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

Chapter 280 Reorganization and Restructuring! A Great Battle is Imminent

The second day of the new year.

There was no time to savor the festive atmosphere of the New Year. That morning, Chen Ming convened a meeting of all cadres in the district.

At the meeting, Chen Ming read out the official document issued by his superiors and announced the order for the reorganization of the troops and the appointment of officers.

The cadres in the audience listened with exceptional attention.

This concerns each and every one of them.

Whether there will be progress, stagnation, or even a downgrade, will be determined in this document.

Even cadres like Ding Wei, Kong Jie, and He Jianxin listened with exceptional attention.

Although they knew some of the details due to their rank, and understood their upcoming appointments.

Even though they knew the order, they were still extremely nervous when it was actually announced.

This has nothing to do with psychological qualities, but rather with human nature.

After Chen Ming finished reading the document, the entire venue fell completely silent.

The document contains the following content:
First, the organization of the independent detachments will remain unchanged, and the units that were dismantled from the independent detachments will be reorganized.

The three main detachments—the Independent Detachment, the First Brigade, the Independent First Brigade, and the Second Brigade—will be reassigned separately.

The Third Battalion was separated from the battalion, which was mostly composed of surrendered puppet troops.

The independent detachment was reduced to only the fourth and fifth battalions, and some of the troops in these two battalions also had to be reduced.

This left the independent detachment with only two battalions, roughly equivalent to one artillery unit for every six infantrymen.

At the same time, the second, fourth, and fifth guerrilla brigades of the eight guerrilla brigades in the fourth district were reorganized, and together with some of the troops from the fourth and fifth brigades, they were combined into a main force, with Wang Dafei serving as the military commander.

As for the other units, no changes will be made.

Chen Ming was not surprised by this arrangement.

The original structure of the independent detachment was indeed a bit bloated, so it's good to split some of it off.

Now, only a few thousand infantrymen remain in the independent detachment, which reduces the burden on Chen Ming.

The other units that were split off were localized.

The division was divided into four districts: He Jianxin's unit was the first district, Ding Wei's unit was the second district, Kong Jie's unit was the third district, and Wang Dafei's unit was the fourth district.

After the order was announced, all the cadres in the meeting room breathed a sigh of relief, and some touched the backs of their clothes that were wet with sweat from nervousness.

In the dead of winter, I didn't feel it when I was nervous and sweating, but now that I've calmed down, I suddenly feel cold.

"Is it really necessary? One or two of them, it makes it seem like I'm being splashed with water when I read the documents."

Chen Ming smiled and spoke to Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze.

"Haha, as the military commander and the one reading the documents, of course you're not nervous."

"After all, no matter how the military changes, it won't change your position."

"But they were selected as soldiers; how could they not be nervous when they heard about the appointment?"

"To be honest, when I received the transfer order to what was then the Second Independent Regiment, I was so nervous the night before I left that I couldn't sleep."

"What if I don't adapt well to the new environment? What if my work doesn't go smoothly? What if I let the organization down?"

Zhang Zheng replied with a smile.

He had nothing to be afraid to say; after all, anyone would be a little nervous receiving a new appointment.

It's just that the level of tension varies depending on the situation.

"Haha, that's right. When the organization appointed me as the commander of the Second Independent Regiment, I was also very nervous."

"But as I grew older, I became less surprised by these things."

"As far as I'm concerned, no matter what task the organization assigns me, I will do my best to complete it with high quality and quantity."

Chen Ming said with a smile.

"You're not exactly modest," Zhang Zhengze said, looking at Chen Ming.

"Humility is a virtue, but sometimes you have to show your strength. We are soldiers, after all."

Chen Ming said nonchalantly.

A few minutes later, after the officials in the meeting had finished processing the appointment announcement, Zhang Zhengze began to speak:

First of all, congratulations to the comrades who have been promoted! Your progress is the organization’s recognition of your past efforts.

But promotion is not the end, but the beginning of new responsibilities.

The higher the position, the heavier the responsibility. Everyone must learn skills like a nail drilling into the ground and shoulder heavy responsibilities like a flag being raised high. We must never let honor become a burden!
Every promotion opportunity is the result of the team's joint efforts.

Regardless of promotion or not, every colleague is an indispensable cog in the machine.

To those who weren't promoted today, your efforts are recognized by the organization! As long as you maintain a down-to-earth work style of taking one step at a time, the next opportunity will surely belong to those who persevere to the end!
The standard for evaluating cadres has always been both moral integrity and competence.

Those who are promoted should hold themselves to higher standards—to be diligent in learning and thinking, to be courageous in taking responsibility, and to be honest and upright.

