Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Commander Hong, what is the current situation of the guerrilla corps? How many men and guns are there? How many troops are capable of fighting? Where is the food? How many troops are left behind?"

The leaders of the 8th Column's Eastward Detachment and the Guerrilla Corps held an emergency meeting.

Hong Man said in a low voice: “Our guerrilla corps has four columns under its command, and now there are 7,000 people looting.

"Seven thousand guns?"

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen were both shocked.

Although Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen saw the guerrilla corps had a large number of guns, they hadn't anticipated the 7,000 men who would rob them. Even if the guerrilla corps' weapons weren't the best, even with old-style cartridges, 7,000 men robbing them wouldn't be a small feat. The Laishui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army, currently under the command of First Division Commander Yang Quanwu, had a strength of 8,000 to 9,000 men, but only about 4,000 rifles combined. Furthermore, the Laishui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army even contained numerous organized Nationalist troops. Furthermore, the hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops who evacuated from the Peiping-Tianjin area had left behind a vast supply of weapons. This was the reason the Laishui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army had such a vast supply of weapons and ammunition.

But look at the troops coming from Jidong.

Although it was a mob, they had so many guns. Seven thousand people fighting for it was incredible no matter how you looked at it.

Seeing Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen were very surprised, Hong Man explained, "Yes. Jidong is a good place, with nothing missing. There are a lot of guns among the people. Our original plan was to form a unit of 1,000 people. But after the uprising started, within less than half a month, the unit swelled to more than 14,000 people, and more than half of them had guns. There are rumors in Jidong that there are more than 200,000 guns among the people in Yidong. We, the Jidong rioters, formed a unit of 100,000 people, and we really have a lot of weapons. However, after the troops decided to retreat westward, many people were reluctant to leave their hometowns, so we retreated west with about 11,000 people. After a few days, another 2,000 people left the team and returned to Yidong. No one wanted to leave their hometown. Now we still have about 9,000 people, of which 7,000 have guns, so the morale of the army is very problematic."

"That's understandable. We Chinese have always been averse to leaving our hometown.

This would not happen unless there is really no other way.

Xiahou Wen nodded.

Not only now, but even during the great victory of the Liberation War, this problem existed. It wasn't just the military; many cadres who went south also opposed leaving their hometowns. This requires work.

"Homesickness among the troops is a major problem. Another problem is that the Fourth Column withdrew first, leaving us without the protection of the main force and lacking organization, resulting in a chaotic retreat. We are currently short of military cadres. The only cadres we have are those who attended the guerrilla cadre training class organized by the provincial party committee and later trained by the Fourth Column. Although our guerrilla corps currently has more than 9,000 people, 7,000 of whom are recruited, there are only 700 to 800 troops who can actually fight."

"That's understandable. After all, your riot was so large, the number of people expanded rapidly, and many people had no military training. Bringing over 7,000 people here was no easy task.

After all, the troops who participated in the Jidong riot were all ordinary people before.

Although they had guns in their hands, they were completely different from the army. It was not easy for Hong Man to lead such a force for more than a hundred miles. Although two thousand people ran away along the way, there were still about nine thousand people left. This was already very remarkable.

"As for food, it's the army's biggest problem right now. This retreat was a bit hasty, and we didn't bring much food with us. After marching for so many days, the food is almost gone. The team ahead of us bought most of the food along the way, so it's very difficult for us to get food now. We previously captured several pseudo-township offices to get food, but they didn't have much food either. It's not enough for so many troops."

Although Hong Man has served in the army, he is still a scholar at heart.

The words were somewhat euphemistic.

In fact, he was criticizing the organization of the westward retreat. There was no plan at all, and aside from the order to retreat, it was all nonsense. The army of tens of thousands of soldiers was deployed in a long, snake-like formation, with the troops at the front having marched over a hundred miles, and a large number of troops at the back still not moving.

The troops in front had no food, so they scavenged for food along the way.

But they did not consider what would happen to the troops behind if all the food was taken away by the front.

What they eat.

And it's already October and the weather has become very cold.

There were no good campsites to be found on the road, and many people suffered frostbite at night.

"As for how many troops are left behind?"

Hong Man thought for a moment and said, "According to the plan, we belong to the third echelon. There are three more echelons behind us, which means there are at least more than 30,000 people behind us.

"so much?"

"Yes."

Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen both had a headache.

This westward retreat was truly fraught with problems. However, their Eastward Detachment was too insignificant to handle so much. Helping the Guerrilla Corps evacuate safely was already their greatest strength.

