Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 127 is now complete!

These two powerful battalions are centered around the First and Second Battalions, supplemented by a number of newly added troops.

Kong Jie has sufficient qualifications and ability, so there is no problem for him to be the captain.

He Jianxin was originally the captain of the core brigade of the First Brigade, an independent detachment, and his achievements were considerable.

The other party was also one of the twelve members of the district squad back then, and as the captain, he could also command respect from the crowd.

Li Yousheng's Third Battalion, whose seniority and combat achievements were indeed inferior to those of He Jianxin and Kong Jie, was not reorganized and was instead reorganized into a Class A regiment, where he continued to serve as the battalion commander.

As for Luo Jian and Wang Gui...

Luo Jian was the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Brigade. When he defeated the Japanese 237th Regiment, he led 800 soldiers to hold the position despite repeated bombing by Japanese planes, artillery and tanks.

The entire battalion was reduced to just over two hundred men by the end, all wounded, but they had enough merits to show for their fighting.

Wang Gui was made an example of by Chen Ming for disobeying orders on the battlefield, and was subsequently kept at the brigade headquarters.

After several battles, this time the enemy was also relegated to the front-line combat troops.

After this reorganization, the independent detachment had two reinforced battalions, plus the detachment's directly subordinate units.

There are also three battalions that are troops from the Fourth Military Sub-district.

This doesn't even include local armed forces.

Kong Jie was all smiles when Chen Ming's results were announced.

"I have no objection. Anyway, we're all fighting the Japanese. No matter what position we hold, we're all fighting the Japanese together with our comrades."

The other commanders were also very happy.

Needless to say, He Jianxin became the captain of the reinforced brigade, which can be considered as a step forward.

Wang Gui was also very happy to have jumped from the General Staff to the front-line troops, where he could once again lead his troops to fight the Japanese on the front lines.

Li Yousheng also had no objections.

The consistent practice in the independent detachment is that the capable rise and the mediocre fall.

He Jianxin and Kong Jie's military achievements far surpassed his own, and their seniority was also greater.

His troops were reinforced, and he was convinced.

On the contrary, if Chen Ming were to recommend him now, placing him on the same level as He Jianxin and Kong Jie, Li Yousheng would be unwilling.

It hasn't been long since Chen Ming defied public opinion to appoint himself as the captain.

If Chen Ming promotes him again this time, the pressure he will face will be even greater.

Li Yousheng genuinely respects and is grateful to Chen Ming, and he would never do anything to put Chen Ming in a difficult position.

Even if Chen Ming really wanted to promote him, Li Yousheng would go to Chen Ming and ask him not to do so.

Besides, Li Yousheng's team is already one of the stronger teams in the Independent Detachment. Under these circumstances, what is there for him to be dissatisfied with?

"I know that our troops are strong in combat, dare to fight and are deeply loved by the people."

"However, I, Chen Ming, cannot tolerate any nonsense. The Independent Detachment must be tough in combat, and its ideological level must be equally tough."

"While ensuring the combat effectiveness of the troops is crucial, ideological work cannot be neglected either."

"The discipline of our Eighth Route Army is ironclad. If anyone dares to slip up, violate discipline, or extend their claws to the people, don't blame me for 'cutting off their claws like Ma Su with tears in my eyes.'"

"I, Chen Ming, may not have any other skills, but I do have the skill of beheading Ma Su."

Chen Ming gave everyone a heads-up.

In addition to streamlining the military and reducing bureaucracy, the order issued this time requires all units to rectify their work style.

During this counter-sweep operation, all units suffered considerable losses, with serious damage to weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

Where did our Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention come from?

Isn't it born from constant refinement?

The team continuously purified itself, and finally truly achieved the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention.

Although these situations do not exist in the independent detachment yet, this kind of trend must be absolutely eliminated.

The necessary preventative measures must be taken, and the necessary rectifications must be carried out. Ideological education within the military must be rigorously enforced.

After delivering his speech, Chen Ming adjourned the meeting and instructed all units to proceed with the reorganization according to the reorganization plan.

At the same time, we must intensify the training of new recruits so that they can quickly develop combat capabilities.

Chen Ming planned to take advantage of the Japanese army's attention being focused on the Third Battle of Changsha and the Pacific War soon.

An offensive was launched against northwestern and northern Shanxi to expand the base areas and compress the living space of the Japanese army.

