Rebirth of the Republic of China: The Rise of China

A main division of the National Defense Forces preparing to reinforce Guangzhou had just completed its assembly in Qingdao and was ready to board the ship. A telegram from Nanning, Guangxi directly stopped the [-] troops from boarding the ship.

After several days and nights of rapid marching, he finally arrived at the Qingdao military port. An order from the general headquarters actually made him go back the same way, but returned in vain.I believe that as long as it is a person, it will be dissatisfied with two orders in the hand.

After the reorganization, the head of the 011 Regiment of the National Defense Forces was full of complaints about this order. As soon as the order of the 011 Division Commander was issued, he complained: "Mr. Commander, why is this order... the general headquarters regards our 011 Division as a What's the matter, we have worked so hard for such a long distance, and we return in vain, the brother army will definitely laugh at us."

The helpless major general and division commander sighed under the watchful eyes of his subordinates: "What can I do... I just got the news that the battle in Guangzhou City has ended. The four garrison regiments of our National Defense Forces stationed in Guangzhou City, under Lieutenant General Xia Wei's Under the command, not only successfully blocked the offensive of an army of the Cantonese Army, but also successfully defeated it, captured and annihilated almost 5000 Cantonese troops. The Cantonese Army with more than 3 people ended up with only 5000 people under the leadership of the Cantonese Army Commander-in-Chief Chen Jitang Successfully withdrew from the battlefield...."

"The battle is over, what are we going to do in Guangzhou City, to hold a celebration banquet for the Guangzhou garrison..."

The 011 Division of the First Army of the National Defense Army was ordered to withdraw to the station. Li Guosheng, located in Nanning, Guangxi, was making a very difficult decision in his heart: how to reward Xia Wei for his great military exploits outside Guangzhou.

More than 1 Cantonese offensive troops were killed, and more than [-] Cantonese soldiers were captured... However, the army in Xia Wei's hands was full of troops, only a little over [-].Such a great result.No matter from Li Guosheng's point of view, or from the past achievements of the National Defense Forces.They are all very rare, even unprecedented.

Such a great success.If it is placed in other armies, what awaits Xia Wei must be promotion of military rank and military position.However, looking at the entire National Defense Forces, apart from Li Guosheng who has the rank of general, Jiang Baili, the chief of staff of the National Defense Forces, also has the rank of lieutenant general.And Xia Wei's current military rank has reached lieutenant general. Could it be that he is directly promoted to general, higher than his old superior Bai Chongxi, and even Jiang Baili, chief of staff of the National Defense Forces.

Therefore, in Li Guosheng's view, the reward of being promoted to the military rank.Absolutely not feasible.

It is impossible to promote Xia Wei's military rank, and the only way to reward him is to promote Xia Wei's military rank.Before the Guangzhou battle, Li Guosheng positioned Xia Wei as the deputy commander of the main force or the chief of staff of the army. After achieving certain military achievements, he took over the post of acting commander of Bai Chongxi and served as the lieutenant general of the main force of the National Defense Forces.

However, after this war, this process can be avoided.In addition, after the National Defense Forces took Guangzhou City, in order to ensure the safety of Guangzhou City.To ensure the military strength of the National Defense Forces in Guangdong Province and provide a strong military deterrent to the Guangdong Army, the National Defense Forces must deploy a main force in Guangzhou City.

A huge idea quickly formed in Li Guosheng's mind.

Formation of the National Defense Forces No.14 Army.The garrison of Guangzhou City is headed by Lieutenant General Xia Wei, the master of the [-]th Army, and directly under the General Headquarters of the National Defense Forces.Specializing in urban street fighting training...

Because of the various conditions of the National Defense Forces, Li Zongren, who joined the National Defense Forces, has been unable to form a small faction within the National Defense Forces.Let the original Guangxi army develop and grow within the National Defense Forces with millions of mercenaries.However, military generals from the Guangxi family can be reused in the National Defense Forces.It is still what Li Zongren, the founder of the new Guangxi family, wants to see most.

