Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

As for those who graduated from high schools, there were even more. Among all the troops involved in the Jidong uprising, the guerrilla corps had the most educated people.

This has something to do with the fact that Hong Man, Gao Weinong, and Sui Shier are all university professors.

If they were settled properly, the strength of the Eighth Column would be able to rise several levels.

"The 4th Column is seriously short of food. Previously, the 4th Column left Pingxi and went to Jidong, and the Pingxi Prefectural Committee was able to breathe a sigh of relief in the past few months. But even then, they still didn't have enough food. Otherwise, how could they agree to you exchanging food for their cadres? Now the 4th Column has not only returned on its own, but also brought over 10,000 people with it. How can they feed them? The current Pingxi base area is struggling to feed the 4th Column, let alone these troops from Jidong."

"Is the situation of the Fourth Column so bad?"

Wei Hongjun was very shocked.

Wei Hongjun knew that there was a serious shortage of food in the Pingxi base area.

But I didn't expect it to be so serious.

"If they could successfully develop the Jidong base, these wouldn't be a problem. Jidong is rich in resources, and they have everything they need. But now the Jidong base hasn't been successfully developed, and it's simply impossible to support so many people with just the Wanping and Fangshan counties. So you don't have to worry about the guerrilla corps. If you can support them, the military region will thank you and won't ask you for the guerrilla corps."

"Then what will the military district do?"

After all, the Pingxi Anti-Japanese Base Area was under the jurisdiction of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

The military district can't just sit there and do nothing.

Moreover, Pingxi has a good geographical location, so it is very necessary to develop an anti-Japanese base here.

"The military district is also having a headache. After all, there are more than 30 people added at once, plus the more than 31 people on your side, that's nearly 32 people. It's not easy to suddenly solve the problem of feeding so many people and the problem of winter clothing. So you don't have to worry about the Guerrilla Corps. I have already applied on your behalf to keep the Guerrilla Corps in your 33th Column, and the military district has agreed. The Guerrilla Corps is a unit affiliated with Jidong, and it comes to the base area only for training. So the military district plans to organize the more than 34 people of the Yidong troops retreating west to the base area into six regiments. They are the 35th, 34st, 35nd, rd, th, and th Regiments. The Guerrilla Corps, with more than people, will be reorganized into the th and th Regiments, temporarily affiliated with your th Column. In the future, when the Jidong base area is developed, you have to return the troops. Do you understand?"

"clear."

Wei Hongjun was overjoyed.

It would take a long time for the Jidong base to recover.

And it's not that easy to get the Eighth Column to spit out what it has taken in. This means the Eighth Column will have to add two more main force regiments, one to be the 34th Regiment and the other to be the 35th Regiment. This will make the Eighth Column a column with five main force regiments. Currently, in the entire Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, except for the First Division, no other military division can compare to the Eighth Column.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Commander, speaking of our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the First Division has the most food. Since the Pingxi base area can't feed these troops, the First Division should help solve the problem. This time, the First and Second Armies of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces retreated to Pingxi, and the First Division should help them solve the logistics problem of one of them.

Wei Hongjun immediately gave Yang Quanwu some advice.

Yang Quanwu laughed out loud.

Because Wei Hongjun's thinking was exactly what Yang Quanwu was thinking. Division One occupied the Yanbei region, and also occupied some of the county towns of Yi County, Mancheng County, and Zhuozhou. Currently, Division One completely controlled seven county towns, and also parts of four.

Really wealthy.

And although it wasn't directly connected to the Jizhong Military Region, the supply routes were very smooth. The First Division was truly wealthy, and was able to help the Jizhong Military Region train cadres. Therefore, it was able to exchange a lot of supplies from the Jizhong Military Region. Therefore, the First Division currently had an abundance of food and cotton.

In the first district, there is food and money.

Otherwise, a single division wouldn't be able to support five main regiments, as well as a large number of local troops. They even began reorganizing the Laishui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army, preparing to add two more main regiments. The Jidong troops retreated to Pingxi, and Yang Quanwu naturally had his sights set on them.

If we reorganize two more main regiments, there will be 9 main regiments in the first division.

That would be a completely different situation.

Japanese raid?

Typically, a regiment would conduct a sweep against the Japanese, and with so many main forces, they could fight major annihilation battles. Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army headquarters required the troops to primarily engage in mountain guerrilla warfare, but they did not oppose mobile warfare, let alone ambushes. On the contrary, Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army headquarters supported mobile warfare and ambushes under the right conditions. This was because a successful ambush could replenish the troops' logistical supplies, weapons, and ammunition.

