bookcurios Chapter 202: Even if it rains hard, the transportation work cannot stop! 3-character chapter!
Chapter 202: Even if it rains hard, the transportation work cannot stop! 3-character chapter!
In a small cave in Maoerling, Yamamoto Ikki looked at the heavy rain outside and cursed in his heart. Such a good opportunity was ruined by the heavy rain and the bombing operation was forced to stop. Now it would be difficult for him to evacuate from Maoerling even if he wanted to.
"Hirata-kun, I have to say that Lin Zhenhua is really lucky. It was sunny this morning, but a large dark cloud floated over just before noon. It started raining when the battle was at its most intense. Our fighter planes were forced to retreat. What's even worse is that the damn rain didn't stop until the evening. It was very difficult for us to retreat!"
Hirata Kojiro also replied with concern: "Mr. Yamamoto, I just checked and found that some of the ammunition we carried was wet by the rain. There is a high possibility of misfire. To be on the safe side, those ammunition must not be used unless it is absolutely necessary!"
"The ammunition issue is not the key issue. What really worries me is the ration issue. When we set out, we only brought three days of rations. Tonight we are eating rations that have been soaked by rain. In such hot weather, if we don't eat these rations as soon as possible, they may become smelly and moldy tomorrow!"
"It would be fine if the rain only lasts for one or two days, but if it lasts for four or five days, we won't be able to fight the Chinese, and we might even starve to death in Maoerling!"
Yamamoto Ikki was not worried about the food problem at all. He replied in a cheerful tone: "Hirata-kun, there is no need to worry about the food problem. It is summer now. There are a lot of wild vegetables and mushrooms in the forest. We can easily solve the food problem by collecting some. Not to mention that there are many wild fruits in the forest. As long as we look for them, we can always fill our stomachs!"
"If this rain continues for four or five days, it will have a great impact on the army's offensive. The Second Mixed Brigade may have to suspend its march. We may find it difficult to stop the Independent Regiment from transporting weapons and ammunition back. This means that our operation this time has failed!"
As he spoke, Yamamoto Ikki's tone became pessimistic. He felt that he had not achieved much success since he met Lin Zhenhua, which made him more suspicious that Lin Zhenhua was his nemesis.
Kojiro Hirata did not go to comfort Yamamoto Ikki. To be honest, he regretted it very much now, but for the honor of his family, he had to continue following Yamamoto Ikki.
Lin Zhenhua led the artillery battalion transport team and marched for ten hours in the heavy rain. Finally, they arrived at the material hiding place at four o'clock in the morning of the next day. At this time, it was drizzling in the sky, and the rain was much weaker than before.
Lin Zhenhua got off the co-pilot seat of the truck, wearing a straw raincoat, and urged in a hurried tone: "Comrades, hurry up and gather. We must take advantage of the light rain now to quickly load the machine tools onto the truck. We can load the guns if there is extra space. Don't load the ammunition yet. Once it gets wet, it will easily cause problems when using it!"
"Zhu Zi, I'll be in charge of the cave on the east side, and you'll be in charge of the cave on the west side. We have to hurry up and finish loading the truck before eight o'clock in the morning. I just checked the weather forecast bottle, and there will be another heavy rain today. We must rush back to the village before the heavy rain comes!"
Under Lin Zhenhua's command, more than 400 soldiers began to work urgently. They were divided into two teams, led by Lin Zhenhua and Wang Chengzhu respectively, and began to move the machine tool parts. In order to prevent the machine tool parts from getting wet, the soldiers first wrapped the parts with waterproof cloth, and also used wooden boards to block the light rain above. Under the two layers of protection, the machine tool parts were transported to the truck.
After nearly four hours of busy work, the remaining two machine tools were loaded onto the truck, and a battalion of guns were taken away. At the urging of Lin Zhenhua, the transport team began to return. The soldiers ate dry food and marched back in the rain.
"Zhu Zi, we can't go on like this. In order to transport more things, we even vacated the co-pilot seat. The soldiers have been rushing back with us in the rain, and it's easy for them to catch a cold. We have to find a way to boil some ginger soup to help the soldiers drive away the cold!" Lin Zhenhua said in a solemn tone, wearing a bamboo hat.
Wang Chengzhu knew that what Lin Zhenhua said was true, but the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and there was no place to make a fire nearby. He didn't know how to solve the problem. He said with a bitter face: "College students, it's not that I don't sympathize with my comrades, but I really can't do anything. The heavy rain last night made me unable to find even dry branches and leaves. I can't make a fire!"
"Not to mention that the rain is getting heavier now. It was drizzling before, but now it has turned into moderate rain. We brought a lot of ginger and chili peppers when we came here. Now we can only let the comrades chew them raw to drive away the cold. This is the only solution at the moment!"
