Chapter 414 Undoubted Belief
“Quick, go back and report.”

The two men escorted Ma Shuhuan to their captain, who was the stationmaster’s confidant and the person in charge of this reconnaissance mission.

“Ma Shuhuan?”

The captain did not expect that his men actually caught the escaped Ma Shuhuan.

The fact that the puppet army commander ran away directly was enough to show how fierce the battle on the mountain was, and Xiaohuangshan must have had the advantage, otherwise Ma Shuhuan would have no need to run away.

“You guys are doing great. Keep exploring. I’ll go back and report to the stationmaster.”

The captain led his men to take Ma Shuhuan and the other man away, and soon He Rongtang received a report from his subordinates.

“Ma Shuhuan, is it really him?”

He Rongtang was also stunned. He knew Ma Shuhuan and had even met him.

Ma Shuhuan was a veteran colonel of the Guo Party, but he had joined the warlord faction in his early years and was not a member of the old man’s faction. In addition, he lacked ability and was promoted slowly.

But he is indeed old enough.

When Ma Shuhuan was on the Guo Party side, he was the head of a regiment. Before the Battle of Wuhan, he was ordered to come to support.

As a result, they were ambushed by the Japanese army halfway. Before they could even fight, he surrendered with his entire regiment and was incorporated into a puppet army by the Japanese. He was still the regiment commander.

At first he wanted to take a step forward and become the brigade commander even if the number of people was insufficient. Unfortunately the Japanese did not agree.

The Japanese also took precautions against the puppet army. Unlike in the future, in order to better target the Chinese, they delegated power to some of the puppet troops, but the real command power was still in the hands of the Japanese.

From now on, Wang Tianhai’s puppet regime will be purely a decoration.

“Yes, I am sure it was him. This is a great achievement, Station Master.”

The captain was He Rongtang’s man. He had followed him in the Intelligence Department when he was at the headquarters during the Nanjing Military Intelligence Bureau period.

He Rongtang was lucky and was transferred to Wuhan as deputy station chief. At that time, He Rongtang did not bring anyone with him.

After Xu Qingyun left, he didn’t add many people when he was in charge of the Wuhan Station.

It was not until he was officially promoted to stationmaster that he transferred all his trusted associates from his early years to him.

From this point alone, it can be seen that He Rongtang is a steady person.

“Take me to see him.”

Ma Shuhuan’s rank was not high. If he was in the Guo army, although he had the same rank as He Rongtang, the Military Control Commission supervised the army, so He Rongtang was naturally half a level higher than him.

If Ma Shuhuan committed a crime, He Rongtang would not have to show up in person, as his team leader would be able to arrest him.

Ma Shuhuan was temporarily detained in an abandoned house.

Wuhan Station is not what it used to be. Now there are not so many conditions. Working behind enemy lines, the slightest mistake can lead to eternal damnation.

“He, Stationmaster He.”

When Ma Shuhuan saw He Rongtang coming in, he immediately stood up with a look of surprise on his face.

He finally knew who had captured him, the Military Control Commission.

Immediately, fear appeared in his eyes. If he was caught by others, he might still have a chance to survive. For example, the guerrillas, whether they were the Fruit Party or the Red Party, wanted all kinds of supplies, even their own men, and might use him to exchange things.

But if he fell into the hands of the Military Control Commission, he would have basically no chance of survival.

“Captain Ma, long time no see.”

He Rongtang narrowed his eyes. It was indeed Ma Shuhuan. Although his rank was not high, catching him was of great significance to Wuhan Station.

The Wuhan station is currently behind enemy lines and cannot even be considered a guerrilla force, but it was able to capture the commander of the puppet army and report it back to the headquarters, which is definitely a great achievement.

Secondly, Ma Shuhuan was the head of the regiment, a person of moderate status. After capturing him alive and sentencing him to death would better deter traitors.

“Stationmaster He, I am forced to do this. Please spare my life. I will give you whatever you want…”

Ma Shuhuan fell to his knees. His arms were tied and he couldn’t move. He simply lowered his head and kowtowed to the ground. No matter how hard it was, he was trying his best to kowtow.

He was a man who feared death. If he were not afraid of death, he would not have surrendered so easily and become a puppet soldier.

“Watch them.”

He Rongtang didn’t waste any time talking to them. After confirming Ma Shuhuan’s identity, he immediately sent a telegram to the headquarters to report the matter.

Boss Dai is waiting, and his request is to report at any time.

Ma Shuhuan was still shouting, but the guards went in, punched and kicked him, and blocked his mouth. Finally, he quieted down for a while.

In Chongqing, Secretary Qi entered the office with the latest telegram.

Boss Dai was in a bad mood at the moment. His Loyal and Patriotic Army had not yet formed a large scale, but many people wanted to take advantage of it.

They said that the Military Intelligence Bureau was a secret agency and did not need an army.

