The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 294 The Most Fortunate Decision (Two Chapters Combined)

Four months later, news broke that Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had reappeared.

Besides attracting the attention of the Japanese, especially the First Army stationed in Shanxi Province, the news also reached the ears of other interested parties, who naturally had different reactions.

Colonel Yamaki Ichiki secretly plotted against himself.

We must find an opportunity to have a proper showdown with Hu Biao, the Tiger of Shanghai, and prove who among the two is the strongest special operations commander in the Eastern world.

Location: Banshanlu, Luojia Mountain, Wuhan.

Banshanlu was originally a dormitory provided by Wuhan University for single male faculty members.

Located halfway up the northern slope of Luojia Mountain, although the conditions were rather simple, its superior geographical location made it the residence of Chiang Kai-shek and his wife for some time.

Incidentally, it also became the command center for the Nationalist army in the Battle of Wuhan.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Boss Dai of the Military Intelligence Bureau was finally notified to enter the bald principal's office.

Then, immediately, I saw the bald principal standing by the window, gazing absently at the distant scenery, looking rather troubled.

Boss Dai naturally knew why the other party was behaving this way.

No other reason than that the Battle of Wuhan was extremely important, even more so than the Battle of Shanghai.

This was a massive battle that covered a vast area of ​​four provinces: Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, and Hubei, and involved a large part of the country.

The National Revolutionary Army went all out this time, deploying all troops from the Fifth and Ninth War Zones.

It has a massive force of 14 army groups, 50 corps, about 200 combat aircraft, more than 30 ships, and a total strength of nearly 100 million people.

Another Russian volunteer air force unit also joined the battle.

However, this battle, which the Chinese people have placed high hopes on, has now reached a point where key locations such as Madang Fortress and Jiujiang have fallen one after another, and news of heavy troop losses keeps coming in. The prospects for holding Wuhan are not optimistic.

Under such circumstances, it would be a great strange thing if the bald principal could be happy.

However, after considering the purpose of his visit, Boss Dai composed himself and respectfully greeted, "Commander."

Hearing Boss Dai's voice, the bald principal snapped out of his daze, walked back to his desk, and sat down, asking a question as he did so:
"Yu Nong, what's the matter?"

"Hu Biao has reappeared. Last night, in a night raid in the countryside of Pingding County in northwestern Shanxi, he wiped out a Japanese squad."

Upon hearing this, the bald principal immediately perked up. The results of a mere Japanese squad were nothing to him, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be allowed to know.

However, if this victory had been achieved by Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, it would have been entirely different.

On the one hand, as the war dragged on, the Nationalist government's rich territories along the coast, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, had all fallen into the hands of the Japanese, and their biggest source of tax revenue was gone.

Uncle Sam's aid is still nowhere in sight, and the country's finances are already extremely tight.

In this way, the penicillin distribution channels and related production technologies behind Hu Biao represent even greater value.

On the other hand, the bald principal did indeed develop a genuine interest in talent.

Even though Hu Biao was neither a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy nor a native of Fenghua, his brilliant achievements were enough to make him overlook the above shortcomings and prepare to give him a good promotion.

Of course! There is a prerequisite for giving Hu Biao a chance: that Hu Biao listens to him and knows how to behave.

Specifically, this manifested in their willingness to approach him, share their penicillin channels and technology, and cooperate with him; in addition, the regimental flag of the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese army was also voluntarily surrendered.

Later, the bald-headed principal asked Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment for more details about the incident.

After a moment's hesitation, he began to instruct Boss Dai:

“Pingding County is now considered enemy-occupied territory, and the nearest Nationalist troops are quite far away; therefore, Yu Nong should be responsible for contacting Hu Biao, and everything can be done as appropriate.”

Tell someone to tell Hu Biao that as long as he remains loyal to the Party and the State, the Party and the State will certainly not treat him unfairly.

Although the bald principal didn't explain many key points in his words, as a confidant, Boss Dai could understand them instantly.

