The Eighth Route Army also went through a bloody battle, and after the large army of the little devils left Taihang Mountain, there was still a large group of little devils who kept pestering Commander Chen's troops, and finally Commander Chen decided to eat them. E. Division Commander Chen used a regiment of troops as bait to attract the little devils into his ambush circle, and finally the Eighth Route Army completely annihilated the little devils of this brigade at a cost of two to one.

In the end, Division Commander Chen and the others figured out that the little devils of this brigade were the troops in charge of the palace, and when the little devils attacked the troops of the Eighth Route Army evacuated Taihang Mountain, they were afraid that the Eighth Route Army would directly pounce on them and cause them a lot of trouble in retreating. A brigade of little devils volunteered to stay in cover.

The captain of the little devil's brigade feels that the best cover is to attack, a completely blind attack. It took half a day for the Eighth Route Army to set up an ambush circle, and it took a day to eliminate the little devils of this brigade, and in the end, no one in the little devil brigade was spared, and all of them were annihilated.

When the Eighth Route Army returned to the garrison, not only was the garrison bombed beyond recognition by the little devils, but their troops also suffered heavy casualties, and Division Commander Chen became Regiment Commander Chen.

"Lao Liu, what a good warrior, it's gone." Division Commander Chen was heartbroken, the troops were beaten and lost the appearance of a unit, and the three regiment commanders under his command were gone, and the formation of one regiment was all lost.

"Lao Chen, don't be too sad, the little devil dispatched so many troops this time, it is impossible for us not to suffer, fortunately, we all persevered, and the little devil also evacuated Taihang Mountain." Political Commissar Liu comforted.

"Report to the division commander, Yan An's telegram." The communications corps handed over the telegram to Division Commander Chen.

"Do you have any new instructions from your superiors?"

"There are no new instructions, Mr. Zhu asked us to recruit troops as soon as possible, restore combat effectiveness, and send him a telegram if there is any difficulty, and he will do his best to support us." Master Chen folded the telegram and kept it.

"We can't just rely on Yan'an's support, the mountain is high and the road is long, and Mr. Zhu's support for us is limited, we still have to find a way to overcome the difficulties by ourselves." Political Commissar Liu knew in his heart that the support from Yan'an could not quench his thirst.

The little devil evacuated Taihang Mountain, leaving behind a mess full of holes, waiting for the 33rd Independent Division and the Eighth Route Army Chen Division to clean up.

"Otherwise, we will get in touch with Liao Fan's troops for the time being, in case the little devil attacks again, we don't have the strength to fight back, although we can't unite the troops, it's okay to set up a joint command for the time being, only if we clench our fists and concentrate our strength, the little devil won't dare to attack easily." Division Commander Chen also knew very well that the troops were now in dire straits, and if they didn't make trouble, the whole army would be wiped out.

"Okay, when the troops settle down and everything is on track, I'll discuss with Liao Fan."

In Liao Fan's headquarters, Political Commissar Liu met with Liao Fan again, and Liao Fan had to sigh at this meeting, in just one month, it was really a matter of right and wrong, Political Commissar Liu's eyes were full of bloodshots, and his sideburns and head were already white, obviously tired of the affairs of the troops.

When he came this time, Political Commissar Liu also brought back two soldiers, who were soldiers who volunteered to cover the retreat of the troops with Liao Fan.

"Now it seems that it is difficult for our division to have a place to survive in Taihang." After Political Commissar Liu entered Liao Fan's station, he saw that although Liao Fan's troops had not reached their peak, the Eighth Route Army was already difficult to match, and Political Commissar Liu had to sigh. In the past month, Political Commissar Liu's troops have made preparations in all aspects, but most of the people do not buy the face of the Eighth Route Army at all, and recruiting troops has become a major problem facing Division Commander Chen's troops.

"If the Eighth Route Army has any difficulties, just say it, we will do our best to help if we can." Liao Fan didn't know what Political Commissar Liu meant by this.

In this month, Political Commissar Liu has traveled to various villages on Taihang, and he wanted to learn about the losses of Taihang Mountain in this battle, but what he heard was the praise of the people for the 33rd Independent Division, and at this time Political Commissar Liu knew that in this battle, the 33rd Independent Division won the respect and support of the people.

Of course, the common people also love the Eighth Route Army, but it can be seen from the bottom of their hearts that the 33rd Independent Division has become the savior of Taihang Mountain. When he saw that Liao Fan's garrison was completely full of vitality, Political Commissar Liu knew in his heart that it would be difficult for their division to reach more than 5,000 troops in the Eighth Route Army, and it was also Political Commissar Liu who made up his mind to leave Taihang Mountain.

Political Commissar Liu shook his head lightly, and did not say his intention, because Liao Fan's current troops are fully capable of standing alone, and they don't need the support of the Eighth Route Army at all: "It's nothing, it's just a feeling to see Brother Liao's troops full of vitality." ”

"This battle also thanks to your Eighth Route Army for their support, you also divided our troops to help us resist the Japanese army in the direction of Hebei under such a difficult situation, we are grateful, I let our logistics department, prepare a thousand rifles, it can be regarded as a thank you gift to the Eighth Route Army for this support." Liao Fan did not see the change in Political Commissar Liu's mentality.

"Brother Liao, you can see the outside, you have said many times that they are all anti-Japanese devils, regardless of each other." Political Commissar Liu politely refused.

