Spy Wars: I can get rewards by being a bully!

Chapter 1167 Heroes of the Hidden Front

Fuping, Shijiazhai.

A sense of joy filled the Jin-Cha-Ji headquarters; the outcome of this counter-encirclement and counter-sweeping operation was truly unexpected!

First, they received advance notice that the Jizhong base area was helping the people to harvest and evacuate. Most of their food rations were taken away or hidden. In addition, the Japanese were busy searching for the main force of the Eighth Route Army, so the people did not suffer much this time, especially a large amount of precious grain was saved!

Furthermore, Yancheng provided continuous intelligence support, which was so accurate that it was hard to believe. The main force of the Jizhong base area managed to bypass three pursuing forces and open up a new retreat route!

Finally, there's the main force that remained!

After inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese, the main force regiment managed to bypass the Japanese defenses and withdraw!

Although the casualties were considerable, this was already the best possible outcome!

The thin man praised, "The comrades of the Special Branch went deep behind enemy lines and did the most difficult work. Some people didn't understand and said that they were using the guise of carrying out their work to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves in the White Area. But look at it now, without the valuable intelligence provided by the comrades of the Special Branch, how many soldiers would we have lost? Now it's all good. We've saved our food, we've saved our troops, we've saved our people but lost our land. Our troops are still here, and the people who support us are still here. Even if the Japanese build a thousand or ten thousand strongholds, Jizhong will still be ours!"

The scholar-like man continued, "Yes, this time, morale is high and the people are even more supportive. After the grain harvest, people from all over the country actively and enthusiastically provided military supplies. Many places even provided more than the required amount. The foundation of our border region is becoming more and more solid. Okamura Tsuji's sweep not only failed to eliminate us, but instead made us stronger!"

At this time in Yancheng, inside a cave dwelling, several people were also analyzing the situation of the Jin-Cha-Ji region.

"This time, thanks to our young general and that friend, otherwise the problem would have been very difficult. If the Jizhong base area had been severely attacked, our connection with the guerrillas and base areas in Shandong and Henan provinces would have been cut off, and our deployment east of the Taihang Mountains would have been greatly affected."

"The higher-ups have classified him as a friend?"

A man wearing black-rimmed glasses smiled and nodded. "He's not just a friend, he's a good friend. This incident has completely proven the tacit understanding and trust between us. No matter what, he is patriotic and anti-Japanese. In terms of stance, he is inclined to, or at least sympathizes with, us. That's enough."

"Should we try to win him over through Xiao Duan's connections?"

The man with black-rimmed glasses shook his head. "I've consulted on this issue before, and the top leader personally gave instructions: making friends can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes, for people in special positions, being a friend is more valuable than being a comrade-in-arms. But then again, if we really manage to win him over, how should we treat him? From the information we've gathered so far, he doesn't seem to like being constrained!"

One of the people nearby said, "We really owe them a huge favor this time!"

"There's no need to worry about having too much debt. As long as we can maintain contact and get along well, there will always be opportunities to help him!"

"By the way, I propose that we commend Comrade Duan. What do you think?"

"Of course, I'll draft the commendation telegram!"

Jidong, the anti-bandit command post.

Duan Wenxuan sauntered out the door and went to the teahouse to listen to folk songs.

It was terribly hot. As soon as he stepped outside, sweat beaded on his forehead. Duan Wenxuan simply opened the front of his clothes and took off his hat to fan himself.

Upon arriving at the teahouse, the manager hurried to greet us.

"Mr. Duan, look at you, coming to patronize our business on such a hot day! I feel so bad about it. I specially sent someone to Beiping to buy some sour plum drink medicine packets, which were just brewed this morning. Would you do me the honor of trying some?"

Duan Wenxuan said in surprise, "Great! You're destined to get rich! You're quick-witted! I haven't had a proper plum juice in the past two years. Go get a bowl and try it, with some shaved ice!"

"Don't worry, the large blocks of ice that were brought over from the Tianjin ice factory the night before are not river ice, but well water ice. They're sweet even without any granulated sugar!"

Duan Wenxuan went upstairs. "Make two bowls, so Xiaotangchun can have some too!"

"Got it!"

Once upstairs, Duan Wenxuan pushed open the door on his own.

The door opened with a push; it's unclear whether it wasn't locked at all or opened because it heard noises downstairs.

Duan Wenxuan came in and said, "Hey Xiaotangchun, how are you going to thank me? You're in luck today with this old Beijing-style sour plum drink. If I didn't spend money at this teahouse every day, would the manager have bothered to come all the way to Beijing to get this stuff?"

Xiao Tangchun spat, "I had someone bring this over while I was in Beiping making contact with someone. Manager Li is one of our own, so you have to show him some respect."

Duan Wenxuan shook his head. "Gu Wenxin, if you ask me, you're still a novice in this line of work! Your experience at the transportation station won't work in Beijing and Tianjin. I'm just a tea drinker, while Manager Li is a businessman. Have you ever seen a customer being overly polite to a manager?"

The plum juice was delivered, and each of them received a bowl. They then closed the door behind them.

Gu Wenxin, disregarding his drink, lowered his voice and said, "A telegram has arrived from above, commending you for your meritorious service!"

Duan Wenxuan put down the bowl in his hand and sat up straight.

Gu Wenxin took out a telegram and read it aloud with some excitement: "Special Operations Section Commendation Telegram, addressed to Comrade Duan."

"At this critical juncture for the nation's survival, you forged an invisible front with your loyalty and wisdom. With the utmost respect, this secret telegram of commendation is hereby sent..."

After briefly summarizing Duan's contributions in two sentences, Gu Wenxin continued reading: "Comrade Duan is hereby awarded the title of Hero of the Hidden Front and the Red Flag Medal!"

Currently, the military merit system in the west is not particularly well-developed, and the various honors and rewards are rather chaotic and complicated.

Many titles were awarded during this period, such as "Top-Class Demolition Hero." Because communication between the various bases was not very smooth, it was easy for the same title to be awarded to many people.

However, in vertically managed fields like the covert operations, the standards for awarding titles are still very high. Xiao Duan being awarded a hero title will help him resolve many issues in the future, as it represents organizational recognition and endorsement.

The Red Flag Medal was actually a medal awarded by the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region. At that time, medals came in all shapes and sizes, with a wide variety of types, and were mainly for commemorative purposes, unlike those in the south which were directly linked to benefits.

This formal and sincere commendation brought tears to Xiao Duan's eyes.

In the torrent of history, he did indeed do something, something that benefited the country and the nation!