Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The Eighth Column's weaponry is undoubtedly among the best in the entire Eighth Route Army. However, ammunition captured in recent battles has become increasingly scarce. The Japanese have also begun controlling ammunition, specifically to prevent the Eighth Route Army from obtaining sufficient ammunition on the battlefield. If this situation continues, the Eighth Column's situation will become increasingly difficult after the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

So being able to use money to buy ammunition is the best thing that can happen.

"Commissar, how much do they have?"

"I'm not sure. They want to do this first deal with us. If it's successful, they'll have more business later. But even if it's just this one deal, we have to do it. This much ammunition is enough for us to use for several months. And I've thought about it carefully, they definitely have more than this. They should have millions of rounds of ammunition.

Wei Hongjun and Wang Qiuyun have the same idea.

Must buy.

I will buy it even if it means selling everything I have.

In wartime, many things are done to serve the battle. For the sake of victory in the battle, many other aspects can be temporarily compromised.

Han Weiguo said, "I support the commander and political commissar's ideas. We can definitely establish a long-term relationship with him, not just this arms deal. With his status, he can easily sell us tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition a year with just a little effort. Because for them, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition are nothing. By slightly falsifying the ammunition consumption, they can sell us tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. But for us, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition are enough for our 8th Column to fight several ambushes. And Huang Peng is a high-ranking official in the North China Security Army after all. By establishing a solid relationship with him, we can do other business with him in addition to weapons and ammunition. We can purchase from him the medical equipment, medicines, and so on that our troops need."

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Support Han Weiguo's idea.

The role of a big traitor is very great.

Once a cooperative relationship is established with him, not to mention the benefits of reporting, just using his channels to purchase supplies urgently needed by the troops and base will definitely not be a small amount.

Therefore, Han Weiguo also supports establishing contact with Huang Peng.

Chu He then spoke up, "When I was working in North China, I knew Huang Peng. He was a general under Qi Xieyuan, but he wasn't a die-hard traitor. He was more sophisticated and tactful, but he was the kind of person who could play both sides. I think we can win over such a person. Even if he doesn't serve us, we can still maintain a certain peaceful relationship with him. We can even use money to buy some intelligence from him when necessary. That's all possible."

"Director Han, leave this matter to your Political Department. Don't rush to win him over; just leave a way out for him.

After we did a few big deals with him, we were naturally able to establish a relationship.

"Yes."

"Director Gao, your Trade Department should also contact this line. Since these Imperial Army want to do business, we will do business with them.

There should be plenty of business between our two families. Doing business with traitors will only benefit us."

"We immediately established this relationship with the North China Front Army."

Gao Weinong nodded.

He was the director of the Chahar South Trade Office, in charge of the trade of the entire Eighth Column base.

Establishing connections with traitors and doing business with them is a very important task of the Trade Office. Compared to those local traitors, the North China Security Army is also a good partner. The high-ranking officials of the North China Security Army are even better.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Since everyone is here today, I'll share my views on the current situation. Don't spread this information after you leave; just treat it as an internal meeting. The commander and I went to the military district for a meeting this time. The biggest headache for the military district leaders and the leaders of the various military sub-districts is the Japanese army's cage policy. The Japanese army has been building bunkers along the railways and highways. In order to blockade and divide our base areas, they began to build some small railways and roads into our base areas, and then used these small railways and roads to build tactical bunkers. Once the Japanese army built those small railways and roads into our base areas, the tactical bunkers were built inside our base areas. They can use these bunkers to divide our base areas and divide our troops. This is a headache for everyone. Because some base areas have stated that the Japanese army's bunkers have penetrated deep into their base areas, seriously affecting the security and development of the base areas."

"The Japanese relied on the Pinghan, Pingsui, Tongpu, and Zhengtai railways to blockade our base. They then used the roads within to divide our base into smaller areas, which they could then raid one by one.

Wang Qiuyun added.

Wei Hongjun continued, "This is a vicious strategy, bullying our Eighth Route Army because we don't have artillery. The Japanese 'cage policy' is affecting not only our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, but also the rest of the Hebei-Central Military Region, as well as the 120th and 129th Divisions. Commander Nie has received an order from headquarters to attend a meeting. I suspect headquarters is discussing this very matter. Old Wang, tell me. The Japanese are pressing forward, what will headquarters do?"

"What the Japanese are doing now is creating a net. They want to use this net of bunkers to trap us all, shrink our space for movement, and ultimately completely annihilate our Eighth Route Army troops. If I were the head of headquarters, I would definitely deploy troops to break the net.

