Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

This directly restricted the development of the New Fourth Army.

On the contrary, the situation at the Southern Jiangsu Command is different.

They completely disregarded the KMT's orders and, following orders from Yan'an, boldly advanced behind enemy lines. Therefore, among all the New Fourth Army units, the unit led by General Chen developed the most. This also laid the foundation for the establishment of a new New Fourth Army headquarters in Yan'an and for General Chen to become its commander.

This "Southern Anhui Incident" was one of the inevitable results of the New Fourth Army's long-term adherence to Wang Ming's policies.

Although the two sides had conflicts in the past, they were still able to cooperate in the anti-Japanese war overall.

The effect is actually very good.

The Nationalist army had more troops and better weapons, and could fight the Japanese army head-on. The Eighth Route Army had strong mobility and was best at ambushes, sneak attacks, cutting off Japanese logistics, and raiding Japanese weak points.

The better the cooperation between the National Army and the Eighth Route Army in a region, the better the anti-Japanese situation was.

The most typical example is the Suiyuan area.

The 35th Army and the 120th Division of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army worked in perfect harmony. While the 35th Army attacked head-on, the 120th Division attacked the Japanese flanks and transport units, inflicting heavy casualties on the 26th Division. It's fair to say that the 26th Division of the Mongolian Army was struggling in Suiyuan. This led to the Mongolian Army, in desperation, to station its cavalry group in Baotou to watch over Fu Zuoyi's forces. Furthermore, in Zhongtiao Mountain, Wei Lihuang and the Eighth Route Army worked together brilliantly. Zhongtiao Mountain remained resilient, despite numerous Japanese attacks.

Because there are many Kuomintang troops in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Whenever the Japanese attacked Zhongtiao Mountain, the Nationalist troops there would offer direct resistance. The 129th Division would cut off the Japanese army's retreat and logistics. As a result, each Japanese attack on Zhongtiao Mountain was a failure.

They started out with great momentum, but soon retreated from Zhongtiao Mountain due to insufficient logistics.

But now the situation is completely different.

In Suiyuan, the 35th Army and the 120th Division collaborated seamlessly, earning them the nickname "Seventh and a Half Route Army." This led to fierce criticism from Chongqing and Yan Xishan. Yan Xishan had already told Fu Zuoyi to distance himself from the Eighth Route Army, threatening to remove him from his post and cut off his unit's logistical supplies. Under pressure from Chongqing and Yan Xishan, Fu Zuoyi dismissed all Party members working in the 35th Army, and his close cooperation with the 120th Division ceased.

This is especially true in Zhongtiao Mountain.

After He Yingqin arrived at Zhongtiao Mountain, he first transferred the Shaanxi Fourth Army away from Zhongtiao Mountain. He Yingqin also warned Sun Weiru not to get too close to the Eighth Route Army, especially the Shaanxi Army, which was a "guilty" unit.

The fact that Sun Weiru was not tried was already a sign of the Chairman's magnanimity. You even dared to flirt with the Eighth Route Army.

After the Shaanxi Fourth Army was transferred away, He Yingqin had a conversation with Wei Lihuang.

He Yingqin criticized Wei Lihuang for being too close to the Eighth Route Army. But Wei Lihuang thought He Yingqin was nitpicking. Their main force was fighting the Japanese in Zhongtiao Mountain, right next to the 129th Division. The two sides were cooperating effectively, so why did they have to fall out with the Eighth Route Army?

Seeing that Wei Lihuang refused to budge, He Yingqin reported this to Chongqing.

In a rage, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Wei Lihuang back to Chongqing and criticized him. He then detained Wei Lihuang in Chongqing and prevented him from returning to the First War Zone. He then gave He Yingqin full responsibility for the First War Zone.

Chongqing and Yan Xishan also demanded that the Eighth Route Army evacuate southern Shanxi and not allow them to operate there. In fact, the Eighth Route Army had previously operated in this area, collaborating closely with the Nationalist Army in Zhongtiao Mountain, and the results were very good. However, as friction between the two sides grew, the Eighth Route Army withdrew.

Now that the "Southern Anhui Incident" has broken out, it is no longer possible for the two sides to cooperate and fight as they did in the early days of the War of Resistance.

This is actually most beneficial to the Japanese army.

