Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 7 Captures and Military Expansion

A gentle mountain breeze caresses the spring leaves, and the setting sun paints the evening glow.

The soldiers, having finished a day's battle, began celebrating their victory in Qinglong Village. The logistics platoon was preparing the evening's celebratory feast, smoke rising from the cooking fires. Other soldiers were busily collecting spoils of war.

"Commander, Commander, we're rich! We're rich!" Tang Xiaohu ran over excitedly. After escorting the prisoners and grain up the mountain, Tang Xiaohu saw the Second Company searching for spoils in the bandits' den. Tang Xiaohu became interested and joined in.

Tang Xiaohu was an expert at finding things; he had always managed to find the things his father had hidden from him since he was a child.

Despite being exhausted after a long day, Tang Xiaohu excitedly joined the search team. With Tang Xiaohu's help, the soldiers found the bandits' hidden items much faster.

At this moment, Tang Weiguo, sitting in the Bandit and Hero Hall, was enjoying his leisure time with his legs crossed.

"What's wrong? Did you find the bandits' vault or something?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"Commander, you guessed right. We dug up the bandits' vault. And you know what? The bandits really knew how to hide it. If I hadn't personally gone to the scene, they wouldn't have found it even after a month of searching," Tang Xiaohu said smugly.

"You're a real expert at finding things. I remember you found everything I hid when I was little. You're really good at this." As Tang Weiguo talked about this, childhood memories came flooding back.

"Commander, the room is filled with silver dollars and gold bars, it's dazzling! I've never seen so much money before. These bandits are damn rich!" Tang Xiaohu said excitedly, his face beaming with the joy of getting rich.

Upon hearing this, Tang Weiguo was filled with curiosity and hurriedly asked, "Are there that many?"

Tang Xiaohu nodded hurriedly and replied, "Really, let's go, Commander, let's go take a look." After saying that, he eagerly grabbed Tang Weiguo's hand and walked towards the direction of the bandits' vault.

When they arrived at the bandit's vault, Tang Weiguo was stunned by what he saw. The small, secret room was crammed with chests of all sizes, each one heavy. The opened chests were filled with gleaming silver dollars, their light dazzling. Smaller chests contained neatly arranged, shimmering gold coins. Besides these treasures, some chests also contained antique paintings, calligraphy, jewelry, and other valuables.

Looking at the room full of wealth, the word "suddenly rich" kept echoing in Tang Weiguo's mind. He couldn't help but marvel at how these bandits had accumulated such a huge fortune; it was truly astonishing.

Now that all this wealth was in Tang Weiguo's hands, he couldn't help but laugh, because it felt so wonderful.

"Tang Xiaohu, send men to guard it well. This money will be used for our military expenses."

With this large sum of money, Tang Weiguo had many more things to prepare in advance.

"Stockpile grain, stockpile guns, stockpile all kinds of military supplies." Tang Weiguo was thinking about how to spend the money.

When Tang Weiguo emerged from the bandits' vault and stepped outside, the air was filled with the aroma of meat. To celebrate the victory, Tang Weiguo specifically instructed the logistics platoon to prepare several pigs to properly reward the soldiers. With the bonfire burning, the victory celebration banquet officially began.

After dinner, Tang Weiguo summoned all the company, platoon, and squad leaders to the Han Hall to prepare for a post-battle debriefing.

"Has everyone finished eating?" Tang Weiguo greeted everyone.

"It tastes especially good!" a platoon leader replied.

"Yeah, the food at the victory celebration is definitely different!" another platoon leader chimed in.

“Alright, let’s begin the post-battle debriefing now. First, I’ll report on the results of this battle,” Tang Weiguo said. His voice was calm and firm, giving people a sense of inexplicable reassurance.

"In this battle, we lost eleven soldiers, five were seriously wounded, and twenty were slightly wounded. We killed more than 300 bandits and captured nearly 400 bandit soldiers. We achieved a casualty ratio of 1:30. You are all my soldiers, and I am proud of you." Tang Weiguo felt a deep sense of pride.

"It's all thanks to the brilliant command of the regimental commander."

"It's all thanks to the regimental commander."

"Alright, alright, stop flattering me and let me continue." Tang Weiguo pressed his hand down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"This time, we seized over 700 firearms of various kinds, including old and broken ones, of which only about 300 were actually usable; more than 10 light machine guns; 5 mortars; tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition; more than 20 boxes of hand grenades; and countless silver dollars. This time, our victory was significant." Tang Weiguo's voice grew louder with each sentence.

"Damn, we've seized so much."

"These bandits are damn rich!"

The officers below muttered among themselves.

"In addition, the compensation for the fallen soldiers is tentatively set at 50 silver dollars per person, and it must be delivered to their families. If any soldiers' families are in difficulty, we will definitely help them in a timely manner, so as not to disappoint the soldiers," Tang Weiguo said solemnly.

"Furthermore, to ensure the safety of the martyrs' families' property, you have given instructions to all the village chiefs. If anything happens to a martyr's family, I will hold them accountable."

"If any village chiefs encounter problems they can't solve, let us know, and we'll handle them ourselves," Tang Weiguo said menacingly.

"The company and platoon leaders should handle this personally," Tang Weiguo ordered.

"Yes, we will ensure that the fallen soldiers are not disheartened."

