Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 174 Reunion at Wolong Mountain

Time flies, and it was March 1938 in the blink of an eye. The militia entered a period of rapid development during this month.

Bi Shoucai also returned from the Second War Zone Command headquarters early. As expected, he returned to Tang Weiguo's expectations, exchanging the Japanese pilot for another Madsen 20mm autocannon, plus 3000 rounds of ammunition.

Seeing that the Japanese pilots had been able to exchange for so many supplies, Bi Shoucai couldn't help but marvel at how valuable they were. Upon returning to the regimental headquarters, he immediately sought out Wu Bai, asking him to devise a way to both destroy the Japanese planes and save the lives of the pilots, so they could exchange them for weapons.

Faced with the difficult task Bi Shoucai mentioned, Wu Bai could only say he would give it a try, since the shells were the only thing that mattered, regardless of whether the pilot was valuable or not.

Bi Shoucai did not bring back the extra gold he had brought. Instead, through Tang Ming's connections, he obtained more than 80 German-made MP18 submachine guns (also known as "flower machine guns") and a large amount of weapons and ammunition from several other Central Army units.

Tang Weiguo immediately equipped all the light machine guns in the reconnaissance battalion with Hua machine guns. As for the other light machine guns that were replaced in the reconnaissance battalion, Tang Weiguo uniformly distributed them to the First Battalion to strengthen the First Battalion's firepower.

After Tang Weiguo's adjustments, the reconnaissance battalion's firepower exploded. The battalion of more than 500 men was equipped with more than 100 submachine guns, not including heavy firepower such as grenade launchers and mortars.

The other units of the militia were also using this precious peacetime to intensify their training. No one knew when the next battle with the Japanese would begin, and everyone in the militia was preparing desperately. They knew that if they were defeated, everything they had built with their own hands would be destroyed by the Japanese.

The Wolong Mountain garrison was unusually lively today, as all the military commanders dispatched by the militia had returned to headquarters. This was the first time the militia had such a complete roster since the first Wolong Mountain Combat Competition this year.

"Dazhuang, it's been so long! You look like you've gotten fatter. What delicious food have you been eating behind our backs?" Tang Xiaohu teased Tang Dazhuang as soon as he saw him. Tang Xiaohu had missed his brothers after so long.

"It's all because of that last raid on the Japanese transport convoy. We got two whole truckloads of canned Japanese meat. I'm so sick of it these days. If you want some, I can send you a few boxes."

"That's great! I just recently formed a new recruit company, so it'll be a good opportunity for them to have some fun," Tang Xiaohu said smugly.

"I'm sorry, I won't see you off then. It just so happens that I've just formed a new recruit company, and I need to improve their meals as well."

"Hahaha, you two, why are you acting like kids when you meet?" Several people nearby commented with laughter.

"But speaking of which, what's the commander's purpose in summoning us this time?"

“There will definitely be action. Since the end of February, our southeastern region has been in chaos. The Japanese started to mop up the Eighth Route Army. At the end of last month, the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment even passed through our defense zone to go south to provide support,” Li Debao said.

"Everything's calm here, but something's not right, not right at all!" Tang Xiaohu thought to himself, looking down.

"The Japanese have suffered so many heavy losses here, they certainly won't let this go easily," Niu Dali said. He had recently been scouting around Wolong Mountain and discovered signs of Japanese troop movements in the area.

"You'll all know when the team leader holds a meeting tonight. For now, don't overthink it. It's been so long since I've been back, I really miss Chef Tang's cooking." Tang Dazhuang said with a nostalgic look.

"Haha, you know what, I want to eat some too," Zhou Liansheng said with a chuckle.

"Recently, our reconnaissance battalion acquired another batch of mountain products, and the regimental commander asked Chef Tang to show off his skills."

"Chef Tang's cooking of wild game is absolutely superb. We're all in for a treat today." Tang Dazhuang's mouth was practically watering when he heard Niu Dali say that.

"All the battalion commanders are here! The regimental commander asked me to tell everyone to gather at the mess hall for a meal." Cheng Shanshan excitedly ran over when he saw all the battalion commanders standing by the training ground. With all the battalion commanders here, he didn't have to go through the trouble of looking for them one by one.

“Little Shanshan is here,” Niu Dali said with a smile.

"Battalion Commander Dali, please call me Cheng Shanshan. You can't call me by my nickname anymore. I'm the regimental commander's glorious bodyguard!"

"Haha, you've really grown a lot in this period of time," Tang Xiaohu praised.

Although Cheng Shanshan is young, he possesses all the martial arts skills passed down in his family, and his marksmanship is exceptional. Although he is somewhat simple-minded, he is alert in combat and is a natural-born soldier.

"Let's hurry up, everyone. Don't keep the commander-in-chief waiting." Tang Dazhuang called out to everyone as they headed towards the canteen. He couldn't wait to have a good meal.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go." Cheng Shanshan led everyone toward the cafeteria.

"Please, everyone, have a seat." Tang Weiguo greeted everyone warmly.

"You've all had a long and tiring journey," Tang Weiguo said as everyone sat down.

"As usual, I'll serve tea instead of wine to welcome everyone. Let's not talk about the militia at noon today, just treat it as a get-together between brothers," Tang Weiguo said with a smile, picking up his bowl.

"Commander, we toast you." Tang Xiaohu led the way by offering Tang Weiguo a bowl of tea.

"Everyone, hurry up and eat while it's hot! I'm only getting this special treat because of you all, otherwise I wouldn't be getting this special meal," Tang Weiguo urged, encouraging everyone to try it.

"Thank you, Commander." Tang Dazhuang took the lead and started eating first.

"It smells so good, so delicious! It's even better than those damn Japanese canned food." Tang Dazhuang stuffed a mouthful of meat into his mouth.

"Dazhuang, slow down, don't choke. Nobody's going to take it from you." Tang Weiguo looked at Tang Dazhuang in front of him and shook his head with a smile.

On the other side, Niu Dali was not to be outdone, eating meat in big mouthfuls. For a moment, fighting spirit shone in the eyes of Niu Dali and Tang Dazhuang.

"Haha, everyone hurry up and eat, before these two gluttons eat it all up."

"Haha, the leader is right, let's eat too."

The others started eating.

After dinner, Tang Weiguo ignored everyone and took Cheng Shanshan back to the regimental headquarters to review the evening's meeting. Tang Xiaohu and the others then began their own activities.

As night fell, everyone began to walk towards the regimental headquarters, and by 7 p.m., everyone had arrived at the regimental headquarters meeting room.

"It seems like today is an important meeting; all the key members of our militia are here!" Tang Xiaohu and a few others whispered.

"Xiao Hu, who's that person next to you? Is he a new member?" Tang Dazhuang looked in Cao Yingjie's direction.

"Yes, he's a new recruit, Cao Yingjie, the 6th Battalion Commander. I brought him here personally," Tang Xiaohu said in a low voice.

"Go back and tell me all about this."

"it is good."

At 7 p.m., Tang Weiguo walked into the conference room on time, and everyone fell silent.