After the Jingxing coal mine was destroyed by the National Rescue Army, in order to stabilize coal production, the Japanese army had to increase the production of small and medium-sized coal mines around to make up for the losses caused by the temporary suspension of production of Jingxing coal mines.

In this era, coal mining is far from reaching the mechanization level in later generations, and many processes require manpower to complete.

The easiest way to increase the production of coal is to increase the number of workers, open a few more mines, and dig coal in it day and night...

In order to achieve this goal, the Japanese found more than 2,000 prisoners from the front line in just five days to join the coal mining army, causing the number of absenteeism in several small and medium-sized coal mines around the Jingxing Coal Mine to double, reaching a terrible more than 4,000 people.

Every day, a large number of cars and mules and horses travel between the coal mines and the railway stations, sending the high-quality coal that has just been dug out of the mines onto the train, transporting it to the Northeast, and even loading it at the Tianjin Wharf, and then transporting it directly back to the country...

The first target of attack chosen by the commander of the only battalion, He Feng, was Li Zhuang.

Before the Japanese occupied the mining area, there were only a few coal-mined crypts here. They secretly stole coal without telling the government, and produced ten trucks of coal every day. There was no condition to fine-process the coal, and they sold whatever they dug out. It was very primitive.

When the Japanese first occupied the mining area, they didn't look down on this place.

Because this coal mine does not even have the equipment they like, and pulling coal from the mine to the outside is still relying on baskets of livestock to carry it, which is too backward.

If you want to dig coal here and expand production, it is tantamount to rebuilding a coal mine here. Not only do you have to buy equipment and install equipment, but you also have to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to build roads, which is not worth the cost.

In the end, the Japanese sold all these small coal mines and crypts that they despise to traitors for their management. As long as they hand over a certain amount of fees and coal every year, how much coal they can harvest and how much money they can earn is their ability.

After the Jingxing coal mine was destroyed by the National Salvation Army, in order to provide sufficient coal resources for the country and the Northeast, the Japanese army had to focus on these small coal mines that had been despised before. Some of them could not even be called coal mines, and could only be called crypts that could be mined.

Send troops to take over them as soon as possible and increase coal production by increasing absenteeism.

Without coal processing equipment, the entire piece of coal excavated is sent to coal mines and railway stations with processing equipment for deep processing, and then loaded and transported to the northeast.

In the eyes of the Japanese, China is full of people, and can find a large amount of free labor, and problems that can be solved through manpower are not a problem.

Although it is dangerous to mine coal like this, the mine cave may collapse during operation without equipment support.

The truth is indeed the case. In less than three months, four crypts around Jingxing collapsed during the mining process, and more than 200 absent from work were buried, but the Japanese army did not care.

The lives of the Chinese are not fate for them, especially when they catch a large number of prisoners on the battlefield, they will die if they die. At worst, they will be allowed to catch more of the front line in the next battle.

Under this operation regardless of casualties and losses, the coal output of small and medium-sized coal mines and some soil crypts has accumulated a small amount, surpassing that of Jingxing Coal Mine.

However, the coal dug by the Japanese army in this situation carried the blood of the people and the prisoners, and a large number of absentees died in the mines for various reasons every day.

There were two crypts in Lizhuang before. After being taken over by the Japanese army, the number of crypts increased to five.

More than 500 prisoners, absentees from prison, entered the mine in shifts and dug coal out day and night.

The dirt road at the entrance of the village has been pressed out of two deep ruts by the wheels that transport coal.

In the past, the entire farm could only transport ten coal mines to one day, but now it can transport fifty trucks to one train every day. On average, half a month of grain production can fill a train.

Other coal mines exchange their absenteeism for coal, and this is no exception.

After the Japanese took over the Lizhuang Tu Crystal, more than 100 absenteeism died here in less than three months.

But the Japanese army was unmoved. After more than fifty people died, they immediately transferred fifty people from other places to replenish the coal mining team.

They only have one principle: absent from work can die, and if there is not enough, they can be transferred from other places, but the coal grain production cannot be reduced.

In order to prevent the Eighth Route Army and the National Salvation Army from destroying coal mines again and learn from the experience and lessons of the destruction of Jingxing coal mines, the Shijiazhuang garrison dispatched a full half of a brigade to Lizhuang, resulting in more troops protecting coal mines than those who dig coal.

But the Japanese army had no choice but to stabilize the coal grain production in the mining area for the sake of the safety of the mining area, so they could only do this for the time being.

When the Jingxing coal mine resumes production, the Japanese army only needs to protect this coal mine to stabilize the coal production in the mining area, and the number of troops required will be greatly reduced.

So the Japanese army can still hold on.

Because every day, he was absent from work and pulled large trucks full of coal into and out of the mine, He Feng could easily figure out the strength and firepower of the Japanese troops deployed in Lizhuang.

He decided to launch an attack tonight, end the battle as soon as possible, and then go to fight a second coal mine.

After dark, the coal mines that had been bustling all day did not become quiet, and the entrances and exits of several mine caves were still very lively.

