The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 446 Seeking Bonuses for the Troops
The car slowly passed through the busy city streets, turning many corners and finally arrived in front of a military headquarters compound surrounded by lush green vegetation.

He Wei glanced over. The Military Affairs Department building in the secondary city was also an important agency under the Military Commission. Although it was large and magnificent, and was worthy of its authority to formulate combat plans and collect intelligence for the entire national army, it was still much quieter than the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs that He Wei had visited in Nanjing and Wuhan.

At least the number of officers going in and out of the Military General Staff Headquarters to handle business is definitely dwarfed by that of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. When He Wei was in Nanjing and Wuhan, every time he went to the Military and Political Affairs Headquarters, it was always crowded or even blocked off. In comparison, although the Military General Staff Headquarters cannot be said to be deserted, it is indeed much quieter. However, He Wei would not be foolish enough to look down on the Military General Staff Headquarters.

After all, the Military and Political Department headed by Minister He is in charge of equipment and personnel replenishment and organization, and determines whether all aspects of the front-line troops can be replenished in time. The Military Command Department completely determines the mobilization and deployment of a unit and combat principles through the formulation of combat plans. It can also decide the life and death of a unit. It is also a first-class powerful department.

Looking at the Military Affairs Department, He Wei thought of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and then, his little plan was directed at Minister He.

He Wei thought that the senior organs of the Military Commission should have moved to the temporary capital, so Minister He's Military and Political Department should also be in the temporary capital. He had just withdrawn from the front line and was unfamiliar with the temporary capital. The temporary capital was also a very complicated place. In addition, the assault corps would be stationed near the temporary capital for a long time in the future, so replenishment and supply from all aspects would be a big problem. Moreover, he had not seen Minister He for a long time, so it was time to maintain his relationships and connections.

Afterwards, He Wei reviewed the bigwigs who had some relationship with him, and then thought of General Xiao Shanling, the deputy commander of the gendarmerie who had cooperated with him in Nanjing.

If He Wei remembered correctly, the Military Police Headquarters should have also withdrawn to the temporary capital with the National Government, and General Xiao should also be in the temporary capital. If General Xiao is there, this relationship should be maintained. As the deputy commander of the Military Police, General Xiao naturally has an extraordinary position of authority. In addition, he is a student of the old Baoding Military Academy and has very strong personal connections. There are many benefits in continuing to build a good relationship with him.

So He Wei asked Colonel Chen beside him: "Brother Chen, the Military and Political Department and the Military Police Headquarters should have moved to the temporary capital now, right?"

"Of course, they moved here a long time ago. The Military Commission just arrived more than three months ago, and the Military Police Headquarters moved to the temporary capital after the fall of Nanjing."

"I see."

He Wei was delighted to receive a positive answer. Under the guise of defending against the Japanese airborne operations, and with the connections between Minister He and General Xiao, it would be enough for He Wei and the assault corps to obtain sufficient benefits and resources during their stay in the temporary capital! This was really great, really great!

Soon, He Wei got off the car and entered the Military Affairs Department under the guidance of Colonel Chen. As a military agency responsible for studying and judging combat plans, the Military Affairs Department has strict access control and ordinary people are deterred from entering. The cadres of various military agencies who come to handle business must also go through strict approval and registration procedures.

But with Colonel Chen leading the way, He Wei could walk straight in through the side door, and was then led unimpeded to a spacious conference room in the Military Affairs Office Building. After leading He Wei into the office, Colonel Chen left first and asked He Wei to wait in the conference room for a while.

When Colonel Chen came to the conference room again, he was followed by an orderly carrying a tray and a lieutenant carrying a file bag.

"Haha, brother, you also know that the military situation is urgent now. The superiors in the department happen to have a meeting now. You should take a rest and eat first. There are some materials and documents here. You can also take a look. I estimate that the superiors in the department will take at least an hour to finish. There is no way. This is an emergency meeting of the Political Department and the Military Training Department of the Military Commission. The meeting is too urgent. Please wait patiently."

Colonel Chen put the food tray and documents on the table. He Wei smiled and nodded, "I understand. I just need to take a break. Please do as you please. By the way, please take care of my little orderly."

"Don't worry, brother. I still have some business to take care of. You can rest first."

After exchanging a few pleasantries and seeing Colonel Chen off, He Wei did not hesitate to pick up his chopsticks and wolfed down the food, using the three meat dishes and two vegetable dishes that Colonel Chen had brought to satisfy his stomach. After he had eaten and drunk his fill, He Wei opened the file bag and began to read the various materials inside.

