(... Most of the Japanese resident stations behind enemy lines are very small. If we plan to launch a raid carefully, it will be easy for the entire town or even a region to take it. Unfortunately, we were more infighting in those eight years, which allowed the Japanese to retain a large number of occupied areas in the balance of our internal struggle. In fact, many occupied areas can be swept and restored overnight... Excerpted from "My Memories of the War of Resistance - Cao Xiaomin")

Li Tianhao's sudden launch in northern Jiangsu made the Japanese army unable to defend. The Japanese army had already found out that Cao Xiaomin was in Huaiyin, and at the same time he was very clear about the strength of the army in northern Jiangsu. Although the combat effectiveness of the national army in northern Jiangsu was not weak, based on their experience, these isolated military forces would not have great actions. They would not have time to protect themselves. As long as time settled down, they would slowly soften. The Japanese judged that these troops might make feint attacks at the request of the State Government in the general battle, but they would definitely not cause any major damage. However, when Cao Xiaomin was away from his own troops, during the reconstruction of the 57th Army, the Japanese army on the southern front, who had just taken a breath and felt that their opponent was also breathing, lost Jingzhou.

The entire Japanese 101 Division was in northern Jiangsu, but its long body was top-heavy: some of the northbound troops stayed in southern Shandong after meeting with the Japanese army on the northern front; their main forces were concentrated on the Huaiyin line, some of which were about to be occupied by Huaiyin, but more troops bypassed Huaiyin westward. The reason for advancing west along Huaiyin along Huaiyin was because it was too embarrassing to perform in the southern front of the Xuzhou Battle. They participated in the pursuit of the Warring States Army as a victorious representative. []

In addition to the above troops, the remaining Japanese troops were actually not large, and this small number of Japanese troops were scattered everywhere from Nantong to Yancheng. Because there was still a compromise negotiation, (it was precisely because of this negotiation that the Japanese army did not occupy Huaiyin), but that was a place where the Japanese army could reach. According to the news from Huaiyin, Han Deqin had only the last point left to insist: Taizhou cannot withdraw, because it was the territory of the Fifty-Seventh Army, and he could not convince Cao Xiaomin.

...As the compromise was almost reached, the 101st Division felt that there was no need to be fully guarded against the army of northern Jiangsu. On the contrary, their small number of troops scattered between Nantong and Yancheng were no longer able to go to the countryside to clear out the guerrillas - because this was an order, Nanjing asked these local garrisons not to go to the countryside to disturb the people. At the same time, a large number of traitors were dispatched from Nanjing to go to the countryside to do activities, mainly to persuade civilians to go home and return to their homes occupied and ruled by the Japanese.

In order to get the people home, the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division were also asked to open the gates of towns and towns in various places, and the people who were frightened to go home to see them were not allowed to make things difficult for the people. These local policies of the Japanese army gave Li Tianhao a great opportunity. When information from all over the place came, Li Tianhao could hardly believe that according to the Japanese army's defense method, he could wipe out most of the Japanese army from Nantong to Yancheng, even the Japanese army in two important towns, Hai'an and Dongtai!

The people were very careful. When they returned to the city, they only sent one or two representatives to explore the way. They were middle-aged and elderly people, including young men and women, and they did not go back. They did not dare to bring anything back. They only had some hand-worthy tools, mainly simple tools used to clean and repair their own houses.

These cautious people made the traitors who went to the countryside to mobilize them to come back and felt amused, but they also had a headache: they were really afraid that the Japanese troops stationed in various places would massacre or abuse these people, so that no one would go back in the future. The traitors had to keep going back to the garrison sites and contact the Japanese army, hoping that the "Imperial Army" would be generous... Of course, no problem. The Japanese also realized that if they did not give some sweetness to the Chinese people, their lives would be very difficult: now the towns occupied by northern Jiangsu are almost empty cities, and they don't even want to find a civilian. All physical work must be done by Japanese soldiers themselves. The officers often see the veterans complaining: We are here in China to fight, and we can stay at home if we want to do physical work...

The Japanese soldiers pretending to be smiling were not only equipped with machine guns at the checkpoints as required to show their majesty, but they did not do any other threatening actions. In some places, big towns like Hai'an actually set up iron pots at the gates of the city, and the people passing by could get a bowl of porridge...

"Damn the Japanese have really invested a lot this time. This porridge is thicker than the porridge in our team..." "Mackerel" stuck out his tongue and licked the porridge on his fake beard. In the guerrillas, he was so hungry that he pressed his back: "Let's go back and drink another bowl of him!" Several guerrillas responded happily.

"You guys, you are too timid. Do you think the Imperial Army will make things difficult for you? It's a pity that such a big pot of porridge is probably too late to give up at night and I have to pour it out..." A traitor flew over there and said: "I know you guys have already drunk a bowl just now, but if you can't finish drinking, you still have to pour it out. Just take advantage of it..."

"...If we go back and get all the family back, can we drink porridge? If we don't kill or hit people?" "Machete" stepped forward as if he mustered up his courage and asked the traitor, "Do you... do you want carpenters?"

