Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Since ancient times, there has never been a good banquet in China. When Qiu Fengzi saw that Zhao Yunwen had invited him alone, he became suspicious and subconsciously glanced around, his wariness written all over his face.

Zhao Yunwen smiled and waved, saying:

"Alright, there are no executioners here. Hurry up and sit down, or the food will get cold."

Qiu Fengzi finally sat down, but his posture was still too straight. Zhao Yunwen had an inherent pressure, which he didn't feel even when he was with Gui Yongqing.

"Senior is joking. What's on your mind?"

Qiu Fengzi was very aware of his position as a junior and subordinate. After witnessing Zhao Yunwen's ruthless methods, he was in awe of the latter. What honest person could survive for more than ten years?

Zhao Yunwen could tell from Qiu Feng's expression that if things weren't explained clearly beforehand, the wine wouldn't be able to be enjoyed.

Behind Qiu the Madman is the entire Training Corps; even with heavy losses, there are still nearly 10,000 people.

Zhao Yunwen clearly intended to take advantage of Qiu Feng and leave, but now that the external pressure has been relieved, Qiu Feng's situation is awkward. While he might not resort to violence out of consideration for his fellow Huangpu Military Academy students, this is definitely a trap in some sense, and it remains to be seen what Qiu Feng will choose.

"Chief of Staff Qiu, the situation in Nanjing is considered settled. The Japanese next strategic move is to attack the Jinpu Railway, then move south along the Beijing-Hankou Railway, and directly take Jiangcheng, where the Military Commission is located."

Brothers, we absolutely must head north and fight the Japanese in the Jianghuai region. Before that, we need to reorganize the troops. You know the current situation; although we have over 20,000 men, they belong to multiple systems and cannot form a cohesive fighting force.

The Military Commission assigned me the organization of a Class B division, consisting of two brigades and six regiments. The principal ordered me to gather the scattered soldiers in the city into an army, and to decide on the appointment of relevant personnel and positions myself, which would then be submitted to the Military Commission for approval.

I have three positions for you to choose from: Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, and Brigade Commander, all with the rank of Major General. Of course, if you wish to return to the Training Corps, I'll offer you 100 taels of gold as travel expenses. The Military Commission plans to rebuild the Training Corps based on the 7th, 8th, and 9th Regiments of the Hunan Military Region.”

After listening, Qiu Fengzi sensed something was off about the tone of the conversation; it seemed to be a way of kicking people out. He wanted to stay and secure a position, but Zhao Yunwen wouldn't allow him to take a single soldier with him. Zhao Yunwen held the imperial sword and was authorized to recruit him.

The principal had no idea that the training brigade still had several thousand soldiers, but in Zhao Yunwen's words they were just scattered soldiers, all within the scope of recruitment, no different from radishes and cabbages.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Yunwen valued the thousands of soldiers. As for whether he stayed or left, it didn't matter. It would free up an important position for his old brothers.

Qiu the Madman was no pushover either. Without troops of his own, he was nothing in any other place, and immediately said:

"Those three regiments in Xiangnan are all new recruits. How can such a grand event as the decisive battle in Jianghuai be without me? Since you think so highly of me, then I will not stand on ceremony. I choose the position of brigade commander."

Qiu Fengzi did it on purpose. If you, Senior Zhao, want to act generous, then I'll choose the brigade commander with the most real power. Anyway, I won't be the deputy commander; that would just be a figurehead.

He passed the buck back to Zhao Yunwen, wanting to see if the latter had the courage to follow him.

Zhao Yunwen laughed and said:

"From now on, you'll be the Major General Brigade Commander of the Second Guerrilla Brigade. Come on, let's drink!"

Qiu Fengzi was stunned for a moment, then became respectful. These words sounded impressive, even more domineering than the principal's. A major general and brigade commander could just give it away like that. This was the kind of officer he should follow.

"Thank you for your guidance, Commander. I am deeply grateful!"

Qiu the Madman held the wine with both hands, his posture extremely respectful, which could be seen as his act of pledging allegiance.

Zhao Yunwen casually raised his glass, drank it all, and said with a smile:

"Yu'an, just call me senior in private. We're all brothers. We'll fight the Japanese together in the future."

Qiu the Madman held the cup with both hands, drank it all in one gulp, and said solemnly:

"Senior, I'll follow you to fight the Japanese from now on. Just give the order, and the entire Second Brigade will obey."

With Qiu Fengzi's matter settled, Zhao Yunwen saved a hundred taels of gold and gained a fierce general as a brother. He was naturally satisfied and enjoyed his wine.

With the core issue resolved, Zhao Yunwen offered generous travel expenses to the former brigade and regimental commanders of the Training Corps who wanted to leave, ensuring an amicable parting. In the end, the three brigade commanders left, unwilling to be demoted to regimental commanders.

