The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 455 Let's Go Together (Two Chapters Combined)

Just as Hu Biao and his group were feeling somewhat frustrated because they had lost two people right at the start of the game and their radio had been destroyed,

A sentence that suddenly rang in their ears brought them back to their senses:

"Thank you all for your chivalrous help. We are from the 7th Company of the 10th Regiment of the Jirecha Advance Army. May I ask which unit you belong to?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao quickly turned his head and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

They saw a man who appeared to be a junior officer in their army, but whose rank and position were unknown, struggling to walk to the vicinity with a rifle for support. They then asked him for directions.

His injuries were quite severe; in addition to being shot in the left thigh, his head was also haphazardly wrapped in gauze.

As for Hu Biao and others, why was this person judged to be a junior officer in our army?
Because during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the officers and soldiers of our Party's army basically did not have rank insignia, and their identities could only be confirmed by some other details.

For example, check if they are carrying a briefcase, pistol, binoculars, or a letter of introduction; if they are, they are generally military officers.

Alternatively, you can look at the pockets of the military uniform jacket. A jacket with four pockets usually belongs to a soldier, while one with two pockets belongs to an officer.

The man in front of them had a box containing a Mauser pistol slung across his body, which undoubtedly indicated that he was a military officer.

After all, our Party was facing considerable difficulties in terms of equipment at that time; even one rifle per soldier was a challenge, let alone pistols.

The man's mention of the "Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Advance Army" also revealed a lot of information to Hu Biao and his men.

Based on their cramming on historical knowledge in the modern world, they know that in March 1938, the Communist Party of China dispatched the Deng Hua Detachment from the Jin-Cha-Ji base area to advance west of the capital.

They gradually opened up Fangshan, Zhuoxian, Laishui, Changping, Wanping and other places, and initially established the Pingxi base area.

Later, it joined forces with the Yanbei Detachment of the 120th Division to form the Fourth Column, which strengthened the Pingxi base area.

After its establishment, the Pingxi base area quickly became a base for our army to advance towards Rehe and Chahar, and also became a "red corridor" connecting the capital city, Tianjin and other areas with the border region.

A large number of outstanding young people, patriots and international friends from North China.

All of them passed through this "red corridor" and headed to the Baota area; at that time, nearly one-third of the supplies from all over the country supporting the Baota area were safely transported through this corridor.

In 39, the Fourth Column merged with the Jidong Anti-Japanese Armed Forces to form the Jirecha Advance Army, commanded by the renowned General Xiao.

这个冀热察挺进军在成立的时候，将原有部队一共编组成4个团，分别是6、7、9、10等四个团。

Therefore, the area they are currently in should be the Pingxi base area west of the capital city.

We are currently in the midst of a Japanese mopping-up operation, but we don't know which one it is.

Since the establishment of the Pingxi base area, it has seriously threatened many large cities occupied by the Japanese, such as the capital, as well as their transportation lines.

The Japanese launched far too many mopping-up operations throughout the entire War of Resistance Against Japan...

When asked by the newcomer, Hu Biao shouted, "Xiao Cui, come over here quickly and help these brothers treat their wounds again. If you don't have enough manpower, ask someone to help."

The key is to apply penicillin to each wounded soldier after their wounds have been treated to prevent infection.

Then, she spoke to the man:

“Brother, don’t be so polite. We’re from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment. We just happened to be passing through here on some mission. We’re all friendly forces fighting the Japanese together, so how could we not help each other?”

That's right! Even when he encountered our Party's troops, since everyone was on the same side, Hu Biao still did not directly reveal his identity.

The main reason is that the fact that he and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had already defected to our party was a matter that needed to be kept absolutely secret until June 1946, before our party officially turned against the bald-headed principal.

Given that the Japanese are currently conducting a sweep, it would be rash to reveal his identity as Commander Hu.

There's not much benefit to it. If the Japanese find out, they'll be on a rampage like they're on steroids, and they'll be annihilated. Anyway, it's not worth it, so it's better to keep quiet for now and see how things go before making a decision.

However, even without revealing his identity as Commander Hu, it doesn't prevent him from providing some assistance to his own comrades within his capabilities.

First, they treated the survivors and then gave them a penicillin injection to prevent the wounds from becoming infected.

The Japanese soldiers in this small squad couldn't carry much equipment because they were already carrying a lot of weight; so after replenishing a small portion, most of the equipment could be left to them.

To Hu Biao and his colleagues' surprise, simply mentioning the name "Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment" had an unexpectedly positive effect.

Upon hearing this, the man's eyes lit up instantly.

The last vestiges of vigilance on his body visibly dissipated.

He muttered to himself, "I was wondering where these heroes came from. Not only are they all as skilled as heavenly soldiers, but their equipment is also terrifyingly good."

So they were from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment. No wonder.

"You were already capable of manufacturing guns and cannons yourselves, and more than six months ago you acquired two regiments of equipment from Uncle Sam's country. In terms of infantry firepower alone, you are stronger than the Japanese."

