The person who spoke was a sergeant from the Fubo Army. Yang Erdong saw that he couldn't afford to offend him, so he had to shut up. But they saw another group of Fubo troops coming. The marks on their collar badges were different from Lieutenant Mi and others. I didn't know where the new team came from, and I was secretly wondering.
After a while, Mi Longtao and the Zuolu team also returned. The team was beaming when they came back, escorting the prisoners and carrying various trophies. The enemy fled from the village and had not walked a few miles before being wiped out by Mi Longtao's team who had set up a pocket formation. They captured more than 70 prisoners alone, and the rest were all turned into corpses scattered in the paddy fields.
Mi Longtao was beaming with joy and repeatedly praised Zhu Si and the others for their "good fight" when they attacked Liwei cleanly and forced the bandits out of the village with three strikes, five cuts and two cuts.
"To be honest, I didn't trust your squadron at first. I didn't expect that this guy is really a talent!" Mi Longtao praised Zhu Si profusely. "I also know that the team you led is a temporary ragtag group that can go into battle." , being able to charge and kill is considered a superior performance - to be able to fight like this, I take the greatest credit."
Zhu Si was flattered by his praise and quickly became humble, saying that it was Mi Longtao who "strategized" well and he was just "resolutely executing" it. Although Mi Longtao didn't answer his words, he still had a bright smile on his face. On the other hand, Yang Erdong and the others were quite aggrieved: Captain Li had obviously come up with all this, but Zhu Si was so embarrassed that he regarded it as his own.
There is no injustice, they are just ordinary soldiers, and they have been influenced by the culture of "officials and senior officials suppressing people to death" for many years, so naturally they do not dare to comment casually. But I still have to mutter a few words in private.
Liwei experienced a lot of trouble caused by bandits, and except for a few abducted women who were left behind, there were no residents left. It was already dark, it was inconvenient to defend here, and it was far away from Xijiang. Mi Longtao decided to withdraw his troops immediately and return to Xugang.
Xugang Village is still heavily guarded. Although the Fubo Army won the battle, the tense situation caused in these days still continues. After nightfall, there are no traces of people on the streets. Only the joint patrol team composed of regiment soldiers and the National Army is patrolling. Torches and lanterns were lit at various intersections and bridges, and horse barriers were set up.
Many people came to seek refuge from around Xugang. Mr. Xu did not dare to openly evict the Australians because they were in the village, although he was worried about insufficient food, so they were all accommodated in several temples and ancestral halls.
Because the external banditry was unclear, in order to maintain the status of being able to dispatch at any time, each team did not disperse the number of houses, but camped together in order to be able to dispatch at any time. The Wuzhou Squadron was still placed on the threshing floor. Several bonfires were lit, and the dew was heavy at night, so they wrapped themselves in blankets.
Xu Gang sent several old men and women to help them boil water for cooking. Because he had rescued the siege and annihilated many bandits, this dinner was Xu Gang's "reward". Not only was there enough rice, but he also brought chicken, duck and fish.
After a whole day of continuous fighting and marching, the relationship between the comrades who were originally somewhat estranged has improved a lot, and the nervousness of going to the battlefield for the first time has also disappeared. The soldiers put their spears together and sat around the campfire and wolfed down their meals. . Brag to each other about their achievements and the fools others have made. Especially the few unlucky guys who were missing during the landing battle - they were wandering back and forth between the mountains and the river. They were tired and scared, and finally reached Xu Gang. One of them saw a Fubo Army soldier standing guard at the entrance of Xu Gang Village. He actually burst into tears.
Speaking of which, I can't blame them. If they get lost in this unfamiliar place, it's self-evident what their fate will be if they encounter bandits. When they were training in Wuzhou, they heard a lot of news about the brutal acts of bandits. The Fubo Army soldiers who fell behind or got lost, the naturalized cadres who were left alone... would definitely die if they fell into the hands of the bandits.
Li Pudun finished the rice in the lunch box in a hurry, then went to the big pot and scooped out another lunch box full of vegetable soup.
"You eat so much, be careful to hold on." Luo Mao said with a smile.
"The food in Wuzhou is terrible. It's rare to see meat or fish." Li Pudun smacked his lips, "That mushy food will kill me..."
From the departure from the Guangzhou recruit camp to the end of the training in Wuzhou, the main food of the National Army was "military rations" - most of which were produced during Operation Engine. There was no consumed refugee relief rations - only the refugees who were about to starve to death did not dislike it. .
"Uncle, your place is a good place!" Li Pudun was in a good mood after eating.
"It wouldn't be bad if there were no bandits." The old man said with a grimace. "With the bandits, the land will not be stable for planting, and we won't dare to pick mulberries. This year's silkworms will not be raised. Without such a big future, The apportioned expenses have actually increased a lot - life is sad now!"
"Wouldn't it be better if we wiped out the bandits?" Luo Mao said, "I don't think the bandits are that good, they are very sparse!"