Zhang Dahu thought for a moment and said, "Commander Hong, you can't retreat like this. At the current pace, with a force of 9,000 men, it will take five days to reach Huairou. But do you have enough food for five days? Furthermore, in five days, we'll be exposed to the Japanese. The Japanese are currently short on manpower, but if they send in a few planes, where will you hide?"

Too slow.

The guerrilla corps could only retreat twenty to thirty miles a day at this speed.

This is too slow a march.

Every minute of delay in retreating meant an extra minute of threat. Especially if Japanese planes came over, the entire unit might fall apart.

Hong Man looked at Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen and said, "You two have led troops in battle. How do you think we should retreat?"

"Split the troops apart."

"open?"

"Yes."

Zhang Dahu pulled out a map and said, "Commander Hong, we are from the 8th Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, affiliated with the 1st Division. We primarily operate in the Chahar region, with bases in southern and eastern Chahar. As long as your troops enter our bases, you will be safe. So we plan to take you to our bases in the Yanqing, Longguan, and Chicheng areas. However, it's definitely not feasible to send so many troops this way, as the troops march too slowly. So, my idea is to split up your guerrilla corps and form small teams of around 200 men each. We will then march in batches along the Yanshan Mountain Road, passing through Huairou and Miyun. Once we get past this point, we'll be safer down the road, and we can also temporarily find food supplies."

"But isn't it slower to take the mountain road?"

Twelve questions.

Xia Houwen explained, "Director Sui, marching 200 people is a completely different concept from marching 2,000, 7,000, or 9,000 people. A march of a few thousand people, let alone a guerrilla corps that has only been established for a few months, would present many problems for even the main force of the Eighth Route Army. With our current organizational and training capabilities, if the troops continue to march in groups of a few thousand, their speed will never increase. However, if we break the troops up into small units, the speed of each unit will increase rapidly. Compared to a march of a few thousand people, it can be at least twice as fast. We found several mountain roads this time. Although the roads are difficult to navigate, as long as we are well prepared, we can march much faster than a large army. Furthermore, a small unit's march puts less pressure on logistics. We left some food along the way, and if we conserve it, we should be able to hold out for a few days."

"What are the details?" Hong Man had been a soldier, so he supported the ideas of Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen.

So ask directly about the specific plans.

“Time was tight, and we only found three mountain roads this time.

They can all reach where we're going. So our idea is to let the troops rest first. Tomorrow at dawn, we'll organize the first group to enter the mountains. Of course, it doesn't have to be 200 people. Depending on the situation, it could be 150 or 250. You guys can arrange that. That way, the first group will be around 600 people. Two hours later, the second group will go. In this way, within half a day, five or six groups will be able to enter Yanshan and take the mountain trail, totaling over 3,000 people. That way, more than one-third of the troops can leave via the mountain trail. The main thing to do is to prepare dry food for the troops. We'll use this opportunity to rest the troops while sweeping out the surrounding traitor organizations and armed forces, seizing some food along the way."

Hong Man began to calculate.

Although the Jidong troops were all from ordinary families, their predecessors were either workers or farmers, so they had sufficient endurance. If they marched in small teams, even on mountain roads, they would have no problem covering fifty or sixty miles a day.

It doesn't take two days to reach the destination.

There was a two-hour interval in between to prevent the troops from colliding with each other again during their march.

If time is tight, you can take an hour off.

"Leave behind the combat-ready troops and move with our main force. Our two families will change into the uniforms of the Japanese and puppet troops so we can march forward with confidence. Once the other troops are safe, we will change our route."

"can."

Hong Man nodded.

If they were the guerrilla corps alone, they wouldn't dare split up and go into the mountains. After all, they weren't familiar with the mountain roads, and the mountains weren't safe. Hong Man was even more worried that if the troops were split up, they would completely fall apart.

But now we have the troops of the Eighth Column, so these are no longer problems.

The marching speed of a small team is always faster than that of a large force.

So I support the suggestions of Zhang Dahu and Xiahou Wen.

"Those guys need to act quickly. As soon as it gets light tomorrow, the troops will start moving into the mountains.

Chapter 189 Food Crisis

1938 10 Month 17 Day.

Wei Hongjun arrived in Lingqiu with 12 infantry guns, 4 field guns and 4 flat-fire guns.

The military district considers the development of the entire base area.

So we are always adjusting resources.

Division 1 was growing too fast, and the military district had been pulling troops from it to support other divisions. This time, the military district pulled the cavalry battalion and artillery company from Division 1 and gave the 21st Regiment from Division 3 to Division 1.

