Chapter Twelve: The Devils Have Arrived

  Time flew to 1938, Chen Jifan and the other six people had been in this era for almost a month. In more than a month, everyone didn't have a moment of rest. Fighting devils, grabbing training, and doing food, each person was like a wound-up clock, constantly running.

  The militia training in Xiao Wangzhuang has gradually shown results, and the troops on the mountain have undergone a transformation. Since the original troops were the elite of the Nationalist Party's Central Army, they had a good foundation. After just one month of intensive training, the troops showed significant improvements in physical fitness and combat tactics. Chen Jifan formulated the training plan according to the 21st-century special forces' training standards, and the instructors were all top-notch, so the troops grew rapidly.

  However, the problem of ammunition and logistical supplies that had always plagued the troops was a heart disease for Chen Jifang, Zhong Dingcheng and others. In order to train the shooting skills of the troops, a large amount of ammunition was consumed. The original National Army soldiers in the team were so painful that they knew that even in the Central Army, they had never been so extravagant in training.

  Zhong Dingcheng doesn't care about that, marksmanship is the most basic thing. If you can't even hit your target when fighting, what's the use of having a lot of bullets? Moreover, if you can't shoot accurately, it will not only waste bullets but also affect the combat action of the troops. Bullets can be taken from the Japanese, but once people are gone, the loss is great.

  The captured Type 38 Arisaka rifle is indeed a good gun for this era, with a long sighting baseline and stable trajectory, making it very suitable for training marksmanship. The only drawback is that the bullet has too strong penetration power, and the killing power is not great. However, this is not difficult to solve, just need to make some modifications to the bullet to disrupt its balance.

  "Shenying" was training desperately, while the devils in Chuzhou were not idle either. The death of Takahashi Ryozo, a Japanese lieutenant colonel, shocked the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Army. The headquarters ordered the intelligence department to quickly launch an investigation on one hand and strictly ordered the successor to expand the search scope in Chuzhou area on the other hand, taking measures to strengthen the security of the area, so as not to affect the next combat action of the Imperial Japanese Army.

  The succeeding commander, Lieutenant Commander ōshima Hidetaka, dispatched troops to the surrounding areas of Chuzhou for two weeks in a row, but not a single clue was found, and many so-called "suspects" were caught. ōshima reviewed the records of the recent period of the Chuzhou area where the Imperial Army encountered ambushes, and found that each time the Imperial Army encountered an ambush, it was related to an armed group called the "Shenying Anti-Japanese Special Operations Team". From the records, it can be seen that this civilian armed force's combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated. A crack Imperial Army company was annihilated, and even a regiment of the Chinese government army was no match for them. In other words, the combat effectiveness of this Shenying Chinese armed force is absolutely not to be underestimated! Thinking of this, Lieutenant Commander ōshima's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

  However, judging from the location where the Imperial Army was ambushed, it should be possible to roughly estimate the position of this armed force, which is in the northwest of Chuzhou, yes, in the northwest!

  In order to further meet the needs of combat, the Huazhong Detachment Command dispatched another battalion and brought six Type 92 infantry guns. Now, General Oshima has four battalions at his disposal. He decided to personally lead two battalions to conduct a thorough pacification campaign in the northwest of Chuzhou.

  The movements of the Japanese devils in Xuchang County have attracted the attention of the "Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Propaganda Team". Dr. Wu Qing was the first to know the news, because many Japanese soldiers came to the hospital, and he could learn some information from their conversations. After sending out the intelligence, he also suggested to his superiors that the news of the Japanese devils' deployment be quickly spread among the people, so that they can have time to hide. In fact, Dr. Wu Qing had another idea in mind, which was to let the "Divine Eagle Anti-Japanese Special Forces" know about this news, because the power of the "Anti-Japanese Propaganda Team" alone could not stop the Japanese devils.

  The massacre of the Japanese army in Wuyi Town had long been spread throughout Chuzhou and surrounding areas, so when the news of the devils' dispatch was spread, some old people along the way began to flee in all directions.

