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

Chapter 89 Abundant Supplies, Time for a Prosperous New Year
"What? The Eighth Route Army has come knocking on our door? How many are there?"

Xie Baoqing was startled and quickly fastened his belt.

"I don't know, but it looked like there were people everywhere, at least several hundred Eighth Route Army soldiers."

"Several hundred people? Where have the Eighth Route Army advanced to?" Xie Baoqing asked anxiously.

"We're almost at the entrance to the village."

"What? What are the sentries doing? How come the Eighth Route Army has already reached the village gate?" Xie Baoqing was somewhat incredulous.

The reason why Black Cloud Stronghold has been able to exist for so long, robbing the supplies of the Jin-Sui Army and the Central Army without any problems, is because of its geographically advantageous location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Thanks to the treacherous terrain of the outpost, it was virtually impregnable; as long as a few people were on guard, they wouldn't be afraid of even an attack by hundreds of people.

That's why Black Cloud Village has been able to exist for so long.

"Boss, I'm just on lookout duty. There are too many Eighth Route Army soldiers to keep watch."

The bandit, somewhat guilty, replied when asked the question.

In the past, the attackers were at most a security regiment of two or three hundred people, but today, the people who came were the regular Eighth Route Army.

Most importantly, the Eighth Route Army set up the cannon right in front of him.

While you can rely on terrain to fight against infantry, not everyone has the courage to defend their position under artillery fire.

Seeing that things were not going well, the lookout bandits ran away.

Because this bandit was Xie Baoqing's confidant, he even came to inform him before fleeing.

"Damn it, I've treated you well, and you just ran away."

Xie Baoqing heard that the bandits on guard duty had been scared away by the Eighth Route Army and had abandoned their posts, allowing the Eighth Route Army to reach the entrance of the village.

Enraged, he raised his gun and shot the bandit dead.

"Brothers, the Eighth Route Army has come to our door. We robbed them of their things and killed their men. Now, our only chance of survival is to defend the village. Everyone, take your guns and guard the village."

Xie Baoqing shouted.

Inside the stronghold, the other bandits were also awakened by the gunfire. After a moment of panic, they hurriedly grabbed their guns and ran to the gate of the stronghold to prepare to defend it.

These days, if you want to become a bandit in the mountains, you need a pledge of allegiance.

They all have lives on their hands, more or less, and this time they even killed members of the Eighth Route Army.

If I were captured by the Eighth Route Army, I would definitely not survive. I could only try my best to fight back and see if I could drive the Eighth Route Army back like before.

Xie Baoqing, meanwhile, shielded the bandits in front of him and quietly ran back to his residence to pack up his valuables and prepare to make a getaway.

Now that the Eighth Route Army had reached the entrance of the village, losing its strategic geographical advantage, it would be almost impossible for them to hold it with the village's rudimentary fortifications.

As the ringleader, he would definitely not survive if he were caught.

If I don't run now, am I supposed to stay and be buried with them?
Xie Baoqing only packed up the gold and other precious metals, while scattering the silver dollars and other valuables, hoping to delay the Eighth Route Army's advance.

After doing everything, Xie Baoqing ran to the back of the mountain, swung a rope to a tree trunk, and with a swing, landed directly on the frozen river below.

The river surface was very slippery, and Xie Baoqing was in a hurry to escape, making it even more difficult for him to stand, resulting in a famous scene—Baoqing ice skating.

However, just as Xie Baoqing climbed out of the river and was relieved to have escaped, he suddenly heard a loud shout.

"do not move!"

Xie Baoqing turned his head with difficulty, only to see more than thirty Eighth Route Army soldiers raising their guns and aiming at him.

Finished!

Faced with so many guns aimed at him, Xie Baoqing didn't even dare to resist and obediently surrendered to the soldiers of the third platoon.

"Hahaha, we've caught another big fish, and so much gold too! The battalion commander is definitely going to have to wash my feet now!" the third platoon leader shouted excitedly.

The other soldiers were also very happy.

It turns out that the task Chen Ming gave them was such a good one, with rewards and honors practically handed to them.

The hastily organized defenses of Black Cloud Village were rendered helpless by four cannonballs.

No one dared to guard the gate of the stronghold; it was blown open by a squad of soldiers carrying explosives.

The bandits swarmed towards the back mountain, intending to descend via a small path, but were ambushed by a squad from the special operations brigade. After leaving behind more than thirty corpses, they fled back.

"Report: The bandit stronghold has been surrounded. The bandits are now holed up inside the stronghold and are about to surrender."

The battalion commander of the fourth battalion reported to Chen Ming.

“Tell the soldiers, I don’t want the number of prisoners, I only want the copper ore,” Chen Ming said without hesitation.

For those who went up the mountain to become bandits in this era, especially those who formed a large-scale bandit gang.

Even if they were all killed, not one of them would be innocent.

The idea of ​​"laying down the butcher's knife and instantly becoming a Buddha" doesn't exist for Chen Ming.

"Yes."

The battalion commander also did not want to let the bandits who killed the soldiers of the fourth battalion go.

Since Chen Ming has given the order, then shoot them all, take no prisoners!
With the order from the fourth battalion commander to launch a general offensive, the soldiers charged directly into the mountain stronghold and wiped out all the remaining bandits inside.

