Chapter 65: Frankness

  The two people who came in were not unfamiliar to Tang Qiuli. They were Li Honggang and Zhu Jing, whom Qiu Sheng had specifically mentioned.

  Since Tang Qiuli mentioned them at the meeting, Tang Qiuli has been paying attention to their behavior and actions, which further solidified his judgment that these people are absolutely **members**, and they have already taken root in the troops. After all, both sides have the same goal, and a secret branch has also been established.

  At the same time, Tang Qiuli also noticed that Li Honggang and Zhu Jing always intentionally or unintentionally approached him, so he deliberately took a not-too-far-not-too-near attitude, just like treating an ordinary soldier in the army.

  Today, these two people suddenly came to the door, what intention do they have? Do they want to lay their cards on the table? It's worth noting that the identities of these two people are just ordinary soldiers in their own troops, Li Honggang is in the first battalion and Zhu Jing is in the hospital. If we talk about identity and rank, it's obvious that there are several levels of difference! Today, they suddenly came to the highest commander of the troops, as the saying goes, "No one visits the Temple of Three Treasures without a reason".

  Tang Qiuli politely asked the two to sit down and poured them each a glass of water. He carefully sized up the pair: Li Hong was around 27 or 28 years old, with an average build and a robust physique, but his appearance seemed somewhat worn out, with a pair of eyes shining with wisdom. Tang Qiuli sensed a military air about him. Zhu Jing was 24 or 25 years old, with short hair, a lovely face, and a slender figure, giving off an impression of being well-educated and refined.

  Their eyes intertwined, and Tang Qiuli saw a kind of purity and calmness in their gaze, like the warmth of spring breeze. Only people with no private thoughts in their hearts can have such a gaze. From their gazes, Tang Qiuli felt that these were some trustworthy people.

  Actually, Li Honggang and Zhu Jing had been brewing this idea for several days. Since they were rescued from the Three Forks River Devil's Prison, they have been attracted to this troop. As party members, they came to Northeast China under the organization's orders, hoping to establish a party-led armed force here. They had contacted many people but were disappointed every time. Later, due to betrayal, their organization suffered severe damage, and they were captured one after another, then sent to Three Forks River Devil's Prison.

  After arriving at the base, they were amazed by the climate conditions and geographical environment here, which they had never seen before. As for the atmosphere of the troops, it made them feel like they were back in the Red Army.

  Li Honggang was indeed a commander, who had served as a regimental commander in the Red Army and had experienced countless battles big and small, and was a commander with rich combat experience. Because his hometown is Haicheng, Liaoning, he was sent back here.

  Zhu Jing's hometown is in Beiping, and Wang Xu is a fellow villager. He graduated from Yenching University and is a genuine university student. He was one of the organizers of the "December 9th" student movement and has strong organizational skills.

  After arriving at the base, they found that the ideological education method of this troop was exactly the same as that of the Red Army, especially the "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention". The combat goal of the troops was very clear, which was to strike against the aggressors and eliminate the Japanese devils. They felt like discovering a treasure, such a troop would be a huge loss if not controlled by the party.

  The two of them had also intentionally approached Tang Qiuli, but this commander was as if he had no feeling at all, making the two of them cry and laugh. Moreover, this 16-year-old big kid gave them a feeling of dealing with a mature and sophisticated person in their thirties or forties. How did this young commander manage to command these brave and skilled soldiers from different places and factions like an extension of his arm? Tang Qiuli was shrouded in mystery and unpredictability in their eyes.

  After a secret branch meeting and study, it was decided to have direct contact with Tang Qiu, as the two of them were the secretary and deputy secretary of the branch, so they would be responsible for this matter.

  Actually, these party members were also very curious about Tang Qiuli. At the age of 16, he was just a big kid in an ordinary family, but now, a troop of over 3,000 people was being managed by him in an orderly manner, with strong combat effectiveness. Those who were much older than him willingly accepted his leadership, especially after the battle at Eagle's Mouth Ridge, where 300 men annihilated over 2,000 devils with minimal casualties. This kind of charisma and command ability was not something ordinary people possessed. Moreover, the equipment of this troop made them stare in amazement - it was too abnormal. Such equipment did not exist throughout the entire Red Army. Among these eighteen members, fifteen had served as commanders at various levels in the Red Army, and they were particularly sensitive to equipment. In battle, the bravery of soldiers was certainly a major factor, but excellent equipment played an irreplaceable role.

