The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 562 Sister-in-law? (Bonus Chapter 33 for AT)

Time: A little after 9 p.m. on the 28th, in Xiangtan city.

As they drew ever closer to the only building in the city with lights on—the temporary headquarters of the 9th War Zone in Xiangtan—they realized they were getting closer and closer.

Furthermore, there were already quite a few people waiting at the main entrance.

Annie and Mina couldn't help but exchange a glance. In each other's eyes, they could see not only the exhaustion from not having rested for a long time, but also a strong sense of seriousness and worry.

The two arrived here almost eight or nine hours later than expected to request an audience with Commander Xue.

The main reason was to bring back more defeated soldiers for Hu Biao and his men, so that the local soldiers from Xinning wouldn't be wiped out. That's why the two of them were delayed outside the city.

Fortunately, the results have been good; they have recruited more than 3000 people in total.

Furthermore, the vast majority of them were soldiers who voluntarily joined the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and followed Hu Biao and Commander Hu to fight the fleeing Japanese troops. These soldiers had a stronger fighting spirit.

Now, the last thousand or so men, led by Lao Ma and Xiao Henan, have returned to the Guantang Village battlefield overnight with the cavalry battalion.

With the addition of these 3000 men, it seems that they will be able to weather this war of attrition during the Japanese's frenzied attack.

The reason for the solemnity and worry in their eyes is not complicated.

On the one hand, Commander Xue can be said to be quite a character, or perhaps a bit too arrogant. According to later historical records, the person he looked down on the most was Commander Bai, who was known as "Little Zhuge Liang".

Secretly, they actually looked down on the bald principal.

Therefore, although the bald principal agreed to their overall battle plan and strictly ordered Commander Xue and the 9th War Zone to cooperate unconditionally.

But would Commander Xue hold a grudge against them for this, or would he make things difficult for them during tonight's meeting? The two had no confidence whatsoever.

On the other hand, in order to recruit more people for Hu Biao, they offended many high-ranking officers from friendly forces.

Especially this afternoon, a major general and deputy division commander of the 41st Division actually came with his men to cause trouble and told them to get lost.

Could a time traveler with such an arrogant personality tolerate such a thing? He immediately led the cavalry battalion to take action and gave the deputy division commander and his entourage a good beating.

As the deputy division commander was leaving, he uttered some harsh words:
Tell them to wait, and that he has strong connections in the 9th War Zone Command, and that they must file a complaint so that Commander Xue will severely punish them and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, and so on.

In short, the two girls felt that tonight's trip to the 9th War Zone Command would be a trap.

Fortunately, Annie and Mina were no ordinary girls. They quickly composed themselves, gritted their teeth, and steeled their resolve, with only one thought in their minds:
Even if it's a trap, so what? If I even flinch, we'll consider ourselves the loser...

******
However, what happened next was completely different from what Annie and Mina had imagined.

As they got closer to the gate, they were surprised to find that the person greeting them was not the insignificant deputy chief of staff they had expected, but rather a group of even less valuable staff officers.

The group of people at the entrance were actually full of generals, with the leader being a man in his forties who wore the rank of general.

That face, so familiar from historical records, could only belong to Xue Boling, Commander Xue.

More importantly, when Commander Xue saw the two, he showed no anger at all. Instead, he greeted them with a friendly smile and took a few steps forward to welcome them.

He began by saying, "Sister-in-law and Mina must be starving after a long day."

"Don't rush into anything else. Go to your room and freshen up first, then have dinner. I've already arranged everything."

Goodness! The two girls are completely at a loss for what to do.

However, after dismounting, Annie said with a smile, "Then thank you, Commander Xue."

Although she didn't know why such an absurd situation had occurred, when did that big jerk Hu Biao get Commander Xue to treat him like a younger brother again?

However, if it were someone else, they might need to be wary of a 'smiling tiger' situation.

But even though this Commander Xue was a bit arrogant, he was known for his straightforwardness. If he disliked you, he wouldn't pretend; he was genuinely welcoming them.

So, after leaving Xinning, the two girls finally got to take a nice hot bath tonight. After the bath, they felt like their bones were completely relaxed.

After washing up, they discovered that Commander Xue had actually had a large table of fine wine and food prepared in advance.

In terms of taste, it certainly can't compare to Hu Biao's cooking skills, but it's clearly the work of a local chef, and the ingredients are even more abundant than those in Xinningcheng.

