When the passions of the early stage of the war have passed, the long war of attrition and confrontation has seriously worn down the will of the people. In this regard, there are very few exceptions for all the armies of the world. The same goes for the Japanese who emphasize the will of the military, including the bushido spirit of opening their mouths and shutting up all day long.

In fact, those who shouted all day long in the Japanese army that they were loyal to the empire and expanded their territory for the emperor's so-called Eight Pillars and One Universe were all stunned young men who graduated from military academies. Except for the usual shouting of these slogans to subordinates and on occasions when they should be, no one really takes these things seriously.

When the initial passion on the battlefield has passed, how to reap more benefits through the power in their hands and become part of the work of these senior officers on the Chinese battlefield. The 36th Division, which has been stationed in one place for a long time, is not only officers at all levels below, but also relies on its location and rights to carry out smuggling and commercial activities in the general situation.

At present, among the officers of the 36th Division, smuggling, prostitution, and gambling abound. Among them, there are those who go into the water themselves, and some who are dragged into the water by traitors who deal with them all day long. What do people become traitors for, that is, for glory and wealth. You are too incorruptible, how can people get rich?

When the Japanese officers who held the actual power in their hands went into the water, it was naturally their first choice to remove the roadblocks. The first to go into the water was the intelligence agency, then the gendarmerie with a lot of power in charge of the big smoke houses, brothels, and gambling houses, and then the Japanese army officers stationed in various places.

In addition, the station of the 36th Division is located in the southeast of Shanxi. The west side is intertwined with the second war zone of Chongqing, and the south side is staggered with the chickens and dogs of the first war zone before the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. After the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, it is now separated from the main force of the First War Zone by only one Yellow River.

Originally, before the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, a large part of the smuggling activities between Zhongtiao Mountain and the occupied area came from the 36th Division. In order to destroy the economy of the rear, the base camp of the Japanese army smuggled tobacco and opium to the rear, and a large part of it flowed from Henan to the rear under the cover of the Japanese garrison. Many of these Japanese officers are full of brains.

Even the commanders of the so-called front-line divisions, such as Lieutenant General Jing Seki, who has a lot of power in his hands and are in a position of confrontation with the Chinese army, are stretching out his hand to make money. Even compared to the officers below, the senior officers have great power, and their courage and actions are greater.

Smuggling cotton yarn from the Japanese-occupied areas to the rear, opium from the Kwantung Army, light industrial products and cigarettes from Tianjin and Shanghai, and even smuggling arms and military supplies to the powerful factions in those places. Tung oil, pig bristles, and lacquer were smuggled from the rear to the Japanese-occupied areas, as well as the United States' aid to China and Western medicines that were also in short supply in the Japanese-occupied areas.

The drugs smuggled this time, especially penicillin, which Japan could not afford to manufacture, were brought in by the intelligence department of the North China Front and had nothing to do with Jing Guan. The intelligence department of the 36th Division is responsible for a coordination at most. The British-made arms were also used to buy off powerful factions and ethnic minority forces in northwest China in order to create trouble for the Chinese government.

However, in the warehouse of this freight yard, half of the smuggled tung oil, pig bristles, and cotton yarn were invested by the lieutenant general of the well gate. A large amount of foreign cloth produced in Shanghai and Tianjin, which was hoarded in the freight yard, was all invested by Lieutenant General Jingguan. In order to obtain the maximum profit, Lieutenant General Jing Guan has made a bloody investment this time.

As a result, the scarce materials he had invested a huge amount of money were burned clean by Li Ziyuan, and this lieutenant general Jingguan was basically in vain in the two years he went to China, and he also took most of his life savings as a lieutenant general of the Japanese Army. He went from being a rich man to quickly becoming a poor man again.

A large amount of money invested in this smuggling was lost all at once, and not even a piece of paper was left for him. And he had already learned from his own army non-commissioned officer school in the base camp, and from his classmates at the same time, that he would not stay too long in the position of commander of the 36th Division.

Waiting for the result of being a lieutenant general who has reached the service period will not be transferred to other battlefields, but will be directly transferred to the reserves. Once he returns to China and becomes a reserve, he will become a civilian himself, and there will never be such an opportunity to make money.

In other words, I will never have a chance to recover my losses this time. The capital has lost a fine light, and after two years of hard work, it has returned to the past, the key is to completely lose the opportunity to return to the capital, and this blow will not make this lieutenant general of Jingguan Qian almost vomit blood in pain?

What's more, there are also winter clothes issued to the whole division and the one-third of the troops who have not yet changed their equipment, and this time they are also lost all at once. He didn't know how to explain to the base camp and the North China Front. If the new winter clothes could not be delivered immediately, he was afraid that he would become the first division commander to be removed because the soldiers froze to death.

At present, I am anxious to find this one, whether it is public or private, and I have brought heavy losses to myself, and completely eliminate it. It has become the only thing that Lieutenant General Iguan, who was almost infuriated by heavy losses and desperate, wants to do at the moment.

The Jingguan here jumped like thunder, and swore in his heart that he would never give up until he caught Li Ziyuan's skin cramps. Li Ziyuan, who entered the Laoding Mountain area over there, although he did not know the determination of Lieutenant General Jingguan, encountered some greater trouble. And it was not the Japanese puppet army that brought this trouble, but his own brother troops.

