The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 453 Additional command and control rights are obtained!
Upon hearing that He Wei actually wanted to be assigned the command and control of the division and regiment areas of the assault corps, Minister He did not immediately agree or refuse. Instead, he became more interested in the problem of disconnection between the replenished troops and the rear replenishment agencies that He Wei had just mentioned.

So, he changed the main topic and asked He Wei: "You said that there is a disconnect between the divisional control area in the rear and the replenished troops in the front? You might as well talk more about this issue."

He Wei's heart moved, thinking that although the topic was off topic, it would be good to express his views to Minister He. Firstly, Minister He might have the intention of testing him, and secondly, the current military service system of the National Army was indeed a mess, and the work of conscription and replenishment was managed by the Military Service Bureau under the Ministry of Military Affairs. If he could give some reasonable suggestions, perhaps it could play a positive role in improving the military service system of the National Army, which would also be beneficial to the overall situation of the War of Resistance.

If He Wei remembers correctly, the military service system of the National Army was indeed not well managed, especially with many corruption problems, which caused a lot of negative impacts, and it can be said that it caused public outrage and complaints.

It seems that in the last year of the War of Resistance Against Japan, due to problems with the military service system, Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he even shot Cheng Zerun, the director of the Military Service Bureau under the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. This shows the problems with the military service of the National Army.

If he could give Minister He some advice that would have a positive impact on the current military service system of the National Army, it would be a good deed for He Wei himself. After all, it would just be a matter of talking a little more, so He Wei didn't mind saying a few more words.

So, He Wei thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Dear Sir, let me just say this for the time being. Our current military service supplement system is modeled after Japan and Germany. Before the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance, the soldiers of each unit of our army were almost all recruited by each unit on their own, which was considered a volunteer system. If I remember correctly, our military conscription system was initially implemented around the 25th year of the Republic of China."

Minister He nodded in agreement and said, "In 1936, the conscription system was fully implemented and the first batch of divisional districts were established across the country. Each divisional district was assigned to a corresponding front-line unit. The divisional district recruited soldiers within its jurisdiction to supplement the corresponding front-line units."

"Students think that this system is actually very feasible. For example, the Japanese Army has also implemented conscription for compulsory military service in this way for a long time. Many regiments have been established across the country. Each regiment recruits soldiers to fill the corresponding regiments within its jurisdiction. However, our country's military service system started too late, and all aspects started hastily, so the specific implementation is not ideal."

"I have never worked in a divisional area in the rear, but I have participated in the handover between the sending troops of the divisional area and the receiving troops in the front. It happened in Wuhan. At that time, Division Commander He Shaozhou invited me to the 103rd Division to help him train troops. I accepted the invitation and happened to see a group of Guizhou recruits that the 103rd Division had just received. Their condition was not ideal, they were thin and in poor physical condition. From this, it can be seen that there must be a lot of corruption in the specific implementation of conscription in the divisional area in the rear. Moreover, the cadres of the divisional area who sent the recruits had no sense of responsibility. They just perfunctorily dealt with the troops receiving the recruits. After sending the soldiers and handing them over to the receiving troops, the cadres in the divisional area responsible for sending the soldiers would pat their butts and leave. As long as the soldiers were handed over, they would not be responsible for any problems or incidents with the recruits sent to the front line."

"This is what I mean by disconnection. If we continue to allow this disconnection between the front-line recruiting units and the rear-line divisional recruiting agencies, I'm afraid the various problems in our army's recruiting system will become more serious."

Minister He listened, but on the surface he remained calm. As the Minister of Military Affairs, he had certainly heard about the problems in the military service system, and he also had some knowledge of the phenomena that He Wei mentioned. However, Minister He did not continue to delve into the issues of corruption and other issues raised by He Wei. After all, the waters here are too deep. Instead, he continued to ask, "Well, now that the war of resistance is in full swing, there is a huge shortage of soldiers on the front line, and conscription is indeed difficult. Please continue."

He Wei said seriously, "I think that if we can connect the front-line troops to be replenished and the rear-line divisional districts to strengthen the connection, it may be possible to greatly alleviate the various problems. For example, we can order the replenished troops to send officers to the divisional districts that replenish new recruits for the troops to supervise and inspect and directly participate in the recruitment and replenishment of new recruits. I even think it would be a good idea to directly transfer officers from the replenished troops to the divisional districts and regiment districts that replenish new recruits for the troops as chief officers."

