Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The Langer Valley Conference was the most important meeting in the history of the Pingbei Detachment, a turning point. Using this meeting, the Pingbei Detachment began to truly command the 34th and 35th Regiments.

Xiao Yongshi's reorganization of the Pingbei Detachment received not only verbal but also substantial support from the column. Not only were many capable cadres assigned to the 34th Regiment, but also about twenty cadres were transferred from the Second Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Public School, which had been assigned to Xiao Yongshi by the th Column.

肖勇实借着34团、35团干部伤亡大，又以34团、35团干部能力问题为由，抽调34团和35团干部去纵队学习。一下就让34团和35团出现了大量的干部空缺。

Afterwards, they sent their own cadres and promoted grassroots cadres who performed well in the anti-mopping-up campaign, breaking the original cadre structure in this way. The Pingbei Detachment began to truly intervene in the personnel of the 34th and 35th Regiments, and also began to truly command the 34th and 35th Regiments.

After the Langer Valley Conference ended, Xiao Yongshi, in the name of the Changwanshan County Party Committee Secretary, immediately convened the Changwanshan County Conference.

It is to rectify the local government of Changwanshan.

This counter-mopping-up operation resulted in heavy casualties not only for the troops but also for the local government. Furthermore, because the local cadres in Changwanshan came from a complex background, they were constantly on and off the line with the Eighth Column and the Chahar South Special Committee.

In reality, some cadres looked down on the junior officers of the Eighth Column. But now it was no longer their turn to think that way. Because of the heavy casualties among local cadres in Changwan Mountain, the Chanan Special Committee had transferred many of them and imposed heavy penalties on them.

Xiao Yongshi and Han Kaiming immediately set about rebuilding the Changwanshan County Party Committee and County Government.

After the counter-mopping-up operation, the entire 8th Column was very busy trying to recover.

The same is true for Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun was responsible not only for military affairs but also for the base areas. The base areas were severely damaged, and their local governments and Party organizations were severely damaged. As Secretary of the Chanan Special Committee, Wei Hongjun was required to quickly restore the Party organizations and local governments in the base areas.

Furthermore, the local governments of these bases, which had suffered heavy casualties, were busy recovering while also busy rebuilding their bases. This time, the Japanese and puppet troops entered the bases and literally burned, killed, and looted. Houses were burned, countless livestock, and much of the land was destroyed.

In addition to handling these matters, Wei Hongjun also had to go to various places to check on the conditions of the wounded, not only the lightly wounded, but also the seriously injured.

I came out of the hospital feeling very heavy-hearted.

Most of the lightly wounded were recuperating at home with their fellow villagers. Some remained in the army, recovering directly. Most recovered and returned to the ranks within a month or two. However, this number only totaled about 5,000.

There were tens of thousands of casualties in this counter-mopping-up operation.

There are also a large number of seriously injured people.

The seriously injured are in a very bad condition. Medicines are in extremely short supply right now, and it will be some time before the "miracle drug" penicillin becomes available. Other anti-inflammatory drugs aren't as effective as penicillin.

Although the Eighth Column had received a lot of medicines before, it was far from enough.

Therefore, many of the medicines used by the seriously injured were harvested from the mountains. Nowadays, it can be said that the recovery of most seriously injured patients depends primarily on their own physical condition. If they can survive, they will live. If they cannot, they will become martyrs. This era is so cruel.

At present, there are as many as two thousand seriously injured soldiers in the Eighth Column.

As soon as Wei Hongjun closed his eyes, he could hear the groans of the wounded. Wei Hongjun sighed and said, "President Sui, you have worked hard.

"I'll be happy if the political commissar doesn't blame me."

Dean Sui is the daughter of Sui Shier, the political director of the guerrilla corps during the Jidong Uprising. She is a renowned doctor in Tianjin and followed Sui Shier to the Eighth Route Army base. She is currently the director of the Eighth Column Hospital.

The medical skills are very superb.