They also said that the Central Bureau of Investigation had no army, but the secret agents had an army, which was never a good thing in every dynasty.

Some people even used past events to make analogies, saying what would have happened if the Jinyiwei had a large number of troops at the time.

Their purpose was simple: they had their eyes on the Loyal and Patriotic Army and wanted to get a piece of this meat into their own bowl.

After all, there are already more than 10,000 people in the Loyal and Patriotic Army. Even if they are scattered, their scale is still not small.

Who doesn’t want to have more people under him?

By the way, limit the power of the Military Control Commission.

None of these generals who led the troops looked upon the Military Control Commission with a positive eye. To put it bluntly, they were naturally antagonistic to each other. Who would want to be supervised by others and have the power to arrest them at any time?

Boss Dai has offended many people over the years because of these things.

He now has to keep the military power in his hands.

If Boss Dai sees the good news from Wuhan Station at this time, he will definitely be happy.

“Boss, this is the message from Wuhan Station.”

Secretary Qi said softly, and Boss Dai immediately stretched out his hand: “Give it to me.”

“Have you caught Ma Shuhuan?”

After reading the telegram, Boss Dai was also stunned. Ma Shuhuan was old enough that even he knew him and had seen him.

“Yes, Stationmaster He has confirmed it. He is quite steady in his work.”

He Rongtang is sensible and gives him a lot of filial piety every year. If there is a chance, you can say a word for He Rongtang.

Sure enough, Boss Dai laughed out loud: “Great, great, let him arrange someone immediately to find a way to take Ma Shuhuan to Chongqing.”

Ma Shuhuan’s rank was low, but even high-ranking people were difficult for the Military Control Commission to arrest.

Not to mention the regiment commander, battalion commander, and company commander, it would be a great achievement if the Military Control Commission could catch them.

This will allow the generals who lead the troops to see the role of their military control.

“Yes.”

Secretary Qi took the order and left. Boss Dai continued to look through the telegram, this time reading the content about Xiaohuangshan.

Of the 4,000 men, only 800 were at Xiaohuangshan, and they had suffered thousands of casualties. A puppet army regiment was almost destroyed. If it weren’t for the Japanese supervising the battle from behind and being too brutal, they would have been defeated long ago.

Even so, the puppet army was defeated.

The Japanese also suffered heavy losses. In order to defeat Xiaohuangshan, they built artillery positions despite the losses.

Only in this way can they hope to win.

“It really is a serious concern.”

After reading the contents of the telegram, Boss Dai sighed. The battle was not over yet. He Rongtang had already arranged people to keep an eye on Xiaohuangshan and report the latest situation immediately after the battle was over.

Boss Dai sees more.

Xiao Huangshan was a bandit. Just because there was a Red Party member among them, he was transformed into this?
How many bandit dens are there across the country?

If all these bandits were infiltrated by the Red Party and were as powerful as Xiao Huangshan, I’m afraid even the regular army of the Guo army would be unable to do anything to them.

No wonder there are so many guerrillas in the Red Party and they can never be wiped out completely. The Red Party’s fighting spirit is really too strong.

Fortunately, this situation did not happen, Xiaohuangshan is just an exception.

On Xiaohuang Mountain, Niu Yuanxiang led his team to retreat in an orderly manner.

The mines they laid on the road could slow down the Japanese’s speed of climbing the mountain, giving them more time to set up the third line of defense.

The third line of defense, including those who retreated, numbered more than 600 people.

The rest of the people waited in the village.

The third line of defense had a wide field of vision, so they could disperse more. Niu Yuanxiang had already ordered people to arrange fortifications in advance. It was difficult to dig trenches on the mountain, so they used the existing large stones to set up trenches.

Dig all the places that can be dug, especially machine guns, which should not only be placed in the most advantageous positions but also be well protected.

The geographical conditions here are not as good as those on the second floor, so we cannot effectively restrict the Japanese artillery.

But this place is also high and open, which also poses certain restrictions to the Japanese artillery.

In particular, Niu Yuanxiang also made a backup plan.

He studied the area carefully and made arrangements in advance at the place where the Japanese were most likely to deploy artillery.

As long as the Japs set up their artillery positions there, he could give their artillery a good beating.

After Yoshioka and his men cleaned up the battlefield, they finally discovered that Ma Shuhuan was missing.

His body was not found, leaving only two possibilities.

In the chaos, he was pushed down the mountain, or he ran away.

The possibility of the former is extremely small. Some puppet soldiers fell down the mountain in the chaos, but there is no big cliff here. There are only a few places where people can be killed if they fall down. Besides, Ma Shuhuan is the regiment commander and he would not run to the front.

Then there is only one possibility left, that Ma Shuhuan took advantage of the chaos and escaped.

Running away from the battlefield is a deserter, and he deserves to be put to death. He is also the highest commander of the puppet army, and he deserves to be put to death even more.

