battle started yet??"
The child scratched the back of his head and thought for a while, then said uncertainly, "Ping'an County? I don't know, I haven't heard of any fighting there."
A glimmer of hope rose in Wang Xuance's heart, and he quickly let go of the child to report back.
After listening, Li Shimin solemnly took out a hand-drawn map from his pocket.
"It seems we are a little late, but it shouldn't be too late."
"Come, come! Gather around!"
"Let me tell you, just for this map, I watched those two episodes of the TV series dozens of times, my eyes were almost blind, and I managed to restore it through screenshots!"
"Old Cheng, you take 50 tanks and 200 Tianhuo troops and immediately go to this location to ambush."
"Heizi, you take the same number of men, go to this location."
"Shubao, you go here."
"Yaoshi~~"
The map was spread flat on the tank, and Li Shimin confidently issued orders, along with rough terrain maps of each person's assigned area.
It's hard to say how much effort this guy put into these maps, considering that many places on them have changed names in later generations.
"Remember, no matter who we encounter, we are the Wild Wolf Regiment of the 387th Brigade!"
"I am the regimental commander, Shubao, Heizi, and Yaoshi, you three are battalion commanders, and the rest of you can find your own titles."
"From this moment on, if you see me, you are not allowed to call me Emperor, nor Grand Emperor. You must call me Regimental Commander."
"The military salute must be in the style of the Tianhuo Army."
"Did you all hear me clearly?"
"Yes, Regimental Commander!" The crowd was invigorated, stood at attention, and saluted. Although it was their first time, their posture was quite standard.
Then, the 1200-strong team split into ten groups and set off in different directions.
---
Yushu Gully, the independent regiment's various units had returned, and Li Yunlong had learned that his forces had reached over ten thousand men.
After assigning combat tasks, he said to everyone.
"This time, our troop strength is eight to one. I've never fought such an easy battle in eight lifetimes."
"Let's play the host to our heart's content. No support attacks, all main attacks!"
Speaking of which, he looked at the third battalion commander who was grinning and chuckled, scolding.
"Third Battalion Commander, don't grin like a lotus flower. If you change from support to main attack, I won't add any men or guns to you."
The third battalion commander patted his chest and smiled, "Our third battalion guarantees to fight with spirit and rescue sister-in-law!"
Instructor Xing frowned at this. Such words were difficult to say, and if they reached the ears of superiors, they would not sound good.
So he put on a stern face and reprimanded the third battalion commander, "Fighting is fighting, killing devils is killing devils. Don't associate it with other things. We are liberating the county town!"
"Yes, liberating the county town!" others quickly agreed.
Li Yunlong didn't appreciate his sentiment. He looked around at everyone in the room, "Liberating the county town? That's all empty talk. I'll speak plainly, your sister-in-law was captured by the devils, what do we do?"
Everyone answered in unison, "What else can be said? Attack Ping'an County and rescue sister-in-law!"
Li Yunlong slammed his fist on the table, "That's right! If your wife is taken away, and you don't even fart, are you still a man?"
"With this reason, I, Li Yunlong, will not hide it. I dare to say it to the Commander-in-Chief!"
"Another reason is that this battle is for our Political Commissar Zhao, for the brothers who sacrificed in our Independent Regiment, and to avenge the villagers of Zhao Family Creek who were killed!"
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"
The battalions and companies quickly set up their positions, some surrounding the city, some intercepting.
Meanwhile, in Ping'an County, the garrison consisted of only one infantry battalion, plus the Yamamoto special forces who had fled, totaling just over a thousand men.
After the battle began, they immediately panicked and began to request reinforcements from Taiyuan.
Soon, two Japanese regiments carrying heavy weapons rushed towards Ping'an County from Taiyuan.
This move attracted the attention of the allied forces.
386th Brigade, Second Regiment Headquarters.
Kong Jie: "Transmit my order, the frontline troops will let the enemy cavalry pass, and focus on blocking the enemy infantry. The second-line troops must intercept the enemy cavalry at Erdaohezi and not let the enemy advance an inch!"
386th Brigade, First Regiment Headquarters.
Ding Wei: "Order the First Battalion, Third Battalion, Regimental Cavalry Company, Special Operations Company, all county detachments, and militia to be fully engaged in battle. Rely on favorable terrain and launch a comprehensive interception!"
Jin Sui Army, 358th Regiment Headquarters.
Chu Yunfei: "Let the artillery battalion and Fourth Battalion reinforce the Third Battalion. The First Battalion will flank. Remember, stagger the deployment and block in sections. No matter who is attacking Ping'an, our 358th Regiment will help!"
On the road leading to Ping'an County, more than twenty people from the Yongning County militia quietly lay on the high ground on both sides, watching a group of Japanese soldiers gradually approaching their position in the distance.
A militiaman suddenly retreated from the front and whispered into the ear of the militia captain.
"District Captain, I've seen clearly where this is. This is Zhangzhuang!"
"Almost all the devils at the outpost have come out, I don't know where they are going."
The captain thought for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder, "This is a good thing. Judging by the numbers, the devils at the outpost are probably less than a company."
"Immediately notify the county detachment to take advantage of the emptiness of the garrison to take the outpost, and the district squad will hold the enemy here."
"Hurry!"
The man nodded and left.
As soon as he left, the district captain ordered the landmines to be detonated. The marching devils were caught off guard, quickly took cover by the roadside and organized a counterattack.
The sound of the mine explosion and the gunfire of the engagement echoed in the open wilderness.
Just two or three kilometers away from them, 50 tanks stopped midway. Cheng Yaojin frowned deeply as he looked at the map.
"His Majesty's map is drawn too carelessly..."
