The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

After a month of fighting, Xue Geming's independent brigade had grown to an astonishing 156 men, exceeding 150 men.

After a series of battles, the first few groups of people who joined the Independent Brigade have fully identified with and taken ownership of this red collective. Some of them have even joined the Party, and a few have been promoted to become cadres.

After a series of victories in battle and the incorporation of a large number of prisoners into the independent brigade, except for the first few times when veteran Party members and veteran soldiers were the ones explaining the policies to the liberated soldiers, later on, it was entirely the soldiers who had joined earlier who enthusiastically and voluntarily came forward to explain. And it must be said that the effect of doing so was particularly amazing; with their personal accounts, plus the assistance of veteran Party members and key personnel, the conversion of soldiers was much easier than at the beginning.

Of these 156 people, 52 are from Anhui and 104 are from Hubei.

However, difficulties still exist. Although we have captured a lot of guns and ammunition after so many battles, the number of new recruits is increasing even faster, so there are still not enough guns to ensure that everyone has a gun. However, the team has more than 120 guns, which is better than some but not as bad as others.

Because the soldiers eat well, dress well, and live well, their sense of belonging is getting stronger and stronger, even though the training is tough.

The people's sense of identification with Xue Geming was most evident. Not only was this leader resourceful and ingenious, but he also came up with many novel ideas. Furthermore, he led continuous battles and won every single one!

Xue Geming, however, was unconcerned with these small victories; he was simply waiting for an opportunity. Currently, his and He Changgong's actions were minor and ineffective, hindering the expansion of their forces. He hoped to launch a few more impactful, large-scale operations in the future.

In July, after all preparations were completed, Xue Geming finally decided to take action, targeting the city defense bureau of Jinzhai County.

This time, He Changgong once again set off first, demanding the full support of the local Party organization. Xue Geming led the main force to follow.

After a secret march of more than two days, Xue Geming led his troops to the designated rendezvous point. After waiting there for most of the day, He Changgong and the local party organization leader arrived.

The three leaders were delighted to learn that their troops had returned. He Changgong introduced them one by one. They were Zhao Boxiong, Deputy Secretary of the Jinzhai County Party Committee; Wang Hanhua, a member of the Jinzhai County Party Committee; and Zeng Shangtian, head of the Jinzhai County Party organization.

Xue Geming met with them one by one and introduced his team to them. Finally, everyone agreed that Zhao Boxiong, Wang Hanhua, and Zeng Shangtian should immediately begin mobilizing local manpower and resources, and launch an immediate offensive should Li Jiansheng's troops succeed.

Among them, Zeng Shangtian was responsible for organizing 20 armed men, carrying broadswords and spears, to follow Yun Tiansheng's special agent squadron of Xue's revolutionary troops to take down the police station in Jinzhai County, and then quickly return to reinforce the main force of Xue's revolutionary troops;

Xue's main force, however, would still employ a surprise attack to enter Jinzhai County and directly seize the city's defense bureau. Of course, they would use the same method as before—tricking the city gates open—but this time, the main force for this deception would be led by Wang Hanhua and other local Party organization members. These individuals had reached a consensus:

If this operation succeeds, the armed forces of these Party organizations will all be incorporated into the regular army. Xue Geming simply smiled and remained silent—regular army? Damn, does that even count? This is something I've slowly built up myself; it wasn't easy!

However, on the other hand, after these battles and regular training, his 100-plus men really did look quite capable. At least, in terms of military bearing alone, his unit was in no way inferior to any main force! —Of course, Zhao Boxiong and others' proposals were in line with the overall situation and Xue Geming's needs, so they naturally nodded in agreement.

Things went smoothly. The events of at least half a year prior hadn't alerted the Jinzhai County garrison, allowing Xue Geming's large force to easily enter the county and immediately seize control of the garrison. The county police station's 20-odd officers reacted too slowly; by the time they realized what was happening, all their weapons had been confiscated, and they themselves were taken prisoner. With this victory, the peasant army, which had been secretly organized, immediately mobilized. Over 100 able-bodied men, led by local party members, quickly cooperated with Xue Geming's independent brigade to occupy key positions within the White Government's offices, capturing these leading figures as well.

Next came the mobilization of the masses to organize public trials. Among the prisoners, those whose hands were stained with the blood of revolutionary martyrs were all executed on the spot; those who were not were all imprisoned on the spot awaiting further processing.

As for the funds and food obtained from the local area, they were definitely all transported away.

The entire city defense force of Jinzhai County, including police officers and servants from wealthy families, totaling over 210 men, were taken prisoner and taken to Xue Geming's camp. The 200-plus guns had already been taken by the veteran soldiers; some of the unarmed soldiers received their equipment on the spot, while the rest remained behind.

Xue Geming immediately ordered his troops to rest on the spot.

First, the prisoners of war need to be reorganized and transformed.

Secondly, the local Party organization did indeed organize some young Party members and young farmers to join the army, and Xue Geming needed to organize them.

In fact, converting prisoners was quite easy, especially the initial testimonies of those prisoners, which were very effective. Seeing their amazing and confident demeanor, everyone else fell silent. Of the more than 210 prisoners, 197 were willing to join the Red Army;

As for the young Party members and young farmers, more than 100 people came in total. Because the Party organization had done the work in advance, these people were easily integrated into the team.

Three days later, the reorganization was initially completed. The 15 key personnel that Xue Geming brought from Jiangnan conducted simple drill training for the team. Party and government cadres led by He Changgong went to the grassroots level to chat, explain the law, and conduct ideological education. Soon, the team was quite well-organized.

They stayed in the mountains for a week. By the time they heard that the enemy in western Anhui had finally received the news and sent troops to encircle and suppress them, Xue Geming had already led the team back to the mountains.

As of now, Xue Geming's team has finally grown to over 450 people. Including the political cadres sent by grassroots Party organizations to join the team, the total number of people in the team has finally exceeded 480.

"Our independent brigade is finally living up to its name!"

Looking at the new soldiers following beside him, who were conducting jungle combat drills under the guidance of veteran soldiers, Xue Geming said to He Changgong, who was traveling with him, with admiration.