Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The wolves of the Second Regiment were beaten and fled.

A base of five counties was opened up for the first division, adding 100 million people to the division's population.

By this point, the population of the bases controlled by Division One had surpassed 400 million, and the goal was to reach 500 million. Division One had truly entered its heyday. Taking advantage of the heavy casualties suffered by the Central Hebei Military Region and the shortage of troops and generals in many bases, Division One even sent its own troops to take control.

The Third Division formed the Fourth Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region.

Huang Yong, commander of the Third Division, personally served as commander of the Fourth Brigade, while Wang Zhi, the political commissar, also served as its political commissar. The Jin-Cha Wing Fourth Brigade comprised the 2nd, 7th, and 30th Regiments, a Cavalry Regiment, and an artillery regiment, totaling 14000 troops. They crisscrossed the region between Baoding and Shijiazhuang. Within a short period of time, they captured five county towns, expanding their base area to seven counties. This brought the population of the base area in the Third Division to three million.

In addition to these three brigades, there are a large number of troops in the first and third divisions, especially in the first division.

At present, there are 18 main force regiment numbers assigned by the military region alone, and there are also a large number of troops under its command that do not have military region numbers.

These troops poured into Hebei in regimental units, cooperating with the Jizhong Military Region to capture the county towns in Hebei. If there were a few more Japanese and puppet troops in a county town, they would be handed over to the Second, Third, and Fourth Brigades.

Because the brigade-level units have dedicated artillery regiments, as long as there are not many Japanese and puppet troops in the city, it is still easy for the artillery regiment to capture the county town.

If there are not many Japanese and puppet troops in the city, especially if there are no Japanese troops, and there are only some military police with puppet police battalions, then the main force of the first and third districts of the county town can attack on their own.

Of course, the main targets of these main groups are still the vast towns and rural areas.

Many towns and villages had grassroots puppet governments and police forces established by the Japanese puppet army. If they couldn't capture the county seat, then attacking these traitorous puppet governments and police would be easy for the main force.

Moreover, in Hebei Province, especially in the Central Hebei Military Region, when the Japanese army launched a large-scale sweep, a large number of local troops and militia were scattered everywhere. Now that the main force has returned, these local troops and militia cooperate with the main force to capture one village after another.

In a short period of time, it swept across all towns and villages in Hebei.

We must eliminate all grassroots pseudo-governments in towns and villages and punish those local traitors.

Of course, the main force's shift in strategy did not mean that all troops in the Jin-Cha-Ji region would have to completely change their strategies and tactics. Local forces and guerrillas would still rely primarily on guerrilla warfare.

Around the major cities and transportation arteries controlled by the Japanese army, local troops and guerrillas were deployed. Their mission was to prevent the Japanese troops from leaving the city.

There is also a steady stream of local cadres.

The First and Third Divisions transferred a large number of cadres to take over these new bases. However, even so, the cadres were still insufficient, so the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region transferred cadres from the military region, as well as the Jin-Cha-Ji Cadre School and the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University branch to Hebei.

This is also not as fast as the speed at which the troops established bases in Hebei.

So in the end, out of desperation, the First and Third Divisions transferred a large number of cadres from their troops to the local areas to temporarily serve as local cadres and participate in the construction of local bases.

The number of cadres transferred from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the First Division, and the Third Division, and from the troops to the local areas, totaled nearly 10,000.

So many cadres are building a base in Hebei.

Following the Yi County Conference, within just three months, the First and Third Divisions, along with the Wing Central Army, captured over 80 county towns, bringing over half of Hebei's counties into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. The base area expanded to 110 counties, sending the entire Hebei province into a state of turmoil. During this process, over ten thousand puppet police officers alone were eliminated, while over local puppet guards and troops rebelled, surrendered, or were eliminated.

It can be said that in Hebei Province, the puppet troops, local puppet guards, and local puppet police were all trembling in fear. Each and every one of them secretly contacted the Eighth Route Army. For a time, the entire Hebei Province was filled with red flags.

Of course, it’s not just one and three partitions.