The mules and horses carrying two baskets were led in and out by absenteeism, and the coal dug out of the absenteeism was continuously transported out of the mine caves, and then sent to the railway station to crush them after dawn.

"Sir, there have been no traces of the enemy around the coal mine for a month. There will definitely be no troops attacking us tonight, so don't worry!" On the roof of the artillery tower at the entrance of the village, a captain was very confident in analyzing the master next to him.

The Grandpa nodded first, approving his subordinates' analysis just now, and shook his head a few seconds later, frowned and reminded: "Even if there is no enemy attack, we cannot be careless!"

"In addition to the Eighth Route Army, there is also the National Salvation Army around us!"

"The National Salvation Army has few heavy weapons and weak attack capabilities. It requires several times the strength to be gathered before it dares to attack us."

"The National Salvation Army is different. They are well equipped. I heard that mountain cannons and infantry cannons have been configured to battalion-level units. Although we temporarily built several artillery towers and castles around the mine, we were still too weak in front of mountain cannons."

"If the National Salvation Army sends troops to attack us, only one main battalion is needed, and the troops in the village will be completely wiped out!"

The captain's expression was very serious at the beginning, but after listening to the captain's analysis, he became relaxed.

I immediately expressed my different thoughts: "Sir, I think you are too worried!"

"The National Salvation Army is now out of their own way. How could it be that it would be possible to mobilize troops to attack us? Do they not want to defend themselves?"

"I don't think their chief would make such a stupid decision if he was a little rational."

In order not to affect the morale of the Japanese North China Front Army, the Japanese army has not publicly admitted that the failure of the attack on the National Salvation Army so far.

It is only admitted that the troops suffered heavy casualties, but the sweeping troops still have a chance to turn defeat into victory.

As for the number of enemies that the National Salvation Army publicly annihilated, it was completely denied by the Japanese and announced to the public at one-fifth of the actual casualties.

Therefore, in the eyes of many lower-level Japanese officers, the Shanxi garrison's attack on the National Salvation Army is still continuing, and it won't take long for the National Salvation Army to be completely wiped out by the Shanxi garrison.

It is precisely because of this that the captain had this idea.

The captain of the Grand Priest didn't know that the troops that swept the National Salvation Army were defeated. After listening to the analysis of his subordinates, the solemn expression on his face was obviously relieved.

I thought about the order seriously: "They are indeed a little overwhelmed now, but we still cannot relax! Let your people open their eyes wide, and immediately fire the flares when they find danger, and then report to me as soon as possible, and never give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage of it."

"Please rest assured, we must guard the mines and never let an enemy touch our noses!" The captain answered quickly.

After hearing the answer he wanted, the captain of the major did not even look back, and walked towards the command center in the middle of the village with the guards.

Outside the village, He Feng squatted behind a pile of bushes, holding a telescope and staring at the artillery tower at the entrance of the village.

Because there were torches on the roof of the artillery tower, He Feng could clearly see three or two Japanese figures.

They were holding guns in their hands and looking out of the village with a vigilant look on their faces.

"Dadadada..." The familiar machine gun strafing sound suddenly sounded two more than meter positions in front of He Feng, and then I saw two Japanese on the roof of the artillery tower falling to the ground.

"Boom..." The Japanese army reacted quickly and fired a flare into the air in less than five seconds after firing the gun.

The dazzling white light quickly illuminated the battlefield.

The Unique Battalion Company was lying more than 200 meters away from the entrance of the village. Someone was carrying light machine guns to strafuse the shooting hole of the artillery tower, suppressing the blocking firepower fired by the Japanese army.

Someone held a gun, bent over, lined up a scattered line, and rushed towards the artillery tower quickly.

The Japanese captain who was guarding the artillery tower was shocked and quickly ordered the on-duty troops to join the battle.

Under the protection of the artillery tower, the Japanese machine gunner hiding behind the shooting hole was not affected much. He stared at the butt stock with his shoulders, aimed at the National Savior outside the stronghold through the machine gun, and desperately pulled the trigger.

Seeing that the National Salvation Army was killed by bullets fired from the artillery tower, the captain who was hiding behind the shooting hole to observe the battle situation was obviously relieved: "Transfer all the remaining machine guns to the artillery tower, and set up a shooting hole and a light machine gun to strike the enemy from a high point, killing them all."

After saying that, he pointed to a messenger beside him and continued to order: "You go and report to the captain. We were attacked by about an enemy infantry company. Judging from the opponent's uniform, it should be the National Salvation Army. The police force is confident to repel them. Please rest assured!"

Seeing that the outside of the artillery tower gradually became darker, the flares were almost lost. The captain ordered again: "Continue to fire the flares, and be sure to completely expose the enemy to our noses!"

"All grenade launchers go up to the roof of the artillery tower to join the battle, and find a way to kill the enemy's machine gun firepower points."

The casualties of the only company had more than one infantry squad, and it was still increasing, but He Feng was unmoved and kept staring at the artillery tower with his telescope.
Chapter completed!