Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

This is exactly what Zhou Yuanming did.

He had only been in the Eighth Route Army for three months, but he had already been approved to join the Party.

Although I am only a probationary member at present.

But he was already a party member. Why did many people later say that the Chinese Communist Party underwent major changes during the War of Resistance? One reason was that a large number of non-Marxists joined the Chinese Communist Party.

Compared with the past when there were many tests to join the party, it was much easier for many people to join the party during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

However, the rapid increase in the number of Party members also brought many problems. Of course, these are all matters for the future. At present, the Eighth Route Army needs to expand its forces on a large scale and recruit a large number of Party members.

At this stage, expanding the number of party members is beneficial to the current war of resistance.

This is the case with Zhou Yuanming.

Even the column attached great importance to Zhou Yuanming. This was because he was a highly capable person with great influence in Longguan. Although his combat prowess might not be obvious, his propaganda and organizational skills were definitely exceptional.

Before Xiahou Wen left Longguan, he handed over the construction of the Longguan base to Zhou Yuanming.

Xiahou Wen was still quite confident in Zhou Yuanming. Longguanlong was, after all, a base Xiahou Wen had been managing for several months, so the foundation was solid. The ten cadres he had brought with him, along with the twenty thousand troops supported by the column, had established over a hundred rural bases over the past few months. Furthermore, there were over four hundred active candidates ready to join the Party.

They are all activists who emerged during the construction of the Longguan base and this anti-mopping-up operation.

By the end of the year, Xiahou Wen planned to recruit about 1940 probationary members in Longguan. He would recruit another 1000 to by February or March of the following year. His goal was to recruit members in Longguan by .

So I feel more at ease about Longguan.

However, there were many concerns about Chicheng, which had just been captured. So Xiahou Wen looked at Wu Pingshan and said, "Comrade Pingshan, you should know why the organization asked you to be responsible for the construction of the Chicheng Anti-Japanese Base.

"I see."

"Comrade Pingshan, you should not have any burden. Comrade Wu Shi's Chicheng Uprising was a groundbreaking event and made an indelible contribution to the anti-Japanese war in the entire Chahar. The organization hopes that you can continue to do your father's work and let him truly support our anti-Japanese war from the bottom of his heart and join our Eighth Route Army from the bottom of his heart. You will also be responsible for the political work of the newly established Longyan Chixian Brigade. You must make them thoroughly aware of the necessity and urgency of the anti-Japanese war. Let the Longyan Chixian Brigade truly become an armed force of the Eighth Route Army. In addition, our Eighth Route Army attaches the most importance to the construction of rural anti-Japanese bases, and you must also pay attention to this aspect. I have already reported to the column, requesting that the column send some local cadres to cooperate with you in opening up the Chicheng Anti-Japanese Base.

Wu Pingshan's identity is very special.

Although Wu Shi had turned against the government, Xiahou Wen still couldn't fully believe him.

More importantly, Wu Shi had a thousand-man army at his disposal. After defeating the Japanese and puppet troops this time, they also seized a lot of valuables.

The troops now have light and heavy machine guns, as well as mortars. Currently, this unit only recognizes Wu Shi and cannot be considered an Eighth Route Army unit. Xia Houwen must stabilize Wu Shi and slowly transform this unit.

That's why he suggested to the column that Wu Pingshan be appointed as the head of the Chicheng Anti-Japanese Base. Wu Pingshan was Wu Shi's only son, so it would be easier for him to do the work than others.

Wu Pingshan nodded.

He assured: "Secretary Xiahou, please rest assured. As long as I am here, the Longyan Chixian Battalion will be a unit of the Eighth Route Army.

"Yeah. But remember, don't be impatient when doing work. Take your time."

"Yes."

After deploying the work in Longguan and Chicheng, the New 1st and New 3rd Regiments began to set off secretly.

Kangshui had already formed a large force of more than 1,000 people with his own special forces and the local troops of Longguan. They crossed the Baihe River in a mighty force and marched southeast from the north of Yanqing, heading straight into Huairou and Miyun.

Although there were only a thousand people, Kangshui created the momentum of three to four thousand people.

Kangshui has really grown up.

Although the training at Beiling Village lasted less than two months, I had learned a lot. After the commotion at Kangshui, the Japanese troops in the Pingbei area began to get nervous.

