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Xu Le originally requested 1000 pilots, but the Tang Air Force was very weak. At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, there were only 600 aircraft of various models in the country, almost all of which were models eliminated by foreign countries 20 years ago. Of these 600 aircraft, only less than 100 were actually usable, and only 60 could take off to perform combat missions.

In 37, there were only more than 60 pilots in the country who could carry out flight missions.

These 60-plus people also died in several air battles with the Japanese.

After much persuasion, Commander Jiang agreed to recruit 500 pilots. Many of these 500 people were recent graduates and almost none of them had combat experience. It could be said that this was more than half of the current pilots in the Tang Dynasty.

If you ask what is the most precious soldier in the world, anyone who knows a little about military affairs will say it is the pilot.

The cost of training a pilot is too high. For this reason, the International Geneva Convention stipulates that it is strictly prohibited to shoot parachuting pilots.

Because the pilot's weapon is the plane, and once he has left the plane and parachuted, it means he has laid down his weapon and left the battlefield. Not to mention giving him preferential treatment after being captured, at least he cannot be killed or even tortured.

The training speed of pilots in the Tang Dynasty was very slow. The reason was that there were too few training aircraft. Dozens of pilots shared one training aircraft. It was impossible for them to graduate quickly.

It is different in Europe and the United States. Almost all of them have the industrial capacity to produce aircraft independently. On average, they have tens of thousands of aircraft on standby. Flight trainees can graduate in half a year, and the fastest one can carry out combat missions in three months.

As for the navy, ever since the Japanese formed the South China Front Army to attack South China, the coastal areas of the Tang Dynasty have been completely blocked, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have also been completely occupied by the Japanese. There are no river sections in the remaining territory for the Tang Dynasty Navy's small and medium-sized ships to sail.

The Tang Dynasty Navy was no longer of any use, and the few ships it had were destroyed in the Yangtze River to block the advance of the Japanese Navy.

Unless the Japs are driven out of the Tang Dynasty, the navy of the National Guard will just be occupying positions and collecting salaries without doing anything.

So Commander Jiang was generous in this regard and sent over most of the naval forces, nearly 1 people, a fully staffed destroyer formation, and even extra officers.

They are all the intangible wealth accumulated by the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, all these people had to go to the Political Department for tea and chat before they could get in touch with the core of the 88th Army.

After Xu Le reviewed some officers and soldiers of the Air Force and Navy, he immediately drafted an agreement.

He wants to do business with Commander Jiang again!

First, a temporary naval training base was built at Fengling Ferry, with all manpower and financial resources being the responsibility of the National Guard.

Second, Yuncheng Airport will be placed under the jurisdiction of the 88th Army, and no other troops or organizations may interfere for a period of 2 years.

作为交易，他向国卫军提供10万支56式半自动步枪和2000挺56式轻机枪，以及配套的7.62毫米中间威力子弹5000万发。

In the entire Yellow River basin, except for the 6-kilometer river section in the lower reaches, the rest of the river is not navigable. Only near Fengling Ferry, the water flow is relatively gentle, with an average water depth of 8 meters, which can accommodate ships with a displacement of less than tons.

As for the Yangtze River Basin, although some sections in the middle and upper reaches are navigable, the navigation conditions vary depending on the season, and it is too far away from Shanxi Province, so it is not under consideration.

At the same time, Xu Le also had a secret phone call with Commander Jiang alone. This was also his first phone call with Commander Jiang, and the content was only one: he wanted one person.

If Commander Jiang could give him that man, Xu Le was willing to provide 100 Bofors mountain guns and 50 75mm shells.

No one else knew about this except the two of them. Commander Jiang did not agree to his request immediately, but he did not refuse either.

Xu Le was not in a hurry because he knew that Commander Jiang was dissatisfied with that man and many people in the Military Commission also disliked that man.

If things go as expected, that person will be dismissed from his post soon and all military power will be taken away.

Under such a great temptation, he believed that Commander Jiang would give that person to him!

......

