Chapter 28: Heroes Cherish Each Other

  The food in the Nanyuan barracks was naturally not comparable to that in Wuhan city. After Sun Liren invited Chen Jifang and the other two to sit down, he said: "In extraordinary times, the food is simple, I hope Chen and the two brothers won't mind, hmm, Lieutenant Su, you come over too, keep your friends company."

  Su Jingwei hastily came over and sat down somewhat awkwardly, after everyone else had also taken their seats. Sun Liren then asked about the situation with the "Divine Eagle" anti-Japanese special operations team. Sun Liren was the first historical celebrity that Chen Jifan and his companions met after returning to this era, plus General Sun's unique military demeanor, so Chen Jifan would generally answer any questions he had as long as they didn't involve secrets.

  After listening to Chen Jihua finish talking about the "Divine Eagle", Sun Liren's face was filled with emotion. "To say that the Japanese devils are not invincible, as long as tactics are proper, it is entirely possible to achieve victory in local battles. It's just that the gap between China and Japan's national strength is really too big. To be honest, including myself, we don't know how much longer we can hold on. The Chairman often says 'to exchange space for time', 'to drag on until the international situation changes' and so on, but as a military man, I am unable to defend our territory or protect our people. It's not a glorious thing." After finishing speaking, he grabbed his wine cup and downed it in one gulp.

  After drinking the cup of wine with him, Chen Jifang seriously said to Sun Liren: "General Sun, you are a Chinese military man whom we all admire very much, but I dare not agree with what you just said."

  Sun Liren's eyes lit up when he heard that Chen had a different idea, and he put down his chopsticks and said: "Oh? Brother Chen, do you have some profound insight? I'm willing to hear more about your plan to comfort the people."

  "I don't think that's a high-level discussion, I just feel that General Sun's words were a bit too pessimistic." Chen Jifan said, looking at Sun Liren with an expression that didn't seem to take it seriously.

  Sun Liren thought to himself, "You 'Shenying' are indeed formidable, with a few hundred people daring to challenge the Japanese army. However, those were all guerrilla tactics, and if you really face off against the Japanese in a frontal assault, a few hundred men wouldn't even be enough for them to bother firing a cannon. Young people still don't know their limits. Think back to the Battle of Shanghai, where an entire regiment would die on the battlefield in a single day without it being anything out of the ordinary. For now, he didn't say anything and signaled Chen Jifan to continue."

  Chen Jifang didn't care much about Sun Liren's attitude, after all, history had already proven that the Japanese would ultimately lose. Of course, this couldn't be said to Sun Liren, so Chen Jifang continued: "The strategy of trading space for time itself isn't a problem, and opening up a second front in the Shanghai area to divert the Japanese army's attack from south to north to east to west is also acceptable. However, throwing all our elite troops into the first line and engaging in a bloody battle with the devils is not a wise move. As you mentioned earlier, our national strength is far inferior to Japan's, so we should cherish our precious human resources and engage in guerrilla warfare with the Japanese, waiting for opportunities to concentrate our forces and devour the isolated Japanese troops that have ventured too far. Instead of organizing some kind of grand battle, letting large numbers of excellent officers and soldiers become cannon fodder..."

  "Bang!" Sun Liren suddenly slammed the table and stood up, startling the soldiers at the two adjacent tables who were stunned and thought to themselves: what's going on? They were fine just a moment ago, how could they turn against each other in an instant.

  "General Sun, please calm down," Chen Jifan slowed down his tone a bit as he saw Sun Liren getting angry, "I didn't mean to insult those brave soldiers who fought against the Japanese invaders. On the contrary, I and all the 'Divine Eagle' soldiers have great respect for them. I'm just stating facts, General Sun, please let me finish what I have to say."

  Sun Liren also felt that he had been a bit excited just now, and hurriedly sat down to apologize to Chen Jifang: "Brother Chen, don't mind, I was a bit out of line just now. Please continue, please continue."

  "In fact, Japan is more anxious about this war than we are. Although Japan is stronger than us in military terms, it is a resource-poor country, or rather, it has no resources at all. To fight a war to occupy a vast territory and population that far exceeds its own, humph, the Japanese have bitten off more than they can chew, and will eventually choke on their own ambition." Chen Jifang said with disdain.

