Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Cao Mo went to the Chabei Detachment to improve its offensive capabilities. How about letting him serve as its deputy commander and chief of staff?"

"Yes. Commander of the 37th Regiment, let Tian Jingmin go."

"it is good."

Tian Jingmin was the deputy director of the column's training department and also served as the commander of the guard regiment.

It was just the right time to release him to fill Cao Mo's position as the head of the 37th Regiment.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "The Chabei Detachment has been isolated and fighting independently for years, and the political development of the troops is somewhat lacking. Comrade Feng Mulin has been the sole commander and political commissar, and he's been stretched thin. The Chabei Detachment's location is particularly complex, as it's a very complex area. I'm thinking of sending a political officer there to help."

"Who do you think is suitable?"

The Chabei Detachment is isolated and develops independently, which makes it easy for it to form its own faction.

In particular, Feng Mulin came from the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army, which was somewhat different from most other cadres of the column who came from the Central Red Army.

"How about Zhang Chao, the political commissar of the 34th Regiment? I want him to be the deputy political commissar of the Chabei Detachment."

"can."

Wang Qiuyun nodded in support.

Wang Qiuyun was currently thinking about how to take advantage of the Japanese army's current shortage of troops to capture Xuanhua and Huaian. The Chabei Detachment would be of great use then. However, this time, the Chabei Detachment suffered heavy casualties in the ambush.

Wang Qiuyun was also worried that the Chabei detachment would be afraid of fighting.

Sending Zhang Chao to serve as deputy political commissar can be regarded as the column sending Zhang Chao to do political work.

"That's settled, then. But I'm a little worried that our adjustments to the Chabei Detachment might give Comrade Feng Mulin some second thoughts. Will he think we're dissatisfied with him and want to remove him?"

Wei Hongjun was a little worried.

Feng Mulin had originally had some thoughts about the heavy casualties suffered by the Chabei Detachment during this ambush, but he didn't know what to make of the sudden change in Teacup Juice's leadership.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were satisfied with Feng Mulin and had no intention of removing him from his position as commander of the Chabei Detachment.

"How about we have Feng Mulin come to the column and talk to him to reassure him?"

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

A face-to-face, frank conversation is essential. We're all revolutionary comrades, so don't let things get muddled. The Chabei detachment has been independently developing in Chabei for years, and Wang Qiuyun, Wei Hongjun, and Feng Mulin haven't met many times. It's also necessary to take advantage of this break to have a good talk with him.

"I will telegraph him immediately and ask him to come in a column."

Chapter 388: Problems after the Base

Finally, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun decided to talk to Feng Mulin face to face first. Then they would tell Feng Mulin the column's intentions. However, just after sending a telegram to Feng Mulin requesting him to come to the first column, Wei Hongjun received a telegram from the Chabei Detachment.

Li Shiping, deputy commander of the 8th Column who was in charge of the logistics supply of the troops, and Gao Weinong, director of the Cha'nan Trade Office and director of the 8th Column's Logistics Department, came together.

They also came because of the telegram from the Chabei Detachment.

"What does it mean?"

"Political Commissar, the current situation in the base area is that the Eighth Column has a general logistics department, and each detachment has its own logistics department, and each regiment also has its own logistics department. You manage your own logistics and improve them yourself. The same goes for hospitals. Our Eighth Column has a general hospital, each detachment has its own detachment hospital, and the regiments below also have their own hospitals. The hospital's medical equipment and medicines, except for a small part that is allocated to them by the column, all others need to be found by themselves. Therefore, there will be differences when treating the wounded. Just like the Chadong Detachment Hospital treated the wounded of the Pingbei Detachment, then When the wounded were discharged, the Pingbei Detachment would pay the Chadong Detachment Hospital for their treatment. The Chabei Detachment's Sixth and Seventh Independent Regiments had suffered heavy casualties, with over a thousand wounded alone. They were all admitted to the nearby Chaxi Detachment Hospital for treatment. The Chabei Detachment had too many wounded and didn't have enough funds to pay the Chaxi Detachment at the moment. So, they sent a telegram to the Column, requesting a payment. They also needed the Column to cover the treatment costs for the wounded from the New Fourth and New Sixth Regiments, as they weren't currently affiliated with any detachment.

After hearing the report, Wei Hongjun's head suddenly ached. This was the essence of the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines, when troops dispersed to establish bases. While each detachment's hospital had support from the column, it was primarily the detachment's own capabilities. A competent detachment would have numerous doctors and nurses, as well as sufficient medical equipment and medicines. If a detachment lacked competence, or if its living conditions were poor, its hospital would be plagued by numerous problems.

The benefits of this approach are obvious.

That is to fully mobilize the subjective initiative of the various troops below.

