Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Political Commissar Wei, I am willing to join the Eighth Route Army Independent Detachment."

"Welcome, Captain Wu. No, I'll be teaching you, Captain Wu, from now on."

Wei Hongjun was so happy.

Wu Qinghe's unit was a battle-hardened force. When the Special Forces Company was formed, it also consisted mostly of veterans, and they also included sharpshooters from the Hunters. The combined strength of these two units was approximately 270 men.

Then, some people were drawn from other troops to form a special forces battalion of 500 people.

By then, the independent detachment could even fight the Japanese army head-on with the two fist forces of the Special Service Battalion and the First Battalion.

Chapter 068 Situation

It was originally thought that after the Japanese army entered Sheng County, Sheng County would become turbulent.

Unexpectedly, after suffering heavy losses in two consecutive ambushes, the Chaosheng Battalion had calmed down. No matter how arrogant their 1st Independent Mixed Brigade had been before, or how invincible they had been on the Chinese battlefield, it could not change their current passive situation.

A battalion of more than 500 puppet Manchukuo troops was initially confident. Asao Heishiro's original plan was to sweep through Shengxian within ten days, then attack south from Shengxian to coordinate with other troops to sweep through the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

So I brought a lot of ammunition.

As a result, the vanguard troops were annihilated and the heavy-destroying troops were annihilated.

Only about 800 people arrived at the county town. After arriving, Asanohira Shiro was about to cry. What good was a county with only this population left?

And it hasn't gotten away yet.

As the Japanese army entered the county, they went berserk upon hearing that their heavy troops had been wiped out. They retaliated in the county, causing even more people to flee. It was only then that they learned from some traitors that Sheng County's anti-Japanese armed forces were so strong.

Besides Feng Anmin's thousand-man army in Beiling Village, the Songjiazhuang Independent Detachment to the south was even stronger than the National Salvation Army. This made Asano Heishiro hesitate. Which one should he attack first?

What is more worrying is that he only has an army of about 800 people.

What if the other side attacked their rear while they were on the march? Asahi Shiro couldn't make a decision, and the situation remained at a standstill.

As a result, Sheng County began to calm down for a while.

During this period, the independent detachment developed rapidly. On top of the original foundation, the independent detachment added two battalions: one special forces battalion and the other a new recruit battalion.

The Recruit Camp was established to provide a simple training for the new recruits due to the large number of new recruits. Because the army lacked military cadres, the Recruit Camp could only send some veterans to serve as squad leaders to train these new recruits.

It is called the Second Battalion of Recruits, but in fact it does not even have all the battalion-level officers.

The recruit camp operates and conducts training in units of recruit companies.

But the special forces battalion is different.

This is the fist battalion of the independent detachment.

Wu Qinghe's unit consisted of ninety-seven men, all veterans with years of service and experience, including many officers. The Special Service Company was also a highly effective independent unit. The two units were merged, and 200 men were added from the First Battalion of Recruits to create the Special Service Battalion.

Because there was no shortage of veterans and officers, the special forces battalion quickly formed combat effectiveness.

Wu Qinghe was appointed commander of the Special Operations Battalion, Lei Jiabin was appointed instructor, and Zhang Shan was appointed deputy commander and concurrently commander of the First Company. Sun Jiahe, Wu Qinghe's former battalion commander, was appointed commander of the Second Company, and Tang Xijie, Wu Qinghe's former company commander, was appointed commander of the Third Company. Although Ichi Asohira Shiro was unable to decide on his next move, he nonetheless sought to understand the surrounding situation. He dispatched several small units out of the city, but they were unfortunately blocked by the independent detachment.

During this time, the Shengxian County Party Committee became increasingly active. Especially after the establishment of the Eighth and Ninth District local governments in Yangquan and Xiaquan Towns, the Shengxian County Party Committee had established local organizations in half of the county.

And it’s still expanding.

With the protection of the independent detachment, the local party organization in Sheng County developed with even some impunity. Although Sheng County already had the independent detachment as its main force, it still began to develop local armed forces according to the experience of previous base construction.

District squads and village militias.

The development is as rapid as fire and tea.

When the Wei Hongjun army began to build the base, they only considered the rent and interest reduction working group, the Women's Rescue Association, etc. However, after the local party organization in Sheng County started its work, they established many more organizations.

There are also Youth Rescue Associations, local youth league organizations, and children's league organizations.

Almost everyone, young and old, from the entire base was mobilized.

The anti-Japanese movement in Sheng County is growing more and more intense.

"Director Luo, how's the situation at division headquarters? And what about Commander Nie?"