"In this way, the connection between the replenished troops at the front and the corresponding divisional and regimental districts that replenish new recruits for them will be greatly strengthened. If the chief officers of the divisional and regimental districts come from the corresponding front-line troops, their sense of responsibility and cohesion will be greatly improved than before, and the various previous ills should also be improved. In addition, a certain number of middle and lower-level officers can be transferred from the replenished troops to the divisional and regimental districts that replenish new recruits for the troops, and be responsible for the recruitment and training of new recruits. Then, various accountability systems can be formulated and improved, which should be of great benefit to improving the military service system."

He Wei quickly told all his ideas. His method of improvement, in simple terms, was to let the officers of the troops to be replenished serve as the commanders of the division and regiment command areas corresponding to their own troops. They would do their own business and be responsible for the replenishment of new soldiers for their own troops.

Anyway, if family members take care of their own affairs, no matter how much improvement can be expected, at least corruption and other situations will definitely improve.

Of course, his method of drawing officers from the replenished troops to serve in the corresponding division and regiment command areas was not something he came up with on the spur of the moment. In fact, in the original history, the National Army had actually carried out corresponding reforms.

In the middle of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to improve the military service system, the National Army issued a special order to select deputy army commanders or senior division commanders from various army-level units on the front line to serve as commanders of the division command area responsible for replenishing new recruits for the army.

In addition, the national army also required each front-line combat army to select a group of middle and lower-level officers to be responsible for recruitment and training in the corresponding assigned division command area, so as to effectively integrate the command area with the assigned troops and local people, and strengthen the connection between the supplemented troops and the corresponding division command area.

Even in the later period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the National Army further reformed the military service system. Originally, a division command area was assigned to an army and was responsible for replenishing the troops of that army. In order to strengthen the connection between the front-line troops and the rear-line division command areas, the National Army made drastic adjustments to the main force structure of many of its three field infantry divisions.

That is, each army only leaves two field infantry divisions to perform combat missions on the front line, and the other infantry division is transferred to the corresponding rear division command area of ​​the army and changed to the so-called "rear-transferred division" to be responsible for the recruitment and training of new recruits for the army within the division command area. Moreover, the commander of the division command area where the rear-transferred division arrives will be concurrently served by the commander of the rear-transferred division.

In short, the series of reforms of the National Army's service policy during the war were the same as the suggestions that He Wei had made to Minister He. They all took the route of strengthening the connection between the front-line combat troops and the rear-line military service replenishment agencies, and realizing the integration of the divisional command area replenishment agencies and the front-line troops. The only difference was that He Wei had now proposed a similar countermeasure to Minister He in advance.

After He Wei finished speaking, Minister He immediately fell into deep thought following He Wei's suggestion. After a moment, seeing He Wei looking at him expectantly, he said, "Your idea is not inappropriate, but it requires a few points as a prerequisite. First, although such an improvement is not drastic, it is not a small move. As you said, the various divisional districts across the country were only officially established in the 25th year of the Republic of China, and it has not been long since they were established. Many conscription procedures and aspects have just been put on the right track. If there is a sudden reform at this time, as you said, the commanders of the various divisional districts in the rear will be replaced by officers transferred from the corresponding front-line troops. Although large-scale personnel replacements and transfers will not cause any major chaos, there will always be some problems with the changes." "Second, now is the most intense period of the war. If officers at all levels are transferred from the front-line troops to the divisional and regimental districts in the rear to conduct conscription, I am afraid that it will affect the combat effectiveness of the front-line troops. Your suggestion is very useful, but we still need to think about it in the long run and take it slowly."

After Minister He finished speaking, he took another sip of tea and changed the subject, "So you want to take control of the division and regiment command areas assigned to your assault corps. I think it's also for this reason?"

He Wei nodded and said, "I have thought about it again and again. After all, this time we are trying to prevent the Japanese airborne troops from attacking the temporary capital. The responsibility is heavy. Therefore, I hope that the headquarters can have a fixed and long-term place to replenish new recruits. I also hope that on this basis, we can replenish the headquarters with high-quality and well-trained new recruits. That's why I dare to have this idea."

Minister He hummed, raised his head slightly, and pondered, "Well, your troops are originally elite troops directly under the Military Commission. According to the current regulations, special troops such as artillery, engineers, tank troops, and some elite infantry troops are eligible for preferential treatment in recruiting new soldiers. This time your corps is going to the secondary capital to perform the task of protecting the secondary capital, so you should receive better treatment in all aspects."