Without Ma Shuhuan, Yoshioka simply gave orders to command the puppet troops himself, and these puppet troops were still useful.

However, there was only one battalion commander left among the three, and Yoshioka asked him to temporarily act as the regiment commander and he must obey his orders completely.

After taking care of the wounded, Yoshioka led the remaining men and continued forward.

At this time, there were only two thousand people left around him.

Fortunately, the most difficult area to attack has been taken down. After passing this area, his artillery in front will be able to play a role.

He was confident that with these two thousand people, he could take down the entire Xiaohuangshan Mountain.

He is never afraid of direct confrontation.

“Tell the brothers to stay strong. It will be a tough battle. Don’t be stingy when fighting. If we run out of weapons, we can go to the Japanese to get them.”

Niu Yuanxiang kept cheering up the people on the mountain. Fortunately, after these major battles, the people on the mountain were in high spirits and they were not afraid of the Japs.

They have killed quite a few devils.

The Japanese who were touted as gods from heaven were nothing more than that in their eyes. This was Xiaohuangshan, their territory, and their home.

They have to defend this place.

“boom.”

The puppet soldiers who were walking slowly in front stepped on a landmine and three of them were blown away immediately.

Yoshioka remained expressionless and told them to clear the mines and move forward.

He understood that it was impossible to catch the bandits off guard, so there was no need to advance quickly now, which would give his men time to rest and adjust.

It was not until noon that they arrived not far from the third line of defense.

Yoshioka ordered to stop advancing, fill their stomachs and rest before continuing.

Niu Yuanxiang on the mountain discovered the enemy’s movements and immediately arranged for people in the mountain village to send them food.

This is a battlefield, and now is a war.

Pots of steaming broth and large chunks of meat were constantly being brought to the battlefield.

It tastes so delicious when eaten with white flour buns.

Niu Yuanxiang also gave them some chili peppers, which made the soup taste even better.

It’s wartime now and conditions are difficult. Although white rice is good, it is not as easy to hold as white flour buns, and it makes you full faster.

The aroma of meat was carried downstairs by the wind.

Many puppet soldiers sniffed and looked at the dry rations in their hands.

They eat worse than the bandits.

The Japanese soldiers behind were better, but they only had canned food. Yoshioka did not bring fresh meat with him when he came to fight.

“Send some canned food to the people in front.”

Noticing that the puppet army was in a bad mood, Yoshioka immediately ordered that the death row prisoners be given a last meal before they died.

We are at war again, and we can’t let the people in the front get too emotional, or they will become cannon fodder.

Let them protect the warriors of the empire.

“Hay.”

The subordinates followed the order and delivered a lot of canned food to the puppet army. Although not everyone could get a can, at least they had meat to eat.

The delicious canned beef did indeed change the mood of the puppet troops.

However, it is impossible to make them grateful to the Japanese. They know very well that the Japanese are using them as cannon fodder, and no one knows whether they can return alive today.

“Are you all full?”

As for Niu Yuanxiang, he kept asking everyone questions and had no time to eat.

“Military Advisor, we are all full, let’s eat something quickly.”

Everything Niu Yuanxiang did was in the eyes of everyone. The boss Chang Yongxiang took the initiative to say that although Niu Yuanxiang’s prestige in the village had surpassed his, Chang Yongxiang did not care.

What he wants is not power, nor wealth.

He has lost all his relatives, and he is not a bad person, so why does he need so much money?

His idea was very simple. He just wanted to lead his brothers in the mountains to live a good life. Now the Japanese have attacked, burning, killing and looting. As Chinese, especially Chinese men, they should take up arms and fight the Japanese to the death.

I would rather die standing here than be a slave of a conquered nation.

He supported everything Niu Yuanxiang did. It can be said that without his support, Niu Yuanxiang would not have been able to do so well in the village.

“Thank you, Boss. I’ll eat something right away.”

Niu Yuanxiang picked up a steamed bun and bit off half of it. The broth next to it had already gone cold, so he quickly took a sip.

There was no more meat in his bowl, so he shared the meat with his other brothers.

Just having soup and steamed buns is enough, and being able to eat your fill is the best.

Niu Yuanxiang never thought about having a better life. The country was in dire straits. What they had to do was to drive out the enemies and let all the people live a good life.

Even if it means death, we must do it.

They want to use the lives of their generation to build a powerful and prosperous era for future generations.

They will never leave a war that can be fought by one generation to the next generation.

Although Niu Yuanxiang sees no hope now, he believes that as long as all Red Party members, like him, continue to strive for this great goal, there will eventually be a day when the time comes.

He firmly believes in this.

After eating and drinking, Niu Yuanxiang continued to check the position. There were a lot of enemies, and he would not be able to take care of everyone when the fighting started, so the inspection was particularly important at this time.

(End of this chapter)