Devil's Army

Since the New 9th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army had been operating in the Wuyi County area, Brigade Commander Gao obtained the consent of Brigade Commander Li and handed over Wuyi County and Wuqiang County to the New 9th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army for garrison.

He also instructed the communications troops to connect the telephone lines of Wuyi County, Wuqiang County and Hengshui City.

In this way, if any situation occurs to Brigade Commander Gui and his men, they can immediately provide reinforcements.

Brigade Commander Gao also received a report from his scouts in Wuyi County that a troop was moving toward the vicinity of Wuyi County.

It is impossible for the Japanese army to gather forces and counterattack so quickly. Brigade Commander Gao asked the scout:

"How many people are there? Are they Japanese soldiers or puppet soldiers?"

"We were far away, so we couldn't tell how many people there were, but judging by the color of their uniforms, they were probably from the Eighth Route Army."

Brigade Commander Gao glared at the scout fiercely and startled him mid-sentence.

Soon, several Eighth Route Army officers, led by soldiers from the Sixth Brigade, arrived at the Wuyi County Command.

When Brigade Commander Gui saw it, he quickly introduced it to Brigade Commander Gao.

It turned out to be his old comrade-in-arms who often fought against the Japanese in Wuyi County, Commander Zhao of the Fifth Division of the Ji'nan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

At that time, the Japanese army surrounded Wuyi County with heavy troops, and the newly formed 9th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to cover the retreat of the 5th Military Sub-district of the South Hebei Military Region.

After Commander Zhao and his men successfully evacuated Wuyi County, they have been active around Zaoqiang County and Jizhou.

This time, when I heard that the First Anti-Japanese Army had reached Wuyi County, I came here specifically to meet them and get to know each other.

Wuyi County had originally established a people's government before the Japanese encirclement and suppression. He was also worried that some things would be difficult to negotiate after the First Anti-Japanese Army recaptured Wuyi County. Unexpectedly, the First Anti-Japanese Army Jidong Independent Brigade directly transferred all the defense management around Wuyi County and Wuqiang County to the newly formed Ninth Brigade. Once the staff of their new government arrived, it could be put into operation immediately.

Commander Zhao introduced the situation of the Japanese and puppet troops in Zaoqiang County and Jizhou District to Brigade Commander Gao.

Ever since the Japanese and puppet troops were defeated by the First Anti-Japanese Army in southern Hebei, they have tightened the blockade in Zaoqiang County and Jizhou District, with the city gates only open for three hours a day.

As soon as any suspicious person was found among the people, he was arrested immediately, causing panic among the people.

Brigade Commander Gao learned that there were only a few hundred Japanese and puppet troops in Zaoqiang County and Jizhou District, so he decided to recapture these two counties.

Brigade Commander Gui handed over the management of Wuyi County and Wuqiang County back to Commander Zhao.

Commander Zhao hung up the plaque of Wuyi County People's Government again at Chengnan Gate and started working.

The newly formed 9th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army followed the troops of the Jidong Independent Brigade led by Brigade Commander Gao out of the city and arrived near Zaoqiang County.

At this time, the Japanese and puppet troops had already closed the city gates, and there were still many civilians outside the gates preparing to enter the city.

The casualties of the assault troops were too great. After discussing with Brigade Commander Gao and Brigade Commander Gui, they decided to send soldiers to mix in with the common people and sneak into Zaoqiang County tomorrow when the Kacheng Gate is open, and then take over Zaoqiang County with the help of the inside and outside forces.

At nine o'clock the next morning, the city gate of Zaoqiang County was opened, and Brigade Commander Gao sent a small elite team to blend in with the common people and prepare to sneak into Zaoqiang County.

Mortars were also deployed to target the city wall of Zaoqiang County. Snipers also targeted the Japanese and puppet troops at the gate of Zaoqiang County. In case of any emergency, they would immediately launch a strong attack to cover the small team members entering the city.

The Japanese and puppet troops in Zaoqiang County were very vigilant. As the faces of the small team members were unfamiliar, the two small team members who were about to sneak in were immediately stopped by the puppet troops.

While the two puppet soldiers were still questioning the two squad members, a sniper rifle fired outside Zaoqiang County, and the two puppet soldiers fell to the ground.

The Japanese soldiers on the city wall of Zaoqiang County immediately fired at the place where the gunshots were heard. The Japanese soldiers at the city gate also immediately prepared to close the city gate.

When the people heard the gunshots, they rushed into Zaoqiang County.

The team members also followed the local people into Zaoqiang County.

With no civilians at the city gate, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, Jidong Independent Brigade outside the city were no longer afraid to act rashly.

Mortars bombarded the walls and gates of Zaoqiang County fiercely, and snipers also continuously sniped at the Japanese machine gun fire points on the walls of Zaoqiang County.

The Japanese squadron leader in Zaoqiang County quickly asked his superiors for reinforcements. However, since the main forces of the Japanese 20th and 36th Divisions were defeated by the First Anti-Japanese Army and the New Ninth Brigade of the Eighth Route Army and fled to Shijiazhuang, there were no large Japanese troops nearby.

He asked the Japanese troops in Zaoqiang County to retreat to Shijiazhuang and Handan if they were unable to withstand the attack of the devil's troops.

The squadron leader wanted to take this opportunity to gain merit, so he ordered his soldiers to resist the attack of the devil's troops.

The puppet troops on the city wall suffered heavy casualties under the bombardment of the Jidong Independent Brigade's artillery, but they dared not retreat because the Japanese army was holding guns under the city wall, staring at them eagerly. If they dared to retreat, they would definitely be shot to death.

After a while, the Japanese troops supervising the battle were in chaos.

After the small team that sneaked into Zaoqiang County took the gun from the belly of the golden eagle, they launched a fierce attack on the Japanese troops supervising the battle under the city wall.