The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

"We have guns and food now, but we still have too few people." Zhou Jindong turned around and looked at the crowd. "More than sixty of our old guard, plus the surrendered puppet troops and the able-bodied men from Dongzhai Town, make a total of two hundred people."

With this small force, it would be difficult to even hold this valley, let alone attack the county town—there are over eight hundred Japanese soldiers in the county town, not to mention a regiment of puppet troops.

"So what do you mean?" Zhang Fang asked, tapping his finger on the table.

"Recruit soldiers," Zhou Jindong uttered firmly. "Not only do we recruit, but we recruit openly and aggressively. Now that we have a reputation and resources, the able-bodied young men in the neighborhood will definitely want to come—who doesn't want to have enough to eat, who doesn't want to fight the Japanese?"

"But there are puppet troops' strongholds in several nearby towns. What should we do?" Wang Yuan frowned, scratching his head. "What if the puppet troops come and cause trouble?"

"That's the second thing I want to talk about." Zhou Jindong's lips curled into a cold smile. "We not only need to recruit, but also 'steal' people. There are several bandit groups and civilian armed forces around Ningwu County, in addition to our guerrilla force."

Some of them numbered only a dozen or so, while others had several dozen, but all were short of guns and ammunition—some were even going hungry.

"You want to recruit them?" Zhang Fang's eyes lit up, and he slammed his hand on the table. "That's right! Recruiting them will both increase our troop strength and eliminate any potential threats!"

"It's not about annexing, it's about uniting all forces that can be united," Zhou Jindong corrected, pointing his finger on the map. "For those who are genuinely fighting the Japanese, we welcome them, give them guns, and give them food."

For those bandits who only bully ordinary people, just wipe them out—rob their people, take their guns, and beat them into submission if they resist. But regardless of the method, they must be made truly convinced.

Zhou Jindong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. These were seized from the stronghold, and the cigarette pack was printed with the three characters "Hademen".

He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and his eyes shone brightly amidst the swirling smoke.

"Brother Yuan, you know the situation in the county best. Take a few eloquent soldiers and spread the word in the surrounding towns and villages."

Take the guerrilla force in Dongzhai Town, for example. They just raided the Japanese warehouse in Cangshan'ao, and now they have plenty of guns and food. Any strong young man willing to fight the Japanese will be given a gun, and they'll have plenty of rice and flour every meal!

"Rice and flour for every meal? That's too extravagant!" Wang Yuan clicked his tongue in dismay. "No matter how much food we have, we can't keep up with this kind of consumption!"

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Let's lure them over first!" Zhou Jindong said calmly, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Tell them that guns don't wait for anyone, we'll only recruit for three days. After three days, we won't accept even relatives—we want that sense of urgency, to make them scramble to come."

"Alright!" Wang Yuan accepted the order. Seeing that Zhou Jindong had made up his mind, he didn't say anything more.

"Zhang Fang, you are in charge of training the new recruits. Pick out the best military personnel from the surrendered puppet troops to be instructors—for example, that Platoon Leader Li, who used to be in the Jin-Sui Army and is a good marksman."

Let's skip the fancy stuff and just practice three things: shooting, bayonet fighting, and grenade throwing. Practice however you can kill quickly!

"Understood!" Zhang Fang stood ramrod straight and saluted.

Although his manners weren't perfect, he was very earnest.

Now that we have guns and men, everyone has finally come to realize that we are a regular army.

"Kosuke Ogawa."

"Here!" Kosuke Ogawa quickly stood at attention, bending at a ninety-degree angle.

"You and your men will be responsible for maintaining those two infantry guns and grenade launchers. I want all soldiers who are interested in this to learn how to use the grenade launcher within half a month—it's very useful for attacking strongholds."

Furthermore, those who teach us Japanese should at least learn how to appease people and use slogans to persuade them to surrender, such as "Surrender and you will not be killed" and "Treat prisoners of war well."

Well, to some extent, coaxing and surrendering might be just a set of slogans.

"Hai! Please rest assured, Captain Zhou, I will definitely do it!" Ogawa Kosuke is now completely obedient to Zhou Jindong because Zhou Jindong promised him that as long as he makes a contribution, he will help him return to Japan after the war, or stay in China and live a good life in anonymity—to him, this is more important than anything else.

For the next two weeks, the ruined Dongzhai Town was transformed into a huge training ground and recruitment point.

The news caused a sensation throughout Ningwu County.

In teahouses and under the big tree at the village entrance, everyone was talking about the Dongzhai Town guerrillas: "Have you heard? Dongzhai Town has raided the Japanese warehouse; they have guns and food!"

"I want to sign up, even if it's unpaid, as long as they provide meals!"

"I'm going too! To fight the Japanese devils and get revenge!"

More than fifty people came on the first day.

They carried bedding rolls on their backs, and held hoes, sickles, and some even carried kitchen knives from home—their only weapons.

The next day, more than eighty people arrived.

Several of them were deserters from the Jin-Sui Army, wearing tattered uniforms and empty holsters—their guns had long been sold for food.

On the third day, more than two hundred people came and blocked the entrance to the valley.

But with more people, problems also arise.

Among these newcomers were farmers from nearby villages, former Jin-Sui Army soldiers who had fled the area, and even spies from other miscellaneous armed groups.

Some people came genuinely to fight the Japanese, their eyes filled with hatred; others came for the rice and flour, their eyes filled with greed.

Others were spies sent by other forces, sneaking around furtively.

Zhou Jindong wasn't stupid, so naturally he didn't accept everything.

He set up three checkpoints on the large playground he cleared in Dongzhai Town, like three sieves, to filter out those who did not meet the requirements.

The first hurdle is the physical examination.

Those who are too thin or weak are not acceptable—they can't carry a gun.

Those who are too old or too young should not be sent—the elderly and children cannot go to the battlefield.

A fifty-year-old man wanted to sign up, but Zhou Jindong stopped him: "Grandpa, why don't you stay and help with the cooking? The battlefield is too dangerous."

The old man cried and pleaded, "My son was killed by the Japanese devils! I want revenge!"

Zhou Jindong said, "Revenge doesn't necessarily have to be taken to the battlefield."

After much persuasion, they finally managed to convince the old man to leave.

The second hurdle is the political vetting.

The villagers of Dongzhai Town can identify them—they know the people around them best.

Anyone with a bad reputation or who has bullied the local people will be driven away or even detained.

There was a hoodlum named Liu San who had previously stolen chickens from ordinary people. After being recognized, Zhou Jindong had him tied up and publicly whipped twenty times: "If you dare to come again, shoot me!"

The third and most crucial test is the competition.

It's not just about fists and feet, but also about courage and physical strength.

On this day, Zhou Jindong was sitting in the command post drinking tea.

Sun Erniu ran in and reported: "Brother Dongzi, a group of people have come outside. They claim to be from the 'Black Wind Ridge Independent Brigade.' Their leader is called Lei Laohu. They have brought more than 30 people. They say they have come to join us, but they are not convinced and insist on having a contest with us."