Chapter 11: The Most Awesome Security Team

  The new recruits of the security team, I'm afraid it's hard to find such a style again. In front of 4 three-wheeled motorcycles, each with a Czech-style machine gun on the side, and the motorcycle drivers wore German-style submachine guns on their backs. Behind were two ten-wheeled trucks, fully loaded with armed soldiers and ammunition, with a Maxim heavy machine gun mounted on top of the truck head. A third-rate security team, yet using the most advanced equipment at that time, national...

  The rarely seen motorized procession marched in, with an air that seemed like a high-ranking official going out on patrol.

  Where did How Wuting get so many weapons and equipment? It turned out that every weapon produced by the arsenal had a small batch of samples left in the factory. In addition, the factory always needed some good goods on hand to maintain relationships with various lords, so they always stored some private goods, which were all stored in the underground warehouse of the arsenal and did not leave with the factory. Li Daichun considered that if How Wuting's garrison could no longer merge with the factory in the future, having a batch on hand would make it more convenient to join any lord. What How Wuting gave Xu Liang today was only a small part, he felt that giving weapons to Xu Liang and others would not be wasted, and the factory's air defense battle was an example.

  The recruitment notice was posted, and someone came to sign up immediately. More than 50 people signed up within a day, which surprised He Wuting, who repeatedly said to Xu Liang: "Your interpersonal relationship is really good, I admire you, admire you!"

  Military uniform, Type 79 rifle, full bullet bag, hand grenade, these new recruits suddenly became fully armed soldiers. Workers are disciplined and easy to educate.

  The equipment of an infantry company was also ready. What Xu Liang did not expect was that there were even two 82mm mortars, two heavy machine guns, four light machine guns and ten imitation German submachine guns! There were as many as 10,000 bullets for the submachine gun alone. He Wutang said: "Anyway, the consumption of pistol bullets is small, so I'll give you more, haha. Brother, do you want anything else?" "Thank you so much, but brother can't be too greedy. However..." "Brother, what's wrong with saying it." "Are there any hand grenades? I plan to equip those brothers who don't have guns with big knives, bayonets and hand grenades." "Good, teams that love to throw hand grenades are teams that dare to fight to the death. Generally, local security brigades can only be a reinforced company, but you're different, brother. I believe you can recruit a whole regiment of people, maybe even more. Okay, how about 3,000 hand grenades?"

  This hand grenade was one of the most beloved weapons of the early Communist Party army. At that time, due to the weakness of our forces, hand grenades became a versatile weapon for infantry to make up for their lack of firepower. However, the throwing distance of hand grenades is limited, and when the attacking side rushes to within the effective killing range of the grenade, there are usually less than ten seconds before they can rush to the defender's position. This is the case when defending in a flat terrain, but if it's a defensive position on high ground, the time for impact will be slightly longer. In any case, the side that relies mainly on hand grenades as its primary firepower needs strong combat will, because when throwing out hand grenades, they face either annihilating or repelling the enemy, or immediately entering close combat with bayonets. It's either the enemy dies or we do; it's either I exist and the enemy doesn't, or the enemy exists and I don't! Only an army with a very firm fighting will dare to use hand grenades as its main killing weapon for infantry. An army that lacks strong combat will, when the enemy charges into the throwing distance of the grenade under a hail of bullets, either abandon their position and flee, or raise their hands in surrender. Therefore, when He Wuting heard that Xu Liang was preparing to equip and train his troops with hand grenades and big knives, as a professional soldier, he strongly felt the opponent's fearless, heroic spirit of "I exist, no enemy exists; I die, no enemy survives." These hand grenades had almost emptied He Wuting's family fortune. Anyway, many units were not very interested in hand grenades, and even for submachine guns with an effective range of 200 meters and a killing distance of 50 meters, many units did not want to have too many, only equipping some guards with them as a mere formality.

  "What are you planning to do with these people and equipment when you go back?" He Wu Ting asked.

  Xu Liang thought to himself: "These people are fully armed, without any military orders from above, and they definitely can't take the train. Marching on foot, these people will definitely not be able to make it in one day. On the road, they'll need to eat and sleep, and carrying weapons will probably require hiring several large vehicles. Although the route is mainly along major transportation lines, it's still uncertain whether it will be peaceful... Should Chen Hao send someone to meet them?"

  "Alright, brother, don't be too hard on yourself. I'm a good guy, and I'll see this through to the end. Let's use both of the remaining trucks at the factory, and I'll also send three three-wheeled motorcycles, plus the one you brought, to transport people and weapons. I'll personally escort you all to Bianjing."

  "Big brother, how can we do that?"

