Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 93 Zhang Haoshan Joins the Group

"We're almost there." Tang Weiguo led Zhang Haoshan into the heavily guarded military camp.

When Zhang Haoshan arrived at the military base, the first thing that caught his eye was the scene of militia soldiers training.

Nine teams were densely packed together on the not-so-spacious training field.

These soldiers are currently engaged in intense individual combat training on the training ground, with shouts of battle ringing out continuously.

Zhang Haoshan observed that the troops on the training ground were well-equipped, with all of them armed with Japanese Type 38 rifles and also equipped with a full range of light and heavy machine guns.

Looking at the soldiers' fierce eyes and their sweat-drenched training on the training field, Zhang Haoshan quietly judged that this was an elite force among elites.

Zhang Haoshan thought to himself that his former regiment of Sichuan soldiers would definitely not last half a day under their attack. The combat power of this unit was comparable to that of a Japanese battalion.

"Commander, this is an elite force, the best-spirited team I've ever seen. Moreover, their weaponry and equipment are top-notch; even the elite main force regiments of the Central Army can't compare to you," Zhang Haoshan said.

"How can our rural militia compare to the elite main force regiments of the Central Army? Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang is too kind," Tang Weiguo said modestly.

"Commander, I've seen plenty of Central Army soldiers, but they lack that indomitable spirit. I guarantee that the elite regiments of the Central Army are no match for you. If the Central Army were like you, how could we not drive away the Japanese?"

"The Central Army's elite troops are nothing to me, nothing to mention," Tang Weiguo said with a smile.

Seeing Tang Weiguo's humility, Zhang Haoshan felt even more at ease. As the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. Zhang Haoshan was worried that Tang Weiguo, emboldened by this victory, might develop a contempt for the Japanese, which could easily lead to serious trouble. On the way here, Zhang Haoshan had prepared a whole host of arguments, but it seemed he wouldn't need them now.

Zhang Haoshan then surveyed the troops training in front of him, secretly estimating the number of people in one of the companies. It was less than 200 people, and the total number of people in the nine companies was about 1800.

The militia's numbers were lower than Zhang Haoshan had expected; after all, such a small force couldn't have attacked a Japanese military train. So Zhang Haoshan asked:

"Commander, is this all the troops in our militia?"

"Not entirely. These are the main forces of our militia. After the last battle with the Japanese, the main forces suffered more than half their losses. Now I have reorganized them into a battalion. There are also three other battalions that have only one company each, which are on missions elsewhere," Tang Weiguo replied.

Through Tang Weiguo's answer, Zhang Haoshan sensed the difficulty of the battle at that time. The troops suffered more than half casualties, and an ordinary army would have been defeated directly. Zhang Haoshan couldn't help but feel more respect for the young Tang Weiguo.

"Let's go to the regimental headquarters." Tang Weiguo led Zhang Haoshan and his group to the regimental headquarters.

"Communications officer, notify all military commanders to attend a meeting at the regimental headquarters at 7 p.m. tonight. Also, have Bi Shoucai from the logistics department come over now," Tang Weiguo said to the communications officer.

"Yes, Commander." The communications officer acknowledged the order and ran off.

"Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, you guys have been traveling a lot lately. You're resting at the regimental headquarters now. I'll have someone go to the logistics department to arrange accommodations for you. Once you're settled in, this will be where you live and fight from now on."

"Commander, as soon as I arrived at the front line, I was filled with energy and couldn't wait to fight those brats." Zhang Haoshan said, rubbing his fists.

"Deputy Commander Zhang, don't worry. There will be many battles ahead, so be prepared for a long-term struggle," Tang Weiguo said earnestly.

"I only regret that I couldn't drive the Japanese out of China sooner," Zhang Haoshan said bitterly.

"Deputy Commander Zhang, rest assured that the victory in the fight against the invaders will ultimately belong to us. I firmly believe that." Tang Weiguo's words were full of confidence in the future victory.

While they were talking, Bi Shoucai came in from outside.

"Commander, what mission do you need me for?" After asking, Bi Shoucai curiously looked at the several strangers in Nationalist military uniforms standing in the room.

"These are the commanders who have joined our regiment, and this gentleman will be Zhang Haoshan, the deputy commander of our militia," Tang Weiguo said.

"Ah, deputy commander? Commander, what's going on?" Bi Shoucai asked in surprise.

"I'll discuss the specifics at the meeting tonight. You should first arrange accommodations for Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang and a few others, and let them familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment."

"Yes, Captain."

"Deputy Commander Zhang, you should settle in with Bi Shoucai for now, and come to the regimental headquarters for a meeting tonight," Tang Weiguo said.

"Yes, Commander." Zhang Haoshan said and followed Bi Shoucai out.

As soon as he stepped outside, Bi Shouchai, unable to contain his curiosity, asked:

"Deputy Commander Zhang, where are you all from?"

"Director Bi, we are from the Second War Zone. We are here on orders from the Second War Zone Command to join the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia," Zhang Haoshan said cautiously to Bi Shoucai. After all, he was a high-ranking official from outside the region, and his influence here might not be as great.

When Bi Shouchai heard Zhang Haoshan call him "Director Bi," he was overjoyed, practically beaming with happiness. Normally on the mountain, everyone else would call him "Old Bi" all the time. Didn't Old Bi have any pride?

"Anti-Japanese Independent Militia?" Bi Shoucai asked again, puzzled.

"According to the order of the war zone command, the militia was incorporated into the regular army and placed under the unified command of the Second War Zone. The commander of the Second War Zone personally named you the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia. There are very few units that enjoy this treatment," Zhang Haoshan explained.

"What, what, what? We've become a regular army? This is too, too much." Bi Shoucai was speechless.

"So this is what the commander wanted to talk about in the meeting tonight. It is indeed a big deal for the militia."

"Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, does this mean we'll all have military ranks from now on?" Bi Shoucai asked.

“Of course, our regimental commander has been appointed as a colonel. Our regimental commander is so young to have been awarded the rank of colonel. You can’t find many like him in all of China,” Zhang Haoshan said.

"Of course, there's no one as outstanding as our regimental commander before or since. Deputy Regimental Commander Zhang, you should follow him and do your best, you won't go wrong," Bi Shoucai said to Zhang Haoshan with the air of someone who had been through it all.

"I will heed Director Bi's teachings." Zhang Haoshan secretly flattered Bi Shoucai, thinking that these days, the least desirable people are those in logistics.

"Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, I love hearing you say that. I'll definitely help you in any way I can in the future." Bi Shoucai felt lightheaded after hearing Zhang Haoshan's words.

Because Zhang Haoshan respected him so much, Bi Shoucai chose a good place for Zhang Haoshan and his party to stay and prepared all their daily necessities.

Of course, everything was within Bi Shoucai's authority. He wouldn't dare to do anything beyond that authority, since he knew perfectly well who was in charge of the militia.

After Bi Shoucai left, Zhang Haoshan and the others began to tidy up the room, since this would be their living place from now on.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was dark. The officers at all levels began to walk toward the regimental headquarters.