Chapter 3: Wipe out an enemy stronghold

  The deputy battalion commander, Fang Zheng, walked back and forth anxiously. The battalion commander led the soldiers to attack the Liujiacun stronghold, but he himself did not agree with it. Now he regretted more and more, blaming himself for not stopping the battalion commander firmly at the beginning. 12 soldiers were sent to attack a small enemy stronghold, what if the battalion commander made a mistake, how could he explain to the regimental commander?

  Just as Zheng Fang was looking worried, the communication officer ran over with excitement and said: "Instructor, the battalion commander is back, and they've brought back a lot of spoils of war!"

  "The battalion commander is back, and he's brought back a lot of spoils." It took Instructor Fang Zheng half a day to come back to his senses, then he hastily said to the communications officer, "Let's go, hurry up, take me to see the battalion commander."

  Seeing the warriors return safely to their base, and bringing back so many spoils of war, the other warriors were first surprised, then they all gathered around to see the spoils of war. Seeing the brand new rifles, boxes and boxes of bullets and hand grenades, especially seeing that there were even submachine guns and heavy machine guns, everyone's eyes looking at the special forces members were filled with admiration, and smiles appeared on their faces.

  Seeing such good equipment, Wang Haiyang smiled and said to Zhang Yunfei: "Captain, I like machine guns the most. Let's give these few machine guns to our company."

  Before Zhang Yunfei could answer, Second Company Commander Chen Erwa and Third Company Commander Qian Long hastily said: "Wang Haiyang, you're thinking too much."

  Seeing three company commanders starting to fight over equipment, Zhang Yunfei said: "Everyone stop arguing, we're about to have a meeting, I have something to say."

  Seeing their battalion commander say they would be having a meeting immediately, everyone stopped arguing and rushed towards the battalion headquarters conference room.

  "Today we eliminated the Liujiatun stronghold, and seized over 30 Type 38 rifles, 3 Hanyang machine guns, 1 Type 92 heavy machine gun, over 5,000 rounds of ammunition, two boxes of hand grenades, a radio transmitter, over 200 yuan, 3 gold bars, and some grain and clothing. These items will be distributed as follows: the Type 38 rifles and Hanyang machine guns will be divided equally among everyone, the Type 92 heavy machine gun will first go to the First Company, and later when more are seized, they will be distributed to the Second and Third Companies. Does anyone have any objections?"

  "Agreed," said the three company commanders in unison.

  Zhang Yunfei looked at Fang Zheng and said, "Instructor, our soldiers have suffered too much. From now on, the money we capture except for the part that is handed over to the regiment will be used to buy food, clothing and other living necessities."

  "Alright, it's no problem for the battalion commander, and the soldiers have been through too much hardship." Fang Zheng said happily.

  "Commissar, I want you to take charge of the troops' living and logistics again. The ocean and gold bars we captured today will be kept with you. As it's getting colder, send someone tomorrow to buy some cotton and cloth, mobilize women from nearby villages to make clothes and shoes for our soldiers. Arrange for the clothes we captured from the little devils today to be taken apart, re-dyed, and made into our Eighth Route Army uniforms. To facilitate management in the future, it's best to set up a uniform factory. Also, go buy a big fat pig from the locals later, on one hand to improve the soldiers' living conditions, and on the other hand, we'll celebrate."

  "Alright, I'll go and arrange it now." Fang Zheng said.

  At half past five, the three battalions' campsite had five large military pots lined up in a row. The bright orange flames were licking the bottom of the pots, and the water inside was boiling vigorously. The aroma of braised meat wafted far away. The soldiers stood in neat rows, each receiving a bowl of braised meat from the cooking team, and they ate with great relish.

  The next day, Instructor Fang Zheng found several dozen women from nearby villages to make cotton clothes and pants. Seeing that there were a lot of people, Zhang Yunfei specially found an independent and spacious small courtyard, which was used exclusively for making clothes and shoes. At noon and in the evening, two meals were provided for the women who came to help with the work.

  In addition, several clever warriors were dispatched to disguise themselves as ordinary people, bringing the captured gold bars and dollars to the county town to secretly purchase a batch of cotton and cloth, which would soon allow all the soldiers to wear warm cotton clothes, pants and shoes.

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  In Xinxian County, 7 or 8 miles away from the Sanying barracks, the Japanese command post stationed in Xinxian County, Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe Ichiro heard the chief of staff report that the Liujiatun outpost was attacked, and more than 30 brave warriors of the Imperial Japanese Army were killed. He slammed his command sword on the table in anger and angrily asked the chief of staff: "Find out who did it!"

  "Commander, it's still unknown who did it for now." The Chief of Staff said.

  "Investigate, investigate for me, who exactly did it, let me find out who did it, die die die."

  "Hello." The chief of staff stood at attention and bowed his head in salute.

  "At the same time, give me a strengthened sweep of the surrounding villages."

  "Hello." The chief of staff stood at attention and bowed his head in salute.

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  In the following days, Zhang Yunfei strengthened his training for the troops. He personally participated in demonstrations of shooting, bayonet fighting and tactical coordination exercises, and corrected any mistakes made by the soldiers in a timely manner. Military commanders above the company level also strengthened their military theoretical studies, with Zhang himself acting as a teacher.

  As for the special warfare team, they mainly practiced on their own, and Zhang Yunfei only spent two or three hours a day guiding their training. Even so, the tactical and skill levels of the special warfare team also showed significant improvement.

  The garment factory was also established, and a few people were drawn from non-combat personnel to serve as management personnel in the garment factory. The garment factory has set up several small workshops, including spinning workshops responsible for spinning cotton into yarns; weaving workshops responsible for weaving yarns into cloth; and finished product workshops responsible for making clothes, cotton shoes and quilts.

  Originally intended to recruit only a few dozen female comrades, but after several nearby villages heard that they were making clothes for the Eighth Route Army, they actively signed up, and finally recruited over a hundred people.

  These women comrades worked with great enthusiasm and could produce dozens of sets of clothes every day. Before long, the soldiers were all wearing brand new cotton-padded jackets and warm cotton shoes.

  In terms of food, Zhang Yunfei bought all the ocean with a large amount of grain, and the soldiers could eat three meals a day, occasionally they could even have a meal of meat. However, this way of eating made Instructor Fang Zheng feel both happy and heartbroken. He was happy that as the food improved, the soldiers' physical condition got better and better, and their faces, which were previously pale, gradually became rosy. What pained him was that at this rate, the ocean and gold bars they had captured last time would soon be used up.

  With food and clothing, although the weapons were still in short supply, Zhang Yunfei decided to expand his troops. He was very clear that the development of the Eighth Route Army's troops was very rapid, from the three divisions at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War to over a million people at the time of the victory.

  With the propaganda team's publicity, the recruitment work went very smoothly. Young people from nearby hundreds of miles enthusiastically joined the Eighth Route Army. In just a few days, more than 500 people were recruited, which was still the result of Zhang Yunfei's deliberate control and screening. After all, in this era, both the common people and the little devils had deep hatred for each other. Most people participated in the Eighth Route Army with the purpose of avenging their deceased loved ones. On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army was a team of ordinary people, and everyone was willing to join.

  Seeing the recruited warriors, Zhang Yunfei was very satisfied. These warriors were all selected by himself and were all young and strong men without any old, weak, sick or disabled people. Zhang Yunfei unified these warriors into a new soldier regiment, forming more than ten teams, with each team conducting training as a unit. The team leaders of the new soldiers were appointed by the old soldiers selected from each regiment, who served both as team leaders and instructors.