The Japanese had previously fought on two fronts, which had always been awkward. But now, the Japanese could completely ignore the other side and deal with one front first, then turn around and deal with the other. After all, there was no previous cooperation between the Nationalist Army and the Eighth Route Army.

If the Japanese army attacks one side, the other side might be gloating over the misfortune.

"The Japanese army's recent movements have been somewhat unusual. Large forces have been heading towards southern Shanxi. It's unclear whether they're trying to wipe out the 129th Division or attack the Nationalist forces in Zhongtiao Mountain.

Wang Qiuyun muttered to himself as he looked at the map.

Although they were angry about the "Southern Anhui Incident," the Eighth Column was far away from Southern Anhui and couldn't do anything. Furthermore, given their ranks, they were not qualified to intervene in a matter of this magnitude. So Wang Qiuyun immediately turned the conversation to North China.

There was no secret at all about the movement of so many Japanese troops.

After all, the movement of three divisions and nearly 129 troops was impossible to conceal. However, the Japanese army's target was still uncertain. It was unknown whether they were going to sweep the th Division's base or attack the Nationalist forces in Zhongtiao Mountain.

"Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain."

Chapter 353 Actively Prepare for War

"How to say?"

Wang Qiuyun looked up at Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun said confidently, "If the Japanese army wants to retaliate against our Eighth Route Army, then the time is definitely not now. Many Japanese troops have suffered heavy casualties, and some have even been almost completely wiped out. If the Japanese army wants to sweep our Eighth Route Army base, they must at least replenish their troops with new recruits to restore their combat effectiveness. Without three or four months, it is simply impossible."

Besides, if the Japanese army wants to sweep our Eighth Route Army base, their first target will definitely not be the 129th Division, but our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Especially Jidong, Rehe, Jizhong, as well as our Chahar, Jixi and other places. Because these areas are currently developing too rapidly, seriously affecting the Japanese army's rule in North China. We and the troops of the First Division are now operating around Peking, which is the greatest danger. The North China Front Army is currently seriously short of troops. If they concentrate their forces to sweep the 129th Division at this time, wouldn't that force our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region to launch another raid? If the North China Front Army concentrates its forces to sweep the 129th Division, how can they stop our Jin-Cha-Ji troops?

"Makes sense."

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

It is impossible for the Japanese army to launch a sweep of the Eighth Route Army base so rashly.

Moreover, even if it was a mopping-up operation, the Jin-Cha-Ji troops would not be left alone, and a large number of troops would enter Shanxi from Hebei. Although the 129th Division was also very powerful, the most direct threat to the North China Front Army was the Jin-Cha-Ji troops.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Furthermore, if the North China Front Army wants to sweep the 129th Division, it can transfer the 36th Division from northern Henan, and then the 37th and 41st Divisions from the Zhongtiao Mountain front, as well as the 26th Division in Datong, the 129rd Independent Mixed Brigade in Zhengtai Road, and the th Independent Mixed Brigade. These units alone are already very powerful, and it will be difficult for the th Division to counter the sweep. The North China Front Army does not need to transfer three divisions to Shanxi. Therefore, the target can only be the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain."

Wei Hongjun was actually quite shocked as well.

Originally, Wei Hongjun had believed that the Battle of Zhongtiaoshan would not occur in this time and space. Because the Eighth Route Army was so powerful, it was the biggest enemy of the North China Front Army. However, after seeing the recent troop movements of the North China Front Army, Wei Hongjun realized that the Japanese army was indeed planning to launch the Battle of Zhongtiaoshan.

Very unexpected.

Wei Hongjun was not clear on the specific reasons why the Japanese army had to launch the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign. But he knew one thing, that is, the North China Front Army launching the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign was a very good thing for the Eighth Route Army.

It gave the Eighth Route Army a chance to recuperate.

"Do you think Zhongtiao Mountain can stop the Japanese army?"

"That's enough."

Wei Hongjun shook his head.

He said, "Think about it. Ever since the friction between the Nationalist Army and us increased, they have been adjusting the commanders and troops in Zhongtiao Mountain. They have artificially separated the Nationalist Army positions from our Eighth Route Army base. This choice of theirs will definitely bring chaos to the troops. Judging from the current situation of the Japanese army, they should concentrate their forces to focus on attacking the Nationalist Army in Zhongtiao Mountain. If the Nationalist Army cannot prepare for war properly, then it will definitely not be able to stop the Japanese army. But looking at the Nationalist Army now, it seems that they have forgotten that our enemy is the Japanese army, and are focusing more on how to deal with us. Under this guiding ideology, how can the Nationalist Army possibly fight the Japanese army with all its strength? Ideological confusion will be directly reflected on the battlefield."