If you have the ability to get good stuff, that's your ability. The column won't interfere. This was a very good method when the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines was just beginning.

It is precisely because the column has relaxed its power that it has allowed the various detachments and units below it to develop on their own.

Therefore, everyone can develop freely.

But it is not without drawbacks.

Each detachment has its own interests.

The hospital, which they had worked so hard to build, prioritized the wounded from their own unit. They also treated the wounded from other units, but not for free. After all, their own hospital was largely funded by their own funds. Therefore, wounded from other units receiving treatment here would have to pay for their treatment.

This makes sense in theory, but it is not right in another way.

After all, we were all members of the Eighth Route Army, and even more so, of the same Eighth Column. How could we pay for the treatment of wounded soldiers from our own unit in our own unit's hospital? If we had to pay for this, how could we be considered part of the same unit?

They are obviously the same Eighth Route Army troops.

But I was injured and received treatment from you. And you asked me for money?

How disheartening.

"It's not just the cost of medical treatment. The meals the wounded eat during their hospitalization are different. The wounded in our unit all eat wounded meals, which come with a certain allowance and eggs. But the wounded in other detachments, if the funds from other detachments are not received in time, will only have ordinary meals."

Li Shiping continued to tell Wei Hongjun about the current situation.

Seeing Wei Hongjun frowning, Li Shiping did not stop, but continued: "In addition to the hospital, the logistics agencies of each detachment also receive supplies in the same situation. When the regiments of other detachments pass through the bases of other detachments and want to replenish supplies, they must have an IOU written by their detachment. If they want to replenish supplies temporarily and do not have an IOU written by their own detachment, those logistics departments will not replenish them. This situation is very inconvenient for some troops that are fighting. Because most of the time they replenish supplies on a temporary basis, it is impossible for them to have an IOU from their own detachment. After many wounded soldiers are discharged from the hospital, if their original unit does not give them money, they will not be able to obtain supplies from other units. If they want to return to their original unit, they don’t know where to go to replenish supplies along the way.

Wei Hongjun got even more headache when he heard this.

A fighting army needs to replenish supplies at any time.

However, because they were not part of their own detachment, their logistics department would not provide them with supplies. They needed an IOU from the detachment where the combat troops were located before they could provide them with supplies.

But where can we get the IOU from the detachment for such temporary combat supplies?

If, for this reason, supplies are insufficient and combat missions are not completed, who will be held responsible? Furthermore, regimental-level units are considered the backbone of the Eighth Column, and regimental-level officers are considered mid- to upper-level leaders within the Column. Even without the support of the detachment, these individuals might still be able to secure some supplies through connections with their comrades. However, if battalion- or company-level units lack the support of the detachment, they likely won't even be able to enter the logistics system.

This is not a small problem.

But this is not something that can be solved with just one word from Wei Hongjun. If Wei Hongjun abolished this phenomenon with just one word, it would directly affect the enthusiasm of the cadres at the next level.

After all, the logistical supplies for the troops below them were obtained through their desperate efforts. Why should other troops be able to resupply whenever they want? If all troops were allowed to resupply at will, how would the subordinate detachments be motivated to obtain supplies? After all, even if they did obtain supplies, they wouldn't all belong to their own detachment; other troops would come and share in the supplies. If the subordinate detachments didn't have the motivation to obtain supplies, how could they develop?

In order to encourage the troops below to actively develop things, the column cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to this matter.

However, if this phenomenon is not corrected, it will breed serious factionalism. Each unit will only care about its own interests and the petty schemes of its own group. If the current situation is not changed and this phenomenon continues for a long time, it will affect the unity among the troops of the Eighth Column.

If a unit loses its unity, it will lose its combat effectiveness.

The Eighth Column has now grown to the point where it can operate on a large scale. It's no longer the old days of a battalion or regiment managing a base. In the future, the Eighth Column will have the opportunity to form a field corps and conduct operations. At this time, we must not let these issues affect the unity of the troops.

So the current situation is unacceptable to Wei Hongjun.

Historically, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region suffered several setbacks after the Anti-Japanese War. The Jin-Cha-Ji base area, a model base area during the Anti-Japanese War, unexpectedly suffered a series of defeats in the early days of the Liberation War. Later, when Commander-in-Chief Zhu came to investigate, the first thing he did was to overhaul the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's logistics.

The reason was that the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's logistics organization was too large, and each operated independently, each with its own petty interests. This directly affected the Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army's combat effectiveness. These logistics organizations were a huge burden, hindering the Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army's mobility.

The Jin-Cha-Ji troops had their own logistics organization from top to bottom.

No one is willing to give up their own interests, and as a result, the troops only care about their own small interests. How can such troops have combat effectiveness?

