The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 448: The Destitute Arms Dealer

After meeting with several senior officers of the General Staff, He Wei was tasked with providing the General Staff with information related to airborne operations and drafting an anti-airborne operations plan for the General Staff's reference.

In addition, Liu Fei also informed him in advance that his assault corps would independently undertake anti-Japanese airborne combat missions. On the surface, the burden on him was not light. After receiving Liu Fei's advice and orders that day, although He Wei did not care at all whether the assault corps would independently undertake defense, he still showed shock, entanglement and a little embarrassment on his face.

Even after receiving Liu Fei's promise that he would contact the top brass of the Military Commission and use his personal connections to supplement and reorganize the Assault Corps and give it full support, He Wei did not easily pat his chest and agree to the Assault Corps' independent anti-airborne defense mission. Instead, he continued to make things difficult for Liu Fei and analyzed from a military perspective the various difficulties that the Assault Corps would face in undertaking the anti-airborne defense mission alone, such as insufficient manpower, small troop structure, lack of anti-aircraft firearms, etc.
He Wei had originally intended to use this impossible anti-airborne operation in the void to expand the strength of himself and the assault corps, so that the assault corps could play a greater role in future battles and crucial battles with the Japanese army. So naturally he was willing to give up the image of an excellent commander who had won the Yangxin victory, and complained to Liu Fei in a nagging manner, without any demeanor of a commander who had just almost wiped out a reinforced brigade of the Japanese army.

As the saying goes, the crying child gets the milk. He Wei was very sure that the more embarrassed he appeared at this critical juncture, the more benefits he would get.

Liu Fei did not express dissatisfaction with He Wei's analysis and complaints. After all, he was also an old soldier and naturally knew that letting the Assault Corps, a unit with a strength equivalent to a field infantry brigade and a combat organization equivalent to a field infantry regiment, take the lead in carrying out the anti-airborne combat mission in such a large temporary capital sounded outrageous, not to mention asking He Wei to put it into practice. Liu Fei knew that this job was not easy.

Therefore, Liu Fei comforted He Wei and advised him gently, saying that he would definitely apply to the top leaders of the Military Commission to dispatch as many field troops as possible to defend near the temporary capital.

Liu Fei repeatedly assured that he would do his best to secure reinforcements for the Assault Corps, and urged the top brass of the Military Commission and the Military and Political Department in charge of weapons and equipment and personnel replenishment to give priority to the best soldiers, the most outstanding military academy graduates, and the most sophisticated weapons and equipment to replenish the Assault Corps. He also stated to He Wei that the Assault Corps was originally an elite force directly under the Military Commission, and that it had made an immortal contribution in the great victory in Yangxin. If he fought for He Wei again this time, he would definitely make the replenishment and even expansion of the Assault Corps the top priority among the national army forces, which could be said to be a huge benefit to He Wei.

At that time, seeing the big boss Liu Fei trying his best to promise him benefits, He Wei was secretly happy. Liu Fei was the director of the operations department of the Military Affairs Department. The weapons and troop replenishment of the troops were not within his authority. All these replenishment businesses were in the hands of the Ministry of Military Affairs and were under the jurisdiction of Minister He.

Minister He was originally He Wei's backer, and now Liu Fei has written a big check, saying that he will help He Wei to strive for the Military Commission. In this way, the replenishment and expansion of the assault corps is equivalent to a two-pronged approach. With Minister He around, the replenishment and treatment of the assault corps in all aspects will definitely not be bad.

Now that there is someone like Liu Fei who is in charge of operations, no matter what "outsiders" are added to participate, it is likely to bring unexpected benefits to He Wei and the assault corps. Anyway, relying on these two great men, the assault corps will certainly reap dividends.

Liu Fei, the big boss of the Military Affairs Department, had obviously done a background check on He Wei. After persuading He Wei with gentle words and promising him many benefits, Liu Fei, acting as a revolutionary predecessor and elder who had participated in the Northern Expedition, recounted in detail He Wei's stories, like an elder next door, from the Battle of Xinkou in which he seized the Japanese regiment flag and tank, to the Battle of Nanjing in which he cooperated with friendly forces to win the victory in Xiaguan, to the just-fought victory in Yangxin, and to the great victory won in Tianjia Town with the assistance of the friendly 9th Division.

