By the time Qin Yangming arrived back at Duanjia'ao, driving the donkey cart laden with weapons and equipment,
which was the village where their wounded soldiers were recuperating, he truly shocked the villagers and the members of the district squad who were on garrison duty.
After handing over the flour, pork, and other fresh food to the Village Chief, and forcefully pressing a few silver dollars into his hand, he drove the donkey cart into the middle of Duanjia'ao, towards the ancestral hall, amidst the villagers' curious stares.
Because there were eight wounded soldiers, there weren't enough empty rooms in the village.
Therefore, the Village Chief lent the ancestral hall to Qin Yangming and his group for resting and recuperating.
The food would be the villagers' responsibility in rotation.
However, in these times, the villagers' homes didn't have much surplus grain.
The food they could provide to the Eighth Route Army was basically potatoes, sweet potatoes, and black beans.
The only nutritious food was millet and eggs for the severely wounded soldiers, and even that was gathered by the villagers.
Considering the wounded soldiers needed nutrition, he asked the Village Chief to stew some pork and send it to the ancestral hall.
The remaining pork was distributed entirely to the villagers, allowing them to have some meat while also serving as a token of thanks for their efforts during this period.
As for the canned meat and other items captured from the blockhouse, they were not distributed to the villagers.
Qin Yangming planned to keep these easily portable food items as emergency reserves, to be eaten during future marches.
Upon arriving at the ancestral hall, the wounded soldiers, who had already received the news, were waiting at the entrance.
Once the donkey cart was steady, the supplies on the cart were moved into the ancestral hall with the help of the militia and villagers.
“Platoon Leader Qin, can you give me a gun? You have so many guns, please, give me one.”
Inside the ancestral hall of Duanjia'ao, a boy of about twelve years old, holding a Type 38 rifle, ran into the small room behind the ancestral hall and pleaded with Qin Yangming, who was conversing with the Village Chief of Duanjia'ao, the captain of the district squad formed by several nearby villages, and an Eighth Route Army squad leader.
The Village Chief of Duanjia'ao saw the gun the boy was holding.
His face, which had been smiling, instantly fell: “You brat, who told you to take a gun? Hurry up and return it! Don't break the gun!”
The Village Chief stood up, took off his shoe, and made as if to hit the boy on the head.
The boy was none other than the Village Chief's grandson.
“Hey, hey, hey, Uncle, Uncle, it’s not necessary, not necessary.”
Qin Yangming quickly intervened, grabbing the Village Chief, and pulled the boy behind him.
“Uncle, he’s still a child, in his playful years. It’s normal for him to like guns, why hit him?”
Seeing his grandson protected behind Qin Yangming, the Village Chief glared at the other man before speaking.
“Platoon Leader Qin, even the main force doesn't have many guns now. These guns were bought back with your life to fight the Japanese devils. If they get broken, this old man…”
“Hey, real guns aren't that easily broken. Let the child play with it if he wants.”
Qin Yangming took the gun from the boy’s hand and inspected it carefully.
After confirming there were no bullets in the gun, he removed the firing pin and handed the gun to the boy to play with.
Qin Yangming was also a bit surprised when the boy barged in with the gun just now.
The boy didn't understand anything.
If there had been a bullet in the gun and it was accidentally fired, the consequences would have been dire.
Fortunately, the soldier who let the boy play with the gun knew what he was doing and had unloaded all the bullets.
Qin Yangming put the firing pin in his pocket and spoke to the group.
“As everyone knows, we have lost contact with the main force after the last large-scale sweep.
It’s been a month now, and everyone’s injuries have mostly healed,
so we need to discuss our future plans.”
Sun Zhigang, the squad leader, looked at Qin Yangming from his seat with some doubt.
“Platoon Leader, now that we’re healed, shouldn’t we find the main force?
Do you have other ideas?”
Captain Luo spoke up, “Platoon Leader Qin, if you need anything,
our squad will fully cooperate, as long as it doesn’t violate discipline.”
Qin Yangming nodded and explained to the somewhat confused Squad Leader Sun.
“We have lost contact with the main force. Let’s not even talk about whether the main force has settled down,
especially now that the Japanese devils are conducting a large blockade with a significant number of puppet troops.
Even if we knew the location of the main force,
with just the strength of a few of us, it would be impossible to break through the blockade zone to find them.”