When that time comes, the Japanese planes will be the first to be withdrawn.

With the Japanese bombers gone, Chen Ming was confident he could deliver a major blow. The troop reorganization was proceeding rapidly, and new recruit training continued.

The autumn harvest is also coming to an end.

However, this harvest weighed heavily on the hearts of the soldiers and civilians in the base area, making it difficult for them to breathe.

Due to the drought, grain production has decreased significantly, with reductions ranging from 30% to 50%.

In some severely affected areas, there was even widespread crop failure.

In addition, the Japanese blockade became increasingly severe, and they even launched grain-grabbing operations of varying sizes during the autumn harvest.

Due to the combined effects of natural disasters and man-made calamities, the base area entered a period of extreme scarcity of resources.

Many soldiers in the military districts only received six ounces of food per day, and they fought the Japanese on empty stomachs.

The area where the Independent Detachment was located occupied the important grain-producing area of ​​the Wuzhai-Kelan River Valley in northwestern Shanxi.

The Japanese army did not invade the Independent Detachment's defense zone, but instead adopted a strategy of heavy blockade.

At the same time, Chen Ming also learned from the experience of Nanniwan and organized the reclamation of large areas of wasteland while building water conservancy facilities, which to a certain extent ensured the production of grain.

The independent detachment did not suffer significant losses during this difficult period.

Meanwhile, the troops had captured a large amount of food during the previous battles, enough for the troops to use for more than a year.

Therefore, during this drought, the independent detachment was not only able to meet its own needs, but also had a surplus of food.

The two county towns and surrounding areas controlled by the independent detachment are among the few grain-producing areas in northwestern Shanxi.

The output of the two counties directly accounted for 30% of the grain output of northwestern Shanxi.

Since the independent detachment already has enough food reserves to meet its own needs, it can allocate a portion of its reserves, along with the harvest from this autumn, to support other military regions and the rear.

After communication, with the joint assistance of Chen Ming and the local government, 6000 tons of grain were donated to support the brother troops who were severely affected by the disaster.

5000 tons of grain were allocated to support the rear.

This already accounts for 40% of the total autumn harvest output of the two counties.

This was food that the common people and the soldiers of the independent detachment could only squeeze out by tightening their belts.

That's all there is.

At the same time, Chen Ming also organized the emergency planting of buckwheat, millet, beans and other grain crops after the autumn harvest as a supplement to the disaster relief efforts.

Although doing so will affect soil fertility to some extent and impact next year's planting.

But we can't worry about that now. The most important thing is to take advantage of the early time to plant crops as a supplement to the drought relief.

Under Chen Ming's organization, food was successively transported to the rear and to other brother units that were severely affected by the disaster.

Chen Ming's actions were highly praised by his superiors.

In particular, Chen Ming was highly commended for organizing production and construction, learning from the experience of Nanniwan, and carrying out large-scale land reclamation and water conservancy construction in the base area.

Amid widespread drought and large-scale reduction in grain production.

The independent detachment, however, "took matters into its own hands and was self-sufficient," not only meeting its own needs but also providing substantial amounts of food to other regions.

This is a very valuable experience to learn from.

It's November.

During this period, Chen Ming consistently supported the construction of the base area while simultaneously focusing on training the troops.

After such a long period of rest and recuperation, the Independent Detachment has fully recovered its strength and is even stronger than before.

Chen Ming is preparing to take action against the Japanese.

The first targets were Lan County and Ping'an County.

Ping'an County was in a very important location, and the Japanese army stationed a large battalion there. The same was true for Lan County.

This was a crucial springboard for sweeping through northwestern Shanxi.

Two battalions of Japanese soldiers—that's a huge piece of meat! If we can take down these two battalions, we can liberate Lan County and Ping'an County.

The Japanese army then completely lost the possibility of sweeping through northwestern Shanxi, and even if they wanted to, they would have to pay a huge price.

However, with the Japanese army about to become mired in the Pacific War, did it still have the ability to mobilize so many resources?
In particular, Shanxi is not considered a very important place.

Under Chen Ming's orders, the troops moved toward Ping'an County.

Here, Kong Jie encountered his old comrade-in-arms.

The three iron triangles of northwestern Shanxi unexpectedly met under these circumstances.

(End of this chapter)