Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Third: Regarding the issue of education in the base area. The troops and various departments are facing difficulties right now, but the issue of education is also urgent. This is not only true in the local areas, but also in our troops. Since the founding of the Red Army, our Party has been continuously promoting literacy. Because whether in the troops or the local areas, illiteracy will affect combat effectiveness and work. Minister Yang and Deputy Political Commissar Li will discuss a feasible solution for this work. I have a suggestion, of course, it is just a suggestion, not an order from me. Aren't there still many children around 14 or 15 years old who have been to school in Sheng County? Organize them and let them take charge of literacy work."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun flipped open his notebook and continued, "Fourth: The food problem in the base area. None of the soldiers or civilians in the base area can take it lightly, as this is truly the top priority, more important than anything else. The local government should quickly come up with a policy to support the villagers in reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land. They can reduce or exempt public grain taxes, and if needed, provide seeds, farm tools, and so on. We must mobilize their enthusiasm for land reclamation. I've briefly reviewed the situation in Sheng County, and it's possible to reclaim another 100,000 or 200,000 mu of land. If we can reclaim more than 100,000 mu of arable land, even if the yield is low, it can still yield millions or even tens of millions of catties per year. If we grow some coarse grains, we can probably add another 10 to 20 million catties. Then, as long as there's grain, whether it's paid to the public grain or not, it's in the base area, in the hands of the people, and everything will be fine. The troops, logistics agencies, and local governments must also actively participate in the food campaign. Specifically, how can we find time to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land without affecting our work?"

Deputy Political Commissar Li is responsible for making plans for the military, while local comrades are expected to come up with their own solutions. The point is, "With food in hand, there's no need to worry. This is a must-do for today's meeting. It's the most important issue for the military and local governments in the new year. I need everyone to pay close attention to this matter when they return home."

This is the thing that Wei Hongjun attaches the most importance to.

Sheng County was very poor, and it should be said that Chahar was also very poor. The troops' food was usually very poor. But at least for now, everyone was not starving to death. However, in 1941, during the severe drought in North China, the troops' food was even worse, and many even went hungry.

After the loss of the Hebei base, the Jin-Cha-Ji troops were not just starving. Many soldiers were so hungry that they could not fight.

Wei Hongjun must prepare for a rainy day.

The right thing to do is to store more food. The great drought is only three or four years away. If we make some preparations, we will be able to survive it.

Unlike in history, the army had to reduce its number in order to reduce the burden on the base, mainly because the troops did not have enough food. As a result, the anti-Japanese war in North China fell into a low ebb, and a Japanese squadron was able to run rampant in the base.

If the Eighth Route Army had had enough food in history, it would not have been in such a difficult situation.

So Wei Hongjun once again emphasized the importance of this matter.

"Fifth: The issue of recruiting party members. Since everyone has decided at the meeting, then everyone should boldly recruit our members. Anyone who is willing to fight against the Japanese and willing to fight for the poor people of China can become our comrade. Our party welcomes them and will not exclude these young intellectuals who are willing to revolutionize. If any problems arise, I will not shirk them. I will take full responsibility. Therefore, the troops and local governments should not have any burdens."

Wei Hongjun was not without worries.

After all, he was so weak and inexperienced that if he made a political mistake on these issues, he would be immediately killed. But Wei Hongjun was anxious and had no time to waste. The independent detachment and the local party committee were seriously short of cadres.

There are clearly a large number of high-performing cadres at hand, but due to their backgrounds, they are afraid to use them boldly. Currently, when the military and local governments recruit cadres, they always prioritize Party members, as they are their own people and have undergone political scrutiny. Currently, there are many educated young people in the military and local governments, some of whom are truly capable and have been tempered in the military and base construction. However, their lack of Party membership hinders the military and local governments from further utilizing them, and this is the current contradiction.

The army and local governments were seriously short of cadres, but those educated youth, because they were not party members, were hindering the army and local cadres from using them. Wei Hongjun had to resolve this contradiction as soon as possible to alleviate the shortage of cadres in the army and local governments.

If we wait until the central government has a policy before coming to the independent detachment, half a year will be wasted.

As soon as possible, recruit these high-performing cadres into the Party and make them our own. This way, both the army and the local authorities can confidently and boldly employ them. Increase the number of grassroots cadres in the army and local authorities. Only with a large number of grassroots cadres can the army and base areas achieve further rapid development.

So Wei Hongjun could only take the risk.

Besides, the central government will soon formulate new policies, so it shouldn’t be considered a mistake.

"Sixth: The work of the Women's Rescue Association. To support the work of the Women's Rescue Association, the military and local governments should boldly recruit some female cadres. Let the women in Sheng County see that women can work and even become cadres. Only in this way can we advance women's work more rapidly."