  "We all know this, but our national strength is not as good as others. To be honest, the current war of resistance is, in a sense, using lives to drag on, dragging on the progress of the war, slowing down the Japanese attack speed, and leaving more time for preparation in the rear." Sun Liren took over the topic and said.

  "Japan boasted that it would destroy China in three months, which was not only arrogant but also contained the Japanese military's guiding principle for fighting China: to annihilate China's armed forces in the shortest possible time and force the government to surrender. This way, Japan could extricate itself from the Chinese battlefield and utilize China's resources to continue the war, either advancing north to attack the Soviet Union or south to occupy Southeast Asia.

  Therefore, we cannot engage in a war of attrition with the Japanese devils. The Japanese have air superiority, and their tanks, artillery, and technical equipment are far superior to ours in terms of quantity. Even our grassroots units' heavy firepower can't keep up with theirs. In such a disadvantageous situation, how is it possible to defend even an inch of land?

  The Taxation Police Corps is considered one of the best troops in the country, but in this kind of positional warfare, in the back-and-forth tug-of-war with the Japanese military, the Taxation Police Corps was also severely battered or completely annihilated, just like countless other elite units of our national army."

  Chen Jifan glanced at Sun Liren unconsciously as he spoke, worried that Sun would have another extreme reaction.

  However, Sun Liren listened very seriously this time, perhaps it was the first time he heard such a view. "Brother Chen said so much, then if it were you, what would you do?"

  This Sun Liren is really not simple, he immediately asked the right question.

  "It's actually very simple, at the beginning of the war, because we were weaker than the enemy, it was inevitable to lose some land. However, the purpose of losing land is not to escape or be afraid of fighting, but to exchange land for troop mobility space. China is so big, if we want to defend every place, we will definitely not be able to defend everywhere, because the Japanese army will definitely concentrate its forces on our defensive positions and launch a surprise attack to eliminate our effective strength. If I were in charge, I would choose to abandon some places and concentrate my forces to defeat one of their units. Even if Japan is strong, it's not invincible. If our army can move freely, the killing power of the Japanese artillery will be greatly reduced. Of course, all this requires a unified strategic plan from the high command. It's easy to say but difficult to do. But no matter how difficult it is, it's better than exhausting ourselves with the enemy. We must know that in war, the most precious thing is not weapons, but the people who wield them. If our excellent soldiers are exhausted, we will really have no chance to counterattack in a short period of time."

  Sun Liren seemed to have a feeling, he said to Chen Jifan: "You're right, the most precious are those soldiers who have been baptized by war. To be honest with you, the top wants me to form a tax police corps, I'm not worried about weapons and ammunition, but I can't find those soldiers from back then. So I plan to wait until these wounded men recover and then reassign them to the troops, these people are treasures!"

  Sun Liren paused, as if remembering something, and suddenly smiled at Chen Jifang: "Chen old brother's abacus is good, thinking of buying my soldiers' lives with just three big oceans?"

  Chen Jifan said seriously: "General Sun, your words are too heavy. We came here to comfort and help these heroes on the battlefield solve some practical difficulties. These three blocks of silver may not be much, but they were snatched from the devils by the 'Divine Eagle' officers and soldiers with their lives. We have no logistical support, and every single silver dollar is precious. This money can let our warriors eat a little more food and make a few more pairs of shoes."

  "Little brother, don't misunderstand me, I'm just a bit curious. Haven't you ever thought of taking down these soldiers? If you respect your older brother, tell the truth, we're all military men, I can understand your difficulties."

  "Since Brother Sun said so, I don't want to hide anything either. To be honest, apart from purchasing some materials in Wuhan, I also wanted to recruit some soldiers from the scattered troops of the National Army. A unit with a great reputation like the Taxation Police Brigade would naturally be our top choice. So, I indeed wanted to find some people among these wounded soldiers. In our place, many ordinary people want to take up guns, but it takes not only time but also bloodshed to train an ordinary person into an excellent soldier. However, we can't afford either of those things. Once the Japanese army achieves its goal on the main battlefield, they will immediately turn around and deal with the anti-Japanese armed forces in the occupied areas, including the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. Our strength is even weaker, and if that happens, our survival would be a problem. On the other hand, we have very few people and can't possibly engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, so I had to consider these wounded soldiers. I hope Brother Sun will understand."