The failure of many battles is actually due to problems with the guiding spirit and ideological confusion in the troops.

The New Fourth Army headquarters had this problem, and the National Army troops also had this problem.

After Chongqing placed the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army as its main enemies, it naturally relaxed its focus on the Japanese army. This relaxation would bring ideological confusion to the national army troops on the front line and lead to defeat on the battlefield.

"Although there are many conflicts between us, the presence of the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain can at least attract some Japanese troops. The 37th and 41st Divisions usually confront the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain. If the Japanese army occupies Zhongtiao Mountain, the Nationalist troops will all withdraw from Zhongtiao Mountain, and the North China Front Army can then do its utmost to wipe us out."

Although Wang Qiuyun was resentful of the Kuomintang, she had a very clear understanding of this point.

The presence of the National Army in Zhongtiao Mountain tied down many Japanese troops.

If the Nationalist and Eighth Route Armies could unite in Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong, they wouldn't be afraid of the North China Front Army. The Nationalist and Eighth Route Armies combined in North China numbered over a million troops. If the two sides truly cooperated in the fight against Japan, most of North China would have been under Chinese control. The North China Front Army, with its limited strength, was no match for the Nationalist and Eighth Route Army forces, and how could they have allowed them to become so ferocious?

Unfortunately, not only were the two sides unable to unite, but they also went to war with each other.

What a shame.

"Let's discuss how to deal with the Japanese raid."

"It can only be training."

Wang Qiuyun said seriously, "In 1939, four independent mixed brigades of the Japanese army swept through our base. At that time, our Eighth Column suffered more than casualties, and the entire base suffered a catastrophe. If the North China Front Army sweeps through our base again, the sweeping force may exceed the previous four independent mixed brigades. If the Japanese army mobilizes to troops, plus the puppet army's to troops to sweep, our Eighth Column will have a very difficult time coping. If we want to fight against so many Japanese mopping-up troops, we can only increase the number of troops and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops. Otherwise, not only will our base be reduced, but our troops' casualties will also exceed that time.

The North China Front Army will definitely retaliate.

This is beyond doubt. And after this Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Japanese army's retaliatory sweeps will certainly be more intense. After all, the Japanese army has entered China for so many years and fought so many battles.

Except for a few major battles, the Japanese casualties never exceeded 30,000.

It can be said that the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign dealt a heavy blow to the North China Front Army. Judging from the Japanese army's combat characteristics, they would never give up after such a defeat.

The Eighth Route Army will definitely be severely retaliated.

Be sure to be prepared for everything.

Wei Hongjun nodded and said, "We should train, and we have time. Last year's Hundred Regiments Campaign dealt a heavy blow to the North China Front Army, and many Japanese units suffered heavy casualties. It will take them a while to recover. Just recruiting new soldiers will take a long time, and once they arrive, they'll need a month or two to adjust. Now they're transferring troops to the Zhongtiao Mountains front. However, even if they do go there, the 37th and 41st Divisions, the rd and th Independent Mixed Brigade, which were originally supposed to participate in the Zhongtiao Mountains campaign, have suffered heavy casualties, making it difficult to replenish them immediately. By the time these troops are fully replenished, we can eliminate the Nationalist positions outside Zhongtiao Mountains and finally launch the Zhongtiao Mountains campaign. It will take until May or June, or even July or August. During this time, the North China Front Army won't have enough troops even if they were to sweep our base. So we have plenty of time, at least six months. If we seize this time, we can definitely greatly improve our troops' combat effectiveness."

Although the North China Front Army had transferred two divisions from the Central China Front Army and the 21st Division from northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui, the Japanese army still lacked troops in Hebei and Shanxi. More importantly, they lacked mobile forces.

A large number of troops were tied up in major cities, important transportation routes, and in strongholds and bunkers. The North China Front Army had very few mobile troops that could actually fight.

The North China Front Army did not have the strength to fight on two fronts.

It was impossible to launch the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign and simultaneously sweep the Eighth Route Army base.

