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The border station is thirty miles south.

The Nanyang Condolence Group, Zuo Zhong and his party, as well as the border area staff such as Vice Minister Li, were riding slowly along the dirt road in more than a dozen donkey carts, which were also loaded with tall sacks.

Taking advantage of the turbulence of the vehicle, Wu Chunyang raised his hand and touched the sack, leaned forward and whispered in Zuo Zhong's ear: "Team leader, it's Xiaomi. It's handled well. It's refined grain."

Millet, also known as millet.

It is a temperature-loving, drought-tolerant, short-day crop with low soil requirements and strong adaptability. It is most suitable for growing on clay loam or sandy loam rich in organic matter. It is the main ration for people in Shaanxi Province and northwest China.

In later generations, millet was a coarse grain, but nowadays, millet, which is rich in iron, phosphorus and potassium and has blood-tonifying effects, is an out-and-out refined grain.

However, the shell of millet is relatively hard. If it is not processed, it is difficult to be digested and absorbed by the human body. Therefore, it needs to be shelled, and shelling is very difficult, which results in the taste of this grain not being very good.

For example, the millet supplied by the army will not only make your throat irritated when you eat it, but you can occasionally see stones and sand. Except for the soldiers at the bottom who are willing to eat it, the officers sneer at it and would rather go hungry than touch it.

Through this detail, we can see that the Eighth Route Army's logistics system has formed a system that can deeply process the collected grain. Don't underestimate this matter, fighting is about logistics.

In addition, the total amount of grain in more than ten donkey carts is at least several thousand kilograms. It can also be inferred that the grain output in the border area is not low, and that the Eighth Route Army's staple food supply is relatively sufficient, but it lacks meat.

Wu Chunyang and Gui Youguang were a little frustrated. Blockade, blockade. The more the government blocks, the faster people develop. Damn it.

Zuo Zhong, however, had a normal expression. He reached out and grabbed a piece of weed from the roadside and put it into his mouth. He leaned on the sack and looked at the blue sky. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Next to him, Xu Enzeng had his head drooped, not caring about the outside world at all, and completely immersed in his own world. This guy has been acting like this since he was caught in the last connection.

Vice Minister Li and Mr. Chen were chatting happily on another donkey cart. The breeze blew through the fertile fields on both sides of the road, and the golden waves of wheat looked refreshing. Time passed quickly.

After a while, the convoy arrived at the gate of a camp. Vice Minister Li got out of the car and handed the pass to the vigilant sentry, and then stood waiting patiently outside the sentry.

Seeing this, Zuo Zhong jumped out of the car and came to the other party, handed him a cigarette, and praised the Eighth Route Army's discipline with a smile.

"Old Li, I see that the Gui Army has the style of Xiliu Camp in the Han Dynasty. Even you, the leader, are not allowed to enter without permission. This kind of thing is absolutely impossible in the Guo Army."

Vice Minister Li lit up his cigarette and glanced at him, wondering what the agent wanted to do, and said modestly.

"Team Leader Xu, thank you. We have poor equipment and few soldiers. We can only improve our combat effectiveness from small things to make you laugh."

The two stood there chatting for a while, and then a burly man walked out of the camp. Looking at this man's appearance, Wu Chunyang, Gui Youguang and Zuo Zhong's hearts skipped a beat and they looked at each other.

"Director Xiao, hello."

"Old Li, welcome to the detention center."

Vice Minister Li greeted the burly man warmly, calling him Director Xiao. Combined with the word "left-behind office", the identity of this person was obvious.

A reorganization report submitted by the border area to Shancheng Army Wei Hui flashed through Zuo Zhong's mind. After the Lugouqiao Incident, the Eighth Route Army reorganized the existing army. In addition to the troops sent to the front line, in order to protect the garrison, a detachment was also formed. Remaining troops.

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In order to unify the command of the above-mentioned left-behind troops, an Eighth Route Army rear stay office was set up at the garrison. Director Xiao was the commander, and his experience was legendary.

The other party was born in a poor family of small handicraftsmen. When he was young, he relied on the support of relatives and friends to enter private schools and modern schools. After joining the isolation, he studied at Moscow Eastern University and Leningrad Military and Political Academy.

In early 1924, the founder of Red Russia passed away. He served as a representative of the Eastern ethnic groups at the wake. He was a rare non-Huangpu high-ranking general in the underground party army and was very well-established.

It was precisely for this reason that the senior officials of the border area handed over the elite troops to protect the station. The military commander even established a special file for him and tried every means to get a photo, so Zuo Zhong and the others could identify this person. .

At the gate of the camp, Vice Minister Li waved to Mr. Chen and Xu Enzeng in the distance after saying hello, and said after the two approached.

"Mr. Chen, Team Leader Xu, and Deputy Director Xu, let me introduce you to the three of you. This is Director Xiao of the Border Area Left-behind Office. He will arrange our visit today."

After hearing this, Director Xiao smiled modestly and shook hands with the three of them one by one. His style was very neat and standard professional soldier style.

After the two parties said hello, they walked into the camp together. Zuo Zhong quietly looked at the facilities and buildings inside, and for some reason he remembered the movies and TV series he had watched in his previous life.