The adaptation was also put on the agenda. In this extraordinary time, Zhao Yunwen habitually resorted to unilateral decision-making, summoning relevant personnel and announcing directly:

"The guerrilla column consisted of two brigades and six regiments. Its directly subordinate units included an artillery regiment, a supply regiment, a training corps, a reconnaissance battalion, a cavalry battalion, a special service battalion, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion, and a field hospital. The military band was disbanded."

Each infantry regiment comprises three infantry battalions and one artillery company, reconnaissance company, and other directly subordinate units, with a total strength of approximately 2500 personnel.

The artillery regiment consisted of two mountain artillery battalions, one infantry artillery battalion, and one anti-aircraft artillery company, equipped with 24 75mm mountain guns, 12 infantry guns, and 8 anti-aircraft guns.

Zhao Yunwen had 105mm mountain guns in his system warehouse, but after careful consideration, he decided not to take them out. He figured it would be more convenient once he had his own territory. 24 75mm guns would be enough.

He then announced the candidates for the heads of each unit:

"Lu Ping is appointed Major General as Deputy Commander; Xie Polu is appointed Colonel as Chief of Staff; Major General Zhang Yi is the Commander of the 1st Brigade; Major General Qiu Qingquan is the Commander of the 2nd Brigade; Qin Shiquan is the Commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment; Luo Wen is the Commander of the 2nd Regiment; Li Xikai is the Commander of the 3rd Regiment; Sui Youlan is the Commander of the 4th Regiment; Qin Qingwu is the Commander of the 5th Regiment; Wang Guohua is the Commander of the 6th Regiment; Liu Meisheng is the Commander of the Artillery Regiment; Zhou Tiancheng is the Commander of the Supply Regiment; Yao Zhiqing is the Training Corps Commander; Xiao Jianyun is the Reconnaissance Battalion Commander..."

This list is very carefully chosen; all officers above the regimental level are veterans of the Training Corps and the Guerrilla Column, and there are six infantry regimental commanders, each making up half of the list.

The First Brigade Commander Zhang Yi was Zhao Yunwen's right-hand man. His subordinate First and Third Regiment Commanders were both from the Training Corps. Only the Second Regiment Commander Luo Wen was promoted from the former battalion commander. The Second Brigade Commander Qiu Qingquan's subordinates Qin Qingwu and Wang Guohua were both old regimental commanders from the guerrilla column. They could check and balance Qiu the Madman and prevent him from running a one-man show.

The commanders of the artillery regiment, the supply regiment, the training battalion, the reconnaissance battalion, and other directly subordinate units were all veterans. The field hospital commander was Yang Ruifu, the former commander of the isolated army battalion. The special service battalion commander Liu Guoquan and the cavalry battalion commander Qian Guangrong had also been assessed by Zhao Yunwen. Thus, the core of the guerrilla column was established. The next step was to reorganize the troops according to the original structure of the guerrilla detachment.

Three days later, a caravan from the Zhao family arrived from the direction of Shanghai. This was naturally arranged by the system, but they were just using the Zhao family's name as a cover.

Zhao Yunwen redeemed 150 60mm mortars, 3 rounds of ammunition (500 points each), 150 M1919 Browning medium machine guns (200 points each), 50 Min 20mm mortars (1000 points each), 100 bazookas (200 points each), and corresponding ammunition and bullets, as well as some medicine and scopes. He consumed 19 contribution points, basically spending all the points he had earned from checking in Jinling City.

The guerrilla column's equipment is now a hodgepodge of foreign goods: German equipment from the training brigade, Chinese equipment from defeated soldiers, American equipment from the former guerrilla detachments, and captured Japanese equipment—just thinking about it makes one's skin crawl. Fortunately, Zhao Yunwen has a system, so no matter how mixed the equipment is, he doesn't have to worry. He can simply exchange for whatever he needs, and the supply corps will distribute it as needed.

With this equipment, each company level of the regiment can be equipped with 3 60mm mortars and 4 M1919 medium machine guns, and the original Maxim guns have all been phased out.

Each battalion is equipped with four 20mm mortars or infantry guns, and each regimental artillery company is equipped with 12 Type 92 infantry guns and mountain guns. The missing mountain guns were taken out by Zhao Yunwen from the system's warehouse reserves, and all 27 Type 41 mountain guns were cleared out. This time, a Western caravan was arranged to deliver them.

Through Zhao Yunwen's efforts, the guerrilla column was upgraded, with a total strength of over 22000 men and equipment sufficient to withstand an entire first-class Japanese division.

After three days of fierce fighting, Yoshizumi Ryosuke lost patience at the First Peak and issued a general attack order, deploying two regiments of more than 3,000 men and more than 40 cannons.

Seeing that the Japanese were serious, Zhang Yi stopped hiding his true intentions, revealed all his resources, and coldly shouted:

"Artillery, get ready! Give them a good beating!"