Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 55 Establishing the Intelligence Department

"What, does that mean I can't come?" Li Yunfei said irritably.

"No way, I didn't think that way. If I had known you were coming, I would have sent someone to pick you up long ago," Zhou Zhengbiao quickly replied.

"Hey, my dear Battalion Commander Zhou, where have you made your fortune lately? Look at you, carrying those Type 38 rifles!" Li Yunfei's eyes lit up as he looked at the soldiers of the battalion in front of him carrying the same Type 38 rifles as the Japanese soldiers.

"Wow, my goodness, Battalion Commander Zhou, you've even got a mortar on your back! I don't even have one yet!" Li Yunfei exclaimed in surprise when he saw the mortar that Erzhuzi was carrying.

"Commander, what are you saying? Aren't they all part of our regiment? Besides, a single mortar is hardly worthy of your status. You should at least be assigned an artillery company."

"I fucking love hearing what you have to say," Li Yunfei joked.

"Commander, you've come at the right time. I just led a team to ambush a Japanese transport convoy and captured several large boxes of Japanese canned food. Let's have a feast. We just didn't wipe out all the Japanese; we only killed a dozen or so."

"My goodness, Battalion Commander Zhou, you've become so arrogant in just a few days. You've only killed a dozen or so Japanese soldiers. Our entire regiment hasn't eliminated many Japanese soldiers since it was established, but you're talking about a dozen right off the bat." Li Yunfei was a little shocked by this achievement.

The independent regiment led by Li Yunfei had only been established for a short time. While it couldn't be said that they were completely destitute, they were so poor that even rats would leave a handful of rice before they left. They lacked both equipment and personnel, and to carry out operations behind enemy lines was an even greater challenge.

"Commander, it's terribly cold outside. Let's eat and chat at my battalion headquarters." With that, Zhou Zheng-biao pulled Li Yun-fei toward the battalion headquarters.

Zhou Zhengbiao asked the cooks to prepare two side dishes, opened two cans of Japanese food, and also took out a bottle of Fenjiu liquor that he had treasured for a long time.

"Commander, let me tell you, I didn't drink this wine myself. I waited for you to drink it. Cheers!" Zhou Zhengbiao toasted Li Yunfei.

"Hey kid, you're something else! You've only been here a few months, and you've already made such a good impression? The other two battalions can only raid patrolling Japanese soldiers and fight off puppet troops. You, on the other hand, dare to directly attack Japanese transport convoys." Li Yunfei looked on with curiosity at how Zhou Zheng-biao had developed so quickly.

"Commander, it's all luck."

"Commander, I am not the civilian who was arrested in Zhao Family Village that I reported to be going to rescue last time."

"Yes, I know. I also wanted to ask you something. Recently, several strongholds in Zhaojiahe and a Japanese company were surrounded and wiped out by a military unit. Do you have any news on that side?" Li Yunfei asked again.

"Commander, I know this all too well. I was planning to go to the regiment to report to you, but I didn't expect you to come in person."

"Ah, which unit is it, the Nationalist Army, or one of ours?" Li Yunfei was taken aback by Zhou Zhengbiao's words.

"Commander, it wasn't them. You know the local militia in Tangjia Town, right? They did it. Commander, you don't know, their equipment was too good, all of them were equipped with Japanese weapons."

"What? Are you sure it's that militia? Do you think militias have the strength to go toe-to-toe with the Japanese? Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Li Yunfei asked three questions in one sentence.

"I guarantee it, the weapons these Japanese soldiers have are from them. I didn't do anything, and I just got so many weapons for free," Zhou Zheng-biao said with a lucky look on his face.

"My goodness, this has really opened my eyes, Old Li." Li Yunfei recovered from his shock and took a sip of wine to calm himself down. Seeing this, Zhou Zhengbiao refilled the regimental commander's glass.

"If you hadn't told me, no one would have guessed that it was these militia members who did it. But they're actually pretty nice people; they even gave us weapons."

