Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 51 Reactions from all parties

That noon, Tang Weiguo returned with his militia, laden with supplies. Zhao Zhu and others were already waiting for Tang Weiguo and his party at the entrance of the military camp. Meanwhile, the Chu sisters were still at the hospital treating the wounded soldiers who had just been transported from the front.

"Commander, you've worked hard. We've won another victory." Zhao Zhu said as soon as Tang Weiguo arrived.

“You who are at home are also working hard.”

"Commander, the food is ready. Let the soldiers have a good meal," Bi Shoucai said to Tang Weiguo.

"Okay, let's eat and chat."

Just as Tang Weiguo returned to his post, the weather cooperated, and it began to snow heavily, gradually concealing the traces of the militia's retreat.

.....

"Damn it, this snow!" Fujino Kiichi cursed as he tracked down the enemy.

"Commander Fujino, the snow is too heavy. Let's retreat first. The mountain road is steep and it's easy to encounter danger," Gou Dongxi advised from the side.

"Alright then, let's retreat first." Faced with the heavy snow falling from the sky, Fujino Kiichi could only succumb to the tyranny of nature.

"Alright then, let's retreat first." Looking at the heavy snow falling from the sky, Fujino Kiichi had no choice; the heavy snow was simply not suitable for the troops to march.

Upon returning to the county town, Commander Fujino immediately summoned Sakai Taiji, who was in charge of intelligence work, to question him.

"Sakai-kun, how did you do your intelligence work? According to your intelligence, there are no organized troops around the county town. Why were the garrison troops in Longting, Zhaojiahe, and Sanjiaji attacked by the Chinese army at the same time last night? Even the Ono Company, which was supporting the Longting stronghold, was completely wiped out."

"According to feedback from the puppet army's Gou Dongxi, the enemy has at least two regiments of troops. Your intelligence work has been severely negligent." If it weren't for Sakai Taiji having powerful connections, Fujino Kiichi would have slapped him across the face long ago.

“Commander Fujino, it was a mistake on our part. Please give me some time, and I will definitely find this team,” Sakai Taiji said to Commander Fujino.

"Then I'll wait for your good news, hmph!" Commander Fujino turned and left.

After Fujino Kiichi left, Sakai Taiji wondered to himself, "I clearly investigated before and there were no Chinese troops in the county, only the Tangjia Town militia."

After learning what a militia was, Sakai Taiji scoffed at the militia of Tangjia Town, calling them a rabble that wasn't even as good as bandits. Thus, Sakai Taiji didn't take this militia seriously at all.

At this moment, the Imperial Army's stronghold was attacked last night, and Sakai Taichi suddenly became suspicious of this militia. In order to dispel his suspicions, Sakai Taichi returned to his seat and made a phone call.

"Hehe, hehe, this is Sakai Taiji. I'm ordering Jia Chusheng from the Detective Team to investigate the Tangjia Town militia."

"Hay."

In a house in a village on the other side of the county town, Li Yunfei, the commander of an independent regiment of the Eighth Route Army, was sitting on a kang (a heated brick bed) listening to a report from his chief of staff, Zhang Hepeng.

"Commander, we just received news that the Japanese troops in Zhao Jiahe, Longting, and Sanjiaji were attacked by the enemy at the same time. A company of Japanese soldiers sent to support the county town was also wiped out. That old Japanese soldier Fujino was so angry that he led the main force of the county town to support them, but they found no trace of the enemy."

"Do you know who did it? This kind of strength must be at least the elite of the Nationalist government's Central Army. It couldn't have been the 68th Brigade that they were promoting before, could it?"

Li Yunfei was also surprised, as he had not received any notification from his superiors that a Nationalist army unit had been stationed there.

However, this unit is quite strong in combat. If it were my own independent regiment, it would be difficult to wipe out the Japanese reinforcement company.

"Commander, no. The 68th Brigade is currently stationed in the Zhongtiao Mountains area, so it's impossible for them to be here," Staff Officer Zhang denied directly.

"Who could it be? I haven't heard of any powerful forces in this county town, but there's a wealthy landlord in Tangjia Town who has raised a militia because of his considerable wealth," Chief of Staff Zhang added.

"Militia? What kind of army is that? All they know is how to oppress the people. If it weren't for the higher-ups' call for united front work, I would have already dealt with them long ago," Li Yunfei cursed.

"Commander, who do you think this mysterious unit is?" Staff Officer Zhang asked.

"By the way, you said the Japanese stronghold at Zhao Jiahe was also attacked, right? The First Battalion reported that they were planning to attack the Japanese stronghold at Zhao Jiahe to rescue the captured civilians. Ask them what's going on there. It's been so long, and that bastard hasn't even said a word. He needs to be taught a lesson." Li Yunfei said, pretending to be angry.