“Therefore, I plan to develop our strength here locally,
to grow our forces and wait until the main force has settled down before rejoining them.
By then, whether the main force comes to find us,
or we go to find the main force, we will have sufficient strength.”
“If Platoon Leader Qin wishes to stay and develop,
then Duanjia'ao will absolutely welcome you.”
The Village Chief, hearing Qin Yangming’s words, quickly expressed his support.
After all, Qin Yangming had taken down a blockhouse on his trip out.
With such a powerful presence,
the safety of the villagers would surely be more assured.
Seeing that both the Village Chief and Captain Luo supported him,
Qin Yangming nodded and then looked at Sun Zhigang.
Besides himself, Sun Zhigang had the highest seniority here.
Qin Yangming’s desire to stay and develop locally naturally had his own calculations.
If he returned to the main force, he would just be a platoon leader.
Even if the troop losses were heavy due to the large-scale sweep, he would at most be promoted to company commander.
A company commander does not have the right to lead troops out on their own.
Unless he was under Regimental Commander Li Yunlong, like that one in 《Drawing Sword》.
Unfortunately, according to the information in his memory, his regimental commander’s surname was Cheng.
And to use his system, he had to engage in combat.
As for acting alone?
Heh, a company commander abandoning his troops and acting on his own.
Was he tired of military law not being strict enough? Military orders are like mountains was not just a saying.
Sun Zhigang also spoke up at this moment.
“Platoon Leader, I agree with your idea.
If we develop our strength, and the main force wants to return,
we can provide more powerful support to the main force.”
Seeing that the other two supported him,
and that Qin Yangming had clearly made up his mind, Sun Zhigang naturally wouldn't object further.
Even if he objected, what difference would it make?
Qin Yangming had brought back a large quantity of equipment, directly establishing his authority among all the wounded soldiers.
Moreover, he was already a platoon leader, the highest rank here.
Besides, Qin Yangming’s proposal was not unreasonable, and he had no reason to object.
“Well, since no one has any objections,
starting tomorrow, we will begin recruiting soldiers.
We’ll start by recruiting one platoon, which is thirty people.
Captain Luo, please trouble yourself to notify them. I mainly want to recruit from the district squad this time.
Of course, villagers who are interested can also come.”
“Yes, I will notify the villagers later.”
“Platoon Leader Qin, please rest assured,
I will bring everyone from this squad over tomorrow morning.
I guarantee each one is a capable fighter.”
“Good, then I thank you both first.”
“Oh, right, Captain Luo, I remember you said your gun was malfunctioning, didn't you?”
Captain Luo felt a bit embarrassed as Qin Yangming’s gaze fell upon the Borchardt C93 pistol at his waist.
“Heh heh, don’t laugh at me, Platoon Leader Qin.
This gun has actually been broken for a long time.
Now it can only load one bullet at a time,
the rifling in the gun barrel has long since worn smooth.”
Qin Yangming took out a Type 94 Nambu pistol he had prepared earlier, along with some bullets, from behind him.
“This is what I captured from the blockhouse today.
It’s a reward for helping the comrades this past month.”
The Type 94 Nambu pistol is the Japanese devils' Nambu Type 14 pistol.
It was generally issued to machine gunners, assistant gunners, artillerymen, and others as a self-defense weapon.
However, this type of pistol was almost useless.
Its power was so weak that it couldn't even penetrate some thicker wooden boards.
It was also prone to jamming, and the firing pin was easily broken.
In the Japanese devils' own words, it was a pistol that was difficult to use even for suicide.
But no matter how bad the gun was, it was still a gun.
And it was a nearly new pistol.
It was definitely better than Captain Luo's cobbled-together Borchardt C93 pistol.
The reason Qin Yangming gave the gun to Captain Luo, besides genuinely thanking him,
was also to prepare for future recruitment. He was not satisfied with just recruiting thirty people.
For subsequent recruitment, he would definitely need the help of Captain Luo, a local.
Giving him a good gun would also make it easier for the villagers in the nearby villages to know the strength of the Eighth Route Army.
A fine gun given away so readily – didn't this show that the Eighth Route Army had ample weapons and was powerful?
Captain Luo did not hesitate and decisively stood up, accepted the pistol, and saluted Qin Yangming.
“I will absolutely not betray the trust of the organization!”
Qin Yangming stood up and returned the salute.