Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Half right."

Luo Renfa turned his head and looked at Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun said in disbelief, "The division commander is not asking us to open up the Xining Anti-Japanese Base? No, he wants us to open up the Chahar Anti-Japanese Base?"

"You have quite an appetite, kid."

Luo Renfa couldn't help laughing.

He said, "You have less than 2000 troops, yet you dare to spy on the entire Chahar Anti-Japanese Base Area? Look at what you are capable of. The division commander wants you to open up the Chahar South base area and directly threaten the Pingsui Railway."

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun both took a deep breath.

This task is not easy at all.

The two of them hadn't even completely taken control of Sheng County yet, yet the division commander had actually asked them to establish a base in Chanan. However, in addition to the psychological pressure, they were also filled with excitement.

The Chanan base was established, which included more than a dozen counties.

This is not something that can be done at the ordinary regimental level.

"Of course, establishing a base in southern Chana is no easy task. Division One isn't sitting idle. We'll continue training local cadres and liaise with other units to promote the anti-Japanese war in southern Chana. Do you have any ideas about establishing a base in southern Chana?"

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun both shook their heads.

Because it had never occurred to him before. But in a flash, Wei Hongjun suddenly realized, "Director Luo, there's actually a solution. There's a troop stationed in Beishuigou Town, in the north of Sheng County. They're the remnants of the 29th Army. They're the same troops that attacked the county seat with us. Their leader, Wu Qinghe, is a veteran with 17 or 18 years of service. He spent many years in Chahar with the 29th Army and is very familiar with the region. If we can bring this armed force here, I think they could serve as a northern detachment to establish a base in Chahar."

"have a thought."

Luo Renfa nodded.

I am very satisfied with Wei Hongjun's idea.

So he said: "After the July 7 Incident, the Japanese army advanced in great strides and controlled too many areas. However, due to insufficient manpower, their control was very weak. In the past few months, there have been scattered Nationalist troops behind enemy lines, and a large number of people have taken advantage of the situation to recruit soldiers, and bandits have also increased. Among them are those who resist the Japanese, those who want to become local tyrants, and those who have begun to defect to the Japanese. Anyway, it is very complicated. Therefore, you must quickly build a base area, faster than them. If you already have these armed forces, you must find ways to unite them, accept them, and absorb them. Don't let these armed forces run rampant in the countryside, and don't let these armed forces defect to the Japanese. Units like the remnants of the 29th Army, which are combat-ready and determined to resist the Japanese, need to be allowed to join the Eighth Route Army as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"Your unit was formed in Sheng County, so the designation is quite difficult. Therefore, the division commander has decided not to give you a regimental designation, but instead to designate you as an independent detachment. Wang Qiuyun will serve as the detachment commander, or externally, the commander, and Wei Hongjun will serve as the political commissar. Report the organization and cadre appointments of the independent detachment to division headquarters as soon as possible."

"Director Luo, is it okay for us to set up a battalion organization under the independent detachment?"

Luo Renfa thought about it and said, "Okay."

"Director Luo, neither the Political Commissar nor I have ever commanded so many troops, not to mention the officers under us.

If I put them in charge of a battalion of several hundred people, I'm worried that something might go wrong."

Wang Qiuyun complained again.

Getting promoted is a good thing, but how to fight the war still gives Wang Qiuyun a headache.

Once the battalion-level units are established, a battalion will be a force of 400 to 500 people. Among the current guerrilla forces, only Wang Qiuyun, Wei Hongjun, Zhang Dahu, Li Wanfu and others have commanded such a large number of troops.

When has anyone else commanded so many troops?

"Learn slowly. You're still pretty good. At least you have regular troops. There are quite a few armed forces in Pingxi, especially the anti-Japanese armed forces organized by local party organizations. They have a lot of people. But many of them have never engaged in military work. Now it's different to establish an anti-Japanese armed force."

The anti-Japanese armed forces organized by local party committees now rely on passion. The organizers are all underground party members who have never fought in a war.

"Oh right, Director Luo. We seized 53 gold bars and originally wanted to hand them over to the division headquarters. Now that the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has been established, the old unit has become an independent division. So we'll hand the gold bars over to the First Division."

"Gold bars are valuable. Division One has just been established and needs money. I thank you on behalf of the Independent Division."

Chapter 058 Preparation

Luo Renfa came and went in a hurry.