Annie and Mina, the two foodies, ate with beaming smiles.

Of course, they also subtly inquired why Commander Xue valued Hu Biao, whom he had never met, so much, treating him like a younger brother. They then conveniently ensured that the two of them enjoyed the same preferential treatment as a sister-in-law and a younger sister-in-law.

After figuring out the situation, the two of them found themselves in a state of bewilderment, both amused and exasperated.

It turns out that the bald-headed principal mentioned in the telegram he sent to Commander Xue that Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment were able to formulate this ingenious battle plan.

In fact, it drew on the valuable experience of Commander Xue of the 9th War Zone during the first Battle of C-Sha.

Therefore, Commander Xue is the founder of this "Heavenly Furnace Strategy"; if this battle achieves the expected results, the greatest credit should go to Commander Xue.

When he saw the battle plan, he felt an immense sense of familiarity, and he was able to clearly express some of the vague ideas in his mind.

He immediately regarded Hu Biao as a close friend.

If neither of them were busy right now, he would have had a long talk with Hu Biao by candlelight and maybe even become sworn brothers with him.

Even so, faced with the arrival of Annie and Mina, Commander Xue, driven by a sense of affection for them, created the scene described above.

After explaining the reasons, Commander Xue pondered for a moment, then gave a confident guarantee:
"After you and your sister-in-law finish eating, you can rest assured and go to rest."

I'll have three hundred submachine guns, twenty Type 24 heavy machine guns, fifty Czech light machine guns, two hundred 20-round Mauser pistols, along with the corresponding ammunition, grenades, and explosives—I'll have them prepared tonight.

When you return tomorrow, you can just take it with you.

The artillery is hard to get, but I'll try to get you ten mortars and a batch of ammunition. I can't let you ask me for nothing.

As for those who complained, you don't need to worry about them; I'll deal with them after the war. They're useless in battle, but they're all excellent at dragging the team down—truly impressive.

Upon hearing the above, Annie and Mina were naturally overjoyed.

In the time that followed, the two men kept toasting Commander Xue, showering him with all sorts of flattering routines typical of modern-day drinking parties, as if they were free.

This made Commander Xue extremely happy. Not only did he find his sister-in-law Annie increasingly pleasing to the eye, but he also greatly admired Hu Biao's mistress, Mina.

After thinking for a moment, he said to the two girls:

"Brother Yitong is a hero among men, but his wife is no less capable than any man. The two of you are a match made in heaven."

Mina is my sister-in-law's cousin, and she is naturally a very good girl. How about I act as a matchmaker here?
I have a younger brother who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy and the Army Infantry School. He is currently unmarried and, although not as accomplished as my brother Hu Yitong, he is still quite promising.

"If you two young people have some free time in the future, how about you meet up?"

Faced with such a suggestion, Annie instinctively wanted to refuse on Mina's behalf.

Let's set aside the fact that the two are from different planes of existence and cannot be together.

The key issue is Mina's behavior—to put it nicely, she's a modern woman; to put it bluntly, she's a scumbag. Commander Xue's younger brother might have a stroke by then.

Just then, based on modern people's quirky sense of humor, Mina said with a shy expression:

"No, that won't do! My brother-in-law will probably be heartbroken."

Upon hearing this, Commander Xue was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Brother Yitong, I didn't expect you to be so sentimental."

If it weren't for the fear of affecting her perfect image as a younger sister-in-law in front of Commander Xue...

At that moment, Annie might have rushed up and given her mischievous cousin Mina a good beating, punching her in the chest and then her back...

That night, Annie and Mina declined Commander Xue's offer to stay overnight in Xiangtan and return the next morning.

After finishing their meal, they took the weapons and ammunition and, with the help of a borrowed supply battalion, began their return journey to Guantang Village overnight.

Even though Commander Xue had told them during dinner that the relevant troops of the 9th War Zone would launch a night attack on the Japanese supply convoy that day.

It would be best if they could be blown up completely, but even if they can't, it would still greatly slow them down.

In this way, the Japanese might have to stop their attack tomorrow due to insufficient ammunition; so their return being a little late won't have any impact.

However, the two were worried about what would happen if the friendly forces' night raid tonight didn't go well.
It's well known that the top military leaders at all levels of the National Revolutionary Army were notorious for preserving their strength...

(End of this chapter)