After the Yi County Conference, the biggest change was the Jireliao Advance Army.

The commander of the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advance Army returned to Yan'an, and the base area was divided into the Rehe Military Region and the Jidong Military Region. The Rehe Military Region became the 13th Military Sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji region, and the Jidong Military Region became the 14th Military Sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Ji region.

Overall, everyone is happy.

11团和12团，和冀热辽挺进军领导关系不合这一次总算是摆脱了冀热辽挺进军的编制，在热河重新相聚。13团、14团、15团、31团，千部虽然有不少来自115师和120师的，但主要的兵源都是翼东本地人。

Since the commander-in-chief of the Jidong Anti-Japanese Allied Forces during the Jidong Uprising was shot by the Yireliao Advance Army Commander on charges of "colluding with Wu Peifu and attempting to surrender to the enemy and commit treason," relations between the Jidong troops and the Yireliao Advance Army Commander have been very poor. The two sides have been on and off, and neither side has much trust in the Yireliao Advance Army Commander.

Now that the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army has been disbanded and the Ji-East troops continue to fight against the Japanese in Ji-East, the atmosphere has eased a lot.

The 11th and 12th Regiments, although one was from the 115th Division and the other from the 120th Division, had fought side by side and had a good relationship with each other. Importantly, the leaders of these two units, Song Shilun and Deng Guo, were both forced to leave the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advance Army.

Now the two forces will meet at the 13th Military Division.

Cheng Shihua was the happiest.

After the establishment of the 13th Military Sub-district, Cheng Shihua not only served as the commander, but also served as the political commissar, becoming the de facto leader of the 13th Military Sub-district. And he also had strong power.

The 11th and 12th Regiments were the two most powerful regiments in the Yireliao Advance Army. After the 3000th Column received support from rifles and some light and heavy machine guns, it successively formed two main regiments.

The military district gave them the numbers 82nd and 83rd Regiments.

这样目前的13军分区，就拥有11团、12团、82团、83团四个主力团，主力部队人员有近万人。

More importantly, the Eighth Route Army has already entered Rehe in large numbers. The First Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region, the First and Second Special Regiments, and to the north, the 26th and 37th Regiments, among others, are also present. The Eighth Route Army currently has approximately troops in Rehe.

Very powerful.

"Right now, the entire Jin-Cha-Ji region is experiencing rapid development, with only Jidong and Rehe lagging behind. Now that we have concentrated so many troops in Rehe, I believe we can also make significant moves.

After the 13th Military Sub-district was established, Cheng Shihua held a meeting with the cadres of the st Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region and the cadres of the Chadong Detachment.

Although in terms of strength, Cheng Shihua's hands are the weakest.

But who can blame Cheng Shihua for his long experience?

Moreover, he was the commander of the 13th Military Sub-district and the top leader in charge of the anti-Japanese war in Rehe, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei. Therefore, although Zhang Zihua, the commander of the st Brigade, and Zheng Weishan, the commander of the Chadong Detachment, had no affiliation with him, they still gave him face.

"Commander Cheng, what are your thoughts?"

"We are also learning from the military district's development model in Hebei. Currently, the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe, in addition to the 29th Division, is only the 29nd Security Brigade of the 50th Military Region. The others are local gendarmerie and puppet police forces. The 13th Regiment of the th Division lost its regimental headquarters and two battalions, and currently only has one battalion left that can fight. In other words, the Japanese and puppet troops in the Rehe area are short of manpower. So my suggestion is that the main regiments of our three companies should be dispersed throughout Rehe in battalions to completely destroy the "group tribes" established by the Japanese and puppet troops. There are more than million farmers in the entire Rehe who were driven into "group tribes" by the Japanese and puppet troops. As long as we rescue them, they will become the best source of soldiers. We will have a steady stream of reserve troops in Rehe. Moreover, after the establishment of the th Military Sub-district of the Japanese and puppet forces, Cheng Shihua held a meeting with the cadres of the st Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region and the cadres of the Chadong Detachment.

Although in terms of strength, Cheng Shihua's hands are the weakest.