As expected, this batch of information was basically related to the so-called Japanese airborne attack on the temporary capital. Among them were intelligence and information related to the Japanese airborne troops reported by the front-line troops, such as the report submitted by the troops besieging the 106th Division of the Japanese Army in Wanjialing about the Japanese army's use of aircraft to airdrop additional officers to Wanjialing, as well as the frequency of Japanese aircraft dispatches and airdrops during the Wanjialing Battle, as well as relevant records of Japanese aircraft carrying out airdrop operations in other battlefields and front-line troops.

He Wei only glanced over the relevant information about the Japanese airborne troops and airdrop operations, and then piled them all aside. Those field records on the battlefield were still reliable, but the so-called Japanese airdrop officers were pure outrageous rumors. With the current combat capabilities of the Japanese airborne troops, it is impossible to complete airdrop operations in complex mountainous terrain. If the Japanese really have this ability, then I am afraid that even the Germans will have to learn airborne operations from the Japanese!

In addition to these materials related to the Japanese airborne troops, there are also many materials related to the current defense of the temporary capital and the garrison. After reading all the materials, He Wei finally understood why the Military Commission was so anxious to send the assault corps to the temporary capital to strengthen its defense.

According to the above records, no matter what command organization it belongs to, as far as combat troops are concerned, the current garrison in the temporary capital is indeed pitifully small. The garrison in the urban area mainly consists of several gendarmerie regiments. Most of these gendarmes stationed in the urban area are deployed in a dispersed manner to guard the major military and political institutions and residences of military and political dignitaries in the temporary capital. They are mainly responsible for guard duty, patrol and confidentiality duties. In addition, the gendarmerie itself is not a specialized field force, so its overall combat capability is very limited.

The garrisons in the suburbs and nearby urban areas consisted of only the New 25th Division of the Sichuan Army and some scattered security teams. The only regular field force was the New 25th Division, which was reorganized from two security regiments of the Sichuan-Kang Pacification Office more than a year ago.

He Wei had no idea how effective this division was, but he remembered that the more elite troops of the Sichuan Army seemed to have left the province, and those left in the province were mostly a bunch of weaklings. He guessed that the combat effectiveness of the newly formed 25th Division was not that good either.

In fact, He Wei's guess was indeed correct. In the original history, this division, when serving as the garrison force of the temporary capital, was engaged in the "duck slice" selling and transportation business. Its military discipline was very poor, and it was not doing its job properly. It was completely rotten to the core.

Moreover, this division is a Sichuan Army unit, and it may not be easy for the central government in the temporary capital to command it.

In addition to these troops, there are also some anti-aircraft artillery units of the National Army’s central army system, as well as divisions and regiments in the suburbs and counties near the temporary capital.

Needless to say, the anti-aircraft artillery unit is responsible for the city's air defense mission. As for the so-called division command area and regiment command area, they are simply conscription agencies. Their main task is to recruit new soldiers within the counties and districts under their management and to be responsible for training. To put it bluntly, the division command area and regiment command area are used to conscript able-bodied men to supplement the front-line troops and have basically no combat effectiveness.

After He Wei finished reading it, he actually understood why the Military Commission and the Temporary Capital were so panicked by the rumors of the Japanese airborne troops attacking the Temporary Capital. Currently, the garrison in the Temporary Capital and nearby areas is not only small in number, but also has a big question mark on its combat effectiveness. In this case, it is natural that the Military Commission and the top leaders are a little panicked when they have to use these troops to deal with airborne operations that have never happened in the history of war.

Of course, He Wei was not panicked at all. He knew that it was impossible for the Japanese paratroopers to attack the temporary capital. For him, these materials were just some usable materials for fabricating a combat plan that could fool the top leaders of the Military Commission. Or they could be said to be supporting materials for He Wei to seek various benefits for the assault corps.

When He Wei thought about taking advantage of the opportunity to defend against the Japanese airborne attack to benefit the assault corps and expand its strength, he couldn't help but feel excited, his index finger moved, and his mind started to work rapidly.

So, as soon as he warmed up the various materials he had obtained, He Wei quickly outlined a rough outline of an anti-airborne combat plan in his mind.

About an hour and a half later, the door of the conference room was pushed open. He Wei immediately stood up and saw three officers in tweed uniforms walking in one after another, led by Colonel Chen.

