Chapter Thirty-Four

  "Are you sure the one leading the team is a devil lieutenant?" In the hall, Xiao Ming fiddled with a Japanese-style military sword and asked casually. The special forces company and the third company were surrounded by the Japanese army, the third company lost more than 30 people, an entire platoon was gone, and Dalong's special forces company also had several injuries, Flying Tiger Fort suffered greatly this time.

  "It's definitely true that this big dragon and Gao Lianzhang have seen each other, I even got my clothes back." Sweeping the battlefield was Ma Liu's specialty, in just a few short minutes, he directed people to collect everything from guns to horses, which was somewhat comforting.

  "Grandma's, this shouldn't be, Chang County is such a big county town, the Garrison Commander is only a junior captain, where did these devils come from?" Xiao Ming was puzzled and couldn't figure it out. The most likely possibility was that they were transferred from the south, but there are hundreds of thousands of National Army troops facing off against them there. If so, then this little devil has big guts.

  Everyone present also couldn't guess where these Japanese troops came from, and they all fell silent. Wang Jinlong said: "Brother, don't worry for now, let's first let Old Cat and the others go scout out the enemy's route, then we'll talk!"

  "It's the only way," Xiao Ming said with a scowl, "Old Cat, send your men to the south, west and north directions to investigate the movements of the Japanese army and our allies. Come back and report immediately. Ma Liu, take your men to search around, kill anyone suspicious!"

  Ye Maozi and Ma Liu led the troops away. Xiao Ming turned his head to Lü Jizong and said, "Old Lü, send a report to your superior, ask about the situation, and report that our army took the initiative to attack, killing more than 60 enemies, with over 130 casualties on our side, and demand compensation from them!"

  After listening to Lü Jizong and Ye Maozi's report, everyone was shocked: the honeymoon period of cooperation had passed, and each party had started their own small abacus, no one wanted to take the initiative to launch an attack on the Japanese army, fearing that it would give others an opportunity to take advantage of them. For a time, it was unexpectedly calm and peaceful, with no one bothering anyone else. The Japanese army was overjoyed, taking the opportunity to deploy troops and strike at local armed forces. This time, in order to deal with Fei Hu Zhai, they specially transferred an infantry battalion and a cavalry squadron from the field army. If it weren't for Xiao Ming's unintentional move this time, they would have suffered a great loss. Even so, Xiao Ming was heartbroken, as if bleeding.

  Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming stared at Lin Xiucheng and Lü Jizong, who were smiling awkwardly, looking very embarrassed. Xiao Ming asked Lü Jizong: "So, the matter of consolation for the sacrificed soldier, is it also yellow?" Lü Jizong's face turned red, and he didn't make a sound.

  "Lao Lü collects intelligence, Lao Lin makes battle plans!" Xiao Ming said vaguely and walked out with a few maps from the small table behind him, leaving everyone confused. Lin Xiucheng couldn't help but ask: "Old Xiao, where do you want to fight?"

  "Anyway, as long as they're Japanese, I'll fight them to the death!" Xiao Ming sneered coldly and turned around to walk out of the hall.

  Flying Tiger Fort seized several motorcycles, after the special agent company and guard platoon learned to ride them, only two were left that could be driven. Shan Wawa was never one to lose out, so he took one of the motorcycles in the name of Xiao Ming and rode it back and forth, feeling very proud. Xiao Ming came out of the main hall with a gloomy face and said "go to the back mountain", then got on the motorcycle, Shan Wawa didn't dare say anything, started the engine and sped away.

  Arriving at Sun Erdou's residence, the special forces of Dalong were having class. Xiaoyue was bored and was practicing aiming with a slingshot. Seeing Xiao Ming, she quickly hid the slingshot behind her back and smiled to greet him: "Master, you're here!"

  Xiao Ming patted Xiao Yue's head and smiled: "Little girl, don't hide, go call your sister Lü out for a moment."

  Lü Jiying had already heard the voices outside and saw Xiao Ming looking for him, so he signaled to rest and came out to ask: "Commander Xiao, is there something you want me?"

  "Oh, sorry to interrupt," Xiao Ming smiled and unfolded the map in his hand. "It's like this, I saw that Miss Lü was teaching them the Thousand Character Classic last time, but it might be difficult to see results in a short period of time. I think I'll ask you to teach them to recognize this map first, and if possible, teach them to draw maps too. What do you think?"