Today's meeting is only a directional result.

Each department still needs to come up with a more detailed plan. So Wei Hongjun simply summarized what was discussed today. After he finished, Wei Hongjun asked, "Does anyone have anything else to say?"

If not, and everyone is tired, today's meeting ends here."

Everyone is very tired.

The meeting ended and people left the conference room in twos and threes.

Only three people were left.

Commander of the independent detachment: Wang Qiuyun, political commissar: Wei Hongjun, director of the political department: Han Weiguo.

After everyone was gone, Wang Qiuyun sighed and said, "Old Wei, although I supported you at the meeting just now, this is still too risky. We can be more cautious and take smaller steps so the impact isn't too great. Recruiting student party members on a large scale is very likely to conflict with central government policy. Recruiting student party members on such a large scale is far from easy."

Especially given Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun's rank, this kind of thing wasn't something they could decide. If this got pushed too far, it would be a serious matter. Both of them had experienced the anti-counterrevolutionary campaign in the Central Soviet Area, which was no joke. A slight inattention could have cost them their lives.

Countless cadres with greater seniority and higher positions than the two lost their lives during the anti-counterrevolutionary campaign. At that time, in the Soviet areas, some leaders overreached. Countless lower-level cadres were executed on false charges.

Many of Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun’s old leaders and cadres in western Fujian were also affected.

"These scholars are educated and even understand Marxism better than we do. I still say that we should not push away these scholars who seek revolution. On the contrary, we should be more tolerant and accept them. Of course, more importantly, our troops and local governments need them now. We are so short of cadres now, and they are ready-made grassroots cadres.

"You, even more so than me."

Wei Hongjun thanks Wang Qiuyun for her support.

After all, if Wang Qiuyun hadn't supported him at the time, others wouldn't necessarily have supported him. Wei Hongjun smiled, looked at Han Weiguo and said, "Director Han, why didn't you say anything today?"

As the director of the independent detachment's political department, Han Weiguo was qualified to participate in the screening of intellectuals from enemy-occupied and Kuomintang-controlled areas. He was also qualified to express opinions on the recruitment of Party members. Furthermore, Han Weiguo had more experience than Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, and was directly assigned by the military region as director of the political department.

It seems that his position in the independent detachment is lower than that of commander and political commissar, and is even lower than that of deputy commander and deputy political commissar.

But those are just on the surface. In fact, his power is very great.

If it were in the Soviet area, Han Weiguo even had the power to purge counter-revolutionaries.

So if Han Weiguo objects, it will be difficult to move forward. But at today's meeting, Han Weiguo said nothing.

Han Weiguo took out a cigarette, lit it, and said, "I just didn't expect the Political Commissar to have such a bold idea. The leaders at headquarters are all considering how to recruit party members. After the fall of the Soviet areas across the country, the number of party members nationwide dropped rapidly. Before I came here, I heard that Commander-in-Chief Zhu had already begun to inspect various bases, and one of the topics was the issue of recruiting party members."

"So what does Director Han think?"

"I come from an underground background. Whether one can uphold one's beliefs is related to one's background, but it's not entirely determined by it. Discipline and a life of hardship and simplicity are essential qualities for Party members. Some may think that demanding an ascetic lifestyle from our Party members is too demanding. However, if a Party member fails to observe discipline and maintains a life of hardship and simplicity, their thinking will become lax and numb. Once their thinking becomes lax and numb, they are likely to betray the revolution when faced with difficult circumstances. Or, if they become addicted to pleasure, such a person will never become a steadfast revolutionary."

As Han Weiguo spoke, his expression became serious.

He didn't know what he remembered, so he sighed and said, "In my underground work, I have seen too many brave revolutionaries who, after coming to the city and experiencing the bright lights and feasting life, began to slowly become more particular. I'm not saying that being particular is bad, but some people are too particular, and their petty-bourgeois style is becoming stronger and stronger. They care about food, clothing, and quality of life, but their faith in the revolution is becoming weaker and weaker. Our war of resistance will become more and more difficult in the future. If some people can't maintain a simple and frugal style, they will easily lose faith in the revolution in difficult circumstances.

Without enough food to eat and constantly facing raids by the Japanese army, it would be difficult for someone with a weak will to persevere. This Party member, regardless of his background.”

"So I don't have much prejudice against party members of any background.

