Devil's Army

"Did he tell me the number of his unit?" Wulang asked the sentry.

"He said he was from the 41th Brigade of the 122nd Division of the 364st Army."

"So it's the Sichuan Army under the 22nd Army Group. Aren't they participating in the battle in Taiyuan?" asked Gray Wolf.

"The Battle of Taiyuan should be over. Taiyuan has also fallen." Wulang responded to Gray Wolf and turned to the sentry and said:

"Please ask Brigade Commander Wang to come to the reception room. I'll be there right away."

"Let's go over and meet Brigade Commander Wang." Gray Wolf said to Brigade Commander Du and the others.

Not long after Wu Lang and his companions arrived at the reception room, an officer whose uniform looked a little shabby but who looked very energetic came over.

The sentry pointed at Wulang and introduced him to the officer:

"This is our Commander-in-Chief He."

"Hello, Commander He!"

"Hello, Brigade Commander Wang, please take a seat!"

After Commander He sat down, Wu Lang asked:

"Aren't you participating in the Battle of Taiyuan?"

"We encountered the Japanese in Donghui Village outside Taiyuan. My 727th Regiment suffered more than 800 casualties, and the 728th Regiment suffered more than 1000 casualties. Our ammunition and food supplies were delayed, so we had to withdraw from the battle."

"You were fighting in Taiyuan, Shanxi, and it was Commander Yan who should have been the one who supplied you with food and ammunition. Why hasn't he been supplying you with any?"

"When we first arrived in Shanxi, we went to see Commander Yan. He said the war situation was tense and asked us to participate in the battle outside Taiyuan first. He would replenish our military pay, food, and ammunition after the battle was over. Each of our soldiers was seriously short of ammunition. So when we encountered the Japanese in Donghui Village, we suffered heavy casualties."

Brigade Commander Wang took a sip of water and continued:

"When we were fighting the devils in Donghui Village, we urged Commander Yan to replenish supplies as soon as possible. But he said that the military pay would be paid according to the actual number of our troops, and food and ammunition would be arranged as soon as possible."

"Isn't he bullying us?" Wu Lang said angrily.

"After the first battle, nearly half of our 364th Brigade suffered casualties. He distributed the salary based on the actual number of people in our brigade, which must be much less. But we did not come out of Sichuan for money. We will fight the devils even without military pay. But you have to replenish our food and ammunition. Without bullets, can we fight the devils with stones?"

"Given Commander Yan's personality, it will be difficult to get the military pay even if it is distributed according to the actual number of people in your brigade."

Brigade Commander Wang nodded. He had negotiated with Commander Yan many times and no longer had any hope in him.

"What are your plans next?"

"While we were hiding from the Japanese encirclement, we heard that Taiyuan had been lost and our 122nd Division had been dispersed. We didn't know where it had retreated to. I heard that a unit was doing a great job fighting the Japanese in Tangshan, so I came here."

"You can join our combat system and fight the Japanese with us. It doesn't matter where we fight the Japanese," Gray Wolf interrupted.

"Who is this?" Brigade Commander Wang looked at Gray Wolf and asked Wu Wolf.

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is Deputy Commander Tan of our Northeast Anti-Japanese First Army."

"Hello, Deputy Commander Tan! How do I join your combat system?"

"Your troops will maintain their current organization and will not be split up. We will provide weapons, ammunition and food, and you will fight the Japanese together with us."

"On behalf of the 364th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, I, Wang XX, would like to thank Deputy Commander Tan for taking me in."

"Don't thank me yet. There are requirements for you to join our combat system."

"What do you want? Deputy Commander Tan, please speak."

"First you have to get rid of the other gun."

“This may be a little difficult for the time being, can we do it step by step?”

"No, you must give up your opium pipes if you want to join our combat system. Soldiers who smoke opium simply cannot keep up with the training of our troops."

"OK!"

“The troops must receive professional and comprehensive training from our forces.”

“This is a must.”

At this time, the guards brought the meal for Brigade Commander Wang.

"Eat first, and then we'll talk." Gray Wolf said.

Brigade Commander Wang took the meal, which was a combination of meat and vegetables. He wolfed it down and finished it all in a few bites.

"Is it enough? If not, ask the guards to hit some more?" Wu Lang asked.

“That’s enough, thank you!”

The weather in Tangshan was already quite cold, and Gray Wolf saw that Brigade Commander Wang was still wearing rather thin clothes, not to mention the soldiers below.

"After you join our combat system, we will provide you with our uniforms and be responsible for your ammunition and food supplies. But you must accept our orders, obey our arrangements, and fight the devils together."

"As long as we can beat the devils, anything is fine."

"There is one more thing I need to tell Commander Wang. Our base in Tangshan is still under construction and consolidation. The logistics support is not perfect, and the soldiers' salaries have not been able to keep up for the time being."

"Deputy Commander, I just said that we left Sichuan to fight against the Japanese, not to make money."

"Okay! Wulang, help the Sichuan Army brothers change their clothes first. The weather is very cold."

"Okay, Brigade Commander Wang, how many people are there in your unit now?"

“When our brigade was at full strength, there were 4683 people. Now there are 2336 people.”

"Xiao Zhang, go to the logistics department and see if we have that many sets of military uniforms. If we do, have all the Sichuan Army soldiers change into them."

"Commander, how about letting the Sichuan Army brothers rest today and start training with our troops tomorrow?"

"Okay, you arrange it!"

In this way, a Sichuan Army unit was added to the combat sequence of the Northeast Anti-Japanese First Army in the North China battlefield.