Two months passed in a blink of an eye, and the National Salvation Army rarely ushered in a period of rest without the attack of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Of course, this is not because the Japanese and puppet troops do not want to attack, but because they have no energy to attack the national rescue army.

After leaving his base, the Shouyang Independent Regiment of the Eighth Route Army and the Yangquan Independent Regiment caught the Japanese army off guard as soon as they took action.

The Yangquan Independent Regiment won three battles and three victories, not only conquered three towns controlled by the Japanese and puppet troops, but also killed more than 800 Japanese and puppet troops through the siege and aggression, and suddenly gained a foothold in the new base area.

The Shouyang Independent Regiment won two battles, killed four or five hundred Japanese and puppet troops in succession, and then continued to expand its base based on the two towns.

The Japanese and puppet troops garrisoned in Shanxi were also shocked by the sudden blow.

They didn't want the Eighth Route Army to create a new base in their occupied areas, and immediately dispatched heavy troops to encircle and suppress these two base areas that were just in their infancy.

In the eyes of the Japanese and puppet troops, these two Eighth Route Army had just suffered a "defeated" in the hands of the National Salvation Army and lost a lot of troops and equipment. The overall combat effectiveness must be very poor, and it will definitely be easy to fight them now.

The sweeping troops killed him and found out that he had made another mistake of underestimating the enemy and underestimated his opponent's strength again.

The two independent regiments not only have strong combat effectiveness, excellent equipment, and sufficient ammunition. Even the combat methods are completely opposite to those of other Eighth Route Army. They use artillery bombs at the beginning of the battle, use heavy machine guns to fire, and finally infantry assaults...

After more than a month of confrontation and fighting, the mobilization troops not only did not gain any advantage from them, but also lost a large number of mobilization troops and lost a large number of occupied areas.

The equivalent of a sweep that the Shanxi garrison was hard-working to plan was not only a waste of money, but also lost a large amount of territory, weapons and ammunition, and in the end it was all cheaper than two independent regiments.

Faced with such a result, the army commander's good mood suddenly disappeared.

In the past few days, he had been angry with the military headquarters for several times, which made everyone in danger of the military headquarters' staff members. He was worried every day, fearing that he would do something wrong, causing the commander to be dissatisfied and became the target of the commander's anger...

"Bageya Road, what does the intelligence department do for? Haven't you figured out where the equipment and forces of the independent regiment came from? They were just killed by the National Savior Army. If there was no foreign aid, relying solely on their own strength, they would definitely not be able to defeat our sweeping troops!" The commander couldn't help but curse when he thought of the two defeats that had just happened on the front line.

The chief of staff lowered his head and was sweating profusely, but he did not answer the commander's question.

He was also very anxious and scolded the intelligence officer for being incompetent.

The Shanxi garrison has lost more and more battles in the past two years, and the situation has become worse and worse. The intelligence department has an unshirkable responsibility.

"Report to the commander, we have all found out!" Just as the commander scolded him more and more fiercely, the intelligence officer appeared and rushed into the command center, gasping for breath while reporting.

"We reported that the intelligence personnel who entered the Independent Regiment had indeed been killed and killed by the National Rescue Army. But when they left Shouyang and Yangquan, they took away all the local troops that had been established in the old base."

"The reason why local troops have poor combat effectiveness is that they have poor weapons and ammunition configurations are a big reason."

"The Independent Regiment immediately replenished the main forces of those local troops and provided them with the best weapons and ammunition. When we started to encircle them, the two independent Regiments had recovered their combat effectiveness."

The chief of staff frowned deeper and before he could finish his intelligence officer's speech, he continued to ask: "How do they explain their equipment and ammunition? The Eighth Route Army is famous for its poor equipment and lack of ammunition. Where did the Independent Regiment get so much equipment? Even mortars and mountain cannons are equipped, and there are a lot of ammunition. When fighting, it's like ammunition is not enough, but it's so exciting. I've been in Shanxi for so long, and I've never encountered the Eighth Route Army with such sufficient ammunition."

The intelligence officer continued to report: "Weapons and ammunition were brought out from the old base."

"Although the two independent regiments were killed by the National Salvation Army, their equipment and ammunition did not fall behind!"

"Especially, all the ammunition they seized in Yangquan County was brought out."

"The weapons and ammunition that attacked our sweeping troops were seized when they attacked Yangquan!"

"Intelligence personnel reported that when the two independent regiments evacuated the old base, they carried hundreds of large trucks of supplies, weapons and ammunition. Especially the Yangquan Independent regiment, in addition to the large trucks, they also used nearly three hundred mules and horses. Before leaving, each soldier carried a box of ammunition, just like moving."

"At that time, our troops stationed on the blockade line had just suffered a big loss in their hands, losing a large amount of troops, resulting in gaps everywhere in the blockade line. Two independent regiments took the opportunity to evacuate the old base area. Without alarming any garrison on the blockade line, they quietly entered the Imperial Army occupied area and caught us off guard!"

"The intelligence also shows that the two independent regiments have gained a foothold in our occupation, especially after they won the just-concluded sweep, the local people have recognized them, started to support them in large quantities, and actively signed up for the Eighth Route Army."

