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

Zhou Tianyang walked along the road in the middle of the village, his eyes sweeping over the buildings on both sides.

On the left are the bungalows where the bandits lived, a row of more than a dozen rooms, all built of stone and wood.

Although simple, it is still quite sturdy.

The council chamber is on the right.

A large house with a stone and wood structure, capable of accommodating hundreds of people.

Further ahead is Liu Feng's residence.

A small, detached courtyard with high walls and a tightly closed gate.

Zhou Tianyang pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside.

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

The main house has three rooms, and there are two rooms each in the east and west wing rooms.

He went into the main room, where the furnishings were much better than those outside.

An eight-immortal table, several armchairs, and a few calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

Although they were all worthless trinkets.

But in this bandit's den, it was already considered luxurious.

Zhou Tianyang then went to the east wing and pushed open the door.

That's where Liu Feng lives.

There was a smoking pipe on the bedside table, and a small box next to it.

He opened the box, which contained dozens of silver dollars and several gold bars.

Zhou Tianyang closed the box and handed it to Zhao Wenlong.

"Confiscated."

Zhao Wenlong took the box and grinned.

"Commander, this Liu Feng is quite wealthy."

"After robbing for so many years, how could we not have money?"

As Zhou Tianyang spoke, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.

The two continued walking towards the back.

The granary was located in the middle to rear of the village. It was a large stone house with dozens of sacks piled inside.

Zhou Tianyang walked over and used his dagger to cut open a sack, which was full of grain.

"There is plenty of food."

Zhao Wenlong squatted down next to the sack, reached out and grabbed a handful, then smelled it.

"It's all good grain; enough to feed us for a while."

The two bypassed the granary and continued walking.

The armory, located next to the granary, was also a stone building.

Zhou Tianyang pushed open the door and went inside.

On the shelf against the wall were dozens of rifles, mostly Hanyang rifles and old-fashioned rifles, with a few Zhongzheng rifles as well.

There were several wooden crates piled up in the corner. When we opened them, we found they were full of bullets.

Zhao Wenlong's eyes lit up.

"Commander, there are still so many guns here!"

Zhou Tianyang glanced at it and roughly got the gist of it.

Forty or fifty rifles and several hundred bullets—not a small number, but not insignificant either.

Adding to what was previously seized, the Second Regiment now has a substantial amount of wealth.

The two walked out of the armory and continued walking.

The last one is the stable.

Next to the stable is a small path that leads to the back mountain of the village.

Zhou Tianyang walked along the path to the wall behind the mountain, stood there, and scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

Looking down from here, you see steep mountain walls and bottomless cliffs.

Looking up from below, you can't see at all that there's a path leading up here.

He turned around and looked at the entire village.

The gate is at the very front, accessible by only one road, with cliffs on both sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

It has everything: granaries, armories, housing, and council halls.

This place is practically a natural military fortress.

Zhou Tianyang stood on the wall behind the mountain, his gaze sweeping over the village and towards the distant mountains.

The foothills of the Taihang Mountains extend into this area, creating a complex terrain.

The mountains rise and fall, the ravines crisscross, and the peaks rise one after another.

Looking east from here.

You can see the direction of the Wangjiazhuang stronghold.

Looking north, you can see the direction of the Liujiabao stronghold.

Looking south, that's the direction of Wolf Valley.

Looking west, that's the direction of Lijia Yu.

A picture began to form in Zhou Tianyang's mind.

If the main force of the new Second Regiment is placed in Lijia Yu as its daily base.

Deploy a portion of troops and supplies to Black Wind Stronghold as a backup base.

In case of emergency, they can support each other and act as a protective shield.

Regular training, recruitment, and the development of base areas were all conducted in Lijia Yu.

Supplies and medical care for the wounded were stored at Black Wind Village.

In this way, one can attack or defend.

Even if the Japanese invaders come to sweep through, we can retreat to Black Wind Village.

Given the terrain here, let alone a battalion of Japanese soldiers, even a regiment of Japanese soldiers could not escape.

They might not even be able to break through.