After listening to Li Guosheng's suggestion, Li Zongren, who is also a member of the Military Commission of the National Defense Forces, immediately nodded in agreement.Afterwards, he said without hesitation: "Commander-in-Chief, according to the official establishment of the National Defense Forces, 4 people are considered a small number for a main force. Looking at Commander Xia Wei's army, there are only less than 7000 people at full strength. I don’t know where the remaining troops of the No.14 Army come from, whether they are directly drawn from the Northeast and Shandong, or recruited locally in Guangdong Province..."

"In addition, in addition to the number of soldiers, there is still a huge gap in the equipment of the [-]th Army to be formed. After all, the various equipment currently used by Xia Wei's troops are all old-fashioned equipment that has been eliminated by the National Defense Forces. One-time expansion With the strength of an army, will there be any pressure on the general logistics of the National Defense Forces?"

Li Guosheng shook his head and said affirmatively: "Old Li, you underestimate the strength of the general logistics of our national defense army. With the production capacity and reserve capacity of our general logistics, there is no problem in expanding the two armies at the same time. But, I I am a little worried about whether the newly formed [-]th Army, under the leadership of Lieutenant General Xia Wei, can form combat effectiveness in a short period of time. You know, according to my idea, the [-]th Army will be stationed in Guangzhou in a short period of time, and occupy Guangdong The Cantonese army in the province is engaged in a military confrontation..."

Faced with the worried expression on Li Guosheng's face, Chairman Li Zongren shook his head without hesitation, and said affirmatively: "Commander-in-Chief, I won't say much about Commander Xia Wei's military command ability. The just-concluded offensive and defensive battle in Guangzhou , is the best performance and proof of Lieutenant General Xia Wei's military command ability. As for Lieutenant General Xia Wei's military training ability, it's not me who praises him..."

"Xia Wei, as one of the three former commanders of the Guangxi Army, did not actually come from the [-]th Army, but from the Seventh Army with the title of Iron Army. Among the Seventh Iron Army, the main division with the strongest combat effectiveness is Lieutenant General Xia Wei trained them hand in hand. Here I can assure the commander-in-chief that as long as Xia Wei is given enough time and equipment, half a year at the latest, we can bring the same powerful steel army to our National Defense Forces."

Li Guosheng nodded thoughtfully, and ordered: "I order: Based on the Guangzhou garrison, capturing Cantonese prisoners of war, and the Shandong No. 14 garrison division, form the National Defense Force No. 14 Army in Guangzhou City to garrison Guangzhou City. Lieutenant General Xia Wei was appointed as Lieutenant General of the No.[-] Army of the National Defense Forces, directly under the General Command of the National Defense Forces. Wang Tianzheng was appointed as Major General of the National Defense Forces, Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff. This order is timely and effective, and will be issued immediately..."

Seeing the adjutant leaving quickly, Li Guosheng continued to order: "Old Li, immediately forward a copy of the original order I just ordered to the chief of staff, and ask the chief of staff to immediately deploy the corresponding personnel and equipment. Cooperate with Commander Xia Wei to form the No. 14 Army of the National Defense Forces .”

The former General Command of the Guangdong Army in Guangzhou City, the plaque hanging at the door has been replaced by the Guangzhou Command of the National Defense Forces.but.Less than two days after this plaque was hung, it will be replaced by the No.14 Army Department of the National Defense Forces again.

The spacious meeting room of the headquarters.Wang Tianzheng, deputy army commander and chief of staff, is announcing the reorganization order of the No. 14 Army of the National Defense Forces in front of hundreds of officers at all levels.

After the order was read out, Army Commander Xia Wei, who had been waiting for several days in torment, finally relaxed his anxiety. Under the watchful eyes of all his subordinates, he was the first to applaud, and then the entire conference room burst into applause.You know, this appointment from the General Command of the National Defense Forces.Not only Xia Wei's achievements alone, but also the achievements of the entire Guangzhou defense team.

Raising his hands, after the deafening applause from the headquarters slowly subsided, Lieutenant General Xia Wei said: "Brothers, most of us are from the former Guangxi army, and some of us have always been mine. Subordinates, some of them have just become my subordinates not long ago. Now, I, Xia Wei, can proudly tell everyone that all of us here have passed military exploits and been recognized by the National Defense Force, the strongest army in the Republic of China."