"President Sui, please don't say that. You gave up the comfortable life in the city and came to the harsh environment of our Eighth Route Army base. We should be grateful to you. I know that medicine is in short supply in our hospital right now. It's really hard for you, a great doctor."

"Political Commissar Wei, I am also a Party member.

"Then we're a family, and we're not going to argue. These seriously injured soldiers are the army's most valuable assets. If the hospital needs anything, just tell me directly. I'll do my best to resolve it."

After leaving the hospital, Wei Hongjun couldn't calm down.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, countless unknown heroes sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. Of the seriously injured soldiers I saw in the hospital today, I wonder how many will survive. Perhaps more than half will lose their lives, becoming martyrs. Thinking of them, Wei Hongjun's heart aches, a pain like a needle stabbing at his neck.

This was a major raid by the Japanese army.

In the future, the Japanese army will repeatedly raid the base areas. In the future, the scale of the Japanese army's raids on the Eighth Route Army base areas will become increasingly severe. How many lives will be lost in that time?

How many of Wei Hongjun's comrades-in-arms could live to see the founding of New China?

Even Wei Hongjun couldn't guarantee he would live to see victory. After all, many Eighth Route Army officers of higher rank than Wei Hongjun had died fighting on the battlefields of the Anti-Japanese War. Even Wei Hongjun's old leader, Yang Quanwu, was nearly overtaken by Japanese troops during the most difficult period.

"Political Commissar, good news." Wei Hongjun saw Li Shiping before he returned to the Beilingzhuang command post.

Li Shiping said in surprise, "Political Commissar, we are openly recruiting soldiers in Sheng County and want to restore the Sheng County Brigade and District Squad. Do you know how many people signed up within three days?"

"How many?"

"A full 2100 people have signed up. And as word spreads, each district reports that the number of signups is still increasing. Judging from the current situation, the number of signups should exceed 3000 within a week.

"3000 people?"

“This is still a very conservative figure.”

Wei Hongjun couldn't help but sigh: "The people of Sheng County are heroic people."

Wei Hongjun didn't just sigh casually.

Since Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun arrived in Sheng County with their troops and established the Sheng County Anti-Japanese Base Area, over 5,000 to 6,000 young men from Sheng County have joined the army, perhaps as many as 7,000 to 8,000. Over the past two years, the Eighth Column has been in constant combat, suffering numerous casualties. Many of these casualties were from Sheng County.

But the people of Sheng County have always enthusiastically supported the Eighth Route Army.

Sheng County has a population of less than 20, and there are not many young and middle-aged people.

In the past two years, the rate of enlistment in Sheng County has been very high. Now that the Eighth Column is preparing to recruit soldiers, young and middle-aged people in Sheng County are once again enthusiastically signing up. If more than 3,000 soldiers are recruited from Sheng County this time, then the number of people from Sheng County who will join the Eighth Route Army in the next two years will truly reach 10,000.

Wei Hongjun was really touched.

The people of Sheng County are truly heroic people.

"What about the situation in other bases?"

"The Chanan Detachment has already started recruiting. The people in the base area are very supportive. In Huailai, over a thousand people signed up in just a few days. There are also over 700 people in the Xuanhua base area, and over 500 in Lu County. The Chanan Detachment now has over 2,000 people signed up."

Wei Hongjun nodded repeatedly.

This anti-mopping-up operation was so brutal that the people in the base area saw the casualties of the troops.

But they did not back down.

The Japanese and puppet troops burned, killed, and looted in the base area, which further aroused the anger of the local people. Instead of retreating or being afraid, they actively joined the army.

Wei Hongjun had been feeling somewhat down after seeing the seriously wounded. But now, upon hearing about the recruitment, his mood brightened considerably. Besides those recruiting, there were also those with minor injuries who would recover within a month or two. By then, the Eighth Column's strength would be restored. Perhaps even more so, thanks to the brutal battles they had endured, their combat effectiveness would be even stronger.