Wang Qiuyun expressed her thoughts.

Wang Qiuyun wasn't sure what headquarters would do. After all, headquarters was at a higher level, possessing more information and considering more matters. How to strike back at the Japanese wasn't something a commander of Wang Qiuyun's caliber could determine.

But the general strategy can still be guessed.

The Japanese blockhouse network constantly squeezed the Eighth Route Army's living space. If the Eighth Route Army wanted to develop, it had to tear down these blockhouse networks that were hindering the development of its base areas. Without this network, the Eighth Route Army's activities would be restricted.

Once the Japanese army's net completely traps the Eighth Route Army, they can then raid the area whenever and however they want.

"Yes, that's right. Judging from the current situation, the Japanese army's relentless pressure will directly affect the development of our Eighth Route Army. The headquarters must deploy a counterattack to break the Japanese army's cage policy. And as long as the headquarters deploys a counterattack, the whole of North China will be in chaos. How many people are there in our Eighth Route Army now? In our Jinchayi Beiyue District alone, there are more than 30 main force regiments. Adding the troops of each military sub-district, there are more than 120 or 129 regiments. Adding the Yizhong Military District and the Yireliao Advance Army, we have so many troops in Jinchaji. How many are there in the 14th Division and the th Division? One hundred thousand troops. What a commotion it would cause if so many troops were mobilized. The Japanese army is now increasingly focusing on sweeping our base areas behind enemy lines. If headquarters deploys a counterattack, it will inevitably lead to greater retaliation from the Japanese army, and the Japanese army will mobilize more and more troops to sweep our base areas. Last year, the Japanese army carried out two major sweeps against our Jin-Cha-Ji base area, especially in June and July when Japanese and puppet troops swept against us. In my opinion, the Japanese army will frequently sweep our Jin-Cha-Ji base area in the future. This means that we will face more and more raids by the Japanese and puppet troops."

1941, 1942 and 1943 were the three most difficult years for the Eighth Route Army in the War of Resistance.

Especially in 1942 and 1943, the Eighth Route Army's survival was extremely difficult. Now entering 1940, it is still a year of great development for the Eighth Route Army. However, the Red Army must be prepared for the difficult period ahead.

After Wei Hongjun finished speaking, no one spoke.

Because everyone needs to judge whether Wei Hongjun's guess is accurate.

"I tend to agree with the political commissar's judgment."

Wang Qiuyun spoke.

He said: "This can be seen from the development of our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. In 1937, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was just established. At the end of the year, the Japanese army swept our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. When the Eighth Route Army besieged it, the Japanese army had only about 1938 people. But in 8, the scale of the Japanese army's sweeps became larger and larger, and there were to Japanese troops at any time. In the two major sweeps last year, although the end of the year was not as large as in June and July, the Japanese army still mobilized regiments, two independent mixed brigades, and some garrison troops, with more than Japanese troops alone. There were also more than puppet troops, for a total of more than Japanese and puppet troops. And this is because the Japanese army's main forces were used to sweep the Hebei Military Region. If there was no Hebei Military Region, the Japanese army would still mobilize hundreds of thousands of Japanese and puppet troops to sweep us at the end of the year. If the Japanese army feels that our Eighth Route Army is an enemy they must deal with, then the North China Front Army will transfer several divisions from other places, and then we will be under great pressure."

After hearing what Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun said, everyone looked unhappy.

The Chahar region is a poor place.

The population is small, and the resources are not abundant. Life in the Eighth Column is actually very poor, and the food is not good. The Eighth Column's food is really like eating too many potatoes and farting. If the Japanese army increases its raids, it will continue to hit the material production in this base area, making life even more difficult for the troops and the people in the base area.

Wei Hongjun continued, "So my point is very simple. We must be prepared for hard times. We will be short of ammunition, food, medicine, cloth, and other things. So I ask that from now on, the troops must stockpile more things. Stockpile ammunition, food, medicine, cloth, and anything that can be stockpiled. Only in this way can we get through the most difficult times. We must also strengthen business and bring back more supplies from enemy-occupied areas. Whether in the troops or in the government, no waste is allowed. Supplies must be managed specifically."

In the past two years, under the slogan of "Do it yourself and have enough food and clothing" promoted by Wei Hongjun, the army and government agencies have limited their food consumption, resulting in a large annual surplus. A large amount of food has been stored in the mountain warehouses.

Wei Hongjun will not use these reserved grains easily.

