It is said that after Xu Wen, Zhou Weiguo, and Chen Zhenglun withdrew their troops from Wuxi, they originally wanted to bypass Suzhou from the southeast and then attack behind enemy lines to force the main force of the Japanese army in Suzhou and other places to return for reinforcements, thereby achieving the purpose of mobilizing and containing the Japanese army.

But as soon as the troops set off and walked less than ten kilometers to the southeast, Li Wu, who was leading a group of tanks and armored vehicles on a reconnaissance mission, suddenly sent back a message: "Brother, there are several groups of Japanese cavalry ahead, and we have been discovered."

.”

"What are you doing for food? Didn't I tell you to be careful?" Xu Wen got the news and shouted angrily.

Zhou Weiguo also heard the news through the radio. Without waiting for Li Wu's reply, he immediately interrupted and said to Xu Wen: "Brother, it seems that the Japanese have expanded the alert level and reconnaissance scope. It is unlikely that we will detour from the southeast of Suzhou."

Already."

Chen Zhenglun also suggested to Xu Wen via radio: "Yes, in addition to the Japanese troops in Suzhou, there are also Japanese troops in Jiangyin who are aggressively attacking our Jiangyin Fortress.

The space for us to move around is too small. The Japanese only need to send more cavalry reconnaissance posts to seal the road. Once our whereabouts are exposed, there will be little point in us continuing to move forward."

"The chief of staff is right," Zhou Weiguo said.

Xu Wen pondered for a while, and then immediately ordered Li Wu: "Second brother, take your team back immediately. We will not go to the east bank of Taihu Lake."

"Where to go?" Li Wu asked on the radio.

"Go to Yixing, along the west bank of Taihu Lake, go straight to Huxian County, and then rush to Shanghai, forcing the Japanese army to return for rescue." Xu Wendao.

Zhou Weiguo and Chen Zhenglun both agreed with Xu Wen's decision, so the independent brigade quickly withdrew to Wuxi, before the main Japanese force in the direction of Suzhou could advance to Wuxi.

From Wuxi westward along the north bank of Taihu Lake, it quickly entered Yixing.

As for the Japanese army, although they sent a large number of cavalry and reconnaissance planes on the ground and in the air, the Japanese focused their main reconnaissance directions on the area from Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou to Nanjing.

They never thought that Xu Wen and his crippled Chinese army would dare to march westward.

Because at that time, the Japanese army on the Western Front, in addition to the Kunozaki Detachment drawn from the 5th Division, also had the 18th Division. These two powerful Japanese armies had already captured Huzhou, Changxing, Yixing, Xuancheng, Guangde,

Liyang, Lishui and other large areas west of Taihu Lake.

As the vanguard, the Kunisaki detachment had already reached Wuhu. It can be said that the Huxi area at that time was already a Japanese war zone.

However, because Yixing was too close to the central battlefield, the 18th Division and the Guoqi Detachment were busy pushing northward, trying to cross the Yangtze River north as soon as possible to complete the outflank of Nanjing.

Therefore, no troops were sent to garrison.

Therefore, Xu Wen, Zhou Weiguo and others led their troops quickly through Yixing and entered the vicinity of Changxing County in the evening of that day.

This time, in order to prevent the enemy from being alerted, Zhou Weiguo suggested to Xu Wen that the entire brigade should stop advancing and that he would lead a small group of elite soldiers to act as a reconnaissance force to sense the situation ahead.

Xu Wen, who was already much more cautious, readily agreed.

Zhou Weiguo lived up to his expectations. Half an hour later, he withdrew with dozens of reconnaissance soldiers and reported to Xu Wenhui: "There are Japs stationed in Changxing County ahead, but there are not many troops. It is estimated that there are only one or two at most."

Squadron."

"What? Fight or not??"

Xu Wen muttered: "Even this place has fallen. It seems that the Japanese troops in the area west of Taihu Lake have almost reached the Yangtze River."

Chen Zhenglun nodded and said: "After the failure of the Songhu Battle, the Japanese troops were divided into three groups. The western front troops marched north along the west bank of Taihu Lake, and the eastern front troops marched upstream along both sides of the Yangtze River.

The center line is the 16th and 6th Divisions. The three armies advanced together and advanced very quickly, but we were blocked by us in Wuxi.

Otherwise, it would be estimated that the Japanese's middle troops will almost reach Nanjing!"

Xu Wen asked Zhou Weiguo: "Can we go around it?"

There were only one or two hundred Japs. Xu Wen didn't want to waste ammunition. The most important thing was that he was afraid of exposing his whereabouts in advance. He didn't want to be exposed prematurely yet.

Zhou Weiguo shook his head and said: "The terrain here is relatively steep, with Taihu Lake to the east, Tianmu Mountain to the west, and Changxing County is stuck in the middle.

If we make a detour, we can only go west. The west is mostly covered with mountains and forests, which is very unfavorable for the maneuverability of our armored forces!

The road is narrow and rugged and difficult to navigate. Once the Japanese army discovered it and set up an ambush along the way, we would not be able to deploy and would have to be passively beaten."

"After crossing Changxing County, we will enter the eastern Zhejiang Plain. At that time, the speed and assault power of our mechanized march can be fully utilized!"

"So, we have to fight!" Xu Wen said.

"Well, fortunately there are not many Japs in the city, and I guess they may not be equipped with wireless stations, so with our firepower, it is not a problem to capture this place." Zhou Weiguo said.

Xu Wen frowned and said: "We can't attack by force. What if the enemy is equipped with a radio? Won't we have to expose our whereabouts in advance?"

Zhou Weiguo pondered: "In this case, let me lead a commando team, sneak into the city on foot, and take down the enemy's headquarters in the city first. This way, no matter whether they are equipped with radios or not, they will be safe."

Chen Zhenglun nodded in agreement and said: "I think it's okay. First kill the Japanese headquarters in the city with a sneak attack, and then organize a strong attack with our tanks and armored vehicles. I think we can win it in an hour at the latest!"

Xu Wenwen wanted to say, let me lead the commando, but then he thought about it, his life was still at stake. Although he was ahead of Zhou Weiguo in knowledge, he had also learned the skills of driving and operating tanks.

But for individual soldiers and special operations, it is still worse than Zhou Weiguo.

Moreover, he is now the brigade commander, the supreme commander of the independent brigade. He must avoid putting himself in danger if he can.

So, Xu Wen happily nodded and agreed to Zhou Weiguo's suggestion, and told him with a solemn expression: "Weiguo, be careful in everything. If something cannot be done, send a signal. I will immediately lead the entire brigade to attack and break through as quickly as possible."

City gate, rush in and join you."

Zhou Weiguo nodded happily and confidently: "Don't worry, brother, I'll come as soon as I go!"

"Damn it, this is the domineering Zhou Weiguo in my impression." Xu Wen secretly praised him, and immediately asked Li Wu and other Qingfeng Village veterans who had been built into all-round special forces to follow Zhou Weiguo.

During the Battle of Suzhou, the veterans of Qingfeng Village and the all-powerful soldiers who were later transformed by Xu Wen using skill books also suffered heavy losses. Now there are only more than 20 people left.

However, for Zhou Weiguo, it was enough for Zhou Weiguo to have more than twenty soldiers with rich combat experience and outstanding individual abilities to carry out this night attack mission.

After gathering the people and talking about some precautions, Zhou Weiguo immediately turned around and saluted Xu Wen to say goodbye: "Brother, I'm going!"
Chapter completed!