In fact, the biggest difference between Meng Youtian and people at that time was the difference in mentality and thinking. He was neither afraid of the enemy, nor arrogant, and had the confidence to win. Even this fierce sweep, he was not very nervous, and this was a sign of a clear mind.

From the perspective of the phenomenon, Meng Youtian can make a judgment that is more optimistic than others. For example, in this sweep, according to his observation, the enemy did not carry a lot of food and supplies, nor did he have the idea and plan to recruit people to completely fill the base. As long as the work of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields was done thoroughly, and in an empty base, if there was no grain of food, and it was difficult to drink water, the Japanese devils' sweep could not last long.

Moreover, the enemy divided the troops into two groups and pressed them from the east and west directions. Although the number of people was more than expected, the materials consumed every day would increase accordingly. If the enemy did not attack the main force of the Eighth Route Army and was not good at giving up and insisted on consolidating the rule in the base area, then every time they occupied a place, they would send troops to garrison. The troops would become more and more dispersed, the supply line would be longer and longer, and the weaknesses would be exposed.

Of course, I am afraid of long-term and not fast, and I am afraid of rushing and erosion. Meng Youtian did not want the Japanese to stay for a long time. Although the mobilization ability of the base area, complete tunnels and sufficient mines, is enough to make the Japanese army's sweeps heavy price. However, the long-term stationing and erosion of the Japanese army will be a very arduous tug-of-war.

Given the number of troops used by the enemy this time, Meng Youtian knew that it would be a very difficult thing to break the mobilization by relying solely on local armament. All they could do was two things, one was dragging and the other was draining. The so-called dragging means doing a good job of clearing the walls and clearing the field, effectively protecting the people who are hiding, and using time to drag down the enemy's logistics supply; as for consumption, it is simple, it is draining. Use cold guns, mines, and tunnels to continuously kill and injure the enemy, making the enemy unable to bear the accumulated casualties in the end.

Relatively speaking, dragging is easier than draining, because in war, draining is usually owned by both sides, and to kill the enemy, you must fight. In combat, it is impossible to avoid the cost of your own side. Everything is like this. It is simple to say but difficult to do. "Drag" and "dump" are just two words, but it is not easy to implement.

Both sides of the enemy and us are the same, each with their own difficulties. Only by persevering until the end is the most resilient, the most strategic, and capable will be the winner.

The two enemies who swept the siege finally met in Xiaolouzhuang, which achieved the first combat goal, but they did not feel any victory.

"Authentic tunnels? Landmines? It actually makes the Great Japanese Imperial Army at a loss and it is difficult to move forward." Daman Takahira, the commander of the Western Road Sweeping Force, walked back and forth in the tent, and said with a wry smile: "When the last sweep, the enemy adopted the method of disturbing my retreat, but this time he changed his tricks and defenses from village to village to cover the defense layer by layer. Unexpectedly, after this period of preparation, the enemy's resistance and means have developed greatly. I have to ask, how many things the enemy has are that we don't know yet?"

As the commander of the Japanese army stationed in North China for a long time, Takapei Daman has rich experience. But he was still surprised, and Kobayashi Man, who had just entered the occupied areas, had a more personal experience.

"This tunnel is indeed very strange. The enemy is hiding inside, and the imperial army cannot attack effectively." Kobayashi sat at the table and shook his head gently, "And the enemy's ground fortifications are often connected to the tunnel, which can both look out and shoot. Various firepowers intersect and have landmines that cannot be defended to help, which is really a headache."

Longping Daman pondered for a moment and asked tentatively: "Kung Lin Jun, have you encountered a sniper attack in Tumen Village, Shili Village?"

Kobayashi was stunned for a moment, looked at Longping Daman thoughtfully, paused for a moment before speaking: "The brigade I led did not encounter the situation Longpingjun said, but a team attacking the enemy hospital and the Imperial Army who stayed to support the Imperial Army were attacked similarly. The squad leader was killed, two squad leader was killed, and two company commanders of the Imperial Army were killed. According to them, the enemy's gun technique was very accurate."

Kobayashi was not saying it in detail enough. The team that was attacked by Meng Youtian and was struggling in the wild for a long time, and left without finding anything. They avoided the sniper, but were constantly injured by landmines buried by the men led by Qiangzi on the road. Finally, they caught up with the large group of people in a mess.

Longping's muscles on his face twisted for a moment, and his face, which had been ugly and deformed, looked even more weird. It was hard to say it was shocked or angry.

"Longpingjun--" Kobayashi hesitated for a moment, tried to show a sincere expression, and said, "But what experience can teach me? The sudden change in combat methods made me very uncomfortable."

