Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wei Hongjun had also done some research on Old Master Song. He was the only scholar in Songjiazhuang to have achieved a degree in imperial examinations, having even passed the imperial examinations in his youth. While often described as a poor scholar, in a village like this, a scholar was a truly remarkable figure. His family was the largest landlord in Songjiazhuang, and as a result, Old Master Song funded the clan land and school in Songjiazhuang. He even taught in Songjiazhuang himself when he was young.

Therefore he was highly respected in Songjiazhuang.

Not only in Songjiazhuang, but also in the four districts of Sheng County headed by Songjiazhuang, Old Master Song is a top figure.

If we want to carry out work in the fourth district of Sheng County in the future, we must get the support of such a person. If such a person opposes, then there will inevitably be a lot of resistance in the future. So Wei Hongjun planned to visit Old Master Song first.

It was Li Shiping who came forward again.

Li Shiping was a native of Sheng County and had taught in schools for many years. He was known as a man with many students. There were also students of Li Shiping in Songjiazhuang, so it was easy for him to come to Old Master Song's house.

"Student Li Shiping wishes the old man good health."

Li Shiping was also a scholar with a certain reputation in Sheng County.

Old Master Song also knew Li Shiping, and had even dealt with him before. So he quickly came out to meet Li Shiping. Old Master Song was in his eighties, and he was supported by two people. One of them was about forty years old, and the other was only in his twenties.

"Mr. Li, please take a seat."

Old Master Song is old, but he is in good health.

The voice was quite loud.

Although he was speaking to Li Shiping, his eyes were fixed on Wei Hongjun. Wei Hongjun stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and said, "Greetings, Old Master Song. I am Wei Hongjun, the Political Commissar of the Sheng County Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army. Sorry to bother you."

"Are you from the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army? The same Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army that defeated the Japanese some time ago?"

The young man in his twenties next to Old Master Song spoke in surprise.

"dong dong"

Old Master Song tapped his cane and scolded, "It's impolite to yell in front of guests. Apologize to the guests now."

"Mr. Li, Political Commissar Wei, I apologize for my disrespect."

"It's serious."

Wei Hongjun waved his hand.

Old Master Song was old now, and no longer had the polite words he used to say. He asked directly, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Old Master, I heard that there has been a long-standing feud between you, Songjiazhuang, and the bandit Pan Tuzi."

Old Master Song's cloudy eyes suddenly brightened, but soon became calm again. He said lightly, "It's all in the past."

"Old Master, let me be frank. Our guerrilla army is preparing to wipe out Pan Tuzi's bandits, and we hope Songjiazhuang will provide assistance. I know Songjiazhuang has its own village protection team."

"The guerrillas are going to attack Baldy Pan?"

The young man spoke again.

But this time, Old Master Song didn't blame him. Instead, he looked straight at Wei Hongjun and said in a deep voice, "Are you guerrillas really going to attack Pan Tuzi?"

"Yes."

"Can you defeat Baldy Pan?"

"We guerrillas never fight a battle without confidence. Since we are preparing to fight Pan Tuzi, we have made all preparations."

Old Master Song was silent, and no one knew what he was thinking.

But his hands began to tremble, revealing his inner restlessness. After a while, Old Master Song spoke up, "I heard that your guerrilla army is part of the Eighth Route Army?"

"Yes."

"Is that the Eighth Route Army that defeated the Japanese at Pingxingguan?"

"That was the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. I also participated in the Pingxingguan battle. I am from the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army."

"Then how many people are you sending out this time?"

"Three hundred men with guns."

The middle-aged man in his forties next to Old Master Song said anxiously, "Grandpa, fight."

"Yes, Grandpa, let's fight. If we don't take advantage of such a good opportunity, Baldy Pan will continue to cause trouble to the village."

The young people also advised Old Master Song.

Old Master Song stood up and slowly walked to the front of Wei Hongjun. He said, "Young man, if your guerrilla army can really defeat Pan Tuzi, then you will be our Song family's friends forever."

"Don't worry, old man. This time we will definitely wipe out Pan Baldy's bandits."

"well."

Old Master Song shouted, "Boss."

A middle-aged man in his forties came up to Old Master Song and said, "Grandpa."

"Go, send someone to tell Lao Wu to take a message. Pick out fifty of the most capable fighters from the village protection team. Bring your weapons and follow the guerrilla army into battle."

"Yes."

"slow."

Wei Hongjun stopped the eldest son of the Song family and turned to Old Master Song and said, "Old Master, we have to go over quietly and catch Baldy Pan off guard. We can't make a big fuss and let him guard down."

"Ah."

Old Master Song is old, but he is not confused.

As a scholar, he also knew the military strategy of taking the enemy by surprise. So he said, "Boss, have Lao Wu do it quietly. Don't make a big noise. Pull the men to the left mountain and wait for the guerrillas."

"Yes."

"Thank you for your support, old man."

The reason why Wei Hongjun wanted to lead the Songjiazhuang village protection team was not because of a lack of manpower.

Rather, it was to let the Songjiazhuang village guard team see how the guerrilla army fought and increase their contact with the guerrilla army, because Wei Hongjun had taken a fancy to the village guard teams in Songjiazhuang and some surrounding villages.

Because of the infestation of bandits in this rural area, there are numerous village protection teams. Some large villages have their own, while smaller villages have joined together to form their own. Throughout the four districts of Sheng County, there are more than a dozen village protection teams, totaling seven or eight hundred men.

These village protection teams may become guerrilla forces in the future.

