Just looking at Dong Ping and his subordinates on the other side, Li Ziyuan didn't know for a while whether it was good or bad to leave these people behind. It is true that the combat effectiveness of the veterans who have formed is far more than several times that of the recruits. But these veterans, in other words, are strong in combat but also easy to group.

In particular, the formed veterans from a cohesive and motley army, which is itself a small group, are the most difficult to complete the transformation in a short period of time. When you get to the battlefield, if these people play some tricks on you, you don't know why you lose the battle.

The rescued recruits had no idea, but these veterans were different. Originally, the gap between the two armies was very deep, once these veterans were agitated. These recruits, who were originally from the Central Army, may be able to pull half of them away. Especially once the environment is settled, these veterans are an unstable factor.

It will take a lot of money and effort to transform such a force. At this point, Li Ziyuan has suffered hardships. When he followed the troops eastward into the Hebei-Shandong-Henan border region and incorporated a local straggler who had been scattered by a certain side, many problems arose.

This is also a ragtag army that was scattered in the local stragglers after it was broken up. The Eighth Route Army, which was advancing eastward, made great efforts to transform this army. In the end, when Li Ziyuan followed the old army and returned to the Taihang Mountains, this army was not able to complete the thorough transformation. In the end, some defected, and some were scattered and incorporated into the Hebei-Shandong-Henan army.

With this experience, Li Ziyuan has always been cautious and even skeptical about accepting veterans from other aspects. Sometimes he would rather use the puppet army anyway than have a veteran soldier in that area. For him, no matter how good these people's military skills are, they need to spend too much thought when transforming.

Leaving yourself time to do these people's ideological work can basically be said to be none. Does keeping all of these people do more harm than good, or do the benefits outweigh the harm? For a while, Li Ziyuan was also a little uncertain. These veterans are a sharp knife when used well, and if they are not used well, there is not much difference from a *.

At present, we can only hope that Ma Yongcheng and those few political workers can stabilize the thinking of those recruits who occupy the majority in the shortest possible time. As long as the minds of these recruits are stabilized, the remaining 100-odd people will not be able to make any big waves.

Thinking of this, Li Ziyuan shook his head and turned his mind back to his next step, which direction should he go. The transformation of the troops is a systematic work that needs to be carried out over a long period of time. But the most important thing at the moment is how to move the troops out safely.

If it weren't for the fact that the troops could not be transferred safely and were served by the Japanese puppet army, then there would be no need to bother with other things. At present, the Japanese puppet army north of Shili Ridge is moving south one after another, although the speed of the march is not fast. Maybe it's just passing through Shililing, but it also provides an early warning.

In the sky above Shili Ridge, Japanese reconnaissance planes also appeared. and several plainclothes caught by Ma Yongcheng, all of which have already shown that the first line of Shili Ridge is also under the suspicion of the Japanese puppet army. As long as they think they might be hiding here, they won't hesitate to pounce.

Shili Ridge, which is only a few dozen miles away from the first line of Xiyaogou, Li Ziyuan knows that this is definitely not a place to stay for a long time. Li Ziyuan knew very well that the Japanese puppet army at the junction of Huguan and Lingchuan in the south must be an inevitable choice to sweep north after the search operation was empty.

Located in the middle of Huguan, it is also the closest to Xiyaogou to hide a large number of troops, and it will definitely become the top priority of its sweep. The height of the terrain here is more than 1,000 meters, and although it cannot be said that the mountains are high and dense, the terrain is quite favorable to itself. If you can see this yourself, the Japanese army will naturally see this too.

Before, I used the truth that the light was dark, and I used Shili Ridge to be close to the straight line distance from Xiyaogou. In the tactics of the Eighth Route Army, it was a habit that the Japanese army had mastered the habit of quickly breaking away after a successful blow and evacuating the Japanese army as far as possible. It was hidden in the Shili Ridge, which was not far from the 100-foot and the first line of the West Kiln Ditch.

When he was retreating north, he tried his best to eliminate the traces. But who can guarantee that such a large number of people, as well as the transfer of a large number of supplies and pack horses, will not be discovered? You must know that from Shililing to the 100-foot line, it is one of the most densely populated areas in the entire Huguan.

If the Japanese puppet army gets the information, or if it reacts, it will inevitably mobilize heavy troops to outflank Shililing. Therefore, Shililing is not a place to stay for a long time, which Li Ziyuan still has a clear understanding of. It is inevitable to go, but the next step should be transferred in that direction, but Li Ziyuan is not sure about his idea for a while.

The Japanese puppet army at the junction of Hubei and Huguan in the north all went south, and only this part went south. The deployment and adjustment of the Japanese puppet army in other directions around it is not clear at the moment. The most critical changes in the enemy situation cannot be grasped immediately, which makes Li Ziyuan's determination difficult.

So far, the scouts sent by themselves have not only failed to find the fraternal troops in Huguan, but have not even seen a single local militia. This Shili Ridge area is not a deep mountain and old forest, although it is also a mountainous area, but it is not the kind of sparsely populated area. As far as Li Ziyuan knows, the Shililing area is a major area of activity for the Huguan brothers' troops.