"That's true. By the time I got there, they had already finished fighting. They asked us for some small favors, and then they handed over all the puppet army's weapons to us, saying that since we were all fighting the Japanese, we should all have a share."

"With so many weapons, I won't hold back. We'll bring them back to strengthen the battalion's combat capabilities. It's because of these weapons that I dared to take action against your Japanese transport convoy," Zhou Zhengbiao said.

"Oh, right, Commander, they also said they'd like to cooperate with the Japanese if there's a chance in the future," Zhou Zhengbiao added.

"Oh, in that case, I happen to have a battle plan." Li Yunfei's eyes lit up when he heard Zhou Zhengbiao's words.

"Can we find them?" Li Yunfei asked.

“No problem, they said I can go to the Tang family in Tangjia Town to find them when I have time.”

"Great!" Li Yunfei was overjoyed.

"Let's set off tomorrow to visit them."

......

The two-day leave came to an end quickly, and the militia soldiers returned to their barracks on Wolong Mountain early to prepare for the next phase of military training.

That evening, Tang Weiguo convened a meeting with the heads of various departments to introduce Li Xiaotian, a new member of the militia.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Xiaotian consulted with Tang Weiguo and suggested changing his name. Tang Weiguo and Tang Weiguo readily agreed. Li Xiaotian then changed his name to Li Qukou, meaning "Li Expelling the Japanese Pirates."

"Hello everyone, now I'd like to introduce a new member, Li Qukou. Please welcome him," Tang Weiguo said to everyone.

After Tang Weiguo finished speaking, a dense round of applause erupted from below.

"Thank you for the welcome." Li Qukou stood up and gave everyone a standard military salute.

"I have decided to add an intelligence department to our militia, with Li Qukou as the director. He will be in charge of our militia's intelligence work. There are three main tasks: first, to investigate the Japanese; second, to conduct counter-intelligence against Japanese intelligence personnel and protect the safety of our militia's base; and third, to eliminate those die-hard traitors who are devoted to following the Japanese."

"Our militia will be discovered by the Japanese sooner or later. The Japanese will send intelligence agents to scout our militia and then formulate a plan to attack us. So we must strike at the first sign of the Japanese and keep them from figuring out our strength. Only in this way can we gain the upper hand in defense."

The troops listening below all cast approving glances at him.

"To better cooperate with the work of the intelligence department, the personnel of the intelligence department will be personally selected by Director Li, and everyone is required to obey unconditionally," Tang Weiguo ordered.

"Yes, Commander, I guarantee to obey orders."

"Alright, also send one of the most elite liaison officers from the Special Reconnaissance Battalion to be trained by Director Li, in order to carry out future anti-espionage operations."

"Yes, Captain."

"Alright, starting tomorrow, the whole group will be in training mode. Everyone, train hard."

"Yes, Captain."

"Okay, let's break up the meeting."

After the meeting, Tang Weiguo and Li Qukou had a private conversation.

"How long would it take to build a qualified intelligence force to drive out the enemy?"

"Weiguo, our main task at present is to cover the area around Wolong Mountain. Give me six months, and I guarantee to build a reliable intelligence force."

“Very good, I know that intelligence work requires money. From now on, your intelligence department’s funding will be reported directly to me,” Tang Weiguo said.

Tang Weiguo thought that if he were to approach Bi Youcai, given his stinginess, Li Qukou would have a hard time obtaining sufficient funds. However, it was precisely because of Bi Youcai's stinginess that Tang Weiguo felt completely at ease appointing him as the head of the logistics department, so he wouldn't have to worry about the family fortune being squandered one day.

“With money paving the way, efficiency will be greatly improved; money can make the devil turn the millstone,” Li Qukou affirmed.

“I have a feeling that our militia will soon come into the sight of the Japanese, so Li Qukou, you’ll have to work even harder.”

"No problem, I can finally put all my skills to good use."

"Then, we'll fight those Japanese devils together on the battlefield." The two looked at each other and smiled.

......

A little over a month later, an ordinary Li's Tavern appeared in the county town.