After resting for one night in the advance column, Zhao Tiehu and his entourage officially embarked on the road back to Zaozhuang. But what is surprising is that Zhao Tiehu returned to Zaozhuang this time, and Luo Rong, who was the political commissar of the advance column, also led some cadres to accompany him.

Regarding these military and political cadres who were transferred, Zhao Tiehu's explanation to Chen Wan and others was that he hoped to strengthen the military and political cadres of the detachment. As far as the current situation is concerned, the detachment lacks capable and experienced military and political backbones.

But in fact, maybe only Zhao Tiehu and Luo Rong know in their hearts. Regarding what Zhao Tiehu talked about with Luo Rong last night, no one else knows. It's just that many people can feel that Luo Rong seems to be angry and helpless.

On the other hand, Zhao Tiehu, who had a calm and indifferent expression all the way back, seemed to have a much more relaxed expression at this time. This change in expression and mentality made Chen Wan feel a little uneasy, but she couldn't tell where the uneasiness came from.

Such a situation also feels a little inexplicable to Chen Changyuan, who is about to serve as the political commissar of the detachment. The reason is very simple, if you want to transfer military and political cadres from above, you should be drawn from the first column, not from the advance column!

Could it be that without his knowledge, Zhao Tiehu had already reported to the first column? When it comes to the appointment and arrangement of a large number of military and political cadres, do Zhao Tiehu and Luo Rong not know about him, the political commissar of the detachment appointed by their superiors?

Three days later, Zhao Tiehu returned safely to the detachment headquarters in Shanting Township, and Song Dabao, Li Chengwu and others, who received the news in advance, had also been waiting at the detachment headquarters for a long time. And in the past few days, the situation in Zaozhuang seems to be calm.

Even judging from the arrangement of the little devils in Zaozhuang, many of their troops who participated in the encirclement and suppression have quietly withdrawn to the city. The troops remaining near the base area did not dare to set foot in the base area easily, and it seemed that they were also frightened by the mines.

In response to this situation, Zhao Tiehu, who was on the road when he came, also issued a timely release order. Except for the villages that are closer to the little devil patrol, the rest of the villages that the little devils have not yet penetrated into have been fully lifted and the villagers have been arranged to return to the village.

Of course, before the villagers go back, the mines that had been planted earlier have to be dug up again or re-hung to ensure the safety of the people returning to the village. The vigilance units of the detachments moved forward in front of the villages where the people lived.

Once the little devils have any surprise actions, these alert troops can also stop the little devils for a period of time, giving the villagers who return to the village time to relocate. In short, there seems to be no war in Zaozhuang during this time.

If it weren't for the little devils still gathering heavy troops in Zaozhuang, it is estimated that many people would feel that the war in Zaozhuang has been pacified. But in fact, whether the next encirclement and suppression continues, the little devil still has to wait for the order of his superiors.

This time, Kimura Hyotaro was beheaded, which really disrupted the encirclement and suppression of the little devil's Eighth Route Army in Zaozhuang. What shocked the little devil the most was that the Eighth Route Army appeared in many places around Jining a few days ago.

Before the situation is investigated, the little devil really doesn't dare to act rashly. After all, the sneak attacks and sabotage operations of the Eighth Route Army in the past two days have made the little devil feel very uncomfortable, and he is trying to find a way to solve the problem!

thought that the railway would be repaired immediately, but with Zhao Tiehu's return, he ordered it to be blown up again. In the past two days, the railway line between Zaozhuang and Jining seems to have never been safe, and there were firefights and explosions at night.

In order to ensure the safety of the railway, most of the troops of the little devils have been placed near the railway line in the past few days. At the slightest disturbance, these little devil troops guarding the road will be extremely nervous.

But even so, the many sections of the railway that have been bombed in the past two days have also made the little devil extremely annoyed. After the battle damage assessment, the little devil quickly realized that the length of the damaged railway this time was not much shorter than the previous one.

This means that the restoration of the Ironpo Railway will become a distant prospect. In view of this situation, the commander of the Japanese army stationed in Shandong finally ordered to first ascertain the number of armed forces of the Eighth Route Army in these two areas, and then formulate a larger and more detailed plan for encirclement and suppression.

In the eyes of the commander of the little devil's corps, with only the 32nd Division, I am afraid that it will no longer be able to maintain stability in Jining. In view of this situation, it was necessary for the Japanese troops stationed in Shandong to carry out a large-scale encirclement and suppression operation throughout the territory.

The object of encirclement and suppression is the anti-Japanese armed forces in the entire Shandong. Only by carrying out a large-scale clean-up operation may be able to change the current unfavorable situation in Jining, Zaozhuang, and Linyi, and restore long-term peace and stability in the occupied areas.

Of course, Zhao Tiehu naturally didn't know about these calculations of the little devils. Knowing that Zhu Zixi's body had been transported back to the branch, Zhao Tiehu immediately took Chen Wan and others to the cave where Zhu Zixi's body was parked.

