Chapter 8

  After breakfast, everyone gathered in the hall to discuss the allocation of weapons. Xiao Ming proposed dividing into teams and allocating weapons according to each team's tasks, which was unanimously agreed upon. After discussion, a decision was made:

  There were 60 men in the rifle squad, equipped with rifles and divided into three small teams. Each team had two light machine guns and guarded one of the three mountain passes, under the command of Xin Chengshan.

  The guard team of 40 people, equipped with light and heavy machine guns and rifles, was responsible for the mountain stronghold's defense, led by Zhang Tiezhu.

  A team of 10 guards, each equipped with a handgun and submachine gun, were responsible for the daily security of the stronghold, under the leadership of Xiao Hu.

  Scout team of 10 people, equipped with handguns, led by Night Cat.

  Thirty people with excellent performance in previous training were issued pistols and submachine guns, led by Xiao Ming, moved to the back mountain for further training, and were responsible for the defense of the back mountain.

  Each of the above is equipped with a set of individual equipment, and the rest of the old and weak are all assigned to Ji Hongru's command as logistics. Ten long guns were also issued for training, and the logistical support for each team was uniformly allocated by Ji Hongru.

  Xiao Ming was so fed up with having no one to rely on that he ended up taking charge of the artillery work himself.

  The personnel allocation was based on the previous training results, and the guards and scouts were selected first. Zhang Tiezhu and Xin Chengshan were not very happy, and Xiao Ming said lightly, "Practice by yourself." The two didn't say anything else.

  For the next three days, Xiao Ming organized everyone to study the basic knowledge and maintenance of firearms, as well as training methods for shooting, bayonet fighting, and grenade throwing. He focused on cultivating a few outstanding team members, letting them return to demonstrate, and said that there would be a unified assessment throughout the mountain stronghold in three months.

  Xiao Ming led the crowd into Hou Shan, starting a nearly cruel training. To ensure that team members had sufficient physical strength, Xiao Ming asked Ji Hongru to send a few cooks with good culinary skills to open a small kitchen in Hou Shan, providing various nutrients and giving full care to their living conditions.

  Wang Jinlong hadn't seen Xiao Ming for several days, so he came to the back mountain and took a look around, also checking on the training situation. The team members were carrying logs while running, first one person, then two people, three people, four people, five people, each time with different team members.

  Wang Jinlong was puzzled and asked Xiao Ming: "Officer, what's the point of doing this?"

  "Training coordination, helping them find the most taciturn teammates to form a combat unit, relying on each other and advancing together."

  "That's right," Wang Jinlong nodded.

  Xiao Ming glanced at his watch, indicating a break. The crowd came over to greet Wang Jindong and found a place to sit down, starting to disassemble their guns. Wang Jindong sighed: "Officer Xiao, if we practice like this, it won't take long for these young men to transform and become the best in the military!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "Still far from it, this is just the beginning of formal training, the spirit is not bad, but unfortunately, the comprehension is a bit poor."

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and said: "Take your time, these kids can't compare to you!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and suddenly thought of something, saying: "Head of the household, this team doesn't even have a name, why don't you give them one?"

  Wang Jinlong waved his hand and said: "You'd better come up with one, Instructor. I couldn't think of a good name."

  Xiao Ming thought for a moment and said: "How about we call it 'Flying Tiger Team', what do you think?"

  "Fly Tiger Team? What a great name!" Wang Jinlong's eyes lit up, and he immediately called out to the crowd, "Brothers, listen up! The instructor has given you a name - 'Fly Tiger Team'. Do you all like it?" The crowd erupted in cheers.

  "Everyone follow the instructor and train hard, become the elite of our Flying Tiger Troop as soon as possible. If anyone disobeys orders, I will not forgive them lightly, got it?" The crowd replied in unison "Yes, got it". Wang Jinlong walked away with satisfaction.

  Three months passed quickly, and it was already deep autumn. Wang Jinlong Xiao Ming gathered the team to the playground to check the training results. Everyone was in high spirits, and the overall performance was not bad. Xiao Ming announced: "Live ammunition training on the back mountain for a month, 20 bullets per person per day, must make progress every day, if you don't shoot well, stop training, and leave the bullets for others." Wang Jinlong calculated that nearly 100,000 bullets were needed, and the Flying Tiger team also wanted an additional 50,000, which made him feel a bit heartbroken. Xiao Ming didn't think it was a big deal: "Marksmanship is all about practice, better than going to the battlefield and wasting your life."

