Devil's Army

In the eyes of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, the Devil Forces were always a second-rate local armed force that could not rise to the level of a national army.

The Kwantung Army Headquarters attributed the failure of the attack on Tieling County, in which more than 20,000 Japanese troops were annihilated, to Commander Ling Qilong's pride, underestimation of the enemy and improper command.

The Kwantung Army Headquarters once wanted to transfer Commander Ling Qilong, not to mention approving his report to the Kwantung Army Headquarters requesting reinforcements.

Since the headquarters delayed approving Ling Kulong's request for reinforcements, Commander Ling Kulong's plan to encircle and suppress the Devil Forces could not be implemented.

The development of Leng Feng's troops also reached a bottleneck.

Although Leng Feng had new soldiers enlisting constantly, veterans were also dying at the same time, so the number of troops remained between 40,000 and 50,000.

Although more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were wiped out in this battle, the total number of casualties in various units of the First Army was less than that of a main brigade.

If we want more soldiers, we must have more civilians. And if we want more civilians, we must have a wider base. And if we have a wider base, we must send more troops to garrison.

Leng Feng’s current dilemma is insufficient manpower.

In order to eliminate these 20,000-plus Japanese soldiers, Leng Feng set up two empty city tactics in Tieling County and Zhangwu County: a regiment of more than 2,000 people from Tieling County faced the Japanese soldiers who were seven times his number to the north of Xiaoliang River, and two battalions of more than 1,000 people from Zhangwu County faced the Japanese soldiers in Rehe.

As long as the Japanese troops in Rehe and the north of Xiaoliang River cooperate with the Japanese troops who broke through the positions in the east of Tieling County to launch an attack, it would be difficult for Leng Feng to defend, and he might even lose Tieling County and transfer troops to Shan County and Zhangwu County. He would retreat to those places to continue guerrilla warfare.

This made Leng Feng feel scared just thinking about it.

But the battle was won after all. Those assumptions were just what ifs.

Commander Ling Qilong's plan to encircle and wipe out the Devil's Army could not be implemented due to lack of reinforcements.

The number of troops in the First Army has not been growing better.

The two sides maintained this situation in a delicate manner.

During this confrontation, the two sides welcomed the first snow of 1933.

This snow came earlier and was heavier than in previous years.

The Japanese's logistical support can keep up, so this cold wave has no impact on them.

Every time the First Army fought a battle, they would take back the Japanese's clothes and process them into their own clothes, so they could barely cope with this cold wave.

But the situation was different for the Anti-Japanese United Army active in various places. They were short of clothes and their situation was very difficult.

On this day, Leng Feng, Hui Lang and Wen Lang were discussing the development plan of the troops in the war room. The guard came over to report: someone came to see Leng Feng and has taken them to the reception room.

Leng Feng and the others stopped discussing and went to the reception room together.

What surprised Leng Feng was that the person who came to see him was Commander Li, with whom he had not been in contact since their farewell.

"Commander Li, oh no, I should call him Secretary Li. You are such a rare guest. What brings you here?"

"This Siberian cold blast blew me over here."

"Why is there a problem with the troops getting through the winter?"

"It's not that there is a problem, it's a big problem. Most soldiers in the army don't have winter clothing."

"If you're talking about penicillin or alcohol, I can still help you with that. But I can't do anything about winter clothes. The last time we joined forces from Rehe, we almost didn't have enough winter clothes for the troop of more than 10,000 people." Leng Feng waved his hand helplessly.

"If the commander wants to help, there is still a way."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Leng Feng looked at Secretary Li in confusion.

"Didn't you unload two ships of supplies at Yingkou Port last time?"

Leng Feng nodded and pointed at Gray Wolf and said, "The deputy commander personally led the team to handle this."

"Our troops are extremely short of winter clothes, and your troops don't have enough winter clothes either. Currently, only the little ghosts have enough winter clothes." Secretary Li glanced at Gray Wolf and continued.

"Oh? Secretary Li has a connection?" Gray Wolf asked.

"According to reliable intelligence, the Japanese will have a shipload of winter clothing docked at Yingkou Harbor in two days. We don't have the ability to do it, but the deputy commander should be able to find a way."

"Is the intelligence confirmed?"

"It should be about 70% to 80%."

"Do you have any information about where this batch of winter clothes is being shipped?" Gray Wolf asked.

"Our intelligence shows that this batch of winter clothing came from two places. One was shipped to Jinzhou, and the other was shipped to Fengtian. As for how many sets were sent to each place, we don't know."

"Okay, as long as we know that the goods are shipped to these two places, we can fish in troubled waters."

"Do you know which ship brought it here?" Gray Wolf asked.

"We don't know about that." It was already very good that Secretary Li's people could get this information.

Since the ship was due to arrive in two days, time was tight. Gray Wolf said directly to Secretary Li:

"Time is tight. Please sit down for a moment and I will make some arrangements." Then he turned and left the meeting room.