bookrebus Chapter 22 War is Imminent
Chapter 22 War is Imminent
The sun set, and darkness fell. Not far from Wolong Mountain, a long red dragon was moving along the mountain path.
Tang Weiguo arrived at the camp gate early to welcome Tang Dazhuang and his party.
"Commander, Dazhuang, we're almost there. Look at that long line in the distance, that's Tang Dazhuang and his men carrying torches as they march forward," Tang Xiaohu said.
"Mm," Tang Weiguo replied.
Before long, Tang Dazhuang and Niu Dali arrived at the camp gate with their soldiers. When they saw Tang Weiguo standing at the gate, they hurriedly ran over.
"Commander, the mission has been successfully completed."
"Good, I know about your results. Very good, exceeding my expectations." Tang Weiguo said with a satisfied expression.
"Thank you for your trust in our recruit camp, Commander."
"Get the wounded soldiers to the hospital first. Dean Chu is waiting there," Tang Weiguo said with concern.
"Yes, sir. Company Commander, quickly send the seriously wounded to the hospital, and while you're at it, please give my regards to Dean Chu." Tang Dazhuang turned to the company commander beside him and said.
"Yes, Battalion Commander." After answering the order, the company commander quickly had his soldiers carry it and carefully run towards the camp hospital.
"Xiao Hu, the remaining task of guarding the prisoners is your battalion. Let the soldiers in the recruit camp go and have a good meal first," Tang Weiguo continued.
"Alright, leave it to me. Dazhuang, you take the soldiers from the recruit camp to eat. The regimental commander specially ordered the kitchen to slaughter a few extra pigs. You're in for a treat tonight," Tang Xiaohu said with a smile.
"Soldiers, the regimental commander has prepared a victory celebration banquet for me. Aren't you all happy?" Tang Dazhuang turned around and shouted to the people behind him.
"Long live the commander!" a soldier shouted, and everyone joined in, creating a truly magnificent sight.
Tang Weiguo pressed his hand down, signaling everyone to be quiet.
"You're the ones who deserve to be called 'Long Live the Emperor.' Come on, let's eat." Tang Weiguo pulled Tang Dazhuang and Niu Dali toward the military canteen.
"Commander, I've had the loot from those bandits escorted to the regimental headquarters first," Niu Dali said as he walked alongside Tang Weiguo.
“Very good. We’ll arrange for someone to take inventory, register it, and put it into the treasury to cover our military expenses,” Tang Weiguo replied.
"It's the regimental commander."
After receiving the order, Tang Xiaohu led the soldiers of the First Battalion to take over the captured bandits from the recruit camp.
Regarding how to deal with this group of bandits, Tang Weiguo instructed Tang Xiaohu to follow the same method as before. Those bandits who were extremely vicious should be executed immediately; those with minor offenses should be sentenced to labor reform; those with clean records who wished to stay could be enlisted in the army, and those who did not should be given travel expenses to go home.
Meanwhile, Bi Shoucai was directing the soldiers of the replenishment battalion to move the spoils of war to the warehouse. Seeing so much loot seized from the bandits, Bi Shoucai was overjoyed. He was already considering whether the regimental commander should inquire further about the bandits' whereabouts and then continue the bandit suppression campaign.
After arranging things for Tang Dazhuang and his group, Tang Weiguo went to the hospital to check on the wounded soldiers. At that moment, Chu Yu and Chu Xin were busy performing surgery. Tang Weiguo saw a nurse at the door and went over to inquire about the situation.
"How are things? The soldiers?"
"Ah, Commander, reporting to the Commander, these soldiers are not in mortal danger. Dean Chu is removing the bullets from them," the nurse at the door said, sounding slightly nervous.
"Okay, that's good." Tang Weiguo felt relieved after hearing the nurse say that.
.....
Since the bandit suppression operation at Black Fox Stronghold, Tang Weiguo's militia has once again been engaged in intensive training.
Among the captured bandits, the chief Han San and his cronies committed heinous crimes and were executed on the spot. Some who were guilty but not serious were all assigned to labor reform. Most of the remaining 300-plus people with relatively clean backgrounds chose to stay and join the militia, while the rest took their travel expenses and went home.
Tang Weiguo reorganized the bandits and soldiers of the replenishment battalion, forming the First and Second Replenishment Battalions. All the officers in the newly formed replenishment battalions were transferred from the Second Battalion, which was originally the recruit battalion.
Soldiers with high combat effectiveness and good quality from the supplementary battalion were added to the first and second battalions.
.....
In a mountain village in Yan'an.
"Sir, there's something I'm not sure if I should say," said a middle-aged man wearing glasses.
"Revolutionary fighters, speak your minds. We must fully embody the spirit of democracy," the leader said.
"Do you remember the little girl who passed on the Flying Thunder Cannon to us last time?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Of course I remember. It really helped us a lot. You know, we are severely lacking in weapons and equipment, especially heavy weapons. With this cannon, we can greatly improve the firepower of our troops and reduce casualties. It is a huge contribution to our troops," the commander said.
“Yes, this young girl wrote again saying that Tang Weiguo, the leader of her militia, asked her to help recruit two radio operators, and she hopes the organization can help find them,” the middle-aged man said.
“We have to help with this. The regimental commander’s name is Tang Weiguo, right? I suspect that he actually knew the girl’s identity all along and deliberately used her to pass on this weapon design to us,” the commander said.
“Yes, that’s what we were discussing too. The girl got it too easily. I wonder what Tang Weiguo is thinking?” the middle-aged man said with a puzzled look.
"Anyone who helps us is our friend. It seems that Tang Weiguo has a good impression of our organization. How is the intelligence investigation on him going?" the leader asked.
"I have a clean background. I went to school in Beiping and was exposed to ideas about resisting Japan and saving the country. After returning home, I formed my own militia," the middle-aged man replied.
"As long as they're not from the Nationalist government, we'll try our best to win them over. Here's what we'll do: since a group of students have joined us this time, pick a few clever ones to support Tang Weiguo. Since he's already provided us with such good weapons as the Flying Thunder Cannon, we can't be stingy. You'll handle this personally," the commander ordered.
"Yes."
A week later, Tang Weiguo and Chu Yu, the two sisters, were waiting for someone at the Tang family's gate. A few days earlier, Chu Yu had received a reply from the organization saying that three students in electronic communications—two girls and one boy—had come looking for her. Chu Yu shared this good news with Tang Weiguo. Upon hearing this, Tang Weiguo put aside his work and went down the mountain with Chu Yu to greet them.
These days, talent is incredibly precious.
Before long, a carriage slowly walked from the village entrance and stopped at the Tang residence. Then, three people got off the carriage.
"You were introduced by Uncle Li, right?" Chu Yu asked.
"You must be Chu Yu. We were all introduced by Uncle Li. Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Qin, the girl next to me is Wang Xue, and this boy is Ma Dong," Li Qin, who was leading the group, introduced.
"Welcome. This gentleman next to you is Commander Tang," Chu Yu introduced.
"Welcome everyone to join the militia. I, Tang Weiguo, am deeply honored," Tang Weiguo said happily.
“We are honored to have you join our group,” Li Qin replied.
With the addition of Li Qin and others, the militia finally had its own communications center and could finally achieve long-distance communication.
It was the end of June in 1937. Tang Weiguo's expression grew increasingly serious, and a chilling atmosphere filled the militia camp. Knowing the history of later generations, Tang Weiguo knew that the Japanese were about to make their move.