  The rear mountain began to bustle, in addition to the normal exercise, each team took turns to conduct live ammunition training. Xiao Ming brought out the mortar and found a few team members with a strong sense of direction to learn how to fire it. After practicing for several days, they felt like they were getting the hang of it. They loaded the shells and fired them towards the Wild Wolf Gorge, conducting a live ammunition exercise for the entire team.

  Xiao Ming and Sun Er Gou were the first to enter the Wild Wolf Gorge, with the others following far behind. The surrounding mountains of the Wild Wolf Gorge were steep, and inside there was a narrow path that was not very spacious, only overgrown with weeds, and no one had walked through it for a long time. After walking for more than an hour, a small clearing appeared in front of them, and looking further in, they could see a road leading into the mountains.

  Xiao Ming asked: "Er Gou, do you smell anything?"

  Sun Erdou wrinkled his nose and said: "The feces of wild animals, and there's another dizzying smell, it can't be malaria, can it?"

  Xiao Ming said, "There's no evil spirit here, it's just that nobody has walked through here for many years. The smell of rotting branches and leaves is making people dizzy, that's all. Alright, this is the place, call over the brothers to set up the cannon."

  The team members hastily set up the mortar, Xiao Ming ordered: Target, open space in front, three rapid shots. A loud explosion sounded, and for a moment, wolves ran wildly, insects hid, and birds flew away. What was strange was that a group of yellow mongooses rushed towards the depths of the mountain, disappearing instantly.

  Xiao Ming smiled and thought that this might be the reason why people think it's unlucky. Everyone felt a little uneasy, Sun Er Gou said, "This startled the fairy family, isn't it inauspicious?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and asked Sun Er Gou: "Compared with guns and artillery, which one has a heavier murderous aura?"

  Sun Erdou's expression was not very natural, and he touched the back of his head, saying: "This one should be a gun."

  "That's right," Xiao Ming's face turned cold, and he said sternly: "Listen up, as long as we have guns and cannons in our hands, even ghosts and gods will have to take a detour. From now on, whoever says 'afraid' again doesn't need to be in the Flying Tiger Squad, got it?"

  Everyone shouted "Yes"! After practicing for a while, Xiao Ming ordered to check again, don't leave any sparks, so as not to trigger a mountain fire.

  Back at the mountain stronghold, Xiao Ming told Wang Jindong about the situation in the mountains and suggested that the Flying Tiger Squad take the lead in scouting out the route, with logistics personnel following up to clean up afterwards. Wang Jindong smiled wryly, thinking that this instructor was indeed fearless, but also understood the principle of "a cunning rabbit has three burrows", and nodded in agreement.

  The next day, Xiao Ming announced that they would be conducting wilderness survival training. Each person was only allowed to bring a canteen of water and some salt, aside from their weapons. The duration of the training would depend on the situation. With that, he led the crowd into the vast mountains.

  More than half a month later, when Xiao Ming and others appeared in the mountain village, everyone almost burst into laughter: each with disheveled hair and dirty faces, beards dragging on the ground, their clothes had become strips of cloth, tattered and worn out.

  Wang Jinlong ordered someone to quickly boil water, take a bath and change clothes. Xiao Ming handed a topographic map to Wang Jinlong and excitedly said: "The master's house is all clear, haha, an excellent place for troops to station."

  Wang Jinlong took the map and looked at it, the rivers and plains were very clear, even the larger caves were marked clearly, he couldn't help but exclaim: "Instructor, just your drawing skills are enough for us to learn from for several years!"

  Xiao Ming bitterly smiled: "You're overpraising me, you forgot, I used to study mechanics."

  Everyone finished washing up, and the kitchen had prepared a meal. Unlike before, everyone unconsciously targeted the green vegetables and tofu. Wang Jinlong was very surprised: "How did these kids change their nature?" Xiao Ming smiled and said: "Don't mention it, we've been eating meat for half a month now, and we're all getting indigestion. Just looking at meat makes us want to vomit."

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing: "This time the mountain beasts are in trouble!"

  Xiao Ming smiled: "Sniper training must hit moving targets, actually at first it was more about capturing."