"What do you all think of the terrain of Qinglong Village?" After giving his instructions, Tang Weiguo changed the subject.

“Qinglong Village has a very good terrain,” Tang Xiaohu said first after searching the bandit's den.

"First of all, Wolong Mountain has a steep terrain, and there is a flat area at the top of the mountain, which is a unique advantage. Moreover, there is only one road to the mountain, making it a place where one man can hold off ten thousand men."

"I just observed that if two machine gun positions are set up on each side of the mountain gate, the enemy will have to pay a huge price to break in."

"Fortunately, this time we used a trick to take advantage of the bandits' greed and lure them down the mountain. Otherwise, even if we had captured Qinglong Village, we would have suffered heavy losses."

"In addition, there are caves in Qinglong Village, and they are very large and can hide soldiers. Furthermore, the caves are connected to each other, and the sound of flowing water can be heard from some of them."

"Most importantly, there is a small path leading to the Taihang Mountains from the back of the mountain."

"Even if we are surrounded, we can still retreat from the back of the mountain to the Taihang Mountains."

"So, all I can say is that these bandits really know how to pick a location."

"Tang Xiaohu's analysis is spot on. Does anyone else have any thoughts?"

“Commander, this place is perfect for our base; it’s easy to defend and difficult to attack,” Niu Dali continued.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I plan to establish a military base at Qinglong Village. In case the enemy surrounds us, we can use this base to resist and severely damage their forces. If we can't hold them off, we can retreat to the majestic Taihang Mountains via the trails behind the village." Tang Weiguo explained his idea.

"Yes, Commander," the squad and platoon leaders below expressed their agreement.

"Besides this matter, the most important thing to announce tonight is that I'm preparing to expand the army," Tang Weiguo dropped a bombshell.

"That's great, I support it."

"Only with more people can we protect our hometown."

"Many hands make light work, I support it."

"Alright, since everyone supports it, I hereby announce the militia reform plan."

"The original 1st and 2nd Companies, artillery platoon, reconnaissance platoon, and logistics platoon are merged into the 1st Battalion. The artillery platoon, reconnaissance platoon, and logistics platoon are all upgraded to artillery company, reconnaissance company, and logistics company, respectively. Officers will be promoted from platoon leader to company commander, squad leader to platoon leader, and squad leaders can choose their own positions. Tang Xiaohu will serve as the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion."

"Form a new recruit battalion, with Tang Dazhuang as the battalion commander. The battalion will consist of three recruit companies, an artillery company, a logistics company, and a reconnaissance company. The recruit battalion will be staffed with company, platoon, and squad officers. One battalion of veterans will serve as officers. The specific candidates will be decided by Tang Dali and Tang Xiaohu. Once the list is confirmed, please report the names to me."

"The reconnaissance platoon has been upgraded to a reconnaissance platoon company, but the number of soldiers will remain the same for the time being. In the future, the entire regiment will gradually recruit the best soldiers to join the company."

"The selection of soldiers for the reconnaissance company will be personally carried out by Niu Dali, and officers at all levels must obey unconditionally," Tang Weiguo ordered.

"This is to establish a militia working group, with Zhao Zhu as the group leader, and to train veterans to serve as group members. It will help villages that are interested to establish village protection teams."

"Received, Commander." Zhao Zhu and the others also rushed over to Qinglong Village.

"Instructor Zhao, you have a great responsibility. You must train these village protection teams as reserve soldiers for our regiment. All the guns and ammunition we seized from the bandits should be put to use," Tang Weiguo instructed.

"I guarantee the mission will be completed." Zhao Zhu stood up and gave Tang Weiguo a standard military salute.

"Tang Dazhuang will be in charge of recruiting new soldiers, with Tang Xiaohu assisting him," Tang Weiguo continued.

"Zhao Zhu will continue to be in charge of the recruit training."

"Zhao Zhu, you have a very important mission this time," Tang Weiguo said to Zhao Zhu.

"Thank you for your trust, Commander. I will definitely complete the mission. Please rest assured, Commander," Zhao Zhu said.

"Regarding this militia reform, I hope everyone will work together to complete the reform and recruitment of new soldiers as soon as possible. Let me make this clear: anyone who disobeys work arrangements will be court-martialed." Tang Weiguo's voice became serious.

"Yes, sir, we guarantee the mission will be accomplished." All the officers stood up in unison.

"Okay, everyone sit down."

"Do you have anything else to report? If not, the meeting is adjourned," Tang Weiguo asked.

"Commander, what should we do with the bandits we captured?" Tang Xiaohu asked.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Interrogate the bandits, and execute those who are guilty of serious crimes on the spot. Those with some crimes will be sent to labor reform. The rest who are innocent, those who were forced to go up the mountain, those who want to go home will be given travel expenses, and those who want to join the army will be added to the recruit camp. Note that the bandits should be reassigned in different groups and not put in the same squad or platoon."

"You will be in charge of this personally," Tang Weiguo ordered.

"Yes, Commander," Tang Xiaohu replied.

"Commander, what should we do with the third leader of the bandits?" Tang Xiaohu asked.

"The same policy as other bandits," Tang Weiguo said after thinking for a moment. His previous promise to release him was no longer valid. What kind of promise is a promise to bad people?

"That's all. The meeting is adjourned for tonight. Everyone, please continue with the work schedule from tonight tomorrow."