"Deputy Master! You have guns and cannons, so you are naturally not afraid. But when the word 'Big Sky Er' is mentioned, we ordinary people feel as if they have seen a ghost. Even though we have recruited some regiments, we have never fought a war. I’ve seen the bloody chick—if you hadn’t come today, Xu Gang would have been in great trouble!”
He said that because of the bandit troubles these days, neighboring people have fled to Xu Gang, the largest and strongest place in the area, to take refuge. Thousands of people have gathered in the village, many of them women, children, old and young. He went on to talk about the atrocities committed by bandits operating nearby, feeling both angry and sad.
Those who died, those who were injured, those who were robbed and raped, even though they were all unrelated to me, I didn’t recognize them. But when I think about it, they are all ordinary people like me, eating, working, sleeping... living day by day. It's hard to say it's hard, but at least I can live with it... Now people are causing harm indiscriminately - some even belong to the same family... I feel uncomfortable thinking about it... The people don't long for good food and clothing, they just want peace. ! Peace is so difficult! "
When he said this, the soldiers also sighed. Luo Mao quickly comforted him and said, "Don't be sad, uncle, our Fubo Army is here! When we wipe out all the bandits, everyone will naturally be able to live a stable life."
"... If the bandits really broke into the stronghold today, it would be a disaster... You would have committed a crime..." The old man sighed with gratitude, "You have accumulated great virtues by doing good deeds, and you will be rewarded with blessings in the future..."
"What did you mean?" Everyone was a little embarrassed. Deep in their hearts, they felt for the first time the sense of honor and responsibility of soldiers. When the training team was studying politics, the officers repeatedly taught that "the Fubo Army is the soldiers of the common people and is the cornerstone of safeguarding the country and protecting the people." Everyone listened and now they suddenly understood: Why did they come? There is a war here.
"Password!" the sentry on the threshing floor suddenly shouted.
"Pursue!" Li Dong's voice came, and the soldiers were startled and stood up one after another. In today's battle, the right-wing team repeatedly performed extraordinary feats, and Li Dong's prestige has been established among many soldiers.
Li Dong and Zhu Si had just attended the officers' meeting hosted by Mi Longtao in the Xu family ancestral hall. Now, in addition to the troops brought by Mi Longtao from Fengchuan and their Wuzhou Integrated Squadron, Xu Gang also has a company from Sanshui.
This company is preparing to reinforce the suppression troops in Lianzhou and Hezhou: it consists of a Fubo Army infantry platoon and a National Army squadron. They originally drove to Fengchuan County to rest for a while, and then continued along the Lianjiang River. But an order was received on the way: According to the latest intelligence, a large number of bandits were found gathering at the junction of Fengchuan and Yunan counties, and they were ordered to participate in the encirclement and suppression battle. Therefore, this detachment came to Xugang according to the new order and joined Mi Longtao's troops.
Because of this action, Zhu Si's Wuzhou Integrated Squadron was also relieved of its patrol and escort mission, and was instead commanded by Mi Longtao to carry out cleanup activities.
The captured prisoners were interrogated by the trainee officers who accompanied the team, and a lot of useful information was obtained from them. According to the account of one of the leaders, they gathered from all over the place more than ten days ago - the leaders are mostly local powerful and bandit "village owners". They are responsible for providing wages, food, and some firearms. In addition to local gangsters and bandits, most of the members were ruffians from the Ming army who had been defeated in various places. Some Yao people even came.
"This shows that the bandits that the intelligence department has deduced now are political. Someone is secretly instigating and providing support behind the scenes." Mi Longtao said at the meeting, "Now it seems that the Yao chaos in Badai Yao District is There is a tendency to merge with the bandit riots in the Xijiang River Basin."
The situation is very tense, and the campaign of suppression becomes very urgent. At this moment, Zhu Si was holding a combat meeting in the ancestral hall, and Li Dong was ordered to come back to rectify the troops and prepare for battle.
He was not in a relaxed mood. The performance of the integrated squadron today was very eye-catching and was unanimously recognized by Mi Longtao and others at the combat meeting. But the casualty figures were not pretty: six people in the squadron were killed and more than 20 were wounded. The entire integrated squadron numbered only more than 120 people, and the actual casualties exceeded 10%. This is very detrimental to the morale of the new troops.
Many problems were exposed during the battle. He originally suggested that Zhu Si hold a squadron combat summary meeting, but Zhu Si was obviously not interested in this. Besides, he wanted to stay at the headquarters to discuss the details of the operation with Mi Longtao and others. Ask him to go back and hold this meeting.
In fact, he had just listened to the soldiers' chatter in the dark for a while - this kind of "eavesdropping" could truly know the soldiers' thoughts and morale. Now that he had listened to everyone's discussion, he felt that his worries were somewhat unnecessary: it seemed that not only had the soldiers not wavered, but they were much more willing to fight than they had been in previous days.
It seems that fighting can still train the troops! Li Dong thought to himself that no matter how rigorous the training was in Wuzhou, the performance of the troops after boarding the ship was still unreliable. However, after a whole day of fighting today, they became much calmer and calmer - like soldiers.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 368
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