"Alright, Regiment Commander, our communication is difficult right now, and the troops are scattered. Plus, he went to the university a few days ago. Even if he wanted to notify us, he wouldn't be able to," Chief of Staff Zhang explained.

"Alright, alright, you play the good guy, I'll be the bad guy," Li Yunfei muttered.

“I’ll personally go and see how they’re doing lately. I’ll leave the regimental headquarters to you. By the way, when will Political Commissar Zhao, whom the higher-ups sent, arrive?” Li Yunfei asked again.

"According to the instructions from higher authorities, I will arrive the day after tomorrow."

"If I don't come back then, you'll have to take care of me."

"Yes, Captain."

.....

At the Second War Zone Command Headquarters.

"Reporting to Staff Officer Chu, according to intelligence, a Japanese stronghold and a Japanese company in a county near Taiyuan were attacked by an unidentified army, and all the Japanese soldiers were killed in action."

"Was it done by the Eighth Route Army?" Staff Officer Chu asked.

"Not sure yet."

"Order the intelligence department to immediately investigate the situation of this unit. The Japanese soldiers who can wipe out a company in enemy-occupied territory are no nobody."

"Yes, Staff Officer Chu."

Intelligence operations involving Tang Weiguo's militia unit began immediately.

......

After the militia rested for a few days, Tang Weiguo summoned all levels of military leaders to the regimental headquarters for a meeting, which was still scheduled for the evening.

At 7 p.m., leaders at all levels of the military camp arrived at the conference room on time.

"First, let me report on the results of this battle. Through the concerted efforts of all the soldiers in the regiment, we killed a total of 275 Japanese soldiers, captured 235 Type 38 rifles, 10 Type 96 light machine guns, 4 heavy machine guns, 4 radios, 15 grenade launchers, and a large amount of ammunition."

"Furthermore, we have achieved our expected results. In this operation, we attacked three Japanese strongholds, seized 20 horse-drawn carts of cement, and a large amount of other building materials, enough to support the base construction for a period of time." After Tang Weiguo finished speaking, enthusiastic applause rang out from the audience.

Tang Weiguo gestured for everyone to stop, then continued:

"Now that we've covered the spoils, let's talk about our casualties. In this battle, we suffered 107 deaths, 19 serious injuries, and over 200 minor injuries."

"Let's all observe a minute's silence for the fallen soldiers." After Tang Weiguo finished speaking, everyone stood up, took off their hats, and observed a moment of silence for their fallen comrades.

"The compensation for the fallen soldiers must be paid in full. Bi Youcai, you are personally in charge of this matter," Tang Weiguo said to Bi Youcai after the moment of silence.

"Yes, Commander, I guarantee to complete the mission." Bi Shoucai solemnly accepted the task.

"The remains of the fallen soldiers are still in their original state and will be buried in Wolong Mountain. Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the green hills. Although they have left us forever, they will always be with us. Each battalion commander will personally take charge of this matter."

"Yes, Captain."

"After this battle, I found that our regiment still had a gap in combat effectiveness compared to the Japanese front-line troops, so I decided to reform the regiment's organization."

"First, we will establish a mountain artillery battalion, composed of personnel from the flying thunder gun companies of each battalion. If we capture more mountain guns in the future, we will gradually replace the flying thunder guns."

During the last battle, Tang Weiguo discovered that the flying thunder artillery companies in each battalion had not played a significant role, so he decided to separate the flying thunder artillery companies.

"The First and Second Battalions were the main force, and the Japanese grenade launchers were assigned to the squad combat teams. The artillery company was reorganized into a gun and artillery company, equipped with mortars and four heavy machine guns in addition."

"The Third Battalion will retain its original weapon configuration, while the Fourth Battalion will be equipped with Japanese equipment. In addition, each battalion will be equipped with a radio operator, and Li Qin will be in charge of the radio operator."

"Tang Xiaohu, Tang Dazhuang, you two bear a heavy responsibility. I require each of your battalions to have the ability to go toe-to-toe with a company of Japanese soldiers. If you can't do that, I will replace you," Tang Weiguo said solemnly.

"Yes, Captain, I promise to complete the mission."

"The personnel shortage in each battalion will be drawn from the supplementary regiment."

"It's the regimental commander."

"Once the personnel and weapons are in place, train them well to improve their combat effectiveness."

"Yes, Captain."

At this moment, Tang Weiguo cannot afford to maintain too many troops, so he can only take the route of building an elite force.