The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

What malicious intent could Chapter 300 possibly have? (Combined Chapter)

About half an hour later, as the warehouse manager walked towards Lao Yu.

This newbie, who had just transmigrated, waved his little notebook vigorously while shouting loudly, his voice full of joy.

However, the warehouse manager was also happy at this moment because he didn't have to worry about the Japanese reinforcements, so he could thoroughly clean up the battlefield after the battle.

They went so far as to leave the Japanese soldiers with nothing but loincloths and bloodstained uniforms.

Therefore, the notes in his notebook contained the results of their ambush and a statistical report of the spoils they had captured:
"You silent devil! If we pull off this job today, our Second Battalion will be rolling in money!"

In this battle, we killed a total of 32 Japanese soldiers, 7 puppet soldiers, and captured 58 puppet soldiers.

A large number of weapons were captured, including one Type 91 light machine gun, 27 Type 38 rifles, 29 Hanyang rifles, and 30 Type 65 rifles used by the Jin-Sui Army.

Five pistols of various types and a large quantity of ammunition were provided, so that more than 5% of the brothers in the Second Battalion now had guns.

They seized one car and twenty trucks, most of which were loaded with newly harvested wheat, totaling about ten tons.

There was also a cannon, which should be the Italian M1911 75mm field gun. This thing was probably captured from the Central Army, but it was much better than the Japanese Type 41 3 cannon.

Unfortunately, there were only five shells in total.

From now on, unless both of us sign, we absolutely cannot fire a shot lightly.

However, despite the warehouse manager's assessment that the Second Battalion had achieved a resounding victory, Lao Yu was not particularly pleased.

No other reason than that! In such a battle where it was completely going smoothly, the Second Battalion still suffered three dead and nine wounded; among the nine wounded, four were seriously wounded.

All of the above casualties occurred during the rush to the front lines and hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese soldiers.

Despite the ambush and such a significant numerical advantage, double-digit casualties still occurred, revealing a terrifying disparity in individual soldier quality between the two sides.

The crucial point is that just one minute ago, a critically wounded patient who had been shot in the chest died.

In the ensuing chaos, a recruit who knew a little about herbal medicine, acting as a medic, called his battalion commander over; the problem was that the gunshot wound to the chest would likely require open-chest surgery.

When Lao Yu was called over, he was at a loss for what to do.

All I could do was watch as this young recruit, whose name I remembered should be Wei Tiezhu, with some fuzz on his lip and who, in modern times, was probably not even a senior in high school, kept calling out "Mother, damn it, I'm in so much pain~" in his dying moments.

And the sound grew weaker and weaker, it was clear that he was about to die.

Even though Lao Yu had seen too many similar situations during his last time traveling through time to Tengxian and Taierzhuang, he still hadn't experienced them before.

But when he thought of Wei Tiezhu, who was just a child and a new recruit, whose life had just begun and was about to end, his heart was still breaking, so how could he be happy?
After walking along the way, they saw a young, seriously injured soldier whose chest was barely rising and falling, and who was probably about to give up.

The warehouse manager couldn't help but sigh. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he had actually gotten to know this somewhat talkative recruit quite well.

His mood also became low, and it took him a while to ask a question:
"The battlefield is almost cleaned up, can we withdraw now? What should we do with those puppet troops?"

"Let's retreat! Take the puppet troops back first, give them a few ideological education lessons, then welcome those who want to stay, and assess those who don't want to stay. If there are no problems, give them two yuan of legal tender as travel expenses and let them go."

Without even considering it, Lao Yu gave this answer.

After saying that, he walked over to the old car whose model he didn't recognize, intending to act as the driver.

There was no other way! In the entire Second Battalion, only he and Cang Guang knew how to drive, and even including the two of them, there were no more than ten people who could write their own names.

Therefore, their second battalion urgently needs to improve not only in military skills, but also in many other aspects.

Think about other base areas of our Party, which were also in a state of extreme poverty, yet they still had to fight against the Japanese invaders. You can only say that our predecessors in those days had it really tough...

After successfully leading the entire Second Battalion back to their base.

Old Yu, the veteran, had already calmed himself down; after all, people always die in war, especially since they had won a great victory today.

The brothers who died or were wounded must feel comforted.

Even after returning to their base, the soldiers of the Second Battalion were still somewhat downcast.

