Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The Japanese army is now mainly on guard against the Soviet army. They should be preparing for a pincer attack from both us and the Soviet army."

Xia Houwen drew a line on the map.

Indicates the purpose of the 119th Division.

"You mean to say that the 119th Division came here just to prevent our main force and the Soviet army from attacking them from both sides? To protect the line from Tongliao to Baicheng? Not to really fight us.

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun looked at the map, thought for a while, and slowly nodded.

Suddenly Wei Hongjun felt very proud.

This should be the change that came with coming to this time and space.

The powerful Kwantung Army has now reached the point of shrinking its front lines.

What Xia Houwen meant was very simple, that is, the Kwantung Army was also somewhat afraid of the Eighth Route Army in the interior. Or perhaps it was believed that the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army in the interior was already very strong, to the point of threatening the Kwantung Army.

Of course, the Soviet Army contributed to this, but it also shows that the Eighth Route Army was much stronger. So much so that the Kwantung Army had to send a division to build a special defense line to prevent the Eighth Route Army from moving north.

The Kwantung Army used to worry about the Eighth Route Army.

They would raid the Eighth Route Army bases they saw. Initially, the Japanese used squadrons or battalions to raid the bases. Later, as the Eighth Route Army grew stronger, they began raiding the bases with two or three independent battalions, or even field regiments.

At that time, the Japanese army did not take the Eighth Route Army seriously at all.

But now they began to worry about the Eighth Route Army's involvement in the battle between the Japanese and Soviet armies.

"So what you mean is that as long as we don't cross the line, the 119th Division won't move.

"Yes. I believe that as long as we don't attack northward and don't affect the Japanese defense line in the north, the main force of the Kwantung Army will not move around. Because too many of the main force of the Kwantung Army have been withdrawn, the combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army has dropped sharply. They are already on the verge of defeating the Soviet army and do not have the strength to sweep our base. The only thing they can do now is to build a defense line to prevent us from advancing north."

Xia Houwen expressed his judgment.

"You just said you've fought against puppet police and Mongolian landlords? What's their specific combat effectiveness? We've also fought against puppet troops frequently over the years. What's their combat effectiveness level?"

"Very poor. After we entered Naiman Banner, we mainly engaged in battles with puppet police and some armed landlords from Mongolia. Not only was their fighting capacity poor, but their fighting spirit was also poor. Their fighting capacity was much weaker than the puppet Mongolian and Manchurian armies we had previously fought.

Xiahou Wenhui reported: "At the beginning, we were few in number and occupied some towns and villages. The puppet guards and police would also come out to sweep us. However, after a few battles, they were beaten hard by us and then retreated, no longer caring about our development in the countryside. One of our platoons can knock down one or two hundred of them. Also, the Puppet Manchukuo Infantry Second Division, with about 1800 people, is currently stationed in Naiman Banner County. They sent troops to fight us before, but we beat them hard and captured more than people. After that, they never sent any troops out and hid in the county. I have been preparing recently to capture Naiman Banner County and destroy this Puppet Manchukuo Infantry Second Division.

Xiahou Wen said this was very easy.

The truth is that after the Northeastern Detachment arrived in Naiman Banner and fought against the puppet Manchukuo army, puppet police, and landlord armed forces, they discovered that these armed forces were too weak to fight. They were almost defeated as soon as they were captured.

So Xiahou Wendu began to prepare to capture the county town. As for the more than 1,000 puppet Manchukuo troops in the county town, Xiahou Wen didn't care at all.

"What's going on around here?"