After arriving, he simply took in the situation. He then toured the barracks to observe the guerrilla forces. His main purpose for this visit was to confirm the guerrillas' true situation. Only by understanding the guerrillas' true situation could the First Division make specific deployments. Therefore, he had a thorough understanding of the guerrillas' weapons. After confirming that the local Party Committee's intelligence was not exaggerated, he left Sheng County. They had already learned that the Japanese army was preparing to sweep the newly established Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. As the director of the First Division's political department, he couldn't stay here for long.

After Luo Renfa left, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun discussed the organization of the independent detachment.

"My idea is that the independent detachment should have three battalions under its command, and the rest should be company-level. Currently, there are very few officers and soldiers in our army who can serve as battalion commanders. There are too many battalion-level personnel and they are useless.

"That's what I thought too."

Two people have headaches.

We have the people, we have the guns, and now we even have the organization.

But there are too few cadres.

After all, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were only battalion-level cadres in their early years.

While pondering, Wang Qiuyun said to Wei Hongjun, "Old Wei, take a look at my idea. My idea is to have three battalion-level units: the first battalion, the second battalion, and a new recruit battalion. We'll combine the first team and the independent team into the first battalion, and the second team and the new recruit team from Zhangjiagou Village into the second battalion. Then, we'll use the new recruits from this round to form a new recruit battalion."

Each battalion consists of 400 people.

"Where are the commanders of the various battalions?"

"The combat effectiveness of the First Battalion in our guerrilla army is second only to the Special Forces, and the Independent Team has the most students in our guerrilla army. If we combine them into one battalion, as long as they are well trained, they will definitely become a powerful battalion of the Independent Detachment. Gao Wei has made some progress recently, but I think he still needs some training. I think Li Wanfu of the Independent Team is good. So my opinion is that Li Wanfu be the commander of the First Battalion and Kong De be the political instructor of the First Battalion. The two of them work very well together in the Independent Team. During this period, the Independent Team has been completely transformed in terms of both combat effectiveness and morale.

I agree. Li Wanfu is currently a candidate for Party membership. We've been reorganizing a lot of other troops lately, and many people are watching our Eighth Route Army. They're worried we might discriminate against them. We're using Li Wanfu's case to show everyone that the Eighth Route Army prioritizes merit and doesn't prioritize detached or collateral branches. Whoever is capable gets promoted, and this is also a good propaganda tool."

Wei Hongjun's opinion of Wang Qiuyun became increasingly higher.

He has the style of a great general.

Gao Wei was a skilled general under Wang Qiuyun, and Wang Qiuyun actually liked him very much. After all, Gao Wei was an old subordinate who had accompanied Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun throughout the Long March. However, during the reorganization, Wang Qiuyun was able to make such a decision, which was not easy. According to everyone's thinking, Gao Wei would definitely be the commander of the first battalion.

But Gao Wei is indeed not suitable to be the battalion commander at the moment.

Still needs some polishing.

In comparison, Li Wanfu is experienced and graduated from a regular military academy. He is very good at training and commanding troops.

"I served as the Second Battalion's commander. Tao Laifeng was steady, so I made him the instructor. Gao Wei was transferred to the Second Battalion as the deputy commander, and I personally supervised him.

“Good idea.

Wei Hongjun laughed out loud.

Gao Wei's contemporaries as platoon commanders, including Kong De and Tao Laifeng, have both been appointed battalion instructors. He alone is the deputy battalion commander, and there's no telling what kind of trouble he might cause. Having Wang Qiuyun watching over him is a good idea.

"But Old Wang, Gao Wei is a good knife. You can sharpen it, but you can't let it rust.

"Don't worry. After a little practice, they will be of great use in the future. I want to hand over the new recruit battalion to Zhang Dahu. Zhang Dahu is a good chief of staff, but we are short of cadres now. Let Zhang Dahu serve as the commander of the new recruit battalion. When you are free, you will focus on the training of the new recruit battalion, so that the new recruits can complete the training as soon as possible and become qualified soldiers. Let Wang Quan serve as the deputy commander of the new recruit battalion and manage the new recruit battalion on a daily basis. You will serve as the instructor of the new recruit battalion yourself."

"no problem.

Due to the shortage of cadres, one person has to take on multiple roles.

Even Wang Qiuyun, Wei Hongjun, and Zhang Dahu were going down. Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Old Wang, our detachment is actually already a regimental-level organization. So, I'm thinking, can we transfer Teacher Li from the local area and make him the director of the political department of the independent detachment? Didn't the division commander send over 50 local cadres this time? Sheng County's local construction will surely develop rapidly, and there will be no need for Teacher Ji to travel back and forth."