After Minister He finished speaking, he was silent for a while, as if thinking about something. Two or three minutes later, he murmured to He Wei, "He Wei, since your troops are to protect the auxiliary capital, the divisional district assigned to your troops should not be far away from the auxiliary capital. Logically, it should be as close to the auxiliary capital as possible. Then you should select one or two divisional districts and regimental districts near the auxiliary capital to assign to your troops. I think this is the reason. As for the command and control of the divisional districts and regimental districts, it is left to you. It would be a good idea to conduct a pilot project on this model. You can give it a try."

He Wei was delighted when he saw this. Minister He looked thoughtful, and was discussing with him the location of the assigned division command area, as well as his firm tone. It was likely that he had already made a decision and was thinking about which division command area or regiment command area to assign to the assault corps.

As for his request for the command of the division or regiment command area, it seems that there is a chance, and it is likely to be accomplished.

This defense against the Japanese airborne troops and the protection of the temporary capital, coupled with Minister He's strong connections, is indeed very useful. A special troop replenishment area and corresponding command and management rights are about to be obtained!
He Wei was also a little excited. Although the Assault Corps under his command was a first-rate elite of the National Army, it was a combat unit itself and was considered the sharp spear in He Wei's hand. Now if he could gain control of a place to replenish troops, he would have a strong backing, and the Assault Corps would also have the ability to replenish and generate blood, and even have the capital for expansion. By then, his farming plan would be able to be implemented, and the Assault Corps, a sharp spear that attacked the enemy with strong support behind it, would usher in a new atmosphere.

It’s really very good, very good!

He Wei suppressed his emotions and said, "Yes, Minister, I have discussed this matter with Director Liu Fei from the perspective of combat. According to our prediction of the enemy situation, the Japanese airborne troops attacking the temporary capital will most likely not land directly in the urban area of ​​the temporary capital. They will most likely choose the wider suburban counties near the temporary capital as the airborne zone. Correspondingly, our assault corps should also be stationed in the corresponding suburban counties. At the same time, our garrison should also be assigned to the replenishment area of ​​our troops."

"By doing so, our garrison will not only be a place for replenishing our troops, but also a possible airborne attack zone for the Japanese airborne troops. This will enable us to achieve the trinity of training, combat, and replenishment, and the combat effectiveness of the troops and the execution of combat readiness tasks will be at their best."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Minister He said, "Come here, ask the Military Service Bureau to sort out the information and materials of the various divisional and regimental command areas near the temporary capital, as well as the various supplementary soldier training offices!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant who was standing by the office door responded and then left the office to collect relevant information as requested by Minister He. With the direct order from the minister, the work efficiency of the subordinate departments of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs was extremely fast. In less than ten minutes, the relevant military service information of the division command area, regiment command area, and supplementary soldier training department near the temporary capital was sent over, and two major clerks from the Military Service Bureau also came with them.

In Minister He's office, the two clerks used the information to explain to Minister He and He Wei the various conditions of the military service agencies such as the division command area, regiment command area, and supplementary soldier training department near the temporary capital.

From the explanation of the two staff members, we learned that the main military service agencies near the temporary capital currently include two division command areas and their six regiment command areas. The first is the Yuyou Division Command Area, which has three regiment command areas in Baxian, Fuling, and Yongchuan and the Youyang Recruiting Office; the second is the Kuisui Division Command Area, which has three regiment command areas in Wanxian, Dazhu, and Bazhong. Among them, the Kuisui Division Command Area has been established, and the subordinate regiment command areas have also been established and have begun to carry out conscription tasks, while the Yuyou Division Command Area is still on paper and has not yet started to implement specific establishment matters.

In addition, according to the plan of the Military Service Bureau, a supplementary soldier training office is to be established near the temporary capital, and the number has been determined, namely the First Supplementary Soldier Training Office. However, this supplementary soldier training office is also still on paper and has not yet been established.

After learning about the situation, Minister He immediately decided to assign the two regimental management areas of Ba County and Fuling, which were originally planned to be under the management of the Yuyou Division, as the recruitment base for the assault corps. He readily agreed to He Wei's request and handed over the command and control of the conscription area composed of these two regimental management areas to He Wei.

What He Wei had been dreaming about, the land that could provide blood transfusion and support for the assault corps' expansion, as well as the command and control over it, was finally in his hands!

(End of this chapter)