Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

"Other local regiments directly command five to nine companies. They serve as supplementary forces for the main force and usually operate in their respective areas."

"The guerrillas and militia are organized into county battalions and district squads in each county and district, and together with the local regiments, they are responsible for production and construction in their respective areas." Zeng Jiwen took a sip of water and continued.

"In this way, we can form a three-level mobilization system consisting of the main combat force, local forces, and militia."

When everyone in the brigade heard Zeng Jiwen's plan for building the base troops, their eyes suddenly lit up. In previous battles, many soldiers were directly incorporated into the troops for training, which resulted in a sharp decline in the combat effectiveness of the troops as soon as they were expanded.

If Zeng Jiwen's method is followed, all reinforcements for regular combat forces will come from local regiments. These people have received formal military training and have fought with the main force. Joining the main force will not lead to a decline in combat effectiveness like new recruits.

"I think it's okay. Lao Zeng is right. This way we can fully mobilize the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the masses. In this way, we can not only stabilize our base but also develop the troops. This is a good method." Zhou Xi said happily.

"Yes, our Eighth Route Army's construction system can be built in this way. In this way, our development will be even better." Wang Zhuo also looked excited.

So everyone unanimously decided to carry out the construction of the troops according to this method, and at the same time report to the headquarters to promote this method.

"Finally, there is the issue of numbers. Except for the three regiments directly under the brigade headquarters, which will use the original numbers, for the expanded troops in the future, the main force will start from 80, and the local forces will start from 120. Special forces such as artillery and engineers will start from 180 when they have regimental levels." Zeng Jiwen continued.

"Then there are the specific regimental designations. The 3rd Battalion of the 782nd Regiment will be reorganized into the 80th Regiment, with Yu Yongshou as the commander, Wang Youfa as the political commissar, and Wei Chi as the chief of staff. The vacant positions in the 3rd Battalion will be filled by drawing one company from each of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, with the remainder to be supplemented by local regiments."

"Then, from the four core regiments in the north, we will draw people to form the 81st Regiment, with Ding Xianhua as the Regiment Commander, Yu Bolin as the Political Commissar, and Li Tangyue as the Chief of Staff. The political commissars on the east side will be the same as yours, forming the 82nd Regiment, with Chen Jinquan as the Regiment Commander, Yu Zehong as the Political Commissar, and Zhang Fusheng as the Chief of Staff. Old Wang's side will form the 83rd Regiment, with Zhang Ziqing as the Regiment Commander, Chen Shuchang as the Political Commissar, and Wang Guangdao as the Chief of Staff."

"Our current main force consists of these four newly formed regiments plus the three existing ones, for a total strength of approximately 15,000 men. One company from each of the existing battalions has been transferred to the newly formed battalion, bringing the ratio to almost 1:1. Fortunately, the new soldiers have all undergone a month of training and have fought small-scale ambushes. Combined with the two to three months of training this winter, we have plenty of time to relax."

"This is also the limit of the soldiers that Heshun Xiyang can recruit. Fortunately, our defense area is large. Shouyang, Pingding, Yushe, Zanhuang, Lincheng, Xingtai, and Wu'an are all our newly developed defense areas. Otherwise, we would have only 2,000 or 3,000 at most."

"Then the local regiments: the Xiyang local regiment is the 120th regiment, the Zanhuang local regiment is the 121st regiment, the Lincheng local regiment is the 122nd regiment, the Wuan local regiment is the 123rd regiment, the Pingding local regiment is the 124th regiment, the Xingtai local regiment is the 125th regiment, the Heshun local regiment is the 126th regiment, the Yushe local regiment is the 127th regiment, and the Shouyang local regiment is the 128th regiment."

"Finally, Li Yunlong of the 782nd Regiment's Third Battalion captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition for the troops during the ambush at Changshengkou. This time, he also ambush at Niangziguan and expanded the Third Battalion into a main combat regiment. He has made considerable contributions recently. I plan to let him lead a core regiment directly under the brigade headquarters and let him lead the troops to develop between Jingxing and Yangquan."

"The Japanese army is concentrated there, and we can't move forward there right now. We might as well let Li Yunlong go there temporarily. We don't have many people to give him right now. We'll take a company from the guard battalion and let him lead it. Unless there are special circumstances and no combat missions within six months, let him develop freely."