  Since it was a wilderness survival, Xiao Ming first had his team members set traps and snares to catch prey, and later switched to sniper rifles. Sniper training gave Xiao Ming a headache, as there were about five or six people in the team who could shoot relatively well, but they were only slightly more accurate than ordinary people, and couldn't be considered snipers at all.

  For the next month or so, Xiao Ming had the guards train with the Flying Tigers, and he finally had time to teach Little Moon.

  Wang Jindong and Ji Hongru were busy with their feet stepping on the back of their heads, and they couldn't take care of Xiaoyue. It was just what Xiaoyue wanted, free and easy, doing whatever she wanted. Speaking of which, Xiaoyue was a lively and clever girl, not afraid of anything, but for some reason, when Xiao Ming stood in front of her, she felt a chill in her heart, which made her very uncomfortable. She didn't dare to show it, so she just listened quietly, only feeling relieved when Xiao Ming said the class was over, thinking that was the most wonderful sound she had heard all day.

  After a month, Xiao Ming found that Xiaoyue was not interested in cultural classes, but instead worked hard on the grappling combat he taught to defend herself. This was a world of difference from her father, and Xiao Ming could only shake his head and sigh.

  Wang Jindong sent someone to the training ground to find Xiao Ming, saying that there was something important and asked him to come over immediately. Xiao Ming arrived at the hall, Zhang Tiezhu, Xin Chengshan, Ye Maizi, and Ji Hongru were also there, and wine and dishes had already been set on the table. Wang Jindong's face was flushed with excitement as he invited Xiao Ming to sit down beside him. Xiao Ming asked curiously: "Is there some good news at home?"

  Wang Jinlong laughed and said: "Good news, great joy! Mr. Ji, you come tell the instructor."

  Ji Hongru went to the city today to purchase goods, and the whole city is spreading rumors: Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched a military coup, detaining the Chairman of the Committee, requesting resistance against Japan. Now the Chairman has reached an agreement with the Communist Party to stop the civil war and unite against external enemies.

  "Hah! How's that, Instructor? Isn't this a great joyous occasion? Dammit, this kid has finally done something good for once!"

  Xiao Ming smiled: "The master of the house is going back to Northeast China, congratulations are in order. Let's drink three big cups to celebrate!" The others also raised their glasses to celebrate, Wang Jinlong was overjoyed and welcomed everyone, but Xiao Ming put down his wine cup, furrowed his brow, and fell into deep thought.

  Wang Jinlong saw Xiao Ming being silent and asked strangely: "Why is the instructor unhappy, is there something on his mind? Tell me about it."

  Xiao Ming bitterly smiled: "I have something to say, and it may be that I'm being overly cautious, but saying it out loud might spoil everyone's mood."

  Wang Jinlong disagreed: "We're all brothers in our own family, what's there to say that can't be said? What's the point of being in a bad mood or not?"

  Xiao Ming sighed and said: "The master of the house, your young master is very likely to have good intentions but done something wrong!"

  Wang Jinlong put down his bowl and looked at Xiao Ming: "Captain, how do I say this?"

  "Old Chiang has been running around these years, integrating the country quite well. He definitely won't compromise with the Japanese in every way, but rather secretly accumulate power to counter Japan. Otherwise, dealing with those warlords would be enough by just buying some planes and cannons, why bother inviting Germans to train soldiers and guide military affairs? The Japanese were originally wavering between expanding the war and protecting their interests, now that the National Government has openly shouted out anti-Japanese slogans, it will inevitably stimulate the Japanese government to make a tough choice. When meat is already in one's mouth, who would spit it out again? If so, war won't be far off! Xiao Ming picked up his bowl and took a sip of wine, "Boss, what do you think the development of the war situation will be like?"

  Everyone present thought for a moment and felt that Xiao Ming was right. Wang Jinlong asked, "What does the instructor think? Not all Chinese people are prodigal sons, are they?"

  "Once the war breaks out, our army will definitely not be able to withstand it. The strength of both sides is there, and the Japanese army will advance along the railway and highway, and will soon arrive here, at that time..."

  Wang Jinlong slammed his hand on the table and shouted: "Let's get that damned thing done! I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"

  "So, we must make good preparations, stock up on supplies and intensify military training."

  "Haven't we been practicing all along?"

  "What I'm talking about is real combat!" Xiao Ming smiled.