It's impossible not to be nervous.

Because of the Battle of Wuhan, too many troops were transferred to the vicinity of Wuhan.

As a result, the North China Front Army was severely short of manpower. Historically, until 1941, the North China Front Army constantly requested troops from headquarters due to the Eighth Route Army's excessive activity. In fact, it wasn't just the North China Front Army; the Central China Front Army also felt undermanned and constantly requested additional troops from headquarters.

Currently, several county towns in Pingbei are stationed with Japanese garrison battalions.

A year ago, they wouldn't have been afraid of the Eighth Route Army. They could easily dispatch one or two squadrons to finish them off. But over the past year, the Japanese army has been repeatedly surrounded and annihilated by troops like the First Division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region, the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army, and the Eighth Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region. Therefore, the garrison battalion has become extremely cautious.

The Fourth Column, which was retreating westward not far away, was also at this location.

Originally, they had received orders to dispatch troops from all the garrison battalions along the route to attack the retreating Fourth Column and the Jidong troops behind it. However, the garrison battalions along the route were not fools. Although some reinforcements had been received along the way, the Japanese army only had four garrison battalions along the 300-400-li route, or just over 3,000 men. This number of troops might seem large, but in reality, it was not much at all.

They were willing to send out several squadrons specifically to attack the Jidong troops.

But now several thousand troops from the New 1st and New 3rd Regiments have arrived again.

They dare not send out their main force. What if their base is destroyed while their main force is out?

Therefore, the garrison troops along the way did not dare to move.

"Commander, Political Commissar, there is news."

The New 1st Regiment, the New 3rd Regiment and the Fourth Column took different routes of retreat to the west.

The Fourth Column was strong, so retreating westward was no problem. Even if the troops retreating with the Fourth Column suffered losses or were attacked, the Fourth Column would be able to protect them. Therefore, the New First and New Third Regiments took a different route, essentially taking a series of smaller paths.

"How about it?"

"There's a troop of several thousand men marching in Jixian County. It's so large it seems like it's headed for the end. It's probably one of the Jidong troops retreating westward.

However, we found that dozens of Japanese troops were following them in the northern area of ​​this unit.

"Where exactly?"

"This location."

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen looked at the map.

These troops should have entered Jixian County from Tianjin and Tangshan, and then entered Pinggu District from Jixian County. The troops were too numerous, so they all took the easier routes, that is, the roads mainly across the plains.

"The Japanese army is waiting for the main force."

"should be."

"The Eastern Team's march doesn't look like a retreat. There's no alert at all."

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen both complained.

Although the Jidong troops had fought some battles, they were mainly against the police forces in the Jidong area and had not received complete military training. Just look at their westward retreat.

The troops retreated westward, how could they retreat like this?

If the Japanese army attacked from the flank, the troops would be completely disorganized. Even if they were tens of thousands of people, let alone a few thousand, they would likely be annihilated if attacked from the flank by a single unit while marching like this. This is not the way an army should march.

"How's the troops doing?"

Zhang Dahu asked Zhou Chong.

Zhou Chong said, "Commander, don't worry. Our New Third Regiment has just completed a counter-mopping-up operation. Although the troops are a little tired, after the counter-mopping-up operation, the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the troops have actually increased a lot.

"That's good."

Zhang Dahu nodded.

Turning to Xiahou Wen, he said, "I estimate the Japanese army is short of manpower, so they won't attack during the day. Although the Jidong troops are weak in combat, they are not short of weapons and ammunition. If they attack during the day, the Japanese army will inevitably suffer heavy casualties. So they should wait for the Jidong troops to set up camp at night and then surprise attack them. The Jidong troops have never fought a hard battle, and if they encounter such a situation, the troops will inevitably collapse. If the Japanese army has cavalry, then it will be a one-sided massacre in such a plain."

“That’s what I thought.”

"What do you think?"

Xia Houwen thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll go over and meet up with them. They've made preparations tonight. As long as they can withstand the first wave of the Japanese attack and their troops don't disperse, our troops can attack them from behind and completely wipe out the Japanese. The Japanese are short-handed, and if they're completely wiped out along the way, they'll be even more cautious. This will be very helpful for us in completing our mission."

"Okay. Then be careful."

