Wang Jin, Li Jiming and others returned to the temporary station and reported the situation to Li Qiulin. Li Qiulin believed that after the battle just now, the Japanese and puppet troops could determine that the guerrillas were operating in this area, and they must move immediately.
They distributed some dry food and bacon brought back by Wang Jin and others to the guerrillas who had stayed in the cave. After resting for another hour, the transfer began.
The guerrillas who stayed in the cave finally got some decent food, and their physical condition improved slightly. With the support of the special forces members and guerrillas who were in better physical condition, they began their arduous trek toward the southwest.
This area is the core of the Crocker Mountains, and few people can penetrate deep into it. The jungle here is dense, covered with tree roots and vines, and almost every step requires a machete to clear the way.
When we got here, even Li Jiming was a little confused. Fortunately, it is a sunny day today, so we can maintain the general direction through the position of the sun.
Gao Cang led a large group of Japanese and puppet troops to follow the direction provided by Wang Jin, but could not find any trace of the guerrillas, which inevitably aroused suspicion. Although he saw that the road signs on the ground were the road signs prescribed by the Japanese and puppet agents, he became increasingly uneasy when he thought about the fact that many Japanese and puppet agents had disappeared inexplicably these days.
Takakura ordered the troops to temporarily stop advancing, and then went to the place where the road sign appeared to observe it in person. He found that although there were marks on the ground, there were no traces of the passing of large troops.
He is now basically certain that he has been deceived by the guerrillas. The Japanese and puppet agents responsible for monitoring the guerrillas have been captured by the enemy. The guerrillas pretended to be Japanese and puppet agents and used the trick to lead themselves down the wrong path. In order to be more sure of his judgment, he called Tanaka and asked Tanaka to screen the Japanese and puppet agents responsible for tracking the guerrillas.
Tanaka called the local gendarmerie and asked the gendarmerie to come forward and contact the two agents. The members of the gendarmerie called Wang Jin and found that he was not a familiar person they sent out, and his accent was completely unfamiliar.
Tanaka was now completely sure that Wang Jin and others were fake Japanese and puppet agents, and he quickly reported the situation to Gao Cang.
After Gao Cang began to have doubts, he felt very depressed. Now came the confirmed news from Tanaka, which made him furious.
Facing Xu Dalong and his special forces team, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He felt that he was being led by others and that he was completely helpless. Now this feeling is getting stronger. He sat on the ground for a while, then simply lay down on the grass.
The Japanese and puppet troops, who had been marching at a rapid pace, saw Gao Cang's actions regardless of their appearance. They staggered and collapsed on the ground like a cramped gangster.
Wang Jin pretended to be an enemy agent and led the Japanese and puppet troops by the nose. When he heard the other party's call to confirm his identity, he knew that he had been exposed and there was no point in continuing to pretend. So he got in touch with Li Qiulin, then chased them, and finally met up with them.
After Gao Cang rested for more than half an hour, he felt somewhat refreshed. He drank some more water and ate some solid food, and then he felt much better. Unwilling to fail, Gao Cang called the local gendarmerie captain and asked him to help determine the whereabouts of the guerrillas.
The captain of the gendarmerie has been stationed in this area for more than a year, and he still understands the local situation. Based on the report of the plainclothes agents dispatched, he found no trace of the guerrillas anywhere else, so he could roughly determine the area where the guerrillas were located, which was roughly southwest of the main peak of Crocker Mountain. Gao Cang looked at the map for a long time. Although the general direction was determined, the area in this area was still relatively large. With the strength of his own troops, it was not enough to form a complete encirclement. Moreover, the terrain there was too complicated. If he rashly went in to search, They will be completely in the position of being passively beaten, and maybe the whole army will be destroyed.
At this time, Gao Cang's mind was a little confused, and he asked Tanaka for his opinion. Tanaka is now a little helpless. He said that he was not familiar with the local situation and suggested that Gao Cang seek the advice of the local military police captain.
Since accepting the mission, the gendarmerie captain has been participating in the search for guerrillas, and he also has his own opinions in this regard. He believes that if we continue to send large troops into the mountains to search, it will be difficult to gain anything. Although the guerrillas have entered deep mountains to hide, they also have a weakness, which is that the supply of materials is completely cut off. Although there are some wild vegetables and fruits in the deep mountains to satisfy hunger, they cannot last long. Moreover, they lack medicine and salt, which makes it even more difficult for them to sustain themselves in the long term. Therefore, the best way is to block them in the mountains.
Due to the limited number of troops that Gao Cang can command, a large-scale blockade is unrealistic. He suggested sending out multiple small troops scattered in the mountains. This time they no longer blindly search around, but instead delineate areas and hold on to the spot. Once they find small groups of guerrillas going out to purchase supplies, they will annihilate them. At the same time, several fast mobile troops are stationed along the road outside the mountain. Once reports are received from the mountain, reinforcements will be quickly carried out. He expected that the guerrillas would not be able to hold on in the mountains for long, and sooner or later they would come down to solve the problem of material supply.
There is nothing new in the gendarmerie captain's suggestion, but at this time Gao Cang and others believe that this is the only feasible way at present. Gao Cang adopted the gendarmerie captain's suggestion and readjusted the deployment.
He accepted the lesson that the original special agent teams were eliminated one by one. According to the suggestion of the military police captain, each special agent team should still maintain two to three people, but a squad of Japanese soldiers or Huang Xiejun should be sent to act with them. This way, they won't be quietly solved by the enemy.