Yang Quanwu patted Wei Hongjun on the shoulder and said, "Hongjun, your Eighth Column is now strong enough. In fact, there is no need to continue to use the name of the First Division. You can completely establish an independent military sub-district, but I have never told the military region. What are your thoughts?"

"I understand the old leader's concerns."

"You just understand."

The Eighth Column is fully capable of establishing an independent military sub-district. Currently, within the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, its strength is second only to the First Sub-district, directly led by Yang Quanwu. The other military sub-districts are not as strong as the Eighth Column.

But the Eighth Column was too inexperienced. Or rather, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were too inexperienced.

Yang Quanwu brought the 8th Column under his own leadership, which was actually a protection for the 8th Column.

"Go back and quickly begin the training and reorganization of the Jidong Guerrilla Corps. Several of the guerrilla corps' leaders, including the cadres sent by the Hebei Provincial Committee and the Jire Border Region, are far older and more experienced than you and Wang Qiuyun. But they are all capable people, so you must respect them. However, if they don't cooperate with our work, report to division headquarters and I will transfer them.

Yang Quanwu was "dictatorial and autocratic" in the First Division.

He disliked being told what to do, so officers with similar experience in the First Division were squeezed out by Yang Quanwu. Consequently, Yang Quanwu's reputation was not good. He also did not want anyone in the Eighth Column to challenge the authority of Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun and affect their leadership of the Eighth Column.

So if the cadres of the Guerrilla Corps were disobedient, Yang Quanwu would help the Eighth Column transfer them.

"Yes. I try to respect them and not conflict with them at work."

"Do you have enough food?" "Yes."

"The food production in your base isn't very high. If you're running low on food, report to division headquarters. I can still provide you with two or three months' worth of food."

"Thank you, Master."

Chapter 190 Family background

Yang Quanwu guessed correctly.

The rural areas in Pingxi area are poor in land and have few people, and it is too close to Beijing, so it is often visited by Japanese and puppet troops and has no food supply at all.

The 4th Column hadn't captured any wealthy cities in Pingxi, and relying solely on the countryside was far too impoverished. The Pingxi base was truly short of money and food, struggling to feed itself. Now, the 4th Column had suddenly returned to the base with over 14,000 men. Adding to the 4th Column's own troops, that was an additional 20,000 men.

These 20,000 people are all unemployed and need to be supported by the base.

How much food do 20,000 people need?

A monthly consumption of 400,000 to 500,000 kilograms of grain would be needed. This translates to a yearly need of 500,000 to 600,000 kilograms of grain. Furthermore, the Pingxi base area includes not only these troops, but also numerous local forces. The Pingxi base area's local government, the military logistics agencies, and the combined number of personnel would be even greater.

The Pingxi base area really could not afford such a large food consumption.

So they could only ask for support from the military region.

But the situation is the same now. After the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the troops expanded rapidly. From the initial 3000 or so, the main force under the military region now has over troops, plus local troops. The total number of troops is staggering.

This is not enough.

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is a base area.

Building a base area is essentially establishing a political power. Therefore, the base area had complete local institutions and military logistics. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's logistics and local organizations employed over 20,000 full-time personnel. Not to mention other things, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region currently boasts over a dozen bedding factories employing thousands of workers. There were also arsenals, hospitals, schools, and various other factories—all filled with people.

These are the logistics personnel of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area in Fuping. Each of the other military sub-districts has its own logistics department. For example, a sub-district has its own logistics department with more than 5,000 people.

How much food is consumed to feed so many people?

To allow its subordinate military sub-districts to fully utilize their capabilities, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region rarely interfered with their work. Most of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area was divided up by the subordinate military sub-districts. The military region itself lacked many directly affiliated bases, and often required support from the various military sub-districts to meet its food needs.

At this time, the military district had no food to support the Pingxi base.

Expecting the military district to provide food to feed the 20,000-plus troops in the Pingxi base area is a joke. The military district is not a charity.

The only wealthy unit in the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is the First Division.

The First Division controlled the wealthy counties of Yi, Mancheng, and Laishui, from which they could collect taxes, so they had no shortage of money. While these counties in the Yanbei region were not wealthy, their rural grain production was still acceptable.

In other words, the current district has no shortage of money or food.

But who is Yang Quanwu?

It's not that easy to take things from him. Besides, the relationship between the First Division and the Fourth Column isn't that good.

The division of the family caused a huge conflict. Asking the First Division to provide money and food to help the Fourth Column feed its troops is a joke.

