The night Wang Lushui walked was January 24, the Chinese New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar.

The independent battalion fought and moved for several days in a row, and the men were sleepy and lacking. After sending Wang Lushui away and returning to the station, the companies canceled the night's study and let the soldiers go to bed early to recover their strength.

Xiao Siming, Shi Poshan, deputy instructor, and Mo Shan, secretary of the battalion general branch, went to each company to inspect the camping situation, and also checked the vigilance situation, and when they returned to their residences, they saw artillery captain Zhao Xiuchuan, instructor Li Hubao, deputy captains Liu Li, Zhao Fufu, cavalry platoon commander Liu Zhaoming, deputy platoon commander Ma Ming, and Wu Peng standing in the courtyard like seven wooden stakes.

Xiao Siming's mood had not completely recovered from the melancholy of saying goodbye to Wang Lushui, and he didn't speak, and went directly into the house.

The artillery team made a great contribution in the battle to occupy the Shishi Railway Station, and the Gaoping dual-purpose guns fired only one shell per cannon to knock down the Japanese ironclad patrol car. That power makes people shake their eyes when they think about it! It's a pity that the headquarters ordered a telegram, the Gaoping dual-purpose gun was handed over, the Gaoping dual-purpose machine gun was handed over, and even six infantry guns were handed over! The artillery team that had just made a great contribution suddenly became an infantry team with bare hands, and Zhao Xiuchuan and the others were like eggplants beaten by frost, wilting!

The cavalry platoon commander Liu Zhaoming and the deputy platoon commanders Ma Ming and Wu Peng came to Xiao Siming to ask if there was any information about the Japanese cavalry unit, or the intelligence of the puppet cavalry, so that they could fight a battle and get some war horses for the cavalry platoon.

There is no way, cavalry is cavalry, and a cavalry without a war horse is not called a cavalry, it is called infantry!

After Xiao Siming entered the house with a straight face, Zhao Xiuchuan and the others saluted and reported, and then followed into the house.

The landlord is very good, as soon as Xiao Siming and the others entered the house, they brought a brazier and put it on the wooden stove in the middle of the house.

After putting the brazier, the landlord went to bring a small basket made of rattan, which was a special product of Taihang Mountain, persimmons, walnuts, and peanuts.

Xiao Siming hurriedly pushed and asked the landlord to take it back.

The landlord smiled innocently, saying that as long as the Eighth Route Army won the battle and did not let the little devils enter the mountains to harm people, the common people would rather be hungry themselves, but also let the Eighth Route Army have enough to eat, so that they have the strength to fight devils!

Xiao Siming was not polite, and after thanking him repeatedly, he sent the fellow to the door, and turned around to let Zhao Xiuchuan and the others sit down and eat persimmons, walnuts, and peanuts.

Several people are veterans, and they have strength in their hands, and they don't need to use hammers or axes to pick up walnuts.

The persimmons of Taihang Mountain are very sweet, if you put walnuts and peanut kernels into the persimmons and eat them together, it will be sweet and sweet!

With such a small episode of the landlord, Xiao Siming's face finally came alive, and asked Zhao Xiuchuan with a smile What was the matter with leading people to him?

Zhao Xiuchuan immediately stood up and reported loudly: "Battalion commander, I have no opinion on handing over the cannon, resolutely implement it!" But my artillery can't fight devils empty-handed, right? Is an artillery team without artillery still called an artillery team? There's no way, it was your battalion commander Xiao who ordered us to hand over the cannons, and you have to think of getting more cannons for us! I thought about it, let's get more this time, not only the little devil's infantry artillery and Gaoping dual-purpose artillery, but also some mountain artillery and field artillery! Battalion commander, don't you know, the little devil's 75-mm mountain artillery and field artillery can hit more than ten miles away, and they can bombard the opponent's position from a few hills, which is very powerful! ”

Zhao Xiuchuan was so excited that his eyebrows fluttered as he spoke, and he even said with gestures, as if Xiao Siming didn't understand cannons!