Even the matter of killing the Japanese royal family, which had been kept secret, was dug up by Liu Fei. He praised He Wei highly and hoped that he would continue to work hard, serve the party and make new contributions.

In short, the benefits were given and He Wei was praised one after another. Seeing that the time was right, He Wei stopped complaining and assured Liu Fei at the end of the meeting that he would submit the relevant materials on airborne operations and anti-airborne operations plans for reference to the General Staff as soon as possible. He would also make full deployment after the assault corps arrived at the temporary capital and vowed to live and die with the temporary capital.

Thanks to He Wei's expression of loyalty, the meeting was a great success for both the host and the guests.

That night, He Wei was taken to a first-class restaurant in the temporary capital by Colonel Chen who came to pick him up for a big meal. Afterwards, he checked into a first-class hotel near the Military Affairs Headquarters under the arrangement of the Military Affairs Headquarters.

From the second day, He Wei began to organize his airborne combat-related theories and draft an anti-airborne combat plan for the temporary capital from his own perspective. The Military Affairs Department also gave He Wei great convenience and care, picking him up and dropping him off every morning and evening, and sending Colonel Chen to accompany him.

The Military Affairs Department responded to He Wei's requests for all the information, maps, battle information, various materials required for staff work, and military documents he needed when drawing up the battle plan.

The Military Affairs Department also approved a special subsidy of 2,000 French francs for He Wei. In name, this money was used for He Wei's daily expenses, but the Military Affairs Department had already provided He Wei with all his food and lodging, and even had someone to pick him up and drop him off at get off work, so this money was actually a hard work fee given to He Wei by the Military Affairs Department.

The treatment He Wei received was extraordinary. The senior lieutenant general director spoke to him gently and asked for advice humbly. The major general director had a long conversation with him, a lieutenant colonel, about the relationship between senior and junior. The Military Affairs Department responded to He Wei's every request, providing him with generous material treatment and facilitating him in all aspects.

It seems that everything He Wei encounters goes very smoothly without any obstacles. This is the bonus brought by He Wei's fighting ability.

With such generous treatment, He Wei naturally could not perform too badly. He went to the Military Affairs Headquarters to clock in at a fixed time every day. As soon as he arrived at the Military Affairs Headquarters, he started his work in a hurry. On the surface, he seemed to be very diligent in planning the anti-airborne combat plan.

However, it was just on the surface. In fact, he was very relaxed. There was no need for He Wei to spend too much energy on a battle that was doomed to fail, let alone spend a lot of effort on a meticulous and meticulous anti-airborne combat plan.

For a time traveler, it is not difficult to use the advantage of being a prophet to come up with a nearly passable anti-airborne combat plan.

Therefore, He Wei took only two days to compile a bunch of basic knowledge and various tactical theories of airborne and anti-airborne operations for the Military Affairs Department. Based on the airborne and anti-airborne operations theories brought by later generations, combined with the military technology of this era and the actual situation of the Chinese and Japanese armies, he came up with an anti-airborne operations plan for the temporary capital that at least looked very good on the surface.

Of course, after drawing up the plan, He Wei did not submit it to the Military Affairs Department immediately. Instead, under the pretext of drawing up a plan, he reviewed a large amount of information and military documents within the Military Affairs Department to understand the current direction of the war situation. At the same time, he also made references and plans in advance for the future development of the assault corps. He would occasionally take a break from his work, and the days at work just passed by.

After completing the plan, He Wei naturally wanted to combine work and rest. After leaving the Military Affairs Department every evening after get off work, he would not continue to be tense. Instead, he would take the special funds issued by the Military Affairs Department and take Tao Heiwa to wander around the city of the temporary capital, eating, drinking, watching movies and listening to operas, so as to relax his nerves which had been tense for a long time during the war.

Although the country is in crisis and the enemy is at the doorstep, he still needs to relax. After all, he has fought for such a long time, can't he enjoy himself?
In the evening, a Ford sedan with a military license plate slowly stopped in front of Jiachuan Hotel. He Wei and Tao Heiwa, who had finished a day's work, got off the car, waved goodbye to the military staff officer who was driving, and walked to the door of the hotel as usual. Jiachuan Hotel was the place chosen by the military for He Wei to stay. The capital is a mountain city. Although this Jiachuan Hotel is in the urban area, it is also a typical mountain building. Its overall specifications are not very large, with four floors in the front and five floors in the back. It also has some European architectural style. The main building uses brick columns, wooden roof frames, stone foundations, bamboo walls and plain tile walls, which looks very elegant.