"Not only has the territory more than doubled than a month ago, but also has formed a new recruit battalion in the newly established base areas!"

"According to their current development momentum, at most half a year, two independent groups can rebuild a new base in our occupied area with strength that is no less than their old base."

"Our intelligence department recommends that the military department draw heavy troops as soon as possible to sweep two independent regiments twice, completely killing them in the bud."

"If they continue to grow and grow in our occupied areas, it will be difficult for us to eliminate them again!"

The commander was silent after hearing this. According to the report of the intelligence officer just now, the main reason why the big sweep that just ended failed was the military headquarters.

He thought that the two independent regiments had just suffered a big defeat and were not strong in combat, but in fact he made the mistake of underestimating the enemy.

Faced with such a result, the commander wanted to get angry.

All the swear words were spoken, but they just couldn't say them.

If you really want to hold yourself accountable, you must bear the main responsibility tantamount to slapping yourself in the face.

After thinking for a long time, he thought of a way to save face. He stared at the Chief of Staff and asked: "How many more troops can the military headquarters draw to sweep away two independent regiments."

"The intelligence department's advice is very good: the Eighth Route Army's base areas and pulling troops are too fast, and we must not let them grow and grow in the new base areas, and become our biggest concern again."

"Although we were defeated by the sweep that just ended, we killed 1,000 enemies and suffered 800 losses. The Independent Regiment must have suffered heavy losses in the battle."

"And after their base areas become larger, there are more places to defend, and the limited troops will become more and more dispersed. If we continue to work hard and continue to attack the National Salvation Army, we will definitely achieve some unexpected gains."

The Chief of Staff was moved after hearing this, but his brows soon frowned again.

The army commander's idea is very good and reasonable, but the Shanxi garrison lost too many battles some time ago, and the supplementary troops sent by the front army obviously could not keep up with the loss speed of the battlefield, resulting in the limited mobile troops of the Shanxi garrison being almost exhausted.

If the commander must draw a serious illness and attack the independent regiment immediately, the military headquarters can also draw enough troops.

But in this way, the situation in other parts of Shanxi will be affected and the gain will not be worth the loss.

Facing the commander's eyes, he replied with a embarrassed look: "Sir, if you want to mobilize enough troops to sweep the two independent regiments, you can only find ways from the front line and other defense areas. It is tantamount to tearing down the east wall and filling the west wall. Bei Zhi is worried that doing so will give other Eighth Route Army and Shanxi Sui Army the opportunity to take advantage of the National Salvation Army."

"We are increasing the food pressure of the National Salvation Army through strict blockades. If we transfer troops from the blockade line at this time, the National Salvation Army will obtain foreign aid and get their shortage of food, then our previous layout will be defeated. Please think twice!"

The commander did not speak and fell into deep thought again.

Half a minute later, his frown brow suddenly stretched, and he turned his head to look at the intelligence officer on the side: "How is the National Salvation Army now?"

"It has been almost two months since we left the victims who have not eaten enough to eat. According to our previous judgment, the reserved food in the National Salvation Military Defense Zone should be almost eaten up!"

The intelligence officer thought for a moment and started reporting: "The chief is wise, their food is indeed almost eaten up."

"In order to support those more than 100,000 people, the National Salvation Army bought all the food they could buy in their defense zone, but it was still not enough."

"At the beginning, they supplied food to more than 100,000 people based on the standard of 5 taels of grain per capita. But after just after just ten days of persistence, they reduced the standard to 4 taels of grain per capita."

"In order to stabilize the people's hearts, after the standards were lowered, they began to directly distribute food and let the people cook on their own. In this way, they also searched the iron pots in the entire defense zone, which made the defense zone's people furious."

"The National Salvation Army sent food to the victims for one month for the first time, and the second time it was given rations for ten days. The victims also had to exchange them through their work. It can be seen that the food in the victims' hands has indeed come to an end, otherwise they would not have been so stingy!"

The commander did not respond at all, staring at the intelligence officer and continued to ask: "How long do you think the food in the hands of the National Salvation Army can last?"

The intelligence officer hesitated for a moment and replied: "At most twenty days, they could have lasted longer, but they used more than a month of food for spring plowing to provide more than 100,000 victims, and then there was not much!"

The army commander considered the analysis: "I heard that they had planted a batch of potatoes before spring plowing, intending to use potatoes to satisfy hunger and help the victims to survive until the autumn harvest. In terms of time, it will take more than two months for this batch of potatoes to harvest, which is equivalent to the fact that they are still at least one month away from the grain."

The chief of staff frowned, looking puzzled, wondering why the commander suddenly thought of this problem.

In his eyes, the new base of the Independent Regiment and the National Salvation Army Defense Zone were separated from the Imperial Army blockade line and there was no longer any connection.

Just as he was about to express his doubts in his heart, the commander spoke again: "You immediately let our intelligence personnel lurking in the National Salvation Military Defense Zone contact Zhou Cheng. As long as he is willing to bid, we are willing to sell them two million kilograms of food!"
Chapter completed!