The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Xue Geming personally demonstrated how to throw grenades and plant mines, and had Zhao Boping and a few others specifically look for people with good arm strength and hand feel to organize into professional grenadiers; while some born hunters and some skillful people were gathered together to be trained as engineers.

Soon, everything returned to normal, and another month of training ensued. Fortunately, Li Jiansheng had chosen a very good time. Zhao Boping and a few others even went to talk to Xue Geming, saying that he was really good at diagnosing problems, because just as he had predicted, no one bothered them for several whole months, giving everyone ample time to train.

Because of the abundant harvest and the safe arrival of everyone, the Spring Festival was exceptionally comfortable. This winter, snow fell in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region, and while everyone stayed home, Xue Geming saw it as a rare opportunity for training. He and several battalion leaders personally led the entire unit on a field training exercise in the snow, sometimes lying there for hours at a time. However, a problem arose: the camouflage uniforms, effective in the jungle, were extremely conspicuous in the snow. This reminded Xue Geming and the others of something. Xue Geming suddenly remembered a book he had read before and immediately came up with a solution: each soldier should prepare some white cloth for camouflage.

In fact, this snow training exercise was not just about training troops and discovering shortcomings, as Xue Geming had imagined. More importantly, it gave his troops their first experience of fighting and living in snowy weather and snowy conditions.

After several months of rest and recuperation, by the following spring, Xue Geming's troops were a completely different force. Months of training had significantly improved the soldiers' physical fitness, military bearing, and morale. Equipment was now fully deployed. Each soldier was equipped with two standard sets of uniforms: a gray cloth uniform and a camouflage uniform, along with a white cloak. Each soldier also carried a belt and a standard canteen. While there weren't enough metal canteens, every soldier had a drinking canteen; some used captured military canteens, but most used simple bamboo canteens. These canteens were easy to make because bamboo was abundant locally. Multi-functional entrenching tools, standard three-pronged spears, homemade hunting rifles, homemade grenades, homemade landmines, homemade explosive charges, and so on, were also being mass-produced and issued to the troops. While not every soldier could be fully equipped, it was ensured that every soldier had a weapon. Yun Tian's special operations company and the guard and communications platoon were fully equipped.

Seeing that the year was over and his troops had taken shape again, Xue Geming finally decided to reorganize them. At that time, with the addition of wounded and rehabilitated soldiers from the former Fourth Front Army and the Twenty-Fifth Army who had subsequently joined the army, as well as newly enlisted recruits, and a support team of 300 men sent by the division commander from Jiangnan, Xue Geming's forces reached an astonishing 1820 men. After discussing with He Changgong and several other leaders, Xue Geming decided to reorganize the troops as follows:

The unit was upgraded from a veritable "Hubei-Henan-Anhui Independent Brigade" to the "Hubei-Henan-Anhui Independent Regiment of the 19th Red Army Division," and a military flag was raised. It had a regimental headquarters, and under it were four combat battalions, one logistics and supply company, one guard company, one communications company, one engineer company, one grenade throwing company, one sniper company, one reconnaissance company, one weapons research institute, one clothing factory, and one ironware bureau.

The regimental leadership consisted of eight people. Xue Geming himself served as the regimental commander; He Changgong, a high-ranking Party official and political commissar; Bian Jing, the deputy regimental commander in charge of military affairs; Cai Zhongshan, the deputy regimental commander in charge of logistics, supplies, and separately managed units; Yun Tiansheng, the deputy regimental commander in charge of special operations; Zhao Boping, the director of the political department; Wang Hansheng, the chief of staff; and Zeng Shangtian, the director of the soldiers' committee. Xue Geming established the position of "political commissar" within the regiment, whose responsibilities remained the same as before. In addition, he specifically proposed Yun Tiansheng as deputy regimental commander.

Combat battalions were numbered as follows: First Battalion, Second Battalion, Third Battalion, and Special Service Battalion.

The battalion consisted of 350 men. Guo Hu was promoted to battalion commander; Li Yuhe was appointed political instructor; Guo Dage and Niu Dazhu were appointed deputy battalion commanders, with Guo Dage also serving as deputy political instructor; Qian Daming was appointed full-time deputy political instructor. The battalion was further divided into three combat companies, one special service company, two special platoons directly under the battalion, and one cookhouse. These were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies; the special service company (reconnaissance platoon, engineer platoon, grenade thrower platoon); the guard and communications platoon; the logistics and supplies platoon; and the cookhouse. Each combat company consisted of three combat platoons, one special service platoon, and several special platoons; the battalion-level special platoons also had several platoons. All platoon and squad leaders were currently promoted from the first and second batches of veterans who had received special training from Xue Geming and others. A very small number were selected from those who performed exceptionally well among the later prisoners of war, outstanding young farmers who joined the army, or outstanding former scattered soldiers who returned to the unit. Future junior officers were all selected based on their outstanding performance in combat. In particular, because the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region is mountainous and a typical hilly area, Xue Geming demanded that this battalion strengthen its combat training in mountainous terrain.

The Second Battalion consisted of 350 men. Company Commander Lu Xiaoshan was appointed, with local Party member Li Sailong serving as the company's political instructor. Yan Dongzi and Liu Fusheng were appointed as deputy company commanders. Former Party member Wang Xiaofei was promoted to deputy battalion commander due to his strong tactical abilities and excellent performance. Liu Fusheng was assigned to another post. Liu Tiao served as the full-time deputy political instructor. The organizational structure of the battalion's subordinate units and the appointment methods for officers at all levels were the same as those of the First Battalion. Considering that the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region was not only mountainous but also densely forested, and that Mangshan was a primeval forest, Xue Geming required the battalion to strengthen its combat training in the jungle.

The Third Battalion, with 350 men, was commanded by Yang Guisheng, with Zeng Shangtian, the director of the Soldiers' Committee, concurrently serving as the political instructor. Ding Xiaochuan and Zhou Xiaohua, former members of the detachment, were deputy battalion commanders, and Jin Wang, a local party member, was the deputy political instructor. The structure of the battalion's subordinate organizations and the appointment methods for officers at all levels were the same as those of the First Battalion. This battalion was to receive special training in mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare, a specific requirement of Xue Geming.

The Special Operations Battalion, with 350 men, was commanded by Yun Tiansheng, with Wu Zheng as political instructor, Bai Kaishan and Liu Limin as deputy battalion commanders, and Mi Ying as full-time deputy political instructor. The structure of its subordinate units and the appointment methods for officers at all levels were the same as the First, Second, and Third Battalions. However, this battalion possessed the best weaponry and the most skilled personnel, and was required to operate in all weather conditions, with particular emphasis on enhancing its night fighting and urban warfare capabilities.