There is a moon hanging in the sky, but the area behind the ditch is so dark at this time that no one can be seen from a little distance away.
The group of people did not light any torches, and just walked forward along the rugged mountain road.
Zhao Wenjiang, who was leading the way, stretched out his hand and stopped in front.
When Wang Yigong saw this, he rushed back and said: "Stop the march!"
The orders were conveyed backwards one by one, but unexpectedly a muffled sound came from behind, and the soldiers bumped into a ball one by one.
"To the south is Hougou, but the location of the plainclothes team has not been found yet. It is too dark now, so it is difficult to find!" Zhao Wenjiang said.
"Send a small force to see if we can draw out the plainclothes team, but we have to ask guerrilla comrades to come forward. My soldiers are all wearing military uniforms. If they are recognized as the main force of the Eighth Route Army, they will not be able to rescue this.
It’s better not to add too many branches.”
"It doesn't matter whether it works or not, just let them know that the Eighth Route Army is coming and send someone to notify the puppet troops in Shangzhuang Village!"
Zhao Wenjiang nodded, greeted a dozen guerrilla fighters, and gave them careful instructions.
Most of the dozen or so guerrilla fighters wore their usual short coats, and a few wore worn-out military uniforms or had Eighth Route Army hats on their heads.
However, these dozen or so people were obviously selected by Zhao Wenjiang. Each of them carried a rifle on his back, and the leader had two rifles slung around his waist.
"Minister Zhao, don't worry, I know it well, it's just fishing, that's what the guerrillas do!" said the guerrilla leader You Guozhong.
I saw a dozen guerrilla fighters walking down the slope into the ditch, then walking forward for another two to three hundred meters in the dark, and lit the torches prepared in advance.
In the pitch-black back ditch, the lit torches were extremely conspicuous.
The plainclothes team set up two observation posts along the east and west sides of the hut where they were located.
At the observation post on the east side, two plainclothes men were lying beside the ditch, monitoring the abnormalities in the back ditch.
I saw a flash of fire in the distance, moving slowly in the ditch from east to west.
"If there is any movement, please notify the captain!"
The Japanese army in Changzhi offered a heavy reward this time. An Eighth Route Army soldier would be rewarded twenty silver dollars, regardless of life or death.
The last time the guerrillas sacrificed thirteen people, the newspaper reported that there were forty-three corpses. The extra thirty people were all "carefully selected" from the local area, so that the little devils were kept in the dark.
Not long after, the plainclothes captain came over with his men. At this time, more than a dozen guerrilla fighters were already close to their destination. They did not move the bodies and were just wandering in the ditch.
The figure on the opposite side looked longingly. The plainclothes captain used the light of the torch to count the number of people: "More than a dozen Eighth Route Army troops are here. It seems that there is a corpse of an important Eighth Route Army mission in this ditch. They dare to come here regardless of the danger!"
"Go and notify Xie Laosan's people and ask him to bring people over quickly!"
A plainclothes man who had just lost all his money complained dissatisfiedly: "Captain, an Eighth Route Army soldier can get twenty silver dollars from the imperial army. Why should we share the profits with Xie Laosan for such a good thing?"
"The Eighth Route Army on the opposite side is very tough. Only a dozen of us can defeat them? When Xie Laosan's people come, let's hide behind them. I'm warning you, don't let anyone be used as a gun!"
"The plainclothes captain said.
A plainclothes man responded and left.
The plainclothes captain made a good calculation. Each and every one of the people under his command turned out to be ruffians from the vicinity of Changzhi.
After the Japanese arrived, they hugged him on his lap. The plainclothes captain knew very well what kind of virtue he had.
Usually they just bully the common people, but now they are blinded by the silver coins. If they really want to fight, each of them will run faster than anyone else. Even the puppet soldiers can't look down on these plainclothes.
Puppet soldiers and plainclothes are two dogs raised by the Japanese. The plainclothes team has a small number of people, but they are deeply trusted by the Japanese. There are many puppet soldiers, but they are feared by the Japanese. On weekdays, the two groups have deep grudges, and there are things that are behind the scenes.
No less work.
If the Japanese didn't want the puppet army to dominate, the plainclothes team would have been dealt with by the puppet army.
Let's leave the fight against the Eighth Route Army to those idiots from the Imperial Association Army. I'll take what's ready, the plainclothes captain thought to himself.
North of the back ditch.
Zhao Wenjiang took out a pocket watch from his pocket, looked at the time, and then said: "It's been more than half an hour. If the plainclothes team is still there, the puppet troops will come out of Shangzhuang Village by now. It won't be long before we hear the news."
Gunshots. The Japs' defense in this area is weak, and the nearest stronghold is more than thirty miles away. The blind firemen will definitely not dare to come out. If there is no movement after an hour, it means that the puppet troops and plainclothes teams have withdrawn.
Let’s go in!”
Wang Yigong nodded and continued to wait.
Time is passing second by second.
Suddenly, there was a burst of rapid gunshots from the southern part of the ditch, followed by bursts of shouts of killing.
Although Wang Yigong and his party were lightly armed, the guard company that went to ambush the puppet troops was equipped with four light machine guns, more than twenty submachine guns, and a large number of short rifles.
After receiving the news, Xie Laosan, the puppet army's third division, who was eager to seek reward for his meritorious service, ran headlong into the ambush set up by the guard company.
The guard company took advantage of its own firepower. After a wave of firepower, more than 100 puppet troops were killed, and most of them fell.
Then they rushed out from the bushes on both sides of the trail. None of the puppet soldiers escaped and they were all captured.
The guard company commander of the fourth regiment looked at the wounded soldiers of the puppet army lying on the ground, without any mercy, and said directly: "We have killed them all, avenge our brothers!"
As he spoke, he fired two shots to kill the puppet soldier in front of him.
After receiving the order, the soldiers of the guard company pulled the trigger. Whether it was the captured puppet soldiers or the wounded soldiers lying on the ground, they were all the targets of their anger.
Several guerrilla fighters on the side were secretly stunned when they saw it. They didn't mean to pity the puppet soldiers. Instead, they said: "The main force is so rich that they only use bullets for last-ditch attacks. It's such a waste of bullets!"
On the other side, when gunfire rang out, the plainclothes team reacted the most violently.
When the plainclothes captain heard the gunfire, he suddenly felt bad. His face turned pale, he shrank back and looked around.
It was pitch dark all around. I hadn’t felt anything before, but now I felt like there were people everywhere.
"Captain, who is the Imperial Alliance Army at war with?"
"It must be the Eighth Route Army. Captain, listen to the firepower. The Eighth Route Army's weapons and equipment are not weak. They also have light machine guns. They must be the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Let's withdraw!"
"If you retreat to the south, you may run into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. If you retreat to the north, find a place to hide first!" the plainclothes captain said tremblingly.
A dozen plainclothes men didn't care about anything else and hurriedly found a low place and jumped into the ditch.
"Hey, you, give me a hand!"
"Who the hell stepped on me!"
Suddenly there were shouts and curses, and there was a lot of movement.
Wang Yigong heard the chaotic footsteps getting closer and closer, and raised his short gun with a cold face.
"beat!"
"Bah bang bang!" The soldiers of the second battalion pulled the trigger.
The plainclothes captain suddenly saw fire coming from the opposite side, and then felt severe pain in his body, and then he plunged into the stone on the ground.