Old Yu had an idea in mind and shouted loudly, "Cooking squad! Didn't two mules get injured in the explosion and probably won't recover?"

I asked everyone for help, and we killed them all today.

Half of the supplies were sent to the villagers around the camp, so they could share in the joy of the victory; the rest were stewed and used as a special meal for everyone.

Although mule meat, like horse meat, is rather tough and has a strong gamey smell, and it's really not very tasty, these days it's already a rare treat to be able to eat meat, so there's no time to be so picky.

Upon hearing that there would be meat for dinner, the morale of the new recruits in the Second Battalion visibly rose.

Seeing this, the warehouse manager also restrained his emotions and jokingly scolded, "You guys get all excited when you hear there's meat to eat."

But let's get this straight! We've had meat tonight, so we need to train hard tomorrow. The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in wartime.

When he got to the last sentence, the warehouse manager's tone became quite stern; as expected of a veteran of the PLA, he not only has excellent marksmanship, but he has also now reached the level of a deputy battalion commander.

Faced with the warehouse manager's call, the new recruits responded loudly, chatting and laughing, and their previously low morale vanished.

I believe that after that battle, after they've drawn blood, things will definitely be very different for them in the future.

In the time that followed, the rest of the Second Battalion helped the cooks prepare dinner, while Lao Yu and the warehouse manager got together to discuss transporting the captured grain to Zhangjiayu.

After thinking for a moment, the warehouse manager made a suggestion:

"I heard that in a few days, the boss's wife and the tuberculosis patient will send some machines and skilled workers over through the Kuomintang's transportation line. The Zhangjiayu Arsenal is about to expand its production capacity."

With more people, the food consumption will naturally be greater. How about I take some men and deliver four tons of wheat back tomorrow?

"Send six tons of wheat, and take that truck and half of the mules with it. They'll probably come in handy when transporting coal and iron ore."

Upon hearing this, Lao Yu gave a response that clearly exceeded the initial agreement of 37%.

The warehouse manager instinctively wanted to object to Lao Yu's generosity.

It's not that he's stingy or petty—just kidding! They were all going all out to fight the Japanese, so what bad intentions could he possibly have?
But wasn't the idea that if they had more food, their second battalion could recruit more soldiers, which would be beneficial for fighting the Japanese?

More importantly, although the four battalions were separated, they would eventually come together again.

When the Second Battalion is compared with the Second Battalion, they have more troops and better equipment. Wouldn't he and the Silent One have more face?
To be able to show off a bit in front of Mr. Nanze, Van Gogh, and other teammates, and maybe even brag a little.

Of course! If Hu Biao or anyone else were in real trouble, the Second Battalion would also spare no effort to support and rescue them.

In short, the warehouse manager didn't have any bad intentions; it was just that strange male competitiveness was at play.

If preparations allow, hold back a big one, and then shock everyone.

Before the warehouse manager could figure out how to subtly persuade Lao Yu to complete his plan to show off, their second battalion commander spoke up again.

He said a string of things that made him very pleased, and which he was also ready to show off:

"The extra two tons of wheat weren't given away for free."

We need to get at least ten more boxes of grenades from that damned bastard; although they're much worse than the Japanese's melon grenades, they're better than nothing, aren't they?
While you're at it, take a stroll through the arsenal. If you see anything good, you can beg and plead to get some of it back.

Oh, right! If they ask us to report the current organization, strength, and equipment of the Second Battalion, delay as much as possible, and if we can't delay, report less. We absolutely must not reveal the Italian cannon.

When the Second Battalion returns, they'll blind those damned bastards with their brilliance.

Anyway, even though everyone is developing in Pingding County, the transportation is not convenient at all. If they want to come and take a look, they have to travel for most of the day.

They definitely won't have time to come, and they won't find out anytime soon.

"Of course not, it's essential!" The warehouse manager said, giving a thumbs-up.

And so, the next day, the warehouse manager led a platoon of soldiers, but only brought a dozen or so broken guns, to escort a batch of captured wheat to Zhangjiayu.

When Hu Biao and others asked about the progress of the Second Battalion, he began to evade the question.

This led Hu Biao and his men to believe that although the Second Battalion was developing normally, it only had less than a hundred men and fifty rifles due to time constraints.

But when the warehouse manager successfully returned to the Second Battalion's camp with eight boxes of Zhangjiayu-made wooden-handled grenades, some broadswords, single-edged swords, and reloaded bullets, he was quite pleased with himself.

