Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

After returning to the base, Zhang Yuntian immediately went to Lin Qiang's house to report on the situation over the past two days: "Platoon leader, there is something I need to report to you."

"whats the matter?"

Zhang Yuntian smiled and said, "It's like this. During the two days you were away, I sent soldiers to the nearby villages to recruit soldiers, and they brought back quite a few."

This caught Lin Qiang's attention, and he asked, "How many people did you bring back?"

"not much."

Zhang Yuntian stretched out two fingers and gestured, "More than 200 people."

"What!?"

Lin Qiang stopped what he was doing and stared at Zhang Yuntian's two fingers with wide eyes: "In two days, you brought back more than 200 people?"

You know, almost all the nearby villages and towns have been ravaged by the Japanese, and several small towns have also been occupied by the Japanese. The people who could run away had already run away, and those who were unwilling to run away lived under the noses of the Japanese.

The young and middle-aged men were captured by the Japanese and forced to work as laborers, otherwise the Japanese artillery towers and strongholds would not have been built so quickly.

More than 200 people were brought back in two days. Unless Zhang Yuntian led his men to attack a nearby Japanese construction site, the people working as laborers there would choose to join the team.

There were more than 200 people in two days. Even if we searched everywhere, we couldn't find 200 people in those two days.

But when leaving, Lin Qiang repeatedly emphasized that no one was allowed to act on their own before returning to the base, and it was even more impossible for Zhang Yuntian to disobey orders and fight the Japanese.

Seeing Lin Qiang's shocked expression, Zhang Yuntian explained the reason: "The thing is, I originally sent people to the surrounding area to try their luck and see if they could encounter any refugees. In the end, I didn't encounter any refugees, but I did encounter a group of remnants of the army."

"Among these people were members of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the Central Army, and even our Eighth Route Army. I was very curious at the time, so after asking around, I learned that they had all escaped from the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. There were over 300 people who escaped with them, but some died along the way, while others managed to escape, leaving only these 200 or so."

This news made Lin Qiang completely unable to sit still. This was a great opportunity to expand the team, and he must seize it firmly: "Where are these people? Take me there!"

The two of them left the house together. As they walked, Zhang Yuntian said, "I arranged for them to stay in the back mountain, temporarily in the special forces' temporary camp."

Lin Qiang kept speeding up his pace on the way. Zhang Yuntian was very confused and didn't know why Lin Qiang was so anxious.

These prisoners of war were able to escape unarmed because there were so many prisoners in the camp that the Japanese could not take full care of them. Moreover, this camp must have been newly built, or even not yet fully completed, otherwise these prisoners of war would not have been able to escape.

I learned from Li Yunlong about the base's current weak defenses, and the best way to strengthen them was to have enough troops.

There is an opportunity right in front of us now. As long as we know the location of this prisoner-of-war camp, it is possible to increase the strength of a row of troops again!

At this time, Lin Qiang also thought of the large-scale sweep by the Japanese devils in Jinzhong that Li Yunlong had mentioned before. One hundred thousand Japanese devils launched a large-scale sweep against the Central Army, Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong at the same time, and captured more than ten thousand prisoners alone.

This batch of prisoners of war was most likely transported from Jinzhong.

The current situation in northwest Shanxi is stable. No matter which team, no one dares to take the initiative to provoke a large-scale battle. The Jinzhong sweep has not yet ended, so it is normal to transport prisoners of war to northwest Shanxi.

With a large number of prisoners of war entering northwestern Shanxi, the Japanese will definitely find a place to detain them, and they will need a large enough prisoner camp.

According to the information currently known, there are no large-scale prisoner-of-war camps in northwest Shanxi.

Various factors are telling Lin Qiang that this is a great opportunity, so he keeps speeding up his pace and is very eager.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the place and Lin Qiang asked someone at random: "How did you get captured by the devils?"

