Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Yang Quanwu shook his head.

A puppet government will be established in the areas controlled by the Japanese army.

Organizations like the Maintenance Association and the Chamber of Commerce were all traitorous organizations serving the Japanese army. Add to that the puppet police station and some traitorous armed forces. Although these armed forces had little combat effectiveness, they were still close to the city walls.

Although the independent division developed rapidly, it still lacked heavy weapons for siege.

Even so, Yang Quanwu would not move the Second Regiment. Assisting the 129th Division in breaking the nine-way siege had cost the Second Regiment over four hundred casualties. Now, the Second Regiment needed to rest, recruit new soldiers, and regain its combat effectiveness before it could withstand the next Japanese raid.

"Send a telegram to the Eighth Column, transferring the Seventeenth Regiment south."

"Seventeenth Regiment?"

Luo Renfa hesitated for a moment and said, "Division Commander, the strongest units of the 8th Column earlier were the 1st Battalion and the Special Service Battalion. The 1st Battalion was incorporated into the 16th Regiment, and the Special Service Battalion was reorganized into the 2nd Detachment. As for the 17th Regiment, it is composed of the 2nd and 6th Battalions. The 6th Battalion is a former National Salvation Army unit that was recently reorganized. Both its numbers and combat effectiveness should be relatively poor."

"It doesn't matter, as long as they can fight. Besides, I also want to see the strength of the Eighth Column's troops firsthand.

"it is good."

With the invention of the telegraph, the transmission of messages became very fast.

Wei Hongjun was currently stationed at Beilingzhuang with the 4th and 7th Battalions. He was ready to lead his troops into action whenever Gongshanbao needed support. Just then, a telegram arrived from the division headquarters.

"The division commander asked us to send the 17th Regiment to cooperate with the 1st Regiment to attack Hunyuan and Dingbei."

"Political Commissar, this is a good thing. The Japanese troops in Hunyuan and Dingbei currently do not exceed two infantry squadrons. Even if some traitorous troops are added,

There are only about a thousand of them in total. The First Regiment is a top-tier, main force in the First Division, estimated to number no less than 2500. Our Seventeenth Regiment, though newly formed, is also quite numerous. Adding the guerrillas from Lingqiu, Hunyuan, and Dingbei, our numbers easily exceed , perhaps even approaching . This is a perfect opportunity to sweep through Hunyuan and Dingbei."

Xiao Yongshi was very happy when he received the telegram.

The First Division and the Eighth Column share a common origin and are closely related. With the two groups working hand in hand, the development of either will greatly benefit the other.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

"That's what I was thinking. Now is the time to seize the opportunity. We must strongly support the division commander. So I'm wondering if our 17th Regiment is too weak."

"The Commissar wants to add some troops?"

"No. We also need to leave mobile forces here, so that anything can be handled easily. What will we do if we send all the troops out?

I mean, can we add some firepower to the 17th Regiment?"

"It would be great to add some heavy firepower. After all, it's a siege, and without enough heavy firepower, it won't be easy."

Xiao Yongshi nodded.

Attacking a city has always been a difficult problem for the Eighth Route Army.

Adding some heavy firepower could significantly reduce casualties for the siege troops. So Xiao Yongshi asked, "Political Commissar, what kind of heavy firepower should we add to the 17th Regiment? Should we bring two infantry guns over?"

"It's too late. The division commander wants us to reach the designated location within three days. It's very inconvenient to carry infantry artillery, and it will be difficult to reach the location within the specified time. My idea is to transfer some grenade launchers and heavy machine guns from the column to the 17th Regiment. What do you think about adding ten grenade launchers and ten heavy machine guns to the 17th Regiment? Just assign the column's grenade launcher and heavy machine gun units to the 17th Regiment first."

"can."

Xiao Yongshi nodded.

Support Wei Hongjun's idea.

With ten grenade launchers and ten heavy machine guns, plus the light and heavy machine guns already possessed by the 17th Regiment, the firepower of the 17th Regiment would not be inferior to that of the main force regiment of the 1st Division. After all, this was the first time that the division headquarters had asked the 8th Column for cooperation, and they could not be underestimated.