After eliminating the bandits, the soldiers began to clean up the battlefield, and Chen Ming, led by the third bandit leader, found the chalcopyrite mine on Black Cloud Mountain.

The first thing you see is a man-made mine shaft, with many brass-yellow ore bands and some greenish-black oxidation marks.

Chen Ming picked up a piece of ore; from the surface, it didn't look particularly high quality. However, for the Eighth Route Army, it was already very good.

Regardless of the quality, the most important thing is to solve the problem of whether or not you have it at all.

However, Chen Ming also discovered associated gold deposits in the chalcopyrite mine.

"Is the gold in your Black Cloud Stronghold made by refining copper?" Chen Ming asked the bandit leader.

"Some of them were, the rest were obtained by selling copper," the third leader answered honestly.

"You can also smelt ores?"

"After discovering this copper mine, the boss captured some craftsmen who knew how to refine copper, and they figured it out by trial and error."

"Well, what about the craftsmen?" Chen Ming nodded and then asked.

"They're locked up in the copper smelting area. They're kept inside all the time and aren't allowed to come out," the third bandit leader replied.

With the bandit leader's third-in-command leading the way, Chen Ming arrived at the bandits' ore-smelting site.

This is a cave where two rudimentary blast furnaces were built. There is also a natural fissure above the cave to allow the smoke produced by smelting to escape.

Beside the blast furnace, seven or eight dark-skinned, thin craftsmen huddled together.

Seeing the other person's miserable state, Chen Ming was furious.

These are all inhuman bandits who treat people like livestock, persecuting innocent civilians to work for them.

Seeing Chen Ming's stern face, the third bandit leader was frightened and quickly defended himself, saying that Xie Baoqing had done all these things, and he was just keeping accounts and managing logistics.

Chen Ming was too lazy to listen to his sophistry; he would say these things later to the comrades in charge of this matter.

Afterwards, Chen Ming went to see the woman who had been captured by bandits and taken up the mountain.

Most of these women were disheveled, dressed in tattered clothes, and were extremely thin, shivering in the dead of winter.

Chen Ming couldn't bear it, so he said, "Let's get them some clothes to change into, prepare some food for them, and send someone to the rear to find some female comrades to come and help."

"Yes."

"Remember, don't give them too much. Just give them about half full, or their bodies won't be able to handle it," Chen Ming reminded them.

People who are often not full should not eat too much at once, otherwise their bodies will not be able to handle it.

These people were all unfortunate; they had been kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountains.

There's no going back home. Women who have been kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountains are unlikely to survive if left unattended.

Chen Ming planned to first find some female comrades to do psychological work for these unfortunate people, and then let them make a choice.

If they want to go home, Chen Ming will provide them with travel expenses so they can go home.

If they didn't want to go home, they could stay in the team and do some logistical work, such as sewing clothes and making shoe soles.

Then change their names and surnames, completely say goodbye to the past, and be able to live a new life in the future.

They were persecuted in the old society. If even the Eighth Route Army couldn't help them, who could?

Chen Ming was stunned for a moment after the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield gave him the list of houses.

Simply put, they're too rich!
Needless to say, the weapons and ammunition were already revealed by the third leader of the bandits.

In terms of other supplies and money, more than 30 catties of gold, more than 17,000 silver dollars, and more than 30,000 yuan of legal tender were seized.

And the grain reserves are enough to feed a thousand people for a year and a half!

The village also raises four pigs, two sheep, and more than seventy chickens.

According to the third leader of the bandits, these were raised by the bandits in preparation for slaughtering the pigs of the previous year for the New Year.

"Damn it, this bandit den is so ruthless in plundering the people. It seems that resisting Japan and saving the country is not just about resisting Japan, but also about eradicating bandits." Chen Ming cursed.

Such a large amount of food and supplies could not have been grown by the bandits themselves; they were all stolen from the people.

If even a bandit's den is like this, what about other places?
"It seems that we have to wipe out the bandits no matter what; we have no choice but to do so." Chen Ming made a decision in his heart.

In the future, in addition to fighting the Japanese army, he will also regularly suppress bandits and give the people justice.

Chen Ming doesn't want to let any of those who leech off the people get away with it.

After taking inventory of the supplies, Chen Ming began arranging for people to transport them back to the base, while Black Cloud Village left a company of soldiers to defend the area and await further orders.

The copper mine was of great importance. Although it was a small mine with low grade, it was still very important to the Eighth Route Army.

After Chen Ming reported the discovery of chalcopyrite in Black Cloud Mountain, the headquarters took it very seriously and immediately sent people to conduct an on-site investigation.

The boss was pleased after confirming the copper ore reserves and grade.

Due to the dual blockade by the Japanese army and the Nationalist government, the supply of materials to the Huangyadong Arsenal has become increasingly difficult.

The current situation is that even with money, it's impossible to buy materials.

The copper mine discovered in the fourth district, though small, can greatly alleviate the pressure on the supply of materials.

Finally, considering the geographical location of Black Cloud Village, headquarters decided that the smelting would be carried out locally by the Fourth Division.

The smelted metal was partly transported to the Huangyadong Arsenal, and partly kept for use by the arsenal in the Fourth Military Sub-district.

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(End of this chapter)