Rebirth of the National Marshal

On March 3, our Master Mao's patrol encountered a patrol from the Japanese Army's 17st Infantry Regiment.

During the half month of defending Chenjia Town, our Young Master Mao was not idle either. He exchanged for 15 jeeps, modified them, and formed a patrol team of the security regiment.

In fact, more can be exchanged out, but the problem is that there are not enough drivers. Clone soldiers can drive, of course, but they have a more important task, which is to be squad leaders. They are originally a group of recruits. If there is no squad leader who can hold the line, this group will be a mob. Once they really go to the battlefield, they will be a mess.

In fact, it is very easy to learn to drive in this era. It is not like in later generations where you have to pass several subjects before you can get a driver's license. In this era, as long as you study hard, you can basically learn it in a day or two, and you will have no problem driving on the road in half a month.

In half a month, Mao Yuanshan trained hundreds of drivers, 20 of whom were assigned to the patrol team and the rest were sent to the transport team. Wherever our Young Master Mao is, the military supplies and various ammunition will be exchanged there. Naturally, there is no need for a transport team in Chenjia Town, but it is different in the capital and Tianjin, especially in Tianjin. The fighting is so fierce that 60 bullets are used every day, including more than 1000 infantry artillery shells, more than 2000 volley artillery shells, more than 2000 grenades, 4000 kilograms of rice and flour, 1000 kilograms of vegetables, 6000 cans of pork, beef, etc., five tons of milk, and 30 artillery pieces.

If others saw this transport list, they would be dumbfounded. This is not enough for a reinforced battalion, but a division. You know, the Central Army was lucky to get a piece of bread during the war. You guys only get one can of meat a day, one pound. As for milk, it’s only drunk by the rich and powerful in big cities. When have we ordinary people ever seen it? You guys get one pound of milk a day on the battlefield. Whether it’s a lightly wounded or a seriously wounded soldier, they get two pounds each, one pound in the morning and one pound in the evening.

In fact, each person is also supplied with 250 grams of chocolate and a pack of cigarettes every day, but these are not written down. If they were written down, it would be even more shocking.

It was originally agreed that we would eat compressed biscuits on the battlefield, but Commander Mao took into consideration that the reinforced battalion in Tianjin was not at that stage and could not make a fire to cook, so it would be better for the soldiers to have a hot meal. However, some soldiers below were unwilling to do so. They asked why we were not given compressed biscuits. That thing seemed to taste much better than white flour buns. Compressed biscuits paired with canned meat were so delicious that our young master Mao was speechless.

Various types of transportation are constantly increasing, so the original transport team of 50 trucks is not enough. Now it has been adjusted to 80 trucks, increased from twice a day to three times a day. Weapons and ammunition also need to have a certain reserve. They cannot be gone after the battle. The excess can be distributed to friendly forces. Of course, we cannot supply them unlimitedly here. At most, we can give them some that we don’t need. Not too much each time. 5000 to 1 rounds of bullets and dozens of artillery shells will be enough. We all understand the principle that a man is innocent but guilty of possessing a treasure.

Tianjin, 29th Army position near the railway station

"Sergeant, how do I eat this pancake? It doesn't look like it's made entirely of white flour. I don't know what's added to it. It can knock my teeth out with one bite." A soldier from the 29th Army looked helplessly at the pancake distributed to him. This was his food ration from noon to night today.

"Yes, squad leader, there is not even any seasoning. How can we swallow this hard food? It would be nice to have some hot water today." The logistics supply of the 29th Army can be said to be extremely bad. In the past few days, their transportation routes have been cut off countless times under the Japanese devils' bombing. It is good that they can deliver these things.

"Okay, you all should be content. At least we still have big cakes like this for you to eat. When I was fighting the Japanese devils at the Great Wall, I didn't have a bite to eat for the whole day, but I still managed to hold on." Although the squad leader said that, he felt uncomfortable in his heart.

"Oh, it's really true that people have different fates. Although we are all soldiers, you see the security team has started to make a fire and cook. I went to see it. They had meat buns for breakfast in the morning, and they gave me two. I swallowed them in one gulp without even chewing." Another soldier licked his lips, as if he was still savoring the two meat buns he had eaten in the morning.

"Who says it's not true? I saw them drinking that white stuff with my own eyes last night and it smells so good. It is said that drinking that stuff can make the body strong." When they talked about food during the meal, everyone became energetic.

"Idiot, that thing is called milk. I heard that a cup of it costs one dollar. It's not produced by the animals in our countryside. It's said to be produced by European cows that are all white with black spots on their bodies." After all, the squad leader was well-informed.

"What? The security soldier who leaned against me yesterday just had a minor scratch on his scalp. He was given two cups of that stuff in the morning and evening."

