Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"political commissar."

Why did Marshal Nie choose Wei Hongjun?

This is because the troops of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region and the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region were all troops of the former 8th Column.

And how did the Eight Columns come about?

That was a team that Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun had built and developed from childhood. With Wei Hongjun's arrival, there were no more command issues. The cadres here were all Wei Hongjun's veterans.

In the current Jin-Cha-Ji region, with the exception of Yang Quanwu, any cadre arriving would require time to integrate these troops within a short period of time. This isn't because the cadres of the former 8th Column engaged in factionalism. Rather, the 8th Column has always been a self-contained system, and its cadres have all grown up within it. The arrival of other cadres requires a fresh understanding of them, and everyone needs to work together to get to know them better.

But Wei Hongjun does not have such a problem.

When Wei Hongjun arrived, these cadres were all veterans and familiar with each other, allowing them to quickly get to work. By the time Wei Hongjun arrived in Jining, Zhao Lu had already established the military region's logistics department and had begun stripping off non-combat units from various units.

Zhu Liangcai had also established the Jin-Cha-Ji Third Field Army Command.

The Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region headquarters was practically transplanted to the Third Field Army headquarters. Upon arriving in Jining, Wei Hongjun's first order of business was to assess the situation of his troops. Knowing oneself and the enemy was crucial; before gaining intelligence on Fu Zuoyi, Wei Hongjun needed to understand the situation of his own troops. Previously, Wei Hongjun had merely read reports, but now, Yi Yaocai provided a detailed briefing on the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region's troops. This included an introduction to some cadres Wei Hongjun was unfamiliar with, namely those Zhao Lu had brought with him from the Fourth Division.

Zhao Lu was reluctant to insert the cadres he brought with him into the lower-level troops. Therefore, most of the cadres were assigned to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region Headquarters. Wei Hongjun was unfamiliar with them, so Yi Yaocai introduced them to Wei Hongjun one by one.

Yi Yaocai was born in the Central Red Army, but after graduating from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, he joined the 120th Division. Later, when Song Shilun brought his troops to Pingxi and jointly formed the Fourth Column with Deng Guo's Pingxi Detachment, he followed Song Shilun to the Fourth Column. In the Fourth Column, his military talent was appreciated by Deng Guo, so he was highly regarded by Deng Guo. Later, the Fourth Column and the Jidong troops were reorganized into the Nang-Re-Liaoning Advance Army, and he also became a cadre of the Re-Liaoning Advance Army. He followed Deng Guo to fight and served as Deng Guo's chief of staff. Later, Deng Guo returned to Jin-Cha-Ji from the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advance Army, and a large number of cadres followed Deng Guo back to Jin-Cha-Ji. Yi Yaocai was one of them. After coming to Jin-Cha-Ji, he served as the chief of staff of the Jin-Cha-Ji Fifth Sub-district.

Later, in order to strengthen the cadre strength of the Fourth Division, the military district transferred Yi Yaocai to the Fourth Division as Chief of Staff. The Fourth Division Commander, Zhao Lu, did not come from a military background and was not a particularly capable commander. Therefore, Zhao Lu was very happy about Yi Yaocai's arrival and held him in high regard. When the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was established as a secondary military region and Zhao Lu became the commander of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, Yi Yaocai followed Zhao Lu to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region as Chief of Staff. When the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region and the Jin-Cha-Ji Third Field Army were established, Yi Yaocai served as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Because Yi Yaocai had been the chief of staff of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, he was very familiar with the situation of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region's troops. He gave Wei Hongjun a detailed introduction to the current situation of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region's main forces and local forces.

After Yi Yaocai gave a detailed introduction to the troops of the former Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, Wei Hongjun thought quietly.

