Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Kick out some unqualified recruits.

But even so, the New Third Regiment, with nearly 2000 people, is still very strong.

The cavalry regiment consisted of 1060 men, 620 war horses, and 530 horse rifles. The special forces regiment consisted of 850 men, 630 rifles, two heavy machine guns, six light machine guns, and four grenade launchers. The Longyan Chixian brigade consisted of 2 men, 6 rifles, and four light machine guns.

"Why do you have so few weapons?"

Wei Hongjun frowned.

The Chadong Detachment was quite capable. With a combined strength of around 6000 men, it was about the same strength as the original independent detachment.

However, the weapons and equipment of the Chadong Detachment were much worse than Wei Hongjun expected.

The Chadong Detachment had fought many battles before, annihilating many Japanese and puppet troops. When Wu Shi rebelled, he annihilated a reinforced Japanese squadron and a regiment of puppet Manchukuo troops. He had captured a lot of valuables, but now, he wondered why their weapons were so poor.

"Political Commissar, the main problem is that too many are broken. We've been fighting frequently this past year, and many of our weapons are old and damaged. The Chadong Detachment and the Longyanchi Base were established so recently that we can only repair some of the simpler weapons. The more seriously damaged ones have to be set aside.

"Are there many weapons like this?"

"A lot. There are over 1,400 rifles of all kinds, long and short, plus more than ten heavy machine guns and about thirty light machine guns.

"Pack them all up and take them with me when I leave. When I get back, I'll have the detachment give you two hundred spears, how about that?

"Commissar, you are very good at business."

Zhang Dahu laughed out loud.

He said, "Take these broken guns back and tinker with them. You should be able to make four or five hundred guns. You can also assemble a lot of light and heavy machine guns. Just two hundred guns will be enough to deal with us.

"Just two hundred, do you want them?"

"Yes, of course. But Commissar, you can't fool us with some old cartridges. We want the Type 38 rifle.

"No. Jin-made rifles or Hanyang-made rifles."

Wei Hongjun rejected Zhang Dahu angrily.

As the army expanded, weapons and ammunition began to run low. Battlefield plunder alone was no longer sufficient to meet the Eighth Route Army's growing needs. The Type 38 rifle was a treasure in every unit. Even within the columns, only the most capable units were top-tier, core units. So where could Wei Hongjun find two hundred rifles for the Chadong Detachment?

The Jin-made rifles and the newer Hanyang-made rifles are both in great demand.

"Then we need to make rifles."

"it is good."

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen exchanged glances and were very satisfied with this method.

After all, two hundred guns was no small number. Trading in the broken ones for usable ones was a good deal. Of course, they both knew that if they brought so many guns to the 8th Column's armory, they could make a lot of usable guns. Overall, the column got more good stuff.

But this admiration is useless.

The arsenal of the Eighth Column is the treasure of the Eighth Column.

"Didn't you ambushed a brigade of the puppet Manchukuo army? They should have captured quite a bit of spoils.

"Yes. We seized over 1300 Type 22 rifles and Type rifles."

"It seems you still have plenty of weapons and ammunition."

Why do you like to fight puppet troops?

This is because after defeating the puppet army, the spoils would be plentiful. Even if we were to defeat the same 2000 Japanese troops, the final spoils would be far less than what we would have gotten from the puppet army. Although the Japanese army had better equipment, they were more combat-effective. After the battle, there was very little ammunition left, and many weapons were broken, sometimes even damaged by the Japanese themselves.

The puppet army is different.

The battle was over in a few hours, with a lot of ammunition left and not much damage to the weapons.

"Not bad, not bad. After annihilating the Fourth Brigade of the Puppet Manchukuo, our troops' weapons and equipment have improved a lot, and we have more ammunition.

"I know the origins of the Longyan Chixian Brigade. This unit has been around for a while anyway. How is the unit's reform going?"

"Political Commissar, we were just about to report. Since the Longyan Chixian Brigade was established, Captain Wu Shi has been very active and hasn't played any tricks on us. Many people in this unit have followed Wu Shi in fighting bandits for many years, and their relationship is extraordinary. Therefore, I have decided to appoint Comrade Wu Pingshan as Secretary of the Chicheng County Committee and Political Commissar of the Longyan Chixian Brigade. Comrade Wu Pingshan is Wu Shi's only son, and Wu Shi cares deeply about him.