Longping Daman hesitated, reached out to touch the scar on his face for a while, thought for a while, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Komin Kobayashi, you are too polite, but I am willing to tell you my lesson. Did you see the scar on my face? This is thanks to a Chinese man named Meng. Fortunately, God Amazawa blessed me, and left my life, and can still be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, and fight for the great cause of the empire..."

Kobayashi listened carefully to the story of Takahira Daman. Not only did Takahira Daman be sniped, but also the showdown between Japanese snipers and Meng Aotian, as well as Meng Aotian's sniping killing other important figures. His brows slowly frowned and clenched his fists.

"...The hands of this damn Chinese man have been stained with too many emperors' blood. According to our information, he is also responsible for training other Chinese men's gunshots." Ryoping Daman lashed off the table angrily, "The results of the training have been revealed. During the operation of our army, the good gunmen in the enemy made the imperial army suffer much greater casualties than before."

"This guy should pay a heavy price for what he did." Kobayashihara agreed with Takahira Daman's conclusion, but said with doubts: "But if you want to find this Chinese man, you must have accurate information. Otherwise, will you find a trace of a person in this vast area?"

"Kobayashi, I just want to remind you that it is not to turn the focus of the combat to one Chinese." Takahira Daman shook his head and said slowly: "This sweep must be implemented according to the established plan. How can it be changed because of one Chinese?"

"The enemy's main force is missing. We want to eliminate the so-called vassal armed forces. We do not have the corresponding weapons and equipment and tactics to cooperate with them to break the enemy's tunnels and mines." Kobayashi said with some distress: "If you are garrisoning everywhere, the pressure on material supply will be quite great."

Longping Daman nodded and said, "We do not have the ability to send troops to garrison everywhere, at least we cannot do it for the time being. But we can focus on garrisoning, first form a line occupation, and then achieve surface occupation in the next step."

"Tumen Village should be the key point, right? Didn't that damn Chinese live there?" Kobayashi said with a guess.

"Although it is the key point, the material supply line is too long." Longping Daman walked to the table, his fingers slid on the occupation line, and finally stayed in Xiaolouzhuang, saying: "First establish a stable stronghold here to compress the space for the enemy's activities. We must continue to carry out operations. According to the information we just obtained, the enemy's main force seems to have left this area and hid in the northwest of the county. This time, we abandoned the small villages along the way and attacked the enemy's main force, not giving them the chance to continue to escape."

"I agree with Longpingjun's proposal." Kobayashi expressed his admiration for Longping Daman. After a change of words, he put forward his own views on the plan to set up a solid stronghold in Xiaolouzhuang. "Given that our army still lacks experience in dealing with guerrilla warfare, it is better for the troops stationed at the Xiaolouzhuang stronghold to be under Longpingjun's men."

Takahira Daman had no objection to this. Kobayashi himself admitted that he lacked experience and seemed very humble, which made him feel somewhat satisfied.

……………………

After the first joint attack failed, the enemy who was sweeping rushed to other areas of the base area to find the main force of the Eighth Route Army to fight. Naturally, it was the first goal that the enemy had to achieve in the sweeping. But this does not mean that the enemy has retreated and the sweeping has ended. Meng Youtian dared not take it lightly and draw conclusions indiscriminately.

But the situation has eased after all. Meng Youtian thought it was a wise move to establish a stronghold in Shili Village and Tumen Village. Based on the current road level, if the enemy extends the supply line here, it will expose its weaknesses. At least on this road between Tumen Village and Shili Village, there are mountains and forests, which is very easy to become a good position for Meng Youtian to use sniping skills.

Houses are not required to be repaired for the time being, so as not to be able to come again and destroy them again. However, fortifications and tunnels need to be repaired and strengthened. I don’t know when the battle will come, and being ready at any time has become the only choice. This is the characteristic of the years of war. People dare not relax their vigilance and dare not be lazy and enjoy leisure.

"Is it okay for fellow villagers in the mountains?" Meng Youtian looked at Zijuan helplessly. If someone came back without permission, he would have scolded her, but for her and the blind Lao Yuan, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction and relax his tone.

"There is no shortage of food, no shortage of burning. After preparing for so long, the stockpiled supplies are enough for the villagers to hold on for two or three months." Zijuan saw the meaning in Meng Youtian's eyes and said with a smile: "I'm here to see you on behalf of everyone, telling you not to be too anxious and not to fight too hard with the Japanese."

"You represent everyone, then I have to represent the people who stayed." Meng Youtian smiled and said, "What kind of personality am I, how can I be anxious? You have also seen that the Japanese have ruined the village very hard. I'm afraid everyone will live in a cave this winter."

"It doesn't matter whether you can live in a cave or not, as long as everyone is fine." Zijuan raised her eyes and looked at the devastated village, shook her head gently and said, "The Japanese chose to sweep this time. They are really cruel to use their hearts. They want to freeze us to death."
Chapter completed!