Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2908 The Second Division arrives in Fengtian!

As the flames blazed, the liquid in the iron pot gradually became thicker and white crystals began to precipitate.

Duanwu smiled with satisfaction and said, "Comrades, see, this is saltpeter! Our efforts have paid off!"

When the soldiers heard this, they all gathered around and looked at the white crystal with happy smiles on their faces.

Ma Pingan said excitedly: "Captain, you still have a solution. Now we have saltpeter and explosives!"

"kindness!"

Duanwu nodded, and then continued to direct the soldiers to collect the precipitated saltpeter for the next step of purification.

They heated it slowly over a low fire to remove impurities and make the saltpeter purer.

So with the joint efforts of everyone, batches of pure saltpeter were produced, then transported to the arsenal and handed over to Deputy Director Shi to make explosives.

Duanwu estimated that at least five tons of explosives would have to be produced to deal with the next raid by the Japanese.

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At the same time, the Fengtian Headquarters was in chaos and leaderless.

Commander Ino committed suicide in the prison in Kujonomiya Kita, and Fengtian was left without a commander.

As a result, the entire headquarters was in great chaos.

At this time, the commander of the 2nd Division, General Maruyama, arrived at the Japanese military headquarters in Fengtian.

The Japanese soldiers at the headquarters lined the streets to welcome them.

General Maruyama walked slowly into the headquarters with steady and powerful steps.

The Japanese soldiers on both sides lined up neatly and saluted in unison, their eyes full of awe for the commander of the Second Division.

"Welcome General Maruyama!"

"Welcome, Lord Maruyama!"

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Shouts of welcome echoed throughout the headquarters. The officers were all smiling as they trotted behind General Maruyama, nodding and bowing in an extremely fawning manner.

Entering the conference room, General Maruyama walked straight to the main seat and sat down. He gently placed his hands on the edge of the table, glanced at the officers present, and said in a low voice: "Everyone, now that Commander Ino has unfortunately passed away, the Fengtian Garrison cannot be without a leader for a day. During this period, I will temporarily serve as the commander of the Fengtian Garrison until the new commander arrives."

As soon as these words came out, the Japanese officers in the conference room began to whisper to each other. After a moment, they responded in unison: "We will follow the general's orders!"

General Maruyama nodded slightly and continued, "However, because I have to temporarily take over the post of commander and deal with many matters, the mopping-up plan originally formulated by the Second Division will have to be delayed. We must first ensure the stability and order of the Fengtian garrison before we can discuss other things."

Hearing this, the Japanese officers who were originally excited about the upcoming mopping-up plan suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured on them, and expressions of disappointment appeared on their faces.

However, at this moment, Maruyama continued, "Although the mopping-up plan has been temporarily shelved, we still cannot slack off. All the staff members of the headquarters will follow me to the operations room. I want to learn about this anti-Japanese brigade, their activity area, specific number of people, weapons and equipment, development status, etc."

After that, Maruyama stood up and left for the combat meeting room. Many staff officers of the Fengtian Command said admiringly: "Mr. Maruyama is really resolute and decisive!"

"Let's go to the war room and don't keep Lord Maruyama waiting for too long."

Everyone quickly stood up and walked quickly towards the war room.

In the operations room, a huge sand table was spread out on the long table, and the lights made every detail crystal clear.

General Maruyama stood in front of the sand table, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes repeatedly scanning every detail on the sand table.

The height of the mountain, the terrain, and the area where the anti-Japanese brigade was active, etc.

The chief of staff stepped forward first, pointed to several areas on the sand table and said, "Mr. Maruyama, the activities of this anti-Japanese brigade are mainly concentrated in the Phoenix Mountain area and nearby villages. These places have complex terrain, which is convenient for them to hide and move. They often raid the strongholds built by the imperial army and some important military targets.

The places attacked by the Anti-Japanese Brigade included Kaoshantun, Fuyang County, the mines, and Lingnan granaries, etc. We were unable to defend ourselves against them. "

Another staff officer continued, "As for their number, the intelligence we have so far shows that there are about 3,000 to 5,000 people. But this is just an estimate, because their actions are covert and their personnel are frequently moving around, so it is difficult to accurately count them."

At this time, another staff officer stepped forward and said, "In terms of weapons and equipment, they mainly use Soviet weapons, and their firepower is very fierce. As for the weapons they seized from the Imperial Army, they are currently only equipped with a small number of Type 38 rifles. Almost all of them are Type 11 machine guns. Grenades, explosives, etc. The firepower is very strong!"

At this time, a young staff officer added: "Sir, we have also found that this anti-Japanese brigade has developed rapidly. From the original two or three hundred people, it has grown more than ten times in just over a month.

And they are constantly recruiting new members. According to our intelligence reports, they often call on the people to rise up against the imperial army in the villages and towns they have captured, and many young people have been bewitched and joined their ranks. "

General Maruyama's brows furrowed more and more as he listened to the staff's introduction.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do they have a fixed base? Why was our previous campaign against them ineffective?"

The chief of staff shook his head helplessly: "Sir Maruyama, they are active in the Phoenix Mountain area. But for some reason, several encirclements and suppressions have ended in failure. Sir, if you want to know the specific situation, I am afraid you have to find someone, and that person is the eldest son of the Kujo family, Sir Kujo Miyakita. Because he was the highest commander in several raids. So I think he should know more details."

"Kujo Miyakita?"

Maruyama murmured, he also heard some things about Kujo Miyakita, but they were not good rumors.

Many people say that the Imperial Army suffered such heavy losses because of the reckless command given by an outsider, Kujo Miyakita, which resulted in the deaths of many Imperial Army soldiers.

Maruyama also thought so. Otherwise, how could so many imperial troops be defeated by a few thousand anti-bandit soldiers?

However, as the highest commander of Fengtian at the time, and about to launch an operation against the anti-Japanese brigade, he felt that he should make a phone call to Kujo Miyakita.

So he asked, "Where is Kujo Miyakita now?"

The chief of staff replied, "There was news before that His Excellency Kujo Miyakita was in Fuyang County. I don't know if it's true or not. But one thing is certain, that is, Commander Ino seems to have died in the prison of Fuyang County."

"Nani?"

Maruyama was shocked that Commander Ino died in the prison of Fuyang County instead of dying in battle. This was what he thought when he received the order!