After receiving the above instructions, Boss Dai left Banshanlu without explaining anything throughout the entire process.
Annie, the mole he planted next to Hu Biao, contacted him last night.

The only explanation for him concealing this crucial information is that even after obtaining the penicillin production technology, he would still voluntarily hand it over to the bald-headed principal.

However, this does not mean that he would make some arrangements in advance before handing over the money to maximize his own and the Military Intelligence Bureau's interests.

With so many factions vying for power within the Nationalist government, this situation is hardly surprising...

Just as Boss Dai's car left Banshanlu, Yan Laoxi received news that Hu Biao and the Subei Independent Regiment had appeared in northwestern Shanxi.

It should be noted that this has been the case since Taiyuan was lost.

Yan Laoxi, the former King of Shanxi Province, has now fled to Qiulin Town in Yi County, Shaanxi Province, and his power has been greatly diminished.

The Taiyuan Arsenal, which once manufactured even 150mm heavy artillery, has managed to procure over a thousand machines, but these are all small machines.

They could only manufacture some rifles, machine guns, and bullets, and production was greatly reduced.

They control very little territory, mostly in extremely remote areas, and throughout the year they can barely collect any large sums of money, making it quite difficult to even support an army.

Therefore, upon hearing the news about Hu Biao, he was naturally greatly encouraged.

After studying the map for a moment, he gave instructions to one of the staff officers behind him:
"Send someone to contact Hu Biao and establish a good relationship first; also, send a batch of guns and ammunition as a gift. Not too many, just thirty submachine guns and two thousand rounds of ammunition. If they run out, they can buy more from us."

Also, inform the surrounding troops to maintain good relations with the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and avoid any friction.

The above statement reflects Yan Laoxi's decision as a businessman: if he could incorporate Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, that would naturally be the best outcome.

If that's really not possible, we can still do business together.

They had weapons and ammunition, while Hu Biao had various medicines and technology; it was a win-win situation...

******
It happened that day, after it had completely darkened.

However, the location was changed to Ning'ai Village in the southern part of Pingding County.

It is said that any man from Pingding County, or even from neighboring Yangquan and other places, who has seen a bit of the world, would have heard of Ning'ai Village.

Because in the mountainous and water-scarce region of northwestern Shanxi, this is a rare flat area.

The Yangsheng River flows through the village, bringing irrigation conditions that other places could only dream of; as a result, the land here is more fertile and the produce is more abundant.

Ningai Village is an ancient village with a history of over a thousand years, featuring many grand courtyards and buildings; some of the oldest of these date back to the Ming Dynasty, hundreds of years ago.

Unfortunately, all of the above favorable conditions were not met.

None of this means that Wei Yong, a 21-year-old bachelor, can live a slightly more affluent life than other people in Pingding County.

In fact, if you compare them carefully, it's even more difficult.

Why? Because almost all the fields around Ning'ai Village belonged to Li Mingju and Master Li, and Wei Yong's family had practically nothing except for two dilapidated mud houses.

So, starting from Wei Yong's grandfather's generation, they began working as tenants and farmhands for Master Li.

If the harvest is good, after paying 70% of the land rent and various taxes, the family can barely make ends meet.

If the harvest is bad, or even if a natural disaster strikes, it can be quite fatal.

Even if they dug up all the wild vegetables around the village, they still had to borrow money and grain from Master Li to survive.

They said they might survive, but that was during the great drought of 1920. Even though they borrowed one and a half silver dollars from Mr. Li, grains were incredibly expensive at the time, and they only managed to buy half a bag of them.

In order to keep him, who was only two years old at the time, and his father, who was the head of the household, alive, everyone else in the family starved to death.

His father, who was not even forty years old two years ago, died in the winter due to an illness, leaving Wei Yong as the only son in their family.

Wei Yong had to borrow another coin from Master Li to finally arrange his father's funeral.

Anyway, the money they borrowed over the years has accumulated with interest, and now the debt they owe to Master Li is a staggering sum. It's not just that Wei Yong might not be able to pay it off in his lifetime; even his sons and grandsons probably won't be able to completely repay it.