Thinking of this, Wei Hongjun couldn't help but say: "With the support of so many people, our war against Japan will surely be victorious.

Chapter 274 Tada Shun’s Plan

The Eighth Route Army was working hard to restore its strength, and so was the Japanese army.

This time, the Japanese army mobilized more than 14 troops, plus more than puppet troops and local security forces, a total of nearly troops to sweep the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. If the Japanese garrisons stationed in various places and some puppet police are included, the number would be even greater.

But I didn't get the desired result.

The Japanese army suffered over 10,000 casualties, including two brigade commanders, more than a dozen colonels, and even more lieutenant colonels and majors. The Eighth Route Army also killed over 20,000 puppet troops who were part of the Japanese mop-up operation.

The Japanese casualties counted by the Eighth Route Army were mostly those killed, because the Eighth Route Army's main method of counter-mopping up was to ambush Japanese transport teams and small units outside.

This kind of ambush basically wiped out the Japanese army.

During this period of counter-mopping-up operations, the First Division, the Eighth Column, and the Third Division all engaged in notable ambushes. The Eighth Column ambushed the Japanese 26nd Independent Mixed Brigade and the 11th Independent Mixed Brigade, killing 110 Japanese soldiers in these two ambushes. The First Division ambushed the 110th Regiment of the th Division in Yanbei, and the Third Division ambushed a battalion of the th Regiment of the th Division.

Among the casualties, many Japanese soldiers were killed. This was a heavy blow to the North China Front Army. After all, the wounded can return to the army after recovery, but those who were killed will never have another chance.

It can be said that the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties during this mopping-up operation.

Several units lost their combat effectiveness.

The 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade had lost its second consecutive commander, and over half of its combat personnel had been killed or wounded. This was the second time the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade had suffered a serious blow since its establishment. Given the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade's current situation, even with new recruits, it would be difficult to restore its combat effectiveness within three or four months. The Chinese Expeditionary Force was so angry that they threatened to revoke the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade's designation.

It was only because of Tada Shun's intercession to the Mongolian troops that the designation of the Independent Mixed Brigade 2 was retained.

The 26th Independent Mixed Brigade also suffered half its casualties and lost its combat effectiveness. This was likely the 35th Independent Mixed Brigade's first participation in a sweep of the Eighth Route Army base area since its formation. Even its Major General brigade commander was killed. Among other units, one regiment of the th Division and one regiment of the th Division were also incapacitated.

So the Japanese army also needs to recover.

But it's not that easy. Even if they want to recruit some new soldiers now, they have to wait. Because the Japanese army in the north is about to fight with the Soviet army. Both sides are stockpiling troops in the north, and the war is imminent. Compared with China, the Soviet Union is a behemoth. The Japanese headquarters is all focused on the north, and the North China Front Army will have to wait for some time to get reinforcements.

Originally, Tada Shun really wanted to wait.

But the information from the First Division, the Eighth Column, or the Eighth Route Army base made him unable to wait any longer.

The Japanese Army and the Eighth Route Army had completely different ways of recovering. The Japanese Army's heavily damaged units could only wait for new recruits from home, and could not obtain them from China. However, the Eighth Route Army had a base area and could recruit directly from there.

Of course, new recruits cannot compare to veterans.

But by using this method, the Eighth Route Army could recruit new soldiers as quickly as possible and restore the number of troops.

Especially the intelligence from the 8th Column made Tada Shun even more nervous.

This sweep focused on attacking the two main regiments of the 16th Column, focusing on sweeping the Xuanhua and Zhuoluhuai bases of the 18th Column. The results were very good, severely damaging the th and th Regiments of the th Column, losing one-third of the Xuanhua base, and one-quarter of the Zhuolu and Huailai bases.

However, he did not expect that the 16th and 18th Regiments would recover their strength much faster than he had imagined.

