Chenjiaao, located near the mountains, had only a few families living in it earlier. However, as the Eighth Route Army used it as a fortress village that the guerrillas focused on helping, more and more villagers moved here.

As the fortress village of the Eighth Route Army, the small village also has the existence of a village party branch, so the militia team is naturally indispensable. If the regular troops passing by here choose to stay overnight, they often come here to rest.

But today the arrival of the column guard battalion and the column commander really surprised the people of the village. Just for safety reasons, Xu Shiyan still specially asked someone to free up a house near the village entrance to specially receive He Zhengdao and his party.

Even if Xu Shiyi knew it, this was a fortress village developed by the column. However, he still needed to be careful about He Zhengdao's whereabouts. After all, he knew very well that the Japanese hated He Zhengdao to the core.

When we first met, He Zhengdao's youth really surprised Xu Shiyun. Just thinking about how He Zhengdao pulled the independent column step by step and became one of the ten main division commanders when he was from the Long March of the Red Army. It seemed normal.

Even based on what Xu Shiyi learned, the independent column commanded by He Zhengdao on the Long March was able to complete tasks well every time, which is really admirable for his command ability.

In addition to his uniqueness in the training army, now, including his first column, there are also many battalion-level officers who want to go to the Yulin teaching brigade to learn more, with the purpose of learning to command operations in a systematic way.

If the Anti-Japanese University, which is located in Yan'an, is a university for training and further training for command personnel at the regiment level or above, then the teaching brigade in Yulin is the "Huangpu" military academy of the Eighth Route Army, focusing on cultivating backbone military commanders of the troops.

As the chief instructor of the teaching brigade, He Zhengdao has such an identity, which is also envied by many main commanders. Even in the eyes of many people, He Zhengdao is also a mud-legged person, but his military training is indeed unique.

Even when Xu Shiyi was leading He Zhengdao into the village, he looked at the special forces team members wandering around, even though they were dressed no differently than the Eighth Route Army. However, the weapons they equipped were obviously disguised and all the guns were covered with cloth.

I remember Xu Xiangqian mentioned earlier that in addition to an elite reconnaissance brigade, the Independent Column also has a Saber Special Forces with a higher level of confidentiality, so the officers and soldiers in this team are even more powerful.

He asked curiously: "Commander He, these people should be the Sabre Special Forces you trained, right?"

‘Yes! This time, because I had to travel through many areas controlled by the Japanese, it was easy to attract attention because there were too many people. Therefore, I only brought a guard platoon and a special operations team by my side.

However, Political Commissar Xiao of our column was not very relieved that I was swaying around like this, so he sent a guard battalion to carry out a tail-sweeping and security alert behind him. Please ask Commander Xu later and tell your peripheral troops.

If you see a strange army wearing the Eighth Route Army uniform, try to ask first. When I came here, I explained it to them. As long as you come forward and check, they will issue a certificate.’

‘Chief of Staff, please explain this!’

In order to avoid misunderstandings, there is indeed such a need. In addition, He Zhengdao personally defeated a Japanese devil's disguise raid in Shanxi. Therefore, all the Eighth Route Army units would be vigilant against unfamiliar teams.

If it is found that strange troops without a background, it will be difficult to enter some key areas controlled by the Eighth Route Army. Such measures have also made many disguised troops formed by the Japanese, mostly removed by the Eighth Route Army.

After explaining this, Xu Shijun said again: "Why are their weapons covered with cloth? I heard from Commander Xu that our Eighth Route Army has standard weapons, but it is temporarily in the equipment. Are they using new weapons?"

Regarding Xu Shiyi's commander who was so curious, He Zhengdao thought for a while and smiled: "Commander Xu has a good vision! The weapons used by the special forces are all new weapons developed by the arsenal.

The performance of this new weapon is more advanced than the light weapons currently equipped by the Japanese. For safety reasons and to avoid irritation, the Central Army, which has been staring at us, is currently only equipped in small batches.

If the troops need to be equipped with large quantities, at least we must have the ability to expel the Japanese. If we cannot do this and let the Japanese use this light weapon to imitate them, then our anti-Japanese troops will be in trouble.

If Commander Xu and others are interested, you can also take a look. We must keep secrets strictly externally, but there is nothing inside. I think every soldier will be happy about a good gun!"

After listening to He Zhengdao's explanation, Xu Shijun smiled and said, "It's okay? You won't be punished with any discipline, right?"

‘It’s really okay! In fact, the heads of the central and headquarters have seen this kind of weapon. In addition to the sabers and reconnaissance brigades of our independent column, the Central Guard Division and the headquarters Guard Brigade are equipped with some.

Just for the arrangement of this kind of weapon, all the soldiers who have changed their clothes must be dedicated to the special personnel. The caliber of this weapon is still not compatible with the bullets equipped by our current troops.

