Chapter 63 Return to the Country

  Zhang Mingyu has been abroad in the Soviet Union for almost half a month. Only Zhang Biao, Lai San and Wang Tihan knew about Zhang Mingyu's trip abroad, while other lower-ranking officers and soldiers were unaware of it. It was not that Zhang Mingyu did not trust his subordinates, but he was afraid that they would accidentally leak the news.

  Just as Zhang Mingyu was on his sixth day of walking, Chiang Kai-shek in Wuhan sent a telegram, which coincided with the victory at Taierzhuang. Chiang intended to commend Zhang Mingyu for his bravery in Tong County. Although nominally the 122nd Division defended Tong County and Division Commander Wang Mingzhang had died, both Li Zongren and Chiang knew that it was actually Zhang Mingyu's Independent Regiment that held out for six days. Without the Independent Regiment, the 122nd Division might not have been able to hold on for even three days, and the victory at Taierzhuang would not have been so smooth.

  What's most important is that Zhang Mingyu also annihilated a Japanese artillery brigade on the outskirts of Teng County. It's the first time an entire artillery brigade of the devils has been wiped out since the War of Resistance started. This means Zhang Mingyu has created another miracle!

  As Zhang Mingyu was temporarily out of contact, Zhang Biao could only hold back Principal Jiang's telegram and reply: "Zhang Mingyu has gone to scout enemy intelligence and cannot respond for the time being."

  Chiang Kai-shek received the telegram and curiously asked Dai Li beside him, "Has Ming Yu's unit already set out for Fuyang? There are no Japanese troops within a radius of 300 li, where did he go to gather intelligence?"

  Dai Li replied with a bow: "Your subordinate cannot guess either, perhaps General Zhang wants to make another big move!"

  "Have your men investigate Zhang Mingyu's activities thoroughly, and see what he's up to. That scoundrel! Also, check if there are any Japanese spies around him, as the Japanese are furious with him now. Your men must ensure his safety." Principal Chiang said calmly.

  "Yes! I will go and take care of it immediately!"

  After lunch, Zhang Mingyu signed a contract with Stalin.

  In the days that followed waiting for the machinery and supplies to arrive, Zhang Mingyu visited a group of people who were not yet famous at the time but later became well-known.

  He brought Iron Bull, Li Gang left the Soviet Union, from the Soviet army found a peasant's son named Karashnikov. Later went to Leningrad Industrial Academy, found a student named Koshkin, from the Soviet Army's arsenal, found a firearms engineer named Pashkin, and finally, they also found a young man named Leonchev.

  With generous treatment conditions, Zhang Mingyu poached all of these people away.

  As these were ordinary people who had not yet made a name for themselves, the Soviet side did not notice, and Zhang Mingyu easily poached these talents.

  The people Zhang Mingyu found were the inventor of AK-47, the inventor of T-34 tank, the designer of PPSh submachine gun and the inventor of Katyusha rocket artillery.

  The materials and technical personnel aided by the Soviet Union, since Zhang Mingyu had no foothold at that time, were temporarily placed in the Soviet Union. The terrain of Anhui is obviously not suitable for the development of Zhang Mingyu's independent division. In the end, Zhang Mingyu chose Gansu and planned to lead the independent division into Gansu after returning home. The factory was built in the mountainous area of Gansu, with a view to long-term development.

  After bidding farewell to Stalin, Zhang Mingyu and the others took the train back to the Far East, finally entering China from the Northeast. The three of them were dressed as peasants, traveling by day and hiding at night, taking mountain roads. Because they planned to develop in Gansu later, Zhang Mingyu specially chose a detour through Gansu. In the middle of the night, Zhang Mingyu, Tie Niu, and Li Gang were walking when suddenly 7 or 8 people wearing gray military uniforms emerged from the grass on both sides. These people held Hanyang-made guns, some even holding three-eight large covers, surrounding Zhang Mingyu and the others in the middle.

  One of the leaders asked, "Who are you people? Where are you going in the middle of the night?" Zhang Mingyu looked at their attire and thought they were the Eighth Route Army, so he said, "I'm just a passerby. Our village was completely destroyed by the devils, and we're escaping for our lives." Tie Niu next to him nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, we're all ordinary civilians. If we don't escape, the devils will kill us."