But allowing Cheng Shihua, a senior general, to relocate over a million civilians to the "Group Tribes" has dealt a heavy blow to Rehe's agriculture. If we allow the farmers in the "Group Tribes" to return to their home farms, Rehe's agriculture will recover. Our troops won't need to rely on the Eighth Column and Jidong for logistics.

"What if the 29th Division sends troops to mop up the mess?"

Zhang Zihua spoke out his problems.

Although the 29th Regiment of the 50th Division had lost two battalions, the current 29th Division still had approximately 8000 troops, including seven infantry battalions. Once the various units operated as battalions, the 29th Division could sweep with company-based units.

If an Eighth Route Army battalion encountered a Japanese squadron, it would be in for a loss.

"That's what I want to say. My suggestion is that we find a unit disguised as the First Brigade, attack Weichang County, and threaten Chifeng. The Japanese army will definitely take action at that time. But because they have suffered defeat before, they will inevitably be very cautious and will attack with heavy troops. At that time, the 29th Division will be divided into two, with a unit in the north and a unit in the south. One in Chifeng and the other in Chengde. At this time, the Japanese army's mobile forces will be even more insufficient, and those group tribes will not be at our disposal. As long as we can smash the "group tribes" of the Japanese and puppet troops and let the people here truly accept us, the situation in the entire Rehe will change greatly.

"The 26th and 37th Regiments will be assigned to the First Camouflage Brigade. The task assigned to us by the Column is to capture Chifeng in the future, and Weichang County is a must. As long as the 29th Division sends troops into Chifeng, we will definitely keep them there. We will not allow them to interfere with your efforts to crush the Japanese and puppet troops around Chengde.

Zheng Weishan is very confident.

His confidence comes from the troops in his hands.

After the Yi County meeting, the Eighth Column also added four main regiment numbers.

In order to take care of each unit, the 8th Column gave each detachment a number, namely the Chadong Detachment, the Chabei Detachment, the Chaxi Detachment and the Pingbei Detachment.

The final result was that the New 78st Regiment of the Chadong Detachment was reorganized into the 79th Regiment, the Independent 80th Regiment of the Chabei Detachment was reorganized into the 81th Regiment, the Independent st Regiment of the Chaxi Detachment was reorganized into the th Regiment, and the New nd Regiment of the Pingbei Detachment was reorganized into the st Regiment.

So currently Zheng Weishan leads the 26th, 37th and 78th Regiments in Rehe. The 38th Regiment is currently in Zhangjiakou, serving as the Zhangjiakou Weicheng Force.

"Comrade Zhang Zihua, what do you think?"

"I agree."

Chapter 457: Destroying the Group Tribe

Xinglong County.

A small force arrived in the southwest of Xinglong County, about 20 miles away from the county seat.

These are the two sides of the road from Xinglong County to Miyun.

Every so often, there's a "group tribe," surrounded by a deep ditch flanked by barbed wire, with a guardhouse at the only accessible intersection. Of course, the most striking feature of these "group tribes" is that they occupy flat land.

The area for several miles east, west, south and north is open.

In the past, the locals here basically built natural villages near mountains and rivers. But such rural areas were too difficult for the Japanese to control. Moreover, the more such places were, the easier it was for the Eighth Route Army to operate.

After all, there are mountains. When dealing with the Japanese and puppet troops, if you can't defeat them, just run into the mountains.

To prevent this, the Japanese army abolished all the original natural villages, drove out all the rural residents, burned down all the rural houses, and then burned down the trees on the mountains.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese and puppet troops burned a vast number of trees in Liaoning, Rehe, and northern Hebei. Many mountains were left bare by these burnings. This was because the Japanese and puppet troops, having been repeatedly attacked by the Anti-Japanese United Army and the Eighth Route Army, frequently set fire to the mountains, denying them shelter.

Then settle all these people in an open area or on the transportation line.

It is to prevent them from colluding with the Eighth Route Army.

"How many Japanese and puppet troops are there in this kind of group tribe?"

