The destination of the ninth detachment led by Chen Zhendong is Wuzhi and Xiuwu area. This place is close to Jiaozuo and is a guerrilla area divided into the independent advancing column.

Since the July 7 Incident, the Japanese army has continuously organized troops to launch so-called battles again and again, intending to eliminate the vital forces of China's war of resistance in a short period of time. The national army has deployed layers of defense, defended everywhere, and resisted step by step, but more troops are about to collapse at once, so the Japanese army's offensive speed is far beyond the expectations of the Japanese army.

The Kuomintang troops retreated so quickly, which in fact retained a lot of vitality for the subsequent War of Resistance. Although the Japanese army occupied a large number of cities in the Central Plains, their front lines were lengthened and their personnel were increasingly dispersed. So far, the Japanese army could only effectively control the central cities, important towns and transportation routes, and other vast mountainous areas and villages were in a vacuum, which left a huge space for guerrilla warfare for the Chinese army.

After Taiyuan fell, the local emperor of Shanxi, Yan Xishan, asked the Military Commission to withdraw his troops across the Yellow River, but the Military Commission strictly ordered: no troops must cross the Yellow River. Yan Xishan's Second War Zone Command and its troops remained on the north side of the Yellow River to fight guerrillas. At the same time, the Military Commission organized some B-type troops, advanced troops, etc. The main task of these troops was to carry out guerrilla warfare in enemy-occupied areas.

After the Huayuankou broke the dike, the Japanese army south of the Yellow River was temporarily stopped by the surging yellow water. The Japanese army north of the Yellow River began to move. They continued to attack southern Shanxi to echo the Japanese army heading south along Tongpu Road.

Wuzhi and Xiuwu are located in the southeast of Jiaozuo, and the guerrilla area of ​​the independent advancing column is divided here. Jiaozuo itself is a coal city and naturally becomes the focus of the Japanese army's defense. The arrival of the First Battalion cut off the contact between the Japanese front-line troops and the rear from the battlefield situation, which is like a steel knife inserted into the throat of the Japanese army. In order to solve their worries, the Japanese army soon began to organize troops and prepare to "sweep" the Ninth Detachment.

The first difficulty encountered by the Ninth Detachment after arriving was not the Japanese army, but the supply of supplies. Not to mention the transportation of weapons and ammunition, it is difficult to guarantee the military rations that can maintain three meals a day for soldiers.

The Ninth Detachment set out this time with three brigades and one 10th Squadron of the escort detachment. In addition to the command of the Ninth Detachment, there were more than 1,700 people, and the military ration required every day was more than 2,000 kilograms.

With the arrival of the Japanese army, many gentry here abandoned their families and fled, and the original local regimes were all disintegrated. Generally, ordinary farms did not have much surplus grain, and the markets were becoming increasingly depressed. Although the troops brought a lot of military pay, they needed such a large amount of grain every day, so it was indeed difficult to purchase locally. Although the brigades brought a lot of military rations with the army when they set off, over time, the problem of military rations became increasingly serious.

Chen Zhendong's brigade headquarters is stationed in Miaodian Town. With him is the First and Tenth Squadrons of his direct troops, the Second Battalion is stationed in Xihu Village, and Li Qinglin's 3rd Battalion is stationed in Tonghuagou.

The Tonghuagou is located in a hilly area. The reason why it is called Tonghuagou is because there is a hill that is more than ten miles long. There are green trees on the hills and a deep and long ditch under the hills, which is full of tung seed trees. Whenever the tung seed trees bloom, the tung seed trees in the ditch bloom at the same time, which is very beautiful.

There are not many plains where food can be grown here, so there are very few people. The main source of income of the locals is the income from selling tung seeds and tung oil.

As soon as the third brigade arrived at the station, Zhang Ergou ran to Li Qinglin's brigade headquarters to complain: "Boss, what kind of broken place is this? There is no one to ask for food and no food. Why do they stay in a good place? We are stationed in this place where rabbits don't poop?"

Li Qinglin smiled and said, "I think the place is good, at least there are very few traitors."

Zhang Ergou said: "Boss, here is not just a tree but also a tree. How can we solve the problem of food?"

Li Qinglin picked up tung seeds when he was in his hometown. He knew that tung seed trees were very valuable economic crops. Such a long tung seed tree ditch would inevitably be managed and harvested. These people should be considered relatively wealthy. The locals do not produce grain, but locals can definitely buy grain. Otherwise, how could these people last until now?

Li Qinglin patted Zhang Ergou on the shoulder and smiled and said, "Captain Eighth Squadron, don't worry, there must be road before the car arrives in the mountain, and there will be food."

Li Qinglin's prediction was indeed correct. Within two days, the third team found some locals. Through these people, Xiao Liuzi and the others really bought food as if they were.

Zhang Ergou felt that Li Qinglin had a clever plan, and Li Qinglin smiled and said, "Now the war is in chaos, the rich gentry have all run away, and the rest are people who are reluctant to leave their home business or cannot escape. Tung oil is very valuable, and you can make a fortune by transporting it out. Since these people can transport tung oil out, they will definitely be able to transport food in, so food is not a problem."

Zhang Ergou said: "Whether it's okay, otherwise we might have starved to death before the battle started."

Li Qinglin said: "Buying grain is not a solution. We still have to find a way to let locals grow grain. Only when there is surplus grain in the local area can we really not have to worry about food and drink. Otherwise, if the Japanese blockade and the grain cannot be transported in, it would be really bad."

It is June now, and Li Qinglin ordered the soldiers to find local farmers. The soldiers helped the farmers clear the land for free, and then plant some autumn grain and vegetables.

Since Li Qinglin became the acting company commander, they have never lacked money, so Xiao Liuzi and his friends buy supplies and other fair transactions. Although the soldiers come from all over the place, under the strict management of Li Qinglin and others, the military discipline of the third brigade has always been very good, and there has never been any disturbances in the people.

After the Third Brigade arrived in Tongshugou, the young and middle-aged refugees recruited after emergency training. The young people recruited later were all from farms and trained some basic things intermittently on the way to marching, but these were far from enough. Therefore, the Third Brigade stepped up formal training as soon as it arrived in Tongshugou.

As Li Qinglin predicted, these farmers who had eaten their fill and had their families were particularly obedient. They not only worked very hard, but also worked very hard when training.

The Japanese army has begun to mobilize, and the war is right in front of us. It is impossible to complete all enlistment training as before. Li Qinglin had to adopt a quick method, starting with the individual tactics that can participate in the battle immediately, and other things such as queues, marches, etc., waiting for other times to be completed.

Although they rushed to the scene, when the recruits had just learned the most basic individual skills such as shooting guns and dropping bullets, the Japanese army's actions against the Ninth Detachment began.
Chapter completed!