Shang Zhen and his men should really be grateful for the Japanese artillery fire. If the Japanese had not fired, he would not have looked at the road. If he had not looked at the road, it would have been too late for them.
The Japanese army's strength is about 200 people, which should be a squadron.
This Japanese army was divided into three groups.
There were more people in the middle route, about a hundred of them, sitting in horse-drawn carriages and heading along the highway towards Suizhong County.
Since the remaining Japanese troops went to two villages respectively, there were about a hundred people each going to one village.
The road on the left is heading towards the front kiln area, with about 50 people.
The group on the right was heading towards their Houyao area, and there were about 50 people in total.
If the sound of Japanese artillery had not alerted him, he might not have even known that the Japanese were right behind him.
Shang Zhen felt fortunate, but he suddenly thought of something else.
He remembered the faint sound of artillery behind him. Could it be that the main force of the Japanese army had already bypassed them?
During this year, although Zhang Zhen was exercising to improve his military qualities, he had also learned to pay attention to the terrain.
A few miles behind them was Suizhong County.
Although Suizhong County is also known as the number one county in Guandong, it is not the focus of the Northeast Army's defense.
The focus of the Northeast Army's defense was the Jiumenkou Great Wall, nearly a hundred miles south of Suizhou County, and another twenty or thirty miles south of the Jiumenkou Great Wall was Shanhaiguan.
The sound of artillery came from behind them. Doesn’t that mean that the Japanese army has arrived behind them?
Didn't the Japanese attack those passes simultaneously? And the Japanese troops now heading towards the front and back kilns were just stopping by to take a look, right?
Everyone looked at Shang Zhen. This time, Shang Zhen was their real leader, and it was Shang Zhen who needed to make the decision.
"Let's hide first and don't shoot!" Shang Zhen came up with an idea after a moment.
Shang Zhen's idea was quite reasonable. It was impossible for them, with only a dozen people, to stop the Japanese army, and they had no subjective desire to stop the Japanese army.
First, I can’t win.
If they dared to shoot at the Japanese troops heading towards Houyaodi Village now, the Japanese troops marching on the road would surround them, and they would be dead!
Second, this is a village. If they go to war with the Japanese army, the people here will definitely be in trouble. I hope the Japanese army will just pass through the village.
"Do you think the Japanese will fight with Fatty Wang and the others?" Qin Chuan said in a low voice.
"Platoon leader, take two people and stand guard here to see if the Japanese can pass directly through the middle of the village. The rest of you, follow me!" Shang Zhen also divided his troops.
The Japanese troops on the scene were divided into three groups. They were surrounded by the Japanese troops in the center and right, so of course they needed to grasp the movements of the Japanese troops.
Shang Zhen led them and ran to the left.
Why run left?
This was because there was a highway on the left, and the one hundred or so Japanese soldiers on the highway were almost invisible due to the obstruction of the houses.
Only after the Japanese troops on the road have gone far away can Shang Zhen decide on the next course of action.
When Shang Zhen and his companions ran to the edge of the village, they hid behind the houses and peeked at the road, which was only about a hundred meters away from them.
However, it was obvious that the Japanese troops on the road did not take these two villages seriously and just kept moving forward.
Shang Zhen thought that the carriage of Fatty Wang and his gang must have run away.
Now the houses on his left blocked their view again, and he didn't know whether Wang Qingfeng's carriages had left the village.
At this moment, Shang Zhen saw that the Japanese soldiers on the road suddenly took action and began to raise their guns and shoot.
Even though Shang Zhen didn't see Wang Qingfeng and the others, he knew that they must have been discovered by the Japanese army when they left the village and were on the highway.
"Bang" "Bang", the sound of Japanese gunfire rang out, and the direction of the Japanese shooting was exactly the path to the highway on their left.
The terrain here is relatively flat. After winter comes, the ground is frozen, so no one will take the summer road to enter the village. Instead, they will take a shortcut through the snow.
So now there are three roads between Houyaodi Village and the highway.
"Don't return these toys!" Qian Chuan'er muttered softly.