But when he entered Shililing twice, not only did he fail to find the brother troops in Huguan, but he didn't even see a single militiaman. Even if the scouts ventured into the village, they did not find any local authorities or militia guerrillas. If you can't find local authorities and fraternal forces, you won't get information at the moment.

Even when ordinary people saw scouts in civilian clothes, they hid as far away as they wanted. In this case, let alone find a local organization, or find a local armed force. Even food is very difficult to raise. What happened here in Shililing before he transferred here? Li Ziyuan scratched his head a little.

If you don't get information, it means that your own diversion will be like a fly without a head. If you don't do it well, you will run headlong into the ambush circle of the Japanese army. With the current situation of his troops, once he encounters a large number of Japanese puppet troops, it will definitely not be a good thing.

Because Li Ziyuan knew very well that before those rescued prisoners of war were truly integrated into his own troops, his troops were now quite numerous, and their equipment had also made a fortune because of the Xiyaogou. However, there has been a great decline in combat effectiveness, and it is not even as good as the combat effectiveness of the two battalions before breaking through the Huguan blockade line.

Even those recruits have completed full training, they are quite unfamiliar with the combat style and habitual tactics of the Eighth Route Army, and they are far from the point where they have truly integrated into their own troops. Coupled with those former puppet soldiers who have also only been incorporated into the army not long ago, the current troops are almost three combat styles.

If you fight that kind of positional warfare, you may be able to withstand it. But if there is an encounter, the outcome is probably unpredictable. As a result of the battle in Xiyaogou, Li Ziyuan knew very clearly that the battle was not the embodiment of his own troops' real combat effectiveness at the moment, and even to a certain extent, it can be said that he was relatively lucky.

If the Japanese puppet army at that time could grasp its true strength, it did not rush to put most of its troops into a frontal attack, leaving only a small number of troops behind them to be on guard. If they stick to themselves with only part of their forces, they will use most of their forces for reinforcements.

At the same time, He Sanliang did not organize the rescued prisoners of war to fight alone, and as the main reinforcement force, the second battalion and a company attracted the real essence of the Japanese puppet army's reinforcements, and the outcome of that battle was unpredictable. At least the team of more than 200 prisoners of war at that time was already very face-saving if they did not break up on the spot under the impact of the superior Japanese puppet army.

The First Battle of Xiyaogou was just a special case, and it definitely did not have a universal representative. If you really think that it is your true strength because of that battle, then you are the only one who is unlucky. Li Ziyuan has always had an extremely clear understanding of this point.

It is impossible for him to use seven or eight hundred former prisoners of war in a separate group. The best way to deal with this is to break up the various battalions and companies that have been incorporated into one's own troops. However, the problem is that after the two units are mixed, because of the different levels of training they originally received and the different combat styles. That group of recruits has not yet been completely integrated, but the combat effectiveness has fallen to the lowest.

If you can give yourself a week, or even three days, for training, you will be sure that you will be able to completely integrate those hundreds of former prisoners of war into your own troops. But the most important thing now is that I can't have that time. By tonight at the latest, he must carry out the operation, which means that his own transfer must be carried out at the time when his troops are at their weakest.

In such a situation, it is extremely dangerous to act hastily without systematic intelligence support. Once encountering a large number of Japanese puppet troops, the troops are in danger of being defeated in a short time. If he was surrounded by the Japanese puppet army, Li Ziyuan would not even dare to disperse and break through.

and the three battalions who don't know where to go yet, which also makes Li Ziyuan quite worried and worried. What is going on with them now, they have been scattered by the Japanese army, or even completely wiped out. Or after getting rid of the entanglement of the Japanese puppet army, he has been safely transferred and returned to the old base in Hubei, but now Li Ziyuan knows nothing.

The situation of the surrounding enemy was unknown, and the transfer route could not be determined for a long time, coupled with the fear that the third battalion would never be left behind. It gave Li Ziyuan a headache, and he was even a little irritable in his heart. This is the first time he has been so irritable since he was transferred to Hubei to work. Looking at the map in front of him, his face was quite gloomy.

After the distribution of the seven or eight hundred former prisoners, Zhang Zijian and He Sanliang, who came to Li Ziyuan's side together, met Li Ziyuan. Looking at Li Ziyuan's somewhat blue face, the two of them looked at each other and shook their heads. They thought that Li Ziyuan was still a little unhappy because he was finally forced to accept Dong Ping's department.

Compared with Li Ziyuan, who is full of reluctance, Zhang Zijian is very open-minded. And for this company, which is all made up of veterans, Zhang Zijian is even a little moved. He followed He Sanliang to find Li Ziyuan, just to incorporate this company into his own battalion. Just seeing Li Ziyuan's face, Zhang Zijian swallowed his thoughts back.

Compared with Zhang Zijian, who was a little weak-hearted, He Sanliang hesitated for a moment and then said: "Commander, you don't have to worry too much. Don't worry, Lao Dong and they are all veterans. At this time, they are still very clear about the principle that cooperation will benefit both sides, and division will lead to two defeats. I trust them and will not make trouble at this time. ”