"Usually there are only one or two Japanese police officers under the Japanese military police, and the rest are puppet police. There are quite a few puppet police, and each group tribe is managed by at least twenty puppet police. However, I heard that some group tribes in important areas have police brigades around them.

Cheng Shihua, Zhang Zihua, Zhang Dahu, Kang Shui, Xiao Ming and others came to see the "group tribe" set up by the Japanese and puppet troops. They were all hiding in the mountains five or six miles away from the "group tribe" and observing with binoculars.

If we move closer, we will be directly within the field of vision of the Japanese and puppet army observation posts.

Xiao Ming will explain the specific situation to everyone.

He has been in Rehe for nearly three years and is quite familiar with the situation here.

"Ever since our 11th Regiment and the 29th Column Special Forces Regiment developed in Rehe, in order to curb the development of our Eighth Route Army, the Kwantung Army not only had the th Division in Rehe, but the Fifth Military Region also established the st Security Division. Furthermore, they formed the Rehe Police Battalion, which is under the jurisdiction of eight puppet police battalions. These eight puppet police battalions are said to be the same puppet police forces that were previously used in the large-scale crackdown on the Anti-Japanese United Army in Tonghua. Each puppet police battalion has about to people. These puppet police battalions are deployed on the Rehe transportation line. In addition to protecting the safety of the transportation line, they also monitor these 'group tribes'."

"Commander Cheng, you can fight."

After carefully observing these places, Zhang Zihua gave Cheng Shihua a positive answer.

The location of the group tribe is indeed not good.

The area was open, with unrestricted views. The Japanese and puppet troops could observe several miles around them from a single sentry post, leaving no place for anyone to hide. Furthermore, these tribes were located along transportation lines, allowing the Japanese and puppet troops to provide support at any time.

Overall, the method used by the Japanese and puppet troops was good.

But this was only effective against guerrillas. Because the guerrillas were poorly armed and equipped, it would be difficult for them to evacuate such an open area if they were discovered by the Japanese and puppet troops. But for the First Brigade led by Zhang Zihua and the other main regiments, such a group tribe was nothing.

"It's clear that the people in the group tribe live in a very difficult situation. Their houses are nothing but shacks, barely able to shelter them from the wind and rain. In winter, people might freeze to death. These policemen definitely don't live in houses like these. So, they must be living in the row of houses next door. As long as we take advantage of the darkness and move quickly, we can seize the sentry post and break into the group tribe before they react. Once we get in, these policemen will probably be no match for the puppet army."

It is impossible to see it clearly from a distance using a telescope.

You can only take a rough look.

But Zhang Zihua is still very confident.

Xiao Mingdao: "Yes, these group tribes are actually easy to fight. These puppet police haven't fought for many years and actually have no combat effectiveness at all. But we didn't dare to make any big moves before because we were worried that after we took down a group tribe, we wouldn't have enough time to evacuate these civilians. The Japanese puppet troops, Japanese military police, and puppet police forces came too quickly. If we take action here, they will arrive by car in less than half an hour. But for the civilians here, you have to convince them first and then take them away, which takes time. Moreover, the physical condition of the civilians here is average. There are a few hundred people at least, and there are thousands at most. It takes a long time for them to walk a few miles on foot. From the time we broke in, it took less than two hours to evacuate all the civilians to the nearby mountains. At this time, the Japanese puppet troops and puppet police forces arrived, and in the end no one could leave. So in the past, we would not attack group tribes casually.

The 11th Regiment had considered this idea before.

But how could the Japanese and puppet troops not be prepared when they were pushing the tribes together?

As long as the guns were fired here, the Japanese and puppet army reinforcements would arrive in less than half an hour. But it would take time to evacuate the people of the group tribe.

In the end, they could not escape and were massacred by the Japanese and puppet troops.

Why is it difficult to establish a base in a place like Rehe?

This is because in addition to the regular Japanese and puppet troops, in these places where the Japanese army has strong control, there are Japanese military police, Japanese police, puppet guards, puppet police, and a large number of traitor armed forces, the total number of which is very astonishing.