"This damn thing doesn't match anywhere around here. You guys, come quickly and take a look!"
Ge Luoyang, who was beside him, was about to step forward when he suddenly stopped, cautiously looking around, then he jumped onto the tank.
The others quieted down when they saw this.
A moment later, Ge Luoyang pointed to the front left and said, "Company Commander, listen carefully, there's gunfire over there!"
Cheng Yaojin immediately turned his head, cupped his hands around his ears like a trumpet, and listened intently in the direction he indicated.
Faintly, he could indeed hear the sound of gunfire and artillery from that direction.
He instantly became excited, put away the map, jumped onto the tank, and ordered.
"Hurry up, there's a fight over there!"
"If you keep dawdling, you won't even get a mouthful of hot shit!"
Ge Luoyang: ...
Damn, as if hot shit tasted good!
The distance of two to three kilometers, plus detours, was only about ten minutes.
Just as the district squad and the devils were fighting fiercely, 50 tanks and 200 Tianhuo troops suddenly appeared on the battlefield!
Both sides of the engagement were stunned. Where did so many tanks come from, such a wealthy army?
But Cheng Yaojin immediately recognized the identities of these two groups.
Short stature, big buttocks, legs like lobsters.
A mustache under his nose, eyes like grasshoppers!
That group in yellow uniforms were definitely devils!
Why big buttocks?
Inside was wrapped a loincloth that could be pulled out at any time to be used as a white flag. If it wasn't big, it would be a ghost!
He stood up on the tank's turret, bowed forward, stepped on the barrel with his right foot, raised his Gatling gun, and shouted loudly, "Damn it!"
"This land is left to our descendants, how dare these mere Japanese invaders covet it?"
"Little brats, kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he opened fire first. The Gatling gun's six barrels spun rapidly, sweeping towards the devils.
The machine gunners on the tanks on both sides opened fire simultaneously upon hearing the order.
"Tut tut tut tut..."
More than ten twin 12.7mm machine guns, plus the Gatling gun in Cheng Yaojin's hand, fired simultaneously, and bullets rained down on the stunned devils.
The surviving devils immediately panicked. Facing such firepower, they had no way to fight back.
The leading devil captain immediately dropped his weapon, pulled out a white loincloth from his crotch, and waved it.
"Yamete kudasai..."
"Surren... "
"Uh..."
But before he could finish speaking, Cheng Yaojin spotted him. He swiveled the Gatling gun, and the next moment, he was blown into a pulp.
Seeing all the devils annihilated, Cheng Yaojin put down the Gatling gun, jumped off the tank, and walked over. He used his foot to flip over a devil who was lying on the ground, his lower body gone, but still alive.
In his terrified gaze, he opened his mouth and mulled for a moment.
"Heh... Ptooey!"
He spat a mouthful of century-old phlegm onto the devil's face, then pointed at his nose and cursed.
"Damn it, we could bully you a thousand years ago, and we can still bully you now!"
"How dare you harm my descendants, wait, we'll take care of you all sooner or later!"
The people from the district squad stood on the high slope, watching all this dumbfounded.
They were ready to sacrifice themselves collectively, and suddenly this happened?
Where did these people come from?
The captain nervously walked out of the position and shouted to Cheng Yaojin and the others.
"Comrade, hello, we are the Yongning County District Squad. I am Captain Cheng Yaojin. May I know which unit you belong to?"
Cheng Yaojin looked at him with a bewildered expression, "Our company commander, what did you just say your name was?"
---
Heidaohezi, Independent Regiment, Sixth Company position.
Huang Zhiyong led the Sixth Company, the county detachment, and the district squad on the high ground on both sides of the road, forming a V-shaped crossfire, withstanding the impact of nearly a thousand enemy soldiers from a regiment.
"Company Commander, what should we do? The enemy's firepower is too strong!"
Huang Zhiyong wiped the cannon fodder from his face and gritted his teeth, "What should we do? Even if we die, we must hold on for eight hours!"
"Although we receive a salary of six and a half yuan, we must fight with the spirit of nine and a half!"
"If these devils want to get past, there is only one way, and that is to step over my corpse!"
"Boom boom boom~~~"
At this moment, several mortar shells whistled down from the sky.
"Take cover! Quickly take cover!"
Huang Zhiyong grabbed the young soldier beside him and pushed him into the trench. The next moment, they were buried by the dust kicked up by the shells.
And this was just the beginning of a new round of shelling.
Huang Zhiyong's heart ached. After this shelling, who knew how many more comrades would be sacrificed.
But for the sake of the overall situation, he had to hold his position for eight hours!
Not far from them was the 358th Regiment's station. Chu Yunfei sighed as he watched this scene.
"If it continues like this, they will soon be wiped out."
"Regimental Commander, look over there!"
Suddenly, the adjutant behind him pointed to the rear of the Sixth Company's position.
Where it was originally calm and undisturbed, a sky full of dust was suddenly raised.
Then, they were surprised to see dozens of steel behemoths charging out of the dust, heading straight for the Sixth Company's position.
Chu Yunfei's heart skipped a beat and he muttered, "This is bad. Where did the devils get so many tanks from?"
The adjutant looked at him worriedly, "Regimental Commander, what should we do? If we let them go unchecked, with the pincer attack from front and back, our brothers on the other side..."
But before Chu Yunfei could figure out what to do, some of the tanks suddenly accelerated, bypassed the Sixth Company, and positioned themselves in front of the formation.
Then, an even more shocking scene appeared.
Those tanks, while protecting the Sixth Company from behind, not only ignored the 60mm mortar shells fired by the devils but also turned their turrets towards the devils and assumed an offensive posture!