The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 457: Promoted to Colonel, Recruiting Soldiers

Temporary base of the assault team, conference room
All the officers at the company level and above of the assault corps gathered together. There was a constant buzz of discussion in the conference room. The officers led by the commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, Fu Chen, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion, Fang Jing, and the commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, Hu Zhaowu, were all discussing and negotiating enthusiastically.

The topic of discussion was naturally the recent developments and conditions of the assault corps. Everyone talked about different specific topics, but everyone was extremely high-spirited and enthusiastic, and the entire meeting room was filled with vigor and hope.

Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling squinted his eyes and looked at the officers in high spirits in the conference room. Feeling the high-spirited atmosphere in the conference room and thinking about the recent situation of the assault corps, the corners of Wang Yuanling's mouth curled up slightly. Looking at the officers in the conference room who were ready to fight and looking high-spirited, Wang Yuanling's heart was burning and his expression became more and more wonderful.

Recently, the assault corps has been resting and preparing for war in a temporary camp near the urban area. This barracks originally belonged to the Sichuan Army of the former Sichuan Kang Pacification Office. Although the accommodation conditions of the temporary barracks are very ordinary, the treatment received by the officers and soldiers is not bad at all.

The Ministry of Military Affairs issued a large amount of food supplies specifically for the rest and replenishment of the assault corps. Relying on the supplies allocated by the Ministry of Military Affairs, plus the large amount of chicken, duck, fish, meat and other supplies and various staple and non-staple foods purchased near the base by the wealthy assault corps at its own expense, the officers and soldiers of the assault corps were well rewarded after the bloody battle and the long journey by boat.

At a time when a considerable number of front-line combat troops cannot even guarantee decent rice and flour staple foods every day, the Assault Corps has to eat steamed buns, dumplings, noodles, and rice every day, as well as a variety of chicken, duck, fish and meat in rotation. The generous meals with a full range of meat and vegetables every day quickly soothed the fatigue of the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps.

All the military salaries that were delayed due to fighting during the war, as well as the pensions for the officers and soldiers killed in action, were also paid out. In addition, in order to reward the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps who made great contributions in the Yangxin victory, the Military Commission also issued a special reward to the Assault Corps. Although the amount of this reward was not large, after it was paid to the Assault Corps, He Wei ordered that a sum of money be drawn from the funds in the Assault Corps' account, and together with the sum issued by the Military Commission, it would make up a month's salary for all the officers and soldiers of the Corps, and this month's salary would be given to the officers and soldiers as a bonus. These tangible cash and material rewards were of course the most direct reward for the officers and soldiers who fought to the death!

Of course, in addition to these, other new developments are also happening one after another. For example, the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs has issued a formal order. In addition to He Wei's position as the chief of the Assault Corps, He Wei has been appointed as the director of the First Supplementary Soldier Training Department directly under the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, in charge of the newly established two regiment command areas in Ba County and Fuling.

In addition, this supplementary soldier training department, which has two regimental management areas under its jurisdiction, will be directly assigned to the assault corps as a place to supplement troops for the assault corps and to station them for future combat readiness missions.

In the past few days, He Wei has also determined the stationing location of the assault corps in Ba County and Fuling County through field investigations. Soon, the assault corps will be officially moved to Ba and Fu counties.

Not only that, the expansion of the Assault Corps has also been put on the agenda. Recently, He Wei has been organizing Wang Yuanling's staff and officers at all levels to summarize the problems and lessons learned in the organization and equipment of the Assault Corps based on previous combat experience, and is preparing to make corresponding expansions to the Assault Corps based on these experiences.

In short, the development of the Assault Corps has recently reached a new level. Not only has it received generous treatment from the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, it also has its own fixed troop replenishment base. That's not all, even the chief officer of the troop replenishment base is He Weilai, the chief officer of the Assault Corps.

The chief officer of a field force also serves as the director of the Supplementary Soldier Training Department. This personnel arrangement is unique in the entire national army. In addition, the Assault Corps has officially assumed the garrison and security mission of the temporary capital. All these things show that the Assault Corps is developing better and better. As the chief of staff and chief of staff of the Assault Corps, Wang Yuanling is naturally proud of it, and he increasingly feels that his decision to transfer to the Assault Corps was truly correct.

Of course, although the Assault Corps had good things happening one after another and was in a good mood and thriving, there were also things that made Wang Yuanling and the officers of the Corps worried. The root of their worries lay in the fundamental purpose of the Assault Corps' relocation to the temporary capital. This time, the Assault Corps was pulled back to the temporary capital from the Wuhan front by the Military Commission in order to defend against the Japanese airborne attacks on the temporary capital.

Like the vast majority of National Army officers, Wang Yuanling and other officers of the Assault Corps knew little about airborne operations. Therefore, Wang Yuanling was worried that the Japanese army might use this new form of combat to attack the temporary capital.