"The situation is similar. In Tongliao, apart from the Japanese 119th Division and the puppet Manchukuo Army, the largest group is the puppet police. Political Commissar, you won't know until you see it, and you will be shocked once you understand it. The number of puppet police here is astonishing. From the county town to the township, various police agencies are countless. Those police agencies are everywhere, densely packed, and almost every township has a puppet police station. Not to mention the puppet police stations in the county town, many of the puppet police stations in the townships have forty or fifty puppet police officers. Even some important rural areas, they will set up puppet police stations. I estimate that there are no less than four thousand puppet police in the entire Tongliao area, or even more. In addition to the puppet police, there are many landlord armed forces. The Japanese won over the Mongolian landlords and allowed them to retain a certain amount of armed forces. Therefore, when the troops opened up a base in Tongliao, their biggest enemy was these densely packed puppet police agencies and landlord armed forces.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

After all, the Japanese ruled Northeast China for more than ten years.

There was a well-established puppet government and a large puppet police force. There were estimated to be hundreds of thousands of puppet police throughout Northeast China. The Japanese relied on these puppet police to maintain public order and rule in Northeast China.

Maybe some fake police officers think that they are just trying to make a living and find a job.

But it was precisely because of the existence of these puppet police that the Kwantung Army was able to control the Northeast. If there were not so many puppet police, although the Kwantung Army had a large number of troops, most of them would be divided to defend against the Soviet army. There would not be enough troops to control the Northeast.

The same is true now.

The biggest obstacle for the Eighth Route Army to establish a base in Northeast China was these puppet police.

There were too many puppet police, and their organizations were numerous. Whenever the Eighth Route Army made any move in Northeast China, these puppet police would get the news. Even if they couldn't defeat the Eighth Route Army, they would still be able to pass the news on to the Japanese army.

"Comrade Xiahou Houwen, I have good news for you. The Party Central Committee has decided to fully support our Northeast strategy and requires us to boldly enter the Northeast and open up and develop anti-Japanese bases in the Northeast. Commander Nie has already talked to me and expressed his full support for us. We have the people, the weapons, and the ammunition. So I came here this time to hear your ideas. You have been in Naiman Banner for more than a month and should know Tongliao better than us. So we want to hear how you want to advance the work.

Chapter 575 Xia Houwen’s Suggestion

"Political Commissar, will you really give your full support?"

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

"The Party Central Committee has already determined the Northeast strategy, and the Central Committee and the Military Region will continue to support it. The Party Central Committee's decision to expand into the Northeast is also related to the report I submitted. My report is about the Northeast strategy. My goal is to control the area south of Changchun when Japan surrenders.

"Area south of Changchun?"

Xia Houwen looked at the map and took a deep breath.

Wei Hongjun's ambitions are really big.

If Changchun is the center of the Northeast, then the distance from Changchun to Shanhaiguan is 500 to 600 kilometers. From Tongliao to the eastern part of the Northeast, it is more than 700 kilometers. In other words, the Northeast region that Wei Hongjun wanted to control was 500 to 600 kilometers from north to south and more than 700 kilometers from east to west.

What a huge territory this is.

Seeing Xia Houwen considering this, Wei Hongjun continued, "Of course, if we can capture Harbin, that would be even better. But I don't want to force it. Compared to the big cities, after entering the Northeast, I hope to open up a rural base in the Northeast. After all, our Eighth Route Army is familiar with the countryside, and taking root and developing in the countryside is our Eighth Route Army's specialty. It is of course a good thing to be able to capture the big cities. But if we can't take them, it's not a big deal. As long as we control the countryside, we will be able to capture the big cities sooner or later. But I want to hear your thoughts on how to proceed.

"Yes."

Xiahou Wen affirmed Wei Hongjun's idea.

Said: "Political Commissar, then I will say it.

“Speak freely.”

"Political Commissar, the first problem is the shortage of cadres. We currently have too few Mongolian cadres, especially qualified ones. However, there are many Mongolian tribes in the Tongliao area, including the surrounding areas. We need qualified Mongolian cadres. I know that the military region has few Mongolian cadres, but since the central government supports our Northeast strategy, this problem should be solved. The central government, Suiyuan area, and Commander Nie should have quite a few Mongolian cadres. I hope you can support us in this regard.

"That's no problem. I've brought quite a few of the cadres trained at the Chahar Mongolian Cadre School in Zhangjiakou. They're currently studying at the Military Region Political Department and will be assigned to you within a month or two."

