Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

"stop!"

A row of soldiers stopped the man galloping on horseback. Seeing the shit-yellow clothes he was wearing, they pointed their guns at him: "I've seen people rushing to eat something hot, but I've never seen anyone rushing to die like you!"

"Don't shoot! We're one of our own!"

The man sat on the horse, let go of the reins with both hands and held them above his head, and said hurriedly: "I'm here to find Zhang Yuntian. I have important information to tell him!"

Hearing Zhang Yuntian's name, several soldiers dared not disbelieve it and sent someone to tell Zhang Yuntian the news and ask him to come and confirm it in person.

In fact, the soldiers already had some faith in their hearts. If he was not really one of their own, it would be impossible for this guy to ride a horse and swagger into the base wearing the shit-yellow clothes of the Japanese devils.

One of the soldiers asked with a smile: "Boy, you are really not afraid of death!"

"Ah? What's wrong with me?"

"what happened?"

The soldier continued, "I don't know what's wrong. You're wearing puppet army clothes and you dare to run here? You're not afraid of being shot dead on the way!"

The soldiers were not trying to intimidate the other side, this was the truth. The special forces team had been frequently changing locations during training recently, and today they happened to move to the river at the foot of the mountain.

If they found any puppet soldiers riding horses, they would definitely regard them as people delivering letters to the Japanese and would shoot them down.

After some explanation, the soldier advised: "You are lucky that you were not shot to death. When you go back, remember to take off the yellow skin on your body."

"Yes!"

The puppet soldier dismounted and said politely, "Our captain and Zhang Yuntian are from the same hometown. This time, I was asked to deliver a very important piece of information. I don't know what it is."

"You don't need to tell us brothers anything. We just need to do our job well."

Soon, Zhang Yuntian followed a soldier to the checkpoint. When he saw the puppet soldier who delivered the letter, he asked, "Did Zhang Zizai ask you to come?"

"Brother Yuntian!"

The puppet soldier took out a token to identify himself and said, "It's me, Xiao Ma! Don't you recognize me? I was just there on the captain's behalf when I went to Wulipu to deliver you roast chicken and braised pork!"

"Oh!"

Zhang Yuntian smiled awkwardly and said, "I really can't remember."

"By the way, what information did Zita ask you to deliver?"

Xiao Ma's smile was still frozen on his face. He numbly took out a letter from his pocket and said, "This is a letter our captain asked me to give you. He told me to hand it to you personally."

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Zhang Yuntian saw the yellow leather jacket that Xiao Ma was wearing and frowned, saying, "Take off your clothes before you leave, or you might get shot on the way."

"Okay, Brother Yuntian!"

Xiao Ma took off his clothes and turned his horse around: "Brother Yuntian, I'm going back now!"

"Go ahead and be careful on the road!"

……

Holding the letter in his hand, Zhang Yuntian did not open it directly. Instead, he found Lin Qiang and said, "Platoon Leader, this is a letter from the county. They said it must be delivered to me. It seems to be very important."

It has not been long since Zhang Yuntian joined the first platoon. He has long since gotten rid of the bad habits he had when he was in the puppet army and knows clearly who is the leader of this team.

Lin Qiang leaned over the map to search for a valuable target, and said without looking up, "Open it and take a look."

"Yes!"

Zhang Yuntian opened the envelope. There was not much content on the letter. It mainly consisted of Zhang Zizai talking about his own plan and the pros and cons of this plan. The rest was asking for Platoon Leader Lin Qiang's opinion.

After hearing the contents of the letter, Lin Qiang did not immediately respond. Instead, he asked whether the team he had sent out had returned: "Have Duan Peng and the others returned?"

"No news yet."

Zhang Yuntian analyzed, "However, according to the observation post, all the Japanese in Xiaowangzhuang have retreated, and they've also carried back a lot of bodies. I guess the special forces exchanged fire with the Japanese. Since the Japanese have retreated, Duan Peng and his men are on their way back as well."

Lin Qiang nodded, still not mentioning the letter from Zhang Zizai. He placed the pencil on the table and said with a hint of helplessness, "This map really needs to be changed."

Zhang Yuntian did not respond. The importance of the map was greater than that of weapons and ammunition. It was not something that could be obtained easily. The map in Yipai's hand was the one that Zhang Yuntian secretly took out from the Japanese when he was sent to Wulipu.