In addition, this is an automatic rifle, which can produce the same effect as a submachine gun. If you want to be equipped with a unit, it must be a strictly trained unit. If you use it for new recruits, this gun is a waste of bullets."

I briefly explained the difference between single-shot infantry and semi-automatic rifles, and the other leaders of the first column who were listening to the audience also found it very novel. So they all agreed that this gun was not suitable for troops with many new recruits.

As of the current situation, the Eighth Route Army's weapons are still a bit complicated. Most of the elite troops use Japanese equipment. However, the second-line troops use replaced domestic equipment.

To put it simply, the equipment used by some troops can be described as the "Wanguo Card". If the Eighth Route Army wants to use unified standard weapons, the production of weapons alone will drag down the Eighth Army.

After all, although steel mills and arsenals belong to the Eighth Route Army, if you want to produce these weapons, you also need a large amount of raw materials and funds. These are exactly what the Eighth Route Army urgently needs at present.

How capable and how many weapons are produced is He Zhengdao’s task to the arsenal. We cannot delay the research and development of other weapons just to produce these new weapons in large quantities.

At least as far as the current situation is concerned, the arsenal is still more used for research and development. Research on light weapons can be suspended, but the development and imitation of heavy equipment also require considerable capital investment.

Arriving at the private yard that he had cleaned up before, Xu Shijun also smiled and said, "There is nothing good to entertain, just some simple food. I hope Commander Xu doesn't mind!"

Looking at the food on the table, the staple food was steamed buns. As for the dishes, it was pretty good, with wild game and some river food. It was undoubtedly a bit of effort to buy such a table of food in such a short time.

He Zhengdao had no objection. He smiled and went to the table and said, "Although it is not suitable for drinking in the army, it is rare to come here once today. You treat me to dinner, and I invite everyone to drink. Commander Xu and Political Commissar Yang, don't you mind?"

‘Of course I don’t mind! Speaking of which, Lao Yang and I haven’t drunk alcohol for a while. Although we seized some Japanese wine, the sake tasted no at all. Commander He’s wine should taste good!’

As a soldier and a warrior, Xu Shiyi naturally loved the thing in the cup. However, as a soldier, he sometimes had to restrain himself from drinking. After all, in the Eighth Route Army, drinking still needs to be paid attention to.

Listening to Xu Shiyi's words, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Political Commissar Yang probably hasn't drunk this wine, but for Commander Xu, I guess you want to drink it in your dreams. Speaking of which, Commander Xu must have not been home for many years, right?

It was indeed a fate to meet here this time. When I came out, I brought some wine. I originally wanted to give it to Commander Xu and Political Commissar Zeng as a gift when I went to your division headquarters. Today I will let Commander Xu pin it to see if the wine is authentic!”

He Zhengdao, who said this, signaled Xu Hao to bring two bottles of white wine without any signs, and then opened it himself and said, "Commander Xu, try it! When I bought this wine, I heard that this wine is very famous in Xinyang."

Smelling the scent of wine that was coming, Xu Shiyi said as if he was moved: "Is this the soju wine from Xinyang City?"

‘It seems that Commander Xu is really a wine-knowing person! This wine is made by a shopkeeper named Cai from Sanli Store in Xinyang. I heard from the locals that they have brewed wine in Xinyang for many years, and anyone who drinks wine has drunk their home-made wine.’

When he heard this, Xu Shiyi said with deep emotion: "Sir He, thank you! Speaking of which, I have never been home for many years, nor have I tasted the wine from this hometown. This soju wine from the Cai family is indeed very famous in our place.

But my family was poor since childhood, and I drank this wine twice occasionally during the revolution. This time, I finally had the chance to taste the wine from my hometown again. But is the Cai family still brewing wine now?"

‘The brewing, but not much has been brewed. You also know that Xinyang has been occupied by the Japanese. Our winemaking workshop was persuaded to move before the Japanese entered the city. These old wines are all aged wines!

If the Japanese hadn't entered the city, we probably wouldn't have been able to drink these wines. By the way, there is another thing I want to tell you. Xinxian is currently the location of our Central China Bureau, and your hometown is currently stationed in an independent camp.

In order to ensure the safety of your family, I have specially instructed someone to protect them nearby, but I did not dare to disturb your tribe too much. There are still a few people who know about your situation. I hope Commander Xu forgives this!’

Since He Zhengdao arrived in the Dabie Mountains to open up an anti-Japanese base behind enemy lines, in order to avoid the past incident, He Zhengdao has specially arranged some people to provide key protection for the families of some important commanders of the Eighth Route Army.

The young general Xu who left home to make a revolution was undoubtedly a filial son. He Zhengdao did not send people to protect him openly. After all, it is safer to do this quietly! (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!