"Great."

When Xiahou Wen opened up the Chadong base, there were also some Mongolian tribes.

But they are all scattered tribes.

Moreover, many local Mongolian tribes have been sinicized.

But while many of the Mongol tribes in Tongliao have assimilated into the Han culture and live together with the Han people, there are also many tribes that are clearly separated from the Han people. To do their work, Mongolian cadres are essential.

"Are there any problems with doing work with the Mongolian tribe?"

"There are some problems. Tongliao is home to a large population of both Mongolian and Han Chinese. However, I've recently discovered a lack of trust between Mongolian and Han cadres, and cooperation between the two sides has been poor. I've carefully investigated the reasons for this situation and discovered that it's mainly because many Mongolian cadres are worried that the status of the Mongolians will be lowered if the Eighth Route Army takes control of Tongliao."

"A decrease in status?"

"Yes."

Xia Houwen explained, "The Japanese policy in the Tongliao region was to elevate the status of the Mongolians and suppress the Han. Of course, this wasn't entirely true. The Japanese primarily sought to win over the upper echelons of the Mongolian population, particularly the Mongolian landlords. The lower-class Mongolians, like the vast majority of Han Chinese, were oppressed by the Japanese puppet troops and the Mongolian landlords."

But for the Mongolian people, although they are the oppressed party, they always feel that their current status is not bad. But once the Chinese army invades and drives out the Japanese, will the status of the Mongolians be lowered? Will the Han people have the final say here in the future?

“Ordinary people cannot distinguish between ethnic conflicts and class conflicts.

"What the political commissar said is true. Many ordinary people confuse this contradiction, so they are easily exploited. This includes some of the Mongolian cadres we have developed. Many of them have also confused this contradiction and cannot distinguish the differences between them. Of course, some of our Han cadres have also made problems in this regard. They wanted to push forward the policies of the original base area in the Tongliao area, which directly offended the interests of many Mongolian landlords in the Tongliao area. So they spread rumors everywhere, saying that the pseudo-Mengjiang United Autonomous Government is the Mongolian people's own country and will definitely give priority to the Mongolians. However, if the Chinese army invades, they will be oppressed by the Han people in the future. This rumor is very destructive and directly affects our land work in this area.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Understand the difficulties of establishing a base in the Tong area.

Clearly a class conflict, many are misinterpreting it as an ethnic conflict. Ordinary people are easily incited by such slogans. To be blunt, have the Mongol tribes changed at all since the establishment of the pseudo-Mongol-Xinjiang United Autonomous Government? Have the lives of ordinary Mongolians improved? Actually, not at all. Their lives remain difficult, and they continue to be exploited by Mongol landlords.

But they don't realize that their current poverty is actually caused by oppression from the Japanese and Mongolian landlords. Because ordinary people have never been to school and can't distinguish between class and ethnic conflicts, they are easily incited by useless and empty slogans, ultimately causing ethnic conflict.

This is what those Mongolian landlords thought.

Although they are not a group with the same interests, they try to tie themselves together with ordinary Mongolian people by promoting ethnic conflicts and covering up the real class conflicts.

"Have any measures been taken?"

"Currently, the two sides are working in different directions. Han cadres are mainly responsible for work in Han-populated areas, while Mongolian cadres are mainly responsible for Mongolian tribal affairs. Everyone is very busy with work right now, so I want to wait until work is less busy to resolve this issue."

"Your idea is wrong."

Wei Hongjun shook his head.

Then he said seriously, "Comrade Xiahou Wen, I still have to criticize your work. Conflicts cannot be avoided, you cannot smooth things over, and certainly not delayed. Even if they cannot be resolved immediately, you cannot simply avoid them. Because even if you avoid them, the conflict will not disappear. On the contrary, if the conflict cannot be resolved in a timely manner, it will grow larger and larger, and when it finally must be resolved, it may explode. The conflicts between Mongolian and Han cadres may not seem serious now because they do not work together. But if they are not resolved now, problems will accumulate and eventually a major incident will occur. When a problem arises, you should quickly resolve it. Ethnic conflict is no small matter. Once it is sparked, it will be difficult to calm it down later."