As he spoke, the man's eyes were filled with undisguised envy; it seemed that the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment of Pingding County was nothing more than a rich, powerful family in their eyes.

Hearing these murmurs, Hu Biao and the others couldn't help but perk up, feeling an indescribable joy in their hearts.

Although they would be unable to go to the Pingding County base area for some time to avoid excessively provoking Yan Xishan to the point of defecting to the Japanese.

However, the Pingding County base area was something they had built up little by little from scratch, and the great man had promised that this place would always be their home base.

It's quite gratifying to see that he's received such high praise from outsiders.

Seriously! Who can resist becoming a "big spender" in the eyes of others?

With this in mind, Hu Biao and Annie helped Xiao Cui bandage the wounds of the survivors of our party's unit while chatting with the man.

By the time their wounds had been mostly treated, they had also obtained a great deal of useful information.

In summary, there are roughly the following points.

First, the current time is October 26th, 1930, around 10:00 AM; the historically famous Hundred Regiments Offensive has now entered its third phase.

The first phase, which has already passed, had the central task of destroying the Zhengtai Railway; the main task of the second phase was to continue to disrupt the Japanese army's transportation lines and destroy the main strongholds of the Japanese army deep in the anti-Japanese base areas.

The current third phase is mainly focused on responding to and countering the Japanese army's retaliatory "mopping-up" operations.

The Pingxi base area was located in a key region of North China, so it naturally participated in the first two phases of the mission and achieved considerable results.

Therefore, during the Japanese army's retaliatory sweep, the Ping base area also suffered a frenzied reprisal from the Japanese.

In order to preserve their strength, the main force of the Pingxi base area could only break out separately in small groups, preparing to bypass the outer lines and then carry out related operations.

Second, the man's name was Fang Youwen, and he was the second platoon leader of the 7th Company.

Originally, after their 7th Company dispersed, they were about to break through the Japanese encirclement.

However, he suddenly received a vague order from his superiors to arrive at Dalongmen in Laishui County before this evening to meet another messenger and receive an important mission.

The only option was to turn back and head deeper into the base area.

Unexpectedly, even though they were extremely careful along the way, they were still spotted by the Japanese halfway through the journey.

After repeated battles, the 7th Company suffered heavy casualties, with the company commander, deputy company commander, and comrades all dying in battle. Fang Youwen, the second platoon leader, was the highest-ranking person in the 7th Company.

If it weren't for Hu Biao and his men showing up and helping at the most critical moment...
The last few men of the 7th Company are likely to be wiped out in this reed marshland.

Third, more than nine months after Hu Biao and his group left the Guinan region, the Pingding County base area has now been promoted to the Nationalist Army's Northwest Shanxi Guerrilla Area.

Along with the fact that each of them received a Blue Sky White Sun Medal, the bald principal was being a little generous this time.

It was described as "slightly" because Hu Biao and his group easily saw through the bald principal's little scheme immediately.

Even when rewards are given, they are sometimes given reluctantly, showing a stingy and narrow-minded approach. But the more crucial issue is the promotion of military ranks, which is still limited to infantry lieutenant colonels and majors, leaving a rather unsatisfactory feeling.

Fourth, it has been almost two years since Hu Biao and his men left the Pingzi base area.

Thanks to the solid foundation laid by Hu Biao and his comrades, the Pingding County base area has developed very well in the past two years.

When it was promoted to the Jin-Sui guerrilla area, it had a more suitable name and righteous cause.

Having acquired two more regiments of Uncle Sam's equipment, they were even more formidable.

Excluding various guerrilla units, security regiments, and supplementary regiments, there are now three main divisions, one equipped with American weapons, one with Japanese weapons, and one equipped with domestic weapons.

It's like they have all the manpower and guns they need, and because of the booming sales of Flying Tiger cigarettes and some daily necessities, they're also incredibly wealthy.

Nowadays in North China, not to mention the consistently impoverished troops of our Party, even the Central Army and the Jin-Sui Army are quite envious of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

This led to the situation described above, where Fang Youwen expressed extreme envy when talking about the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Fifth, although the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, or the Shanxi-Northwest Guerrilla Area, has become quite wealthy, it has never been ambiguous in its fight against the Japanese.

On the one hand, no major battles occurred, but small battles were quite frequent, and the total results were already quite impressive.

Although they failed to capture the county town again, it was merely out of excessive concern about provoking the Japanese.

After pacifying the surrounding counties, the Japanese soldiers could only feel somewhat safe within the city; the area outside the city had become a paradise for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

If the Japanese soldiers in the city were to leave, even a company-sized force might not be able to return alive.

On the other hand, they also provided a lot of support to friendly forces, including appropriate coordinated operations, material procurement, and the distribution of supplies and equipment.

Even Zhao Zheng, who was in charge, wanted to avoid being discovered by those with ulterior motives that the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had already defected to our Party.

When dealing with the neighboring armies of our Party, we treated the Central Army and the Jin-Sui Army almost the same, treating them as normal friendly forces.