The troops of the former Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region were in relatively good condition, with a main force of approximately 40,000 men, and their weaponry and equipment were not terribly inferior. The Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region even had its own artillery brigade. Furthermore, the former Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region also had numerous local troops. Wei Hongjun now had a general understanding of the situation and was not overly nervous. He was confident of securing Jining, as he had sufficient forces at his disposal. In addition to the troops of the former Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, troops from the former Ji-Re-Cha Military Region were also currently gathering around Jining. The combined forces of the two military regions numbered 70,000 to 80,000 men. Many of these units had been trained during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and their combat effectiveness was considerable.

Furthermore, the Jin-Cha-Ji troops were not the Jin-Sui troops. They rarely fought major battles during the War of Resistance; mobilizing six or seven thousand men in a single campaign was considered a major undertaking. However, the Jin-Cha-Ji troops had fought numerous large-scale battles. While they couldn't be considered fully qualified field troops, they weren't as panicked as the Jin-Sui troops.

Of course, Wei Hongjun did not take it lightly.

After all, Fu Zuoyi was currently winning battles one after another and his morale was high, while the morale of the Eighth Route Army was low.

Wei Hongjun turned to Cao Mo and said, "Cao Mo."

"Commander."

"Go and see how the defensive positions are constructed in various places, especially the ones in Zhuozi. If Fu Zuoyi attacks Jining, Zhuozi will definitely be where he will attack heavily. If there are any problems, immediately discuss improvements with the front-line troops. Our defense must be layered, starting from Zhuozi and all the way to Jining, and there must be depth."

"Yes."

Why did Wei Hongjun transfer Cao to be the director of the training department?

This was because Cao Mo was a highly thoughtful commander, particularly skilled in positional and defensive warfare. While Wei Hongjun couldn't fully assess Cao Mo's command capabilities in large-scale operations, he was a master at training grassroots commanders in positional warfare and constructing defensive positions.

Zhang Zhongxun persisted in Guisui for a total of 11 days.

On the second day after Wei's army arrived in Jining, Zhang Zhongxun began withdrawing his troops from Guisui. This battle was a rather humiliating one. Zhang Zhongxun concentrated the 358th Brigade, the 27000st Independent Brigade, the nd Independent Brigade, and three infantry regiments, along with troops from the Suimeng Military Region. The total force defending Guisui totaled over men.

In terms of military strength, it is still very strong.

Fu Zuoyi claimed to have an army of 35, but his direct forces were limited. Currently, Fu Zuoyi's direct forces consisted of the th Army, the rd Provisional Army, and the th Cavalry Army (the th Provisional Army). These three armies, totaling over men, were Fu Zuoyi's founding forces. The remaining units were either reorganized local troops or reorganized puppet troops, while others were assigned to Fu Zuoyi's command by Yan Xishan, Hu Zongnan, and others.

Fu Zuoyi launched the Suiyuan Campaign, mobilizing a total of approximately 35 troops. He left two divisions in his home base of Wuyuan and an army of approximately 11 in Baotou. By the time the Guisui Campaign was launched, Fu Zuoyi had fewer than troops. The Temporary rd Army and the Cavalry th Army were deployed to defend against the Jin-Cha-Ji forces. The only troops actually involved in the attack on Guisui were the th Army, numbering less than . The fact that the battle lasted days actually included the previous battle in Wuchuan.

It took less than five days for Fu Zuoyi to actually start attacking Guisui.

In reality, Zhang Zhongxun led his troops to defend Guisui for three days before deciding to withdraw. This was because the defensive positions established outside Guisui were all captured by Fu Zuoyi within two days. Zhang Zhongxun lost confidence in holding Guisui. As a result, when Zhang Zhongxun decided to withdraw his troops, Fu Zuoyi seized the opportunity to retreat and dispatched his 101st Division to immediately catch the retreating Jinsui troops.

The righteous choice is to pursue the victory.

If you retreat, I will fight.

The Jinsui troops had suffered a defeat, and morale was low. Now, being held hostage by Fu Zuoyi's forces, their retreat became disorganized. Furthermore, Fu Zuoyi's forces, like the Eighth Route Army, had no problem fighting continuously.

