Liang Jian: Lao Li, I'm really not a military expert

Chapter 395 Niujiagou must not be given to Li Yunlong. I, Chu Yunfei, must occupy this place first!

"Lao Kong, hurry up! There's nothing worth picking up from those junks. I really don't care about the little stuff of the Japs. Arrange a company of soldiers to send the captured items back to the base. We have to attack Xiamapu quickly. This battle requires a quick victory."

"We must make full use of the speed and firepower advantages of the armored forces and fight a blitzkrieg. Only in this way can we reduce casualties of the troops. If we really end up in a stalemate with the Japanese, it will not be a good thing for us. The ammunition supply alone is a big problem. We must reach Xiamapu as quickly as possible before the Japanese react. After taking Xiamapu, we will meet up with Chu Yunfei in Niujiagou." Li Yunlong pointed at Kong Jie's nose and cursed anxiously.

Kong Jie knew that what Li Yunlong said was right. Seeing so much food in Wangjia Town, he felt a little sorry. He suggested with regret: "Old Li, it would be a pity if we gave up so much food. I think we can leave two battalions behind to transport the food back to the base."

"We are not short of weapons and ammunition, but we are short of food. The fertilizer that the college students mentioned can only be used in the spring plowing season next year, and we don't know what the harvest will be like next year. A severe drought has broken out in the Central Plains again, so we have to prepare for a rainy day. We can ignore weapons and ammunition, but we must not throw away these life-saving food. Even if it costs some money, we must bring these hundreds of thousands of kilograms of food back to the base."

Ding Wei also agreed, "Old Li, stop making such a fuss. You take three armored battalions and one artillery battalion and set off first. Old Kong and I will follow soon. The two of us will transport all the spoils of war in Wangjia Town back to the base. We will send a telegram to the university student and ask him to arrange for someone to pick us up immediately."

"Li Yunlong, don't act like a local tycoon. Don't forget that we still have 80 mouths to feed in our base. It's not easy to keep the people well fed and clothed. Food is different from other things. It can really save lives. We can find ways to produce it without weapons. Even if we can't produce it, we can seize it from the devils. But if we don't have food, people really can't survive. We can throw away anything, but we can't throw away food. Even if you, Li Yunlong, say anything, I, Ding Wei, will never agree!"

Li Yunlong rolled his eyes in anger and cursed, "Old Ding, Old Kong, you two bastards, you definitely did it on purpose. When did I say I didn't want these hundreds of thousands of kilograms of food? I meant to arrange a battalion of troops to garrison there, and our main force will immediately raid Xiamapu. After we take Niujiagou, we will find a way to transport the food from these two places back."

"I've been to Wangjia Town before. Most of the farmland in the town belongs to the Wang family. I killed the old man in the Wang family last time, but I seized a lot of food. I didn't expect that the abandoned Wangjia Town was used as a transfer station for supplies by the devils, and a large amount of military supplies were stored. How could I let go of such a big piece of fat meat?"

"The devils in Wangjia Town have a radio station, and they routinely contact the Taiyuan Headquarters every night. Now that Gaoqiao's squadron has been killed by us, I estimate that the devils will not get the news until night. We must take advantage of this time difference and wipe out the devils and puppet troops in Xiamabu before the devils in Xiamapu can react, and then attack Niujiagou together with Chu Yunfei."

"This is the telegram Chu Yunfei just sent, requiring us to arrive at Niujiagou before nine o'clock tomorrow morning to support the 358th Regiment in taking Niujiagou. However, this is the first cooperation between the two sides, and I must not be absent. Otherwise, how can I hold my head up in front of Chu Yunfei in the future?"

Kong Jie and Ding Wei took the telegram handed over by Li Yunlong, and their faces became serious after reading it. They finally understood why Li Yunlong was so anxious. It turned out that it was because of Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment.

The original agreement between the two parties was that Li Yunlong would take over Niujiagou, but now Chu Yunfei actually wanted to usurp the throne and make Niujiagou his base, which made Li Yunlong very unhappy. In addition, Niujiagou was very important and related to the safety of trading materials. This made Li Yunlong determined to take control of Niujiagou before Chu Yunfei launched an attack on Niujiagou.

Ding Wei, the dog-headed military advisor, reminded solemnly: "Old Li, Niujiagou is very important to both us and Chu Yunfei. Whoever controls this place will have a greater say. I support your decision."

Kong Jie did not object and nodded in agreement, saying, "Leave two battalions to carry the supplies to Wangjia Town, and then arrange two more battalions to carry the supplies to Xiamapu. The troops we can actually use to attack Niujiagou will only be one and a half armored battalions, one artillery battalion, and two mechanized battalions, which can fully cope with the situation that follows."