Especially in a certain TV series, the "Eighth Route Army Headquarters" is located in a luxurious villa. The "female soldiers" inside are all wearing short skirts and exquisite makeup. The "male soldiers" are all wearing hairspray and wax, and their hairstyles are meticulously combed. But in fact, as the left-behind troops responsible for the heavy defense, the soldiers lived in simple cave dwellings. It was difficult to take a bath, let alone hair wax.

Thinking of this, Zuo Zhong wiped his shiny hair, coughed slightly, and followed Director Xiao into a headquarters, where eight Eighth Route Army cadres had been waiting for a long time.

These people are the eight captains of the troops left behind. They look ordinary. Their clothes are very simple, even a little wrinkled. They wear black cloth shoes on their feet. There is nothing surprising about them, but they are all strategists and have outstanding military exploits. general.

Following the introductions of Director Xiao and Deputy Minister Li, Zuo Zhong was shocked. Who could remain calm after meeting so many future major generals, lieutenant generals, and generals at once?

During the greetings, everyone took their seats, and the condolence group's military inspection of the border area officially began. Director Xiao, as the head of the left-behind office, first gave a general introduction to the military training of the Eighth Route Army.

According to him, the Eighth Route Army soldiers currently generally adopt the "three exercises and two classes" system for training, which is a tradition left over from the Southwest period.

That is to say, there are three exercises and two theoretical classes every day. The main content of the exercises is to combine actual combat training with military sports such as shooting, assassination, chopping, bombing, mountain climbing, obstacle jumping, crossing single-plank bridges, and climbing ladders.

Hearing this, Xu Enzeng looked at Director Xiao dumbfounded. He went out to exercise three times a day and had to attend two classes. Could it be that all Eighth Route Army soldiers were made of iron?

If the Guo army implements this kind of training method, they will mutiny without the Japanese coming over. The military salary of a few dollars a month will make the training more interesting. This must be the boast of the underground party.

"and many more."

Xu Enzeng interrupted Director Xiao, stood up and sneered: "Sir Xiao, we came to the border area to know the real situation, not to listen to your story. With such intensity of training, not to mention your army, even the teaching corps of that year Neither can be done.”

In the face of doubts, Director Xiao did not get angry. After discussing with Deputy Minister Li in a low voice, he simply took everyone to a training ground to let the condolences group and the fruit party take a look with their own eyes.

At this time, there happened to be a company-level unit conducting shooting and bomb-dropping assessments. Everyone stood outside the field and watched the soldiers lie down on the ground and began to shoot in groups under the organization of officers at all levels.

Xu Enzeng saw it clearly. When he saw that each Eighth Route Army soldier was only issued two rounds of bullets, he immediately raised his lips with disdain.

But when the gunshots and target reports sounded, his smile disappeared.

When shooting from a prone position at 150 meters, with a total of 20 rings, 90% of the soldiers participating in the assessment hit the target, and 60% of those who hit the target with two bullets hit 16 rings or more. So many.

This result made even Gui Youguang take a breath. The bald man subconsciously walked into the field, randomly found a soldier and asked to check the weapons. The soldier looked at Director Xiao, and Director Xiao nodded lightly.

The soldier reluctantly handed over the Sanba cap in his hand. Gui Youguang quickly took it and pulled the bolt. He found that the mechanical part of the gun was running well and smoothly without any rough feeling, which showed that Pingshi's maintenance was in place. .

In order to verify, he skillfully opened the gun, put his finger in and wiped it, then took it out and looked carefully. The pad of his finger was very clean, with only some gunpowder residue left by the previous shot.

Then he pointed the muzzle of the gun at the sun and looked sideways at the barrel of the gun. Although the rifling inside was severely worn, there was no dirt on it.

In sharp contrast, the soldier's uniform was covered with patches, with burrs on his collar and cuffs, and white salt stains on his chest caused by sweat evaporation.

Finally, Gui Youguang asked the other party a few questions about weapon maintenance. After hearing this, he sighed, returned the weapon, and stepped aside without talking.

It turns out that the underground party is indeed not acting, and the training intensity of the Eighth Route Army is so high.

This is not over yet. In the next bomb-dropping assessment, the performance of the soldiers once again opened the eyes of the condolences group, Zuo Zhong and others.

According to the requirements, ordinary Eighth Route Army soldiers need to throw a four-ounce wooden-handled grenade thirty-five meters away within a five-meter circle.

The requirements for commanders and fighters at company level and below, agency cadres, and miscellaneous personnel are even higher. The bomb-dropping distance has been increased to 45 meters. Everyone must pass the test, and there is no special treatment.

There are also some models of cars and bunkers on the training ground. The examinees have to drop bombs on various terrains and in various postures, which is very close to actual combat.

Xu Enzeng, who was slapped in the face by biabia, was no longer crazy. His complexion turned green and white, and he returned to his cowardly state. He didn't dare to talk anymore.

Seeing that Guo Dang was being honest, Director Xiao led everyone to a cave dwelling and pointed at the soldiers inside who were practicing tricks to continue the introduction.

"Mr. Chen, the head of the border region said that if our swordsmanship is not as good as that of others, we must be stronger than others in swordsmanship. Victory will never fall from the sky.

If you want to make soldiers happy when they hear a battle, everyone strives for the first place, and is full of a sense of honor, military training alone is not enough; ideological and cultural learning must be added.

Let them know why and how to fight, improve their personal qualities and combat skills, and train soldiers as their future. "