Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wei Hongjun was very angry, so he ordered: "Push everyone out, and no one is allowed to take anything from the warehouse.

"Commissar, will this be a problem?"

Li Shiping was a little hesitant.

In the past, when the Eighth Route Army captured a county town, this kind of looting would often occur. However, under normal circumstances, the Eighth Route Army would not pursue these matters. You can't just go back and ask the people to take back what you have stolen from them.

What a mess.

Now, Wei Hongjun is doing this, simply having the troops push the civilians away. This situation was basically unlikely in the past. As long as the civilians weren't looting guns and ammunition, food, cloth, and the like, they generally weren't strictly controlled. Unless these things had already been taken away by the army and put into military warehouses. If people still came to loot, it would be a big deal. If they were just looting the property of the Japanese and puppet troops, the Eighth Route Army had no policy to control it.

Li Shiping was worried that using the army to stop the people in this way would have a bad impact.

Will it give the people of Xuanhua a bad impression of the Eighth Route Army?

Wei Hongjun shook his head and said, "This phenomenon must be stopped. Think about it, who among the truly honest people would dare to go out at this time? There's a war going on outside, and they'd like to seal the doors tightly, fearing that the army will come in and rob them. Why would these honest people come out to loot supplies?"

Wei Hongjun scoffed.

How could any truly honest people have the courage to come out at this time?

They are now the most afraid. Although the Japanese and puppet troops are bastards and these people hate them, they don't necessarily welcome the Eighth Route Army into the city.

Since ancient times, looting after attacking a city has been commonplace. The common people are now most afraid of the troops entering the city and robbing them of money and women. In such a chaotic situation, anyone who dares to loot is either audacious or a bunch of scoundrels. Especially in a warehouse that the army has already taken over, those who dare to stir up trouble and loot are not the kind of ordinary people who behave like ordinary people.

In other words, the Eighth Route Army has discipline.

Otherwise, Wei Hongjun really wanted to use a gun.

"This situation must be stopped. If we don't stop it now, what will happen in the future? Zhangjiakou is the central city of Chahar, and there are countless warehouses there. What if this happens in Zhangjiakou after we capture it? Zhangjiakou has a population of over 25, and with so many military warehouses, who knows what will happen. Go, find Comrade Zheng Weishan, Comrade Chen Zuning, the commander of the th Regiment, and Comrade Qiao Yu, the political commissar. Tell them I have something for them."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun looked at the warehouse in front and found that those people had been separated by the troops, but they still did not leave. There were even many people inside who kept shouting and inciting the people to continue to attack the warehouse.

To steal the supplies inside.

How could these people be ordinary people? How could ordinary people have such courage? Facing dozens of soldiers armed with live ammunition, they still dared to shout like this. In Wei Hongjun's opinion, besides being a gang of scoundrels, there might also be some Japanese and puppet army spies.

Wei Hongjun was about to step forward but was stopped by Han Weiguo.

He said, "Commissar, the situation in the city is unclear, and we don't know who these people are. If there are a few with bad intentions, it's not safe for you to go there. You are the political commissar of the column, and you can't do such a risky thing."

"What does Director Han mean?"

"I'll go. Political Commissar, don't worry. Nothing in this warehouse will be lost."

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun pulled a small notebook from his pocket and wrote down what he had seen today. Historically, after the Eighth Route Army captured Zhangjiakou, the entire city was in chaos. This was because the Eighth Route Army had never had experience managing such a large city.

After years of fighting in the mountains, the troops were suddenly dumbfounded when they arrived in a big city.

Seeing nice houses, nice cars, nice clothes, nice food, and even attractive foreign students, how could one have the energy to manage the city? But Wei Hongjun couldn't let the events of the past repeat themselves. So, starting in Xuanhua, Wei Hongjun set out to carefully record every problem that arose.

Let’s see what problems will arise after the troops arrive in the city.

Only by recording all of this can we find countermeasures and prevent such problems from happening again in the future. Before attacking Zhangjiakou in the future, we can make various contingency plans to prevent historical events from repeating themselves.

"political commissar."

"political commissar."

After receiving the order, Zheng Weishan, the commander of the 25th Regiment Chen Zuning, and the political commissar Qiao Yu quickly came to Wei Hongjun.

During this siege, the 25th and 26th Regiments didn't put much effort into the city, and the 16th Regiment had already taken down the East Gate. To be honest, the role played by the 18th Regiment in this battle was not as good as that of the th Regiment, which was currently blocking Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua.

The biggest role of the 25th and 26th Regiments was to disperse the Japanese troops.

Apart from this, it had almost no effect. So Zheng Weishan's original idea was to lead the 25th Regiment to pursue the fleeing Japanese troops. Unexpectedly, before he gave the order, he received an order from the column to stay in the city and wipe out the fleeing Japanese and puppet troops.