Moreover, the harvest in Pingding County has been bad in recent years, either due to severe drought or increased taxes by Yan Xishan and the Japanese.

He had no confidence whatsoever about whether he could get married, have a son, and then have a grandson in the future.

And so, carrying the worry that the Wei family might die out in his lifetime, Wei Yong dragged his weary body toward Master Li's mansion.

Even working as a long-term laborer for Master Li's family was a bit too much for him, even as a young man.

After all, they were sent to work in the fields by the butler and his thugs before dawn, and they were not allowed to stop working until it was completely dark.

But at least they still get three meals a day.

This means that he is now in the Li family compound and will have dinner; unfortunately, there are only two bowls of thin porridge with each grain of rice countable, plus a hard cornbread or a sweet potato.

As Wei Yong entered the courtyard through the side gate, he could smell the enticing aroma of stew.

However, he wisely knew that this stew had nothing to do with a farmhand like himself; after putting down the hoe he was carrying on his shoulder, he went straight to the large kitchen where the servants ate.

To his surprise, the butler, who never gave him a kind look, was...

Today, he not only personally served meals to all the farmhands, but also gave them two steamed buns and a large spoonful of stew, in which you could even see two slices of meat.

This unusual situation, to put it in modern terms, left everyone at a loss, as Wei Yong had managed to do.

After a long pause, he finally asked the only possible question he could think of: "Master Li, have you taken another concubine today? How come we didn't hear anything about it before?"

No wonder Wei Yong asked such a question. The last time Master Li was so generous as to let these poor folks have a bowl of stew was three years ago.

Mr. Li, who was 66 years old at the time, married a 16-year-old girl from the next village as his fifth concubine.

It's unbelievable that Mr. Li, who is almost 70 years old, is still taking a sixth concubine, while his only wife is nowhere to be found.

Upon hearing Wei Yong's question, Butler Jin's expression changed drastically. He was about to start cursing, but then he remembered something.

But his expression changed instantly, and he said with a grin:
"What nonsense are you talking about? The master hasn't taken another concubine. He's just kind-hearted and sees everyone has been working hard lately, so he's letting everyone have a decent meal..."

Although it's really hard to understand why Mr. Li, who is privately called "Old Stingy," suddenly became so generous today for no apparent reason.

But the steamed buns with white flour and the stew with sliced ​​meat were really delicious.

After taking one bite, Wei Yong felt his body, which had been exhausted from a long day, suddenly come back to life. It was precisely because of this that he dared not eat or drink in large gulps, lest he finish too quickly and there would be nothing left.

Wei Yong was taking small bites of his food when he was almost halfway through.

Wei Tiezhu, a childhood friend from the same village, had already finished his portion of white flour buns, leaving not a trace of oil in the broken bowl containing the stew.

He glanced around and, finding no one paying attention to him, made sure no one was watching.

He moved closer to Wei Yong and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Dayong, do you know why Master Li was so generous today, willing to feed us farmhands who are not even as good as livestock in his eyes?"

Wei Yong did not respond at all, not because he did not want to know, but because he knew that his partner simply could not keep quiet.

Sure enough, Wei Tiezhu soon started talking to himself.

Specifically, it was first mentioned that last night, Hu Biao, the legendary Commander Hu, led a group of heroes from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment to pull off a heist in Fanjiazhang Village.

Not only did they kill over a hundred Japanese soldiers and two or three hundred puppet troops, but they also smashed the sand pots belonging to the three landlords of the Fan family and looted the entire Fan family compound.

The grain and belongings they couldn't take with them were directly distributed to the people of Fanjiazhang Village.

When Hu, the regimental commander, killed the three members of the Fan family, he said it was because the landlord Fan was rich but heartless, and that he colluded with the Japanese to oppress the local people. That's why he was so ruthless.

If it were any other ordinary citizen, they would absolutely not commit any offenses.

