"Haoyu, how many people will the Japs send out this time?"
As soon as Chu Xiong returned to Liu Town, he asked Yan Haoyu, the fourth platoon leader who stayed behind in Liu Town.
"Company Commander, according to the news from Shitou, an additional group of Japanese soldiers has been added to Anping City. We haven't got the exact information about how many people will be dispatched. They should be here for food this time!"
Chu Xiong quickly made a decision. He had to prepare for the worst. If the Japanese dispatched more than one brigade of troops, the base area could only adopt the method of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields to fight guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.
The Seventh Company is not strong enough to withstand a large group of Japanese!
Chu Xiong said to Yan Haoyu:
"Telegraph Shitou and ask them to find a way to find out the strength of the Japs as soon as possible. After the Japs are dispatched, they will use sparrow warfare to hold them back for more than a day!"
"Let the correspondent inform each platoon to help the fellow villagers harvest food. We will buy all the excess food at market prices and transport it to the old camp!"
"Inform the instructor of the old camp and be prepared to receive the food into the warehouse..."
As Chu Xiong issued orders one after another, the entire base area entered into high-speed operation.
The soldiers and civilians in the base area stayed up late at night, harvested wheat, and competed with the Japanese for time. The Japanese must not let the Japanese take away this grain!
Two days later, with the joint efforts of the military and civilians, all the summer grain was harvested.
The common people handed over all the rent they had to pay to the landlords. Except for some necessary rations, the rest were either sold to the Eighth Route Army or buried.
Landowners who had to pay taxes on grain to the Eighth Route Army also paid taxes, and many of the remaining people also chose to sell it to the Eighth Route Army.
Just buying grain, Seventh Company spent more than 20,000 silver dollars!
The good thing is that the food stored in the warehouse of the old camp is enough to feed 5,000 people for more than two years, and the problem of military rations has been solved.
It is much easier for ordinary people to hide silver coins than food.
Confirmed news finally came from Shitou. This time the Japanese troops dispatched were two infantry squadrons plus a cavalry squad, as well as a battalion of the Imperial Association Army with more than 500 people.
"Huh, nearly 1,000 people are still within the tolerance of the Seventh Company!
All platoons were notified to assemble in the town, and each village soldier company was ready to cover the evacuation of the villagers at any time. "
In the evening, the armed work teams stationed in each village were eliminated, and all other personnel returned to work.
Chu Xiong summoned the platoon leaders to make pre-war deployments
"Comrades, the Japs have dispatched more than 400 Japs and more than 500 puppet troops this time. Their purpose is very clear, which is to recapture Liu Town! Then they will collect all the summer grain to support their frontal operations."
"The enemy will be held back for a day at most by the stone. We won't have much time to prepare. How are we going to fight? Let's talk about our opinions first and speak freely!"
Chu Xiong can just deploy directly, but this will make several platoon leaders develop the habit of dependence. They will have to be independent in the future, so Chu Xiong must cultivate their ability to think independently from the beginning.
The first person to speak was platoon leader Li Qing. He was the oldest among all platoon leaders. He had followed Chu Xiong from Hubei, Henan and Anhui and had rich experience in guerrilla warfare.
"Company Commander, the core combat strength of the Japs is those two squadrons of Japs, and the greatest threat is their cavalry squad, which is very mobile. I suggest that we first destroy the Japs' cavalry squad! Then use the two platoons of The troops block attacks step by step to lure the enemy deeper, and the main force chooses suitable terrain to ambush the Japanese."
Li Qing was worthy of being Chu Xiong's number one general. He came up with a set of strategies for fighting the enemy in just a few words. This was a tactic commonly used in the anti-encirclement and suppression campaigns in the Soviet area back then. Li Qing used it with great proficiency.
"I agree with Platoon Leader Li's tactics. This time the Japanese invaded alone, just to bully us. We can't do anything with the strength of two of their squadrons."
"Our company does not have the strength to eat them in one bite, but we can eat them one bite at a time. As long as the Japanese enter the base area, they will be blind and deaf. We have the initiative in how and where to fight!"
"The puppet troops are local snakes. We must find a way to separate them from the devils first, use part of our troops to hold back the devils, and concentrate our forces to annihilate the puppet troops first."
Although Yan Haoyu has only been promoted to platoon leader not long ago, he has the most ideas and is highly valued by Chu Xiong.
Other platoon leaders also put forward their opinions one after another, including Ma Dayuan, who was promoted by the puppet army anyway.
Facing the menacing Japanese troops, no one chose to retreat. They fully used their brains and offered suggestions, and gradually formed a relatively complete combat plan, which made Chu Xiong very gratified.
If the Japs came in a brigade this time, then the Seventh Company could only organize the people to go into the mountains, and on the other hand fight guerrilla warfare with the Japs, using the morning-glory tactic to lure the Japs towards the Shenxian Ridge.
Although this tactic can eventually defeat the Japs, the losses in the base area will also be great. Although the Japs cannot capture the people when they enter the village, they will burn down all the houses and cause all kinds of destruction.
Fortunately, the Japs' arrogance helped the Seventh Company a favor this time. Under normal circumstances, 500 Japs could run rampant in the territory of the Eighth Route Army, but this time they faced the Seventh Company and Chu Xiong, so that was a different matter!
The equipment of the Seventh Company is not weaker than that of the Japs. If they are prepared and unprepared, they still have a chance to defeat the Japs.
Chu Xiong decided to fight according to the plan discussed by the comrades, and strengthen their confidence through this battle.
"Comrades, I agree with everyone's opinions! The Japanese also carry one head on two shoulders. It's nothing special. If one bullet falls, the head will still bloom.
"I order..."
With Chu Xiong's order, the first counter-sweep in the Liuzhen Anti-Japanese Base Area began.
One day later, the Japs from Anping City were dispatched, led by Major Taniguchi Kawaichi.
Taniguchi Kawaichi is the captain of the first brigade of the 137th Regiment of the 68th Division. The Taniguchi brigade has just withdrawn from the front line and went to Anping City to rest and raise food for the 137th Regiment.
Originally, the mission given to them by the regiment was to take over the defense of Anping City, and the Anping Garrison Brigade was responsible for raising food for the 137th Regiment to go to the countryside.
But Taniguchi Kawaichi had his own little Jiujiu, and it was a good job to go to the countryside to raise food. It was said that there was also a company of the Eighth Route Army in Liuzhen, which established a base in Liuzhen.
The elimination of the Eighth Route Army in Liuzhen was also a credit. He had the final say when entering the Eighth Route Army's base area to burn, kill, and loot. What better way to rest than to burn, kill, and loot in the Chinese base area?
Anping City couldn't mess around, but Liu Town could, so Taniguchi took over the job of the Anping garrison and led two complete squadrons straight to Liu Town.
