Section 21

  The team has more people and greater strength, but some troubles have also appeared.

  First and foremost, there is the issue of food. As the saying goes, "many hands make light work," but when it comes to eating, fewer people are better. What this means is that when working, the more people the better, but when it comes to eating, the fewer people the better. The grain Li Tie obtained last time was gradually running out due to the consumption of hundreds of mouths in the base area, and there was a risk of food shortage again.

  The head of the Second Dog District has started stroking his bald head again. He's good at fighting against the devils, but when it comes to getting food, he's far from capable. In the past, there were superiors who would issue him rations, but now that he's become the top leader, he's suddenly worried. If they try to requisition grain from the common people, not to mention whether they'll be able to get any, the common people themselves are already worrying about their next meal after finishing the last one - how much grain will there be to supply the troops? And the grain in the fields isn't even ripe for harvest yet - what can be done? Can't just sit around and wait for the grain to run out, can they?

  After stroking his bald head 888 times, Er Gou District Captain finally remembered that the food he had been eating for over a month and could still eat for nearly another month was actually the masterpiece of Li Tie, his former little follower and now his trusted assistant. If this kid can get this much food, he must be able to get even more. This kid has something to do.

  Due to recent events, Li Tie's life has been quite colorful. Every morning, he would have two green eggs or boiled eggs for breakfast. Then, he would lead the fox team in training exercises. While other team members were starving, Li Tie had already digested his eggs. After breakfast, other team members would start their patrol, and Li Tie would wander around, claiming to be "guiding" the work of the munitions factory. Since Li Tie played a significant role in establishing the factory, no one questioned his behavior. He would take a nap in his office after lunch, then continue wandering around in the afternoon, occasionally going on "patrols". However, whenever he went on patrol, some poor souls would fall under his gun, such as pheasants or wild rabbits. Li Tie's marksmanship with his pistol had become quite skilled, even surpassing his own rifle skills.

  The pheasants and rabbits that were caught, except for a small number symbolically sent to the Second Dog District Captain, mostly went into Li Tie's stomach. Through a period of practice, Li Tie successfully invented a series of famous dishes such as "Hua Tu Rabbit", "Dry-roasted Pheasant", "Dry-roasted Whole Rabbit", "Steamed Whole Rabbit", "Quail Soup", "Steamed Carp", "Tofu Stewed Catfish", "Red-braised Carp", and "Garlic Mashed Carp". These dishes were successfully promoted throughout the entire Fox Team.

  Receiving the order from Er Gou District Captain to fetch food, Li Tie had no choice but to gather his already exhausted heart and led the Fox Team to set out.

  First to enter Li Tie's eyes was the Japanese three-gorge stronghold.

  This is a small replenishment point, and there are only a few devils and some pseudo-military forces acting as coolies inside the fort. The combat effectiveness is relatively poor. Since it is far from the guerrilla zone, this small replenishment point supplies nearby strongholds, so the supply is relatively abundant.

  Li Tie led the Fox Team, riding in three cars, swaggering through one after another devil's stronghold. Who would have thought that in the heart of the densely packed devil's strongholds, the Eighth Route Army would appear and loudly challenge the "Imperial Army".

  A car with a burning tire flag drove directly into the base.

  The fox team members wearing Japanese military uniforms stood on the car one by one, and it really looked like that.

  Li Tie wore the uniform of a Japanese lieutenant, wearing white gloves and carrying a Japanese sword, sitting in the front passenger seat. A soldier who spoke Japanese, wearing the uniform of a Japanese sergeant, stood on one side of the car door.

  The car stopped right in front of the warehouse, Li Tie got out of the car and deliberately shouted loudly to the pseudo-military soldiers next to him: "Grain, ammunition, canned food, all loaded, hurry up."

  A soldier acting as interpreter nearby told them: "Hurry up and load supplies for the Imperial Army."

  A fake soldier next to him stuttered and stretched out his hand: "Please show me your pass".

  "Get on!" Li Tie raised his hand and slapped him with a loud smack. "Load up, hurry up."

  A big mouthful stunned the puppet army. Next to it, some puppet soldiers had already started opening the warehouse door and moving things onto the truck.

  Because the pseudo-army soldiers were quite a lot, and these "devils" were particularly fierce. Once they saw someone moving slowly, they would either get a big slap in the face or a kick in the stomach. The warriors' swords were drawn, and even their guns were pointed at the pseudo-army, with a posture that was ready to fire at any moment if they weren't careful.

  Soon, two of the three cars were filled with grain and the other was filled with ammunition. Li Tie led everyone to get on the car, when a devil came out from the stronghold, seeing that someone had come to load the car without their permission, he thought about coming over to see which great god this was.