Looking at Zhu Zixi, who had been restrained, but the corpse still looked a little blurry, he lay quietly in a thin-skinned coffin. Zhao Tiehu also stepped forward calmly and sorted out his appearance.

finally squatted next to the coffin, and said with a calm expression: "Zixi, it seems that you can't survive this catastrophe after all, but I will avenge this revenge for you sooner or later." They killed you with planes, and I chopped off the heads of their generals with a steel knife.

Tomorrow, I will use this human head to pay tribute to your soul in heaven. Below, you continue to lead our brothers in the task force to play with the little devils. Brother who sacrificed this time, I will also make the little devil pay the due price! ”

Zhao Tiehu, who used to call his subordinates comrades, now calls Zhu Zixi and others brothers. This change in tone doesn't sound like a problem. But only Luo Rong and Chen Wan felt that there was something wrong with this.

After all, in the ranks of the Eighth Route Army, most of the superiors and subordinates like to call comrades. Titles like brothers are mostly in the troops of the Zhong Yan Army. But among the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, there are still many soldiers who like to call them brothers.

In this shady cave dedicated to mortuary, there are also many remains of warriors who are also contained in coffins. Looking at the body of this fallen soldier, Zhao Tiehu's mood still seemed a little uneasy.

Even after traveling to this era, he has become accustomed to ignoring life and death. But seeing these originally living warriors turn into cold corpses in a blink of an eye, he still felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Even Zhao Tiehu sometimes thinks that if he hadn't been detained for a few days, he would return as soon as he received the news. Perhaps many of these people should be able to live. So who should bear the responsibility for this fault and responsibility?

In the eyes of the fighters, he was the head of the detachment, the supreme commander of the entire task force. But for Zhao Tiehu, such a responsibility is indeed a bit heavy. There are too many responsibilities on his back, and Zhao Tiehu is also a little out of breath.

Compared with being the leader and leader of these people, Zhao Tiehu prefers to be their comrade-in-arms. In that case, he may be angry at the sacrifice of his comrades, but he will not feel guilty as he does now.

Luo Rong, who was staying behind, looked at this scene and also didn't know what to say. For Luo Rong, he has experienced this kind of thing countless times. As a soldier, isn't it common to die on the battlefield?

But he knew that Zhao Tiehu must be very uncomfortable at this moment. Thinking of Zhao Tiehu's decision, Luo Rong also felt very uncomfortable. In his opinion, the decision made by Zhao Tiehu will make Zhao Tiehu's future even more difficult.

But he also couldn't do anything to stop Zhao Tiehu, after all, everyone has their own ambitions, and some things can't be forced. Even with his understanding of Zhao Tiehu's character, if he really wants to forcibly block it, God knows what will happen.

Luo Rong, who had been in the task force for a while, knew very well how high Zhao Tiehu's prestige in this unit was. This time, he led a group of military and political cadres to Zaozhuang, more to cope with the next big changes in the task force.

On the night of returning to the detachment, Zhao Tiehu summoned the old subordinates brought from Yushe and held a separate meeting. Qualified to participate in the meeting, in addition to Luo Rong, there is also the new political commissar Chen Changyuan.

As soon as the meeting began, Zhao Tiehu made a decision that shocked all his old subordinates. As for Chen Changyuan, who participated in the meeting, he was even more shocked by the news, and looked at Luo Rong with a solemn expression on the side with a somewhat dull expression.

'You are all the old brothers I brought from Yushe, and during my time in Zaozhuang, I am also very grateful for your help in my work. But you should all see that there are also a lot of familiar faces around us.

I have brought you here today to announce a personal decision of mine, and I hope that you will keep this secret. At least externally, I don't want you to get the news out there. All you have to do is make your own choices.

Due to my personality and personal reasons, I decided to quit the Eighth Route Army and no longer serve as the head of the task force. But I will continue to defend my country and fight the little devils in my own way.

Externally, I will leave in the form of a promotion to serve in the column. But in fact, what I do from now on will have nothing to do with the Eighth Route Army. You're all people I trust, and I don't want to hide it from you.

Next, I will cooperate with Political Commissar Luo and Political Commissar Chen to complete the transfer of troops and materials. If you still want to follow me to fight devils, then you must also make your choice, no matter what the choice, I will treat you as brothers.

If you choose to stay, I believe that Political Commissar Luo and the troops will not treat you badly, and in the future, you will stay in the army and still be able to fight little devils. Those who choose to follow me may embark on a road of no return. But this road, I promise, will be exciting and thrilling.

From now on, whether it is a little devil or a Zhong Yan army, as long as the country and the people are harmed, they will be enemies. No matter what others say about my choices and actions in the future, I just want to have a clear conscience! ’

quitting the Eighth Route Army and going it alone, this was the decision Zhao Tiehu made on the way back from Yan'an. The reason for this is simple, and that is to untie your body. From now on, everything will be decided by Zhao Tiehu.

To put it in more detail, that is, Zhao Tiehu plans to form a mercenary army led and trained by him, a war force that specializes in fighting little devils, but is not bound by any political forces!