Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"where is it?"

"It's in the county town."

"So brave."

Kang Shui is indeed very brave.

He arrived at Longguan County with three people in a swaggering manner. Xiahou Wen looked at Kang Shui and found that it was indeed as Zhou Yuanming had described. He walked unsteadily, with a piece of unidentified wild grass in his mouth.

Walking on the street, he looks like a gangster.

Kang Shui said he was twenty-five years old, but with his beard, it was impossible to tell his age.

Xia Houwen stepped forward, and Kang Shui said loudly, "Are you the commander of the Eighth Route Army who captured the county? I think you look like an old farmer."

Xiahou Wen is thirty-one years old.

However, due to years of fighting and the harsh environment, he aged quickly. He looked like a farmer in his forties. Xia Houwen laughed when he heard Kang Shui's words and said, "Brother Kang Shui is right. I come from a peasant family. It's absolutely true that I am an old farmer. It's not just me. Most of us in the Eighth Route Army are farmers."

In fact, the majority of people in China are farmers, and our Eighth Route Army is a group of farmers."

“Yes, they are all farmers.”

Kang Shui suddenly didn't know how to respond.

He was originally teasing Xia Houwen. But what Xia Houwen said made Kang Shui feel something strange, and he forgot how to respond for a moment.

“Brother Kangshui, I have heard a lot about you since I came to Longguan.

"Loyalty and morality are still very courageous today. Let me introduce myself. I am Xia Houwen, commander of the New Third Regiment of the Eighth Column of the First Division of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region of the Eighth Route Army. Brother Kangshui, nice to meet you."

"Commander Xiahou, nice to meet you."

"Brother Kangshui, please."

"please."

Kang Shui is in a good mood.

I originally thought that Xiahou Wen came from the regular army and should look down on bandits like me.

Unexpectedly, Xiahou Wen spoke kindly and treated him with courtesy, calling him "Brother Kangshui" all the time, which made him feel valued.

Xiahou Wen has dealt with many people from the green forest. When dealing with them, the first thing is to be generous and make them feel that you respect them.

Although they are bandits and look rough, they are actually very sensitive.

He was very concerned about other people's attitudes. Because of this, Xiahou Wen understood how to treat them. Of course, Xiahou Wen was an Eighth Route Army cadre, not a bandit who waved the banner of "acting for heaven." Therefore, after entering the house, Xiahou Wen began to talk to Kang Shui about the current national situation and the policies of the Eighth Route Army.

Invite Kangshui to join forces to fight the devils. Kangshui listened very carefully.

During his years as a bandit, Kang Shui had indeed followed his own path, behaving like a true bandit leader. But Kang Shui, after all, came from a wealthy family, had been educated from a young age, and understood the importance of national justice. When he took up banditry in the mountains to seek revenge, he vowed never to touch a book again. But those books, after all, were his childhood reading, and some of their principles were already understood by him.

So I listened carefully to what Xiahou Wen said and was able to understand what he said.

Hearing about the Eighth Route Army's discipline, he was quite impressed. The rules he had established in the mountains were extremely strict for bandits, but compared to the Eighth Route Army, they were child's play.

When Kang Shui thinks of the Eighth Route Army's discipline, he can only think of the Yue Family Army, a unit often mentioned in storytelling. The Yue Family Army was known for its "freezing to death rather than demolishing houses, starving to death rather than looting." Only a historical unit like the Yue Family Army could have such discipline.

After discussing these things, Xiahou Wen invited Kang Shui to dinner.

"Brother Kangshui, we in the Eighth Route Army are poor, so I can only treat you with these humble dishes."

"Commander Xiahou, don't Eighth Route Army officers get paid? You're the head of a regiment, are you short of money too? I've seen the officers of the Northwest Army, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and the Northeast Army back then; they earned hundreds of dollars a month."

Xia Houwen smiled.

He said: "We, the Eighth Route Army, are different from the National Army. We, the Eighth Route Army, do not have military rations. Of course, if we have enough money, everyone will have some allowances, but not much. Even if the army has sufficient funds, the monthly allowance for me, the regiment commander, is only three yuan in legal tender. From the time our Eighth Route Army crossed the Yellow River to the east until now, it has been ten months, and I have actually only received four months' allowance, a total of only twelve yuan. Our troops did seize a lot of things when they captured Longguan this time, but the army's money is the army's money, and even though I am the regiment commander, I cannot use it casually. So today I invite you to dinner, and this plate of chicken was bought with the allowances I have received in the past few months. I hope Brother Kangshui will not blame me."

"Commander Xiahou, are the salaries of your Eighth Route Army officers so low?"

Kang Shui really couldn't understand.

The regimental commander was no longer a minor official in the army. The Northwest Army had been stationed here before, and the region was generally quite poor. Even so, the regimental commanders of the Northwest Army were not known to be broke. As for the wealthy Northeastern and Shanxi armies, regimental commanders could earn hundreds of taels of silver per month.

