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

During the Battle of Taiyuan, the Chinese side suffered 100,000 casualties.

Because the defending forces on the east and west sides failed to stop the Japanese army, Taiyuan was besieged and eventually fell.

Before Taiyuan was besieged, Yan Laokou had already retreated south to Linfen.

This place also became the temporary center of the Second War Zone.

Yan Laokou is here to gather the defeated Jin-Sui Army and reorganize the troops.

After separating from Deputy Division Commander Nie, Division Commander He led his men here to meet the commander of the Second War Zone.

Provisional headquarters.

In an office, Yan Xishan, dressed in military uniform and wearing glasses, was sitting in a chair reviewing documents.

"Reporting, Commander-in-Chief!"

A subordinate came in and said, "Commander He of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army is looking for you!"

"Commander He of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Xishan put down his pen, somewhat puzzled, and muttered to himself, "What's he doing here? Could it be... that he's demanding those supplies?"

He was both wary of and eager to win over the Eighth Route Army.

It should be noted that during the Red Army's Eastern Expedition in 36, they gave his Jin Army a severe lesson.

Fearing that his territory would be occupied by the Red Army, Yan Xishan had no choice but to ask the bald man for help.

After the bald man's five divisions entered Shanxi Province, they refused to leave.

He was very clear about the Red Army's fighting strength, so he was very wary of them.

Even though he needed the Red Army's help to resist the Japanese invasion of Shanxi Province, he still secretly sabotaged it.

Resources and aid promised to the Eighth Route Army were repeatedly delayed, or simply not provided at all.

Because he feared that the Eighth Route Army, with sufficient weaponry, would grow too strong and occupy his Shanxi province.

To put it bluntly, it was about using empty promises to kill with borrowed knives, letting the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army wear each other down.

Regardless of which side suffers heavy losses, it can reduce his stress.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

Seeing Yan Xishan hesitate, the subordinate couldn't help but ask, "Would you like me to refuse on your behalf?"

"No!"

Yan Xishan said in a deep voice, "The Japanese invaders are rampant right now, and we need them just in time. Let him in!"

"yes!"

The subordinate acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

Soon, he led Commander He in.

Yan Xishan then began to pretend to review the documents.

His subordinate shouted, "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, Division Commander He is here!"

"Oh, it's Commander He!"

Yan Xishan pointed to the chair in front of him and said with a smile, "Please sit down!"

"Commander Yan!"

Commander He saluted the other party before sitting down.

Regardless, Yan Xishan is now the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone, and under the current cooperative circumstances, it is natural for him to respect the other party.

"Commander He!"

Yan Xishan asked with a smile, "What brings you here?"

"Commander Yan!"

Commander He's face turned serious as he said, "I'm here on behalf of the Eighth Route Army to ask Commander Yan when the promised supplies and support will be delivered to us?"

Instead of answering, Yan Xishan asked, "Commander He, weren't those resources already given to you?"

His subordinate immediately spoke up: "Commander He, after the fall of Datong, our commander specifically allocated you 1 million rounds of ammunition, 200 Type 17 submachine guns, and various other rifles. How can you say you didn't receive them?"

Upon hearing this, Commander He immediately sneered inwardly.

Before the fall of Datong and the great victory at Hepingxingguan, the enemy used various excuses, such as their own shortage of ammunition and low production capacity of arsenals, to refuse to give them a single gun or bullet.

It wasn't until Datong fell that the enemy realized that the Jin-Sui Army alone could not withstand the Japanese army and urgently needed the Eighth Route Army to defend Taiyuan, so they quickly provided a batch of bullets.

There were also 200 copies of the Thompson submachine gun, also known as the Type 17 submachine gun, manufactured in Shanxi Province.

As for the rifles the other party mentioned, there weren't many at all; there were only a few scattered old guns in stock.

What remains are the firearms scattered among the people after the fall of Taiyuan; those were not given to them voluntarily by the enemy.

It can be said that because Yan Xishan was worried about their growing strength, he provided them with almost no rifles, light and heavy machine guns and artillery, and also provided very few mortar shells.

"Commander Yan did provide a batch, but after two months of fighting, we have almost exhausted them."

Commander He said, "The Japanese army is currently preparing for their next attack. If we don't have enough gunpowder and ammunition by then, our guns will be useless and we won't be able to kill the Japanese anymore!"

He wasn't threatening intentionally; he was simply stating a fact.

Just like the official ordnance telegram of the 129th Division, the entire division only had 10.2 rounds of ammunition.

On average, soldiers received fewer than 5 bullets; each mortar received an average of 11 shells.

In contrast, the Japanese army had 120 rounds of ammunition for each ordinary soldier, and a squad of 10 men had more ammunition than an entire company of the Eighth Route Army.

During the Battle of Pingxingguan, Commander Lin ordered the entire army not to fire beyond 30 meters, but only when the Japanese troops were extremely close.

Almost after one or two rounds of shooting, it became necessary to fight with bayonets.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xishan immediately frowned.

Now that his large army has collapsed and many civilian officials have abandoned their posts and fled, the entire Shanxi province is in a crisis, which is exactly when the Eighth Route Army is needed.

He thought for a moment and said, "Taiyuan has fallen, and the Second War Zone arsenal has been dismantled and has not yet been rebuilt. We don't have much weaponry or ammunition, so I'll give you 1 to 20 rounds of ammunition for now!"

"Thank you, Commander Yan!"

Commander He's face lit up with joy.

He was just saying it casually, but he didn't expect the other party to actually give it to him.

Although it was just bullets, 20 rounds is still quite a lot.

This also shows that the fall of Taiyuan was a significant blow to Yan Xishan.

"Commander He!"

Yan Xishan said, "I still have official business to attend to, so I cannot get up to see you off!"

Division Commander He quickly spoke up: "Commander Yan, actually, I've come here today to make a deal with you!"

"Making a deal with you?"

Yan Xishan asked with some doubt, "What kind of deal is it?"

"I wonder if Commander Yan needs sulfonamides?"

Commander He made a startling statement.

"Sulfonamides?"

Yan Xishan narrowed his eyes and asked, "Does your Eighth Route Army have sulfonamides?"

"Um!"

Commander He nodded and said, "We've acquired a batch of sulfanilamide. If Commander Yan wants it, he'll have to trade rifles, light and heavy machine guns, and mortars!"

Yan Xishan inquired, "How much sulfonamide does your Eighth Route Army have?"

Commander He said, "We have 10000 grams of sulfanilamide powder!"

Based on the calculation that each small yellow croaker weighs 5 grams and weighs about 50 grams, 10000 grams would be 2000 small yellow croakers or 200 large yellow croakers.

A small yellow croaker could be exchanged for 30-40 silver dollars, equivalent to 60-80 yuan of legal tender.

10000 grams of sulfonamide is worth 6 to 8 yuan.

"Do you have that much sulfonamide?"

Yan Xishan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.