Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The only way is to learn.

Just like the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, we should establish schools in the base areas to provide training for the grassroots commanders of the guerrilla army and improve their quality. Only when the quality of grassroots commanders and fighters improves can the combat effectiveness of the troops be improved.

"It can only be the."

Zhang Dahu nodded.

Wei Hongjun continued, "We need to expand our forces to around 700 to 800 men, but we currently have less than 200 men. We need to recruit the remaining 500 to 600 men. Although we fought beautifully this time and had a great impact, it's not easy to recruit so many soldiers in such a short period of time. Teacher Li, are you confident?"

"It's hard to say."

Li Shiping said, "I've been active in the Third District for a while now, and I've been contacting the surrounding villages and promoting anti-Japanese resistance. Many young people want to join the guerrilla army after hearing our propaganda, but five or six hundred people is really not a small number.

The total population of the Third District is only around 20,000 people, so recruiting 500 to 600 people there is not easy. Especially since our Eighth Route Army doesn't have any pay, recruiting soldiers is even more difficult."

Recruiting soldiers is not as easy as just saying a few words or shouting a few slogans.

If recruiting soldiers was really that easy, the Nationalist army wouldn't have drafted so many men. In fact, this situation occurred because there were few people willing to serve. Anti-Japanese, anti-Japanese, do ordinary people know what anti-Japanese means? The Eighth Route Army was also like this in Shanxi.

The Eighth Route Army had no roots in Shanxi, and many Shanxi people did not know what the Eighth Route Army was doing.

Yan Xishan had been in Shanxi for many years and held a great influence on the people of Shanxi. For the people of Shanxi, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was their own army. They could not trust other central armies or the Eighth Route Army all at once.

Although Li Shiping had been doing local work during this period, it was not easy for the people of Sheng County to fully accept the Eighth Route Army. Moreover, recruiting 500 to 600 soldiers was even more difficult. Why would they join the Eighth Route Army when they didn't even get paid?

Wei Hongjun frowned.

The guerrilla army now has no shortage of money, weapons, ammunition, food, or even cloth. What it lacks is people, people willing to serve as soldiers.

“This is still a matter of base construction.”

"Yes."

Li Shiping has the most say.

He said, "Although the Japanese army has entered Sheng County, they only have one squadron. Therefore, the original government agencies of Sheng County are still there. They are hostile to our Eighth Route Army. If we want to develop in Sheng County, we must have our own local government agencies. Only by strengthening the construction of the base area can we avoid such problems."

"It seems we need to start rent and interest reduction in Sheng County as soon as possible to build a base in Sheng County."

Only by paying attention to the land issues that concern rural farmers the most can the Eighth Route Army take root in Sheng County.

The current land issue is rent and interest reduction.

Only by carrying out the rent and interest reduction campaign can we gain the support of the peasants in the countryside. With the support of the peasants and those enlightened landlords, the guerrilla army can establish its own base and local government in Sheng County. Then, there will be no need to worry about the problem of recruiting soldiers.

"Commander, you and the Chief of Staff will be responsible for expanding and training the troops, as well as helping the villagers repair their damaged houses. I will work with Teacher Li to implement rent and interest reductions."

"it is good."

There are not enough cadres, and Wei Hongjun, a military political cadre, has to participate in local work.

Without Wei Hongjun, Wang Qiuyun would have been responsible not only for the military's development but also for its political work. However, many Red Army cadres from the Central Soviet Area were capable of both civil and military duties. Many veteran Red Army cadres served in both roles. This included high-ranking military officials, who alternated between military and political work.

"Teacher Li, please help me make an appointment with Principal Yang Yonghui. I want to talk to him."

Chapter 026 Contact Yang Yonghui

Caoyangzhuang is the fifth district of Sheng County, located in the southeast of Sheng County.

It was about 80 miles from Zhangjiagou Village. Wei Hongjun followed Li Shiping to Caoyangzhuang. Because the guerrilla army had grown to its current size, Wei Hongjun had already deeply understood that the most important thing now was to establish, build, and develop a base area.

Everything will be easy once we have a base.

Without a stable base, there's nothing. With a base, the army can organize and recruit troops within it. When there were only a few hundred men, they could survive on spoils. But as the army grows to seven or eight hundred, and with the addition of administrative personnel, the total number exceeds a thousand, relying solely on spoils becomes impossible.

There must be a stable base to provide food and wages to the troops.

To put it bluntly, it means collecting taxes.

