The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 445 Military Affairs Department

At noon on October 10, at the Chuqimen Wharf in the temporary capital, there were blasts of whistles and bustling crowds. Dozens of ferries of different sizes approached the shore one after another to the sound of melodious whistles.

In addition to these dozens of ferries, there are small motorboats of various sizes, simple motorboats, and even human-powered wooden boats on the river near the pier. There are ferries, motorboats, steamboats, wooden boats, cargo ships, and hundreds of ships of various colors that fill the river surface of the pier. Some are exquisite in appearance, decorated with flowers, and anchor and moor steadily and orderly at the shore, while others are simple in appearance and tremblingly drive to the shore. They have different appearances and sizes, and the classes of passengers they carry are also very different, but they all have the same destination - the temporary capital.

As for the dock, it was also very lively, with people coming and going, a busy scene. Cars, horse-drawn carriages, and mule-drawn carts were loading and unloading goods. Coolies and migrant workers were shouting slogans and working hard in the sun, sweating profusely. Beggars and refugees with their families could be seen everywhere.

Coolies waiting for work, boat trackers, food and seafood vendors, and people coming to the pier to pick up and drop off passengers made the pier so crowded that there was no way to get through. Shouting, pushing, hawking, crying, and fighting were heard everywhere. All kinds of sounds merged into one. At first glance, the whole pier seemed to be filled with densely packed carriages and people, and it seemed that there was not even a place to stand.

Even the Sichuan Army soldiers who were responsible for guarding the dock set up their sentries on the river bank next to the dock, avoiding the crowded and tight flow of people on the dock.

Since mid-November last year, the central government of the Nationalist Government had made the decision to move the capital to the secondary capital. The central organs of the party, government and military of the Nationalist Government actively organized their institutions, personnel, materials and files to move westward. Embassies and consulates of various countries and expatriates in Nanjing also began to make various preparations to evacuate Nanjing.

Since Nanjing was very far away from the temporary capital and transportation was difficult, and transportation tools were very limited, it was impossible for all the institutions and personnel of the National Government to be moved to the temporary capital at once. In addition, important military command and administrative agencies had to assume front-line combat and administrative command functions due to their functional requirements, so it was impossible for them to withdraw directly to the temporary capital. Instead, they were temporarily stationed with the National Government headquarters in Wuhan, an important city in central China.

However, as the war in Wuhan progressed, the national government, aware of the danger, recently ordered some agencies and institutions stationed in Wuhan to begin moving to the temporary capital, and to move to Yichang and the temporary capital in batches.

It is precisely because of this that there is such a crowded scene on the dock today. Various agencies, schools, institutions and countless refugees that have retreated from the front are all flocking to the temporary capital. The same crowded scene is also happening at various docks along the river in the temporary capital.

Almost every major transportation route and waterway pass leading to the temporary capital from the front line was crowded with military and political institutions and civilians evacuated from the front. When Wuhan, the thoroughfare connecting nine provinces, was no longer safe, the wartime temporary capital in Sichuan Province naturally became a place of shelter for countless people to survive.

Thanks to the role of this little butterfly named He, the Japanese army attacking Wuhan paid a much heavier price than the original "timeline". The great victory of He Wei in Yangxin, plus the victory in which he assisted the friendly 9th Division in severely defeating the 6th Division before leaving, semi-paralyzed the Japanese troops approaching Wuhan along the Yangtze River, which greatly reduced the pressure on the National Government to defend Wuhan. Therefore, Wuhan is still firmly in the hands of the National Government.

Of course, if it weren't for He Wei, Wuhan would have been captured by the Japanese army long ago, and the traffic congestion and chaos at the docks and key points of the temporary capital would probably be several times more serious than it is now.

On the river near the pier, a dilapidated small wooden boat slowly approached the pier.

The elderly boatman kept rowing the boat, carefully passing between two large ferries and steadily approaching the dock. Two soldiers, one tall and one short, in gray military uniforms stood at the bow. Just as the wooden boat was about to dock, the tall soldier seemed unable to wait any longer and jumped from the wooden boat to the dock on the shore in one step. Immediately afterwards, another soldier jumped over in the same way.

"Thank you, old man. You've worked hard. Please go back."

