Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 226 This is a battle that will go down in history!
Under Liu Tengjie's orders, the troops quickly assembled.

The soldiers' eyes burned with rage as they awaited the order from the advance team leader to avenge their fallen comrades.

Especially the soldiers of the reconnaissance company.

The reconnaissance team was responsible for clearing the way, but surprisingly, more than a hundred bandits attacked the medical unit that was walking at the rear of the column right under their noses.

This resulted in the deaths of two comrades and injuries to four others.

Their company commander was dismissed and transferred back to the base area, losing the opportunity to carry out this glorious mission.

In this battle, they must atone for their crimes and avenge their fallen comrades!
The soldiers of the 2nd Reconnaissance Company also wanted to volunteer, as the soldiers who were killed or wounded were from their 2nd Company.

How could they not be furious when their comrades, with whom they had spent every day, were killed by a group of bandits?

However, the Second Reconnaissance Company also had the task of protecting the medical, communications, and logistics personnel in the team, so they could not personally avenge their comrades.

"Now, I order the reconnaissance company to follow the bandits' retreat trail and search for the location of their stronghold."

"The special operations team disguised themselves and infiltrated the surrounding villages to investigate the bandits through the villagers."

"The sharpshooter platoon is responsible for covering and will provide support at any time."

Liu Tengjie issued the order.

A total of more than 230 soldiers were dispatched this time, which is more than half of the main combat force of the advance team.

Dealing with a bandit stronghold is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Let alone the little-known Black Wind Stronghold, even Tiger Mountain could be taken down with this force of the advance team.

The biggest advantage of bandits is their familiarity with the terrain and their ability to occupy advantageous positions.

In addition, there's the guerrilla tactic of running away when you can't win and then returning after the main force leaves.

In terms of advantageous terrain, the advance detachment's mortar fire can teach the enemy a lesson, while the sharpshooter platoon's precise shooting can concentrate fire on the enemy hiding behind through narrow firing ports.

In terms of guerrilla tactics, the advance team's guerrilla skills were the ancestors of bandits!

This battle was a complete rout, with superior troop quality, weaponry, and numbers.

However, having just suffered a loss, Liu Tengjie was cautious when dealing with this group of bandits.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit; we shouldn't underestimate our opponents just because they are a band of bandits.

Otherwise, this kind of loss could happen again in the future.

After the order was issued, each unit began to prepare to carry it out.

Just then, Lin Xiu, a member of the medical platoon, stepped forward and spoke:

"Captain, let us take on the task of scouting the nearby villages. The soldiers of the reconnaissance company sacrificed themselves to protect us, and we should do our part too."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tengjie instinctively objected:
"No, how can this be allowed?"

"At that time, our army had no mass support in the Chifeng area. The local people were probably quite hostile towards us, and the reconnaissance mission was too dangerous."

Upon hearing this, the female medic immediately objected and retorted:
"Captain, that's outdated thinking; you need to change it."

"When we volunteered, Commander Chen Ming agreed to let us join the advance team, which was a recognition of our abilities."

"We women may not be as good as you men in fighting, but we are no worse than you in other aspects."

The female soldier's sharp words left Liu Tengjie speechless for a moment.

Because it is indeed the truth, he cannot and dares not refute it.

Chen Ming's decision to allow these female soldiers to volunteer for the advance team was made after careful consideration.

Although the advance team's mission is arduous, and the area where the enemy outnumbers us is extremely dangerous, it seems inappropriate for female soldiers to join.

However, history has proven that the role of female soldiers in the War of Resistance Against Japan was equally important and that they were a crucial force.

When the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, led by the Communist Party, went deep behind enemy lines to establish base areas, there were a large number of female officers and soldiers in the troops, among whom the medical corps was one of the positions with the highest concentration of women.

Their role goes far beyond simply "saving lives and healing the wounded," and is multi-dimensional.

One of the biggest challenges in working behind enemy lines is winning the trust and support of the local people.

The advance team's mission was not limited to fighting on territory controlled by the Kwantung Army.

It also had the important task of establishing base areas and laying a solid foundation among the masses.

Traditional rural society was relatively closed off, and it was normal for people to have doubts and fears about the sudden appearance of an army.

In the social context of that time, rural women rarely had contact or communication with unfamiliar men.

Female medics can enter farmers' homes without any obstacles and chat with housewives, old ladies, and young girls about their daily lives.

Through this natural emotional bond, like that of "sisters" or "mothers and daughters," they were able to effectively promote the Party's anti-Japanese policies.