  So, these Red Army commanders who had crawled and rolled on the battlefield, after arriving at the Blood Hand Corps, found that the composition of the soldiers, the spiritual appearance of the troops, the training methods, and the political ideological work were all so familiar that they felt as if they had returned home, and no longer wanted to leave.

  Although it is unclear what the political inclination of this young commander is, from the appearance of the entire army, they are much better than those bearded men who have been in contact with them, the remnants of the Northeast Army. From their resolute fight against Japanese invaders, their goal is consistent with ours.

  Today, the two of them are going to have a thorough and in-depth conversation with Tang Qiu, making their identities clear. Even if the commander-in-chief does not accept their proposal, there will be no danger.

  Both sides soon touched on the topic, Tang Qiuli listened to Li Honggang's introduction and was overjoyed. The troops were in urgent need of military cadres, these Red Army commanders, each one is a good hand at leading soldiers and fighting battles, unexpectedly they took down Sanhekou and picked up these treasures.

  Li Honggang is absolutely a person who can take on heavy responsibilities, Zhu Jing is a good hand at political work, and Qiu Sheng's place is just short of such talents. The goals of both sides are consistent, and the conversation went very smoothly. When it came to the "Three Major Disciplines and Seven Points for Attention" implemented by the troops, Zhu Jing curiously asked: "Commander, why don't we have a provision against mistreating prisoners? If we had that, we would be just like the Red Army!"

  Tang Qiuli smiled slightly and told them, "The Blood Hand Gang doesn't take prisoners. You'll understand in the battles to come. I hope there won't be any disagreements then." Upon hearing this, the two were taken aback, their eyes flashing with puzzled glances.

  After sending them away, Tang Qiuli had already made arrangements in his heart. Li Honggang was a suitable candidate for the position of squadron leader, and other Red Army cadres could also take on leadership positions at all levels. However, they couldn't be assigned to formal positions yet, and needed to be tested and tempered for a period of time. Especially with Liu Tienan and Feng Jiwu from the old Northeastern Army, it would take even more time to temper them, after all, they were people from two different camps, especially enemy camps.

  It's unknown if everyone does this, or if it's just asking for trouble, but anyway, these people were assigned as deputies to the commanders at all levels. Zhu Jing arranged for Qiu Sheng Ge to be his deputy.

  For a period of time, the troops had no combat missions, and every day was intense military training, completely in accordance with Tang Qiuli's training outline. The old team members were used to such training methods, but Li Honggang and others felt extremely surprised. Such training methods and approaches were unheard of, with accurate angles and fresh perspectives. After undergoing such training, the soldiers' military quality improved significantly, which made them very admiring of Tang Qiuli.

  There were also things that made them dissatisfied, that is, during the shooting training of the troops, they had to use live ammunition, which made them very unaccustomed to it, having been used to bitter days in the Red Army. Every day, watching bullets and hand grenades being fired out like they were worthless or free, their hearts ached. The commander was truly wasteful, if this were in the Red Army, just the training consumption of ammunition would be enough for several battles. You know, in the hands of Red Army soldiers, having ten rounds was already incredibly exciting, let alone here, where every soldier fired out over a hundred rounds a day, it was too heart-wrenching.

  And also the food for the troops, isn't the standard too high? In the morning there's soy milk, rice porridge, eggs, and steamed buns and bread are made with great effort. Three meals a day, every meal has fish and meat, this won't do, austerity and simplicity can't be seen here at all! The Nationalist Party's army wasn't like this either! This is about enjoying life, the commander-in-chief also doesn't know how to live a simple life.

  For these two points, Li Honggang specially found Tang Qiuli and expressed his objections. Tang Qiuli simply told him that a soldier who has not experienced live ammunition firing and has not heard the real gunshot is not a qualified soldier. A godly shooter is one who knows how to shoot through practice. As for the food issue, it's even simpler: high-intensity training requires high-standard food; if the soldiers' physical strength can't keep up, it will affect the training effect. After listening, Li Honggang thought carefully and felt that Tang Qiuli was right, so he didn't mention it again. In fact, these Red Army cadres were used to living a hard life and weren't accustomed to being pampered.

