It's not that Zhou Wen doesn't trust anyone, but the mercenary group is now alone, with no reinforcements outside and no supplies inside, so it is natural to be extra careful. In addition, it has to travel hundreds of kilometers to escape danger, and even the radio station is only turned on once a day.
, the purpose is to keep it confidential.
Not only did the Japanese army have to hide it, but the domestic personnel also had to hide it, and they would report it to their families in detail after returning to a safe zone. After all, after arriving in Zhangjiakou, the train problem would have to be solved by the commander.
It was now 9 o'clock in the evening on April 27, and several senior leaders of the mercenary group who had just set up camp in a valley were meeting in a tent to study the next move.
"Although the brothers of the second detachment don't know where our destination is, the 10 consecutive days of forced march were carried out very well. There were no complaints or private discussions along the way. The energy was quite high, but the physical strength was exhausted.
Relatively large." Chen Wanlihui reported.
"What's more, we have hundreds of war horses. The wounded, heavy equipment and ammunition are all carried on war horses, which reduces a lot of the burden on the soldiers. Some even died of exhaustion or stumbled and fell off the cliff along the way.
Ten horses, but the personnel were not damaged. It is a pity just for these horses, which made the brothers in the cavalry company feel very distressed." Gao Xiaoshan said.
"What a pity. We can't get used to these veteran gangsters in the cavalry company. They were not allowed to ride horses along the way. They marched with the large army. A few of them started to complain. I punished them severely and they became more honest.
.This is not the time to do any ideological work with them. We can only do hard work, and these people will eat it." Miaohua said disdainfully.
You must know that he has been training the cavalry company, and he has long since made those veterans obedient. And he was right, these people are all veterans in the army. Unlike the young officers and soldiers of the second detachment, they all pay attention to their personal behavior.
If the strong are respected, they will be beaten rather than coaxed.
Zhou Wen also agreed: "Senior Brother Miaohua is right. In these extraordinary times, we can only use the simplest method to suppress them. Moreover, they have been joining the mercenary group for some time. The conditions and treatment of our mercenary group are compared with theirs before."
They must know how they feel about it. If they really have any objections, let them stay when they get to Zhangjiakou. It will take a long time for this type of people to completely return to their hearts."
"As for the war horses, wait until I go to Delengtai and Zhang Da to talk to them. Aren't they just a few little devils' war horses? We will get them as many as they want in the future. This is not a problem."
Remembering what Chen Wanli had just said about the brothers' physical exertion, he said: "Now that we are far away from all forces, we are basically safe. There is a stream next to the camp. Let's relax completely tonight and let everyone have a good meal.
Hot food. There is no need to distribute the remaining cans sparingly. We distribute them all to cook and eat. We will boil some hot water for everyone to scald their feet before going to bed at night to relax their muscles and bones."
Gao Xiaoshan hesitated and said: "Scholar, we have about a hundred kilometers to go to Duolun. I don't know what will happen on the way. It's better to keep some for emergencies."
Zhou Wen laughed. Gao Xiaoshan has lived in the Central Plains all year round and does not know the situation of the grassland. He pointed to the outside of the mountain in the west and said: "Brother Shanzi, after leaving Baicha Mountain, you enter the Mongolian grassland. Have you never heard of that song?"
A song? 'The sky is blue, the fields are vast, the grass is blown by the wind and the cattle and sheep are low.' It means that there is a shortage of everything on the grassland, except cattle and sheep."
"When we meet Mongolian herders on the grassland, we will trade the captured guns with them for sheep. You know, on the Mongolian grassland, guns and ammunition are more useful hard currency than gold and silver."
"That's right! With Delengtai, an authentic Mongolian, we are still afraid of running out of food on the grassland? I was wondering before, how come you, scholar, have become so clumsy that you can't bear to travel hundreds of kilometers across mountains and rivers?
Throwing away those little devils' weapons turned out to be this idea." Chen Wanli also joked with a smile.
To be honest, several people have now relaxed their tense heartstrings.
What others don't know is that the top brass of their mercenary group have always been nervous.
Because they were not only alone, but also had more than a thousand brothers who trusted them unconditionally, they were able to cross the entire Jehol Province with just a few maps in unfamiliar mountains.
Not to mention the hardships on the road, he also had to go around villages and towns, just like a thief. He just didn't want any accidents to happen and wanted to bring his brothers home safely.
Now that we have reached the border of Chahar, we have no worries about security. The horse thieves and the armed forces of the Inner Mongolian nobles saw more than a thousand murderous regular troops appearing on the grassland. It was too late to hide. Who would dare to take the initiative to provoke them?
?
You must know that the Inner Mongolia prairie has been sparsely populated since ancient times. The average Mongolian nobles can raise dozens of private armed forces, which is considered a powerful force. The big nobles can only have a few hundred cavalry, and only a certain German king can have a few.
Most of the thousands of cavalry are herdsmen who usually graze to support their families.
Therefore, these thousands of mercenary groups are small and inconspicuous armed forces in the Central Plains, but they can basically walk sideways on the grasslands.
Chen Wanli, who was born in the Northwest Army, naturally understood this situation, so he rarely joked with Zhou Wen, which showed that he was indeed in a relaxed mood.
But Miaohua didn't give him much face. He still said with a handsome face: "You guys don't be too careless. There must be no less light and dark sentries to be arranged tonight. We still have to check the sentries at night."
Same shifts as always.”
Zhou Wen knew that Miaohua was making mature and prudent remarks, so he would not object.
He saw that he had said everything he needed to say. He smelled the fragrance wafting from outside and knew that it was almost time for dinner. He was about to announce the adjournment of the meeting. Then he heard the rapid footsteps coming from outside. Zhou Wen knew it was the communications platoon leader just by listening to the footsteps.
Zhang Xinhe.
When the mercenary regiment goes out to fight, usually Zhou Wen will leave a communications squad to follow Zhou Yongbin at the headquarters, while platoon leader Zhang Xinhe will lead two squads to follow the troops.
At this time, Zhang Xinhe came in a hurry. The radio station that had just started working must have received an emergency.
Now that the mercenary group has left the main battlefield, the only urgent information is that something happened at home.
Zhou Wen asked Zhang Xinhe to come in directly without waiting for his report.
Sure enough, when Zhou Wen received the long telegram and looked at it, his thin eyebrows furrowed and his face showed a solemn expression.
Miaohua, Gao Xiaoshan and others also guessed that something happened at home, and their heartstrings that had just been relaxed became tense again.
After Zhou Wen quickly read the telegram, he handed it to Gao Xiaoshan, turned to Zhang Xinhe and said: "Don't turn off the radio station. The information will be kept confidential for the time being. We will call home as soon as possible after we discuss it."