Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 100 Planning the Mine

The next day happened to be Laba Festival, so Tang Weiguo had the logistics department prepare Laba porridge, Laba garlic, and other festive foods in advance, so that the soldiers could have a good meal before going on their mission.

"This Laba porridge smells so good, and with this Laba garlic, the taste is absolutely amazing." Tang Xiaohu, who had gathered the team early in the morning, ladled a full bowl of Laba porridge from the pot.

"Besides, it's cold outside, drinking this will warm you up a lot," Niu Dali added.

"Everyone, drink up! As the saying goes, once the Laba Festival is over, the New Year is just around the corner. I'll be waiting for you all to return safely for the New Year at my post," Tang Weiguo said to the group who were about to embark on their mission.

"Don't worry, Commander, we will definitely return safely."

"Keep in touch with me on the radio while we're on the road," Tang Weiguo instructed again.

This route was too long, and they were not familiar with most of it. Although they had drawn up a detailed route map the day before and prepared two backup routes, and the militia's most elite reconnaissance battalion was leading the team, Tang Weiguo still repeatedly told them to pay attention to safety.

"Yes, Commander," they all said in unison.

Seeing everyone's confident demeanor, Tang Weiguo felt relieved.

After everyone finished eating, as the sun slowly rose, Tang Xiaohu and the others led the group out of the mountain and soon disappeared from Tang Weiguo's sight.

Tang Weiguo watched the departing soldiers and gazed at the gate for a long time. Then, a guard reminded him that it was time to go back, so Tang Weiguo headed towards the regimental headquarters.

When Tang Weiguo returned to the regimental headquarters, he saw Professor Zhao standing at the door, seemingly waiting for him.

"Professor Zhao, what a rare guest! What brings you to my regimental headquarters today? Please come in, it's cold outside." Tang Weiguo hurriedly pushed open the door to let Professor Zhao in for a chat.

Professor Zhao is a typical academic talent. He is either on the construction site or back in his office revising drawings all day long. Especially after Deputy Commander Zhang joined recently, Professor Zhao's work has been even busier, more exaggerated than the 996 work schedule of later generations.

Tang Weiguo was worried that something might happen to Professor Zhao's health, so he specifically instructed Professor Zhao's bodyguard to make sure that Professor Zhao rested on time. Not only that, Tang Weiguo also asked Dean Chu to give Professor Zhao regular check-ups in order to prevent any problems from arising.

"Commander, I've come to report to you on the problems that have arisen during construction," Professor Zhao said, getting straight to the point.

"Come, Professor Zhao, let's sit down and talk." Tang Weiguo said as he walked to the table and prepared a bowl of hot tea for Professor Zhao.

"Professor Zhao, have some tea first. It's quite cold this morning," Tang Weiguo said, placing the tea in front of Professor Zhao.

"Thank you, Commander." Professor Zhao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said.

"Commander, the main transportation line has been opened up. Now the main task is the construction of the branch transportation lines, which requires manual blasting and excavation bit by bit, so the progress is very slow."

"How long will the construction take?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"According to the construction plan, it will take at least a year to complete all the planned underground transportation lines at the current pace," Professor Zhao said.

"A year?" Tang Weiguo lowered his head and pondered for a moment.

Judging from the current situation, Tang Weiguo had little idea whether the Japanese would take any major action against them. After all, the Japanese had suffered a great loss previously, and given their vengeful nature, they would definitely launch an attack on the militia later. The later the fortress was completed, the greater the danger would be for the militia.

"How can we speed up the construction process? How can we increase the number of personnel?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"Adding more personnel won't work, mainly because of the limited underground construction area. There's no way to add extra construction workers, and if the newly added personnel haven't received specialized construction training, they could actually slow down the construction progress," Professor Zhao explained.

"Commander, we have many coal mines in Shanxi, and a lot of mining equipment. Commander, if we buy some mining machinery for tunnel construction, it will greatly improve the tunnel construction progress," Professor Zhao said.

"Oh, that's a good idea." Tang Weiguo's eyes lit up when he heard this. Yes, why didn't he think of that?

"Commander, there's one more thing to note. We need to purchase additional generators, and with the expansion of the Wolong Mountain underground tunnel complex, the demand for electric lighting is also increasing. Currently, we only have one generator, and its power output is insufficient to meet the electricity needs of the entire Wolong Mountain area." Professor Zhao added that the electricity issue was also a concern.

"Yes, Professor Zhao, your suggestions are very pertinent. I'll figure out a way to get these devices," Tang Weiguo assured him.

"Then I'll wait for good news from the commander. Commander, I have nothing else to do, so I'm going to the construction site now." Professor Zhao got up and followed Tang Weiguo to say goodbye.

"Professor Zhao, please take good care of your health."

"Don't worry, Commander, I still want to do my part in the war effort." Professor Zhao said before leaving the room. Watching Professor Zhao's even more unsteady gait, Tang Weiguo couldn't help but sigh.

After seeing Professor Zhao walk away, Tang Weiguo paced back and forth in the room, deep in thought.

"Coal mining equipment? How do we get it from there? Coal mines... I remember the Japanese occupied many places and frantically mined China's coal resources. If we find a Japanese mine and cause some trouble, we can both strike at the Japanese and seize the equipment—a win-win situation." Thinking of this, Tang Weiguo shouted towards the door.

"Communications officer, notify Director Li, no, notify Sun Qiang from the intelligence department to come over." Tang Weiguo was about to ask Li Qukou to come over when he suddenly remembered that he had gone to the Independent Regiment to carry out a mission a couple of days ago, and that Sun Qiang was currently in charge of the intelligence department's work. So Tang Weiguo immediately changed his mind and asked him to come over.

"Yes, Captain."

Not long after he arrived, Sun Qiang jogged over.

"Reporting to the commander, Sun Qiang is here to report."

"You've matured a lot since I last saw you," Tang Weiguo praised.

"Thank you for your attention and help, Commander and Director Li," Sun Qiang said, somewhat embarrassed by the praise.

"I originally wanted to talk to your Director Li, but he's away on a classified mission. So this task is in your hands. Are you confident you can complete it?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"I am confident that I can accomplish it."

"You didn't even ask what the mission was before you dared to say you were confident you could complete it," Tang Weiguo asked.

"Reporting to the regimental commander, the section chief has instructed that the regimental commander's orders cannot be compromised and that every effort must be made to complete them," Sun Qiang replied.

"His spirit is commendable, but his behavior is not worth emulating. Your department head is the same; if I were to assign unreasonable tasks, how would we complete them? I'll have to give him a piece of my mind later."

"Let me explain the task first."

"Yes, Captain."

"Your intelligence department should focus its efforts on gathering intelligence on the Japanese coal mines near Wolong Mountain, as these are areas where the Japanese are stationed."

"Yes, Commander, I'll get to it right away." Sun Qiang accepted the order and left the regimental headquarters.