  "Brother Chen, what are you talking about? You're fighting the devils behind enemy lines without any support from the government, and you have to scrounge up all your own resources. And yet you can still manage to defeat the devils - just this alone is enough for me to admire you greatly. What qualifications do you have to nitpick? Ah, right, if I'm not mistaken, Brother Chen's accent sounds like he's from Anhui province, which part of Anhui?"

  Chen Jifang smiled and said: "The general is very meticulous, he is indeed from Anhui Province, and specifically from Wuwei County in Anhui."

  "Ah, my brother, we really have a good fate! Do you know who I am? Lujiang, we're fellow townspeople! I went to the US when I was young, and I didn't expect to run into a fellow overseas student from Chaohu here. Come on, let's drink this cup!"

  Fellow countryman? Chen Jifan had indeed heard old people mention that Chao Lake had produced a high-ranking KMT official, could it be him? This is too much of a coincidence. Chen Jifan clinked glasses with Sun Liren in nostalgia.

  After drinking this cup of wine, the relationship between the two people became much closer. Sun Liren took out his handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and then said: "May I ask, Brother Chen, how old are you this year? If you don't mind, what do you think we brothers should call each other from now on? To be honest with you, brother, I'm 38 years old this year, but so far, I haven't accomplished anything, and thinking about it makes me feel ashamed."

  Chen Jifan neither confirmed nor denied, nothing was accomplished. If you, elder brother, consider most people to be nothing but unaccomplished, then wouldn't that mean they lived in vain? Chen Jifan hastily said: "This year I am 29 years old, to have an elder brother like you, I am extremely honored, I toast to my elder brother." Of course Chen Jifan was extremely honored, if it weren't for the time-travel, Sun Liren would at least be his grandfather.

  Hu Yunfeng and Luo Yuguang, who had been listening to the conversation between Sun Liren and Lian Zhang, were astonished to hear that they were actually from the same hometown. Su Jingwei whispered to them, "This is great, now that we know they're old friends, I've heard that Director Sun values his hometown connections, he might be able to help you out."

  Sun Liren was so happy that he drank the wine offered by Chen Jifang, his face slightly flushed, and said to Chen Jifang: "I'm ashamed for you, we are both from Anhui, but my younger brother is defending our hometown under the nose of the devils, while I am hiding here doing nothing. My younger brother, on behalf of the people of Anhui, thank you!" After finishing speaking, he stood up and saluted Chen Jifang.

  Chen Jifan quickly got up to return the courtesy. Sun Liren said seriously, "Brother, this matter of recruiting people is not that I won't help you. It's just that you can't take away so many people. Think about it, even if my brothers are willing, I have no opinion, but the Military Commission will not be able to see? You don't have a Military Commission number, and others might say you're a Communist or Japanese spy. After all, people can say whatever they want."

  "Brother, you misunderstood me. I didn't think of bringing many people back. With too many people, I wouldn't be able to provide for them either. Besides, Japanese spies are everywhere. If I really brought back over a thousand people, we'd probably be intercepted by the devils on the way." Chen Jifan said with a faint smile.

  "What did that young brother mean?" Sun Liren was somewhat puzzled.

  "My intention is very simple, I just want to find a few dozen, at most no more than a hundred. With them as the backbone, form a company, equip with the best weapons, and give them the strictest training, I want to turn this company into a sharp knife that makes the devils tremble." Chen Jifan laid down his trump card.

  "Is that so? Let's take things slowly. Just now, my younger brother mentioned weapons, and I'll muster up the courage to ask you, what kind of weapons do you have?" Sun Liren asked. In fact, he also knew that Chen Jifan didn't have anything worth showing off except for those captured ones.

  "Brother, we're a traveling troupe, what other weapons can we have? Apart from the four flower-shaped machine guns and one Czech-style gun that our original National Army brothers had, all the rest were given by the devils. To be honest with you, brother, I most want submachine guns, even if it's just enough to equip one platoon, so I can form a shock troop, and when we engage in close combat with the devils, they'll definitely be done for." Chen Jifan laid his cards on the table.

  "Close combat? Don't tell me your army doesn't know how to fight with bayonets?" Sun Li-ren asked.