Li Qiulin and others entered the deep mountains and dense forests and temporarily escaped the search of the Japanese and puppet troops. However, at this time, their supply of supplies became increasingly difficult. The little grain, salt, and a small amount of bacon that Wang Jin and others brought back were quickly consumed.
The guerrillas are beginning to face the threat of hunger and must quickly find a way to solve it. Otherwise, the special forces and guerrillas will soon lose their physical strength due to hunger, or even completely lose their combat effectiveness.
Li Qiulin knew that there must be Japanese and puppet troops searching for guerrillas in the mountains. It would be very dangerous to bring so many laborers with no combat effectiveness, but it was currently unrealistic to break out en masse. They could only send people out to look for food, salt and other living supplies and hide them temporarily.
So Li Qiulin handed over this task to Wang Jin. Wang Jin took several special operations team members, led by guerrillas who were relatively familiar with the area, and went out to search for living supplies.
That afternoon, Wang Jin and others were on their way in the mountains. When they climbed a mountain ridge, they were suddenly attacked by the Japanese and puppet troops. One guerrilla died on the spot, and a special forces member was injured. Wang Jin immediately led others to fight back.
Based on experience, he judged that there were about a dozen people on the other side. There were currently four people on his side, including a wounded person. They were obviously no match for the enemy. So he retreated while fighting, and retreated into the mountains again.
The task of the Japanese and puppet troops was to blockade them. They only had one squad and they did not dare to move forward rashly. They also began to retreat, hiding again in the dense jungle and continuing to perform the blockade task.
Li Qiulin is waiting for news from Wang Jin and others in the dense forest. Wang Jin and others came back. Not only did they fail to complete their mission, they also lost a guerrilla and added another wounded person. Now the medicines they carried have basically been used up, and the situation has become increasingly difficult.
Li Jiming has been brave since he was high, and wants to take people out to find daily necessities. Li Qiulin once again sent Wang Jin to take people out with him.
Nowadays, the guerrillas and special forces have begun to lose physical strength due to the shortage of supplies. They can only give priority to the remaining food to the special forces and guerrillas who are out searching for supplies, so that they can maintain a certain level of physical strength. to complete the mission outside. Li Qiulin led the special forces and guerrillas who stayed behind to search for wild vegetables, fruits and other edible things in the mountains, hoping to last longer.
Wang Jin and Li Jiming led people out of the mountain and were once again attacked by the Japanese and puppet troops. This time, although they were vigilant in advance and discovered the enemy's lurking post first, a fierce battle still broke out between the two sides, which once again resulted in the death of a guerrilla. After Wang Jin, Li Jiming and others got rid of the tracking of the Japanese and puppet troops, they turned to other directions and continued their mission of searching for living supplies.
After all, Li Jiming was familiar with the local situation, and he suddenly had an idea. He suggested that everyone first climb up to the main peak of Crocker Mountain and observe from a high vantage point. You might be able to gain something from it.
Wang Jin adopted Li Jiming's suggestion. In order to maintain his physical strength, he asked other guerrillas and special forces to wait at the bottom of the mountain. After a difficult climb, he and Li Jiming finally climbed to the main peak of Crocker Mountain.
The main peak of Crocker Mountain is 2,713 meters above sea level. Standing on the high peak and looking around, you really feel like you can see all the small mountains.
After careful observation, Li Jiming finally gained something. He said to Wang Jin with some surprise: "Monitor Wang, look over there."
Wang Jin looked in the direction of her finger and saw a valley seven or eight kilometers away. The valley was relatively open, forming a small plain. I actually found a few thatched houses there, with smoke floating in the air. This is a real surprise.
Wang Jin didn't understand why people appeared here, so he humbly asked Li Jiming for advice.
Seeing that his guess had come true, Li Jiming said with some pride: "Squad leader Wang, there is a family in this mountain who has been tainted by the Japanese and puppet troops. Since the Japanese invaded Malaysia, they burned, killed and looted, and many residents wanted to They hid in the mountains to avoid the war, and this is probably why these families appeared here."
Wang Jin was very happy, so he went down the mountain with Li Jiming, and then took the special forces and guerrillas to look for those families.
There were three families in the valley, with a total of 12 people including the elderly and children. They were villagers from the same village. Their original village was massacred by the Japanese and puppet troops. In order to avoid the war, they fled into the mountains.
Facing the sudden arrival of men with guns, the villagers were very panicked at first. After being comforted by Li Jiming, everyone's emotions settled down. These three families have opened up dozens of acres of paddy fields in the valley and have a lot of grain stored in them, which is enough to sustain the guerrillas for a period of time. Li Jiming offered to use money to buy their food, but the villagers were somewhat reluctant. Because there is no place to spend money in this deep mountain.
Wang Jin observed carefully when Li Jiming was talking to the villagers. He found that the family was interested in the weapons they carried, so he offered to exchange the weapons with them for food. Sure enough, his guess was right, the other party was willing to exchange food for weapons. This is easy to understand. These people need weapons for self-defense in the mountains, especially because they are worried that Japanese and puppet troops will come into the mountains to cause damage, so they need weapons for self-defense.
After the matter was settled, the food provided by these three families was enough to sustain the guerrillas for more than a month. In order to avoid carrying food over long distances, Wang Jin simply contacted Li Qiulin and asked him to lead his troops closer here and hide in the nearby mountains and forests.
The food problem was temporarily solved, but there was another problem with salt. Although these three families can provide so much food, their stored salt is limited and there is no way to satisfy the supply of so many people. (End of chapter)