  Lü Jiying seemed a bit disappointed, took over the map and said: "Of course, I don't know how long Commander Xiao plans to let them learn?"

  "This is it, the sooner the better, of course, Lü girl also needs to pay attention to her body, don't be too...". Xiao Ming scratched his head, not knowing what to say, this was a completely different story from talking to Xiaoyue.

  "Thank you, Commander!" Lü Jiying couldn't help but smile wryly. Hearing that the intimidating smiling tiger in front of her had actually studied abroad, she couldn't help but be curious about his background. "Is there something else, Commander Xiao?"

  "Ah, right! I still have something to do with Ma Liu, I'll go first!" For some reason, Xiao Ming felt like he was under pressure when talking to Lü Jiying, so he quickly bid farewell and left.

  Ma Liu returned yesterday and reported that there was nothing unusual around, possibly because the Japanese army feared retaliation and had made preparations.

  On the way back to Hui Mountain Village, Xiao Ming had a flash of inspiration and a plan formed in his mind.

  Back in the hall, Wang Jinlong dozed off with his eyes closed, Lin Xiucheng and Lü Jizong were also there, struggling to stay awake. Seeing Xiao Ming's smiling face, they walked in excitedly. The two couldn't help but whisper to each other: This person is really unpredictable, he can change his mind at any time, and his mood has improved so quickly in just a short while, it's estimated that nothing good will happen! Sure enough, after Xiao Ming expressed his thoughts, Lin Xiucheng and Lü Jizong could only smile wryly.

  Xiao Ming's plan was simple: to send out two teams, one heading south and the other west, to harass the Japanese army's supply lines everywhere, making as much trouble as possible, and diverting the enemy's attention. "The enemy has several divisions in the south, they will definitely try their best to ensure the smooth flow of each route, then we'll strike them hard on the highway, avenging our fallen brothers!"

  Wang Jinlong was very much in favor, Lin Xiuying thought to herself, aren't you picking a fight?! She said worriedly: "Those are all defense zones close to our friendly forces, I heard from Old Cat that there are still people from the 18th Army Group active on the west side, won't this cause misunderstandings?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, it's all about fighting the devils! Besides, if we get something, we can share it with our brother units to support the resistance against Japan. It's a win-win situation, isn't it? In that case, since Big Brother and I can't show up in person, why don't you two lead the team? What do you think?"

  Lin Xiuzhi and Lü Jizong couldn't decline, so they studied it for a while and finally decided: Lü Jizong would lead the special task force of Dalong and one squad of cavalry to attack the highway from Shanyang to Changxian; Lin Xiuzhi would take Ma Liu and two squads of cavalry to infiltrate the west and launch surprise attacks on the Japanese army along the highway and railway. The third company was ordered to go to the back mountain to assist Zhang Tiezhu in keeping watch.

  "Remember, just destroy it if it's no good, don't bring it back, pay attention to safety!" Xiao Ming concluded with a smile.

  Three days later, the special agent team and cavalry team were ready to depart. Lin Xiuzhi and Lü Jizong came to bid farewell. Xiao Ming was serious at this time, first wishing them a successful journey, then instructing Dalong and Ma Liu to ensure the safety of the two officers, and Wang Jinlong escorted them down the mountain stronghold before waving goodbye.

  Lü Jizong had never led troops in battle since graduating from military school. He thought that after arriving at Flying Tiger Fort, he could finally show off his skills, but instead found that they were only interested in the Japanese army's supplies and would avoid real battles whenever possible. This made him very unhappy. This time, leading the team himself, he could barely conceal his excitement, eager to encounter the Japanese army as soon as possible to test his mettle.

  Dà Lóng, however, was not as optimistic as Lǚ Jì Zǔ. He had just clashed with the regular Japanese troops and their excellent individual combat skills and reaction speed left a deep impression on him. Over a hundred of our hand grenades and a burst of machine gun fire only managed to injure over ten of the enemy, while the rest of the Japanese were able to quickly regroup and counterattack. If Mǎ Liù hadn't arrived in time, it's uncertain whether he would still be standing now.

  To avoid unnecessary trouble, Da Long and his men took a detour through the small roads and dense forests. Fortunately, it was just the right time when the green canopy was rising, making it difficult for their tracks to be exposed. On the second night, they arrived at the highway. After finding a secluded spot, they set up a sentry post. Da Long ordered the rest of his men to take a break and await further instructions from Lü Jizong.

