Double-Cut During the War of Resistance: My Wife Came from 1937

"You mean that one?"

Upon hearing this, Commander Liu's expression grew even more solemn.

Compared to Chief of Staff Zhou, that one is truly serious.

After all, even many of their division's officers and soldiers were former members of the enemy's forces.

"This is a huge deal!"

Commander Liu said, "I'm afraid we'll have to wait until Political Commissar Zhang and the others arrive in northern Shaanxi and we make secret contact with the Central Committee of the Soviet Area before we can report to them."

After a pause, he asked again, "Comrade Hongwei, what exactly is the state of Lao Luo's illness?"

"Commissar Luo was shot in the waist during the Autumn Harvest Uprising, which damaged his kidneys and caused him to develop health problems later in life."

Ma Hongwei sighed, "With all the overwork he's done over the years, his kidney disease will get worse and worse, and he may even have long-term hematuria, which could lead to disease in both kidneys."

"If he continues to overwork like this, he will be diagnosed with kidney cancer in 46 and his right kidney will be removed, leaving only his left kidney."

"A diseased kidney is simply unable to support his body and can lead to high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and other problems."

"You think Lao Luo will get kidney cancer?"

Commander Liu's expression immediately turned grim.

He naturally knew about cancer.

People like Dr. Sun Yat-sen and General Cai E all died of cancer.

This is a difficult disease to cure.

"Hongwei!"

Commander Liu looked at Ma Hongwei and asked, "I wonder if there are any drugs to cure cancer in your future?"

"In our area, we can only treat early-stage cancer; late-stage cancer is incurable."

Ma Hongwei shook his head and said, "Political Commissar Luo's most important task right now is to rest and recuperate."

"We are all aware of this problem."

Commander Liu sighed, "But now the nation is in peril. We still need to fight the Japanese and build more base areas, but we are far from having enough manpower. I'm afraid he might not be willing to rest!"

"If it weren't for the genuine need for an important cadre to escort those supplies to northern Shaanxi, Old Zhang definitely wouldn't have wanted to go back!"

Ma Hongwei couldn't help but sigh.

He also knew that there was a severe shortage of Eighth Route Army cadres.

The Eighth Route Army had a total of 1 cadres at the platoon level and above. As the army continued to expand, the number of suitable cadres would decrease.

Moreover, a large number of cadres were appointed to positions in the base areas, military sub-districts, armed work teams, Red Guards, and other similar organizations.

As the war continues, the number of these cadres will continue to decrease.

Because the cadres of the Eighth Route Army were not like the Kuomintang; during the war, they were required to lead the charge, not hide in the rear.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, hundreds of officers at the regimental level and above sacrificed their lives.

The losses among company and battalion-level grassroots officers were even more severe; after a tough battle, half of the platoon leaders and political instructors would be wounded or killed.

Despite the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University continuously training cadres and the large number of intellectuals who went to Yan'an, it was still impossible to keep up with the consumption and expansion.

"Commander!"

Ma Hongwei casually waved his hand, took out some cooked food and fruit from his storage space, and said to Commander Liu, "Take these to entertain those leaders!"

"That won't do!"

Commander Liu directly refused, saying, "I think we should always reject temptations from all sides, even food."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if people got used to it. People always compare things. Just like Chief of Staff Zhou, his thinking changed drastically after only attending meetings at the Nationalist government for a short period. We should nip this in the bud!"

At this point, he said to Ma Hongwei and Xia Weiwei, "From now on, the food you bring is only for yourselves to eat, and at most it can be used to help the villagers in the base area. It is strictly forbidden to give it to any cadres or soldiers."

"This also includes Lao Xu and me. As the highest leaders of the 129th Division, we two must set an example."

"Moreover, the refined rice and canned meat you brought are already rare delicacies in the past. At most, you can hunt a few wild animals."

Speaking of wild game, Commander Liu suddenly remembered that Ma Hongwei had told him before that in later generations, wild game was more valuable than non-wild game.

Even those raised in free-range communities are more expensive than those raised in large-scale farms.

"Comrade Hongwei, do you accept wild game?"

Commander Liu inquired, "Our Taihang Mountains are home to many wild animals, such as the North China leopard, gray wolf, North China black bear, wild boar, roe deer, sika deer, red deer, roe deer, wild goat, hog badger, Eurasian badger, pheasant, and so on."

"It's only because those hunters have been hunting for so long that the number of North China tigers and musk deer has decreased drastically. Otherwise, even these animals could be hunted."

When the Eighth Route Army improved their food, they would also hunt some wild animals.

Moreover, those animal hides, musk, bear bile, tiger penis, tiger bone, and deer antlers were also important export products for them, which could be used to exchange for important supplies such as medicine, ammunition, food, and cloth.

"Sir, you can't accept these!"

Upon hearing the other person's words, Ma Hongwei quickly said, "In our future, these animals will basically all be protected wild animals; hunting them indiscriminately will be a crime!"

"What did you say?"

Commander Liu asked in confusion, "Do those wild animals still need protection?"

For the residents of the Taihang Mountains, these wild animals are a menace.

Animals like leopards, gray wolves, black bears, and tigers can all eat or injure people.

Wild boars and macaques will also ravage farmland and steal fruits and vegetables from the fields.

Their sentries often encounter wolves, wild boars, and leopards while on duty and on guard.

If they hadn't been carrying guns, they would probably have been killed by those wolves and leopards.

Do these animals really need protection?

"Sir, in our future generations, development is happening all over the country, even deep mountains and forests have become tourist attractions!"

Ma Hongwei said slowly, "The living space of these wild animals has been almost completely occupied, and many wild animals have even become extinct."

"Nature's food chain is interconnected. If an animal becomes extinct, its natural enemies will also decline due to lack of food, and the animals they prey on will proliferate wildly."

"Just like the significant decrease in owls has led to a large number of rats in the fields and a sharp decline in the number of frogs, so the only way to deal with pests in farmland is with pesticides."

"If this continues, I'm afraid that apart from farmed animals, there won't be many other kinds of animals left."

"Many other animals also have research and observation value, which is why we started to protect these wild animals."

Commander Liu nodded: "I see. However, each era has its own way of doing things. In our time and space, there are a lot of wild animals, which have already harmed ordinary people, so we have to clear some of them out."

"We cannot disregard the dangers to humanity simply because we fear their extinction!"