Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

unconsciously.

More than half an hour has passed.

Zhao Wenlong walked over and wiped his sweat.

"Commander, the house is almost cleaned up."

Zhou Tianyang thought for a moment and then began to make arrangements.

"Ten people will live in each room. Make sure the beds are set up and the bedding is laid out."

"The regimental headquarters occupies a separate room as its command post."

"The supplies are kept in the innermost room, and someone is assigned to guard them."

"In addition, sentry posts were set up at the village entrance and around the village, with three shifts of four people each."

"yes!"

Zhao Wenlong turned around and ran off to make arrangements.

Zhou Tianyang walked into the row of houses and looked at each one.

Although the house was old and dilapidated, it looked quite nice after being cleaned.

The dust on the walls was swept away, the trash on the floor was cleaned up, and the windows were covered with paper.

The soldiers are setting up their beds.

Some were built with wooden planks, and some with bricks.

Some simply laid a layer of straw on the ground.

Although the conditions were basic, they were much better than sleeping outdoors.

Zhou Tianyang walked to the innermost room.

This room was the largest and was designated as the regimental headquarters.

It was also his residence and command post.

There was a wooden table and a few chairs in the room.

They were all borrowed by Zhao Wenlong from the villagers.

A map was spread out on the table.

It was a topographical map of southeastern Shanxi that he had copied from Li Yunlong.

Several nails were hammered into the wall so that things could be hung.

Zhou Tianyang took the sniper rifle off his back, wrapped it in a cloth, and placed it on the inside of the bed.

Then he placed the Mauser pistol on the table, unfolded the map, and began to study the surrounding terrain.

Lijia Yu's location is indeed excellent.

The village is situated on a hillside, backed by mountains and facing a small river.

At the entrance of the village is a threshing ground, and outside the threshing ground is a dirt road leading to the main road outside.

From the village to the Wangjiazhuang stronghold, it's about fifteen miles of mountain road, which takes a little over an hour to walk there.

There are ravines, forests, and shrubs in the middle, which provides excellent concealment.

If you're going to ambush someone, there are many places to choose from.

Zhou Tianyang moved his finger across the map.

Several possible ambush locations were marked.

Then, he marked the evacuation route and the backup route.

He began to mentally rehearse the battle.

A small squad of Japanese soldiers, fifty or sixty men.

The new Second Regiment now has more than 120 members, well-equipped, and more than capable of carrying out ambushes.

But the question isn't whether we can win.

The question is how to win with the least cost.

Every soldier is a precious gem; losing one is like losing one less.

We must try our best to avoid casualties.

In particular, we must not allow veterans to suffer too many losses.

As Zhou Tianyang was pondering, Zhao Wenlong pushed open the door and walked in.

"Commander, everything is arranged."

"There are four sentry posts: two at the village entrance and one on each side of the village, all with double posts."

"The supplies have all been put away and people have been assigned to guard them."

"The soldiers have all settled down, and everyone has a place to stay."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

"it is good."

He stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the threshing ground outside.

"Zhao Wenlong".

"arrive!"

"Come with me to the village and meet the villagers."

"yes!"

The two walked out of the house.

Walk along the dirt road in the village.

Lijia Yu is a small village.

It only takes about ten minutes to walk from the east end of the village to the west end.

The road is lined with mud-brick houses of varying heights.

Some houses are inhabited, while others are empty; doors and windows are crooked, and the yards are overgrown with weeds.

Several children were squatting and playing against the wall.

Upon seeing two strangers in military uniforms approaching, she timidly hid to the side.

But he couldn't resist peeking out.

"Children, don't be afraid."

Zhou Tianyang smiled at them and took out a few pieces of fruit candy from his pocket.

It came from the canned food that was seized yesterday.

He casually pocketed a few pieces.

The children's eyes lit up when they saw the candy.

But no one dared to step forward.

Zhou Tianyang put the candy on the wall, turned around and left.

After walking a few steps, I heard the laughter of children scrambling for something behind me.

Zhao Wenlong followed behind, chuckling.