They were unaware that the First Battalion, which had developed in other areas of Pingding County, also had friendly forces such as the Third Battalion and the Special Service Battalion.

They all shared the same idea: to hold back a big one and show off to their teammates, so they made some similar moves...

******
On September 30th, a little after 11 p.m., outside a mining area called Sendaishan Coal Mine, Zhanana, the tall and robust battalion commander of the First Battalion of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, moved silently through the night like a nimble big cat.

He already had a recurve bow and a sharp arrow in his hand, ready to draw and shoot at any moment.

About 70 or 80 meters behind her was Xiao Henan, a novice transmigrator, who was leading the entire battalion, which now numbered 150 people and had over 60 guns, carefully following along.

Just from the scene above, it's clear that Zanana and Xiao Henan's battalion are planning to take action here tonight.

It is also important to emphasize that Sendai Mountain is actually outside the boundaries of Pingding County, and is considered part of the neighboring Pingshan County.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it; ever since the First Battalion arrived in the northern region...

They didn't encounter any Japanese or puppet army transport teams at all; this place was even poorer than Zhangjiayu.

Naturally, they couldn't be like Lao Yu and the warehouse manager's Second Battalion, who were able to ambush a transport team and then take a big bite of the meat.

The extra twenty-odd guns in the battalion were some secondhand, broken guns that were forcibly seized from the guards of several unscrupulous wealthy families.

Fortunately, the problem wasn't too big, because the Sendai Mountain coal mine they planned to target tonight was a good one.

According to intelligence, this coal mine has been occupied by Japanese businessmen since the beginning of the year; the Japanese businessmen have formed a mine protection team of about fifty people, all of whom are armed.

Once we take this place down, these guns will belong to their battalion.

As for the area, it has already deviated from the area that Hu Biao, that damned bastard, had assigned to them when the troops were initially divided. This area is now considered Pingshan County, which belongs to the guerrilla zone of the Jin-Sui Army.
In fact, neither Zanana nor Xiao Henan thought it was a big deal.

To put it nicely, this is called "a general in the field may disobey orders from others".

To put it bluntly, they didn't have a radio. It would take at least a day for the First Battalion to travel from their base back to Zhangjiayu. If they had to ask for instructions and report everything, they wouldn't even get a bite of hot air.

In short, their battalion is determined to win this job tonight.

Because the members of the Japanese mine protection team were mainly composed of a small number of Japanese ronin, as well as local thugs and hooligans from Hirayama, Zanana, who acted as the scout, advanced smoothly all the way.

The two sentries at the mine entrance were still drinking, completely unaware of Zanana's approach.

The girl originally planned to sneak over and take care of them with a hunting knife at her waist.

But when she saw the two people sitting opposite her, whose direction and angle were exactly in a straight line with hers, a bold idea popped into the girl's head.

She aimed carefully, and only released her hand after drawing the recurve bow to its full draw.

Instantly, with the vibration of the bowstring, a sharp arrow flew out like lightning; it first grazed the guard whose back was to her and pierced his cervical vertebrae.

After shooting through one guard's neck, he continued forward and struck another guard squarely in the face, killing both men with a single arrow—essentially a two-on-one kill.

After dealing with the two guards, Zanana waved her hand behind her, signaling the rest of the battalion to follow.

They entered the mining area very quickly and effortlessly, arriving at a large area of ​​accommodations made of makeshift shacks.

It was only at this point that they encountered some trouble.

Five guards, accompanied by two large wolfhounds, were constantly patrolling the area, presumably to prevent the captured or tricked miners from escaping; they seemed quite vigilant.

Given the size of this patrol squad, Zanana really had no way of taking them down silently.

However, it wasn't a big problem. After receiving Zanana's signal, Xiao Henan, holding his Czech light machine gun, led a platoon of infantrymen, all of whom were armed, to fire first.

Under a hail of bullets, all five people and one dog were killed in an instant.

Then, more than a hundred people rushed toward several more exquisite houses, clearly the residences of mine managers, located a hundred meters away.

During the rush, several disheveled members of the mine security team rushed out of the gate and were immediately shot dead.

Seeing this, the remaining people could only hide in the house and fire their guns randomly.

Seeing this, Zanana even had two soldiers help carry the 20mm anti-tank rifle, not bothering to waste the precious bullets.