Not only will the reserves remain unchanged, but they will continue to increase. Only in this way can the troops survive 1941, 1942 and 1943.

The same goes for ammunition.

Wei Hongjun prepared to stockpile ammunition.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun had been partners for many years and had great faith in his judgment. Therefore, he said, "It's always better to be prepared."

On February 1940, 2, the Eighth Column held a very important meeting during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

It is known in history as the "February 6th Conference".

History has shown that the Eighth Column's ability to survive the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War, achieve repeated successes, inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army, and spearhead the strategic counteroffensive are inseparable from this meeting. Even the fact that the entire Eighth Route Army was able to grow and develop despite repeated raids by the Japanese army is related to this meeting.

At this meeting, Wei Hongjun reiterated the slogan of "self-reliance for adequate food and clothing." He then proposed "stockpiling supplies" in preparation for "difficulties," which was approved. It was also decided to strongly support exchanges and trade with the Imperial Army. Taking advantage of the current trade situation, the two sides should purchase more supplies and stockpile them.

In order to do business with the North China Front Army, Wei Hongjun took out the column's reserve gold and silver.

Wei Hongjun wasn't a stingy person. But ever since the base was established, he'd always prioritized the use of his money. Although a logistics department had been established, with Li Shiping, the column's deputy commander, managing it, Wei Hongjun personally managed the money seized by the column.

Even when the column was short of money, Wei Hongjun would not use the money as long as the situation was not too difficult.

In the early years, when the Eighth Column captured the county town and cleaned up those traitors, they still accumulated a large amount of money. Some gold bars were handed over to the First Division and the Military Region, but a lot of them were still left inside.

Wei Hongjun currently holds 17 silver dollars. Cha'nan is a poor region, and this money was painstakingly saved by Wei Hongjun during his two years as "Grandet." Without Wei Hongjun's management, the Eighth Column would have grown so rapidly in the past two years and would have been unable to keep the money.

The Political Department and the Trade Department quickly began to contact Huang Peng’s representatives, hoping to do the first business.

Under the guidance of this meeting, the columns and local governments strengthened their material reserves.

After the winter mopping-up operation ended in late 1939, a relative calm prevailed between the Jin-Cha-Yi Military Region and the Japanese. However, both the troops and the people in the base areas of the Eighth Column were very busy. The "February th Conference" had given both the troops and the people in the base areas a lot of work to do.

Two years of continuous land reclamation was not enough.

Wei Hongjun demanded further support for the people's efforts to reclaim wasteland. He also demanded further tax incentives for newly reclaimed farmland. The army even lent the people horses and breeches for their newly reclaimed land, as reclamation was difficult and farm tools were in short supply.

While deploying the general direction, Wei Hongjun will also go down to see the specific situation.

At this time, the cadres Wei Hongjun had requested from the First Division finally arrived. Although Yang Quanwu was angry that Tang Fan had disobeyed orders, he still agreed to Wei Hongjun's request. Through the military region, Tang Fan's organizational affiliation was transferred from the First Division to the 12th Military Division.

Chapter 320 Use of the Department

"Comrade Tang Fan, welcome to the 12th Military Sub-district.

"Report to Comrade Commander."

Tang Fan saluted.

But his face looked sour.

His unhappiness was palpable. He, too, was a Red Guard, having joined the Red Army at the age of 14. A fierce general from the Fourth Front Army, he had fought in many battles during the Red Army era. But like many Fourth Front Army generals, he remained at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. First as a student, then as a trainee. When the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University opened its second branch in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, Tang Fan joined it. His performance at the university was excellent, and the trainees he trained also spoke highly of him, earning him praise from the university's leadership.

But he was not happy at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. Because he wanted to go to the front, he wanted to command the troops to fight. He applied to the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University leaders several times to go to the front, but was never approved. To put it bluntly, it was because Jin-Cha-Ji was the base area opened up by the 115th Division, and Tang Fan and other cadres of the Fourth Front Army did not have any familiar people here. Therefore, it was not so easy to transfer and find a position. Those important positions in the military region were already filled, so there was no place for Tang Fan casually. But Tang Fan did not give up, and kept applying to go to the front, and finally the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University leaders agreed.

After finally receiving approval from the leadership of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, he was assigned to the First Division, eager to show his prowess. He had heard of Yang Quanwu's First Division at the Second Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and he thought he could finally engage in a good fight against the Japanese and puppet troops. The First Division was the most powerful military division in the Jin-Cha-Ji region, engaging in battles with the Japanese and puppet troops almost daily. Initially, he was very happy to be assigned to the First Division. However, the First Division Commander, Yang Quanwu, assigned him to the position of captain of the training brigade, tasked with training grassroots commanders.

