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Xu Le's decision seemed to be premeditated, but it was not.

As early as two months ago, he began to ponder and consider it carefully.

However, the current situation is unpredictable and previous preparations are out of touch with reality. It is no exaggeration to say that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

In the next few days, the entire 88th Army was plunged into a busy scene. From generals to soldiers, everyone was busy.

The various departments of the General Staff were frequently transferred, and almost every department was divided into two, half of which stayed in the headquarters to command the garrisons of Xinzhou and Niangziguan, while the other half would accompany the expeditionary troops to Yunnan Province.

The Finance Department of the Logistics Department accelerated the verification of accounts in various places. Now the money of the 88th Army mainly comes from several places:

Arms trade was also the way the army started out in the early days. The rapid growth of the army into an army of 10 people was largely due to the arms trade.

The Military Commission allocated funds. Although the amount of military pay allocated by the Military Commission was not much, it was not small either. Moreover, due to Xu Le's tough attitude, no one dared to deduct a single cent during the allocation.

Then there are the taxes paid by the jurisdiction. The recovered territory was not recovered in vain. When the Japanese occupied these areas, the people and merchants in these areas paid taxes to the Japanese. Now that they have returned to the motherland, the taxes must naturally be paid to the Tang Guowei Army Government.

Mainly grain taxes and commercial taxes, which are a continuous source of fiscal revenue.

Today, Jin Province is still Commander Yan's territory, so in principle, the tax revenue is given to Commander Yan. However, Xu Le previously returned many of the conquered cities to Commander Yan, so that was naturally not given for free, and there were many conditions involved.

There is a condition here: I don’t care about returning the chassis to you, but I still have to collect taxes within my jurisdiction.

However, Xu Le did not carry out large-scale harvesting of the people and merchants in his jurisdiction. Instead, he asked the reservists to help the people with their work and asked technical personnel in the army to help, so as to strengthen the development of agriculture and commerce.

The level of prosperity in the area under the jurisdiction of the 88th Army is now higher than that in many places in the Tang Dynasty. The people earn more, and the 88th Army collects more tax revenue.

Moreover, the people and merchants in the jurisdiction are all grateful to Xu Le, which is an invisible force.

In addition to the above three financial sources, there is one last major source, which is the multiple enterprises led by Lu Ningyi and composed of the original Lu’s Trading Company. They can provide a large amount of money to the troops every month, and the largest transaction volume among them is coal revenue.

Although Xu Le asked Wei Junjun to send a telegram to Commander Jiang, asking Commander Jiang to be responsible for all food and pay for the expeditionary troops, Xu Le had been here for two years and had experienced a lot.

He didn't want to pin all his hopes on others. If something went wrong, countless soldiers on the front line would lose their lives.

Therefore, the Finance Department will integrate the money and transfer a portion of the funds as reserve funds to deal with emergencies.

Then came the Quartermaster Department. With the solid foundation laid by Zhu Xiaoping, Xu Wenwan managed the Quartermaster Department in perfect order. When the troops went to war, the food and clothing of the soldiers were the top priority. Only when the soldiers' lives were guaranteed could they have a good body to fight.

.....

After many days of discussion, a general battle plan for the expedition came out.

Yunnan Province is the homeland of the Tang Dynasty. Although it is located in a plateau area with complex terrain, it is difficult for mobile troops to march.

But the Japanese were the same, and they were invaders. Without the assistance of the locals, marching and deploying would only be more difficult. This is why the Japanese have only fought along the Burma Road so far.

If they stay away from the highway, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese troops will be greatly reduced.

In view of this, the expeditionary force also chose the same plan, concentrating its advantages to attack along the highway.

The troops were led by Xu Le himself, with Fang Yue as chief of staff, Zhu Xiaoping as chief of logistics, Wei Li as foreign military adviser, responsible for all communications with foreign troops, and the rest of the people stayed at the Meidongshan headquarters to command the military forces of Shanxi Province.