Wei Hongjun listened to the report quietly.

The "Chicheng Rebellion" in October 1938 caused a sensation in the entire Chahar.

After all, Wu Shi led over a thousand men to the rebellion. Thanks to his rebellion, the New Third Regiment annihilated nearly five hundred Japanese troops, as well as a regiment of puppet Manchukuo troops, and took control of Chicheng. This directly disrupted the Japanese and puppet troops' raid on the Longyanchi base.

But this force is difficult to manage.

The Eighth Route Army was also worried about provoking Wu Shi and causing problems for this rebellious army.

"How did Comrade Wu Pingshan perform?"

“This is a talent.”

When mentioning Wu Pingshan, Xiahou Wen's face was filled with admiration. He said, "He's a young man, full of vigor and energy, but he's also very steady and never in a hurry. After becoming the political commissar, he didn't vigorously promote our party's ideas, nor did he interfere heavily in the affairs of the county brigade. Yet, he inadvertently sent quite a few people to the county brigade, completely unnoticed. I guess Wu Shi knew about it, but many people in the county brigade probably didn't react. He's truly subtle and effective, and you can't tell he's just a young official in his early twenties."

"The young man has the spirit of a great general."

When reforming an army, the most feared thing is a fierce attack.

There have been many instances in the history of our Party where the old and new units failed to integrate. Besides the fact that some members of the old units were unable to adapt to the discipline of the revolutionary army, another reason was that the cadres in charge of the reorganization were too impatient and did not understand the concept of gradual progress.

As a result, a conflict arose with the cadres of the original unit.

The same problem now plagued the Ji-Re-Liaoning Army. After arriving at the Ji-Re-Liaoning Army, Commander Xiao Zijing seemed to have completely taken control of the troops within a short period of time, making them obey his orders completely. But this wasn't so easy.

As an outsider cadre, why do you think you can interfere with and control the troops as soon as you arrive?

Obviously, Wu Pingshan knows that more haste makes waste.

Xia Houwen continued, “And the most amazing thing about Comrade Wu Pingshan is that although he didn’t do the work of those officers in the county brigade, their children all became our people.

"is it?"

"Yes, Political Commissar. Many of them grew up together. Comrade Wu Pingshan worked with them and developed many party members and activists. Comrade Wu Pingshan's next plan is to have these young people serve in the county brigade. This way, we can gradually transform the county brigade."

"How is the construction of the local base in Chifeng going?"

"Comrade Wu Pingshan still has some problems with base construction, mainly because he lacks experience in this area. However, in terms of recruiting party members and promoting anti-Japanese resistance, Chifeng is currently thriving. I have sent people to teach him about the anti-Japanese base in Chifeng. However, Comrade Wu Pingshan is very busy and has a lot to do, so he lacks training in this area."

"I understand what you mean."

Wu Pingshan was able to serve as the secretary of the Chifeng County Party Committee because of his father Wu Shi.

But he was a student, and his previous work was primarily focused on student movements and propaganda, leaving him with no experience in base area construction. Currently, as the county party secretary, base area construction is a top priority. However, he also has to manage the affairs of the Longyanchi County Brigade, so he has no time to catch up on this lesson.

This is a capable and promising young cadre.

It's just a lack of experience.

"Let him do his job well, especially the reorganization of the Longyan Chixian Battalion. After all, this is a unit of a thousand men and guns. Once he has reformed this unit, I will recommend him to study at the Jin-Cha-Ji Military and Political Cadre School for a period of time. Then he can come to the column to study for a period of time, and then I will return him to you."

Chapter 232 The Future of Chadong Branch

"Political Commissar, among all the troops in our Eighth Column, our Chadong Detachment has the fewest cadres. You are still transferring cadres from us. If you bring Wu Pingshan to the column, can you return him to us?"

Zhang Dahu immediately complained.

The Chadong Detachment had the shortest history. Its New 1st Regiment, New 3rd Regiment, Cavalry Regiment, and Special Forces Regiment were not reorganized from Red Army units. Many were reorganized from other civilian armed forces.

So there is a severe shortage of cadres.

