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

Chapter 90: Large-scale bandit suppression, whereabouts of the machine tool?

In the following days, various units were wiping out bandits in different places, and good news kept coming in.

In an instant, the bandits in the entire fourth division's defense zone were on edge, desperately trying to escape.

But with the help of the masses, their whereabouts were exposed.

The common people hated these bandits to the core. Their year's harvest, even if it wasn't plundered by traitors and Japanese devils, would still be stolen by these bandits.

The people were full of complaints, but because the bandits had guns and cannons, they had no way to fight back and could only be exploited and oppressed.

Now that they hear the Eighth Route Army is going to start suppressing bandits, the people have finally found someone who can stand up for them.

Wherever the Eighth Route Army went, the people welcomed them wholeheartedly and eagerly led the way, truly taking full advantage of favorable timing and popular support.

In just a few days, the bandits in the Fourth District were wiped out one by one by the Eighth Route Army and the people, with only a few escaping.

The strength of the independent detachment was akin to a dimensional reduction attack for the bandits.

Once the cannon is set up, the bandits either obediently surrender or surrender after the cannon fire is finished.

"Report: In this operation to suppress bandits, a total of more than 2,200 bandits were eliminated, including 1,100 who were captured, more than 900 women and more than 400 laborers were rescued."

"We seized over 600 tons of grain (enough to feed 3000 people for a year), over 1400 rifles, 11 light machine guns, 2 heavy machine guns, over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 2 60mm mortars, and 40 shells."

"In addition, 1.4 tons of opium, 60.1 jin of gold, more than 40,000 silver dollars, and 110,000 yuan of legal tender were also seized."

Chief of Staff Chang Fei reported the situation of the captured items to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming was stunned when he heard this. The bandits in the Fourth Division alone had yielded so much spoils after being wiped out!
Such a large spoils, just the weapons and ammunition alone, could expand another main force regiment.

Not to mention the abundance of grain and money.

"Hmm, not bad." Chen Ming nodded after a moment's pause.

Next, Chen Ming began to think about the spoils of war.

"Take half of the captured clothing and food and distribute them to the villagers who have been harmed by the bandits. The New Year is coming soon, and their lives are not easy in the freezing cold."

"All opium was publicly destroyed, and the weapons were temporarily stored. The decision on how to distribute them will be made later."

Chen Ming spoke and made a decision.

Unlike before, the military sub-district now has a certain degree of autonomy and can make its own decisions regarding supplies without having to hand them over.

In layman's terms, it is called secondary finance.

“I support the detachment commander’s decision,” Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze said.

In this era, winter is when people are most likely to die.

Especially for ordinary people at the bottom of society, the hardest thing to endure in winter is the severe cold and the lack of food.

A large portion of the supplies seized from bandits who did not engage in production were plundered from ordinary people.

These supplies, when distributed to the people, will allow them to get through this winter safely.

"Old Zhang, I'm entrusting these women and laborers who were abducted to the mountain by bandits to your care," Chen Ming said to Zhang Zhengze.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Zhang Zhengze nodded.

He and Chen Ming had already discussed how to deal with the women when they wiped out Black Cloud Village.

As the political commissar, he should be the one to do these things.

"The captured bandits should be dealt with accordingly. Those who have committed heinous crimes and are beyond redemption should be executed, and the people should be allowed to supervise."

“Those with minor offenses or meritorious service should be sentenced to labor reform for varying terms of imprisonment, depending on their crimes. Mining also needs people.”

“Those who were coerced into going up the mountain should be educated for a period of time and then sent home.”

Chen Ming continued speaking.

"Old Wang, I'm leaving this matter to you."

"Don't worry, this is my job."

The man called Lao Wang was a cadre sent by headquarters. His position was director of the political department, and his responsibilities included propaganda and mobilization, party member development, battlefield education, and prisoner-of-war treatment.

The handling of prisoners is the responsibility of the other side.

Only four people in the military sub-district can make decisions.

The military commander, political commissar, chief of staff, and director of the political department can basically decide on all matters, big and small, within the military sub-district in a small meeting.

Of course, Chen Ming can make the final decision on all matters within the military region when necessary.

After discussing the arrangements for the spoils and prisoners, Chen Ming prepared to report the situation of this operation to his superiors.

All the troops are having a tough time right now, and the New Year is just around the corner. It's a good time to report the situation to higher authorities so they can organize a large-scale anti-bandit campaign.

Firstly, it is to give the people justice and make their lives a little better.

Secondly, by eliminating the bandits and seizing a batch of weapons and supplies, we can alleviate our current difficulties.

After Chen Ming reported the situation, headquarters took it very seriously.

Judging from the supplies seized by the Independent Detachment during this bandit suppression campaign, a large number of bandits and supplies were hidden in the border areas between the base area and the Japanese-controlled area.

Thus, a massive campaign to suppress bandits began.

The bandits in the base area were greatly shaken.

Some bandits denounced the Eighth Route Army, saying that they had never robbed the Eighth Route Army and that the two sides had never interfered with each other, so why should the Eighth Route Army attack them?