  "Don't mention it. Although this route is mostly main roads, there are sometimes bandits lurking around. And with your security team carrying so many goods on the road, you might encounter other groups who will try to rob you. After all, our military department's factory signboard has some weight to it. High-ranking officer! Get a urgent special delivery order for the front lines, and stamp it with our big seal. Fill up all the cars and motorcycles with gas, and drive them to the 5th factory building's entrance to load the weapons. Load the hand grenades last, and if there's not enough space, we can do it next time. We'll set off after lunch, and we should be able to arrive in Bianjing before nightfall. These past few days have been suffocating me. Tomorrow, I'll take you all on a tour of Kaifeng City. That Chen Hao kid is now a colonel, and he's equal to me, haha."

  Xu Liang hastily called out to Xiao Wangzi: "Quick, call Kaifeng Station and let them inform Commander Chen or Liang You Tian that Director He is coming to visit everyone today in person. We're sending over equipment, ask them to hurry up and prepare."

  "Xu, little brother, it's still early, come to my office and I'll show you this great new book I just got."

  "Good book?" Xu Liang was somewhat perplexed.

  "It's really a good book, you'll know once you've read it."

  They arrived at He Wutang's office. He Wutang took out a small booklet from his drawer, and Xu Liang took it and looked: It was Mao Zedong's "On Protracted War". Xu Liang had heard the party's liaison officer mention it before, but hadn't had a chance to study it yet. Now he saw it at He Wutang's place and was shocked in his heart: Could this He Wutang...? Then he heard He Wutang say: "This is a book by Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Party. Do you think it's strange? All high-ranking military officers above the rank of general have a copy now, issued by the Military Affairs Department. A relative of mine in the First War Zone gave me a copy, and after reading it, I felt enlightened. To be honest with you, brother, at the beginning of the war, especially after the "August 13" battle in Shanghai, I thought that with our million-strong elite troops, we could crush the enemy with one blow, and those Japanese bandits would be quickly eliminated or driven into the sea. But who would have thought that within a few months, we lost thousands of miles of land in North China, and Shanghai and Nanjing fell? Our elite troops suffered heavy casualties, and our air force was almost completely destroyed. After the arsenal moved away, I stayed here to guard it, reading newspapers and listening to radio broadcasts, but all I got were messages that made me feel desperate. This book thoroughly analyzes both sides of the conflict, making it clear who we are and what we're up against. After finishing it, my mind was enlightened, and I knew that China would definitely win this war and not be destroyed by those Japanese bandits. Although the enemy is strong and we are weak, we will have to go through a period of hardship, but there will eventually be a day of victory. Now, looking at how things are developing, it's just as Mr. Mao predicted. One has to say that Chairman Chiang is truly wise."

  Xu Liang heard the sentence behind him and was shocked in his heart: How did he suddenly come to such a conclusion out of thin air?

  "Brother, you should say I'm not being reasonable now? Yes, how come the leader of the Communist Party wrote a great book that's visible to all, but instead it's said that Chairman Chiang is wise? You think Chairman Chiang was wise when he decisively recruited these talents on the eve of the war of resistance? Xu younger brother, you say, in those years, Song Jiang and Lu Junyi accepted the imperial court's amnesty and made great contributions in the southern and northern expeditions?"

  Xu Liang couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, so he could only smile and continue listening to him.

  He Wu Ting continued: "If the great Song Dynasty were not dominated by treacherous officials who harmed loyal and good people, how could it be destroyed by the hands of barbarians? I, He Wu Ting, admire those brave warriors who fought against the enemy and protected the country. Look at the Communist Party's Lin Biao troops, with so few men and such poor weapons, not even many bullets, yet they dared to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese 5th Division! If their weapons were better and their ammunition more abundant, the Japanese would have had no good days ahead of them, and would not have dared to be arrogant? I say that General Wei Lihuang and Yan Xishan learned from their mistakes after losing Taiyuan, handing over several divisions of the Central Army and Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to Zhu and Peng's command, holding onto a large area in Shanxi and repeatedly sending back reports of victories."

  Xu Liang looked at He Wuting's generous words and felt a sense of emotion: "This great national liberation war has brought the Chinese people together in an unprecedented way, uniting and gathering them. This will have a profound impact on the development of Chinese history and will forever change China's social form."

  "Besides, Chen Hao and his brothers have fought with the devils in Shanghai, so they should be experts at fighting devils. My younger brother, you've been to the factory for a short time, but you've won over both the military and civilians, your air defense combat is flawless, you're a man of both culture and martial arts, and you're not afraid to die. For our ordnance factory, you almost sacrificed your life. If all soldiers in the country fought against the devils like this, how could the Japanese bandits not be exterminated?"