But for our Party, we are already thankful as long as there is no friction.

Units that genuinely treat them as allies and cooperate well with them already enjoy considerable goodwill.

This is why his attitude changed dramatically immediately after Hu Biao and others revealed the identity of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

This was also the biggest reason for such candor during subsequent casual conversations.

This completely treats Hu Biao and his men as trustworthy allies.

By the way! The Laishui County where Hu Biao and his group are currently located is actually northeast of Pingding County. The distance between the two is not too far, only about 400 kilometers.

If Hu Biao orders them to send troops to meet them, they can bring Hu Biao and his men back in about a week by marching at full speed.

The prerequisite is that Hu Biao and his men are willing to go back, and that the radio can be repaired so that they can be contacted in time.

As for why Fang Youwen trusted Hu Biao and his men so much about their claimed identity as the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment? You're kidding! Even if the Japanese were cunning, they wouldn't use an entire squad as bait…

******
During their casual conversation with Fang Youwen, Hu Biao and his group obtained a lot of information without taking up too much time.

About ten minutes later, after Van Gogh, AT and others had cleaned up the battlefield, Fang Youwen had also finished explaining the situation.

After understanding the situation, Hu Biao knew he couldn't stay there any longer.

During this sweep, the Japanese not only blockaded all key transportation points in the base area, but also dispatched multiple units to conduct a comprehensive search.

These search teams, individually, have limited size and strength.

It was basically just a small team; to them, it was just easy prey.

However, the two squads were not too far apart. As long as one squad held off the enemy for half an hour, Japanese reinforcements from the surrounding area would arrive.

Then their numbers increase until they completely surround them and wear them down.

After a moment's hesitation, Hu Biao made up his mind and said to Fang Youwen:
"Platoon Leader Fang, we must evacuate from here immediately, otherwise once the other Japanese troops arrive, we won't be able to leave even if we want to."

How about this: the bodies of our fallen brothers can only be collected later.

We'll take some of the weapons and ammunition from the Japanese soldiers and our fallen comrades. The rest we'll wrap in tarpaulin, bury, and mark, so you can dig them up and use them later.

As for you few, you can also evacuate with us. Once we've broken through the Japanese encirclement, you can then find your unit, how about that?"

To be fair, Hu Biao believed that his arrangements were quite reasonable.

Aside from acquiring a grenade launcher and some small melon grenades, the Japanese soldiers didn't care about their weapons at all.

Of Fang Youwen's 7th Company, only seven men, including Fang Youwen himself, have survived.

Four of the seriously injured could only be carried, and the remaining three, including Fang Youwen, struggled to walk due to their injuries.

In this situation, the 7th Company can be said to have been completely destroyed.

The original mission was no longer feasible, so they had no choice but to abandon it and evacuate with the others.

So when Hu Biao made the above suggestion, AT and Black Star and others had already started to greet the new recruits, with the five surviving men helping out.

Together with them, we made four makeshift stretchers to carry the four seriously wounded soldiers away.

To everyone's surprise, Fang Youwen shook his head at Hu Biao and solemnly said:

"Captain Hu, you should leave quickly. Please take the four of us seriously wounded soldiers with you. Our Jirecha Advance Army will always remember this favor and will repay it generously when we have the chance."

You have the final say on burying the weapons.

As for the three of us, being soldiers, our duty is naturally to obey orders. We must go to the rendezvous point to receive orders and do our best to fulfill them.

After speaking, he and two other soldiers with slightly lighter injuries gave Hu Biao a solemn military salute.

Upon witnessing this scene, Hu Biao and his team of veterans were immediately struck with a severe headache.

Firstly, the people in front of me are actually my comrades, and they are respectable predecessors.

Fang Youwen and the other two were in the same situation, struggling even to walk. Even if they were lucky enough to reach the rendezvous point and receive their mission during the Japanese dragnet search, they would be unable to complete it and would lose their lives instead.

How could Hu Biao and his men bear to see such an outcome happen?

Secondly, based on their previous time-travel experiences, they knew it was best to follow Fang Youwen and the others, and let things unfold according to this preordained arrangement.

Doing this will definitely lead to a lot of trouble, but not doing so might result in an even worse outcome.

Just then, the third brother and Uncle Bo, who had been squatting to the side fiddling with the two radios, came over and immediately brought bad news:

"Old Hu, a radio station needs at least five vacuum tubes to function properly, but when we disassembled two of them, we found only three intact vacuum tubes."

Therefore, we cannot assemble a radio by disassembling its parts.

"Damn it! Looks like there's no way to contact the organization." Hu Biao cursed silently in his heart.

But in the blink of an eye, his expression hardened, and he growled, "Split up and prepare immediately. We'll depart in five minutes."

After shouting, he thought to himself, "Maybe the 7th Company's order isn't anything important, and we can easily complete it and then evacuate."

Even he himself knew that this was almost impossible...

(End of this chapter)