"That's fine. Teacher Li, apart from other things, is first-rate in propaganda. It's not a good thing that all the army's political work is now burdened on you alone. Teacher Li, as the director of the political department, can help you share a lot of the work."

"Then it's settled. I'll talk to Teacher Li.

Due to the shortage of military cadres, Wei Hongjun had no choice but to keep Li Shiping in the army.

Otherwise, Wei Hongjun would really be too busy.

Wang Qiuyun continued, "Next, we'll form a special forces company, a guard company, a logistics company, and a firepower company. The special forces company will continue to maintain a size of 180 people, and will still be our main force... Hmm... Wang Qiuyun was silent for a moment, then said, "Let Zhang Shan be the company commander."

"Zhang Shan? Isn't he too young?

Wei Hongjun frowned.

It wasn't that Zhang Shan was young; in fact, he was the same age as Wei Hongjun. Wei Hongjun was saying that Zhang Shan's experience was too shallow. He had been in the guerrilla army for less than three months. If he had been a company commander in a regular unit, that would have been understandable. After all, he held considerable prestige among the young people in Zhangjiagou Village.

But the special forces company is a very powerful unit of the independent detachment.

Wang Qiuyun nodded and said, "I understand. But Zhang Shan is a natural born soldier, and he's very studious. His future is limitless. Besides, we really don't have enough cadres right now, so these young people must shoulder the heavy burden. Wasn't it the same during the Red Army era? If you survived two battles, you'd be considered a veteran and qualified to be a squad leader. If you survived two more battles, you could become a platoon leader. I think Zhang Shan could do it."

“Then try it?

“Try it.

"Where's the special forces instructor?

"I'm still considering it. Our army is currently most short of political cadres, otherwise we wouldn't have sent Kong De and Tao Laifeng to serve as instructors.

How about we bring one in from outside?

Wei Hongjun thought about it and came up with a new idea.

"Who?"

"Zhang Chao. I told you about him, the Peking University student who hasn't graduated yet. He's currently in charge of setting up government agencies in District 5. He's incredibly talented. He's familiar with Party policies and has the best propaganda skills of any other person. More importantly, he doesn't have the bad habits of some intellectuals. He's not at all aloof and can humble himself and mingle with the farmers. He's a very good, promising young man."

Wei Hongjun admires Zhang Chao very much.

It's not just about knowledge and ability, the most important thing is a good attitude.

As a Peking University student, I do not dislike the rural environment or the farmers' kindness when I work in the countryside. Instead, I make friends with the farmers and become one with them.

Wei Hongjun often meets and chats with Zhang Chao.

Originally, Wei Hongjun wanted to train Zhang Chao as a local cadre in the base area. However, with so many local cadres arriving in Sheng County, Sheng County was now short of them. Therefore, Wei Hongjun wanted to recruit Zhang Chao into the army.

What Sheng County cadres lack most now is troops.

"Then let him try first. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do to leave the secret service to them.

Wang Qiuyun sighed.

If the army had enough cadres, these two rookies would never have been given the job. But in the current situation, they had no choice but to take over.

"Guard Company, let Song Laowu be the company commander."

"Yes. The instructor of the guard company asked Teacher Li to take on the role concurrently. When he's not busy with work, Teacher Li goes over to teach the guard company."

"This is acceptable."

One person does the work of three people. This is the current situation of the independent detachment.

"The Logistics Company, like the Firepower Company, will upgrade the original Logistics Team and Firepower Team. Li Yong will be appointed as the company commander and instructor of the Firepower Company, and Zheng Qilang will be appointed as the company commander of the Logistics Company. In fact, now that the detachment has been established, a deputy detachment commander specifically responsible for logistics should be appointed.

"Everything will be there. Then we will hold a meeting to establish the detachment and fully implement this organization.

Chapter 059 Robbery

On November 1937, 11, the Independent Detachment of the First Division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was formally established.

From then on, the Shengxian Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army became history, officially becoming a regular unit of the Eighth Route Army, no longer a local guerrilla unit. When the independent detachment was established, the total number of officers and soldiers was 1869. The independent detachment already had its own small weapons repair shop, its own clothing factory, and a small hospital.

The army's total rifle stock, including old barrels and homemade rifles, totaled 1621 rifles, along with 57 pistols of various types, 10 light machine guns, 6 ammunition carriers, and three heavy machine guns.

It is already a large group.