"We broke the enemy's Eighth Route Army siege. However, both the military district and our independent division suffered heavy casualties."

1937 12 Month 27 Day.

Luo Renfa, accompanied by several guards, rode at full speed to Songjiazhuang.

Songjiazhuang has really changed a lot now.

The entrances and exits were guarded, and even a children's corps was on duty. Luo Renfa, on his visit to Songjiazhuang, was also inspired by the revolutionary enthusiasm there. Songjiazhuang was decorated like the headquarters of a military region.

Both Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun wanted to know the current situation of the military region.

Luo Renfa briefly briefed the two men on the incident of breaking the Eighth Route Army's siege. All four military sub-districts under the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region participated in the operation, including parts of the 120th and 129th Divisions that also participated in support.

However, although the siege of the Eighth Route Army was broken, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region also suffered heavy losses.

Half of the newly established Yanbei base area in Division One was lost. Hunyuan and other areas were reoccupied by the Japanese army, and half of Division One's base area was lost. Divisions Three and Four also lost a lot of base areas.

After listening to the situation from the military district, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun reported to Luo Renfa on the independent detachment's counter-siege and the current situation in Sheng County.

After hearing the report, Luo Renfa praised repeatedly, "Excellent, well done. You two have brought honor to our military region and our independent division. You are both capable of leading a team on your own now. Very good, excellent. Ambushing the enemy's heavy troops in the same location boldly broke the common sense of military tactics. Such a decision requires courage and carefulness. The situation in Sheng County is very good, very good. It is better than the military region and division headquarters had imagined."

"Thank you for the compliment, old leader."

"I mean this from the bottom of my heart. When I founded the Farmers' Self-Defense Force, you two were only fifteen or sixteen years old. Seven or eight years have passed, and you've both become capable commanders of our army."

Luo Renfa was really happy.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were both taught to fight by Luo Renfa. To him, they were like his own children. He was naturally delighted to see them perform so well.

"The first reason I came to your place this time was to see how they were doing in their counter-siege. Secondly, I received an order from the division headquarters."

The biggest problem now is communication.

If there were a radio between the military region and Sheng County, then anything could be done by simply sending a telegram. Unfortunately, for the Eighth Route Army today, a radio transmitter is a rarity, and even radio operators are treated like pandas. Most of the Eighth Route Army's subordinate units currently do not have a radio transmitter.

So Luo Renfa had to come here in person.

Upon hearing the order, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun sat up straight.

"During this Eighth Route Army siege, several military sub-districts suffered losses and lost their bases. The military sub-districts believed that this situation occurred because our strength was not strong enough and we had too little strategic room for maneuver.

Therefore, the military region decided to continue expanding the base. Comrades from the Wanping Central County Party Committee came to the military region for training and reported to Commander Nie on their work, suggesting that the main force move into Wanping and establish the Pingxi base with Wanping as its center.

Commander Nie took the Wanping Central County Committee's opinion very seriously, and the military district later held a meeting to support its proposal. Our First Division received orders to appoint Political Commissar Deng Guo as commander and political commissar of the Pingxi Detachment, tasked with establishing a base in Wanping. The Independent Division must continue to consolidate the Yanbei base and cooperate with the Pingxi Detachment in developing and expanding it. Your Independent Detachment must also cooperate with the Division and actively expand its base.

The military district decided to open up the Pingxi base nearly three months earlier than in history.

It was because of the existence of the independent detachment that the military district was able to break the siege of the Eighth Route Army more quickly. And the existence of the independent detachment can effectively support the development of the Pingxi base. Because Sheng County, where the independent detachment is currently located, should all belong to the concept of Pingxi. In terms of affiliation, the independent detachment should all be managed by the Pingxi detachment. It's just that the current independent detachment was developed from the independent regiment of the first division, so it obeys the orders of the first division. It is precisely because of the existence of the independent detachment that the military district was able to make the decision so quickly to open up the Pingxi base.

"Does the zoning mean we should develop northward?"

"The division hopes that you will send people to open up the Chahar base, and the first step is to open up the Xining base. You don't have enough intelligence here, so you are not familiar with many situations. In fact, the Japanese and puppet troops in Xining County are currently seriously understaffed. It was precisely because of the lack of troops in the Pingsui Road area that they drew troops from the Independent Mixed 1st Brigade of the Kwantung Army's Chahar Dispatching Corps to participate in the Eighth Route Army's siege. Now that you have trapped this force in Sheng County, Xining County is understaffed. It will take some time for the Japanese army to recover and resume the deployment of troops to the Pingsui Road. Because the Japanese army will have many major targets in the future, such as Xuzhou and Wuhan, which will cause the Japanese army to lack troops. So now is a good opportunity to send troops to expand the base.