After all, the Japanese troops they had fought before were invading from land, but now they had to deal with the Japanese troops jumping down from the sky. The combat form was different, so everyone naturally felt a little nervous.

However, He Wei's attitude surprised Wang Yuanling. His captain, who always put combat first, had never mentioned the defense against the Japanese airborne troops during this period, nor had he instructed the General Staff to formulate tactics and various combat plans to deal with the Japanese airborne operations. It was as if the number one combat readiness mission that the assault corps was to perform did not exist. It was completely unlike He Wei's style.

Wang Yuanling was quite puzzled about this, but the captain was the number one officer of the assault team and was in charge of everything in the entire team. Although he was puzzled about this, he had no choice but to follow He Wei's orders.

Just as Wang Yuanling was lost in thought, suddenly, a shout came

"The captain is here!"

In an instant, the noise in the conference room stopped, the officers returned to their original positions and stood up in silence. He Wei walked steadily into the conference room. At this time, He Wei was in high spirits, and his every move showed an extraordinary temperament and confidence.

He Wei was wearing a brand new dark green tweed military uniform and a full belt. Military uniforms are good-looking, and He Wei's brand new, almost spotless tweed military uniform made him look even more majestic. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was He Wei's collar badge. The original two-star lieutenant colonel collar badge had now been replaced by a colonel rank with a red background, one bar and three gold stars. The former lieutenant colonel squadron leader of the assault corps had been promoted to a colonel.

As early as when he was in Banbi Mountain, He Wei received a verbal reward from the Military Commission for promotion. And just two days ago, with the issuance of an appointment order, a commission and a new military uniform from the Military Commission and the Ministry of Military Affairs, He Wei was finally promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel. The Ministry of Military Affairs naturally gave the green light to the promotion of He Wei, a great hero who had made great military achievements and the commander of the troops who would soon defend the temporary capital. Once again, it ignored the requirements of the existing officer promotion system and quickly completed all the promotion processes and procedures for He Wei, promoting He Wei from lieutenant colonel to colonel in just a few days.

He Wei's military rank was not only changed from "Lieutenant Colonel Commander of the Army Assault Corps" to "Colonel Commander of the Army Assault Corps and Colonel Director of the First Supplementary Soldier Training Department under the Ministry of Military Affairs", but also his official position registered with the Personnel Bureau was promoted to "Colonel of the Army Infantry".

The National Army currently implements a parallel military rank system of official rank and post rank. Post rank follows the post, while official rank represents the actual rank of the person. With the special arrangements made by the Military Commission and the Military and Political Department, He Wei became a colonel in both official rank and post rank. Wang Yuanling's joke of "a 23-year-old colonel from the 11th class of Huangpu Military Academy" has now come true.

The pistol on He Wei's belt was also changed from the previous Mauser 1910-shot automatic to a brand new Browning M bolt-action pistol. This pistol was given to him by General Xiao Shanling, deputy commander of the military police, when he visited his official residence two days ago. The change of the pistol seemed to confirm He Wei's rapid transformation from a second lieutenant trainee who had just graduated from the th class of the Whampoa Military Academy to a colonel commander in the past two years.

"Everyone, take a seat."

He Wei walked to the head of the conference table and waved his hand to signal the officers to sit down. He also sat down and then spoke: "Everyone, according to the order of the Military Commission, our corps will soon be fully engaged in the combat readiness mission of defending the secondary capital. We have determined that the eastern suburbs of Tianxi Township at the junction of Ba County and Fuling County will be the garrison of our corps. The garrison is surrounded by mountains and there is a rare open terrain nearby, which is suitable for our corps' garrison training. In addition, the Longyan Mountain in the west of the township and the surrounding terrain are dangerous, which is conducive to concealment. There are natural caves and open areas nearby, which can be used as the ammunition depot and material equipment storage area of ​​our corps."

"According to the order of the Military Commission and the current situation of our corps, we will prepare for one day tomorrow and move directly to the designated location the day after tomorrow. The main force of the corps and all personnel and equipment will temporarily move to the eastern suburbs of Tianxi Township. They must all move out before 5 pm the day after tomorrow. All matters concerning the movement will be handled by Director Wang."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Wang Yuanling immediately said, "Yes! It's just that our headquarters is moving and the planned base is in the suburbs. After the move, the barracks for the soldiers and their equipment and supplies, the base and the storage of various supplies and ammunition must also be taken into consideration. I wonder if the local government can help in this regard?"

"Don't worry. I have inspected the garrison area. There are barracks left by the original Sichuan local troops nearby. It was the garrison of Liu Xiang's troops in the past. It is not a problem to place a brigade of troops there. After a little renovation, we can station troops there. Our brothers can just drive in directly. When we move, the Military Commission will send a batch of cars, but I estimate that the number of cars will not be too many. When the time comes, you can also use the Japanese drivers and captured cars in our hands. Soldiers, troops, and supplies can be moved by cars as soon as possible."

Wang Yuanling nodded: "Understood!"