Fu Zuoyi's troops attacked alternately, not giving the Jinsui troops a chance to rest. As a result, the Jinsui troops that withdrew from Guisui were severely beaten by Fu Zuoyi. Zhang Zhongxun tried several times to shake off Fu Zuoyi's troops but failed.

Zuoyi did not allow the Jinsui troops to rest at all.

Fu Zuoyi's troops were like wolves, they would not let go once they had bitten someone. In the end, it was the commander of the Suimeng Military Region, Yao Zhe, who led the troops of the Suimeng Military Region to fight to the death to cover the rear, and only then did this chaos end.

By the time Zhang Zhongxun led his troops to retreat to Liangcheng, they discovered they had suffered over 9000 casualties. The Battle of Northern Shanxi and the Battle of Guisui had completely destroyed Zhang Zhongxun's reputation. First, his troops were routed by the Temporary Army, suffering heavy casualties. After retreating to Guisui, they suffered even greater losses in the Battle of Guisui. Since the Jinsui troops launched the Battle of Northern Shanxi, Zhang Zhongxun's Jinsui troops had lost over 16000 men. It's safe to say the entire Jinsui army was severely damaged.

Wei Hongjun felt sorry for Zhang Zhongxun.

Zhang Zhongxun was a member of the old Yu army with the qualifications of a general. This was not a general title that others boasted about, but a real general title.

During the Autumn Harvest Uprising, he commanded a guard regiment and served as Chairman Mao's bodyguard. He achieved remarkable military success from Jinggangshan, serving as president of the Red Army University. He also faced setbacks within the Fourth Front Army for resisting Zhang Guotao. During the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army, he commanded the 120th Brigade of the 358th Division. A truly experienced and virtuous general. As long as everything went smoothly, he would have no problem becoming a general.

Faced with Japan's surrender, both the Eighth Route Army and the Nationalist Army scrambled for territory. General He personally took action in the Jinsui Military Region, battling Chen Changjie in the Ikh Ju League and Deng Baoshan in Yulin. Zhang Zhongxun, as Deputy Commander of the Jinsui Military Region, led three of its main brigades and three infantry regiments, along with troops from the Suimeng Military Region, to fight Fu Zuoyi.

Unfortunately, we suffered repeated defeats.

Wei Hongjun knew that his old leader's defeat in this battle had directly ruined his title as a general.

However, Wei Hongjun didn't have that much time to be sad about Qiu.

Because Fu Zuoyi had already taken Guisui, he was fighting with the Jinsui troops while repairing his troops. Just three days after entering Guisui, Fu Zuoyi's troops began to assemble again and then advance towards Jining.

"Fu Zuoyi's troops are currently attacking from three fronts."

Chapter 623 Consider the overall situation

There's going to be a war.

Wei Hongjun immediately convened a meeting of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Third Field Army Command.

Discuss the next battle.

Wei Hongjun, commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region, Zhang Zihua, deputy commander of the field army, Zhao Lu, deputy commander and chief of staff of the field army, Zhu Liangcai, deputy political commissar and director of the political department of the field army, Yi Yaocai, deputy chief of staff of the field army, and Zhang Liankui, deputy director of the political department of the field army.

"Commander, Fu Zuoyi's troops are now divided into three routes. The northern route is the 35th Cavalry Army (the temporary 67th Army), whose target is Taolin (the middle banner of Chahar Right Banner). The central route is the th Army and the temporary rd Army, heading directly for Zhuozi, with our Jining as the target. The southern route is the th Army and the Suiyuan Security Brigade, whose target is the Jinsui Military Region troops in Liangcheng.

Yi Yaocai performs the duties of Chief of Staff in the capacity of Deputy Chief of Staff.

The biggest advantage of operating on the interior was intelligence. Suizhong and Suixi were both old bases of the Eighth Route Army, where the army had a very strong mass base. Therefore, the movements of Fu Zuoyi's troops, especially those of large groups, were difficult to conceal.