The First Division left the number of the 21st Regiment and transferred the personnel directly to the Eighth Column.

Let the 20th Column hand over cannons.

What was there to worry about if the artillery company was gone? Yang Quanwu wanted to form an artillery battalion, not an artillery company. The Eighth Column had intercepted a Japanese military train several times, and this time it had completely wiped out the artillery unit of the Second Independent Mixed Brigade, holding over fifty cannons.

There are plenty of cannons.

Although 20 cannons is a large number, it is not unacceptable for the th Column.

Besides, even if Yang Quanwu did not give the 21st Regiment of the 8th Column, the 8th Column would also hand over some of its artillery. Because for the 8th Column, more than 50 artillery pieces are good, but in fact, they don't need so many artillery pieces.

Might as well use it in one partition.

The First Division was the main force of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region, facing the largest number of Japanese and puppet troops and the greatest pressure.

Now that it's been given to the 21st Regiment, they're even happier. Yang Quanwu looked down on the 21st Regiment, but for the 8th Column, it's a very good thing. After all, the 21st Regiment is a main force regiment, and its cadre reserve is sufficient. Even if it can't compare to the 10th Battalion, it's still quite good.

"This is the intelligence forwarded by the military district."

"Is that all?"

"Ah."

Yang Quanwu nodded and said, "If you, the Eighth Column, hadn't brought back the guerrilla corps, there would have been even fewer people. There were nearly 30,000 troops at the back, and they were attacked by the Japanese army in Jixian and Zunhua, suffering heavy casualties. With no other choice, the troops had no choice but to return to Jidong. I heard that only more than 800 troops returned to Jidong. Imagine what kind of situation this was. The First and Second Route Armies also suffered heavy casualties. There were more than 40,000 people who set out from Jidong. In addition to the nearly 9,000 guerrilla corps you brought back, only about 14,000 returned to the Changping area.

The situation of the Jidong troops is really bad.

The westward retreat of over 80,000 troops ended in casualties and disarray, resulting in the loss of nearly 60,000 men. This was the final outcome of the epic Jidong Uprising.

Wei Hongjun also expressed regret.

But I felt a little relieved. Compared to the historical situation where less than 3,000 people returned to the Pingxi base, this time, more than 20,000 troops from the Yidong uprising returned to the base. This was much better than in history.

This should be the meaning of the existence of the Eight Verticals and the meaning of my own existence.

Having more than 20,000 people come back is already many times better than in history.

"Has the military district told us where the guerrilla corps coming to our base should go? Should we transfer them to the Fourth Column, or should we let them receive training in our Eighth Column?

This is what Wei Hongjun is most concerned about.

Although the guerrilla corps was still a motley crowd, it was still a force of 7,000 men. Furthermore, these men had traveled a long distance from eastern Hebei to the Eighth Column's base. Those with weak willpower would have fallen behind or left the ranks long ago. Those who persevered through the journey were those with a strong revolutionary will.

Now, as long as this team completes its training, it will become a main force.

What they lack now is training.

Even if some of the old, weak, and sick were eliminated, the remaining troops could still form three main regiments. Wei Hongjun certainly didn't want to give up such a force. If it was simply handed over to the Fourth Column, it would be a shame no matter how you look at it.

"I know all the little tricks in your mind."

Yang Quanwu smiled.

Wei Hongjun didn't hide his thoughts. After all, Yang Quanwu was his old leader, so he spoke directly, "Division Commander, our Eighth Column has suffered heavy casualties in this counter-mopping-up operation. Including local forces, casualties, and those who deserted, the total is over 4,000. Although the division headquarters transferred the entire 21st Regiment to us, it's still a drop in the bucket for us. Although some troops have joined us recently, it's still far from enough. If we can leave this guerrilla corps from eastern Hebei to our Eighth Column, we will be able to quickly recover our strength."

"Don't worry. The Fourth Column won't ask you for this unit. Even if you hand the guerrilla corps back to them, they won't want it."

"really?"

Wei Hongjun was overjoyed.

Wei Hongjun particularly valued this unit. Besides the 7,000 men and their weapons, another reason was that it could significantly supplement the Eighth Column's cadre ranks. People like Hong Man were university professors, and Sui Shier was a highly qualified returnee from overseas. Because of their advanced education, this unit boasted over 200 graduates from the Tianjin-Beijing region alone. They were all students of the unit, or had joined because of its reputation.