Tang Fan was very unhappy with Yang Quanwu's arrangement.

Because he trained students every day at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, he didn't expect that he would have to train grassroots commanders after coming to a division.

He wants to fight.

Seeing his other comrades fighting bloody battles with the Japanese army on the battlefield, he was training students every day in the rear. Yang Quanwu did not intend to suppress Tang Fan. In fact, Yang Quanwu really valued Tang Fan's ability. So Yang Quanwu repeatedly emphasized to Tang Fan the importance of grassroots commanders and asked him to train grassroots commanders well. In fact, he understood what Yang Quanwu meant. Tang Fan was not a fool. Yang Quanwu emphasized it so many times, how could he not understand what Yang Quanwu said. But he just couldn't accept it. Why did his other comrades go to the battlefield, but he couldn't go to the battlefield.

Therefore, although he knew what Yang Quanwu meant, he still did not obey Yang Quanwu's order and forcibly trained the teaching team into a main force.

He originally thought that he had built a main force regiment for Division 1, and Yang Quanwu would be happy. Although he did not obey Yang Quanwu's orders, he did rely on his own efforts to add a main force regiment to Division 1. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Who was Yang Quanwu? In the First Division, who dared disobey his words? Even those cadres who had previously disagreed with Yang Quanwu, some of whom were his longtime comrades, were expelled from the First Division. And what about Tang Fan, a cadre from the Fourth Front Army? Yang Quanwu was furious and threatened to return Tang Fan to the military district. If he were to be returned, Tang Fan would become a laughingstock. After all, every military district was short of cadres. For the First Division to return a cadre at this time would indicate that it was dissatisfied with Tang Fan, or that he had made a mistake. It would be humiliating for a cadre from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University to go to the military district and be returned there.

However, the result was that although Yang Quanwu did not return himself to the military region or the Anti-Japanese University, he transferred his organizational relationship from the First Division to the 12th Military Division.

Although they are the same military sub-districts, their status is completely different.

The cadres in the First to Fifth Military Sub-districts are very experienced and high-ranking, while the cadres in the 11th and 12th Military Sub-districts are very junior.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun's qualifications are similar to mine.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were battalion-level cadres from the Central Red Army, while he was a regimental-level cadre from the Fourth Front Army. Many of the cadres under the Eighth Column, whether in terms of Party or military experience, were even far inferior to his own.

Tang Fan was dissatisfied with Yang Quanwu.

He didn't follow his orders, but at least he built a main force for the First Division. Even if he didn't make any contributions, he did make some hard work. But Yang Quanwu was so resolute that he kicked him out of the First Division. He had a bad impression of Jin-Cha-Ji, thinking that the Jin-Cha-Ji cadres looked down on him, suppressed him, and excluded him. He felt that his future in Jin-Cha-Ji was bleak. So he came to the 12th Military Division, feeling a bit desperate. Facing Wei Hongjun, a famous figure in Jin-Cha-Ji and a legendary figure in Jin-Cha-Ji, he just turned his head away.

"sit."

Wei Hongjun smiled when he saw Tang Fan's expression and didn't care about Tang Fan's attitude.

Because anyone would be in a bad mood right now. After all, it was already 1940, but he, a fierce general from the Fourth Front Army, had never fought a good battle on the anti-Japanese battlefield.

"Comrade Tang Fan, let me first introduce the situation of our 12th Military Sub-district. I'll be straightforward. In order to promote the development of the Chahar Anti-Japanese War, the military district requires our 11th and 12th Military Sub-districts to conduct joint operations in peacetime. So although the 11th and 12th Military Sub-districts were established, we still operate under the name of the 12th Column. So, you were assigned to the th Military Sub-district, but in fact you were assigned to the th Column."

"I understand, Political Commissar." Tang Fan immediately understood what Wei Hongjun meant.

So the name had changed. Of course, Tang Fan didn't care whether he was in the 12th Army Division or the th Column. To Tang Fan, it was all the same.

Wei Hongjun continued, "After discussion, the column has decided to appoint you as the commander of the 8th Column's teaching brigade.

“Political Commissar Tang Fan was really angry.

If he continued to lead the training team, it would be more appropriate for him to stay in the First Division. After all, the First Division was the core of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. No matter how glorious the Eighth Column was in battle, its seniority and status were there.