Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2985 The Da'an Plan: Killing Two Birds with One Stone!

When Ma Ping'an returned to the Anti-Japanese Brigade's base, it was already getting dark. He went straight to the conference room, and as soon as he entered, he saw Duanwu sitting at the table, looking at documents by the dim light.

Duanwu looked up and saw Ma Ping'an, and asked with a smile, "Old Pan, how did the grain transfer go today?"

Ma Ping'an replied with a smile, "It went quite smoothly, the soldiers all worked very hard. But Captain, that Li Xiaolian really made a fool of herself today."

Duanwu, intrigued, put down the documents in her hand and asked with great interest, "Oh? Tell me, what embarrassing thing happened to her?"

While laughing, Ma Ping'an recounted in detail how Li Xiaolian was so exhausted that she couldn't walk and had to be carried back.

After he finished speaking, he laughed so hard he almost fell over, and Duanwu was also amused and burst into laughter.

After laughing, Duanwu said seriously, "Old Pan, although this is funny, we can't let our guard down. I've thought about everything carefully, and I've realized that the Japanese went to great lengths to plant Li Xiaolian in our ranks."

I'm not exaggerating, but if it were a less vigilant unit, they would probably already completely believe Li Xiaolian by now.

Moreover, the fact that the Japanese were willing to sacrifice an armory to send Li Xiaolian in shows how important she was.

Therefore, we cannot underestimate this woman. We must have people secretly following her and monitoring her every move, but without her noticing. We can arrange for more people to do this. These people should pretend to be working, monitoring her from the sidelines, so that she won't notice anything and will instead be used by us.”

Ma Ping'an nodded and said, "Captain, I understand. I came here today not only to talk to you about this matter, but also to discuss the recruitment of new soldiers. You mentioned before that the Japanese might use this as leverage, and I've been worried about that. When recruiting soldiers, you can't really investigate every ancestry of every person, that's not realistic."

Duanwu smiled slightly and said, "I've thought about this for a long time. Even if we don't recruit new soldiers, the Japanese will find a way to put people into our anti-Japanese brigade. So why not create this opportunity for them?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Ping'an asked in surprise, "So you already have an idea?"

Duanwu smiled again and said, "We'll have a meeting tomorrow to discuss recruiting new soldiers. But this recruitment won't be going to the villages and hamlets; instead, we'll be targeting another coal mine north of Songyuan—the Da'an Coal Mine!"

"Da'an Coal Mine?"

Ma Ping'an was somewhat shocked, because if he wasn't mistaken, the Da'an Coal Mine was a fairly large mine, with a total population of over ten thousand. If they could take it down, things would get much more interesting. Even if only half of the people joined the anti-Japanese brigade, the total number of members in the brigade would double.

At the same time, Ma Ping'an said with some concern, "Captain, isn't our movement too big this time? If we do, the Japanese will definitely notice and might take the opportunity to set up an ambush. Then we'll be put on the defensive. This is too risky."

Duanwu remained calm and said confidently, "Old Pan, think about it. The Japanese were willing to give us their armory for nothing, just for Li Xiaolian. So, to allow more spies to infiltrate, wouldn't they also give us the Da'an Coal Mine? And is the Da'an Coal Mine really as important to the Japanese as an armory? That's impossible, isn't it?"

Ma Ping'an nodded repeatedly, saying, "That makes sense. But what are your plans for the details? How do you get Li Xiaolian to pass on the message?"

Duanwu laughed and said, "Let's have a meeting and put things out in the open."

"oh--!"

Ma Ping'an looked as if he had suddenly realized something.
The following morning, a special military meeting was held. All the main leaders of the Anti-Japanese Brigade, above the rank of company commander, were present.

Duanwu spoke first: "Our anti-Japanese brigade is facing a problem now. It's a good problem, but it's also a difficult one!"

Everyone turned their attention to the Dragon Boat Festival, some even looking at it with puzzled expressions.

At this moment, Duanwu continued, "The good news is that our recruit company's training has ended, which means that our battalion will no longer have any new recruits from today onwards!"

"it is good!"

Ma Shanpao led the applause, and the others followed suit.

After a brief round of applause, Duanwu continued, "The end of basic training is a good thing, but it has also brought us a new problem: the recruit camp is now empty. We can't let the recruit camp be empty, so we need to recruit new soldiers!"

Everyone nodded frequently.

At this moment, Ma Ping'an opportunely chimed in, "Captain, I think we should stick to the old method and recruit soldiers from the villages and hamlets. It'll be slower, but as the saying goes, every little bit counts!"

Ma Shanpao chimed in, "That's right. Our arrival has destroyed many of the Japanese strongholds. Now the people are free. If we recruit soldiers, they will definitely support us."

But at this moment, Duanwu shook his head slightly and said, "This method is too slow. The Japanese won't wait for us to slowly grow stronger. I have a bold idea: let's attack the Da'an Coal Mine."

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room exploded.

Ma Shanpao slammed his fist on the table excitedly and shouted, "Captain, this is a great idea! Taking down that coal mine will not only free the miners but also solve the problem of recruiting new soldiers—a double win!"

Long Qianyan frowned slightly and said, "Captain, attacking Da'an Coal Mine is no small matter. There are definitely Japanese soldiers guarding that mine. We need to find out the troop deployment, fortifications, and other details first. Otherwise, if we attack rashly, we will easily find ourselves in a passive position."

Ma Hu chimed in, "Yes, Captain. And while we're attacking, the Japanese might send reinforcements from other places. We also need to consider how to deal with the reinforcements."

Jiang Li then raised another question: "Even if we take over the coal mine, how can we guarantee that the miners will be willing to join our anti-Japanese brigade? After all, some of them may be terrified by the Japanese, or they may not know anything about us."

Duanwu listened patiently to everyone's comments and responded to each one: "Captain Long is right, understanding the enemy's situation is key. Ma Hu, you are in charge of arranging manpower to quickly find out the detailed situation of Da'an Coal Mine, including the Japanese troops, weapons and equipment, fortifications, etc. Also, find out the deployment of Japanese troops around Da'an."

Ma Hu nodded and replied, "Yes, Captain. I'll go arrange it right away."

Duanwu continued, "As for whether anyone will be willing to join the anti-Japanese brigade after we capture the enemy, that's not our concern for now. Our goal is to rescue people and recruit new soldiers. But if people are unwilling to join the anti-Japanese brigade, does that mean we won't rescue them?"

So whether others join or not, we must save them. Why should we think so much?
Moreover, attacking the Da'an coal mine isn't something that can be done casually. Using this time to hastily gather intelligence, we should study tactics based on Da'an's terrain. We need to ensure the safety of our base while simultaneously taking down this Japanese coal mine. Everyone, please share your opinions!