As soon as the two men stood still, the tall soldier smiled and threw a dollar to the wooden boat, shouted, and then, amid the boatman's numerous thanks, he moved away from the dock and joined the crowd on the dock.

One of these two men held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Army, and the other held the rank of corporal in the Army. They were He Wei and his orderly Tao Heiwa.

Although the Military Commission provided great convenience, the assault corps had several thousand people, and it was not easy to maneuver various equipment, supplies and ammunition over long distances by water. The fleet consisting of dozens of ships needed a considerable amount of time to eat, drink, defecate, rest, replenish, and reorganize along the way.

In order to avoid the Japanese air attack, the transport fleet carrying the assault corps did not dare to sail in broad daylight and had to sail mainly at night. Accidents were most likely to occur at night, so the advance speed of the assault corps fleet was further reduced. One can imagine the speed of the entire fleet.

The troops' advance was indeed slow, but the Military Commission was pushing them to move as fast as possible, sending telegrams almost every two days to urge the Assault Corps to advance as quickly as possible. However, He Wei had no way to deal with the slow advance. If they wanted to move faster, they would either have to advance and transport on the Yangtze River around the clock, or take the risk of increasing the speed when sailing at night. If something went wrong, the consequences would be disastrous.

Wasn't it that the Temporary Capital was anxious to send the Assault Corps over to counter the Japanese so-called airborne operations? He Wei would never let the troops maneuver quickly for such a completely impossible battle, risking being bombed into the Yangtze River by Japanese planes to feed the fish.

Finally, after a lot of wrangling with the Military Commission, He Wei adopted a compromise solution, which was to let the assault corps advance normally, while He Wei would find a way to get to the temporary capital as soon as possible, understand the combat readiness of the temporary capital as soon as possible, and assist the Military Commission in quickly formulating a combat plan to counter the Japanese airborne operations. After all the assault corps had arrived in the temporary capital, they would directly carry out combat readiness deployment according to the combat plan.

Therefore, He Wei left the main force of the assault corps that was advancing by boat, and only took Tao Heiwa, a serviceman, with him. Sometimes they traveled by land or by car, and sometimes they changed to a boat. In short, they took whatever means of transportation was faster, changing boats and buses all the way, in order to rush to the temporary capital as quickly as possible.

After a lot of trouble and hassle, the two finally got off the boat at Chuqimen Wharf and entered the territory of the secondary capital.

Faced with the surging crowd on the dock, He Wei was not afraid at all. He took Tao Heiwa and rushed in directly. Those people who were pushing and shoving and fighting for the front in the crowd all made way for He Wei and Tao Heiwa when they saw them.

He Wei and the other man were already wearing military uniforms, with a German 96-shot Mauser and a C Mauser case on their waists, and two Gong-made long-handled grenades and bayonet sheaths on their belts. With this outfit on display, no one dared to rush over and compete with the two men for the road. In addition, He Wei's murderous aura, which was that of someone who had experienced fighting in the battlefield, made others want to avoid him.

Just like that, amidst the pushing and shouting, He Wei and his companions did not have to spend much effort and managed to rush through the extremely crowded crowd and arrived at the dock building unimpeded. Then, relying on their privileges, they successfully met up with the receiving officer stationed at Chuqimen Wharf by the Military Commission, under the guidance of the dock staff.

Afterwards, He Wei and Tao Heiwa got on the car sent by the Military Commission, left Chuqimen Wharf, and began their journey to the temporary capital due to a so-called "Japanese airborne troops attacking the temporary capital" battle that was destined to never happen.

Outside Chuqimen Wharf, on Xinfeng Street, two cars, one large and one small, with military license plates slowly accelerated, drove in the middle of the road, and passed through the bustling crowd.

Leading the way was a German Mercedes-Benz convertible military jeep, which was loaded with soldiers carrying Mauser pistols and wearing special armbands of the Military Commission, as well as He Wei's orderly Tao Heiwa. He Wei himself followed behind in an exquisite and luxurious black sedan with the Military Commission officer who came to lead the team to receive the leader.

This is quite a grand ceremony.

"Brother He, you have been traveling so long. I have been waiting for you these days, but I am so impatient."

He Wei sat in the back seat of the car, smiling at the fat, white officer who was sitting next to him. This man was the one sent by the Military Commission to pick him up. He was also an officer of the Military Commission, and his surname was Chen.