"We judge that Fu Zuoyi should be preparing to capture Zhuozi in one go and finally attack Jining. At the same time, he should also annihilate the Jinsui Military Region troops in Liangcheng.

"Where's the Fourth Cavalry?"

"We believe the Fourth Cavalry Army's purpose isn't to capture Taolin. Rather, it's to confuse us and disperse our defensive forces. Fu Zuoyi's Fourth Cavalry Army includes the Newly Formed Third and Newly Formed Fourth Cavalry Divisions, each numbering approximately 11000 men, as well as the Ninth Infantry Brigade. The Fourth Cavalry Army is one of Zuoyi's three direct armies. With a force of approximately men attacking Taolin, we'll need to heavily defend it. This will weaken our defenses in Jining."

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun looked at the map while listening to Yi Yaocai's report.

Fu Zuoyi's main force was placed on the front line, that is, attacking Zhuo Zi.

Zhuozi lies 150 li from Guisui, nestled against the Daqing Mountains to the north. The Pingsui Railway passes right through here. Furthermore, roads connect Zhuozi to Taolin (Chahar Right Middle Banner) in the north and Liangcheng in the south, making it a crucial transportation hub for the eastern Suizhou region and the gateway to Guisui. Of course, it's not just a gateway to Guisui, but also to Jining. Zhuozi is a strategically important location within the region.

Fu Zuoyi was determined to get Zhuo Zi.

Therefore, Fu Zuoyi's direct 35th Army and the Provisional rd Army were placed here.

At the same time, Fu Zuoyi also divided his troops into two groups, one to attack Taolin and the other to attack Liangcheng. If they succeeded, Fu Zuoyi's troops could then attack Jining from three sides.

Everyone was looking at Wei Hongjun.

Because Wei Hongjun was a political cadre before, this time he was forced to take the position. In fact, seriously speaking, Fu Zuoyi's current troops were no more numerous than those of the Third Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army.

But the most amazing thing about Fu Zuoyi's troops is that their morale is high.

After all, it was a series of victories.

Starting from the Wuyuan area, within just twenty days, the Eighth Route Army troops in Shanxi and Suiyuan suffered heavy casualties. They lost Baotou and Guisui successively. Furthermore, the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region had previously deployed the Seventh Brigade and the Second Self-Defense Brigade, but they were unable to penetrate the defensive positions of the Third Temporary Army. Instead, they were nearly cut off by Fu Zuoyi's cavalry.

This series of battles directly led to low morale among the troops, while Fu Zuoyi's side was in high morale.

"Commander, we can choose to be steady."

Yi Yaocai said: "Now we have more soldiers and can defend on three sides.

Especially for frontal defense, we can use the mountains on the Zhuozi side to build layers of fortifications. After all, Fu Zuoyi's troops have come from afar, and they've been fighting continuously for over 20 days. Even the most formidable troops will tire. We can completely wait for the enemy to tire out and stop Fu Zuoyi's attack from Zhuozi. As the saying goes, the first push is strong, the second weakens, and the third is exhausted. If we can hold off Fu Zuoyi's troops for a while, we will successfully complete our mission.

Yi Yaocai's choice is the safest.

Especially for Wei Hongjun.

This was Wei Hongjun's first battle as commander and political commissar of the Third Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army. Using a safe and reliable method to stabilize the front was a well-balanced plan that was beneficial to Wei Hongjun.

But Wei Hongjun shook his head.

“We can’t just think about ourselves,” he said.

Wei Hongjun pointed at Liangcheng on the map and said, "Fu Zuoyi's previous battles with the Japanese and puppet troops had a characteristic: he held on tightly and refused to let go. His troops were very tenacious and had a strong ability to fight continuously. This combat style of their troops was very unaccustomed to the Japanese and puppet troops.

