Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Xinxiang is located in the plain area in the heart of the Central Plains.

It is not only an important node on the Pinghan Railway and the Daoqing Railway, but also a major traffic artery connecting the east and west directions of Henan Province. A large force occupying this place can fully exert its advantages in mobility.

Such a city with high strategic value is naturally the best choice for the Eighth Route Army’s new military district’s headquarters.

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Noon, New Simon.

After completing a number of combat tasks assigned by infantry experts, Li Yunlong decisively responded to the call of his superiors and led his team directly to his teacher's new command post.

When the convoy of the 1st Marine Brigade passed the heavy floating bridge temporarily built on the moat and officially entered the main street in the city, Lao Li suddenly said with great emotion:
"Mr. Zhao, Mr. Xing, Mr. Xu's actions are really swift and decisive. In just half a day, Xinxiang has actually resumed administrative management and even established a grid-based public security management system."

"If we had come a little later, he might have even drawn up the future city planning map."

"But let's be honest, the First War Zone of Guosu is really rotten to the core. They really deserve credit for the smooth takeover of the city by the new military zone!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao and Xing immediately focused their attention and looked in the direction their brigade commander was looking.

In the busy streets of the main city, the faces of the common people were filled with smiles from the heart. They greeted every passing troop warmly and expressed their gratitude in the simplest language.

Although due to many reasons such as the disaster and persecution by the Japanese, the villagers looked pale and thin and malnourished.

But the yearning for a new life in the future is like a stream of sweet spring water that nourishes their battered bodies, making them glow with brilliance and vitality again.

In a sense, this is where our army really goes, the people welcome us wholeheartedly, and we can say that we have the best timing. That kind of vibrant and flourishing state is right before our eyes.

After a sigh, cultural figure Zhao Gang took over the conversation first, complaining in a rather resentful tone:

"Since the concept of nation and state was born, there has never been a country whose army was hated or even attacked by its own people when defending against foreign enemies."

"Even when the French Army fought the Germans in 1940, the local people came to their aid."

"But the preserved fruit has set a new record worldwide. It may even become a classic negative example one day in the future."

After he finished speaking, several people in the command vehicle nodded in agreement.

Without mentioning the distant past, let’s just take the famous “master of mobile warfare” Tang Da Shangren as an example.

The tactic this man was best at was to take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army did not pay attention to logistics. Whenever there was a large-scale battle, he would seize all the resources on the Japanese attack route in advance, leaving the enemy with nowhere to rob.

Since he came to the First War Zone, he often used the pretext of putting military and confidentiality first to drive away all the people in the village where he was stationed.

As for preserved fruits, it was common practice to steal some women, kill some animals, and chop some trees while marching and camping.

As for how the common people live, the officials have no say in that.

The Central Army is helping you take care of your family, is there anyone who is still worried? If you dare to have extra thoughts, we will borrow your head to claim the credit.

Compared with this fourth disaster, Manstein's scorched earth policy seems so gentle that any Stellar player would shed tears at the sight of it.

It was in the above-mentioned context that in 1941 some areas of Henan Province even had slogans that they would rather be burned and killed by the Japanese than allow the troops of the First War Zone to be stationed there.

It was also because of the exaggerated positive and negative contrast that the citizens of XX and important figures from all walks of life actively cooperated with the Eighth Route Army to complete the complicated task of taking over the city after the Japanese withdrew.

The words of his political commissar made Li Yunlong fall into deep thought. Recalling the various tragedies he had witnessed along the way, he said firmly:

"It's not that I don't want to take revenge, it's just that the time has not come yet. Once we completely drive away the devils and complete the strategic counterattack, I will go and personally meet those scumbags in Guo Su."

"When the time comes, no matter if it's the Iron Wall of the Holy Land, or the Flying General, or the businessman Tang, we will arrest them all and bring them to public trial!"

"As for whether they will be locked up for reform or some other method of disposal, that depends on how the superiors arrange it."

······
While the three were talking, the convoy of the 1st Marine Brigade suddenly stopped. Li Yunlong couldn't help but frown at this scene.

Compared with friendly forces, their brigade was one of the latecomers.

If you accidentally get delayed for a while on the road, there is a high probability that your teacher will give you extra love when assigning homework.

Thinking of the pressure from the infantry expert, Lao Li shuddered involuntarily. He quickly rolled down the window and ordered the platoon leader of the accompanying guard platoon:
"Platoon Leader Zhang, go and see what's going on ahead." "If the locals are in trouble, bring your comrades to lend a hand. But remember, you must never accept money from the locals!"