Those who haven't been promoted should be even more determined to treat this experience as a "tempering and training exercise" and hone their skills in their positions!
Comrades, the war drums urge us onward! Let us focus our minds on our primary task of fighting and apply our skills to overcoming difficulties.

Whether we get promoted or not, as long as we put our all into it and work together as one, our team will always be unstoppable!

Zhang Zhengze, as the political commissar, delivered his speech.

Chen Ming listened from the side and could only say that the political commissar was indeed a man of high caliber.

After the political commissar finished speaking, Chen Ming continued:
"The political commissar has already said a lot, so I won't go into those grand principles."

"I'll just say one thing: in the military, the strong are always respected."

"If you're capable, then you can take the position; if you're not, you'll be removed from the position even if you do."

"Now, I will give you my first order."

"From the moment the order was issued, the troops began to reorganize immediately."

"I'm only giving you fifteen days to complete the adaptation task. Do you have the confidence?"

Chen Ming's voice echoed in the meeting room, reaching the ears of every cadre.

Compared to Zhang Zhengze's speeches, they clearly preferred to hear Chen Ming's straightforward and easy-to-understand lectures.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Inside the venue, the sound was deafening and incredibly loud.

In the following period, the Fourth Military Sub-district began to reorganize and complete the reorganization of the troops.

Chen Ming also emerged from the relaxed atmosphere of the Spring Festival and began to get busy again.

With so much work to do, it's obviously impossible to leave it all to the political commissar; people aren't cattle or horses.

However, although there is a lot of work to be done, it seems like a huge workload.

In reality, it's not that difficult to do.

After all, this was just a reorganization, not an expansion, so the strength of the troops hasn't changed much.

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the entire unit completed its reorganization.

The new unit is not significantly different from the previous one.

With a major battle imminent, it is not advisable to make too many changes; we should simply follow orders and set up the framework.

Chen Ming's command headquarters were not moved and remained in Shuoxian County.

The only difference was that the sign at the entrance read "Jin-Sui-Re-Cha".

"Alright, the Lantern Festival is over, the troops should shed their burdens and move forward at full speed."

"Order all troops, agencies, and factories to ensure that we win this battle."

Chen Ming issued the order.

March is almost here.

March onwards marks the point when large-scale battles may erupt in the Suiyuan and Chahar regions.

At this time of year, the Yellow River is about to thaw, but the weather is still somewhat cold.

At this critical juncture, it can support the army's operations.

If it's too late, around April to June, the spring snowmelt will make the ground muddy, and summer sandstorms will be scarce, making it unsuitable for heavy troop operations.

Therefore, both the Japanese and Chen Ming knew that a major battle was bound to break out between the two sides in March.

If it gets too late, the attacking Japanese troops will be at a significant disadvantage.

Meanwhile, the Japanese troops in Baotou were also on the verge of collapse. After months of attrition, their fighting spirit had been completely worn down.

Li Yunlong is indeed a talented individual. Although he is not suited for attacking cities, he is incredibly resourceful when it comes to underhanded tactics.

Li Yunlong used every trick in the book on the Japanese soldiers, and the Japanese soldiers in Baotou suffered terribly at his hands.

This even directly led to an increase in the bounty on Li Yunlong, making him half the size of Kong Jie's bounty.

That is, 50,000 silver dollars.

The Japanese troops in Baotou were running out of supplies, including food, ammunition, and medicine.

If the Japanese don't come to our aid soon, the Japanese troops in Baotou won't even need to fight; they'll be worn down by the fighting themselves.

Therefore, the most likely time for the Japanese to launch a campaign is in March.

Unless the Japanese were to abandon their tank division in Baotou, but that was clearly impossible.

After all, it was one of the three tank divisions of the Japanese army, and the only one in North China.

We can't just give up like this.

An undetectable smell of gunpowder permeated the entire base, making everyone tense.

This was the first time they had ever fought a decisive battle against such a large number of Japanese soldiers!
Shuoxian Command Center.

"Report, advance team telegram."

A staff officer entered the command room carrying a telegram.

"read."

Chen Ming said expressionlessly.

"The advance team reported that the Japanese troops in their direction of Rehe are frequently moving around, transporting large amounts of supplies."

"At the same time, the number of puppet troops in Rehe increased significantly, and their mopping-up operations against the Chifeng base area became more frequent."

The staff officer read the contents of the telegram aloud.

Chen Ming looked at the map and chuckled.

"It seems the Japanese Kwantung Army has started to move."

"They're so arrogant, just mobilizing people like that without any attempt to hide it."

“Look at the Japanese in North China, they’re still making very small moves. If it weren’t for the careful observation of our underground intelligence comrades, we might not have been able to find them.”