  "In fact, bayonet fighting is a last resort. Japan lacks resources and the troops can't afford to waste ammunition on submachine guns, so the Japanese military places great emphasis on individual shooting and bayonet fighting. Moreover, from top to bottom, the Japanese military has been influenced by Bushido, which makes them even more obsessed with bayonet fighting. When we engage in bayonet fighting with the Japanese, we don't have the upper hand. We kill a thousand of them, but lose eight hundred ourselves. I'm not doing that kind of business, brother. So when we're in close combat with the devils, we generally concentrate all our automatic firepower, including submachine guns, light machine guns, and shotguns, plus grenades. That's how we can gain a local fire superiority over the devils. Close combat is necessary, and hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet fighting must be included in training, but I won't engage in bayonet fighting with the devils unless absolutely necessary. The devils' bayonet fighting skills have been honed through rigorous training, using Chinese civilians as practice targets. My soldiers are at a disadvantage both technically and psychologically, so our military generally avoids bayonet fighting."

  "So you want to use a submachine gun to increase firepower? This move is very effective, close combat at night against the devils is very effective. Can you tell me specifically how it's done, so I can promote it in the troops too." Sun Liren became interested.

  "When we launch an attack on the devils, we generally conduct thorough reconnaissance beforehand and set up snipers and grenade throwers as long-range firepower support. When attacking, we first sneak close to the Japanese army to about 100 meters, then use hand grenades to confuse the devils, and then take advantage of the chaos to launch an automatic firepower assault. The devil's commanding officers, machine guns, and grenade throwers are cleared by snipers or grenade throwers on the periphery. In close combat, the devil's Type 38 rifle is definitely no match for our submachine gun. Want to engage in bayonet fighting? Don't even think about it, devils who want to engage in bayonet fighting have only one outcome, and that is being beaten into a sieve."

  "Great! Good tactic! Brother, this strategy has made me look at your 'Divine Eagle' in a new light. Whoever still thinks you're just a militia guerrilla team is blind. Given time, the 'Divine Eagle' will be a force that makes the enemy tremble with fear. Old brother, I've taken note of your difficulties, but for now, I can't promise you anything. As for men, if there aren't many as you said, you can recruit here. The brothers have some who are willing to follow you to the front lines to fight the enemy. I won't say no. Just based on your skills today, I believe the brothers will be fine following you. Regarding the great kindness of your army towards our Taxation Police General Team's 700+ wounded soldiers, I remember it in my heart. By the way, is that car of yours also a gift from the enemy? The enemy won't often give you gasoline, so when you leave Wuhan, I'll get some gasoline for you. That's all I can promise, a few barrels of gasoline are within my power. It's getting late today, let's stop here. Where do you live? So I can find you later."

  Sun Liren's words moved Chen Jifang and Hu, Luo two people, who said that the Kuomintang had no good men, but now this one is. Chen Jifang quickly told Sun Liren his address and said some polite words, and both sides dispersed and left.

  As he was about to leave, Sun Liren solemnly bowed to the three of them. Chen Jifan was about to say a few polite words when Sun Liren interrupted him and said: "This bow is not for those few thousand dollars, but because my younger brother helped my brothers regain their military dignity. I, Sun Liren, am deeply grateful in my heart. Take care! Lieutenant Su, please see the three of them back to town on my behalf!"

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked towards his own car.

  "Brother, please wait!" Chen Jifan took out the 92-style handgun he had brought from the 21st century from his waist and handed it over with both hands. "Brother, on our first meeting, I have nothing of value to give you, only this gun is my personal belonging, I'll give it to you as a keepsake."

  Sun Liren was about to decline, but as soon as he saw the gun, he changed his mind. What a great gun! As for handguns, he had also seen some of the world's best, whether it was the British Ruger or the Belgian Browning or Colt, none could compare to this gun in front of him. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to accept the gift. "Thank you, little brother," he said. "This is a great gun, I will definitely treasure it. Since you've come all this way, it's only polite that I return the favor. In a few days, I'll give you a surprise."

  "In a few days I'll send the bullets over, but this gun I hope brother will carry with him at all times. If the Japanese find out it won't be good." Chen Jifan cautioned finally.

  "Don't worry, even if the chairman comes, don't think about taking it away from me." After finishing speaking, he turned around and got on the car.