Once they are caught by Fu Zuoyi's troops, it will be difficult to escape. The troops of the Jinsui Military Region have been defeated all the way and retreated from Guisui. They are currently being pursued by Fu Zuoyi's troops all the way to Liangcheng. They have been fighting all the way and have no time to rest. The troops should be very tired. The troops of the Jinsui Military Region probably thought that they could renovate because the Liangcheng area is the base of our Eighth Route Army. But Fu Zuoyi will definitely not let the Jinsui troops rest leisurely. Fu Zuoyi must want to completely eliminate the remaining more than 10,000 troops in one battle. If the remaining Jinsui Military Region troops are really surrounded and annihilated by Fu Zuoyi, it will be a heavy blow to the Jinsui Military Region. There are three main brigades of the Jinsui Military Region and the main force of the Suimeng Military Region. It is half of the troops of the Jinsui Military Region. Once they are really annihilated, the Jinsui Military Region will inevitably be severely damaged and will not be able to recover in a few years. "

The Chairman said that it is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers.

Just like the Jinsui Army currently led by Zhang Zhongxun. As long as this unit is not annihilated, then with the Eighth Route Army's ability to expand its forces, they will be able to quickly restore their organization. After a little training, the unit will still be the main force of the Jinsui Military Region.

However, if Fu Zuoyi were to annihilate the entire Jinsui Military Region, it would be seriously damaged because it would lose a large number of commanders with rich combat experience and a large number of veterans. Such losses could not be made up at all.

"We can't watch the Jinsui Military Region suffer such a defeat. If the Jinsui Military Region is truly severely damaged, the situation in the entire northwest of Shanxi, southwest of Shanxi, and Suiyuan will be out of control. Everyone should remember that in addition to Fu Zuoyi's troops, the Jinsui Military Region is also surrounded by Hu Zongnan's troops, Chen Changjie's troops, Deng Baoshan's troops, and in the northwest, there is also the Ma family army. If the situation here gets out of control, the situation in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region will inevitably deteriorate rapidly, endangering the safety of the central government. We can't watch this happen. So my idea is to concentrate three to four brigades of troops, together with the Jinsui Military Region troops, to strike back at the pursuing 67th Army and Suiyuan Security Brigade. Concentrate our forces to annihilate the 67th Army."

It was the first time that Wei Hongjun commanded so many troops in battle.

Moreover, the enemy was Fu Zuoyi, who had almost all of his forces deployed. It was impossible not to feel pressured. However, this was not Wei Hongjun's first time on the battlefield. With over a decade of experience, he understood that moments like these demanded calmness. He carefully analyzed the current situation of Fu Zuoyi's troops.

A conservative choice would be beneficial to himself and the Jin-Cha-Yi region, but it would severely impact the situation in northwestern and southwestern Shanxi and Suiyuan, further affecting the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and the security of Yan'an.

Wei Hongjun cannot ignore the overall situation for the sake of his own benefit.

The only way to keep Jining and stabilize the situation in Suiyuan is to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

Wei Hongjun chose the 67th Army.

The 35th Cavalry Army in the north was most powerful in its mobility, after all, it commanded two cavalry divisions. Furthermore, the th Cavalry Army was Fu Zuoyi's elite direct troops, making encirclement and annihilation a challenge. As for the th Army and the rd Temporary Army in the front, they were Fu Zuoyi's most trusted elite troops, so annihilation would also be difficult.

There was only the 67th Army. Although it was called an army, it only had the New 26th Division, the New 11th Brigade, and the 12000th Cavalry Division under its command, with a total strength of about 15000. Even if the Suiyuan Security Brigade was included, the total strength of the two armies was only about .

As long as we plan well, we can definitely eat him up in a short time.

This is the only way to break the deadlock at the moment.

"Commander, what should we do with Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army and the Temporary rd Army across from us? These are more than troops directly under Fu Zuoyi, elite troops who fought in the anti-Japanese war."

Zhu Liangcai spoke.

Zhu Liangcai thought it was risky for Wei Hongjun to send three or four brigades to attack the 67th Army. Although the Third Field Army currently had a large number of troops, if three or four brigades were sent away from Jining, the defense of Jining would be stretched to its limits.

What if Jining can’t be defended?