Chen Ming said to the chief of staff.

"The Japanese Kwantung Army has always been arrogant. They not only look down on us, but they even look down on the Japanese soldiers inside the Great Wall."

"This undisguised behavior probably means they think our strength is just so-so, and they want to fight us squarely."

The chief of staff nodded and said.

"These arrogant Japanese devils need to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, they won't know how many eyes Lord Ma has."

"Everyone says the Kwantung Army is the elite of the Japanese, but I refuse to believe it. I'll fight the elite!"

Chen Ming said confidently.

With an artillery detachment and two rocket artillery battalions under his command, he was that confident.

After the arsenal acquired a large number of machines, its production efficiency also improved.

Throughout the winter, the arsenal operated around the clock in three shifts, continuously producing weapons and ammunition.

The trains transporting materials to the mining area never stopped, all to ensure the production of weapons and ammunition.

Chen Ming now has well-trained and well-supplied troops, and is in full force to deal with the Japanese attack.

If the Japanese devils don't come, fine. But if they dare to come, we'll make sure they never leave alive!

After Chen Ming ordered increased vigilance, all units that received the order began preparations.

Even Li Yunlong is now under the command of the pre-war command.

Chen Ming ordered a batch of weapons and ammunition to be sent to the troops in Baotou to strengthen their capabilities.

To prevent the Japanese troops in Baotou from launching an attack on the troops outside Baotou while the main force was engaged in a decisive battle with the Japanese.

Unlike in the past, Kong Jie accompanied the ammunition transport this time.

Kong Jie's defense zone was assigned by Chen Ming to the Guihua area.

It was not far from Li Yunlong's location in Baotou, only a little over 100 kilometers away.

However, because the troops have been preparing for the decisive battle, Kong Jie has not met with Li Yunlong since he returned.

This is a good opportunity for the two old comrades to meet.

Anyway, there are still about twenty days before the Japanese mobilize supplies and troops to prepare for the attack.

Time wasn't that urgent, and since Kong Jie's troops were positioned at the rear of the battle line, Kong Jie's journey from Guihua to Baotou didn't have much of an impact.

When Kong Jie arrived at the Independent Regiment, the officers there were naturally familiar with him.

Kong Jie was originally the deputy commander of the Independent Regiment, but he was later transferred by Chen Ming.

The officers of the Independent Regiment still recognized Kong Jie.

"Old Li, Old Li, I've come to see you!"

As soon as he entered the headquarters of the Independent Regiment, Kong Jie excitedly shouted loudly.

No one dared to stop Kong Jie from arriving.

When Kong Jie entered the regimental headquarters, the first person he met was Zhang Dabiao.

"Commander Kong, our regimental commander is inside the room."

Upon seeing Kong Jie, Zhang Dabiao immediately saluted.

Upon hearing Da Biao's words, Kong Jie immediately understood what was going on, and he stopped being in a hurry.

"Da Biao, it's been so long! You've gotten even stronger and more energetic."

Kong Jie patted Zhang Dabiao on the shoulder and said.

When Zhang Dabiao heard Kong Jie say that, his old face immediately turned red.

He didn't change his clothes; he just gained weight over the winter.

This is not his fault. He was originally in northwestern Shanxi, where he had to fight the Japanese a lot, so his physical activity level naturally increased.

After arriving in Baotou, their task was to besiege the area, which naturally reduced their physical activity and made them more prone to weight gain.

"Commander Kong, our regimental commander is inside. Please go in first."

Da Biao scratched his head and spoke.

"it is good."

Kong Jie, without suspecting anything, pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the room, Li Yunlong was sitting, chewing on peanuts and drinking alone in silence.

"Old Li!"

Kong Jie called out.

However, Li Yunlong didn't look up, and said sourly:

"Who came to me then? It turned out to be Chief Kong."

Li Yunlong felt uneasy.

When he first got the speedometer, Kong Jie was just a lowly soldier, and Ding Wei, needless to say, was still a greenhorn.

Now, both of them have climbed above him, and he has to salute and call them "commander" when he meets them.

It was mainly his own fault. After the military expanded and he was promoted, he relapsed into his old habits.

He made a mistake just a few days after being promoted and was demoted again.

This is why he was a regimental commander during the Long March and he is still a regimental commander now.

For men, it's a mix of fear that their brothers are suffering and fear that their brothers are driving Land Rovers!
"Hey, Li Yunlong, aren't you from the Dabie Mountains? Why do I smell a strong Western accent about you?"

Kong Jie looked at Li Yunlong and naturally understood what was going on, and said jokingly.

P.S.: This is the only way to adapt it; I can't write it explicitly.

(End of this chapter)