Qian Chuan'er undoubtedly expressed the thoughts of all of Shang Zhen and the others.
Since the Japanese army has discovered Wang Qingfeng and his group fleeing towards the county town, if Wang Qingfeng and his group are still fleeing towards the county town, the Japanese army will definitely chase them.
If Wang Qingfeng and the others feel that there is no hiding place if they flee forward and instead retreat to Houyaodi Village, then everyone will be in trouble!
This group of people included Wang Qingfeng and Shang Zhen, two groups of Northeast Army soldiers, as well as the common people of Houyaodi Village.
If the Northeast Army and the Japanese Army fought with Houyaodi Village as the battlefield, how could the local people not suffer?
"I bet they won't come back!" Shang Zhen said.
"Why?" Qian Chuaner asked.
"Because Fatty Wang is timid, that guy must be thinking about escaping. He won't retreat. He doesn't have that mind!" Shang Zhen replied.
"It seems to make sense." Qian Chuaner said.
The two men were talking when they heard the sounds of chickens crowing and geese crying behind them. Even without looking back, they knew that it was the group of 50 or so Japanese soldiers passing through the village.
The Japanese army is the Japanese army. Shang Zhen and the others are not used to calling the Japanese army "devils", but they can imagine that behind them is the scene of the devils entering the village.
If the old hens were disturbed by the Japanese army while digging for food in the field, they would definitely scream and run away.
But the big geese are different. They have the function of guarding the house. The Japanese army passed through the village with flaming sticks. No matter whether they were big white geese or wild geese, which one would not quack?
As for dogs, there are none in Houyao Village.
Shang Zhen and his men didn't care how the Japanese troops on the road were chasing Wang Qingfeng and his gang. They just listened to the sounds of chickens crowing and geese crying behind them, which spread from the north end of the village where the Japanese troops entered to the south end.
Of course there were gunshots. Those were the Japanese soldiers on the road shooting at Wang Qingfeng and his group, but there were no gunshots behind Shang Zhen and his group.
From this, Shang Zhen and others could naturally guess that the Japanese troops entering the village had no time to pay attention to the people here after hearing the gunshots on the right, but passed through the village.
At this time, Shang Zhen noticed that the people in his group exchanged glances with each other. In addition to relief, there was also a sense of gloating in their eyes.
Isn't Wang Qingfeng good at running away? Let's see if he can escape the Japanese army's bullets this time.
Shang Zhen did not gloat over other people's misfortune, but he would never help Wang Qingfeng.
That group of people had a carriage and ignored these jinxes when they escaped, so why should I bother to curry favor with them?
After a while, footsteps were heard behind Shang Zhen and the others. Everyone turned around and saw Wang Laomao running back with the two men.
"The Japanese are chasing Fatty Wang!" Wang Laomao said in a serious tone, but he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
Seeing Wang Laomao's expression, Shang Zhen couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart.
Shang Zhen is certainly not the fat man who feels sorry for Wang Qingfeng. As an officer, he would only run away with his subordinates, so he might as well not be an officer.
It's just a pity for the veterans under Wang Qingfeng. When the first artillery fires, those veterans also turn back. If they were not veterans, it would be impossible to hear the sound of artillery fire from the extremely weak explosion.
Gunfire continued to emanate sporadically from the south end. Shang Zhen listened carefully, but all he could hear were the 38-type rifles. Could it be that Wang Qingfeng and his men didn't know how to fire back? Given the Japanese's marksmanship, how much could your carriage's speed do?
Just when Shang Zhen and his men thought they could hide in Houyaodi Village and wait until the Japanese army disappeared, Shang Zhen suddenly emerged from behind the house and looked across, which turned out to be Qianyaodi Village.
Wang Laomao then stood behind him and looked across, because they both noticed at the same time that there were gunshots coming from Qianyaodi Village.
"Those bastards won't massacre the village again, right?" Qiu Bo said behind him.
At this time, Wang Laomao shuddered and said, "Oh no! That dead monkey's wife and child!"