A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

Over the next few days, Zhang Renfeng, along with Zhao Gang, his secretary Pei Zhengqiang, He Daqing, and other entourage, headed north to the training camp where the 12th Army headquarters was located.

This army unit included some veterans of the 772nd Regiment, and its core members were mostly generals familiar to Zhang Renfeng. It wasn't the main force he intended to use this time; during the Liberation War, it belonged to the Third Army Corps!

Army Commander Zeng Shaoshan had known for some time that Zhang Renfeng was coming, and a day in advance he had summoned the commanders of each division to the army headquarters, waiting for his old leader to come and inspect the training results.

As soon as Zhang Renfeng got out of the car, he saw a bustling scene on the camp's parade ground, where soldiers wearing newly issued cotton uniforms were practicing squad and platoon tactics.

He had been standing by the playground for less than five minutes when Zeng Shaoshan and a group of people came running up to him.

Zeng Shaoshan snapped to attention and saluted. "Old Commander, you've finally arrived! All the officers and soldiers in our army have been talking about it every day, asking when Commander Zhang would come and give us some guidance."

After saluting, Political Commissar Cheng the Blind Man approached with a grin, "Old Regiment Commander, I heard that bastard Li Yunlong is doing quite well in Baoding."

Zhang Renfeng laughed and said, "Don't compare yourself to Li Datou in everything. He's just a small army commander. How can he have as many soldiers as you?"

Cheng the Blind Man said with a grin, "Yes, as long as I'm better than Li Yunlong, I'll be the factory manager even if it's just a clothing factory."

This guy is really something... He doesn't even think about who taught him how to shoot. He has to compare himself to Li Yunlong in everything. He was offered a position as a commander in the Taiyue Military Region, but he refused and insisted on joining the field army.

However, there's nothing wrong with being a military political commissar or a person with both military and political skills these days.

Zhang Ren then glanced at them and looked at the division-level officers behind them, recognizing several familiar faces.

He reached out and patted one of them on the shoulder: "Hey, You Dazhong, who was a company commander in my 772nd Regiment back then? Now you're a division commander?"

The man whose name was called immediately felt a surge of emotion, his eyes welling up with tears. He stood at attention and exclaimed, "Reporting to the old regimental commander! Commander You Dazhong, Commander of the 34th Division!!"

Zhang Renfeng smiled and nodded: "Okay, you look much stronger than before. You've certainly made the most of your meals."

You Dazhong was initially a one-star cadre, but in 88 he was promoted to three stars. He was a very good cadre!

He then turned to Zeng Shaoshan, his tone becoming more serious, "I've reviewed the training plan. How are the troops' conditions?"

Zeng Shaoshan stopped laughing and said seriously, "The entire army's training is following the unified deployment of the Corps. We've excelled in tunnel operations and night combat. However, there's one problem: our army's equipment is still relatively lacking in Soviet weaponry, especially anti-tank weapons. We have bazookas, while the 15th Army only has 40mm guns..."

After listening to him finish speaking, Zhang Renfeng thought for a moment.

He was aware of this; the equipment assigned to the 12th Army before entering Korea was indeed inferior to that of the 15th Army.

The 15th Army was an old guard he had personally trained. Since the Taihang Mountains, they had always been equipped with the best equipment. Later, when it was reorganized into an army, it was completely equipped with American weapons and then completely equipped with Soviet weapons.

The 12th Army has a weaker foundation; that's an objective reality...

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Regarding the anti-tank weapons, I'll transfer a batch from the corps' directly subordinate units. For now, you all need to hone your tunnel warfare skills. By the way, is your army's directly subordinate engineer battalion at full strength?"

"We're at full strength, 320 people. The core members are all transferred from old units; they're experienced."

"Okay, then I'm relieved."

Zhang Renfeng stayed at the headquarters of the 12th Army for three whole days.

Over the next three days, he followed the troops around the training grounds, observed three live-fire exercises and two nighttime tactical drills, and held short meetings with the division commanders every day to review the problems discovered during the training.

On the night before he left, Zeng Shaoshan insisted on treating him to dinner, saying that the military canteen had slaughtered a pig.

Zhang Renfeng couldn't refuse, so he made He Daqing handle the whole pig himself, which exhausted him so much that he developed diarrhea that night and was in terrible shape.

In mid-February, Zhang Renfeng's convoy arrived in Xingtai, where the 15th Army was stationed for training.

If Li Yunlong's troops and Cheng Xiazi's troops were among the most effective units Zhang Renfeng used during the War of Resistance Against Japan, then the 15th Army was the core force he personally trained during the Liberation War.

The predecessor of this unit was the 1st and 2nd Independent Brigades of the Taihang Military Region, as well as five reserve regiments. Later, it was merged with a special engineer division that was built by Zhang Renfeng.

At its peak, it was a powerful and well-equipped force of nearly 60,000 men, all armed with American weapons.

Of course, the American equipment has now been replaced by Soviet equipment, but the basic equipment configuration is almost the same as before. Later, a batch of new soldiers were added in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan!

In this unit, most of the officers, from the army commander to the battalion commander, were promoted by Zhang Renfeng.

When he stepped down as army commander, he recommended Qin Jiwei, the deputy army commander, to succeed him. Political Commissar Gu Jingsheng, deputy army commander Zhou Fatian, and chief of staff Zhang Yunyu were all old brothers who had fought hard battles with him in the Taihang Mountains and the Central Plains battlefield.

As soon as the car came to a stop in front of the 15th Army headquarters, Qin Jiwei led a group of people from the headquarters to come out quickly to greet them.

He walked at the front, and when he saw Zhang Renfeng get out of the car, he immediately stopped five paces away and snapped to attention with a crisp military salute: "Old Commander!"

Gu Jingsheng, Zhou Fatian, and Zhang Yunyu behind him also saluted. A dozen or so people stood there in unison, their spirit even stronger than a steel cable twisted together in the dead of winter.

Zhang Renfeng returned the greeting, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces one by one.

"Jiwei, you've worked hard. I think the 15th Army in our corps has the best training."

Qin Jiwei lowered his hand, his smile warm and genuine: "Old Commander, what you're saying is true. No matter which corps we go to, we have to strive to be number one, right? Otherwise, we'd be letting down all the skills you taught us back then."

Political Commissar Gu Jingsheng chimed in from the side, his voice low but full of confidence: "Haha, we can't let the old commander down."

Hearing this, Zhang Renfeng felt a little more at ease.

He held both military and political positions in the 15th Army for several years, overseeing every step from reorganization to expansion to the formation of combat capability.

The current army commander and political commissar were all promoted from deputy positions by him. His tenacity in fighting and his methods of leading troops are direct descendants of his senior commander and true disciples of the old brigade commander. He is completely following the path of Zhang Renfeng.

Zhang Renfeng looked at Gu Jingsheng, "You rascal, I heard you had another daughter?"

Gu Jingsheng scratched his head. "I didn't expect the old commander to care about me so much..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Renfeng waved his hand and said, "Daughters are good, but they must be disciplined properly, understand?"

Zhang Renfeng knew some things after all, and he didn't want his old subordinates to die in unease because of some other matter.

After saying that, Zhang Renfeng turned around and glanced at Zhao Gang behind him, his tone carrying a hint of teasing:

"Old Zhao, look at these two, how do they compare to Li Yunlong and Sun Tai'an?"

Zhao Gang chuckled and replied, "Both are good!"

He spoke eloquently, but he knew exactly what was going on in his mind.

In terms of combat strength and equipment, the 15th Army far surpasses Li Yunlong's troops, after all, it is the core of the ironclad army led by the old commander all the way!