Eight hundred and seventieth chapters integration of power
On the battlefield on the southern front, when the Chinese regular army, guerrilla army, security forces and Japanese puppet troops were fighting in darkness and blood flowed like rivers, the northern Jiangsu area seemed calm on the surface, but secretly there was an undercurrent surging.
The northern front troops commanded by Commander Yu Xuezhong launched a large-scale offensive against the Japanese in Tongcheng and Tai'an, while the southern front in Gaoyou, Yancheng, Chuxian and other places were also facing intense fighting.
Most of the main forces of the 12th Japanese mixed infantry brigade and the 13th mixed infantry brigade stationed in the areas near northern Jiangsu were transferred north or south for reinforcements.
This resulted in the four or five counties and districts near Huaiyin where Yang Ling and others were located becoming weak areas controlled by the Japanese and puppet troops, with only a small number of puppet troops staying behind.
After Yang Ling led the officers and soldiers of the Third Guerrilla Detachment to recapture Huaiyin with lightning speed while the Japanese were not paying attention, he did not stop there.
On the day after Huaiyin was recovered, Yang Ling set his sights on the vast areas of nearby Siyang, Muyang, Guannan and other counties.
Of course, Yang Ling's idea at this moment was to expand his strength in a short period of time. After all, he had captured Huaiyin. It seemed like a beautiful sight, but it also put them on fire.
As long as the little devils free their hands, heavy troops will definitely be sent to deal with them. After all, they directly threaten the Tianjin-Puzhou Railway and the Grand Canal transportation line that run through northern Jiangsu, which will cost the little devils their lives.
But what Yang Ling didn't expect was that the Japs actually had no time to worry about him now, but nowhere else. After all, the junction of the Japs' two major strategic groups in North China and Central China, although it seemed dangerous, was also a gap.
There are four or five counties and hundreds of villages in this area, but the Japanese have organized a large number of maintenance committees and plainclothes teams in various places.
However, in the vast rural areas, the Japs' strength is still very weak. Because the troops are stretched thin, most of the Japs have been transferred away.
As a result, in many important towns there are only a few small Jaap towns left, and they are assisted by pseudo police and a small number of puppet soldiers.
The Japs have grand plans for these occupied areas, like Manchuria and Mongolia, which implement the policy of using China to control China.
According to the little devil's plan, a fairly powerful security force must be formed and divided into various places for garrison duty, so that the devil soldiers can be mobilized to carry out combat missions.
After all, the Little Devils are an island country, and their potential for war is limited. They fought so many major battles, and although they were all victorious, the losses to their troops were considerable, especially in the battles of Taierzhuang and Wanjialing, where tens of thousands of people were involved.
Now, on the one hand, the Little Devils are actively mobilizing domestic young people of appropriate age to join the army to make up for the casualties on the front line; on the other hand, they hope to form puppet troops to free up troops stationed in various places to return to the battlefield.
However, the Japanese plan could not keep up with the changes. Faced with the continuous resistance struggles in the occupied areas, their plan to form a puppet army was progressing slowly. Many troops still had the designation and no one at all.
Now facing a large-scale counterattack by the Chinese Communist Army, many puppet troops have useless numbers only. Sometimes there are only a hundred people in a security camp.
It's difficult for them to defend the town, let alone go out and fight the guerrillas.
In the past, when the main force of the Japs was stationed nearby, no guerrillas dared to attack such towns controlled by the Japanese and puppet troops.
But now that the main force of the Japs has been transferred away, those towns with a small number of garrison troops have become fat.
"Except for the county seat, all villages and towns will be restored!"
Yang Ling was also the bold master of Yi Gao Ren. In order to increase his influence and quickly expand his strength, he sent out small teams one after another.
There were many enemies in the county, and the fortifications were strong and difficult to attack. Yang Ling was not prepared to attack. If he stung a hornet's nest and angered the Japanese, he would immediately send troops to encircle and suppress him, which would only make him embarrassed.
Therefore, Yang Ling's goal is the vast rural areas. As long as the rural areas are controlled, even if the puppet army guards the county seat, the isolated city will not be able to make any waves.
There are not many enemies in the villages and towns, and the small teams they sent out can be regarded as troops that have fought in battles. They can naturally deal with these weak puppet soldiers and police officers with ease.
In addition to sending countless squads to attack the surrounding areas, Yang Ling also put the work of integrating nearby armed forces on the agenda.
Letters written in the name of the Ninth Guerrilla Column in the Sulu Theater were delivered to nearby armed forces through various channels.
These armed forces include the so-called joint defense forces established in each village, the village self-defense forces, militia, and some small groups of regular troops that were broken up and left in the local area.
The characteristic of these armed forces is that they are distributed in a wide range, and their respective strength is very weak, with as many as one or two hundred people, and as few as only three or five people.
And more importantly, the weapons and equipment are extremely poor. Some village self-defense forces only have a few native guns, and even use red-tassel guns, broadswords, hoes and other cold weapons.
They are scattered in various places, and their respective forces are very weak, and they have their own contradictions and gaps between them, which gives the Japanese and puppet troops opportunities to defeat them one by one.
Although these armed forces were widely distributed in rural areas, they did not pose any threat to the Japanese and puppet troops. Many of them were even bribed by the Japanese and puppet troops, and in turn oppressed their own people.
Now that the main force of the Japs is gone, Yang Ling must seize the opportunity to integrate these forces and make them the backbone of the fight against the Japs.
Yang Ling offered generous terms. Anyone who came to Huaiyin to attend the meeting would be given guns and food. This attracted many people.
Not long after Yang Ling released the news, people from various self-defense forces, guerrillas, and anti-Japanese vanguard forces that were formed spontaneously began to come to Huaiyin to contact Yang Ling.
In the face of these anti-Japanese armed forces, Yang Ling welcomed all comers and entertained them with good wine and meat. Before leaving, he also fulfilled his promise and gave them quick guns.
The troops under Yang Ling's command have all been equipped with Japanese 38 rifles, and each man has three bullet boxes, a bayonet, a water bottle, and suede shoes.
Even the cotton military uniforms they wore were modified from the military uniforms of the little devils. Who made Yang Ling and the others poor?
Pull off the clothes of the captured and dead Japs, wash them, change the style, and dye them, and this will become a ready-made guerrilla uniform.
Although it looks nondescript, it is actually a good thing. After slightly modifying the military uniforms of the little devils, it looks much more impressive than the coarse cloth military uniforms they sewed themselves.
Yang Ling and the others now have almost all Japanese-style equipment. All the previously eliminated weapons such as medium- and formal rifles, made in Hanyang, and old sleeves are sent out.
This is not because Yang Ling and others like the new and hate the old, but after being equipped with unified Japanese equipment, the ammunition has been unified, and there is no transport team and arsenal to fight against the Japs, making supplies more convenient.
And if they still use their previous types of guns, first of all, bullets of different calibers will be a headache, and there is a serious shortage of bullets, which will seriously affect the combat effectiveness of the troops.
Although the eliminated guns and ammunition were no longer used by Yang Ling and others, those armed forces with more backward weapons and equipment and even less ammunition were thirsty for knowledge.
With Yang Ling's generous gifts of weapons, equipment, and food supplies, he quickly gathered dozens of nearby armed forces of various types under his command.
Although the quality and quantity of these armed forces varied, there were more than 4,000 people gathered together in several counties.