He Wei took a quick look and saw that the three men had sad and tired faces, and they all had dark circles under their eyes. They were obviously very tired. He Wei guessed from the looks of them that they were all tortured by the crappy airborne operations against the Japanese army.

As they approached, He Wei's eyes immediately fell on the collar badges of the three men. Damn, the leader was a lieutenant general, and the two following behind were also major generals.

He Wei stood at attention and saluted, "Hello, sir. I am He Wei, the commander of the Army Assault Corps, reporting in!"

The leading lieutenant general nodded, and the other two major generals also returned the greeting to He Wei.

Several more adjutants followed in, busy pulling out chairs and serving tea. Colonel Chen pointed at the lieutenant general officer in the lead and said, "Captain He, this is Director Liu Fei of the First Department of our Military Command."

"Hello, Director Liu!"

"These two are Director Huang and Director Gao from the First Department of our Military Headquarters!"

"Hello, Director Huang, Hello, Director Gao!"

He Wei's expression remained unchanged as he saluted the three men in turn, but he was shocked in his heart, thinking that the person who came was indeed a big shot.

Although He Wei was not clear about the entire organizational structure of the Military Affairs Department, he had an understanding of its general composition. The Military Affairs Department had the First Department, the Second Department and the General Affairs Department. In addition, the War History Compilation Committee, the Army University, the General Administration of Land Surveying, the Artillery Command, the Engineer Command, the Communications Command, and all those military attaché organizations stationed abroad were also under the jurisdiction of the Military Affairs Department. However, the most core internal organizations were the First Department and the Second Department.

Among them, the First Department is in charge of operations, and the Second Department is in charge of intelligence. In wartime, the First Department is undoubtedly more important, responsible for the formulation of national defense combat plans, the drafting and deployment of orders, the review of naval and air force combat matters, military mobilization, appeasement, security, etc.

Now the director of the First Department in charge of operations is directly contacting He Wei. It is obvious that He Wei is to directly participate in the formulation of the combat plan. He Wei has also heard of Liu Fei, the director of the First Department.

This man studied at the Nanning Military Academy in Guangxi and the Xijiang Military Academy in Guangdong. Influenced by Sun Yat-sen's "Three Major Policies", he devoted himself to the National Revolution. During the Northern Expedition, he served as the chief of operations staff of the general headquarters, assisting the National Revolutionary Army's acting chief of staff, Bai Chongxi, in commanding operations.

After the failure of the Great Revolution, he went to Japan to study military affairs. After returning to China, he traveled around and carried out various activities against the bald principal He Wei. To the National Government and Chiang Kai-shek, he was a complete traitor.

It was at the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance against Japan, when all factions across the country were united in their efforts to fight the Japanese. This man took office in the Military Commission and served as the Lieutenant General Director of the First Department of the Military Affairs Department. He was also a legendary figure.

Liu Fei, who looked a little tired, pulled a chair over and sat down. He looked at He Wei and said, "You are He Wei, who fought the great victory in Yangxin. You are indeed a talented person. You fought very well in Tianjia Town. It was very inspiring. That battle saved Wuhan from danger. It can be said that it saved the safety of the thoroughfare of nine provinces and served as a guarantee for the Yangtze and Han rivers. It also greatly boosted the morale of the army and civilians across the country. Very good, you are worthy of being the student of the chairman. You did not bring shame to you Whampoa students."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir. Defending our country is a soldier's duty!"

In response to Liu Fei's polite compliments, He Wei immediately gave a humble reply. However, he always felt that Liu Fei's tone when he said the word "Chairman" was very special.

Liu Fei waved his hand to signal He Wei to sit down, nodded slightly, and after a long thought, he spoke again: "He Wei, I believe you are also aware of the specific circumstances of transferring you and your troops back this time. The military situation is urgent now, so let's get straight to the point. I have discussed with the senior officials of the Military Commission. I heard that you left the troops and rushed back to the temporary capital first. Your troops are still being transported. How long will it take for them to arrive? What is the current combat effectiveness of the troops?"

"Sir, our headquarters is advancing under the command of the Chief of Staff. It is expected to reach the secondary capital in about a week. Once we reach the secondary capital, we can go into battle at any time."

He Wei said this with great confidence, but then he added schemingly: "But our headquarters has been fighting the Japanese army for a long time in Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain. We have suffered considerable losses in officers, soldiers, and weapons, and our combat effectiveness has also been greatly depleted. Although we can be deployed at any time, our overall combat effectiveness cannot reach the level of our full strength before the war."

(End of this chapter)