Only by collecting taxes can the army survive. To collect taxes, it is necessary to build a base and a local government. To build a base, the most important task at present is to implement rent and interest reduction.

Reducing rent and interest requires the cooperation of local gentry.

Yang Yonghui, recommended by Li Shiping, was a renowned figure in Sheng County. His family, also a prominent family in Sheng County, was precisely the kind of enlightened gentry Wei Hongjun needed.

Caoyangzhuang also has many mountains, but also a lot of arable land.

Therefore, there are quite a few landlords.

When Wei Hongjun and Li Shiping arrived at Caoyang Village, Wei Hongjun saw a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a blue gown and exuding the air of a scholar.

"headmaster."

"Mr. Lee."

Li Shiping dismounted and bowed slightly when he saw Yang Yonghui, and Yang Yonghui returned the salute.

Scholars have many etiquettes.

After the two men exchanged greetings, Li Shiping introduced Wei Hongjun to Yang Yonghui: "Principal, this is the political commissar of our Shengxian guerrilla army, Wei Hongjun, from the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. Political Commissar, this is Principal Yang Yonghui whom I mentioned to you."

"Principal Yang, I've long heard of your great name. I heard your name on the first day I arrived in Sheng County."

"Political Commissar Wei, I'm truly familiar with your Eighth Route Army. The 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army won a great victory at Pingxingguan, boosting the nation's anti-Japanese morale. Political Commissar Wei, you won consecutive victories in Shengxian, driving the Japanese army into the county seat, where they dared not even show their heads.

You are a heroic unit."

"Principal Yang, that's too much praise. We are soldiers, and it is our responsibility to defend our country."

"Commissar Wei, let's not talk here. Please go inside and talk."

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun and Li Shiping entered Yang Yonghui's Caoyangzhuang guerrilla camp.

Wei Hongjun observes the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas.

All of these armed forces in Sheng County were within Wei Hongjun's calculations. The future anti-Japanese situation in Sheng County would definitely be the responsibility of the guerrilla army. These other armed forces would all be incorporated into the guerrilla army.

The Caoyangzhuang guerrillas have a large number of people, and there are more than 150 people currently in training.

Li Shiping explained that the Caoyangzhuang guerrilla unit had many students. Wei Hongjun also noticed that there were quite a few students there. Many of them knew Li Shiping and greeted him whenever they saw him.

Looking at so many students, Wei Hongjun was filled with envy. In the current Eighth Route Army, anyone who could read and write was a treasure. Many of the Eighth Route Army's grassroots officers and soldiers were illiterate, and many learned to read and write in the army.

The literacy rate of the grassroots commanders of the 115th Division is relatively high in the Eighth Route Army. In comparison, there are even many illiterate grassroots commanders in the 120th and 129th Divisions. Therefore, within the Eighth Route Army, people with knowledge are treasured.

Not to mention that most of these have only a secondary school education.

Such educated individuals, if properly nurtured, are all potential future cadres. Even if they can't become military cadres, they can become political cadres. Even if they don't serve in the military, they can participate in the development of local governments. Therefore, Wei Hongjun was extremely envious of these students.

At present, the guerrilla army lacks educated people.

The Caoyangzhuang guerrillas were formed by a scholar, and I had initially thought they were a loose bunch of guerrillas. Unexpectedly, they were actually well-trained.

"Political Commissar Wei, please."

A very simple house, probably the command room of the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas.

There were few people in Yang Yonghui's command room. Yang Yonghui personally poured tea for Wei Hongjun and Li Shiping. Although the command room was simple, it was an intellectual's room after all, and it had everything you needed.

"Political Commissar Wei, the battles you fought were truly remarkable and shook the entire Sheng County. The Japanese army is now holed up in the county seat and won't leave. This is all thanks to you."

"Principal Yang, the reason we were able to win was actually because the Japanese army had too few people in Sheng County. Sheng County is so large, with high mountains and dense forests, and there are ambushes everywhere. The Japanese army only has one reinforced squadron of more than 200 soldiers in Sheng County, so they suffered such a setback. The reason why the Japanese army only has one reinforced squadron in Sheng County is because the main force of the Japanese army is fighting the Battle of Xinkou, so they can't spare many troops. However, after the Japanese army finishes the Battle of Xinkou and then takes Taiyuan, the national army troops can only retreat, and the Shanxi Suiyuan Army troops will cross the Yellow River. By then, it will be difficult for the entire Shanxi Province to have another Xinkou. "If we don't fight a large-scale regular battle like the Battle of the Yellow River, the Nationalist troops east of the Yellow River will become fewer and fewer, allowing the Japanese to withdraw troops to consolidate the occupied areas. And the Shengxian guerrillas and the Caoyangzhuang guerrillas led by Principal Yang will be the main targets of the Japanese mopping-up. We can still barely deal with a Japanese squadron. If the Japanese army stationed a battalion in Shengxian, that would be a thousand Japanese troops. On the battlefield, a Japanese battalion could even chase down a division of our troops. With our current strength, if a Japanese battalion really stationed in Shengxian, we would not be a match."