"Yes! Promise to complete the mission!"

Being able to stand out from tens of thousands of people, Platoon Leader Zhang's personal ability was naturally no problem. However, the situation in front of the convoy was a bit beyond his expectations.

After a while, the guard came back with bad news.

"Report! Ahead is a recently renovated Dragon King Temple. The people in the city are preparing to pray for rain."

"By the way, the villagers have also invited you, the political commissar, and Deputy Brigade Commander Xing to participate in the rain-praying event. This matter involves local customs, so it is not convenient for me to deal with it directly."

Hearing this, Li, Zhao, and Xing felt helpless.

A complete rain-praying process takes at least an hour, and the 1st Marine Brigade does not have that much time to waste.

What's more, they also knew one thing, that is, the so-called rain-praying activity was not organized spontaneously by the local democratic organization of Xinxiang, but the real leader was actually the Relief Committee.

Like the friendly Guoxuan, Wangwangwang has also established a disaster relief agency in Henan Province.

It was just that the name sounded like a formal department, but it didn't do anything. Faced with the disaster, the Japanese invaders did not distribute relief food or relief money, but led the people to pray for rain.

Theoretically speaking, the Eighth Route Army should have directly stepped in to stop any activities organized by the puppet army and puppet government.

However, the troops had just arrived and there were many important tasks that needed to be handled urgently. This matter was not of high priority and also involved local customs, so we could only inform the commanders to postpone it.

"It's troublesome. I didn't expect that the situation mentioned by Mr. Xu would actually happen to the three of us."

"Old Li, we can't just sit there and watch. We have to find a way to handle this matter of opening the altar to pray for rain in a tactful way."

The words of his political commissar made Li Yunlong fall into deep thought, but he soon came up with a reasonable response plan. After a moment, Lao Li got off the car first, and then walked towards the crowd in front without stopping.

When arriving at the event site, the most eye-catching thing is naturally a colorful sculpture of the Dragon King.

The host of the event immediately showed an excited expression when he found out that there was an unexpected big shot at the scene. He was holding a well-made incense burner in his hand and said as he walked:
"Comrade from the Eighth Route Army, your arrival really brings glory to our temple. Comrade, please burn incense and pray for rain, and do your part for the people of Xinxiang."

As soon as these words were spoken, the fellow villagers around him cast expectant glances at him.

If it were an ordinary person, he might have shown his weakness. However, Li Yunlong was nicknamed the most dangerous man in the Republic of China, so this small scene could not cause any pressure at all.

After the scene quieted down, Lao Li took the incense burner and walked into the Dragon King Temple under the gaze of everyone.

Looking at the colored sculpture in front of him, he said shockingly:

"Dragon King? What kind of Dragon King are you? Dragon Kings are responsible for the good weather and the peace and prosperity of the country and the people! You haven't had rain for several months, causing the crops in the fields to not grow and the people to cry for their parents."

"You sit there so arrogantly, wearing a fur coat and pretending to be a sheep!"

"What kind of Dragon King are you? You are the Deaf King!"

After witnessing the famous scene of shelling the Dragon King, the event host and the common people immediately panicked, and a few elderly people even knelt on the ground.

Seeing this, Lao Li was not panicked. He took the loud speaker handed over by the guard platoon leader and said to the villagers watching with great momentum:
"Fellow villagers! There has never been a savior! If we want to survive the drought, we can't rely on gods or dragon kings. We can only rely on ourselves, and we must believe that man can conquer nature."

"Next, our Eighth Route Army will use anti-aircraft guns to create artificial rainfall on Wanxian Mountain! I, Li Yunlong, dare to issue a military order. Everyone will definitely see rain falling from the sky in June!"

"Now, let's disperse."

At this point in time, the three words "Eighth Route Army" are a golden signboard throughout North China.

In addition, Li Yunlong had been in the newspapers many times and had a certain level of regional legendary value, so the people actually listened to his arrangements for a while.

Seeing that the task assigned by General Xu was successfully completed again, and the Marine Brigade 1 could arrive at the headquarters in time, Lao Li showed his big white teeth and asked for credit:

"Hey, Lao Zhao, now you know what the Eighth Route Army's all-rounders mean? All-round talents, I'm not kidding you." (End of this chapter)