But what did Xia Houwen just say?

The commander of the Eighth Route Army only received a monthly allowance of three yuan, and that was in French currency? This amount of money would not even be a large sum of money in the former Northeast Army or Shanxi Army.

"The head of our Eighth Route Army headquarters receives a monthly allowance of five yuan.

It’s not easy for them to eat an egg.”

"Commander Xiahou, I used to hear that your Eighth Route Army was poor, but I didn't believe it. I didn't expect you were truly so poor. But you actually bought a chicken to treat me. I, Kang Shui, am not someone who doesn't know how to be kind. I'm determined to make you my friend."

Kang Shui was really touched.

Xiahou Wen was the commander of the Eighth Route Army, a high-ranking officer. In the Nationalist Army, a regimental commander stationed in a local area was a truly powerful figure. After all, commanding a thousand-man army, he could even be considered a local warlord. However, Xiahou Wen was unassuming, unarmed, and spoke kindly and respectfully. Even with limited funds, he still managed to buy himself a chicken.

Kang Shui admired this broad mind very much.

"Brother Kangshui, let's drink this glass of wine together. From now on, we will be friends and fight the Japanese together."

"Yes.

Chapter 157 New Military Preparation

"Okay, Xiahou Wen has opened up the situation at Longguan."

The Eighth Column was in high spirits.

Wang Qiuyun slapped her thigh and said excitedly, "Xiahou Wen, you can do great things."

The eight verticals are congenitally deficient.

Therefore, cadres who can stand on their own two feet are extremely valuable in the Eighth Column. If it is just dealing with the Japanese army in Shengxian, then Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun can command the troops. But to open up the Cha'nan base, those who can stand on their own feet are needed.

After all, there are ten counties in Cha'nan.

To truly establish a base, one must not only be able to fight, but also be able to build the base. Such all-round talents are very rare.

Previously, the only person truly capable of leading a team independently was Zhang Zihua, the commander of the 16th Regiment. Zhang Zihua was not only capable of leading troops in battle, but also of building the Huailai base. Now that Xia Houwen had appeared, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were even more delighted.

“However, Xia Houwen has only opened up the military situation at present.

The success of the Longyan base depends not only on military strength but also on local development. A well-established base will provide a steady supply of soldiers to the troops and guarantee their logistics. "Old Wang, what I'm saying is that we should select ten people from the military district cadre school to go to the Longyan base. We should also select ten young graduates from the Chanan Cadre School to support the Longyan base. Xiahou Wen and his men must establish a stronghold in Longyan. With Haituo Mountain as our primary base, we should establish a base to strike at the Japanese forces threatening the Pingsui Road."

"That's for you to decide."

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

Wang Qiuyun did not interfere much in the use of the troops, especially the local cadres. He was more concerned with how to train the troops and improve their combat effectiveness.

“But simply supporting local officials is not enough.”

Wang Qiuyun looked at the map and said, "There's been a lot of commotion in the Longyan base area right now. The next step might be a raid by the Japanese army. My idea is that we should dispatch a unit to support the Longyan base area."

"Which unit do you want to mobilize?"

"How about the guerrilla detachment?"

"Guerrilla detachment?"

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

Pointing to the map, he said, "The location of the guerrilla detachment is indeed very important. But we currently have the 16th and 18th Regiments in Xuanhua, Zhuolu, and Huailai. Although the 18th Regiment has just been formed, its combat effectiveness is no worse than the 16th Regiment. The Special Service Battalion is originally the most combat-effective unit of our 8th Column. Together with the 1st Battalion of the 10th Brigade, the 18th Regiment is strong enough. Our two main regiments are developing bases in Xuanhua, Zhuolu, and Huailai. This time we are going to build the Xuanhua, Zhuolu, and Huailai County Battalions, as well as the district squads under them. Our local armed forces are sufficient. On the contrary, there is no room for the guerrilla detachment to operate. But look at the Longyan area, plus Chicheng and Chongli, it stretches hundreds of miles from east to west and north to south. Such a vast area is exactly where the guerrilla detachment can show its prowess. Moreover, with the support of the guerrilla detachment, it will be easier for the new 3rd Regiment to establish a base in Longyan."

The guerrilla detachment was reorganized from the Han brothers' self-defense group.

Feng Mulin, the commander of the guerrilla detachment, is a cadre with extensive experience in guerrilla warfare.

It is indeed a good idea to let him cooperate with Xiahou Wen.

So Wei Hongjun agreed: "Yes. However, the guerrilla detachment should set out as soon as possible, taking advantage of the current shortage of Japanese troops on the Pingsui Road, and quickly reach Haituo Mountain to join the New Third Regiment."

"Okay, I'll give the order immediately."

"Come over here after you've given the order. I want to talk to you and a few people from the Political Department about reorganizing the army."

"Army?"

