Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

However, by then, Zhang Zihua and other cadres of the Pingxi Detachment will be very embarrassed.

They were originally cadres of the Independent Division. When the Pingxi Detachment was established, they left the Independent Division. If the Independent Detachment was responsible for developing the Huailai base, they would become cadres of the First Division.

However, it would be a good thing if he could join the independent detachment and be responsible for the establishment of the Sanggong base. After all, the independent detachment can continuously send troops for support.

"This matter still needs to be decided by the higher-ups."

Zhang Zihua hesitated for a moment, then said something ambiguous.

Wei Hongjun smiled.

As long as Zhang Zihua himself didn't object, it would be fine. The main force of the Pingxi Detachment all came from the Independent Regiment, but because of some conflicts during the separation, things became awkward between them. However, Wei Hongjun knew his old leader, and he was not a petty person. On the contrary, he was very open-minded and would not be too fussy about the separation.

So Wei Hongjun was shocked and thought about how to report it to his superiors.

"How's your stamina? Do you want to go to Gongshan Fort with us later?"

"Don't worry, it's no problem."

Wei Hongjun gave the troops two hours of rest.

Two hours later, Wei Hongjun, with the Third Battalion, the First Company of the Special Service Battalion, and a thousand men from the Xuanhua County Brigade, marched towards Gongshan Fort. Wei Hongjun made no secret of his troops' whereabouts, even openly allowing the locals in the Sanggong area to witness the Eighth Route Army's strength.

Chapter 110 Reorganizing the Lianzhuang Team

Wei Hongjun led a large force to station in Gongshanbao.

The Lianzhuang team of Gongshanbao did not resist, or rather, the rural landlords around Gongshanbao did not resist. They had decided to let the Lianzhuang team surrender to the Eighth Route Army because they were afraid of the large force of the Eighth Route Army.

Later, when they saw that the main force of the Eighth Route Army was gone, their minds began to change again.

To put it bluntly, these people are fence-sitters with no sense of national identity. Having lived in this place for years, they've developed the habit of obeying whoever has the power.

The same is true now.

Seeing the large force of the Eighth Route Army approaching, they immediately changed their attitude. They arrived at Gongshan Fort and released the Gongshan National Salvation Association cadres who had been detained by Dong Baji. Wei Hongjun came with a large force and was not as easy to talk to as the Pingxi Detachment and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee.

Want to play with me?

Wei Hongjun doesn't have time to play with you guys.

Wei Hongjun immediately organized a public trial, produced evidence of Dong Baji's collusion with the Japanese army, and then shot Dong Baji on the charge of treason. He then arrested and executed several landlords who had colluded with Dong Baji.

Confiscate all the property of these landlords.

Some cadres of the Pingxi Detachment and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee opposed Wei Hongjun's approach.

They believed this was wrong, inconsistent with policy, and likely violated some of the policies of the joint anti-Japanese war. However, Wei Hongjun showed no mercy. Chahar was different from other regions. While other regions had many local tyrants and evil gentry, there were also many enlightened landlords.

Although those places are also chaotic, at least there are some constraints.

In those places, everything had to be done in a manner and in a way that didn't scare away the more open-minded landlords. Even to gain their support, policy compromises were necessary. Therefore, even the local tyrants and evil gentry couldn't be dealt with casually.

But this is Chahar.

The situation in these border areas is much more chaotic.

There are also many ugly things.

Therefore, the landlords here, including the common people, all believed in strength. Relying solely on propaganda to deal with these people was simply not enough. They still had to be shocked, to let them know the power of the Eighth Route Army. In other words, they had to be treated with both kindness and force.

Every local situation is different, and policies cannot be completely the same. Mechanically adhering to central policies is a sign of incompetence. When decisive action is necessary, it must be decisive. In Chahar, murder is all too common.

The public trials and executions of several tyrannical landlords were intended to intimidate the local population. Of course, intimidation alone wouldn't be enough to successfully establish a stronghold here. So, the next step was to promote rent and interest reductions.

The intimidation brought by the execution of Dong Baji made no landlord dare to oppose the rent and interest reduction.

This is the killer copper.