The more Zhou Tianyang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Wenlong".

"arrive!"

Zhao Wenlong walked over from behind and stood beside him.

"What do you think of this place?"

Zhao Wenlong looked around and scratched his head.

"Commander, you mean, we should make this our base?"

"It's not a base, it's a second base."

Zhou Tianyang turned around and looked at Zhao Wenlong.

"Lijia Yu is our daily base. We conduct training, recruitment, and development there."

"Black Wind Stronghold is our backup base, used for storing supplies, accommodating the wounded, and responding to emergencies."

"Both sides support each other, forming a defensive triangle."

"That way, even if the Japanese come to sweep through, we'll have a way out."

As Zhao Wenlong listened, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Commander, what you've said is indeed a good idea."

He turned around and looked at the entire village.

"This place has good terrain; it's easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"With a little tidying up, it can be a ready-made military fortress."

"Moreover, the location is good. To the east, we can attack Wangjiazhuang; to the north, we can attack Liujiabao; and to the south, we can keep an eye on Wild Wolf Valley."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

"Yes, that makes sense."

He paused, then added.

"Make arrangements to assign a platoon to garrison Black Wind Stronghold."

"Divide half of the captured food and ammunition here."

"In addition, we should repair the houses in the village and reinforce the village walls."

"yes!"

Zhao Wenlong stood at attention and saluted.

Zhou Tianyang turned around and continued to look at the distant mountains.

……

at the same time.

Southeast of Black Wind Village lies Wild Wolf Valley.

Wolf Valley is located in a narrow mountain ravine.

There are steep mountain walls on both sides, and a stream with crystal-clear water runs through the valley.

A gate was erected at the entrance of the valley using thick wooden stakes.

There is a watchtower on each side of the gate, with two sentries carrying guns standing on them.

Inside the village, dozens of wooden and stone houses are built against the mountain, much more orderly than the chaotic Black Wind Village.

At the very back is a rather large stone and wood structure house with the words "Hall of Gathering Righteousness" written on it.

now.

In the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, Tian Chengjun sat in a grand chair, holding a bowl in his hand, slowly drinking water.

He was in his early thirties and of medium height.

He was neither fat nor thin, with a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a short mustache above his lips.

He was wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket, with a belt around his waist, a pistol tucked into his left hip, and a dagger hanging from his right hip.

At first glance, he doesn't look like a bandit.

He looks more like a regular army officer.

In fact, he was originally a regular army officer.

A year ago, he was a battalion commander in the Nationalist Army.

They fought a battle with the Japanese army in the Niangziguan area, and their troops were scattered.

He led more than a hundred brothers to break through the encirclement and wandered to this area.

I wanted to find my old unit, but they had already retreated south of the Yellow River and I couldn't contact them at all.

There's no going back, and there's no leaving.

In the end, they could only settle down in Wolf Valley and become the king of the mountain.

But he set a few rules for himself.

We will not rob or beat ordinary people, nor will we harass women.

You must return what you borrow, and you must pay for what you take.

If we can fight the Japanese, we will fight them; if we can't, we won't harm our own people.

Over the past year, he and his brothers have fought several battles against Black Wind Stronghold, with both wins and losses.

We fought the Japanese at the Liujiabao stronghold a few times. Although we didn't gain any advantage, we didn't suffer any major losses either.

The days just dragged on, one after another.

He had always wanted to find an opportunity to lead his brothers to put on their uniforms again and fight the Japanese invaders honorably.

But the opportunity never came.

"Big brother!"

A young man in his early twenties ran in from outside, panting.

His padded jacket was torn in several places by thorns, and his trouser legs were covered with yellow dirt.

Tian Chengjun put down his bowl, looked up at him.

"What is it?"

"Brother, the men we sent to keep watch at Black Wind Stronghold have returned!"

"What did you say?"

Tian Chengjun frowned slightly.

"A contingent of Eighth Route Army soldiers, numbering seventy or eighty, has arrived at Black Wind Stronghold and is attacking it!"

"The Eighth Route Army?"