At this time, the Changzhi Independent Battalion was active in the Laoding Mountain, and Li Ziyuan encountered them as soon as he entered the mountain. When I saw Li Ziyuan's department, I remembered that this guy had attacked Changzhi City last time, and he ran away after making a handful of it. On the contrary, he threw his own independent battalion on the crater and became the target of the Japanese army.

The Changzhi Independent Battalion, which was itself poorly equipped, was surrounded and intercepted by the superior forces of the Japanese puppet army, and paid a great price to get rid of the pursuit of the Japanese puppet army. This time, the guns and cannons of Li Ziyuan's sneak attack on Changzhi Nanguan and Xiguan can also be heard clearly. I didn't know that it was that force before, and it ran to the perimeter of Changzhi City to operate.

After seeing Li Ziyuan, I thought of the big loss I suffered last time. As a battalion commander and political commissar, it's no wonder that Li Ziyuan's face can be good. Why didn't this guy act in their Ludong Division, why did he keep running to Changzhi in the territory of the Fourth Division. This kind of practice of sending ass away after crossing the line is very annoying, you know?

However, when they saw the weapons and equipment in Li Ziyuan's hands, most of the soldiers carried two guns on their backs, not to mention, and even dragged a few cannons. Dozens of captured mules were also loaded with weapons and ammunition, plus military overcoats, and the battalion commander and political commissar moved their minds.

The last time they suffered such a big loss, the troops have not yet recovered. This time, this guy didn't say hello again, and sent it to the door by himself, and the local tyrant who didn't beat him was so sorry for himself. Getting something out of this guy can be regarded as compensation for the trouble he brought to himself last time.

After meeting with Li Ziyuan, these two were not embarrassed at all, and directly put forward two requests. One is that he hopes that under the current situation that Li Ziyuan is a local tyrant, he can help the Changzhi Independent Battalion solve some weapons. The other is that Laodingshan is in the area between Changzhi and Pingshun, where there is a stronghold of the Japanese puppet army.

This stronghold is located on the main peak of Laoding Mountain, which is more than 1,000 meters above sea level, and the terrain is quite steep. The Japanese puppet army used this stronghold to overlook the surrounding area of Laoding Mountain for more than 100 miles. The activities in the surrounding counties of Changzhi have caused considerable difficulties. Without pulling out this stronghold, it will be very difficult for the troops to operate in the Laoding Mountains.

The 36th Division stationed a squadron of compendiums in this stronghold. The most important thing is that seven pillboxes were built on the top of the hill and connected by stone walls. The terrain of the main peak of the whole Laoding Mountain is extremely steep, and only a sheep intestine trail can go up the mountain. Moreover, the Japanese troops on the mountain were equipped with mortars and light and heavy machine guns, which could be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Now that Li Ziyuan has come to Changzhi again, he may have caused them some trouble again, and Li Ziyuan now has artillery in his hands. Since Li Ziyuan pokes the hornet's nest every time, they are the ones who bear the consequences. Then as compensation, Li Ziyuan should cooperate with them to solve the stronghold of the Japanese army.

For these two lions, Li Ziyuan was a little dissatisfied. In Li Ziyuan's view, the requirements of these two are obviously extortion and beating their own local tyrants. I came to Changzhi to solve the food shortage that the Ludong Sub-district is currently experiencing, not to cooperate with them in the pull-out operation.

He is now hiding in the Laoding Mountain area, in order to find the next fighter plane, so as to better drive the snake out of the hole, and force the Japanese army to transport the grain away in advance, not to extort bamboo for them. What's more, this matter is the task of their four divisions, not their own Ludong Army division.

Even if they need to cooperate with the battle, it should be proposed by their four divisions to the Ludong Army Division. I am on the task list, but I don't have this task. Give them some weapons and ammunition, this Li Ziyuan is a little indifferent. Anyway, I can't take all the weapons and ammunition in my hands right now, and it's not impossible to help my brother troops solve some difficulties.

But with their request to pull out some points, Li Ziyuan refused to agree. As soon as the gunshots rang out here, what else would you do next? Therefore, for the two requirements of these two, the first Li Ziyuan said that it was negotiable. But on the second point, Li Ziyuan resolutely disagreed.

In the face of Li Ziyuan's tough attitude, these two were not polite at all, and refused to provide Li Ziyuan's subordinates with the necessary provisions. Anyway, it is very difficult for them at the moment, and now they can't get so many supplies, so they can just have this excuse to push the boat down the river and push this drudgery out directly.

Li Ziyuan didn't take the attitude of these two seriously at all. What are you kidding, you can't take away a lot of food. But the dry food bags on the soldiers' bodies were still no problem when they were filled with food. They also used the canned food, biscuits, and sake they seized in the yard, and it would be good for them not to starve to death.

Although the number of canned beef shipped from mainland Japan has been decreasing day by day since the Japanese expanded their fronts. But at least for the time being, most of the divisions and regiments of the Chinese Dispatch Army are still living a very comfortable life in the absence of major wars.

The Japanese army, who preferred fresh food, had always been accustomed to conquest on the spot during the course of the war, that is, looting everywhere. In addition, since the Zhongtiao Mountain operation last year, the 36th Division has not taken any major action. Although the sweeps of Taihang Mountain were frequent, the focus of the Japanese army's sweeps was robbery.