For ordinary people who didn't really trust the Eighth Route Army, they would only support it if they could truly feel the benefits. Rent and interest reduction was a policy that had an immediate effect.

As soon as the rent and interest reduction policy was introduced, local people benefited immediately.

Be tough first, then slowly work on it. Turn this place into a real base.

As for the armed forces of the Lianzhuang Association, Wei Hongjun was also not polite.

Direct annexation.

Wei Hongjun had no patience for playing tricks on these landlords and simply confiscated the armed forces of the Lianzhuang Association.

"Comrade Han Kaiming, Comrade Guo Yonghuai, our independent detachment needs your help now."

Of course, it is easy to swallow these Lianzhuang, but digesting them is not so easy.

The armed forces of the Lianzhuang Association are all from the same village, and the relationships among them are very complicated. They must be properly rectified, but it is not so easy.

Wei Hongjun simply did not have enough cadres.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun began to target the Xuanzhuohuai County Party Committee.

The leaders of the Xuanzhuohuai County Party Committee were found. Han Kaiming was the county party committee member in charge of Sanggong regional affairs, and Guo Yonghuai was the county party committee member in charge of organization and propaganda.

"Political Commissar Wei, if you need anything, just let me know."

In fact, in terms of level, everyone is not much different.

However, the independent detachment currently had no clear rank. The troops led by Wei Hongjun were currently in charge, so Han Kaiming and Guo Yonghuai were very polite. Time was pressing, and Wei Hongjun didn't have time to argue with them.

So he said directly, "I plan to split the armed forces of the Lianzhuang Association into two. One part will be incorporated into the Third Battalion, and the other part will form a county brigade. However, I am short of manpower now, so I want to transfer a few people from the county party committee to join the army temporarily."

"I wonder who Political Commissar Wei has his eye on?"

Han Kaiming had no objection.

The Eighth Route Army was in a completely different situation from other Chinese troops.

In the Eighth Route Army, military cadres could be transferred to local cadres at any time to establish bases. Similarly, local cadres could be transferred to the army and become military cadres. This was a problem arising from a unique environment.

"Military Minister Jia Zheng. I've read Minister Jia's resume; he's a military officer. I want him to be the captain of the county brigade and help reorganize it.

"That's no problem. Minister Jia's mission was to organize an anti-Japanese guerrilla force here."

"And there's Comrade Guo Yonghuai. I'd like to invite him to temporarily serve as the instructor of my Third Battalion. I'm also dissatisfied with you two. Our independent detachment doesn't have as many talented people as the Pingxi Detachment and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee. Not only do you have many veteran Red Army members and local party members, but a large number of students from Peking and Tianjin have joined in a short period of time. But our independent detachment is extremely short of talent, so Comrade Yu Ping is currently the battalion commander and instructor of the Third Battalion. Now we're going to merge some of the armed forces of the Lianzhuang Association into the Third Battalion, and then there will be even more things to do for the Third Battalion. Comrade Yu Ping can't handle it alone, so I need someone to help. I hope you two can support me."

Guo Yonghuai was stunned.

Very unexpected.

Looking at Wei Hongjun, he said, "Political Commissar Wei, after I joined the Party in school, I have been working in student movements and propaganda. First in school, and later in the local areas. I have never served as a political cadre in the military."

"There are similarities between military work and local work. All you need to do is tell our soldiers why we are fighting and for whom we are fighting. In fact, the same way you do propaganda and organizational work in the local areas is true in the army. Just gradually become familiar with military work. Look at how many students have joined our Eighth Route Army. After only a few months of training, they are sent to the troops as political cadres. In terms of experience, they are not as good as you. Comrade Han Kaiming, what do you think?"

"That makes sense. Now the Sanggong area needs strong armed forces to defend our anti-Japanese regime behind enemy lines.

Seeing that Han Kaiming also agreed, Guo Yonghuai said seriously: "In this case, I will do my best to do a good job in the political work of the Third Battalion."

"On behalf of the independent detachment, I would like to thank the local comrades for their support."

The reorganization of the Lianzhuanghui troops cannot be rushed.

But the Japanese army was about to arrive at Sangshan Fort.