"Now I order: Chief of Staff Wang, immediately set up the staff department, according to the latest troop organization of the National Defense Forces. Count all the various types of arms, troops, and equipment that our [-]th Army lacks, and report them to the General Command of the National Defense Forces.... "

"After the meeting adjourned. All the commanders above the division level of the No.14 Army stayed behind, and discussed the appointment of military commanders above the battalion and regiment level of the Fourteenth Army. Then, it was reported to the General Command of the National Defense Forces for review and review... ..."

The engineering staff officer Wang Weidong, who had repeatedly made military exploits in defending the heavy artillery positions of the Cantonese Army, had been appointed by commander Xia Wei as the commander of the engineering company directly under the 141st Division. Not only that, but the rank of lieutenant on his shoulder had become a captain.

Looking at the more than 50 captive soldiers of the Cantonese Army who had just been assigned by the military department in front of him, although Wang Weidong was dissatisfied, he could only be satisfied with the status quo when the main force was insufficient.

Of course, although the engineering company has not reached full strength, there is one condition that Wang Weidong is very satisfied with.

Because of Guangzhou's strong talent pool, the Guangdong Army Lieutenant General also has a large pool of talent.Standing in front of Wang Weidong, among the more than 50 brothers who are about to become engineers of the National Defense Forces, there are three college students and seven or eight middle school students.Wang Weidong is confident that with these talents, he will be able to train everyone into real engineers in a short period of time.

Not only that, Wang Weidong felt it through the defensive battle of the heavy artillery position a day ago.On a battlefield full of variables, even if he is an engineer, he may go to the battlefield at any time.Therefore, although the unit he led was an engineering company, Wang Weidong positioned him as an all-around unit that could be used not only as an engineer, but also as the main force.

Thinking of these ambitions from the heart, Wang Weidong quickly tidied up the captain's uniform he had just put on, walked up to everyone and said, "Brothers, prisoners of the National Defense Forces, although this sentence sounds ugly, but I want to tell everyone The good news is that you don't need to feel any shame as a Wehrmacht POW....."

Wang Weidong's shocking speech immediately attracted everyone's attention. A Cantonese prisoner of war with the rank of second lieutenant on his shoulders mustered up his courage and said, "Sir, I don't agree with your words. As a soldier, I am willing to die in battle." I will never be the enemy's prisoners of war. Therefore, I think that our current status as prisoners of war will be the greatest shame in my life."

Under the watchful eyes of more than 50 prisoners of war, Wang Weidong opened his mouth to analyze: "Brother, you are wrong... If we become prisoners of war of foreign enemies in a foreign war, it can definitely be called a disgrace. However, it is different now , what we are now engaged in is a civil war, and more importantly, your opponent is the national defense force, who has the title of anti-Japanese hero, and has also defeated the national defense force of the Russians and Japanese. To become a prisoner of such an army, even directly from the status of a prisoner of war Do you think it is still a shame to become a real soldier of the national defense force... To tell you the truth, among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the current national defense force, at least [-]% of the soldiers have transformed from captive status to become a real Chinese* * people, instead of continuing to serve as lackeys for warlords.”

After one sentence, more than 50 captives showed moved expressions on their faces.All of them lowered their heads and fell into deep thought, thinking about what Wang Weidong just said.

At this moment, Wang Weidong continued: "Brothers, I can tell you with certainty. It is not a shame to be a prisoner of the National Defense Forces. If you can change from a prisoner of the National Defense Forces to a member of the National Defense Forces, it will become the pride of everyone and the pride of your family. .Because. Looking at the whole of China, only the National Defense Forces is a patriotic team that truly dares to resist the invasion of foreign enemies...."

Hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces became even stronger.After a full minute, the second lieutenant officer who had just spoken asked back: "Sir, you are right... the tone is to join the Cantonese Army and fight Chen Jitang's life to fight the civil war. Why not join the National Defense Army, fight devils, and fight the Russians? Struggle for the integrity and unity of the country's territory... It's just that we are all from the army. Even if we join the National Defense Forces to fight against foreign invasions, we must also join the National Defense Army army. But now, what is it to assign us to the engineering army? As far as I know, the engineering army It is a unit dedicated to building bridges and paving roads, and there is no chance to go to the battlefield. At that time, even if our National Defense Forces fight the Japanese and the Soviets, as engineers, we will not be able to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.”