The battle map not only includes all the terrain in the surrounding area, but also details the Japanese strongholds, the deployment of artillery towers, and all the defenses in the entire occupied area. It also includes the troop strength and weapons configuration in each place. It is a very important map.

Combat maps are a general term that includes tactical maps, campaign maps, and strategic maps, and each map has a different purpose.

For example, the purpose of a battle will record the troop deployment and combat plan of a battle, marked with arrows, military symbols, and codes, and record in detail the battle's troop formations and the direction of attack.

This type of map is far more valuable than any weapons and equipment. Weapons and equipment can be captured, but combat maps are almost impossible to obtain. The enemy generals are not fools. After confirming that they have been defeated and cannot retreat, the first thing they do is to destroy the combat maps carried by the troops.

An accurate battle map plays a very important role in war and can even play a decisive role at critical moments.

The Japanese maps are more detailed than our army's. The main reason is that the Japanese have talents in this area. In addition, the traitors and running dogs in various places will tell the Japanese everything about the familiar environment around them.

Most of the maps of various places in the hands of the devils were illegally drawn in the decades before the war began. They sent people to various parts of my country under various pretexts. At that time, the Chinese people had no idea about the purpose of drawing maps, which gave the devils great convenience.

These drawn maps are very detailed, accurate to the point that each city’s wall defenses, city buildings, mountain terrain, river direction, road fortresses, etc. are all marked on the map.

With such a detailed map and years of research, the Japanese were fully prepared for this war.

Otherwise, how could a group of Japanese pirates who had never set foot on this land attack our country's important cities and fortresses so accurately?

It is no exaggeration to say that in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese knew more about the domestic situation than our soldiers.

The importance of combat maps is self-evident. A map cannot be compared with ten heavy machine guns and several mortars. A map can be said to be one of the keys to winning a battle.

The Eighth Route Army had map-surveying personnel, but they had more important tasks and could not come to this small place in Laiyuan County to map. The only way was to seize it from the Japanese.

There was only one map in a row, so Lin Qiang could only draw a simple picture on it with a pencil, and then simply trace it on other paper.

This allows you to continue using the map in the short term, but over time, some important areas on the map will become very blurry and unclear, making it impossible to use them.

"Platoon leader, we're back!"

At this moment, Hu Zi's voice suddenly came from outside the door. Lin Qiang no longer bothered about the map. Without giving the two of them time to drink water or rest, he ordered, "Call Qiang Zi and the others. I have something important to say!"

"Yes!"

After a while, several people entered the conference room, which was actually the wooden house where Lin Qiang lived.

Everyone was present. Lin Qiang divided the team into six teams according to the previous division. "I'll leave the team to you to manage. I won't care about how you train them. But on the battlefield, if any team lags behind, don't say that I, Lin Qiang, am just abandoning the donkey after it has served its purpose."

"Weapons, ammunition, logistical supplies, and food for the team are all yours to handle. Ask Zhao Dezhu for supplies."

"Wang Qiang, Xu Lang, Wu Zhe, the three of you will lead your teams to camp on these three hilltops. The first thing you need to solve isn't the issue of food and shelter, but the establishment of defensive firepower points as soon as possible. I'll give you one day. If you can't meet my requirements, the captaincy will be handed over to someone else!"

"The remaining three of you, go help complete the defense and stationing. Zhang Yuntian, your team will be responsible for the rear of the base, ensuring that no enemy can get close. Qiangzi, you will be responsible for the defense of the entire base. I will give you a defense map in a moment. You must follow the marked areas. Remember, this map cannot be shown to anyone else except you."

"As for Huzi, your team will stay here. Besides being responsible for communication between the several defense points, they will also go out to obtain intelligence about the Japanese. From now on, if the Japanese dare to pass through our base, we will not let them have an easy time."

"I don't care how you lead the team on a daily basis, but if you have any plans for action, you must tell me immediately. Anyone who dares to take charge will know the consequences. In short, as soon as the gunfire rings, everyone must obey me!"

"Do you all understand?"

Everyone answered in unison: "Understood!"

At the end of the meeting, Lin Qiang asked Zhang Yuntian to tell everyone the contents of the letter. After reading it, Lin Qiang said, "What do you think of this plan?"

"I agree. If that guy Okamoto died like this, it would be a loss for us!"

"I agree."

"I agree!"

"..."

Lin Qiang nodded and said, "Since you all agree, Zhang Yuntian, go write back to Zhang Zizai and reveal the base to the devils one day later."

"Yes!"