"Yes. Our army is expanding too quickly, and with a shortage of cadres, the army's education hasn't kept pace. To address the ideological issues facing the soldiers, I want to launch a new military reorganization campaign. As the commander, I need you to express your opinion."

"Ok."

Wei Hongjun has thought about the reorganization of the army for a long time during this period.

But this is not an easy thing to do.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun has been writing a plan for the military reorganization during this period. However, to implement the plan, he still needs the support of the commander and the cooperation of the various units of the political department and the lower-level military cadres.

Soon Wei Hongjun convened a small meeting on military reorganization.

There is the commander Wang Qiuyun, the director of the political department Han Weiguo, the head of the organization and propaganda departments of the political department Lu Weisheng, Han Weiguo also serves as the head of the cadre department, and the head of the security department Yao Ziming.

Wei Hongjun showed what he wrote to a few people.

Then he said, "Everyone knows that our army is expanding rapidly, and ideological issues in the army are a very serious problem. Although we have won several battles, the real difficult time has not yet arrived. I am worried that when our army faces real difficulties, can it still maintain its current situation? Now our army has people from all walks of life. There are young students, farmers, people from village associations, bandit armed forces, former national army soldiers, and even puppet soldiers who have defected. How to make them understand our Eighth Route Army and truly keep their hearts in the Eighth Route Army is what we need to consider. So I have been thinking about it recently and came up with this army reorganization plan. You all take a look and discuss it."

"Political Commissar, this is the period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. If we hold a grievance meeting like the one you mentioned in the army, will the spearhead be directed at the Kuomintang government? Will this give people a handle to accuse us of undermining cooperation?

After reading it, Han Weiguo asked Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun shook his head and said, "This requires our political cadres to guide them. We will mainly guide everyone in three aspects. Most of our troops are farmers, so we must start from the aspects of the land system, the warlords' infighting, and the Japanese invasion. Let everyone's grievance movement mainly focus on these three areas. This will prevent the contradictions from being directed at the National Government and our Chairman Chiang. This will increase the support of the soldiers, including some grassroots commanders and fighters, for our work on rent and interest reduction and our support for our War of Resistance Against Japan."

"This applies to most soldiers who come from peasant backgrounds. However, it also applies to soldiers who come from bandit backgrounds and those who come from village associations. The soldiers of the village associations suffered not only from the loss of land, but also from the harm caused by the bandits. But if the soldiers from bandit backgrounds complain, that's why they became bandits. In the past, bandits and village associations were enemies, and their relationship within the army was not very good. But we must let the officers and soldiers from bandit backgrounds and village associations know from the bottom of their hearts that the hatred between them is only superficial. The reason for this hatred is that unfair land issues have caused many people to become bandits because they can't survive. In order to eliminate the birth of bandits, we should support rent and interest reductions. In this way, we can also resolve some of the differences between the soldiers of the village association and the bandit soldiers. Tell them that they are not the enemy. The real enemy is the land issue, the warlord war and the invading Japanese."

"For some soldiers from the old army, we need to talk about the differences between the old army and the new army. I have consulted some officers and soldiers from the old army and learned that in the National Army, it was very common for officers to beat and scold soldiers. There were countless forms of corporal punishment that were much more serious than beating and scolding. The puppet army was no different from the National Army. Their officers relied on beating and scolding to maintain their troops. However, our Eighth Route Army's 'Three Disciplines and Eight Points for Attention' have clearly abolished beating and scolding soldiers, and abolished corporal punishment of soldiers. We must start from here, let these soldiers of the old army completely draw a clear line with the old army, let them understand what a new army like our Eighth Route Army is like. Let them feel the difference of our Eighth Route Army."

"Using this grievance campaign, we can increase their identification with the Eighth Route Army and deepen their understanding of its policies. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and we need to continue to improve it. We need to summarize some of the problems that occurred during the grievance campaign and find the root causes of the problems."

After taking a closer look, Han Weiguo said, "Political Commissar, I generally agree with this idea. We do need to conduct a military reorganization campaign for our troops."

"Old Wang, what do you think?"

"Damn, after reading this I remembered my parents.

Now that I think about it, I want to dig up the bully who killed my parents and my parents and whip his corpse. Old Wei, that's a good idea.

Some soldiers in the army have a lot of complaints. Even some of our commanders have complained, saying that it is natural for soldiers to eat food, but the Eighth Route Army has no food or wages, and the allowances are pitifully small. They should be rehabilitated.

Wang Qiuyun cursed out loud.

Seeing that both Wang Qiuyun and Han Weiguo supported the idea, Wei Hongjun said, "My idea is that we should first find a unit to test it out, and then summarize the experience. I suggest that we try it with the 19th Regiment. Half of the soldiers in the 19th Regiment are former soldiers of the National Salvation Army. Many of them are locals in Sheng County. In the early years, this place was also a place where warlords fought each other and there were many bandits. It should be able to develop."

"it is good.

Chapter 158 Japanese Army Action