  "Big brother, I think relying solely on the military is not enough, we should mobilize the entire nation's population, everyone working together to defend our home and country, and we will surely defeat Japanese imperialism!"

  "Good, good, it seems that this book also says something like that. Who knows, you might be a Communist. Whatever party he belongs to, as long as he can fight against the Japanese, he's a good guy. Even if you're a Communist, now that the Communists have been co-opted, then you're okay too. If all Communists were like your younger brother, that wouldn't be bad either - not bandits who kill people and share wives. Tell me, are the heroes of Liangshan outlaws?" This He Wu Ting is a typical example of a soldier who doesn't care about politics, with a traditional heroic view of loyalty to the emperor and sacrificing one's life for righteousness.

  Xu Liang smiled and acted as a faithful listener for this lovely big brother, occasionally inserting two sentences. They chatted happily.

  To avoid air raids, they didn't set out until half past three in the afternoon.

  The new recruits of the security team, I'm afraid it's hard to find such a style again. In front of 4 three-wheeled motorcycles, each with a Czech-style machine gun on the side, and the motorcycle drivers wore German-style submachine guns on their backs. Behind them were two ten-wheeled trucks, fully loaded with armed soldiers and ammunition, with a Maxim heavy machine gun mounted on top of the truck head. A security team that was not up to standard adopted a motorized advance method that was rare in the country at that time, with an air of grandeur like a high-ranking official going out for inspection. The new recruits were also full of energy and spirit. Along the way, they passed through several checkpoints, and as soon as they saw this style from afar, they quickly stood at attention, and when they saw the cover of the military affairs department's certificate, they didn't dare to ask questions, but instead quickly waved their hands to let them pass.

  When they arrived at the southwest suburb of Kaifeng, it was already dark. Chen Hao led his men to a checkpoint set up by the Kaifeng Garrison Command on the highway to greet them. Seeing the grandeur of He Wuting and Xu Liang's entourage, everyone was delighted. The soldiers in the checkpoint were amazed when they saw that such a large group of people had come specifically to find the newly established 4th Regiment, their eyes wide with wonder.

  That night, the Fourth Squad was like a festival, and it was very lively.

  The next afternoon, He Wuting took his brothers back to the munitions factory. The factory had only one shift of guards left, with half of them staying at home, and He Wuting was still worried.

  Xu Liang seized the time to discuss with Chen Hao the training of new recruits. Although there are now over a hundred people, the task of recruiting soldiers is still very arduous. The two decided that Chen Hao would be in charge of training new recruits, while Xu Liang would continue to recruit soldiers.

  Xu Liang reported the situation to the party organization. The party organization attached great importance to this team and sent 10 party member cadres from the Zhugou Military Department to join this unit. A party organization was established within the troops, and Liang You Tian and several other worker cadres from the arsenal were secretly developed into the party. The party organization also mobilized the Qing Rescue Association and the Nong Rescue Association to support the recruitment work of the 4th Battalion. Xu Liang took a truck borrowed from the Garrison Command and rushed to the villages within 150 kilometers south of Kaifeng, starting the tense recruitment work.

  The Garrison Command was originally quite negative about the recruitment of the 4th Battalion, so why did they agree to lend cars this time?

  When Liang You Tian brought back the first batch of railway workers and new recruits, Chen Hao personally took them to the headquarters to apply for military uniforms and weapons. Unexpectedly, they encountered all sorts of difficulties and excuses from the personnel at the headquarters, who even said things like "You've recruited new soldiers so quickly? Aren't you just inflating your numbers to get extra rations?" "You're eating meat, but you won't even spare a bit of soup for us. That's not very righteous." If Liang You Tian hadn't spent money to grease the wheels, it would have been difficult to solve the problem of food for these new recruits. Chen Hao was furious: "We only have this much to our name, and giving it to them is no better than providing for ourselves!" Liang You Tian advised him: "Commander, days are long, and besides, we might soon have a large batch of new recruits arriving. It's worth enduring some hardship and sending some gifts."

  He Wu Ting's arrival in Bian caused a stir, and the officers and soldiers on duty at the checkpoint that day spread the news as if it were a big piece of news. Later, there was also a rumor that on the morning of that day, a phone call from the Military Affairs Department had bypassed the War Zone and the Kaifeng Garrison Command, and directly informed the Ba Fourth Brigade through the Kaifeng Railway Station that a certain He officer would be arriving. When the wind reached Commander Wang's ears, he sent Deputy Officer Meng to probe into the truth under the pretext of delivering military uniforms and weapons to the 4th Brigade. Deputy Officer Meng led his men, carrying over a hundred sets of military uniforms and more than thirty rifles, arrived at the garrison of the 4th Brigade.