"Of course!" The traitor became even more proud, his voice raised a lot: "Woodman, plasterer, you need everything. As long as you have one skill, you can get a very high salary, which is higher than Shanghai! Even if you don't have the skills, you can do it with your strength. One person can support a family..."

If the Japanese could quickly find all kinds of labor, this would be a great contribution! The traitors shouted at the common people in front of them, and some Japanese who knew Chinese were also here to help them. They had been tortured to death by labor. Now the 101st Division had to distribute 20% of the main combat troops as coolies!

The traitors didn't know that two-thirds of the people who looked weak, honest and timid in front of them were guerrillas!

Without body search, weapons and ammunition were easily transported into various towns; good civil certificates were issued as soon as possible, and as many people as they wanted to enter the city... The total number of Japanese devils in Hai'an was less than 200, and there were often ten or eight defenders in other towns. Most of the Japanese were actually driving carriages and picking up supplies! Good guy, this battle doesn't need to be attacked. As long as it is well arranged, it would be a major earthquake. A major earthquake in the entire northern Jiangsu except Yancheng and Dafeng!

Street fighting once made Cao Xiaomin almost crazy, but since the enemy defeated the enemy with less victory or more, street fighting has become a compulsory training program led by Cao Xiaomin, Li Tianhao and others. Especially after the Battle of Yangzhou, it turned out that the officers and soldiers from the guerrilla corps had a deep experience of how to ambush the enemy on towns and streets, how to occupy key points to block the enemy, and other street fighting skills.

Hai'an's battle started at the city gate, which was when three guerrillas suddenly threw grenades at the Japanese machine gun positions and station posts and quickly fled into the woods outside the city... "Boom!" "Boom!"... The continuous explosions caused chaos in the city gate. Some of the "honest" people lay down, some squatted down, and held their heads with their hands without exception... The Japanese, who were red-eyed, swept the woods outside with machine guns on the top of the city, but there was no sound on the other side...

"It must be the National Army guerrillas who deliberately made trouble. They were afraid that the Chinese people would return home, farm and work; at this time, don't hurt the people, or you'll fall into a trap..." The traitors quickly concluded and explained to the Japanese. It was indeed reasonable and the Japanese could understand. So the Japanese were killed and injured by grenades but did not attack the people. Especially when they all saw the scene where the people were holding their heads, if there were still guerrillas, why didn't they start to rise up just now?

Such scenes happened in countless large towns in counties and towns. The Japanese knew very well that this was a large-scale harassment of the guerrillas, with the purpose of preventing the people from returning... But those small places that originally had only ten or eight soldiers were quickly occupied. Some places were relatively important transit stations, with dozens of people guarding, and those places were constantly sending distress signals. They were attacked by guerrillas with a large number of people and poorly equipped... Save! Of course, rescue! The Japanese in the big town began to gather to rescue the attacked transit stations...

After the Japanese in Hai'an gathered, one hundred people were squeezing in two cars with guns in their arms, before they left the city, the incident happened: the guerrillas who came back to repair their homes had already loaded explosives on both sides of the road. When the Japanese entered the ambush circle, there was a loud bang, and the two cars were attacked at the same time! In such a narrow area, they were attacked by bombs, and even the Japanese who did not die in the explosion were basically deaf, and they were either unconscious or stumbled and could not fight back.

"Kill!" The people who were afraid of death who had just been hiding in the house because of the sound of gunfire suddenly appeared like a tide. The attacking team members who had rushed out found that they could actually not even bring weapons. They could pick up the Japanese bayonets and clean up one by one... The city gates that had been calmed down, the Japanese who had just changed were still looking at the bloodstains left behind in front of the attack from time to time, but suddenly found that the grenades fell down again; this time, they did not see the people lying down with their heads in their arms, and they rushed up at the risk of being injured by shrapnel...

The city is easiest to be captured inside, and a large number of guerrillas lurk in every small town in northern Jiangsu! The important town of Hai'an became the first county town to be compromised, and this was just the first one. On the first day of the attack, Cao Xiaomin's task of capturing ten big towns for Li Tianhao was over-completed! All towns on the Fan Gongdi line, which were once taken down by the Japanese, were restored!

(Author: I received information from the editor again, and this book was complained again... It is said that this book writes a lot of things from the Communist camp to the Kuomintang camp. The Kuomintang government uses these people to clear out the means of dealing with the Communist Party and even sending to Yan'an to lurk and assassinate, etc. This is a distortion of history. The Communist Party does not surrender so many people... The things mentioned in the novel actually reflect the major events of the same period: After Zhang Guotao surrendered to the Kuomintang government in April 1938, he entered the Military Control Commission to plan a series of activities to deal with the Communist Party. All the things mentioned in this novel have historical basis, and even the time matches. As for how many Communists surrendered to the Kuomintang government after being arrested and participated in the action of turning against each other, please ask the book friends with opinions to check the historical books themselves. Maybe your discovery will hit your inherent knowledge more than my novel...)
Chapter completed!