I only consider a Party member's work style and lifestyle. If someone has a bad lifestyle, enjoys enjoying pleasure, takes advantage of small gains, or indulges in petty-bourgeois pursuits, I dislike such a person, regardless of their background. Our Party and our army have been able to achieve this through iron discipline and excellent work styles. I will continue to be very strict in this regard, regardless of whether the Party member comes from a worker or peasant background or a landlord or bourgeois family. If I am too strict and cause dissatisfaction among some comrades, I hope Comrade Commander and Comrade Political Commissar will understand. Comrade Political Commissar will then help me appease the comrades.

Han Weiguo doesn't talk much usually.

This has to do with his underground work. As an underground worker, one shouldn't talk too much. But today, Han Weiguo was moved and spoke a lot from his heart.

“Director Han said it very well.

Wei Hongjun nodded repeatedly.

Then he said, "It's human nature to like a comfortable environment, delicious food, and beautiful clothes. But our circumstances dictate that we must maintain a simple and frugal lifestyle. If you can't give up these things, then you shouldn't join our revolution."

Because we maintain a style of hardship and simplicity, we are able to maintain our faith and persevere in difficult circumstances. Therefore, we must eliminate the petty-bourgeois hedonistic style in the military and local areas, and ensure that our cadres always maintain the faith of hardship and simplicity.

Wei Hongjun is very grateful to Han Weiguo.

Although he didn't say anything, he expressed his support.

Since Han Weiguo remains silent, the army and local government can now recruit more Party members from among these high-performing students. They should boldly allow these individuals to join the Party, broadening the pool of candidates for grassroots cadre recruitment. This will significantly alleviate the current cadre shortages faced by independent detachments and local Party committees. Furthermore, it will reassure more powerful local figures and encourage them to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army. This will be of great help in stabilizing the Shengxian Anti-Japanese Base Area.

It may even affect some surrounding areas.

Once the Eighth Route Army opens up a new base, a lot of resistance will be reduced.

"Old Wang, Director Han, I'm going to organize the content of today's meeting and report it to the division headquarters and the military region. What do you think?"

"Yes. During this meeting, there are many things that need to be approved by the military district and division headquarters."

Wang Qiuyun quickly agreed.

Wang Qiuyun simply wanted to fight and focus on military matters. There were some things he genuinely didn't understand, or perhaps didn't quite grasp. But Wang Qiuyun also knew that many of the issues discussed at this meeting were new. Both he and Wei Hongjun were inexperienced and incompetent, unable to handle many tasks.

It would be good for everyone if the problem could be submitted to the military region and let the top leaders make the decision.

"Then I'll sort it out. After you two have read it, if there are no problems, give it to the division headquarters and the military region."

"it is good."

Chapter 085 Military District’s Response

Fuping.

Fuping, once an ordinary county in Shanxi, became something extraordinary because it housed the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This small place became a hub for the anti-Japanese war and revolution in eastern and northeastern Shanxi, as well as western Hebei. Fuping even became famous in the history of China's war of resistance.

After the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, not only the command headquarters was in Fuping, but also a large number of logistics agencies were located here.

Starting with the military factories and various other factories, there was also the Jin-Cha-Ji Cadre School and the Jin-Cha General Hospital. The number of personnel in these logistical agencies alone had swelled to over 5,000 people, and with the influx of cadres and students from all over the country, the number of people was still increasing. Although the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region had only been established for a little over three months, Fuping was much busier now than it was three months ago.

After the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region crushed the Japanese Eighth Route Army's siege a little over a month ago, it lost a significant portion of its base area, including the relatively important Hunyuan. However, the Jin-Cha-Nang Military Region survived this siege, leading many surrounding anti-Japanese forces to begin to look up to the Eighth Route Army.

Although the Eighth Route Army had already arrived and begun to establish a base, some of the surrounding anti-Japanese armed forces did not think much of the Eighth Route Army. This was because the Eighth Route Army was extremely poor, and the main force was also not equipped with guns. Almost half of the soldiers were armed with spears and javelins. And the guns they had were not very good.

Besides, when the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was just established, Marshal Nie only had two troops under his command.

One was the independent regiment directly under the 115th Division, and the other was the 115th Division's cavalry battalion. All of these troops, including some support personnel, totaled less than 3000 men. In Hebei, however, many civilian anti-Japanese armed forces numbered to men. Even some powerful civilian anti-Japanese armed forces boasted to men and possessed to rifles.

Furthermore, in eastern Shanxi and western Hebei, the troops fighting the Japanese were the well-equipped Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the 29th Army, and the Central Army. They were all defeated by the Japanese, and they did not fully trust the Eighth Route Army, which was like a beggar army compared to them. Could a beggar army really fight? Therefore, many civilian anti-Japanese armed forces were only willing to cooperate with the Eighth Route Army, looking down on this "beggar army" in their hearts.