  Lü Jizong, although ambitious, had never really fought a battle and felt at a loss for what to do. Moreover, this special agent team was brought out by Xiao Ming alone, who usually looked down on everyone else, so he excused himself saying that he had no combat experience, and all actions would be directed by Da Long.

  Dà Lóng didn't stand on ceremony either, glanced at his watch and saw that there was still time to spare. He called out to Xiè Sì Bǎo, saying in a low voice: "Sì Bǎo, take a few people over to the other side of the road to take a look around. Come back within an hour. If you run into devils, don't alarm them, just come back and report." Xiè Sì Bǎo nodded, took the sniper squad and left.

  Time had passed for nearly an hour, a soldier rushed back, lowering his voice to say to Da Long: "Company Commander, we've arrived at the devils' den, about two kilometers away from the highway, there's a large number of Japanese army tents, at least over a hundred, Xie Si Bao is keeping watch, he asked me to come back and ask if you're going to do it or not."

  Lü Jizong was startled, that's almost a Japanese army battalion, with just these fifty or sixty men, not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth, and yet they're considering whether to fight or not, isn't that a bit unrealistic?

  Dà Lóng seemed to have seen through Lǚ Jìzǔ's thoughts, smiled and said: "Since Sì Bǎo says so, he must have his reasons. Why don't I go take a look first and then decide? What does Director Lǚ think?"

  Lü Jizong was unwilling to show weakness, and he was also curious about what had attracted the usually calm Da Long and Xie Sibao, so he nodded and said: "In that case, let's leave the cavalry company here, we'll go together, it's more convenient than running back and forth!" Da Long thought for a moment and agreed.

  After crossing the highway, Da Long left a small group on guard and led the rest to Xie Sibao's side. Looking up, in the distance was a cluster of tents, with lights extinguished, and slightly further away were several houses, surrounded by seven or eight more tents. Xie Sibao said in a low voice: "I went to take a look, it should be the enemy's logistics warehouse, with about one platoon of Japanese soldiers on guard, four sentry posts, they just changed shifts, and according to observation, there are no hidden sentries."

  Da Long weighed it and found that the ratio of troops on both sides was at most 1:2. As long as they were careful, quietly taking out this group of devils shouldn't be a problem. Even if things got loud, they had confidence in escaping before being surrounded by the enemy. He agreed with Lü Jizong on a plan: the current people would be divided into four groups and attack during the Japanese army's shift change, taking out all the sentries and then sneaking in. They were not to fire unless absolutely necessary, and Xie Sibao's sniper team would provide cover. Now they rested, paying attention to the Japanese patrol, and would take action in the second half of the night.

  The hour hand quickly pointed to 2 am, it should be time for the shift change. After the Japanese patrol passed by, Da Long signaled to start the action. Five people in a group, four groups of people quietly moved towards the Japanese sentry post.

  The Japanese military discipline was strict, and even the shift change had a fixed procedure. Just as the two sentries were focused on the handover, the special forces quietly approached, and in the instant when the off-duty sentry turned around, they sprang up from behind, covered their mouths, twisted their necks, and dragged them lightly to one side, putting them on the ground, then headed towards the tent where the sentries came out.

  Dà Lóng remembered Xiāo Míng's words and left Lǚ Jì Zǔ in his own group. Although Lǚ Jì Zǔ was an expert at this, Dà Lóng and the others worked together seamlessly, completing their task with barely a sound, which secretly shocked him. He thought to himself that it was no wonder Xiāo Míng didn't want to confront the Japanese army head-on - what a pity! His footsteps didn't slow down as he followed Dà Lóng to the edge of the tent.

  The big dragon saw that everyone was in position, made a gesture to hide and be on guard, and first solved the two sentry tents before doing anything else. Then he pulled out his dagger and held it in his mouth, bent down and listened carefully with his ear to the side, feeling no abnormality, and quietly opened the tent door. Lü Jizong and others crawled inside, adapted for a moment, and found that there were still four devils inside the tent, who were sleeping soundly. Several people, one by one, cut their throats, made sure they were dead, and then went to the next one.

  After counting, the remaining ones can be dealt with by one person against two. The big dragon gestured for each group to leave one person on guard, and the rest began to work. Everyone took out their daggers, crawled into the tent, and a faint struggling sound came from inside. Soon, those who were quick-handed rushed towards the next target.

  Before long, everyone came out and indicated that they had completed their task. The big dragon nodded and walked towards the warehouse.