"You're here. In addition to continuing to clear out the fleeing Japanese and puppet troops in the city, the 25th Regiment has assigned two battalions to temporarily serve as Xuanhua police officers, patrolling the streets. If you see anyone taking advantage of this opportunity to steal or rob, or anything else doing bad, arrest them all. Your mission is to ensure that no one exploits the current chaos in Xuanhua City. Stability must be restored to the streets as quickly as possible, and no hooligans or rogues will be allowed to loot."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun was worried that someone would set fire to the house and rob it.

In times like this, looting becomes increasingly common. Those ruffians and scoundrels believe that the bold die of overeating, while the timid die of starvation. They're taking advantage of this opportunity to rob and make a fortune.

So we must first stabilize the calm on the streets.

Wei Hongjun continued, "There are quite a few warehouses for the Japanese and puppet troops in Xuanhua. The remaining troops of the 25th Regiment must find out about them as quickly as possible. Once you find a warehouse, at least a platoon of troops must be stationed there to protect its safety. If the warehouse contains a lot of important supplies, especially an arsenal, then at least a company of troops must be sent to watch it. In short, these warehouses must be guarded. They are all the property of the column. You must wait for the column to send someone to register them. No one is allowed to use them privately, including leaders of any level in the column, any organization, and any civilians. Unless you have a warrant from the commander and me, you can refuse any order from anyone else. Comrade Zheng Weishan, on behalf of the column, I temporarily appoint you as the commander and political commissar of the Xuanhua garrison, with full responsibility for this matter. Comrade Chen Zuning will serve as the deputy commander of the garrison, and Comrade Qiao Yu will serve as the deputy political commissar of the garrison. The 25th Regiment accepts orders from the Xuanhua garrison headquarters. If anyone disobeys orders, you have the right to detain them and wait for the column to deal with them."

The military warehouses in Xuanhua are full of military supplies.

If these military supplies were used well, they would benefit the entire column and even the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Wei Hongjun would not allow anyone to snatch them, including those within the army who wanted to keep them for private use.

All these military supplies must be included in the column logistics.

"Yes."

After the 25th Regiment came forward, Wei Hongjun felt a little relieved. At least it could ensure that there would be no problems with the military warehouses in Xuanhua, and at the same time, it could ensure the safety of the streets in Xuanhua.

Unfortunately, Wei Hongjun still thought too simply.

Chapter 405 Receiving Xuanhua

After arranging the 25th Regiment to be responsible for the Japanese and puppet army's military warehouses and maintaining order in Xuanhua City, Wei Hongjun continued to patrol the city.

Because Xuanhua had just been captured, the city was relatively quiet.

There were fewer people trying to loot supplies like before. However, gunshots could still be heard from time to time in the city as the 25th Regiment continued to eliminate stragglers of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Wei Hongjun came to the temporary garrison headquarters command post set up by Zheng Weishan and his men and found a quiet place there.

Han Weiguo also rushed over.

Tell Wei Hongjun about what happened in the warehouse.

Wei Hongjun said: "I have ordered Zheng Weishan to serve as the commander of the Xuanhua garrison, responsible for maintaining order in Xuanhua City, and also to watch over the military warehouses of the Japanese and puppet troops in the city. But the 25th Regiment is an army after all, and it is difficult to intervene in some aspects. Xuanhua was just captured by us. In addition to the scattered Japanese and puppet troops, there are still a large number of puppet police and traitors, including a large number of Japanese spies. These people are absolutely unwilling to fail like this and will definitely cause trouble. Just like those who looted supplies today, except for some who were instigated, the others are either local scoundrels or people who don't want to see Xuanhua in peace. Even if these people don't do anything themselves, they will create various incidents. So you have to work harder and find all these people for me.

Anyone who dares to affect Xuanhua's stability will be severely punished."

"I see."

"Also, you need to work together with the Column Propaganda Department. If you want the people of Xuanhua to quickly accept us, it depends on our propaganda department. The Column Drama Club needs to rehearse programs and stage plays for the people in various places in Xuanhua. Use this method to publicize the policies of our Eighth Route Army. Strategy..."

"Ah."

Although the Eighth Column had captured many county towns before.

But none of them could compare to Xuanhua. Xuanhua was wealthy, with many factories, Japanese businessmen, Japanese expatriates, and even traitors. It could be said that Xuanhua was the wealthiest place in Chahar, second only to Zhangjiakou.

So the problems are more numerous and more complicated.

Han Weiguo and his political department are also under tremendous pressure.

Wei Hongjun turned around and said to Li Shiping, "Teacher Li, once the city stabilizes, you must quickly count how many factories there are in the city. At the same time, you must clearly distinguish which factories are controlled by the Japanese, which are jointly run by Japanese and Chinese businessmen, and which are run by Chinese businessmen. Different situations require different policies. At this stage, as long as it is a factory owned by Chinese businessmen and the owner is not a traitor, we will still protect it. All other factories will be confiscated and we will take over.