  The Eighth Route Army looked at Zhang Mingyu and the others, saying: "How come I look at you three, you don't seem like ordinary people? Instead, you look like Japanese devils' traitors."

  Tie Niu flew into a rage and cursed: "Who the hell are you calling a traitor? I'm the one who's been fighting against the Japanese devils, you're the traitor!"

  "Hey, how dare this traitorous dog scold people? Believe it or not, I'll shoot you, this traitorous dog!" After finishing speaking, the soldier pulled back the bolt of his Type 38 rifle and aimed at Tie Niu.

  Zhang Mingyu hastily intercepted and said, "This officer don't get angry, he has a hot temper," The Eighth Route Army soldier interrupted and said, "Call me comrade, the Eighth Route Army doesn't call officers, only the Nationalist Party's army calls officers."

  "Yes, yes, Comrade Eighth Route Army, we are all honest people. You see, just let us pass!" Zhang Mingyu said with feigned respect.

  "You can't leave, who knows if you're ordinary people or not. First, take them back to the barracks, our battalion commander will decide!" The Eighth Route Army soldier said.

  After finishing, several soldiers took Zhang Mingyu and others to the depths of the mountain nest. After winding through several mountains, they finally arrived at a small village on the middle of the mountain. There were many people in the village, but it was unknown how many there were. When they entered the village, several sentries suddenly jumped out to interrogate them. At the entrance of the village, there was a bunker with a machine gun, and more than 30 soldiers patrolled around the village.

  On the way, Zhang Mingyu learned that the soldier who caught them was a squad leader named Zhao Erhu. When they arrived at the village, Zhao Erhu directly took them to their barracks, which was actually a relatively large courtyard. Zhao Erhu first ran in to report: "Battalion Commander, our squad captured several suspicious people at the foot of the mountain."

  "Oh! Who's there?" A rather heavy voice sounded.

  "Right outside"

  As they spoke, the two of them came out. Tieniu and Lige were fine, but Zhang Mingyu was so excited that he almost jumped up, his mouth wide open, pointing at the battalion commander and stuttering "you... you..." Zhang Mingyu was too excited to speak for a moment, because the Eighth Route Army battalion commander in front of him looked exactly like a superstar from the future.

  Looking at Zhang Mingyu's expression, the battalion commander directly said: "I am Liu Dehua, the battalion commander of the 356th Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army. How do you know me?"

  Zhang Mingyu was directly struck by lightning and fell to the ground, lying on the ground laughing uncontrollably. Tie Niu and Li Gang were both frightened, thinking that their master had gone crazy, and quickly knelt down on the ground shouting: "Big brother, are you okay?" (Zhang Mingyu had instructed them to address each other as "big brother" in front of others)

  Liu Dehua and Zhao Erhu were also puzzled. Liu Dehua asked Zhao Erhu, "Is this guy an idiot?"

  "No, when we were at the foot of the mountain, he was fine, talking and everything was normal." Zhao Erhu replied.

  At this time, Zhang Mingyu had stopped laughing and stood up from the ground, dusting off his body. He saluted Liu Dehua, the regimental commander, saying: "Commander Liu, I am Zhang Mingyu, the commander of the Independent Division of the Chinese Revolutionary Army."

  This time it was Liu Dehua and Zhao Erhu who burst out laughing, until both of them laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt. Only then did Liu Dehua point at Zhang Mingyu and laugh: "Are you General Zhang Mingyu?"

  Zhang Mingyu nodded and said: "Uh-huh! That's me!"

  The two of them burst out laughing, although they had long heard the name of anti-Japanese hero Zhang Mingyu, but in their minds, Zhang Mingyu was a forty-year-old bearded man, and the young fellow in front of him who claimed to be Zhang Mingyu was even younger than themselves, which made it impossible for them not to laugh.

  P.S: My friend's daughter is one month old today, so I'm updating a bit late! Please don't blame me, everyone! There will be an update tonight!

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