The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

Seeing that everyone had unanimously passed his resolution with applause, Long Fei chuckled and announced.

"One more thing, personnel below the division level will be appointed by the army commanders of each corps, and weapons and ammunition will be distributed to everyone first thing tomorrow morning."

"Next is the second item on the agenda. The Japanese 13th Division will soon cross the Yangtze River from Nanjing and head north. Should we go directly to Shanxi now, stay and fight the Japanese a few more battles, or go somewhere else?"

The question raised by Long Fei was clearly much more complex than the previous reorganization issue, so everyone once again expressed their opinions.

As the corps chief of staff, Gao Hong was the first to speak without hesitation.

"As far as I know, the Japanese 13th Division is a Class A division with a full complement of 24,000 troops. Even after the Battle of Nanjing, its current strength is no less than 20,000."

"Moreover, the 13th Division is only the vanguard of the Japanese advance northward. If we cannot annihilate it in a short time, we will very likely be surrounded by the main force of the Japanese troops."

Xu Peng continued, "My view is that we should go directly to Shanxi, then enter the Taihang Mountains, establish a base there, and at the same time, the entire army corps should undergo a two- to three-month period of rest and training."

"Then we will send troops out of Taihang Mountain, wipe out the Japanese in Shanxi, and continuously expand the scale of our base area."

However, Chen Yiding, Zhu Ci, and others believed that since they had now joined forces and had a force of 10,000 men, they should first choose an opportunity to fight a few battles with the Japanese, and then decide whether to stay or leave.

Seeing that Zhou Weiguo remained silent, Long Fei took the initiative to ask.

"Commander Zhou, I'd like to hear your thoughts?"

Zhou Weiguo nodded hurriedly and said confidently, "My opinion is that the journey to Shanxi is long and we will pass through Japanese-occupied areas along the way, so there will definitely be constant fighting along the way."

"Our various units have just been reorganized, and their combat effectiveness varies. The units not only need to undergo rigorous and systematic training, but also need to work together to improve coordination."

"Therefore, my view is that it would be better to find a nearby place, set up the troops first, and then train while looking for opportunities to fight the Japanese."

"By combining training with actual combat, we can rapidly improve the overall combat effectiveness of the troops and the level of coordination between different units."

It can be said that Zhou Weiguo's idea coincided with Long Fei's.

Long Fei had indeed intended to go directly to Shanxi, but plans change, and now he has a new plan.

Next, Long Fei ordered the map to be hung up and then told everyone about his new plan.

"Look, not far to the west of Chuxian County, there is a lake called Xijian Lake. This lake covers an area of ​​nearly 10 square kilometers, is more than 20 meters deep, and has a water volume of no less than 50 million cubic meters."

"South of Xijian Lake is a town called Guancaiwa, and to the east is the railway line, and further south is Langya Mountain."

"County Chief Yan of Chuxian has agreed to start evacuating the residents of the county town and surrounding areas tomorrow."

"So my idea is to lure the Japanese 13th Division to Guancaiwa after they occupy Chuxian County, then blow up the dike of Xijian Lake and drown these sons of bitches."

"After we deal with the Japanese 13th Division, our entire army will enter Langya Mountain and rest and train there for two or three months."

"Then the whole army marched north, passing through southern Shandong and entering the Taihang Mountains in Shanxi. They established a base in the Taihang Mountains and then wiped out the Japanese in various parts of Shanxi one by one."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Chongxin couldn't help but slap the table in admiration.

"Alright, just as Zhuge Liang flooded the seven armies in ancient times, the Dragon Flame Legion will now bury the Japanese devils in water."

Xu Peng nodded repeatedly and said, "Commander, your idea is brilliant. Flood the 13th Division and then enter Langya Mountain. Although Langya Mountain is near Chuzhou County, the most dangerous place is often the safest."

"At Langya Mountain, we can advance or retreat as needed. It's like we've stuck a thorn in the back of the Japanese, making them uncomfortable, but they can't remove it."

After careful consideration, everyone realized that what Xu Peng said was true, so they all expressed their agreement.

In fact, Long Fei made this adjustment for a reason. Rather than going to the Taihang Mountains in Shanxi, he decided to rest and train in the Langya Mountains.

Afterwards, they will head to Shanxi, just in time to catch the good show at Taierzhuang. The Longyan Legion must lend a hand then.

However, Long Fei couldn't be so direct with Chen Yiding and the others.

"Alright, since everyone agrees, let's make it a date. Tomorrow, in addition to assisting the civilians in their evacuation, I also want to display the banner of our Dragon Flame Legion and recruit soldiers on the spot."

"Whether they are ordinary people or troops withdrawn from Jinling, as long as they are willing to join the Longyan Legion, I will not only warmly welcome them, but also pay them military pay on the spot."

At this point, Long Fei suddenly remembered that he still owed money, so he hurriedly announced it.

"Tomorrow, when weapons and ammunition are distributed to each unit, regardless of rank, everyone will receive ten silver dollars as military pay, the wounded will receive twenty, and the dead will receive one hundred dollars as compensation."

"Furthermore, I previously promised to repay the debt tenfold, and I will keep my word tomorrow."

Although everyone was not fighting the Japanese for money, apart from the special operations battalion, everyone had families to support, and the ten silver dollars in military pay they received was much more than what they would have received in the Nationalist army.

Chen Yiding and his men, who had come from the Nationalist Army, were happy to hear that each of them would receive ten silver dollars in military pay.

At this moment, Long Fei picked up the military flag on the table and unfurled it.

Looking at the blood-red flag, the four large characters "Dragon Flame Legion" were embroidered with yellow silk thread.

Everyone instinctively faced the military flag, stood straight, and looked solemn and dignified.

After the meeting, Xu Peng reported that he had made contact with the 57th Army, and Commander Liu had led his troops to Chuxian County overnight, expecting to arrive around 1 a.m.

Long Fei glanced at the time; it was already past eleven. He thought to himself that tonight would be another sleepless night.

“Xu Peng, if you don’t want to sleep, come with me out of the city to welcome the 57th Army.”

"Okay, I'll bring the guard platoon from our special operations battalion."

Long Fei nodded in agreement.

Upon arriving at the outpost outside the city, the sentry on guard duty immediately tensed up upon seeing Long Fei.

Long Fei, however, took out some cigarettes and distributed them to them.

"Brothers, come on, have a smoke. Don't be afraid, I'm here to pick up the 57th Army."

The sentries relaxed and happily accepted the cigarettes.

“I know you were just following orders this afternoon, so I didn’t make things difficult for you. Instead, I went to question County Magistrate Yan.”

"In addition, I killed the police chief Huang Xingnong and Gong Xikui, the richest man in Chuxian County, because they had defected to the Japanese and become traitors."

Long Fei smoked a cigarette and talked eloquently, but his words terrified the sentries.

Two people, who were holding cigarettes in their hands, dropped them on the ground out of fear.