  Li Tie didn't give him the chance, and before the devil could open his mouth, he directly pulled out a gun and shot him, knocking him to the ground. Then, he quickly got into the car, started the engine, and took everyone away from the devils' supplementary point before the fake army could react. As soon as Li Tie left the stronghold, the devils moved out. Gunfire sounded like frying beans behind them. However, since the devils didn't have cars, Li Tie and his group quickly shook off the devils and returned to their base without any danger along the way.

  There are not many grains in two cars, especially for a small troop. The second dog zone team leader said that we still have to continue.

  A few days later, Li Tie turned his attention to another stronghold.

  This stronghold is not large, but because there is a batch of grain, about ten donkey carts, passing through here to transport to other strongholds. The original plan was to stay for half a day, and the devils rested and ate.

  Li Tie sent the vanguard troops with a portion of landmines, taking advantage of the devils' inattention, and buried them at the edge of the stronghold. When the devils set out, they triggered several landmines, killing several devils and livestock, and damaging two large carts. They retreated back, requesting support from their superiors.

  When Li Tie arrived with the fox and a small team, the devils' reinforcements had not yet arrived. This was to be expected. The telephone line had been cut off, and the person answering the phone was that little devil from the Fox Team who spoke Japanese. Although he kept saying yes, reinforcements would arrive immediately, but whose reinforcements were another matter altogether.

  Li Tie led a group of about sixty or seventy people, including the fox, to surround a small stronghold, but did not attack, only surrounding it.

  The weather is fine with no clouds at all, and there's a gentle southwest wind blowing, but only at a level of 2 or 3.

  Li Tie used his own iron-made loudspeaker to shout at the enemy's stronghold:

  "Listen up, devils inside! We are the Eighth Route Army's Meng County District Troop. You have been surrounded. Lay down your arms and surrender. We will treat prisoners of war with kindness."

  Li Tie shouted while fantasizing that with a display of his majestic aura, the devils would surrender after hearing one or two sentences. However, to avoid being shot by one or two die-hard elements, he still hid behind the low wall and only exposed the loudspeaker outside.

  He had just finished shouting, and the outpost started firing. As expected, there were die-hard elements, and it seemed like more than one or two. The bullets flew in like a storm, and accidentally, the megaphone was hit by a bullet. Li Tie took down the megaphone to take a look, and the good megaphone had become a colander. He counted them, and damn, twenty-one bullets had hit it. What the... was this necessary? I just shouted two sentences, did they have to use so many bullets to greet me? If only they would give all these bullets to me, that would be great.

  Put the loudspeaker back on and continue shouting while the devils' gunfire has subsided a bit.

  "You are already surrounded, you have the right to remain silent, and everything you say will be used as an excuse for us to eliminate you..."

  Before he could finish shouting, another burst of machine gun bullets came over.

  Inside the stronghold, the fake army's arrogant voice came through: "Bandit Eighth Route Army, if you have the guts, come on in, come on in, Grandpa is here waiting for you to surrender. Hahahaha..."

  "Alright, since you're giving us attitude and refusing to show respect, don't blame us for being impolite. Sniper, take position."

  "Report, sniper in position." Zhang Honglei had long been ready.

  "Fox team, get into position. If the sniper doesn't take care of it, it's your job."

  "I understand!"

  "You three go get some fresh grass."

  Three team members left with their heads bowed.

  It was not long before each of them came over with a big bundle of half-dry grass in their arms.

  "The fox team left half behind, put on gas masks, and the rest went west."

  They brought others to the southwest side, piled up grass and set it on fire.

  Thick smoke drifted towards the enemy's position with the gentle breeze. Soon, the sound of fake soldiers' coughing and shouting, crying for their fathers and mothers, as well as the devils' wailing, came from the enemy's position.

  "Add some more ingredients."

  One of the team members pulled out a small hot pepper from his pocket and threw it into the fire. This small hot pepper is wild in the mountains, and ordinary people dare not eat it, mainly because - it's too spicy. Usually, the spiciest hot pepper that everyone eats is a kind called "朝开猴" (morning open monkey), which is small but extremely spicy. However, compared to this mountain hot pepper, "朝天猴" (morning sky monkey) is just a vegetable pepper, and it's not even in the same league in terms of spiciness. Usually, when everyone is patrolling in the mountains and wilderness, they pick off the ripe ones, put them in special pockets, dry them after returning to base, and grind them into powder for later use. This time, the mountain hot pepper in this team member's pocket was used before it had a chance to be dried.

  The small chili pepper was thrown into the fire, and everyone involuntarily took a few steps back. Although they were upwind, that kind of spiciness wasn't something ordinary people could enjoy.

  The outpost soon received even more intense wailing from the devils, and there were even cries of mercy from the puppet army, but they quickly disappeared. They might have been killed by the devils.

  About two minutes passed, and finally a pseudo-army couldn't stand the baptism of this chemical weapon. He rushed out of the stronghold, but soon, with his first step rushing out of the gun tower, and before his second step landed, a bullet opened up his skull, and white brain matter mixed with bright red blood sprayed onto the wall of the gun tower, like a blooming flower.