Chapter 069 Mission

"By developing a base in Xining County, we can control the Pingsui Road.

Luo Renfa pointed at the map.

Xining County is well located. If we establish a base here, we can threaten the section of the Pingsui Road between Datong and Zhangjiakou.

"Director Luo, we all know this. But you also know that our independent detachment has few cadres, few party members, and few veterans. To open up a new base, we need troops that can persist in harsh environments. But we are so short of cadres and party members now, how can we open up a new base?"

It is not easy to establish a base.

Especially where there is no foundation.

We have to start over.

"I do not have."

Luo Renfa is single.

Simply spreading his hands meant no. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun both smiled wryly. However, they could understand that the independent detachment was developing rapidly, and the army was expanding rapidly. Actually, the same was true for other units.

The troops are expanding very quickly and there is a shortage of cadres everywhere.

"Just wait. The third class of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University will graduate in a while. Although it won't be your turn, it will greatly alleviate the shortage of cadres in the military region. By then, perhaps the military region will provide some of your cadres."

"Director Luo, are you kidding me? That will take a long time. Besides, by then the military base will be expanded and the troops will be increased. We might even be short of cadres now."

"You're the smart one."

Luo Renfa laughed and cursed Wei Hongjun.

Then he said, "Let me tell you the truth. In a while, many students will graduate from the Shaanxi-Northern Public School and the youth training classes run by our party in Shaanxi. There will be several thousand people. Most of them will be students. Our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region will also be allocated a lot of them. When the time comes, I will definitely reserve a few for you. I will not treat you unfairly. However, relying solely on this kind of support, you will always be in short supply of cadres. You still need to train more cadres yourself. There are many literate young people in Shanxi. As long as they are well trained, they can all be used as cadres. And if you are willing, you can select and transfer some military and local activists to the military region for training. The military region has been running short-term training courses."

"This is acceptable."

Wei Hongjun nodded immediately.

Wei Hongjun also wanted to run some training schools to cultivate his own cadres. However, he knew his own limitations. Compared to the military region, he simply did not have the conditions to train military and political cadres.

It would be a good thing if we could send some people to the military region for training.

"Let's get back to the point. What do you have to say about developing the Xining County Anti-Japanese Base Area to the north?"

"obey orders."

"Of course, you are the leaders of the independent detachment. The specifics of how to proceed are up to you. However, developing the base area cannot be blind; it must be done step by step."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun actually also had plans to develop northward.

Chahar has an important location.

This place has a small population, but it is large and has a wide strategic turning point. It can also directly threaten the Pingsui Railway, one of the main transportation arteries of the Japanese army.

"There's one more thing. After the July 7 Incident, although a large number of universities and students evacuated from Beijing and Tianjin, a large number of teachers and students are still left in the area. The underground party organization in the area has been promoting anti-Japanese resistance and organizing teachers and students who want to resist the Japanese to evacuate from Beijing and Tianjin. However, the evacuation route is not very smooth at present. The entire evacuation route is too long and too dangerous. After the Eighth Route Army's siege, the guerrillas in the Pingbei area suffered heavy casualties and almost completely lost their base. This also directly affected this underground transportation line. Therefore, the military region decided to open an underground transportation line from your Sheng County. In addition to evacuating teachers and students, it is also necessary to open up the flow of materials between the base and the Beijing area."

"Director Luo, if you say we can send people to establish a base, we can do something. But opening an underground transportation line is something neither of us knows how to do, and we've never done it before.

Wang Qiuyun and Luo Hongjun were both dumbfounded. 3 Apart from anything else, how could they possibly understand what laying an underground transportation line was?

"Don't worry, the establishment of the underground transportation line won't be left to you two. Commander Nie has personally taken care of it, and the military district has sent someone directly. They should be here in two days. He opened up the underground transportation line from Guangdong to the Soviet area in his early years, and it never ran into any problems. He's an experienced veteran underground party member. The military district sent him here not only to establish this transportation line, but also to serve as the political director of your independent detachment, responsible for counter-espionage work here. His qualifications and rank are far higher than yours, but Commander Nie has high hopes for your independent detachment, so he sent such a senior comrade to come here to serve as your political director. When he arrives, you must respect him."

"Yes."

The director of the political department during the Eighth Route Army period was in charge of a lot of things and had great power.

Li Shiping currently serves as the director of the political department of the independent detachment, but his main task is to assist Wei Hongjun in propaganda and political education, and to help develop party organizations within the army.