Yang Yonghui was silent for a moment before he said, "Political Commissar Wei thinks we will fail in the Battle of Xinkou? We can't hold Taiyuan?"

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun answered with certainty.

Yang Yonghui fell silent again.

After a while, he said, "Commander Yan still has hundreds of thousands of troops and the support of the Central Army. The Battle of Xinkou is raging. How could he fail? Besides, even if Taiyuan falls, it won't be in a short time."

"Principal Yang, you are our teacher in terms of scholarship. But when it comes to fighting, I am a veteran. You have never been to the battlefield, never fought against the Japanese, and don't know the specifics of the situation. I followed the 115th Division across the Yellow River into Shanxi, and saw so much along the way. The Battle of Xinkou is currently being fought fiercely, but the Nationalist Army is already exhausted. I can guarantee here that in less than two weeks, the entire Xinkou Campaign will end with our defeat. As long as the Xinkou Campaign fails, Taiyuan will be lost no matter what. If the Xinkou Campaign fails, everyone will rush to escape, and no one will care about Taiyuan."

Yan Xishan had been in Shanxi for too long and had very deep roots there.

Scholars like Yang Yonghui, who retired from politics for various reasons, still trusted Yan Xishan more than the Eighth Route Army. Only by dispelling such illusions and telling them that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army truly could not return to northeastern Shanxi could their unrealistic expectations be dispelled.

Yang Yonghui is really just a scholar.

The Caoyangzhuang guerrillas were formed simply because of the simplest patriotism in my heart.

I am indeed unfamiliar with war.

Therefore, it is not known whether Wei Hongjun’s judgment on the Battle of Xinkou is correct or not.

"Principal Yang, the Japanese won't give us much time. We must strengthen our strength before they can withdraw their troops to sweep us. I came here this time to invite Principal Yang to cooperate in the fight against Japan."

"Let's fight Japan together, let's fight Japan together."

Yang Yonghui kept saying this.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Teacher Li, I want to talk to Political Commissar Wei alone. Is that okay?"

"Then you guys talk. I'll go check on the students."

Chapter 027 Land Issues

After Li Shiping left, Yang Yonghui slowly said, "Political Commissar Wei, were you a member of the Red Army?"

"Yes."

"I heard that the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was the Zhu-Mao Red Army that caused such a sensation in Jiangxi back then?"

"Our 115th Division was reorganized from the former Zhu-Mao Red Army and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Red Army."

"Back then, the Red Army wanted to fight against the local tyrants and divide up the land."

"After the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated to resist Japan, our central government no longer put forward such slogans. Our current slogan for the Eighth Route Army is rent and interest reduction, though the details are still under discussion. However, the general policy is a 25% rent reduction, meaning, in principle, a 25% reduction from the original pre-war rent. Of course, a rent ceiling will also be set. As for interest reduction, the original rural loan relationship will be recognized, but the annual interest rate cannot exceed 1.5%.

For a scholar like Yang Yonghui, you have to convince him from a policy perspective.

He is different from those grassroots heroes.

These grassroots heroes might have joined the Eighth Route Army because of the personal charisma of a particular soldier. Others, believing the Eighth Route Army could defeat the Japanese, would join. Even those hoping for promotion and unable to find other units behind enemy lines would join the Eighth Route Army. There were all sorts of reasons.

But most readers don’t do this.

Especially for someone like Yang Yonghui, who was well-educated, thoughtful, and experienced, it was not easy to win him over to the Eighth Route Army. Therefore, Wei Hongjun gave detailed answers to Yang Yonghui's questions.

Tell him the policies of the Eighth Route Army.

Yang Yonghui nodded and said, "During the Great Revolution, Premier Sun proposed the new Three Principles of the People, and the policy he was going to implement was exactly this. Later, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated in the Northern Expedition, and both sides agreed to this plan."

During the Great Revolution, Yang Yonghui was also one of the passionate young people.