"That's settled then. Li Yong has been following Song Zhiyuan to learn how to operate infantry guns, grenade launchers, and so on. It's a good opportunity to take him out for a walk and see how effective he is. Let Li Yong lead the team to the 17th Regiment."

Chapter 131: Conquering Two Cities 2

"Master."

The 17th Regiment arrived at the location designated by Yang Quanwu within three days.

Kong De immediately brought the battalion and regimental-level cadres of the 17th Regiment to the headquarters. Seeing Yang Quanwu, he immediately came over and saluted. Many of the current cadres of the 17th Regiment originally came from the independent regiment.

Even Cai Xin, the newly appointed instructor of the Sixth Battalion, was previously from the political department of the independent regiment.

However, when the family split up, he followed the Pingxi detachment to Pingxi. Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, he returned to the first division half a year later.

"Conde?"

"Yes."

"Your commander and political commissar trust you very much. The military district has allocated two main force regiments to your 8th Column, and he has appointed you as the commander and political commissar of the 17th Regiment."

Yang Quanwu was very curious.

What virtue and ability did Kong De have that made Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun admire him so much?

Yang Quanwu originally thought that one of Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun would concurrently serve as the head of one of the regiments, but he did not expect Kong De to be directly promoted to the position of both head and political commissar.

This is a real regimental level.

With this qualification, Kong De entered the ranks of middle-level cadres of the Eighth Route Army.

"It's all thanks to the commander and the political commissar's kindness."

"Could you introduce these people to me?"

"Comrade Tao Laifeng, commander and instructor of the Second Battalion."

"Master."

Tao Laifeng also came from an independent regiment.

In fact, the existence of the independent division was very embarrassing. Originally, because the independent regiment developed rapidly, the Eighth Route Army headquarters wanted to expand a division so that the Eighth Route Army could have four divisions. Unfortunately, this idea of ​​the Eighth Route Army headquarters was directly rejected by Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek was stingy when he gave the Eighth Route Army three divisions. How could he possibly add another division to the Eighth Route Army? Yan'an also felt that the establishment of an independent division was too ostentatious. In addition, Chongqing continued to put pressure on Yan'an, so Yan'an also asked the headquarters to stop using the independent division designation.

Therefore, after the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, it was no longer called an independent division.

However, some cadres in the First Division were accustomed to calling Yang Quanwu "Division Commander." Although the Independent Division was no longer used as such, there was actually no official document canceling the designation.

"Your political commissar said you're the most down-to-earth. He said you're the best at defensive battles."

"Commissar, you are too kind."

"Division Commander, this is Comrade Xiao Yongshun, the commander of the Sixth Battalion, and Comrade Cai Xin, the instructor of the Sixth Battalion."

"Comrade Xiao Yongshun, on behalf of the First Division, I welcome you to the Eighth Route Army. I've heard that Comrade Xiao Yongshun inherits the style of the Northwest Army and is a fierce general. Right now, our Eighth Route Army needs experienced commanders like you most."

"I don't deserve it. When I was chatting with the political commissar, he said that the division commander had fought all kinds of tough battles. During the Long March of the Red Army, the division commander was the vanguard.

“That’s exaggerated.”

Yang Quanwu laughed out loud.

Of course I am happy to be praised.

However, Yang Quanwu, the seventeen-year-old regimental political commissar, had been praised numerous times. Even the Chairman admired Yang Quanwu greatly, repeatedly lauding him as "Zhao Zilong in the Army." He was pleased, but not overly arrogant. He turned to Cai Xin and said, "Mr. Cai, after all these twists and turns, you've returned to our independent division. This proves you're destined to be one of ours. I was always thinking, how could our independent division give up on someone as talented as you?"

"The commander praised me."

Cai Xin felt a little embarrassed.

In my heart, I was grateful to Yang Quanwu for not caring about it.

