The Courtyard House: The Little Red Devil Returning from the Peninsula

The reorganization began on October 20th. It lasted twelve days.

Zhao Gang drew a red line on the blackboard. Above the red line were four ledgers: 15,500 officially enlisted personnel, 7,500 undergoing training and replenishment, 4,500 local armed forces, and 2,500 from friendly and neighboring units, totaling 30,000. Below the red line was a line that read, "It is forbidden to write 'the Independent Regiment has 30,000 officially enlisted personnel' again."

After he finished writing, he turned around and looked around at the people in the room.

"30,000 is the operational deployment. After the battle, everyone returns to their respective camps and accounts. Anyone who dares to write 'The Independent Regiment officially has 30,000 men' in their report, I'll tear that page out and make them rewrite it."

No one spoke. After the last siege and reinforcement operation, with 30,000 troops, the versions circulating outside had become distorted. Some said the Independent Regiment had expanded to 30,000, others said Zhao Weiguo's main force alone numbered 30,000. Zhao Gang tore up a battle report that read, "Over 10,000 enemy soldiers annihilated; 30,000 troops shook Jinzhong." He tore it up, threw the scraps into the wastebasket, and said one word: "Rewrite it."

The 312 casualties will be filled by qualified replacements in batches. The official troop strength will remain at 15,500, with no additions. The 2,100 prisoners of war will be held separately for investigation and reassignment, and will not be included in the troop strength register. The approximately 320 wounded, transferred to local areas, or unable to return to their units for an extended period will be listed separately in the fifth register, not in the four registers, but their names will not be crossed out.

Zhao Gang wrapped the fifth volume in blue cloth and locked it in the cabinet. The key was hung together with the brigade commander's letter.

The error was discovered on the first day.

Some soldiers left, but their records didn't go with them. Soldiers transferred to the transport team, whose names were still officially listed in their original battalion's register, had already been receiving rations from the transport team for half a month, and their names were still recorded on their original battalion's roster. There were instances of soldiers receiving duplicate rations. One wounded soldier received a ration at the medical station, but his name wasn't recorded on his original battalion's roster, so he received another ration. After merging the prisoner-of-war register, twelve more people were added, and the registers at the receiving station and the monk's quarters didn't match. After a long investigation, it turned out that when the twelve wounded soldiers were transferred to the medical station, their quarters weren't cancelled, so both sides kept records.

Zhao Gang slammed his hand on the table during the meeting. The table shook so much that the lid of a teacup jumped.

"When you leave, the account must be with you. No delays, no exceptions. If you leave today, change your ways today. If you can't change them, explain why. If you can't explain why, you'll be investigated too."

No one spoke. Zhao Gang spread the three error ledgers on the table and pointed to them one by one. When he pointed to the ledger of prisoners, the monk lowered his head.

"My pot," the monk said.

"It's neither your fault nor his fault," Zhao Gang said, closing the booklet. "It's the system's fault. Transferring someone without a handover signature doesn't count as a transfer. Starting tomorrow, for every transfer, both parties must sign, in duplicate—one copy for the transferring party and one for the receiving party's records."

The unit designations were redefined. The Independent Regiment remained unchanged, with its subordinate units' official designations reaching down to the battalion level. The First Main Force Group, the Second Main Force Group, and the General Reserve were only formed during the campaign and disbanded afterward. Old Zhou was in charge of the First Main Force Direction, Duan Peng was in charge of the Second Main Force Direction and cavalry maneuvers, and Monk commanded approximately 2,500 men, known as the General Reserve. These were not official ranks, but rather the division of labor in the campaign plan; after the battle, each unit returned to its respective battalion.

Zhao Gang drew a table on the blackboard, wrote the names of the three people in the corresponding boxes, and labeled them "Temporary Battle Group" next to them.

"Don't brag about this outside," Zhao Gang said. "When you get back to camp, you're still a battalion commander, not some main force group commander."

Duan Peng grinned. Last time during the eastern front regrouping, someone called him "Commander of the Main Force Group," but Zhao Gang crossed that out. He remembered it.

Communications were rearranged. The main exchange was set up in Heshun, with sub-exchange points in the three directions. The main line and backup line were separated by at least 300 paces. Last time, five men on the northern front died when the phone call failed; this lesson could not be forgotten. There were not enough radios; they were only allocated to the regimental headquarters, the main battlefront, and key reconnaissance points.

Zhi Zi set a deadline for the report. She stood in the communications platoon's room, holding a newly printed form in her hand.

"If a battalion fails to report within two hours, check the lines first before dispatching cavalry. Do not write 'out of contact' or 'annihilated' until the situation is fully verified."

A communications soldier raised his hand: "What if we really were wiped out?"