Wei Hongjun prepared an ambush, so he led Yu Ping, Zhang Shan, and others to the road leading south from the Japanese army. In the Sanggong area, Sangshan is mostly plains with abundant arable land. But Gongshanbao is different. Gongshanbao is hilly and borders Beijing's Mentougou, where the Dongling Mountains extend.

The results of the inspection were very unsatisfactory.

Because the road from Huailai to Sangshanbao was very flat, there was no place to ambush. After all, it was a squadron of devils, so Wei Hongjun couldn't be too careless.

"Commissar, I found a place. It's called Shili Peak, about ten miles away from Sangshan Fort."

Yu Ping brought Wei Hongjun to a place.

Wei Hongjun observed carefully.

This terrain is truly excellent. The road on the Sangshan Fort side is rarely surrounded by mountains, but this Shili Peak area is different. There are small peaks on either side of the road, not too high or too steep, but perfect for ambushing troops. Even better, there's a small earthen hill directly ahead of the road. This small hill directly blocks the otherwise flat road.

So when the car arrives here along the road, it has to turn and go around the small hill in front.

In other words, the Japanese army had to slow down when they reached this position, which was very suitable for an ambush.

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

He gave the order: "We don't know when the Japanese army will come. But the Pingxi detachment is facing a food shortage, and the Sanggong area is the fastest place to solve their food problem. The Japanese army will not let this place go.

Let our cadres and soldiers bring three days' worth of dry food and set up an ambush here."

Why is the Sanggong area important?

Not only was it not far from Zhuolu and Huailai, but more importantly, Gongshanbao was located southeast of Mentougou, Beijing. After the Pingxi Detachment entered Pingxi, it established the Pingxi Base in Mentougou. Mentougou was the seat of leadership for both the Pingxi Detachment and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee.

Therefore, the Sanggong area becomes particularly important.

Once the Japanese army controlled the Sanggong area, they would not only cut off the Pingxi Detachment's important food production area, but also directly threaten the Pingxi Detachment and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee's command. Of course, from here south, they could directly enter Sheng County through Chunhua Fort, which means they could also threaten Sheng County.

Chapter 111: Annihilation of the Japanese Army

The troops lay in ambush for two days without any news from the Japanese.

Guo Yonghuai joined the Party at school two years earlier, then underwent intensive training in the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region before returning to the Pingxi base area to work in propaganda. He was then assigned to Huailai to participate in the development of a base in the Sanggong area. This was his first time participating in combat as a military political officer, and he was deeply curious about everything.

"Are you not used to it?"

"Kind of."

Yu Ping and Guo Yonghuai talk.

This time, the Third Battalion was incorporating nearly 300 soldiers from the Lianzhuang Association, bringing its total strength to 800. Yu Ping was both happy and worried. This was because Yu Ping was the sole battalion commander and instructor, and he was usually too busy to be apart.

If there were more cadres in the Third Battalion, Yu Ping wouldn't be so busy.

But the Third Battalion couldn't compare to the First and Special Service Battalions. After all, it was a reorganized unit from a local village protection unit. When the entire unit was founded, there wasn't a single Party member, and veterans were also very rare. Yu Ping arrived at the Third Battalion and slowly trained the troops, cultivated cadres, and recruited Party members. Finally, the Third Battalion began to take shape. He also recruited a significant number of Party members, which gave the Third Battalion its proper form.

And just when things started to get better, during the last "anti-grain looting battle"

Nearly half of them were killed or injured.

A lot of new recruits were added.

These days Yu Ping has been busy improving the combat effectiveness of the troops and strengthening their political education.

It should be said that the Third Battalion is congenitally deficient.

Now that he had accepted soldiers from the Lianzhuang Association, Yu Ping was troubled by how to make them a true Eighth Route Army. Without enough Party members and military cadres, how to continue to improve the combat effectiveness of this unit had become Yu Ping's biggest headache.

Fortunately, Wei Hongjun arranged for him to have a political instructor. With a political instructor, he would no longer be able to make decisions on his own in the Third Battalion and would need to consult with the political instructor. Yu Ping was still very happy. With Guo Yonghuai, he could now delegate a lot of tasks to him.