The details of the agreement were brought back to Shancheng by Wei Junjun himself, and Commander Jiang responded quickly.

accepted!

Commander Jiang also stated that a cross-river bridge connecting Fenglingdu and Tongguan would be built to facilitate the war of resistance, and all manpower and material resources would also be borne by the National Guard.

In fact, in 37, Fenglingdu had already started building a railway bridge to connect the Nantongpu Railway and the Longhai Railway.

It just so happened that the full-scale war of resistance broke out and the construction of the bridge was stopped halfway.

Now that the southern Shanxi region has been stabilized and the entire nation's military is willing to rely on the 88th Army, it is very necessary to continue the construction of this railway bridge.

At the same time, Commander Jiang also commended the 88th Army for its combat in November, saying that if the 11th Army had not fought bravely and quickly captured Queshu Valley, the entire Shanxi Province and the eastern Henan area would have fallen into the hands of the Japanese.

In addition, Wei Junjun also brought back a letter of awarding title from the Appointment Office.

The previous military reform appointed a number of officers, but most of them were military positions and ranks, which were used to correspond to military positions, and were not official military ranks.

Usually, those who promoted Xu Ren's military rank through Wei Junjun were officers below the rank of general. After all, he was just a minor official, so there was no need to go through so much trouble.

The military ranks of Xu Ren who were promoted this time are all generals.

The Chief of Staff of the 88th Army, Jiang Feng, was promoted to Army Lieutenant General and given the rank of General;

Wang Dafu, deputy commander of the 88th Army, was promoted to the rank of Army Lieutenant General;

Liu Quanhua, commander of the 88th Armored Division of the 176th Army, was promoted to Army Lieutenant General;

Chief of Staff of the 88th Armored Division of the 176th Army, Wang Yuanguo, was promoted to the rank of Army Major General;

Xiao Qiming, commander of the 88st Armored Regiment of the 176th Armored Division of the 1th Army, was promoted to the rank of Army Major General;

Lü Biao, commander of the 88th Mechanized Infantry Division of the 177th Army, was promoted to the rank of Army Lieutenant General;

Ge Yuecheng, Chief of Staff of the 88th Mechanized Infantry Division of the 177th Army, was promoted to the rank of Army Lieutenant General;

Dai Ming, commander of the 88th Motorized Infantry Division of the 178th Army, was promoted to the rank of Army Lieutenant General;

Yue Yun, commander of the 88st Independent Artillery Brigade of the 1th Army, was promoted to Army Major General;

Including the army commander Xu Le and Fang Yue, who was already a major general, the 88th Army has 11 generals.

Don't underestimate these 11 people. If it were the rest of the National Guard troops, one army might not even have 5 appointed generals.

And in one army, it is the only one in the whole Tang Dynasty that has both the rank of lieutenant general and general.

As for the title of lieutenant general with the rank of general, it is actually a rank between the rank of lieutenant general and lieutenant general. In essence, he is still a lieutenant general, but with the rank of "general", he will be eligible for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general in the future.

Not only is it a verbal commendation and military rank appointment, but there is also 150 million oceans of military funds, which will be shipped over after a while.

You should know that the former Northeast King Zhang Shaoshuai asked Commander Jiang for 300 million in military expenditures every year, but Commander Jiang did not agree. This made Zhang Shaoshuai retreat without a fight and abandon the three northeastern provinces, and then hand over Rehe Province to the Japanese, which made it easy for the Japanese to march into North China.

At its peak, the Northeast Army had 30 troops, but it could not even get 300 million in military funds.

The 88th Army, with less than 5 troops, was able to obtain 150 million.

Perhaps because of the previous experience of Young Marshal Zhang, Commander Jiang's various actions were all aimed at calming Xu Le's heart.

The 88th Army, with tens of thousands of soldiers, tied down hundreds of thousands of elite Japanese troops, relieving a lot of pressure on the rest of the Tang Dynasty's army. Let alone 150 million oceans, I'm afraid that if Xu Le asked for 500 million, Commander Jiang would also tighten his belt.

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