The Chadong Detachment is most in need of outstanding political cadres like Wu Pingshan.

Look at the Japanese army’s massive sweep last year.

Compared to the casualties on the battlefield, the New Third Regiment suffered even more casualties, with even more fleeing. Xiahou Wendu had originally planned to expand the New Third Regiment to over 3,000 men, but in the end, only around 900 could be mustered. You can imagine how severe the loss of troops was.

Xiahou Wen knew that this was because the troops' training and ideological work were not good enough.

But Xiahou Wen had no choice.

He wasn't some celestial being. Even if Xiahou Wen didn't sleep every day, he wouldn't be able to handle all the work. After all the hard work of finding an outstanding young cadre like Wu Pingshan, it looked like Wei Hongjun was planning to take him away.

"Don't worry, I will definitely return it to you. I just want Wu Pingshan to learn more and do more things in the future. I won't compete with you for Wu Pingshan. In a while, I will give you a tiger general from the Chadong Detachment, including some excellent organized troops.

"Political Commissar, who is that?" There was no general of the Eighth Column that Zhang Dahu didn't know.

So Zhang Dahu didn’t really believe it.

The Eighth Column has opened up so many bases, and what it lacks is cadres of all types. How could a talented general be able to join the Chadong Detachment? Not to mention the incorporation of a complete unit into the Chadong Detachment.

"How could I possibly lie to you? Have you heard of the Iron-Blooded Anti-Japanese Squadron active in Fangshan and Laishui?"

"I heard about it. They once ambushed Sugiyama Moto's convoy."

"Just a while ago, they attacked the Japanese Nanyuan Airport and destroyed four Japanese planes. Their troops are all educated people, with more than a hundred college students from Peking University and Yenching University alone. This unit will soon join our Eighth Column."

"Political Commissar, are you planning to let our Chadong Detachment lead this armed force?"

Zhang Dahu was very excited.

Although this iron-blooded anti-Japanese unit was only a battalion in size, it was quite famous. Furthermore, it was composed entirely of students, yet it was able to maintain its current combat effectiveness. The Chadong Branch was mostly composed of outlaws, but lacked intellectuals.

Why do Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen like Wu Pingshan?

It was because Wu Pingshan brought in a large number of students to join the Chadong Branch.

"What are you thinking? How many people to give you will require me to discuss with the column party committee before we can decide. However, Comrade Jiang Hebai, the captain of the Iron-Blooded Anti-Japanese Team, will be transferred to your Chadong Branch. And I will work hard and give you at least one squadron of the Chadong Branch from the Iron-Blooded Anti-Japanese Team.

"That's enough."

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen were both very satisfied.

A squadron of the Iron-Blooded Anti-Japanese Team is a company-sized unit.

As for Jiang Hebai, he was no ordinary person. A ten-year Party veteran, he had been a student in Northeast China. After the September 18th Incident, he returned to his hometown and, with his bare hands, began attacking Japanese police stations. Within six months, he had built a 3,000-man anti-Japanese volunteer army. At the time, Jiang Hebai was only twenty years old.

However, during the Rehe Anti-Japanese War, this troop that came to participate in the war was disarmed by the National Army.

Jiang Hebai left the army and returned to Beijing to attend university. He later became a student leader during the December 9th Movement. After the July 7th Incident, he led a group of students to form an anti-Japanese guerrilla force, which is now known as the Iron Blood Anti-Japanese Force.

These students have never touched a gun.

Jiang Hebai, with this group of students, unexpectedly created a powerful and iron-blooded anti-Japanese team. Moreover, they were stationed between Fangshan and Laishui, and the Japanese and puppet troops did not attack them during many raids.

This is a general who is both civil and military.

Every base needs such a general.

"Okay, now let's get back to the original topic. I'm going to give you an order for the Chadong Detachment. Take a look here."

"Commissar, this place is full of bad people. The Japanese have been in Rehe for five or six years, but they still don't have complete control here.

"I know. This place is mountainous and densely forested, but it's not a wealthy place. The Japanese army mainly recruited former police officers, bandits, and others to help maintain order. However, those people are unruly. If they can cooperate with the Japanese, they will become puppet soldiers. If they can't cooperate, they will go up to the mountains and become bandits. The Japanese don't care, as long as they don't affect the Japanese."