The Eighth Route Army wanted to reorganize these armed forces, but these civilian anti-Japanese armed forces would not agree. To be frank, these civilian anti-Japanese armed forces were superior to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army in both numbers and weaponry. How could they possibly accept the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army?

When the Japanese Eighth Route Army was besieging them, many civilian anti-Japanese armed forces believed that the Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army would never be able to survive. However, the result was beyond their expectations.

During this siege by the Japanese Eighth Route Army, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army was not only not annihilated by the Japanese army, but also launched several ambushes against the Japanese army.

In total, the entire Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region wiped out nearly 3,000 Japanese and puppet troops. Such a victory made many civilian anti-Japanese armed forces begin to admire the Eighth Route Army. Although these civilian anti-Japanese armed forces seemed to have a large number of people and a lot of guns in their hands, their actual results in fighting with the Japanese army were very poor. Every time they fought with the Japanese army, they were defeated. So at present, they only fought against the traitor troops and dared not ambush the regular Japanese army. So they all admired the Eighth Route Army for daring to ambush the regular Japanese army with such poor weapons. Therefore, they came into contact with the Eighth Route Army, and many of their troops accepted the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army.

As a result, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's territory expanded again in just over a month, and its forces also expanded rapidly. In addition to its existing base areas, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region also assumed leadership of the Ji-Central Base Area. The Ji-Central Base Area currently comprised the People's Self-Defense Force, led by General Lü, the former commander of the Northeast Army, and the Hebei Guerrillas, led by the Ji-Central Underground Party. The People's Self-Defense Force comprised approximately 30,000 men, while the Hebei Guerrillas comprised approximately 36,000. The Central Committee and the Eighth Route Army Headquarters now demanded that these two forces merge to form a new Ji-Central Military Region.

Once the Jizhong Military Region was established, it would become the largest military region within the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. Of course, with the exception of General Lü's main regiment, the rest of the Jizhong Military Region's troops were self-defense forces, with very low combat effectiveness. Even so, the tens of thousands of troops greatly improved the anti-Japanese situation in Jizhong.

In addition to the Jizhong Military Region, the Pingxi Detachment was also developing very well within the Pingxi base area. Within less than a month, the main force had grown to approximately 3,500 men, with local forces numbering over 1,000. A large number of guerrillas previously under the leadership of the Pingxi Prefectural Committee joined the Pingxi Detachment, including some civilian anti-Japanese armed forces.

The army was being developed everywhere, but the result was the same shortage of cadres as in the Shengxian base area.

In order to solve this problem, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region established the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region Military and Political Cadre School to train military and political cadres. Of course, after the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, it could not do nothing.

The current Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's troops are expanding too quickly and are seriously short of weapons and equipment.

So we set our sights on several important railways.

The Zhengtai and Tongpu roads became frequent targets for the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Attacking railways, especially seizing supplies on them, was a crucial channel for the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region to replenish its weapons, ammunition, and logistics.

Marshal Nie was very busy as the head of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region.

After receiving the report from the independent detachment that day, he had been thinking about it. Normally, a unit of the independent detachment's level would not have been able to directly establish such a relationship with the military region. But the independent detachment was very special.

The independent detachment emerged in Sheng County and became the most powerful anti-Japanese armed force in Northeast Shanxi and even in the southern Chahar region. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region originally had little strength and influence in the southern Chahar region, but because of the existence of the independent detachment, it began to have the opportunity to establish a base in southern Chahar.

That’s why we can have direct relations with the military region.

"The independent detachment proposed to form some elite small teams to operate behind enemy lines. In peacetime, they would promote anti-Japanese resistance, organize the masses, and execute traitors, serving as the vanguard for the expansion of the base area. Once the Japanese army launched a raid, they would become armed forces behind enemy lines, attacking the Japanese rear and cooperating with the main force to counter the raid."

"From a military perspective, the idea is good, but it's not suitable for us now.

"How to say?"

Marshal Nie listened to the chief of staff's words.

"Commander, look. They summarized the methods of the special forces battalion under the detachment and came up with this method of expanding the base. It is very suitable for them. Because whether it is Xining County or Xuanhua and Zhuolu in the north, they are all places where our party's strength is relatively weak and there is not much foundation. In addition, the Pingsui Road in the north is an important transportation line for the Japanese army, so there are many traitors in this area. Opening up bases in these places and using this small team to punish traitors and expand our influence is a good way. This is also related to the lack of strength of the independent detachment. But the current situation of our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is to take advantage of the shortage of Japanese troops and send the main force to open up bases. There is no need to send such a small team."

Although the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region received the least troops when the division took place.