This important task naturally fell on Jiang Feng and Wang Dafu, one in charge of internal affairs and the other in charge of external affairs.

The first army units to go on the expedition were the 176th Armored Division, the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division, the 101st Motorized Infantry Division, and the 1st Artillery Brigade.

In addition to the army, air force units were also dispatched, including two fighter squadrons and one H-1 squadron.

The bombing of the Japanese mainland has been going on for some time, causing considerable damage to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and other cities.

But now the 88th Army will be divided into two, and the headquarters' strength will be weakened, so the bombing of the Japanese mainland will be suspended and the target will be changed to the newly built air force airports of the Japanese army in Hebei Province and Shandong Province.

As long as the reconnaissance troops found the enemy's secret airport, bombers would quickly take out and destroy it to weaken the Japanese air force.

.......

"Young Marshal, Young Master, Handsome Guy....Just let me go!"

Lu Shiyu put one hand on his waist and held Xu Le's arm with the other hand, refusing to let go, just to make Xu Le take him with him to the battle.

Xu Le shook his head calmly, but his eyes glanced at Lu Shiyu's chest from time to time.

I didn't notice it before, but this girl is really attractive. I feel a little dizzy when she keeps shaking like that.

"Okay Shiyu, I'm going out to fight, not to play, so you just stay at the headquarters. We still need you here!"

"I won't!" Lu Shiyu shook her head violently, seemingly not noticing Xu Le's strange look. She looked at Wei Junjun not far away and said, "Sister Wei can go, so why can't I? Besides, I'm your secretary. If you're not here, who will I work for?"

“Pooh, pooh, pooh…”

Xu Le shouted, "You stinky girl, I was fine, how come I'm gone? Are you cursing me?"

"No way, I mean you left with the troops but not me, that's not fair!"

Although he enjoyed the feeling of being pulled by Lu Shiyu, Xu Le still reluctantly pulled her hand away: "When it comes to military secrets, the headquarters will definitely not need you. But you have been with me all the time. Jiang Feng is not aware of many details of the headquarters, so you have to stay and cooperate with her!

Normally, secretaries of high-ranking military officers all have military ranks, but you've been a civilian for so long.

How about this, I promise you, as long as you do your job well, I will give you a post as a school officer when I come back, how about that?"

"I don't want it. As long as I can work by your side, nothing else matters. Marshal, just take me with you!"

"Nonsense!" Xu Le pretended to be angry; "You little girl, you can't even shoot a gun, why did you follow me all the way?

Wei Junjun has been a soldier for 10 years. There are many things that need to be coordinated with the National Guard for this expedition. Wei Junjun can do a lot of things with his identity. I also need him to contact Commander Jiang, so she must go!"

At this time, Wei Junjun also came over: "Shiyu, although you are not a soldier in name, you have long been one. You should know that it is the duty of a soldier to obey orders. Listen to the arrangements of the young marshal. You staying at the headquarters will be more meaningful than going on an expedition with us!"

Nowadays, the three most common women around Xu Le are Wei Junjun, Lu Shiyu and Zhang Shuping.

Perhaps it is because Wei Junjun has worked in the Military Control Commission for many years that he always looks cold and frosty, but he can handle his relationships with everyone just right in the subtleties.

Therefore, among the three women, the other two implicitly regard Wei Junjun as the leader. Even Zhang Shuping occasionally calls Wei Junjun "Sister Wei".

Just like a big sister.

Seeing that the big sister also said this, Lu Shiyu pursed her lips angrily and said, "Okay! I'm not with the young marshal, so Sister Wei will help me take good care of the young marshal. The terrain in Yunnan Province is dangerous and there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants. Don't let the young marshal get hurt!"

Wei Junjun raised his eyebrows and said with a hint of joking: "Hmm? Help you take care of it?"

Lu Shiyu stuck out her tongue again and said, "I'm speaking for Sister Cui! I'm going to be busy now, you guys can chat first!"

Watching Lu Shiyu jumping away, Xu Le smiled and shook his head: "Did Commander Jiang call? What did he say?"