Hiding behind an obstacle, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't come out and surrender, I'll set you on fire and burn you to death. One, two, three... eight..."

After counting to ten in one breath, the Japanese soldiers hiding inside didn't come out to surrender, which only fueled Xiao Henan's enthusiasm.

With the same excited tone he used during Chinese New Year as a child, he issued a new order: "First platoon, keep on guard, don't let these Japanese devils get away."

The second platoon should go find some door panels and quilts. Remember to wet the quilts with water, as they will be used to block bullets later.

"Third platoon, go find some firewood and kerosene. Follow me and burn these Japanese devils to death."

Unfortunately, before Xiao Henan could complete this heroic feat of burning the Japanese soldiers, a very difficult-to-pronounce sound came from inside the room:

"Don't set fires, we surrender."

After this sound was heard, fifty or sixty people, led by a Japanese soldier in a kimono, came out of the houses with their hands raised.

After leaving a squad and a light machine gun to guard them, the rest of the men began working in the mine.

For the impoverished Subei Independent Regiment, not only were weapons and ammunition extremely important, but machinery and tools from other coal mines, food, supplies, and even quilts and cotton shoes were also valuable items.

What no one expected was that, while everyone was busy, they accidentally released more than three or four hundred miners who were locked in those shacks.

It's unclear which miner first shouted, "Kill these beasts!"

These miners, looking disheveled and ghost-like, charged together at the mine protection team and management personnel who had laid down their weapons.

The incident happened so suddenly that the guards had no time to react or stop it, nor were they particularly willing to do so, and those guys were completely overwhelmed.

When Zanana and Xiao Henan arrived with the others and separated them from the crowd...

All the Japanese soldiers' mine protection team and management personnel were killed; many of their skulls and chests were severely deformed.

God knows how many punches and bruises I took.

Before Zanana and Xiao Henan could say anything, a tall but rather thin man, whose military uniform was already tattered and made it impossible to tell which unit he belonged to, appeared.

Leading a hundred or so miners, they walked straight up to the two men and simultaneously gave a military salute.

He said, "Thank you, officers. Thank you for avenging our brothers who died unjustly."

At the beginning of the year, 209 prisoners of war from our 10th Division were sold to this coal mine, and these Japanese devils did not treat us like human beings at all.

"If you hadn't arrived in time, the remaining hundred or so brothers probably wouldn't have survived much longer; they would have died from exhaustion and torture."

Upon hearing what the man said, Zanana and Xiao Nanhe immediately realized something:
We've struck it rich! But this riches aren't from acquiring weapons, machinery, or food; it's from these hundred or so prisoners. The 10th Division? If I remember correctly, that's the designation of the Central Army.

As the battalion grew and expanded, they could find other ways to obtain weapons and equipment.

However, these experienced veterans simply have no way to solve the problem.

Although these prisoners are currently thin and have various wounds, they will recover their strength after a period of rest and will definitely become the backbone of the battalion.

Immediately, Zanana said:

"You've only killed a few Japanese soldiers, and you have the nerve to say you've avenged your brothers?"
I am a major, battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment. If you're still men, you'll follow me from now on; I can't guarantee anything else, but you'll have plenty of Japanese soldiers."

The Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was originally a renowned force for fighting the Japanese.

Moreover, although Zanana looks fierce, she is still a girl. After she said such provocative words, how could those prisoners of the Central Army still restrain themselves?

The man straightened his chest and retracted his stance, then loudly reported:
"Liu Peng, captain of the engineer battalion directly under the 10th Division of the Central Army, graduated from the 22nd class of the Engineer Department of the Yunnan Military Academy, requests to join the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment to fight the Japanese."

As soon as the first sound faded, more sounds arose:

"Xie Shun, never go to school..."

In the end, all 103 Central Army prisoners of war joined the First Battalion, along with 82 miners who also volunteered to join.

Almost overnight, the First Battalion became the unit with the most veterans in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

However, the battle report that was subsequently sent to the Zhangjiayu regimental headquarters along with the coal mining machinery only briefly mentioned:

At dawn on the 30th, our battalion launched an attack on the Sendaishan Coal Mine. In this battle, we killed more than 50 members of the mine's guard team and captured a small number of weapons and a batch of machinery.

A small number of miners have voluntarily joined our camp, and they are currently recovering...

(End of this chapter)