Just as Li Yunlong and his three men led the army to Xiamabu in an emergency, Chu Yunfei also led the main forces of the three battalions of the 358th Regiment to march quickly towards Niujiagou. Marching in the snow is very inconvenient, but it can cover up the tracks very well. The only disadvantage is that the mechanized march is prone to slipping.

"Captain Chu, fortunately we brought a lot of pack horses when we came here, which ensured the transportation of military supplies. Otherwise, it would be impossible to guarantee such a long distance by relying solely on trucks. Half of the more than 60 trucks in our regiment have broken down now, and the spare parts requested from the rear have not arrived yet. The damaged trucks cannot be repaired. The most important thing is that our fuel reserves have run out. We have to find a way to buy more gasoline from Li Yunlong, otherwise these trucks will become a pile of scrap copper and iron, not even as good as a donkey cart!" Chief of Staff Fang Ligong said with white steam coming out of his mouth.

Chu Yunfei also felt the biting cold. He tightened his cotton coat and replied with a grim expression: "Brother Ligong, I have always wanted to communicate with Li Yunlong because I want to get what we lack from him. We have enough food and copper, but we are in great need of other things. Li Yunlong has what we urgently need now. Gasoline, weapons, ammunition and vehicles are all things we can't get. Even the old commander can only buy them from abroad, but Li Yunlong can already achieve independent production. The only thing he lacks is raw materials."

"I have already planned to trade with Li Yunlong to avoid being taken advantage of by him. I have dealt with Li Yunlong once before and was deeply impressed by him. He is a man who never suffers any loss. Let's not think about taking advantage of him, as that will only make the gains more than the losses outweigh the losses."

"As long as Li Yunlong is willing to trade, we don't mind suffering a little loss for the supplies we urgently need. The Japanese will definitely launch a large-scale attack on Li Yunlong's base after the spring. I'm afraid we will hardly be able to help him by then. The only thing we can do is to send more food and copper to Li Yunlong so that he can hold on longer."

"But we must not give up Niujiagou. As long as we can take it down, we can propose conditions to Li Yunlong. Even if Li Yunlong refuses, we can still make up for the lost profits from other places."

"I had planned to open the market in Yushugou before, but after I found the location of Niujiagou, I immediately gave up the Yushugou market. Niujiagou is a place with convenient transportation and is outside the blockade of the Japanese. Such a good place is a treasure trove. As long as we occupy it, we can make a fortune every day."

"Li Yunlong has a large amount of medicines in his hands. We can get them from him and then sell them at the Niujiagou market in exchange for the supplies we need. I can see this, and Li Yunlong can see it too. He will definitely compete with us for Niujiagou. Whoever gets Niujiagou will have the initiative in the subsequent transactions. Li Yunlong is farther away from Niujiagou than we are, but he is marching in a fully mechanized manner, and his speed is much faster than ours!"

"Brother Ligong, immediately issue orders to all battalions, asking them to speed up their march. They must reach Niujiaao before three in the morning. The troops will formally launch an attack on Niujiagou at eight tomorrow morning. We must seize Li Yunlong before he reaches Niujiagou and capture him!"

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong admired Chu Yunfei's vision very much. He had only focused on the Yushugou market before, but did not realize that there was another more suitable Niujiagou. If Chu Yunfei had not discovered it in time, he might have missed this great opportunity.

"Captain Chu, I will be responsible for the logistics of the brothers. I guarantee that there will be no non-combat casualties. Let the brothers rush to Niujiaao as quickly as possible and will not delay the offensive against Niujiagou."

Zhaojiayuyu is the location of the independent regiment’s headquarters.

"Old Zhao, this is the telegram that Old Li just sent. They have already captured Wangjia Town and will reach Xiamapu in another hour. The battle is expected to be over before three o'clock this afternoon. From what Old Li said, they will not return after the battle. They are preparing to raid the next target, Niujiagou, and join forces with Chu Yunfei's troops." Lin Zhenhua put the telegram in his hand on the table and said with a smile.

Zhao Gang also held a telegram in his hand, with a smile on his face. He replied with joy: "This is the telegram just sent by Huang Tieshan and Guan Yiming. They have already shipped more than 300,000 kilograms of grain from Wangjia Town and will disperse and hide them to avoid the enemy's bombing tomorrow. The two asked us to send a transport team to meet them and transport the captured grain back to the base as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected situations!"

"As for Li Yunlong's plan to attack Niujiagou, I have seen his intention. He wants to take the initiative when fighting Chu Yunfei again. I think this is completely useless. Even if we take Niujiagou, we have to give half of it to Chu Yunfei. Otherwise, it is very likely to leave a grudge between the two sides and affect the further cooperation between the two sides. There is no need to care about a little bit of petty profit. The key is to open up the material exchanges between the two sides!"