Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 312 Where is my food?
"Sir, something terrible has happened! Our scouts have discovered a large number of Eighth Route Army soldiers appearing in the villages surrounding the stronghold!"

Fan Chun, the puppet army commander of Zhangjiahui, rushed to the command post in a fluster.

"The Eighth Route Army is here? How many are there?"

The Japanese battalion commander, Yutaro Tsuchigu, immediately stood up.

Unlike Fan Chun, Yutaro the dog knew about the Taiyuan Command's plans.

"There must have been at least one or two thousand. About half of them were wearing Eighth Route Army uniforms, and the rest were wearing civilian clothes."

After hearing Fan Chun's report, Yutaro the dog sat down again.

Only those Eighth Route Army soldiers wearing military uniforms can be considered a regular force.

The rest of the people dressed as civilians were just militiamen.

The militia was so poorly equipped that they could not even be equipped with homemade guns and could only perform logistical transport tasks.

Do you think a thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers could take down Zhangjiahui? It's simply impossible.

"Fan Jun, don't worry, this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers probably isn't coming for us," said Yutaro Tsuchigu, waving his hand.

"Just pass on the order to have the soldiers be on alert."

Until we see heavy mortars or ultra-long-range heavy artillery.

Yutaro the dog has no worries.

The watchtowers and outer walls of the Zhang Family Association stronghold were specially reinforced.

Infantry guns posed no threat to their safety.

Even a mountain gun could only penetrate a pillbox at most, but it couldn't damage the city wall.

To capture the Zhang Family Society's stronghold, the Eighth Route Army would have to deploy heavy artillery.

At the very least, heavy mortars would be needed to provide fire support.

"I'll go right away!" Fan Chun breathed a sigh of relief.

He became a traitor to make money, not to risk his life for the Japanese.

For him, the best thing is to avoid war.

However, the situation changed just a few days later.

"Canned food! Canned food again!"

"Why are there still no vegetables? Has the head of the village's maintenance committee had enough of living?"

Yutaro the dog was so angry when he saw the lunch that was delivered that he slammed his chopsticks on the table.

The Zhang family did indeed store a large amount of supplies.

However, the stored supplies were mainly things that could be stored for a long time, such as flour, rice, and canned goods.

Goods that cannot be stored, such as vegetables, can only be delivered regularly by nearby villages.

But it's been several days now, and not a single leaf of the vegetables I ordered has arrived.

If I keep eating like this, I won't be able to poop.

And most importantly, canned food these days is absolutely awful.

It's called canned beef, but it's mostly just cow's blood and starch inside, with very little offal.

How can I eat this?
"Somebody come!"

"Go and call Commander Fan over."

"Hai!"

A few minutes later, Fan Chun jogged over.

"Sir, did you call me?" Fan Chun asked with a smile.

Do you know what's going on in Xiaohu Village? Why haven't any vegetables been delivered?

The native dog Yutaro said coldly.

Fan Chun is mainly responsible for communicating with the lower-level maintenance committee.

"Uh, sir, it's not that we can't send it, but the Zhang family will be blocked by the Eighth Route Army."

“I sent two brothers to Xiaohu Village to check the situation, but they ran into the Eighth Route Army on the way.”

"If I hadn't run fast, I probably wouldn't have made it back," Fan Chun explained.

According to the report from the puppet army soldiers, they had only walked a few hundred meters when they encountered the Eighth Route Army at the corner.

"Damn Eighth Route Army soldiers!"

"Tell the soldiers of the Locust Army to eat quickly. After they finish eating, they will go out of the city and sweep through!"

Yutaro the dog decided to just go out and steal it.

Grab as much as you can.

"Hi!".
After the meal, the puppet army battalion, led by a squad of Japanese soldiers, headed straight for Xiaohu Village.

"Commander, the Japanese have come out, about 5 of them, mostly puppet troops." "They couldn't hold back after only a few days?"

Li Chishui, who was lying on the ground, suddenly got up.

"Where did they go?" Li Chishui asked.

"Judging by the direction, it should be Xiaohu Village," the sentry said.

"Xiaohu Village? It really is here."

"Order the troops to assemble immediately!" Li Chishui commanded.

Although there are no suitable places to ambush each other from Zhangjiahui to Xiaohucun.

However, that doesn't mean the Unique Group can't eat some meat.

Meanwhile, the Japanese and puppet troops had already arrived at Xiaohu Village.

As the supreme commanders, Yutaro Tsuchigumo and Fan Chun both chose to stay behind at the Zhang Family Association.

Therefore, the team was led by a Japanese squad leader and the battalion commander of the puppet army.

"Report! Battalion Commander, something's wrong. There's no one in Xiaohu Village."

"There's a layer of dust on the kang (heated brick bed), it looks like it'll be there for at least several days."

The vanguard of the puppet troops ran back to report.

"Nobody's here? And it's been several days?"

The Japanese squad leader and the puppet army battalion commander both frowned.

"No wonder there are no vegetables being delivered. There aren't even any people left, so what's the point of delivering anything?" said the puppet army battalion commander.

"The Eighth Route Army used to carry out a scorched-earth policy!" the Japanese squad leader realized.

This is not good news for the Zhang family's stronghold.

Without the people, their lives in Zhangjiahui would be extremely difficult.

"Sir, something doesn't feel right. Should we go back first?"

The puppet army battalion commander looked around.

He always felt like someone was following them.

"You're absolutely right, retreat immediately!" the Japanese squad leader immediately waved his hand and said.

Based on the Eighth Route Army's usual practices, they wouldn't simply move the people away and call it a day.

There are definitely Eighth Route Army spies in this area. If they stay here too long, they might be ambushed.

The Japanese soldiers, along with their puppet troops, started running away as fast as they could.

"Captain, the Japanese have escaped! What do we do?" a young militiaman cried out anxiously from behind the hill.

"The Japanese are really careful," the militia captain said.

"Liu Zi, you're quick on your feet. Go to the minefield and have the comrades pull the mines to slow down the Japanese and buy time for Commander Li and the others."

Li Chishui relocated all the people within a ten-mile radius of Zhangjiahui to Dayun Mountain.

Moreover, landmines were planted all over the highways and side roads.

However, for safety reasons, the landmine was not cocked.

Now, as long as the landmines are properly laid, the puppet troops will inevitably be caught in a dilemma.

"I'm going right now!" Liu Zi retreated from the hilltop and ran quickly toward the minefield.

The retreating Japanese soldiers and puppet troops were unaware of what awaited them ahead.

Right now, all they're thinking about is getting back to the Zhang family's stronghold as quickly as possible.

Only those few meters wide walls could give them a sense of security.

In their haste, they didn't even send out any outposts, and retreated in a chaotic rush.

They had traveled this road before and were now returning, so they couldn't help but lower their guard.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
A series of landmines suddenly exploded.

These are chain mines specially prepared by the militia for the Japanese.

The Japanese soldiers and their collaborators all collapsed to the ground.

"Minefield! Retreat! Retreat!"

"Prepare for battle!"

The Japanese squad leader signaled his troops to retreat slightly.

Who knows how far away the next landmine is? If you get hit by shrapnel, you're really in for a world of hurt.

After all, the Eighth Route Army's landmines often contained some unknown substances.

(End of this chapter)