"That thing is nothing. Haven't you seen that they give out a can of beef a day? The landlords in our village don't dare to be so generous. A can of beef costs two dollars in a big city, and it's a full pound!" The soldiers were depressed. Others eat meat and drink milk, but we are just chewing on flatbreads here.

"It's not just that. The soldiers there are only given a pack of cigarettes a day. They're Camel brand, and that's the cigarette Americans smoke. Even our company commander can't afford it, let alone us." There were people spitting out sour words everywhere.

While they were talking, several soldiers from the security corps came over.

"Brothers, let's eat. I have a stomachache today, and the regiment allowed me to have some dry rations. Now, share my can of beef with you guys." A big man came over from the security regiment with a few new recruits.

"I feel embarrassed, Deputy Squad Leader Wang. You come to visit us every day with your hands full." Although the squad leader of the 29th Army said that, his hands were not idle. He quickly took the can of beef from Deputy Squad Leader Wang's hand and handed it to the person behind him to open it.

"We can't eat it, so you guys eat it. Besides, these new recruits under my command won't know anything when they go to the battlefield. So we brothers will take advantage of the meal time to teach them something." Xie Tianhua asked his squad leaders to take a few people to the 29th Army every day to learn from them. Although the knowledge taught by the clone squad leaders was very comprehensive, the problem was that they had never encountered an opponent like the Japanese, so learning from the soldiers of the 29th Army was one of the most important channels for them to acquire knowledge.

"What are you talking about, brother? We were all recruits there. It's inevitable that we feel weak when we first go to the battlefield. It doesn't matter. While the Japanese haven't attacked yet, these guys under my command may not be good at other things, but they can still fight. Let them teach these recruits you bring." Then some soldiers of the security regiment took out their cigarettes from their pockets. Smoking is an important act to connect men. After a while, the soldiers of the 29th Army, who had eaten and drunk their fill, began to puff away smoke and passed on the experience they had summed up on the battlefield to the soldiers of the security regiment. The people of the security regiment are not fools. Whether you tell the truth or just perfunctorily, you will see the difference the next day. Those who tell the truth can still eat canned food and smoke cigarettes the next day, while those who have no skills and are perfunctory will not be treated like this the next day.

"Alas, I don't know where all these young people have gone recently. Our security regiment was preparing to expand a new regiment, but there is not even any people. It's a pity. We were originally a reinforced battalion, and we will probably become an independent regiment after we go back, because not many people come. I heard from our company commander that all the veterans recruited this time will be paid 15 yuan." Seeing several soldiers chatting one-on-one, the deputy squad leader of the security regiment also started chatting with the squad leader of the 29th Army.

Damn, everyone says the security team has high pay, but I didn't expect it to be this high. I'm a squad leader. If I go there, I'll get 15 yuan a month, which is a safe wage. The most important thing is that I also have a submachine gun and a pistol. Look at what I have in my hand? A Hanyang rifle with smooth rifling. I don't know where the bullets will go after they are fired. My shooting skills are very accurate, but I have only killed a few devils in the past few days. If I had a submachine gun like theirs, it would be no problem to kill more than a dozen devils a day.

It is said that the reward system of the security corps is not bad. As long as you can kill a Japanese soldier, you can get one dollar in exchange. Thinking of my elderly parents and young siblings at home, if I can bring home 15 dollars a month, how good their lives will be.

The same scene and the same thing happened repeatedly on the 29th Army's position. The squad leaders also had their own ideas. There were also those who had been in the army for more than three years. They came out to fight for their lives, but they could not see any future in their place. Suddenly, a friendly army came out. If they did not follow them, they would be sorry for themselves! However, thinking of the strict military law, they should suppress their thoughts first and make plans after defeating the Japanese devils.

In fact, this was also the instruction given by Mao Yuanshan. Historically, the 29th Army was defeated after this battle, and Mao Yuanshan was also planning to incorporate the 29th Army after this battle. It sounds like a snake swallowing an elephant, but it may not be unsuccessful as long as it is done well.

Besides, it is unrealistic to swallow up the entire 29th Army, but it is still no problem to target some of the grassroots officers and soldiers among them, such as the squad leaders.

Some company commanders and battalion commanders of the 29th Army also discovered this problem, but they all acquiesced silently because each of them received a red envelope of varying sizes. With so many people dying every day, they also had to make plans for their parents, wives and children at home. Although a red envelope of a few hundred dollars was not much, it could allow their families to live for several years. In case they died, the central government's pension would not be enough.

This is why a truckload of ocean water was brought in during the transport convoy in the past few days.

Xie Tianhua could only say that it felt great to spend money. He spent 10 yuan in one day. The 10 yuan was divided into various red envelopes ranging from 300 to 400 yuan and sent to officers at all levels of the 29th Army. Back then, President Chiang Kai-shek also relied on this trick to recruit various warlords. We are just learning and applying it now.