  Actually, since the 1st War Zone established the Kaifeng Security 4th Regiment, how could they not have any equipment? It's just that these regular troops' old equipment was taken over by the Garrison Command and was withheld by Commander Wang. His troops were originally a motley crew with poor equipment, so he had them take the better weapons allocated to the 4th Regiment and exchange them for his own troops. The extremely outdated firearms that were exchanged didn't want to be given to the 4th Regiment all at once. This time, Deputy Officer Meng brought military uniforms according to the actual number of people in the 4th Regiment, but he wasn't willing to bring more weapons. You should know that guns are a warlord's ***, no matter what, they wouldn't give more to others.

  But when Deputy Officer Meng arrived at the 4th Regiment and took a look, he was shocked: The new recruits who were training had brand-new "Zhongzheng" rifles with shiny bayonets. There were light and heavy machine guns, mortars, and German-made submachine guns - it was a fully-equipped force! When he looked at the old, broken guns he brought, which didn't even have a clear year or month of manufacture, such as the "Single-shot" and "Old-style tube", they were simply to be thrown away!

  The 4th Regiment welcomed any weapons that came their way. When Xu Liang was in the Red Army, there were many more inferior weapons in his troops, so having some was already good enough. Moreover, the troops were still expanding, and there weren't nearly enough weapons.

  Under Xu Liang's persuasion, Chen Hao, who was initially unhappy, warmly welcomed Deputy Officer Meng and his group. At noon, they set up a banquet at the most luxurious restaurant in the area to entertain Deputy Officer Meng and his entourage. Chen, Xu, and Liang accompanied Deputy Officer Meng in a private room, while Xiao Wangzi and Yan Xuewen entertained the followers in the main hall.

  When it was time to leave, each of them received some "hardship fees" as a gift. Deputy Officer Meng and his group left with great enthusiasm, repeatedly saying that the 4th Regiment was very generous.

  During the banquet, Deputy Officer Meng once asked about the origin of the 4th Regiment's equipment, but Xu Liang dodged the question with a profound-sounding sentence: "Friends from the Military Affairs Department helped out. The top leaders and Commander Chen don't want to make this matter public."

  Deputy Director Meng, who was drunk and had a red face, said as he was leaving: "You guys are really great, if you need anything from me in the future, just let me know." Xu Liang said: "Thanks to your care, please put in a good word for us in front of the commander. We're currently training new recruits here and they consume a lot of energy. What do you think about their food?" Meng replied: "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of increasing their food allowance. You guys are diligent in your training and are truly the backbone of our security zone. Who knows, maybe one day I'll still need to rely on you brothers." Xu Liang continued: "Deputy Director Xu is going to recruit soldiers in the southern counties soon and wants to borrow a truck from the commander's office." Meng said: "I'll go back and mention it to the commander." Xu Liang thanked him, saying they would come visit again when the funds were allocated. Meng replied: "Don't mention it, don't mention it." The others sent off Deputy Director Meng.

  Commander Wang had long felt that Chen Hao, a young colonel, was not quite right. Adding to this was the fact that he had been appointed by the First War Zone to establish the 4th Security Regiment. Although he didn't say anything out loud, he was actually resentful in his heart.

  After listening to Deputy Officer Meng's report upon his return, Commander Wang thought carefully for a moment and suddenly realized: "This young man has someone backing him up, and it seems that his connections are not small."

  "Commander, how did you come to this conclusion?"

  "You think about it! If Chen Hao became a colonel at such a young age, his military rank is only two levels lower than mine. It's as if he was lucky, but the First War Zone appointed him as the regiment commander in order to restrict me. Then, the first batch of soldiers he recruited were railway workers who the government did not allow to be conscripted at will. We've taken the train to mobilize many times, and I didn't dare to recruit a single railway worker into our troops. But Chen Hao dared to do so, and no one pursued it.

  Furthermore, those equipment are all real deal, right? In the First War Zone, how many units can use such equipment? It's said that even a Central Army colonel personally delivered the weapons to him. Chen Hao is just a newly appointed regiment commander of the Security Regiment, but he received this treatment! If he didn't have a strong backing, he wouldn't have gotten this treatment."

  "Commander, you are absolutely right!"

  "Our miscellaneous troops were originally motherless children. We can't afford to offend people like him. From now on, be more polite to the 4th Regiment and don't make things difficult for them. Who knows, we might need their help in the future. These guys do things just like they're doing Muslim business."

  Deputy Officer Meng took this opportunity to mention two requests from the 4th Regiment, which Commander Wang approved.