  This is all thanks to the efforts of Zhang, the head of the logistics department. This little old man somehow managed to get a large group of chickens, ducks, geese and whatnot, and those fat pigs ran around in circles. The base's climate was also good, so these animals grew extremely fast. He also led the logistics department to open up 300 mu of wasteland by the lake, planting crops and vegetables. They even managed to get a lot of rice and flour from the little devils, so it would be strange if the troops' food wasn't good!

  It just so happened that among this batch of Red Army cadres, there was one who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy's artillery department, named Zheng Yong, who was proficient in various artillery and had both practical experience and theoretical knowledge. As a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, he was a golden signboard, and Tang Qiuli did not expect that there would be a Whampoa student under his command. In the armies of the two parties, the KMT and the CPC, most high-ranking generals came from Whampoa.

  Tang Qiuli was overjoyed when he learned of this, and immediately selected people from various brigades to establish the Anti-Japanese Blood Hand Artillery Battalion, with Zheng Yong as its commander and chief instructor.

  He knew the power of artillery on the battlefield, or else why would he be called the God of War! It seems that we still need to get more cannons, so that the little devils can see the strength of the Chinese army and taste the flavor of being bombed! He clearly told Zheng Yong not to be stingy with shells and must use live ammunition.

  During this time, the base had two things that made him even happier. One was that the base's hydroelectric generator officially started generating electricity. When he personally closed the switch, the entire base lit up, and the lights shone brightly, making the soldiers so happy they didn't want to sleep. At that time, who had ever seen this? It even caused a joke. A slightly older soldier who smoked tried to light his cigarette with the light bulb, but no matter how he tried, it wouldn't light. He thought the outside was a lampshade, and as a result, when he twisted it, the light went out, and it also scared him. Why did the light go out without even blowing on it? Where's the kerosene for the lamp?

  No wonder the warriors are happy, from now on the base bid farewell to the kerosene lamp and officially entered the electric age. The nose and face will no longer be smoked black, and the snow-white towels dare to be used!

  In addition, the ordnance factory has officially started production, and can reload ammunition. The development of high-explosive shells and bullets has made significant progress, and research on special firearms has also begun.

  The entire base is being gradually improved and steadily developed according to Tang Qiuli's plan. The training of the warriors is very obvious, and those dozen or so Red Army cadres, who have taken on various command positions, have burst forth with great enthusiasm and energy, working diligently and selflessly, taking care of the soldiers, leading by example, and bringing the troops to a high level of morale.

  Tang Qiuli's concerns about the isolation problem did not materialize, and commanders at all levels took their responsibilities seriously, which greatly reduced his burden and also gave him the opportunity to enjoy a romantic time with Xiaoling under the moonlight. The feelings between the two people deepened, and except for their busy work hours, they were almost inseparable, leaving behind shallow footprints, loving silhouettes, and sweet laughter in every corner of the base.

  One evening, after the warriors had rested, the two of them sneaked into the lake to swim. Xiaoling wore a swimsuit specially designed for her by Tang Qiuli, and in the warm, azure water, she looked like a beautiful mermaid, with a slender figure, curves exposed, making Tang Qiuli's eyes almost pop out.

  This girl, under the nourishment of love, is becoming more and more radiant. Originally, Xiaoling was already athletic and had a well-proportioned figure, especially after putting on this three-point swimsuit. To explain, at first, Xiaoling said she wouldn't wear it no matter what, but under Tang Qiuli's teasing, coaxing, and threatening, he pushed her out the door and got her to change into it. As soon as she did, that small waist, those proud ***, that round buttocks, snow-white skin, jet-black long hair, and sparkling beautiful eyes all left Tang Qiuli stunned, his soul lost. Without saying a word, he rubbed Xiaoling all over, making this girl's face flush red, her eyes welling up with tears. If not for fear of making too much noise and startling others, he would have taken advantage of her right there by the lake!

  However, this girl still insisted on the last line of defense, stubbornly thinking that only after getting married can she do so, making Tang Qiulian's heart like a cat scratching, every time needing great determination to control it. Isn't this girl torturing people?

  It can be said that this period of time is the most beautiful page in Tang Qiuli's memory, which he cannot forget for a lifetime. Later, when he was fighting in the south and north, whenever he had some free time, he would involuntarily recall this moment, with a slightly melancholic expression, a silly smile on his face, and tears welling up in his eyes. At this time, all the staff officers and guards around him knew that Commander Tang was reminiscing about that distant beauty, who was also his first love. Everyone quietly left, leaving Commander Tang a space to imagine and recall.

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