Wei Hongjun really admires Xia Houwen.

So, when criticism is due, it should be done. After the criticism, Wei Hongjun said, "When the Japanese entered Northeast China and Mongolia, their slogans and policies were based on ethnicity. Once nationalism spreads, no one can control it. If you allow this phenomenon to continue, it will be very difficult to remedy it later. We must address it when the signs appear. Tell our cadres, and also tell the vast majority of Mongolian and Han people in Tongliao, that the poor people of the world are one family. They must understand that the current problem is not an ethnic conflict, but a class conflict. It is the oppression of the Japanese and Mongolian and Han landlords that has led to the current difficult situation of the rural people."

Xiahou Wen nodded and accepted Wei Hongjun's criticism.

The two had been fighting for the revolution together since 1938. Over the years, Wei Hongjun had repeatedly criticized Xia Houwen. Xia Houwen handled all aspects of the situation well, but sometimes he had a tendency to smooth things over with officials.

Wei Hongjun criticized Xia Houwen a lot on this point.

Xia Houwen immediately said, "Political Commissar, I'm reflecting on this. When the problem first started, I simply thought we weren't familiar with each other, so I didn't take it seriously. But later on, I discovered there was a problem, and I felt it wouldn't affect my work at the moment, so I wanted to slowly resolve it."

"This kind of thing can't be slow."

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Your handling of this issue wasn't straightforward, but your investigation and research was excellent, accurately identifying the root cause of the conflict. I'd like to commend you verbally for this. Problems aren't scary; as long as we maintain our investigation and research approach and identify the root cause, the rest of the process will be much simpler."

Now that we've identified the source of the problem, solving it won't be that difficult. The Mongolian landlords are able to sow discord between us and the ordinary Mongolian people, and between Mongolian and Han cadres. We must fight back, uniting the enlightened individuals among the Mongolian elite. We must resolutely crack down on the Mongolian landlords who have colluded with the Japanese, unite with the enlightened, and isolate those who are being self-serving. Please make a list of those enlightened individuals we can unite with and win over. I'll personally speak with them.

"Yes."

Xiahou Wen was very convinced of Wei Hongjun's abilities.

Wei Hongjun has also demonstrated sufficient ability over the years.

In fact, this is also one of the reasons why the mountain appears.

Working together for years helps one understand each other better. Especially in these challenging times, when lives can be sacrificed at any moment, the more capable a cadre is, the more support and patronage they will receive from their immediate surroundings and subordinates.

This naturally formed a hill around him.

Like the Chairman.

Since the Jinggangshan era, countless officials have opposed him, and he has been removed from leadership positions numerous times. Yet, relying solely on his exceptional abilities, he has forged his way to a core position within the Party. Others have tried to become Party leaders, but all have failed.

Eventually, everyone realized that by following the Chairman's words, the revolution would continue to triumph. By disobeying the Chairman, the revolution would suffer setbacks. Gradually, everyone came to trust the Chairman. In wartime, when even the slightest mistake in decision-making could cost the lives of hundreds or even thousands of comrades, ability was everything.

The same is true for Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun succeeded in many of his decisions. He made significant contributions to the development of the Eighth Column and the base areas. Naturally, the former Eighth Column cadres trusted Wei Hongjun's judgment and decisions.

The same goes for Xiahou Wen.

As soon as Wei Hongjun heard what had happened, he immediately began to think of a solution. "Also," he continued, "gather all the Mongolian and Han cadres. I'll reiterate our Party's ethnic policy to them and discuss it with them. We need to speak openly and honestly, without any ambiguity. Even if there are unresolved issues, this kind of open communication is what we need. We must eliminate the barriers between our Mongolian and Han cadres. Otherwise, our work in Tongliao will be impossible."

"it is good."

Chapter 576 A Bold Attack