Lin Zhenhua knew that what Wang Chengzhu said was the truth. Under the current circumstances, this was the best solution at the moment, but he was still a little unwilling. However, when he was at his wit's end, a light bulb suddenly flashed in his mind, and he remembered the self-heating rice in later generations. This gave him an idea, but at the moment, a good cook could not cook without rice. He did not have quicklime in his hands, so he could only leave it for later!
"Zhu Zi, arrange for someone to distribute ginger and chili peppers to the soldiers. They must be tired and sleepy after working all night. We must not fall down on the way. We have to return to the village as soon as possible!"
In order to get back to Heiyun Village as soon as possible, Lin Zhenhua had to speed up the march. He finally arrived back to Heiyun Village at around eight o'clock in the evening. The task of unloading the car was handed over to the anti-aircraft artillery battalion that stayed behind. Under Lin Zhenhua's instructions, the soldiers of the artillery battalion took a hot bath and drank some Bupleurum water. Even so, more than 100 people still showed symptoms of a cold.
"College students, more than 60 soldiers developed high fever yesterday. I think the transfer mission can be temporarily suspended until the rain stops!" Zhao Gang suggested with a worried look on his face.
Lin Zhenhua took the map beside him and pointed to two locations and said, "Old Zhao, the reason why we were two hours later than expected is because when we were coming back, we encountered more than a dozen fallen trees blocking the road at these two locations. It took us a long time to clear them all the way."
"But we can't stop our transportation work. This heavy rain is our only chance. Once the sky clears up, the Japanese will immediately move out and attack our base. We really don't have much time to prepare!"
Zhao Gang understood Lin Zhenhua's subtext, but such non-combat casualties would have a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the independent regiment. He persuaded again: "College student, just today, 200 soldiers responsible for transporting supplies have already shown symptoms of a cold. If we continue to transport them like this, our non-combat casualties will be very serious, which will have a huge impact on the combat effectiveness of our independent regiment. I hope you will think about it carefully!"
Lin Zhenhua replied in an unprecedentedly solemn tone: "Old Zhao, according to my prediction, this heavy rain will last for at least three days. This is a hard-won opportunity for us. We can take advantage of this time to transport all our equipment and machine tools back to the independent regiment base!"
"Once the weather is clear, the enemy's attack will be delayed by more than seven days due to the road conditions. At that time, the soldiers can rest in the base!"
"If my prediction is wrong and this heavy rain ends early, then we will most likely meet the Japanese on the way, and the weapons and equipment we didn't have time to transport will become their spoils. No matter how difficult it is, we have to get through these few days. I have already thought of a way to transport the rifles. Let the soldiers change their equipment on the spot, and the trucks will be responsible for transporting ammunition. This will save more time!"
"The last time the Japanese invaded our base, they sent out a regiment. This time, they are likely to send out a brigade, whose number of people is even greater than our independent regiment. It will be very difficult for us to break the Japanese's attack this time. I plan to suggest that Lao Li ask the brigade commander for help, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for the brigade commander to withdraw rescue troops. Since the Japanese want to eat up our independent regiment, they must have made preparations in advance!"
The fact was just as Lin Zhenhua had expected. In order to prevent the New 1st and New 2nd Regiments from supporting the Independent Regiment, the Japanese specially transferred two battalions from other places to launch an offensive against the New 1st and New 2nd Regiments. This made it impossible for the New 1st and New 2nd Regiments to take care of other things. For them, it was difficult to protect themselves, let alone transfer troops to reinforce the Independent Regiment!
Zhao Gang was persuaded by Lin Zhenhua that if the independent regiment wanted to hold on to its current base, the first thing it had to do was to retract all its outstretched fists. Only in this way could it withstand the pressure of an attack by a brigade of the Japanese. Otherwise, the battalion stationed in the base alone would only be enough to fill the teeth of the Japanese.
"College student, I will fully cooperate with your transportation work. We will find a way to transport all the supplies back before the rain stops. In this way, the two battalions responsible for blocking the enemy and the three battalions stationed in the mountain stronghold can all withdraw to the base. Our independent regiment will have enough strength to repel the enemy's attack this time!"
Seeing that Zhao Gang was finally convinced by him, Lin Zhenhua finally calmed down a little and replied in a calm tone: "Old Zhao, thank you very much for your support! When we passed Ercha Ridge this morning, I had someone notify Old Li and told him my idea. As long as Old Li can hold Ercha Ridge for more than three days, our large army can retreat calmly!"
"But we must be careful of the Japanese bombing, especially after the rain stops. The Japanese can't attack us on the ground, but they can use fighter planes to attack us in the sky. We must arrange for the military and civilians in the base to prepare for air defense. The air-raid shelters dug before must be repaired as soon as possible. Once the Japanese launch an air raid on the base, the people must hide in them in time!"
"In order to eliminate our independent regiment, the Japanese may use poison gas attacks again. Once we find that something is wrong, we must let the villagers hide immediately! Food and other things must also be stored in the cellar, and the entrance to the cellar must be sealed. This will prevent the invasion of poison gas and will not threaten the food safety of the base!"