Chapter 124 6. Soldiers of the Eighth Route Army follow the enemy

After Liutian broke through, Luo Ronghuan learned that the Shandong column was attacked by the enemy at Mamuchi west of Yishui County. The encirclement of the Shandong column by the Japanese and puppet troops began on the night of November 2.Due to the paralysis of the Shandong column, they were completely unprepared for the enemy's attack. On the evening of the 3rd, after the encirclement was completed, a Japanese army brigade of more than 400 people secretly dispatched from Mengyin, without taking the main road or passing through the village, treacherously crossing the fields and hills, and approached Mamuchi at dawn on the 4th.

The sentinel on guard tactfully pulled the trigger of his rifle the moment he was attacked by the enemy.The gunfire of the police suddenly broke the quiet dawn, but it was too late. The Japanese army began to release poison gas into the village, and the pungent mustard gas poisoned a group of people immediately.At this time, the security commander of the Shandong Column had come to his senses and ordered everyone to cover their mouths and noses with hats and break out against the wind.Under the cover of the guard company, the government personnel rushed out of the village scattered and scattered, and broke through to the Nanqiangyu area.

On the 6th, the Japanese army traced to Nanqiangyu again, and launched a joint attack on the Shandong column organization for the second time.In the tenacious struggle with the Japanese army, the organization of the Shandong column once again stood out from the encirclement. At this time, Luo Ronghuan, who had just broken out from Liutian, had already contacted the Shandong Column and immediately ordered them to move to the Tianbaoshan area, rush to the outer line, and then advance to Tai'an, Surabaya, and Ningyang.At the same time, Luo Ronghuan also mobilized a battalion of the 115th Division to meet them, until the Shandong column organization safely arrived at Shilai in the Taisining area, turning the corner.However, at this time, the Shandong column organization had already suffered a lot of losses.

The organization of the Shandong Column is already safe, where is the headquarters of the 115th Division going? Luo Ronghuan called Zhu Rui, Chen Guang and others. After serious research and in-depth discussions, they believed that if the 115th Division left the Yimeng Mountains and moved to the outer line, although it was relatively safe, there was no main force inside the base area to insist on anti-sweeping. "The struggle will inevitably be severely damaged by the enemy.Therefore, the best choice right now is to return to the Yimeng Mountains and persist in the struggle against "mopping up".

Therefore, Luo Ronghuan and others led the division headquarters and transferred a battalion and a battalion of the 2nd Brigade of Shandong Column stationed in Binhai District to advance to Dongmeng Mountain and return to the familiar Yimeng base in the past. However, these base areas, after the "mopping up" by the Japanese army, are now completely unrecognizable and devastated by the enemy's "Three Alls Policy".According to statistics, more than 3,000 people were brutally murdered, more than 10,000 strong men were arrested, and countless women were abused.A quarter of the houses in the base area were burned down, and almost all the villages where the Eighth Route Army stationed were turned into bare ground.The livestock, poultry, and food of the common people were looted, and their daily necessities were completely destroyed.The army's cooking squad couldn't find a pot, so they had to cook in earthen pots for lifting water.

"It's right that we're back. We can't leave this place alone." Luo Ronghuan sighed, "If the Eighth Route Army doesn't return to the Yimeng Mountains, this area will fall, and it will be even more difficult for the base areas south of Jiaoji Road to hold on." In response to this situation, Luo Ronghuan proposed to "abolish the Japanese army propaganda squad, stop counterfeiting activities, and inspire the masses."Therefore, he divided the personnel of the agency and the first branch of the Anti-Japanese University into several working groups, and sent them to various places to mobilize the masses, carry out guerrilla warfare, and fight against traitors.

Luo Ronghuan led his troops from west to east and from south to north in the Yimeng mountain area, and the puppet army went around in circles on the same day.He often "rotates around the enemy" and keeps close to the Japanese and puppet troops along the way.Sometimes, as soon as the Japanese and puppet troops left the village from the east, he would quietly enter the village with his team from the west.The advantage of doing this is that they are well aware of the actions of the Japanese and puppet troops along the way, but the Japanese and puppet troops did not expect that the Eighth Route Army they were looking for day and night was right behind them.Therefore, he believes that in anti-"mopping up", it is often more active to follow the enemy, while being chased by the enemy is often passive.However, because the enemy is strong and we are weak, when the enemy "sweeps", sometimes there will be a passive situation of being chased or even attacked by the enemy.He believes that the most important thing at this time is to get rid of the enemy as soon as possible.

One day, another enemy situation was discovered near the command post.Luo Ronghuan immediately led his troops to move towards Ma Muchi. On the way, he encountered a river with a single-plank bridge that only allowed one person to pass.To cross the bridge, the team had to change to a column all the way, and the marching speed was greatly slowed down.At this speed, the enemy may catch up before the team is over.Luo Ronghuan came to the river, looked at the rushing water, looked at the single-plank bridge, and then called Hou Xiangzhi, the combat staff officer, to his side and said, "You can't get by like this. You have to use your brain. You go across the river along the bridge and look at it." how deep the water is."

Hou Xiangzhi took off his cotton trousers and stepped into the water, feeling like a knife piercing his body.He gritted his teeth and crossed the river step by step.The water was no more than waist deep.At this time, the beginning of winter has passed, and although the water is very cold, people can live through it.Luo Ronghuan immediately ordered that all of them be involved in vain.As a result, the column along the way was changed to a horizontal line, and the troops quickly crossed the river. After crossing the river, some staff suggested that the bridge should be demolished to avoid being used by the Japanese army.Luo Ronghuan ordered: keep it.At the same time, people were sent to sweep away the footprints on both sides of the river to eliminate the traces of wading.

The staff members around Luo Ronghuan understood his intentions and happily carried out the order.The Japanese army is used to doing things mechanically according to the rules.If there is such a bridge, they will walk along the bridge.If there is no bridge, it will force them to speed up their trekking.Obviously, it would be more beneficial for the Eighth Route Army to allow the enemy to pass slowly over the bridge. During the anti-"cleaning and suppressing" period, Luo Ronghuan commanded troops to counterattack the Japanese "clearing and suppressing" troops in Jiuzhai, Sanjiao Mountain, Luyun Mountain and other places, annihilating hundreds of Japanese and puppet troops.However, on November 29, some personnel of the division headquarters and branch offices were attacked by the enemy in Daqingshan during the transfer process.During the breakout, Chen Ming, deputy director and secretary-general of the Shandong Provincial Wartime Work Committee, Wang Liren, deputy director of the 115th Division's enemy industry department, and international friend Heber died heroically.Zhu Rui's wife, Chen Ruoke, a member of the Women's Committee of the Shandong Branch of the Communist Party of China, and her newborn child were unfortunately captured.Chen was brave and unyielding in front of the enemy. On December 26, she hugged her children tightly, and both of them died tragically under the bayonet of the Japanese army.