Chapter 23: Returning to Base for a Brief Respite

The night was deep and the mountain breeze bitingly cold. With the conclusion of the policy outreach and recruitment efforts, Xiaohuo Village had returned to a state of calm.

The soldiers of the New Recruit Platoon were resting in shifts, exhausted after a day of continuous forced marches. However, Zhang Yun, Liu Changqing, and several squad leaders remained at their posts, patrolling the various defensive positions. The spoils of war had not yet been safely secured, and no one dared to be careless.

Around 2:00 AM, a dragon of fire suddenly appeared on the mountain road leading toward Xiaowang Village. Countless villagers carried torches, marching in a line like a long river, hurrying toward Xiaohuo Village. Old Tang, the leader of the logistics squad, took the lead, walking at the very front. It was a testament to his dedication that a man of his age had covered these dozens of kilometers of mountain trails overnight.

"Platoon Leader, you’ve certainly worn this old man out today," Old Tang complained the moment he saw Zhang Yun. Yet, a wide smile remained on his face, deepening the wrinkles that lined it.

As the squad leader in charge of logistics, he bore the burden of the soldiers' food, clothing, shelter, and ammunition supply. The platoon's material reserves were his primary concern. Following a month of grueling training, the reserves of grain and ammunition had plummeted, and their stock of cloth and currency was nearly exhausted. Even though he trusted Platoon Leader Zhang to secure more supplies, he had felt uneasy seeing the warehouse remain empty.

But this morning, in Liujia Town alone, the platoon had seized a large cache of weapons, ammunition, grain, and canned goods, which had brought him a true sense of relief. To transport these items back to base, he had mobilized two or three hundred villagers from Xiaowang Village, keeping his three-man logistics squad busy without a moment's rest. Before he could even finish counting the haul, Zhang Yun’s messenger had found him, reporting that the spoils from Xiaohuo Village were even more staggering. When he heard he needed to organize a thousand people for transport, he nearly bit his tongue, suspecting the messenger had misheard the numbers. A thousand people and dozens of pack animals—such a transport team could move thirty to forty tons of supplies in one go.

Upon learning that Xiaohuo Village had yielded an even greater quantity of firearms, ammunition, and mountains of flour, canned goods, and cloth, Old Tang was beside himself with excitement. He finally understood why Zhang Yun was so urgent about organizing the transport overnight.

The Japanese would certainly not take the loss of such a massive amount of materiel lying down. By tomorrow, the invaders from Xiyang County or even Yangquan City would surely launch a counterattack on the Xiaohuo Village stronghold. They would rather destroy the position than let the Eighth Route Army make off with such a haul. These supplies were enough to sustain the Eighth Route Army through a regimental or even a brigade-level battle.

"Platoon Leader, we’ve organized over 1,200 villagers—over 1,200! Once they heard our unit needed help moving the captured ammunition, the able-bodied men from all the surrounding villages of Xiaowang Village came out!" Old Tang said, gripping Zhang Yun's hand tightly.

Zhang Yun was deeply moved, but he dared not delay. "Old Tang, please thank the villagers on my behalf. Tell them to prioritize moving the firearms and ammunition, then the canned goods and cloth, and finally the grain." He then added with bold generosity, "Give every villager who came today 20 jin of flour to take home. Let them share in our joy."

Though Old Tang felt a slight sting at the cost, he nodded silently, touched by the villagers' fervent support for the army.

"Go and make the arrangements. The haul is even larger than what the messenger told you. We routed the Japanese reinforcements yesterday evening and captured over 100 rifles, three heavy machine guns, and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. These weapons must be moved back as well. I will have the Third Squad accompany you to provide escort. The Second Squad will retreat to guard the Xiaohuo Village stronghold and pull back before the Japanese arrive. I haven't heard back from the First Squad, which I sent to recruit in the surrounding villages, so we must secure their path back."

***

Once Old Tang departed to coordinate the logistics, Xiaohuo Village quickly transformed from a quiet place into a hive of activity. Countless villagers from around the Xiaowang Village area followed the instructions of Old Tang and his logistics team, moving the captured ammunition and supplies as they began the slow trek back. With people carrying, oxen pulling, and horses bearing the load, the group returned in a lively procession.

By 5:00 AM, Xiaohuo Village had grown quiet once more. Zhang Yun kept the deputy platoon leader behind to speak with the village elders who acted as the community's leaders. These men had seen the rise and fall of many regimes; they understood the complexities of the world and the necessity of survival.

"Japan is an industrialized nation with advanced weaponry, but its territory is small and its population is fewer than ours. We will eventually drive the invaders out. However, this war is a protracted process that will inevitably involve countless hardships. We must be adept at using strategy to protect ourselves," Zhang Yun said, applying modern wisdom to bolster the villagers' confidence in victory.

"Xiaohuo Village is situated along the Pingliao Highway, a military stronghold the Japanese value highly. They will not easily abandon it. I estimate they will reoccupy this place very soon. Our strength is currently limited; we cannot face the enemy head-on. We must rely on mobile warfare and guerrilla tactics, striking the enemy in small, incremental ways to accumulate small victories into a grand one, all while building strength for the final counterattack. For the sake of safety, villagers should relocate if possible. If you cannot, play along with the Japanese for now. Protect yourselves first, then resist the enemy."

