12dz Chapter 521 Arrival at Xin'an County
Chapter 521 Arrival at Xin'an County
Wang Meng and Peng Liang continued to wander around Zhouzhuang and ran into Zhou Zhiguo who was in a hurry.
At this time, Zhou Zhiguo was no longer the battalion commander, but the commander of the 1st Regiment of the Weishanhu Independent Division.
"Captain Zhou, why are you in such a hurry?"
Zhou Zhiguo stopped his hurried steps, stood still and saluted.
"Chief of Staff, Division Commander, I heard that Captain Wei Dayong has some good stuff, I'm going to go see what's going on!"
Wang Meng quickly waved his hands. He also knew about the powerful effect of thermite yesterday.
"Don't go. You are talking about thermite grenades! Commander Peng didn't say it when he was summarizing the battle just now, so I'll say it for you.
Because of the Japanese blockade, all the equipment of our Weishanhu Independent Division depends on air transportation, so some siege weapons, such as heavy howitzers, cannot be deployed.
Although you are equipped with infantry artillery at the back, the range is limited and it is easy to be countered by the Japanese. Moreover, it is not easy to maneuver when fighting behind enemy lines.
Take yesterday for example, the path was not suitable for infantry artillery operations, and you only brought mortars.
Therefore, considering the particularity of fighting behind enemy lines, you need to enhance your individual anti-tank and anti-armor capabilities. Tonight, I will have the Pingshun Arsenal airdrop a batch of thermite grenades and rocket launchers to you to ensure that you can defeat the Japanese armored vehicles. "
In fact, the reason why Wang Meng made such a decision was to prepare for the upcoming war.
Jinpu County is a major north-south passage. Once the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Battle breaks out, the Japanese infantry will gather from north to south.
Moreover, the Japanese railway lines in Shanxi and Mongolia have been controlled by the Independent Column, and their more than 20 railway corps will be concentrated in the three northeastern provinces and the Jinpu Line.
In order to ensure the safety of their "main artery", the Japanese will definitely work hard on the Jinpu Line.
It is estimated that at least two-thirds of the railway corps would be mobilized to station on the Jinpu Line, and it is very likely that a "mopping-up" operation would be launched against the resistance forces along the way before the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign began.
Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen the individual combat capabilities of the Weishanhu Independent Division, especially its anti-armor capabilities.
Once the Japanese launched a mopping-up operation, the soldiers of the independent division could act independently in companies, platoons or even squads. By then, even if a squad encountered Japanese armored vehicles and tanks, they would be able to fight back.
Peng Liang and Zhou Zhiguo thanked him profusely, and then began to prepare for training more actively.
According to the famous saying of the Independent Column, only soldiers with strong skills are qualified to hold the most advanced weapons.
Wang Meng and Wei Dayong stayed in the Weishan Lake Independent Division for another two days. After finishing the braised chicken and Hengshui Laobai Gan, they prepared to return to Pingshun.
Before leaving, Peng Liang prepared a large bag of salted fish and dried shrimps for Wang Meng.
"Chief of Staff, our Weishan Lake doesn't have much else but a lot of seafood. Bring some back for the commander and political commissar to taste!"
Monk Wei took the two large cloth bags with a smile.
"Then I'd like to thank you on behalf of the commander and the political commissar!"
Wang Meng rolled his eyes at Monk Wei. Did this Monk Hua want to make up for all the meat he hadn’t eaten in the past twenty years?
"Captain Peng, after we leave, you must continue to maintain your enthusiasm for training. No matter how good the weapons are, they still need people to use them. Don't let them down!
I'll tell you the truth, the Japanese will attack us in three months at the latest. You should train as much as you can in these three months. Even if you have to feed them with bullets, you must improve the soldiers' shooting and fighting skills!"
Peng Liang and the three group leaders immediately saluted and expressed their opinions: Even if our arms or legs are broken during training, we must practice!
Wang Meng, Wei Heshang and a squad of soldiers who arrived later rode fast horses and headed west under the protection of the Weishan Lake Independent Division.
That night, in a valley in southern Shandong, Wang Meng was chewing Shandong pancakes with some fried dried fish.
"Chief of Staff, Commander Li has an urgent message!"
Wang Meng handed the pancake to Monk Wei:
"Monk, hold it for me, don't eat it all!"
After wiping his hands, Wang Meng took the telegram. The more he read it, the tighter his brows became, like a lump of iron.
It turned out that Louis on the other side of the ocean did put pressure on Chongqing, and in accordance with the requirements of the contract, "persuaded" Chongqing to borrow 200,000 troops.
However, the man in Chongqing was not a kindhearted person. How could he give away 200,000 soldiers for nothing? And they were his potential competitors!
However, considering the assistance from Country M and Louis' attitude, Chongqing opened the door to negotiations.
Lin Shubing negotiated with Chongqing for many days before finally reaching a preliminary plan.
Chongqing opened the door to an entire army group, allowing officers of the independent column to enter and exit freely. As for how many officers and soldiers were willing to leave the Central Army and join the independent column, that depended on their abilities.
Of course, weapons, equipment and all supplies cannot be taken away.
In addition, it is necessary to provide the Chongqing government with an equal number of semi-automatic rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition for each semi-automatic rifle!
"That damn old man is full of tricks! It's not that easy to get a 100,000-man army from him.
Even if we take away 100,000 people, we still have to give him 100,000 semi-automatic rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition!"
Wang Meng was so angry that his teeth were itching. Although arsenals had been opened in Changzhi, Linfen and Qingyang, and the production of guns and bullets had long reached astonishing figures, he was still very unhappy about being ripped off like this!
Monk Wei stuffed the remaining pancake into his mouth and said vaguely:
"Chief of Staff, will the Central Army give us those crooked melons and cracked dates? Don't let a bad apple spoil our good soup!"
"Don't worry, we would rather have nothing than something of poor quality. Our Political Commissar Zhao will keep a close eye on it for us. As for the military quality, it's up to us!"
After Wang Meng finished speaking, he saw that Monk Wei had finished his pancake, so he reluctantly got on his horse and set off immediately, preparing to return to Pingshun and start the process of incorporating the entire army.
In order to avoid the Japanese-controlled area, Wang Meng decided to cross the Yellow River from Xin'an County, north of Luoyang.
Wang Meng's team marched non-stop and arrived at Xin'an County in the north of Luoyang three days later.
"Monk, let's stay here for one night, and then we'll cross the Yellow River and return to Pingshun tomorrow morning!"
"Yes!"
Wang Meng and his team dismounted and entered Xin'an County.
Xin'an County is located to the north of the Yellow River and has an extremely important geographical location. When Jincheng was still in the hands of the Japanese, it was an important stronghold to prevent the Japanese from crossing the Yellow River.
Zhongzhou locks Yin!
After the Independent Column occupied the Jincheng front line, the Central Army originally stationed there took advantage of the fact that the Independent Column had engaged a part of the Japanese invaders and actually recaptured Zheng County!
Xin'an also became the rear base!
However, Xin'an County does not seem to be peaceful now.