  It was quiet for a second in the stronghold. Then another devil yelled, holding his gun and rushing out, with the same outcome, and even died before taking the second step, and the fresh flowers on the wall grew a little bigger.

  Watching is dead, staying in the gun tower also has a chance of death, at least it's better to die than to live, and it's better to go out and be happy.

  The devils and puppet soldiers rushed out together like a swarm of bees.

  Zhang Honglei was already unable to cope, after all he only had one rifle, which was manual, and even at the fastest speed, it could only fire two shots before the Japanese puppet army came out. The Japanese puppet army rushed out with dozens of guns blazing.

  The fox team member raised the submachine gun in his hand and fired a burst at the entrance of the stronghold, and the puppet army immediately fell to the ground. The remaining people returned to the artillery tower, although they were not alive, but it was better not to die if possible.

  These devils and puppet troops are really born in hardship and die in happiness.

  The devils and puppet troops hiding in the artillery tower were no longer as arrogant as they were at the beginning, one by one covering their mouths and noses with rags. But how could this smell be solved with just a rag? The devils originally had gas masks, but since they had never been attacked with chemical weapons before, and as far as they knew, neither the Communist army nor ** had chemical weapons, some people's gas masks were not even on their bodies, and they didn't even know where they had thrown them. Moreover, due to the suddenness of the incident and being mixed in with the puppet troops, they couldn't find their own gas masks at all. Some of them urinated on rags, trying to use it to detoxify, but it was useless, this is also a kind of poison, but urine can't solve it.

  About one or two minutes after the devils and puppet troops retreated into the artillery tower, a burst of gunfire came from inside the tower, followed by another round of shouting from the puppet troops.

  "Eight Lords have mercy on us, we surrender, the devils were killed by us."

  At first, some of the puppet troops tried to surrender, but they were stabbed to death by the Japanese devils. The remaining puppet troops did not dare to mention surrender again, but later on, things got more and more unbearable, and the puppet troops really couldn't take it anymore. They thought about surrendering again, but they knew that as long as the Japanese devils were around, they wouldn't be able to surrender, and would only lose their lives before they could surrender. The only way was to get rid of the Japanese devils first, and then they might have a chance to surrender to the Eighth Route Army outside. Originally, the Japanese devils still had quite strong combat power, but mainly because they were not on guard, they wouldn't think that the puppet troops next to them would dare to open fire. But for the sake of survival, the puppet troops opened fire anyway. At the gate of the artillery tower, the Japanese devils were shot and killed by the Fox Team, leaving only a few, no more than three or five, while there were still over ten puppet troops left, so they were easily wiped out.

  When they heard that the puppet army had surrendered, Li Tie ordered someone to extinguish the bonfire. After a while, the smoke was blown away by the wind.

  "Throw out your weapons and ammunition, come out one by one with your hands up."

  The remaining fake soldiers threw out their weapons and walked out of the artillery tower with their hands up. A small team quickly went over to collect the weapons and pressed the fake soldiers to one side.

  The grain on the enemy's big truck was loaded onto the cars. Three cars were filled, and there were still many left over. Originally, they didn't want to use the donkey cart, fearing it would slow them down, but seeing that there were so many things left, Li Tie, who came from a laborer's background, really couldn't bear to leave them behind. He had no choice but to have someone hitch up the donkey cart and pull the big truck, whether it was empty or loaded with grain. Anyway, one car would be slow, and two cars would also be slow.

  Because most of the team members were from farming backgrounds, they were very skilled at harnessing carts, and quickly finished the task. They loaded all the things that could be taken from the cannon tower onto the donkey cart and took them away.

  What surprised Li Tie the most was that in this small stronghold, he unexpectedly discovered a small arsenal, which was full of weapons and ammunition - it was unclear whether they were used by the puppet army when they began to surrender. Anyway, some of the weapons inside had rusted, clearly having not been touched for a long time.

  Inside, there were even two Maxim heavy machine guns, four or five boxes of bullets, three Czech-style light machine guns without bullets, and some Han Yang-made rifles also without bullets. Li Tie didn't care about anything else, he just packed everything up and took it away.

  Behind the artillery tower, a diesel engine-driven generator was also found. Although it wasn't operating, this is good stuff, take it away. Also take two barrels of diesel oil. As for electric wires and telephone lines, don't even think about it, they're badly needed in the base's cave, how can we leave them for the devils? Even the barbed wire next to the outpost was all taken.

  Standard Eight Trigrams Boxing Three Lights.

  After packing everything up, all vehicles were fully loaded and some team members even carried a lot on their backs before the small base was completely emptied.

  He gave all the fake troops a routine education and dispersed them, as for where they went, it was no longer something Li Tie could control. Li Tie led his entire army back with a full load.

  Li Tie waved his hand lightly, taking away many things and leaving behind a small number of souvenirs - landmines, telling those who came later that the Eighth Route Army had been there.