The Xiaohuo Village stronghold was too close to the highway and deep in enemy-occupied territory for Zhang Yun to hold. Even if he defeated the Japanese from Xiyang and Yangquan tomorrow, the main force and aircraft from Taiyuan would surely follow. The Japanese controlled the railways and highways, using trains and trucks to reinforce their positions rapidly. Furthermore, with their air superiority, defensive battles at such outposts were impossible. This was the primary reason why, in the mid-to-late stages of the War of Resistance, a single Japanese company could hold an entire county town.

The elders had weathered many storms, but the recent months of Japanese atrocities had filled them with fury. Hearing Zhang Yun’s patient and detailed advice, they agreed to persuade the villagers to leave if they could, or otherwise act as "compliant subjects" to protect themselves while continuing to support the anti-Japanese cause.

In these times, aside from the wealthy families who had fled to Sichuan before the war, life was difficult for Chinese people even in the deep rear. While Zhang Yun felt a sense of sorrow and indignation, he also felt a new sense of urgency. He had to be more proactive in utilizing the "Spoils Bonus" system, striving to play his part during this period of national suffering. He cast aside his earlier hesitations, resolving the direction for the New Recruit Platoon's next offensive.

Finally, the First Squad returned from their recruitment drive. To Zhang Yun’s surprise, they had brought back a significant number of new recruits. Their assault on the Xiaohuo Village stronghold had been a massive display of force; they had fired dozens of shells, and nearby villages had seen the black clouds and heard the rumbling explosions. When the soldiers brought the new recruits from Xiaohuo Village to the surrounding areas, the villagers—many of whom were neighbors and acquaintances—trusted them implicitly.

The people of the Shanxi region already held a deep hatred for the Japanese and were eager to support the anti-Japanese cause. Since they were all the Eighth Route Army, the villagers were naturally more willing to join a unit that possessed more guns, artillery, and better equipment. Though the New Recruit Platoon was still technically just a platoon, the people in these times of war didn't care for such details, and they readily entrusted their sons to the unit.

Of course, the smooth recruitment was also linked to the economic looting by the Japanese. After entering Shanxi, the Japanese had quickly seized or crushed numerous local industries and mines, leaving many villagers unemployed and desperate for a way to feed themselves.

Zhang Yun had the First Squad leader tally the new recruits. He discovered that from Xiaohuo Village and its subordinate villages alone, they had recruited nearly 300 men. With the enemy likely approaching, Zhang Yun had to shelve his plans for a reorganization. He quickly integrated the new recruits into the First and Second Squads, cleared out the stronghold, and returned to base.

***

With such an abundance of manpower, they couldn't let it go to waste. Zhang Yun and his men dismantled and took everything from the Japanese and puppet troops' bedding and clothing to the stronghold’s telephones, windows, and iron doors. By another "coincidence," they discovered several tons of cement in the corner of the ruins, and everyone returned to the base with their hands full.

On the road, Zhang Yun checked the Spoils Bonus system. The data had been updating since he sent out the recruitment parties, but he hadn't had time to look closely. Now, with some leisure on the road, he could finally review how many supplies had been added by "occupying" over twenty villages.

Cumulative Spoils:
Weapons and Equipment: 47 Type 13 Liaoning rifles, 8 Mauser automatic pistols, 4,567 rounds of 7.92mm rifle ammunition, 234 rounds of 7.63mm pistol ammunition, 12 Gong-style grenades, 429kg of black powder, 27kg of Kai-type explosives.
Currency: 45kg of gold, 689kg of silver, 64,584 yuan in Legal Tender.
Grain: 98 tons of flour, 24 tons of meat.
Metals: 2.5 tons of copper, 12.8 tons of iron.
Construction Materials: 529 cubic meters of timber, 13.87 tons of cement.
Other: 620 bolts of cloth, 55 pieces of workshop machinery, spinning wheels...

Heavens, it was truly a wealthy town, second only to the county seat. The spoils from just over 20 villages far exceeded the totals from Yujiakou and Liujia towns. If this had been after the autumn harvest, the grain count could have reached hundreds of tons. And to think they had been hoarding so many firearms, ammunition, and explosives.

Zhang Yun thought about it and, finding the black powder’s power insufficient, exchanged it for 140kg of TNT. The exchange ratio was close to 3:1. In truth, TNT wasn't very expensive for major industrial powers because the manufacturing processes were mature, and raw materials made up the bulk of the cost. Black powder was equally expensive in those nations due to the cost of raw materials.

In reality, the poorer the country, the higher the cost of manufacturing weapons and explosives, because industrialization relies on economies of scale to reduce costs. Could you believe that China, only at the early stages of industrialization, managed to produce tens of millions of rifles in the 60s and 70s and gave every citizen a hand grenade? That was the charm of industrialization, and the "bonus system's" bug-like exchange mechanism was calculated based on the actual factory costs of major Western powers.

Zhang Yun looked at the cumulative, un-withdrawn supplies. 160 tons of grain, over 40 tons of meat, over 120 rifles, over 40,000 rounds of ammunition, 46.67kg of gold, 0.7 tons of silver, bolts of cloth...

As the un-cashed supplies continued to grow, Zhang Yun’s heart felt increasingly secure.