Of course, it was also meant to show their power, to let the Songjiazhuang village guards know how powerful the guerrilla army was and to stop them from creating obstacles in the future.

After leaving Songjiazhuang, Wei Hongjun met with the Songjiazhuang village protection team.

It's really good.

The Songjiazhuang Village Guard consisted of fifty men, mostly between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Their weapons were quite varied, encompassing a wide variety of types. However, these weapons weren't particularly inferior.

There are Type 65 rifles made in Jin, Type 38 rifles, and of course the Zhongzheng and Hanyang rifles, as well as six box cannons.

Overall it's quite impressive.

It also shows how much weapons have flowed into the civilian population during China's internal conflicts from the late Qing Dynasty to the present. The total number of weapons flowing into the civilian population across China could be measured in the millions. A large number of weapons are currently scattered across the country. The Eighth Route Army's early weapons supply came primarily from recruiting local armed forces and scavenging civilian weapons.

Many guerrilla groups in Shandong had few guns when they started the uprising, but within a few months they had nearly a thousand guns. They did this by collecting weapons scattered among the people.

Song Laowu looks to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

Very tough.

He was completely different from Old Master Song's other two grandsons. The Song family was supposedly a family of scholars, but Old Master Song had a fierce, military spirit and was also very forthright. Wei Hongjun learned through conversation that Old Master Song had also been a scholar as a child. However, after Pan Tuzi's raid on Songjiazhuang six years ago, Old Master Song abandoned his studies and took up arms. With Old Master Song's support, he began to form a village protection team.

Then he fought many battles with Pan Tuzi, but he never gained the upper hand.

Wang Qiuyun and the others are also fast.

Soon, Wang Qiuyun led the first and second teams, the special forces team, and the firepower team to Songjiazhuang to join Wei Hongjun. Soon, Li Wanfu and Kong De led the independent team to Songjiazhuang as well.

Chapter 040: Defeat Baldy Pan

Jitou Peak is about forty miles away from Songjiazhuang.

The mountain is called Chicken Head Peak because its peaks resemble a chicken's head. The bandits' choice of this peak made sense, as the path up the mountain is slightly steep. If attacked, the bandits from above would have a commanding advantage.

But it's not an unconquerable hill.

Because the front of Jitou Peak is very wide, the road up the mountain is steep, but there are also many various shelters.

The front is wide, so if you want to defend, you need a large area. Such a wide front allows the troops to deploy. However, Pan Tuzi's choice of Jitou Peak is understandable. Because Sheng County has never had many troops, at most there was only a battalion of the Jinsui Army.

Sheng County was so large that there were many bandits like Pan Tuzi. As long as Pan Tuzi didn't provoke important figures or the army, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army wouldn't come and wipe out Pan Tuzi with great fanfare.

As for the surrounding villages, the village protection teams they had set up, while equipped with some weapons, were completely ineffective. Baldy Pan was a military man, and several of his trusted subordinates had also served in the military with him. Even if they encountered Baldy Pan's bandits head-on, they wouldn't be able to defeat them, let alone Pan occupying a peak like Jitou Peak.

Wei Hongjun carefully observed the terrain of Jitou Peak and understood why Zhang Dahu did not take Pan Tuzi seriously.

With such a wide front, Pan Tuzi would have to mobilize most of his troops to defend the front whenever his troops attacked. Furthermore, if the regular army had mortars or something like that, then a direct frontal attack would be difficult for Pan Tuzi to resist.

"Chief of Staff, you will command this battle."

Wang Qiuyun led the special forces team and hid to the side and rear.

Wei Hongjun and Zhang Dahu led a large force to the foot of Jitou Peak. Wei Hongjun was the one giving orders, but he handed that authority to Zhang Dahu. Zhang Dahu immediately began giving orders to several people: "Team One, attack from the left wing. Team Two, attack from the center, and the Independent Team, attack from the right wing. The purpose of this battle is a feint to attract the main force of the bandits. Therefore, the troops should not rush in and attack recklessly, but instead apply what they learned in training. How to stay calm on the battlefield, how to find cover, and how to coordinate the attack. These are the main goals."

"Yes."

"Remember what the Chief of Staff just said. Our goal in this battle is to train our troops in actual combat, so don't cause too many casualties. The main purpose is to let the new recruits experience the battlefield. Especially Gao Wei, you must pay attention."

"Commissar, don't worry."

Gao Wei patted his chest and made a promise.

Because one team had suffered too many casualties during the previous pursuit of the Japanese, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun would criticize Gao Wei at every summary meeting after the war. Gao Wei was a fierce general, and the more difficult the battlefield, the more needed brave officers like Gao Wei.

Bravery is necessary, but recklessness will be criticized.

Neither the Red Army nor the Eighth Route Army had much capital to squander. In both the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army, reckless generals were unpopular.

It was around 3 p.m., just over an hour before dark. Because it was winter, it started to get dark around 4 p.m. in northeastern Shanxi. By 5 p.m., it was completely dark.

It was November and the weather was cold. In addition, the bandit Pan Tuzi had been the king here for many years, so people were less vigilant.

As a result, the frontal assault was very successful.

The guerrilla troops instantly dispatched the sentry post in the middle of the mountain. Several bandits were dead before they could react. The troops then began to slowly grope their way up the mountain, only to be discovered by the bandit observation post when they were less than 40 meters from the summit.

"Get down and take cover."

"Don't panic."

"Don't retreat."

Gao Wei, Tao Laifeng, and Li Wanfu are all military commanders with extensive battlefield experience.