The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Based on Wang Xiaoming's suggestion:

Wang Xiaoming, Xu Hongji, He Yaohua, Wu Guanglu, Luo Houfu, and others formed a new Northeast Hubei Party Committee, with Wang Xiaoming serving as secretary. The district committee oversaw the revolutionary struggles in Luoshan, Beixiaobei, Hong'an, Guangshan, and Hekou counties and cities.

The district committee has decided:

They quickly organized local armed forces and plainclothes teams to actively fight the enemy, protect the masses, and promptly and properly arrange for the nearly 300 wounded and sick soldiers and cadres left behind by the 25th Red Army, enabling them to recover and become the backbone of the armed forces in northeastern Hubei.

Wang Xiaoming concluded by saying:

"After the meeting, everyone should split up and organize their respective plainclothes teams to take action and sabotage the enemy's transportation and communication facilities in order to facilitate the smooth transfer of the main Red Army force!"

After the meeting, Xu Hongji, Wu Guanglu, He Yaohua, and Luo Houfu went to their respective areas to organize the plainclothes teams.

In fact, Xu Wenqing never gave up his efforts to contact the Red Army in Hubei, Henan and Anhui provinces.

Shortly after the troops entered western Jiangxi, Xu Wenqing dispatched a small squad from the most elite special operations brigade of the 19th Red Army Division, carrying a radio, to contact the Red Army forces holding out in the Dabie Mountains in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui provinces. More than half a month had passed since then.

Xue Geming, originally named Xue Rui, was born in Anqing Prefecture, Anhui Province. Coming from a well-off family, he attended the county middle school, where he was exposed to Marxism. He secretly ran away from home and joined the Red Army. Later, he was selected by Xu Wenqing to become part of the special forces training program. Relying on his resolute character, he persevered and is now the captain of the first squad of the first company of the special operations brigade. Leading his squad of 15 members, carrying a radio, they crossed the Yangtze River from Jiujiang into northeastern Hubei, intending to engage the main force of the Red Army in this area—the 28th Army.

Not to mention Xue Geming, even Xu Wenqing from later generations didn't know the exact location of the 28th Red Army. When the small detachment passed through Wuhan, the team members disguised themselves and entered Wuchang to buy newspapers from the enemy-occupied area. It was through the newspapers that they learned that the 28th Army was still in the Huang'an area in northeastern Hubei.

Seven days have passed since Xue Geming ventured deep into the Dabie Mountains in search of the main force of the Red Army. What worries him most is that he has still not been able to find the main force of the Red Army.

Xue Zhibing also wanted to find the local guerrillas first, but they were also in hiding and couldn't be found. He finally located Wang Xiaoming. However, to avoid misunderstandings, he adhered to his unit's regulations: never reveal their whereabouts before finding the final target. So, he continued to follow him.

They had been following for so long without finding the 28th Red Army. However, he had a gut feeling that they were heading in the right direction and that the 28th Red Army was getting closer and closer.

On this day, they followed Wang Xiaoming to the southern part of Luoshan County.

Suddenly, the team members who were on the scouting mission returned and reported that they had found Wang Xiaoming following others into a cave. Upon hearing this, Xue Geming could not contain his excitement and finally found the Party organization there.

Based on past experience, as long as the local Party organization is present, the Red Army troops will not stray too far and should be able to maintain contact with the Red Army through underground organizations.

Xue Geming decisively ordered his team to keep a close eye on the people gathering in the cave, identify those who were important, and then follow them to find the Red Army's contact information that day.

In fact, Xue Geming had already completed his mission, but with his extraordinary audacity, the idea of ​​training the troops popped into his head.

Xue Geming thought to himself, "This is a rare opportunity. It's my first time going out on my own, so I can't just be a gofer and call it a day!" Following Xu Wenqing, he had become much bolder and decided to train his troops. Anyway, he had already wasted half a month, so there was no rush.

"Captain, this is disobeying orders! What if something goes wrong..."

Deputy Captain Bian Jing said worriedly that he also wanted to do the same, but unfortunately he was much less daring than Xue Geming. The cave was full of leaders, and he might be court-martialed.

Xue Geming turned around and whispered:

"You brat, even military law can't touch you. I'll take the blame if anything happens. I'm just following the division commander's orders, what do you know?"

"The division commander's instructions?" Bian Jing thought carefully for a while, but couldn't recall when the division commander had ever given such instructions. He stared at Xue Geming suspiciously, his eyes filled with doubt.

As members of the special operations brigade, they were secretly selected from various regiments within the division and underwent closed training by Xu Wenqing. They were proficient not only in shooting but also in communication equipment and various weapons. They had many opportunities to see Xu Wenqing, and he would also give them lectures from time to time. Naturally, after listening for so long, they couldn't recall everything the division commander had said.

"Military training should incorporate daily life and combat experience. I really wonder if you were asleep at the time; how could you be so forgetful?"

Xue Geming said with dissatisfaction.

Border was even more uncertain. The division commander had said this before, but as the team leader, you can't just act recklessly!

Seeing the border guard's expression, Xue Geming guessed that the other side was about to back down, so he immediately gave the border guard no chance to back out, pointing his finger at himself and saying:

"Don't worry! I'll take full responsibility this time. I reckon the division commander won't abandon us."

He finished speaking with a smirk.

Helpless, Bian Jie really couldn't think of any other word to explain his feelings. He thought to himself, "Once I finish the mission, I'll submit a report to request a change of squad. If I'm with Xue Geming, I can forget about any honors in the future; I'll just have to suffer the punishments."

"Tell me! What is our objective this time?"

Bian Jie gritted his teeth and said, "But Xue Geming is still the captain of this squad, the temporary leader. Who told me to be a soldier? Obeying orders is my duty."

The two men lay prone in the grass, engaged in a heated discussion, but Xue Geming always managed to find a reason to persuade Bianjing. Bianjing, in a fit of pique, decided to go all out; if he couldn't win an argument with Xue Geming, he could at least remain silent as a soldier!

From the treetops not far ahead, a member of the team gave a coded signal, indicating that they had discovered the cave where Wang Xiaoming and his group were gathering, but were still verifying it.

The assault team members immediately headed towards Shandong, where Wang Xiaoming and his team were holding a meeting, from all directions. Since sniper rifles were rare, their squad only had two, but both were high-end models with 6x scopes.

Through the goggles, they observed members of the underground organization coming and going, all entering and exiting a cave designated as number 1. The target of the operation was quickly identified. After six hours of observation, including identifying both visible and hidden sentries near the cave where the meeting was taking place, the operation was scheduled for 1:00 AM.