Zhi Zi glanced at him. "What if the phone line is broken? What if they're moving? Let's find out the truth before jumping to conclusions. If you write 'annihilated' on the report, and the troops that were moved there based on that are found to be perfectly fine halfway there, are you going to compensate for the journey?"

The communications soldier fell silent.

Cross-checking the four monthly lists of rations, ammunition, coal, and medicine revealed twelve gaps in supplies. On the eastern front, two battalions had enough rations for twenty days but only enough ammunition for seven. With more rations than ammunition, they couldn't sustain a prolonged campaign. On the western front, twelve mountain guns were short of mules and fodder; the guns had fodder, but the mules pulling them were hungry. On the southern front, medicines were damp, and sulfonamides had clumped together, requiring re-drying and crushing. Coal was also clumping. One battalion was missing two cooking pots; they could fight, but wouldn't have enough to eat after the battle.

Zhao Gang set four criteria for full manpower: personnel, available weapons, seven days' worth of rations and ammunition, and evacuation routes. If any one of these was missing, it could only be written as "under construction" or "pending replenishment," and "full manpower" was not allowed.

"The words 'full strength' are easy to write," Zhao Gang said, posting the standard on the wall. "If there's one less pot, it's not full strength. Are you going to tell the enemy during a war, 'Wait a minute, my pot hasn't arrived yet'?"

The format for transportation has changed. After the war, sixteen vehicles were approved for use. The accounting was based on the actual number of hours driven and the load carried. It wasn't simply a matter of writing that all sixteen vehicles were operational; some vehicles were repaired for three days and driven for two. The actual number of vehicles was recorded.

Zhao Weiguo conducted a surprise inspection without prior notice. Fifty tons of grain, two days' worth of artillery shells, and a medical station were transported overnight to a location thirty miles away. No one knew it was a military exercise.

The food arrived on time. The artillery shells were an hour late. The medical station was two and a half hours late.

Zhao Gang added two alternative roads and a bridge reinforcement to the master plan, and marked the gap for seven mule carts.

"Unannounced spot checks are more effective than ten announced checks." Zhao Gang posted the results on the bulletin board. "Announced checks are just rehearsals; unannounced checks show real skill. How many more people will die on the front lines if the artillery shells are delayed by an hour? How many more wounded will die if the medical station is delayed by two and a half hours?"

No one answered. Everyone knows the answer.

Prisoners were separated from their combat units and managed in separate volumes. Prisoners who could repair cars were singled out, not to be released, but to be assigned to repair captured vehicles. Repairs were counted as work hours, which were deducted from their food allowance during imprisonment. Those who couldn't repair cars were reviewed and reassigned; those who should be released were released, and those who should be transferred were transferred to other areas.

On the twelfth day, a four-hour disconnection mobilization drill was conducted. The three main forces arrived at the key point, but two battalions were late. A transport team took the wrong road and turned onto an old road that had collapsed last year. The mule cart got stuck in the rubble for half an hour before it could get out.

All the problems were written down on the table, without any attempt to hide anything. Zhao Gang looked at the table and enlarged the font size of the critical path in red pen.

"Fix the system first, then look at the people. If the system is right but the people are wrong, it's easy to correct; if the system is wrong but the people are right, it's all for nothing."

On the last day of the reorganization, internal merit medals were awarded.

The third medal was awarded to Zhao Gang for his meritorious service in auditing the accounts. Zhao Gang's hand trembled slightly when he received the bronze medal. The largest account he had ever managed in his life was previously a roster of 15,500 people. Now he was in charge of four accounts for 30,000 people, plus 2,100 prisoners and a fifth account of 320. The bronze medal wasn't heavy, but it felt heavy in his hand.

The fourth medal was given to the monk who guarded the valley entrance for one night. The monk grinned as he received the medal, but said nothing. He stuffed it into his pocket, felt it, and placed it next to the cold steamed bun. That night at the valley entrance, he had held off over two thousand prisoners, and he had also held the gate at the valley's end. The medal and the steamed bun, one hard and one soft, were just right for the monk.

Old Zhou didn't receive his.

Zhao Weiguo said, "Wait for the next battle."

Old Zhou, squatting in the corner, listened to those words, and his lips twitched. He didn't say he was unhappy, nor did he say he was happy. He simply tightened the bandage on his left shoulder; the old injury, which hadn't fully healed after half a year, ached in the bone crevice on cloudy days. He stood up, dusted off his trousers, and left.

Zhao Weiguo carefully folded the list of military production shortages and packed it together with the lists of tires, engine oil, copper wire, measuring tools, traction components, medicines, skilled workers, and the list of the fallen. He placed one in his left breast pocket and the other in his right.

The next step is to increase more than just the number of people.