Commander-in-Chief Zhu ignored the petty schemes of his subordinates and decisively merged these logistics organizations, completely severing the connection between them and the field troops. Without the burden of these logistics organizations, the Jin-Cha Wing's mobility improved significantly, and its combat effectiveness also increased rapidly.

Field troops didn't need to worry about logistics. Wherever they went, they could simply contact their base's logistics department with a note and resupply supplies. This was, in fact, the process of the Jin-Cha-Ji Army becoming regularized.

But what to do now?

If the Chabei Detachment had not sent a telegram to the Column this time, Wei Hongjun would not have known that there were so many problems in the 8th Column's logistics department. If left unchecked, the problems of the early days of the Liberation War would recur.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and asked Gao Weinong next to him, "Director Gao, how is the Trade Department doing?"

"Political Commissar, when our Trade Office was established, it was already separated from the military contingent. We have a dedicated department in the Trade Office, and we are only responsible for making money and raising supplies. We do not interfere with the work of the military contingent."

Gao Weinong answered.

Wei Hongjun nodded. Of course he knew this.

In order to prevent the Eighth Column's troops from mixing with the logistics troops, which would affect the combat effectiveness of the field troops, the Wei Hongjun established a special logistics department for the Eighth Column when the Trade Department was first established. Gao Weinong was the director of both the Trade Department and the Logistics Department.

The task of the column's logistics department was to earn money and collect supplies. It was separate from the logistics departments of the subordinate units.

Chapter 389 Ownership Issues

"While this was the case for the column, the situation was different for the various units. While the detachments and regiments below were not officially allowed to establish trading companies, the trade office's unified purchasing and sales had to go through the various units below. Therefore, the column's trade office, when deployed to the various units below, actually overlapped with their logistics departments and chariot teams. The logistics organizations of the various units below were collectively responsible for trade and logistics, with the same staff, but under two different banners. It was just that one was for internal affairs, the other for external affairs.

The Column's Trade and Logistics Departments couldn't interfere with this. After all, when it comes to establishing connections between the base area and enemy-occupied areas, as well as between other base areas, the various units have a greater advantage than we do. If the Column doesn't go through them, it will be difficult to implement the unified purchase and marketing plan throughout the army and the base area."

Gao Weinong added something.

Although the column had separate trade and logistics departments, they were all mixed together in the various units below. The units simply didn't have that many officers to oversee so many things.

Business, supplies, and logistics were all handled by the military's logistics department. Only the Column had separate trade and logistics departments. Of course, to be more specific, the Column wasn't completely separate; the two departments were closely intertwined.

Don’t look at anything else, just look at Gao Weinong and you will know.

Gao Weinong is the director of both the Trade Department and the Logistics Department.

“How will the money earned and the materials raised be distributed?”

"After the final tally is made, the troops are allocated uniformly by the columns. They are allocated based on each unit's combat results and needs.

Wei Hongjun scratched his head.

After the establishment of the Trade Office, it made a great contribution to improving the base area's economy and increasing the Eighth Column's material reserves. Because of the Trade Office and the unified purchase and sale system, it was possible to provide the people in the base area with affordable supplies.

At the same time, the Eight Columns can also support themselves.

But Wei Hongjun always felt that something was wrong.

I couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure that the money and supplies earned by the Trade Office are in the control of the Column Trade Office and the Logistics Department?"

"Political Commissar, the Trade and Logistics Departments generally hold the actual data, though minor discrepancies are bound to exist. Although the Column doesn't allow its subordinate units to form their own trading companies, it's still quite common for them to do so. Almost every detachment has this practice, including its own regiments. Local governments and units have also established their own trading companies. They're simply named differently to circumvent the Column's prohibitions, and are lumped together with their logistics departments. However, they perform the same functions as trading companies. Once the subordinate units have their own trading companies, they conduct their own business. We don't have data on this."

Gao Weinong hesitated for a moment, but still reported truthfully.

Wei Hongjun was very angry.

When the Trade Office was first established, the Column clearly didn't allow the subordinate troops and local governments to form trading companies. The base's overall business was handed over to the Trade Office, while the troops established the Column's Logistics Department.

The Trade Department set up branches in various troops and bases to arrange trade matters in a unified manner.

Unfortunately, interests can only move people's hearts.

All the military units and local governments have set their sights on this piece of meat.

Wei Hongjun did not reprimand Gao Weinong.

Because Wei Hongjun knew Gao Weinong's difficulties. Although Gao Weinong was the director of the Trade Department and the Logistics Department, he held great power and influence.

But after all, he had only been a member of the party for two years, and those under him were all local lords.

This is something Gao Weinong cannot suppress.