Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 72 A Red Flag

The meeting ended and everyone walked out of the command center.

Since we have chosen to join forces, we might as well do it thoroughly.

Wang Feng waved his hand and called the logistics chief: "Go, get some canned food and put it in the soup. Make enough for 800 people."

After saying this, he looked at the distance and saw the soldiers of the New 1st Regiment leaning against each other for warmth, looking emaciated from hunger. A thin soldier squatted on the ground, staring at the tree bark in the rice pot that just wouldn't get soft.

This was the only food he could find to satisfy his hunger.

At that time, the Eighth Route Army had just been established, and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region had only been created not long ago. The "big economic construction" had not yet been carried out, and the soldiers' lives were rather bleak.

When the new regiment first rushed to the battlefield, it carried a lot of rations.

But as they went deeper and deeper behind enemy lines, they were unable to get any supplies and could only watch their food supplies slowly run out.

Zhao Fangyuan came over and also lamented: "If a country cannot even feed its soldiers, how can it talk about sovereignty and national survival?"

Not only in the Eighth Route Army, but also in the Central Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, "hemp stalk" soldiers can be seen everywhere.

The vast majority of soldiers were on the brink of not having enough to eat but not starving to death.

The three main regiments under the North China Battle Group were in relatively good condition and had a good commander.

Wang Feng's parents had run a grain store in the early years, and Wang Feng himself had also been involved in some of the business. The channels were opened up, and as long as he could pay enough money, food would not be a problem.

What's more, when leaving Xinkou Town, Wei Lihuang delivered a large amount of food, plus the supplies seized from the Japanese army along the way.

At the very least, it can ensure that under special circumstances, the troops under his command can have continuous food supply for three months.

This is truly rare in the domestic military.

After a while, the whole Kashiwagi Village was filled with the rich aroma of rice.

The soldiers in the regiment were already accustomed to the smell, which was a stew of cabbage, wild vegetables, potatoes, and some unknown ingredients.

But today the meat flavor is much stronger.

Could it be that the chef’s hands were shaking?
But the soldiers of the new regiment couldn't bear it anymore.

“The National Army eats so well!”

"If I could have a meal like this, I would be willing to die right after swallowing it!"

The fragrant smell was so captivating that the soldiers suppressed their inner desires and sat there in a daze.

Li Yunlong walked in the streets. Soldiers who had nowhere to go sat on the ground with their backs against the earthen wall. After walking for a while, he also smelled the fragrance in the air: "Why is the meal of the National Army so delicious? I haven't eaten meat for a long time."

When was the last time you ate meat?
Before the 129th Division took the oath of allegiance in Shaanxi, they were about to go to the battlefield to fight. They survived many dangerous situations along the way, and in the end, they didn't get a single bite of meat to eat.

"Captain Li!"

"Captain Li!"

Hearing someone calling him from behind, Li Yunlong turned his head and was surprised: "Captain Zhang?"

"What's going on? Didn't we say we'd set off in the afternoon?"

Zhang Hu smiled and said, "Captain Li, we are all brothers who have been through thick and thin in the trenches. Our superiors said that it is not conducive to combat if the two troops are too estranged. It just so happens that my unit has cooked a few more pots of rice for lunch. Since you don't have a fire, why don't we just eat together?"

Li Yunlong raised his eyebrows slightly.

invite to a meal?

Li Yunlong hesitated: "This..."

The National Army took the initiative to open its warehouses to release grain and invited the Eighth Route Army to dinner. Is there such a rare thing?
The weasel pays a New Year's visit to the chicken with bad intentions - the first thing that flashed through his mind was this sentence.

In his early years, when he fought in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, Li Yunlong witnessed the cunning of these white dogs.

As he thought about it, he glanced at the soldiers squatting in the corner.

Many people were injured, and their weak bodies made it difficult for them to recover from their injuries. Long-term malnutrition also made the soldiers look sallow. Feeling the gaze of their regiment leader, the huddled soldiers raised their heads and looked at Li Yunlong.

Hungry.
Through their eyes, Li Yunlong keenly captured the soldiers' unspoken demands.

The war was about to begin, and he knew what he was about to face.

One infantry brigade and two infantry regiments.

He had no idea about the actual combat strength of this North China Battle Group, which he had never heard of.

Judging from the tone of those Kuomintang officers during the meeting, it seemed that two more regiments were on the way.

There are so many people in one group, and the number of people in three groups must be over ten thousand.

The new regiment has less than 800 people and is small in size.

If we are not careful, we will be wiped out in the head-on confrontation between the two armies.

There are still hundreds of soldiers left. It would be great if only a few of them were left by the next morning.

According to the prior agreement, after lunch the main force immediately marched to the blocking point. Once they arrived at the front line, everything was kept simple and the food was no longer so good.

To put it bluntly, this meal is no different from the meal before execution.

For the last meal before sacrifice, everyone wants to eat something delicious.

Li Yunlong sighed: "In this case, I am not a person who likes to take advantage of small gains."

"We, the Eighth Route Army, will not eat the food of your National Army for free. Just wait!"

After saying that, he turned and walked into a private house.

He rummaged through the boxes and drawers in the house and pulled out a piece of bright red cloth.

Zhang Hu was puzzled: "Captain Li, what is this?"

Li Yunlong twisted the cloth and weighed it in his hand: "I tell you, this is a good thing."

"The cloth produced by the county's big dyeing factory was originally intended to be made into a military flag, but it happened to be a reform, and the red flag was not allowed to be used. It was changed to your national army's flag of the blue sky and white sun."

"We don't eat for free, so this red cloth is for you."

"When your boss gets married, it will be perfect for sewing a big red quilt for his bed."

Looking at the red cloth that was about to be given away, Li Yunlong felt a little reluctant.

In ancient times, cloth was a common currency. Even in modern times, such a large piece of red cloth is still quite valuable.

Zhang Hu accepted it happily and patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder: "There is no time to lose. The troops will set out after lunch."

After the two troops had finished their meal, they officially headed towards the designated ambush location.

In order to better grasp the movements of the Japanese troops within a radius of ten kilometers with the main battlefield as the center, Wang Feng followed the troops and moved the command post to the front line.

On the 25th.

The 364th Brigade stationed in Qijiayu and Mashan Village areas suffered heavy losses due to lack of preparation and unstable foothold, as well as unexpected flanking attacks by the Japanese army. They had no choice but to withdraw from their positions.

The 40th Brigade took the opportunity to advance to Liujiagou, Shizilu and other places, and launched an attack on Guyi Town where the 3rd Army was located. The defenders resisted stubbornly, but ultimately only held out for less than a day before Guyi Town was occupied by the Japanese army.

On that day, a Japanese army unit reached Donghui Town, which was only ten kilometers away from Kashiwajimu.

at dusk.

The 2nd and 3rd Regiments, which arrived from the rear, followed Wang Feng's instructions to deploy four Type 91 howitzers in an area about eight kilometers away from the front ambush position.

Thanks to the cover of the terrain, even though Japanese fighter planes flew overhead from time to time, they would not be exposed for a while.

(End of this chapter)