The Black Cloud Stronghold had been taken down.
After Yu Zhiqian heard the news, he finally went to sleep.
The next morning, he brought his men to the Black Cloud Stronghold.
Standing on the winding path in front of the village, Yu Zhiqian could not help but sigh. This was really a good place blessed by nature.
No wonder Xie Baoqing was able to rob everywhere and was still safe and sound.
When the army was mobilized to attack the stronghold, no matter how many people came, they could only charge in rows.
Unless they launched an attack with concentrated artillery fire, it would be very difficult to take down this place.
The Japanese had the strength, but they didn't want to go to war for the bandits. Moreover, the surrounding terrain was complicated. If they were surrounded by the Eighth Route Army or other troops when they attacked the Black Cloud Stronghold, they would also be in trouble.
The Jinsui Army did not care at all.
Eight Paths didn't have the strength to do so.
Xie Baoqing had been carefree until he met Yu Zhiqian.
"Enter the stronghold!"
After entering the village, Yu Zhiqian's eyes lit up. There was a large open space on the slope that suddenly rose. Dozens of small wooden houses were built without any order. These were the places where the bandits lived.
"Reporting, regiment commander. The Black Cloud Stronghold has killed 76 bandits and captured 253 people. None of them escaped. In addition, we have seized more than 100,000 catties of flour, rice, wheat, and other rations, more than 3,000 silver dollars, more than 100,000 French coins, 137 medium-sized rifles, 67 Sanba daggers, 267 Hanyang made rifles, four 50mm mortars, three light machine guns, one heavy machine gun, and a number of grenades and explosives!”
Yu Zhiqian nodded as he listened to Yu Yang's report.
This wasn't a lot, but it was definitely not a small amount.
100,000 jin of rations was enough for his entire regiment for less than two months.
It could also be considered as solving the current food and fodder problem.
Yu Zhiqian was not interested in weapons and equipment. He could consider selling them to Li Yunlong. When he went to the Independent Regiment, the Independent Regiment would be extremely poor.
These silver coins and money could be used to buy some supplies.
"Regiment Commander, other than that, we also found a mine at the back of the mountain. The bandits of the Black Cloud Stronghold robbed many people from the surroundings to work for them.”
"Mine?"
"Yes, it's an iron mine. I went to take a look. There's not only iron, but also copper and saltpeter. The quality was not bad, but the current production was a little low.”
"Bring me there!"
Yu Zhiqian immediately became excited when he heard the news.
He had a weapon production line, but he did not have the resources to produce weapons. The production of firearms, bullets, and grenades required raw materials.
He did not expect that the back mountain of the Black Cloud Stronghold would actually have these things that he urgently needed.
Soon, after descending from the Black Mountain, they climbed to another mountain. After climbing for about ten minutes, they saw an empty space.
A hole had been chiseled out of the mountain, and shovels and other things were placed around it.
There were also hundreds of people with dull eyes standing at the side, their heads lowered and not daring to speak.
"These are the miners that Xie Baoqing captured. They are all poor people nearby.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhiqian nodded.
Xie Baoqing said that he had never bullied the poor, but weren't these people being bullied? He came up the mountain voluntarily?
"Send someone to register and ask them where their home is and how many relatives they have. Then, bring some people to bring their relatives to the village. In the future, they will stay on the mountain to mine. Tell them that we are a regular army. We will pay them for mining and food.”
After thinking for a while, Yu Zhiqian decided on how to deal with these miners.
He couldn't put it back.
If the hundred people were released, the news that there was a mine in the back mountain of the Black Cloud Stronghold would definitely be leaked.
Now, the Japanese were unwilling to attack the Black Cloud Stronghold because it was a thankless task.
However, if he knew that the Black Cloud Stronghold had iron ore, copper ore, and saltpeter, he would not be able to do so.
The Japanese would definitely send a large number of troops to attack the Black Cloud Stronghold.
What did the Japanese lack the most? Resources, oil, iron, copper, rubber, and so on.
As long as it was resources, the Japanese were lacking.
Their homeland was narrow and barren, and most of their resources had to be imported. Why did they take the risk to fight with the Ugly Country? It was because the Ugly Country forced them to fight.
They imposed an embargoon on the Japanese and also controlled the transfer of supplies from South Asia. The Japanese's supplies were tightly blocked by the Ugly Country, so they had no choice but to make a move against the Ugly Country.
Otherwise, the Japanese wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
The first thing the Japanese did after they conquered a place was to explore the mines and search for resources. Then, they would transport them back to the country to produce weapons and equipment.
Their exploration team followed the troops wherever they went. However, the Japanese were very unlucky. They brushed past several large oil fields in the country.
As the scale of the war continued to expand, the Japanese's demand for resources also increased. Now, even if it was a small mine, they would not let go.
Yu Zhiqian only glanced at this place briefly. The number of minerals here was definitely not low.
Moreover, it was definitely a rich mine. They definitely could not let it fall into the hands of the Japanese.
"Other than coming from the Black Cloud Stronghold, is there any other way into the mountain?”
"There are two more. I interrogated them yesterday night. They are both small roads that no one usually uses.”
"Immediately send people to guard the mountain. Don't let anyone enter the mountain!”
"Yes, sir!"
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