Chapter 186 Contact

Xiahou Wen went to contact this unit in person.

Because the situation is already very urgent.

Xiahou Wen didn't have time to waste on the encounter between the two armies. He needed to directly contact the leaders of this unit and discuss the next steps with them. In order not to alert the Japanese army, Xiahou Wen made a detour and did not reveal his identity. He simply stated that he was a liaison officer sent by the Fourth Column and wanted to meet the commander of the unit. The subordinates couldn't neglect him either, after all, he said he was a representative of the Fourth Column. After the Fourth Column and the Eastern Uprising Unit joined forces, the Fourth Column became the leader of the two units.

So he took it to the troop commander.

Here Xiahou Wen met the leader of the army, a middle-aged man in his thirties. Beside him were two other people, one in his fifties and the other in his forties.

However, Xiahou Wen was quite surprised.

Except for the man standing in the middle who looks like a soldier, the other two look like scholars.

The man in the middle is a soldier.

Xiahou Wen made an immediate judgment, and this person was a soldier who had served in the army for many years.

The man in the middle became very alert after seeing Xiahou Wen.

Although he was the liaison officer of the Fourth Column, he did not believe it.

He knew several important liaison officers from the Fourth Column headquarters. Xia Houwen wasn't among them. Furthermore, the man before him didn't have a token.

So he asked directly: "Who are you?"

The guards in the house had already drawn their guns.

If Xia Houwen made any unsavory move, they were ready to arrest him. Xia Houwen immediately said, "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. I am also the political commissar of the Eastward Advance Detachment formed by the Eighth Column. We have received orders from Yan'an and headquarters to assist in your retreat. I wonder which unit in Jidong this is? And how many of you are there?"

"So it's Political Commissar Xiahou. Sorry for the inconvenience. Our unit is the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Guerrilla Corps. I'm Hong Man, the commander-in-chief of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Guerrilla Corps. This is our deputy commander Gao Weinong, and this is our political director, Teacher Sui Shier. I wonder why Political Commissar Xiahou is here today?"

Hong Man introduced the identities of several of them.

After all, they hadn't received any notification from above about the arrival of troops from the Eighth Column. However, the Eighth Column was still quite famous in North China, after all, it had killed a Japanese brigadier general. After hearing the introductions of several people, Xia Houwen immediately compared them with the intelligence provided by the military district. In order to successfully complete this mission, the military district had provided the Eastward Detachment with information on the main leaders of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. So Xia Houwen quickly confirmed the identities of these people.

These people are all famous people in eastern Hebei.

Hong Man is thirty-six years old this year.

This was a graduate of the School of Political Science and Law from over a decade earlier, and a former student of Li Dazhao, founder of the Chinese Communist Party. After the Nationalist government's Northern Expedition, he entered government service and served as county magistrate in Henan Province. He was noticed by Feng Yuxiang, who controlled Henan at the time. He abandoned his pen and joined the Northwest Army, serving there for seven years. Following the defeat of the Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, he returned to Tianjin and became a professor at a university there.

Gao Weinong was a classmate of Hong Man at the School of Political Science and Law, and a professor at the same school. As for Sui Twelve, now forty-nine years old, he was a brilliant chemist. Not only was he a veteran in the education field, he had also run a chemical factory.

Hong Man responded to the Jidong Uprising, and many of the weapons, ammunition and supplies he needed were supported by Sui Shier who sold his own property.

None of them are party members.

But he was deeply influenced by the underground party and was willing to accept the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

They used their influence and connections to organize a unit to participate in the Yidong Uprising. To improve the unit's combat effectiveness, their unit sent dozens of cadres to the Fourth Column for training, and then returned to the guerrilla corps to serve as political cadres. The decision to withdraw the Jidong troops westward was also made by them.

This unit is the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Guerrilla Corps.

"I led the New 1st and New 3rd Regiments of the 8th Column to this area, not too far from your troops. However, your area is too flat. If we were to encounter bombing and strafing by Japanese planes, we would have nowhere to run. Therefore, our troops are currently mainly hiding in the Yanshan jungle in the north. Our scouts have discovered that a Japanese force of dozens of people has been following you. We believe that the Japanese army is preparing to assemble troops and attack you at night.

"A small Japanese force is following us?"

"Correct."