Explain that the military is the people's army, thereby dispelling concerns and gaining support.

Treating sores for children in the village, delivering babies, and providing medical care for the elderly—these tasks seem more natural, convenient, and readily accepted when performed by female medical soldiers.

Every successful rescue is the best form of political propaganda, inspiring the people to wholeheartedly support the army and call it "the people's own army."

It is also a vivid embodiment of the saying "women hold up half the sky".

"Women hold up half the sky" is not just a slogan, but a reality.

In the extremely harsh environment behind enemy lines, women demonstrated amazing resilience and strength.

Meticulous nursing care and psychological support: Women are generally more patient and attentive, which gives them a clear advantage when caring for seriously injured patients.

They can not only better clean wounds and change dressings, but also provide great psychological comfort to the wounded.

A gentle word of encouragement or a folk song from their hometown can often greatly boost the will to live of the wounded, which is invaluable for the enemy-occupied troops who lack medical care and whose morale is of paramount importance.

They are also perfect executors of special missions—the camouflage of the covert front.

When carrying out special missions such as reconnaissance, intelligence transmission, and disguised infiltration of enemy-occupied areas, female identity is often the best cover.

A pair of "husband and wife" or "brother and sister" are less likely to arouse suspicion from enemy sentries than two men traveling together.

A young woman carrying a bundle (which may contain medicine or a secret letter) looks harmless and can pass through many checkpoints relatively safely.

In the special forces that went deep behind enemy lines and established base areas during the War of Resistance Against Japan, female medics were by no means a dispensable embellishment.

Rather, it is one of the core forces that runs through many key aspects such as military struggle, mass work, and logistical support.

Regardless of whether it is north or south, or whether it is men or women, young or old, everyone has the responsibility to defend the land and resist the enemy.

This was also part of Chen Ming's consideration in allowing a certain number of female soldiers to be included in the advance team.

Faced with the female soldier's sharp words, Liu Tengjie was speechless and could only agree to let her participate in the reconnaissance mission.

However, for the safety of the female soldiers, he still sent some soldiers to protect them from a distance.

After receiving the mission, the female soldiers changed out of their military uniforms and into ordinary coarse cloth clothes, and began to walk towards a nearby village called Yangshulin.

As the name suggests, there are many poplar trees in the village.

When they reached the outside of the village, two villagers jumped out from the shadows.

"Stop, who is it?"

In this era of war and chaos, villages were extremely xenophobic, fearing that outsiders would bring danger and could lead to the destruction of the village.

There was no other way; under the oppressive pressure of the Japanese invaders, puppet troops, bandits, and robbers, they simply couldn't survive without uniting.

Two villagers, holding homemade guns, warily aimed them at Lin Xiu upon noticing the outsiders.

"Uncle, I am Lin Xiu, the daughter of Lin Degui from Xigou. My father is sick, so my brother and I came to these mountains to collect herbs, but we encountered bandits."

“My brother was captured by bandits while protecting me. I escaped to this place and saw some houses. I wanted to ask for some water to continue my journey home. I need to find a way to save my brother.”

Lin Xiu explained according to the words she had prepared.

Xigou is a village located eight kilometers away from Yangshulin Village.

The scope of villagers' activities during the War of Resistance Against Japan was essentially the result of a struggle between "living space" and "war oppression".

The vast majority of villagers are confined to a 5-kilometer radius (the area sheltered by village walls/mountain forests) and rely on limited resources to survive.

Lin Xiu's words could both lower the other party's vigilance by mentioning Xigou, a village they might know, and prevent them from verifying the situation.

"Lin Degui? Never heard of him." A villager muttered.

“My uncle said he was helping out in Liucun by collecting herbs…” Lin Xiu continued to “explain,” her eyes inadvertently revealing worry.

"Gathering herbs? Old Wang from the east end of the village often goes into the mountains to tinker with herbs..." another villager interjected.

The other one, seeing her as a thin, frail girl who didn't seem threatening, waved his hand impatiently.

"Go away, get out of here right now! Don't come to our village!"

"Uncle, please have mercy, could you give me a drink of water?" Lin Xiu pleaded pitifully.

Seeing Lin Xiu's appearance, one of the villagers wavered.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman emerged from the shadows.

Compared to the male villagers, the women were clearly much more emotional.

Seeing a young woman in distress, I felt a pang of sympathy.

"Xu Erleng, what are you yelling about?"

"What's wrong with a little girl asking for a drink of water?"

The woman cursed at the villager who had just spoken rudely.