"Commander, you're so generous. We barely got any of those canned fruits ourselves."

"It's a rare treat for these kids to have some sweets."

As Zhou Tianyang spoke, his gaze swept over the surrounding houses.

The situation in the village was better than he had imagined.

Although we were poor, we could still hear chickens crowing and dogs barking.

This shows that the local people are still managing to survive.

The two walked to the middle of the village.

They stopped in front of a slightly more spacious courtyard.

The yard wasn't big, but it was kept very clean.

An old man was squatting at the entrance of the courtyard, smoking a pipe.

Seeing the two approaching, he stood up.

"Grandpa, is the village chief home?"

Zhou Tianyang asked politely.

The old man looked him up and down, then turned and called out into the yard.

"Old Li, someone's looking for you!"

Who is it?

An old but strong voice came from inside the house.

"From the Eighth Route Army."

Footsteps sounded, and Village Chief Li came out of the house.

Upon seeing Zhou Tianyang, he nodded and gestured for him to enter the house.

"Commander Zhou, come inside and let's talk."

Zhou Tianyang followed Village Chief Li into the house.

Zhao Wenlong followed behind.

The room was simply furnished, with only an eight-immortal table.

A few benches, and several grain jars piled up in the corner, their lids open.

You can see that there isn't much grain left inside.

"Please sit down."

Village Chief Li pointed to the bench and sat down opposite it.

He picked up the pipe from the table, filled it with tobacco, lit it with a match, and took a deep drag.

"Commander Zhou, have you settled in?"

"We've settled in."

Zhou Tianyang nodded and took out the cigarettes he had brought with him from his pocket.

He handed one to Village Chief Li.

Village Chief Li waved his hand.

"I don't like cigarettes, this is much stronger."

He waved the pipe in his hand.

Zhou Tianyang didn't force him.

I lit one up and took a puff.

"Village Chief Li, we've come today to ask you about the situation in this area."

Village Chief Li squinted at him.

"What do you want to know?"

"The situation of the Japanese devils, bandits, and ordinary people—anything is fine."

Village Chief Li remained silent for a while.

He tapped the pipe on the table leg, refilled it with tobacco, lit it, and took another puff.

"Let me tell you about the Japanese first."

His voice was not loud, and he spoke slowly.

But every word was spoken clearly.

"There are no large Japanese strongholds around here, only small ones."

He held up his finger and gestured the name on the table.

"Fifteen miles to the east, in Wangjiazhuang, there is a Japanese stronghold."

"Not big, just a small team, fifty or sixty people."

"There was a pillbox inside the stronghold, and the Japanese soldiers lived in it."

"I don't usually go out much. I just patrol along the highway every few days, and sometimes I go to the surrounding villages to collect grain."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

He already knew this from Li Yunlong.

"About twenty miles to the north, in Liujiabao, there is also a stronghold, smaller than the one in Wangjiazhuang, consisting of half a squad, thirty or forty people."

"The Japanese soldiers at that stronghold don't come out much; they just stay inside."

"The main thing is to keep an eye on that highway."

Village Chief Li took another drag of his cigarette and continued.

"Further south, about thirty miles away, there is a stronghold called Zhangjiazhuang, where a small squad of Japanese soldiers, about sixty or seventy men, are stationed."

"That outpost is quite large and has a lot of supplies."

"The Japanese transport convoys often passed through there."

His fingers moved across the table, pointing at each item one by one.

"Anywhere further away is the outpost in the county town."

"But those who live far from here won't come easily."

Zhou Tianyang memorized all of this information.

"Did the Japanese invaders ever come to our village?"

He asked.

Village Chief Li shook his head and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Not yet."

Why?

"Our village is too remote, hidden in a mountain valley."

"From the main road outside, you have to walk several miles along a mountain path to get in. The Japanese soldiers found it too troublesome and didn't want to come in."

There was a hint of relief in Village Chief Li's tone.

"Besides, our village is poor, there's not much to gain."

"Even if the Japanese came, they wouldn't be able to loot anything good, so they never came."