  The news quickly spread to Xiaowang Village.

  This is Wang Jicai enthusiastically watching the militia training at the militia training ground. The third stage of militia training is to select militiamen who can go to the battlefield, with a quota of 90 people. According to Chen Jifan's instructions before he left, in addition to 80 infantrymen, ten more people are needed to learn how to operate grenade launchers. What Wang Jicai saw was the selected team after the selection.

  Just as Wang Jicai was watching with rapt attention, a shout came from afar - it was the housekeeper Wang Fu: "Master, something's gone terribly wrong!"

  "What's the hurry? Ah, speak slowly, the sky won't fall." Wang Jicai looked at the panting butler in front of him with some impatience. With more than 200 militiamen in the village during this period, he felt confident and didn't think anything was worth getting excited about.

  "Master, it's terrible! The devils, the devils are coming!" Wang Fu panted.

  "What? What did you say? The devils are coming, when? Who told you?" This news was like a thunderclap on a clear day, making Wang Jicai's heart panic-stricken, and his voice rose by eight degrees.

  Wang Jicai's voice was loud, and the words "The devils are coming" were transmitted to the ears of many militia soldiers on the training ground without any reservation. For a moment, everyone stopped moving and looked over at Wang Jicai.

  The two battalion commanders in charge of militia training, Hu Yunfeng and Zhao Jun, also sensed that something was wrong, letting the troops rest on the spot and rushing to Wang Jicai's side to ask what was going on.

  Wang Jicai tried to remain calm and then said to Hu and Zhao: "Two officials, just now the housekeeper Wang Fu came over and said that the devils have arrived, I was startled and a bit flustered, please forgive me. Wang Fu, tell the two officials about the situation in detail."

  Wang Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's like this, today I was preparing to go into town to buy some things, but halfway there, I saw many people fleeing north with their families. I asked around and found out that everyone had heard that the devils were coming to attack, so they all ran away to escape disaster. I asked for more specific information, but no one could answer me clearly, only saying that most of the nearby villages had fled, and that the devils killed people without blinking an eye. I thought this situation was very important, so I rushed back to report it."

  Hu and Zhao were shocked when they heard Wang Fu's situation, but the two didn't show it. Hu Yunfeng glanced at Zhao Jun and said to Wang Fu: "Thank you, the information you provided is very important, you've worked hard too, go take a rest first." After finishing, he bowed to Wang Fu.

  After Wang Fu left, Hu Yunfeng and Zhao Jun ordered the troops to gather and wait for orders, then asked Wang Jicai to discuss countermeasures together.

  "Hu Yunfeng said to Wang Jicai: 'Mr. Wang, please take charge of organizing the villagers to retreat to the nearby mountains first. Take away as much grain as possible, and bury what can't be taken away. Remember to hurry up. Zhao Lianzhang will lead a group of militiamen to set out immediately to scout out the enemy's movements. The rest of the militiamen are all under your command, Mr. Wang. I'll rush to the mountains to report to Captain Chen.'"

  "Hu Lianchang, don't worry, I'll lead the militia to ensure our fellow villagers are safely settled. However, we still need to leave some food for you, how can you fight the devils on an empty stomach?" Wang Jicai said.

  Actually, at this critical moment, Hu Yunfeng didn't want to leave either, but Captain Chen had already instructed that for secrecy, outsiders were generally not allowed on the mountain, so he could only run an errand himself.

  Reconnaissance was Zhao Jun's specialty, and Hu Yunfeng felt somewhat inferior in this regard. As for the 90 militiamen selected, Zhao Jun took only 20 of them to carry out reconnaissance tasks, dividing them into two small groups. The rest built fortifications in the main areas of the village as required during training.

  "The Divine Eagle" was actually only a dozen or so miles from Xiaowang Village, but this area had high mountains and dense forests, making it difficult for ordinary people to find. Hu Yunfeng arrived when the mountain was having lunch.