Zhao Xiuchuan was talking energetically, but Xiao Siming asked with a smile: "Captain Zhao, I heard that many of your artillerymen can only carry shell boxes, and they can't even load shell fuses!" Is that so? ”

Zhao Xiuchuan wilted suddenly, and muttered in a low voice: "Those are all new recruits who have just arrived at the artillery team, and we are training!" ”

Xiao Siming took out a pack of cigarettes, threw one to a few cadres, lit it and smoked it, and then said slowly: "Cannons are not a problem, cannonballs are not a problem, there are more little devils, let's go to them to get them!" The important issue is training, training qualified artillerymen who are really commanding and fighting! The day before yesterday, in the first battle of the stone measuring station, the artillery team fought well and made great contributions! But what I saw was that the four captains, instructors, and deputy captains were directly operating the cannon and firing the cannon, which shows that you are not at ease with the level of your gunners, and you have no bottom in your heart! Isn't it? ”

Zhao Xiuchuan replied "yes" in a low voice, and then raised his head and said: Artillery is a technical branch of the army, and it takes a long time to train, and it requires more live-fire training. Where did the Eighth Route Army have so many shells for the soldiers to train with live ammunition? There's no way around it!

Xiao Siming said that what Zhao Xiuchuan said was right but not all right, now is the era of the Anti-Japanese War, there is no need to engage in any live-fire training, as long as the operation technology is mastered, the data observation is accurate, and the command is appropriate, the gunner can directly go to the artillery to operate and open fire. Actual combat is the best training ground! If dozens, hundreds, or thousands of cannons are captured in the future, will the artillery captains have to be allowed to operate and fire the cannons themselves? Isn't that going to be messed up?

Zhao Xiuchuan understood, he didn't need him to ask the battalion commander to get a cannon for the idea, the battalion commander himself would be anxious to think about it!

Zhao Xiuchuan, who had figured it out, hurriedly said that the battalion commander was right in his criticism, and that after he went back, he would organize the soldiers to sum up the lessons learned in these battles, and everyone should find out a problem that needed to be solved, and strive to put the new artillery equipment in place anytime and anywhere to be able to enter the battle!

Zhao Xiuchuan is obviously a smart person who is thorough, but Xiao Siming likes a smart person who is transparent at all, so he asked him to sit down and eat persimmons, walnuts, and peanuts.

While eating, Xiao Siming confessed that in the future battle, the shells fired out must be recovered so that the shells can be reloaded in the future.

Zhao Xiuchuan also understood the meaning of these words, Battalion Commander Xiao was ambitious, this is the meaning of building an arsenal!

Zhao Xiuchuan immediately stood up again and reported that he would resolutely carry out the order!

After talking about the artillery team, Xiao Siming turned to the cavalry captain Liu Zhaoming and asked him how many soldiers there are in the cavalry team now?

Liu Zhaoming reported that there were only 17 fighters, plus their three captains, for a total of 20 people.

Xiao Siming asked again how the training was?

Liu Zhaoming said that the cavalry team used pack horses instead of war horse training, and the subjects of the training had already been preliminarily trained when they were in Yuxian County. The problem is that pack horses are not war horses, and without the speed and impact of war horses, the training effect will definitely be greatly reduced!

This means that they are here to ask for war horses!

When he was in Yuxian County, Xiao Siming said to Liu Zhaoming that there are many war horses there for little devils, and when they fight, they will have war horses, riding guns, and equipment. The problem is that until now, the independent battalion has been circling in the ravine, and has not encountered the cavalry units of the Japanese army, not even the cavalry of the puppet army, so naturally there is no chance of capturing the Japanese war horses and cavalry equipment!

Xiao Siming said that there was no hurry about the war horse, the 109th Division had a cavalry 109 brigade, not to mention two or three hundred Oriental war horses. As long as it is encountered, there is a war horse. The top priority at the moment is to do a good job of training, and the strength of the cavalry must be expanded, how can there be only 20 people? Even if there are war horses, 20 people are only a cavalry reconnaissance platoon, and they cannot be used as cavalry troops.

