It's not that Zhou Wen doesn't trust anyone, but the mercenary group is now alone, with no reinforcements outside and no supplies inside, so it is natural to be extra careful. In addition to having to travel hundreds of kilometers to escape danger, even the radio station is only turned on once a day in order to keep it secret.
Not only must the Japanese army be kept a secret, but also domestic personnel must be kept a secret, and details will be reported to their families when they return to a safe zone. After all, after arriving in Zhangjiakou, the train problem will have to be solved by the marshal.
It was already 9 o'clock in the evening on April 27. Several senior officials of the mercenary group who had just set up camp in a valley were meeting in a tent to study the next move.
"Although the brothers of the second detachment don't know where our destination is, the 10 consecutive days of forced march were carried out very well. There were no complaints or private discussions along the way. The energy was quite high, but the physical strength was exhausted. Relatively large." Chen Wanlihui reported.
"It's also because we have hundreds of war horses. The wounded, heavy equipment, and ammunition are all carried on war horses, which reduces a lot of the burden on the soldiers. Even some people died from exhaustion or stumbled and fell off the cliff along the way. Ten horses, but the personnel were not damaged. It is a pity just for these horses, which made the brothers in the cavalry company feel very distressed." Gao Xiaoshan said.
"What a pity. We can't let these veteran scoundrels from the cavalry company get used to us. They were not allowed to ride horses along the way. They marched with the large army. A few of them started to complain. After being punished by me, they became more honest. . This is not the time to do any ideological work with them, we can only do hard work, and this is what these people will eat." Miaohua said disdainfully.
You must know that he has been training the cavalry company, and he has already made those veterans obedient. And he was right. These people were all veterans in the army. Unlike the young officers and soldiers of the second detachment, they all respected the strong and would not be coaxed but beaten.
Zhou Wen also agreed: "Senior Brother Miaohua is right. In these extraordinary times, we can only use the simplest method to suppress them. Moreover, they have been joining the mercenary group for some time. The conditions and treatment of our mercenary group are compared with theirs before." They must know how they feel about it. If they really have any objections, let them stay in Zhangjiakou. It will take a long time for this type of people to completely return to their hearts."
"As for the war horses, wait until I go to Delengtai and Zhang Da to talk to them. Aren't they just the war horses of a few little devils? We will get them as many as they want in the future. This is not a problem."
Remembering what Chen Wanli had just said about the brothers' physical exertion, he said: "Now that we are far away from all forces, we are basically safe. There is a stream next to the camp. Let's relax completely tonight and let everyone have a good meal. Hot food. There is no need to distribute the remaining cans sparingly. We distribute them all to cook and eat. We will boil some hot water for everyone to warm their feet and relax their muscles before going to bed at night."
Gao Xiaoshan hesitated and said: "Scholar, we still have about a hundred kilometers to get to Duolun. I don't know what will happen on the way. It's better to keep some for emergencies."
Zhou Wen laughed. Gao Xiaoshan lived in the Central Plains all year round and did not know the situation of the grassland. He pointed to the west of the mountain and said: "Brother Shanzi, after leaving Baicha Mountain, you enter the Mongolian grassland. Have you ever heard of that song?" Is it a song? 'The sky is blue, the fields are vast, the grass is blown by the wind and the cattle and sheep are low.' It means that there is a shortage of everything on the grassland, except cattle and sheep."
"When we meet Mongolian herdsmen on the grassland, we will trade the captured guns with them for sheep. You know, on the Mongolian grassland, guns and ammunition are more useful hard currencies than gold and silver."
"That's right! With Delengtai, an authentic Mongolian, we are still afraid of running out of food on the grassland? I was wondering before, how could you become such a clumsy scholar? You can't bear to travel hundreds of kilometers across mountains and rivers. Throwing away the weapons of those little devils turned out to be this idea." Chen Wanli also joked with a smile.
To be honest, several people have now relaxed their tense heartstrings.
What others don't know is that the top brass of their mercenary group have always been nervous.
Just because they were not only alone, but also brought more than a thousand brothers who trusted them unconditionally, they were able to cross the entire Jehol Province with just a few maps in unfamiliar mountains.
Not to mention the hardships on the road, he had to go from village to village and town to town, just like a thief. He just didn't want any accidents to happen and wanted to bring his brothers home safely.
Now that we have reached the border of Chahar, we have no worries about security. The horse thieves and the armed forces of the Inner Mongolian nobles saw more than a thousand murderous regular troops appearing on the grassland. It was too late to hide. Who dared to take the initiative to provoke them? ?
You must know that the Inner Mongolia prairie has been sparsely populated since ancient times. The average Mongolian nobles can raise dozens of private armed forces, which is considered a powerful force. The big nobles can only have a few hundred cavalry, and only one German king can have a few. Most of the thousands of cavalry are herdsmen who usually graze to support their families.
Therefore, these thousands of mercenary regiments are small and inconspicuous armed groups in the Central Plains, but they can basically walk sideways on the grasslands.
Chen Wanli, who was born in the Northwest Army, naturally understood this situation, so he rarely joked with Zhou Wen, which showed that he was indeed in a relaxed mood.
But Miaohua didn't give him much face. He still said with a handsome face: "You guys don't be too careless. There must be no less light and dark sentries to be arranged tonight. We still have to check the sentry at night." Same shifts as always.”
Zhou Wen knew that Miaohua was making mature and prudent remarks, so he would naturally not object.
He saw that he had said everything he needed to say. He smelled the fragrance wafting from outside and knew that it was almost time for dinner. He was about to announce the adjournment of the meeting. Then he heard the rapid footsteps coming from outside. Zhou Wen knew it was the communications platoon leader just by listening to the footsteps. Zhang Xinhe.
When the mercenary regiment goes out to fight, Zhou Wen usually leaves a communications squad to follow Zhou Yongbin at the headquarters, while platoon leader Zhang Xinhe leads two squads to follow the troops.
At this time, Zhang Xinhe came in a hurry. The radio station that had just started working must have received an emergency.
Now that the mercenary group has left the main battlefield, the only urgent information is that something happened at home.
Zhou Wen asked Zhang Xinhe to come in directly without waiting for his report.
Sure enough, when Zhou Wen received the long message, his thin eyebrows furrowed and his face became solemn as he looked at it.
Miaohua and Gao Xiaoshan also guessed that something happened at home, and their heartstrings that had just been relaxed tightened again.
After Zhou Wen quickly read the telegram, he handed it to Gao Xiaoshan, turned to Zhang Xinhe and said, "Don't turn off the radio station. The news will be kept secret for the time being. We will call home as soon as possible after we discuss it."
