Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

On August 3, the early morning sun shone on the courtyard of the North China Military Region Headquarters, and the breeze gently blew across the flag at the door, causing it to sway slightly.

People were coming and going in the courtyard, staff officers were walking quickly, radio operators were entering and leaving the confidential room from time to time, and the entire headquarters was filled with a tense and orderly atmosphere.

At this time, the atmosphere in the headquarters' meeting room was extremely lively.

"I'm talking about Zeng Jiwen.

You're such a coward, you've even taken on the Air Force, and you still need my help?"

Chen Shukang picked up the water cup and spoke to Zeng Jiwen in a slightly teasing tone.

His tone was full of joking.

As soon as the words fell, the entire conference room erupted in laughter.

Everyone had a relaxed smile on their face.

Hearing this, Political Commissar Rong, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but laugh and cry, shaking his head and saying:

"You're such a good person, Chen Shukang. If you have the ability, don't use it when the time comes."

“Why not?

I'll get to experience commanding an air force someday."

Chen Shukang immediately looked dissatisfied, raised his chin, and looked at Commander Xu beside him with pretended dissatisfaction.

"Junior brother, I'm being bullied by you, the political commissar, and you won't even say a word for me?"

Upon hearing this, Commander Xu sighed helplessly, then shrugged his shoulders, with a hint of helplessness in his tone:

"Who could have said that about you?"

At this point, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and a hint of mischief flashed in his eyes:

"Oh, no, there's another one."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter again, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became much more relaxed.

At this moment, Zhou Xi, who had been waiting, suddenly spoke with a hint of emotion in his tone:

"The last time so many people gathered together was during the Battle of Taiyuan in Jin, right?

Time flies by so fast..."

The laughter in the conference room gradually died down, and everyone fell into a brief moment of contemplation after hearing these words.

Political Commissar Rong also sighed and nodded:

"Yes, at that time we were still fighting the Japanese in the Taihang Mountains. Now it's different."

He paused, glanced at everyone, and said sincerely and solemnly: "Secretary Zeng, Political Commissar Zhou, we still have to thank the North China Military Region for its support to our brother troops over the past two years.

Without the equipment you sent, the troops below would probably still be suffering in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xi waved his hand and said with a smile:

"We're all family, so why be so polite?"

However, Commander Xu disagreed and said, "Senior, this is not right.

We still know the situation of the troops below.

If it weren't for the support from the North China Military Region over the past two years, the soldiers below would have had a very difficult time."

"Hey, everyone, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is developing quite well now, right?"

Chen Shukang said in an exaggerated tone, squinting his eyes and looking at Master Xu with a smile on his lips.

"I've seen it written in the documents that the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region now has over 200,000 troops. Is that considered a difficult life?

My entire military region only has over a hundred thousand people."

Political Commissar Rong couldn't help laughing, shaking his head and saying, "I'm talking to you..."

Everyone laughed for a while, and then the topic quickly returned to business.

The core topic of this meeting was the overall deployment of the North China Campaign.

At the same time as the last ambush on the Japanese Air Force, a telegram came from home, clarifying the combat tasks of the major military regions of the Eighth Route Army.

According to the instructions, the North China Campaign will be jointly led by the North China Military Region, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and the Central Plains Military Region to form the North China Campaign Front Command.

Zeng Jiwen served as the commander-in-chief, and the deputy commanders-in-chief were the commanders of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Central Henan Military Region respectively.

The chief political commissar of the command was Zhou Shi, the deputy political commissar was the political commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the chief of staff was Wang Zhuo, and the headquarters of the entire front-line command was located in Changzhi.

At the same time, the Japanese army was also urgently mobilizing troops.

The Kwantung Army's 2nd and 66th Flying Squadrons are moving rapidly south to support the North China battlefield.

In the center of the conference room, there is a huge sand table, which details the terrain of North China, the distribution of the battle lines, and the garrisons of the Japanese and Eighth Route Army.

Seeing this sand table, Chen Shukang's eyes lit up and he said with a smile:

"Sure, Lao Zeng, when can you get one for me too?"

Zeng Jiwen glanced at him and said unhappily:

"Sure. Draw a map of your defense zone and take it to Huangya Cave. Someone will do it for you."

When Chen Shukang heard this, his eyes widened and he slammed the table in anger:

"Good for you Zeng Jiwen!

If I had all the topographical maps, why would I come to you?"

Wang Zhuo smiled and said:

"Don't be fooled by its size. Lao Zeng sent people to scour the entire defense zone to make it."

Commander Xu stared at the sand table, his eyes moving back and forth between Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, northern Henan and other places, as if thinking about something.

Zeng Jiwen noticed his expression and asked with a smile:

"Why, do you have an idea?"

Commander Xu nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on several key areas on the sand table.

"Um……"

Commander Xu paused, then looked up at Chen Shukang and asked seriously:

"Senior Chen, how many Soviet-equipped divisions did your military region provide support from the north last year?"

"Three."

Chen Shukang adjusted his glasses and responded in a deep voice.

"Hmm... Isn't there only one Ludi Military Region?"

Commander Xu was a little confused.

Hearing this question, Chen Shukang's expression changed slightly, his brows furrowed, and his tone was filled with dissatisfaction:

"There are some issues in Ludi. The division commander has only sent one Soviet-equipped division there..."

I guess I’ll have to ask Lao Zeng to send someone over there when the time comes.”

When everyone heard this, they immediately looked puzzled.

Seeing this, Chen Shukang sighed and slowly explained the complicated situation in the Ludi Military Region.

When everyone saw Chen Shukang's expression, they immediately felt something was wrong.

Gradually, the atmosphere in the command center became solemn, and the light-hearted jokes just now had long since disappeared.

Everyone looked at Chen Shukang, waiting for him to continue describing the situation in the Ludi Military Region.

Chen Shukang sighed lightly, put down the water cup in his hand, frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "The situation in Ludi is probably more complicated than we imagined."

He paused for a moment, looked at everyone in the command center, and then continued:

"Ever since our Eighth Route Army entered Shanxi, thanks to Lao Zeng and his division's battles with the Japanese in North China, the Japanese troops in Shandong have not been too numerous.

But precisely because of this, the anti-Japanese armed forces in Shandong developed very rapidly, even to the point where some of them were beyond our control."

"After the Pingxingguan victory, my family quickly realized the importance of Shandong and immediately sent my junior's division's independent regiment to the southern part of Shandong to unite with the local anti-Japanese armed forces and establish an anti-Japanese base.

At the same time, we vigorously developed our armed forces in Shandong, fought against the Japanese and puppet troops, and won support from all walks of life, rapidly expanding the influence of the Eighth Route Army.

"You know all this~"