Chapter 56: Discovering Military Industry Talent, Urgent Rescue

It was already late May. The basic training of the new recruits had largely been completed, and having initially formed a combat capability, they were now in a phase of consolidation and enhancement.

That morning, Deputy Regiment Commander Xing walked in, accompanied by a man who looked like a cadre, and said to Commander Zhang Yun:

"Commander Zhang, this is Comrade Jiang Si'en from the Xiyang County Committee. Previously, we entrusted the comrades of the Xiyang County Committee to search for military-industrial talents. They have now received word and located several former experts from the Taiyuan Arsenal. These experts are willing to contribute to the War of Resistance Against Japan and save the nation, but they are currently facing major difficulties."

"Comrade Jiang Si'en, please take a seat, please take a seat. I wonder where these experts you mentioned are located, and how we can help them?" Zhang Yun politely invited Comrade Jiang Si'en to sit down, while the nearby communications soldier brought over a cup of water.

Comrade Jiang Si'en did not stand on ceremony. Over the past month or so, Deputy Regiment Commander Xing had been closely communicating with organizations and anti-Japanese groups in places like Xiyang, Heshun, Ping'an, and Yuci, initially establishing cooperative relations. The Xiyang County Committee had also arranged for dozens of militiamen to participate in the recruits' training, which could be considered the establishment of a good cooperative relationship with the Independent Detachment, and both sides were quite familiar with each other.

After taking his seat, he detailed to Zhang Yun the intelligence gathered by the Xiyang County Committee this time through underground organizations in places like Yuci.

It turned out that ever since the Taiyuan Arsenal was occupied by the Japanese devils at the end of 1937, some military-industrial talents had followed Yan Xishan to Linfen, and later輾转 (traveled through) to Sichuan, Shaanxi, and other places. Another portion was absorbed by the organization to participate in the anti-Japanese struggle or joined various repair shops of the Eighth Route Army. However, some experts and the majority of ordinary workers, worried about their families and lacking the means to move their whole households to the Nationalist-controlled areas, remained scattered around Taiyuan and Jinzhong.

The Xiyang County Committee and the comrades in the Yuci region learned that as the plunder by the Japanese devils deepened, the lives of the people around Taiyuan were plunged into misery. In particular, the Japanese devils looted a large amount of military and industrial equipment from the arsenal, causing numerous factories in Taiyuan and Jinzhong to close down. Many military-industrial and industrial talents who were hiding in their homes lost their livelihoods to support their families.

These few experts were old backbone professionals from the firearm, artillery, and gunpowder plants of the Taiyuan Arsenal, and they originally possessed a strong appeal.

Initially, due to their advanced age, they were reluctant to travel far, but seeing that life at home had become unsustainable, they had no choice. These experts united some of the workers and, bringing their respective families, fled along the mountain paths of the West Taihang Mountains toward the territory controlled by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Unexpectedly, due to their large numbers, they were discovered by local puppet troops near Changning Town in Yuci District. To protect their families, the young men in the group took the initiative to draw the enemy away, but all of them were captured by the puppet troops. The others successfully escaped into the surrounding mountains and were subsequently discovered and protected by comrades from the Yuci underground organization.

According to the understanding of the Yuci underground organization, the local Japanese and puppet troops were currently conscripting people on a large scale to repair roads and blockhouses. Therefore, these young men had not been killed; instead, they had all been drafted to repair roads and were locked up at night in the major Japanese-puppet stronghold in Liujia Village, Changning Town.

This Liujia Village stronghold was a stronghold specially established by the Japanese army to prevent anti-Japanese forces from descending from the mountains. Located at the border between the mountainous area and the plains, it had penetrated somewhat deep into the mountains. To ensure security, the stronghold was garrisoned by more than 40 Japanese soldiers—a small squad—and 200 puppet troops, and was equipped with machine-gun blockhouses, making it an unadulterated major stronghold.

What made matters even more troublesome was that Changning Town was not far from Yuci County Town, and they were connected by a highway. A battalion of Japanese troops was stationed in Yuci County Town and possessed motor vehicles and other means of transportation. The speed with which the Japanese could reinforce the stronghold from Yuci County Town would be very fast.

It could be said that a long-range raid by the Independent Detachment on the Liujia Village stronghold carried considerable risks!

***

After listening to the comrade's introduction, Zhang Yun walked over to the map of the entire Shanxi Province and pondered in silence.

There should be no particular risk on the road leading to Changning Town. From the base at Xiaowang Village to Changning Town, the straight-line distance was more than 40 kilometers, and it still involved winding mountain paths. The marching route traversed the entire West Taihang Mountains, but the Japanese had not yet penetrated deep into the mountains; it would simply take a longer time to march.