Therefore, before the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, even if the North China Front Army raided the Eighth Route Army base, it would not be a large-scale operation. At most, it would compete with the Eighth Route Army for territory on the edge of the base. Therefore, during this period, the Eighth Column had ample time to reorganize its troops.

Wei Hongjun is sure about this.

After hearing Wei Hongjun's analysis, Wang Qiuyun said, "Old Wei, my idea is to have the 16th, 18th, 25th, 26th, 34th, 35th, 37th, 38th, 39th, and 40th Regiments all under four battalions, each with four companies, forming a large regiment of sixteen companies. The troop strength is set at 3000 people. During the Japanese sweep, these troops must be able to fight the Japanese independent battalions head-on without failure, repel them, and even eventually eat them up. In this way, we can gain a great advantage in the counter-sweep."

In order to counter the raid, Wang Qiuyun did not rest during this period.

Together with Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Xu Luomin, Deputy Commander Zheng Weishan has been discussing the reorganization and training of the troops.

The 16th Column currently commands ten main force regiments with military region designations. However, these regiments vary in strength, and there's no clear set number of personnel. For example, the 18th and 3000th Regiments have consistently maintained a strength of over 3600 men, sometimes reaching as high as , making them the most powerful units in the th Column.

The 16th and 18th Regiments participated in many major and fierce battles after the establishment of the th Column.

When the 34th and 35th Regiments were established, they also had around 3000 men. However, after fighting and suffering increasing casualties, their numbers eventually stabilized at around 2500. The 25th and 26th Regiments, on the other hand, initially had only around 2000 men, making them the weaker regiments of the 3000th Column. However, these two units later gained strength, reaching nearly men.

其他37团、38团、39团、40团，部队人数保持在2200人左右。

But Wang Qiuyun plans to increase the number of these main groups to 3000 people.

The Japanese army's sweeps against the Eighth Route Army bases primarily consisted of independent battalions. These consisted of approximately 800 men, with a typical mopping-up operation consisting of only 400 to 500 men. Wang Qiuyun's thinking was that the 8th Column's main force could confront these independent battalions head-on. They could fight them head-on without ambushes or surprise attacks, and even defeat them head-on. They should even be strong enough to defeat an independent battalion in a face-to-face engagement.

If this is the case, the 8th Column's ten main regiments will be able to resist the Japanese army's ten independent battalions. In other words, the 8th Column, with these ten main regiments, will be able to go head-to-head with two independent mixed brigades.

Once the main force of the 8th Column has such strength, there will be no need to worry about future raids by the Japanese army.

"Among the remaining troops, with the exception of the Guards Regiment, the Training Corps, and the Cavalry Regiment, all regimental units will be upgraded to a three-battalion system, with 12 companies and a strength limit of 2000 to 2200 men. The newly formed New Fourth, New Fifth, and New Sixth Regiments will also follow this structure. The First Division has transferred to us a -man Training Corps , as well as our own Training Battalion. This will more than suffice to form three new regiments."

Chapter 354 Actively Prepare for War 2

Wei Hongjun did not agree immediately.

But it's calculating.

Calculate whether the current base of the Eighth Column can support so many soldiers.

If Wang Qiuyun's plan were followed, the 8th Column's main force would exceed 50,000 men. If other local units, such as county brigades and district squads, were added, the 8th Column's command would exceed 60,000 men. 60,000 men is no small number. The Shandong Military Region currently has only a few hundred thousand men, and the 8th Column's base area is significantly smaller than Shandong. Maintaining such a large force is no easy task.

At present, the population of the Eighth Column's base area is about three million, of which the relatively stable base area has a population of two million.

Feeding 20,000 or 30,000 people wouldn't be too much of a burden, but feeding 50,000 or 60,000 people would immediately become a significant burden.

The Chahar region, in particular, was not a wealthy place, and its resources were not as abundant as those of eastern and central Hebei. Soldiers normally ate coarse grains, and even when coarse grains were scarce, they could only supplement their diet with wild vegetables. In eastern and central Hebei, a 60,000-man army was nothing. Even supporting a force of over 100,000, or even 200,000, was possible.

Of course, tightening the belt does not mean that we cannot afford to support these troops.

Because the base of the 8th Column and the base of the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Advance Army were connected.

The thing that Jidong lacks the least is food.