"It is precisely because they are all troops fighting devils that we should help each other, and these thousand rifles are also backlogged in our warehouse, and they can only be wielded in the hands of the Eighth Route Army to better fight the Japanese invaders." Liao Fan knew that the Eighth Route Army must also have a lot of difficulties, and Political Commissar Liu came to him with a look of speech, obviously there was something inconvenient to speak, Liao Fan had to take the initiative to support them with a batch of weapons and ammunition.

In the face of these thousand rifles, Political Commissar Liu was also very moved, but the Eighth Route Army Division Commander Chen couldn't recruit soldiers with Ben, and now they have fewer people and more guns, so what's the use of asking for so many rifles: "No need, you will use these weapons in the future, but it is a waste to put them in our hands." ”

Liao Fan didn't know the current difficulties of the Eighth Route Army at all, and just thought that they lacked weapons and ammunition, seeing that Political Commissar Liu's attitude was so resolute, he didn't want to force it to Political Commissar Liu: "Okay, if the Eighth Route Army needs anything, even if you send a communication soldier, you will definitely help if you can help at that time." ”

Political Commissar Liu did not stay at Liao Fan's station, after eating, Political Commissar Liu left, Liao Fan wanted to send soldiers to escort him, but Political Commissar Liu resolutely refused, and Liao Fan had to give up.

Political Commissar Liu told Division Commander Chen what he saw along the way after he went back, and Division Commander Chen just took out a cigarette and smoked it silently, and then lit another cigarette: "You did the right thing in this matter, no matter how big the difficulties of our Eighth Route Army are, we can't send people under the fence, it's a big deal that we take the troops back to Yan'an." ”

"Do we want to tell Mr. Zhu about this? This is no longer something we can control, if the troops cannot be developed, it is better to leave as soon as possible and let the independent 33rd Division grow stronger, at the very least, it is also beneficial to the nation and the country. Political Commissar Liu said.

"I didn't expect this kid to really become a fine, when I first saw him, he was still a hairy young man, I just thought he had a talent to create, or I looked away! Even if I took his troops, I didn't dare to fight with the little devil like this, and the future would be terrifying. Division Commander Chen did not answer Political Commissar Liu's question directly, and even a bandit was unwilling to evacuate Taihang Mountain like this, let alone a division commander of the regular army of the Eighth Route Army.

Political Commissar Liu just quietly watched as Senior Commander Chen praised Liao Fan, and Senior Commander Chen's words were mixed with more helplessness. He didn't ask Master Chen what he meant about this matter. It is too difficult to change the people's hearts, and it is not an overnight thing. Whether it is recruitment or logistics supply, it comes from the hearts of the people of Taihang Mountain.

"Let's wait for the New Year! There is still a month to go before the New Year, let Mr. Zhu and them have a happy New Year, and the two of us will hold on to anything first. Master Chen threw away the cigarette handle in his hand, looked at the snowflakes that had fallen outside the door, and the indescribable sourness in his heart was obviously a victory, but he was forced to leave.

Compared with Division Commander Chen's deserted headquarters, Liao Fan's headquarters is hot, and the troops will be divided after the Chinese New Year, and there are fewer and fewer opportunities for several people to get together. Every evening, a few people came to Liao Fan's headquarters, because Liao Fan's headquarters was warmer than theirs, roasting sweet potatoes and talking about the future of the troops. Most of the time, it was Liao Fan who gave lectures to a few people, from small-scale battles to mechanized operations of large corps. Although this command is not gathering talents, it is also the best in the army, and the soldiers who can survive the war are all outstanding.

"Brother Fan, it's almost the New Year, are we going to go to the Eighth Route Army to walk around, after all, Senior Commander Chen, they have also helped us a lot." Huang Changsheng moved a chair and leaned over to Liao Fan's side and asked.

"I'm not going to go, you can go for me during the Chinese New Year." Liao Fan still hasn't figured it out, after Political Commissar Liu came to his station, he left without saying anything, since he couldn't figure it out, Liao Fan simply didn't want to, "By the way, how is your special combat team?" ”

"We are also recruiting new recruits by ourselves, and the personnel must be uneven, and after the training is completed, a group will definitely be eliminated, and I initially plan to eliminate eighty percent of the people." Huang Changsheng said.

"I didn't give your special combat team a recruitment target, this time I will give you an order, before May next year, the special combat team must have 1,500 people, not including intelligence personnel." Liao Fan knew that the plan mentioned by Liao Jundong could not be delayed any longer, and he was blind to Chongqing and Yan'an, but these two political parties knew him clearly.

"Brother Fan, there are so many people, don't you have any big plans?" Huang Changsheng relied on his keen sense of smell to know that this time the matter must be unusual, otherwise Liao Fan would not have let the special forces expand wildly.

"When there are so many people in the special combat team, I will tell you the plan."

"Brother Fan, Zhang Cuihua, they have been gone for so long, will there be any problems?" Huang Changsheng is now more and more worried about Zhang Cuihua's safety, and the more time passes, the more relieved he becomes.

"There shouldn't be any big problems, Zhang Cuihua is clever, and there are soldiers from the special combat team cooperating in secret, so it's no problem to get out of trouble."

"Okay, I got it."

"By the way, how is the translator you brought back?" Liao Fan asked.