While Gao Cang and Tanaka continued to track Li Qiulin and others, they mobilized troops and rebuilt the encirclement. A large number of Japanese and puppet personnel from other places were transferred here and there, and it was inevitable that they would feel resentful and full of complaints.
At this time, the commander of the Kawamoto Division still strongly supported them, so he issued a new order in accordance with their request and continued to pursue and intercept Li Qiulin and others.
To be honest, Li Qiulin and others are in a very difficult situation. Malaysia lacks strategic depth. The Malay Peninsula faces the sea on three sides. It is very easy for the Japanese army to mobilize troops by sea. It is very difficult for Li Qiulin and others to escape the enemy's pursuit. According to the plan made in advance, they were also going to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with the guerrillas they had previously dealt with. Now it seems that this plan is difficult to realize. They can only deal with the enemy by entering the Tahan Mountains with high mountains and dense forests. However, they were unfamiliar with the place and the supplies they carried were limited. Once the dry food they carried ran out, they had to go to villages and towns to replenish it, which would inevitably expose their whereabouts.
Li Qiulin and the others now had no choice but to continue heading to the Tahan Mountains according to the markings on the map.
Xu Dalong and others left a military radio station for the guerrilla group they had dealt with last time, and helped them simply train operators. However, this guerrilla group is an isolated guerrilla group and has always fought independently. Apart from contacting Xu Dalong and others, they have no use in using the radio, so the radio station has long been idle. Xu Dalong and others had no way to get in touch with them at this time. As a result, Li Qiulin and others were unable to contact the guerrillas, and they could only solve everything on their own.
Faced with the pursuit and interception of the Japanese and puppet troops, especially Li Qiulin and others, Mr. Chen felt a little guilty in order to cover himself and distract the enemy. He felt that if he had not insisted on continuing to go deep into Malaysia, everyone, especially Li Qiulin, would not be in such a predicament. But now that the matter has come to this, Mr. Chen has no idea of backing down. He could only continue to go to Kuala Lumpur to carry out work and raise money and materials for the anti-Japanese war, so that he could be worthy of the sacrifices made by the special forces members for themselves.
Since the enemy's attention has been attracted by Li Qiulin and others, the actions of Xu Dalong and others have become much easier. They once again disguised themselves as Japanese soldiers, and this time even Mr. Chen and Secretary Chen put on Japanese military uniforms.
In order to prevent anyone from recognizing Mr. Chen and Xu Dalong, they also put on makeup. Xu Dalong has very good makeup skills. After his makeup, even people who are very familiar with them will find it difficult to recognize them in person. The only trouble is that Mr. Chen is too old and it is difficult to arrange the disguise as a Japanese soldier. Among the Japanese army, apart from high-ranking officers, it is impossible to have an active-duty soldier as old as Mr. Chen. Xu Dalong and others did not dare to march blatantly along the road and could only continue to walk through the forest.
It is easier to travel through the dense forest and hide, but there is one problem they must solve, and that is the problem of supplies.
Xu Dalong and others had stored some food before entering Malaysia, but the food could only last for five days. Even if they ate sparingly, it was only enough to last half a day. They are going to run out of food. Although there are some wild vegetables and other things in the mountains and forests that can satisfy hunger, they cannot survive for long just relying on this.
Xu Dalong and others must get food, and to get food, they must enter villages and towns. Entering villages and towns will inevitably attract the enemy's attention. If there are only one or two people, it's easy to handle. You can find ways to steal some. Even if the locals find that there are fewer things, they won't feel anything. But after all, Xu Dalong and others have more than 20 people, and the amount of food they need to deal with is quite large. Buying so much food will definitely attract the attention of the locals.
If they reported the Japanese and puppet troops, it would definitely arouse the enemy's vigilance. It is very likely that the enemy would be able to judge that Xu Dalong, Li Qiulin and others were divided into two groups. But this problem must be solved immediately, and enough food must be provided. Otherwise, they would not be able to continue walking through the dense forest.
Xu Dalong thought over and over again, and the best way to solve the problem was to get in touch with the local anti-Japanese guerrillas. If guerrillas appear, the whereabouts of Xu Dalong and others will not be exposed. He knew that there were many guerrilla groups, large and small, in Malaysia, but they were not familiar with the place and could not find them at the moment.
Xu Dalong called the squad leader and several squad leaders and deputy squad leaders to discuss finding the local anti-Japanese guerrillas. Mr. Chen and Secretary Chen have also stayed in Malaysia for several years. Although they are not familiar with the situation in the countryside, they can provide some help, so they also participated in the discussion.
Xu Dalong said: "For the safety of Mr. Chen, we must act covertly, so we must continue to travel through the mountains and forests. But we are now short of supplies and must solve it immediately. If we want to solve it, it will inevitably attract the enemy's attention, so it is best to be able to We have found the local anti-Japanese guerrillas, but we are not familiar with the situation here. How can we find the local guerrillas without attracting attention? Let us all share our opinions."
When the Anti-Japanese War broke out, Mr. Chen and Secretary Chen were working in Kuala Lumpur. They had heard a lot about the guerrillas, but they had not had direct contact with them. Nonetheless, they can still provide some advice.
Mr. Chen said: "After the Japanese army occupied Malaysia, they were very brutal and massacred many Malaysians. They did not treat the local people as human beings. Therefore, the local people were very disgusted with them and supported the fight against the Japanese guerrillas. I suggest that you think To find guerrillas, it is better to pretend to be guerrillas and contact the locals. This way, it will be easier to win the trust of the locals and the possibility of finding the guerrillas will be greater."
Secretary Chen followed the special operations team all the way. Due to his poor physical condition, he caused a lot of trouble for everyone. He felt a little ashamed of this and had long hoped to contribute to prove his worth.
He volunteered and said: "If you want to find the locals, I can go with you. We will meet the local Chinese and there will be no problem in communicating. However, in the countryside, there are not many Chinese, so it is more likely to find the local indigenous people." Big. I can speak the local language and help you.”
This is really good news for Xu Dalong. He can speak English. Malaysia has been under the rule of the British for a long time, and many people speak English. However, English is not so popular in rural areas, and the locals still mainly speak the local dialect. What Xu Dalong needs most now is someone who can communicate with the local indigenous people. Unexpectedly, Secretary Chen was very helpful at the critical moment.
He then said: "Secretary Chen, it's great that you know the local language. Mr. Chen and I have the same idea. We need to find local people to understand the situation of the guerrillas. I am worried that I can't communicate with them. Yeah. With your help, things will be much easier to handle."
Secretary Chen respected Xu Dalong very much and was very happy to be praised by him. He said: "I have caused trouble to everyone along the way. I am very honored to be able to help everyone."
After thorough discussion, it was decided that squad leader Qiao Song would take a special operations team member to protect Secretary Chen and go down the mountain to find the local guerrillas.
Qiao Song and others went down the mountain. They were very careful along the way and carefully observed the movements around them as they walked.
They found a village in the distance. The village looked small and the buildings in the village were very simple. Looking from a distance, you can see people walking around in the village.
After careful observation, they did not find any Japanese and puppet troops in the village, but they did not dare to approach rashly. After all, they were unfamiliar with the place and it was difficult to win the trust of the villagers. If they wanted to find out what they wanted to know from them, Come, I'm afraid it will be very difficult.
(Dear readers, I have something going on at home recently, so the update is not timely enough. Please forgive me. I will try my best to update in time in the future.) (End of this chapter)