"When we join the National Defense Forces, we must join the army. We really go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, instead of hiding behind the army as a timid engineer. At that time, even if the news of our being an engineer is spread to our hometown, we will be laughed at by the folks in our hometown. .”

"Yes. If you want to join the national defense force, you also join the army. You really go to the battlefield to kill devils and Soviets..." More than 50 prisoners seemed to have been negotiated.At the same time, he raised his head and said.

Everyone's reaction did not exceed Wang Weidong's expectation, just after everyone quieted down.Wang Weidong said with a half-smile on his face: "Brothers, I thought everyone had been in the Cantonese Army for a long time. I thought that our National Defense Army engineering unit, like the Cantonese Army engineering unit, is a dispensable technical unit..."

Speaking of this, Wang Weidong changed the subject and continued: "In the National Defense Forces, as the degree of mechanization of the troops is getting higher and higher, our engineers have become a technical branch that no army can do without. In the same Japanese Kwantung Army In the previous battles with the Red Army in the Far East of the Soviet Union, our engineering units have achieved unexpected and huge results.”

"Take the just-concluded offensive and defensive battle of Guangzhou as an example. The engineering troops achieved unprecedented results."

The second lieutenant officer retorted incredulously: "Impossible, as far as I know, the engineering corps is a team dedicated to building bridges and paving roads. How could it be possible to achieve results on the frontal battlefield..."

Wang Weidong shook his head and said affirmatively: "Brothers, let's take the battle that took place on the heavy artillery regiment of the Guangdong Army as an example. According to statistics after the battle, the Guangdong Army dropped a total of one thousand soldiers around the heavy artillery regiment's position. Eight hundred lives, and out of the thousand and eight hundred names, one-third of them were claimed by an engineer platoon led by me...."

Under the incredible eyes of everyone, Wang Weidong explained the battle situation at that time in as much detail as possible.Afterwards, the expressions on everyone's faces gradually turned hot, and one of the engineering students supported him thoughtfully: "Sir, according to what you just said, as long as safety is ensured, heavy artillery shells can indeed be launched by themselves... ..."

As more and more Cantonese prisoners of war changed their views on engineers, Company Commander Wang Weidong finally showed a knowing smile from the heart.After taking a long breath, he loudly encouraged the eager subordinates in front of him: "Brothers, I, Wang Weidong, can tell everyone here with certainty: Come to our engineering company, not only can you be a qualified engineer, but also a A qualified infantryman. My request is that within half a year, everyone will be trained to be an all-round army that can be used as engineers and infantry. At that time, as long as everyone goes to the battlefield, they will have a lot of military exploits. Everyone recruits..."

"Steel engineering company, this is my ultimate expectation for our engineering company. Tell me, do you have the confidence to join me in building the engineering company into a truly all-round force, and truly get the 'steel' engineering company from the superiors? title."

The 141th Army Headquarters heard rumors from his subordinates about the [-]st Division Engineer Company, Xia Wei, who was full of vigor, couldn't help clapping his hands.Facing the smiling Chief of Staff Wang Tianzheng in front of him, he said: "Old Wang... this Wang Weidong was recommended by you. Sure enough, it's only been two days, and there is such a big commotion. veteran….."

Wang Tianzheng shook his head and replied: "Senior, I never thought that Wang Weidong would make such a big commotion... The title 'Steel Engineer Company' is well called... Military, since a member of our [-]th Army The engineering company has proposed such an ambitious goal. As the superiors, we must not be so indifferent. My idea is, can our military department also propose a struggle training goal....."

Xia Wei nodded approvingly, and after a short thought, he replied to Wang Tianzheng: "When I was in the Yuangui Army, I trained a seventh army with the title of Iron Army. Now that I have come to the National Defense Army, I also have to train a team capable of attacking A well-defended steel army. The goal of our [-]th Army is to obtain the title of 'Steel [-]th Army' from the General Command of the National Defense Forces within half a year."

"I agree, I will immediately issue your decision to all regiment-level and above headquarters in the form of military orders, so that the entire army will strive for this goal..." Chief of Staff Wang Tianzheng affirmed. (To be continued..)