  After Hu Yunfeng roughly explained the situation, Chen Jifan said: "It turns out that the devils are rushing towards us. In the past two days, Gao Huanjie has been intercepting the devil's telegrams and found them to be very frequent. It is certain that the devils will take action, but unfortunately, we cannot decipher it for the time being. The news you brought should be proof."

  Zhong Dingcheng said: "Captain Chen, Zhao Jun's men are few in number and are new recruits. We must take action quickly."

  "Alright, assemble everyone!" Chen Jifan gave the order decisively. "Old Zhong, call up Deng Fangshun and a few others to immediately clear out the weapons and ammunition. This is going to be a fierce battle, we need to bring as many combat supplies as possible."

  "Yes!" Zhong Dingcheng bowed and turned around to leave the house.

  "Yunfeng, we can't delay, we must hurry to Xiao Wang Zhuang as soon as possible. You don't need to rest," Chen Jifan said to Hu Yunfeng.

  "Yes!"

  Chen Jifang and others came out of the house, the troops had already gathered. After nearly a month of devil training on the mountain, all soldiers' faces showed a strong sense of confidence and honor, especially those who were originally from the Central Army, swept away the gloom of their initial defeat, replaced by a strong desire to fight.

  When Chen Jifan walked to the front of the team, Luo Yuguang quickly ran up and saluted him: "Report to Captain, 40 members of the 'Divine Eagle' anti-Japanese special operations team have arrived, with 39 people actually present (missing Zhao Jun), please instruct!"

  "Halt!"

  "Comrades, comrades of the 'Divine Eagle' anti-Japanese special operations team, I have just received intelligence that the devils stationed in Chuzhou are about to launch a military operation. Judging from the direction of their deployment, it is clear they are heading straight for us. We still do not know the enemy's troop strength, firepower configuration, and route of march. Captain Zhao Jun has already led the militia from Xiao Wang Zhuang to conduct reconnaissance. The situation is urgent, I order that everyone bring five days' worth of rations and ammunition, and we will set out in one hour, with our target being Xiao Wang Zhuang."

  The "Divine Eagle" anti-Japanese special operations team has replaced all their rifles with Type 38s, as the Type 38 rifle has high accuracy and reliability, and there are sufficient bullets. All the bullets for the two Czech-style light machine guns have been kept, each of the four MP18 submachine guns still has over 80 rounds of ammunition, five grenade launchers, 150 grenades, and a total of 330 hand grenades. The wooden-handled grenades and excess bullets were all taken down the mountain to equip the militia. The remaining goods, medicines, and other supplies were all hidden away. As for the radio transmitter, it was naturally taken with them. This frequency-hopping encrypted radio transmitter from the future not only has superior performance but is also easy to carry.

  Compared to the Japanese army, "Divine Eagle" is not a significant force due to its small numbers. However, the firepower density of each "Divine Eagle" soldier was among the top in the Chinese army at that time, and was not inferior to the Japanese army. Moreover, every member had undergone training from the 21st-century People's Liberation Army special forces. Excluding factors such as aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery, the combat effectiveness of the 39 "Divine Eagle" soldiers can be said to have far surpassed that of a Japanese field infantry squad.

  The troops were soon equipped and lined up towards Xiao Wangzhuang.

  He Chunxiang was the only woman in the team, but she had multiple roles. At the base, she mainly followed Gao Huanjie to learn how to send and receive reports. Zhong Dingcheng also taught her some simple wound dressing and battlefield first aid knowledge. In addition, she took on the task of cooking for the troops. Although she was busy, He Chunxiang seemed not to feel tired, and everyone in the team praised her highly. Actually, when He Chunxiang first arrived, she didn't have much confidence. It takes a lot of courage for a woman to be with a group of men in this era. Later, after getting along for a long time, everyone treated her well, especially her master Gao Longguan, who gave her his pistol and taught her how to shoot. Originally, she didn't need to participate in training, but she strongly requested to join, so Zhong Dingcheng had to let Gao Huanjie create a special training plan for her and be responsible for her training.

  However, what was revealed in He Chunxiang's eyes as she walked on the road was not excitement, but more hatred.