After a brief greeting with him, He Wei learned that this guy was a graduate of the sixth class of Whampoa Military Academy, with a colonel insignia on his collar. His promotion speed was quite fast among the sixth class students of Whampoa Military Academy. However, this guy was fat and white, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, spoke in a gentle manner, and was obviously a standard office officer in the rear-line agency.

He Wei shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Thank you for your help, brother. It's hard to travel by water or land now. I've been rushing as fast as I can. There are government agencies and civilian refugees everywhere along the way, some are moving to the rear, some are hiding from the war, and they are all rushing to the secondary capital. All the traffic passes are blocked."

Colonel Chen waved his hand and said, "I understand, but the temporary capital is not safe now. Japanese planes come to bomb from time to time. Each round of bombing means hundreds or thousands of lives. And I think you know why the Military Commission mobilized your troops this time. The Japanese plan of airborne troops attacking the temporary capital must have scared the higher-ups. This time, they asked you and your troops to come, and they also regarded you as a pillar of support."

Having said that, Colonel Chen's face became solemn and his smile quickly disappeared. Obviously, he was also very worried about the rumored Japanese airborne attack on the temporary capital.

"Brother He, you are a good fighter, and your troops are top-notch elite. We are not expecting you to win another world-famous victory in Yangxin this time, but as long as you can keep the secondary capital safe, it will be another great achievement."

Hearing his serious words, He Wei actually didn't take it seriously. However, he and the assault corps had gone to the temporary capital for this very reason, so he also asked, "I wonder what specific arrangements the Military Commission has for me and my troops?"

"The military situation is urgent now. We will go directly to the Military Affairs Department. When we get there, we will take you to meet the superiors in the department. We will discuss the specific matters after we arrive. Haha, the situation is very urgent now. We can't welcome you. Now the Military Commission and the Military Affairs Department are as anxious as ants on a hot pot. They are waiting for you and your troops to take on the responsibility of combat readiness and defense. Those who are capable should do more work. You have to work harder, brother."

When He Wei heard the term "Military Affairs Headquarters", he was stunned. He thought to himself that he had just arrived in the temporary capital and was being dragged to the Military Affairs Headquarters before he could even sit down. This was too hasty and they were going straight to the point.

The Military Affairs Department is one of the powerful departments under the Military Commission. It is a high-level department under the Military Commission, on par with the Military Administration Department, Military Training Department, and Political Department under the Military Commission. It was reorganized from the former First Department of the Military Commission and the former General Staff Headquarters at the beginning of this year. It is in charge of national defense, intelligence, staff, personnel and education, land surveying, etc., and has the right to instruct and supervise the staff work of various military agencies and troops.

The most core business rights held by the Military Affairs Department are the formulation of combat plans and the collection of relevant combat intelligence.

Now that He Wei had just arrived, he was pulled to the Military Affairs Headquarters. Without much thought, he must be asked to directly participate in the discussion of how to counter the Japanese airborne operations, and he might even have to immediately participate in the formulation of an anti-airborne combat plan.

According to Colonel Chen, when He Wei arrived at the Military Affairs Department, he had to meet directly with the chief of the department. As far as He Wei knew, there should be several second-level institutions such as departments and offices under the Military Affairs Department. The chief that Colonel Chen mentioned, even if he was not the Minister of the Military Affairs Department, should be the director of a department under it. Anyway, they were all big shots to He Wei.

Since this was the case, He Wei's mind immediately became active. He threw the idea of ​​formulating an anti-airborne combat plan out of his mind. Anyway, it was impossible for the Japanese airborne troops to attack the temporary capital. This so-called plan would be in vain no matter how it was specified. Since it was in vain, it would be easy to deal with. As a time traveler, it was easy for him to make up an anti-airborne combat plan to fool people.

However, if they could establish good relations with the bigwigs in the Military Command by making combat plans and conducting anti-airborne operations, and take the opportunity to seek benefits for the Assault Corps, such as expanding its organization, replenishing weapons, officers, and soldiers.
This is excellent!

Just as He Wei's mind became more active, planning in his mind how to use the Japanese airborne troops to reap huge benefits for the assault corps, the car was speeding through the urban area of ​​the temporary capital and arrived at the destination of this trip - the Military Commission's General Staff Headquarters.

(End of this chapter)