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, some surrendered to the Japanese, hoping to escape the encirclement and suppression by the Eighth Route Army under the protection of the Japanese.

Some chose to flee the Eighth Route Army's base areas and move to the areas where the Jin-Sui Army and the Central Army were located.

In short, this large-scale anti-bandit campaign ended just before the end of the year. The Eighth Route Army's major actions also drew reactions from all sides.

After learning of the Eighth Route Army's large-scale operation, the Japanese military assumed that the Eighth Route Army was about to launch another large-scale operation like the Hundred Regiments Offensive.

Finally, it was discovered that the Eighth Route Army was suppressing bandits. After ordering the Japanese and puppet troops at various strongholds to strengthen their defenses, they stopped paying much attention to the situation.

Tada Shun, commander of the Japanese North China Area Army, also declared: "The Eighth Route Army of the Chinese army has been weakened to this extent that it did not launch an attack on the Japanese army in winter, but instead became entangled with a group of bandits."

"It seems that the Eighth Route Army is no longer a concern for the time being. Next, we should deal with the Central Army in southern Shanxi, which will eliminate the last threatening force in Shanxi Province."

The Nationalist government, on the other hand, scoffed at the Eighth Route Army's sudden anti-bandit campaign.

"The Eighth Route Army would do things like win people's hearts. So many troops went to fight some low-level bandits."

The leaders of both factions were largely pessimistic about the Eighth Route Army's anti-bandit campaign.

They believed that the Eighth Route Army had exhausted its resources after the Hundred Regiments Offensive, and its strength had been greatly weakened by the blockade from both sides.

Chen Ming had not anticipated this impact.

He never expected that his campaign to suppress bandits, launched solely for revenge, would indirectly lower the guard of the Nationalist government and the Japanese army against the Eighth Route Army.

This gave the Eighth Route Army some valuable opportunities to recover.

Headquarters.

The headquarters leaders were also very surprised by the results of this anti-bandit campaign.

Unexpectedly, simply eliminating the bandits in the base area resulted in the seizure of a large amount of supplies, giving them a much-needed boost in strength.

Supplies and weapons were replenished, and a surge of people joined the army.

Almost every time the troops raised their arms, a large number of civilians wanted to join the army.

"Comrade Chen Ming has a keen sense of smell. We didn't know until we hit him that the bandits in our base area were hiding so much wealth," the commander said with a smile.

They had fought bandits before, but their rear base was a poor and remote area with little to no profit, so their spoils were naturally meager.

In addition, after entering Shanxi Province, the Eighth Route Army focused its attention on the Japanese army, the Jin-Sui Army, and the Central Army, and did not pay much attention to these bandits.

Because the Eighth Route Army was poor, the bandits were unwilling to provoke a large but low-profit group of Eighth Route Army soldiers.

The two sides don't usually interact much.

It wasn't until after the victory, when a large-scale campaign to suppress bandits was organized, that they discovered a vast amount of wealth hidden among the bandits.

"Yes, we can finally have a prosperous year," the division commander exclaimed.

With so many supplies, our soldiers no longer had to endure the bitter cold and hunger to fight the Japanese army.

"After we finish counting the spoils, we'll send a batch of supplies to the rear. Life there is very difficult too," the boss said.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, life in the rear was also extremely difficult.

The situation was different for the Nationalist government, which was facing a critical situation at the front and a critical situation at the rear.

To send cadres, personnel, and supplies to support the front lines, it can be said that everyone tightened their belts and gave everything they could to support the war effort.

Life in the rear was even more difficult than on the front lines.

Sometimes even their daily diet cannot be guaranteed.

Independent Detachment.

"Report, there's something I'd like you to decide," Chief of Staff Chang Fei suddenly said as he entered Chen Ming's room.

Chen Ming put down the documents in his hand, rubbed his temples, and said with a smile:

"What's going on? Can't you, as the chief of staff, make a decision?"

“There was a bandit who was originally going to be executed, but he said he had connections to buy weapons and equipment and wanted to earn merit to save his life,” Dafei said.

"What kind of equipment?" Chen Ming didn't pay much attention.

He knew that bandits had ways to get guns, but he didn't care about such petty things as a few guns.

What Chen Ming needs to take seriously now is at least a company's worth of equipment.

“He said he has a way to get machine tools!” Dafei said.

"what?"

Chen Ming stood up, somewhat incredulous.

The main difficulties currently hindering the production of arsenals, besides materials, are production equipment.

Relying on hand-rolling and suggesting the creation of self-made hand-cranked machine tools, productivity was very limited and output was low.

If this bandit really had a way to get his hands on machine tools, he could solve the arsenal's problems in no time.

They cherish even a single punch press.

“That’s right. He said he could contact the Central Army in southern Shanxi and had connections in the black market in Shanghai and Songhu. He had handled several machine tools before.”

"The two heavy machine guns, one mortar, and five light machine guns that were seized this time were all counterfeit."

Dafei added.

"I see. No wonder even bandits have such luxurious equipment. So that's how it is." Chen Ming nodded.

“Bring him here to meet us. If we can really get our hands on the machine tool, it might be possible to get a reduced sentence for meritorious service.”

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)