Because of the ongoing war, although many factories existed in the Jin-Cha-Ji region, they were all small-scale. Even the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's own arsenal had limited production. This was due to factors such as the availability of raw materials, machinery and equipment, and skilled personnel. These factors all hampered the development of the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal.

Of course, another reason is that the Eighth Route Army was unable to build large-scale industries.

What should we do if the Japanese and puppet troops raid?

Although the Jin-Cha-Ji region had been developing well, the Japanese and puppet troops were able to penetrate deep into the heart of the base area during each counter-mopping-up operation. Even Fuping, the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, had been frequently visited by the Japanese army in recent years.

How to build a large factory under such circumstances.

The equipment of large factories could not be moved. If discovered by the Japanese and puppet troops, a single bomb would destroy everything. The Eighth Route Army was so poor that it was very difficult to obtain some equipment. If the Japanese army destroyed it in this way, the Eighth Route Army would not be able to withstand it.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army's factories are all built on the mountains, in places where there are few people. Only in this way can the Japanese and puppet troops not find them.

However, it was difficult to build large factories in such places, so only small factories could be built. Or the factory equipment was not large enough, so once the Japanese army raided, the workers had to carry the machines and move the production site.

Even production can be carried out while transferring.

Many of the Eighth Route Army's arsenals were operated in such a displaced environment.

The living conditions are very poor.

It is difficult to concentrate on developing industry.

But the Eighth Route Army was eager to develop industry.

The more a general commanded a battle, the more he understood the significance of backward weapons and equipment. Therefore, in such a difficult environment, the Eighth Route Army still developed various small businesses.

This is especially true for Wei Hongjun.

The future world is an industrial one, and the strength of nations is determined by their industrial strength. Whoever has a stronger industry will be more powerful. Wei Hongjun had long wanted to develop industry in the base area.

It's just that the timing is not right.

So Wei Hongjun did some preliminary preparations.

Such as building small factories needed for the column, developing industrial colleges needed for industry, etc.

Now that Xuanhua had been captured, Wei Hongjun understood that the industrial strength of the Eighth Column, or rather the industrial strength of the Jin-Cha-Ji region, would reach a new level. This was because Xuanhua, as a major industrial city in Chahar, was home to numerous factories.

Although compared with industrial countries, Xuanhua's factories are small, but for the Eighth Route Army, whose current industrial strength is extremely weak, the industrial strength of Xuanhua County is stronger than that of the entire Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

Why does Xuanhua have strong industrial strength?

Because Xuanhua has iron ore, coal mines, copper mines, gold mines and other mineral resources needed by industry.

The Xuanhua Copper Mine was used to cast copper and produce copper coins as early as the Tang Dynasty. Copper was also mined here in the late Qing Dynasty, and a copper smelter was established during the Republic of China. After the Japanese invaded, they upgraded the equipment and built a larger copper smelter based on these facilities. Today, these are among the most advanced copper smelters in North China.

Of course, Xuanhua's status as a major industrial center in Chahar stems from its iron ore, known as the Longyan Iron Mine. During World War I, Swedish consultants hired by the Mining Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the Beiyang government discovered iron ore in the Longguan area. Consequently, in 1919, the Beiyang government decided to establish the Longyan Iron Mine Company. This was the forerunner of the later-famous Shougang and Xuangang companies.

At the time, the Longyan Iron Ore Company mined iron ore in the Longyan area and then transported it to the Shijingshan Ironworks for smelting. The Shijingshan Ironworks later became Shougang. After the Japanese occupied Chahar, the Longyan Iron Ore Company was taken over by the Japanese Northern Branch Development Corporation. They used the Longyan Iron Ore Mine and the Xiahuayuan Coal Mine to build two ironworks in Xuanhua.

Later, these two ironworks became Xuanhua Iron and Steel. Of course, during this time, the Japanese only built one ironworks, the Xuanhua East Ironworks, which later became the Xuanhua Second Ironworks. The Xuanhua West Ironworks, which they later built, was only halfway through construction and could not be completed.

Because the 8th Column occupied the Pingsui Road, the troops stationed in Mongolia suffered heavy losses.

As a result, machinery and equipment could not be brought in, and the Japanese were also concerned about the safety of Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua. Consequently, the subsequent steel mills were never fully built. Even so, the Japanese steel mill in Xuanhua had 11 small blast furnaces, four fewer than the planned 15.

The annual steel output is tens of thousands of tons.

This is already a pretty good steel plant in China.

And steel mills have never been isolated industries.

To develop a steel mill, you need upstream supporting industries. You need a power plant, an iron ore mine, a coal mine, and good transportation. Xuanhua meets all these requirements, with the Xiahuayuan coal mine, the Longyan iron mine, a power plant, and the Pingsui Railway.

In the middle is the steel industry. In addition to steel, there are also a large number of by-products in the steel production process.

The downstream is steel products.