The military district was embarrassed. It had only been less than a year, and the district had already transferred so many troops from the First Division. Even if they truly wanted to crack down on the local tyrants, they couldn't just target the First Division. They were hesitant to ask the First Division to provide so much grain. Commander Nie was a kind man, and he didn't want to constantly squeeze the First Division. So, Commander Nie had to send someone to quietly discuss the situation with Yang Quanwu, letting him know of the military district's current difficulties. They all worked out a solution that was acceptable to all.

Of course Yang Quanwu did not miss this opportunity.

He told the military district to hand over the Second Route Army of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces to the First Division. He also wanted the military district to recognize the designation of the Water Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army, which the First Division was about to reorganize. He already had many plans.

The Second Route Army of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces was reorganized into the 32nd and 33rd Regiments, and then the Laishui Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army was reorganized into the 21st and 22nd Regiments.

As long as the Second Route Army of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces was handed over to the First Division, the First Division would provide 500,000 kilograms of grain to support the Pingxi base area. The military region was not going to be taken advantage of, and the various military divisions could not always take advantage of the military region.

The final result was that the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces that retreated to Pingxi were divided into three parts. The largest of the Second Route Army was taken by the First Division, and the remaining troops were divided into half by the Military Region, leaving only about 3,000 men in the Pingxi base. In other words, of the more than 14,000 Jidong troops that retreated to the Pingxi base, only 3,000 remained in the Fourth Column.

The troops that participated in the Jidong uprising and retreated westward eventually numbered six regiments.

其中军区成立30团，四纵留下一个31团，一分区成立32团和33团，八纵成立34团和35团。

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region thus divided up the Jidong troops, becoming its own. After the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region absorbed the Jidong troops, its main force suddenly increased by approximately 15,000 men. Furthermore, the Jidong troops, now incorporated into the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, arrived with their weapons. This not only gave the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region an additional 15,000 troops, but also over 10,000 rifles. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's strength was instantly elevated.

After Wei Hongjun returned to Beilingzhuang, he began to investigate the assets of the Eighth Column.

"This year's harvest has been quite good, with a decent grain yield. The county collected 1266 million kilograms of grain, primarily sorghum and corn, with a small amount of wheat. We also collected around 142 million kilograms of sweet potatoes and potatoes. We've compiled statistics and found that the higher grain yield is mainly due to our county-wide promotion of corn cultivation this year."

Wei Hongjun was both the political commissar of the 8th Column and the secretary of the Chanan Special Committee.

So it is also responsible for local affairs.

Sheng County Mayor Li Shaocheng reported on the situation in Sheng County this year.

"Is it enough to eat?"

"For those currently on leave from work, this amount of grain is sufficient, and there's even a surplus. Currently, the entire county's off-duty personnel, including the main force of the Eighth Column, consume approximately 500 kilograms of grain annually. The grain collected in Sheng County alone is more than enough to meet that need. However, we also have numerous rural bases in other counties where we're also collecting grain. This year, after deducting the grain consumed by the troops and local communities, we'll still have over million kilograms of grain left over from all our bases. It's primarily corn."

"That means adding another 10,000 people won't be a problem."

"Yes, no problem at all."

Li Shaocheng answered affirmatively.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and asked, "How is the construction of the grain storage base I deployed going?"

"We have already built seven grain storage facilities, which can store approximately 10 million kilograms of grain."

"Based on the food consumption situation, we must make good food reserves.

Seven grain storage facilities are not enough. We must store more food in case of emergency. At the same time, the location of the grain storage facilities must be kept confidential.

"clear."

The person in charge of food reserves was Li Shiping, deputy commander of the 8th Column.

Wei Hongjun needed to stockpile food for two years. By then, the Eighth Route Army would be severely short of food, and would have to start streamlining its organization and troops. Wei Hongjun didn't want the Eighth Column to be in the same situation.

"How's the land reclamation going?"

"This year, the base area is encouraging residents to reclaim wasteland, promising a two-year tax exemption for newly reclaimed farmland, followed by a 10% tax for the next three years, and a return to 20% after five years. We tallied the total in August of this year, and found that the county added 32,000 mu of newly reclaimed farmland, primarily mountainous land, primarily for corn cultivation."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The area of ​​cultivated land increased by more than 30,000 mu.

Currently, grain production from cultivated land is relatively low. Even corn, considered a high-yield crop, rarely yields more than 200 kilograms per mu.

Only by expending considerable effort and meticulously cultivating the land could the yield exceed 200 jin. Even if the yield was only 100 jin per mu, increasing it by 30,000 mu would yield 3 million jin. This would be enough military rations to feed the Eighth Column for half a year. If the yield were 200 jin per mu, that would increase the grain yield by 6 million jin.