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

Chapter 55 Brigade Commander, which platoon of soldiers was mine?
"You, you."

Seeing Chen Ming's expression, the brigade commander smiled and said.

"Hehe, since the organization has made arrangements for us, we will definitely carry out the orders resolutely. I am a brick in the revolution, and I will go wherever I am needed," Chen Ming said earnestly.

The brigade commander listened to Chen Ming's words, carefully considering his last sentence, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"After all, he started working with the Communist Party during the Autumn Harvest Uprising, so his ideological awareness was high. 'I am a brick of the revolution, I will go wherever I am needed,' he said, which was very insightful."

"To be honest, it's a waste to have you as a military officer; you should be doing political work."

"Brigade Commander, how can I do political work? I'm good at commanding troops to fight and kill Japanese devils, but asking me to do political work is just making things difficult for me."

Chen Ming quickly spoke up, saying that if he were really asked to do political work, he would be completely clueless.

He was able to say these things because he learned them in political education classes; they were the crystallization of the wisdom of our predecessors.

In his previous life, Chen Ming was just a common soldier, at most a squad leader. Asking him to carry out political work among a group of big shots was like showing off his skills in front of Guan Yu.

"Alright, I was just saying. If we really put you in political work, our Party will lose a military cadre," the brigade commander said helplessly.

Every time the topic of having Chen Ming do political work comes up, he resists fiercely and refuses no matter what.

Leading troops into battle is also for the revolution, to protect the country and its people. Doing political work is the same, just with different divisions of labor.

"Hehe, thank you, brigade commander."

"Alright, now that everything's been said, I won't disturb your rest any longer. If you have anything to say, say it before I leave," the brigade commander said.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" the brigade commander said with a helpless smile.

"When are you going to return my platoon of sharpshooters, Brigade Commander?" Chen Ming rubbed his hands together and asked cautiously.

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, the brigade commander was taken aback, then pretended to be in a difficult position.

"Hey, I didn't pay much attention at first. It was just one platoon of soldiers, so I could just return it. But if I return it to you now, it'll be a problem."

“I borrowed that platoon of soldiers to be instructors in my newly expanded Second Regiment. You know, we are in dire need of military officers right now. I’ve assigned that platoon of soldiers to be squad and platoon level officers in the Second Regiment. If I return them to you now, the Second Regiment will be completely ineffective.”

The brigade commander started playing the victim for the new 2nd Regiment.

To be honest, Chen Ming's platoon of soldiers was really effective.

As soldiers in the sharpshooter company, each soldier has killed at least ten enemies and has rich combat experience, making them practically ready-made squad and platoon level officers.

A platoon of soldiers almost formed the basic framework of the new Second Regiment. All that was needed was to bring in some officers at the company level or above, and the unit would soon be able to form combat capability.

Returning it to the Independent Second Regiment was impossible for the brigade commander.

Chen Ming felt that the brigade commander's words sounded so familiar!
After thinking about it carefully, wasn't this the incident where Li Yunlong tricked Chu Yunfei into giving him a battalion's worth of equipment?

So this is a traditional skill of the 386th Brigade!
"Brigade Commander, you promised me you'd only lend us the troops for a short time. The Independent Second Regiment only has about 500 soldiers left, and we're short-handed," Chen Ming said with a bitter face.

"Hey, how about this? Once the soldiers of the new Second Regiment are trained and we don't need any more officers, I'll return that platoon of soldiers to you as soon as possible." The brigade commander dodged the question.

What could Chen Ming do after hearing what the brigade commander said?
He wouldn't believe a single word the brigade commander said.

When have the Eighth Route Army ever had a surplus of cadres?

Once the new second regiment is trained, the brigade commander should start the new third regiment. "Okay."

Chen Ming nodded helplessly.

He said this to prevent the brigade commander from further poaching members from the Independent Second Regiment.

As a brigade commander, he couldn't possibly borrow soldiers from the Independent Second Regiment without having returned them, could he?

"Alright, you can rest now. I have some things to attend to at the brigade headquarters, so I'll be leaving now." The brigade commander prepared to leave before Chen Ming could say anything more.

"Hey, brigade commander, take care."

After leaving the ward, the brigade commander began to think about how to bring the Independent Second Regiment under his command.

The 2nd Independent Regiment is now under the jurisdiction of the military region, not the 386th Brigade.

Borrowing soldiers from the Independent Second Regiment always felt illegitimate.

If we put the 2nd Independent Regiment under the 386th Brigade, wouldn't that solve the problem?
Chen Ming, in the ward, was unaware that the brigade commander not only didn't want to return a platoon of soldiers to him, but also planned to take the entire Independent Second Regiment with him.

He's still quite happy about being sent to the rear to recuperate and learn at the same time.

In the Battle of Cangyunling, he deeply felt his own shortcomings. Tactically, he was able to gain a great advantage by relying on the three-dimensional combat map.

Strategically, Chen Ming, a regimental commander who had only been in the world for half a year and had not experienced many major battles or absorbed much knowledge, was far from sufficient.

The more troops he commands, the better his development will be, given the various badges he possesses.

Going to the rear for training not only allows you to supplement the knowledge and broaden your horizons that you urgently need, but also enables you to receive focused training, get promoted faster in the future, command more troops, and maximize your advantages.

Besides, both the original Chen Ming and the current Chen Ming really want to see the person who followed them during the Autumn Harvest Uprising.

To be honest, no passionate young man could refuse the opportunity to meet **.

Even Chen Ming couldn't help but burst into tears whenever he thought of him.

Not long after the brigade commander left, Dafei came to see Chen Ming.

These past few days, Dafei has finally realized just how hard Chen Ming works.

Normally, as a battalion commander, he only needs to carry out the orders given by Chen Ming, while Chen Ming, as the regimental commander, has to consider many more things.

How to allocate supplies, how to train new recruits, how to care for the soldiers' mental well-being, and how to handle the aftermath of the war are all very complex tasks.

"How have things been? How's work at the troupe been while I was in the hospital?" Chen Ming asked Da Fei with a smile, looking exhausted.

These past few days, Dafei has been so exhausted that he's almost forgotten to eat.

"Commander, when are you coming back? If it weren't for the cadres sent by headquarters, I wouldn't be able to handle anything in the regiment these past few days," Dafei said with a bitter face.

He was originally just an ordinary militia member in a district, but in just over half a year, he has become the deputy commander of a temporary regiment.

Neither their abilities nor their mindset have been improved yet.

As a lowly soldier with little education, putting him in charge of the Second Independent Regiment felt like forcing a duck onto a shelf. Wasn't this putting Dafei in a difficult position?
"You need to practice more. No one is born with ability; everyone needs to learn."

"Now is a rare learning opportunity. If you don't know something, you can ask the cadres at headquarters. If you have any questions about life, you can ask your Uncle Zhu."

(End of this chapter)