Lin Qiang asked too directly, and did not tell the other party what his purpose was in asking this question. This was tantamount to rubbing salt into someone else's wounds.

The person being questioned thought Lin Qiang was trying to laugh at him, and he didn't give Lin Qiang a good look at all: "I was captured by the devils, what's wrong?"

Sure enough, I couldn't eat hot tofu in a hurry.

Lin Qiang also realized that he was too impatient, so he changed the way he asked: "Where did you fight the Japanese?"

"Jinzhong area!"

Mentioning this incident, the man was also extremely angry: "The damn Japs gathered tens of thousands of troops and suddenly launched a large-scale sweep of our base. Moreover, the Japs were too fast, as if they had prepared in advance. The team had no time to react. Except for the commander and political commissar, most of our regiment died in the battle. Only 200 people survived and became prisoners of the Japs."

Lin Qiang asked step by step: "What about the rest of your group?"

"I don't know. After we were captured by the Japanese, we were separated and escorted here by the Japanese and puppet troops. We were forced by the Japanese to build a prisoner-of-war camp."

The other party's words confirmed Lin Qiang's guess. These people really escaped when the Japanese were not paying attention, but Lin Qiang was worried about how many more prisoners of war would be sent here.

If there are more, then I can't alert them in advance.

But if we don't take action, it will be much more difficult to rescue the prisoners of war once the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp is built.

The platoon's method of combat was to bombard the ground with artillery shells, but this tactic certainly could not be used to rescue prisoners of war.

It is unclear whether the prisoners of war inside are willing to join the Eighth Route Army, and Lin Qiang does not want to gamble with the lives of his soldiers.

But he still didn't give up this opportunity and continued to ask: "How many people haven't escaped yet?"

"I'm not sure about that. I was just trying to escape, so I didn't have time to observe anything."

These prisoners of war did not know Lin Qiang, but they all knew Zhang Yuntian. Seeing him following Lin Qiang quietly, many people guessed Lin Qiang's identity.

When they got closer, someone asked Lin Qiang, "Are you Platoon Leader Lin?"

"Yes."

Lin Qiang squatted down and saw the wound on the leg of the person who was speaking. It had begun to fester and rot. Looking at the other person's face, he saw that he was pale and weak, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

He immediately looked up at Zhang Yuntian and said, "Take him to treatment first."

But he was rejected by the other party: "No need! I am also a member of the Eighth Route Army. I know the situation of our own team very well. The team has been disbanded and the unit number has been lost. Even if my leg is healed, it is still a cripple. I can't be a cavalryman, even if I am an infantryman, I will only be a hindrance. I won't treat it."

"Are you a cavalryman?"

"I am the captain of the cavalry company of the xxx regiment."

Lin Qiang stood up and ordered Zhang Yuntian, "Take him to treatment. Even if you have to tie him up, tie him up!"

The team grew to thousands of people, and this was the first cavalryman we encountered, and he was a company commander!

If we were to use battlefield treatment methods, the only way to save his life would be amputation, and even if he was cured, he would still be a cripple.

But this is Heiyun Village, the base of the group, with professional doctors and medical equipment, and enough time for the leg to recover.

By the time the enemy recovers, it’s time to form a cavalry row!

After asking again, I finally found out the approximate location of the prisoner-of-war camp.

Lin Qiang looked around at these people and confirmed that they were all willing to join the team, and that no one's loyalty was lower than seventy, then he left with peace of mind.

After returning to the house, Lin Qiang immediately looked for the location on the map on the wall.

After a careful search, the specific location of the prisoner-of-war camp was finally found.

"Here, north of Ping'an County, thirty miles away from the county seat."

Lin Qiang pointed to this location on the map and ordered, "Let Hu Zi take people to check the situation here."

"Platoon leader, are you planning to attack this prisoner-of-war camp?"

Lin Qiang looked at Zhang Yuntian and said slowly, "That depends on whether it's worth it."

"I don't want to miss any chance to make a fortune."