A large number of local troops from the Xuanzhuohuai base were directly incorporated into the 16th and 18th Regiments, and they were also recruiting soldiers from the base. According to the news, the people in the Eighth Route Army base were very enthusiastic about joining the army. This was something Tada Shun could not tolerate.

"Commander, our original plan with the Mongolian Army was to complete the mopping-up of the 26th Column's Xuanzhuohuai area, and then join the th Division in attacking from both the north and south to mop up the th Column's Ninggao Town area.

The North China Front Army really attached great importance to the 8th Column.

It's impossible not to take it seriously.

In less than a year, the Eighth Column killed three Japanese brigade commanders, each holding the rank of Major General. Among the current Chinese military, the Eighth Column is the only unit capable of killing three Japanese major generals in a single year. Not to mention the Eighth Route Army, even if all the Nationalist units were combined, no unit could achieve such a feat. Coincidence or not, the Eighth Column killed three brigade commanders, each holding the rank of Major General.

Now the reputation of the Eighth Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region has spread to the Chinese Expeditionary Army and the headquarters.

Originally, it was the Mongolian Army's responsibility to deal with the 8th Column. The North China Front Army would not directly interfere with the Mongolian Army's military operations. However, the 8th Column was now so prominent that the plan to eliminate it was not drawn up by the Mongolian Army, but directly by the North China Front Army, with Commander Tada Shun in charge. This shows the current status of the 8th Column.

The tactics formulated by the North China Front Army at that time were to first sweep through the Xuanzhuohuai base and annihilate the 16th and 18th Regiments, the main forces of the th Column.

Then they turned around and swept the Ninggao Town base.

It wasn't because the Chaxi Detachment was so powerful within the 8th Column, but rather because the Ninggao Town base was so crucial, directly impacting the connection between Datong and Zhangjiakou. However, they didn't expect the sweep of the Xuanzhuohuai base to be completely successful, and even the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade suffered heavy losses.

"The 26th Column's troops in Ninggao Town are not its main force. The 16th Division can just send a regiment to conduct a mopping-up operation. What I'm most worried about now is the 18th Column's Xuanzhuohuai area. You've seen the combat effectiveness of the 16th Column's 18th and th Regiments. These two regiments are the biggest hidden dangers in the Zhangjiakou area. We absolutely cannot allow the th and th Regiments to revive. If they do, I'm worried they will threaten Zhangjiakou in the future. They should be completely eliminated before they recover their combat effectiveness.

North China Front Army Chief of Staff Yamashita Tomoyuki was very hesitant.

After thinking it over, he advised, "Commander, the only unit of the Mongolian garrison that can be deployed right now is the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade. However, the 9th Brigade just finished its mopping-up operation less than a month ago, so the troops still need some time to recuperate."

Although the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade did not suffer as heavy damage as the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade.

However, during the more than 20 days of mopping-up operations, there were also many casualties. More importantly, the more than 20 days of mopping-up operations had exhausted them both physically and mentally. The most feared thing about mopping up the Eighth Route Army base was that small units of the Eighth Route Army and local units would launch surprise attacks on the Japanese army at any time. Although each sneak attack was small in scale and the casualties were small, there were so many sneak attacks that many people did not know how they died. This constant tense state put a lot of mental pressure on the troops, so the troops were very tired. Now that the mopping-up operation has ended for less than a month, the troops have not recovered at all. Under such circumstances, letting the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade launch another mopping-up operation would seriously affect their morale.

"The Ninth Brigade is in a bad situation, but does that mean the Eighth Route Army is doing better? The Eighth Route Army has suffered more casualties than us, and their situation is even worse than ours."

Tada Shun was very angry.

Tada Shun had been unhappy ever since he became commander of the North China Front Army. He had never been satisfied with any of the military operations he had carried out since taking command. Whether it was the battles in Shanxi, Shandong, or the campaigns to sweep the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area, none of them were complete and resounding victories.

So I couldn't let out the anger in my heart.