In addition to the main body of the hotel, there are also parking rooms, air-raid shelters, pools, terrazzo tables and chairs, as well as a dance hall and basement. It is considered the best hotel in the capital.

Of course, this good is only relatively speaking. Compared with the hotels He Wei had seen in Jinling and Wuhan, this best hotel in the temporary capital has many shortcomings, and there are occasional power outages and water shortages, but it is indeed the best hospitality that the Military Affairs Department can offer.

Although the overall economic environment and living conditions in the temporary capital are still good, it is wartime after all. The office and even accommodation conditions of many government agencies that moved from Nanjing and Wuhan are very poor. Colonel Chen once told He Wei that some not-so-important agencies of the Military Commission could not find decent offices and accommodations at all, and even had to build houses made of bamboo reinforcements, earth walls, mud floors, and straw roofs by themselves to shelter from the wind and rain. It can be seen how bad the conditions are. Even some generals and officers in the Military Affairs Department were worried about the accommodation for their families.

As for the accommodation conditions of the people who fled from the front line, there is no need to say more. Now the river beaches along the temporary capital are full of rotten grass huts built by refugees with bamboo and stones.

All we can say is that once the war starts, everyone will inevitably be affected except those at the top of the food chain.

Before He Wei and Tao Heiwa could walk in, suddenly, a burst of cursing and shouting was heard.

"Please be flexible and let me stay one more day."

"Let me go! Let me go! What are you doing!!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, please don't embarrass us, you should leave as soon as possible."

"It's your business if your money was stolen. It's only natural to spend money on hotel stays. Don't make a fuss here."

He Wei stopped immediately, thinking that the voice sounded familiar. Tao Heiwa, who was standing by, also asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"

He Wei shook his head and stepped aside to see what was going on. Soon, He Wei saw several waiters and hotel waiters dragging out a man in a suit and tie. The waiters and waiters dragged him out cursing, and the man begged and screamed for help.

"My money was stolen. This is all I have. Please be kind and let me stay here for another night!"

"Please!"

Judging from the situation, He Wei thought that the man who was being dragged and beaten should also be a guest of Jiachuan Hotel. He was probably unable to stay here any longer because his money was stolen, so he was crying and begging here. He Wei shook his head when he heard the heart-wrenching cry, thinking that the security in this wartime capital seemed to be not very good, so he had to be more careful.

He Wei said to Tao Heiwa, "I guess this is also a tenant. Someone must have stolen his money. He can't pay the rent, so the tenant has to kick him out. Heiwa, you should be careful too. Keep an eye on our grenades, guns, bayonets, money, and the things in our briefcases."

"Yes, sir!"

After saying that, He Wei watched the excitement for a few more minutes before taking Tao Heiwa back. However, just as He Wei turned around and took a step, a sudden howl of grief was heard.

"Brother He, Brother He Wei, Commander He Wei, is that you? Is that you? I am Ding Lunshi, the Ding Lunshi who sold you the arms. Please save me. Help me."

"Brother He, is that you? Save me!"

A burst of crying and shouting was heard, and He Wei stopped in his tracks. He knew Ding Lunshi, of course. The fat comprador from the foreign company was in charge of a large amount of arms and equipment business for the assault corps.

No wonder he felt the howling voice of the man in the suit sounded familiar just now, and the person talking seemed to be the fat comprador.

However, the man in a suit who was kicked out of the hotel was rather thin, completely different from the fat comprador with a bloated stomach in He Wei's memory, but he shouted out his name with sincerity.

He Wei, who was bewildered and full of doubts, immediately went forward to check. After He Wei approached the man in the suit amid his repeated requests for help and cries, he looked at him carefully for half a minute before confirming that the guy who was crying like a stray dog ​​was indeed Ding Lunshi, but his body shape had changed from his former fat figure to an extremely thin one, and even his face was shapeless. However, Ding Lunshi's miserable and miserable appearance was no different from the first time He Wei saw him, that is, when he rescued him from the gangsters in Wuhan.

(End of this chapter)