The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

The logistics squad consisted of 10 men, with Xu Zheng serving as the squad leader. He was mainly responsible for all logistics within the camp, including accommodation, clothing, and provisions, except for food. He was a very meticulous thinker, and having previously worked as a manager for weddings and funerals in his hometown, he had excellent organizational skills. Therefore, Xue Geming requested him to take on this position.

The cookhouse consisted of eight men, with Li Dazui serving as the squad leader and Wu Pangzi as the deputy squad leader. Their main responsibility was providing meals for the entire brigade. Later, Xue Geming even specially issued each of them a pistol he had captured, which made the two men extremely proud. Xue Geming had personally captured a total of three pistols. Aside from the most beautiful and compact Browning, which he always carried with him, he gave the other two to the two head cooks.

The supply platoon consisted of 12 people, with Huang Zhanghua, the most outstanding member of the original city defense team who was transferred to the first batch, serving as the platoon leader.

Huang Zhanghua is a middle-aged man in his early thirties who has now joined the Party. When he first arrived, he wasn't much of a figure, but later his wife fell ill. When Xue Geming learned of this, he not only instructed He Xiaoshan to do everything possible to treat her, but also personally went up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. Through the combined efforts of both sides, his wife, Li Huandi, was finally saved. This deeply moved Huang Zhanghua, and he underwent a complete transformation, leading to his current success. As for his wife, Li Huandi, she also requested to join the Red Army. After consideration, Li Jiansheng arranged for Li Huandi to learn tailoring and work in a clothing factory secretly run by He Xiaoshan.

All soldiers, regardless of whether they were former veterans, local party members, former militia members, city defense soldiers, or prisoners captured later and newly joined young farmers, were assigned to these teams, and the principle of mentoring new recruits was implemented to improve together.

After the meeting ended, seeing that everyone had dispersed to go back and attend to their own matters, Xue Geming finally felt a little relieved.

In fact, this personnel arrangement reveals that Xue Geming devoted considerable energy and manpower to the ideological and political work of the soldiers. This was thanks to the Special Service Brigade, which frequently guarded the division headquarters in Jiangnan, and the officers often received personal instruction and training from the division commander. The division commander recounted two famous cases that remained etched in his mind, one positive and one negative.

On the positive side, he had heard a story about someone who, after failing, searched for the reasons for his defeat. After years of reflection and analysis, he finally concluded that his unit lacked the "political commissar" position found in the Red Army. This seemingly simple position actually greatly strengthened the ideological education of the Red Army soldiers, which was one of the reasons for the Red Army's ultimate success. Xue Geming agreed wholeheartedly and therefore devoted considerable effort to this area without hesitation. Positions such as high-ranking Party officials concurrently serving as instructors, directors of political departments, directors of soldiers' committees, and political instructors were all responsible for the soldiers' ideological work. On the other hand, a negative example is the rise of pyramid schemes. Besides the alluring profits, these schemes engage in ideological marketing, which is often highly effective and its power should not be underestimated.

For these two reasons, under Xu Wenqing's urging, Xue Geming put a lot of effort into this work.

Upon their return, the first thing they did was reap the rewards. And the harvest was truly delightful.

Everyone was stunned by the high yield of their grain, except for Xue Geming, who remained unimpressed. He had heard from his division commander that in some places, a yield of 1000 jin per mu was common, while his own yield was only a little over 300 jin per mu. He wondered what they were thinking, given their overjoyed reaction.

Later, Xue Geming happened to recall that they were currently using ordinary rice seeds, yet the yield was quite good; as for other places, those yielding over a thousand kilograms per mu were all hybrid rice varieties. A few days later, Li Jiansheng also learned by chance that everyone was now using a sixteen-ounce scale, with each jin equivalent to sixteen ounces. Li Jiansheng then exclaimed: "Calculated this way, those 300-plus jin, in decimal terms, are nearly 500 jin! Hmm, that's indeed a pretty good number!"

The second thing was to prepare sleeping quarters for one group. The area had many large caves; some were used to store food, ammunition, and supplies, while the rest provided shelter for everyone. Despite this, Xue Geming led the group to build wooden houses along the water. Another group constructed a pass for external defense.

By the end of October, all projects were completed, military uniforms were issued, and the harvest of sweet potatoes and potatoes began again, which was very encouraging.

Some of the newly recruited soldiers said they had never eaten so heartily before.

What was said casually was taken to heart by Xue Geming. He suddenly remembered how, back in Jiangnan, the Red Army had specifically organized "bitterness-telling" activities for political work. His own troops had done it too, but it seemed it needed to be strengthened. He thought, "Isn't what he said a comparison? Hmm, it's necessary to work on comparing the soldiers' lives to help them understand the advantages and benefits of being in the Red Army!"

Thinking of this, he immediately discussed it with He Changgong. He Changgong listened and thought it made a lot of sense, so he organized an activity on the spot, and the soldier who had spoken was the first to be invited to the stage. Perhaps it was his first time on stage, and he was very nervous, but after seeing Xue Geming's encouraging gaze, he finally calmed down and began to talk about his situation.

Before coming here, he was a member of the Jinzhai City Defense Team; before that, he was a farmer. When he was a farmer, he lost his land and had nothing to eat. Seeing that the city defense bureau was recruiting, hoping to at least get a few bites of food, he signed up. Later, the recruiter saw that he was quite physically fit and agreed to let him join the city defense bureau, assigning him directly to the Jinzhai City Defense Team. However, in the year or so he spent with the city defense team, he had never had a full meal. But later, he accidentally learned that several of the team's leaders ate meat every day!

Unexpectedly, once I joined the Red Army, regardless of the food standards or how everyone ate, my leader always ate with me. And every time, the leader was always the last to be served food!

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Xue Geming, however, was the first to applaud, and everyone else followed suit. Xue Geming also remembered the name: Xiong Sheng. A moment later, he recalled that it seemed that two of the former leaders of the city defense team had been executed, and the others had gone home, but he stopped thinking about it.

For the next two months, Xue Geming did nothing but train these people intensively.

Two months later, the results of their hard training were evident: their formation and military posture were top-notch; they had also mastered other military techniques, mountain warfare skills, and jungle warfare skills.