The real difficulty lay in how to successfully rescue the people and retreat smoothly after arriving at Changning Town. Although the location of the Liujia Village stronghold had penetrated somewhat deep into the mountains, reinforcements from Yuci County Town would arrive very quickly. There had to be powerful attacking and reinforcing-blocking forces. Artillery must be used to quickly smash the stronghold, rescue these civilians, and lead them back into the mountains. Sufficient blocking troops must also be arranged to hold off the Japanese reinforcements and buy enough time for the withdrawal.

In addition, the threat of Japanese aircraft had to be taken into account to avoid enemy airstrikes.

Therefore, choosing the right timing for the attack was also crucial.

Fortunately, the soldiers' recruit training was nearing its end, and their physical strength had gradually recovered. A long-distance raid of several dozen kilometers was not a problem. The troops possessed infantry guns and 82mm mortars, so rapidly breaking through the stronghold presented no major issue.

As long as it was carefully planned, the objective should be achievable!

Having made up his mind, Zhang Yun looked up at Comrade Jiang Si'en and slowly said:

"We can rescue their families as soon as possible, and we also hope that these experts can stay and help us produce military-industrial products. We are willing to hire them with high salaries, while guaranteeing their production, living conditions, and safety!"

"Hearing Commander Zhang's words sets our minds at ease. We will handle the ideological work for these experts," Comrade Jiang Si'en said. "However, the rescue mission is extremely perilous, so Commander Zhang must still be careful. To be honest with you, the guerrillas in the Yuci region have tried many times to rescue the captured civilians, but none have succeeded. The strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in the enemy-occupied area is formidable. Since our main force is not there, we must be extremely cautious!"

Zhang Yun gave a faint smile. Yuci was an enemy-occupied area, but wasn't Xiyang one as well? If a tiny stronghold could stop our Independent Detachment, how would I withstand tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Japanese and puppet troops during the great mopping-up operations next year or the year after!

"Please have the underground comrades in the Xiyang and Yuci regions guide our way. By tomorrow evening, my Independent Detachment will arrive near the Changning Town stronghold," Zhang Yun said. "In addition, our reconnaissance platoon will set out ahead of time shortly, and we also kindly ask the comrades of the Xiyang County Committee to send someone to lead the way first."

"Good, we are willing to cooperate with you!"

After seeing off Comrade Jiang Si'en of the Xiyang County Committee to rest at the camp, Deputy Regiment Commander Xing expressed his concerns.

"I have seen the new recruits' training during this period with my own eyes. Relying on our artillery firepower to capture the stronghold should not be a big problem, but the enemy situation in the Yuci region is complex. The slightest carelessness could plunge us into an encirclement of the enemy. I hope Commander Zhang will exercise utmost caution."

***

Zhang Yun smiled faintly and said, "Deputy Regiment Commander Xing, I know your concerns. But rest assured, this time I am taking the First, Second, and Third Companies along with the Artillery Company, which will be quite enough to handle the enemy. On the other hand, the home base is entrusted to you; you must guard our Xiaowang Village base securely."

Although Deputy Regiment Commander Xing was somewhat worried, considering that the combat effectiveness of the Independent Detachment was not to be underestimated, he did not raise any strenuous objections.

"Rest assured, I will guard the home base well. Furthermore, we will also have the comrades from the Xiyang County Committee and Yuci County Committee escort those military-industrial talents directly to us."

"I know you've always wanted to establish a military-industrial department. This is definitely a golden opportunity."

"These days I specifically went to the back mountains to look around, and I did find some relatively well-hidden spots. Afterward, we can go take a look together."

Zhang Yun nodded.

Then, Zhang Yun called over Old Zhang, the leader of the reconnaissance platoon, and arranged for the reconnaissance platoon to send eight men first to accompany the county committee comrades toward the vicinity of Changning Town and handle the surrounding reconnaissance work.

"Old Zhang, you must go personally this time. Push the reconnaissance range another 10 kilometers ahead of the stronghold, and find out clearly whether there are any additional enemy troop deployments in the surrounding area."

Old Zhang nodded, collected some food, ammunition, and other supplies, and set off with his men.

Following that, Zhang Yun notified all units to suspend training, conserve their physical strength, and rest and build up their energy. The logistics department began preparing food and ammunition for about three days.

Rushing dozens of kilometers along deep mountain paths was definitely no small physical challenge for the soldiers of the Independent Detachment, especially since they needed to carry heavy weapons such as infantry guns in order to assault the stronghold.

Fortunately, time was relatively plentiful, and they still had 28 hours!