Then, she walked to Lin Xiu's side, took her hand, and said gently:

"Don't be afraid, girl. The traitors and bandits are causing trouble. They're just worried about the danger."

"Come on, let me take you into the village."

Lin Xiu observed the other person's brows and tone, but sensed no danger, so she spoke:

"Thank you, ma'am."

"No need to thank me. Although we are not well-off, we can still afford to give you a bowl of water." Entering the old lady's courtyard, the yard was dilapidated, and a little boy was lying in the house, coughing from time to time.

While getting a drink of water, Lin Xiu asked with concern, "Is your little brother sick?"

"Alas, I caught a cold, but I can't afford the medicine..." sighed Aunt Wang.

Lin Xiu's heart skipped a beat; this was an opportunity! She said naturally:

"I picked some herbs on the mountain. I recognize some of them. Would you like me to take a look?"

She took out several Bupleurum and Scutellaria baicalensis plants from the basket.

"These decoctions can reduce fever and inflammation."

Grandma Wang was skeptical, but looking at her sickly grandson, she agreed.

Lin Xiu skillfully helped process the herbs, chatting casually in the process:
"This village is quite quiet, much better than my messy old home."

"What's so good about it..." Aunt Wang relaxed her guard.

“A few days ago, Erpi Gou came to urge us to grow grain and stole the last bit of seeds from Old Zhao’s family.”

"And the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold also frequently come to the village to rob things."

Upon hearing Aunt Wang's description of the mission's objective, Lin Xiu's mood immediately soured as she said:
"Auntie, the Black Wind you mentioned, are you referring to the bandits who appear over in the North Mountain area?"

"Yes, girl, could it be that you've encountered those bandits from Black Wind Stronghold? That would be terrible." Aunt Wang's tone was somewhat anxious.

"Auntie, what happened to the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold? Am I not going to be able to rescue my brother?"

Tears streamed down Lin Xiu's face as she choked out a question.

“Girl, you don’t know because your West Village is far away, but Black Wind Village is no ordinary place.”

“They’ve robbed all the villages around us. They’ve even killed people. They’re a bunch of inhuman, damned dogs.”

"There are more than two hundred people on the mountain, with more than one hundred guns, and I heard there are also two cannons!"

"We tried to wipe out those scoundrels several times but failed. Instead, they took a lot of our grain."

"Your brother was kidnapped by them this time, and there's a good chance he won't come back."

Aunt Wang didn't know how to comfort Lin Xiu, and she gritted her teeth whenever she mentioned Black Wind Village.

If language could kill, the people of Black Wind Stronghold wouldn't be enough to kill a thousand times over.

Then, Lin Xiu continued chatting, trying to find out about the situation of Black Wind Village from Aunt Wang.

We finally figured out the approximate location and general situation of Black Wind Stronghold.

After learning about the situation, Lin Xiu left behind the prepared herbs, and then bid farewell to Aunt Wang and prepared to leave.

She declined Aunt Wang's offer to stay, saying she was afraid her father at home wouldn't be able to get the medicine, and she also needed to bring back the news that her brother had been kidnapped by bandits.

Aunt Wang gratefully gave her a cornbread bun and whispered:

"Girl, you're a good person. Hurry up and leave. This place isn't safe."

“I’ll have my man lead you along the path at the east end of the village. You won’t run into Erpi Gou or the bandits if you go that way.”

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Oh, this damned world!"

Led by Wang Da Niang's husband, Lin Xiu successfully left the village and rejoined the group.

She reported the situation to Liu Tengjie.

As Liu Tengjie listened to the information Lin Xiu had gathered, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"The leader is indeed farsighted. There are some things that men can't do as well as women."

He now understood why Chen Ming had arranged for female soldiers to join the advance team.

In such an extremely xenophobic region with no popular support, special operations teams would disguise themselves and gather intelligence.

While we wouldn't say we gained nothing, we could say we made very little progress.

They even almost got into a conflict with the villagers.

The female soldiers, however, obtained the general location of Black Wind Stronghold, as well as the approximate number of soldiers and their firepower; the difference was immediately apparent.

Women have a natural advantage in conducting mass work.

"Captain, we learned from the villagers that the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold have committed numerous atrocities and have ravaged the surrounding villages."

"The common people hate them to the core."

"If we can eliminate this bandit gang, we can not only avenge the fallen soldiers, but also win the approval of the surrounding people."

"Even if we can't make them accept us, we can at least make them stop being hostile towards us and stop treating us as enemies."

Lin Xiu began to recount her indirect account.

"That's right. Let's take Black Wind Village as the first step in building a solid foundation among the masses and establishing a base."