Compared to landlord Fan, Master Li's methods of oppressing the villagers were far more ruthless; he was also the head of the Japanese puppet regime's so-called "maintenance committee."

So Master Li was afraid, afraid that Commander Hu and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment would also come to cause him trouble, and then he wouldn't need to worry about his thugs at all.

That's why they were thinking of bribing these poor folks, so that they could have this delicious meal tonight.

In reality, Hu Biao and his men only wiped out a small squad of fifty-odd Japanese soldiers and a few puppet army officers last night. Their results were nowhere near as exaggerated as Wei Tiezhu made them out to be.

This situation only arose because the rumor had been exaggerated by countless people.

But the exaggerated content goes far beyond that.

Then, as if reciting a familiar story, Wei Tiezhu spoke of Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, mentioning their locations in Luodian, Dunwu Temple, Sihang Warehouse, and Taierzhuang.

In places that Wei Tiezhu and Wei Yong had never heard of, they achieved one brilliant victory after another.

However, none of these exaggerations matter; what matters is what Wei Yong thought after hearing them.

This young man, who had never attended school and couldn't read a single word, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and realized a simple yet invaluable truth:
The reason I was able to eat steamed buns and stew today was not because Master Li was genuinely kind, but because he was afraid.

Because Hu Jintao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had visited, they could stand up for these poor people.

Once Commander Hu and his men leave, or are defeated by the Japanese, everything will return to normal.

So, after silently finishing his meal, he solemnly said to Wei Tiezhu, who was still chattering on beside him:
“Zhu Zi, I’m going to join Commander Hu and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.”

This abrupt statement left Wei Tiezhu stunned for a long time. Just as Wei Yong was about to explain something, he shouted:

“When will this hopeless life ever end? Rather than die poor or exhausted, I’ll follow you to join Commander Hu.”

“If you leave, what will happen to your mother and your sister? Your family also owes Master Li a huge debt. Aren’t you afraid that he will arrest your sister to pay off the debt?”

Upon hearing this, Wei Yong expressed this concern.

But at this moment, Wei Tiezhu's eyes were burning with passion:

"Don't be afraid! As long as we work hard for Commander Hu from now on, even if those Japanese dogs like Master Li had a hundred lives, they wouldn't dare to bully them. Otherwise, I'll bring Commander Hu back and clean up the Li family compound..."

Several hours later, the rooster crowed a second time.

Wei Yong and Wei Tiezhu got up quietly, and they didn't have any luggage to pack.

Each of them brought two sets of clothes to change into, and headed out of the village towards the mountains to the northeast, where, according to rumors, Commander Hu and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were now located.

They had only walked about half a mile out of the village when they faintly heard shouts behind them: "Stop, stop!"

At first, the two thought that it was Butler Jin leading his thugs to catch up, and they were quite flustered. But when they looked back, they found that they were just some friends from the same village.

The oldest was 23 and the youngest was only 17; they were all young people from impoverished families.

When the group approached and were asked, it was discovered that they were also planning to defect to Commander Hu.

So, in the time that followed, the eleven boys and young men from the village, chatting and laughing, set off together. Relying on their quick legs, they had already walked seventeen or eighteen miles by daybreak.

As the golden sun rose, its warm rays shone upon them, bathing them in a golden light.

Suddenly, instead of feeling tired, they felt a strange sense of anticipation and walked faster and faster, their energy growing stronger with each step.

Even many, many years later, the elderly Wei Yong still can't help but recall the scene of his companions walking briskly along the main road under the morning sun.

Then, while smiling, he silently shed tears.

A smile! From that moment on, he was no longer a tenant farmer, farmhand, or beast of burden who could be bullied and exploited; his entire destiny underwent a tremendous change.

This enormous change was the most fortunate decision he ever made in his life.

Tears streamed down his face! It was when he looked back that, when the long war finally ended and he could return to his village with his medals, of the eleven companions who had journeyed with him that day, only he remained alive…

(End of this chapter)