Liu Zhaoming asked if the three of them should go to Suiyuan and Inner Mongolia, where the Mongolian boys were born cavalry, and they could join the army with men and horses, as long as they had weapons and ammunition!

That's a good idea!

It's a pity that Xiao Siming can't let Liu Zhaoming, Ma Ming, and Wu Peng go on an adventure. He only has these three cavalry cadres, and it would be a pity if he was damaged on the way to Inner Mongolia and Suiyuan!

Xiao Siming said that there is no need to be reluctant to seek the near and far, the soldiers are all trained, and although it is difficult to train infantry into cavalry, it is not completely impossible. As long as you have a war horse, you can train more!

After speaking, Xiao Siming let these cadres go back to rest. Tomorrow morning, I have to have morning exercises and training!

After Zhao Xiuchuan and the others left, Xiao Siming sat alone by the brazier and pondered.

The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and the little devil's offensive operation is about to begin. According to the historical trajectory, in February, the Japanese army in North China fought on the two fronts of Shanxi and Shandong. On the Shandong side, after the Japanese army swept through the entire territory of Shandong, it began to prepare to attack Taierzhuang. In Shanxi, the Japanese army will concentrate the 20th Division, the 108th Division, the 109th Division, and the 14th Division to attack southwest Shanxi. At the same time, in order to cope with the Japanese army's southwestern Shanxi operations, the Japanese army stationed in Mongolia will launch a siege to the base area in the northwest of Shanxi. The Shanxi battlefield will be a pot of porridge again!

The division headquarters has ordered the independent battalion to fight independently on Zhengtai Road, that is, Xiao Siming's mobile combat rights have been granted. This is an order that any commander can only dream of!

Xiao Siming pondered, how to give the little devil a ruthless blow, even if he couldn't destroy the overall offensive and operational intent of the Japanese army, he had to let them suffer some big losses, kill more people, and lose more weapons and equipment!

It is said that the little devil had just lost his troops in the Eighth Route siege of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area, and this time he suffered a big loss at the Nianzigou and Shishi Railway Station, and Zhengtai Road was paralyzed by the bombing, and it was impossible to launch a major campaign in the short term. But Xiao Siming knew that the little devils were different from other troops, they were very fierce, and they could not affect the overall strategic deployment of the Japanese army by relying only on the blocking battle and the surprise attack on the Shishi Railway Station that they fought in Nianzigou, and they would still attack where they should attack.

Xiao Siming also knew that soon, by April, the Japanese army would expand its army again, not only by expanding the public security division with the prefix "2", but also by expanding the independent mixed brigade that was specially responsible for the task of local garrison, and replacing the field division with an independent mixed brigade to garrison the place, freeing up the main force for offensive operations.

Thinking about it, Xiao Siming thought that the independent battalion might not stay for too long on the Shanxi battlefield, and the 129th Division was deployed between Taihang and Taiyue, and the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan border base was established, and it would soon advance to the southern Hebei Plain; The 120th Division was deployed in the northwest of Shanxi, and the Jinsui base area had already taken shape; After the victory of the eight-way siege against the Japanese army in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, the base area has been stabilized. Whether it is from the perspective of the overall strategic layout or the survival and development of the 115th Division, the central authorities will decide to let the main force of the 115th Division advance into Shandong. At that time, the independent battalion that fought independently on Zhengtailu may be the first to advance as an advance force, or, as in history, march towards the plain after the five detachments.

After thinking about it, Xiao Siming felt that the fighter plane was in front of him, and he must go to Taiyuan to find trouble with the little devil before marching to the plains. Because at this time, the little devil has not yet shipped the equipment of the Taiyuan Arsenal to the Northeast, Beiping and Japan, and maybe some technicians and workers of the Taiyuan Arsenal can be found there to lay the foundation for the construction of the arsenal in the future!

Xiao Siming was so involved in thinking that he didn't even notice Mei Ying coming!