Liu Tengjie spoke up.

Several hours later, the soldiers of the reconnaissance company returned.

With the approximate location provided by the female soldiers, plus the traces left by the bandits during their retreat,

The soldiers of the reconnaissance company have pinpointed the exact location of the bandit stronghold.

Halfway up the northern mountain, the stronghold is surrounded by three trenches and two sentry posts. The main gate faces a narrow mountain path, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At the same time, they also figured out the bandits' shift change times and planned two attack routes.

However, it is already late, and attacking the bandits' stronghold at night in an unfamiliar place, with the enemy in the dark and the enemy out of the sight of us, is clearly not a wise move.

After discussing with several company commanders, Liu Tengjie decided to let the soldiers rest for one night to recharge their energy.

We will launch a general offensive at dawn tomorrow, when the bandits are most relaxed.

As night fell, the campfire at the camp gradually ignited.

The soldiers sat around the campfire, some wiping their guns, some checking their ammunition, and others oiling their bolts.

Lin Xiu and the other female soldiers were busy in the medical tent, preparing hemostatic powder, gauze and stretchers.

They knew that there would be wounded in tomorrow's battle, and they needed to be prepared to save more of their comrades.

The glow of the campfire illuminated everyone's faces, and anger was gradually replaced by determination.

Tomorrow, they will not only avenge their fallen comrades, but also let the bandits of Black Wind Village know the power of their Northeast Vanguard.

We also want the people of Chifeng to know that there is a team here to protect them and help them fight the Japanese invaders and bandits.

The atmosphere inside Black Wind Stronghold was extremely oppressive at this moment.

The bandits remained silent in the main hall of the mountain stronghold.

Today's battle has terrified them.

In the parlance of fantasy novels, his Dao heart was completely shattered.

More than 100 people ambushed a force of about 30 people, of whom only a dozen or so were combat personnel.

Despite the surprise attack, they only managed to kill two of the enemy soldiers and injure four.

Immediately afterwards, the other side launched a counterattack and wiped out more than thirty of their own people within two or three minutes.

This formidable fighting power terrified the bandits.

The Black Wind Village bandits used to bully ordinary people, fight with local bandits, and occasionally engage in battles with puppet troops.

Where have we ever fought against such elite troops?
Once they clashed, the bandits realized that the gap between different groups was greater than the difference between a man and a dog.

Even when the Japanese Kwantung Army sent a small squad to encircle and annihilate them, the bandits of Black Wind Village were never this afraid.

"Brother, do you think that army might come looking for us?" one of the bandits asked anxiously.

"What's there to be afraid of? Our Black Cloud Stronghold is well-hidden and easy to defend. How could those troops possibly find us?"

"Even if they find us, they may not be able to break through."

“I observed the other party, and they were not Japanese soldiers. They wouldn’t dare to stay in the vicinity for long.”

"As long as we stay hidden in the mountain stronghold, we don't need to worry about them finding us."

The bandit leader spoke, but his lack of confidence betrayed his panic.

"Boss, how about we move first to lay low for a while, and then come back after they can't find us and leave?"

A bandit leader suggested.

"No, if we run away like this, how will we stand up to other mountain strongholds in the future?"

Although the bandit leader was afraid, he still flatly refused.

He couldn't agree too quickly, otherwise his men would think he was cowardly and weak, and wouldn't be able to lead the troops in the future.

One of the bandits saw through his leader's thoughts and understood what he was thinking, so he advised him again:

"Boss, we're not running away because we're afraid of them. We're just temporarily avoiding their sharp edge. As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild."

"Yes, boss, the enemy outnumbers us. We can't fight them head-on. We're outnumbered, so it's not shameful for us to move temporarily."

"That's what a bandit who manages the accounts in a mountain stronghold said."

After being persuaded by the crowd, the bandit leader finally "responded to the will of the people" and "reluctantly" agreed.

They were just a bunch of bandits, yet they played the trick of refusing and declining three times, laughing and joking.

"Alright, since everyone thinks so, let's pack up tomorrow and lay low for a while," said the bandit leader.

At that moment, he still felt that the unknown group couldn't possibly find their mountain stronghold in just one night.

There are countless bandits in the Chifeng area. The chances of accurately locating their Black Wind Stronghold are extremely low unless there is an inside traitor or someone to guide you.

July 18th at dawn, a day that will go down in history.

The Northeast Vanguard of the Independent Detachment is ready today and has launched its first ice-breaking battle to establish a mass base and open up a new base area!
(End of this chapter)