When the division split, the Pingxi Detachment directly took the 3rd Regiment of the Independent Division. Many of the students in the Independent Division were recruited by Deng Guo. When the Pingxi Detachment was formed, all of these students followed the Pingxi Detachment out of the Independent Division. Among them, Cai Xin, who wasn't originally on the list, also left.

Yang Quanwu was furious and sent troops to stop it.

In the end, it was Commander Nie who personally stepped in to resolve the issue.

It's fair to say the reunion was quite awkward. After all, Cai Xin had publicly sided with Deng Guo and criticized Yang Quanwu for his "factionalism." But Yang Quanwu wasn't one to quibble, and he was incredibly patient, especially with the educated and the unsophisticated.

If I'm angry, I'll vent it right there and then. I won't hold you accountable later.

"Li Yong, deputy commander of the 8th Column's artillery battalion."

"Deputy Commander of the Artillery Battalion? How's your studies going lately?"

“I’ve been studying hard.”

"Study hard. In the future, our Eighth Route Army will have its own artillery regiments, artillery brigades, and artillery divisions. When that happens, we'll need officers like you who can operate artillery."

"Yes."

After Yang Quanwu got to know the 17th Regiment, he asked, "Kong De, tell me about the current situation of your 17th Regiment. How many people are there, and how many weapons do you have?"

"Division Commander, the 776th Regiment is composed of the 689nd and 1866th Battalions. The 1367nd Battalion has four infantry companies, plus some units directly under the battalion headquarters, for a total of 9 men. The 3th Battalion also has four infantry companies, plus units directly under the battalion headquarters, for a total of men. The regimental headquarters is currently poorly organized, with the exception of the guard and logistics companies, and other departments are incomplete. The th Regiment currently has a total strength of men. They possess rifles, light machine guns, and heavy machine guns.

"Your 1367th Regiment has rifles and short rifles?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Although your 17th Regiment has just been formed, it seems you have no shortage of guns."

Yang Quanwu was very happy.

Although they knew that the Eighth Column was quite powerful, they had never expected that a newly formed Seventeenth Regiment would possess so many rifles. This almost guaranteed that every combatant in the Seventeenth Regiment had a rifle.

"Division Commander, when we arrived this time, the political commissar said that this siege would require heavy firepower. So, ten grenade launchers and ten heavy machine guns were assigned to the 2137th Regiment. Including the grenade launcher and heavy machine gun units, we have a total of people this time.

Serving with grenade launchers and heavy machine guns is not like what is shown in TV dramas. One or two people are enough.

On the contrary, a heavy machine gun requires more than ten people to operate.

"I feel more confident now that you say that."

Yang Quanwu is now full of confidence.

Putting aside the Seventeenth Regiment's combat effectiveness, its weapons and equipment were no less capable than those of the First Division's main regiment. Two main regiments, could they not defeat three or four hundred Japanese troops? Furthermore, these three or four hundred Japanese troops weren't all together, but were instead spread across two counties.

"Commander, we have contacted the party organizations and guerrillas in Hunyuan and Dingbei."

Luo Renfa came in to report on his work.

As soon as Luo Renfa came in, all the cadres of the 17th Regiment who had just sat down stood up again.

Yang Quanwu and Luo Renfa are both their old leaders.

"how many people?"

"The two counties can mobilize a guerrilla force of about 600 people. But their weapons are relatively poor."

"I didn't expect them to fight."

Yang Quanwu shook his head.

This time, two main regiments were assembled, so there was no need for guerrillas to fight. But they were local guerrillas after all, so they were still very useful. After thinking for a while, he said, "The problem of local troops must also be solved as soon as possible. In the past, when we were in the Soviet area, the troops directly sent people to form guerrillas. After the July 7 Incident, our Eighth Route Army expanded too quickly, and the troops were short of military cadres and veterans. Therefore, many guerrillas were formed by local party organizations and lacked military cadres. After we capture Hunyuan and Dingbei this time, we will leave a few military cadres for the local guerrillas to improve the strength of these guerrillas as soon as possible."

"it is good."