After that, He Wei's originally solemn expression suddenly changed, and was replaced by a very subtle smile. Then, He Wei asked again: "Director Wang, is there any latest situation from Director Li Youcai in Wuhan?"

Wang Yuanling immediately said loudly: "Report to the commander-in-chief, Director Li Youcai just sent a telegram this morning. Director Li reported that more than half of our soldiers with minor or serious injuries stranded in Wuhan have not recovered and need to recuperate. However, given their physical condition, it is not a problem for them to transfer to the Yangtze River ferry and march to the temporary capital. Therefore, Director Li is already preparing for the march to the temporary capital and is expected to depart in three days. In addition, during this period, Director Li has also recruited more than 400 wounded soldiers from other troops. These wounded soldiers were sent from the Wuhan front line, and they took the initiative to join Director Li and wanted to serve under my headquarters."

"Their ranks range from privates to sergeants. These wounded soldiers have been strictly selected by Director Li. Many of them are veterans, many of whom have combat command experience and are available. There are not many stubborn or lazy soldiers. When these wounded soldiers arrive in the temporary capital, they will surely become a powerful aid to our corps."

When talking about poaching from other troops, Wang Yuanling couldn't help laughing at the end, and the officers also chuckled.

He Wei smiled and nodded slightly, then asked, "It seems Director Li has made a lot of progress, but you should also remind him that he should be careful when trying to steal wounded soldiers from other units, so as not to cause any trouble, or else he might get shot by people from other units."

Suddenly, there was another burst of laughter in the conference room.

Speaking of the issue of recruits, He Wei coughed again, looked at the many officers under his command and said, "After our corps is relocated, we will definitely need to continue to recruit new soldiers. We will also need to expand in the future. Now there are many vacancies in various parts. It is definitely not enough to rely on poaching. The main reinforcements still have to rely on new soldiers. Therefore, after we have completed the relocation and stabilized, the first thing to do is to recruit new soldiers. I have also visited Ba County and Fuling. Although these two counties are under the jurisdiction of me, the director of the Supplementary Soldier Training Department, the actual conditions in the two places are not suitable for conscription, so I plan to change to recruiting soldiers."

"According to my plan, when we start recruiting soldiers, all the battalions and companies of our headquarters will send people, in platoons or companies, to the villages in the two counties, bringing plenty of cash and French currency, doing a good job of propaganda, and recruiting soldiers in each village. The jurisdiction of these two counties is not small, so all the battalions and companies must get involved. I'll let everyone know first so that the brothers can prepare in advance."

After He Wei finished speaking, Wang Yuanling immediately asked in surprise: "Captain, according to the current conscription process, the task of recruiting able-bodied men and new soldiers is the responsibility of the township heads and village chiefs under each county. We are only responsible for receiving them. It seems that it is inconsistent with the current regulations to directly send them to the villages."

Hearing Wang Yuanling mention those greedy village heads and security chiefs, He Wei sneered in his heart. He made the decision to have the assault corps recruit soldiers on its own just to bypass those village heads and security chiefs who were planning to take advantage of the conscription opportunity to embezzle and not let these bad guys handle military service affairs.

Anyway, the Assault Corps doesn't need those bugs to interfere in recruiting new soldiers in the two counties. He Wei plans to send the troops directly to the villages in the two counties, and also plans to set up several fixed recruitment stations to attract young people of appropriate age in the jurisdiction with generous treatment and patriotic propaganda, so that able-bodied men can voluntarily join the army, directly changing the original model of compulsory conscription of able-bodied soldiers to a model of recruiting soldiers with a large sum of money.

He Wei had no idea how effective this method would be and how it would be implemented, but he was sure of one thing: if he still followed the original conscription model and relied on that group of greedy village heads and security chiefs to recruit soldiers, then the new recruits for his Assault Corps would definitely be messed up by this group of bugs.

Therefore, He Wei simply abandoned the original model and adopted a new way of recruiting soldiers. As for how those village heads and security chiefs who were planning to use conscription to embezzle would react to He Wei's approach and whether they would secretly trip He Wei up, He Wei did not care too much. He would just act according to circumstances when the time came. Anyway, he had guns and soldiers in his hands, and if He Wei was really pushed into a corner, he would not mind killing a few people!
He Wei then said to Wang Yuanling, "Director Wang, don't worry. I am the director of the First Retraining Department. Ba and Fu counties are both under my jurisdiction. I still have the autonomy to recruit new soldiers. Moreover, Minister He has allowed me to try out the new conscription policy. The things I just mentioned are the new methods. Director Wang should also instruct the General Staff Office to formulate a set of regulations as soon as possible in this regard."

"When recruiting soldiers, we must provide applicants with generous resettlement allowances. We must also clearly explain the generous living conditions of our corps and the salaries of officers and soldiers at all levels. We must also do a good job of propaganda, including political propaganda and patriotism propaganda. In short, we must attract the people in our jurisdiction to volunteer to join the army!"

(End of this chapter)